Native Tongue Day 5 [Part 10]

London Day 5

After the show on Thursday night, I told my aunt Helen and uncle Richard that Jeff and I would meet them for lunch or dinner or something on Friday. I found out that they were staying in a hotel right next to Victoria station, which was perfect because we could take the rail right there. They told us to call them when we got up, which of course was later then expected, but the nights just kept getting short and shorter.

I had to make sure I had everything together for that evenings show at Native Tongue. There was suppose to be a soundcheck at 6:30pm, but Tim wasn’t sure if he could make it. So if the drums can’t make it then it’s kind of pointless to have a soundcheck. That night’s line up was the blaKbüshe quartet. Well it was actually a quintet including Jeff, Tim, Hannabiell, LyricL and I. LyricL was a welcome last minute addition. I still wasn’t sure if the rest of the horns could make it. Scott was coming from a studio session and Max had a gig, but they said they would try so I was keeping hope alive.

Before leaving the house that day I got a call from Adam Rock. He told me that the owner of the Mau Mau Bar had really loved my show on Thursday night and wanted to know if I was free to play on Saturday back at the Mau Mau! Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever been asked back for a command performance in a matter of days! I was totally flattered, but I had to tell him I couldn’t because I was scheduled to play on Saturday night at the Heart & Soul charity fundraiser in Brixton. That was show #2 that I had to turn down. Just one more confirmation that next time I need to stay in town a lot longer.

Sometime in the afternoon, Jeff and I got our things together and headed on the walk to Kent House station to head to Victoria. We weren’t waiting too long before the train arrived. When we got to Victoria station my aunt & uncle’s hotel was literally next door. It was actually almost in the same building as the station. We walked around to the hotel entrance and went in. The front desk clerk called my aunt down to come get us and soon she was there to take us upstairs. The hotel was really nice, but I can see why she had to come get us because it was a maze.

By the time we got to the hotel I knew that I wasn’t going to do an actual soundcheck, but I still wanted to go down to the club and talk to the folks,  explain my setup and just let them see my face. So Jeff and I chatted with my aunt & uncle for a while, had a little wine and chilled until it was time to go to the club. I mapped out the route and headed there. We jumped on the Circle Line at Victoria and headed it Barbican where the club is.

When we got to the club, Tristan was cool that we weren't going to check. There were other bands waiting so that probably helped them a bit with the flow of things not to have to check one band.  I wasn’t so concerned because I had a smaller set up for the night. I knew at that point that Max and Scott wouldn’t be able to make it so we were back to the small crew. I wasn’t stressed about the evening and Chris, the soundman, seemed cool with everything so Jeff and I headed back to the hotel to have dinner with my aunt & uncle.

My aunt wanted to have fish & chips, in London, before heading home. So she asked the concierge where we should go and he gave her the name of a spot he knew not to far from the hotel, on the other side of Victoria station. I can’t remember the name of the place, but it reminded me of the seafood spots in New England or on City Island in the Bronx where you can get fried seafood and only fried seafood and lots of it. LOL! You know the joints I’m talking about. Everything is fried. If you are looking for something else then you are in the wrong place. HA!

Anyway, we go there, check the menu and order. They had all kinds of fish to be fried on the menu. I think I got the haddock and was good to go. When they came out with those plates of fish & chips I would have thought I was back in America because those portions were huge! Much larger than I expected. I knew I couldn’t eat it all since I had to sing shortly, but I enjoyed what I could.

It was my aunt and uncle’s last day in London. They said they had a great time even though their stay was short. They had taken the train from Paris to London as I did, which they enjoyed as well and they got to see some sights near the hotel. This was their first trip to Europe so it was just amazing for them. I remember my aunt talking about Buckingham Palace and how seeing it made her think of her history lessons from school. I know exactly what she meant. I think that’s how I felt when I saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris. You know it’s there, but it’s a whole other thing to see it for yourself. Everyone should travel. I’ll say it again for all you American’s reading this blog. EVERYONE SHOULD TRAVEL! There is so much out there to see. Get yourself a passport and get out of wherever you are. This world is so much bigger than your commute to work and home everyday and your trip to the supermarket and church on the weekend. It’s huge people. Get out there. Stop letting your issues with “people” keep you home, or your financial “issues” keep you from going anywhere. We have money for what we WANT to have money for. Nuff said.

After dinner we went back to the hotel only to find out that the people of Egypt had won their fight and gotten Mubarack out of office! What a night! It was an amazing sight to see.

I changed my clothes at the hotel because I had seen the bathroom at the club before I left and I knew that was not going to work. I did my makeup and got all of my things together. Jeff and I said farewell to my aunt & uncle and headed back to the Circle Line to head back to the club.

Native Tongue reminds me of some of the smaller rock clubs that exist in New York. They are underground, dark, and often have lots of beer spilled on the floor or something sticky like that. Luckily Native Tongue did not have the beer soaked floor, but it is your typical “indie” rock club. I had played a Native Tongue event when I was in London in 2007. Back then they were doing their things at a spot called Edwards Hammersmith. It was upstairs from a restaurant called Edwards I believe. I knew that it was going to be a spot where there were more white people than people of color, but that was the point. That night at Edwards no one knew who I was, but folks were very cool to me and I met a great girl named Rhiannon who I have kept in touch with ever since.

Now Native Tongue has their own spot in EC1 and it is actually a cool little spot. As I said, it ain’t real swanky, but it is rock & roll. This difference between last time and this is that people came out to see me.

I was so excited to see some of my Michfest crew! What?? Michfest in London? Yes indeed. Last year in Michigan I met two sistas named Michelle and Yvonne. I told Michelle last year on the land that I wanted to go back to London and at that time she had an event she was doing so she said if I got there I could come through. So when I knew I was coming back to London I reached out, but by that time she wasn’t doing her event anymore. That was cool because it would be great to see her either way. Well low and behold, Michelle and Yvonne were in the house. Also Jeff’s friend Kelli came through and LyricL’s friend Arek came and Abdul from our Cargo hang on Monday night come through.

As I said, that night was the quintet. I really loved that setup. It was bass (me), drums (Tim), guitar/bass (Jeff), trombone (Hannabiell) and vocals/emcee (LyricL). That trombone really set it off. It also felt good to be on bass with the electric set because usually I’ll play bass with the acoustic set. It felt like a move forward for me on the bass front.

We did a short set that night. The songs for the evening (in no particular order) were blaK Girls (original version), Give it to Me, I Am American, Can’t Blame a Tree, Box and Go Head & Rise.

We Got the Glow!

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The Force if with me

CLICK HERE to see the VIDEO from that night!

[The sounds is not the best, but I wanted to share the glow in action.  :-D]

It was another amazing show and as you can see from the photos that my girl Michelle took we were glowing. LOL! I had such a good time doing that set. It was another amazing night. Many of the people who were there for the earlier bands stayed to hear us. I have to admit that I love making people think twice about the assumptions that they make about me before I even open my mouth. If you don’t know what I’m saying I’ll break it down. Basically when “folks” see me and my band setting up they often make an assumption about what kind of music we are going to play. Basically, we are black so we must be playing R&B or something of that sort. So when that doesn’t quite happen then they are intrigued for lack of a better term so they hang out and end up having a great time.

When the show was over Tristan, who owns the club, told me to give him more notice as to when I’m coming back to London so he could build a night around me. Now that’s what’s up! So I have to get back soon. Honestly I’m already hatching a plan.

We hung out for a bit and chatted with the folks who came out. This one young white guy who had a few, kept telling me about how much he didn't like R&B and how much his sister does, but how we made him rethink his position on R&B. I think what we really did was make him rethink his assumptions of black people in music. Score one for the team. Lol!

That night Tim was kind enough to give Jeff and I a ride home. Just one more blessing.  That was the last night that I saw Tim during my trip. I really love that guy. He’s just such good people and so professional. If Matsu (my drummer here in NY) can’t be with me in Europe then it is Tim all day. Thanks Tim!

Yes indeed another day is down in London Town. There was still one more show to go and Jeff and I vowed to try and see one damn sight on Saturday before we had to be at the radio show in Brixton. Until tomorrow…

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 Gang's All Here! : Day 3 [Part 8]

London Day 3

Wednesday. The plan was to get up and try to do something, anything before band rehearsal at 6:30pm. Well that was not in the cards. Tuesday was such a long day and we were just beat. Jeff and I kept saying we were going to get a move on and it just never happened. Well the only move we made was back to the phone store to top up my cell phone, which I was beginning to see was going to cost me a grip by the end of the trip, and to Sainsbury’s the local supermarket to buy some food so that we wouldn't eat out all the time.

Note: I really love that the supermarket is called Sainsbury’s. There is something about that name that makes the food seem royal. LOL!

I have to tell you that I really love food shopping in London. I think I mentioned this last time I was there, but the food is just so much better. There isn’t one thing on the shelf with high fructose corn syrup in it. The things that the supermarkets here call “organic” and charge us more money for are just standard fare over there. Folks just because something doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup in it, doesn’t mean it’s organic. Know that!

Sainsbury’s also has a great bakery department. As we were looking over the breads and figuring out what to buy I couldn’t help but comment to Jeff on how fresh the bread was and the many varieties. One of the women who worked there jumped right in to tell me that their oven had been down for a while and people in the neighborhood were really upset that they couldn’t get their Sainsbury’s bread and were waiting basically with baited breath to get their hands on a loaf as soon as the oven was up and running. She said it made her feel good to know that they were appreciated. There was a gleam in her eye of pride. That moment reminded me that sometimes all you need to give people is a Thank You and it will make their whole day.

We left the supermarket and headed back to the house to make some late lunch. Sometime during the day I got a call or text from LyricL asking if I would like her to pick up some snacks for the band for rehearsal. Well that sounded great! Cool. She also reminded me to reach out to everyone to make sure that they were clear about where rehearsal was and the time. If LyricL wasn’t such a masterful emcee, she would make an amazing tour manager.

Let me back up a little bit and tell you about this band I put together with the help of the Creator before we get into rehearsal details. Truly they were a band of angles. I have to take you back to NY for you to understand a bit better the process of pulling this whole thing together.

When I decided that I would take the plunge and go to London after Paris I was fully prepared to go alone as I stated in the first blog. Jeff soon told me that he was on board to come from New York. Okay cool. So now I just needed to figure out the rest of the of the band in London. I decided that I would only do one full band show because that’s all I could afford and really I couldn’t afford that, but I kept moving forward. As for what I wanted to do in London, the main focus was to be able to perform the “blaK Girls” remix live because I would be there with LyricL who is the emcee on the track. So if nothing else I needed at least two horns to make it sound like something since the remix is afrobeat.

I reached out to LyricL about folks to play in the band and she hit me with a bunch of names. I already had a drummer, Tim, who played with me when I went to London the first time. That is my man, hundred-grand for real. He was on board already. So I needed bass, maybe another guitar, and two horns. After talking to a few people, LyricL’s bassist John came on board. I reached out to one guitarist, but he couldn’t make the date and his price was way out of budget. John said his roommate Alam played sax so he would ask him to get on board. LyricL also told me to reach out to her friend Scott who plays trumpet to see if he would be down. I got in touch, he was free and he was down. Cool! Okay so we had John (bass), Jeff (guitar), Tim (drums), Alam (sax), Scott (trumpet) LyricL (emcee) and me. Cool! I have to add that all these folks said they would do the show for a split of the door! Blessings.

Now I’m thinking I’m all good. I have the band together and I’m about to move forward. Then I get three more emails. The first is from my friend Yillis who is in school in New Castle, UK. She informs me that her and my girl (and hers) Hannabiell, who is also in school in New Castle, are going to come down to London to see my show while I’m in town. Great! I was so excited about that because since they started going to school out there I don’t get to see them much. Funny thing is that I was so excited at the thought of just seeing them that it took a day or two before it clicked that I should ask Hannabiell to play with me on my shows.

Hannabiell is a trombone and percussion player. I met her about 3 or 4 years ago through my girl Hanifah. Hanifah tapped Hannabiell to play with her at Michfest when she had her band Hanfiah Walidah & the Fuckin’ Ladies. Hannabiell is a master drummer and a killer trombonist. So I reached out to her about playing the Thursday gig at the Mau Mau Bar and the Friday gig at Native Tongue and she was down!

The next email came from LyricL who put me in touch with her percussionist Tuca. Tuca is an incredible drummer/percussionist from Brazil who now lives in London. LyricL let Tuca hear my music and she was down as well!

Finally I got an email from Scott (trumpet) who told me that he is really good friends with another sax player named Max. He had asked Max if he wanted to play and Max said he would be down! Wow!

Now the band has 4 horns, percussion, drums, bass, guitar, and emcee and me on vocals. LyricL was also helping me out with some of the backgrounds. Amazing! I was truly blessed. Now back to Wednesday.

I was still having a hard time getting used to just how long it was taking us to get to our destinations in London. So I would think I was giving myself enough time and I was always late. That day was no exception. I also think that Jeff and I were so tired that it was hard to walk out of the house sometimes because it was so cozy.

Earlier in the day I asked John if I could play his bass at rehearsal and he agreed so I didn’t have to carry mine that day, which was a plus because my girl is heavy. Soon we were off on another train journey.

If I’m remembering correctly Jeff and I walked to Kent House station to take the train to Victoria. When we got to Victoria we took that line Oxford Circus. Then we switched for the Central Line toward Ealing Broadway to North Acton. We were rehearsing at Survival Studios and really that studio looked like it was doing all it could to survive. HA!

Sign at the Survival Studios front desk. It seems that amphibians can get break in London

We got off the train and we were late. So I called LyricL to express my apologies and to let the folks know who were there that I was close by. Survival Studios is bare bones to say the least. I really wanted to rehearsal at the other spot called Panic Music that was at the same stop, but the other way down the road, but I waited too long and they were booked. In the end though, rehearsal space is rehearsal space, it was in the budget and I know how to make it do what it do. It’s really about being in the same room. All the rest is gravy. I was thankful.

When I got to the spot Tuca, John and LyricL were there. I knew Tim would be a little late, but we could work the rhythm section with Jeff, John and Tuca until he arrived. We were about to get things started when Tim arrived a little early.  Hannabiell got to studio really early and was waiting for us,  but she was directly to a pub to chill until we arrived.  I told the horns not to come until 7 or 7:30 so she early, but by the time she got back she was right on time.

Tuca, Jeff & Tim

We jumped into rehearsal and little by little the horns started to arrive. First Hannabiell, then Alam then Max and Scott. By the time we all got in the room it was really sounding great. The horns were making up lines on the spot along with things that had already been charted out.

Video Clip of "blaK Girls" remix in Rehearsal

I felt really comfortable with everyone and had complete confidence in them from the moment we started playing. We only had one day to rehearse before we hit the stage the next day at the Mau Mau Bar, but I knew it would be great. I tell you, if we’d had two day to rehearse, they would have had to call the fire department to the club because as it was the show was FIRE!

Video Clip of "Give It To Me" in Rehearsal

John, Alam, Scott, Max & Hannabiell

By the time rehearsal was over I felt really good about what was ahead. So we closed up shop, I paid for rehearsal and got ready for the long haul back to Anerley. Before I could even start really contemplating that journey Jeff and I needed to eat. Max suggested that we go up to the bar/restaurant where he has a gig that looks out over the Thames river. Now that sounded good! It also turned out that Max lives in Crystal Palace, which is right next to Anerley so he said he would drive us home. Wow! [Angel #10]. So Jeff, Hannabiell and I piled into Max’s car and we headed to the spot. LyricL had to do something so she said she would take the Tube and meet us there.

We made out way out of North Acton and headed toward central London. We drove through Piccadilly Circus, by Westminster Abbey and Big Ben over Thames and headed toward where we were going to pick up LyricL once she got off the Tube. We beat her there so Max just drove us around for a bit pointing out the sights. It was a beautiful clear night.

When LyricL got off the train we couldn’t quite figure out where she was. So she thought it would be better for her to just walk to the spot and meet us there. Okay. So we drove over to the area where the restaurant was, found a parking spot and headed up. I immediately knew we were going to a somewhat fancy spot because there were a few cars with divers sitting outside. Okay boys, we’re going in. LOL!

The spot was called the OXO restaurant as it was the OXO building. Yes that is the same OXO that makes kitchen utensils at Crate & Barrel, Bed, Bath & Beyond and various other spots. The company is based in London. We took the elevator up to the restaurant and it was very beautiful. Since Max plays there he knew everyone and that was cool. They gave us a nice table in the bar area and then Jeff, LyricL and I went on the terrace to check out the view. It was just beautiful. We were right next to the London Eye, which lights up everything in that area. It was amazing to see London from that vantage point. Jeff and I were going to order a dish to split, but Max said he could take us someplace a little less expensive when we left. So we just ordered drinks and talked New World Order with our Parisian waiter. It seemed like he was waiting all day for us. Meaning he had a lot get off his chest and clearly the more conservative usual clientele was not trying to hear it from him. LOL!

The after rehearsal hang

In the end our long chat with the waiter paid off. He only charged us for 2 or maybe 3 of the 5 drinks we ordered and he let us take all the Harvey Nichols chocolates we stuff in our pockets! Ha! Chocolate is always the best way to end an evening.

Before we left the spot I headed to the ladies room. The bathroom was off the hook in that spot. I wish I had taken a photo of that. On my way back to the table I noticed the posters lining the hallway wall. There was a great one of James Brown Live at the Apollo. To me that was a subtle nod to Paris and made me smile. Almost like James was giving the thumbs up to my London trip.

A little throw back to my days in Paris

We headed out, back past the car and drivers to Max’s ride. We all piled in just long enough to drop LyricL at the Tube so she could get back to her place since she was going in a totally opposite direction than the rest of us.

Hannabiell was staying in Peckham, which was on the way south so Max said he would drop her off too. Before getting there we stopped at a kebab spot to get some late night eats and then headed home in earnest. We dropped Hannabiell and headed one more time to Anerley. Max graciously dropped us off at the house and bid us farewell. Another great night in London down. Tomorrow is the big show!

NOTE:  There are more videos of the rehearsals in London, but they are just too small and grainy to post through the blogger. So if you want to check them out just go to my YouTube Channel. There is a fill clip of the Rufus cover "I'm a Woman (I'm a Backbone)" and more goodies. Enjoy!

Can a Girl Catch a Break? : Day 2 [Part 7]

London Day 2

I’m up! It’s Tuesday at the crack of dawn. I think I just went to sleep, but I had to get up. I had to meet Jeff at Heathrow at 8:25am. Okay. I’m beat down tired. I peel myself up, take a shower and head downstairs to ask Michelle or Kevin how to get to the train station. I have already mapped out my route. I have to take the Overground from Anerley to Canada Water. Then catch the Jubilee Line toward Stanmore to Westminster or Green Park. I think I chose Green Park because that would put me right on the Piccadilly Line, which would take me directly to Heathrow. If I got off at Westminster I would then have to switch to the District Line going toward Earling Broadway and then switch for the Piccadilly Line at Acton Town toward Heathrow. Are you starting to feel my pain?

I left the house at 6:30 or 7am. I had to hurry if I was going to catch my train so Kevin said he would take me to the station. We jumped in the car and high tailed it over there. I arrived with time to spare, but just a bit of time. I hopped on the train and realized that it was rush hour. I don’t care what city you are in, rush hour is rush hour and I don’t like crowds. Especially crowds of people trying to get to a job that they think is more important than anything else in the world. They can be ruthless.

When the train stopped at Canada Water, my first change, it was a mad rush. It felt like a New York, Times Square morning. I just had to suck it up because I had to keep moving to make it to the airport on time. I waded through the sea of people and made my way to the next train that was pulling into the station. I found a spot to squeeze in and took a breath. I wasn’t on the Jubilee too long before I had to make the switch to the Piccadilly Line. Luckily I didn’t have to wait long for that train and there was actually a seat for me when it pulled up. I think most folks were going the other way since it was Tuesday morning. So at that point I was doing the opposite commute. Yes. So I settled in for the long haul to Heathrow.

I was so tired. I could hardly keep my eyes open. I noticed something about the Tube in that moment. You don’t see a lot of people sleeping on the train. On the NYC subway you always see people sleeping. Does that speak to quality of life? Are people getting more rest? Hmmm… Well I couldn’t be concerned about other folks. I needed a nap.

Before I knew it we were entering Heathrow. Now the trains that go there go something like this. There is a train that goes to terminals 1,2,3 & 4 and another that goes to 1,2,3 & 5. I was on the train that went to terminal 4 because that’s where Jeff was coming in. Now when the train goes to terminal 4 it’s actually circling to head back to Cockfosters. Yes I said Cockfosters. That is a real stop. So when we got to the stop for terminals 1,2 & 3 the train just sat there for a while. Damn! I was already late even though I left at the crack of dawn so I knew Jeff would be there waiting and looking for me, concerned, since we had no way to communicate. My UK phone was still not working.

Finally the train started to head for terminal 4, but I had forgotten what a haul it is to get from the tube to the actual airport. Heathrow is no joke ya’ll. So I start walking toward the terminal and at this point I have to say I’m feeling a little defeated. I’m just super tired and hungry as hell.

Finally I make it to the terminal and I’m looking around for Jeff. Luckily he was right there. I was about 20-30 minutes late and I felt bad about that. Not quite the way I wanted to welcome Jeff to London on his first trip there. I needed to take a seat. I needed a minute before I took that haul back to Anerley.

I greeted Jeff and he could clearly see that something was wrong. So I recapped the events from the day before to him. We then decided to chill in the airport for a bit and get an overpriced sandwich or something before headed back for the long haul. I told Jeff we were far out, but he didn’t care because he was in London. I think that changed a bit for him after we started riding, but it was all good. Indeed we were in London.

After taking a breather we headed back to the Tube. Michelle gave me an Oyster for Jeff so that he could get back because it had a travel card on it (I can’t even go into all of the London travel speak right now. Just try to keep up.). So I thought we were all good until I couldn’t get through! What? So now I’m tried, still hungry because the overpriced sandwich was terrible and I can’t get on the Tube. So I ask the attendant what is up. He says I have to put more money on the card. Why? When I got my Oyster the day before I got an unlimited pass for zones 1-4 with a travel card because I knew that I would have to get Jeff in the morning. So why wasn’t my card working. I was so tired at that point that it took me about two or three days to figure out that I had used my travel card when I went to Michelle’s house the night before because I took the rail from Victoria station and the rails are a whole other animal. If you are in NY, it’s like riding the LIRR or Metro North. Anyway, I had to put more money on my Oyster to get out of Heathrow and then we were off. Back over the Piccadilly Line to the Jubilee Line to the Overground to Anerley. It felt like it took forever, but soon we were at Anerley station. Unfortunately it wasn’t until then that I realized A) I couldn’t remember how Kevin had gotten me to the train station so I didn’t know how to get back to the house and B) My UK cell was not working so I couldn’t call anyone. Oh wait, I did have Michelle’s number on me, and pay phones still exist and work in London. So I called her from the pay phone and got no answer. Are you kidding me? Okay. I tried a few more times, but to no avail.

There was a little shop down the road sp we went in to see if maybe they could get my phone going because they sold SIM cards. The people in there were so nice. Really helpful and the older woman in there even let me use her phone to try Michelle again, but no luck. She asked Jeff and I a bit about ourselves since we were hauling instruments and clearly American. We told her we were musicians and that we actually had a show that night, but Jeff had just got in. She said that Jeff would be shattered by the end of the night with the jet lag. She was not kidding.

So we are trying to figure out the phone and get in touch with Michelle and it’s all not working out. One saving grace was that it wasn’t cold outside. One of the men in the shop kept telling us about a phone store on Penge High Street that would be able to help me. They told us to take the bus outside just a few blocks down the road. So finally we took their advice and got on the bus.

The bus driver didn’t seem to know what we were talking about, but luckily someone on the bus did. So we got off a few stops later, walked down the road and there we found a whole street of shops and a few restaurants. Thank Goddess because we were hungry for sure. The street sort of reminded me of a small section of Fulton Street in Brooklyn.

We found the phone store that the folks at the news shop told us about. They were correct. They were able to help me get my phone unlocked. Now mind you, I asked T-mobile about this before I left home and they supposedly gave me instructions on how to do this myself, but they left out a very important piece of the puzzle that I would have never been able to figure out on my own. Crazy I tell you. Anyway, my mobile was now working so I called Michelle to let her know I had a phone and exactly we were.

When Michelle got back to me, it turned out she was in yoga class that’s why she wasn’t answering her phone. I knew it had to be something like that. She said she wasn’t too far away, but Jeff and I were so hungry and we ordered food from a West Indian spot. Okay. Now let me tell you something. West Indian food spots are the same in the UK as they are in BK. No matter what time you get there something that you want is always “finished.” HA! It’s just the way of things. As we sat in the restaurant to wait for our food they had the radio on and some terrible music was playing, and the thing that stood out for me was the fact that about 90% of it was American Music. Where were the UK Urban artists on the radio? If you were doing hip-hop you might get some burn, but the R&B and soul (there was very little soul on the radio) was pretty much all American. I had a few conversations about this the last time I was in London as well. More on that later.

Michelle pulled up and we were still waiting for our food. Soon the waitress came out with our food, we then we jumped in the car and headed for the house. Turned out the house was walking distance away. If I had known where the hell I was we could have went there and waited. Wow. I’m gonna get it together.

When we got in, Jeff put his stuff down, we ate and talked for a bit and then I realized that we didn’t have a lot of time before we would have to get ready to go to The Library for our first show. We also needed an acoustic guitar for the first show.

LyricL’s friend Sam [Angel #6] said we could use his guitar, but after I told Michelle where he lived, she didn’t think I would be able to make it there and back to get to the show on time. She was totally right because he lived way up north. So we needed a plan B. Jeff then remembered his friend Ryan who lived in London. So he called Ryan [Angel #7] and he had an acoustic that we could use. Yes! We squared that all away and Jeff decided to take a nap before we had to head out because the lag was catching up to him. I was beat down too, but I had work to do before we headed back out.

So I sat at the computer and worked while Jeff napped and Michelle cooked. Before I knew it Michelle was saying that dinner was ready. Jeff wasn’t hungry so I let him sleep. I ate with Michelle, Kevin and their daughter and then got myself ready to go.

We had to meet Ryan at Highbury & Islington station to get the guitar from him. We were going to try and meet him closer to his place, but we just ran out of time. I’m so glad he was gracious enough to come to us.

So Jeff and I set off for our first gig. We were running a bit late so Michelle drove us to the Kent House rail station. We would have to take that to Victoria Station and catch the Victoria Line to Highbury & Islington. That was the fastest way to go.

When we got to Highbury & Islington we beat Ryan there. We only had to wait for a bit and then he appeared. He passed the guitar off to Jeff, they chatted for a minute and then we headed around the corner to the Library bar.

Now the Library seems like a typical London pub, except for the fact that they serve Thai food, which is clearly not your average pub fare. The place is really cool. There are photos of musicians all over the walls, including a very cool shot of Grace Jones that I just loved. In the photo she is all legs. The night was not quite an open mic although it had that kind of vibe. Basically everyone was scheduled to be on the show, but folks were in varying stages of their performing careers. When we came in a young man named Navin was on stage. We caught the last portion of his set before we were graced with Solange [Angel #8]. She was a sista from Paris. It was actually quite an international night at the Library. I being from America, Solange from Paris and another guy who I think was from Sweden or something like that.

Anyway, Solange had a great set and her guitar sounded amazing. So I thought I would ask her if Jeff could play her guitar because its also had a direct input, which Ryan’s didn’t. After her set, we were on and she was gracious enough to let Jeff use her guitar.

The set that night was short. We only had time for four songs. So we did "Box," "Give it to Me," "blak girls" and "Blackbird." It went really well. Folks were bopping along and it was great. Carol-Ann brought two of her friends and LyricL sent her friend Van to see the show. We sold a few CDs and excited some cool Italian guys on holiday in London. Fun!

Up all Night Music @ The Library

More Library Bar

"blak Girls Work..."

After the set ended, Don the engineer asked me if I was going to be around the following week because he wanted me to come play his event. Wow! Damn. We wouldn’t be there. That was the first gig I had to pass up due to my short stay in London.

We sat and chatted for a while and listed to some of the other artists and then much to my surprise LyricL [Angel #9, but really #1] and her friend Abdul showed up!! Yeah!! They missed the set, but it didn’t matter. It had been four years since I had seen my girl in person. Damn I could have gotten another degree. LOL! Yeah! So we packed up our things and headed to Cargo where her friend Ian was spinning. We could chill and get food there. Yeah!!!

We jumped on the Tube and honestly I don’t know how we did it, but somehow we got to Shoreditch High Street (I think). I don’t remember us taking the Overground, but I know someone will chime in and let me know how we got there. I think at that point I was ready to have someone else lead the way so I didn’t pay all that much attention to the route.

Anyway we arrived at Cargo and we were greeted by some awesome street art. When we got in the joint there was a show going on. I can’t remember who it was, but I do remember that sound system. It was incredible! The dude was playing some power pop and it sounded like a whole band and it was just one guy!

Outside Cargo

Inside Cargo

We made our way back to the front room where LyricL’s friend was spinning with his friend Ricco. We settled in to talk and eat and just take a breather from the whole day. Jeff was so tired, but he was a real trooper. We are in London after all!

Jeff, Van & Abdul @ Cargo

Just a little pose for the camera

Adbul on Tambourine, LyricL on water glass, Me & Jeff on vocals

Ian a.k.a. djsoulprovyder

Me & my tambourine after a quick lesson from Adbul

After eating some okay food (it filled the hole), dancing a bit, and getting a quick tambourine lesson from Adbul (thanks hun), we realized that we had to hurry back to the Tube because it would soon stop running. That is something I don’t know if I could ever get used to. In NY the trains never stop.

Adbul breaking down his tambourine style! 

Ricco & djsoulprovyder burning down the set!

Van & Abdul

We had to make our way to Whitechapel to get the Overground to Anerley. Again I can’t remember exactly what we did. I just remember that we had to take two trains and LyricL was concerned about our time. On the screen that shows the times that the trains come it looked like we had missed the last one to Anerley, but much to our surprise, when we got to New Cross Gate a train came to take us to Anerley. Yes! We were not stuck out there in the middle of nowhere.

When we got to Anerley we were also blessed because shortly after the train got in, a bus came going toward Michelle’s place so we didn’t have to walk. We got on the bus and as we were driving down the road I saw another fox! People, these sightings are so crazy. This is the city ya’ll! Jeff missed that fox sighting because the joker was on the run, but Jeff would soon see his share. The bus dropped us off at the corner of Michelle’s street. We just walked down a few houses and we were home. Day 1 done!

We put out things down, maybe had something to drink and then headed straight to bed. Next up, Wednesday and full band rehearsal. Can you say horns!

The Cargo Crew!