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Fairfield Downtown Association

High energy--Special Request to get the booty moving at Tomato Festival

By Andrea Garcia

FAIRFIELD - Playing the funk with an R&B stroke gives singer Reynard Thomas the musical freedom he longs.

Thomas, a tenured artist who was inspired to sing as a child by listening to his mother's soprano abilities, knew his dream was of being in the music business.

By the age of 16, he was singing professionally around the Oakland area in clubs where changing behind sheets in lieu of a dressing room was commonplace.

He joined a five-man vocal group, streamlined his voice and continued to sing the rhythm and blues sound for years, including a performance for Michael Jackson in 1985.

"A friend of mine sent him a demo and he asked if I would sing for him at a Halloween party," he said of the occasion. "Even though I sang for 200 people and they didn't care who I was, it was great to perform for him."

But it was nine years ago, when he helped formed the R&B group Special Request, that he set the groove in motion and got the audience jumping.

"Our shows are so high energy that we don't have time to take a break in between sets," said the 45-year-old, who needs about a week to recover from his intense performances. "It's nonstop music. They hire us for an hour-and-45-minutes and that's exactly what they get." Special Request, an R&B group that covers music from love songs to ecology, is no stranger in the music business. Already on their third CD, the group, which consists of three musicians on the CD but seven on-stage, has already succeeded with their previous two releases - "For the Wine" and "I Know a Secret."

"Our second album, 'I Know a Secret,' has already been in five different Indie movies and has made it into a few TV shows," said Thomas, who moved to Fairfield from the Bay Area six years ago. Those shows include "Soul Food," "Platinum," and "Queer as Folk."

The group's success also led them to open for Ray Charles, The Whispers, The Manhattan Transfer and Lyle Lovett.

And now they'll add the 14th Annual Tomato Festival to their list of venues, where the crowd can expect to hear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, the singer said, because Special Request is doing it all.

"We'll play everything from the Commodores to R. Kelly to Usher, the Temptations and Heat Wave," said Thomas, whose influences include Luther Vandross and Marvin Gaye.

Special Request will be performing on Saturday in downtown Fairfield beginning at 11 a.m. on the Bonanza Stage.

Other enticing bands to get the hips moving include Stark Rhythm Maniacs; Silver Spur; Papa Joe & the Bouncers; Julio Bravo; Salsa Capital; Pamela Rose; and Bautista.

For more information on Special Request, visit their Web site at www.specialrequest.biz.

Reach Andrea Garcia at 427-6935 or agarcia@dailyrepublic.net.