I am so proud to say that I am a part of a wonderful kids music project by a fabulous singer/songwriter named Shira a.k.a. ShirLaLa. She just released a sneak peak of one of the songs from the forthcoming album. The tack is called "Earth Worm Disco" and I'm on the track as Mother Earth. So take a moment and check it out. Have fun and "shake it, with all your might!"
Earth Worm Disco!
For more on Shira check out www.rockinoutgreen.com
You can also find Shira on facebook at:
Shira on Facebook
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
BAM Café. Either you were there or you missed it!
BAM Café is one of those shows that I know about a year in advance, but I still feel like I’m running up into it. I can’t speak for all artists, but when I book shows at venues like BAM I want to do new songs or some clever covers that no one would expect. Seems like that would be easy enough, but those long lead-time shows always sneak up on me.
I managed to squeeze out one new song, but I know for many people in the café much of the music was new because they hadn’t seen me in a long time or ever before.
Leading up to the show I really wanted to write something new, but songwriting for me is not an exact science or really a science at all. It’s often all spirit. So I have to wait for spirit to move. I keep writing while I’m waiting for spirit to move, but as songwriters we are sometimes just writing knowing full well that what we are writing at that moment will not see the stage anytime soon or ever. There is a thing that happens when you know it’s right. I’ll break down the new songs in context of the show.
I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to have programs for the show. I didn’t want them to tell exactly what I was going to play, but to reflect the different movements of the show. When I finally got that together it was the day of the show. At that point I knew my programs were going to be very simple, but it was really just a reference for the people. It read as follows:
The Band
Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe
The Work
Womyn’s
The Set
The Blues
The Funk
The SolaRoc
The Players
Shelley Nicole
Jerome Jordan
Ganessa James
Shawn Banks
Matsu
Achuziam Maha
Kiki Hawkins
Jeff Jeudy
V. Jeffery Smith
Dexter Taylor
The day of the show was gorgeous! It was about 75 degrees. The spring energy was wizzing around. I left the house and went to make copies of the program in Park Slope. I had great timing because the bus was coming up the street as I walked out of the house.
I got to the stationary shop, which was giving me Tea Party flashbacks because we used to copy all of our flyers there before it because dirt cheap to make nice 4 color flyers at Overnight Prints and the like.
After waiting for my programs I left the shop and headed back to the bus. On my way I walked by a clothing and accessories shop that was having a moving sale. I was stopped dead in my tracks by a cape on a mannequin outside the store. It was gorgeous! It was hand painted with stars on the front by the buttons, two dancing women on the back and a killer hood. When I see things like that I often wonder what past era I lived in because that cape harkened back to a lost time. Well I guess I am a witch after all and any good witch worth her salt needs a hot cape!
I looked at the cape and then looked at the price and knew I couldn’t do it. But as I was walking away I saw the moving sale sign. So then I had to go in and see how much it really cost. I’m not going to tell you the price, but I am going to tell you that it was 75% off! What?! Now you all knew you can’t walk away from something that’s 75% off that is calling you from jump. Then I started doing the calculations in my head. You know how it is. You start thinking about your bank accounts and how you can move things around so nothing bounces or around this time of year we start thinking about when that income tax check is coming in. You know what I’m saying. Lol. I paced in the store for a while, tried on the cape, put it back on the mannequin, walked around a bit more, talked to the saleswomen, told her about my show that night and she sold me, but I was ready. Also there was another woman eyeing my cape and I couldn’t let her walk out with it. LOL! So I went back outside, took the cape of the mannequin, bagged it up and took it home. I rarely do that kind of stuff for myself. It’s a one of a kind piece so I’m very happy about it.
I got lucky with the bus again. It was coming right as I approached the stop. I headed home and finished getting ready for the evening. I called Gaetano earlier in the day and asked if he could meet me at BAM at 7:00pm instead of 7:30pm. He was cool with that. I don’t live far from BAM so at about 6:15pm or 6:20pm headed over.
When I get off the train at Lafayette Avenue, I exited the station and headed down the street to BAM. I was feeling good. There were a lot of people out front. Seems there was a show at the Opera House as well with Sonic Youth, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and Merce Cunningham @ 90 (dance company). I made my way upstairs to the café and met Paul who, with his crew, was doing sound for the evening. Paul informed me that my friend Mabili had left flowers for Achuziam and me. That was nice. Soon Gaetano and Scott arrived and we were ready to start putting my face on.
Little by little band members started to arrive. I think Dexter was first and told me he had never been to the café. That was wild since he’s lived in Brooklyn as long as I’ve known him, which is a long time. Paul, the soundman, told me that we might get a short sound check when the Opera House let out for intermission, but we had to make it really quick. So that’s what we did. It turned out to be a little sneak peak of the show and many of the people who were at the Opera House decided to come back to my show after theirs let out. That was cool.
After sound check I went back upstairs to finish getting myself together. We ended up starting the set late because the Opera House show didn’t get out until about 9:30pm or 9:35pm. So as soon as it was over we jumped right in.
I started the set with an a cappella prison song called “Black Woman.” I have to thank Chaney Sims for that. She is a singer and friend of mine who sings the blues. One night I heard her sing a song called “Go Down Hannah” and it blew me away. Right at that moment I knew that’s how I wanted to open the set. Not with that song, but with something that was quiet and powerful. So with my shaker in my hand, no shoes on my feet, I opened the show with a vocal libation. As soon as that ended Jeff started right in with a new song called “Out of My Mind.” I put my shoes on, took off my jacket and the rest of the show was on.
I had written “Out of My Mind” or so I thought sometime last year. I visited it for a hot second when Jeff and I were working out another new song called “I am American.” As the date of the BAM show was approaching I revisited it again. We tried it at one rehearsal, but it felt like it was missing some glue as Ganessa put it. So I want back to the drawing board, rewrote some of the lyrics, sent out the rehearsal recording to the band and asked for feedback. When we got back to rehearsal the next week Jerome came back with musical examples of Massive Attack, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Kendricks and we used their inspiration to create some glue for the song. I love that!
Next I called up Dexter (guitar), Jeff (guitar), Jerome (guitar) and V. Jeffery (horn) to do another blues joint that’s kind of new to the people called “Gut Bucket.” When you have 90 minutes to play it gives you an opportunity to open up and showcase people. So I gave all the guys a solo on that song. It was really fantastic and fun. From there we stayed in the Bayou with an up tempo blues version of “Long Train Running” by the Doobie Brothers. I have to say that’s one of my favorites.
We soon left the swap and hit the folks with a cover of “I’m a Woman (I’m a Backbone) by Rufus feat. Chaka Khan and went into what is now becoming a blaKbüshe classic “blaK Girls.” We got sexy with “Give it to Me” and then brought things to the political side of the show with “Can’t Blame a Tree.” Jerome did a killer solo on that song! Wow! Then we moved straight from “Can’t Blame a Tree” into “Box,” but not before Matsu did a crazy drum solo. Again all I can say is wow! During “Box” I was playing bass and I noticed that people were looking up at the ceiling. I didn’t know what was going on so I looked up and saw that the sculptures of bodies hanging from the ceiling were bouncing from the vibration of the bass and it looked like they were dancing. Wild! Then we moved along to the next newest song, “I am American.”
This is one of those songs that only the chorus was floating in my head for some time, and it just floated and floated. Then Barack Obama won the presidency and it all came rushing through. I tell you people, it’s all spirit. So at the show I pulled out my picture of President Obama with PROGRESS on the bottom of it because we made progress last week with him lifting the ban on travel to Cuba. It’s about time! He also visited Trinidad last week. Now when was that last time a U.S. President visited Trinidad? I just love that guy!
We closed the show with “Go Head & Rise,” which included Jerome jumping on the speaker while playing. It was dy-no-mite! We got a standing O. I kind of feel like that part was a blur because when I came off stage Tom said, you’re getting a standing O! I looked back, but I was in a daze. Jeff and I came back and did a two-song encore with “Blackbird” by the Beatles and then the down tempo, grimy version of “Long Train Running” so the whole crew joined in.
It was a beautiful night. I could see that the room was packed, but I later found out that the room was to capacity and there was a line downstairs. Some people couldn’t get into the show, which on one hand is great, but on the other hand really sucks because I would have loved for everyone who was downstairs to be let up.
I think the quote of the night goes to a new friend who came to the show and had never seen me perform before. When we first met I was very unassuming. I am usually like that so it’s sometimes a shocker to people when they see the show. So after everything was over she came over and said “Bitch, you didn’t tell me you were a star!” She was dead serious, and I was cracking up! I supposed I should think of myself that way all the time. Not a diva, but a Star.
I had a lot of friends old and new in the house. I almost did the Romper Room magic mirror shout out to folks, but then I realized that that was going to date me big time! HA! So I opted out of that. But I have to give a special shout to Rob Fields who I later found out was twittering parts of the show while he was there. Thanks Rob. That’s how I can stay off of Twitter and still be on it and in the loop at the same time. *wink*
Till the next show...Be good to yourself.
I managed to squeeze out one new song, but I know for many people in the café much of the music was new because they hadn’t seen me in a long time or ever before.
Leading up to the show I really wanted to write something new, but songwriting for me is not an exact science or really a science at all. It’s often all spirit. So I have to wait for spirit to move. I keep writing while I’m waiting for spirit to move, but as songwriters we are sometimes just writing knowing full well that what we are writing at that moment will not see the stage anytime soon or ever. There is a thing that happens when you know it’s right. I’ll break down the new songs in context of the show.
I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to have programs for the show. I didn’t want them to tell exactly what I was going to play, but to reflect the different movements of the show. When I finally got that together it was the day of the show. At that point I knew my programs were going to be very simple, but it was really just a reference for the people. It read as follows:
Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe
The Work
Womyn’s
The Set
The Blues
The Funk
The SolaRoc
The Players
Shelley Nicole
Jerome Jordan
Ganessa James
Shawn Banks
Matsu
Achuziam Maha
Kiki Hawkins
Jeff Jeudy
V. Jeffery Smith
Dexter Taylor
The day of the show was gorgeous! It was about 75 degrees. The spring energy was wizzing around. I left the house and went to make copies of the program in Park Slope. I had great timing because the bus was coming up the street as I walked out of the house.
I got to the stationary shop, which was giving me Tea Party flashbacks because we used to copy all of our flyers there before it because dirt cheap to make nice 4 color flyers at Overnight Prints and the like.
After waiting for my programs I left the shop and headed back to the bus. On my way I walked by a clothing and accessories shop that was having a moving sale. I was stopped dead in my tracks by a cape on a mannequin outside the store. It was gorgeous! It was hand painted with stars on the front by the buttons, two dancing women on the back and a killer hood. When I see things like that I often wonder what past era I lived in because that cape harkened back to a lost time. Well I guess I am a witch after all and any good witch worth her salt needs a hot cape!
I looked at the cape and then looked at the price and knew I couldn’t do it. But as I was walking away I saw the moving sale sign. So then I had to go in and see how much it really cost. I’m not going to tell you the price, but I am going to tell you that it was 75% off! What?! Now you all knew you can’t walk away from something that’s 75% off that is calling you from jump. Then I started doing the calculations in my head. You know how it is. You start thinking about your bank accounts and how you can move things around so nothing bounces or around this time of year we start thinking about when that income tax check is coming in. You know what I’m saying. Lol. I paced in the store for a while, tried on the cape, put it back on the mannequin, walked around a bit more, talked to the saleswomen, told her about my show that night and she sold me, but I was ready. Also there was another woman eyeing my cape and I couldn’t let her walk out with it. LOL! So I went back outside, took the cape of the mannequin, bagged it up and took it home. I rarely do that kind of stuff for myself. It’s a one of a kind piece so I’m very happy about it.
I got lucky with the bus again. It was coming right as I approached the stop. I headed home and finished getting ready for the evening. I called Gaetano earlier in the day and asked if he could meet me at BAM at 7:00pm instead of 7:30pm. He was cool with that. I don’t live far from BAM so at about 6:15pm or 6:20pm headed over.
When I get off the train at Lafayette Avenue, I exited the station and headed down the street to BAM. I was feeling good. There were a lot of people out front. Seems there was a show at the Opera House as well with Sonic Youth, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and Merce Cunningham @ 90 (dance company). I made my way upstairs to the café and met Paul who, with his crew, was doing sound for the evening. Paul informed me that my friend Mabili had left flowers for Achuziam and me. That was nice. Soon Gaetano and Scott arrived and we were ready to start putting my face on.
Little by little band members started to arrive. I think Dexter was first and told me he had never been to the café. That was wild since he’s lived in Brooklyn as long as I’ve known him, which is a long time. Paul, the soundman, told me that we might get a short sound check when the Opera House let out for intermission, but we had to make it really quick. So that’s what we did. It turned out to be a little sneak peak of the show and many of the people who were at the Opera House decided to come back to my show after theirs let out. That was cool.
After sound check I went back upstairs to finish getting myself together. We ended up starting the set late because the Opera House show didn’t get out until about 9:30pm or 9:35pm. So as soon as it was over we jumped right in.
I started the set with an a cappella prison song called “Black Woman.” I have to thank Chaney Sims for that. She is a singer and friend of mine who sings the blues. One night I heard her sing a song called “Go Down Hannah” and it blew me away. Right at that moment I knew that’s how I wanted to open the set. Not with that song, but with something that was quiet and powerful. So with my shaker in my hand, no shoes on my feet, I opened the show with a vocal libation. As soon as that ended Jeff started right in with a new song called “Out of My Mind.” I put my shoes on, took off my jacket and the rest of the show was on.
I had written “Out of My Mind” or so I thought sometime last year. I visited it for a hot second when Jeff and I were working out another new song called “I am American.” As the date of the BAM show was approaching I revisited it again. We tried it at one rehearsal, but it felt like it was missing some glue as Ganessa put it. So I want back to the drawing board, rewrote some of the lyrics, sent out the rehearsal recording to the band and asked for feedback. When we got back to rehearsal the next week Jerome came back with musical examples of Massive Attack, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Kendricks and we used their inspiration to create some glue for the song. I love that!
Next I called up Dexter (guitar), Jeff (guitar), Jerome (guitar) and V. Jeffery (horn) to do another blues joint that’s kind of new to the people called “Gut Bucket.” When you have 90 minutes to play it gives you an opportunity to open up and showcase people. So I gave all the guys a solo on that song. It was really fantastic and fun. From there we stayed in the Bayou with an up tempo blues version of “Long Train Running” by the Doobie Brothers. I have to say that’s one of my favorites.
We soon left the swap and hit the folks with a cover of “I’m a Woman (I’m a Backbone) by Rufus feat. Chaka Khan and went into what is now becoming a blaKbüshe classic “blaK Girls.” We got sexy with “Give it to Me” and then brought things to the political side of the show with “Can’t Blame a Tree.” Jerome did a killer solo on that song! Wow! Then we moved straight from “Can’t Blame a Tree” into “Box,” but not before Matsu did a crazy drum solo. Again all I can say is wow! During “Box” I was playing bass and I noticed that people were looking up at the ceiling. I didn’t know what was going on so I looked up and saw that the sculptures of bodies hanging from the ceiling were bouncing from the vibration of the bass and it looked like they were dancing. Wild! Then we moved along to the next newest song, “I am American.”
This is one of those songs that only the chorus was floating in my head for some time, and it just floated and floated. Then Barack Obama won the presidency and it all came rushing through. I tell you people, it’s all spirit. So at the show I pulled out my picture of President Obama with PROGRESS on the bottom of it because we made progress last week with him lifting the ban on travel to Cuba. It’s about time! He also visited Trinidad last week. Now when was that last time a U.S. President visited Trinidad? I just love that guy!
We closed the show with “Go Head & Rise,” which included Jerome jumping on the speaker while playing. It was dy-no-mite! We got a standing O. I kind of feel like that part was a blur because when I came off stage Tom said, you’re getting a standing O! I looked back, but I was in a daze. Jeff and I came back and did a two-song encore with “Blackbird” by the Beatles and then the down tempo, grimy version of “Long Train Running” so the whole crew joined in.
It was a beautiful night. I could see that the room was packed, but I later found out that the room was to capacity and there was a line downstairs. Some people couldn’t get into the show, which on one hand is great, but on the other hand really sucks because I would have loved for everyone who was downstairs to be let up.
I think the quote of the night goes to a new friend who came to the show and had never seen me perform before. When we first met I was very unassuming. I am usually like that so it’s sometimes a shocker to people when they see the show. So after everything was over she came over and said “Bitch, you didn’t tell me you were a star!” She was dead serious, and I was cracking up! I supposed I should think of myself that way all the time. Not a diva, but a Star.
I had a lot of friends old and new in the house. I almost did the Romper Room magic mirror shout out to folks, but then I realized that that was going to date me big time! HA! So I opted out of that. But I have to give a special shout to Rob Fields who I later found out was twittering parts of the show while he was there. Thanks Rob. That’s how I can stay off of Twitter and still be on it and in the loop at the same time. *wink*
Till the next show...Be good to yourself.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Spring is Here!
Spring is in the air! I’m so excited to see the trees beginning to bloom and knowing that the warm weather is around the corner. If you live somewhere that is warm all the time then it may be challenging to really enjoy the spring because you are a bit spoiled, but for those of us on the east coast and in the Midwest, we know the deal. I think the south will understand this year because they had a pretty hard winter, but no need to focus on that. Spring is here!
To kick off spring for you I’m going to give you a little info about the season. Just a very quick overview and then you can take it from there. If you want more in depth info you can always check out a book I love called “Staying Healthy with the Seasons” by Elson M. Haas, MD. It’s a wonderful resource. When the seasons change the witch in me comes out. Persephone is on her way home!
Spring Attributes
Goddess: Persephone (Spring Goddess Guide)
Colors: Green and Pink
Element: Wood (About the Wood Element)
Direction: East
Quality: Growth
Sense Organ: Eyesight
Fluid: Tears
Indicator: Nails
Tissue: Tendons/Ligaments
Organs: Liver (Yin), Gall bladder (Yang)
Smell: Rancid
Taste: Sour
Sound: Shout
Emotion: Anger
Climate: Wind
In Balance
Beginnings, cleaning body, home, elimination, exercise, garden, greens, sprouts, creativity, enthusiasm
Imbalance
Still same old stuff, excess, congestion, laziness, weeds, drugs, overeating
Excerpt from "Staying Healthy with the Seasons"
The seasons change; we change. When we move outside the laws of nature, or resist change, we encounter difficulty. If we learn to live within these laws we will know health as our friend.
Staying healthy through the spring season means keeping your Wood element –your liver and gall bladder—in the best possible shape, with new attention to your nutrition, exercise, self-awareness and self-expression. Spring is the season of beginning, creation. Leave the past behind.
Nutritionally, it is a good time to fast, or do a liquid cleanse, creating a clean harmony between your inner and outer lives. Your diet will become lighter, with more raw foods, some grains, but fewer heavier foods and toxic foods
Mental relaxation will allow openness and peace of mind, while developing your ability to focus and to make clear decisions. Physical activity will help to clear and open the body and mind.
Making contact with your creative self is vital to spring harmony. Who are you inside? What do you need to express to feel free?
As you can see, a lot is going on in the springtime of life. When spring arrives, remember, “elimination equals illumination.”
Friday, February 6, 2009
Inauguration Nation
I know we are a few weeks out of the Inauguration, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging about my adventure. It was such a great time and honestly I’m still buzzing from the trip and the fact that Barack Obama is our president. I won’t ramble too much here. I’ll just get down to what happened.
Saturday January 17th
My inauguration traveling partners included Jeff, Achuziam and Lionel. We watched Obama win together on election night and on that night we chose to go to the inauguration in January. The original plan was to leave on the Sunday before the event and hang out in the Maryland/DC area so we could avoid some traffic.
In the days leading up to our departure, Sarah Dash (of Labelle), said she could get me a ticket to see them in Atlantic City (ATC). [For those of you who don’t know, Labelle is back on tour! The three (Nona, Sarah & Patti) are back together again. So if you see that they are coming to your town, do not be silly, go out and get yourself a ticket.] My first thought was to go to ATC on Saturday night, drive back to Brooklyn and then get up the next day and head to Maryland. But after thinking about it I knew that didn’t make any sense because if I was in ATC then I would be more than half way to Maryland. So I asked Jeff, Chuz and Lionel if they would be willing to hang out in the casino at the Trump Taj Mahal for a couple of hours while I went to the show and then we could keep going down to Maryland. They were game so we were good to go on Saturday evening.
On our way to ATC we got a little turned around because the Yahoo maps directions were a little janky, but we made it to the show ahead of time. When we got inside of the casino there was an energy of sadness. Casino’s are advertised as a place of fun and the Taj Mahal has all sorts of fun stuff going on in there, but for some reason all casinos have that same sad feel; at least to me.
I went inside the arena and only had to wait a little bit for the show to start and when it did, it started with a bang. They opened the set with “Miss Otis Regrets,” which is on their latest album and they tore it down. At that moment I also noticed that Kiki and Keith Fluitt were singing backup with them that night. I was so psyched to see them both. Kiki does her own thing, sings backgrounds with me, and a bunch of other great artists and Keith also sings with everyone under the sun. They are both on the Labelle album, but it was great to see my people at work. I love that! Ronny Drayton was on guitar of course because that’s Nona’s guitarist. It was wonderful to see him too.
The set was off the hook! All of the ladies had on incredible outfits in Labelle fashion. All of them were singing their tails off and as Patti mentioned they are 64, 64 and 63! What?! I’m hoping to look at sound that good when I’m there. I’m mean really! Patti kept talking about Nona’s body (which is ridiculous), but really they are all stunning. About half way through the set they not only changed costumes, but changed hair! Yes chile! It was fabulous! I’m trying to get to that point in my show.
There were also some special guests in the audience. Sarah and Nona are from Trenton, NJ and Patti is from Philly so being in ATC brought out their hometown folks. Then Patti announced that Kenny Gamble and Teddy Pendergrass were in the house! What?! I was hoping they might roll Teddy out to sing. Now that would have been off the chair. Ha! Ha! I know that sounds wrong, but you know that would have been crazy. What a night.
After the show I caught up with Kiki and Keith and they brought me backstage so I could say hi to Sarah. There was so much commotion going on back there. I wanted to say hello to Nona as well, but she was surrounded by family and there was no getting to Patti. One day I will complete the trilogy. I saw Sarah for a hot second, but her family was there too. So I just said a quick hello and goodbye and headed back out to get the crew so we could keep on going. On our way out Kenny Gamble was ahead of me wearing his signature kufi. It was great just to be near such a legend. Love it!
After all the hoopla I got something to eat and we headed back out on the road. We were on our way to Silver Spring, MD and Jeff’s friends Renee & Randy’s place. They graciously agreed to put us up for the weekend. The drive down was traffic free at that hour, which was great and made the drive very easy.
We arrived at Renee & Randy’s around 3:30am. They weren’t waiting up for us, but after we got there we all stayed up and chatted as if we weren’t tired. It’s funny how that happens, but it was great conversation. Soon we all headed to sleep so we could be ready for the day ahead.
Sunday January 18th
Somehow we peeled ourselves out of bed on Sunday and eventually we all headed for the mall in DC to the concert that they showed on HBO. The crew included Jeff, Chuz, Lionel, Randy, Renee and their two sons Nick and Julian. We walked to the Metro station and when we got there it was all we could do to figure out how to use the ticket machines for the Metro. Now I consider myself to be very subway savvy as a New Yorker and after navigating the Tube in London I thought nothing could knock me down, but the Metro in DC doesn’t make any sense. I mean it’s easy to get around, but understanding how to get a ticket to ride is another thing. I know some of you are reading this thinking, what is she talking about, but we had to have the attendant show us twice on different days how to use the machine. I felt crazy!
By the time we left the Forest Glen station it was pretty quiet, but when we got to the Foggy Bottom stop in DC and got off, it was packed. Everyone was on their way to the mall. I mean more people then I have seen in a long time. Just people and Obama swag everywhere. As we got out of the train station a man stopped Jeff and interview him for the Washington Post. Everyone was happy and friendly. Thrilled really. The police diverted the people traffic away from the Lincoln Memorial because that area was packed. So they pointed everyone toward the Washington Monument. All the way down the road there were Obama pins, t-shirts, flags, magnets, stickers, hats, you name it, for sale. Everything was $3 or $5. As we go close to the mall we could hear the familiar voice of James Taylor singing “Shower the People.” The sound of his voice brought joy to my heart. As we got closer to the Monument the crowd spread out. It was amazing to see all those people out there. In that area people were watching a jumbotron, but it didn’t matter. Everyone was beaming. It was actually a little warm that day so folks were feeling extra good.
I had my video camera with me so I was shooting all day. When we got to the concert it was just in time to see/hear Stevie Wonder, Usher, Will.I.Am, Shakira, Garth Brooks, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyoncé, President Obama (at that time still President-Elect) and a few other folks. A guy named Jim, who saw me dancing to “Shout” interviewed me for his blog. After that I wanted to get a better crowd shot, and I saw that some people with cameras were on top of a dumpster not to far away. So I decided to get up there, get a shot or two and come down.
On my way up, a guy told me to stay on the edges because the top of the dumpster was plastic and it might cave in. Noted. So when I got up I stayed on the edge. As other people were coming up the same warning was given. While I was up getting my shot, a girl climbs up there and decides that she’s not going to follow directions and stands right in middle of the top of the dumpster. Well within seconds we were both going down. Luckily my cat-like agility (Haha!) kept me from falling all the way into the dumpster. I think she just got lucky that the top didn’t fall all the way in. As I was picking myself up and dusting myself off, all I could say was,
Me: “Didn’t we tell you not to stand in the middle?”
Girl: “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Her Friend (a guy): “I told her.”
It was actually funny, but it wouldn’t have been as funny if I really fell into that joint. If I had, that may have been the only fight of the inauguration. LOL!
After that I interviewed an elder sister who was sitting on the side of the hill just listening to everything and taking it all in. Her name was Melva. She was 76 from California, originally from Louisiana. She was there with her grandchildren. That was perfect. Just perfect.
Soon we headed back to the train with the masses. Now that was an ordeal getting back on the train. I knew I was witnessing the precursor to Tuesday. We made the most of it and waited cheerfully in line to get back on the train. It was a line like no other till I saw the lines on Tuesday.
When we finally made it back to the house we ate and then changed and went out again. We were beat, but one of Randy and Renee’s friends were having a party so we hung out. It was fun but I was seriously beat down. What a day.
Monday January 19th
On Sunday, the zipper to my coat broke. So I had to get up on Monday morning and go to the store and buy a new winter coat. I knew I couldn’t be on the mall all day Tuesday with a busted coat. Luckily it’s the end of the season so winter coats are on sale. I got up early and went to Marshall’s. I found something I liked, got it and headed back to the house.
When I got back Renee, Randy, Renee’s mom and the boys were headed to a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration and were running late. Jeff, Chuz, Lionel and I had plans to go to the mall that day to do a dry run for Tuesday and do a little site seeing. We decided to wait for Randy and crew to get back so maybe they could go with us again. We waited, but when they got back they said they couldn’t come with us because they had to take care of Renee’s nieces for the evening. So we left the house, but then we had to go eat and get snacks for Tuesday before getting on the train to DC. The day was ticking away. It was a very Mercury Retrograde kind of day and Mercury was retrograde. By the time we got on the train it was getting close to dusk.
We were following the route we would take for Tuesday morning. So we took the train to Metro Center and then switched for another train that would take us to Farragut West. From there we walked to the mall and entered from the south side, which was the suggestion that the newspaper made for folks coming on Tuesday morning. From there we walked further south to the Lincoln Memorial, the reflecting pool and the WWII memorial. It was actually great to see all the sites at night. DC is really beautiful when everything is lit up. There was a crazy line to get up close to Lincoln Memorial so we skipped that and began to walk back north toward the Capitol.
By the time we got to the Washington Monument it was totally lit up and just beautiful. People were out on the mall just buzzing. There were nowhere as many people as the day before, but hundreds maybe thousands of people were just milling about, selling swag and generally taking it all in. As we were walking toward the Monument there were six beams of light that crossed it. I think it was Chuz who first noticed and said, “Is that the Mason symbol?” Of course we all looked up and sure enough there it was. Chuz said all it needed was the G in the middle. Well little did she know we would soon see that one something the symbolized that. We kept looking at each other like, are we seeing what we think we are seeing?
As we passed the monument and headed toward where the lights were set up we knew we were onto something. We kept walking toward the Capitol and looking back. At this point it was totally dark and when we looked back we should see the symbol and the point of the Monument was right where the G would go. Now any of you who are Masons or know anything about the Masons, great or small, know that most if not all of our presidents were Masons. Is President Obama a Mason? I don’t think he was before, but he may be now. Who knows? Don’t get me started spreading rumors, but I will be posting the photos of what we saw.
Moving along, we walked as close to the Capitol as we could get. Along the way MSNBC had a booth set up on the mall and people were out there trying to get their 5 seconds of fame as the camera passed them by. I also ran into my friend Hank out there which was so random because there were so many people in DC that weekend. I am still finding out about folks who were there that I didn’t know were going. Finally we headed to the Hyatt to see if we could catch up with Regina and find some food. We did both. We hung with Regina for a bit in the hotel lobby. We saw Hill Harper there (remember I saw him campaigning in Ohio too). Then we headed to Chinatown and got some grub. That area was beyond packed. People were selling all sorts of swag out there from bling Obama hats to Obama sneakers. We saw it all out there that weekend. Even Obama “gold” bracelets!
After eating and a bit more shopping, we got on the Metro at Chinatown and headed back to Silver Spring. We were beat down…again. We only had a few hours to sleep before we had to be up and start it all over again. Bear in mind that I’ve also been fighting a cold this whole time. So I’m not running on all cylinders, but I’m having a ball.
Tuesday January 20th: Inauguration Day!
I rise at 3am. Jeff rises about 3:15am. Chuz & Lionel rise at 3:30am. We leave the house at 4am with Nas’s “Black President” blasting on the car stereo. It’s only right. We drive a few blocks to the Forest Glen Metro parking lot. We are hyped, ready to go and then we hit gridlock getting into the lot. They were supposed to open at the lot at or before 4am, but clearly they weren’t ready. Well no biggy. We just waited a bit, they opened the lot, we got a spot and headed straight for the train. It was sort of amazing to see all the people with the same intention. It was collective consciousness in action.
When we got off at Farragut West we met up with Kym, Rico and Doreen. Kym and Rico picked up Doreen along the way because she was going to the mall by herself. So we became her new company.
When we got to the mall we just walked as far up as we could get. By this time it was between 5 and 5:30am. It was still dark and it was cold for sure. When we finally stopped we were somewhere between the Monument and the Capitol, but closer to the Capitol. We had to watch a jumbotron, but I figured that would happen so we were cool. When we found our spot we also noticed that people had sleeping bags, blankets, food and all kind of stuff that we thought we couldn’t bring. Why? Because on the inauguration website there were a whole list of things you couldn’t bring, but I later realized that the list was only for ticket holders. So we could have really brought anything short of a tent out there. Oh well.
Although the wait was long and our toes and hands were cold (more toes than hands for me), it was a lot of fun. We all talked about anything under the sun, took photos and videos, walked around our little section and Jeff, Rico, Kym and I even did the Cha Cha Slide a.k.a the Cha Cha for Change to keep warm. It actually worked! We watched the sun come up on the mall and it was a beautiful crisp winter day.
The Girl and Boy Scouts of America were handing out free flags to people. When the broadcast began and people started waving those flags it sounded like a sonic boom. Like jets were flying overhead. It was amazing the force coming from millions waving small flags. When President Obama’s motorcade rolled up and the motorcycles fanned out the crowd went wild. It was incredible to see! Finally after a lot of pomp and circumstance President Barack Hussein Obama took the oath of office and then proceeded to give one of the best speeches ever. I won’t quote it because you can read it/see it for yourself. [Inaugural Address].
It’s challenging to sum up my feelings being on the mall that day. It wasn’t just black people and white people. It was really all people. In the corniest of senses it was “We the People.” Maybe not looking quite like how the people who founded this country expected “we” to look, but it was an evolution of the theme. It was the embodiment of what those words really mean because although my people were brought here and called 3/5, we were still people in the eyes of the Universe. [Okay, I’m coming down off the box now. *smile* ]
When it was over we were hungry and were going to try a find place to eat a bit outside of the madness. The police made everyone exit the mall on the east side because the parade was going to happen on the west side and they didn’t want the crowds to overlap. Our first thought was to head back to the station where we came in, but since we couldn’t immediately get over there we decided to try L’enfant Plaza station since it was close to us. Well, that seemed like a good idea when we first entered the station, but soon it turned out to be a bad idea. At L’enfant Plaza there is an underground mall of sorts. When we got to the corridor of the mall, there was a line heading to the station that was 15 people or more wide. I can’t even tell you how long the long was. It was hot down there and people were only moving about one or two steps up every time a train came into the station. We later found out that there were two huge lines merging into the station. Then a woman almost passed out and they had to bring her into an open store. At that point I knew it was time to get out of there. It was a bad scene waiting to happen. I saw an exit door, asked the crew if they were down to get out of line, they were, so we cut across and headed back outside to find another station to take us home.
We ended up making our way back across the mall because by that time a lot of the people had dispersed so they opened up more gates. We headed back to the station that we came from that morning. There was a long line there too, but nothing like what we had left. By the time we did all that we were all too tired to be hungry. So we said our goodbyes to Rico and Kym and went our separate ways. After standing out in the cold for 7+ hours I was sick all over again. I felt good that morning, but that was too much cold for too long.
By the time we got back to Silver Spring we were beat. To make matters even crazier I had to drive us back to NY that night. Renee put my remedy together for me (garlic, lemon, cayenne & honey); I drank that and went to sleep for a few hours. We got up about 10 or 11pm and got back on the road. Chuz and Lionel had to work the next morning and I had to return the rental so there was no hanging another day. The upside of all that is that because we left so late at night there was no traffic and I made record time back to NY. I won’t say how fast so my mom won’t have a heart attack. I know she knows me, but still. *smile*
Wednesday January 21st
Obviously we arrived safely back in NY. I took a nap and then took the car back to Laguardia airport. I came back home and went back to sleep for a little while because I had to get ready for a show that night. I’m sick as a dog and have no voice, but I told Hanifah that I would play with her at her show that night. I kept my word, but I was mostly tambourine and not so much vocals for that show.
I also had a show the next night. A video shoot in fact and I was really concerned about that. But the next day the adrenaline kicked in and somehow I made it through that. Then I spent the rest of the week recovering.
So folks, that is my inaugural journey. I came home to President Obama going straight to work and he’s still working. I will be writing about the first 100 days of Obama in my blog Barack Watch on iloveupeople.com. The first installment is just a quick overview of the last couple of weeks because so much has happened in his life and mine that I had to do a little catch up. I’ll get to my life soon. But after that I will have a weekly update of what is going on in the Obama Presidency. Every day is another interesting tidbit. I am feeling a brand new day.
Peace!
[You can see some of the footage of my inaugural trip on www.iloveupeople.com/Podcast #59/60: Barack Watch]
Saturday January 17th
My inauguration traveling partners included Jeff, Achuziam and Lionel. We watched Obama win together on election night and on that night we chose to go to the inauguration in January. The original plan was to leave on the Sunday before the event and hang out in the Maryland/DC area so we could avoid some traffic.
In the days leading up to our departure, Sarah Dash (of Labelle), said she could get me a ticket to see them in Atlantic City (ATC). [For those of you who don’t know, Labelle is back on tour! The three (Nona, Sarah & Patti) are back together again. So if you see that they are coming to your town, do not be silly, go out and get yourself a ticket.] My first thought was to go to ATC on Saturday night, drive back to Brooklyn and then get up the next day and head to Maryland. But after thinking about it I knew that didn’t make any sense because if I was in ATC then I would be more than half way to Maryland. So I asked Jeff, Chuz and Lionel if they would be willing to hang out in the casino at the Trump Taj Mahal for a couple of hours while I went to the show and then we could keep going down to Maryland. They were game so we were good to go on Saturday evening.
On our way to ATC we got a little turned around because the Yahoo maps directions were a little janky, but we made it to the show ahead of time. When we got inside of the casino there was an energy of sadness. Casino’s are advertised as a place of fun and the Taj Mahal has all sorts of fun stuff going on in there, but for some reason all casinos have that same sad feel; at least to me.
I went inside the arena and only had to wait a little bit for the show to start and when it did, it started with a bang. They opened the set with “Miss Otis Regrets,” which is on their latest album and they tore it down. At that moment I also noticed that Kiki and Keith Fluitt were singing backup with them that night. I was so psyched to see them both. Kiki does her own thing, sings backgrounds with me, and a bunch of other great artists and Keith also sings with everyone under the sun. They are both on the Labelle album, but it was great to see my people at work. I love that! Ronny Drayton was on guitar of course because that’s Nona’s guitarist. It was wonderful to see him too.
The set was off the hook! All of the ladies had on incredible outfits in Labelle fashion. All of them were singing their tails off and as Patti mentioned they are 64, 64 and 63! What?! I’m hoping to look at sound that good when I’m there. I’m mean really! Patti kept talking about Nona’s body (which is ridiculous), but really they are all stunning. About half way through the set they not only changed costumes, but changed hair! Yes chile! It was fabulous! I’m trying to get to that point in my show.
There were also some special guests in the audience. Sarah and Nona are from Trenton, NJ and Patti is from Philly so being in ATC brought out their hometown folks. Then Patti announced that Kenny Gamble and Teddy Pendergrass were in the house! What?! I was hoping they might roll Teddy out to sing. Now that would have been off the chair. Ha! Ha! I know that sounds wrong, but you know that would have been crazy. What a night.
After the show I caught up with Kiki and Keith and they brought me backstage so I could say hi to Sarah. There was so much commotion going on back there. I wanted to say hello to Nona as well, but she was surrounded by family and there was no getting to Patti. One day I will complete the trilogy. I saw Sarah for a hot second, but her family was there too. So I just said a quick hello and goodbye and headed back out to get the crew so we could keep on going. On our way out Kenny Gamble was ahead of me wearing his signature kufi. It was great just to be near such a legend. Love it!
After all the hoopla I got something to eat and we headed back out on the road. We were on our way to Silver Spring, MD and Jeff’s friends Renee & Randy’s place. They graciously agreed to put us up for the weekend. The drive down was traffic free at that hour, which was great and made the drive very easy.
We arrived at Renee & Randy’s around 3:30am. They weren’t waiting up for us, but after we got there we all stayed up and chatted as if we weren’t tired. It’s funny how that happens, but it was great conversation. Soon we all headed to sleep so we could be ready for the day ahead.
Sunday January 18th
Somehow we peeled ourselves out of bed on Sunday and eventually we all headed for the mall in DC to the concert that they showed on HBO. The crew included Jeff, Chuz, Lionel, Randy, Renee and their two sons Nick and Julian. We walked to the Metro station and when we got there it was all we could do to figure out how to use the ticket machines for the Metro. Now I consider myself to be very subway savvy as a New Yorker and after navigating the Tube in London I thought nothing could knock me down, but the Metro in DC doesn’t make any sense. I mean it’s easy to get around, but understanding how to get a ticket to ride is another thing. I know some of you are reading this thinking, what is she talking about, but we had to have the attendant show us twice on different days how to use the machine. I felt crazy!
By the time we left the Forest Glen station it was pretty quiet, but when we got to the Foggy Bottom stop in DC and got off, it was packed. Everyone was on their way to the mall. I mean more people then I have seen in a long time. Just people and Obama swag everywhere. As we got out of the train station a man stopped Jeff and interview him for the Washington Post. Everyone was happy and friendly. Thrilled really. The police diverted the people traffic away from the Lincoln Memorial because that area was packed. So they pointed everyone toward the Washington Monument. All the way down the road there were Obama pins, t-shirts, flags, magnets, stickers, hats, you name it, for sale. Everything was $3 or $5. As we go close to the mall we could hear the familiar voice of James Taylor singing “Shower the People.” The sound of his voice brought joy to my heart. As we got closer to the Monument the crowd spread out. It was amazing to see all those people out there. In that area people were watching a jumbotron, but it didn’t matter. Everyone was beaming. It was actually a little warm that day so folks were feeling extra good.
I had my video camera with me so I was shooting all day. When we got to the concert it was just in time to see/hear Stevie Wonder, Usher, Will.I.Am, Shakira, Garth Brooks, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyoncé, President Obama (at that time still President-Elect) and a few other folks. A guy named Jim, who saw me dancing to “Shout” interviewed me for his blog. After that I wanted to get a better crowd shot, and I saw that some people with cameras were on top of a dumpster not to far away. So I decided to get up there, get a shot or two and come down.
On my way up, a guy told me to stay on the edges because the top of the dumpster was plastic and it might cave in. Noted. So when I got up I stayed on the edge. As other people were coming up the same warning was given. While I was up getting my shot, a girl climbs up there and decides that she’s not going to follow directions and stands right in middle of the top of the dumpster. Well within seconds we were both going down. Luckily my cat-like agility (Haha!) kept me from falling all the way into the dumpster. I think she just got lucky that the top didn’t fall all the way in. As I was picking myself up and dusting myself off, all I could say was,
Me: “Didn’t we tell you not to stand in the middle?”
Girl: “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Her Friend (a guy): “I told her.”
It was actually funny, but it wouldn’t have been as funny if I really fell into that joint. If I had, that may have been the only fight of the inauguration. LOL!
After that I interviewed an elder sister who was sitting on the side of the hill just listening to everything and taking it all in. Her name was Melva. She was 76 from California, originally from Louisiana. She was there with her grandchildren. That was perfect. Just perfect.
Soon we headed back to the train with the masses. Now that was an ordeal getting back on the train. I knew I was witnessing the precursor to Tuesday. We made the most of it and waited cheerfully in line to get back on the train. It was a line like no other till I saw the lines on Tuesday.
When we finally made it back to the house we ate and then changed and went out again. We were beat, but one of Randy and Renee’s friends were having a party so we hung out. It was fun but I was seriously beat down. What a day.
Monday January 19th
On Sunday, the zipper to my coat broke. So I had to get up on Monday morning and go to the store and buy a new winter coat. I knew I couldn’t be on the mall all day Tuesday with a busted coat. Luckily it’s the end of the season so winter coats are on sale. I got up early and went to Marshall’s. I found something I liked, got it and headed back to the house.
When I got back Renee, Randy, Renee’s mom and the boys were headed to a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration and were running late. Jeff, Chuz, Lionel and I had plans to go to the mall that day to do a dry run for Tuesday and do a little site seeing. We decided to wait for Randy and crew to get back so maybe they could go with us again. We waited, but when they got back they said they couldn’t come with us because they had to take care of Renee’s nieces for the evening. So we left the house, but then we had to go eat and get snacks for Tuesday before getting on the train to DC. The day was ticking away. It was a very Mercury Retrograde kind of day and Mercury was retrograde. By the time we got on the train it was getting close to dusk.
We were following the route we would take for Tuesday morning. So we took the train to Metro Center and then switched for another train that would take us to Farragut West. From there we walked to the mall and entered from the south side, which was the suggestion that the newspaper made for folks coming on Tuesday morning. From there we walked further south to the Lincoln Memorial, the reflecting pool and the WWII memorial. It was actually great to see all the sites at night. DC is really beautiful when everything is lit up. There was a crazy line to get up close to Lincoln Memorial so we skipped that and began to walk back north toward the Capitol.
By the time we got to the Washington Monument it was totally lit up and just beautiful. People were out on the mall just buzzing. There were nowhere as many people as the day before, but hundreds maybe thousands of people were just milling about, selling swag and generally taking it all in. As we were walking toward the Monument there were six beams of light that crossed it. I think it was Chuz who first noticed and said, “Is that the Mason symbol?” Of course we all looked up and sure enough there it was. Chuz said all it needed was the G in the middle. Well little did she know we would soon see that one something the symbolized that. We kept looking at each other like, are we seeing what we think we are seeing?
As we passed the monument and headed toward where the lights were set up we knew we were onto something. We kept walking toward the Capitol and looking back. At this point it was totally dark and when we looked back we should see the symbol and the point of the Monument was right where the G would go. Now any of you who are Masons or know anything about the Masons, great or small, know that most if not all of our presidents were Masons. Is President Obama a Mason? I don’t think he was before, but he may be now. Who knows? Don’t get me started spreading rumors, but I will be posting the photos of what we saw.
Moving along, we walked as close to the Capitol as we could get. Along the way MSNBC had a booth set up on the mall and people were out there trying to get their 5 seconds of fame as the camera passed them by. I also ran into my friend Hank out there which was so random because there were so many people in DC that weekend. I am still finding out about folks who were there that I didn’t know were going. Finally we headed to the Hyatt to see if we could catch up with Regina and find some food. We did both. We hung with Regina for a bit in the hotel lobby. We saw Hill Harper there (remember I saw him campaigning in Ohio too). Then we headed to Chinatown and got some grub. That area was beyond packed. People were selling all sorts of swag out there from bling Obama hats to Obama sneakers. We saw it all out there that weekend. Even Obama “gold” bracelets!
After eating and a bit more shopping, we got on the Metro at Chinatown and headed back to Silver Spring. We were beat down…again. We only had a few hours to sleep before we had to be up and start it all over again. Bear in mind that I’ve also been fighting a cold this whole time. So I’m not running on all cylinders, but I’m having a ball.
Tuesday January 20th: Inauguration Day!
I rise at 3am. Jeff rises about 3:15am. Chuz & Lionel rise at 3:30am. We leave the house at 4am with Nas’s “Black President” blasting on the car stereo. It’s only right. We drive a few blocks to the Forest Glen Metro parking lot. We are hyped, ready to go and then we hit gridlock getting into the lot. They were supposed to open at the lot at or before 4am, but clearly they weren’t ready. Well no biggy. We just waited a bit, they opened the lot, we got a spot and headed straight for the train. It was sort of amazing to see all the people with the same intention. It was collective consciousness in action.
When we got off at Farragut West we met up with Kym, Rico and Doreen. Kym and Rico picked up Doreen along the way because she was going to the mall by herself. So we became her new company.
When we got to the mall we just walked as far up as we could get. By this time it was between 5 and 5:30am. It was still dark and it was cold for sure. When we finally stopped we were somewhere between the Monument and the Capitol, but closer to the Capitol. We had to watch a jumbotron, but I figured that would happen so we were cool. When we found our spot we also noticed that people had sleeping bags, blankets, food and all kind of stuff that we thought we couldn’t bring. Why? Because on the inauguration website there were a whole list of things you couldn’t bring, but I later realized that the list was only for ticket holders. So we could have really brought anything short of a tent out there. Oh well.
Although the wait was long and our toes and hands were cold (more toes than hands for me), it was a lot of fun. We all talked about anything under the sun, took photos and videos, walked around our little section and Jeff, Rico, Kym and I even did the Cha Cha Slide a.k.a the Cha Cha for Change to keep warm. It actually worked! We watched the sun come up on the mall and it was a beautiful crisp winter day.
The Girl and Boy Scouts of America were handing out free flags to people. When the broadcast began and people started waving those flags it sounded like a sonic boom. Like jets were flying overhead. It was amazing the force coming from millions waving small flags. When President Obama’s motorcade rolled up and the motorcycles fanned out the crowd went wild. It was incredible to see! Finally after a lot of pomp and circumstance President Barack Hussein Obama took the oath of office and then proceeded to give one of the best speeches ever. I won’t quote it because you can read it/see it for yourself. [Inaugural Address].
It’s challenging to sum up my feelings being on the mall that day. It wasn’t just black people and white people. It was really all people. In the corniest of senses it was “We the People.” Maybe not looking quite like how the people who founded this country expected “we” to look, but it was an evolution of the theme. It was the embodiment of what those words really mean because although my people were brought here and called 3/5, we were still people in the eyes of the Universe. [Okay, I’m coming down off the box now. *smile* ]
When it was over we were hungry and were going to try a find place to eat a bit outside of the madness. The police made everyone exit the mall on the east side because the parade was going to happen on the west side and they didn’t want the crowds to overlap. Our first thought was to head back to the station where we came in, but since we couldn’t immediately get over there we decided to try L’enfant Plaza station since it was close to us. Well, that seemed like a good idea when we first entered the station, but soon it turned out to be a bad idea. At L’enfant Plaza there is an underground mall of sorts. When we got to the corridor of the mall, there was a line heading to the station that was 15 people or more wide. I can’t even tell you how long the long was. It was hot down there and people were only moving about one or two steps up every time a train came into the station. We later found out that there were two huge lines merging into the station. Then a woman almost passed out and they had to bring her into an open store. At that point I knew it was time to get out of there. It was a bad scene waiting to happen. I saw an exit door, asked the crew if they were down to get out of line, they were, so we cut across and headed back outside to find another station to take us home.
We ended up making our way back across the mall because by that time a lot of the people had dispersed so they opened up more gates. We headed back to the station that we came from that morning. There was a long line there too, but nothing like what we had left. By the time we did all that we were all too tired to be hungry. So we said our goodbyes to Rico and Kym and went our separate ways. After standing out in the cold for 7+ hours I was sick all over again. I felt good that morning, but that was too much cold for too long.
By the time we got back to Silver Spring we were beat. To make matters even crazier I had to drive us back to NY that night. Renee put my remedy together for me (garlic, lemon, cayenne & honey); I drank that and went to sleep for a few hours. We got up about 10 or 11pm and got back on the road. Chuz and Lionel had to work the next morning and I had to return the rental so there was no hanging another day. The upside of all that is that because we left so late at night there was no traffic and I made record time back to NY. I won’t say how fast so my mom won’t have a heart attack. I know she knows me, but still. *smile*
Wednesday January 21st
Obviously we arrived safely back in NY. I took a nap and then took the car back to Laguardia airport. I came back home and went back to sleep for a little while because I had to get ready for a show that night. I’m sick as a dog and have no voice, but I told Hanifah that I would play with her at her show that night. I kept my word, but I was mostly tambourine and not so much vocals for that show.
I also had a show the next night. A video shoot in fact and I was really concerned about that. But the next day the adrenaline kicked in and somehow I made it through that. Then I spent the rest of the week recovering.
So folks, that is my inaugural journey. I came home to President Obama going straight to work and he’s still working. I will be writing about the first 100 days of Obama in my blog Barack Watch on iloveupeople.com. The first installment is just a quick overview of the last couple of weeks because so much has happened in his life and mine that I had to do a little catch up. I’ll get to my life soon. But after that I will have a weekly update of what is going on in the Obama Presidency. Every day is another interesting tidbit. I am feeling a brand new day.
Peace!
[You can see some of the footage of my inaugural trip on www.iloveupeople.com/Podcast #59/60: Barack Watch]
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
2008 Year End Review: blaKbüshe, Barack, Babies & Big Shows!
Usually when the end of the year comes I am ready to write. I am ready to give thanks and all the other things that I do, but damn what a year it has been. I feel extra reflective. I feel like I spent the whole year on the pulse of the election and because of that I’m going to DC for the inauguration. I think I went through post-election, CNN withdrawal depression like many other Americans. I know you know what I’m talking about. I am glad I played an active part in getting Barack Obama elected (which I must say I’m very proud of) and I was busy with music this year, but at some points this year I felt like part of my life was happening to me instead of me taking control of it. Sometimes that’s cool cuz you can ride the wave, but sometimes it’s good to take hold of the reigns. I know that might sound strange, but I’m sure there are many of you out there who know exactly what I’m talking about.
So what of 2008? What was it for me? What was it for you? What happened good and bad? What have you learned? What came very easily and what has been a struggle? Who have you helped or whom did you hurt? Maybe you hurt yourself. Who did you forgive? Who has forgiven you? Have you forgiven yourself? Think about it. Were you honest with yourself this year or did you just live in a fantasy world hoping that things would just work themselves out? Did they or are you still treading water…barely? I know this might feel a little deep, but I have been through a wave of emotions this year. Luckily I can swim, but it took some time at points to get my bearings. For a minute I was going under. Luckily I have love in my life and people who kept throwing me life preservers so I was able to make it out of the turning tide and here I am at the end of 2008. Here we are.
At the end of every season I evaluate it. What have I accomplished and what can I be in action about for the upcoming season. I do the same thing at the end of every year. I go through the nine areas of my life and see what can be added or taken away. 2008 had its share of ups and downs as most years do, but this year was particularly special and challenging at the same time. I know I filled you in on most of the happenings as they happened, but let's take one more look.
I kicked off the year in January at the Cutting Room with the Soulfolk Experience (SFX) before we were even called that. It was the Reel Uncut Music Series with just a bunch of singing and playing folks getting down.
On Valentine’s Day I was at the LoveFest at Sputnik where I played Al Green’s “Simply Beautiful.” But the highlight of that night was playing bass for Monstah Black as he hit the crowd with “Screams of Passion.” Hooves and all people! I know some of you are wondering what I’m talking out, but you just have to catch a Monstah Black show to find out.
That same week I was back at the Cutting Room with Maritri, Carla, Jeni, Annekei and Ganessa. We would all later travel to LA as the Ladies of the Soulfolk Experience. That LA show was off the hook and Lee Ritenour came to see us. Annekei is currently working on a project with Lee. Go Girl! Annekei will always be my blond ambition. *smile*
March turned out to be a busy month as well. Two SFX shows, blaKbüshe at the L.E.S. Girls Club and I also hit the radio for a Womyn’s Herstory Month Music Panel. I was on the air with Cheryl Pepsii Riley, Vivian Sessoms, and Maya Azucena.
April was the month of the SFX. Besides our usual every Monday night joint, we also did six shows. Two of which were in LA at Genghis Cohen and the Watts Coffee House. I love the people of Watts! I spent the other part of April rehearsing blaKbüshe for the big event in May.
There was only one show in May and that was the Mother’s Day show at the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center in honor of Labelle. I shared a bill that night with two ladies that I love, Tamar-Kali and Joi. This was defiantly one of those moments were I had to pinch myself. Not because I was super nervous, but because I was sharing the bill with Joi who I have admired for some time. Tamar and Joi had been friends for a long time so it was old hat to them, but for me I was really honored and I savored every moment of that night. My mother and aunt were in town for the show, which was great. Those who came out got a real treat. I pulled out the Beyoncé weave and the horn section. It was on! Thanks Kim for pulling that together. Thank you! Thank you!
June stayed busy. I hit the Blue Note twice—Once with the SFX and once with blaKbüshe. The blaKbüshe show was the debut of a new song called “Gut Bucket” with The Büshe Administration & the Axes of Evil. That is what I dubbed the blues side of the band. That night it was Dexter, Jeff, Jerome and myself. Matsu and Shawn chimed in as well. It was just me and the boys. Speaking of boys, this is also the month that the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship spanking the Los Angeles Lakers! Yes!
In June, blaKbüshe also played at SouthPaw for Brooklyn Pride with Hanifah Walidah & the Fuckin’ Ladies and Staceyann Chin. That was an incredible show and I will shortly be releasing the live show for your consumption. Stay tuned...Live at SouthPaw coming soon.
The SFX spent the month at Solomon’s Porch, for a few of what would be many Solomon’s shows that happened this year. I feel like we could have moved in there. Thanks to Ardenia and all the Solomon’s crew for their love in 2008.
There was only one show in July at DROM with Dawn Drake. The Büshe Administration was out for that as well, but right around the corner was August.
Now August was the month of crazy travel and too many nights in Chicago. If you keep up with my blog/Journal then you read about my time at O’Hare airport, but what you don’t know about my time at Midway airport as well. The O’Hare experience was connected to my trip to Michfest with Hanifah. We have vowed to drive to Michigan next year. The Midway experience happened on my way back from LA. Let me sum this up quickly. When I left LA on the 25th I had to change planes in Chicago. I was flying on a Buddy Pass, which I soon learned was no “Buddy” of mine. Once I got into Midway I couldn’t get a flight out to New York. With a Buddy pass you have to fly standby, but not just regular standby, bottom of the barrel standby. So I tried to get on every flight to NY I could from 1pm to 7pm and it was nothing doing. Because of my early August experience at O’Hare, I could not bear to stay in Chicago on a layover one more time. So I took a flight to Philly, crashed with a friend and then got up and took the Greyhound home! What a trip.
Besides that the month of August was show packed as well. I played the Black Women’s Arts Festival at the World Café Live in Philly, then jumped on a plane to Michigan to play Michfest with Hanifah then came back to NY for a few days and jumped on a plane to LA to play Serafemme and one more show with Maritri at Genghis Cohen. I did some radio out there as well (Thanks Kristi!). I got to have a bit of vacation while out there. I went running and hiking and made some music with a new friend. So all in all, that trip was productive and fun.
On my crazy trip home form LA I felt a sigh of relief on the Greyhound bus from Philly as I turned down the on ramp leading toward the Lincoln tunnel. The New York skyline filled my window and all my remorse about leaving LA was gone. I don’t think I could live in LA, but when I’m there I get into it all the way. Now seeing the New York skyline I was so glad to be home. I was ready to be in own bed after spending days on my friend John’s couch and another few days at Maritri’s parents house. It was a long trek home. As soon as I got in I had to leave right out to go to Long Island to pick up my luggage at the airport because it had been checked all the way through from LA. So Yolanda drove me out there and back.
When I finally got home for real I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. I just had a gut feeling. My downstairs neighbors who had some really terrible news about my roommate soon greeted me. I won’t go into details, but that news brought my life to a halt for a moment. I had an Obama fundraiser that I had to do in early September, but after that everything shut down. I was supposed to play at CMJ, but the show got canceled and I have to admit that I was really happy about that. I just wanted to get my house in order and clear my mind, which took some doing to say the least. I was fully prepared not to do any more shows for the rest of the year when I got the email from Lee.
Lee Free is a drummer and we play together in Hanifah’s band. She reached out to see if I would be interested in sharing a bill with Bitch at the Mercury Lounge on December 6th. Bitch has been in many groups over the years. Probably best known for the duo Bitch & Animal, she now has a new project called Bitch + The Exciting Conclusion (B+TEC). I had seen Bitch perform with Ferron (another awesome singer/songwriter) at Michfest and I was blown away. So when Lee called I knew I had to come out of hiding and do the show. It was Mercury Lounge on a Saturday night and it was a crowd that I don’t usually play in front of. I had to do it.
As the date of the show got closer I had to jump into action. I was so deep in slow down mode that ramping up to rehearse took a bit of energy. I wanted to do a new song as well so I really had to kick it into high gear. I asked Jeff to come over and help me work out the tune that had been floating in my head for months. We had two band rehearsals. On the second rehearsal I introduced the song to the band and they picked it up right away as I knew they would cuz they are the best band in the land.
Then I had to go shopping for show gear with Gaetano. We easily found an outfit and he also decided to make me this awesome hat to go with my dress and shoes. Yes he made me a hat. That man can make anything! A few days later it was showtime.
I arrived at the venue early. Bitch was there with the rest of her band (Lee and Gabriel). They were setting up and sound checking when Lee realized that she left her snare in Brooklyn. I knew that Matsu was on his way so they just waited for him to arrive to check the drums. Well, when Matsu arrived he didn’t have his snare either because Lee said that he could use her whole setup. So now we were in a bit of a pickle, but not for long. Jeff, who plays in about 4 projects, called John, the drummer from one of his bands who lives down the street from Mercury, and he brought his snare over for soundcheck. After soundcheck Lee went back to BK and got her snare so we were all good.
After soundcheck I went home to get my stuff together. When I got back to the venue, Gaetano dressed me and showed me his masterpiece of a hat. Bitch took a few photos after he was done with my face (I'll post them soon) and we were ready to rock. This night was very special. My mother, aunts and cousins were all in the house and it was my mother’s b’earthday. It was also Shawn’s b’earthday so it was a Sag night.
Saturday night at the Mercury Lounge and the room was packed. I hadn’t played the Mercury in years. In fact it was before my album came out and the night featured Abby Dobson, Sophia Ramos, Maya Azucena and Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe. That was also a great night, but it wasn’t like this night. I could feel the energy in the room and it felt new. I don’t usually get nervous about shows until right before I hit the stage and then it quickly goes away, but I was nervous about this show days before. I’m not sure why, but do you ever get a feeling when you know something is about to change, but you don’t know what? Well it felt like that. I have no idea why, but it felt different.
The band started to play, the ladies took the stage and I followed shortly there after. But right before I hit the stage this woman asked me if I was the artist. I said yes. She asked what kind of music I do. I said, “I’m about to go on stage so you will see in a matter of moments.” Then she says, “the person at the door couldn’t tell me what you do. I don’t think she knew.” I said, “She probably didn’t. Just pay attention. I think you’ll like it.” With that I was on and it was a great show if I do say so myself. Some people were dancing; others were bopping their heads and others were just in shock. Good shock. The new song “I Am American” went over really well. I had a few props like a picture of Barack and an American flag with the stars in the shape of a peace sign. I gave my mother her b’day gift from the stage so everyone could see my lovely mom. Later Bitch dedicated her set to my mom. Now that’s what’s up. It was such a fun night. I think it tied for the best show of the year with the show at the Manhattan Center being right up there with it. It was a great way to end the year in shows. Fantastic really.
So what’s on tap for 2009? I will be releasing the EP of the show we did at SouthPaw. I’m really excited about that. We are almost done mixing. The much awaited, much anticipated remixes of “blaK Girls” are coming soon as well. When I say these joints are hot I’m not exaggerating. So far on the remix front we have Steve Wallace, Jeff Jeudy, Lionel Sanchez and a couple more surprises that I’m going to hold on to until the appropriate hour. Don’t forget you can still get the original cut on iTunes and CD Baby. We will be playing at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival in 2009. I have to modify the band cuz no boys are allowed, but that is going to be off the hook with an all female crew. I can’t wait! We’re also coming back to BAM Café in April and I have a bit of twist in store for that show as well.
Thank you so much for making 2008 so Great! It’s been a very interesting year to say the least. We have a black president that we need to support, send positive vibes to, pray for and also be able to criticize if need be. Remember that Barack Obama can’t save us. We all have to get in there and work to make this world a better place. Corny, but true. I love you all. Honestly I do. I couldn’t do this thing without you. This musical journey is all day every day and it’s worth every moment. I wouldn’t change a thing. Life and Love is good…all the time.
Love,
Shelley
My Thanks & Shouts:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED LOVE & SUPPORT!
Those who were part of blaKbüshe in 2008:
Achuziam Maha, Clayton Craddock, Dave Pilgrim, Dave Smith, Deepa Soul, Dexter Taylor, Gaetano Cannella, Ganessa James, Jeff (LA), Jeff Jeudy, Jerome Jordan, Kay Ashley, Kiki Hawkins, Lionel Sanchez, Maritri Garrett, Matsu, Moist Paula, Red Summer, Shawn Banks, V. Jeffery Smith
My Family:
Mom, Dad, Gramee, Grampee, Derron, and the whole Jefferson/Jones clan!
The Year in Soulfolks:
Thanks to Maritri and the artists of The Soulfolk Experience. If you didn’t get to see the Soulfolks this year don’t worry. We are not going away. So with that I want to give love to the whole of the crew so you know who they are. The Soulfolk Experience is Annekei, Carla Duren, Dave Pilgrim, Ganessa James, Maritri Garrett, Jeff Jeudy, Jeni Fujita, Kay Ashley and V. Jeffery Smith. Then sometimes sitting in we have Buttafly Soul, Carey Yaruss, Christelle Durandy, Corey Glover, Dexter Taylor, Drae Alexander, Jerome Jordan, Lamont, Miguelito and Shawn Banks.
The Year in Babies:
This has also been the year of the baby. I didn’t have a baby, but 18 people in my life had babies and my best friend had twins. So that makes 19 babies (6 girls and 13 boys)! I guess there wasn’t much to do in 2007 and the beginning of 2008, cuz folks were “busy!” LOL! Not only did I have 19 babies, but it was also a big year for the names Gabriel and Zachary. With that I would like to send my love and powerful family energy to Tricia & Kenny (Kristyn), Donna (Janae), Saba & Michael (Desta and Asmara), Desiree & Alejuan (Darshawn), Imani & Fahiym (Zaki), Yvonne & Albert (Ethan), Joan & Tyrone (Gabriel), Debra & Rafe (Blake), Martha & Aaron (Zachary), Lori & Erik (Eaden), Yvette & Gerald (Zachary), Jamila & Pierre (Osei), Lisa & Nick (Gustavo), Susannah & Cliff (Alec), Stephanie & Calvin (Nashira), Taia & Daryl (Daryl II), Cara & Bobby (Carlton) and Mia & Jedan (Gabriel). What a year!
Transitions:
January:
10-Vampira (TV Icon)
11-Carl Karcher (Founder of Carl’s Jr. burger franchise)
14-Richard Knerr (Co-founder of Wham-O toys:Hula Hoop, Frisbee and Super ball)
17-Bobby Fischer (chess genius) and Allan Melvin (Actor, Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch)
19-Suzanne Pleschette (Actress, The Bob Newhart Show) and John Stewart (singer/songwriter, wrote “Daydream Believer” for the Monkees)
22-Heath Ledger (Actor)
February:
10-Roy Scheider (Actor, best known as Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws)
12-David Groh (Actor, best known as Joe Gerard husband of Rhoda on Rhoda)
21-Robin Moore (writer, "The French Connection")
27-William F. Buckley, Jr. (writer, publisher of The National Review) and Myron Cope (writer/sportscaster, invented the Pittsburg Steelers “Terrible Towel”)
28-Mike Smith (singer/songwriter, wrote “I Like it Like That”)
March:
4-Gary Gygax (author/game creator, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons)
18-Anthony Minghella (director, The English Patient & Cold Mountain)
April:
5-Charlton Heston (Actor)
13-John Archibald Wheeler (physicist/professor, coined the terms “black hole” and “worm hole”)
14-Ollie Johnston (one of the original Disney animators)
17-Danny Federici (Keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen. Part of E Street Band)
21-Al Wilson (singer, best known for hit song “Show and Tell”)
May:
15-Alexander Courage (composer, wrote Star Trek theme)
26-Sydney Pollack (director/actor, Out of Africa & Tootsie)
29-Harvey Korman (comedian, The Carol Burnett Show)
June:
1-Yves Saint-Laurent (designer)
2-Bo Diddley (Guitarist)
7-Jim McKay (sportscaster, The Wide World of Sports) and Tim Russert (political analyst, Meet the Press)
17-Cyd Charisse (actress, Singing in the Rain & Silk Stockings)
22-George Carlin (comedian) and Dody Goodman (actress, Grease)
July:
3-Larry Harmon (Bozo the Clown)
16-Jo Stafford (big band singer, “I’ll Be Seeing You”)
22-Estelle Getty (actress, The Golden Girls)
August:
1-Pauline Baynes (illustrator of first editions of works of J.R. R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis)
9-Bernie Mac (comedian/actor)
10-Isaac Hayes (singer/songwriter/composer)
September:
1-Don LaFontaine (voice-over actor, name a movie trailer and he did it) and Jerry Reed (actor, Smokey and the Bandit & The Water Boy)
2-Bill Melendez (animator/cartoon director, Peanuts specials and voiced Snoopy)
26-Paul Newman (actor/philanthropist)
October:
17-Levi Stubs (singer, The Four Tops)
25-Estelle Reiner (singer/actress, wife of Carl Reiner. Most famous for her line in the When Harry Met Sally diner orgasm scene—“I’ll have what she’s having.”
November:
4-Michael Crichton (writer, Jurassic Park & ER)
10-Miraim Makeba (singer, “Mama Afrika”)
25-William Gibson (playwright, “The Miracle Worker”)
December:
1-Paul Benedict (actor, Mr. Bentley on The Jefferson’s)
2-Odetta (singer/songwriter/activist)
4-Forrest J. Ackerman (magazine editor, invented the term “sci-fi”)
11-Bettie Page (pin-up model)
18-Majel Barrett Roddenberry (actress, wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and the only actor to appear in every incarnation of Star Trek)
20-Robert Mulligan (director, To Kill a Mockingbird)
25-Eartha Kitt (dancer/singer/actress/activist)
29-Freddie Hubbard (Jazz Trumpeter)
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