I’m currently in the early stages of putting together a showcase at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon.  It’ll be slightly different from the BoldasLIVE format that I rolled out last year with Nona Hendryx and The Family Stand.  For CMJ, it’ll be a straight showcase: I’m thinking it’ll be 4-5 artists/bands from across the Black rock spectrum.  I’ve got a few people in mind, but am open to suggestions (Hint: Get at me ASAP!)

Deadlines?  I’ve got to present the lineup to CMJ in the next few weeks, so if you’d like to be down, ping me here with some links to you or your band’s site.

Additional links:

• CMJ Music Marathon

As I assemble the elements for the 2008 season of BoldasLIVE (funding be the most important!), I wanted to share an edit of one of the events from the fall.  In true indie spirit, I’ve been fortunate to have some folks step up to help edit the footage from September’s BoldasLIVE event, which featured The Family Stand.  I can’t say thank you enough to Peter, Sandra and Jeff for their participation, and to Michaela angela Davis for moderating.  Shout out to Leslie Lemon (bass) and Marcus Machado (guitars), too.

For the video, a big thank you goes to Stacey Holman at Black Butterfly Productions, who also shot the launch event.  For the providing services as second crew and for the edit, thanks go to Peter Cervieri at Scribe Media and producers Bridgette Perry and LaVarro Jones of Orraval Productions.

It’s just under 12 minutes.  Enjoy!  And stay tuned for updates on the development of the 2008 season.

One of the great things about these forums that have been created with BoldasLIVE is that younger, up-and-coming artists get to pick the brains and benefit from the experiences of artists who are more established.  The recent sit-down with The Family Stand was no different.  In this segment, Sandra and Peter respond to the question about what advice they’d offer new artists.

As was the case with Nona Hendryx, I created a slideshow that provided some visuals for the audience prior to the show started.  Of course, it also gave me a chance to highlight my sponsors and supports.  Enjoy!

Hey, People!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to support BoldasLIVE and The Family Stand.  It was another afternoon for the history books and memory banks!  There are so many thoughts swirling in my head right now that I have to come back later with a more thoughtful post.

In fact, I want to talk more about the afternoon’s theme: Excellence.  Both The Family Stand and the audience grappled with the question "When it comes to Black music, what constitutes excellence?"

More on this shortly.  Yes, there will be video.  For now, I wanted to leave you with  a few photos, courtesy of Craig Bailey.

A room full of love for The Family Stand and Black rock

(l to r): Michaela angela Davis, Sandra St. Victor, Peter Lord, Jeff Smith

(l to r): Sandra, Marcus Machado, Jeff

Peter Lord

L to R: V. Jeffrey Smith, Sandra St. Victor, Peter Lord

Tomorrow marks the start of the three-day countdown to the next BoldasLIVE and The Family Stand.  I realize that I’ve been running under the assumption that everyone knows who they are, but it’s just that: An assumption. 

So, here’s a little preview of the discussion that they’ll have with Michaela angela Davis.  Peter Lord, Jeff Smith and I taped this interview earlier this week, and it was going along really well.  Then Pete’s coffee kicked in.  Seriously, though, it was all good.  Listen for yourself.  The whole thing’s just over 19 minutes long.  Like the others, you can download it and listen on the go.

Some of the topics we hit include:

• The new album, Super Sol Nova Vol. 1
• The state of the live music scene
• Why Pete thinks its only a return to an attempt at musicality
• Rock’s outsider status as an opportunity to be an alternative to the alternative
• Possibly the worst time in pop music ever
• Amy Winehouse as an example of great vibe & style, not necessarily great songs
• “Incestuous creativity”

They’ll get into some new areas when they sit down on Sunday with Michaela.  Just in case you need the details for BoldasLIVE,  here’s where we’ll be:

Sunday, September 16

4PM
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue @ President Street
Park Slope, Brooklyn
R train to Union Street

$8 (children 12 and under get in FREE!)

Google map

The two other shows will be at BAM Café and at The Blue Note.  Info on those shows is after the jump.

MP3 File

BAM Café Live

The Sista Factory crew (Sara Hill, Anita Bryant, Toni Cheesman and Celia Jean) present a great evening of live music, headlined by The Family Stand.  Opening for them is Renee Neufville–one half of the duo Zhané ("Hey Mr. D.J.")—who brings a bold blend of dance hall, jazz, and R&B.

Friday, September 14 at 9PM
BAM Café
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn
FREE

That same night, The Stand heads over for a special after hours set at The Blue Note, as part of the club’s Late Night Series. 

12:30AM
The Blue Note
131 W. 3rd St
New York, NY 10012
Cost: $10

I sometimes say that Brooklyn is Black rock, and a weekend like this one coming up just proves my point.  Saturday afternoon, the place to be is going to be Restoration Plaza for the Restoration Rocks Festival, a celebration of the community development center’s 40th anniversary.  Organizing the festival is Brian Tate who is, among other things, a fellow marketer, cultural activist and lead singer in the band Shrine for the Black Madonna.

Here are the topics we addressed in our discusison.  As you’ll hear, we covered a lot in our 20 minute talk including:

• Brian’s background
• The genesis of Restoration Rocks and its goals
• Some history of Restoration Development Corp.
• Progressive culture and the need for collective action
• Advice for non-artists who want to support popular culture
• Changing consumer habits and economic action
• The importance of individual choice and action

If you’re around, it’s worth taking a trip to Bed-Stuy, since it’s a great opportunity to see some exciting bands before they break.  Info on the festival follows the jump.

MP3 File

Restoration Rocks Music Festival @ Restoration Plaza

Saturday, September 15th

1368 Fulton St. (b/w New York & Brooklyn Aves)
Brooklyn, NY 11216

Noon-5pm
FREE!!!
A/C Train to Nostrand Avenue or C to Kingston/Throop

Rain Date: Sunday, September 16th

12:00pm-Gates Open
12:30-Red Lights to Rio
12:55-DJ Rainy
1:05-Tamar-Kali
1:30-DJ Rainy
1:40-Roughstars
2:05-DJ Rainy
2:15-Martha Redbone
2:40-The Dustbin Brothers
2:50-Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe
3:15-The Dustbin Brothers
3:25-Sankofa
3:50-The Dustbin Brothers
4:00-Shrine for the Black Madonna
4:25-The Dustbin Brothers
4:35-Game Rebellion

www.restorationplaza.org
www.myspace.com/restorationrocks2

I’ve gotten a lot of calls and e-mails about the upcoming BoldasLIVE event this Sunday, September 16 featuring The Family Stand.  One of the consistent questions is, “What’s an ‘Urbanista’?”  So, rather than try to explain Michaela and all of her fabulousness, I thought I’d let you hear it directly from her.

I passed the mic, and here are some of the things that we discussed:

• “Urbanista” as a lens through which she sees the world
• Creation of Black identity today
• Black rock as a term that helps organize culture
• Remember that music should also be fun
• Her involvement with Essence Magazine’s “Take Back the Music” Initiative
• Activism and Black style
• “Black Girls Rock” Foundation
• Why she’s excited about sitting down with The Family Stand
• Where you can find out more about her online

Originally, I was going to split this interview into two parts because of its 25-minute length, but decided against it.  After all, you can download the file and listen on the go.  You’ll see that her excitement is infectious and why I know she’s really going to  “bring it” on Sunday.

Enjoy!

Nona makes a great point here: As much as Black culture is co-opted, there’s an equal amount of abandonment that happens because we don’t value what we’ve created.

One of the highlights, of course, was the performance section.  Here, Nona is joined by guitarist extraordinaire Ronny Drayton and bassist Warren McRae.  This completely shot the energy in the room through the roof.