Amy Winehouse had a special way of captivating her audience with songs like “Rehab,” “Back in Black,” “You Know I’m No Good,” “Valerie,” and “Me and Mr. Jones.” “Mississ Jones,” a tribute to Amy Winehouse created by drummer Chuck Orozco, attempts to give listeners a similar experience.
The group will perform at Harvelle’s Santa Monica on Friday, June 21. The band has been together in its current lineup, with Alana Nabors as lead singer, for about five years. Missus Jones started in November 2012 and over the years about five singers have taken over Amy Winehouse’s part.
The band has 10 members, but plays in different formations. At Harvelle’s they bring a seven-person ensemble.
The group performs about once or twice a month in various venues including casinos, clubs, outdoor, and private venues. They had the opportunity to open for Jefferson Starship in Ontario, California.
With the band, Orozco wants to keep the music and the memory of Winehouse alive. The drummer is a long-time fan of Winehouse, especially her second album “Back to Black” from 2006.
“I love the music. It’s just timeless and classic,” Orozco said. “She had a retro and vintage feel…I think her voice was just incredible and she was a real jazz soul singer…It was really the music and the instrumentation with the music. I love horns and the different organ sounds…Mark Ronson’s production was really cool, just a vintage sound…Amy’s story is tragic and sad, but it’s also a story of struggle. We all struggle…She was a real rock star, the iconic nature of who she was as a human being. That’s special. She wasn’t just an average musician.”
In interpreting Winehouse’s music, the group tries to stay true to the original versions, with the exception of some slightly different arrangements. Orozco said Nabors was important in capturing the essence of Winehouse’s sound.
“Amy’s voice is almost perfect, even in her intonation,” said Orozco. “She has put a lot of effort into the songs and the music. The tone of her voice, the way she sings and the feeling behind it – she does a great job.”
Orozco said that when he was looking for a new singer about five years ago, he focused more on vocal quality than whether the artist looked like Winehouse.
“If you can sing Amy, you’re a rare breed,” he said. “Not everyone can sing that kind of music… In my opinion, she doesn’t have to look exactly like her, because our pop singer doesn’t look exactly like her, but she comes out in a costume. She does her best to look like her and channel that energy. But the most important thing to me is the voice.”
Raised in a family of singers and multi-instrumentalists, Nabors developed a passion for music through singing in church and performing in choir and musical theater. Her influences include Pink Floyd, Alicia Keys and Led Zeppelin.
Before she started Missus Jones, Nabors wasn’t a big Winehouse fan. She only listened occasionally and knew her hits. A guy she was dating at the time suggested she audition for the group. She’s no longer with him, but they’re still friends and continue to perform together in the band. Nabors said her voice has a similar sensual and raspy quality to Winehouse’s, which made the music a good fit. To prepare, she did a lot of research on the legendary singer.
“I watched so many YouTube videos of her performances to learn her mannerisms… She had a way of singing things on the recordings, but every time she did it live she did it differently,” Nabors said. “I watched so many different versions of the songs. I also watched the documentary that came out to learn more about her.”
On stage, she tries to move in a similar way to Winehouse, which is different from how she usually moves on stage.
“She didn’t really move much on stage,” Nabors said. “She always stayed really close to the microphone. Sometimes she didn’t even move her feet. She just moved her body back and forth. I definitely try to emulate that.”
Nabors has short blonde hair. To look more like Winehouse, she wears a beehive wig decorated with umbrellas and flowers. She sometimes wears bandanas. She also wears clothes that are a mix of vintage and modern, similar to Winehouse.
“I wear a lot of ’50s meets posh London looks,” she said. “I have a polo dress… I literally go shopping and then I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m just looking for Amy things.'”
In addition to performing well-known Winehouse songs, Nabors also gets the opportunity to sing lesser-known songs like “Wake Up Alone.” She said she sees a mix of fans, from those who know Winehouse’s hits to diehard listeners who know all of her music.
“Sometimes I look out into the audience and am always surprised when I sing a completely obscure or little-known song and several people sing the entire lyrics with me,” Nabors said.
Nabors said that performing with the group gave her a deeper appreciation for Winehouse.
“She was incredible,” she said. “Her lyrics were out of this world. In all her music, she was the most genuine, authentic person.”
