Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location

Familiar Faces
When I arrived, Donnell was already in the parking lot (still in his car). Duane Face pulled up. Duane's car was shiny - Donnell said it looked like new. Duane usually gets his car cleaned once a month, but the guy did it for $15. Donnell said he must be dating your ex-girlfriend, feeling guilty to do that. Even double that is cheap. Duane said that it was a first time price; in the future it will be $30. The discussion segwayed into Korean businesses vs. Black businesses. Donnell talked about the neighborhood near College Park - Riggs Rd. He said they had a number of people living in each bedroom and everyone has their own business. They came from nothing and they work had to save. He said he couldn't live in a five bedroom apartment with another guy. The discussion shifted to the clothing brands in DC, they discussed the differences. Visionz is alleged to steal designs, but Duane said that as an artist, he noticed they all do to some degree. Donnell used the metaphor that if another band used his arrangement of Fantasia's Free Yourself, that he would be really mad because it is personal and it would be obvious where it came from. They discussed how they differentiated from each other, that Solbiato (Donnell kept correcting Duane on his pronunciation), had the best material and stitching. Scooter is the EU keyboard player that I think looks like Walt Williams. Duane wore a matching Chevrolet NASCAR hat and t-shirt. I talked about the John Deere clothing in the South. Donnell asked what kind of art Duane did, he had a measured response that he did a lot of different types. He said he used to be best at pencil, but then to painting - oil paints, especially of things flying. Donnell had considered him for painting a corner with Martin Luther King's and Malcolm X's pictures with a chessboard there. I told him about Black Wax, a Gil Scott Heron movie where he takes a cigarette from one among a number of wax figures of Black leaders. We talked about Gil - Duane was not aware of his music. Donnell said his play was incredible. We agreed that his cocaine addiction was a shame. He talked about his keyboard play, I asked him "Brian Jackson?" But he meant Gil's own playing. Dwayne walked in and said that MVP was better than 911. He said they were better then and would be better now. I asked, "then how come you're playing here and not with them?" He said, "I felt sorry for him (Donnell)". Dwayne discussed the Pimpin' All Over the World Rare Essence remix with Donnell. He said your boy (DJ Flexx) arranged that. Dwayne said that the beat for Pimpin' All Over is "more listenable", Donnell told me to look that up. Dwayne said he's right regardless. It is indeed a proper word. Stomp, Doc, Halima, Godfather, Mike, his son and daughter, DP, his sons Derek Jr. and Darrell, Charlie, Los, Nephew, Jacques and Lorenzo arrived over time.

I walked over to Doc; he said, "What do you want?" I asked if he got any sleep. He said no, but he did see my picture with Rudy Ray Moore. He said that I looked like a little boy in the picture. I told him I had just gotten a haircut at the time and that it was taken in February 1999. It was at a 70s Convention (in Tarrytown, NY) and Richard Roundtree, Fred Williamson, Antonio Fargas, Gloria Hendry, and Gerald Martinez from Quentin Tarrantino's production company were there. Martinez had recently (at the time) co-written the book, What It Is... What It Was!; The Black Film Explosion of the '70s in Words and Pictures. I taped the interview session and Rudy's performance. Doc has a friend who is a big fan of Rudy. I told him that Ron O'Neal and Jim Brown were also originally supposed to be there, but backed out.

They rehearsed Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl. I asked Jacques if Takoma Station still stunk, he said no. Donnell wanted there to be a section (especially rhythm section) rehearsal every first Tuesday of the month. Nephew talked about the reviews of the band on TMOTT. They had a private meeting. But before they did, Mike played a recording of Proper Utensils' recording of Toto's Georgy Porgy to go over parts he wanted in it.

Duane and I sat out the door of the big room with Nephew and Los. Nephew showed us pictures of the dancing women at the Fur on his cell phone. He talked about Alicia Keys in her outfit at the BET awards. He talked about seeing her in a cat suit at the Nation, that she wasn't grown up yet, but she is now. He said unfortunately, she's probably gay. I asked why he thought that; he said she's never seen with a man. I told the story about my niece Kelsey, she sat on my lap while I was at the computer, I looked at a jpeg of Alicia Keys and Kelsey shocked me by saying, "She's sexy!"

I talked about Terry McMillan's husband being gay.