MEET THE BAND

Meet the TMT Band Members!!

JOEL PERNELL

We introduce you to Joel Pernell and he is extremely excited to embrace the role of Rick James and hopes to do justice to the legendary performer’s incomparable style. We are 100% that Joel will do Mr. James proud! With Joel’s amazing vocal range and high energy… we are warning you all, it’s contagious and you will be on your feet!

When Joel was a very young boy, his parents were both in the Army and stationed in Panama. His grandmother knew there wasn’t much in the way of entertainment for a youngster who spoke no Spanish so she sent him cassette tapes of Michael Jackson and MC Hammer! They have been his lifelong inspiration and ever since then, he knew he wanted to perform! Joel has been a backup singer for Childish Gambino, has performed alongside Wayne Brady at an event, and opened up for Ernie Halter, Rebecca Black, Tahj Mowry, and Aaron Carter #restinpeace

Joel aka DJ Believe, is a local and lives with his family in Whittier. He performs as a singer and DJ for high end events; where he is well known for his open musical format and personable performance style. TMT is so honored to have Joel Pernell perform with us and for you all!

MEGAN TAYLOR

We introduce our supremely talented drummer Megan Taylor! From all accounts , Megan was born with drumsticks in her hands; she has been drumming from the tender age of 3 and did her first drum competition when she was only 5. She decided drumming wasn’t enough and started playing guitar at 9 and bass at 11. She was in the house band for School of Rock Hollywood and has played in venues such as The Roxy, The Whiskey, The Knitting Factory, several festivals, NAMM, Universal Studios and The Sunset Street Music Festival starting at age 8.

Megan stated that she recently had the privilege to play some of the biggest shows in her life with the all female funk band “Klymaxx” alongside artists Cameo, Morris Day, The Dazz Band, The P-Funk All Stars, The S.O.S Band and more. Performing 4-6 nights a week is her happy place. She been dedicates her “free time” to writing, producing and recording her own music on the side, which can be found on all music platforms under Megan Taylor Music.

Performing is Megan’s true love and passion, she believes in leaving it all on the stage, putting everything she can into the performance, doing the homework, showing up for everyone including herself and making positive personal connections are a priority in all she does!!

TMT is so honored to have Megan perform with us and for you all!!!

DAVID BROWN

We are featuring the extremely talented David Brown as our bassist.

David plays bass guitar, and has the voice of an angel he also excels at recording, composition, and instruction. David’s longterm projects include The Tom Nolan Band [2001-present] and Boomerang Band {2000-2019}.

David has shared the stage with many well known and respected musicians and artists such as Gene Chandler, Billy Paul, Peaches & Herb, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Dorothy Moore, Heatwave, The Manhattans, Blue Magic, Malo, Curtis Traylor, Jimmie Lykes, Jamie Green, Jay Gore, Shane August, Paul Rose, Doña Oxford, ‘King’ Chris Rocha, Becky Moon, Joe Travers, & Stevie Wonder. TMT is so honored to have David Brown perform with us and for you.

MIRRAJE MALONE

We introduce you to our third backup vocalist Christie “Mirraje” Malone and she sure was born to sing! She is the daughter of blues musician George “Bluestone” Malone and Bernadine Sims. Mirraje is a gifted singer with a natural stage presence; and has been singing since she was three and writing songs and poetry since the age of nine.

As Mirraje embarks on her solo career, she realizes how blessed she’s been, having had such a great opportunity to share the stage with some of music’s most iconic legends such as; Stevie Wonder, Cheryl Cooley of Klymaxx, Zapp, Morris Day and The Time, Cameo, Dj Quik, Salt and Pepper, and many more including the Legendary Krazie Bone of “Bone Thugs In Harmony” who agreed to be Co-Executive Producer of her Debut Album “#TheMirrajeProject” after he heard some of the incredible music that she was creating.

Mirraje truly has an electric love for ALL music and can find a song in everything that surrounds her. Because of that; she writes, sings & performs all types of music from R&B, Pop, Country, Hip Hop, Jazz, Funk and more. Mirraje’s musical influences consist of many great talents that came before her but she must admit that “Anita Baker” is her favorite. Mirraje is young with an old soul and when asked to define her music she simply responded with “Life is unpredictable and unique it can never be defined by genres or categories nor should our music. I just do what feels good.” TMT is so honored to have Mirraje perform with us and for all of you!!

Christian Burrola

We introduce you to our phenomenally talented keyboardist Christian Burrola. Christian was born into a musical family, his mom Doris sings, his brother David is a singer/songwriter and his dad John plays both saxophone and flute for TMT! At the age of 6 years old, he was inspired by the legendary Stevie Wonder and started piano lessons, at age 10 he picked up the guitar and at age 11 he started playing bass. Christian has mastered all his instruments and has a very natural ability to learn a song by just listening to the music, watch him onstage and you can see the musical wheels in his head turning!

Christian has played bass for Steve Salas of Tierra, Rick Stevens of Tower of Power, Joshua Aaron, Ellis Hall, and Richard Bean; also he’s played keyboards for Jojo of the Mary Jane Girls! His talents don’t end with playing instruments either, he’s done musical direction and composition and has been pivotal in the development of our TMT project.

In his spare time, you can find Christian in front of his computer creating magical anime. His talent and creativity simply know no bounds!

TMT is so honored to have Christian perform with us and for you all!

Phillip (Doc) Charles

We introduce you to the fantastically talented Phillip (Doc) Charles who will be gracing the stage shredding away on his guitar and hitting some amazing high notes! Phil, plays a multitude of instruments starting with the trumpet at age 8! His love for music blossomed and he continued to grow, learning to play piano, violin, clarinet, trombone, French horn, baritone, drums, and guitar.

Doc has played in a countless number of bands starting in the 6th grade and continuing through present day. Most notably was his time with the Busboys prior to their record deal in the late 1970’s.

Phil’s talents have been showcased on TV shows such as LA Law, The Arsenio Hall Show, and he did a track for the musical TV drama Cop Rock.

Phil’s love for the Lord has led him to share his God given talents as a guitarist for Intercity Christian Center in Los Angeles, he has played 2 concerts with gospel artist James Cleveland, 23 years guitarist for Covenant Blessing Fellowship Church in Wilmington CA, numerous gigs around SoCal with Jeff The Great, Diversity, and the Inland Empire’s Michael Henry.

The artists that have influenced Doc the most are: Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santa, Joe Pass, Freddie Stone, Prince, Paul Jackson Jr., George Benson, Larry Graham, Stevie Wonder, and John McLaughlin just to name a few!! We are sure there are many musicians that name Phil Charles as their inspiration too!

TMT is so honored to have Doc perform with us and for you all!

VANETA THOMPSON

We introduce you to the fabulous Vaneta Thompson! She is a talented singer and songwriter and is the soprano background vocalist for our own Teena Marie and Rick James!!

Vaneta started performing professionally at the tender age of 17 and has been working consistently for the last 44 years.

Her musical influences include Motown and Stax recording artists, including Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Chaka Khan & Rufus, Bread, The Jacksons, The Eagles, and many others. Vaneta has performed for many notable artists such as George Duke, Ndugu Chanselor, O’Brien, Ray Charles, Tracie Spencer, Chante Moore, Soul to Soul, Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave), Billy Preston, and Taj Mahal.

Mz. Vaneta gives all the glory of her success to the Good Lord above and has been a lifelong lover and follower of JESUS CHRIST. Wife of 38 years to the wise and talented Curtis Thompson, and proud mama of two gorgeous, talented daughters, Jenae and Briyahn. TMT is so honored to have Vaneta Thompson perform with us and for you all!!

CURTIS THOMPSON

We introduce you to another one of our background vocalists Curtis Thompson!

Curtis is singing tenor for TMT and has been performing since 1974, he also started playing bass that same year. He has been inspired by many amazing artists such as, Earth, Wind and Fire, Steely Dan, Parliament-Funkadelic, Joanie Mitchell, Bootsy Collin’s, and The Manhattan Transfer to name a few. Curtis has shared the stage with quite a few notable performers including Patti Austin, Tracie Spencer, Israel Houghton, and Bebe Winans. The highlight of his career was when he toured with Michael Jackson on his Dangerous World Tour!

Nowadays you can find Curtis on stage with his lovely wife Lady Vaneta in their musical duo Vancurt! You can locate them online at Vancurt.com. TMT is so honored to have Curtis Thompson perform with us and for you all!!

FRANK SALAZAR

We introduce you to our wildly talented percussionist Frank Salazar who was born and raised in Southern California; he excels at percussion and saxophone, and has been playing both professionally for 45 years! Frank has shared stages over his career with Fred Jenkins, Jim Macon (of the legendary Gap Band), and Ty Griffin (trumpet and keyboardist with Teena Marie). In the late 70’s, Frank was the lead sax player for Arabesque, formally known as Night Life Band, and in the early to mid 80’s he was lead sax player with Sangria Band. In the late 80’s Frank was co-leader of the band Brandy with vocalist Jeannette Jurado, who later went on to become a member of Expose. In the late 70’s he also shared the concert stage with El Chicano, Tower of Power, Tierra and many other artists at car show events. Frank has continuously played in the Music Ministry at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs for over 20 years, in both their worship bands and large touring stages with the Somebody Loves You Crusades with Pastor Raul Reis. During his tours with Pastor Reis, Frank shared the stage with Christian artists Jeremy Camp, Terry Clark, and Latin Christian artist Judy, with Latin Christian artist Robito of Sony Records, as well as many other Christian artists. Having a unique gift of a good musical ear, Frank continues to receive calls to sit in with many other groups as a lead sax player or as a percussionist. His true passion is playing Gospel, Jazz and R&B music! Frank loves bringing joy to everyone through his music! TMT is so honored to have Frank perform with us and for you all!

 

Meet the TMT Background Dancers!!

Simone Buchanan

Simone has been dancing for 3 years. In that short time she has been quite the busy lady, performing at many local SoCal city festivals and twice at Choreographer’s Carnival in Los Angeles. She teaches an open level heels class weekly at Destined to Dance in Anaheim and has taught at many other prominent dance studios in the OC, she has performed at numerous showcases, concerts and events. We are so grateful to have her grace our stage with her talents!

TMT is so honored to have Simone perform with us and for you all!!

Chrissy Ras

We introduce you to one of our background dancers! Dancer and choreographer, Chrissy Ras has been dancing professionally since beginning her career at Disneyland as a teenager, and most recently worked for the LA Sparks as an Old Skool Krew Dance Team Member. Hip Hop and Jazz Funk are her specialties.

Chrissy is a multifaceted and exceptionally talented performer! You can find her singing AND behind the drums leading her band Pulp Vixen, female fueled music. In her spare time, she teaches drums, piano, ukulele and vocals with her wife Rosie at CR Music School in Corona CA.

We are honored to have Chrissy perform with us and for you all!

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