KC and the Sunshine Band Bassist due in Court Today

April 30th, 2010. By AbiK

Yeah—I’m your Boogie Man, alright.

This is the type of story—from a writing standpoint—that has entirely too many “it was there and I went for it” moments. Too many easy-to-take shots. But let me preface this by saying I absolutely do not take the charges against Richard Finch, co-founder of rainbow & bell-bottom lovin’ KC & the Sunshine Band, lightly; the guy’s charged with sixteen counts of sexual contact or involvement with male minors—including ten counts of sexual imposition, and three counts of compelling prostitution involving minors.

Finch is to appear in court today for a pretrial hearing—meanwhile, he’s been sitting in jail. And, of course, his legal team reminds us that “…these are just allegations and that Mr. Finch is presumed innocent.”

Be that as it may, according to a report on cnn.com, Finch disclosed in an interview with detectives that he “did in fact have sexual contact with the juvenile, along with multiple other male teenage juveniles as well ranging in ages from 13 to 17.”

So here’s what makes this one fodder-a-go-go for any writer…

KC & the Sunshine Band’s songs. In true just-make-sure-it-doesn’t-come-back-to-bite-you fashion, we’ve got, “That’s the Way (uh-huh, uh-huh) I Like It”…yes, we can imagine how he (allegedly!) likes it. Then we’ve got “Get Down Tonight”. Hmm. “Shake, Shake, Shake” your booty and “Keep it Comin’ Love”? One last one: “Blow Your Whistle”. The charges against Finch give new meaning to doing the hustle. See, I just can’t help myself.

But it gets better. Finch apparently lives in Newark, OH. Ok, whoopdedoo. It’s in Licking County. You can’t make this stuff up. (and, I say this will all due respect to the residents of Licking County).

Next up. RichardFinch.com. Yes, he has a website. I imagine there were just throngs of groupies who had the site bookmarked prior to Finch’s latest moment in the sunshine. We learn here that “Mr. Finch has been in the process of rebuilding his life and career as an Arranger/Producer many years now…” Read on and you’ll find what appears to be some kind of attempt at validation that just tries too hard. But the part that really gets a writer’s fingertips tapping the keyboard is the headline, “Richard Finch Defense Fund”.

Nice Touch: the “Donate” button with the MasterCard, VISA, AMEX and Discover logos under it. I clicked the button and got a white, blank screen with the words “Fatal Failure” in non-web-friendly serif type. Perhaps there’s some significance there?

As I could go on and on, I’ll close with this one. There was an interview of Finch done by blogger Loni Reeder back on Nov. 23, 2007. On the one hand, it provides a nice glimpse of the contributions Finch has made over the years to the music industry—and let’s face it, it probably wasn’t always easy to be standing in the shadow (hmm, irony given he was part of the “sunshine”) of Harry Wayne Casey—aka “KC”. But I leave you with two quotes from the interview, both by Finch…

Quote 1…

Many people thought that when the Disco years ended that great, fun music also stopped. To be honest – the music did stop for me for a good number of years and for various reasons, which of course will all come out in complete detail as you and I write my autobiography*, but with emotional and spiritual clarity and stability comes a rebirth of spirit – and in so many ways, the music industry is reborn for me now. I know I have a lot to give to so many new artists coming up the ranks. I was given a unique gift and it’s important to pass on the knowledge and nurture up-and-coming talent.

It’s that little foreshadowing bit about “will all come out in complete detail…”

Quote 2, the closer…

Yes… Keep It Real… AND… look after the needs of others… ALWAYS!

Note the emphasis on “AND” as it precedes looking after others. Just some things that make you go, “hmm”.

We’ll have to see how this one plays out.

Tags: KC and the Sunshine Band, Richard Finch, Sex with Minors, Sexual Misconduct

This was posted on Friday, April 30th, 2010 at 8:26 am and is filed under Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.