Friday at Crystal City Hyatt
Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202

I left home at around 8 PM. I unfortunately was only able to find a parking space nine blocks away. I walked in, asked where the Allen Iverson event was, and went down the escalators. I talked with Cookie and one of the other Positive Black Men Coalition staffers. I noticed there was a group of ladies dressed like cheerleaders in matching white shirts and skirts and white sneakers. At the weapons check, they made me hand over my pen and told me I couldn't take my camera in. I walked back to my car to put it away.

As I walked out, I saw a guy who is one of Iverson's handlers, he said, "I hope they don't wait too long for him (Iverson), he won't show up until 1:30 (AM)". I assured him I was here for the band.

When I returned to the Hyatt, BJ was at the escalator. I asked him when Familiar Faces was performing he said some time after 12:30 AM. I was relieved that I didn't miss anything. I went through the weapons check again, and a group of girls were there, wearing white shirts with various sexually explicit messages printed on them. They were a group (later on I saw that their shirts had messages on the back as well as the front).

It wasn't until 9:40 that I actually got in to the floor that the activities were at. When I got to the bottom floor, I asked where the events were occuring; a woman pointed out the VIP room and the performance area. Another guy asked me if I was from ESPN (I have no idea where that came from) and if I was chased (because I was sweating from walking 18 blocks). A (stenciled) image was projected against one wall showing the PMBC and the other co-sponsor, Nothing But Attitude.

I sat down at a table in the performance area (I saw Packy & Thomas setting up) and checked it out while soaking in the cool air conditioning. There were two areas for GoGo pictures and certain areas roped off specifically for the celebrities. Tables and chairs were on either side of the dance floor. DeeDee told me that food was supposed to be served soon in the VIP room.

I went over there and sat down by members of Familiar Faces. I spent a long time talking to BJ, Doc, Dwayne, and Packy. A girl from VH-1 and a producer talked with BJ, Doc and Dwayne. Dwayne talked about how he's been playing music all his life; he's never had a job outside of music. He said that he makes his real money as an audio engineer, that he plays more for fun than money. (I am not certain of the exact order of our conversations, but I will include what I remember). They talked about how Junkyard Band has the best stage presence, but Packy said, "They just need a new drummer." Doc talked about how Y2K is the most versatile GoGo band, they can play well in any genre. He recommended that I check them out live some time this summer.

Doc and Dwayne also talked about the lack of direction in Familiar Faces, that the members are individually talented but don't have great chemistry together as a band (Doc had talked about that the night before with me as well). They both also said that when they were hired (Doc in October), they were told this was 911, but "Familiar Faces is not 911". But probably personnel differences is not the only way that "Familiar Faces is not 911." Dwayne asked Doc, "What is our direction?" Doc said, "I'm just a hired hand, I follow the guy next to me." Doc said, "We are doing a lot of Rare Essence songs."

We also talked about Trouble Funk - Doc had talked with me about them on Thursday. He said he had ordered Trouble Funk's "Live and Early Singles" from 2.13.61 (Henry Rollin's label). Packy talked about Trouble Funk's percussionist who played a "super tom". Doc said that was Mack, that he was dead. Doc talked about how Trouble Funk didn't get enough respect as trend setters, he asked me to tell him how the audience treats them on Saturday. Packy also talked about how he remember twenty years ago when "(Let's) Get Small" came out, he was five years old at the time and when they played it, everyone got down and danced.

Doc and Dwayne talked about how (non-DC) rappers didn't want to perform with GoGo bands, because the GoGo bands would outperform them. They talked in particular about an '83 performance at the Capital Centre with Trouble Funk and Kurtis Blow. Doc said that that's why Kurtis Blow then recorded with Trouble Funk I'm Chillin': if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. They agreed that GoGo bands don't think that way. They discussed whether there could be a main producer for GoGo, not just someone to mix an album, but do song selection and more work. They agreed that if GoGo were to go mainstream, it would change and not be GoGo as we know it. Dwayne also talked about how they (GoGo bands) are Blacklisted, that Rappers from outside DC hate DC and make fun of people from DC.

The cheerleaders came in - I had seen people having their picture taken with them. Dwayne suggested they may be selling a calendar as well. They put the food out at 11 PM and we all went and ate.

Miss DC sat at the table next to ours; she wore a formal red dress and her sash.

We saw Little Benny hanging out with Godfather. Doc said, "I know he's (Benny) not going to sit down with us. He must be performing with Soundproof Band." Dwayne said, "I'll call (James) Funk". Both Dwayne and Doc agreed that James Funk has the most ability to work the crowd of anyone in DC - that's why Chuck Brown hired him. Doc said that Funk could say that it would just be him performing and he would get a crowd to come. Dwayne talked about how the first time he had seen Rare Essence perform was at the Capital Centre and that Rare Essence was the closing band and that they were late coming from Baltimore. He said that people were sleeping but as soon as Funk started performing, everyone woke up immediately and started partying. They said that 80% of DC rappers imitate the style of Funk, that there are three rappers that are followed: Funk, Chuck Brown and Little Benny. Doc said that Funk really knows music, all genres, that's why he get along with the other radio personalities at his station who are in their 60s (Funk has to be in his 50s). Dwayne said the negative side of Funk was that people would consider him "a tyrant". Both he and Doc agreed that that's how all great band leaders are perceived, they know how they want everything to be. Dwayne talked about how Funk would even scrub down the microphone cords. He also talked about how when he first started working with Funk that he had moved to GoGo from R&B, so he wasn't aware of his stature. Funk set up all the equipment, then went to another room to let the band practice while he listened through the vent. He said Funk came in and asked, "Who changed the settings on the amp." Dwayne said he did, and DP went over and said, "Don't you know who that is; you don't mess with James Funk." Doc said, "He's the last of the clan that started Rare Essence." (His brother "Footz", the drummer was shot and killed on September 17, 1994, and his mother, the band's manager Ms. Mack, died of natural causes).

The Lieutenant was there, mostly chasing after Adia. He was drinking (alcohol) and talked about how he "would take the shortest route across the state line (to DC) that could, rather than risk the Virginia police." Speaking of drinks, there was a gimmick of putting a glowing green fake ice cube in our drinks. They were actually plastic cubes with a light inside.

Doc talked about the pain in his playing hand. Somehow the topic of hair and vanity came up - Doc said that he would just let nature take its course when he started to lose his hair.

Doc & Dwayne agreed that back in the day, Sugar Bear was not just the best bassist in GoGo, but in the East Coast. BJ, Dwayne, and Pooh work together in a Gospel GoGo band called Heaven Sent. Dwayne talked about how MVP was told for certain shows by promoters that Little Benny was not allowed to perform with them after fellow artists complained (out of jealousy).

After Soundproof's first set, Doc & Dwayne weren't sure if they had a second set or FF was supposed to go on. Packy asked them, and they said, "You're supposed to tell us, that's your job!" Packy left and came back and said that Little Benny hadn't performed with Soundproof in the first set, but would probably sit in on the second set.

Doc talked about how Tony Brown's (drummer for EU) son Anthony "Chief Rocka" Brown was killed after a show. Doc said, "I never want to have that feeling, you're not supposed to bury your kids, they're supposed to bury you."

Dwayne and Doc and I then talked about music and video trading and PAs. Doc talked about a concert video he had, Wattstax. I told him that it is coming out on DVD in a few months (September). I also told about a DVD out on Stax that has a bio of the Bar-Kays, called Soul Comes Home (I haven't picked it up yet, but plan to). Doc was impressed with my Funk research, he asked me, "How old are you, 50?" Hanging out and especially talking with the band (essentially backstage) was the best part of this night. I didn't meet any celebrities, but this was far better.

Soundproof Band
After they set up a DJ table in the VIP room, I decided to go to the performance area and check out Soundproof Band's second set. Unfortunately, the acoustics were horrible: the musicians were way behind the vocalists in the mix. When I first walked in the room, I could barely hear the musicians; I had to walk into the dance area directly in the path of the speaker's output to hear them. People were definitely into it (including Nephew and Donnell), dancing to them, but I wasn't feeling it. As DJ Kool would say, "The music ain't loud enuff..." They had four vocalists (two men and two women) in addition to Little Benny. I have forgotten the exact line up. I'm not hating on Soundproof, I really don't have an opinion on them until I hear them in a venue with better sound. I only caught part of their second set anyway.

During the break, Familiar Faces set up. A girl named Ebony (not the one who frequents Takoma Station) came by and introduced herself as a friend of Donnell and told me she had been reading my blog. She also introduced me to a (female) friend of hers (whom I recognized as a regular at FF performances), who gave me an awkward smile (understandable since she had no idea who I was). DP came over to say hello, he said, "A big show, I hope we do well." This was a big show; the crowd was much larger than at Safari Steakhouse, which is their normal biggest audience.

Familiar Faces
Most of the members of FF wore black. They had a special set up - they did an opening skit with Adia and Mike sitting on a white bench with a black curtain behind them (the rest of the band and their instruments were hidden). There was also a smoke machine. In the skit Mike told Adia "He was still in love with her". She said, "You waited until the night before the wedding to tell me?" and walked off the stage. This was the lead-in to Mike singing solo a love song with the (hidden) band playing behind him. Then they wrapped up the curtains. The line up was: Adia, Mike, Donnell, DP, Dwayne, Doc, Pooh, Bojack, a second percussionist (not sure who), Godfather and BJ. While clearly still the sound from the congas was behind where I would like it, the sound in general was good and they cranked. They performed one long set. It was obvious that a number of people were in attendance to star-gaze, as when the celebrities left the performance area, a majority of the crowd left as well (presumably to the VIP room), although I did see some of the bodyguards dancing on the dance floor after that. The lights came on and they finished with Prince's Purple Rain, with Dwayne playing a great solo. That's what I had been missing from him - he doesn't solo nearly as much as Boolah.

When they finished performing at around 2:45 AM, sheriff's deputies escorted everyone not in the band out (not just out of the room, but to the floor above) including me. So, if there were any post-performance remarks, I was not there to hear them. Unlike at the Mad Chef, I was able to retrieve my pen (they're expensive). As I walked out, a guy asked me if I saw the players (the celebrity athletes), I told him I saw Iverson and I heard that Lebron James was there (announced by the DJ during the break). He said that Tracy McGrady, Randy Moss, and Tim Thomas were also there.