Friday at Safari Steakhouse
Safari Steakhouse, 9430 Annapolis Road Lanham MD 20706


DP, Stomp, Donnell


Doc, Dwayne

I arrived much later than I intended - I was there only a little bit before they started playing. I had trouble finding a parking space. Lorenzo walked in after me. Donnell wore his black riding cap. He said, "Multi-talented Halima, performing for the first time at the Tropicana." Donnell said, "We're the only band with a real happy hour." Lorenzo took his time getting in. Donnell said, "Lorenzo, you're already late, you might want to come in!"

Familiar Faces
First Set
Packy played the tambourine.

Michael Muse (aka Kanye West)
All pictures taken by and Copyright - Michon Battle
1) Miles Davis' Tutu - Donnell played his Sax at the edge of the stage.
2) Grover Washington Jr.'s Lock It in the Pocket - Donnell said, "Halima, this is the song I was talking about", Donnell went on the dance floor playing his horn
DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) put up lights on the left side of the stage
Donnell repeated, "The first time at the Tropicana, Halima"
3) Halima-led Whitney Houston's You Give Good Love - Halima said, "First I want to say happy birthday to Maurice, is there a Maurice in the house? We dug deep into the record stack for this one", Donnell talked and Halima stared at him, Donnell said, "Sing baby", Halima held herself, danced a little, moved around, and bounced, her singing was excellent, Doc sang, "Hoop!", and then so did Halima
4) Halima-led Jill Scott's Golden - Halima and Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Halima bounced and danced, there was a nice crank
Mike said, "Happy birthday to everyone who is having a birthday this evening"
5) Mike-led Ruff Endz' Someone to Love You - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Halima danced
6) Mike-led John Legend's Ordinary People - Mike gave a speech about "Trying to keep people together", Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
7) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima called a guy over to the stage and asked him some questions, she said, "You ain't going nowhere", she tried to get him to sing, she smiled, she stood at the edge of the monitors, she told him to sit down, she was bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, he had a chair at the edge of the monitors, she stood at the edge the edge of the monitors, she got on one knee, She sang to another fan, there was an instrumental transition to ->
8) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Say Yes - Halima moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, it looked like she was directly looking at someone, but there was no one right on the dance floor, Mike said, "I'm Russell Simmons", after Mike sang, Halima said, "Tell 'em again, Mike", Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was a nice vocal finish by Mike, then Halima / Lionel Richie's Hello (tease) - Halima said, "This is what you can say"
There was a larger crowd than lately for the first set, the later start time probably helped.

Michon was there, taking pictures. Love was there.

Sanisse and Yolanda were there.

Peg Leg was there, he said hello to me.

Doc said he picked up and likes the new PFunk album except for some of the rap stuff. I meant to tell him about a recent George Clinton interview.

I talked with Michon. I talked about exchanging digital photos - she said some of her pictures are on the band website, including the ones of Venus Hall. She said she specialized in photography. I talked about going to the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, but taking a radio to listen to the MD game (we won 45-33). She said her two twins sons are fifteen. They play football for Lee high school - they are undefeated. Their father was in football, but switched to being a body builder. I said that at community colleges, fathers and sons can play together. She said Steve Francis is their cousin. I told her how Doc and Dwayne couldn't believe Marquis Melvin quit the football team until I showed them a quote from his coach. I told her about Halima wearing a similar hat to hers and Candy’s at Takoma Station last week. She said she and Candy went to the hat store and came back with the same hat, so they got different colors.

Second Set
Feedback came out of Doc's amp.
Mike said, "That's what happens when you buy your instruments at the toy store."
Donnell said, "Tirico, I haven't seen him since he was a little boy"
The crank (particularly by Smoke) started with
1) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again - Donnell said, "We're trying to get started a little early", Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell said, "Rudy can we get some house lights on?", he repeated it calling him Flava as well, Halima moved around, Donnell said, "Right there, Halima", she bounced, Donnell said, "Right there, Smoke" during his percussion solo
2) Toto's Georgy Porgy - instrumental tease / Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
3) Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Right there Stomp, don't you go nowhere."
4) Halima-led Alicia Keys' Unbreakable - Omar stood onstage, the crowd sang along, Halima moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell said, "Right there, Smoke", Halima bounced, she did some vocal hits, the stage is not completely level - Smoke had trouble with the congas not staying still
5) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" - Donnell said, "Right there Smoke" during the percussion, Donnell said, "Get this warmed up", there was a nice crank, Mike took off his sweater and Donnell said, "He's taking off his sweater"
6) Donnell-led "Oh my DC n*ggers, GoGo n*ggers", Doc was on backup vocals, the frontline danced, Donnell sang? "We're so fine, we can't..."
7) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, the crowd sang along, Halima moved, Donnell had Smoke switch to timbales and Jacques to congas, the frontline danced / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Donnell said, "Right there, Halima" before they switched back to Hollaback Girl, then he later said, "Right there, Smoke" and they switched back to Hook Me Upa
8) Smoke conga solo - opened with Donnell shouting, "Yes!"
9) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell called out names
10) Donnell-led Hold the Note - Mike and Halima danced, Donnell went to the edge of the stage, he was used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, he chanted "Wait a minute",
11) Donnell-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up - Halima sang
12) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda - Donnell said, "You ready, Pam?" Halima danced, Halima and Donnell stood at the edge of the stage
Donnell said, "I know what you want. I'm going to give you what you want. I'm going to slow it down."
13) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, he held his mic at the edge of the stage, Mike held the hand of a woman at the edge of the monitors, he then went on the floor and sang directly to more women, he said, "It doesn't matter what kind of car he drives, it only matters how he treats you"
Mike said, "Yeah, ten for ten..."
Donnell said, "Mike's singing to everyone, a smorgas board."

Donnell Jr., Stacey & her cousin Shante, Nikki, Shawn, Tijuana with Shameika (who asked me how my thesis is going), 6'9, and Sixx were there.

Third Set
1) They started performing the music to Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Donnell said, "Next Sunday (October 9th), we're at the Fur with Chuck Brown, you might not see us on the flyer, but we'll be there. Mr. Cheeks will be there." Donnell said, "We will have laid back Sundays (starting October 16th), at the National Grille, free drinks to you, you hear that 6'9? Free drinks for everyone but 6'9. No GoGo, just happy hour sets.", Halima said, "We're not a GoGo band on Sundays.", Donnell said, "We're recording a live PA this Wednesday. You hear that Jauhar? Even though I'm not on the flyer" / Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, moved around and bounced more than usual, Omar stood onstage, Dwayne smiled, the horn hits were really pronounced, Halima sang, "Ain't you funkin' now"
Donnell said, "I think ___ is ready"
2) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and moved around, Donnell did a shout out to Sixx, Halima's singing was energetic, but not as early as when she normally sings this, Donnell said, "You hear that, Ytee?", Donnell said, "Hey Smoke", Smoke did a percussion solo, Donnell danced
3) Donnell-led "She's... she's elated"
4) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
5) Donnell-led "I Don't See or Hear No Evil" - nice percussion, Mike said something I couldn't hear
6) Donnell-led "Eya eya"
7) Donnell-led One on One (Footz version) - the band and the crowd put their hands in the air, Halima, Doc, and Dwayne danced
8) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Yolanda alternated dancing with me and Omar, Donnell danced, moved around and used a lot of nonverbal gestures, he stood at the edge of the stage, he chanted "Wait a minute", Jay Gotti and Killa Cal stood onstage / Donnell-led Notorious BIG's Warning - he used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and moved around / Donnell "Wait a minute" echoes" / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / Jay Gotti rapped / Killa Cal rapped "This is how we do it Friday night, I'm a familiar face" / Donnell "Wait a minute" echoes - Donnell and Halima danced, Donnell held his left fist with his elbow perpendicular, Halima imitated it
9) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" / Mike-led Rare Essence's Work the Walls - Halima danced, Donnell stood at the edge of the stage, Halima played congas, Sanisse also played on one of the congas
10) Donnell-led Trina Was Great - Stacey played with the conga mics, Halima walked offstage and Yolanda also left, Donnell forgot some of the lines, Donnell said, "Hey Stomp, we're getting ready to get up out of here."
Mike said, "Tiffany's doing the cabbage patch. She almost broke her shoulder"
11) Young Jeezy's Go Crazy - instrumental tease
12) Stomp solo
Donnell said, "It's Toya's birthday, she loves me. Dwayne's birthday is next week; it's the only band birthday we aren't going to celebrate."
I told him my birthday is the day before - next Friday. He told Nephew to get me a cake and put Dwayne's name somewhere on it.
Ytee and Tyrell were there
Doc told me to "ball that (my notes) up". He said that Kanye West (making fun of Mike's sweater) said he dresses like a kid. I told him about reading about greenlighting on the MD board. I said in the thread, there was a picture of Kanye West with a green collared shirt with the collar popped.

Doc said that Halima did the robot.
Donnell said, "I hate Roy Jones, I'm taking all bets, even if he fights Little Mike (Mike Smith used to be a boxer)."
Tiffany F. called me bobble head; we stood over by one of the tables. She got into an argument with a friend whose name I don't know. She asked me to handle it; I got behind her and pushed toward her friend. She made me stop when she saw I was serious.
15) Donnell acapella Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease)
Donnell said that "Monique is looking like she came out of the prom". She responded that she was thirty. She went over to Donnell Jr. and gave him a lap dance. Donnell said, "Stay away from my son."
Donnell said, "We're taking a collection for Vincent, he got his test results, Eazy-E"

I asked Googie if he knew the order of the bands tomorrow at the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. Unfortunately, he didn't.

I told Donnell about the TMOTT thread talking about his son.

I talked with Monique about her rapping there a few weeks ago, and moving all over as she did it. I said I wanted to see that again.

I then talked with Mike. I told him Doc called him Kanye West because of his sweater. I told him about greenlighting and that Kanye West had a picture exhibiting it.

Wednesday at Takoma Station
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012

Tamara, Tim (LJ), Sharika, June and his wife Shadonna, Shaun (celebrating her birthday) and Tyrell were there.

Donnell wore a black riding cap, the first time since the night of the the Katrina Relief show, probably the same cap. Halima wore a denim cap over her hair that looked like a Rasta cap.

I told Lorenzo that Dwayne has a Maggot Brain pedal for his guitar.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Grover Washington's Mr. Magic - the keyboard hits were really tight, Donnell had a different Sax solo at the end
2) Mother's Day - instrumental, the one Donnell leads with his Soprano Sax. Donnell went over and played at the birthday table. Tamara said something; I asked if she was jealous. She said she really likes this song and wrote words to it. I asked her the title, Tamara said it's called Mother's Day.
Tim said, "Next thing you know, Donnell will be playing outside."
3) Donnell sax solo / Instrumental Prelude / Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You - Mike said, "Welcome to Takoma Station", Donnell was felt Halima's hat, Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and clapped, Mike said, "You ready, Pinky and Tina Turner?", Halima danced
4) Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy
Mike said "Donnell play that damn horn, this goes out to all the beautiful girls celebrating their birthdays. It kind of makes you feel like a kid on Christmas."
5) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Halima sat onstage, apparently Lorenzo made a mistake, Doc smiled at him
Mike said, "I don't ___ here we could do it like this, Hey thank you."
Donnell said, "We haven't played this in a while, but I've missed Halima singing this one. I don't know if we will play this long or short, but we're going to play this song."
Halima said, "I think you'll like this song." She said something more I didn't hear and laughed.
6) Halima-led Rodgers & Hart's My Funny Valentine - excellent singing by Halima, she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and bounced, Donnell touched her hair during the appropriate part in the song Donnell said, "Hold on, hold on, hold on. Wait, wait, wait. What was that?"
He announced their upcoming Sunday shows featuring Halima at the Xcalibur (now called National Grille) starting October 16th. He talked about free drinks all night. He said, "I don't drink, you must love that" to a guy who kept repeating "2519", the address for the National Grille
7) Halima-led Whitney Houston's You Give Good Love - her best performance of it so far, she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, she moved around - at the beginning of the song, she was on the only one in the frontline area, she bounced, then Mike came sang backup, Halima said, "Come on, Tamara", Tamara came up, but took a little bit before she sang backup, Mike said, "Yeah!", Halima thanked Tamara for singing backup
Halima said something about it being some kind of night.
8) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima said, "I like to be tall when I sing this", she stood onstage, she continued "I got a lot to say", She had a speech about having something to say with the good times and the bad, Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and moved around, Donnell moved his mic stand onstage so that Doc could sing backup, Halima stood on the floor at the end, instrumental transition to ->
9) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Say Yes - Halima went on the dance floor to a guy (the same guy Donnell teased about repeating National Grille's address), she said he looked serious, she asked if a woman ever said, "Say yes" to him, he said, "No," she went back to the normal frontline area, Mike and Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Halima moved around / Lionel Richie's Hello (tease) - She said, "Do you know this song?"
Donnell said, "We have a hater in the house, Malcolm X" - aimed at Dwayne, I'm not sure what he did/said.
Donnell said, "We have a DC celebrity in the house from the Wire, Big G. G, don't act like you don't hear me or you'll make me tell what happened in basketball this summer." Big G responded to that and acknowledged Donnell.
DP said to me, "It worked."
Donnell talked about Chuck Brown sitting in with them at the Fur on October 9th.

Archie Paige, Jay Floyd, and Stacey were there.

I asked Donnell what hosting last night's show meant, just MCing? He said pretty much (he turned his palm up and down), but he did sit in on Sax with Whop-N-Em.

6'9, RE Angie, DeeDee and Nikiya were there.

I asked Godfather the name of his son, he said Marcus. He said he's something.

Jacques, Tony, Godfather, and others talked about a recent prison break.

Godfather pointed out the rappers from the splash party walking in.

I told Mike about the hater message I got in response to my blog.

I talked with Doc, Dwayne, DP, and Lorenzo.

Donnell came out to get us.

A guy asked me if I was taking pictures tonight. I told him no, that I don't like to take pictures every time becsuse I like to enjoy myself.

Second Set
Donnell did birthday announcements to Val "Tina Turner", Dan and Shawn
Donnell again announced their upcoming Sunday shows featuring Halima. The free drinks are Grey Goose and Remy Martin.
He also announced their Thursdays at the Fur starting October 6th.
Donnell talked about Chuck Brown sitting in with them at the Fur on October 9th. It is their DVD release party. Donnell said, "Mike got too much time screen time". Halima posed.
1) Halima-led Alicia Keys' Unbreakable (debut) - Halima moved around
2) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Halima and Donnell danced
3) They started perfoming the music to Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Donnell said, "Hey Tina Turner, it's your birthday", Halima sang, "Happy birthday" / Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, bounced and moved around - there was a lot of room in the frontline area - Donnell stood behind DP
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Donnell-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up (debut) - Donnell and audience members lit their cell phones
6) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - nice percussion, Halima and Donnell danced
7) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Tina Turner, Shawn, it's your birthday"
Mike started in honor of Tina Turner:
8) Mike-led Rare Essence's Take Me Out to the Go-Go - Donnell said, "Tina Turner, she's darn near fifty years old." Mike said, "He's so disrespectful." Tina Turner sang on a mic, Mike held his mic to the audience
9) Donnell-led Rare Essence's One on One (Footz version) - the band and the audience held their hands in the air, Mike held his mic to the audience
10) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Doing the Do "I ain't got no dust, what's going to..., Do the do"
11) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Halima went back on the floor, Donnell, DP and Halima danced, first just dancing, then the bowing dance / Notorious BIG's Warning - Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, he moved around / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes - Donnell and Halima danced, the crowd shouted "Wind me up, Smoke", Mike danced, Donnell held his left arm in a fist with his elbow perpendicular, Halima and Mike imitated the gesture
12) Donnell-led Tupac's Hail Mary (tease)
13) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - very energetic singing, Halima moved around and bounced
14) Mike-led Lap Dance - Halima danced, the band members pointed out two hot light skinned women (I later found out their names are Tiffany G. and Lima) dancing to the left of the dance floor. I had earlier noticed them dancing on the dance floor
15) Donnell solo Sax Maceo & the Mack's Soul Power '74 (sampled in Jennifer Lopez's Get Right)
When I talked with DeeDee, a woman said, "I remember you". I asked who she was; she is Michelle, DeeDee's cousin. DeeDee said she recognized me from the last time she came out.

Felecia and Ray were there.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location

Familiar Faces
DP, Doc, Lorenzo, and Stomp were already there when I arrived.

They were already working on Whitney Houston's You Give Good Love and Fantasia's Free Yourself.

Dwayne arrived shortly after.

They planned to have a short rehearsal - Donnell was not there. I asked why and they joked that he was hosting a male strippers party with James Funk. I asked why Lorenzo wasn't there since he had joked to me that he was a male stripper at the Hangar Club. I asked Doc at the end where he really was, he was hosting the Lock Down the City hurricane relief show at Safari Steakhouse.


They also worked on Lil Kim's Lighters Up.

When Mike Muse walked in, he said, "What the f*ck is that smell?" There was a rancid smell, but we couldn't figure out what it was.

Doc joked about what Halima and Godfather's reactions would be to their rehearsing, he imitated their voices as well as what they would say.

They said that Dwayne played as loud as Boolah on Friday. Then they talked about how loud Boolah played on Wednesday, he wasn't even on the system. Since Mike wasn't there on Wednesday, he didn't know Boolah played.

Doc said that Lighters Up (which they all called Put Your Lighters Up) is based on Julian Marley. I am pretty sure he said Julian, but it is actually based on Damien Marley's Welcome to Jamrock.

They discussed the Lock Down the City shows. They discussed who was now in Petworth. I talked about Kevin Miller. Dwayne said, "You mean KO" and described him. I said yes. He said he's a friend of his. I talked about Mambo Sauce. Stomp said all of the guys from Northeast Groovers quit because they were too busy, but Chris Wright was still with them according to a report on TMOTT the next day. They talked about why they weren't performing tonight - they had already done their part.

Marcus Lawson criticized the band, he said, "You all suck," except for his Dad and Dwayne. Dwayne said, "What are you a music critic?" DP said, "Be quiet or your Dad won't get his gas money." Marcus said he preferred 911. He asked me if I was a musician, I told him why I was there. He said that having only one fan (me) there wasn't good. He asked who played the congas. I told him and that the percussionists (Smoke & Jacques), don't have to come to every rehearsal.

Halima came in.

They worked on Alicia Keys' Unbreakable, which samples Eddie Kendricks' Intimate Friends.

Someone came in and handed out flyers for the upcoming Sunday shows at National Grill featuring Halima.

She said she didn't want do the rap yet to Lil Kim's Lighters Up. They said she could just sing the verse. They worked on that too. She talked about the lines about places in DC, they said she's from Maryland, she said Miami. They talked about changing places to Rockville, etc. I said, "Bethesda!"

Lorenzo talked about doing Funkadelic's Maggot Brain. He asked Doc if he knew the part, Doc said there wasn't much to it. Lorenzo then asked Dwayne if he knew it. Dwayne said he should receive a demerit just for asking.

I went to my car and unfortunately got a headache. It was bizarre because I didn't have it until I was in my car. So I didn't go to see Mambo Sauce, even though I wanted to.

Saturday at Tradewinds
Today I finished transcribing my interview of Byron "BJ" Jackson, former bass player and keyboard player for 911/Familiar Faces. He is now with Rare Essence. The transcript of the interview can be seen here.

Tradewinds Night Club, 5859 Allentown Way, Camp Springs, MD 20748

It was hard finding a parking spot tonight.

The one bouncer (who up until last week worked the front door) was by the kitchen door, he waved to me.

James, 6'9, Sanisse and Yolanda were there.

Junior worked the sound.

Some male fan yelled out to Halima during the sound check, "Go get him girl!"

Familiar Faces
First Set
Line up: Mike Muse, Halima, Donnell, DP, Doc, Dwayne, Godfather, Lorenzo, Mike Smith (first set only), Smoke, and Charlie.
The DJ, East Coast, acknowledged losing out on the Cowboys-Redskins bet to Donnell. He did a shout out to Redskins fans. He said he had to do a lot of crazy things because of the bet. One of those things, which he said he would never do again, was that he played Hail to the Redskins on the PA.
Donnell said he was glad he was public about it, most of the suckers who lost their bets with him tried to hide it.
He said the Cowboys fans made excuses, saying it was a fluke, as if the Cowboys win over the Redskins last year wasn't...
He said he didn't respect Cowboys fans.
He also said, "We only do the DC thing - Redskins, Orioles, Nationals, Wizards..."
He said, "Do you want to double the bet? They couldn't beat us at home, there's no way they can beat us on the road."
East Coast called for a "Noise Meter" - he asked every Cowboys fan to make noise, then Donnell asked every Redskins fan to make noise.
We Redskins fans were much louder and East Coast acknowledged it.
A male fan yelled out, "Halima!" - I think it was the same one who had yelled to her during her sound check.
Donnell said, "I'm glad you knew we weren't on the boat ride."
1) Mike-led Tony Terry's Freaky Little Game - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was a nice percussion solo
Donnell said, "Trying to warm up for all these lovely ladies."
2) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva - Halima changed the line, "this is how I look with makeup", she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, bounced, and moved around, Donnell touched her hair during it, the frontline danced
3) Toto's Georgy Porgy - instrumental intro / Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - Donnell said, "You alright, Monique?", Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was nice percussion
Donnell said, "I think they're ready now."
4) Donnell-led "Hey ah, Ho oh" - the crowd sang along
5) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima (onstage) & Mike (on the floor) posed at the appropriate times
Halima went back on the floor
6) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - she added "Baby, Baby" to the start, Donnell referred to his male friend, "Scrambled Eggs", She sang toward Scrambled Eggs, she moved around, bounced, and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell danced onstage then on the floor, she held the hand of the fan who had yelled her name - I'll bet he got a kick out of that
Donnell said, "We got some old school"
7) Mike-led Rare Essence's Take Me Out to the Go-Go - Halima went onstage, Donnell said, "My baby ___ since Howard Theatre." Donnell said, "Y'all are too young to know this", he then said, "Let the crowd sing" - they did
8) Mike & Donnell-led Rare Essence's One on One (Footz version) - the band and fans held their hands in the air, Mike danced with a woman on the dance floor
Donnell said, "We're trying to find out just how old you are"
9) Mike-led Rare Essence's Lock It - Halima danced, Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Mike held his mic to a female fan
Donnell said, "We're trying to find how old you are. We don't want any youngsters here. Go beat your feet somewhere else."
Mike said, "Take you back to a time... Do you believe in fairy tales?"
10) Mike-led O'Bryan's Lady I Love You - I noticed James sang back up, Donnell played his horn onstage, Mike went on the dance floor and hugged a female fan (she had earlier stepped on my foot with her spike heel - ouch. She did apologize.) while singing, Another female fan moved that first one out of the way and hugged Mike, Mike said, "I know it's your birthday, but don't get naked", Mike and Donnell both used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
A couple of girls made fun of my head bobbing in both sets, it turns out one of them, Sharon actually likes my head bobbing.

Archie Paige, Nikki, and Monique were there.

Dwayne talked about The Fugees' new single "Take It Easy" being a GoGo track. He talked about even the third guy (Pras?) still gets paid. Stomp talked about Rich Harrison and his songs with GoGo beats.

DP talked about how packed it was at Tradewinds. I told him how hard it was to find a parking space the last two weeks and I arrived early. DP said that at the Black Hole, whenever someone left, someone else was let in.

Mike went outside with the woman he had hugged. He came back in; someone asked him if he wanted some chicken. Godfather said, "He don't want no chicken, write it down Jordan." Then Godfather walked outside.

Mike drank Rockstar - a no-carb energy drink. I told him that I thought of him on the way to rehearsal because a Red Bull truck passed me.

Mike ordered the Rayful Edmonds movie. It was distributed by Liaison.

Slick Rick came in the kitchen.

RE Angie played the congas.

Second Set
1) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again - the crowd sang along, Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, moved around, and bounced, Donnell moved onstage then back on the floor
Halima said, "Hey ladies"
2) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - the crowd sang along, Halima moved around, bounced, and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, she held her mic to a female fan / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Halima danced, she did some heavy breathing, Halima went offstage and then back on the floor
3) Alternating Donnell-led Brown & White - fans held their hands up, Halima was onstage, the frontline, Doc and Dwayne danced / Donnell-led Ride Out - the frontline danced the Ride Out dance, Donnell called Slick Rick up to dance, he did, first onstage, and then on the floor, Donnell directed his dancing, saying things like, "Pop the clutch" / Donnell-led Northeast Groovers' The Water / Mike-led Parliament's Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop) (tease), Halima went onstage, then on the floor
4) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Halima stood onstage, her singing was very energetic, she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and bounced, Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
Halima said, "DC, Tradewinds"
5) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Donnell stood onstage, Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and moved around, the frontline & Dwayne danced / Notorious BIG's Warning - Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and bounced / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) - Donnell went on the floor, he stood on the edge of the dance floor, Dwayne moved Nikki to the right a little, she danced in front of him, Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures / "Wait a minute" echoes - Donnell held his fist up with his elbow at 90 degrees
A fan yelled, "Lincoln Heights"
The lights dimmed, it was very dark
6) Alternating Mike & Donnell-led Rare Essence's Work the Walls / Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" - Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, he went onstage, Mike said, "Who said Lincoln Height?" / Donnell-led Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease) / Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger / Donnell-led Dem Franchise Boyz' I Think They Like Me - "I think she likes me, I think you like me" / Donnell-led Slim Thug's I Ain't Heard Of That (Remix) - nice percussion, Lorenzo added some different keyboard sounds, Donnell had Smoke wave while playing the congas / Donnell rapped for Don & Mike, "Back in the day"
7) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Body Snatchers
8) Dwayne started to play a guitar riff from 911 - Donnell said, "I told them to stop, they are so disrespectful."
9) Donnell rapped, "D-Floyd got the fly sh*t for you"
Mia, a bartender at Cranberries, was there.
Donnell told a woman "next time, leave him home."
A woman complained that he didn't do a birthday shout out to her. He said, "I'm sorry, I'm 41, memory is the first thing to go."
He teased some woman saying she has "a lot of butter on them grits"
He said, "Don got his back up against the wall" - referring to Rare Essence's Back Up Against the Wall?
Donnell joked, "Stomp was fired in the first half, he just keeps coming back".
A guy asked me why I was taking notes. I told him.

Post Performance
1) Donnell rapped "Takoma Station, Masturbation..."
He further teased Stomp, "She had three kids for you and you couldn't..."
Donnell addressed some woman, "Cha Cha, Choo Choo, or Co Co". She was with Charlie. Donnell teased Charlie about his ability to handle her. He said, "He is still scared of you, since the bus trip. If you're not dancing on a table, he don't know what to do with the money." He repeated that you need a garter belt for them to know what to do.
Another woman pulled out her red lace underwear and said James can't handle her.
Donnell sang, Rare Essence's What Would You Do for the Money (tease).
Donnell said, "He's thirty, but he's intimidated."
She had a matching red brassiere, which she showed us.
Donnell said, "Somebody else already paid for the drinks, you don't even need to do that."
He then shifted back, "Poor Charlie, sacred since the bus stop. He wants the Million Mans March, he don't want no woman. All he wants is to scramble the eggs, marinate the steak, and hope you go to sleep, no work. You need a stopwatch for Charlie, Carl Lewis on that, Renaldo Nehemiah... This is a case study why you should date little boys."
Charlie replied, "You're over the hill. I will scorch your ass."
Donnell said, "When you're chasing Baloney, you'll get nothing but a sammich."
Donnell said the women needed to give him a progress report next week. One of the women said, "it will be the same."
The other woman said, "94/95, he still hasn't hit this yet."
Donnell said, "Eazy-E was alive back then."
Donnell said of Charlie, "He has the Primatene Mist with him". Donnell crouched as he said it for emphasis.
Charlie said, "Jordan, I'll bust your ass if you put this on the internet." - Lighten up, Charlie - everyone knows it's just Donnell joning
Stomp said, "It will go up tomorrow, maybe tonight."

I went to 7-11 after leaving Tradewinds. As I walked out of the 7-11, a guy said to me, "Next time you should let me in free", he said something about spending $200. I said, "I have nothing to do with that." He said, "It's your club." I said no and that "I wish I owned a club."

Friday at Safari Steakhouse
Today I finished transcribing my interview of Duane "Pooh" Payne, former drummer for 911/Familiar Faces. The transcript of the interview can be seen here.

Safari Steakhouse, 9430 Annapolis Road Lanham MD 20706


This is their preferred set up. I refer to it as the Bike Week set up, since that's where they started using it. I wasn't there, but Donnell told me about it, and I've seen video footage of their performances there. Notice Smoke is on the frontline and DP is a little further back.
Doc, Lorenzo, Mike, Dwayne (barely visible behind Mike), Halima, Donnell, DP, Jacques, Packy, Smike


My usual perspective at Safari performances:
Mike Muse, Halima, Doc, Smoke, Donnell, Dwayne, DP, Lorenzo, Mike Smith, Jacques


Mike Muse, Halima, Doc, Smoke, Donnell, Dwayne, DP, Lorenzo, Mike Smith, Jacques, Packy

All pictures taken by and Copyright - Jordan Rich

When I pulled up, this was the emptiest I've ever seen the parking lot. Inside, it was even emptier.

Googie brought a bass. Packy talked about how Googie claimed he couldn't play anymore, but had played at an outside show (at Banneker Field).

Doc didn't know about DIP being performed at the Northeast Groovers reunion.

Donnell asked if Mike Smith, Stomp, and Smoke knew the beat to "I don't see or hear no evil".

Packy talked about how Junior would be working the sound (he called him J R) tomorrow since Chuck (Brown) was playing.

Mike Smith played in the first set even though Stomp was there.

When Donnell asked Paul if he could move an equipment case lid from on top of the one monitor gage, he was really nice to Paul. Paul said something about it being bad when Donnell is nice. Then Donnell said something about Paul's butt moving like a rump roast.

There was a lot of speaker noise, as if the speakers were blown, during the sound check.

Donnell announced that 11:15 PM would be the new start time for Friday performances at Safari Steakhouse. The only other person in the audience at first was a woman Donnell referred to as Kia. She was there to celebrate her sister's birthday - she had a bunch of balloons tied to a chair at the big table by the bar. However, by the time the first set started, there was a typical sized first set audience.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Line up: Mike Muse, Halima, Donnell, DP, Doc, Dwayne, Godfather, Lorenzo, Jacques, Smoke, and Mike Smith (He performed in the first set only. He performed even though Stomp was there as well.)
1) Grover Washington Jr.'s Mr. Magic
Donnell joked, "I fired Stomp, just in case you want to know why Mike Smith is playing."
Mike said, "One more Friday".
2) Mike-led The Stylistics' People Make the World (Go Round)
Mike gave a speech about "Being lucky to have someone and those three words that can do more magic than David Copperfield."
3) Mike-led O'Bryan's Lady I Love You - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, nice singing by him
Donnell said, "Is Tina here yet?" She said yes. She sat in the chair with all the balloons.
Donnell joked, "Don’t let that chair fly away". It reminded me of this hilarious true story.
Mike said, "This goes back to when Michael Jackson had..." (I couldn't hear what he said.)
The crank started with
4) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Golden Lady - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
5) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
6) Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy - really nice crank
Donnell told DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) to start playing. He wasn't sure what to call his laptop that he used to DJ.
DJ Flava said, "Buttons of plastic."

Archie Paige, the other Tracy, Candall, Shawn (we waved to each other), and Peg Leg were there.

I asked DP about being cousins with Donnell. Mike said, "You didn't know that?" DP said they were and that he's known Donnell since they were five years old. I told Mike about how some guys in the band didn't know that Nephew was Donnell's nephew until I told them.

Archie and Mike Muse were talking about his bad back, which is why he didn't come to Wednesday's show. Mike said that his back has had problems since he was rear ended by a thirteen year old girl in 1994. I jokingly asked if it was because he broke up with her. Archie asked how many drinks I had had. I told him and Mike about why I don't drink. Mike joked, "You should smoke boat."

Googie played his bass during the break.

Stacey, Kato, and Danielle (Wellfhed) were there.

Second Set
There were alternating flashing lights during the set
1) Donnell acapella Rare Essence's I'm Getting Ready - as a call to the other band members to come to the stage
Donnell said, "I told you..."
Donnell said, "Let the good times roll..."
Donnell announced this for Kato (he's said that I Want You is one of his favorite songs). He said that he's the owner of the most controversial website on the 'net. It has everything that's going on and everything they think is going on. It has lies and spies. It has who likes us and who hates us.
2) Mike-led Marvin Gaye's I Want You - nice Smoke solo
Donnell said, "Ebony, Ebony"
3) Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Halima moved around, used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, and bounced, she added the line "Baby, Baby"
6) Donnell-led "Ey-ya ey-ya / Mike or Doc-led? I couldn't tell which one led this or whether this is part of the same song - nice crank
7) Donnell-led Trina Was Great - nice percussion
8) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - Halima conducted the women during their part
I noticed smoke machines going, not from the stage, but from the ceiling closer to the front entrance
9) Donnell-led Hold the Note - nice percussion, Donnell moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell and Halima danced
10) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a Minute" echoes - Donnell stood at the edge of the stage, he moved around and bounced
11) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda - I noticed DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) danced in the booth, Donnell bounced, Mike, Halima, and Donnell danced
Donnell said, "It's time to turn on the air conditioning". He talked about slowing down because of the heat (referring to moving on to Free Yourself) - it was really hot
Donnell did a shout out to Dey "who he hadn't seen since the Fur".
She apparently said Hi, because he said, "Hi, that's all you got for me?"
12) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - one of her best sung performances of this, She went on the dance floor and sang toward Peg Leg, then she went back onstage - the edge of the stage, she bounced, used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and moved
Donnell said, "Rita, I didn't know you were here, unhand my woman!"
Both Candall and Danielle teased me about my dancing. Candall asked if I felt comfortable dancing. Danielle said I wasn't dancing correctly and said she would teach me (whether I liked it or not). I told her about the guys who taught me how to dance.


Darrell, 6'9, Adia, Vic, Tata, and the other female Shawn, Chocoltchp, and SweetAngelmd27 were there.

Nikki, Monique and Ytee were there.

6'9 sat next to Danielle, who sat to my left. 6'9 kept looking on the floor for parts of her bracelet.

Third Set
Donnell called the band to the stage. They were a little slow getting up there, so when they did, Donnell joked, "I told you they didn't quit."
1) Doc-led Young Jeezy's And Then What - sound check
2) Donnell joked with a woman and said, "All you have to do is say yes" - they performed the music to Floetry's Say Yes
Donnell called Halima to the stage. Mike said, "Someone said she's out in the parking lot, brewing tea. Witches' brew. She's making a potion to do..."
After Halima came in, Donnell asked, "Adia, are you working tonight?"
She said yes.
3) Adia-led Erykah Badu's Danger - She moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
Adia left the stage
4) Donnell chanted "Each and every Wednesday night at Takoma Station, etc."
5) Donnell chanted names of people, after each name, DP chanted, "Yeah"
6) Doc-led Young Jeezy's And Then What
7) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - Halima moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Donnell stood at the edge of the stage, he used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Halima danced and did heavy breathing
8) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Donnell was bouncing, there was nice percussion, Halima's singing was very energetic, she used a lot of nonverbal gestures and was bouncing, Omar stood on the side of the stage, I moved to the right of him - I immediately felt nice cold air - I was right under the vent
9) Alternating Donnell-led 911 - performed with the full lyrics, Donnell stood at the edge of the stage, Donnell & Halima danced / Dem Franchise Boyz' I Think They Like Me - "I think she likes me, I think you like me" / Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease) / Kanye West's Gold Digger - nice percussion
10) Smoke solo with Packy dancing next to him
11) Donnell-led "I don't see or hear no evil"
12) Donnell-led "We got the"?
13) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?" - the crowd shouted "Hell no" in chorus
14) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25, don't be a fool with your money" / Rare Essence's Work the Walls - some lyrics not normally in it "Is it like that, is it only..."
15) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Tiffany, It's Your Birthday," Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
17) Donnell-led Lap Dance (video remix) - Donnell added the line "Baby, Baby", he used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Halima played a cabasa, Mike said, "Wow", then Donnell said, "We fumbled that one", so they resumed playing. When they finished, Donnell said, "I had to cut you short, Peg Leg, you were making me jealous"
Danielle danced harder with me this set - she kept playing with my hair. Both Packy and Halima smiled at me. Danielle said of the band, "They're just jealous."
Candall asked me if I knew her name, I told her and why I didn't know it before. She said it is pronounced candle.
Kia got on the mic and said happy birthday to her sister Tina. Donnell talked about how much they resembled each other.
Donnell talked about taking a collection, but not for Vincent this time.
Packy said I went to the wild side.
Donnell said that I got more than a handful and she (Danielle) knocked my wig off - as if I would ever wear a wig. He said I wouldn't write this.
Nephew said, “We should write our own blog.”
Donnell said to a woman, "You finally want me; you came to your census bureau..."

I talked with Doc and Dwayne about why the PFunk show was cancelled - their booking agent quit. Besides, the tickets were $75. Doc said that was fine, but Dwayne said that was too much. Doc said he'd pay that for them and for Prince. I said only with Larry Graham. I said Prince is too poppy for me.

Wednesday at Takoma Station
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012


Donnell, Stomp, Godfather, Lorenzo, Boolah, Vincent


Smoke, Packy, Jacques, Donnell, Doc, DP, Boolah


Smoke, Packy, Jacques, Halima, Doc, Stomp, Boolah


Smoke, Packy, Jacques, Halima, Doc, Boolah


Smoke, Packy, Halima, Jacques, Doc, Donnell, Stomp, DP


Donnell, Smoke, Halima, Packy, Jacques, Doc, Boolah, DP
All pictures taken by and Copyright - Jordan Rich

Tim (LJ) was there.

While I waited for all the band members to arrive, I looked outside and I saw a man that I knew would be a guest guitarist. Doc was already inside, and this guy had a baseball cap on and a soft guitar case. He had his back to me and talked with someone at the curb. (Dwayne never wears caps that I've ever seen and has a hard case). It was Boolah. I didn't recognize him at first, but as soon as he started playing, I knew it was him.

Darrell, Shaun, Archie Paige, and June & his wife Shadonna were there.

Mike wasn't at the show tonight.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Packy played a tambourine
Donnell said, "My baby Halima is going at y'all with the hats."
Donnell introduced Boolah, "Somebody I've fired many times. Seriously, one of the meanest, best musicians..."
The strobe light I saw by the drum on Monday is actually in the drum
1) Instrumental - really nice Boolah solo, Boolah played in the area the frontline stands in
2) Grover Washington Jr.'s Lock It in the Pocket - another nice Boolah solo
Donnell said, "My man Demi Doc walked in, Demi who?"
Jay Floyd walked in. He asked, "Who's the singer?" He didn't recognize Halima.
Halima said, "Good evening everybody. Crazy day today, I got lost!"
3) Halima-led Whitney Houston's You Give Good Love - she moved around, bounced, used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, her singing was consistently excellent throughout tonight's performance
Donnell said, "All you, no Michael Muse tonight, all you..."
Halima said, "Is that Tina Turner?" It was.
4) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know - She used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Boolah played a nice solo, he used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures - Halima danced during it
Donnell said "It's Lisa of the World's birthday. She must be at least fifty. She swung from the ropes at Howard Theatre with Disco Dan."
The dance floor filled during
5) Halima-led Jill Scott's Whatever - Donnell danced
A very smooth transition to the next song:
6) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva - Donnell and Boolah stood onstage, Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and moved around, the frontline danced, there Boolah played a nice solo
Tim had asked me who the guitarist was before I recognized him. I told him when he came back. He didn't know that Boolah was Dwayne's predecessor.

RE Angie, Tamara, Dave, Tracy Smoot, Ray, and 6'9 were there.

I said hello to Boolah. I told him that I regretted that he is the only Familiar Faces band member I never go to know personally. He said we could talk later; he's going to be in the area for a while.

I talked with Jermaine and joked about him going to Dupont Circle.

Donnell came out and got us to come in.

Second Set
Donnell spoke (not sang) Slick Rick's La Di Da Di (tease)
Lisa of the World danced in the frontline area between Halima and Donnell. I later noticed Shante dancing to the left of Halima.
Donnell said, "If you owe me money, give it to me. First of all, they're Cowboy fans so I don't respect them. Second they are delusional. They used half time to honor the pipe smokers and the whores. Who was that player who took weed from Miami to Houston? Leon Lett. Making all that money and he wanted to deal weed."
1) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again - she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
Donnell said, "It's your birthday" to Lisa of the World
2) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
3) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!"
4) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go Lisa, It's Your Birthday"
5) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, moved around, and bounced, Boolah played onstage, there was nice percussion
6) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Halima did heavy breathing, Halima, Lisa and Donnell danced
7) Donnell & Halima-led Prince's Take Me With You - there was nice percussion, Lisa got on the mic during the "just the ladies" part, the frontline danced
8) Donnell-led Hold the Note - the frontline danced, there was nice percussion
9) Donnell-led Trina Was Great
10) Donnell & Halima-led Rare Essence's One on One (Footz version) - Halima also passed the mic around to various fans including Lisa of the World and Tina Turner, there was really nice percussion
11) Donnell-led "Want to dance, want to back on up?"
12) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - She had very energetic singing and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
13) 6 Minutes percussion solo - Donnell didn't actually say those words, but he said, "Don't nobody say nothing", which he always says during this - the frontline danced, the crowd shouted "Go-Go Smoke-ay!"
14) Alternating Donnell-led Lap Dance - nice Boolah solo and nice percussion solos - Donnell said, "One more time, he (Boolah) f*cked up" / Halima-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up (tease)
A woman who I have danced with several times at Takoma Station said hello. She talked with me about dancing. She drank champagne out of the bottle. Her name may be Angie, because Donnell mentioned an Angie celebrating her birthday.
Donnell said, "Boolah can still do it. I am trying to remember why I fired him."
Donnell said, "We are not on the boat ride, deceptive advertising. We are at Tradewinds on Saturday."
Donnell said, "Halima went crazy at the hat store."
Halima joked, "Five for $10."
Donnell said, "Don't see a lot of Cowboys jerseys."
Donnell did a shout out to Curtis Malone (coach of the DC Assault AAU basketball team).
Donnell said, "We need to do a collection for my man Vincent, he got the test results..."

DeeDee, Nikki, Monique, and Sharika were there.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private Location

Familiar Faces
When I arrived, Godfather and Doc talked by their cars in the parking lot. DP arrived and joined in on the conversation.

Stomp sat in his car with the music turned up really loud. DP and Doc said his ears must hurt.

Donnell pulled up. He again wore his mustard yellow pants. We all walked into the rehearsal room.

Later Dwayne arrived. He wore a black t-shirt with the message written in white on it: "No job, no money, no car, but I'm in a band".

They went over the Lap Dance remix they used in the video. It will have two different sections. Donnell discussed hand signals to go back and forth between the two sections. They asked Donnell who sang on it - Day Day.

Doc talked about my email to him - he was confused due to my stream of consciousness writing. One of the questions I had asked was in an old blog entry where he talked about selling a bass cabinet to one of the sound men. He told me who he had sold them to and how he had bought more subsequently.

A while after that Duane Face arrived.

Donnell said Chuck Brown, the man (i.e. alone, not with his own band), will be sitting in on a show of theirs at Takoma Station. He asked how much of Chuck's material they knew. Godfather immediately started playing Misty.

Doc and I discussed a PFunk live video. He said he was interested in Gil Scott-Heron. I said that there are Gil videos commercially available. Godfather talked about how good he was. I talked about how much of an incorrigible cocaine addict he is. A judge a few years ago gave him a choice of entering a drug rehab program or jail and he chose jail.

Returning to Lap Dance: Donnell fooled around as he led the rehearsing. Godfather played with his eyes closed. They talked about the types of keyboard hits. They discussed using a tuba sound. Doc talked about a successful use of tuba.

Doc said, "Stomp, you scare me."

They went over Trina Was Great. Donnell talked about the drums on the track. Stomp didn't play anything. Donnell said, "You can make it sound better." Stomp said, "I can't, Blue was best". Stomp said that Blue missed a snare at least once on every song on Blueprint.

Donnell talked about how they have a formula that is working, but band members keep trying to change it. He talked about Common's The Corner not working because Stomp and Doc wanted to just play the sample.

Donnell discussed how to make the percussion section tighter. He said maybe Smoke should do all the timbale playing.

At 10:30, Doc had to go. Godfather, DP, and Stomp followed him out.

Then Lorenzo walked in and he, Dwayne, Donnell and I talked for an hour.

Donnell talked about how Rare Essence played Lock It for five years before recording it. He also said something must be terribly wrong if they didn't play One on One, that the crowd would ask for a refund. He did talk about how they would not have to perform as many Top 40 songs back then either.

Dwayne discussed the Hip Hop group he had worked with, 3LG.

They discussed putting a rider agreement into performance contracts with venues. Dwayne talked about how on Monday, he and other band members did not even have a place to sit down, much less something to drink (he didn't mean alcohol - he doesn't drink). Lorenzo said he has one; he will give a copy to Donnell. Dwayne said Halima will need a hot tea every show. I said, "At least a stool to put her tea and water on."

He talked about how starting in October, they will have a weekly show on Sundays at Xcalibur that will feature Halima.

Donnell said it is important that people buy into you as an artist. He mentioned for example how they would buy every Stevie Wonder album without listening to any of its singles because they would know it was good. That was back when labels worked on developing artists. Now the focus is on songs, but now you have to hear five singles before buying the album and you still may not want to buy the album.

Donnell said he went to an Anita Baker concert and she did not talk at all, just sang the songs. He said, "I have the damn album!" Then he said Patti Labelle will perform, she may not sing the entire performance, she takes off her shoes and sits down, but she gets a win.

Lorenzo asked when the next live recording was going to be. Donnell said he'd know because the band members get paid extra for recordings. He asked how many live recordings they have had. I mentioned some of them. Dwayne talked about there being some not commercially released that were on the streets according to one of his relatives. He said it was ultimately Donnell's fault because he hired the guy who records them. I mentioned how Pooh had also said that tapes were on the street, but Donnell challenged them to actually find someone selling them rather than relying on second hand info. In addition to the commercially available recordings, Donnell talked about the fact that a lot of people had copies of the Club U performance (don't know which date) that was broadcast on the radio. He said they (the radio station) edited out certain key aspects of the performance and a lot of Adia's singing.

Lorenzo said he's here to win. He said he would sell his car before his keyboard. That is the opposite of many musicians, I told the joke, "What do you call a guitarist without a girlfriend? Homeless..." Donnell laughed. Dwayne told another old one: "What's the difference between a musician and a pepperoni pizza? A pepperoni pizza can feed a family of four."

They asked who Adia sang with now, I said 4 Sho.

Donnell said, "Anthony Hamilton isn't saying anything Marvin Gaye didn't already say, but has a different way of saying it."

Donnell talked about how Marquis Melvin sang John Legend's So High, that all of the women sang along.

Donnell said, "That little girl (Halima) is one of the three tickets (to national prominence) I've seen. No one saw Chucky (Thompson). Big G has an incredible personality. So does Yannie. I thought Ms. Kim many nights was the best onstage. I think Halima has the most chops of those. She has the personality and does everything different. People criticize her for her crazy wigs, but she does it anyway." Dwayne said she has everything to win.

They talked about needing to show you believe you will win - if you don't, you've already lost.

Monday Redskins-Cowboys Game Watch at Cranberries
Cranberries, 5740 Silver Hill Rd, Suitland, MD 20747

A security guard, Patrick, and Nicole (the cover taker) both from Safari were there, working.

Donnell Jr. (Redskins fan, wearing a Redskins jersey), his brother Derek (Redskins fan), Ebony (Redskins fan), Los, Stacey (Redskins fan) and Tiffany, Tim (LJ) (Redskins fan, wearing a throwback Redskins jersey), and Mara (Giants fan - what up with that?), Shadonna (Redskins fan, wearing a Redskins jersey) and her husband June, and DJ Skeet (an anti-Redskins fan, wearing a Cincinnati Bengals jersey) were there.

The same two brothers who did set up at Bryne Manor were setting up.

Familiar Faces
First Set (before the Redskins-Cowboys game started)
Line up: Mike Muse (wearing a tan Polo cap, tan plaid sweater, and tan shorts) (Redskins fan), Halima (said "I'll go with the Redskins"), Donnell (Redskins fan, wearing a Redskins jersey), DP (Cowboys fan), Doc (Cowboys fan), Dwayne, Godfather, Lorenzo, Stomp, Smoke, and Charlie.
1) Sly & the Family Stone's If You Want Me to Stay - instrumental, sound check
Mike said, "Somebody call security" when a guy carrying a Cowboys helmet walked in
2) Mike-led I Dreamed You
Donnell said, "Welcome to all the people with Redskins jerseys on."
3) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know - Halima sang it with a different feel and with echoes, she had a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures

Shawn (Redskins fan, wearing a Redskins jersey), and Tyrell (Redskins fan, wearing a Redskins jersey) were there.

Sitting at my table, on the other side, were Donnell Jr., Derek Floyd, Nephew, Shawn, and in front of me was DJ Skeet. Mike Muse sat at the head of the table. We teased a woman sitting at the far end of our table who was a Cowboys fan. Donnell sat behind me in the aisle.

Mike Muse asked me if our waiter was a Black Jew. I said I thought the same thing. The waiter wore a yamulka (he also had a Redskins pin on his pocket and a Redskins sticker on his check holder). I told Mike about how I saw the Dalai Lama at a synagogue and they passed out yamulkas to everyone - a Catholic priest sat across the aisle from me wearing a yamulka.

DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) played music during the commercials during the game.

Tracy Smoot (Redskins fan) came and Nephew teased her about her shirt. It was pink and had printed EYE with a picture of candies. He asked her if she bought it. She said someone gave it to her, "I'm not vain like you."

DP sat across the aisle from me, he moved up a seat when Tracy arrived and Mara was behind her. Nephew, DJ Skeet, DP, and Donnell exchanged trash talk.

RE Angie (Redskins fan, wearing a Redskins jersey), and Nikki were there.

Second Set (at halftime with the Redskins unfortunately losing 3-0)
A strobe light was on the floor to the left of the drum kit
1) Mike sang The Police's Roxanne (tease) - sound check
Halima said something I couldn't hear
2) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - her singing was excellent, Halima moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
Halima had a speech about "Not talking to me" and "having to say what you have to say"
A multi-colored (solid color, but what that color was changed) spotlight came on the band.
3) Alternating Halima & Mike-led Floetry's Say Yes - Halima had a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures / Halima-led Lionel Richie's Hello (tease)
4) Toto's Georgy Porgy - instrumental intro
Mike said "Welcome to all my Redskins fans and all my Steelers fans."
Donnell did shout outs
5) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
6) Donnell-led "Redskins hey ay, Ho oh"
7) Donnell-led "Cowboys do it for the Redskins, Oh my God!"
8) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda (tease)

Nikiya and Slick Rick were there.

DJ Flava did commentary and lead cheers of "Red-Skins"

Tracy, DP, and DJ Skeet kept throwing napkins in the air, saying "flag".

The Redskins scored the winning touchdown (14-13). The place erupted in celebration.
Donnell got on the mic and sang "Hail to the Redskins"
Mike said, "Y'all don't know Santana Moss is from Parkland."

DJ Flava lead a cheer of "Ey-ya ey-ya".

DJ Flava told people to get off the furniture.

The place was packed, with many people having to stand.

Third Set (after the game was over)
It was so packed it was difficult to see the frontline during this set.
A guy wearing a Redskins jersey said, "We see one more bottle thrown and the party is over. Dallas lost."
Mike again said, "Y'all don't know Santana Moss is from Parkland."
1) They started performing the music to Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Donnell said, "Help my singer, Halima, get up here. All those punks that owe me money, bring my sh*t, separate yours from mine." / Chant "F*ck the Cowboys" / Faith Evans' Mesmerized - instrumental
2) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
3) Donnell-led "Is the Redskins the real deal, better than the Cowboys?"
4) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - it was interrupted by a fight Donnell said, "Take them out."
Mike said, "Black people".
A guy in the crowd said repeatedly that the people who were fighting were Dallas fans.
Mike said, "After what they did to us in New Orleans, you ought to smile whenever you see someone who looks like you".
Halima moved around, used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and bounced
5) Donnell-led "Da na aah, We got the ___"
6) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - the crowd sang along / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Halima and Donnell danced
7) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You
8) Donnell-led Hold the Note
9) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - very energetic singing by Halima, she used a lot of nonverbal gestures and bounced
10) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Donnell bounced and moving around a lot, the frontline did a bowing dance / Notorious BIG's Warning - Donnell bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute echoes"
11) Donnell-led Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease)
12) Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger / Dem Franchise Boyz' I Think They Like Me - "I think she likes me."

They took the tables and chairs away throughout the set.

Slim Goodie was there, she briefly danced back to back with me during the set.

Donnell said, "I don't know what happened outside, but we have to stop. We were going to play all night."

I asked Smoke about Mambo Sauce's upcoming show on the 27th, their second show ever. He said he's no longer in the band; he had to make a commitment to Familiar Faces.

A Cowboys fan gave Donnell some money. He laughed that he was being sneaky, trying not to give Donnell the money in way that everyone could see.

I saw Marquis Melvin as I walked out - he again wore a blue KC Royals cap. Derek Floyd said, "You'll be interviewing me soon." I asked where he performs, since I know he's a rapper.

Saturday at Tradewinds
Tradewinds Night Club, 5859 Allentown Way, Camp Springs, MD 20748

My friend Sean told me he would be coming out. When I got there, he was waiting at the front. I introduced him to a few of the band members. We discussed women and how cockblocking should be illegal.

Ebony came over and said hello. I told her that Donnell had asked where she was last night.

Los was there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Charlie was there from the start
Packy played the tambourine
1) Instrumental prelude / Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You
The crank started with
2) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
Donnell said, "I think they're ready y'all".
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima and Mike posed at the appropriate times
5) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva - she changed the line to "This is how I look with make up", Donnell touched her stomach, she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, moved around, and bounced, Mike, Halima, DP, and Packy danced
6) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U - Donnell played his horn onstage, Donnell and DP danced and later, Halima, Donnell, and DP danced, Mike had a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
7) Donnell-led Brown & White - Halima and Donnell switched places, Halima danced and later the whole frontline danced / Ride Out - the frontline danced the Ride Out dance / Northeast Groovers' The Water
8) Mike-led Parliament's Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop) (tease)
9) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - women shouted "That's my sh*t", Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and moved around, Donnell sang backup onstage, Halima, DP, and Donnell danced / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Halima did heavy breathing / Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger (tease) "Go down baby, go down"
10) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - Donnell and Halima switched places, Halima conducted the women during their part
11) Donnell-led Hold the Note - the frontline danced
12) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?"
They had technical difficulties - a tone coming out of the speakers.
13) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - there was much less dancing in the audience for this slow song, Mike held the hand of a woman in the audience, Mike moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell went onstage
Mike did a shout out to Donny Ray in the audience. He said of him, "He thought I was older than I am."
Donnell said, "I don't know if should let him have the mic. Fifteen yard penalty, too many men on the field."
Donnell then talked about the Redskins-Cowboys game, "As soon as the game is over, I need my money."
Some women in the audience said, "Dallas!"
Donnell said, "You know you're f*cked up. Did y'all get those men off the pipe? Irvin and the whores? Aikman said, 'I'm Batman!' after that hit by LaVar Arrington."

Crankindrumma, Tracy Smoot, Yolanda, Sanisse, 6'9, and Tijuana were there.

During the break, I went into the kitchen with my friend Sean and the band.

At one point, Donnell said he was going to increase his score. Mike responded, "Your score doesn't matter if you take everything." Doc laughed so hard he spat out his drink.

Packy made fun of E of L!ssen's sandals.

Nephew teased Mike about his necklace. He said, "You and Biggie have the same choker."

They laughed about me being the first guy on the dance floor. I talked about Tiffany. Packy said, "You're on a first name basis?" I told him she gave me her number before she told me her name.

Doc, DP, and Mike talked about working and overtime.

Mike asked DP about the new methods of faster internet, especially fiber optics.

Donny Ray said EU was supposed to play with Backyard at Club Levels tonight but it was closed.

Doc and Dwayne talked about the possibility of going to see PFunk on October 2nd. We discussed who would be there in the band.

The DJ played James Brown's Gonna Have a Funky Good Time (Doing It to Death). Dwayne said that was a great sound check song. This lead into a discussion: Doc said drummers today don't match horn hits with drum hits. DP said, "They don't know, that's old school." Doc said, "That's real school."

Doc, DP and Dwayne discussed the possibility of Godfather playing his horn.

Slick Rick, Nita, and JoJo were there.

Second Set
1) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - they initially had technical difficulties, Donnell danced, Halima bounced and using a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell also used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was nice percussion, Donnell said, "Hey Smoke, ain't it funkin' now, DJ Mixx exclusive", the frontline danced
2) Alternating Donnell-led Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease) - Donnell said, "All the pimps, put your hands in the air" / Kanye West's Gold Digger - Halima danced onstage / Slim Thug's I Ain't Heard of That (Remix), Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
3) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Tijuana danced on the floor in the performance area, Mike said, "Tijuana had to dance", Donnell said, "Tijuana is the new Halima" (I have no idea what he meant), Donnell went onstage, Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was nice percussion, Donnell said, "Turn the lights down low", and it went dark on the dance floor / Notorious BIG's Warning - the lights came on a little more / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) - Donnell went back on the floor / "Wait a minute" echoes - Halima went back on the floor
4) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - very energetic singing, Donnell went onstage, Donnell and Halima bounced
5) Donnell-led DIP - the frontline danced
6) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" / Mike-led Rare Essence's Work the Walls
7) Mike-led Rare Essence's Lock It - the crowd held their hands in the air
8) Donnell-led Rick James' Mary Jane (tease)
9) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Spotlight / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon?
10) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Geraldine - initially Donnell did the keyboard sounds vocally, Donnell used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
11) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What Would You Do for the Money?
12) Donnell-led "My man Chucky, it's alright" (repeated with Footz, Little Footz, and Fat Rodney)
Donnell said, "Just 'cause you made me mad".
13) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Stars Be Partyin'
14) Lorenzo played something
Donnell said, (to whom I don't know) "I swear to God, I would have fired you..."
Donnell said, "It's hard out here on a pimp."
I grinded with a woman during the set.

The other Tracy was there.

Donnell said, "Nita has lost forty pounds. She's wearing a bathing suit to the GoGo. She's wearing a bikini to the GoGo. If she loses ten more pounds, she can come naked on a skateboard."
He was about to jone on Vincent, but Vincent was already gathering the mic cords, so it was too late - the mic was off. Vincent said, "You have to get me early."

I walked in the 7-11 behind Doc. I talked about reading a book on Jazz improvisation that talks about how the parts interlock. He said he really didn’t care that much who wins the Redskins – Cowboys game.

Friday at Safari Steakhouse
Safari Steakhouse, 9430 Annapolis Road Lanham MD 20706

They again set up in the Bike Week configuration.

Halima had a new hairdo and wore a hat. I wouldn't have recognized her right away if she hadn't walked onstage. Stomp said to her, "You look fly." Her current look reminds me of a celebrity, but I can't put my finger on who.

I asked Dwayne why he doesn't have a wireless setup. He said soon, but his costs twice as much.

There was a very small audience at the start of the first set. Because of this, I watched from dance floor rather than the side of the stage.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Instrumental - Donnell and DP on horns had a false start, Dwayne said, "What the hell was that?" Donnell said they were testing something on the new horn mics. They joked about the union, Smoke and Stomp played nice solos
Donnell said, "The early set is for the music lovers, and the Halima lovers and the Michael Muse lovers"
2) Halima-led Whitney Houston's You Give Good Love - Halima said, "Think back to that best friend you had who is a man and knew all about you", she moved around and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures. Halima said, "Uh huh" at the end.
3) Mike-led I Dreamed You - Mike said, "Something off the Evolution CD, about love that dreams are made of." He sang at the edge of the stage
4) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - Mike said, "If you haven't had an all night love making session in a while..."
Donnell said that Halima "got a brand new look." She smiled.
5) Halima-led Jill Scott's Golden - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell nonverbally (playing "air guitar") made fun of how Dwayne Lee played his guitar, Donnell and DP went on the dance floor playing their horns, Halima moved around
Mike said, "Yeah!"
Donnell said, "Right" to Dwayne
6) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima's singing was excellent, Halima moved around at the edge of the stage, she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and bounced, Mike again said, "Yeah!"

Kato was there.

I went into the lounge and talked to DP and Kato. I talked about DP and Donnell going onto the dance floor. DP said, "That's just Donnell showing off."

I then went out to the bar to get a Coke. Tiffany F., my so-called "wife" was there, with her friends.

I went back to the lounge, and then later went back to the bar to talk to Tiffany F. & co. again. I asked how often they went out. Tiffany F. said, "How many times have you seen us out?" I said three or four times. She said that's how many times they've been out. They asked why it was so empty, when I told them it was the case for the first set and that the diminishing crowds started when they went down to Myrtle Beach and missed a week.

I went back to the lounge again. I talked with Stacey. She asked me which NFL team I was a fan of. I said Redskins, she was glad. DP said he's a Cowboys fan. I told them what Doc said on Wednesday.

At the end of the break, I talked with Tiffany F. & co. again. Tiffany F. said she wanted to dance with me tonight. So for the second and third sets, I watched from the dance floor again. However, Tiffany F. did not dance with me (but the three of them hung around me), so I "granted her a divorce."

Shawn, Shaun and Tyrell were there.

Second Set
Donnell said, "We are taking all bets" on the Redskins game
1) Instrumental prelude / Toto's Georgy Porgy (instrumental tease) / Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
2) Mike-led Marvin Gaye's I Want You - nice percussion solo
3) Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
4) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - very energetic singing by Halima, Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures and bounced
5) Donnell-led "__ Party" chant
6) Donnell-led "Da na aah, We got __"
7) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
8) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima and Mike posed at the appropriate times
9) Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl, the crowd shouted "That's my sh*t!" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Halima danced
The lights went out at the start of
10) Mike-led Rare Essence's Lock It
11) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hey Tamika
12) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - there was nice percussion, Halima conducted the women during their part, the frontline danced
13) Donnell-led Hold the Note - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was nice percussion
Donnell said, "Bring me the money as soon as the game is over. If we lose, I'll wear one of those ugly (Cowboys) jerseys."

Nikki, 6'9, SweetAngel27, RE Angie, and Mike Smith were there.

I sat in the lounge. Donnell made fun of RE Angie's pool play. He called her "shawdy".

6'9 told me about hanging out with other Maryland basketball alumni.

A woman who saw me writing asked me what I was doing. When I told her, she asked if I was the one who emailed her about all the shows. I told her that Nephew did that and that my website is different from the band's. When I told her the URL for my website, she said, "You're FunkMasterJ?"

Third Set
1) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U - Mike used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell and Halima danced
2) Donnell-led Ludacris' Number One Spot - during "bounce bounce" the frontline bounced
3) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Donnell said "Get on down, Nikki" - she danced onstage, there was nice percussion, the frontline danced / Notorious BIG's Warning - the frontline danced / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
4) Alternating Donnell-led Tupac's Hail Mary - Halima danced, Donnell bounced / Rare Essence's Marinda - Mike danced / Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease)
5) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - very energetic singing by Halima, nice long percussion solo by Smoke, Donnell encouraged the crowd by saying "Say what, what y'all say" - crowd shouted GoGo Smok-ay, a security guy lit up the congas with a flashlight, Doc had Smoke wave while playing the congas
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Stars Be Partyin' / Donnell held his mic to a male fan (wearing a yellow Redskins cap) so he could yell "F*ck the Cowboys"
7) Mike-led Lap Dance - Donnell chanted "Swing your body Girl", Mike chanted "Swing"
8) Young Jeezy's Go Crazy (Instrumental) - Donnell did announcements
Donnell said, "Jauhar is furious at the three people left" - there were more than three people left of course

Los and Peg Leg were there. I asked Jacques' cousin his name - Dave. I asked Candall her name - every time I've talked with her, it seems like it has been too loud to hear.

Monica, Ebony's friend, was there.

The woman I spoke with during the second break sat in the back seat of the car next to mine. She said, "Bye, FunkMasterJ."

Wednesday at Takoma Station
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012

A guy appreciated Donnell's play during his warming up. He said, "That's a musician; a bad man."

Tim (LJ), Tamara, Nikki, June and his wife Shadonna, and Sharika were there.


Halima, Stomp, Donnell, DP, Godfather, Lorenzo, Dwayne


Smoke, Packy, Mike, Jacques, Halima, Doc, Stomp, Donnell, DP, Godfather


Smoke, Packy, Jacques, Mike, Halima, Doc, Stomp

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Halima-led Beyonce's Wishing on a Star - really a sound check, but Mike sang backup as well
Mike said, "I feel it's time for us to make up."
2) Miles Davis' Tutu
3) Halima-led Whitney Houston's You Give Good Love (debut) - it was nice and came off well, I will have further comments when I watch the video I shot of it
4) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself
5) Halima-led Jill Scott's Golden - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Donnell and DP went on the dance floor while playing their horns

Doc, Halima, Stomp, Donnell & DP on the dance floor, Godfather, Lorenzo
All pictures taken by and Copyright Jordan Rich
Mike said, "Did you see how they marched? I was scared."
6) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima walked around, used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, bounced and got onstage, excellent / Halima & Mike-led Floetry's Say Yes - Halima gave a speech incorporating lyrics from both songs, she called out to Shadonna, but said, "I didn't want to be too personal", she went out on the dance floor, she used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, both of their singing was excellent / Halima-led Lionel Richie's Hello (tease)
Lorenzo said, "Dwayne Lee."
Donnell joked, "Who's that?"

Yaquim and Mike Smith were there.

I went outside during the break. Because of my cold, this time I went with Doc, Dwayne, DP, Godfather, Mike, Lorenzo, Telando, and a couple of guys I don't know to the BP gas station store (I got a Gatorade). Doc said that it must be serious with DP coming with them. Mike said that he wished Red Bull came in bigger cans. I told him that when I moved to LA, and had my stuff in storage that Red Bull ran their LA operations from a storage shed on the same floor as where my stuff was. They had maps, a phone bank and plenty of Red Bull. I told him he should get one of those Red Bull cars. They also taled about milk and being lactose intolerant. I told them that my brother was once told to not drink so much milk. After we left, they all joked about the attendant not scanning all the items, just making up prices. I said, "How much for one rib?" - a line from I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

They joked about Donnell already calling, "Let's roll" - he hadn't, but last week the start of the second set was much earlier than usual.

An old man came by, carrying a bamboo stick. Doc joked that he was going to jump someone. He later joked that that would be Godfather in ten years.

They started talking about ages - Godfather insisted that Doc was the oldest one in the band. Actually Godfather is. Jacques, Smoke, and a woman crossed the street. Godfather went after them. Dwayne then said, "Godfather went to school with Chuck Brown." Telando and Doc went to school together. The talked about being saved by playing football as kids.

I told them that my friend Clarence "Blowfly" Reid was performing in DC that night. They asked me where, but I couldn't remember – I looked it up; it was the Velvet Lounge.

I talked about looking for a girlfriend. Doc said, "Which kind? The kind you know you have to pay up front? It's more honest..." I told him about a gorgeous woman who worked at the Red Cross when I worked there. Every temp who came in wanted to date her. She insisted ahead of time on going out to dinner at least four nights a week and if she paid a cent, you got nothing. Doc said, "You've had quite a lot of adventures, the Red Cross, you've been to the moon..." Telando said, "The moon?" I fake mooned Doc - the Randy Moss way. They laughed.

Doc talked about how late they would play until. He talked about how, back in the day, they would be done as the sun was coming out.

Dwayne confirmed their performance schedule for this week. I reminded them about Monday at Cranberries. Doc joked that he would wear a Cowboys helmet to the show. I joked that we should jump him after the show.

Stacey, Tiffany, and RE Angie were there.

Second Set
Donnell said, "After the Redskins win, you will have my money. It will be a massacre." He mentioned Derek Francis, Genard and Jauhar.
Packy played the tambourine
1) Instrumental prelude / not sure – it was brief / Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - nice percussion
2) Donnell-led "___ Is in the house"
3) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Donnell did announcements, Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, moved around, and bounced, the rest of the frontline danced
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima and Mike posed at the appropriate times
6) Donnell-led Ludacris' Number One Spot - Halima danced onstage, the frontline danced during the "bounce bounce" line, nice percussion
8) Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Donnell said to a woman, "Don't do that girl" - the frontline danced, nice percussion / Notorious BIG's Warning - Donnell went onstage, nice percussion / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) - Donnell did a shout out to Charles Smith (ex-Hoyas and ex-Celtics player), Tim said, "Here we go!" / "Wait a minute" echoes
9) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?"
10) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Halima moved around, she sang very energeticly, nice percussion
11) 6 Minutes percussion solo
12) Donnell-led Rare Essence's One on One - nice percussion, the crowd shouted "GoGo Smok-ay"
13) Mike-led Michael Jackson's I Can't Help It - nice percussion
14) Mike-led Lap Dance - Halima danced, Donnell chanted "Swing your body girl", Mike chanted, "Swing"

Shawn, Shaun, and Los were there.

Donnell said, "I'm forty-one, a grown man. I am scared about what Monique just said." Then he said something about "oh, going on twenty-five…" Then he said, "Tuesday is take your man to dinner night. Ruth's Chris, Mo's... RE Angie send him on his way. Don't hug Nikki too long. We need bets, that's going to take us out Tuesday. Halima, have you ever been to Ocean Air?"
Halima said she's been there.
Donnell continued, "We are not accepting Outback or McDonald's. We got the movie, you got the meal. Jermaine was partying in Dupont Circle lately. You were coming out of Stetson's".
Jermaine laughed at me writing this down.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location

Familiar Faces
I walked in behind Charlie and Stomp. There was an event going on the main room, the woman asked us if we were in the band before letting us go through.

Doc, DP, and Donnell were in the rehearsal room. Donnell joked to Charlie, "Are you lost?" Charlie responded, "I'll pull out your eyes and piss in your…"

Over time, Halima, Mike, Duane Face, Dwayne, Jacques, Godfather, and Lorenzo arrived.

Doc talked about Duane Face's thread on TMOTT about the Korg Oasis. Doc asked what he would do with all of those functions. He asked him if he was going to buy it. Duane said no since it costs $8K.

They went over Stevie Wonder's As.

Halima pointed to the fan for Doc to turn it on. I told him "Turn on the fan." He said, "I didn't know what she was pointing at." I said, "What did you think she saw a spaceship?" (Doc sat in front of the window). He said, "I hope not."

They went over more on Tony Terry's Freaky Little Game.

Dwayne said MVP was a major success.

They talked about the white collar vs. the union.

Doc talked about an upcoming Petworth reunion with virtually all of the original members.

Donnell talked about approaching all shows the same regardless of the size of the audience. They discussed the lack of audience in the first set of the Virgo Bash 2005. Someone said it must have lost money, but Jacques said that wasn't true; they had five hundred people there. They talked about pacing yourself for double gigging.

Donnell said, "Sometimes we don't get to where we want to be". He said that Ludacris' Number one Spot is sometimes too fast.

They spent a while going over Whitney Houston's You Give Good Love, which features a different arrangement from the original.

Duane Face played something with bird sounds. When people looked at him, someone joked that he was a "Victim of the system."

Saturday at Virgo Bash 2005
Holiday Inn, Columbia Ballroom, 550 C Street SW Washington, DC 20024

When I parked, Lorenzo walked up to me. Dwayne looked for a parking spot nearby. I went to the front desk to ask where the show was. There were two ballrooms for the Virgo Bash 2005, listed as "dance party" - Discovery and Columbia.

On my way there, I ran into Jacques - I helped him carry equipment into the Columbia ballroom.

Most of the band was already there.

When Godfather walked in, Donnell joked about starting playing before Godfather could get to the stage.

Stomp, Dwayne and Donnell argued about who's in the union. When Doc walked in, they asked him where he stood, he said, "There's management, the union, and then there's Doc".

Candy and Michon were there in formal dresses. I didn't know this was a formal affair.

Donnell, Mike and Dwayne talked about Sly, how he doesn't perform anymore. I told them about his appearance for his Sister's Sly & the Family Stone reunion band Phunk Phamily Affair. (There is another one as well, Family Stone Experience). Mike said he wanted Sly and Larry Graham to get back together. I told him that according to the Sly and the Family Stone: An Oral History (For the Record), both Sly and Larry took out hits on each other. Mike said that Larry is religious now. Both he and Dwayne agreed he'd probably believe Sly is the devil. Dwayne joked, “Sly is the devil.”

There was another Lorenzo there - a vocalist. He assisted with set up. Mike said he went to Duke Ellington and sang with them at Cranberries.

Lorenzo asked if Michon and Candy were singers. They said no. He said, "Musician's wives", Michon said only her. He said something to Candy and I joked about her missing her chance to be a musician's wife.

Donnell joked, "Mark meet Dwayne, so your solos don't conflict."

During the sound check, Godfather and Halima performed Stan Getz' Girl from Ipanema.
Donnell joked about finding another place for Godfather.
Donnell sang, "I will praise you" during the sound check.

Familiar Faces
First Set
It started at about 9:40 PM. They were in the Bike Week configuration, except that Doc was on the frontline.
There was hardly anyone there yet in the audience, about six or seven people, including Michon, Candy and I.
Line up: Mike, Halima, Donnell, DP, Doc, Dwayne, Godfather, Lorenzo, Stomp, Smoke, Jacques
1) They started to perform the music to Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know - Donnell said, "Give me something Godfather, get it out of your system" / Halima-led Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, she also did a lot of echo vocal techniques, nice and different
Mike said, "Welcome to everyone who is here. The only pretty people - Halima, grab her. That's the closest thing."
2) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself
3) Mike-led Marvin Gaye's I Want You
Donnell said, "I don't know what's going on with the PA, it's going in and out." Unfortunately, this problem persisted throughout their performance.
Donnell did shout outs to Sweet Candy, Sweet Michon, Telando and I.
He said, "Everyone couldn't make it, everyone is on their way."
Donnell said "Work it Candy, Work it."
Donnell and Halima danced
Donnell said, "Come on and party baby, it's alright. I think they're on their way, I feel them coming. My baby Halima, yeah, she's looking lovely tonight."
4) Halima-led Jill Scott's Whatever - Halima moved around, both Donnell and Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was a nice percussion solo
Donnell said, "I don't know what's going on with the PA, but we're going to party anyway."
5) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - Halima and Donnell danced
6) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U - the frontline danced
Mike said, "One more time for Lorenzo on his birthday."
Mike said at the end of the song, "Give it up for Randy Watson, Sexual Chocolate"
7) They started performing the music to Fantasia's Free Yourself - Donnell said, "We're going too slow, we're going to take a break and figure out this PA system" / Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima's singing was excellent, Halima bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
Despite the small audience, the set was good other than the PA problems which were most annoying for the vocals.

I asked Doc if he had bought PFunk's new album, How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent? He didn't know about it. We went out to the hallway, where food was served. I also told him that Bootsy's next album is a Christmas album. There was an ice sculpture at the end of the food table.

I noticed Kevin, one of the owners of Club Levels, was there.

Mike said that Lorenzo was in a four man vocal group with him called Avantgarde. He said Lorenzo's band is backing Raheem DeVaughn. He said something about En Vogue.

Exquisite was the closing band.

Mike's daughter is 12. He wants everything to go right the first time because the music industry is so hard. He talked about Jesse Powell. Mike said that Mark Dawson sounds like Donny Hathaway, but he has had trouble finding an audience, so he has struggled finding a recording contract. I talked with Mike about Right to Rock and the Black Rock Coalition. I told him there was a music conference “The Word on Music” going on that day in Durham – the author of Right to Rock, Maureen Mahon was to speak, and Burnt Sugar, Greg Tate’s band that I am a fan of was supposed to perform. Many of the members of the Black Rock Coalition are middle class and grew up with whites and developed a taste for rock (much like "Whiteboy" of Rare Essence). Industry executives tell them whites don’t want to listen to them nor do Blacks. I said there are a lot of parallels between the BRC's struggles to find an audience and GoGo’s. I also told him a little about Rhythm & Business, a book about the Black music industry. (Another related book is Rip It Up!)

Second Set
There was now a crowd of about thirty-some people and by the end of the set, the place was packed.
1) Doc solo leading into / Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You - Halima and Donnell danced
Donnell said, "Gimme the top"
2) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, the frontline danced, there was nice percussion
Donnell said, "Where all the Virgos at celebrating here"
The crank started with
3) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - really energetic performance by Halima, she bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, Dwayne touched her and she called out "Dwayne Lee"
4) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa Donnell said, "We got some old school, let's take it back to the Howard Theatre".
5) Mike-led Rare Essence's Lock It - Halima danced
6) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
7) They started performing the music to Trillville's Some Cut / Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go Virgos, It's Your Birthday" / Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - the frontline danced / Notorious BIG's Warning - Halima did nonverbal arm & hand gestures with Donnell / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease)
Donnell said, "Is it back yet Junior (the sound man)? We got to go. Exquisite right here on this stage."
He said they would play before, during half time, and after the Redskins game against the Cowboys on the 19th.

I left and drove straight to Tradewinds. Jacques didn't come along, as Charlie plays at Tradewinds.

Saturday at the Tradewinds
Tradewinds Night Club, 5859 Allentown Way, Camp Springs, MD 20748

Omar asked me how I got there so fast, was I speeding? I told him that I gotten directions ahead of time and driven straight there - I-295 to Suitland Parkway to Branch Avenue.

Ray, June and his wife Shadonna, Val "Tina Turner", Archie Paige, Tracy, James, and JoJo were there.

A woman who saw me writing asked me about it. She put my website into her cell phone.

DP definitely had a portable mic set up for his horns tonight.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Line up: Mike, Halima, Donnell, DP, Doc, Dwayne, Godfather, Lorenzo, Stomp, Smoke, Charlie, Packy (tambourine)
Donnell said, "It's alright if you want to turn the air conditioning on."
Halima said, "Breathe, count to ten."
Mike said, "I feel like break dancing."
Donnell said, "Settle down."
Mike said, "We're going to do it for Nephew because he will be celebrating his birthday all night long."
Halima sang something I didn't catch
1) Instrumental prelude / Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You
Mike called out to "the sweet lady in red"
Tiffany F. and her friends said hello to me.
2) 6 Minutes percussion solo
Donnell said, "I thought they was going to take some time getting warmed up, but I think they're already warmed up."
3) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Donnell adjusted Halima's mic, Halima moved around, Donnell, Mike, and DP danced, Halima bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" - Halima did gestures
5) Donnell-led "Do if for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima & Mike posed at the appropriate times
6) Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger - Doc was on backup - I hadn't recognized his voice as the back up on Friday, but tonight I could clearly see it was Doc, Halima danced
Donnell did shout outs, including calling his cousin "Sweet Archie", the first time I have heard him call a guy sweet
Donnell joked about a bald man up front, "Ray, is that your brother?"
7) Donnell-led "Da na ah"
8) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U - Donnell & DP danced
9) Donnell-led Ludacris' Number One Spot - Donnell chanted "Bounce, bounce", the frontline danced, and the crowd bounced
Tiffany F. was behind me
Donnell talked about going to the "Capital Centre 1986, sixty pounds ago for Mike".
Mike said, "A thousand hairs ago for you".
Mike talked about "making twenty minutes seem like an hour and twenty minutes".
Halima asked, "Twenty minutes?"
A lot of women moved to the front
10) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - nice Dwayne solo

One guy asked me about my writing. He said that more people need to write about GoGo that it doesn’t get the respect it deserves (I agree).

Yolanda, Sanisse, 6'9, and RE Angie were there.

Doc, DP and I walked in the kitchen. Doc and DP discussed how loud it was. DP said someone put their drink on a speaker and the drink jumped out of the cup.

I told them about a road worker being struck by a car and killed on Annapolis Road by Safari last night. DP said that they should use lights and separate themselves from the traffic more.

Slick Rick was in there.

Tiffany F. came in and called me "her husband." I told her that I was warned about her, told that she's crazy. She asked me who told me that but I wouldn't say. She assumed it was Donnell, but another guy told her it was Archie.

Dwayne asked me to get him a napkin. I said, "Can't you just lick your fingers?" He said, "I'm the only one who can't do that." I said, "What about guitar licks?" He laughed.

One of the guys asked if Charlie had been fed enough before he came since he ate so much chicken.

A guy said hello, he recognized me from the Fur performance. Another guy came over and said he knew about my planned thesis on GoGo. He said he wanted to read it when it was done.

Second Set
Donnell said, "Remember when the Redskins beat the sh*t out of the Cowboys, I want my money, Ray, all you 'Bama ass Cowboy fans."
Ray protested, saying he's a Redskins fan.
Donnell said, "Cowboy fans, this is the last time we're going to talk to you until the game. Our motto this year is whoop some ass."
1) They started performing the music to Bobby Valentino's Slow Down / Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go Christina, It's Your Birthday" / Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - Halima, Donnell and Mike danced, nice percussion solo, different keyboard sounds than usual
Donnell said, "We're going out ready together and underway, Virgos raise your hands".
2) They started performing the music to Faith Evans' Again / Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?" / Halima-led Faith Evans' Again - Halima went onstage, Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
3) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - Halima held her mic to Sanisse during it / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - Halima did heavy breathing, Donnell said, "She's almost there fellas".
4) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - Halima conducted the ladies in the audience, the frontline danced
Donnell said of a woman in the audience, "She made me an indecent proposal and I think I'll accept it."
5) Donnell-led Hold the Note - Donnell got on stage
Donnell chanted: "This is for my man skin"
6) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - the frontline danced / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes - Halima mimed onstage
7) Donnell-led "If you look and you see..."
8) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Halima sang energetically, she bounced, Donnell, Halima, and DP danced
9) Donnell-led Hey Miss Keta Will You Dance for Me
10) Donnell-led DIP - I realized the line is "let me hear the whoa, not let me hear the wall"
11) Mike-led Ruff Endz' Someone to Love You - Halima gestured to me (I was right up front since a number of people cleared out after DIP.): she wanted me to move my arms as I danced
A guy said Mike was a show off.

Robin and L-Boogie were there.

Doc said to the rest of the band, "Go home and work on your sh*t."

There was a fight at the front door, so those of us left all went out the back.

Nephew's Birthday at Safari
Safari Steakhouse, 9430 Annapolis Road Lanham MD 20706

They did work on Annapolis Road as I drove up - only one lane was open in each direction for a bit.

Donnell Jr. stood out front as I walked up. He said hello as I passed him. The policeman who is there practically every week in uniform stood out front talking to the cover taker, Nicole. He wasn't in uniform: he wore a tan suit.

There was a long table set up by the bar for Nephew's birthday guests, of which there were many.

The band was set up in the Bike Week configuration, but DP stood in front at first.

I talked with Doc and Dwayne about Marquis Melvin and the blurb I emailed them.

Donnell was not the only one in the band with a portable set up - Doc warmed up standing by me, on the opposite side of the stage from where his amp is. I think DP had a portable horn mic as well.

Jacques asked me if I was coming to the Holiday Inn show. He said it was for his birthday and he was promoting it.

Familiar Faces
First Set
During the set up, Donnell talked about the horns on the monitors. Paul said, "Googie, don't argue with Donnell, you know he's always right."
Donnell did a joking shout out to Tim (LJ): "it must be a special occasion because LJ never comes out on Fridays." (Of course the special occasion was Nephew's birthday).
1) Miles Davis' Tutu
Mike, a trombone player, arrived and sat in for the rest of the show - I talked with him after the second set
2) Grover Washington Jr.'s Lock It in the Pocket
3) Parliament's P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) - instrumental
4) Instrumental
DP moved back, so that they were in the normal bike week configuration
Halima said, "How y'all doing. Make sure you tip the bartenders extra."
5) Halima-led Brand New Heavies' Never Stop
Mike said, "Welcome to Safari Steakhouse this evening."
Mike then said, "Ladies, in your search for the real man, you may have to ask yourself if you have a man who can make you believe twenty minutes is an hour and twenty minutes"
6) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself
Halima said, "This is for us ladies. You ever had a man..."
The audience yelled, "Yeah, Yeah"
Halima continued, "We go to heaven, we get back on this Earth and we really know what's going on"
7) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - excellent as usual
8) Halima & Mike-led Floetry's Say Yes - both excellent / Halima-led Lionel Richie's Hello (tease)
During the performance of Say Yes, Halima said, "Sometimes it's just a song, but sometimes it's personal. Get on with it, come on out of here, I'm sorry, let me get on with it. They don't sing like this (like Mike), I want but wish"
She specifically addressed a man in the audience, encouraged by women in the audience: "You may never have been put out, but you ever had to explain yourself?"
She went on the dance floor to address him up close.
She thanked the audience for their applause.
Donnell said that Colleen Rowe was there celebrating her birthday.
Donnell said, "I'm putting this tape out." (To prove it?)
Donnell joked about Tasty, "I'm the Pappy!"

June, Delano, Archie Paige, Keisha, Angie, 6'9, Shawn, Shaun, Lisa of the World, and Ytee were there.

I talked with Keisha, I asked her about how they were supposed to be filming Sunday at the Fur. She said it was switched to an event in December. She said because of that, she went on her planned vacation in Miami. I told her how good the show was, she was disappointed that she missed it. She said it is hard for them to film where the audience is more than three hundred people because of the people in the way of the film crew. She said that it was would be hard to film here (at Safari). I told her about the other documentary people who had met with me.

Second Set
1) Instrumental Prelude / Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You
Donnell said to Stomp, "Don't make me go back there".
He held his mic stand horizontally so that the mic pointed right at Stomp.
2) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U - the frontline danced
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima and Mike posed in the appropriate times
5) Donnell-led "Da na ah"
6) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Halima bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, the frontline danced
7) Donnell-led Ludacris' Number One Spot - Donnell bounced during the "bounce, bounce" part
8) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - the frontline danced
9) Donnell-led Hold the Note - the band held fists up
10) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go Nephew, It's Your Birthday"
11) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - the crowd shouted "That's my sh*t!" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa / Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger (tease) "Go down baby, go down"
12) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda (tease)
13) Donnell-led "Back in the day, when I was young, and not a"

Net Boo, Tracy Smoot, Tasty, Keta, Love, Yolanda, Sanisse, Tata, Tijuana, Michon, Candy, Shadonna, and Blak were there.

Stomp had no shoes on, only his socks. Doc said, "Stomp is a big twelve year old." He also told me that Mike, the trombone player, was an original member of EU.

RE Angie, Nikiya, and Sixx were there.

Third Set
1) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
2) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - the frontline danced / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a Minute" echoes / "Brandywine" Chant
3) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Halima bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, there was a nice percussion solo
4) Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger - strong percussion
5) Donnell-led Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease)
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What N*gga What?
7) Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time "aya awa-ah"
8) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda (tease)
Donnell said, "Lorenzo stop"
9) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" / Rare Essence's Work the Walls
10) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go Nephew, It's Your Birthday"
11) Mike-led Lap Dance - nice percussion, Donnell chanted "Swing your body", Mike "Swing"
12) Donnell-led Common's The Corner - just the sample and Donnell rapping, Jay Gotti also sat in and rapped
Donnell thanked Mike for sitting in. He said, "He goes all the way back to Black Love, we busted Reality's ass!"
13) Donnell chanted "Brandywine, friends of mine"
Donnell said that Nephew may have set a new record. Donnell said, "Back then they didn't want you. I need to get some cake back there, me and Stomp."
Dwayne said to Donnell, "Don't leave the stage!"
Donnell talked about people being missing, "Now on milk cartons, Stomp is missing. Gone so long like the Bar-Kays or Sly Stone."

I talked with a woman who had been at every show since last Wednesday except the Katrina Benefit. Her name is Nikki.

Wednesday at the WPGC Katrina Benefit Show
94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, 5240 Paint Branch Pkwy College Park, MD 20740

I got to the 94th Aero Squadron a little late. As I walked in, I could hear Halima singing, so I could tell they had already started. Chi Ali walked out as I walked in. He said hello and I told him nice show Sunday.

Tim (LJ) was there. I asked him when they started, he said a little before 8 PM - I got there a little after 8. I later asked him if this was the first song. He said no, but he couldn't identify the first song. This was the first time I had been here since I graduated from the University of Maryland. There was a diverse crowd.

Familiar Faces
The line up was: Halima, Donnell (wearing a black riding cap), DP, Doc, Dwayne, Chris Wright of Suttle Thoughts on keyboard, Stomp, Smoke, and Jacques
2) Halima-led Jill Scott's Golden - Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures including arm waving by Halima
Donnell said, "If you want to party, if you want to watch, that's okay too."
3) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva- Halima used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures, the frontline danced
4) They started performing the music to Faith Evans' Mesmerized started - Donnell said, "On behalf of the flood victims in New Orleans, we're going to do something." / Halima sang "We're going to do something..." / Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized
Donnell said Broadway is everywhere we go, and LJ (Tim), and Jordan
Then he said, "I wasn't sure if we were going to party or parley. We got about six slow songs, you can sit back."
5) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima sat down on the partition that holds the lights. Tony Redds (wearing a white WPGC collared shirt) brought her a chair, but she told him to sit in it. She then proceeded to address him throughout the song and the next song. She talked about "She wanted you to do a little more than you was doing...” She then stood back up and later walked down the steps onto the dance floor. Doc was on backup vocals. She said, "She didn't tell you, but I'll say it for her..." Tony started to get up, but she told him to sit down, "She wanted to get her breath". He got her water bottle for her. She said he was a gentleman. She then said, "Sometimes we say what we have to say, you have pissed us the hell off one too many times, anyone know I mean out there?" It was an incredible performance - I am sure Tony enjoyed it the most!
6) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Say Yes - Halima said, "Say yes, that's what they want you to say and mean. Rico, she says get the hell out, but she don't mean it. We're not up for an excuse, we don't believe it." Donnell laughed / Halima-led Lionel Richie's Hello (tease)
Halima said of Tony Redds, "Give him a hand, he's been so wonderful. Ladies give yourself a hand".
Donnell said, "We're not interested in all this man bashing. If we tell you lie, accept it."
Donnell called Tony Redds to come onstage
7) Alternating Tony Redds & Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - Tony Redds started on the vocals and rapped, Halima at first backed him up, then sang lead / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa
Tony Redds left the stage
8) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Halima bounced a lot
Donnell said, "That's all their time."
He thanked WPGC. He then said that, "(DJ) Rico used to be a stripper."
DJ Rico said, "Familiar Faces were the first people we called, they did not say no. They did this for free. 94th Aero Squadron put this together. It took a $10 donation, they will take more, I donated $300."

I looked to see who was playing keyboards, because I could see it was not Lorenzo or Godfather. Omar asked me if I knew Chris, I said I did.

Doc asked me about where to find a place to eat. I told him to just drive up to Route 1, that there are plenty of fast food restaurants there.

Wednesday at Takoma Station
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012

Tamara, Angie, Tim (LJ), and Ray were there.

Nephew started celebrating his birthday tonight. Friday is his actual birthday (he’s exactly 28 days older than me).

Familiar Faces
First Set
Packy played a tambourine
Donnell did a special dedication to the people who went to the Katrina Benefit Show.
1) Grover Washington Jr.'s Lock It in the Pocket - very long. Donnell called out hits, "Let's see if I have Stomp with me." He chanted: "Double snare right there, four hits right there..."
Donnell said, "It took me a long time to train my drummer, he's a big old... I didn't mean to kill Halima earlier. Mike snuck in..."
Halima said, "Good evening, I want to take my jacket off (I can vouch that it was pretty cold at Takoma Station), I'll drink this (her tea)."
2) They started performing the music to Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know - Halima said, "I just want to say... Okay, I'll sing it for you because the music is so good / Halima-led Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know
There was applause, Halima said, "Thank you."
3) Instrumental Prelude / Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You - there was a nice percussion solo at the end
4) Mike-led Tony Terry's Freaky Little Game
Mike said something about women, "I might have to touch their neck." He continued, "Donnell got mad when I said a man who tells you he can last all night is lying."
Halima said, "How long can you last?"
Mike replied, "I'll tell you later"
Halima said, "They want to know."
Mike said, "Six and thirty minutes, but it feels like fifty-six minutes"
5) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - Mike reached out and touched the back of the neck of two women at the front of the dance floor, Dwayne had a nice solo
Nece came in. Donnell said, "That's my ex-wife, get off her Nephew."
6) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's As
Donnell said of Nece, "Michael Muse's current wife".
Donnell said of As: "My man Stomp is too young to know that song. He's waiting for Jay-Z to make a remix."
Donnell said, "Tamara is family, she wanted to sing, I can't tell her no."
7) Tamara-led Vivian Green's Emotional Roller Coaster - Donnell and Mike were on backup vocals
Next he called up Marquise Melvin (wearing a Kansas City Royals cap and a white Hipnosis shirt) to sing.
Donnell said, "He said he gave up West Virginia football because he wants to sing. He gave up his chance at the NFL. He's got a Southern accent (he's from Whiteville, NC)."
8) Marquis Melvin-led Secret - the same song he sang in Miami, the band continued playing after he finished singing
Donnell said that's my man, and then joked about how Jauhar had to pay him $3 for letting Marquis sing.
Donnell said that Marquis wrote that song himself, he's a young sex fiend, a pervert.
The crowd called him up to sing it again, but instead:
9) Marquis Melvin-led John Legend's So High
Donnell said, "You switched it up on us."
I talked with Marquis and confirmed the song title and that he had really left West Virginia's team. I asked if he was staying in the area.

Shante, June, Jay Floyd, RE Angie, Tracy Smoot, Sharika, Stacey, and Tiffany were there.

I shook hands with James as I headed out the door.

Jermaine was outside - he hung outside the side door through much of the set. I told him the first time I saw him, at Club Levels on June 19th 2004 (It was definitely a 2004 Club Levels performance), I thought he worked for the venue, not the band.

Doc and Dwayne said they couldn't believe he had really quit the football team to go into music. I pointed out that some of the band members had dropped out of college to further their musical careers. Doc and Dwayne said that was different from giving up football. I told them about a set of twins on Maryland's football team that quit the team to become professional models. (I later asked around and their name was Bullock). I later looked up this blurb on Marquis.

Tijuana, Whop, DJ Rico, 6'9, and Nikiya were there.

Jermaine pointed out that Stomp just wore socks, no shoes.

A couple of women in a car called out Mike to them. He said, "You want me to come to the middle of the street?" He said he was happy whenever he could still turn on the ladies. I told him that when he performed Say Yes on Saturday, a group of women behind me said, "Yes!" to him. He thanked me and said that he could remember anything three hours ago. I discussed the movie Momento with him. He said he walked out in the middle. I said that with the DVD, I’ve read you can change the order so you can see exactly what happened.

Donnell called, "Let's roll" early - 11:45 PM.

Donnell fooling around, sang John Legend's Ordinary People (tease).
Stomp played along with Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot, which the DJ played.
Mike said, "If all the men would take the time to wear a collared shirt..."

Second Set
1) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U
Donnell said, "This is not the Black Hole, simmer down."
He did a shout out to Charles Smith (ex-Hoya and ex-Celtic), and DJ Rico in the audience.
2) Donnell-led ?
3) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Stars Be Partyin'
4) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?"
5) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
6) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima and Mike posed for the ladies/fellas lines
7) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - Halima bounced and used a lot of nonverbal arm & hand gestures
8) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - Mike held his mic to the crowd, the frontline danced
9) Donnell-led Sweet child?
10) Alternating Donnell-led Hold the Note - the crowd danced harder / 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go Nephew (the second verse was directed to Tijuana), It's Your Birthday"
Donnell said "Old school, hands in the air"
11) Donnell-led Rare Essence's One on One (Footz version)
12) Mike-led Rare Essence's Take Me Out to the Go-Go - Go-Go Mickey sat in on congas for the rest of the set, Donnell said, "It's a reunion"
13) Donnell-led Rare' Essences Go-Go Mickey, the crowd shouted "Go-Go Mickey"
14) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
Donnell talked about them performing at Cranberries on September 19th, for the Monday night game between the Redskins and Cowboys
15) Donnell-led Rare Essence's We Used to Let the Pocket Ride - "funny how things have changed, can't go back, park and ride"
16) The crowd shouted, "Southeast, South, Southeast"
17) Mike-led Glenn Lewis' Don't You Forget It - I noticed James was on backup vocals
Donnell talked about Nece's new group, Divas Inc. He said she's on her third hug.
Donnell said to Don, want to bet, I love to spend Cowboy money.
Don asked if Donnell was a Cowboy fan. He said, "Hell no." He said he was a fan of, and proceeded to name every DC sports team.
Donnell did a shout out to Curtis Malone (coach of the DC Assault AAU basketball team), "Even though he wouldn't let my son on his team."
He said, "Someone let nappyhead (Vincent) in": I did.
He teased him again, "He outlived Luther, he has the Arthur Ashe, Melvin Lindsey, Eazy E..."

Arielle, Shawn, Shaun, and Nita were there.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location

Familiar Faces
When I arrived, I didn't see Donnell's car, but I did see Godfather's. I went inside, but the inner door was locked. After I tried to open it, someone I didn't recognize let me in. He was part of the studio crowd.

Doc and Godfather were already in the rehearsal area. They were working on a couple of songs I didn't recognize. In hindsight, I believe one was Alicia Keys' Unbreakable.

I told them that I had never seen Familiar Faces work a crowd like they did on Sunday night.

Jacques walked in and he also talked about Sunday's show. He said that Sixx had said that until that night, he never thought anyone could outcrank Rare Essence.

Donnell and Dwayne were the next to arrive.

Dwayne said something about how good MVP was. I asked, "Then how come they aren't playing anymore?" He said sa band doesn't have to be playing to be...

Over time Jauhar, Duane Face, Stomp & Omar, Mike Muse, DP, and Lorenzo arrived.

Donnell pulled out his new portable horn mic set up. Dwayne said, "Don't leave the stage!"

Doc talked with Dwayne about buying a portable mic set up for his bass.

They had a heated discussion about what music is appropriate for the audience they are going for.

They discussed Halima's range, dropping songs that are too low that she had first sung when she replaced Adia: Erykah Badu's Danger, Alicia keys' Diary (Donnell called it Secrets). They said Jill Scott's A Long Walk was barely in her range.

They also talked about her drinking tea during performances, that if she's going to do it, they should incorporate it into her act like Erykah Badu: put some style into it.

Donnell talked about how he was inspired by the Anthony Hamilton live DVD (Comin' From Where I'm From, Live & More). He said that he lead off Since I Seen't You with an intro - "holding a note". He wanted them to have the same kind of thing. Godfather said, you mean "interludes and preludes". Donnell asked if Mike had watched it. He said, "My kids peed on it." Donnell said, "Wipe the piss off and give it back to me." They came up with one initially also to use with Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You. Lorenzo led the composing, but Donnell said that intentionally he didn't want to be something completely scripted. Doc said to Lorenzo, you stole that, I know exactly where you got it from. I later called him on it; he talked about it being similar to something on Gratitude (I assume he means the Earth, Wind & Fire album). Stomp and Donnell said that it was like church. Godfather kept referring to Lorenzo as "the tall man." Donnell asked something about it to Lorenzo. He talked about the tonal center. Donnell said he wasn't afraid to ask questions. Stomp hit the cymbal suddenly and Mike laughed because Duane Face was startled. Donnell talked about how the trumpet is a dominant voice, so it is important to keep that in mind in composing DP's part. He had them change a note that he would play on the sax because it was too close to DP's note. Stomp said, "If you can't play the trumpet and read the music (of course they had no sheet music), learn to play the trombone." Everyone laughed. I talked about the trombone group Bonerama. They talked about how they could use this prelude for songs that started with a downbeat including I Want You. Mark played something as part of it that made Mike say, "That sounds like Count Dracula." I talked about how Blacula had played the organ in the movie Blacula.

Mike Muse talked with me about Whitney Houston and Vanessa Williams, how they both said, "Kiss my ass!" I said that the In Living Color skit changing Vanessa Williams' Save the Best for Last into "You Can All Kiss My Ass" was one of my favorite Living Color skits.

They talked about what went right at the Fur show. They talked about what Halima had done; Dwayne said she had changed the game and made the other female vocalists cry. They said that they were all on the same page from the very start. Dwayne talked about "Using all their weapons" and "bringing everything they've got." They discussed listening to the recording of the Fur to see if it can provide any more insights on what to do in the future.

White Linen Party at the Fur
Fur Night Club, 33 Patterson St NE, Washington, DC 20002

I parked in the same place I had at the previous Fur show I attended. I was the first person in line. Two women came after me. They had a friend who was a bartender there. She came out to them, but they wouldn't let them in yet either. Three deaf guys came by, read the clothing rules on the walls by me and asked me what time they opened at. Since as far as I knew it would be 10 PM, I put up my hands and tapped my watch to show that. The two women said they didn't ever wait in line, so they left.

Next two older men came by. Since it was clear they weren't letting us in yet, they went to their car to drink and invited me. I declined. I saw the Fur staff let the bass player and one other member of Soundproof Band. They finally let us in at 10:30 PM. I was the first in of the paying fans. When I handed my ticket in, the guy laughed, probably because I chose not to wear white.

They let us into the club, but not the performance area. Unlike last time, all of the performances were in the larger area. The blue room stage had couches and tables on it, but it was roped off anyway.

I sat in a chair and waited for the performance area to open up. The security guard who works the front door of Takoma Station came by and talked to me.

The guy who had been behind me in line came and said hello to me again. He told me he lost his tooth.

A girl at a couch several feet away waved, apparently to me.

Packy came by and said hello. Chi Ali went to the bar.

Sometime after 11 PM, they let us in.

When I walked in, I spotted Jacques with Michon. I said hello to him. I asked him how the anniversary party that Familiar Faces had performed at earlier in the evening had gone. He said it was good. I asked if he was the only one in the band here. He said, No, that DP was here.

I went over to the bar and got a Coke. DP came by and teased me about not wearing white.

Nephew was there.

Soundproof Band came on a little before 11:40 PM. They were all dressed in white, and a number of them wore t-shirts with the band logo on them. I noticed the lead female singer from the last time I saw them was not there. I asked Packy about her (I knew that his cousin Danni is the other female vocalist), he said she had left the band. They have three male vocalists (lead talker, lead singer, and backup singer), and two female vocalists
1) Male-led ?
2) Female (not Danni)-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - not bad
The lead talker said, "Going to have a good time tonight"
The crank started with
3) Male-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - nice harmony, but the lead vocals weren't really distinct
4) Male-led "Bad Girl, If You Want to Party"
5) Danni-led Amerie's 1 Thing
6) Male-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl (tease)
7) Danni-led "Some Guy is spending on me"
8) Lead talker-led "Bam Ban, do it like this, wait and I show you this"
9) Lead talker-led "Peek a boo to ya"
10) Lead talker-led "All the _____ in the club" - it had a repeating keyboard phrase
The lead talker did announcements then the set ended.
I thought they were not bad, but their vocals and music aren't very distinct to me.

Arielle, Angie, Tamara, Tracy Smoot, Darrell, and Shadonna were there. I told Angie that I had seen her last night. I asked her if she was along that night. She said Tracy was there too. Tamara asked me about the crowd, she said it was smaller than last time. I told her that at the previous show, the first two bands had already performed in the other area (which she didn't know), so it was too early to make a comparison.

I spotted Dey and Slim Goodie in the mezzanine level. Dey waved to me.

Mike Muse said hello to me.

A guy came and said to me, "I see you at every Familiar Faces show. Are you their manager?" I told him that I wasn't.

After Hours Band
Before they performed, the members of After Hours Band joined hands in a circle and spoke to each other (we in the audience couldn't hear what they said- whether it was a prayer, a motivational speech, etc.)
Chi Ali addressed the TMOTT members on the mezzanine level, including Blak, whom I hadn't spotted.
1) Sean (Kal'el)-led "TLE say oh no, they don't know"
Chi Ali addressed the audience
2) TJ-led (Tom Browne's) "Funking for Jamaica", "All night long"
3) Chi Ali & TJ-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl
4) Alternating Sean-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - Sean stood at the edge of the stage / Chi Ali-led "Step front, step back" - Sean stood on the speaker in front of the stage, Chi Ali tapped his tambourine against Pretty Nikki's leg
Sean went back onstage
5) Chi Ali-led "Drop ___" - Pretty Nikki sang "oh"
6) TJ-led Jill Scott's He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat) - the band members held their hands palms up - with the index fingers up and the tips touching and the thumbs down and the tips touching making a diamond shape
7) Chi Ali-led ?
Chi Ali went on a speaker in front of the stage. He talked to a girl in the audience. Sean also stood on a speaker.
8) They played the bassline to Rare Essence's Body Snatchers / Chi Ali-led Kanye West's Gold Digger
Chi Ali and Sean returned to the stage
9) TJ-led S.O.S. Band's Just Be Good to Me - Pretty Nikki and TJ stood on the edge of the stage
10) TJ?-led Gloria Estefan's Rhythm Is Gonna Get You (tease)
TJ and Pretty Nikki returned to their regular spots on stage
11) TJ-led Michael Jackson's Thriller - TJ went onto the speaker
12) Chi Ali-led "2ing to the 2"
13) TJ-led All aboard the night train"
14) Chi Ali & TJ-led "Everybody in the club, put your hands up, make it bounce"
Chi Ali said I'm going to do a public service announcement: he thanked the crowd, for without them, they wouldn't be there.
Chi Ali would call out for TJ or Pretty Nikki to sing during the set.
I liked After Hours' performance. Pretty Nikki wore a very flattering short skirt.

Stacey and RE Angie were there. David and Jauhar walked past me, with Godfather right behind them.

I went up close to the front to watch Familiar Faces' performance. Tracy said, "I can't read your handwriting, it is chicken scratches." I said, "I can't always either."

Tata and L-Boogie were there.

Nephew played on the congas during set up.

Familiar Faces
Halima said, "A lot of things are going on"
1) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - she took off her shoes and got on the speaker - she gave a great performance, the crowd, which I noticed was packed, sang along, almost as loud as Halima on the mic, she bounced up and down, Donnell played both his soprano and alto Saxes for this song
2) Halima & Mike-led Floetry's Say Yes - Halima gave a similar speech to the night before, saying "Sometimes you need to say what you need to say", She later said, "Sometimes your man is telling you stories, you don't believe him, he won't let you out", She sat on the stage, with her legs on the speaker - again excellent and the crowd responded accordingly
3) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U - Mike stood at the edge of the stage, the frontline danced
4) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - really strong crowd response, Donnell stood on the speaker, Halima mimed some of it and let the crowd sing / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - the crowd danced harder in a way I hadn't seen before
5) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?" - The crowd was yelling their response
6) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" - he lead it, but the crowd was a backup singer
7) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima and Mike posed for the ladies/fellas lines
The lights went off for the start of:
8) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - the frontline danced, again strong crowd response / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / Donnell-led "Wait a minute" echoes - the crowd shouted "Go-Go Smoke-ay"
9) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - the ladies response when Donnell said, "by yourself ladies" was loud
10) Donnell-led Hold the Note - first Halima, then the entire frontline danced
11) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
12) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What N*gga What? - Donnell stood on the speaker
13) Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time - again strong crowd response
They paused, Halima bowed, but they weren't done yet
14) Donnell-led "Southeast, South, Southeast"
15) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Uh Oh (Heads Up) - Donnell stood on the speaker, Halima mimed "I can't hear you" and danced
16) Donnell & Halima-led Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp
17) Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger "Get Down" - Halima mimed
18) Donnell-led Family
Donnell said, "Good evening"
19) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Stars Be Partyin'
Donnell said "That's it, we got to go before I have to beat up Stomp".
20) Donnell-led chant "Brandywine, friends of mine"
Donnell announced it was Jacques' birthday.
I have never seen Familiar Faces work the crowd better than they did tonight. They controlled the crowd throughout the performance. I knew Donnell said they were going to really put on a show, but I was really impressed. Onstage with the band during the set were: Nephew, Los, RE Angie, Sixx, and Tijuana. At the end, as they were leaving the stage, Tasty and Nita were there.

JoJo was there.

I talked with Doc for a little. I asked Michon what number birthday it was for Jacques.

I helped Doc by carrying one of his basses for a bit. Tasty and Nita teased me.

This time it was easy to get out of the street, L-Boogie directed people out of my way for me.

Saturday at the Tradewinds
Tradewinds Night Club, 5859 Allentown Way, Camp Springs, MD 20748

When I walked up, Godfather, Googie and Vincent were talking. I said hello to Godfather, then walked in. John, the cover guy, joked with me that What? Band was performing instead.

James was there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell wore a dark blazer, a dark shirt and jeans.
Mike said, "I will sing this one out to all the beautiful ladies in the house."
1) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself
2) Mike-led Marvin Gaye's I Want You - Halima sang to herself, there was a nice percussion solo
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima posed the "do it for the ladies" part
5) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
6) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized
7) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - Halima held her mic to the crowd / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - very heavy beats
8) Donnell-led Brown & White
9) Donnell-led Ride Out - Donnell invited Slick Rick onstage, he did the Ride Out dance
10) Donnell-led Northeast Groovers' The Water
11) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima was onstage barefoot, she bounced, excellent performance / Halima & Mike-led Floetry's Say Yes - also excellent, Halima said, "It's been some kind of week. I have to say what I have to say. Right ladies? That doesn't mean I feel that way. Somebody knows what I mean out there.", Women behind me in the crowd said, "Yes" to Mike, Mike said, "Ready to say yes, treat her right."
I grinded with two women separately during the set

Archie Paige, 6'9, Angie, and Chocoltchp were there.

Ebony came over and talked with me. I didn't recognize her at first - in her words, "I have hair."

I asked Donnell how often he plans to use the Bike Week configuration which he used last night. He said, "As much as possible." I asked him about wearing the blazer tonight; he said, "This is the new me." The other band members laughed.

Doc introduced me to his cousin Wes. I asked Wes if he was a musician; he said he was a rapper. I talked with Doc about Ras Lidj's review of Fatal Attraction. He had read it. I told him that Kato manages them and that he had recently brought their female singer Ms. Chevy to a FF show at Safari a few weeks ago. I had noticed her mainly because she is very attractive. He said he didn't remember Kato being with a young attractive woman recently. I told Doc about Duane Face's tenure with the band, the guitar player he introduced me to at the Northeast Groovers reunion. I also told him about the drummer Smoky Joe who now plays for What? Band.

An attractive woman named Tiffany F. hung out int the kitchen. She later walked over and gave me her number. I then asked her name. She said, "50/50" (joking about being married). She put her arm around me and said, "This is my new boo".

Los was there.

Second Set
1) Donnell acapella Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease)
Donnell said to Stomp: "Go where they are beating their feet."
Donnell said to women in the audience, "What do you mean where are the men at? We're the men, you don't need anyone but us."
2) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again
Donnell said to a woman in the audience, "You're making me jealous."
3) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - there was a different beat to this performance, there was a purposeful pause
4) Donnell-led Hold the Note - Mike danced with a female fan
5) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?"
6) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - the frontline, Doc and Dwayne danced / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes - Los danced
7) Donnell-led Tupac's Hail Mary
8) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Spotlight / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon? / Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love (tease)
9) Donnell-led Vinnie D's $55 Motel (tease)
10) Donnell-led Rick James' Mary Jane (tease)
11) Mike-led Lisa Stansfield's All Around the World (tease) - Halima pretended to play the congas
12) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Geraldine
13) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
14) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" / Rare Essence's Work the Walls - Mike again danced with a fan
15) Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger - Los and Halima were dancing in sync
16) Donnell & Halima-led Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease) - Doc was on backup
17) Mike-led Lap Dance - Donnell chanted "Swing your body" and Mike chanted "swing" - Stomp threw a drumstick at Halima
18) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Stars Be Partyin'
A guy in the crowd shouted, "Lincoln Heights" repeatedly.
19) Donnell acapella Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp (tease)
Donnell said, "We need to take a collection, since Vincent got his test results back; he's got the Arthur Ashe..." Vincent just laughed.

Yvette, Felecia, JoJo, and Tracy were there.

A woman asked me my name, she said saw me all the time there at about the same spot.