Band’s R & B Tribute Marks Evolution of Sound

When I first listened to the Radio Kings’ CD “Live at B.B. King’s,” I was sure that these guys were not just playing 1950s/’60s-style R & B music, but were also making a concerted effort to capture the sound and essence of records from that period.

These guys were cookin’, but they really sounded like a band out of a time capsule. I figured that must be something they’d planned. Lead guitarist Michael Dinallo told me I didn’t know what I was talking about. He and singer Brian Templeton didn’t plan anything. “That record is a good representation of the evolution of Brian and I playing together over five years,” Dinallo said. “There was not a whole lot of thought behind it. We never sat down and predetermined anything; it just evolved over time.”

The Boston-based band mixes in some originals with covers such as Little Milton’s “I’m Tryin’,” James Brown’s “Chonnie-on-Chon,” Guitar Slim’s “Something to Remember You By,” and Robert Johnson’s “When You Got a Good Friend.”

As the album title implies, the band recorded it live last year at B.B. King’s--not the one here in Universal City, the original one on Beale Street in Memphis. This Friday, however, the Radio Kings will make their first-ever appearance at the local B.B. King’s. The band has performed at the top blues clubs in the U.S. and has been featured twice on CBS Radio’s House of Blues’ broadcasts. Additionally, they’ve performed many times in Europe, including a gig at the Peer Rhythm & Blues Festival in Belgium.

Templeton and Dinallo met back in 1989 when both were auditioning for a band. Neither one got the gig, but they struck up an acquaintance that became the nexus of the Radio Kings in 1991. After several personnel changes over the years, the band’s current lineup includes bassist Michael O’Connell and drummer Chuck Shula, besides Templeton and Dinallo.

The band spends about six months every year on the road, which translates to about 200 dates, but this is the band’s first road trip to Los Angeles. Dinallo and Templeton are already not planning their next album, which will include more original tunes.

“We’re pushing. I don’t know what direction we’re pushing,” Dinallo said. “But everything we listen to and everything we’ve done is coming together in this next record. We don’t want to record the same record twice.”

* The Radio Kings play Friday night at B.B. King’s, Universal CityWalk. $12 cover. Call (818) 622-5464.

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Blue Moon: This Friday, singer Zola Moon brings her brand of “postmodern blues” to the Studio City Bar & Grill. Moon has been around several years now and has performed extensively throughout the L.A. area. Her CD, “Lost in the Blues,” has been released in both the U.S. and Europe.

If you’re like me and don’t know what postmodern blues is exactly, you might want to check out the show and find out.

* Zola Moon sings “postmodern blues” at 9:45 p.m. Friday at the Studio City Bar & Grill, 11002 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Call (818) 763-7912.