Keyboardist and bandleader Rose Ann Dimalanta (RAD) shares her journey through funk, jazz, and touring with legends connected to Prince.

From Eric Leeds and Fred Wesley to global stages in Japan and Europe, this is a deep dive into musicianship, hustle, and groove.

In this episode of Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley, RAD discusses her live album Live in Japan, building a world-class band, and the realities of life as a working musician. She reflects on performing alongside Prince associates like Eric Leeds, the discipline and work ethic learned from that “school,” and what it takes to deliver powerful live performances night after night.

RAD also opens up about balancing motherhood with touring, the evolution of the music business, and the grind behind the glamour—where passion, persistence, and authenticity drive everything.

This episode is a must-listen for fans of Prince, funk, jazz, and real musician stories from the road.

Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley is a long-running interview series featuring legendary and emerging artists from funk, R&B, jazz, and beyond. With over 40 years in broadcasting, Joe Kelley brings firsthand insight and authentic conversations with the musicians who shaped the sound of generations—including many from Prince’s world and musical legacy.

What a great, great opener to an album.

And of course, that that helps me make my job a lot easier by having great musicians like that at israd.

And her latest record, it's a live record recorded out in Japan on various nights.

Live in Japan.

And she has a brief break from the road.

She's back here in the US in the Bay Area where she makes her home.

And we want to welcome again to the Upper Room with Joe Kelly and WVOF here in Fairfield, Connecticut.

How you doing, Rad?

Good, thank you.

Nice to be with you again, Joe.

Yeah.

So you got the brand new record.

And I gotta compliment you because I'm not a sound engineer at all, but, you know, as soon as I got this and put in my car, if I want to focus on your keys, the bass playing or the drums or Eric's saxophone, you could hear each instrument clearly through the whole song.

How does that happen?

Well, I'd love to take the credit for that, but my producer, who's also my husband, Michael Kirsch, who runs the label, he is an engineer as well by trade.

And I think anybody.

He knows what the Rad Band sounds like.

So he really made great efforts to really make it sound, you know, as exciting as it is live, because you probably.

You just said it.

You know, sometimes you send the live records, and often they're just taken straight off the board.

So you miss, you know, a lot of bottom, you miss presence, you miss bass, you miss things.

And, I mean, me being a keyboard player and being, you know, being the front person, if you will, you know, you miss the keyboard.

So it's all up there.

And I think he did a great job of actually.

He married kind of two mixes together, and so it captured a lot of the presence of the live room as well as what was coming out through the board, all the clean signals.

So, you know, I think he did a good job.

Yeah.

So live in Japan.

And you can go to Rad's website, radmusic.com and her MySpace page.

Rad keys.

Right?

That's right.

And how about choosing the.

The order of the songs off the record?

I know the lead off is make every second count.

It's very close to the.

To the set list and the sequence that we used on.

On the shows in Japan.

And so, I mean, again, we were trying to really capture kind of the vibe of what it's like when we come out on stage and kind of take people on our little musical journey.

And often it starts out just like on that record.

Very big, very kind of fast and in your face just to make sure everybody's awake and listening.

And then it kind of moves through a few moods, you know, and in the middle it kind of challenges people with a little bit more improvisation in music.

And then at the end, we kind of ride home with more funky.

Yeah.

You've got also cool picture on the album cover.

How'd you put that together?

Hair flying everywhere.

Actually, it's not flying.

I mean, the truth is I was laying down on the floor.

Oh, okay.

So I mean, it would have taken probably a few gallons of hairspray.

Right, right.

To have worked that one out to.

Get the shot like that.

Yeah.

It's funny that people do think that it's somehow jimmied, but it's actually.

It was quite an easy process.

Yeah.

Our special guest right now is Rad and her latest CD live in Japan.

She's got a whole catalog of CDs and you can go to radmusic.com and this is about the ninth solo CD release or so.

I think we're at seven.

Okay, seven.

Okay.

We'll hit nine at some point.

Yeah, exactly.

You've been on the road.

I mean, you know, Europe and Japan have shown you a lot of love out there.

And tell us about some of the journeys.

I know they can look on your website.

But some of the high points on the tour.

Well, you know, you're right.

We've been spending a lot of time touring like the last year and a half.

We've been.

We've done about six international tours, which includes this summer, a whole month of Europe and then several times in Japan now.

So what's been really great is to have, you know, the band really develop and the whole unit.

And we, we also had Fred Wesley as a guest twice this year.

Wow.

And we also added this summer Greg Boyer on trombone, who you might also know from being in the P funk horns.

And he's also on stage with Maceo Parker and of course also Princess, horn arranger at this time.

And of course the great Eric Leeds as well on board this summer.

I mean, a lot of times we play clubs, but this summer we had a lot of great festivals.

And I would say one of the highlights definitely Jazz Avien, which is in the lead area of France.

And it was a huge festival.

It's the biggest and oldest festival in France.

So it had oodles and oodles of vibe and about a crowd of close to 8,000 and it was actually a tribute night to James Brown, so it was quite an honor to be included on that bill.

And after, actually, after we played that show, Fred at Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis came on to do an African tribute and as well.

So it was a real magical night.

And then just the standard fare of doing some club gigs and some outdoor gigs.

And I guess, like I was saying, one of the.

Always the high points for me is the band is pushing real hard.

I'm pushing real hard, and there's a lot of chemistry.

So the more we kind of play together, the more we can put.

Put out that kind of energy.

And I think a lot of audiences have been tapping into us just really just being sincere about our playing and performances.

And, you know, no smoke and mirrors.

You know, we just really want to bring some funk home.

And we're gonna get into some funk right now.

And this.

Honestly, when I was driving first time I put the CD in, the goosebumps started going up on this song.

So, you know, I gotta play this one.

It's East Babe live in Japan.

It's also from the East Babe record, and Rad's with us.

You got time for some more, right?

Absolutely.

All right, this is Rad here on wvof.

And I gotta tell you, the first time I heard that, I never heard as cool a version of that of I Got you, I Feel Good from James Brown.

You really changed that up.

Rad.

Right?

Well, you know, we definitely tried to throw in some East Bay flavor.

Right, right.

So we've been happy that, you know, people still recognize it.

Yeah, yeah.

After you go right into it.

Yeah.

So.

So your.

Your background, I mean, you played with some of the great cats from Tower Power and Weather Report guys, too, and Escavitos and, you know, the Bay Area, what's going out there now, going on.

There now, music wise, I should know, right?

Living in the Bay Area.

But actually, you know, we've been keeping half a foot in Europe the last two years.

But I mean, I think as far as I know, that's a tough question.

You ask me, what's going on here?

I mean, in all honesty, I can't give you the true 411 with what's going on with the Bay Area music scene.

Only because I'm also a mother.

Right, right.

That also keeps me indoors and in at night.

I mean, when we're not on the road, then we're kind of at home.

Yeah.

But I do know this, that the Bay Area continues to be still a real melting potential for Musicians of all genres.

It's got a great Latin scene, it's got a great jazz scene, it's got great funk and jazz musicians and a whole lot of musicians who cross pollinate in all those different styles of music.

And what's really nice too is we have the addition of the Jazz School in Berkeley, which brings together a lot of all these musicians who've played in all these great bands like Santana's band and Tao Pharaoh and just all the great local favorites.

And they're teaching the younger generation also quite a bit of young blood happening in the Bay Area as well from, you know, let us see who's now blowing up.

Right, Right.

I saw her.

She was with Prince the other day.

Yep.

And a few other people who don't come to mind right away, but just like, you know, still some really good blood coming out of here.

Right.

And I need to correct you because I've never really played with anybody from Weather Reports.

Yeah, I knew that was kind of.

That's my fault.

I was kind of iffy on that one.

But the rest is in check.

So who knows?

Maybe.

Maybe down the road with people from Weather Report.

Yeah, you never know.

Still wait for that call from Wayne Shorter.

Right, Right.

Rad's with us and her website, she's got some great stuff up there.

The photo gallery is real cool because you see her on stage and you also see behind the stage, be off stage with the band on the road and seeing the different sites.

Yeah.

And also stuff that's been archived.

I mean, sometimes some of it I would like to forget how well dressed like 10, 15 years ago.

But it's all in there, you know, pictures from being on tour, being in the studio, being on the road.

You know, you've got a great band and you know, you touched on some of the people before.

But tell us who's the core of the band on the record.

Live in Japan, the rhythm section consists of Billy Johnson on drums, Mark Fnafakining on bass and Rayo Biedo on guitar.

Mark and Ray are staples in the Bay Area, but the two of them combined have played with Escavito, Sheila E. Mark plays with Tower of Power occasionally.

Ray has played in the earlier, one of the early incarnations of Headhunters and Herbie Hancock, as well as people like my idol George Duke and then Billy Johnson.

Most people would know him from having played many years with Mays and all those great tracks that, you know, that you can think of, that's him playing as well as doing a long stint for Santana as well.

And then the horn man on this album is Eric Leeds, who you probably know very well and also probably interviewed several times.

Eric played with Prince for 20 some odd years, and I always kind of feel like he's my sergeant there, up in the front, in the front line.

And he, to me, he is somebody who really has a great sense for marrying, having the depth of a jazz musician, but the showmanship and the grit of a funk musician.

And he's got the perfect balance, and it really complements what I do.

In fact, that whole core complements what I do.

And that's what you hear on this record a lot.

It's just kind of that chemistry and everybody kind of knowing if we go off on a tangent, we're going to fly off, but come back together and then also know when to keep it just groovy and funky.

This summer we did add a trombone player, like I mentioned earlier, Greg Boyer.

Yeah.

And that just sounded tremendously good.

I really have to say.

We're going to keep doing that as much as we can.

Really rounded out the band.

In fact, one of those days we'll have a massive horn section, hopefully.

Yeah, I remember I've had Greg Boyer on the form one time, a phone interview, and he did the interview like two hours after having his wisdom tooth taken out.

So it was kind of funny.

He's a trooper.

He's a great guy, and he's a great guy to have on the road.

And he's just full of great talent.

Great talent.

And of course, Fred Wesley can't get any better.

Let's not forget, he came on board as a special guest in Japan the second time we went and we had such a great time and a great report that when this summer, some dates came up and there was mention of maybe getting him on, I mean, he didn't hesitate and we certainly didn't jump.

We certainly jumped at the chance to get him back on board because he was in Europe anyway.

And we have a really good time with Fred.

Fred is like funk legend.

And it's always, to me, he'll joke and he'll say, oh, I'll catch up.

I'll learn all your music.

And then I'm always joking him that, you know, just his presence teaches all of us about, you know, how.

How to just be pretty much the coolest musician you can.

Yeah.

Rad's with us.

Her CD, Live in Japan.

We're on TV right here, channel 65.

So we got the CD point up to the camera so people can get a check out that rad music.com you have time for one more segment?

Yeah, absolutely.

Okay, so we're going to get into.

Actually I guess this was your first big hit, Wishy, right?

Yes.

Yeah.

So this went over on the map.

Yeah.

How far back does Wishy go?

That's what put us on, you know, put us on the map of a lot of dance floors all across.

You're still young.

You got a lot of CDs.

Oh no.

Absolutely.

So this is rad live in Japan and wish it will be right back here on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly in wvof.

Well, we don't have any more music off the cd.

If you bring by, that's the last track right there and.

But we have something better.

Rad Live on the Up Room in wvof.

Yeah, I am, yeah.

Want to say, actually I want to say hello to a few folks out there because got some.

When we put the press release that you were on the Show Emancipation Radio, DJ Tiki said hello and also prince.org and funkhome.com the funky girl Corinne.

So you got people out there always digging your music.

That's also much appreciated.

How about, you know, you come back and you mentioned going into family mode as a mom and everything.

How's that changed your life as a musician?

Having a child?

I think whereas before I might have been very driven, like probably stubbornly driven, I think now I'm a lot more relaxed, I think.

And I'll include myself and my husband.

I mean it seems like there's a lot online because every time you have to book and go out on tour, it's so much incredible amount of work and incredible amount of, you know, promotion and salesmanship and not really that much to do with music.

But we've kind of also, I think having a child has put us, given us a different perspective on, you know, how serious to take ourselves and including the music.

You know, it kind of for me, I always feel like it gives me all this life experience and in that way I can interject that into the music.

And I know for another thing, us having kids, it really balances out the kind of insanity of the music business.

So having a child has been incredibly positive.

That being said, it's like a whole other full time job.

So everything together, it's a lot, it's a lot of multitasking.

Right, Right.

So it's a cool comedown.

Right.

So.

So she's been on stage, she did her music.

She, she, you know, she's been with us, you know, obviously since the beginning, but she was in the studio when we were recording and doing all kinds of things.

But now she's really understood what it is we do and seen me on stage and, and, and says often, oh, I'd like to get on stage.

And this summer she did briefly get on stage with Fred Wesley and us.

And I mean, to me it's a joy.

There's always this question, especially as a mom, you kind of think, I'm gonna feel really guilty leaving my daughter, I'm going on the road.

But to me at this point, I really see it as a positive thing that she can actually see that we are realizing our goals or our dreams or our aspirations.

And she is, you know, you know, just as a, as a person, as a woman, a future woman is going to be able to see that, you know, and have an example that you can follow whatever it is that you, you think you should do.

So she'll be ready.

She's got the great upbringing from, from Michael.

Yeah, well, I mean, she might, she'll probably end up being like an accountant or something, which, you know, I'm not going to knock because she'll have better stable income.

Right, right.

But she's, you know, it's really great to have a child around actually.

Great thing.

Now, how about musicians?

I mean, you know, independent musicians, yourself, you guys around people all the time.

Touring is sometimes tougher.

You mentioned like that musicians have that kind of edgy fear, like what, what, you know, how's it going to be the next paycheck and stuff like that.

Oh, well, I mean, I think that that goes as lesson number one once you start entering the music profession, you know, especially in light of today, there's so much transition and change happening in the whole music business.

And so how people market themselves, how they sell themselves, how they make records and sell them, I mean, things are very different than even as little as say five years ago, you know, when there were structures and when you made records and they went to distributors and they went into stores.

You know, so much of that is gone.

And, but I mean this the age old joke.

Why did the musician want to play jazz?

Because he was, was in it for the money.

And you can say that across the board.

You know, it's a continuous hustle.

And I think the impression is a lot of people think that everybody who's a musician out there, well, if you're successful, then you've got all kinds of bling and you Know, just look at hip hop videos.

You think everybody was a trillionaire.

Right, right.

You know, and the truth is there's a lot of working musicians who really, you know, work really hard and run around town hauling their gear, looking for the next gig here and there that keep the roof above their heads.

So somewhere, some days you're living quite large, and some days you got to kind of ration everything else so you can survive it when there's not as much work.

And especially now in this kind of miserable economy we're in, entertainment is often the first luxury that people let go of.

So, I mean, that being said, you know, we try our best, we do our best, but it is the kind of occupation where you have to.

Well, you gotta.

You definitely have to look for your work, you know.

Right, right.

Just like radio, too.

No, absolutely.

There's a lot of jobs in that sector and creative jobs where you, you know, it's about the hustle.

But, you know, we.

We have faith that what we do contributes hopefully to more positive vibe out there and that, you know, somebody told me once, if you don't do it, somebody else will do it, so you might as well do it.

So, yeah, and you guys are doing it.

Rad and her band and of course her husband, producing, engineering live in Japan once again.

We'll get it up for the view.

For our TV watchers out there, you can go to rad music.com, really take some time and check out the site, the video and the gallery.

Yeah, I want to point out to people, for people who don't know the actor, have never seen me play or perform, if you would, you can go to the website, obviously, radmusic.com, but you can Google us or go to YouTube.

And if you type in Rad Music in one word, because if you type in Rad, you'll get all kinds of stuff, but Rad music.

And there's a pretty good collection now of what.

What we've been doing in the last few years, and some very good video.

So then they can check out what.

What it actually looks like.

Yeah, you guys are up there.

And that's how we.

We kept in contact on how to see what you were doing with the tour out there.

There's a little bit of what you were doing in Geneva.

Okay.

Yeah, we got it right there from YouTube.

So.

All right.

We got that playing in the background right now.

There you go.

Now, looking at the keyboards, I'm looking at your setup right there.

Yeah, two keyboards on stage.

Yes.

I mean, usually we also have A Fender rose to the side.

But since we kind of expanded the horn section, you know, just logistically it was harder to fit on stage.

Right.

So what keys do you use?

I'm using the Yamaha Motif series and it's.

What can I say?

I've used Yamaha a lot in my career.

So.

Yeah, I forgot which song on the live record, but you had this really funky.

It was like a high pitched playing on it.

It's probably a synth sound and it's produced by the Motif as well.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, that was real nice.

You know, I prefer that keyboard.

It's very user friendly.

And since I'm really not into fidgeting on stage, you know, with tons of racks and all kinds of technical stuff, I really set it up as easy as possible so that I can just switch from tune to tune and sound to sound.

And sounds are actually quite decent.

Yeah.

A lot of people ask me if I'm a musician.

I tell them I only know one song I could play on the piano.

When the Saints Go Marching In.

Well, that's a good.

I think I'm gonna have to learn from you one day.

Yeah.

So, Rad, I gotta thank you once again coming by the upper room in wp.

It's always a pleasure.

And you got.

You can call anytime and figure and find out what we're doing.

And, you know, we have a couple things coming up, but I'm gonna let you and your listeners know that, you know, all they have to do is check the website and, you know, we update it quite frequently so there'll always be some surprises of what's coming up and what's in store.

And pick up live in Japan.

It's a great record.

Originals from Rad through her illustrious career.

And also.

So she covers James Brown in her own way.

And also she covers a Madhouse groove which we're gonna go out with, which features Eric Leed on saxophone and Rad on keys and her great band.

Your vocals are great as well.

Not on this song, obviously, but throughout the record.

Thank you very much.

I've been working hard on that.

You know, I never really consider myself to be like this super singer, but I can sing my own.

Yeah, no, you sing great.

Great voice.

So give yourself more, more compliments than.

Yeah, all right, I'll take it.

I'll take it.

But you know, you and Eric have been through the.

The experience of working with Prince at different times and, you know, I'm sure you guys all have that kind of, hey, we've been there and work with some of the greats like Prince, he.

I will say that going through that quote unquote school, you really see somebody who puts everything into making his show happen.

And even if you have a different style, kind of ultimately, I would say we go more jazz.

But just the ethic of really presenting yourself and trying to make things exciting and, you know, pique people's interest and making it accessible to people.

I mean, that's definitely a strong point.

Strong work ethic there.

Yeah, this.

This is going to be a real treat for fans of Madhouse and Prince and Eric Leeds and Rad.

We're going to play 10.

Any feedback from Prince on this version?

You know what?

Maybe Eric knows.

You'll have to ask him.

So I don't know, but I think I would imagine he would approve of the version.

Oh, he'd like it.

You know, maybe step up his game for that, because you guys are smoking as a business band, so.

No comment.

No, no, I. I wasn't dissing him, but.

Okay.

I was just saying, you know, hey, it's.

It's a great version.

No, but I mean, you know, it's a testament to him also having chosen people who are competent and, you know, having big ears and, you know, so, you know, that's what it goes without saying.

So.

So this is live in Japan, Rad, with a song written by Prince, Eric Leeds and Levi Caesar Jr. 10 and.

Thank you, Brad.

Thank you so much.

Have a good one.