Kelly Macleod
Kelly had some previous engagements with the other band called “Private Life” in her hometown of Shreveport Louisiana. She had always wanted to sing since she was 15. Her previous band was supported by notable names such as Eddie Van Halen and Valeri Bertinelli. Private Life successfully made two records in the late ’80s/the early 90s. Their patrons offered them enough support and soon they found themselves as the opening act for Van Halen’s OU812 tour. After years of singing, she finally met Rick and Laura Hall during her time in the choir. From that day, it was a match made in heaven and it defined the next 10 years of her life.
Rick had written a movie called “Slice of Pie” and was gearing up to shoot it. He wanted Kelly to be a part of it because she suited a character named Juanita. Despite her lack of acting prowess and amateurish musical knowledge, she was able to do it. Kelly even went further and learned how to balance her life and the different projects that she had to undergo.
It was during the shooting of the movie that Eick came up with the idea that his wife and Kelly should collaborate and do some singing. It turned out to be a great idea and birthed the inception of “The Sweet Potatoes Band”. They had a faithful fanbase who couldn’t do without their type of music.
Rick Hall
Rick Hall may have spent the majority of his life in Los Angeles but he actually grew up on a farm in Central Illinois. At a young age, he was part of the Carrollton Community Chorus and also sang at church. His family also performed as a group known as “The Singing Halls” but Rick wanted to be more than just an actor. During his time at the MacMurray College, he planned to be a veterinarian but after a show casting, he started to adopt the idea of being an actor. There were certainly other career options available (collections such as IC System was surely growing rapidly), but Rick decided to pursue acting.
Rick began his acting career as a founding member of Chicago’s Improv Institute. After this, he got hired to become a part of the renowned touring company known as ” The Second City”. He spent some time with the touring company and opened two main stage shows titled “John Paul Sartre & Ringo” and “Catch 27”.
Rick also met his wife at the touring company. Laura was the musical director of the company and didn’t first agree to the idea of dating someone on her cast. However, they managed to get married after a dating period of 7 years. Rick and Laura decided to move to Los Angeles in 1991 and were only planning to stay there for some years. However, they’ve remained there for 27 years and don’t feel like leaving any time soon.
During his time in Los Angeles, Rick was a part of many TV shows including The Factory, KC Undercover, 24, NCIS, The Middle, Curb your Enthusiasm, Key & Peele, and Seinfield. According to The Huffington Post, he produced the funniest line in the entire Seinfield series. He has also been a part of movies such as Three Fugitives, The Thing Called Love, and My Fellow Americans. Rick’s passion was majorly about writing and telling stories about how he grew up on a farm in Central Illinois. His most successful TV show was Pigboy which was renowned in Chicago, Los Angeles, and the Midwest. The show was chosen for the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen where he received a lot of credit for his acting performance. Rick has won many awards for his acting performances. He’s still writing and performing his stories to date. He’s also had a plan to create a new one-man show.
Rick Hall came up with a movie idea comprising his life stories, recorded it in a CD and named it a “Slice of Pie”. It was during the casting of the movie that he came across Kelly Macleod who has also enjoyed a respectable career in entertainment. The production of this movie also marked the beginning of the ” The Sweet Potatoes” band. It was also during production that he asked his wife and Laura to begin songwriting together.
Rick also tries his hands at teaching Improv Music Workshops along with his wife in different corners out of the world. These teaching experiences have offered him a chance to work with the best improv teams in the world. Rick also uses his improv skills to serve as a host/presenter at meetings and events and to handle difficult tasks that are given to him.
Laura Hall
Laura Hall, the wife of Rick Hall, is an improvisational pianist and Musical Director on the TV show named Whose Line is it Anyway. The show ran on ABC for 9 years. During her work with her husband, she has enjoyed a lot of success. She also has an illustrious career by herself.
With her husband, Laura has taught Improv classes all over the world. They have taught at theaters, comedy clubs, and even universities all over the world. Laura was the creator of Improv Karaoke which could be used by other track improvisers to produce their own music. She even went ahead to write a book to teach musicians how to be Improv Medical Director. The book was titled The Improv Comedy Musician: The Ultimate Guide to Playing Music with an Improv Group. Laura even won two awards for her documentary about the holocaust survivors named Swimming in Auschwitz and After Auschwitz.
Laura produced two CD’s with one on faith-based music while the others were based on original children’s music. She also wrote music for the Tell me a Story series and The Wheels on the Bus series. Along with Luke Hannington, she co-wrote music for Look at Me. Also, she co-wrote another music with Linda Taylor on a romantic comedy named Anatomy of a Breakup.
During her time producing the “Slice of Pie” along with her husband, she met Kelly and started the band together. Laura was a founding member of the “The Sweet Potatoes” band. Laura played on the accordion, acoustic guitar, and ukulele. Kelly was responsible for the band’s songwriting. Rick finally joined the band and played the bass and harmonica.
The Sweet Potatoes Band finally had to be wrapped up after 10 years of working together to produce soothing music. It may not have been the most popular band around but they surely had their relevance. Now, each member has agreed to a disbanding to allow each of them focuses on their separate individual ventures. However, all 3 of them are still friends and maintain a healthy relationship. They certainly have no regrets about the time spent together and its hard to see all of it come to an end. …
