'Players' gonna play

A taste of Chicago is coming to McMinnville Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m.

The Players, a band led by Keith Howland and Jeff Coffey – former members of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Chicago – will appear at the Park Theater Friday. Howland, Chicago's longest tenured guitarist, played with the band for 27 years while Coffey served as the band's bassist and tenor vocalist since replacing Jason Scheff in 2016.

The duo has assembled an all-star band featuring Rob Arthur, who played with Peter Frampton, on keys and vocals and Ed Toth from The Doobie Brothers on drums. Also featuring a three-piece horn section, The Players have been amazing audiences across the country with their musicianship. Featuring actual members of Chicago, The Players are far from a typical tribute band and will bring the hits of Chicago as well as songs from the members' other bands to the Park stage.

Howland and Coffey appeared on WBMC's Town Talk with Raven and Rob Wednesday morning to talk about their upcoming McMinnville appearance.

"Jeff and I are the bosses now," Howland said with a laugh when asked the difference between playing with The Players and Chicago. "It's great, because we've got our buddies with us in the band ... A lot of people don't know this, but Rob played with Chicago for a summer. So, there are three of us who actually played with Chicago. Plus, we get to cherry pick songs from bands we love and have worked with like Earth, Wind & Fire and REO Speedwagon. And of course, we do The Doobie Brothers and Peter Frampton. It's a blast. We're just having a good time playing music. Jeff and I have always clicked musically since the moment he stepped into Chicago. It's fun."

The Park Theater stop is part of a tour which will see The Players play a variety of venues across the nation, including Oregon, New York, Kentucky, Florida and Wisconsin.

"I love playing old theaters because they always sound really good," Coffey said of the group's anticipation of making its first trip to McMinnville's historic theater. "Some of the neat parts of old theaters are the backstage areas with really small rooms and spiral staircases. It's a cool vibe in old theaters."

The seeds of inspiration for what would become The Players were planted during the duo's days in Chicago, and Howland and Coffey are pleased with how that initial idea has grown.

"When Keith and I were in Chicago, we actually wrote some songs together and always said, 'If we're ever not in this band, let's put a band together,' and that's exactly what we did," Coffey said.

"We've got a great band chemistry," Howland added. "We've messed around with the lineup a little the last couple of years. Now we've got the core four guys. If we're not playing music, we're laughing. That's the great thing about band chemistry. If you all get along, the music is better. Everybody is a world-class player. You can work with a world-class player, and if they're not a nice human, it's not much fun. But we've got a good bunch of guys and we're having a blast. And the music we're doing is incredible. Everything from Earth, Wind and Fire to REO to Toto, these are all songs we love playing, so it's fun."

The Players' appearance is another highlight in a packed schedule for the local theater, and one Park Theater Manager Joe Harvey is looking forward to.

"The Players will be a great show for anyone who loves great musicianship," Harvey said. "On top of that, they will be playing huge hits from their collective past with a full horn line."

Tickets for The Players start at $25 plus tax and are available at the Park Theater website, the box office at 115 W. Main St. during business hours and at the door before the show.