S

heldon Kay’s late uncle, 
Hal Gordon, was the TV 
bandleader when Soupy 
Sales had an evening adult 
show produced locally. Gordon 
took note of his nephew’s early 
interest in music and advised 
him to become a lawyer. 
The rationale expressed 
for this advice was that being 
an attorney offered steady 
employment and playing guitar 
did not. 
As Kay was growing up 
in Southfield, he took guitar 
lessons and continued playing 
with a diversity of bands, but 
he also took up lawyering and 
now does both — full time as a 
lawyer and freelance as a guitar 
player, bandleader and band 
administrator. 
Kay’s current group of five, 

The Alternatives, rehearses in 
his Farmington Hills home 
once a week, periodically 
appears at the B1 Tavern in 
Keego Harbor as well as other 
clubs and remains available for 
private parties.
The five, together for 10 
years, include Marcus Allen, 
who plays guitar, sings and 
restores pianos; Wayne Baraks, 
who plays bass, sings, was a 
member of Rare Earth and will 
be touring with that group; 
Jeanne Whartson, a saxophone 
and flute player, singer and 
teacher; and Mike Plouffe, a 
saxophone player and singer as 
well as mechanic.
Drummers change, and the 
one appearing could be Scott 
Martin, Jimmy Kochans or Jim 
Pryor. 

“In the band, we have cool 
songs, and everybody gets 
along like a family,” Kay said. 
“People have heard some of 
what we play but may not 
know the name. That’s how 
we came to call the group The 
Alternatives.
“We have a web spot on 
ReverbNation, and that’s 
exciting. After playing all these 
years, it’s so much fun listening 
to the sounds over the web and 
picking up on all the things we 
missed when we first started 
playing. It’s like reading a book 
and then looking more closely 
by rereading that book. That’s a 
lot of fun for me.”
Birthday and high school 
reunion parties are among the 
events The Alternatives have 
helped celebrate, and they also 

have entertained at outdoor 
festivals. They’ve done one 
wedding with an earlier band 
iteration and are hoping to be 
at more now that pandemic 
isolation has ended.
“Some of our members have 
had fun on their own playing 
for people at Hechtman 
Apartments, Meer Apartments 
and the Jewish Community 
Center,” Kay explained. “They 
enjoy performing and meeting 
the people who listen to them.”
The Alternatives don’t 
play hip-hop and rap, but 
they do play rock and roll. 
They perform standards 
from the 1950s, 1960s and 
1970s, which they rate 
as appropriate for high 
school reunions and hope 
to connect with the people 

The Alternatives are a great band for reunions, 
weddings and other parties.
Let the Music Play

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF SHELDON KAY

Sheldon Kay, 
Marcus Allen, 
Wayne Baraks 
and Mike Plouffe

56 | APRIL 27 • 2023 

