Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location

Familiar Faces
Donnell and Godfather were there when I arrived. Donnell had his ex-wife's car. Godfather told me the whole story about how 6'9 was kicked off the plane. He left shortly afterward.

Donnell asked me about the video shoot. He's seen the footage - Jesse said that Halima really came alive whenever she was on camera. He said he wished she could have been on Evolution. He asked me what I thought about the video shoot. I said I didn't know exactly what to expect. I did say I wish they had allowed more people in from the outside for the Friday performance. He said that wouldn't have been fair. I said I understood why they didn't do it, He didn't like the PA system - he didn't think it was booming enough. He thought Friday's performance was terrible, especially Bobby Smoot, but Halima shined even so. It's interesting because I and other fans really enjoyed it. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the performance - either live or watching the DVD I made of it. We talked about what FF's goal is. Donnell said he wants to put the video through any place he can. I asked him how they would do that. He said a video promoter, just like radio promoters.

Duane came by briefly. We discussed the NEG reunion. He said he has 200 PAs. He talked about how RE had so many fewer PAs. Donnell said, "That's just giving your money to the street." Donnell asked how he hooked up with EU. Duane's mom grew up with Sugar Bear and met him at the supermarket, told him about her son. He subs for Scooter. Duane was supposed to play with Chuck, but made the mistake of saying he didn't know Chuck's stuff. Benny said he shouldn't have said that.

Donnell said one of the problems with GoGo is putting out ten people at the public. He said Halima will be the star, like the Jill Scott and the rest her band. They will have a front line like at Bike Week: Smoke, Donnell, Halima (in the center), and Mike. Halima will be like Lauryn Hill in the Fugees, with Donnell and Mike being the other guys (Wylcef Jean and Pras). They understand from years of experience that it is okay to not be the centerpiece. He likes having young percussionists, but not young musicians. He said Smoke would be on the front line because GoGo is about congas. James and DP were second row back. He talked about the plan to sign with a major record label because that's easier to become a national touring act. They have a three year plan. Then we discussed Halima specifically. We talked about her obvious talent. He said she's got the perfect personality, then qualified it, saying, not perfect but pretty good. He said she's humble because she's been knocked back. I talked about how I was surprised that she was still available six months after she came to DC. He said he was kind of surprised too. His camp was split on bringing her in. I said everyone says she's not GoGo. She's changing what GoGo is. Dwayne arrived during our conversation and continued it. He talked about Lorenzo: he wanted him to assert himself more. He has the credentials - Donnell said he is giving him a couple of months to win the job. He made a mistake previously by not giving Doc enough time to show he can play. Dwayne said the problem is Lorenzo is afraid of Godfather - he's timid because he feels he's at the bottom of the totem pole. Dwayne wants him to care more and tell people when they are doing something wrong. Lorenzo is excited about playing with FF, this is the real deal to him. When Stomp came in, he was naive, but he quickly asserted himself. He twirls his sticks more than anyone else, that's just his personality. Donnell said he hasn't been in a band that cared more than this one does.

I asked how Smoke (who had come and gone) played with NEG, that I had heard Donnell reined him in more with FF. Donnell said he was a star with NEG, that he's more conservative with FF, but that it works. He discussed how he liked his feel.

Donnell said that the national criticism of GoGo that most bothers him is the view that it is just noise. He has always been concerned with the musicality behind what they play.

Halima led the Chuck Brown show, but she spent a lot of her energy on herself. Donnell told her to spend her energy on the crowd, making eye contact, etc. Donnell was upset that Bobby didn't come to practice or any of their shows before the Miami trip. He said Halima has done everything he's asked her to do. He said, look out in another nine months. He talked about her probably lunching in twelve months, I asked what that meant. Dwayne said, "Diva-itis". They discussed examples of other people developing "Diva-itis". Halima says in response that she will never develop "Diva-itis" with help from "the Creator".

They discussed a 19 year old keyboard player named Chris for Suttle Thoughts, but Donnell reiterated that he doesn't like young musicians because they don't care enough: they do things half-assed (he didn't say that was true of Chris).

They agreed that one of the key reasons for Halima's success here, which she said is the biggest fanbase she's ever had, is that she doesn't know what not to do. I told them about my conversation with her on April 13th. Donnell and Dwayne talked about how she watches everyone and picks up things. She picked up how Adia would get the girls on her side by saying "Hey ladies", which she now does. She has watched Yannie and really everyone she sees, even Ebony rapping. I told them that she's working on rapping. Dwayne was happy that she was working on that. Dwayne said he was worried about her being stolen - we're not the only ones who have seen her talent. Dwayne said it was like bringing in Kobe Bryant to your basketball team, everyone knows who's going to win the championship. They said no one else has had people bring their seats up like at Takoma Station last month. Dwayne said she's made a lot of friends. Dwayne said someone calls him everyday about Halima.

Dwayne talked about the respect for his musical knowledge that Redds and James Funk gave him. I told them about Wayne from Fatal Attraction finding them boring. They said they were not surprised given the brand of GoGo that young people are used to: "banging roto-toms".