Lakeport >> The glitz and glamor of the Hollywood music scene was enough to lure in Larry Stewart and Kathy Wolfs Stewart, but it wasn’t enough to keep them.
Stewart Wolfs, as the married duo is known today, each had individual success in the music industry before leaving behind rock and roll. The couple performs at the Old World Tavern this Friday at 7 p.m.
Stewart’s career started off strong after he left college, moved to Vegas and played with Jerry Lee Lewis for a short while. After, he joined a band and traveled across the Midwest, performing with the Doobie Brothers and BB King. Making his way to Chicago, he joined the group MS Funk. It was his favorite endeavor. When that group disbanded, two of the members continued on to take part in well-known rock groups. Tommy Shaw joined Styx while “Fergie” became the lead singer of Toto. Stewart Wolfs worked with Toto later on in their career.
In 1980, Stewart scored a record deal and signed to Colombia Records for a time with the band Airborne. It wasn’t long after that he decided Hollywood wasn’t the right fit for him.
Wolfs Stewart had a similar experience. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, she began singing with a band, Orisha, in her early 20s. For a time, they had a record deal with Bang Records. From there, the band moved to Los Angelas and headed out on tour across the country. When visiting Colorado, Wolfs Stewart fell in love with Denver, and settled there to work in a recording studio. Then Hollywood called her back.
It was upon returning to Southern California that she worked with some well-known names. She was a back up singer for Frankie Valli of Jersey Boys and Jerry Corbetta of Surgarloaf. She also crafted lyrics with the drummer from Kingsman and Lester Chambers of the Chamber Brothers.
Like Stewart, Wolfs Stewart decided Hollywood wasn’t the place for her, and she headed back to Colorado.
As it turned out, Denver had a different musical fate in store for the musicians. The two met in 1980 and began playing together in a band called Stewart. Before long, they were married and left the band. They formed their duo and decided to call themselves Stewart Wolfs, a combination of their last names.
Then, in 1984, the couple parted ways with rock and roll. Stewart Wolfs were performing in a hostel lounge when some pastors came for dinner. They heard the couple and asked if they would play at a church. From then on, the musicians dedicated their playing to Christian music.
“We gave our lives to the Lord,” Wolfs Stewart said.
The duo took to the road to tour their new music and open for some Christian artists. They spent a good deal of time performing at churches, rescue missions and prisons. Stewart Wolfs greatly enjoyed their visits to the prisons. “Back in the mid-80s we were doing juvenile institutions because we just wanted to play so we’d play anywhere,” Wolfs Stewart explained. “Then that led to doing prisons, which were just really great. They were so appreciative. We just brought the gospel through music to prisons.”
In 2010, the couple took a break from the music scene all together. They’re only recently diving back in and getting back to their roots. “We love the classic rock music,” said Wolfs Stewart. “We love doing songs that people love hearing and singing along to.”
Living in Oklahoma, the couple played any gig they could score, eventually earning a regular spot at a restaurant for a year and a half. But there weren’t too many opportunities for a big music career in their town, so they set their sights on California. “We live in a very small town, there’s not a lot there,” Wolfs Stewart said. “We came out here looking to see if we could open some doors out here.”
Stewart Wolfs now only play shows in Oklahoma and California. “We’re trying to get back into it as full time as we can,” said Wolfs Stewart. “Just in the last couple years we’ve gone back to our roots of classic rock. Of course back in the day it wasn’t classic, it was current.”
Now, the duo plays a little bit of everything, from Santana to the Doobie Brothers to Fleetwood Mac. Stewart is a singer and a multi-instrumentalist, playing the guitar, keyboard, saxophone and flute. And while Wolfs Stewart has always sung, her husband helped expanded her abilities, teaching her to play the bass guitar.
Stewart Wolfs recorded 10 albums of mostly original music in the ministry, but today they like to stick to the classics. Their sets consist of mostly rock and blues covers with a little bit of jazz and a few originals thrown into the mix.
While covers make up the bulk of their performances, Stewart Wolfs recently recorded a CD of original blues music, with three covers by Etta James, the Eagles and the Zombies.
The duo have such a huge repertoire that they never run out of material. They performed at the Twin Pine Casino in Middletown this past weekend for the Wine Adventure and didn’t once repeat a number. The duo played for seven hours both Saturday and Sunday.
Because they have so much material to work with, Wolfs Stewart said the audience won’t get to hear all their music Friday night. “We don’t have time to do everything because we’ve only got three sets,” she said.
It’s for this reason that the couple hopes to find themselves a house gig, somewhere they can play their music regularly and make it through everything they’ve got. “You wouldn’t hear us do the same songs every night,” Wolfs Stewart said.
Those who head out to the show tomorrow night are sure to hear a number of their most-loved tunes. “Hopefully people enjoy hearing their old favorite songs,” Wolfs Stewart said. “People just really seem to enjoy hearing the songs from their past, the classics.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
