Personnel: Rachion, lead vocals; Richard Stober, bass; Pat Panknin, keyboards; Rob Koppensteiner, drums; Greg Kosinski, guitar; Mitchell Goldman, trumpet; Henry Kosinski, tenor and baritone saxophone; Frank Abbate, alto and tenor saxophone.
Formed: The Kosinski brothers started the band about two years ago with Stober and Stump the Host singer/guitarist Steve Dawson.
Current lineup together since: September, when Rachion, a gospel circuit veteran, replaced Dawson, who left to commit full time to Stump the Host.
Sound: The band specializes in recharging old soul songs-particularly the Memphis-based tracks of the 1960s. ”Our cover material is not at all like the originals,” Greg Kosinski says. ”I`d say we definitely have a Chicago type of grit. I think it`s got a little more edge to it than some of the Memphis things, but our influences are definitely there.”
Influences: Kosinski cites Tower of Power`s tight horn section, Stax/
Atlantic performers such as Sam & Dave and Aretha Franklin, and James Brown.
Songwriting: The band is working more originals into its mix. Greg Kosinski, Stober and Rachion tend to collaborate on the songs and work them out with the band. ”The original stuff we write is, I think, a little more contemporary than some of the material we cover,” Kosinski says.
Onstage cover versions: ”It`s been a very conscious effort to pick obscure covers,” Kosinski says. ”There`s no way we`d ever do `Sweet Home Chicago.”` The band usually opens with James Brown`s ”Dr. Feelgood,” and Kosinski particularly enjoys Delbert McClinton`s ”Givin` It Up for Your Love.”
Memorable concert experience: Kosinski recalls one show with about 20 people in the audience where ”nothing worked right. The monitors were phasing in and out, the system was shutting down and turning itself back on. There was so much feedback that we couldn`t sing, so we did the last hour just with instrumentals. And this guy in the audience called Fingers was trying to get up and sing every fifth song.”
Cinematic parallel: Over the summer the band suddenly found itself being compared to ”The Commitments.” ”It was irritating because we were doing it for over a year before the movie came out,” Kosinski says. ”We were more than happy to have people relate us to something that was very popular, but we wanted to make sure we weren`t labeled as being on a bandwagon.”
Namesake: ”Steve (Dawson) and I came up with it,” Kosinski says. ”I think it`s basically from those wax lips candies, and the `lips` are also because of the horn section. If the horn guys aren`t hitting the right notes, it`s slang to say, `Do you have wax lips?` ”
Recordings: The band has a three-song demo tape that includes versions of Sonny & Cher`s ”I Got You Babe,” Sam & Dave`s ”You Got Me Hummin` ” and the much-covered ”Eeny Weeny Bit.” Wax Lips plans to record a tape of originals at Windy City Recorders within a couple months.
Philosophy: ”The music that we do, we know where it came from, we appreciate it, and we`re trying to take it a step ahead,” Kosinski says.
Goals: ”Hopefully we`ll be picked up by an independent record label,”
Kosinski says. ”We just want to continue doing the type of music we`re doing and hope people will get on the bandwagon with us rather than us having to fit ourselves into someone`s A&R marketing plan.”
Next appearance: Saturday at the Playhouse in Forest Park.
