Chuck Brown: The Sound of a City

I picked up tickets tonight to see Prince's new protege, Andy Allo at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC on this coming Monday night. It's a release party for her sophomore album, and if I were a betting man I'd put money on Prince showing up at some point. This is going to be a double treat for me because Monday nights are official "Wind Me Up Chuck" nights at The Howard. The Chuck Brown Band performs there every Monday night. They will more than likely open and then play along with Andy Allo's band at some point. It will be bittersweet, because it will be the first time I've seen the band without the man himself.

The legend. The icon. The luminary. The guru. The Godfather.

(crowd) "Chuck Baby don't give a....."
(Chuck) "Yes I do! I love ALL of you!"

And indeed he did.

For decades, If you were in Washington, DC and overheard someone say, "I'm going to see Chuck" and replied "Chuck who?", everyone within earshot knew that 1) you weren't from DC or 2) you hadn't lived there for any significant amount of time. In DC, there is, was and always will be only one person unquestionably recognized by the single moniker "Chuck".

Chuck Brown passed of complications due to pneumonia in May of this year. For those of you not from Chocolate City or it's Vanilla suburbs (Maryland, Northern Virginia), it's hard to give you perspective on just how important Chuck Brown was/is to The DMV. If you grew up in this area within the last 40 years, Chuck Brown inadvertently had a hand in raising you; at the very least he was an important part in the soundtrack of your life on some level. I dare say that for all of the political power that resides here, all of the people who steer the course of the country and even the world, few if any have the love and respect that was eagerly and freely given to The Godfather.

The Godfather of Go Go, Chuck Brown has been the reigning, sovereign monarch of DC's Go Go music scene and to a lesser degree it's entire music culture footprint. The musical pulse of this city was literally his invention. In the late 60's/early 70's Chuck began to notice that he was losing gigs to DJ's who played one record after the next with no break or silence between songs. So Chuck began instructing, rehearsing and conducting his band to seamlessly segue from one song to the next, not stopping the groove and linking each song with a constant syncopated beat. This would allow the audience to continue dancing uninterrupted by breaks in the music just like a DJ, but with the added excitement of a live band and all the elements that come with it. Most notably for Go Go, some distinguishing characteristics are the call and response participation with the audience (rooted in the African tradition of historically Black church music), distinctive and prominent percussion (congas, timbales, roto-toms, etc) with strong Latin/African influences. and often a horn section. Go Go is also distinguished by the interactive participation of the audience and it's extended percussive breaks that take control of your body and set up the segue to the next song.

Chuck Brown began his musical career playing behind Jerry Butler, later playing with Los Latinos in the mid-60's. It wasn't long before he was heading his own band The Soul Searchers and became not only a staple of the DC music scene, but it's greatest musical ambassador and potentate. Inspiring and influencing other great local bands including but not limited to Rare Essence, Experience Unlimited, Trouble Funk, Reds & the Boys, Little Benny & the Masters, and Ayre Ray'd. Chuck's unique groove spawned countless other bands that added their own flavor to the spicy musical gumbo that ultimately came to be known as Go Go music.

Look at the crowd. What other 75 year old ever pulled and completely rocked an audience this youthful?

Never really a recorded commercial success much outside of it's DC base, Go Go has generated a few notable nationwide hits. The genre's breakthrough hit was Chuck Brown's own "Bustin' Loose" in '79 (though some could argue that it was Eddie Kendricks' "Keep On Truckin' " in '73. This song shows strong Go Go elements and groove. Kendricks' touring band at the time of it's recording was from DC and often played on the same bill as The Soul Searchers). A few years later Brown charted again with "We Need Some Money". Rapper Curtis Blow had a hit with "I'm Chillin", a song in which he rapped over Trouble Funk's soul invading groove, and Doug E Fresh set dance floors on fire with the Go Go flavored "I'm Gettin' Ready". Experience Unlimited scored twice; collaborating with Salt n Pepa on "Shake Your Thang" and of course "Da Butt" from the soundtrack to Spike Lee's movie "School Daze", which was actually written by Sanborn/Vandross collaborator and bassist extraordinaire Marcus Miller (Miller worked with Chuck most recently on the Grammy nominated Jill Scott duet "Love"). Also, there are several songs that sample Go Go songs (most notably Nellie's "Bustin' Loose" extrapolation "Hot in Here") including the drum break from one of Chuck's legendary early efforts, "We The People". Other than those examples, Go Go has remained mostly a regional attraction (The Carolina's, Philly and New York notwithstanding).

One reason for this is the almost impossible task of capturing the unique energy of a live Go Go concert. It simply does not translate well to the recorded medium probably because of the interactive component. Anyone who has been to a Go Go concert can tell you that experienced live you don't just hear Go Go, you participate in it. You FEEL it permeating your marrow; manifesting itself in the physical rhythmic movement of your flesh. It transforms even the most challenged of dancers into accomplished rug cutters as the infectious groove snatches their bodies.

For all of the great Go Go bands that this city has produced over the years, none were able to bring what Chuck did to the stage. He had an incredible voice - a baritone as beautiful as it was powerful and full of character. Deep and syrupy, I've always likened Chuck's singing inflection and vernacular to that of the coolest, most socially conscious pimp/preacher one could ever hear. He was musically versed and a student of many genre's. This revealed itself in many of his performances and recordings, most notably for me the ridiculously funky Go Go interpretations of "Moody's Mood" and "Merry Christmas Baby", the latter being a favorite of my mother's at Christmas time. At his core though, Chuck was a Blues man. His Southern roots (North Carolina) and time behind bars (for petty crimes as a youth) ensured that he sang it with authenticity, and strangled it out through his guitar with authority.

My one and only conversation with Chuck occured a few years ago when I ran into him at a Starbucks in Laural, MD. He was standing in line in front of me waiting to order. Chuck's notoriety and distinct style made it almost impossible for it to have been anyone else - the belt buckle, the hat, sunglasses and hair gave him away. As he ordered his vente' Caramel Machiatto, I interrupted saying, "Add The Godfather's drink to my bill." and placed my order. He graciously thanked me and asked my name. After receiving our drinks he invited me to sit down with him. He had a tremendous air of warmth that just rolled off of him as he spoke to me as if he had known me for years. We talked for nearly an hour about every subject that came to mind, but mostly music. One of the things that we talked about was the power of music to move people emotionally and spiritually. Chuck told me that there are some songs in his catalog that he no longer played because they conjured the wrong spirit in the audience. He told me that he could literally see the transformation from the stage - how some songs evoked a spirit of violence and others a spirit of sexuality - and how the audience acted out as a result. "It was undeniable man. It was right there in front of my face. If I didn't believe it before, I believe it now because I've watched people's whole personality change...entire crowds...but only when I played certain songs. I had to get rid of 'em man. I realized that my music was responsible for inciting this behavior in people."

I am grateful that I had the chance not only to meet Chuck but to sit down and converse with him. It truly was like sitting at the feet of a great, wise guru. I know that my experience was not one-of-a-kind. Chuck never carried himself like a celebrity and was completely accessible to any and all. He truly loved this city and ALL of his fans. Put simply, Chuck was one of us through and through. When I heard that he had cancelled concerts due to illness, I prepared myself for the worst because I knew that Chuck wouldn't cancel concerts if something wasn't seriously wrong. Still the news of his passing hit me hard. Like with my own father's passing, I couldn't imagine what it would be like without him around because he'd always been there making life enjoyable...and I know I'm not the only one who has those feelings.

For those who are students of music but unfamiliar with Chuck, do yourself a favor and pick up his albums "We The People", "Bustin' Loose", "Go Go Swing Live", "The Spirit of Christmas", "Your Game...Live at the 9:30 Club" and the unsung Jazz gem "The Other Side" a collaboration with another incomparable DC treasure, Eva Cassidy. For those who aren't students but simply lovers of music, pick up "The Best of Chuck Brown".

Finally, I leave you with one of my favorites from this great legend and icon. You play this on Christmas morning and I guarantee that Santa will come finger popping down the chimney.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB2oCsvVWe8


God bless you Chuck Brown. Lord knows you certainly blessed us.

Here Come The Judge

I've been blessed and fortunate to meet and know several people of note in my lifetime. Many I met when I was a kid (through their associations with my father) and had no idea of the significance of the luminaries who I came across. Later as a young adult and fancying myself a musician, I would often meet and associate with famous (and infamous) musicians that I sometimes opened or played for. Still others I would just luck up on by being at the right place at the right time, which was the case with my most recent encounter when I needed a gallon of milk during my Facebook hiatus for Lent...

Not too long ago I went to the Giant Food store in my 'hood here in Northern Virginia with the intent of picking up a box of Honey Nut Cheerios, some 1% milk and a few other things. This is my main grocery spot and has been for the past few years so I instinctively know where everything is. I walking in the door, grabbed one of those hand held baskets and picked up some red seedless grapes as I made my way through the fruit on my way to the cereal isle. As I trekked through the ready made flower and balloon displays I could now see clearly from one end of the cereal isle to the other as I approached it's entry. I noticed a lone person reaching for a box of Corn Flakes only to be interrupted by an incoming text. He stopped reaching and put his basket on the floor in order to retrieve the text, then began to type his reply. As I walked past him it immediately struck me that he looked very familiar. He was an older gentlemen wearing a conservatively styled black suit with very subtle charcoal grey pinstriping. Not only was it not from The Men's Warehouse or K&G, but an accomplished tailor had obviously applied his skilled hands to this suit for it to have fit him so perfectly. Like his suit, his tie was conservative and expensive. His watch appeared to be expensive, but the style indicated that he'd probably had it since the early to mid '80's. By contrast, his shoes were clean but a bit worn and run down. They were definitely a Pay Less Shoes or WalMart sale item. They curled slightly on the outer heels; this indicated to me that he must walk with his feet pointed slightly outward.

Finding the Honey Nut Cheerios on my right side, I took the opportunity to look over my shoulder back at him once again. As he finished his text and put his phone back in his jacket pocket, I noticed that he was chewing a piece of gum with fervor and gusto; as if it was the best he'd ever had and the last he was ever going to get. I took another good look at his face as he retrieved the Corn Flakes and picked up his basket.

"Man, that guy looks just like...naw, couldn't possibly be." I said to myself as he walked out of the isle and I continued on to the milk section with Cheerios and grapes in tow.

When I got to the milk fridge I looked in and saw only two cartons of Horizon organic 1%, our family milk of choice. I decided to grab both. I figured that if the zombie apocalypse jumps off in the next week or so, The Russell's of Fairfax County will have strong bones with which to wield and confidently swing the machete's needed to lop off the heads of the undead hordes (Go here for more info on that - https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150593555525655).

Anyway, as I put both in my hand held basket I hear a voice behind me say "Aw man, brother. You're gonna take both of those? Those are the last two. Let me get one."

Now I've got an attitude. I turn around (with the intention of telling this person to ask a Giant employee if they've got more in the back somewhere because these two are MINE) and who do I encounter but this same gentlemen from the cereal isle. He must have changed his mind about the Corn Flakes because I noticed he's got Cheerios in his basket now too, along with two big jugs of Arizona Iced tea - one lemon, one diet peach. My irritated demeanor melts and I smile, but hold my ground for a minute...

Me - (jokingly) "I've got little ones at home man. They need this to grow strong bones."
Him - (good naturedly) "Yes, but there's TWO. Come on, let me get one."
Me - "There are other organic brands in there. Get that Nature's Promise. It tastes just as good."
Him - "See now, you know just like I do that it doesn't!" 

Recognizing that the exchange as cordial and fun, I can't resist saying what's on my mind.

Me - (handing him a milk carton) "Say brother, has anyone ever told you that you look EXACTLY like Clarence Thomas?"
Him - "Well, I'd better!"
Me - (with the side eye) "You're Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas?"
Him - "Yes sir."

Now, I'm absolutely floored at this point. Although I'm certain that this is indeed Justice Thomas I still feel the need for further confirmation. I certainly can't ask him to pull out his I.D. and prove it, so I go with the first thing that crosses my mind.

Me - "You know Judge, I've got to tell you that the opinion piece you wrote in support of the Virginia anti cross burning law a few years ago was incredible. I don't agree with you on everything but I was in agreement with every point you made there."
Judge Thomas - "Well, the opposing argument was that cross burning was not intimidation, but a form of freedom of speech. The physical act of cross burning itself has no written or verbal component, and anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that cross burning always has been and always will be nothing but an act of intimidation. That whole thing was ridiculous. You actually read that eh? That must have been 10 years ago son. I'm surprised you remember it. So are you from Virginia?"
Me - "Yes sir."
Judge Thomas - "OK then, if you're interested in such things you know that Virginia has a long history of....."

Judge Thomas dressed similarly to this when I encountered him.

Thus began a 30 minute conversation that covered everything from segregation, affirmative action and gentrification to job/career trends of the past 30 years, HBCU's, race/culture/class demographic shifts in the DMV, Trayvon Martin and everything else in between. He talked about his largely utopian upbringing in The South, his culturally diverse education and his surprisingly racist treatment in The North. He mentioned that regardless of whether he was in integrated classrooms or the only person of color to be found, he was always the top student. He said that during much of his college years he was basically a Marxist, hipster and an anarchist, but had a radical change in thinking after a few close calls in a couple of riots and reading a few very specific books. He figured there had to be a better way to affect positive change.
As I stood there listening intently, hearing the passion in which he spoke about the issues I got the impression that he was, in a sense, purging. It was if he felt the need to explain himself and his perspective to a regular cat on the street. As I stood there in my jeans, tennis shoes and a t-shirt depicting a bumbling Homer Simpson (having just finished some yard work) I couldn't have appeared any more "regular". It was if he was trying to tell me in a round about way that his positions on issues of Black interest were often misunderstood. How did I come to this conclusion? Almost every issue he freely mentioned without provocation (save for my initial comment) had distinct ties to African American interests. I was actually quite surprised that he spoke so personally and freely with some of the things that he told me. Although I doubt that he told me anything that couldn't be found is his autobiography (I haven't read it yet), his tone had a distinct "I need for you to understand where I'm coming from" ring to it.

As he spoke and occasionally asked me questions designed to allow him to expound further on a subject, I thought back to the infamous Emerge magazine cover of several years ago depicting him as a smiling lawn jockey with the headline "Uncle Thomas: Lawn Jockey to the Conservative Right" and thought again as I did back then that it was unneccesarily harsh. I've been at odds with many of Judge Thomas' Supreme Court positions. Although I understood and even agreed with many of his points on the issue, I couldn't agree with Thomas' vote to eliminate affirmative action, something that he has been a direct beneficiary of. Thomas voted to eliminate public school integration plans across the country. He voted to limit access to the courts for plaintiffs, to deny rights of appeal to defendants, and to protect the corporate status quo. He cast one of the deciding votes in the divided 5-4 Bush v. Gore decision that stopped the counting of ballots in the contested 2000 Florida presidential election.

The infamous Emerge magazine cover.

Now here I was face to face and in conversation with the man in a Giant Food Supermarket.

During the length of our conversation, I wondered if any of the people walking back and forth past us had any clue as to who was standing there pontificating on several societal issues past and present. Did no one else recognize that a Supreme Court Justice was casually conversing in the milk and juice section? I supposed that they too would have assumed that there would be bodyguards or Secret Service cats accompanying a Supreme Court Justice on a grocery run. Yet here he was, hand written list in hand and dutifully scratching off it's contents between texts.

As the conversation began run it's course and wind down, he said to me "You mentioned that you have kids. How old are they?" I replied that they were 6 and 3 years old. I could see that he was in thought for a second, then he said "Do you have a piece of paper?" as he reached in his breast pocket for a pen. I did not and replied in the negative. I didn't even have my cell phone having left it in the car. "Give me that Cheerios box" he said. As he began to write on it's top he said, "Your kids are a bit too young to understand now, but when they get a few years older you give me a call. I'll arrange a tour of my office and the Supreme Court." He wrote his name, his assistant's and his office number on the Honey Nut Cheerios box. I was completely floored by the offer, but at the same time the opportunist in me kicked in. "In that case may I arrange a tour for any age appropriate kids at my church who may be interested?" I asked. "You're damn straight you can" was his unexpected reply.

At that point we both headed for the self checkout and talked a bit more. He mentioned the Trayvon Martin situation and said that he was waiting to hear the whole story and dissect the facts before coming to any conclusions. "That's my job" he said. "Deal with the facts...only the facts, and act accordingly". As much as I wanted to I didn't ask him about the Anita Hill scandal or the health care hearings. The former because it would be crass, the latter because at the time he was in the middle of it and probably wouldn't be comfortable speaking on it.

As we both headed to our vehicles, he again asked me my name and said that it was a pleasure meeting and speaking with me. I affirmed the same. "Maybe I'll run into you here again" I said. "It's likely" he said. "I'm in here shopping 2/3 times a month. You make sure you call me about that tour, ok?" I affirmed that I would, said my goodbyes and watched him head for the parking lot. As a bonified auto aficionado, I HAD to know what a Supreme Court Justice worth tens of millions drives on the regular. I watched as he headed toward a gleaming white, brand new Range Rover...then opened the rear hatch to place his groceries in the decade old Saturn LW300 station wagon parked next to it. A lesson in how the rich stay rich.

The inconspicuous and plain Saturn LW300 wagon. A great grocery getter no doubt.

In my encounter with Clarence Thomas, he proved to be a erudite, likeable, regular guy with a whole lot of his Georgia country roots showing through in his mannerisms. The fact that he also sits in a seat of power that can change the course of the country was not lost on me. I came away from the encounter with even more of an understanding of the fact that we are all regular people. He no longer seemed this detached gargantuan political entity, but he reminded me of that neighbor who you amicably disagree with on a lot of things but always invite over to watch the game or when you're cooking out.