Bill Fulton on keys or piano with Accent

Bill Fulton live with Accent at Cheers put Fulton behind the keyboards with the Los Angeles-area group Accent at Cheers, the former Simi Valley nightspot at 1308 E. Los Angeles Ave. The band lineup listed for the engagement included Ronnie Crumbly on saxophone, Scott Mundy on drums, Adam Cohen on bass and Curtis Traylor on vocals.

The personnel list gives the old engagement more character than a simple venue entry. Crumbly supplied the horn voice, while Mundy and Cohen formed the drum-and-bass foundation. Traylor fronted the band vocally, with Fulton filling out the arrangements from the keyboard. It was the kind of compact lineup that could cover a wide range of material without requiring a large stage or expanded horn section.

Accent at Cheers in Simi Valley

Cheers itself is gone. The address is now occupied by The Hat, whose Simi Valley location lists the same 1308 E. Los Angeles Ave. address. The change from nightclub to pastrami restaurant makes the old performance an especially vivid piece of local entertainment history: the building site remains familiar, while the stage and club identity belong to an earlier era.

The old listing also carries a reminder that club histories can end abruptly. Fulton’s original note links to newspaper coverage concerning the circumstances surrounding Cheers’ demise. For this page, the more immediate story is the band that worked there: Accent with a named five-piece lineup, playing a Simi Valley room whose address is still recognizable even though the venue name has vanished.

Bill Fulton with Accent

Fulton was active as a professional pianist and keyboardist during this period while also developing the arranging and composing work that became another major part of his career. His All About Jazz profile notes that he relocated to Los Angeles in 1987 and continued playing live engagements while studying at the Dick Grove School of Music. More of his performing history appears in his keyboardist and pianist credits, with related writing work collected in his arranging, composition and orchestration credits. Current professional information is available on the music services page.

Artist: Accent
Date/Time: December 17, 1987 12:00 am
Venue: Cheers - CLOSED
Address: 1308 E Los Angeles Ave Simi Valley, CA 93065