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

I talked with Jeff (CrankinDrumma) and his friend, who is obviously also a drummer because he had a drum key around his neck. We talked with Nephew about the fact that arriving early doesn't get away from the cover, you now have to pay $5 for earlier party due to FF's ability to draw five hundred people on Fridays. Jeff's friend suggested that RE is able to get government gigs due to having a tax ID#, DP addressed that and Rare Essence's salaries, management gets $6,000 a gig, but don't pay their band members accordingly.

Mike was here - good to see that he's not sick anymore.

There was a cake here for Jauhar's birthday.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Initially - Jacques played congas and Packy was the second percussionist until Smoke arrived.
1) Miles Davis' Tutu
After the intro, Donnell walked off the stage, and Doc did the band intros. Donnell sat down in the lounge, ate a candy bar, and got the energy to walk on stage to perform
2) Adia-led Incognito's Can't Get You Out of My Head
3) Adia-led Kindred the Family Soul's Rhythm of Life - James was on backup vocals
4) Adia & Donnell-led (Sade's) Cherish the Day
Donnell said, "Stomp 'Easy' Dogg. Can I get a drummer, someone in the audience?"
5) Mike-led John Legend's Ordinary People
Mike said, "Let's go back to 1974; Donnell was fourteen at the time, no sixteen".
6) Mike-led The Stylistics' People Make the World (Go Round)
Mike said "There's Marly Marl and Mel B., they're really old school"
7) Mike-led Javier's How Beautiful You Are
8) Percussion solo - everyone but Stomp, Smoke, Jacques, Donnell and DP left the stage
Donnell said, "Can we get some cowbell? Stomp Dogg, he gets these big names - he's really Larry, Larry Atwater. Smoke, Samuel Dews."

Donnell talked to a female fan named Yvette, told her how the cold/cough medicine with Codeine knocked him out, he prefers the coughing, the candy bar gave him energy to perform. I talked with Doc, he said he couldn't get into rhythm with Stomp, he's used to Jeff. Among the regulars there were Michon, DeeDee, Nita, Tasty (Mike said there are new clips of her on his site).

Second Set
1) Adia-led Jill Scott's Whatever
2) Mike-led Marvin Gaye's I Want You
3) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U
4) Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You
Donnell said, "Stomp Dogg, there's an opening in the Pump Blenders"
Donnell said, "6'9, it's good to see you again. Where've you been, seeing Mass Extinction, the Mighty Peacemakers?"
5) Instrumental - the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!"
6) Doc-led Snoop Dogg's Drop It Like It's Hot
7) Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut
Sixx went on stage, rapped that and
8) Sixx-led "Let the water fall"
9) Sixx-led freestyle rap
A fight occurred in the set, Donnell said, "Adia said there was no one to go to the movies with." Adia said, "That's not true".

I talked with Angie and Tracy, they enjoyed their ski trip, Tracy bowled a 162.

Third Set
1) Adia & James-led Usher & Alicia Keys' My Boo
2) Donnell-led Prince's Take Me With You
3) Donnell-led Hold the Note
4) Donnell-led Miss Keta Will You Dance for Me
5) Donnell-led Terror Squad's Lean Back / Jay Gotti rapped / Donnell rapped "Washington DC, sh*t happening" / an unidentified female and male both guest rapped
A fight occurred, Donnell said, "You youngsters go find somewhere else to go and beat your feet, we'll make it 29 and over if we have to. This foolishness doesn't occur at the Tradewinds." Mike said, "People doing this must live with their mother if they have time to fight".
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Work the Walls
Donnell said to Godfather, "Stop playing Mark, they should be punished." Then he said to the audience, "We'll go to just ladies, and Mike will strip, do a strip tease". He repeated that a few times.

Ytee was there.

Apparently there were three fights.

Mike asked for Jauhar to cut the cake, but he just sat in the DJ booth, not moving.

Jauhar's Birthday at Takoma
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012

Godfather, who keeps insisting I needed to take more pictures, lent me a Casio EX-Z30 to take pictures. The comedian that was supposed to open never showed up. Jauhar was at the door, I asked him if it was his actual birthday, he said yes. I asked him how old he was; he told me he was 22. I later saw in a Washington Post article that he is 36.

Pooh was there - I asked him if he was playing. Googie played Doc's bass during the warm ups. The keyboard players and Stomp Dogg were late. Godfather showed up after Stomp. Charlie arrived with Stomp, and Tony Sharpe filled in for Mike. BJ arrived during the set. Donnell had three saxes.

I talked with Angie, she and Tracy had been sick.

I talked with Cookie, who sat at the bar - especially about Gerald Levert and Positive Black Men Coalition (she said she did most of the work, I asked why the website only has men, she said it is the Positive Black MEN Coalition). Nita was right with her.

Tim (LJ), DeeDee & Michelle, Tasty, Ray, Ras Lidj, and Baba were there. Nicole, the Safari cover taker on Fridays was there in the audience as well.

Familiar Faces
During the first set, Sugar Bear just walked up to the mic (Donnell was facing to the right) and said, "Let's get this party started". GoGo Mickey was also in audience. Adia danced, most people really danced to the last song of first set.

During the break, Dwayne played on BJ's keyboard.

The power went out during the break, first a partial blackout, and then a total blackout. The cherry picker truck with flashing lights was very noticeably parked right outside Takoma Station during the set. A guy named Chris kept shouting, "I want my $20 back!" His female friends made him shut up. Lots of people lit up their cell phones or lighters. When I later asked Nephew about it, he said they were working on the traffic lights and that they didn't figure any business would be open that late at night. The band offered to make up for it by charging no cover before 11 PM next week.

Second set
Godfather played an Earth, Wind & Fire song, and then Chuck Brown's It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That GoGo Swing)
Snoop's Drop it Like It's Hot - it definitely has a very different beat with Stomp than with Jeff (personally I prefer Jeff's)
GoGo Mickey took over during Rare Essence's Body Moves
Sugar Bear joined in shortly after
Rare Essence's One on One
Sly & the Family Stone's Family Affair
Sugar Bear borrowed Doc's Bass
Stinky Dink came up and performed One Track Mind
Donnell did his usual medley - Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love (tease) / Rare Essence's Spotlight / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon? / Vinnie D's $55 Motel (tease)
I danced with closely with a woman, later she stood behind me and moved my arms - she didn't like how I didn't move my arms much while dancing
Miss Keta Will You Dance for Me
They closed with DIP

DeeDee told me people thought I was her brother and that we go out to the GoGos together.

I talked with Tim - Donnell did a shout out for LoKee Sports.

I introduced myself to Tony, told him about my project, and how I saw him sing with FF on Donnell's birthday.

Michelle said to Donnell, you can't make fun of me, look who I'm next to (me). I told her that he hasn't made fun of someone else instead of her.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location

I didn't attend any FF performances or rehearsal last week because I had a terrible cough. I was well enough to go out, but no one would want to be around me.

Familiar Faces
Jeff asked about the proper tempo to play. Packy keeps him fast. According to Donnell, he's never too slow. Everyone but Jacques was there (Smoke only for a short time). They practiced Incognito's Can't Get You Out of My Head - they used horns instead of vocal harmony, BJ didn't like it. I told Mike people liked his waterskiing story. Godfather suggested that the Lap Dance video should be strippers, not at the beach. Donnell told everyone that he would not be at the show at a week from Sunday (March 20th).

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

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Miles Davis' Tutu
2) Adia-led Kindred the Family Soul's Rhythm of Life
3) Adia & Donnell-led (Sade's) Cherish the Day
4) Adia & Donnell-led Tyra's Country Boy
5) Mike-led Ruff Endz' Someone to Love You
6) Mike-led John Legend's Ordinary People
7) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U

Donnell had no Saxes. Dwayne said to DP: "What's up with the (lack of) horn?" DP responded: "He locked himself out of the house." Sixx from Raw Image was there. I met Preston Blue in the first break (but didn't talk to him until the second set), D Ball had shout outs to him by Donnell but was here last week, not this week. I sat by a fallen tile in the lounge.

Second Set
1) Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy
2-4) Can't remember
5) Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut (debut) - Packy raved to Jacques in the break about it
6) Doc-led Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot
7) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Body Moves
8) Ras Lidj rapped
Donnell said to Godfather, who played while Donnell talked, "Hold on Liberace"
9) Donnell "I can sing?"
Donnell made some comments about Toya
10) Donnell-led Temptation's My Girl
Packy said that Nephew hates it when he calls him by his middle name, Leon. I stood in my usual spot at Safari since the summer, to the right of the stage by the speakers. Two drinks moved on the speaker - they almost fell off. The top speaker had to be pushed back in line every few minutes by one of the sound men
11) Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You / Rare Essence's I'm Getting ready
12) Donnell-led Medley: Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love / Rare Essence's Spotlight / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon? / Vinnie D's $55 Motel
13) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda
14) Donnell-led Brown & White

Blue from Y2k was there playing pool when I went into the lounge during the break. Sharmba Mitchell, Nita, RE Angie, and Tasty were there. Britney, the girl who danced by Donnell at L!ssen's album release party was here, celebrating her 21st birthday. March, Mama Chelle's friend, came up and said hello to me.
Third Set
1) Mike-led Happy Birthday
2) ?
3) Donnell-led Prince's Take Me With You
4) Donnell-led Hold the Note
5) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
6) Donnell-led Miss Adia Will You Dance for Me
7) Donnell-led DIP
8) ?
9) Donnell-led "Call side?"
10) Donnell-led Vinnie D's Porno Star?
11) Donnell-led Lap Dance
12) Percussion solo
13) Donnell-led Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
Mike to Tasty "I care about you; I'd suck you through a straw." Donnell said, "Jauhar is furious!" As I walked out, I told Nephew what Packy had told me. He told me that Packy's middle name is Arthur.

Interview of X for TCB
I spoke with Darrin X, assistant manager of TCB, over the phone and then emailed him questions. He then mailed me a typed response, which is below. I received it on Thursday.

1. When was TCB formed?
In 1997, Reggie aka Polo, lead rapper.

2. The prominence of the Roto-Toms over Congas - why is that? Is it driven by audience demand or prior choice?
Personally, I believe the roto toms evolved into its prominence over a number of years. "Back in the day" Trouble Funk had roto toms in some of their biggest songs and few national rap acts would use Trouble Funk's roto tom beats in their loops, ex: LL Cool J's "Rock the Bells". In TCB's case it's more to do with what band the guys came up listening to, and that band was the Back Yard Band. See every generation in go-go is influenced by what preceded it. Follow me... Rare Essence, which was the band I performed with for about 10 years, had a song called "Work the Walls" back in 1990. That song or that beat is basically the foundation of what go-go is now in the TCB generation of go-go which Back Yard started to use in the early 1990s. So in a sense I have to say prior choice. Because through each level of bands, it comes out more in the music. Example, BYB came up listening to RE, and TCB came up listening to BYB.

3. How do you address the criticism from some that it is because you can't play Congas well enough?
TCB's percussionist ED aka Black Love is a very good Congo player who only has about 5 years of playing go-go. He came up listening to Hot Sauce, BYB's percussionist, who came up listening to Go Go Mickey of Rare Essence. There is like no apprenticeship for go-go, so a lot of these guys learn by ear and can play Congos very well. You have to listen to TCB play a Congo set and that question is moot.

4. How do you address the criticism from some that that's not GoGo at all?
Go back to my explanation in question 2. Roto toms were introduced by older more establish bands, the younger guys just embrace it more. If it's not go-go, what is "Work the Walls"?

5. What musical influences are present in the choice of that style?
I would say 30% BYB and 10% RE and 60% of TCB's own spin that they call the "Bounce Beat"

6. How long has TCB used that percussion style?
For as long as they have been a band.

7. What musical influences are present in the chanted vocals?
TCB uses a lot of original hooks in their music but they do use a lot of rap and underground material from artists such as Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Lil Jon, Crime Mob, and Lil Scrappy to name a few.

8. How do you define your target market?
12 to 24 year olds.

9. Other than entertainment, what purpose does GoGo have?
It provides an outlet for talented young adults to express themselves musically. It provides for a place for young adults to gather like their older counterparts. It allows for any group of people to put a band together and possibly become neighborhood celebrities.

10. What is it about GoGo that makes it so popular?
I think because it is so accessible in a way that you can gather and party with people you identify with and you can do it week in and week out with the same band. That is the familiarity people are drawn to, having your favorite band and partying with them on a regular basis.

11. How do you feel about the fact that it is primarily a local phenomenon?
It is what it is. It's live fan base driven music. It's more of a local cultural thing that anything else. You come up listening to it so you embrace it as your music. Your crew or your hood may be down with a certain band and that's what you get into. We don't sweat it, some people that live in DC don't understand go-go because it came from the streets and it belongs to the streets.

12. Can a group of musicians from outside the DC metropolitan area create a GoGo band that would be considered authentic in the area?
From a national view they would be considered a go-go band or a group that plays go-go, but true go-go fans know real go-go. Jill Scott put a go-go like record on her first CD (my note: "It's Love" is the song he's referring to) and DC go-go bands were rushing to play this record. It's like people outside know what go-go is, they just put their own spin on it. Example... Nelly's "Hot in Here" single is an interpretation of "Bustin' Loose", a Chuck Brown go-go record. I have plenty of examples. It all depends on whom you ask. I personally like national acts trying to dupe the sound; it draws attention to the source in some cases.

13. What do you think about the way PA Tapes are presently sold?
Really it's all about the music. Go-go is so street driven that people will buy one CD and copy it. Before you know it, it is all in the streets. Now, in this day and time bootlegging is more of a blessing than a curse for go-go, it provides exposure in a small market and basically is free advertisement. You cannot really make a lot of money just dropping PA CDs every other week. You're lucky to make back expenses and a few thousand here and there. The streets dictate what's hot and what's not.

14. How often should a GoGo band release a commercial (especially studio) album?
In TCB's case we try to just put out studio versions for radio stations and DJs. Economically, live CDs suit the purpose.

15. What must be done for the tradition of GoGo to be maintained?
More established bands recognizing these younger guys and their audience. Older go-go musicians sometimes say to me "I can't understand the beat" or "they play too much of the roto-toms for me" so they tend not to acknowledge the younger groups. But these guys are packing 3 to 4 hundred people of their target audience in venues on a nightly basis. So there is definitely a market for their style of go-go. Their target audience will eventually grow up and guess who they will relate to? The band they are more familiar with, TCB.

16. How often do you attend performances of other GoGo Bands?
In our circle we are the premier band so a lot of the younger bands perform under us. Our style is what they emulate and put their own spin on so I see a lot of bands at our shows. As far as the more established bands like RE and FF, I am still friends with a lot of those guys so I just go from time to time to hang out. They are performing a different style of go-go.

17. What other GoGo groups and non-GoGo groups did you belong to before TCB?
I have been a member of Rare Essence (10 years), and 911 (2 years). I worked for RnB artists Ginuwine, Dru Hill, and Raheem DeVaughn.

18. Given the large of size of your band and the other support people you have, do you make much money? I partially ask because I want to know is your primary reason for performing to make money or is it a love for the music or something else?
We make money; in a sense we pay our expenses and still walk away with some. For a young band like TCB, we operate like a veteran band. We recognize our value in our market. TCB just started to make money 2 to 3 years ago so for a long time Reggie aka Polo, the band's founder paid for the band to play at any show they could get.

19. How many people are in your support staff, not the venue's staff, and what do they do?
Well there is myself and Ben, Managers. A PA and a monitor board sound man, and lastly an equipment manager.

20. What kind of sponsorships/endorsements do you have?
We have 2 clothing sponsors, Visionz and All Dayz.

21. What do you think about the prominence of cover songs over original material?
What works for one band might not work for another band. Younger bands tend to play cover tunes with their original raps or hooks and sometimes even use original music with cover lyrics. Older groups may take a cover tune and just put a solid go-go beat up under it when it comes to playing radio songs.

22. I have noticed that you have a lot of guest performers, including people from the audience. Why do you and other GoGo bands do that?
That goes back to what I said about go-go being a fan base driven music culture. You see people enough times they become familiar to you and you tend to know your fans like who can rap and who can sing. Bands let these fans perform as a way of showing fan appreciation.

23. How do you feel about how some people associate GoGo with fighting and violence?
We have no control over what transpires in the crowd. We draw our crowd from all over. Go-go is street oriented from my perspective so you tend to get a lot of that element in any given show. Thugs, gangsters, mail clerks, athletes, school students and all people of the sort like go-go. So if you get these people together it's usually nothing to worry about but on some occasions things do flare up, but that is just an unfortunate instance and not part of the go-go culture.

24. What do you feel is the connection between the band and the audience? And how close is it?
The audience demands dictate a band's popularity. The connection goes hand and hand with band popularity and success. If you pack a venue every performance, you can basically say our band is popular. It runs close in a sense that a packed house equals popularity.

25. What do you think of a GoGo, as in the entire performance date at a venue? (I see it as a social, fun, occasion where the band members tend to be friends with many in the audience.)
You kind of answered that in your observation.

26. What is the purpose of the after-performance joning?
That could mean a lot of things to many people. Some do it to reflect with band members and friends on the performance, some do it to mingle with fans and some do it to pick up groupies.

27. How do you define Pockets & Sockets?
Hum... I would say a pocket is a basic solid generic beat with the Congos and cowbell dominating the set. And a socket would be the so-called pocket of the song you are performing, like if you were playing let's say "Brown and White" and you just drop out of the music and have the beat run. Same rhythm, same beat just without the music.

In closing: I feel that go-go has and always will evolve depending on the culture and generation of the people involved. TCB has their own style and can hold their own. Some older people don't acknowledge these guys and they seem to want to hold on to the "Back in the day" mind set. Younger bands embrace what's in front of them, the TCBs and BYBs of their age. They don't try to be like the REs or Lissens. I think they are drawn to the more "mature" style for the money and that some guys are older and can make the transition. When I was a member of Rare Essence, we set the pace for others. We incorporated new equipment and ideas that younger groups fed off. After a while it just seemed like there was a huge gap between a Rare Essence and TCB. Mature bands just went in one direction and started to ignore the younger target audience so younger people started their own culture and in turn older groups couldn't relate. Same music, same concept, but form some instance it's not considered go-go.

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

When I arrived, Jeff wore a formal blue shirt and striped tie. I asked him if he had an interview, he said he likes to dress up occasionally.

Donnell and BJ had an argument about what Perfect Pitch means.

I saw that Donnell had three saxes, including his soprano sax. I asked him about them, he said he had had the soprano fixed and he would play all three of them at once. I said like "Rahsaan Roland Kirk?" He was surprised I knew about him. He was a jazz artist who was known for doing that:


Before they started, I talked with Tim (LJ) and Angie. Angie asked why I chose to work with FF. I told her that I had been to the Chuck Brown Birthday performance on DVD and that 911's performance there was my favorite performance ever. I said that 911 and Trouble Funk were my two favorite groups and that Trouble Funk isn't performing anymore. Tim said that wasn't true, I said they aren't performing regularly, but I had seen them play last summer. He went on to tell me how he worked with Trouble doing security, and that he knew a lot more about them than Familiar Faces. I told him about Reo and Tee Bone filming the FF performance at Club Levels. Angie said she'd only been following GoGo for a year. I asked her what she'd been listening to previously, she said R&B and Gospel. I asked her if she followed Gospel GoGo. She said not really.

Nephew talked about my blog with me. He also said that the female back up singer Danni from Soundproof is Packy's cousin, and Yannie's cousin (who is also Packy's cousin). There was a young guy taking pictures, he's looking to sell them.

Familiar Faces
Mike was not here tonight, not surprising since he said at rehearsal that he had gotten over the flu, but not his head cold. The first set had a furious drum solo by Jammin' Jeff, where he even loosened his tie for a bit. Donnell did shout outs to guests from the Nation of Islam, FF is going to play before Louis Farrakhan speaks on Savior's Day Monday at the DC Armory. Donnell talked about when with Rare Essence, they would wait in line to hear Farrakhan speak "The Word". He also did a shout out to an activist who fights against violence in DC. Among the songs they performed in the first set were Alicia Keys' Diary, Toto's Georgy Porgy and their instrumental of John Legend's Prelude / Let's Get Lifted. Nephew told Doc and Dwayne about my characterization of Soundproof's lead talker at practice; they laughed and said they disagreed. Sharmba Mitchell was there.

The second set, they performed Destiny's Child's Soldier, Rare Essence's Body Moves, Jennifer Lopez's Get Right, Tom Browne's Funkin' for Jamaica, Terror Squad's Lean Back with Ebony guest rapping and Lap Dance. They closed with what has been their closing song: Sly and the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). I said hello to Michon before I left.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location, Hyattsville, MD

I talked with Doc outside before going in with him and Donnell. Everyone but Smoke and Jacques was present. Jauhar came with his son and Donnell was trying to convince Jauhar's son that Kobe was better than Allen Iverson.

They discussed Sunday's show. I had noticed Donnell's soprano Sax fall, he said it broke into four pieces.

They also discussed about the unexpectedly late (they were expected to be late, but not as late as they were) arrivals of the guys from Heaven Sent on Friday. They rehearsed a new Jennifer Lopez song Get Right that samples Maceo & the Mack's Soul Power '74 (the song's listed co-writers are James Brown, Rich Harrison and Usher Raymond). Donnell particularly rehearsed the solo sax play, wiggling his body as he played. They laughed and said he should do that when he performs it in public, he said he planned to. Dwayne said Donnell was "Born to do that 'Bama sh*t."

Donnell told everyone the ski trip was cancelled. He then brought up a funny story that he wanted me to take down (mentally): Rare Essence went on a trip and Mike volunteered to go waterskiing first. The guy driving the boat told Mike to signal when he was ready. Mike raised his hand to ask a question and the guy started, dragging Mike for half a mile because the guys were laughing too hard to tell him to stop. DP then told a story about skiing where he thought the ski lift would have give like a rope, he didn't realize he was supposed to just let go, and it took him up the entire mountain with a number of people laughing. He was so embarrassed; he took off his skis and walked down the mountain.

L!ssen Album Release Party at Kili's Kafe & Lounge
Kili's Kafe & Lounge, 2009 8th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

I decided to go to this event so that I could check out FF when performing in the same show as Soundproof Band and L!ssen Band. Unfortunately, I decided to take to buy a ticket, so I had to pay the whopping $45 at the door. It started raining while I waited in line. When I got in, I walked upstairs and there were already a number of people there. DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) was the DJ, using a laptop to do so. They were selling copies of L!ssen's album: "L!SSEN L!VE VOLUME 1" at a table by the entrance to the dance floor. It is very odd, the album is almost completely covers, I read the tracklist online: (I am not positive all of the covers are correct.)
Disc I
1) Intro
2) John Legend's Ordinary People
3) Maze's Can't Get Over You
4) Teddy Pendergrass' Close The Door
5) Prince's Purple Rain
6) Lil Jon's Lovers and Friends
7) Erykah Badu's Cleva
8) Cheryl Lynn's Encore
9) Destiny's Child's Soldier
10) Erykah Badu's Danger
11) The GAP Band's Outstanding
12) Kwick Drum Clinic
13) Peany's Percussion Lesson
14) Earth Wind & Fire's Let Me Love You
Disc II
1) Fabolous' Breathe
2) The Whole City's Behind Us
3) Whole City....Reprise
4) B2K's Bump Bump Bump
5) Its LISSEN man
6) Deville's Twerk It
7) Toto's Georgy Porgy
8) Jay-Z's Dirt Off Your Shoulder

Jacques and the guest singer James were the first two guys from FF to arrive. I went and talked to Godfather and Doc when they arrived.

I looked on the stage, and I guessed correctly that Soundproof would be performing first, since clearly none of the equipment was FF's. I was glad to hear that when Soundproof Band came on, they didn't have the sound problems they had the first time I saw them. The female singer has a very nice voice. The band's sound was good, but didn't really crank. Their first song they performed was Destiny's Child's Soldier - I immediately thought about how bad it is to hear multiple GoGo groups cover the same songs in the same show. They also performed Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot - but that clearly was nowhere near as good as FF's version. They sounded nice, but didn't really move me or the crowd. Also, their lead talker had a visually distracting and annoying habit of moving his right hand up and down as if he were playing air guitar or... This venue is huge, probably the largest venue I've seen GoGo other than Mayo Island.

Familiar Faces
FF used the same drums and congas as Soundproof. Unfortunately, as they were setting up, Donnell accidentally knocked over his soprano Saxophone - he immediately put it away in his case and did not play it that night. FF really cranked in their set - and definitely got the audience response. Among the songs they performed were: Toto's Georgy Porgy, Marvin Gaye's I Want You, Donnell's three song Medley - Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love / Rare Essence's Spotlight / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon? / Vinnie D's $55 Motel. They immediately afterward performed Rare Essence's Marinda. They also performed Rare Essence's What N*gga What? They closed with, like Friday, Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). I was actually a little surprised that they didn't perform one of their own originals from Evolution as competition for L!ssen's new album. There was a young girl (whom I later discovered was named Britney) with dyed red hair and a pink jumper who danced hyperactively by Donnell; he moved away from her. Donnell supported L!ssen with his statements on the mic, saying that he knew how difficult it was to put an album together and put it in stores. He also told the crowd to make sure they bought store copies, not bootlegs.

While they didn't perform any of their originals live, GoGo Rudy did during the break, starting off with Lap Dance and also a slow song from Evolution as well. (I don't remember the title, but I recognized it as a song that I sat in on Mike's studio session for).

L!ssen Band
L!ssen led off with Ray Charles' Night Time Is the Right Time, then Prince's Purple Rain, a third song led by Yannie I didn't recognize, and Destiny's Child's Soldier. All four of these songs, while the conga player played, were Soul not GoGo, and quite frankly I found them really boring, but the crowd liked them. Fortunately, from the next song on they performed GoGo and did crank a bit, but not as much as FF. That next song was their original on their album Whole City's Behind Us. They followed up with Rufus' Ain't Nobody, then Party With L!ssen?, then I either a song or a jam, then Erykah Badu's Danger, then another song/jam, then Toto's Georgy Porgy, and Lil Jon/DJ Flexx's Aw Skeet Skeet (which is also a chant of George Clinton's I don't know which of them originated it). Kelvin Robinson, Y2K's assistant manager, came by and said hello to me and Dwayne. Dwayne left before the set was over. They finished several minutes after 3 AM. I did think it was kind of silly that the front line players passed around a WWE championship belt. Michael Thompson was wearing an eye patch, I wonder if that was because his car crash this summer?

Definitely both FF and L!ssen really got a crowd response. People danced hard to FF, but that is a reflection of their harder style. I honestly don't know who the crowd liked more.

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

I arrived a little earlier than normal because last week, there were very few parking spaces available and I was early then! A white guy was playing pool with a woman in the lounge. He said, "I glad to see you, that I am not the only one. I won't get dirty looks." Since I've never gotten dirty looks that I know of, I thought his comments were silly, but I didn't say anything.

BJ & Dwayne were performing at another gig at a nearby Best Western with their Gospel GoGo group Heaven Sent, which includes Pooh and a different bassist nicknamed Doc. Jammin' Jeff was also played drums for Kraisy Praise, which went on after Heaven Sent. Heaven Sent's show went over, so Familiar Faces went most of the first set without them and all of the set without Jammin' Jeff and Mike Muse.

Familiar Faces
The opening line up was: Adia, Donnell, Doc, Godfather, Smoke, Jacques, and James. DP arrived a little late - while the rest of FF was performed, he tuned up. Pooh offered to play on the drums, but Donnell decided to just go without drums for the first set. Donnell did a shout out to Go-Go Mickey in the audience.

During the break, I discussed Gospel GoGo with Dwayne. Watching Go-Go Mickey play pool with the cop was funny, he would scream and/or curse when he missed shots (reminds me of me). Packy looked over a t-shirt that Smoke had hung on a hanger by the congas - it was a custom black t-shirt with two congas and the word "Smoke" printed on it. In the second set, everyone was there, including Mike. He sang Marvin Gaye's I Want You. To be honest, I got into the music so much that I zoned out at times. During the set, Donnell made fun of the real names of people known by their nicknames: "Smoke" - Sammy Dews, "Tasty" - Cherone (spelling?), and "Go-Go Mickey" Milton. Tasty was there with Nita. Kato, Blak and DeeDee were there. Los was onstage, not sure if he rapped or not.

During the second break, I talked with Doc and Dwayne about Funk, and GoGo. A girl passed by with tremendously endowed buttocks. Both Doc and Dwayne said "Wow!" The woman who had said last week that "Donnell was her husband," Netty, said of the woman immediately after: "Anything that looks that good can't be good."

During the third set, Donnell did his usual Medley: the first song is Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love with Donnell orally doing the keyboard sound effects that distinguish the song, the second song is Rare Essence's Spotlight, and the third is Vinnie D's $55 Motel. Go-Go Mickey came in and sat in on congas - with all respect to Smoke, Mickey is the top conga player. I'll freely admit that my favorite FF shows are those where Go-Go Mickey sits in. Go-Go Mickey started off playing the congas and timbales with sticks, and then switched to playing by hand. Smoke gave him respect, even leaving the stage for a while, dancing in front of me. RE Angie, Nita and Tasty danced onstage. I think that Catch-22, the guest rapper from last week rapped during this set as well. The well-endowed girl mentioned above talked to a friend of hers over by me; her name is Monica. I also thought I saw Soldierette, but was unsure - I emailed her later and confirmed it. Go-Go Mickey played the rest of the set, except for a break when Smoke took over during Lap Dance. They closed with Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).

On Wednesday, I had teased Jeff about how he should wear a darker shirt, since it was so obvious he sweated through his shirt. Tonight it was Mike who did that, but he was smart and changed his shirt after he finished performing. He went up to Monica, talking with her about working with him and his website. Soldierette was with a guy who I later determined was Big Jim, a percussionist and a poster on Soldierette's board. He was friendly to me, but neither of us recognized the other. Blak was at the door - I said good bye and headed home.

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

Familiar Faces
This became quite an evening. The line up at the start of the first set was: Mike, Adia, Donnell, DP, Dwayne, Doc, BJ, Jammin' Jeff, Smoke, and Jacques. Godfather came in later in the set. During the first song, which was much extended, Jacques played roto-toms and timbales - pretty rare for a first set. He traded solos with Smoke, but the true highlight of the song and even the night was Jammin' Jeff's solo. Not only did he crank on the drums, but stood up and used his drum sticks on the signs behind him, Godfather's stool, the speakers, the mic stands, the congas, timbales, then put the sticks down and beat on the neck of Doc's bass with his bare hands as a percussion instrument. He then hit on the signs and the heating duct above before going back to his drum kit. Mike's highlight was O'Bryan's Lady I Love You. The first set was longer than usual, and definitely crankin. Many members of the usual crowd were there, plus Sharmba Mitchell and Big Don Pimp.

During the second set, the performance of Terror Squad's Lean Back featured at least three of the same four guest rappers as last week - Ebony and the other two girls. I didn't see the male guest rapper last week well enough to know if it was the same guy this week. The other Ebony was there as well. The set cranked in the way that happens to me - it is so great that it seems like more time has passed than is really the case. They closed with Lap Dance. Donnell did shout outs to people for coming, including Michon (Jacques' girlfriend) and me.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location, Hyattsville, MD

Familiar Faces
There is now a plaque for "Studio 54" above the outside door and a red 54 (painted with stencils) in front of the door at the top of the stairs. Donnell was there, but was negotiating with a promoter, so I let him be and went to the rehearsal area and talked with his son Donte. Nephew arrived after a while and eventually Dwayne, Doc, BJ, DP, Godfather, Adia, Duane Face, Mike, and Jacques arrived.

They discussed a lot, particularly about the incidents of violence on Saturday at Club U that cost them their liquor license on Monday. Donnell discussed how in DC Councilmen Jim Graham's press conference, Graham aimed to close all the GoGo venues in his ward. Most of the rehearsal was spent discussing this as well as performance strategies and what their audience aim was.

Nephew, Duane and I had a discussion. Nephew told me that Polo is his brother-in-law and their soundman, Al Winkler, was FF's soundman before they hired Googie.

At the end, Donnell, Nephew, and I had a basketball discussion where Nephew said that the Wizards don't play enough defense. He also said that the Wizards gave up more points than they scored, and they asked me to look it up. It is not true: after 51 games, they have averaged 101.7, their opponents 101.1.

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

Since Monday, they finally repainted the very faded traffic lines on Annapolis road. When I walked in, DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) stood by the entrance and greeted me. In the lounge, a couple of guys played with women beginners, patiently teaching them how to play pool. After Doc arrived, I talked with him a little. A woman next to me said that "That's my baby daddy". I asked which one, she said, "Doc and Packy. Packy's my husband." The woman next to her, (I later learned her name is Netty), said, "Donnell's my husband." I asked, "Do they know that?" I then went to the bar and ate.

Familiar Faces
I missed the very opening - as I went to where I normally stand, I noticed Pooh sat in the lounge next to Packy. I told Packy what the girl said, he said he isn't even married, which Pooh said wasn't true. I sat down and talked with Pooh for a while. He told me he was looking for a new gig and he had been working in Atlanta all last month. He also said that his cousin had picked up PA's of Familiar Faces that they had not released. He didn't know where his cousin got them. I asked him about the nickname D-Train in Evolution, he said that Donnell called him that a couple of times. Mike came in; I asked him why he didn't sing on Wednesday. He said he was sick. When Pooh and I finished talking, I went to the side where I normally watch them perform (they had a full line up, with Jacques arriving during the first set, and Charlie not coming tonight). Donnell Jr. was there, along with Footz's daughter, who said hello. I asked her what her first name since I didn't hear it on Sunday - Renee (spelling?). For many parts of this show, I got so into the music that I zoned out.

I talked with Dwayne during the break for a bit. We talked about his producing/engineering work coming up, including Y2K. Actually, Dollar Bill and manager Kelvin Robinson of Y2K were there and said hello to both of us. They told Dwayne that on Fridays, China Boogie's wife won't even let him answer the phone, much less go out. I also talked with him about a PFunk video from their performance at the Capital Centre on February 1, 1979 and PFunk's influence on GoGo. I talked about the use of congas and roto-toms by PFunk in the concert. He talked about how congas were prevalent in major Funk bands at the time and influenced GoGo, but that GoGo has its own beat to it. He said that Chuck Brown's early albums don't sound like GoGo, more like regular Funk. He would have the percussion section play during the breaks and he would talk to the audience. He discovered they liked that more than the songs themselves. Dwayne also talked about how at the time of GoGo's formation, that the bands would be like L!ssen, trying to perform the hits they way they sound on the radio. We also discussed the joking in rehearsals of him versus Donnell. He said that when he first joined the band, the band played a little tense. He lets Donnell know he has more GoGo experience, he starting playing in 1981, Donnell in 1983. The other band members thought their arguments were serious at first, but they are just kidding.

I talked with BJ about how until I actually got Evolution, I didn't recognize the picture of him from the photo session as being him.

During the second set, they did many of their regular set, including Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot. James guest sang. There were also three guest rappers during Terror Squad's Lean Back: Catch-22 (I caught her name when Donnell said goodbye to her at the end of the performance), Kay Kay (Chuck Brown's daughter) who wore a bright red wig, and Jay Gotti. Mike also sang John Legend's Ordinary People.

The third set as usual was the best. There was a birthday party, and Kato and other people wore party hats. Kay Kay guest rapped in this set as well. Donnell did his three song medley. A group of guys cheered on Smoke, yelling "Go-Go Smoke-Ay". Godfather asked if he provided me with a camera that I would take pictures.

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

Familiar Faces
Mike was not at this show, Donny Ray filled in for him a little. Everyone else was there in the opening line up. They did perform John Legend's Prelude / Let's Get Lifted, and after performing it a bit instrumentally, Donny Ray sang it (they normally only perform it instrumentally). Donnell introduced him as from EU, Donny Ray Valentine. I saw that E from L!ssen was there again. The line between the Jazz and second set was very blurred tonight, with heavy playing in the first set. A woman danced with her husband and daughter (who appeared to be in her 20s). Nece, the promoter, showed up (smoking a stinky fat cigar), with 2 other women. Donny Ray also sang John Legend's Ordinary People. At the end of the first set, the woman I mentioned went up to Donnell and he made some announcements: "It's Laura's birthday, she doesn't want anyone to know 50 Cent's her N...", she went back up to him, "She's forty years old, she doesn't look forty, security we have announcements, she doesn't want anyone to know 50 Cent's her nephew, she is upset because she lost her wig." Actually she didn't lose her wig, but it was quite amusing. She danced with a guy who is a regular and it fell off when she dipped. Plenty of regulars were there, including Ebony, Tracy, Angie, RE Angie, and Tim (LJ).

During the break, RE Angie played on the congas until Packy chased her off. She wasn't bad.

During the second set, they performed Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot and Terror Squad's Lean Back immediately after - both quite extended and percussion heavy. During Lean Back they had 4 guest rappers from the audience: 2 unidentified girls, Ebony, and a guy. They also performed Miss Keta Will You Dance for Me with Donnell changing the name of the woman in the song to women in the audience, including Tasty. They closed with Lap Dance which was much extended with percussion solos as the highlight.

It was raining when it ended.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location, Hyattsville, MD

Familiar Faces
I was the first to arrive tonight. I waited inside for a while (P-Funk was being played inside) and I was about to go to the gas station to call Donnell when Doc pulled in. At rehearsal, were Doc, Donnell, Donte, DP, Godfather, Duane Face, Dwayne, Jammin' Jeff, Adia, and Jacques. I told Doc and Donnell how I had seen Jacques on TV last week.

Donnell wanted to work on his solo for John Legend's Prelude / Let's Get Lifted. They continued to have their jokes about who is more of a musical authority - Donnell called Dwayne "Hoffa" and the people in the band who follow him are "the union", the others are "management" or "white shirts". They discussed Donnell's resume with Rare Essence. Donnell said that Body Moves was their only hit prior to him, and they discussed what defines a hit. They did agree that the simple locked groove of Lock It was the best despite the fact that Go-Go Mickey is the best conga player in GoGo.

Nece, a promoter, came to go over the flyer for a show that Familiar Faces will be doing for L!ssen's album release party, along with Soundproof and L!ssen.

They also rehearsed Tyra's Country Boy.

Adia's hair was curly, RE Angie did her hair. Duane and I discussed what GoGo he and I like and PA Palace, and GoGo DVDs.

Y2K at Reggie's
Reggie's Sports Kafe, 4881 Glen Dale Rd, Bowie, MD 20720


Blue, Dollar Bill, Pooh, Scuba Steve, Doug Gilcrest, Mike Fitzhugh, Eric Marner
Picture taken by and Copyright Jordan Rich

Last week Y2K was not able to get a good soundman in time for the show, so they didn't perform then. This time, China Boogie told me they had Googie (Familiar Faces' regular soundman, also works with Rare Essence, etc.).

For the first set, they opened with just keyboards, drum, bass and horns. Their first set, their "Jazz" set, consisted of extended versions of Miles Davis' Tutu and Earth, Wind & Fire's Can't Hide Love.

They then took a five minute break and then moved into their full line up and regular GoGo set. The highlight of the set and the night was their performance of Al Green's Let's Stay Together. Also, right after that song they cranked it up a notch, with Scuba Steve leading the way.

During the break after they finished the set, Sharmba Mitchell and Big Don Pimp came in with some more people.

Their third set was the most crankin' - among the covers they performed were Destiny's Child's Soldier, Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot, and Terror Squad's Lean Back. They also performed a chorus from KC & the Sunshine Band's That's The Way (I Like It). They also performed what I assume is an original "Y2K, time to party" and Young Groovers' Buddy?, "You get a freak, I'll get a ho, and meet you at tomorrow's show." It was definitely a good show.

Both Blue and Dollar Bill's vocals sound better to me than the last time I saw them perform. They didn't have a set cowbell player - I saw Dollar Bill, Scuba Steve and Mike Fitzhugh all play cowbell at different times. Also, they didn't have any improvised instrumental solos really. While the horns give them a defining sound, they still could add a couple notches to the crank. However, while the throwdown crank style is my favorite, that may not be what they are aiming for. The bar crowd was middle aged people, the table crowd, who were clearly here to see Y2K, consisted of people in their 20s and 30s.

After the set was over, Dwayne Lee of Familiar Faces came in. I talked with China Boogie; he said that Dwayne was going to be producing their album. It makes sense, since he and China Boogie are very good friends.

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

It was warmer than last week. I talked a little with Doc and Dwayne.

Familiar Faces
The first set had the complete line up. E of L!ssen was in attendance - Donnell did shout outs to him. They performed John Legend's Prelude / Let's Get Lifted. They also performed Been So Long off their album Evolution, the first time I've heard it live. Donnell called Tamara up to sing, she asked if they knew a song. Godfather said he did, to which Donnell said, "Godfather never says he doesn't know a song." They performed it and Donnell said, "Godfather wasn't lying, he did know that song." Tracy, Angie, RE Angie, Tim (LJ), Ray and a lot of other regulars were there. Jammin' Jeff had an awesome solo. James was on backup vocals both sets. Donnell asked E how they were doing (performing), he said "Jammin' Jeff is the only one playing good", to which Donnell said, "Security!" E replied with "BJ is playing alright..."

RE Angie played Dwayne's guitar during the break.

In the second set, they performed the Medley they had rehearsed, and it flowed into "Roll Call", during which E got up and performed. Throughout the second set, Donnell showed how he likes lengthening names: "on behalf of Raymond, we'd like to thank Takoma Station for the Long Island ice teas - Angelica is inebriated (to which Tracy held up 3 fingers)". Mike offered up to the ladies about how he didn't have a date for February 18th at Constitution Hall to see The Stylistics, The Chi-Lites, and The Delfonics. They closed wirh Lapdance with the full lyrics. E performed with them for that too. Donnell talked about "Good Luck Road", Ray was offended. Donnell said, "I've been to your house. You asked me to pick you up, I said, meet me at the police station."

Aside - Thursday night on the 6 PM News on CBS, I saw Jacques Vaughan and his signifcant other Michon. He was listed as a teen counselor (I didn't know that before), criticizing the video game Grand Theft Auto as promoting violence.

Tuesday at Rehearsal
Private location, Hyattsville, MD

Familiar Faces
At rehearsal tonight, were Donnell, Nephew, Doc, Dwayne, DP, BJ, Duane Face, Godfather, Adia, Mike, and Jeff.

They spent a while going over John Legend's Prelude / Let's Get Lifted. Then they worked on a three song melody: Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love, Rare Essence's Spotlight and Vinnie D's $55 Motel. After that, Jeff asked to go over the "choo choo song". They laughed and asked for more details - it turned out to be Rare Essence's What N*gga What?. Adia told him not to worry, the rest of them don't know what Donnell is saying anyway. They practiced that and they were done.

I talked with Duane Face about a book called Bass Grooves by Ed Friedland that has a section on playing GoGo.

Interview of Y2K at Reggie's
Reggie's Sports Kafe, 4881 Glen Dale Rd, Bowie, MD 20720


Front L to R: Eric "Black" Lee (Congas), Miriam "Blue" Boston (Vocalist), and Ronnie Lindsey (Bass)
Second Row: Ken "El" Robinson (Keyboards), and Dollar Bill Mason (Lead vocalist and bandleader) (there's a server sitting a table behind the band)
Standing: Derrick "China Boogie" Davis (Manager)
Picture taken by and Copyright Jordan Rich

I had been meaning to interview Y2K for a while. I finally was able to do this on Monday. However, unfortunately, their sound man had problems and they were unable to get a replacement in time to go on with their scheduled performance. I talked with Derrick "China Boogie" Davis for a while while I was setting up, including talking about future Ayre Rayde reunions. He said that they are talking about performing again in late March, but that he didn't think of it as another reunion, but rather a nostalgia show, reflecting people's preference for older GoGo. Co-manager Kelvin Robinson, El's brother was there as well. He graduated a year ahead of me at Maryland. We talked about school, China Boogie's political run, the book "The Beat", and other things. When China Boogie introduced El to me, he joked that he's the reason we (he & Kelvin) are stuck managing Y2K. He also said that Y2K will be working on their first album next month at Cue Studios. He mentioned a time when he was in EU and they got a call at 2 AM to let them know the studio was available. He also talked about how they play in Philadelphia every month and the club they play at is state of the art. The videotaped interview went really well - I am very thankful they were willing to do it.

FF Family Affair, Sunday at Mo's
Mo's Crab & Pasta Factory. 502 Albemarle St Baltimore, MD 21202

Familiar Faces
Unfortunately, due to Saturday's snowfall, the turnout was much smaller, including fewer fans and band members both. Still, it was a good time. In attendance were Donnell, Jacques & his girlfriend Michon, Nephew, Jauhar, Tracy, Angie, Mara, Renee, two more women, and myself. Jauhar spent a lot of time away from the table talking on his cell phone - Jacques had to call him to tell him it was time to order. The food was excellent, but expensive - the crab cake was the best I've had in a long time. Donnell talked about my paper, including a few things he agreed with and disagreed with. He pointed out that his "date" is Footz's daughter, Renee. They also discussed Friday's show at Safari. There was also a lot of time spent talking about Jauhar's basketball exploits; Donnell said that Jacques and Jauhar were covering each other's lies.

Another group of four ladies arrived after we finished eating.

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

It was very cold - I got gas on the way.

When I arrived, Packy and the other equipment guys were there, but none of the band members was there. I hung out in the lounge. The guys playing pool were really friendly. After a bit, the manager came and turned the fireplace on. Godfather was the first band member to arrive. I talked with Godfather; he talked about how Jacques would now be playing a number of instruments that he had been producing with his keyboard. He also talked about how he learned to play, he mentioned one of his friends - will have to ask his name again. He also talked about a riot that occurred because a policeman on horseback got too close to someone during "Human Kindness Day".

Jacques ate with his girlfriend, Michon, in the lounge.

Familiar Faces
It has become the norm for me to watch the band perform from the side of the stage, since the large crowds make it harder to see otherwise. The opening line up for the first set was: Mike, Adia, Donnell, DP, Dwayne, Doc, Godfather, Jammin' Jeff and Smoke.
1) Miles Davis' Tutu
2) Instrumental
Jacques was not ready to play; he got some stuff from Jeff to play. BJ arrived during the set.
3) Alicia Keys' Diary
4) Adia-led ?
5) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Golden Lady
6) Doc then complained that he couldn't hear, so they adjusted Mike's mic. While testing it, Mike did a riff from Gene Chandler's Duke of Earl.
7) Mike-led John Legend's ?
8) Mike-led Ruff Endz' Someone to Love You
9) Mike-led O'Bryan's Lady, I Love You
Mike than joked with a female fan in a low voice, saying "Thank You, Baby!"

During the break, Jacques said he wasn't supposed to play, that he was just there to watch, Friday is Charlie's night. I talked with Godfather about how Charlie plays for free; Godfather said that shows that Charlie is dedicated. I teased Teago about his shirts and asked if he and Kato were interviewing Jacques, he said, "No, just rapping."

In the second set, Charlie came in as the second percussionist. They performed Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot and Rare Essence's Body Moves. The set cranked.

During the second break, I talked with Danielle (Wellfhed), a female friend of Kato's, about teasing Teago. She talked about why Teago was such a big fan of Jimi Hendrix. I told them about Greg Tate's book, "Midnight Lightning: Jimi Hendrix and the Black Experience" - that talks about Hendrix as more than just a musician. I also told them about Tate's band, Burnt Sugar, and how they could watch a DC performance online. Jacques talked with Charlie.

When the break was over, Kato told Dwayne, "To get in there" and Dwayne responded "Thanks, boss!" In just the time I talked with Kato, they already started playing.

In the third set, they performed Rare Essence's Work the Walls and Donnell followed it with a medley, again including Rick James' Mary Jane and Donna Summer's Love to Love You Baby among the songs. There was definitely a time I zoned out to the music. Packy, who played a tambourine, tried to convince Jacques to come up and take if from it him to no avail. Jay Gotti guest rapped as did DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy), rapping. "Put your hands in the air and shake your derriere!" I believe I saw Scuba Steve rapping as well, but I'm not sure. DeeDee and Michelle arrived during the set. Los danced, and some of the people laughed at how fast his moves were. Donnell mentioned the upcoming FF family dinner on Sunday. Mike and Kato joned on each other after the set was over.