The Official Website "CORE" - Southern California's Premier Jam Band

CORE HISTORY
In the beginning..... .....There were 4
Paul Colbert \| Steve Robbins \| Mark Wilkie \| Todd Leitz
Unplugged, acoustic, and able to fit in quaint venues.....armed with a couple of guitars, a few harmonicas, and their voices.....CORE began.
The story told by Steve Robbins..... "In the summer of 1995 the Elvis Club (a modified softball team), won the Showbiz league championship. Our captain at the time was KLOS DJ Bob Coburn and he was planning a party out at his house in Malibu. Knowing that Paul did voice over work I asked if he sang and would he like to learn a couple of songs that we would perform at the party. So we rehearsed at my condo and played out in the back yard for our team mates. Well, we knew that there were a bunch of successful musicians on the team, and it was a fun night. Two that we didn't know about was Todd who said he could sing and Mark Wilkie who played a little guitar. The winter passed and in the spring Wilkie said something to me about us getting together. So that was when the four of us started. We started out learning cover songs. Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Seal, Grateful Dead, Steely Dan, etc. But my goal was always to write songs, which we started shortly after. One of the earliest was Lonesome Track. Then I wrote Tough Kid, Echos Sound like Rain, No Feelings at All, and Fool's Gold. Todd & I wrote Release Me & Turn the Clock Back and years before Todd had written Poundin' Nails. It turned out that Mark also had a knack for writing songs, being the aspiring playwright that he is, most notable were "Worry About It in the Morning" and "So This is America". Soon we had 10-15 originals and were rehearsing as a four piece acoustic band. Todd singing and harmonica, Paul singing and playing bongos, Mark & I on guitar. We then started playing coffeehouse showcases around town. The Unurban Cafe in Santa Monica was a place that we played semi regular gigs. But the urge to go electric loomed over us and soon we were trying new instruments. Mark was playing bass, Paul was trying electronic drums, Steve electric guitar, and Johhny V sat in playing keyboards. Welcome Johnny V #5 into the group.....4 no more. It was decided to go full on electric and I started advertising for other musicians in Music Connection & Recycler.com. Soon Gary Johns, Simon Watkins(former bassist before Tom Atkins), and Armand Herrera (percussionist extroardinaire) joined us, and Mark decided that he was going to take a break. And thus CORE was formed, but we struggled with a band name for a long time. "
The story as it was through the eyes of Paul Colbert..... "I remember most of it as you do Steve R., but the beginning was more like this: We all met as softball buddies on the Rockers (Wednesday night team). After a few seasons (I think it was Fall '94), I announced I would be missing some games because a work friend and I decided to sing in an adult choir at Santa Monica College. When Steve R. heard this, he approached me with an idea. He had written parts of several songs, but couldn't finish them without hearing them being sung. He asked me if I would come over to his place a few times to help flesh them out. Our first session came around the beginning of '95. We warmed up by doing a few covers -- Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne," Seal's "Kiss From A Rose," Eric Clapton's "After Midnight" and others. Then we moved on to some of Steve's original tunes. By the time the Elvis club season started, Steve and I had held 4 or 5 sessions. By this time, Todd found out about the sessions, and added that he could sing and play harmonica. So he started joining us. Around mid-season, we found out that Mark Wilkie was also interested. It was a pleasant surprise to find out that he had several original songs written himself. Mark started jamming with us around July I think. The Elvis club was steamrolling through the showbiz league. By the time the playoffs came around, the as-yet unnamed group had fleshed out several cover songs and a few originals. We won the championship and Bob Coburn hosted a party at his house. We decided to do a brief set in the yard. The first song was "Kid Charlemagne," (with special guest guitarist Todd Schulze). The backyard gig went great. We were inspired to take our act on the road. We decided to call ourselves "Longball" at first, and played a few coffe houses."
Here's some history from T-man's point of view... Four guys who played softball together for several years realized they had something else in common after the 1995 season. They all had a talent for music and the desire to write, record and perform their original tunes. Steve Robbins, Paul Colbert, Mark Wilkie and Todd Leitz got together once a week at Steve's home for a jam session and rehearsal. It started modestly with cover-tunes and a few original ideas. But it wasn't long before the acoustic quartet was creating new material in collaboration and separately. Soon, they had a playlist of about two dozen songs ... most originals. Steve Robbins played guitar, wrote words and music. Mark Wilkie taught himself guitar and with a finely-tuned ear, individually composed a bunch of songs. Paul Colbert, also with a good ear for music, learned to play percussion and moved on to electronic drums, while singing backup and lead vocals. Todd Leitz played harmonica -- carrying many of the solos -- and was lead vocalist. They performed first at Steve's house for a post-season party for teammates and friends. Their first official gig came on June 26th, 1999 at the Unurban Coffee House in Santa Monica. They played three gigs there that summer, before moving on to other venues. They electrified. Players drifted in and out of the band for a few years, until 2001, when Gary Johns joined the band as lead guitarist ... and a new sound was born. They took the name CORE, and added Armand Herrera on percussion ... Tom Atkins on Bass ... and last but certainly not least, Steve Dempsey on Keyboards. The eight men of CORE were in place, and the group began performing around Los Angeles. CORE is still looking for the perfect venue for their large group and big sound. CORE's history is still being written as they work on new songs and branch out into more of a free-flow jam-band.
THE EARLY GIGS

Unurban Coffee House 080199	Paul's House Warming 010401

Paul's House Warming 010401 (L-R) Mark Wilkie, Gail Wilkie, Todd Leitz, Leo Esparza, Jess Esparza, Paul Colbert	Paul's House Warming 010401

Paul's House Warming 010401	Westwood Brewing Company 011802

Westwood Brewing Company 011802 Gail Wilkie and Mark Wilkie	Westwood Brewing Company 011802

Westwood Brewing Company 011802	Westwood Brewing Company 011802

Westwood Brewing Company 011802	Taix Lounge 010504

Sherman Oaks Lounge 090702 Gerard Quesada and Leo Esparza	Sherman Oaks Lounge 090702

Taix Lounge 041504	Taix Lounge 041504 Steve Dempsey in blue watches CORE prior to joining the band