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The Versatile, Divergent, and World Class
Musical Talents of
SCOTT FROST
By A. J Hoffman
"Learn more songs to please a larger crowd," is the best advice Scott Frost ever got about the art of live performance. And given the breadth of material showcased in his distinctly divergent performances, the advice seems to ring clear in Frost's live show, which can be seen every Friday and Saturday night starting at 8:30 pm in Players Lounge at the Bay Valley Resort.
Frost is an eclectic 'Las Vegas' style
performer whom manages to escape cliché's often associated with the
idiom, largely due to the fact that Frost is an incredibly astute
pianist with a wide range of singing skills and voice impersonations,
allowing him to 'channel' such famous artists as Neil Diamond, Ray
Charles, Louie Armstrong, and Johnny Cash into his show.
Moreover, in order to appeal to a wide
latitude of audience, Scott mixes plenty of musical variety into each of
his performances, ranging from jazz, blues, oldies, rock 'n roll,
country & western, R&B classics, and reggae.
And lest any member of an audience not
find appeal in this wide litany of talent, Scott is also armed with a
broad list of his own original songs, in addition to being able to flip
into Deejay mode by hosting rollicking dance sets guaranteed to bring
people to the dance floor.
Scott has fun, and so does the audience when he plays. In fact, his whole show is designed to suit whatever the crowd pleases from him. "If they want more dance music and they want me to be a DJ, then that's the role I take on for the night. It's all up to the audience and what they're up for."
There happened to be a wedding reception
at the resort, on the same night of his August 12th
Friday night show. As a result, he had to delay his show until 9 pm,
instead of 8:30 pm. Once he finally made a quiet entrance into the
lounge area and approached his piano bar (which was specially designed
for him, courtesy of the hotel) he began singing a cover of "Your
Song" by Elton John.
Upon realizing that this wasn't getting
the reaction he had hoped for from the upbeat party crowd, Scott
transformed into DJ mode, and suddenly girls from all over the hotel
flocked to the dance floor next to Scott's piano bar to party with the
piano man.
Most of the folks from the wedding
reception, including the bride and groom, even ditched their own party
to come over and continue their fun with Scott in the lounge.
Consequently, on this particular evening, Scott was locked into DJ mode
for most of the night, and only sang a handful of songs himself, but he
knew how to keep the crowd lively and entertained.
"That's my job - to entertain people and
make them have fun," explained Scott during a break. "I usually say,
'Hey, what would you guys like to hear from me tonight?' and if they
shout back, 'some rock and roll!' then I know I've got to play some
Bob Segar and some Jerry Lee Lewis and stuff like that.
Tonight, they really wanted to get up on the dance floor and just have a
good time, so I became a DJ, and I'm fine with that!"
Bob Seger actually isn't too far
off from his repertoire; in fact, his brother currently plays keyboards
for Seger and Scott actually helped co-write "Tight Rope," on
Seger's highly successful "Like a Rock" album. Frost has also opened
for and played with numerous legendary rock acts such as Alice
Cooper, Ted Nugent, Edgar Winter, the MC5 and Iggy Pop.
With Dick Wagner moving away to
Arizona, Frost is quickly becoming the new name to watch out for among
the more mature music-goers in the area.
The fact that Bay Valley landed Scott is an important move in itself, insofar as Scott has entertained crowds world wide, touring Asia, Europe, Scandinavia, and throughout America for the past 25 years.
Adult contemporary is a scene which used
to be pretty much non-existent in the tri-city area. Now, with Scott
Frost on the map with a contract for the next three months at Bay
Valley, the adults now know where to go to have a good time and hear
some of the tunes they recognize.
"We've had some good sized crowds attend
performances here at Players Lounge," reflects Scott, "and I
think as the word and buzz builds, I'm going to continue playing here
for as long as I can."
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