Bold As Love

Now on TheRoot.com: "Black Rock Rolls On"

Really thrilled to have helped TheRoot.com round out its Black Music Month coverage with an article on the state of black rock.  Thanks again to all who contributed responses and provided quotes.  Also, shout out to senior editor Teresa Wiltz who tapped me for the assignment and who also asked me to help them pull together a photo gallery of artists worth checking out.  Let me say immediately that no, it's not an exhaustive list.  And, yes, there are some folks who, in hindsight, I should've added.  But that's the problem when there are, literally, hundreds (seriously) of talented artists to choose from.

Anyway, here's the opening:

It's blazing down on the field at Central Park Summerstage. On this hot June day, there's partial shade in the bleachers, but those aren't at all close to the stage, and who really wants to be that far from the action?

The growing crowd gladly suffers through the heat. On this day, they're celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Black Rock Coalition, the progressive arts organization that was formed in 1985 by Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, journalist and cultural critic Greg Tate and artist/manager Konda Mason. Yes, folks are here to check out local rock favorites Pillow Theory, London-born, day-glo electro artist Ebony Bones, and innovative DJ and sound sculptor CX Kidtronik, but the main draw is the Black Rock Coalition's flagship band, Living Colour. It's a meeting of the trailblazers and the new jacks, all coming together under the flag of black rock. And it's all happening at a time when black rock is gaining momentum as a cultural force.

Check out the full article on TheRoot.com.

The photo gallery is here.

PHOTOS: URB Alt Fest 2010

Still recovering from all the music this past weekend.  I didn't see as much as I'd liked, but you know you can only do so much.  For example, I missed, both Oh My Goodness and MiLO.  And I'm bummed I missed Art Terry's set on Thursday night.  He's someone else I've been in touch with via the Internet, so it was good to finally meet him. Art also has an interesting story, much like Stew's which formed the basis for Passing Strange.  Originally from LA, he currently lives in London, where he does a cool Internet radio show is my man Yinka from Sabatta called Is Black Music?, which can be heard on ResonanceFM.com via this link.  It's on at 4PM PDT/7PM EDT/12midnight in the UK.

At Harlem School of the Arts, I came late and only caught Dearling Physique's performance.  This is a quartet out of Minneapolis, MN led by performance artist Domino (above).  He channels equal parts Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones and Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, all underscored by muscular beats and atmospheric effects.

At 92Y Tribeca, I did get to see Leila Adu perform with a full band.  That is, she had drums and bass.  This was a great experience, particularly having seen her do the solo thing last year.  Usually, when a singer-songwriter strips a song down to just voice and piano, it provides for more space around the song, and lets it breathe.  In Leila's case, she's dealing with such melodically dense concepts that the addition of the other instruments actually served to better ground me as a listener. Funny, but more instrumentation helped me hear the pieces as wholes. Sometimes when she goes solo piano, the piano threatens to take on a life of its own, so there's this piano thing happening and there's this vocal and lyric thing also happening.  The additional instruments help you experience her on a macro level.  And that's good, because what she's exploring is sonically compelling and adventurous.  Finally, it just may be the case that my ears are starting to hear the nuances in what Leila's doing.

Check out some shots from the URB Alt Fest:

Tonight on WRFB: Weeksville's Elissa Blount-Moorhead + singer Maya Azucena

Yeah, I know you've been hearing a lot about Weeksville Heritage Center and its upcoming Garden Party series.  After all, Boldaslove.us is a media partner for the series.  So, tonight, we're going to kick things off right and talk with Elissa Blount-Moorhead, Weeksville's director of design, programming and exhibitions (above, top), who will talk about the Garden Party series and how it fits into Weeksville's ongoing vision as a community and historical space.  I'll have Elissa on at 930pm EDT.

Prior to that, you can tune in for the 8pm hour and you'll hear Christian's live, in-studio interview with the fabulous and talented Maya Azucena.

As ever, the Tuesday night WRFB broadcast schedule looks a little somethin' like this:

• 7-8pm  YankeeZulu's Time Machine
• 8-9pm  The Flying Perfect Parlor with Christian John Wikane
• 9-10pm Boldaslove.us/Sounds from the New Black Imagination
• 10-11pm Shelley Nicole and her themed shows

Click here to listen

Additional link:

• All WRFB posts

Q&A with Cody ChesnuTT

 

In advance of his performance this Saturday at Weeksville Heritage Center, I had a short back and forth with Cody.  Here are the questions along with his responses:

Q: So, it’s been 4 years since you last performed in NYC and about that much time since your last album.  What’s been the best thing that’s come out of taking that much time between albums?

Fatherhood, a clear head and content that I consider to be deeply meaningful.

Q: How has your music changed/evolved in that time?

The music is more mature...it's more spirit driven than some of my previous work.

This body of work vibrates closer to my musical roots.  I wouldn't say that the approach is any different, because my objective is to always capture a moment that I can lean on and draw from.  I'm just applying the same approach to a different phase in my life.

In terms of my attitude toward the process, I've learned to trust what the song is making me feel,  and to really pay attention to the conversation that's taking place within the composition.  Any aspects easier? It's easier to be patient and less distracted...which in turn allows a concept to present itself and it's purpose/function.

Q:  How is Cody ChesnuTT different as a person today than you were four years ago?

How am I different?  A bit more gray hair...more confident in my role as an Artist .. less selfish..more faithful.

Q: Who’s the one person you’d like to perform with that you haven’t yet? 

Sister Lauryn Hill.

UPCOMING: Cody ChesnuTT at Weeksville--July 3

Weeksville's Garden Party series kicks off this weekend with Cody ChesnuTT.  You may recall that I mentioned earlier that this will be Cody's first NYC performance with a full band in 4 years, so definitely check him out.

The track below, "Come Back Like Spring" is from his forthcoming album Landing on a Hundred, which will be out this fall.

INFO

Weeksville Garden Party

Saturday, July 3 featuring Cody ChesnuTT

1698 Bergen Street
 (between Buffalo Avenue and Rochester Avenue)


Brooklyn, NY 11213

Music at 6pm

Films by filmmakers from Brooklyn and beyond at 8pm or sundown

FREE!

Additional link:

• Cody ChesnuTT

UPCOMING: Tamar-Kali's album release party--July 16

Really excited to be co-promoting this event with Ubiquita Worldwide. Tamar-Kali's new album Black Bottom will be released on Tuesday, July 13 and it. Is. Straight. Fire. 

Now, are you from Missouri? Then grab the stream and hear for yourself.  Then, mark your calendars for Friday, July 16 at Littlefield. $20 gets you into the show AND a copy of the album.  Plus, The Cool and Deadly will get us open with their signature punk rock and reggae sounds.  And, if that ain't enought, there'll be a special performance by Brown Girls Burlesque.  Remember them?

Tamar-kali Record Release Party

Friday, July 16 @ Littlefield

622 Degraw bet 3rd/4th Avenues

Brooklyn 11217

Additional link:

• Hear "Pearl" from the album Black Bottom
• Official Tamar-kali site
• Stream the album now and become a believer

PHOTOS: Afro-punk 2010

Gathering my thoughts for a full recap of Afro-punk 2010.  However, in the meantime, check out some of the pics from the two days at Commodore Barry Park. 

LISTENING POST: The Commodores -- "Nightshift 2010" (tribute to Michael Jackson)

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the untimely death of Michael Jackson.  It's definitely a time of reflection on the man, his music and his legacy.  And there's be a lot of talk as folks remember where they were when they found out that Michael had passed.  Here's one such story.

The Commodores were performing at Wembley Arena in London on June 25, 2009.  They learned of Michael's death as they walked off the stage. The following night, lead singer JD Nicholas substituted the word "Michael" for "Jackie" in their performance of their Grammy Award winning song “Nightshift” – that one change brought the audience to their feet. That's where the idea started to re-write the song as a tribute to Michael.
 
The Commodores and Dennis Lambert (one of the original writers along with Commodores member Walter Orange and Franne Golde) have re-written the lyrics to "Nightshift" and re-recorded it with new lyrics honoring many of the great artists who have passed on, including Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops, Luther Vandross, Sam Cooke and Teddy Pendergrass, to name a few.

Take a listen. 

LISTENING POST: Galaxy of Tar -- "When the Hour Glass Has Run Out"

 

Galaxy of Tar: Elias Diaz (l) and Naima Mora

One band ends and another forms in its place. Those of you who copped the Boldaslove.us compilation may remember the band Chewing Pics.  That group broke up, but two of its members, Elias Diaz and Naima Mora started a new project, Galaxy of Tar. 

In many ways, it continues the sonic journey they started with Chewing Pics, only now the sound has become more focused.  There was always something there, that indefinable "it" quality about their music. Now, they've taken the next step in their maturation and come with a project that reins in some of the rough edges of the earlier project while still reveling in Diaz's polyrhythms and Mora's fierce, siren wails.

In general, it's hard to do ballads well, but this one is a keeper.  It's taken from their recently released EP, Pneuma, which you can get here.

If you like what you hear, you can check them out at this year's Afro-punk Festival on Sunday, June 27.

Enjoy!

Additional link:

• Galaxy of Tar official site

UPCOMING: Weeksville Garden Party--Saturdays in July

Really thrilled to be the media partner for the Weeksville Heritage Center's Garden Party, a food, film and music festival that will run every Saturday in July.  It's already been called "the best outdoor bash of the summer" by the NY Daily News. Now in case you're not familiar, Weeksville Heritage Center documents and preserves the history of the free and intentional 19th century African American community of Weeksville. The historic Hunterfly Road Houses (three historic houses dating from 1840 - 1880s) are original domestic structures of the historic community. 

In addition to great food, they'll offer a platform for some deserving artists on the rise, starting with Cody ChesnuTT (above) in his first NYC performance with a full band in 4 years (July 3).  Other performers include:

• Valerie June & Kameron Corvet (July 10)
• Kimberly'Nichole & Shabazz Palaces (July 17)
• Blitz the Ambassador and the Embassy Ensemble (July 24)

Films shown as part of Weeksville's Small Medium Large Film series will include Secondhand Pepe (2007, 24 minutes) on July 3, along with others TBD.

I'll be profiling all of the musicians in upcoming posts.  In the meantime, mark your calendars.  These are some great shows and all for a $5 suggested donation at the door FREE!

Consider Volunteering

Finally, if this sounds cool to you, consider volunteering.  They'll need volunteers for all four performances from 10am – 9pm. Shifts are 10am – 2pm, 2pm – 7pm and 5pm – 9pm. Set up 10am - 4pm, Gates open @4pm, Music begins @6pm and Films begin @8pm or sundown. 

Volunteers will be provided with water. Volunteers will receive a voucher for a free Weeksville tour. Food will be available for purchase from a variety of vendors. They ask for a minimum 4-5 hour commitment.

If you can help out, please contact Erin McMonagle -- erin@weeksvillesociety.org or 718-756-5250 x312.

Additional link:

• Weeksville's Garden Party info