21 March 2008 next page
Docle Vita: Part III
Ooh, wee! The gallery crawl was wonderful & the love from the diverse crowd filled the whole room. It so
wonderful when people from so many ethnic & social backgrounds can come together to enjoy good music - & the
MLC3 brought some of the best music the Queen City has to offer! Big ups to the entire Dolce Vita staff for their
kindness & utter awesomeness (is that a word?!)! You are all truly wonderful. Also, thanks to the 3rd Power
Crew: Josh, Katrina, Alexis, & Chaunte for their hardwork & dedication to this thing that we do. Somebody told
me Creative Loafing was in the house, too.
The band was in rare form, people! First of all, the opening number, contrary to popular belief, was an improv!
The boys in the band were on some future soul tip on that one tha had the beautiful ladies of Aveeda locked in the
groove. Thanks for coming with crew, Nina! Then, Andrea came up & gave it an all out “umph!” She sang those
songs like they were new love, baby! Did you hear her on “Sticky”? Too much soul! Leon & Steve were on some
other plain the entire night. They have never sounded so in sync & so funky! Each song became a mission for
them, & they brought it so hard! Every soulo Leon took could have been on a “How to” drum soulo video. Steve
brought some extra funk in his back pocket that make the whole place bounce. Speaking of bouncing, our new best
friend, Charlotte 4rm Charlotte, rolled up from Miami & brought the sunshine groove with her! During Steve’s
soulo spot, with Leon tight in the pocket & Andrea rockin’ a vocal from a song by The Mary Jane Girls, ML
offered the mic to Charlotte & she came with the thunder. When Steve dropped into the bass-line from “Good
Times/Rapper’s Delight”, Charlotte came out with the intro rap verse from the Sugar Hill Gang & brought the
crowd to their feet. But, the shocker was when she passed the mic to ML, who unleashed a freestyle flow (coupled
with some funky moves) that had Chaunte’s four girl crew standing on their chairs! Then, without warning,
Charlotte went from rapping to blowing the house down with her powerhouse vocals on “Good Times’. Oh, ya’ll
missed it, for real!
All in all, the band ran through about 4 improved songs, 3 of which had improvised lyrics, all of which had heads
bobbing. ML’s newest toy got a really good work-out & seemed to make it sound like more than just 3 musicians
on many songs. The crew is hyped about the next experience. Question is, will you be there?
16 February 2008
Dolce Vita: Part II
Oh, man! We had a blast! First off, let us say how amazingly awesome the Dolce Vita staff truly is! Thanks to “Dr” Omar for giving me
that sweet red elixir that got my voice through the night. We saw SO many new faces & old friends as well. Big love to Josh & Katrina,
as always, for giving of their time & energy to make us sound & look good (respectively). Katrina assures me that there will be a treat for
all of you fellow traveler’s in due time. Big love also to Chaunte G. for always being in the house, bringing friends along each time, & for
her total support of all things MLC3.
Lots of cool people came out, too. First & foremost, ML was elated to see his two sisters, Tammie & Tracey, & their beau's. Also in the
building was Alexis (pianist/violinist) & her bass playing sister (thanks for spending first day out without baby with the MLC3!) were in
the house. Guitar center represented. Ryan McKeithan, guitarist from Soulganic, was in the house. We even got a pre-show call from
Soulganic front-man Anthony Rodriguez showing his support of the band.
Leon Daniel gave us something to beam about. Besides his in the pocket soulfulness, he blew minds with his soulo on “This Is Jazz”.
But, when he answered the call to soulo on “Cosmic Noise”, he went way beyond the cosmos! He even had random ladies on the
street dancing outside of Dolce Vita. Not only that, but he is the creative genius behind the flyers, the stickers on the tables at shows, &
the funky visuals we call “MLC3 TV” (see local funky listings for time & stations).
random comment:
“He is just so cool on the drums. He is killing the beats, but he makes it look so effortless!”
Andrea Mack has never sung like that before, ya’ll! She was grooving all night long on every song, but when she hit “Soul Excursion” &
“Sticky”, she gave us lungs & emotion, baby!
random comment:
“She sounds so good! Her voice is so rich & beautiful!"
Steve Suber was in the funktropolis! When he hit his soulo, he took us old school. Did I hear “Rapper’s Delight”? Yeah, & it was all
over when ML gave the mic to his big sister & her friend to let them do the vocals while he did some old school hip-hop dancing! As
Andrea said, “We’re groovin’ with Steve!”
random comment:
“I play bass, but NOT like that man!”
ML Caldwell was just happy to be part of the scene that night. The energy from the audience & his bandmates made him remember
how special the sound really was. He was feeling the love so much, by the time the MLC3 played their Band of Gypsy-esque “I Fly High
Sky”, he was standing on top of a speaker playing his guitar! And did he pull out some lyrics from P-Funk 's "One Nation Under a
Groove" on “Soul Excursion”?! Only for the funky people, ya’ll!
random comment:
“You a bad man!”
MAD LOVE to all who came!
09 February 2008
Escape the Daily Grind
And what an escape it was! Shouts to Jacqui & the staff for taking care of us! It was also cool to meet Mike, guitarist/vocalist for The
Bedside Theory & Jennie Brooks, drummer & percussionist for Fisher Street Band. The band had the opportunity to stretch out on the
songs a bit & really had a good time. The band opened with an improv jam that flowed easily into "Cosmic Noise". From their, the crew
ran through all kinds of tunes, including three covers: "I Want You" by Erykah Badu, the secret Kelly Clarkson track "Chivas", & Prince's
"If I Was Your Girlfriend", which ML & Andrea turned into a duet. The evening was lovely & the vibe of the Grind superb! From soulful
funk, to spoken word jazz, to psychedelic blues, the people in the house, young & old, were bobbing their heads & diggin' the scene!
Even Mama Mack (Andrea's mother) was in attendance & she dug the set, too!
See you this summer, but next time, me & the baby grand got some talking to do!
26 January 2008
Dolce Vita: Part I
Dolce Vita was on fire last night! The only spot that was hot enough to actually open the door on a frigid January night! With humbled
hearts, the MLC3 would like to thank each of you who came out to groove with us & packed the house. Your words of encouragement
were the icing on the cake! Good seeing old friends & making new ones! We enjoyed meeting & speaking with each of you! I hear DC
is calling.
Shouts to Miz. Nina Moon for her poetic introduction. Props & pounds to Alexandria Washington for her fabulous job on hair & make-up.
Big love to Josh Phelps, our deejay/sound man for coming through at the last minute to reinforce our sound. A huge shout of love to
Katrina Barnes, dancer/choreographer, & now, videographer for the MLC3. She has been carrying that little video camera around a lot
the past few weeks, so look for the footage to surface sooner or later...
Finally, is Dolce Vita the spot, or what?! Such an artsy vibe! We cannot wait to get back & play there! It would be cool to play there once
a month. Whatchu think? Omar & the ladies of Sweet Life Unlimited, thanks for keeping everyone refreshed throughout the evening.
And to Nina, we look forward to the possibility you put before us. We even saw jazz, funk, soul keyboardist Scott Daley in the house.
Thanks for coming out, SD!
Until the next experience,
Gratitude.
16 October 2007
Jeff's Bucket Shop
Here's a run down of who was in the house:
Folk-rock guitarist/vocalist, Eston who was later joined by a lovely young lady for a duet to close out his set, not only gave us a taste of
his attitude laden post-Dylan-esque flow, but also served as host & sound man for the evening. Musical mastermind Shamus,
undercover beat monger, Jam 85, & hip-hop super-producer Lofi provide the tracks for the emcees that rocked the stage that evening.
Those featured word smiths were ShamGrammar (his music was eclectic, his lyrics thought-provoking, & his delivery was reminiscent
of mc's of old, but with a purely original approach), R.I.M.E. (a laid back flow with lyrics deep & poignant), & G-Syn (he unleashed a flurry
of rhythmic prose that had even the most resistant spectator bobbing their head).
Around 11:00pm, the talented poet, Mz. Nina Moon held the crowd captive as she ran down her poetic introduction of the MLC 3. She
was setting the crowd up to experience the group that she calls "one of Charlotte's funkiest bands." Apparently, the band was anxious,
too, as Leon began to lightly rattle his drums, with the rest of the band following suit. By the time Nina finished the introduction, the band
was already grooving, the people were already bobbing their heads, & the atmosphere was already electric. This set of all original
music was the first that most had ever heard of this new group. And, boy were they in for a surprise!
First, they ripped through a raucous version of "Cosmic Noise". Andrea played cowbell in conjunction with Leon's drumming & Steve's
bass thumping. When the first verse dropped, Andrea's voice provided the perfect counterpoint to ML's, as they used this opportunity to
unleash the band. Speaking of unleashing things, Leon Daniel nearly made ML leave the stage when he went into his soulo - beating
them drums like they stole something! Then, Andrea worked the crowd, having them singing along "It's cosmic". After this, she invited
them to come along on a "Soul Excursion", the next number.
Here, ML exchanged funk rock guitar for jazzy-souled electric piano as Steve Suber began the opening riff on bass. For the chorus,
Steve slid on over to share the microphone with Ms. Mack & rock his funky vocal. By the time they were halfway through the song, ML
had the audience singing the chorus. This set was getting off to a beautiful start. ML was so moved by the combination of good
grooving from the band & high energy from the audience that he asked the crowd, "Do ya'll smell that? It must be my piano!" Then he
ripped into a funky little piano soulo. Did he just play piano with his elbow? Oh, no he didn't! Oh, yes, he did!
The ambient classical house feel of "Solstice" was next, giving Andrea a chance to shine. Leon's beat for this is intense. You see him
playing the drums, tight like a techno track, but where are those maracas coming from? No smoke & mirrors or MIDI or pre-recorded
tracks or samples, here. Leon just has MAD technique - & a whole lot of secrets to keep ya'll grooving 'til you sweat your hems out!
Shuffling drums, elastic bass, & neo-classical piano provided the perfect atmosphere for her voice to ring out. For the new kid on the
block, Andrea really brought the emotional aspect of the song to life, causing a woman in the audience to confess to her after the show
that, though she liked Erykah Badu, Andrea's voice was "so much sweeter". Speaking of sweetness, did you hear Steve's soulo? Man,
it was the perfect combination of groove & expansion. His face said it all. Even R.I.M.E. had to stop & look!
As the final notes dissolved into silence, Andrea took the opportunity to introduce the members of the band. But this was no ordinary
introduction, "This is Jazz". ML used spoken word poetry as the avenue to lead the band through this view of the multitudinous
elements & variations of this musical style. And when called upon to do so, each musician represented their take on this music: Steve
brought the element o funky jazz, allowing his thumbs & fingers to evenly divide up the work of getting on down; Leon brought the jazz
fusion, with fits & starts that would make Art Blakey proud; Andrea brought vocal jazz as she riffed & skatted from so deep in her soul that
it made hearts shudder; & ML brought that avant garde jazz, pulling notes out of his piano as if out of thin air. The band was feeling this
tune so much, they must have rode the groove for days. This is how they bring that spoken word flow mixed with jazzed-out soul. It was
like their duty to break down the real history of what jazz is to the people who were in attendance that evening. By their response, the
crowd of multi-ethnic artists & music lovers were
feeling every line, note, & vibe.
And then it was all over, or so the band thought. When ML said goodnight & began getting up from his piano, the crowd began shouting,
"1 more!" With a slanted grin, ML looked at the crowd & shouted back, "You don't want it!" But, when Big Steve & Mr. Daniel stared
grooving on that funky phrase, the people got up & started dancing. In his best falsetto, ML comically tried to woo a reluctant Andrea who
sang back, almost in defiance to his advances. This funky romp is known as "If You Let Me Love You". From their response to Steve &
Leon's bump, Andrea's attitude, & ML's funky disposition, the audience wanted to love the MLC3 over & over & over again.
On behalf of the band, thanks to all who came out. But, the party's not over. See you at the next experience!
Until then, a funky tone poem by Katrina Barnes about the evening:
Bopping their heads and moving their feet
to the “Cosmic Noise” of the MLC3:
The sounds of Andrea,
the drums of Leon,
& the bass of Steve;
Let's not forget MLC
Yes you were huge, vast, and enormous even,
the sound filled the intimate room of Jeff’s Bucket Shop…
can’t stop, won’t stop, don’t stop the music
They clapped, roared and sang…now, "This is Jazz”!
So the people said I love it, it’s funky, come back
every week, as a matter of fact,
Come back anytime. Because what?
The pleasure is all mine, ours, theirs, everybody’s.
Nina said we would go on a Journey,
and you took us on a “Soul Excursion”.
"Solstice” the shortest day of the year,
time just flew by
“If You Let Me Love You”….
don’t worry, because they loved you
So fly, fly fly….
(c) 2007 KB Works. all rights reserved.
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