Showtime! Jazz Re:freshed Day 4 [Part 9]

London Day 4

When we last left our hero…

I was getting up on Thursday morning determined to do something else besides just do the show that night. Jeff still hadn’t seen any sights in London except through a car window so we had to do  something, anything.

The night before we were trying to figure out how we could go sight seeing with all of our gear in tow for the show that night. LyricL then suggested that we drop everything at her friend Bunny’s place, which is also Uprock Studios and then we could do things from there. Jeff is a huge Beatles fan so he wanted to go to Abbey Road, and it just so happened that Uprock is very close to Abbey Road. Also Bunny said he wanted to interview me for his blog Code Emphasis. Okay. So here was the plan. Get up, head to Uprock, drop our stuff, go to Abbey Road, come back to Uprock to do the interview, then head to the Mau Mau Bar for soundcheck. Sounds good right? Well…

We wake up and it’s raining. Probably the first “real” rain we’d had since we got there. I say real because it had rained a bit, but it was off and on rain. Nothing that hung around for too long. But on Thursday it really rained.

We got our stuff together and headed for the train at Anerley. Kevin was kind enough to drive us to the train again. On this short ride to the train we were listening to the radio and the announcer was talking about seeing some celeb at some event, but the thing that caught me was that he said she was looking “quite fragrant.” I love that! I have to remember to use that from now on when I see someone looking good.

We got on the Overground at Anerley and took that Canada Water and switched for the Jubilee Line toward Stanmore to Kilburn. LyricL told us to call her when we got there because she was coming from a totally different direction.  So I called when we got out and it was really raining then. We had all kinds of gear with us, but we didn’t think we would be going very far. When I spoke to LyricL and she told me to go to the bus stop on the same side of the street I was on and go toward Kilburn High Street. At least I think that’s what she said. The point of this matter is that we got all turned around in the pouring rain. When we got on the bus I felt like we were riding in the wrong direction and I was correct, but it took us some time to figure that out for real.

Jeff and I got off the bus after talking to LyricL and realizing we were going in the wrong direction. We stood at the bus stop trying to figure out the directions when another bus came by and properly splashed me. Okay, at that point all I could do was laugh. We backed away from the stop and called LyricL one more time to get clear and we figured out we should head the other way because that’s where she was. So we got on another bus headed back toward the Tube we just got off, but when I told this to LyricL she still thought we were going in the wrong direction. It was a total “Who’s on First” moment. LOL. So after some back and forth she told us to just wait at the Kilburn stop we got off the Tube and she would come get us from there.

After all this back and forth it had gotten really late. I was feeling bad because I knew there was a possibility that Jeff wouldn’t get to go to Abbey Road because I still had to do this interview with Bunny and then we had to head to the Mau Mau for soundcheck.

When LyricL arrived she suggested getting a mini cab to our destination at that point. So we did and headed to Uprock. I knew upon our arrival that I wouldn’t have enough time to go to Abbey Road. I told Jeff he could go on his own, but he chose not to. I was kind of bummed about that, and tired, but the show must go on.

Uprock Studios is a very cool place. It’s really the musical home of my crew of folks that produce Jazz Re:freshed, and my man Daz-I-Kue who now lives here in ATL. Daz still calls Uprock home along with Bunny Bread, Adam Rock, Top Rock and whole host of magical musical folks who are part of the legendary West London crew. If any of you out there like broken beat, well this is where all the magic happened. Of course I know there are some out there who will disagree and I may not have all my facts totally straight, but that’s where it started for me. At least with those people and the Bugz in the Attic crew. I’m not going to give you the whole Bugz history, but I highly suggest you check them out as a collective and individually.  Their music is amazing!

Anyway, Bunny interviewed me for Code Emphasis and then we had to get ready to roll to Mau Mau. Turned out Bunny had to bring the drum kit from Uprock to the Mau Mau so we called a big cab, all piled in, drums included, and headed to the club.

At this point I was really late for soundcheck. I didn’t mean to be, but it was sort of how the whole day had been rolling. Also when we got there Tim had brought his own kit so Bunny didn’t have to bring the one from Uprock. We didn’t find this out until we were in the cab and almost to the club so it was too late to turn back. When I walked in I was surprised to see my aunt Helen and uncle Richard were already there! Yes this is the same aunt and uncle who were in Paris the week before when I was there with Burnt Sugar. They extended their trip and came to London for a couple of days after Paris. I really love them for that. So we all settled in and started getting the band ready to check.

Marquee!

Jazz Re:freshed @ the Mau Mau Bar

Now the Mau Mau Bar is not a huge place, but it’s a very cool space. The thing about the space is that if you have a large band like I had that night, you have to split up the band on either side of an aisle so that folks can get to the bathroom. So on one stage with me was the drums, bass, guitar and backing vocals. Then on the other stage was all the horns and percussion. It’s still a very cool setup. I could see everyone and that’s really all that matters.

Jeff & Scott (on trumpet) warming up their fingers pre-show

John breaking down the math. LOL!

Stage Left

LyricL & Tuca setting stage right

The Mau Mau also doesn’t really have a space where you can change. The last time I played there LyricL and I changed in the bathroom of a restaurant across the street. This time things were a little better. Chippy, who worked the door, had a friend named Chris who lived upstairs from the club and he was kind enough to let Hannabiell and I change in his apartment. Thanks Chris!

Hannabiell warming up pre-show

Hannabiell, fresh and ready to go!

Let me just say that Chris's apartment was so cute! I really love being able to take a peek at how apartments are in different neighborhoods and different parts of the world. Something that I have always loved and wanted was an apartment that had split-levels. Not like a staircase, but just a couple of steps down or up into the living room or the bedroom. I always thought that was cool and Chris had that.

Scott and I pre-show

Hannabiell and I chatted with Chris while we were putting on our makeup and he said he would come down to see the show and he actually did, which was very cool. We finished with our makeup, gathered our things and headed back down to the club. We had nice crowd brewing and it was almost time to go on.

Horns getting their charts together

Tuca! Ready to Rock!

Jeff! Ready to go!

Max on Sax!

I asked my uncle if he would video the show for me, which he did and my aunt took some awesome photos. Hannabiell was concerned about Yillis not making it because her train got delayed, but the made it, which was great! She didn’t miss a thing. I checked to make sure we were all in the house, Justin a.k.a. Top Rock introduced us and we were off.

Top Rock with the intro

The set list for the night was Out of My Mind, I Am American, Can’t Blame a Tree, Box, Give it to Me, I’m a Woman (I’m a Backbone), Go Head & Rise and the blaK Girls remix. It was an amazing night and set. The horns were in full effect and everything just came together.

The people! In front, my girl Van.

The afterglow

To see the complete set of show photos check out Flickr! Enjoy! 
photos by my Aunt Helen & Uncle Richard

I’ll just say this about the show. FIRE!!!  Everyone in the audience was so beautiful. I felt so blessed to back in that space again. The people there really love music and that’s what it’s all about folks. I played my tambourine, played John’s bass, danced with the people and with LyricL. It was so much fun!

Adam Rock! The man who makes is all happen!

When the show was over a few people came over to talk to me who were from the States and they were so excited about “Can’t Blame a Tree.” It was actually a white woman who said she was from Florida and had done some work around helping the Jena 6. This world get smaller and smaller. Another woman was so excited about “Out of My Mind”, but that song is not on my EP so I promised to send it to her. In fact I should do that right now! LOL! My friend and vocalist Michael Ashanti came to the show. He’s another one of my Ex-Pat friends from New York, but living in London. My friend Lindsay was there with his wife who I was happy to finally meet. It was so good to see him although it was short. The Temporary Residents crew was there, who I would get to spend much more time with on Saturday.  Ah, gang's all here.  My aunt and uncle left pretty much right after the show, but Jeff and I would hook up with them the next day.

I signed CDs and almost sold out. At the end of the night I only had two left! That’s what I’m talking about! After meeting and greeting I pulled my things together and Max said he would take us back to Anerley again. I love Max! He’s so sweet that he actually took Hannabiell, Yillis, Jeff and I back to our respective spaces. But before we went home we had to have an after show hang right?

Max decided to take us to Chinatown for some food there since that is one of the few places you could find food at that hour. So we piled into Max’s ride and headed that way.

The welcome dragon in Chinatown

We found a place to park and walked through the red light district to Chinatown. There were all kinds of restaurants open, but Max took us to one that he knew and they had a table for us in the corner in the back. We settled in, ordered, ate and talked for a while. It was a really nice end to a really great evening. This was another moment in which I was feeling especially blessed and so so thankful.

Jeff's plate? The meat special! What happens in London... LOL!

After eating we headed back to the car and back down south. Max dropped Hannabiell and Yillis in Peckham and then we were off to Anerely. We were soon at the house and saying out goodbyes to Max. Luckily it wasn’t the last time we would see him, but I was so thankful for him. I really had to hold back tears of gratitude. He’s such an amazing guy, that Max, and super humble. I found out during that trip that Max played with Prince when he was in London doing all those shows. I think that’s the beautiful thing about musicians. If the music is good, no matter if you are Prince or Shelley Nicole you will be there. I’m like that too. I just love music. No matter who is playing it, if it’s good it’s good.

So another night in London down. Show three tomorrow at Native Tongue. The horn players were so hyped after tonight’s show that they said the would come do it again with me the next night and I hadn’t even asked them. Blessings, blessings.

Thanks again to my London band & the Jazz Re:freshed crew: Tim Rickard, John Calvert, Tuca Milan, Hannabiell Sanders, Alam Nathoo, Scott Baylis, Max Grunhard,  LyricL, Adam Rock, Justin "Top Rock" McKenzie, Chippy, Bunny and anyone I may have forgotten, you are not forgotten. XXOO

Words to live by

The Gift of Paris! [Part 1]

To get to London we must start in Paris. This is how I was able to get to the UK this time around, so we must start there.

Back in November I received the best b’earthday gift ever. Jared from Burnt Sugar asked me if I would like to join the band in Paris in February for the Sons d’Hiver Festival. They were invited to do the James Brown se and wanted me to come along. Of course I said yes! In my excitement I wasn’t even thinking past Paris. That’s when my friend Ian reminded me of how close I would be to London. He suggested that I inquire about extending my ticket, which never even crossed my mind. I haven’t been back to London since 2007 so I was long overdue.

Before contacting Jared to ask about the flight extension, I sent an email to my man Adam Rock at Jazz Re:freshed to see if he could book me for Feb. 10th, which would be the week I could be in London. He said he had something booked, but he would bump it and put me in. Yes! So I went back to Jared and asked about the flight extension and he said it would be no problem. With that, it was on!

I never thought it would have taken me four years to get back overseas, and now I can’t remember why it did. Sometimes the small things in life get in the way. But there I was, poised to go back to London and I was prepared to go it alone.

The last time I went Shawn, Achuziam, Lionel, Irv and Teddy came with me and we had an awesome time. I knew that it may not be a possibility for them to come this time as I could not secure anyone’s lodging or ticket except my own. So I figured I would pick up a band there and just go for it.

Somewhere along the line I told Jeff of my plans and he said he would be down to go and was really excited as he had been to London and really wanted to check it out. So it looked like it was going to be just two hairs in the U.S. büshe in London, but I digress. Let’s get back to Paris.

When I told my mother that I was going to Paris, she said she was coming. I didn’t know if she was serious, but then she kept asking me for travel dates and where we were staying so I knew it was really on.

As the departure date got closer I was in full swing of booking shows for the band in London. I managed to book four shows and two radio spots. Not bad for a gorilla operation. I was planning and squaring everything away right up until I got the plane for Paris.

I have to admit that before departing I was concerned about how much luggage I was bringing. Would it be overweight, would they let me bring my bass on the plane, etc. I was making calls to airlines and praying the whole time. When people would ask if I was excited I would tell them, “I’ll be excited when I’m through security at JFK.”

I wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible so I got to the airport mad early. I printed out my boarding pass at home so I wouldn’t have to do it at the kisok. I wanted to go straight to the line to check my bag and pray they don’t ask me to check my bass because I decided not to bring the travel case. For comfort sake I needed the bass to be on my back. I just had too much stuff for it to be in my other hand. I needed an angel.

When I got to JFK to the Air France counter it was empty. I mean totally empty. There was no one on line at all. Note: If you want to fly to Paris from JFK and not wait on line, fly on Thursday night, barring a holiday of course. It was sort or eerily quiet, but I was glad.

I walked over to the counter. Presented my passport and paperwork, checked my bag and headed for security. The woman at the desk didn’t ask me about my bass at all. Just gave me my boarding pass and a smile and off I went. [Angel #1]

Next shocker, the security line was damn near empty as well. I went through without any problem, but they wanted to look at what was in the pocket of my bass case. The guy at security went in and pullout out my screwdriver. I forgot I had it in there. I use it to take the battery in and out of my bass when I need to change it. Well I was prepared to leave that behind, when my man slid it back to me sort of on the sly tip! Wow! I mean I know that I’m not going to try and hijack the plane with my screwdriver, but how does he know? lol Oh well, I’ll take it. [Angel #2] I gave him a nod and headed to my gate. He was flirting with me a bit too so I think that’s how I got over. Lol.

I walked down to my gate and I was the only one there. The only other Burnt Sugar members who were on my flight were LaRonda and Lisala. So as I was there waiting I had to buy the obligatory overpriced sandwich in the airport. If there is time to kill that is a must, unless you are at Chicago, O’Hare and then you must purchase the obligatory bag of Garrett Popcorn. ☺

Before I was able to make my purchase I saw Lisala coming toward the gate. I was on the phone so I waved. When I got off the phone we chatted a bit and then out of the blue I see my old neighbor Chris from my Clinton Ave. days. Can I tell you how much I love running into people I know at the airport? I think this is the second time this has happened to me. I ran into Saul Williams at O’Hare actually, on my way to Michfest. It just reaffirms for me that I am doing what I supposed to be and that all my artistic people are living the life they want to live. Chris was on his way to the Sudan to teach illustration. Nice!

As I walked and talked with Chris, on my way to the obligatory sandwich, we ran into LaRonda eating her obligatory overpriced meal as well. Ah, the airport. Chris and I said a brief hello, moved on to get our overpriced meal and then parted ways.

Air France is incredible from before you even step foot on the plane. They don’t calls seat numbers or sections or any of that in order to board people. They just said “Air France flight 008 is now boarding” and that was it. Now that’s what I’m talking about. That’s just civilized. LOL!

My departure gate

When I got on the plane my bass didn’t fit in the overhead, but they gladly put it in the closet, in business class thank you very much. I also wanted a window seat, but I just ran out of time to request that so I was on the isle. Well when they closed the plane door the person in my row had not shown up so there I was with the window seat that I wanted! [Angel #3] I moved over, situated myself and soon we were off.

The Air France flight experience is incredible. People rave about Virgin America and Jet Blue and I have flown both, but right now Air France is giving both of them a big run for their money. Big! I had no idea flying could be like this. There was mad room in coach, lots of movies for free and the topper, wine! Red or white, and it was good. The food was good for plane food and you didn’t have to pay extra. The bread was on point and the cheese was amazing. They are serving France before you even get there. They were also offering Champaign! For Free! What? Just lovely.

I could hardly sleep, which would catch up with me later, but for the time being I was happy as a clam. I was on my way to Paris.

The French countryside from my window seat

Purchase The Quick & Dirty EP! (Brooklyn, London, Chicago, the World!)

Hey Everyone,

Here is where you can purchase The Quick & Dirty EP. There are plenty of ways to choose from. Walk into a store (yes records stores still exist), purchase a hard copy online or download. Do what you like, but do it.

Have a great holiday season and stay tuned for my Year End Review!

Peace,
Shelley


Online
Dusty Groove America

iTunes

CD Baby

Amazon MP3

Traxsource (For The Quick & Dirty DANCE EP)

In Store & Online
Dope Jams
580 Myrtle Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-622-7977
www.dopejams.net

Ongoing Events
Jazz Re:freshed
Mau Mau Bar
265 Portobello Road
London W10
7:30pm (GMT)
Every Thursday
www.jazzrefreshed.com
(Will be sold in online store beginning in January)

More to come. Stay tuned...