June 3, 2024 • 112 mins
The celebration of Black Music Month continues. First aired on May 15, 2018, listen as Quest and Team Supreme sit down with singer, musician and percussionist Stokley Williams. He speaks on how imitation helped him find his voice, his early days with Mint Condition and how everything changed once he signed with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
What up, y'all is Laiyah from teen Supreme? Okay, So
it's June, and you know in his Black Music Month. Now,
this month and its cause was started by my godmother,
Dianna Williams, the legendary Kenny Gamble, and the great and
right back in nineteen seventy nine after being invited to
the White House along with the Black Music Association. Now,
the Black Music Association was a group of black folks
(00:32):
that were the best of the best.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Of the music industry.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm talking record execs, I'm talking radio people, I'm talking artists.
I'm talking to everybody from Clarence Avon and Frankie Crocker
to Percy Sutton, everybody in the middle right. So they
all get invited to this big party on the White
House lawn June seventh, nineteen seventy nine. And before the
performances started, President Carter said many things addressing and reminding
(00:53):
people of the importance of Black Music Month, and one
of the things he said was end quote in many ways,
the feelings of our own black citizens throughout the history
of our country has been accurately expressed in the music,
and it presents a kind of history of our nation
when you go back and see the evolution of black
music word. So, we've spoken a lot about Black Music
(01:15):
Month on Questlove Supreme and this June we are running
a different episode from the QLs archives every single day
in the name, spirit and Cause of Black Music Month. Today,
we are re releasing an interview with one of my faves.
I'm talking about Stokely now known as Rick James. Do
(01:36):
your thing from men Condition. This is a dope interview, y'all.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Sun Supra le sub subra role called subprema so bree
my roll.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Something something sure, yeah, shank, Yeah, Now what coming man
would I be?
Speaker 5 (02:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
If I this on blank.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Roll hanging Wow, my name is Fante.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, y'all know how we go?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah, my favorite men in the lou Yeah, asturanto something
Supremo s.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Ro call. My name is Sugar. Yeah, No need to squint, Yeah,
because my condition.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
Yeah, I need a man.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Something roll.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Roll paid bill. Yeah, and I'm telling truth.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
When you model your bathroom? Yeah, No, news is good,
come Supremo.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Roll.
Speaker 6 (03:08):
I'm a little reluctant. Yeah, to make this confession. Yeah,
but make condition. Yeah, made a bad first impression. It's
all your now now.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It's like yeah and it's no surprise. Yeah my first
slow crime. Yeah it's pretty brown eyes.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Sup Come, my name is Stokely. Yeah, some might know me. Yeah,
I play a little bit of Yeah tat t.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
T ll come Supremo, Supreme roll.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Some up roll sire. This is gonna be a good episode. Lad,
welcome to Quest Team. Say hello, Hey, anyway, the god
(04:21):
Stokely is here with us. That'sition your musicians, musicians, musicians
favorite singer. I once watched D'Angelo almost get into a
argument for him, like for for him choosing Stokely as
(04:44):
one of his favorite singers. Like it was one of
those minds where like usually any arguments had to near
pugilistic levels. Is always over like songs or albums or
this album is better than Puturely. But yeah, it's that's
That's what I knew when when he went that hard
(05:05):
for that argument.
Speaker 7 (05:05):
Then I was like, all right, let me, well, I
think Stokely is definitely worth throwing hands over.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, you were lazy gentlemen worth throwing hands over.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Yeah, thank you, Now.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Hit me Bill.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
All right.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
So, so I was watching video solo one day and DONNYE.
Simpson is hyping up this new group straight out of Minneapolis.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
How were you at the time?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Twelve?
Speaker 6 (05:30):
Yeah, that was So he's about to throw this video.
He's like, yeah, they sign of Jimmy Dame Terry Lewis's label.
I'm all hyped up because you already said Minneapolis Jimmy
jam Terry Lewis.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
So I'm on board. So the video for are You
Free comes on and I did not like that song.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
I didn't like the video, but then pretty Brown Eyes
came out then forev Your.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Eyes, and I realized that, so it's all good.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, that first single like was not it was. I mean,
I liked are You Free? But it definitely didn't.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
But we still ain't Free.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah. When's the last time I did that in concert?
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Man?
Speaker 8 (06:03):
We did the Disneyland grad Nights and probably ninety two.
We've remixed it, Like I'm saying, it would like, you know,
if I would like glass or something like that, we
just can't let's play, you know, it just kind of
a different yeah, you know, but yeah, well, thank you
for coming.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
On the show, Thanks for having man, I know, that
at least Fire Burges is losing her mind right now.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Man, I told her fire.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Shout out the Fire.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yeah you know, yes, yes, she took me to my
first Man Condition concert.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Wait what okay?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Oh wait, I'm years old? Like this is like look
at album.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Okay, shut out the fire.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yes, I want new bad I get it, I get it.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I said, sorry, but y'all y'all good, y'are good? Yeah, yeah,
you know so you okay, I don't want to see
the city, but I'm saying so can B two in
ninety nine? Were you born in Saint Paul?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Yes, from downtown.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So yeah, my you know often uh, the I guess
the death of the Black Band is something that I
was hearing of a lot, especially. I mean, I guess
at least between both of our groups were coming out
in like the three year range. That's one thing I've
(07:31):
always heard from journalists and never thought about. But even more,
I mean, us being a hip hop was not like
a saving grace, but you know that was our marketing,
you know. But you guys were basically the last literally
the last of the of the caboose, So you know, one,
(07:53):
why even develop a band knowing well, knowing it that
it was in endangered species.
Speaker 8 (08:02):
Well, we didn't know, I mean things, we were just
doing what was in front of us. Of course, you know,
Brother Prince and all the groups said at that time
that were coming out and everybody was flocking to Minneapolis,
and we were first getting our deal. We went out
to la and they were like, why you guys here,
It's like everything's happening back in Many. So we we
were just developing and doing what we did, playing at
you know, virginal music, and it just so happened, you know,
(08:25):
called the attention to Jam and Lewis, And at that time,
you know, bands were on their way out, you know,
so vocal artists were in you know, Joe to cy
Boys and men. That kind of thing was so you know,
but I think Jam and Lewis they kind of knew,
you know, them coming from a band, if they understood
what we're trying to do, so it probably wouldn't have happened.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
Otherwise we would have, you know, would have fell on
deaf ears and all that.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
So, so, what what's your childhood h like during this pero?
You born in like six sixties, right, six seven? Yeah, and.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
So yeah, Saint Paul Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
I grew up.
Speaker 8 (09:05):
Doing a lot of uh, playing percussion, you know, drums,
that kind of thing. So my background was more like
African drumming, dance, that kind of thing. So I was
there was three groups that I was that was instrumental
and in my early development. There and I was a
group called Black Arts Midwest and that was kind of
a I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
There was a group before that.
Speaker 8 (09:25):
I had my first gig when I was like four,
and you know, I was standing up on you know,
this chair playing congress with this group called Admonden Game.
My dad was a friend of his and he was
from Panama, Okay, and so he took me with him.
My dad didn't know whether it's yea, it sounds good
than me, but I don't know, you know what, you know,
if it sounds drummer's dad, you know, so took me
(09:49):
with him, you know, so he's got good hands kind
of things.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
So did that.
Speaker 8 (09:53):
There was another African dance group where just we did
like African chants and you know, this was time where
you had a lot of poetry and stuff going on
and we were celebrating quants and back then, you know,
before it was way popular, you know, yeah, yeah, we
had a little you know about ron k Ring and
that whole thing.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
And so being as though you're the first generation exer
from the Twin Cities that we've interviewed from the Twin Cities,
everyone else being baby boomers, a lot of their experiences
was there was truly no black experience, no black radio,
(10:33):
no vibe, no African culture, that sort of thing. So,
at what point is there black identity in the in
the Twin Cities. It was just small and who developed it?
Speaker 8 (10:46):
It was a small community. And mind you, I didn't
know any different. I grew up a little different. It's
because and I thought everybody was having the same experiences.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
Yeah, so I was.
Speaker 8 (10:58):
I didn't know O for a long time. I was
a halfway homeschool, you know, So I go to school,
but then like on the weekends, and you know, my
dad were that he's both of my parents educators.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
Most uh English and every grade, uh specially at all
that stuff.
Speaker 8 (11:13):
And my father's a professor of African studies, African American studies.
And so I did that for like thirty thirty five years.
Place called my Council College in the same po And what.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Were their lessons like were they filling into gaps.
Speaker 8 (11:27):
Filing to get what treats me about you know, about
African history, but like you're gonna learn about the horn
today to the left side of Africa here and you know,
just all that, you know, it was just really that's
where I you know, it was like I thought everybody
knew that, you know, so so I started getting teased.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
You learned about Africa.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
You know, African modis Africa.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
That's it means for a fight, Yeah.
Speaker 8 (11:51):
Exactly what. Yeah, But it wasn't so much that I
got mad. It was like I was just confused on Wow.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Why is that like a thing?
Speaker 7 (11:59):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
But where were your parents born?
Speaker 5 (12:02):
My dad's from Savannah, my mom's from Fort Dodge, Iva.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (12:06):
The met that Wilberforce in Ohio College there, okay, and
came up to make a better way in Saint Paul,
you know. I mean there's a lot of opportunity up
in there. So but so it was you know, a
small community of black folks up there, and you know
that's kind of that was my uh tribe, you say, so,
I mean that was my my even still to this day,
(12:29):
and my extended family. These are people who watched me
when my parents couldn't you know, if I was on
the street trying.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
To do you know, village.
Speaker 8 (12:37):
Yeah, yeah, that kind of Yeah, no matter how they
rape your parents, it's like this, The streets is strong man,
The streets is you know what I mean. It's we
were talking about that earlier. So, I mean, you need
a lot of people around you. So a lot of
folks who knew my my family, my palms were like,
oh nah, I ain't messing with that.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
You do what you're supposed to do, man, you know,
and kind of keep me away from So was.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
It gang culture in the MIDI?
Speaker 8 (13:00):
You know, I had the whole pimp thing and you know,
drugs and that, that whole thing you know in my
house was right, it's one of those spaces where you
go two blocks up, you know, you could get into something.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So they knew to leave mister Williams kid alone.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And something like that.
Speaker 8 (13:14):
Yeah, yeah, it was a kind of vibe. So, but
it was a small community of you know, African Americans.
They're really into the culture. And this is too when
you know, everything was everybody's trying to find the identity,
so you know, father his name, and my mother and
all that kind of thing, just trying to feel closer
to the culture, that kind of thing. So that was
(13:35):
my that was surrounded by that. And then I would
go out into the world and you know, you turn
on the radio and you hear all these you know,
different things. I'm in the Midwest, and then it was
fly over country, right, So.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
That's what it was.
Speaker 8 (13:46):
So I'm hearing all this uh pop radio. You know,
you know Crosby Steels and Nash and you know everything
about Dylan, you know, you know all that.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So can I can I assume that your your name
came from Stokely Carmengle. That's why they Stokely Mandela, So
he wanted yeah. Now yeah, So were any of your
(14:18):
parents musicians?
Speaker 8 (14:19):
Like how did play nothing but the radio? You know,
my mom like to dance and sing every probably getting
my energy from both of them. They love music, you know.
You know Dad loved to play me big jazz heads.
So you know, if he wasn't listening to Malcolm X
or you know, Martin Luther King records, you know, he'd
have some Richard Prior records too, just a little bit
(14:41):
of everything jazz records.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
So you were playing like the speech records.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Oh, yeah, I'd be hearing him in the house that
come in. It's like playing that thing, you know, and.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Damn so y'all could have been a tripal quest like.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Exclan that sort of thing, glorious.
Speaker 8 (14:57):
Do you have siblings, Yeah, older brother, youngest sister. Yeah,
and yeah, so that was uh, he was playing a
lot of stuff in the house.
Speaker 5 (15:06):
It was. It was a musical house. There was always
music going all the time.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Do your siblings pay play anything or no?
Speaker 5 (15:13):
My sister played flute. She tried singing in church.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
But yeah, it was were you always like when did
you first start singing? You know?
Speaker 8 (15:25):
It was one of those things where singing happened for me. Yeah,
drums was first, yeah, so, but then the singing thing.
I would always you know, you know, any kid as
a family, you put on your little plays for your
family and that kind of thing. So I was into
mocking any and everything, you know, anything I would hear,
you know, my parents, you know, Uncle jam is out
(15:47):
here coming in with his you know, a little flask
you know, and so be the same with music. But
the time I heard al Green, That's did it for me.
It was like fifteen people in one I was like,
I mean, all these different voices, I'm like.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Wow, who was this dude?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
So you took on his his inflections all.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Yeah, it was just amazing to hear that.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
So even as a youngster.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
Yeah, but I didn't know what I was doing. I
just like doing it.
Speaker 8 (16:17):
I just thought it was fun and you know, but
singing was one of those things. Actually when I got
to high school, basically we had kind of like a
uh it was a performing arts school and it was
called a Magnet Arts program. But we had like, uh,
we had there was a recording studio there. I Sweller
and steel Pain had an acting class in there and
(16:41):
different things like that, so I was involved in that.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
But taking the recording class, I was. There was two classes.
Speaker 8 (16:50):
One where they paired you with other musicians and be like, okay,
you play funk and you're gonna we're gonna pair you
with somebody plays rock and roll something like that, so
just to get it. Yeah, yeah, you know that whole thing.
And then there was the technical aspect where you actually
learn how to record. I wanted to take that class
so I can learn how to press nop and learn
the technical aspect so I could do my own stuff.
(17:10):
And so when I did that. It was a little task,
you know, forty four whatever. It was four track and
a little eight O eight and a little uh j
X three P. And I go in there and make
up little songs. And at this time and here all
the Prince inspired stuff, and so I wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Uh, just go for you. It was like eighty two
eighty three, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And so.
Speaker 8 (17:32):
I'll go and make these little songs up. And I
was shy of saying I wouldn't wouldn't want anybody to
hear me. So I was singing in my false subtle
Prince esque kind of you know. And the door was
right there, so anytime i'd be like stop stop everything.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Called yeah video door look out.
Speaker 8 (17:59):
In that, you know, and I would play them at
the person who really heard the stuff. I would play
for Homer Rodell, the guitar player for men. Oh, people like, man,
it sounds really good, you know, just the way you're
putting the songs to get the arrangements and stuff, you know,
and it'd be like ten minutes long, of course, you know.
But I think that's what helped me to develop just here,
(18:20):
because I felt like I was meeting.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Myself for the first time. You know, stacking vocals and
that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Now, before the Orange Slaughter of the first wave of
Black Minneapolis, say seventy eight to eighty four, was there
any presence of any of those guys in your life
pre then? Like was Grand Central playing like the local
(18:45):
church down the block? And okay, did you know any
of the All Stars of Minnesota? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (18:51):
Now, so there was some stuff told me because I'd
forgotten it and I was younger, and there are a
lot of people who filled in the blanks for me
because I was so young. The second group was called
Black Arts Midwest Trummers. It was like, like I said,
we did African Chance and that kind of thing. And
so I remember there was this place in Minneapolis, I
think it was Sabbathany and they used to throw like
(19:13):
local dances and things like that. And I remember we
were either on before Grand Central, either opening or we
were rehearsing there and they were getting ready to play.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
Either way.
Speaker 8 (19:27):
And this was told to me not too long ago actually,
and by a couple of people. So I was like
the first one I didn't believe. I was like, all right, okay,
but I do remember a couple of things. One was
I remember Prince was there.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
It was a group.
Speaker 8 (19:39):
I remember just Afro happening and so and I remember
somebody screaming out, you know, I was playing Congress and
you know, a couple of people filled in that story.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
It was like it was Prince saying, oh little brother
God play.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I was like, oh wow, wow.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
Really, so that's funny.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
How old were you at the time.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
I was about nine nine ten? Yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
The Minnesota music scene, I know that it's it's you know,
it's heavily populated. So I mean in high school, were
any of like the Peterson family clan or like, was
anyone uh in high school at the time when you
were in school?
Speaker 5 (20:24):
I didn't.
Speaker 8 (20:25):
I wasn't aware the Peterson's in only when I got older,
but I'm sure they were around, you know, doing the
thing developing too.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
So I didn't know.
Speaker 8 (20:34):
A lot of people. I just knew my own little circle.
And then the people that were local, like Grand Central
and Enterprise and you know, Mike Brown's man and you know.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
So did any of their albums make an impression on
you at the time, Like, yeah, when you saw the time,
was it like yeah, we got it?
Speaker 8 (20:51):
I Mean that's been how Purple Ranglent. It was pretty
much like that becausehen we were coming through even with Mint,
we would have you know, it was kind of like
the competition.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You know.
Speaker 8 (20:59):
It was a good I think it was called Peach
Tree And there's a bunch of different bands around that time.
And I remember we would always borrow equipment and we
had this one show. It was always a futures one show.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
In particular.
Speaker 8 (21:11):
I remember we had like like some real Barron equipment,
like each Jeff had one keyboards, Bard, Larry had one keyboards,
Barn and yeah, it was it's They would be like,
oh man, what what's your Midian? This was like when
MIDI was like a big you know it's coming out,
so it's been out a few years, but.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
But y'all stacking up on it.
Speaker 8 (21:30):
No, we only got this one keyboard, Like, uh, okay,
you don't really give up your secret nothing like, No,
we only got one keyboard.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
That's all we got.
Speaker 8 (21:39):
Now what we did do was going in, you know
and just work it as best we can. We would
know every looking cranny about that keyboard or whatever. You know,
that's all we had. But they thought we was just
you know, but it was really what were y'all using
like Oberheim's or we had a it was a rolling
Juno one was one of them.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
June. Yeah, still use that, you know, absolutely, and uh
it was X three P and a D X seven Yeah,
what was it?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Cheesy DX seven?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (22:06):
You know what with that Seinfield bass.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Face?
Speaker 5 (22:11):
He was that on so much.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, So how did the other guys enter your life?
Were you all in high school together?
Speaker 5 (22:17):
High school?
Speaker 8 (22:17):
So yeah, Saint Paul Central was a high school there,
and we all went there at different times. Larry's first
to come out, and then it was me and O'Dell
and then Jeff and then Carrie Rick came up. He's
from Chicago bass player, and he came up about was
it nineteen eighty three or something like that, but we
(22:42):
didn't I didn't meet him till like eighty six, eighty
six something, you know, I think about eighty six, and
you've seen him in bands. We had all this little
leather pants and you know, leopard and whatnot. Teacher look, yeah, yeah,
you know, okay.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So Masariety once told the story of how, like, you know,
how competition was was just Steve amongst black bands back then,
who was going to out do each other? Or out
shock somebody or whatever. But I mean, was that almost
expected at the time, because I would assume that, you know,
nineteen twenty whatever. I mean, it was eighty seven, so
(23:23):
Prince was really Prince by the Yeah, so was there
a need to feel like, Okay, we have to follow that,
like what Jesse Johnson and those guys look like, and
would Masariety and those guys look like.
Speaker 8 (23:33):
And I think the whole country at that point was
just like, you know, that was the phase. You just
had to make an impression, make an impact, and that
was that. But you know, also not only that, we
were just trying to be really heavy on the music
and have substance at the same time. You know, you know,
we were a group that we didn't really do covers,
so our shows were limited to certain you know, like
(23:55):
events we didn't really do.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
How long were your shows if you didn't do covers.
Speaker 8 (23:59):
Damn, we probably only doing thirty minutes. We were doing showcases, well,
unless we were doing less somebody with you know, somebody's mom,
so well we can play down after such and such.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
You know, they minutes y'all own material.
Speaker 8 (24:09):
It was not you know, we weren't interested in anything else.
It was you know, that's rare, but yeah, I know
because I noticed that. Yeah, and we would try to
do you know, had segues and everything, and I was like,
you know, let's do it, like you know, JB or.
We would see all the groups that were there at
that time. It was like that they would play you know,
original music. It's like why yeah, why not? And then
(24:31):
you know, so, I mean it was like the nerve
they to who are these dudes, the nerve of you
to you know, be trying to hit segues and but
you know it worked because we had We would do
these showcases and that's how it got discovered.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
You know, when we were at.
Speaker 8 (24:45):
First Avenue, we invited Jam and Lewis. I think at
the time there was a rep from m c A there,
Prince had Levi come down. He said I'd rather see
them than hear them, and so he sent him down.
He's a videotape and so he did. And then after
(25:05):
that show, I think it was just Jam and Lewis
would always say, man, we just you know, signed you
off for your live performance. You know, that was the strongest.
That's what we really really worked on. We had demos
and everything, so it does as well. But that's the
thing that really did it.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
What was the practice regiment?
Speaker 5 (25:22):
Like we got it in it was like, you know,
after school, it'd be pretty much all day.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
And at that time, I was where would you practice?
Speaker 8 (25:30):
Like, yeah, it was like warehouses, you know, all those
warehouses you see in purple and stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (25:36):
Yeah, exactly that how.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
You balancing the studying on the weekends and school.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
Well let's see, so your parents.
Speaker 8 (25:45):
Okay, let me back up. So a lot every group
I've ever been in is like been at my parents'
house in the basement.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
There's a lot of group. So that was first.
Speaker 8 (25:54):
So after I actually after I graduated, then we started
I was working jobs, odd jobs, that kind of thing.
Then we did the warehouse thing and it got more
serious there, and then from there, if we weren't working,
we was like be like all weekend, be like twelve
hours if you get in there.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
And just hit it.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
And your parents were supportive because I don't know if
that's what.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
They saw for you.
Speaker 8 (26:13):
Yeah, well they wanted they wanted school, of course. You know,
Like I decided that I don't know, there's something, there's
something in me. I just I'm gonna take a break
on that, you know, and I just felt something and
you know that was always like, man, my worst nightmares
like you being in around fifty dollars, you know, a
night making musician.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
You know, it's like, no, I don't see that, you know.
Speaker 8 (26:36):
So I just kind of went from I just said,
I'm gonna try as hard as I can to really
do what I can do, you know. So you know,
I think the practice thing, that's why we just kind
of work so hard, you know, And a lot of
us do that have that drive whatever it is that
drives us. You know, I know you always here work hard,
just trying to get our ten thousand hours plus in,
you know, right.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
You know, So how did you get over your shyness
into really developing your voice?
Speaker 5 (27:00):
Is?
Speaker 1 (27:01):
I mean, I know everyone's like, oh, yeah, that's my
natural voice, but do you have a fucking spot on
skill dass voice? So how do you? You had to
do some you had to get out of that shine
it's eventually.
Speaker 8 (27:17):
I think part of it was theater. There's a small
theater company. We're not so small. There's a small big
coming up a number. I was in a production there,
and I think that experience opened me up to go
to open me up, you know, just kind of not
to get beyond that, you know. I think also performing
too is one thing because there's a lot of shine
musicians and you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You there's one thing you didn't mention. Did you not
have a church experience at all? Yeah, because most black
musicians have to.
Speaker 8 (27:46):
I didn't sing in church pay okay, like the midnight
musicals and stuff. So I was always Now, church definitely
has a big effect because I just knew every time
I went there, I felt like crying, you.
Speaker 5 (27:59):
Know, brings all that emotion. I was like, why am
I crying? But it was always crying in church. That's
what it is.
Speaker 8 (28:07):
Spiritual is something gets in you and I just all
the the bending of the notes and all that kind
of thing, and you know, just it's just an amazing experience.
So I was playing percussion, you know, some drums and
but just really listening and taking it all in, I think.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
But I didn't sing in any choir.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
When did you get your first drum set? Was it
a Christmas experience?
Speaker 5 (28:30):
Like how Sears and Roebuck.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
And uh it was.
Speaker 5 (28:37):
I was nine and I heard them stumbling. I was
sleep trying to my dad and my brother try to
set it up, trying and I heard I'm like, this
might be it, you know, I heard them.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
So you don't have to interview me because this month drumming.
Their first drum.
Speaker 8 (28:56):
Set you mad, like everything, I can't sparkle, but they
had some of the wrong pieces so they had to
take it back and silver sparkles, so I still got yeah,
you still I.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Still got yeah. Yeah, Yeah, it's that feeling, man.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
I know, you'll never there's never a feeling of coming
downstairs Christmas morning seeing your brand new drums.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
Yeah, that's everything.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Yours came from Serious and Rob Mine. Mine came from
my dad's drummer's bad drug Habiteah, it's yours now. Who
(29:41):
were your drumming idols.
Speaker 8 (29:42):
At the time, uh An art Laking, Max Roach, So
you were in the jazz drumming Yeah, absolutely, yeah, those
two were for it, you know, just because at the
time I had a couple of I was both formally
and informally taught, so a lot of ear training, but
(30:02):
I had some you know, piano, little piano and uh
drum training and they were like, look, man, if you
can hit jazz, you got everything you learn how to
read a little bit. But really, if you've got all
those skills of four wad coordination, all those books, you know,
stick control, you know all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Stick control. I still have those books. Yeah. So if
you when you were young, are you imagining yourself as
more like, were you trying to pursue jazz or his
R and B looked down upon? Because I know a
lot of serious jazz musicians that, like, you know, every
(30:40):
jazz musician looks down on pop music.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Yeah, you know I was.
Speaker 8 (30:44):
I think I was right in between it. I could,
I could at the time. I could definitely respect you know,
whole pop music. I liked a lot of it, you
know what I mean, So I can see where all
that stuff fit in. There's a lot of fusion stuff
that I started listening to us like, man, this is
you know, I've turned it forever and all that stuff.
(31:05):
I was like, all that stuff was in there. I
was like, wow, this is crazy, you know they're actually
fitting it in there. But yeah, so I liked it,
you know, I was just kind of I felt like it,
I feel like a hybrid.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Who will put you on to that stuff? Though? Like
was it an older cousin or.
Speaker 8 (31:21):
That like just people around you know, you know, because
I was always the youngest musician in any group I
was playing in, and you know, it's like, you know,
it's returned to forever. It is a you know, Mike
Stern or whatever. As a you know, it was just
people put me on you know, certain things like that you.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Study it and yeah, you know, I mean yeah, so, uh,
what year is it around the time you guys were
serious about pursuing a record deal like a demo or
it was signing to Paisley Park or whatever, like.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Eighty eight eighty nine is what happened?
Speaker 8 (31:54):
Was you know, after high school, I was like, okay,
I m work and I'm going, you know, try to
do this thing as hard as I came at the time. Uh.
It was probably one time where I was in I
don't know, like twelve bands one time. It's just so
we just working gig in you know.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
You know.
Speaker 8 (32:12):
Michael Bland was actually he was actually in met He's
on the first draft of the contract. Michael Bland drummer,
used to play with Prince. He It was right at
the time Prince was was breaking and we were right
at the time we were about to sign, you know,
so he obviously would Prince and that kind of thing.
But between me and Mike, we had like it seemed
(32:34):
like we had all the gigs in time. We was like, man,
we just need to call ourself the drum hos. How
did we go?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Because I know that a lot of the initial MPG
musicians were local Minneapolis, like the coach what was Yeah,
So I mean, could there have been a chance that
you could have had that gig or like a word
of audition?
Speaker 5 (33:01):
Probably he would just go down there in Jam and
you know, and it'd be killing it, you know.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Of course, So what's the nightclub that the central nightclub
that all the bad musicians would be?
Speaker 5 (33:13):
That was it Bunkers? Yep, that was it at the time.
Everybody would go down there.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
They'd hit their seventies and eighties reviewed kind of thing,
and everybody would come down, you know, and they would,
you know, after their gig whatever they're playing, you know,
whether it be Excel Center or you know, Target Center,
they'd come down.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
You know, they would stay over later than normal.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
Yeah, like one sometimes I think it'd be two o'clock
at at some point. But yeah, it would come down
there in Jam. But he found out about it and
it's like this group down there and Margaret Cox and
all these great you know people from Twin Cities.
Speaker 5 (33:45):
Amazing, amazing.
Speaker 8 (33:47):
So yeah, he just kind of come down there and
you know jam and of course he'll be packed within
ten minutes of people knowing.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
That he's there.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
Yeah, that whole thing.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
So it wasn't like he was trying to well that
he could blend it with I mean people, he.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
Was still friends, like yeah, I mean, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 8 (34:04):
I mean if the people knew who he was, it's like,
I think you'd like coming there too, just because he'd
have a little corner. Nobody really bother them. They would
want to, but they can't get them. You know, they're
not say anything. Somebody might say something crazy and he'd
be like.
Speaker 7 (34:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
What keeps when? Okay? So I know that in most
cases that I've seen, I can tell when musicians are
showing off when someone else is there like, okay, this
might be my my big chance to flex and what
what keeps? I would imagine in that environment if he's
(34:43):
there a lot that everyone's just trying to go for
broken and show with chops they have and forget that
you're a unit and.
Speaker 8 (34:52):
Right it depends people who don't know how to be cohesive.
When you got those people in this like of course
he's next, you know, and then you have people like look,
stay in the fold, stay in.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
Your lane, and make all this shit sound good. You
know what I mean.
Speaker 8 (35:09):
That's that's everything you know when you're playing with it ensomer.
So some people would be aware of that, and other
musicians would be like, you know, and just go for it.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
And then you know, he would be like.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Because there's a jam session here in a village underground
village ground Actually yeah, I mean like Princeton. Larry would
go there a lot, and it's almost like the same thing.
It's like these mode of musicians that were like just
everybody's over playing, like from one one hundred, they're all
(35:42):
on five hundred. And that used to always just turn
me off about jam sessions because it's like they're not
you know, jamming with each other. They're trying to like
make an impression on whoever the celebrity is like in
the audience. So yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 8 (35:56):
Yeah, he was more about you know, staying in pocket,
you know, and that kind of thing he would want
to say about keyboard players, like I'm more interested in
their timing, you know, and probably passing cords and that
kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
So so how many labels uh offered you guys deals
before you chose a perspective?
Speaker 8 (36:20):
Maybe three or four I think MC it was in there.
Of course a M was in there, might have been
some silly offered Columbia.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
And you guys were always be in conditioned.
Speaker 8 (36:36):
Okay, yeah, yeah, we uh as I was saying before,
so after I'd say about we formed in nineteen eighty
six and yeah that was that was had the first
anybody's been to the Mall of America yea America lost.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Uh.
Speaker 8 (36:55):
There was a place called the Carlton's Celebrity Room there
and they used to have this thing called Black Arts,
the Black Minnesota Black Music Wars, and it's kind of
Pete and Kim Roha to run it, and they would
have that would be the spot you have the Minnesota
Music Awards, more of the pop stuff, but then you'd
have Black Music warges and the Jesse Mobs variety everybody,
all the.
Speaker 5 (37:15):
Acts and everything.
Speaker 8 (37:16):
So that's where we first kind of uh cut our
teeth right there, and that's right. Carton Selebrity Room was
right where the Marlve America is now and so that's
that's where it happened.
Speaker 5 (37:27):
Nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 8 (37:28):
We had these crazy ass outfits on with one leg
mashed out and leather where backwards turned to the audience
is when the curtain came up, like what yeah, we
turned around. It was just yeah great, we had fringes
flying and yeah, we didn't wear no draws and it
was just crazy.
Speaker 5 (37:45):
Like we look back it now, like, what do you.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Guys have a recording of the stuff that you guys
did back then? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (37:51):
Yeah it looks would cal.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Oh yeah, some of it's in the the unsung some of.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
It yeah, yeah it is yeah, yeah it is yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Curious yeah, because how much time in between eighty six
and the song that Bill hates five years?
Speaker 5 (38:04):
Five years? Yeah, and then from there, I guess what happened.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
Was why do you have to say it like that?
Speaker 2 (38:09):
I just needed a reference.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
From there.
Speaker 8 (38:14):
So from eighty six, you know, I was still playing
around the drums and everything, and I got offered this
sum this guy named George Pettis.
Speaker 5 (38:20):
It was he was doing this choice much.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Yeah this is yeah, okay, wait he's from Minnesota.
Speaker 8 (38:28):
No, but he moved there again. Everybody was flocking trying
to you know, and he had to deal with m
c A. And he was gone on tour opening for
Whitney and uh opportunity to go out with him and
we were That's how I met her in Europe for
like three months.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
This was like eighty seven eighty.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Eight, her second moment for the for the second album.
Speaker 8 (38:54):
Then it was the second I believe its second, Yeah,
and so I kind of had to put the mint
thing on on the whole.
Speaker 5 (39:00):
That's what we whenever we're doing.
Speaker 8 (39:02):
And but that was a great experience because you know,
all those people I met and I just kind of
got to see it, you know, up close for about
three something months, you know, over in Europe doing that
and came back and you know, we.
Speaker 5 (39:15):
Just started grinding.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Man.
Speaker 7 (39:17):
Yeah, what was it that made y'all sign the Perspective
rather than the other labels that was out on the
yoab'll were the first act on the label?
Speaker 1 (39:27):
Correct?
Speaker 8 (39:27):
No, some blacks are are Loky, you're the one, yeah,
are Lucky also from the Twin City. They're from Kansas City, Okay,
but they moved up again. Everybody's moving up there and
we used to have same rehearsal spot that was like
what that?
Speaker 2 (39:44):
What was their hit?
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (39:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, Sorry.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Stokes.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
I just wanted to ask you have you had your
Your journey is kind of parallel in some ways with
Sheila Ease, So I was just curious if you guys
have ever talked about that, especially in the drummers since
turned into the artists and the African roots and whatnot,
we haven't talking.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
Much about me played together a little bit.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
You know, she's African, know, but.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
Her African most Latin.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Started you want to East eastaff.
Speaker 7 (40:51):
Yes, I do as y'alluys, y'all signed perspective.
Speaker 5 (41:01):
Yeah, it was because of jam and Lewis.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
You know that.
Speaker 8 (41:04):
I think we felt some kinship just because of them
being from the time and you know, after the first
Avenue showcase, I remember walking to my car and I've
seen both of them.
Speaker 5 (41:15):
It's like, ain't so great job, man, we'll talk.
Speaker 8 (41:18):
At that time, I had seen enough and you know,
artists around town they were like, you know, we're gonna
do this and nothing happened.
Speaker 5 (41:26):
So I was kind of like grain of salt. If
it happens, great, I was like, yeah, great, sounds great.
Speaker 8 (41:30):
Thanks man for coming really showing, you know, because I
definitely appreciated it came out. So that was a big deal,
but I didn't really know if anything.
Speaker 5 (41:38):
Was really gonna happen. You know, this is Jam and Lewis,
you know, Jackson, all these people.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
You know.
Speaker 8 (41:43):
So two weeks later, we were sitting up in the
flight Time office, you know, They're like, what do you
all want to do. We're like, we want to make
a record, but we want to produce our own ship,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, I was gonna say, but they were so red
hot at the moment.
Speaker 8 (41:57):
Yeah, and they're like, well you can. We said we
wanted to do at least half the album. He was like,
well y'all can do the whole thing. We were like okay, okay, wow.
Speaker 5 (42:08):
So I mean that was you know, I don't think
we would have gotten that, you know, any other label,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Yes, Like yeah, and then if they would have douced,
y'all would have just sounded just like an R and B.
Speaker 5 (42:20):
Yeah yeah right basically. Yeah, So yeah, that was that's
pretty nice. Yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 7 (42:29):
When y'all went into recording the first record, because we
talked about are you free?
Speaker 3 (42:38):
I like, you, I like, are you free? I just
didn't forget it. It was just one of those records.
It came out, and then it was then when I heard,
you know, the ballance stuff on the record. Why did
they come with that first? What was the what was
the thought?
Speaker 5 (42:57):
I guess here's the thing about you know, it just
happened like this.
Speaker 8 (43:01):
We weren't really uh we became I guess, really good
at doing ballads after we came out, but we didn't.
All this stuff was all up temple. We like to
dance and you know, all that kind of stuff, and
you know, I used to be boying ourselves that. I
was always energetic. So I was like, I was like,
why are we going slow like that?
Speaker 5 (43:21):
What?
Speaker 1 (43:21):
You know, I was gonna say, for a band with
such skilled musicianship or whatever, it was it frustrating that
the songs that were really hitting bullseye with with the
audience were the slow songs where you guys really couldn't it's.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Flex that much on the fast joints.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
Yeah, I mean it was.
Speaker 8 (43:38):
It was at first it was like, man, this is
you know, we didn't really understand why we couldn't. We
just learned in the industry. It was like and say, look, man,
you better take you know, if it's hidden, you got
to flow with it, you know. But we hadn't learned
that a little bit later, so that's find a live show,
you said, Okay, we just still we do. But yeah,
it was a little a little frustrating at first because
it's like we tried, you know, people would want to
(43:59):
hear what they want to hear year yeah, and be like, man,
we can't even you know, we can't get what we
want to do. So it was kind of it was
a little weird at first. We had to learn where
how to fit inside of that.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
You know, how did you guys learn to like agree?
Like was there like a mint like voting system on
all things?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Like how did y'all what six people? Is anything? Ever? Democratic? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (44:23):
Like like from songs to like like I don't it's yeah,
it's it's democratic. Is yeah, definitely democratic? And that's that
can be frustrating too, you know, Yeah, being as.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Though I used to have a relationship with them, I'm
just saying, like, what is I mean? I can safely
say that even in the root situation, it's like there's one, three, four, right,
that seems really good I'm no, really, I've forgotten toak. Damn.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
That's bad.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
No, you know what, because to just get the final say,
he gets a final say in the way that I don't.
His final say is I can't write to about to say.
He can't If he can't write to this, you know,
it doesn't make sense. Only my only power is like, well,
I can't come in the studio, so I'm working on
this project. So but I'm just saying that there's clicks
(45:21):
and so is it.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
But yours is a more uneven balanced than Stokelydell, Like.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
What's the.
Speaker 3 (45:30):
Balance of power?
Speaker 1 (45:32):
What's slithering Griffin?
Speaker 2 (45:34):
Did y'all have us because you know the roots? Do
they have different buses?
Speaker 5 (45:37):
Slythering?
Speaker 3 (45:38):
No, I'm on the same bus, and you'll stay together
this whole time.
Speaker 5 (45:43):
Yeah, we've we've had some healthy debates.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yeah, yo, you got ship.
Speaker 5 (45:52):
Yeah, I mean we used to go.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Oh yeah, I know, I know what For those who
didn't see that, Yeah, there was some in the beginning,
Like in the beginning, how do you But you've known
each other since high school, so you should already know
the personalities. You know who's going to be on CP time,
(46:16):
you know whose girls saying that you should be rude
and you know, fighting over this girl and that girl.
Why are you cock blocking? Whatever? Like how do you.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
Who are you?
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Are you guys friends? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (46:30):
I mean I'm I'm I'm kind of like the cleanup
clean up guy, utility a little bit whatever the holes
need feeling, you know, Yeah, which is great for me
because it's it's been like a university truth for me.
I mean, it's just, you know, I think I can
write in the spirit of everybody, because you know, everybody's
(46:54):
a writer and producer and their own right. So a
lot of these songs, they were like, Okay, we're going
to produce a vocal this way.
Speaker 5 (47:04):
So I've been that vessel for them, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 8 (47:07):
And so I feel like that's an added advantage I have,
so I can, you know, kind of whatever they were thinking,
I want this. It's not something I would do, you know,
but I was like, okay, wow. So I had to
learn that and be patient and so the other patients
for me had to come in kick in hard.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
But so what's the division of labor amongst the band members?
His glass rehearsals. Who organizes?
Speaker 8 (47:32):
I would say that everybody comes with grooves first of all,
like oh Dell, he's like the top of the funk master,
you know, p funk rock and roll.
Speaker 5 (47:43):
Rick is like the.
Speaker 8 (47:47):
Kind of saying funk rock and roll with really good
rock and roll edge. It writes from a lot of
narrative standpoint, you know, stuff that happens to him, that
kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (47:57):
Larry's more related, you know.
Speaker 8 (48:01):
His thing is he's perfectionist, incredible keyboard player, and great songwriter.
So he's kind of all over in that area. Jeff
is kind of like he's got a lot of bridge
It's really interesting chor changes and things like that.
Speaker 5 (48:19):
It's interesting thoughts, you know. As far as songwriting as well.
I'm kind of like I like to arrange beats.
Speaker 8 (48:28):
Is my funny thing is like my I love like
rhythm beats, you know, say like that's just first before
the singing.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
And all that.
Speaker 8 (48:36):
So it's I'm just kind of like, you know, whatever
holes need feeling, you know. That's that's way I can
explain it, I guess.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
And how do you know when a song is done
and going to make it to the album, are you
guys A let's do thirty songs and have a vote
on the best yeah, and then how do you campaign
your song that's with the problem? Yeah? Yeah, okay, so
what's it?
Speaker 3 (49:03):
Unpopular?
Speaker 8 (49:04):
Some stuff is just unanimous. You're like, okay, this is
definitely gonna you got some stuff that because it's like, okay,
we got to let other people besides us listen the
feel and so that's good and bad sometimes because then
you know, depending on who who's people you know see
But isn't it.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
Good to have a producer for that because I see
a producer more as a referee.
Speaker 8 (49:27):
Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Yeah and mhm for that reason, Yeah,
definitely would it would be good. But we were our
own referee sometimes, so not.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
Yeah, do you recommend that for future practice? I mean
twenty years later, like do you?
Speaker 5 (49:42):
It depends?
Speaker 8 (49:43):
I mean, I think if you have an outside ear afterward.
You know, we started getting that a little bit more
than not so because we knew that we needed that.
It's like, okay, we can't just be insulated like that.
It's got to be other people that realize, you know,
it's get some you know people. I would always say,
you know people some friends and friends who I don't know,
(50:03):
so they're out of it. They don't have any Yeah,
you know what I mean, can you.
Speaker 1 (50:08):
Name a Mint classic that either you felt indifferent about
or didn't like that wound up winning verses or like
them saying they didn't like I don't like pretty brown lines.
Speaker 8 (50:23):
I think all of the hits were pretty unanimous. Where
where it was really jacked up. It's like the people
at the company like stuff like so fine, like pretty
much all of its. So like when we first got
the deal, it's like when you know, when MC I
heard its like now that would have been on the
demo it was, you know, swing, and it's like it's okay,
(50:49):
really okay, a lot of these you know, So, I
mean it was it was kind of like that people
that at the label that would hear's like you know,
I mean we did Turning so fine.
Speaker 5 (50:58):
You're like when if you're the guitarre so nobody does
guitar solos.
Speaker 1 (51:02):
Like wow, there's all the more reason for us to
do it. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (51:06):
So, I mean you're Ernie Eisley and you know, these
great people. So yeah, it was more so the people
at the labels. I think, like as far as the hits,
we we knew, you know, Jam and Lewis, we definitely
they would be like, okay, you talk about outside ear.
They would definitely be like, Okay, look, you all need
to think about this one, or you know, or not
(51:29):
do so many chords on this you that kind of thing, so,
you know, which was definitely we learned a lot from them.
I mean absolutely they knew exactly they had that magic.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
First album was meant to be meant Yeah. So the
beginning of it, what were your were you guys personal goals?
I mean, I know everyone's like world domination.
Speaker 5 (51:55):
But.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
For you, was it just like, yo, we want to
be like the best black plan ever. Or was it
like yo, we want to be on that pop level shit?
Speaker 8 (52:05):
Or I think it was you know, we just had
Join and craft Man just creating. I think part of
our thing was just we didn't really care about anything
else but the music. You just wanted to be tight
and funky and just have an impact. And I think
that's partly why, like the show was what it was.
We worked so hard on that, and then we learned
(52:25):
as we went in the studio, I was discovering my voice.
Like if you listening to the first album, like to
the last Couple, you can list all the vocals are
very tight, and arranging everything is saying, you know, the
way formally really really tightened is that I got I'm like,
you know, you got to lett some life in here
and you breathe. I think that's just that first time,
you know, doing the ceedy, You're excited and everything. Everybody's
on edge because you want to be perfect.
Speaker 1 (52:46):
Yeah. Well, I'm just asking because the early nineties also,
you know, there's a lot of black artists that had
like breakout records and suddenly they're selling in the five
and six and seven millions. So I know that's hard
to ignore. But were you guys say we're gonna stay
in our lane and we know that like a cat
like Prince rejected Soul Train four times because I don't
(53:11):
want to be pegged as a soul artist. I want
bandstand in solid Like, So, were you guys fine with like,
okay being BT Staples and not? I mean, eventually you
guys made it on like MTV jams and that sort
of thing.
Speaker 5 (53:25):
But yeah, I mean got to understand though too.
Speaker 8 (53:28):
I mean, you know, it was being a band, some
of our exposure was limited just because it's hard to
move a band, you know, and we got to we
even had a thing Exam Lewis at one point because
it's like, you know, the first few gigs, you're like, look,
we got to get you all out here, you know,
because at one point they were doing out of their
pocket because A and M they had a joint venture
with them. They don't believe, they don't get they don't know, right,
(53:50):
So we got to get you all out here because
you know, are you free?
Speaker 5 (53:53):
Wasn't free? You say, you know, you know it was
going on. Sorry, So we got to get y'all out
here so they would have us doing these track shows.
Speaker 8 (54:04):
You know, how do you and so what we did, okay,
we got to do that. We're gonna go back and
remix everything. And that's when the whole you know, Teddy Riley,
the whole now his whole sound was really prominentent and
so everybody was dancing and you know, we had a
lot of choreography back then, and so the pretty yeah,
pretty much but with the instruments and uh. We were
(54:26):
doing that until we got to Houston and after the
show we were getting into the van, heard some do
that fucking computers.
Speaker 5 (54:40):
This ain't even playing.
Speaker 8 (54:41):
I was like, oh, ship, that's it, that's that's it
like we gotta we just defeats our whole purpose was
supposed to be a band like na man, damn. So
that one Heckler, Yeah, that one. Yeah, thank you Heckler,
thank you truth. Yeah, it was real real And then
it hit me. I was like, man, that's he's right.
Speaker 1 (54:59):
You know.
Speaker 5 (54:59):
He just felt like I was. You know, I wouldn't
my mic would be on, but it was just like
it did. It wasn't real. Life is live, man. You
couldn't extend nothing. It's like the track is the track
and that's it, you know.
Speaker 1 (55:11):
Speaking of Houston, hmm, the world's crazy as human being
lives in Houston.
Speaker 3 (55:18):
How does he wind up?
Speaker 2 (55:20):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (55:21):
In the in in the Mint family. Speaking of Chris
Daddy Dave, Chris Dadlin Dave.
Speaker 8 (55:29):
He met him at Howard University and while we were
while was going down to charts, we put down put
out uh Breaking my Heart Pretty Brown Eyes, which was
going down.
Speaker 5 (55:42):
To charts as well. So yeah, until when we get out.
Speaker 8 (55:46):
In a winter bagel and we went to all the
HBCUs in the country. Yeah, And so we got to
Howard University and this was around the time too, where
you know that I'm telling you about Michael Blant. So
we had a uh drummer, A couple of drummers filling
in correct down Friols.
Speaker 5 (56:05):
What's up?
Speaker 1 (56:05):
So you weren't going to fill Collins this ship?
Speaker 8 (56:08):
No, because at that time I felt like, I know,
way I can I can't. I felt I started to
feel differently perform. I started to come into it a
little bit more, you know. I was still I loved
the state I couldn't. I could express myself definitely. I
was learning all about how to perform and.
Speaker 5 (56:26):
That kind of thing.
Speaker 8 (56:26):
So I was like, I couldn't you know, I couldn't
do it. I feel I would feel confined, you know.
Speaker 1 (56:33):
Plus none of the girls go for the drummer.
Speaker 5 (56:37):
Put the drums in front, man come to the front,
to the side.
Speaker 1 (56:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (56:44):
So yeah, it it was at Howard University and jelly
Beans Johnson was out with us.
Speaker 1 (56:50):
Yeah he was.
Speaker 3 (56:50):
He was playing with y'all.
Speaker 5 (56:51):
Yeah, playing with us. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was real.
And he he went into one of the practice room
He's like, yeah, man, it's something, dude. Man. He sounded
like Michael Blad you got.
Speaker 8 (57:00):
I was like really a little dude, And I was like, okay,
but I don't I think I don't know if I
met him. Then we were on the road and we
got to Uh. I remember speaking to him. I called
him when we got to l A and we were
doing the Disneyland Grad Nights and the Crazy Story too.
Speaker 5 (57:20):
I think I'm like, this is just off.
Speaker 1 (57:23):
Anything with Chris Dave is definitely crazy.
Speaker 5 (57:25):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 8 (57:26):
Now I was thinking about the Grad Knights. I remember
Leila Hathaway to, yeah, did you play my grad Knights?
Speaker 1 (57:31):
Like what? Oh wow? That was crazy?
Speaker 5 (57:35):
Yeah crazy.
Speaker 8 (57:36):
So yeah, Disney that grad Nights and I ended up color.
I was like, you know, man, yeah, I have heard
about you, and if you can just send me, you know,
just send me something slow, something made, something fast.
Speaker 5 (57:45):
And you know he's like, okay, yeah man, yeah here's
a voice. Yes yeah, And so it was like okay, cool.
Speaker 8 (57:56):
But it wasn't until you know, I really audition up
in a flight time and yeahs, cred ahead, chops and everything.
At that point, I'm just like, Okay, all I need
you to do right now is I want to feel
this rise and move like play harder, you know, play harder,
because I think it was more jazz reinly t killing,
you know, I like play hard and we're gonna play long.
(58:18):
And we had these super thick arrangements at the time,
some of them recorded.
Speaker 5 (58:24):
But he's like, you know, he could handle it.
Speaker 1 (58:26):
Was he that abstract even back, and I didn't even
start seeing him droning until like maybe like two thousand
and four, two thousand and five. Okay, I had heard
about we did one gig with you guys in like Seattle,
or at least all you guys were there, like we
(58:47):
that's the first time I met you guys in Seattle,
but you guys had even y'all there the night before
or something or whatever. That's the first time my man.
I was like, oh, I've heard of you, Chris Dave.
Speaker 8 (58:57):
But yeah, well he was, you know, we've playing R
and B stuff, So I mean, that's the gig, is
what it is. It's kind of somewhat theatrical, but it was,
you know, we need you to hit that.
Speaker 1 (59:09):
I know he's known for he's an awesome pocket, but
his calling card and his reputation is based on coloring
outside of the lines.
Speaker 5 (59:18):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (59:18):
How in a group so uh disciplined and it's in
it in its songs, it's how did that?
Speaker 8 (59:30):
How it was it fits because I call it like
pocket aggressive, where it's like, okay, there's parameters because sometimes
we've auditioned drummers in the past they just think it's
like you go wow, because you know, it's like no,
there's certain stop signs, you know, from between.
Speaker 1 (59:43):
Here and here.
Speaker 8 (59:44):
This is just here's where you start out, and there's
a couple of things and then you have to know
here you can kind of do what you want, but
make it tasteful, you know. But sometimes there's certain drummers
of the song like oh, they're just going off like no,
it's it's not you got to play the music. It's
like you know, solo and is like with five percent,
but I'm just really interested and you know, you got
to most of the times playing trying to play with
(01:00:05):
the ensemble make your head brought, you know, And yeah
he did that.
Speaker 5 (01:00:10):
It was just like, you know, we'd have.
Speaker 8 (01:00:12):
Our part where we do a little little drum battle
and all that kind of stuff, so which was cool,
but a lot of it too. We spent a lot
of time because he lived with me for off and
on for a couple of years, and we would just
shed you know, and just kind of exchange ideas. And
it's so funny because a lot of ideas I hear
now is just kind of like, you know, just kind
of the color and I like, I say, coloring outside
(01:00:33):
of the line. As far as the tempo changes, you know,
with inside four four time and all that kind of
stuff is it's become like a thing ye hear drummer's
doing now.
Speaker 5 (01:00:43):
But that was just was just kind of messing around.
I was like, Wow, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (01:00:47):
Whose idea was it? One of your most probably iconic moments.
I remember whose idea was it?
Speaker 1 (01:00:53):
To have half the go to knew the video?
Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
Please remember the audition of how.
Speaker 3 (01:01:04):
Like he was like a newscaster or he was like
a broadcaster.
Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
He was a broadcast.
Speaker 7 (01:01:09):
Yeah, he was singing in front of the TVs and
then came under knows.
Speaker 2 (01:01:14):
Yes, I'm sorry, I know.
Speaker 1 (01:01:26):
It wasn't.
Speaker 8 (01:01:29):
Who was this dude just trying to find a ledge man? No,
that was that was my version of Ilande. I wasn't
gonna dolines half a bid, you know, shaven man.
Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
You know, but that video was a whole raror because
I was just thinking about how I remember the call
the model call in d C at Howard y'all had
a whole relationship with Howard in that way where that
y'all did.
Speaker 5 (01:01:56):
The The girl was from d C.
Speaker 1 (01:01:58):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (01:01:58):
Yeah, we did a the video contest.
Speaker 1 (01:02:01):
We won it. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:02:02):
So it was that senior year. I remember because I
slow grind across the street at the A k. A
House to Pretty Eyes the first time I ever got
felt us. It was really and everybody else was in
the coat line because it was the end of the
party or whatever, but he wanted dance with me one
more time before the door closing. Pretty Brown Eyes came
on Forever Your Eyes.
Speaker 8 (01:02:21):
I just had.
Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
That.
Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
It meant like, I'm sorry, all right, okay, what kind
of man we're gonna get that you don't slow ground
to that?
Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:02:35):
Right?
Speaker 1 (01:02:36):
If people could get married to pretty wings, why can't
you slow ground? What kind of man?
Speaker 2 (01:02:46):
Was just awkward lyrics as we listen to those, though
we listened to the condition lyrics. I feel like it's
the hole at least the hook, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
The Earth on fire reason story. Yeah, we gave up
two million dollars once the couple found out what it meant,
like what a couple wanted the earth winding fire Rich
couple comes singing reasons at their wedding and really opened
his mouth, was like you sure, and they're like why,
It's like just about cheating and that's it. It was
(01:03:20):
lost two million dollars. Yeah wow, I mean we loved
every every song is about for you, all the sweet.
Speaker 2 (01:03:32):
Except for pretty Brown hold on just breaking his heart?
Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (01:03:37):
Fuck the condition to the Sie sage one as we
(01:04:01):
lay this morning putting on a playlist called songs for
February fifty.
Speaker 1 (01:04:13):
The week the weekend before the seventh February. Oh, we
told her.
Speaker 3 (01:04:25):
I wouldn't know that about that.
Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
Yeah, February thirtieth. Baby, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:04:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
Wait is there a black love song that pledges black
love and commitment without being the side piece or music?
Speaker 3 (01:04:42):
I celebrate my love, yeah, spending my life?
Speaker 1 (01:04:46):
Yeah, but your hair ship is it? Just do me baby?
That's it?
Speaker 2 (01:04:50):
And sat.
Speaker 1 (01:04:53):
Was that well.
Speaker 3 (01:04:54):
I don't think somebody.
Speaker 1 (01:04:55):
Second verse the HR though.
Speaker 9 (01:04:57):
If he shows you, I feel like you're in the
office and you don't go to HRY.
Speaker 1 (01:05:09):
Do you ever think you have HR conversation at NBC?
I know you do now, but like before, every day
in my life, no, every day in my life is
how not to go to HR the principals off with.
Speaker 3 (01:05:21):
The second record, I thought that that was where.
Speaker 7 (01:05:25):
That was the first record that I listened to like
all the way down, like complete, and that was probably
the one that I just played because I felt like
y'all got your up tempo game right and it was
really good songs and just everything was dope. What was
the process between the first record to the second record?
Speaker 8 (01:05:42):
Well, I guess we'd heard about this sophomore Jenks thing
with that. Didn't know what it was, what does that mean?
Just you know, we just said, look, we all come
with the best songs we can come with.
Speaker 1 (01:05:54):
You know.
Speaker 5 (01:05:54):
We were just really.
Speaker 8 (01:05:58):
Really focused, you know, and having that and we went
through that process of like, Okay, no, this doesn't sound good.
And I think at that point, at that point, each
one of us knew what you know, we were bringing.
Speaker 5 (01:06:09):
It had to be good.
Speaker 8 (01:06:10):
And I think we'd learned so much from you know,
touring from the first album and then first somehow that
didn't what was really resonating with everybody and it's like, Okay,
we we really gotta get.
Speaker 5 (01:06:21):
That, get that up so our tone game.
Speaker 8 (01:06:23):
I'm a tone dudes, like like drum sounds, keyboard sounds,
all that kind of stuff had to be on points.
Speaker 5 (01:06:29):
So I think that was all, you know, part of
that it was, that was the sum of it.
Speaker 1 (01:06:34):
You know, what's how's your engineer? Steve Hodges, Jimmy James,
did you work with you guys at all?
Speaker 8 (01:06:42):
He would kind of oversee because I was, always, like
I said, interested and it sounds like, for instance, like
the remember like the drum tones on what kind of man.
We worked a little bit on that, and I'm just
kind of watching what he did. But yet amazing, amazing technician.
Speaker 2 (01:06:59):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:06:59):
Just what studio did you guys record on flight Time? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (01:07:05):
Yeah, not oh yeah. It was a four studios up
in there. It was jamming them had their studio. There
were Studio A was a smaller studio, which I love
them in their studio, you know, studio scene in the
studio was a bigger studio. Steve Hodge had his own
studio and that he mixed primarily in there. But it's
four of them.
Speaker 1 (01:07:23):
Is that still in operating in Minnesota?
Speaker 5 (01:07:25):
It's up there.
Speaker 8 (01:07:26):
It's uh, Paul Peterson is over there now, Saint Paul
in the family. But some of the boys they used
to have Harrison Boys, and so there was all gone
now and they have different you know, because you don't
need those big boys.
Speaker 2 (01:07:40):
And more so during that time, what were some of
the other projects that were being worked on while you
guys are in the studio.
Speaker 1 (01:07:50):
Because you're playing on my Ship? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:07:54):
Yeah, what did I do?
Speaker 1 (01:07:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:07:55):
Ye, he's on the Body that Loves You to.
Speaker 5 (01:08:00):
Some of that stuff. Man, I would I would do
those sessions and not know where the song was going.
Speaker 1 (01:08:05):
Were you guys the band for what Will I Do?
Speaker 5 (01:08:09):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:08:10):
No, not that one. You just dreamed on it.
Speaker 8 (01:08:11):
But I need a remix and I can't remember. Yeah,
I ended up on it was a giant thing, for sure,
that must be what. There was so much stuff I
don't know, some of it don't even know.
Speaker 3 (01:08:25):
On that album, man, talk about ten million strong. Like
that song.
Speaker 1 (01:08:28):
I used to put that when I would make my
slow jam tapes Midnight.
Speaker 3 (01:08:37):
I loved doing like my Cake, my cake tapes. I
kept that tape.
Speaker 1 (01:08:43):
Yeah, that was like.
Speaker 3 (01:08:45):
My cake tape was what you made, you know what
I'm saying. When you it was your music for when
you was on the phone.
Speaker 1 (01:08:51):
Cake that cake.
Speaker 5 (01:08:55):
Cake, So that was what it was.
Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
So I kept that song on like that made several iterations,
you know what I'm.
Speaker 1 (01:09:03):
Saying, talk about that multivo Where were you? What was yall? Only?
I did that? I love that record.
Speaker 8 (01:09:10):
That one was influenced. I was listening to this this composer,
Japanese composer I'll reach yeah, and he had all these
you know, black rain.
Speaker 1 (01:09:20):
He did that.
Speaker 5 (01:09:21):
That that score just amazing.
Speaker 8 (01:09:23):
I just love his the way he used textures and
sounds and that kind of thing, and that is where
that came from. It's just that's that whole thing, and
then the whole ten million strong kind of thing. Just
you know, just certain songs coming I can do in
five minutes. Other times it might be, you know, a
couple of hours, it might be a week. I'man just
set it down, the hook is done. I want to
(01:09:43):
spend some time with That was just kind of like
maybe ten minutes on that one, you know, but yeah,
it was just one of those.
Speaker 5 (01:09:50):
It was just kind of a vibe. That's exactly for that,
I mean, just to kind of chill the vibe.
Speaker 7 (01:09:55):
I certainly feel that purpose going back, I forgot my
dear on the More Money soundtrack.
Speaker 8 (01:10:03):
No, it's funny about that, you know, it's the spearheaded
by Homer Owe Dell guitar player man and that we
really originally did that for Calling Me Back in a
group called And but it was produced differently to have
more of kind of pop sensibility, and they something happened
(01:10:25):
when they didn't take the song they were going and
they didn't, and it's like, okay, we're gonna make it
for us. So we went in, rehearsed it, you know,
did the music, and then me and Odell pended. You know,
we just wanted to make it kind of an extravaganza.
Speaker 1 (01:10:43):
You know, used to run that joint. Thanks man.
Speaker 3 (01:10:47):
We talked about soundtrack joints. Jason's lyric trouble was Money Money.
Speaker 1 (01:10:53):
That one.
Speaker 5 (01:10:54):
Yeah, that was.
Speaker 1 (01:10:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:10:57):
They wanted they wanted the songs, but they wanted to it.
So Carrie Lewis was brilliant at doing that. He had
Carrie had like a he's like a really great pop sensibility,
you know, knows the textures to use and everything.
Speaker 3 (01:11:12):
So he was.
Speaker 8 (01:11:14):
Really instrumental the group for that. So you pen swinging
as well me swinging. So yeah, he's just amazing. Still
to this day, it's just crazy with it.
Speaker 2 (01:11:25):
Do you really still enjoy singing like your classics, like
are there's some that you like still enjoy always wanted.
Speaker 5 (01:11:31):
Because I appreciate the catalog as I appreciate it.
Speaker 8 (01:11:34):
Yeah, you know, as you get older and doing this thing,
it's like you know what you know, doing music man,
you know, changing hearts and minds and actually changing you know,
the vibration is actually going through people and helping. You know,
it's like feeling different, you know. So it's uh, I
learned later on life like this really about healing.
Speaker 1 (01:11:54):
It really is.
Speaker 5 (01:11:55):
You know, if we didn't have music, I mean, what
would that feel like?
Speaker 1 (01:11:59):
You know what I mean? What is your vocal regimen?
Speaker 7 (01:12:06):
Because I've I mean I've seen you like a couple
of times, and you guys are still, you know, twenty
years later, still singing these songs in the same key
like you still.
Speaker 3 (01:12:15):
I shouldn't be, you know, I mean, it's just like
that's amazing.
Speaker 5 (01:12:19):
Man, that's you know.
Speaker 8 (01:12:23):
I definitely try to baby it as much like I'm
not one of these dudes who have these Some dudes
can just sing all night and you know the next
you just got these still lungs.
Speaker 5 (01:12:32):
I'm like, I gotta do my garlic.
Speaker 8 (01:12:35):
And my ginger and all that honey, you know, warm up,
you know, it's a big thing, and really it's just
about it's just about endurance, really and trying to sing differently.
You know, your voice changes as you get older, it
drops a little bit, and but I like where it's
at now because it kind of rounds it out because.
Speaker 5 (01:12:54):
I listen back and I'm like, man, I sound like
many a.
Speaker 1 (01:12:57):
Mouse pete those y'all guys. That the way that you're
speaking now, that your baritone game is on point when
your voice resource but you saying and your low register.
I was like, yo, do the low register? Yeah, and
you killed it. Like have you ever thought of of
(01:13:21):
doing a project where you just use your your your
low register.
Speaker 5 (01:13:26):
And then that day like I already started it.
Speaker 2 (01:13:29):
It's like a song on a new record, Like at
least one song, I feel like you use it.
Speaker 3 (01:13:34):
Even on the Soulfine remix, you kind of went a
little lower than normal.
Speaker 1 (01:13:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:13:38):
I think people are so focused on the.
Speaker 8 (01:13:42):
Natural high registered and on your life, you know, and
if they see it live, you know, or they'll ask
me that, they assume it's somebody else that's singing.
Speaker 5 (01:13:49):
That's that's me saying yeah, but.
Speaker 8 (01:13:51):
Yeah, I enjoy that. I missed that baritone. I missed
that whole very white out the price sock.
Speaker 5 (01:13:58):
You know, you know I'm that right. Nobody sings, yeah,
there's there's there's a lane.
Speaker 2 (01:14:03):
It's funny you say that about your voice, because last
night and I were trying to figure out, like, who
is in your your try vocally right, because you are
just in an elite situation where there's not a lot
of people that, oh, he sounds like stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:14:14):
You y'all need to do a jam together. Yeah, I know,
y'all like, who's who.
Speaker 6 (01:14:25):
Together?
Speaker 1 (01:14:26):
Phrase that because the argument was three between Ray and
Son and him.
Speaker 2 (01:14:39):
Okayan and Stokely is like cousins in this game.
Speaker 1 (01:14:46):
Get me beat up.
Speaker 2 (01:14:48):
A great producer.
Speaker 3 (01:14:50):
But yeah, it's yeah, it is y'all are similar.
Speaker 8 (01:14:53):
Yeah, yeah, I mean we seen we talk about this,
like what is that? I guess he just comes out
and it comes out, man, you know for the first
I guess you know a little while that breaking my
Heart was out. Nobody really there. We had no video,
so they didn't a baby face. It kind of sounded like, Stevie,
who's what you know? We had gotten?
Speaker 5 (01:15:13):
I had gotten a few different you know, artists.
Speaker 7 (01:15:16):
And people thought it was, you know, on the cover
of the uh definition of a band album. I'd always
want to ask you about what was it that made
y'all not be on the cover and just fos the instruments.
Speaker 3 (01:15:28):
I thought it was a statement behind it, But I
want to hear your definition of a band?
Speaker 5 (01:15:35):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 8 (01:15:36):
It's like, okay, this is let's be what we are, like, man,
enough of this trying to look pretty on the cover
and that kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (01:15:43):
Let's just more rugged, be what it is.
Speaker 8 (01:15:45):
It's like, we're musicians, let's letting we always say that
the music is king over everything that speaks, you know,
So put the instruments on there, you know, the old
warehouse looking thing, you know, and that represents us, you know. Definitely.
I think it was perfect, you know, definition of man.
Put instruments boom, that's it, and I think it resonated.
Speaker 1 (01:16:05):
Why did it take you guys three years between on
that one? And is it risky to well I know
that well, yeah, for the next three records. It's that
was ninety six.
Speaker 5 (01:16:17):
Y between that one and what was one after that?
Speaker 1 (01:16:23):
Was that aquarium? Well okay eight yeah, man, factory to
Definition band was three years.
Speaker 8 (01:16:30):
And then just just toring, you know, a ment factory
to definite Yeah, touring and h I think to from
definition band to Life's Aquarium. There was a couple of
things that happened, so, uh, Carrie had found love, got married,
you know, all the things.
Speaker 5 (01:16:45):
We're trying to figure out our sound, you know, and how.
Speaker 3 (01:16:49):
Did he handle that?
Speaker 1 (01:16:50):
Did he like give your heads up or was it? Yeah?
And did you guys handle that? And we did?
Speaker 5 (01:16:55):
We we were on tour with.
Speaker 1 (01:17:01):
I didn't watch the Lifetime.
Speaker 3 (01:17:05):
It was the Lifetime movie? Was it accurate?
Speaker 6 (01:17:07):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (01:17:08):
What?
Speaker 2 (01:17:08):
Was it the Whitney's movie, because I mean, we're not
Whitney I'm sorry Tony movie.
Speaker 5 (01:17:14):
Sorry, No, they mentioned in the movie kind of remember that.
I only watched half of it, so I'm not I
don't even know if it was in it.
Speaker 1 (01:17:28):
But was it good? After the Whitney John and Leah Jorn.
I didn't do it.
Speaker 3 (01:17:38):
Yeah, I saw the TC one that wasn't Lifetime, that
was one life Time. Oh you're thinking about it? Oh
yet no, little Mama she killed the TLC version, the
t G. She did good in that one. I wasn't
met at that one at all.
Speaker 1 (01:17:51):
So how did they depicted just just for my ignorance, like,
how did they depict.
Speaker 2 (01:17:58):
The It's been depicted that the band was not happy.
That's what it's been depicted at all.
Speaker 3 (01:18:04):
I can imagine that.
Speaker 1 (01:18:05):
Yeah, I mean yeah, I mean with someone for your
life and then they're like, I'm out in love.
Speaker 8 (01:18:12):
And then y'all were on tour together to so there
was a whole thing, right, so that it developed with
them on tour. So I mean we've seen it kind
of was like okay, all right, all right, see what's
going on? And uh so announced getting parried and that
whole thing.
Speaker 1 (01:18:26):
Say, Bryce was, I'm sorry, this is a long story.
Speaker 3 (01:18:33):
He was anyway, good.
Speaker 8 (01:18:37):
Yeah, so they did that, and so we were, yeah,
I mean everybody in the band wasn't you know, It's like, man,
what's going to happen? I guess all he was asking
for is like, look, he's give me some time to work,
Steff hars gonna happen? Like noah, we got we got
it roll out man. I guess it was like an ultimatum.
You know, it's like any out kind of thing. But
(01:18:58):
you know, to me, I just thought it was business
and you know, let you know, short life loves love man,
let him do this thing. So I went to wedding.
Some people were supposed to make it and had some
technical difficulties as well. So in somewhere up bet yeah
(01:19:20):
what it was. But I understand that, you know, that's
just human nature. It's going to be that, you know,
and it's uh this, you know, I've been married to
these dudes longer than you know.
Speaker 2 (01:19:31):
It's very faithful. Like I wonder how many times somebody
says so stokedly when you're going on solo, like how
is it like thirty fifty hundred?
Speaker 3 (01:19:38):
What do you think was there a chance of you
actually going solo in the late nineties because you did it.
There was a couple of soundtrack records that was you
album every.
Speaker 2 (01:19:46):
Yeah oh in the press and the rate in the
interview like oh.
Speaker 8 (01:19:50):
Man, I mean if there was to deal with pretty
much album's done, it was pretty much every every time.
So but I just think there was a ment was
you know, necessary, like at that time, there's so many
solo artists galory, you know, so I'm like, you know,
I think it needs to be you know what I.
Speaker 5 (01:20:08):
Mean, it needed to be a making there's nothing like that,
you know, there's not a roots.
Speaker 1 (01:20:15):
Am I the only artist that believes that in the
open marriage like Amie Davis and the Ship. It's no, no, no,
you can have this, dude, go to common.
Speaker 7 (01:20:28):
Yeah, but you have to kind of watch that because
the while you kind of end up cutting your package.
You know what I'm saying, you have to you kind
of dilute yourself too much. And it's like you saying
I don't need to cut it.
Speaker 2 (01:20:40):
Metaphor.
Speaker 3 (01:20:42):
Yeah, it's like you, like you, you're diluting you know yourself.
Speaker 7 (01:20:45):
So it's like, Okay, if I'm here and then I
start going here and here, here, here, here, here, I
think it's different yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:20:50):
I think it's different for musicians versus singers.
Speaker 2 (01:20:54):
Okay, okay, with drumming, it's hard at all.
Speaker 3 (01:20:58):
Like was anybody talking, Steve Gett, you're playing on too
many records, Pinos, gonna have to chill.
Speaker 1 (01:21:06):
Right, right, yeah, let get these tell you. But I
think that you know, you would want to, like I
want to start aside jazz combo with blah blah blah,
do a supergroup.
Speaker 8 (01:21:19):
And what the thing it's even like right when I'm
doing now is all this stuff. It's there's a few
ways and you can do that, and I've been doing that.
Actually there's a couple of groups that I played with,
you know. Still that's been last fifteen probably the whole
time through. You know, I've always been active, you know before,
meant you know, during, and now it's just like I
(01:21:40):
feel like, you know, I give him so much time,
attention and care to that. You know, as a musician
and artist, you have to figure out you know, I
put When I do something, I'm like really focused in
on it. So at this time now I'm just like, Okay,
it's time for another facet.
Speaker 1 (01:21:55):
You know, I have.
Speaker 8 (01:21:56):
I got a couple more gears, I think, you know,
while I'm still healthy and you know I can do it.
I want to give it it's full attention, you know.
So there's different ways to do that. I have done
what you talking about as far as you know, being
in a group and doing all the other things outside
of it, you know, making that the mother.
Speaker 1 (01:22:13):
Do those guys have side options as well or just
doing different things everything? I'm sorry, you know what I'm saying.
Do they have side options as well?
Speaker 3 (01:22:21):
Or is this group there.
Speaker 8 (01:22:22):
Everything everybody's got different things. And that's the thing that's like,
once they decide to do that, you know, if they
want to, then you know what they've got. Definitely, it's
it's they're amazing dudes, you know in so many different ways.
They just you just know about me because I'm lead singer,
you know, and that's usually the way it happens. It's
a focal point. And yeah, there's there's a lot of
(01:22:45):
magic within and beyond me.
Speaker 2 (01:22:47):
I mean, because there's a moment in reading the title
introducing Stokely as a fan where you're like, well, that's nice,
but what you mean introduced like like.
Speaker 3 (01:22:59):
When you're starting over. Its introducing.
Speaker 5 (01:23:03):
Decades of music.
Speaker 1 (01:23:04):
It don't matter.
Speaker 3 (01:23:06):
Black people don't read.
Speaker 2 (01:23:12):
It.
Speaker 7 (01:23:12):
It's like people like people know you too, they don't
know necessarily or yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (01:23:19):
So it's like, let me ask you just why we're
on this subject, because I told you one of my
favorite songs that is yours. Yours was meant something something.
So the other day we were talking to Fonte and
he was saying how he's real selective with his features. However,
he was on the condition song you know it's you
know something something, because that's mean conditions.
Speaker 3 (01:23:40):
My mama, she Mama, I wouldn't. She didn't validate me
until that ship was cool. I talk until I got
a gentleman condition.
Speaker 2 (01:23:52):
She was like, oh, ship talking, ship like the ship
talking is just my favorite.
Speaker 6 (01:23:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:23:59):
I couldn't believe. I can't even remember.
Speaker 7 (01:24:01):
I think like my manager hit me, but yeah, Like
me and Rick were talking and he was like, yo,
we got a joint we want you on and I
was like all right. I was like, man, crazy.
Speaker 3 (01:24:10):
So he sent it to me and so I do it.
Speaker 1 (01:24:12):
I just do my verse.
Speaker 7 (01:24:13):
I'm like, all right, my rap, bam, nick, I'm good,
sixteen a miuth And so I sent it and so
then Rick hits me.
Speaker 3 (01:24:21):
And he's like, yo, man, we love the verse. Stokely
wants you to sing on it.
Speaker 5 (01:24:25):
I was like, nigga, what.
Speaker 3 (01:24:28):
No, He's like, no, Stokely won't what like, what do
you want me?
Speaker 5 (01:24:35):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:24:35):
For real?
Speaker 3 (01:24:35):
That's like yeah, that's like you know, that's crazy.
Speaker 7 (01:24:39):
So I was like I and so I just went
back and added like some Marvin harmonies on or whatever,
and then he hit me back. I was like, Rick,
I sent you some vocals and I said, but dude,
I really would rather stokely do these.
Speaker 3 (01:24:49):
Oh he was like, he was like, let me hear you.
Speaker 1 (01:24:51):
I sent it to him.
Speaker 3 (01:24:51):
He was like, dude, we love it, we love it.
And so that was the time like that record.
Speaker 7 (01:24:55):
And then it was another record we just did on
Chris's album, the record I the Destiny and Stereo record.
Speaker 3 (01:25:03):
I sing the hook on that, but I sung it
as a reference for you to sing it. But Chris
kept my reference.
Speaker 1 (01:25:09):
Of course. He was you the man. But I heard it.
I heard like an alien aliens.
Speaker 3 (01:25:17):
Man, I'm trying to we did. Oh, it was on thing. Okay,
it was another record. We didn't.
Speaker 1 (01:25:31):
Look so where was the record we did?
Speaker 5 (01:25:33):
Uh?
Speaker 7 (01:25:34):
It was a brother I leave record and that was
a joint. I just again, I did the hook on
and then I leave. He like, put you in some
harmonies under me. That ship was stupid. It was called
I'll be around. It was man, this had to be
like two thousand and nine.
Speaker 1 (01:25:49):
And heard again, nice, you don't remember none of the teachers.
Speaker 5 (01:25:55):
Man, you were just singing.
Speaker 3 (01:25:57):
You were singing on it because I mean, because you
were like lead like y'all. He was all over, oh.
Speaker 5 (01:26:02):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I need
to hear that again.
Speaker 3 (01:26:06):
I'll send it to yes. Yeah, yeah, so yeah, man,
my mother she when I told I did the record
with y'all. I made it congratulations.
Speaker 1 (01:26:15):
That is funny.
Speaker 2 (01:26:17):
Didn't get to touch any of introducers, like was there
any memory?
Speaker 8 (01:26:20):
Was I wanted to make it, you know, because I
feel like we've done that, you know what I mean?
Think about it, you know, introducing it's like you know this,
You're getting me from the rude to the tutor, you know,
so to speak.
Speaker 2 (01:26:33):
So playing still drums? Is that somebody?
Speaker 3 (01:26:37):
Okayment Records.
Speaker 7 (01:26:39):
Yeah, that was my favorite interviews Ash and Rio the
Querros Revenge.
Speaker 6 (01:26:45):
I used to I used to have that ship time
so perfectly where I could loop it on my CD player,
like because it was only like forty three seconds and
it wasn't long enough.
Speaker 3 (01:26:54):
If I hit it just right, it would look perfectly.
Speaker 7 (01:26:58):
That I want to ask you about sometimes on uh
that record I got that brought the r A to
my dormime.
Speaker 3 (01:27:09):
That was my front.
Speaker 7 (01:27:09):
No.
Speaker 3 (01:27:10):
That was like my freshman year of college, and I
just I was beyond the too loud.
Speaker 1 (01:27:17):
I think this one is getting mean.
Speaker 7 (01:27:21):
Yeah, that joint so I would like just that drum
solo man and just a wonderful song.
Speaker 3 (01:27:26):
And so I just would have that ship like playing loud.
Speaker 1 (01:27:30):
How did that?
Speaker 5 (01:27:31):
That's brother Rick, you know he like on the rock
and roll Tippy's definitely master at that man.
Speaker 3 (01:27:37):
That one in fidelity, Yeah yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:27:40):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:27:42):
The drum soul was amazing, just I think I like
the tones and just how raw it is, you know
what I mean. But as part of his personality, we
just kind of wonder h push his vision forward. And
again I feel just really fortunate to be a part
of all that. I mean, just creating all those those sonics. Man,
just amazing magical.
Speaker 5 (01:28:02):
So Glad resonated with.
Speaker 7 (01:28:03):
Somebody record what was the change or what prompted all
to change from perspective to electure for Life of Warrior?
Speaker 8 (01:28:12):
Better deal it was, Yeah, so what kind of man?
We just felt like at the you know, we'd given
them a gift and uh uh.
Speaker 3 (01:28:23):
Was dropped.
Speaker 8 (01:28:24):
Yeah yeah, I mean it was already it was a
gift in you know, the regime that came into a
and M didn't really pick up the ball and really
you could have did a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:28:34):
More, you know, And so that record was considered was
like just like a moderate hit.
Speaker 5 (01:28:39):
It was it It was definitely, but it could.
Speaker 1 (01:28:41):
Have been a hipoppet. Oh yeah, it was just it
felt like it could have been in a lank star
move right, it could have been.
Speaker 8 (01:28:48):
You know what I mean, it was right there, you know,
so they had to do with just pick it up
and do what they need to do. So that didn't happen,
and just what they were offering at the time just
didn't feel right. You know, a lot of times put
their own people in and you know, just a lot
of people are fighting. She's like, you keep people are gone.
Speaker 1 (01:29:04):
Did you guys have any relationship with and improper like
guilt Freeeson.
Speaker 3 (01:29:09):
Or whoever was?
Speaker 5 (01:29:11):
Yeah, they had.
Speaker 1 (01:29:11):
Yeah, So it was just basically your ceiling was jam
and Lewis and the perspective people.
Speaker 3 (01:29:16):
But never right the higher up set.
Speaker 8 (01:29:20):
No, I would have been you know, after have we
had we stayed on there because that's what we you know,
at that time, I think it was McClain had came
back on, you know at A and M and that
kind of thing. So they were in the meeting with
him trying to figure out the future and I'm like,
well I'd rather get off, and I'm like, okay, we
just we thought it was gonna be a big deal,
so you just give us two songs.
Speaker 5 (01:29:42):
Out, you know.
Speaker 8 (01:29:43):
So then we started talking to a Silver rown over
at Electra and did that deal pretty quick and she
was pretty excited. So and that one was just like,
I don't he dropped the ball on again. Just the
tour support, you know, because I think that was one
of one of the reasons why.
Speaker 7 (01:30:00):
Now I would say Life of Query that was one
that I like, you know, like Bossville you talked about
the are You Free? Life of Querim was the one
record where I was kind of like, Okay, what's happening because.
Speaker 3 (01:30:12):
That's probably my second favorite minelbum. It's so here's the
other part of it.
Speaker 7 (01:30:15):
So when I first kind of went through it, and like,
because the first single, god, what was the first single?
Speaker 3 (01:30:21):
It just didn't sound like y'all. It sounded, you know,
very like programming.
Speaker 7 (01:30:25):
No, it wasn't if You Love Me that was the ballad,
but it was the it was a faster I can't
remember what the Charlie that was pretty Lady, that was
pleasure touched that body of.
Speaker 1 (01:30:41):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 7 (01:30:42):
But so that that threw me off. But like the
ballads on that record, you know, what I'm saying like
that just the Man for you and this day, this
minute and God just uh tonight, like those are some
of my favorite Mint songs of all time.
Speaker 5 (01:31:00):
So yeah, I mean, you just do what you feel
in the moment. Man. It's one of those things where
you you know.
Speaker 8 (01:31:06):
People get what they get from it, and it's you know,
whatever your musical sensibility is, you take it or you
leave it, and uh, you know, some stuff is hit miss.
Speaker 7 (01:31:15):
So when y'all went indy for Living in the Luxury Brown,
how is that transition? What major decide to do that?
Speaker 8 (01:31:22):
So we would go in the independent stage at that point.
So that was I felt like we all felt like,
you know, people heard us, but they haven't seen a
lot of us. So we wanted to do like a
DVD component, you know with that, you know, living in
a Luxury Brown and Life from nine thirty Club and
you know, yeah DC. Yeah, so it felt like that's
(01:31:44):
the perfect spot to do it. You know, these do
always showed us love that part of the country and yeah, yeah, absolutely,
so that's kind of what drove that, and we struck
up a deal with Image Entertainment. Yeah yeah, Yeah, it
was perfect there because they did. They dealt with DVDs
and that kind of content, and yeah, that's pretty much
(01:32:06):
where it came from. It just from us wanting to
do something that was visual, you know. And yeah it
came out great man, until we put all these songs
on there. So remember that was not a target.
Speaker 7 (01:32:17):
My copy they had like an exclusive, so over here
I bought it, bought my other target.
Speaker 1 (01:32:27):
So you have a new album, Stokely. I'm over here.
Speaker 3 (01:32:33):
Chatting with Sugar.
Speaker 1 (01:32:34):
Yes, Oh Steve, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (01:32:37):
Yeah, he's here.
Speaker 5 (01:32:41):
About the yes, sir.
Speaker 8 (01:32:44):
Yeah, we started introducing Stokely, So that's like I said,
I felt that just you know, starting from the bottom.
You know, we got some folks on there with me
and some work with.
Speaker 5 (01:32:53):
Wild A on there.
Speaker 2 (01:32:55):
How do you after you waited all this time, how
do you get the producers the people that you want
to work with together, Because isn't everybody like yo, yeah
pick me, pick me, pig me like.
Speaker 8 (01:33:06):
I did off of Spirit, you know, it's not so
much off a popularity that kind of thing. Whatever fits
what I'm doing, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:33:12):
So you've done a lot of stuff with Way though, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:33:16):
A little bit worked on with last couple of CDs.
Speaker 8 (01:33:18):
Yeah, yeah, Rob and yeah, So I mean it's just,
you know, it's like this industry becomes very small. So
you know, touring, you see people on and it's like
always work together and when it happens, it happens. That
kind of thing, if the time is free and they're interested,
if it's something they want to get on, because you know,
we're all sensitive. Think they think it's wacking. You know,
(01:33:41):
it won't happen. So I mean, yeah, but we try to,
you know, do our best and you know, hopefully make
it something that's attractive to other artists. And you know,
Carvin Haggins and Ivan Various. Yeah, yeah, absolutely so they amazing,
definitely love what they do.
Speaker 1 (01:33:58):
You know, I gotta ask. Okay, so there's one project
that I'm really interested in that you were part of.
You became the facto lead singer of the Revolution for
their you know, their a couple of their date tours
(01:34:22):
or whatever. How did that come to be and how
hard was that for you? Uh? Do you stay off?
Speaker 5 (01:34:32):
I don't want to do I've been saying weird, but
it wasn't weird. It was just it was surreal. It
was it was just a really interesting to me.
Speaker 1 (01:34:43):
It's it's uh, I enjoyed, Like I enjoyed it. Someone's
got to sing those songs, and I'd rather someone that
really knows how to sing to sing those songs.
Speaker 3 (01:34:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:34:55):
And I know for you it might be a thing
like I don't want to get pegged in the weddings,
the purple singer mode thing.
Speaker 5 (01:35:02):
But well, it wasn't that.
Speaker 8 (01:35:03):
It was just that I was trying to figure out
my was like first, I just never thought in the
main years that what I was like still sometimes like
why am I here?
Speaker 5 (01:35:10):
You know, I feel like is he not here right now?
I'm like, it's just weird.
Speaker 2 (01:35:14):
I know that.
Speaker 1 (01:35:15):
But to me, it's like, you know, I would I
would talk to you know the one day you called
me or whatever, and I would tell her like, because
this was like the early stages of that. There's like
maybe the second or third week where I saw something
and I was like, look, I know, you guys are
like really really protective of the brand, and you know
want to make sure that no toes the stepped one
(01:35:37):
as if Prince is going to come back to be like, hey,
you're stepping on my toes. But I was like, I
think she's like, what do you think we should? I said,
I think the more that you guys just relax and
have fun with it, then that's when the magic starts.
And I felt that you were the perfect because of
your your your energy that you bring with it. I'm
(01:36:00):
not expecting you to show up with purple high hills
and to do splits and start humping the speakers and
none of that stuff. So I know that it's it's
it's a very weird, vulnerable position to be put in,
but I personally encourage it a lot, like I'd rather
(01:36:24):
you than say the lead guy from Doctor Fink's Purple Experience.
That cat. So how many days did you do with.
Speaker 5 (01:36:33):
Him last year? Still doing dates when I I'm not
doing my own stuff. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:36:40):
It was a gang of them, and who sings when
you're not there?
Speaker 5 (01:36:45):
Nobody they do. Yeah, So the Wendy and Mark had
little duties, but it was kind of a weird things.
I know that they knew.
Speaker 8 (01:36:54):
You know, Prince had a Prince and I had a relationship,
and it was he got into a Princeton got to
a place where you know, you could see him being
kind of mentor to a lot of different artists. You know,
he was like becoming that guy, you know, the yodas
like you know in the industry, and the conversations which
I missed so many conversations. The ones that I miss
(01:37:16):
is like, look, man, we talked about life and everything,
that kind of.
Speaker 1 (01:37:19):
Thing, and try to take you to kingdom on No,
you got lucky.
Speaker 8 (01:37:27):
Yeah, I think you know when people get happen to
lord sometimes like at the beginning, it's like, yeah, so
he may.
Speaker 3 (01:37:35):
Still prepaid legal.
Speaker 7 (01:37:37):
Yeah, it's just you're selling it way too hard. I've
kind of sold on the same way things. We're just
going too far with it.
Speaker 1 (01:37:51):
Too much.
Speaker 3 (01:37:52):
Zeal Yeah, legal, what's the other?
Speaker 1 (01:38:05):
What the other? Scam?
Speaker 5 (01:38:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:38:08):
I mean yeah that was those the college. Yeah, you
just did you have an experience in all your life?
Speaker 3 (01:38:20):
Sure?
Speaker 7 (01:38:23):
Yeah, because they came back as uh, they came back
as another company and I got recruited for that company,
and that to.
Speaker 3 (01:38:29):
Telling me, no, wow, scam scam.
Speaker 1 (01:38:35):
Way.
Speaker 2 (01:38:36):
The first time you did these songs, these print songs,
did you have any like unexpected emotional moments that you just.
Speaker 5 (01:38:43):
Wait, what is what is this?
Speaker 1 (01:38:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (01:38:45):
Oh for sure, I mean, like I said, doing them,
you know, the first couple of shows, you know, definitely
cost a little bit, costed a little bit emotionally. You know,
I could even see, you know, the first couple of
gimes I did, you know, when Manager was there too,
and we were like, you know, I do a couple
of songs and I go off, like come back on doing,
you know, and every time I come off from a
fan and I'm watching. In the first couple of times,
(01:39:07):
was like I could see them becoming themselves, but I.
Speaker 5 (01:39:11):
Think they were trying to find themselves.
Speaker 1 (01:39:13):
You know.
Speaker 8 (01:39:14):
It's like we were all like, where is he? This
is you know, this is a different experience, you know
what I mean. And so I think they're trying to
figure out where they fit and all this stuff. And
then the fans were looking you know some of the time,
you know, I they didn't a lot of fans unless
you sing the Purple Rain tour because that was it.
You didn't see the revolution, so a lot of people
(01:39:35):
were seeing them for the first time. So it's really
emotional for the fans, you know. And by the time
you get to you know, sometimes snows in April, it
was you know, it was just really never watch yeah,
it was it was you know, so now it's more
of a celebration. You know, we've you've done it a
few times and there's still a lot of fans in
the house are seeing it for the first time.
Speaker 5 (01:39:53):
It's really it's it's emotional, but you know, I just met.
I was just concerned.
Speaker 8 (01:39:59):
Like I told mar It's like, well, what what am
I going to sing? But you know I'm not in
First of all, this dude is an island. Nobody saying
we know that. That's that's it.
Speaker 1 (01:40:06):
It is what it is.
Speaker 8 (01:40:07):
It's a legacy and that kind of thing. So so
I said, I have to pick what I think I
sound good like. I just because I can do them
doesn't mean I should, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:40:17):
So so some songs are sacrilegiously you too, Wow, I.
Speaker 5 (01:40:21):
Think yeah, I think, yes, I think I shouldn't be
doing you.
Speaker 3 (01:40:24):
Know, I think the best way to handle that, uh.
Speaker 1 (01:40:27):
And I tell them this all the time that like
Princess fan base, Prince has the luxury of having non
hit songs just as popular as a hit song.
Speaker 3 (01:40:39):
Right, Stevie has that luxury.
Speaker 1 (01:40:42):
Go for the more obvious stuff, I mean, the less Yeah,
like the filler, you know what I mean, Like his
filler is just as amazing, you know what I mean,
Like slow You Killing Slow Love would be amazing. You know,
I know that's not a revolutionary song, but yeah, I
get it. I'm just saying that, you know, it's I
(01:41:03):
encourage that moves anyone gets a chance to see the revolution.
Speaker 2 (01:41:08):
So what's on the list, though, what don't you touch?
Was like holy ground, I.
Speaker 1 (01:41:14):
Don't think they would do me baby or okay.
Speaker 2 (01:41:18):
Okay, so that's the prince list. That's princess list that
he didn't do after a while, that's.
Speaker 1 (01:41:24):
What you mean basically, I guess, yeah anyway, So uh.
Speaker 5 (01:41:32):
But it's fun though.
Speaker 8 (01:41:33):
We have a good time and then I get to
learn a lot about him and her old stories, and
you know, it was really I just feel fortunate because
it's like even with this project, it was a thing
where he was, you know, really encouraging. It's like, okay, dude,
well when the last conversation I had with him is
about Paisley, and I didn't you know, he's just coming
(01:41:54):
like what are you doing tonight? Actually just sitting home
and come out that's all right? And they were rehearsed
and I think it was.
Speaker 5 (01:42:02):
Andy Alo was out there and a bunch of the horns.
You know, he had his his marching band out there with.
Speaker 1 (01:42:09):
The big Horns from North Carolina. I always wanted to
know what the predemned situation was those guys.
Speaker 5 (01:42:17):
He's killing it out there, killing it.
Speaker 8 (01:42:19):
And he was like, just go up and you start
talking just about whatever life and he's like, you know,
what's it seemed like he was waiting for me to get.
Speaker 5 (01:42:29):
To a certain subject.
Speaker 8 (01:42:30):
As we start talking about music and everything, It's like, yeah,
I'm working on some stuff. He said, you're working on something.
I was like, yeah, I've been working for a minute.
So he said, because I was wondering, why don't you
why don't you do something? You know this is you know,
it's time. And I said, I'm working on it now.
It's like, can I be a part of it? I
was like, whoa, No, you're beneath me.
Speaker 3 (01:42:57):
You know how I feel when I heard want you
to sing on?
Speaker 1 (01:43:03):
How did you?
Speaker 3 (01:43:03):
How did you feel when you got the call to
single and call my name?
Speaker 1 (01:43:07):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (01:43:07):
That was cool man.
Speaker 8 (01:43:08):
I was like, Okay, the same thing. It was like yeah,
I think at that time it was yeah. Kirk Comedy
was like yeah, yeah, pretty want you to come out
that's something they're doing out here. So it's me, uh
chance Howard and Kept blackshar Kept and his brother used
to sing with Prince for a while too, and went
out there, and you know, I taught us to harmony
(01:43:28):
and everything.
Speaker 5 (01:43:29):
At one point we was like, it sounds too tight.
Speaker 8 (01:43:32):
Somebody needs to dirty it up, you know, you know,
it's the harmony's too tight because we're trying to you know,
sing it like you know, it's like we're.
Speaker 1 (01:43:39):
Like, okay, cool, and which one of you to sing flat?
Speaker 8 (01:43:45):
And so yeah, that came out great. And then we
went out to the uh to l A to do
the video. And it's around the same time that Ray
was about to be released, the movie Ray. And I
remember me said a great time, man, It was said,
you want to go to this movie. It's like new
Jamie Fox. He's portraying Ray Charles.
Speaker 5 (01:44:04):
Like okay.
Speaker 8 (01:44:05):
So we went to the Sony lot and you know,
we you know, it's just like amazing. It's like then
I knew it was like, oh, this is Oscar material
right here, man.
Speaker 1 (01:44:14):
You know.
Speaker 8 (01:44:14):
Then the uh you know, doing the video and everything.
I remember we jo kind of joking around about the
Chappelle show, you know all that, you know, the basketball
basketball scene and everything. We're like, yeah, that was funny,
such and such and such. Yeah, he said he was
balling everything and blouses and all that stuff. And he
was like, and I hear him back of me, it's trill.
Speaker 7 (01:44:41):
Okay, talk about a super black question. Talk about your
time on the set of the Academy Award winning film.
Speaker 3 (01:44:51):
Panther would say, I look like you were not finding
(01:45:12):
the black of two minutes in this episode listen.
Speaker 7 (01:45:16):
Yeah, so that how did that come about? And we're
talking about the Mario Van people. Panther talk about that
Ryan Cooper not not not black paint. We're talking about
Panther with Bobby Brown.
Speaker 2 (01:45:32):
He was on drugs, wasn't he?
Speaker 3 (01:45:33):
No he was, Yeah, he was on drugs.
Speaker 1 (01:45:35):
But then he was in the movie too.
Speaker 3 (01:45:37):
She's in the movie.
Speaker 7 (01:45:38):
That's what that was a better reference. Yes, matter, Yeah,
I was talking about Yeah, he was about the movie.
I was talking about the movie to I wasnt talking
about it first. So yeah, dude, So Panther.
Speaker 1 (01:45:56):
Getting angry. I was just always are. So I think
it was just the label.
Speaker 8 (01:46:07):
You know, we're trying to, you know, get more opportunities
and seeing it that kind of thing, and you know,
they said anybody wants to act? I was like, yeah,
absolutely a little bit in my day and uh so
that came up, Bob, I was like, yeah, were these weirds?
Speaker 5 (01:46:20):
You guys are the purple suited hipsters?
Speaker 1 (01:46:22):
Was there?
Speaker 5 (01:46:23):
You know on script? You know, and we just you know,
you know, young I do just come on. But I
think we had a couple of lines I can't remember.
Speaker 3 (01:46:29):
Yeah, I was out there when the when they're in
the standoffs right there.
Speaker 5 (01:46:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're supposed to come out and kind
of react to that what's going on?
Speaker 2 (01:46:38):
You know, your parents must have been proud, you know,
now you somebody were.
Speaker 1 (01:46:45):
You or yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:46:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was crazy.
Speaker 1 (01:46:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:46:54):
I just remember the most amazing time I have with that.
Speaker 8 (01:46:58):
It's like we were actually doing the session and right
before we actually taped everything, there's just there was another
room that was happening, and D'Angelo was in there, and
it's like everybody's playing this stuff and we heard ship
that haven motherfucker he played that and every good body
he was playing all of it was just like amazing.
Speaker 5 (01:47:22):
We all just went crazy, like what who is this?
Speaker 1 (01:47:25):
Arn't you what?
Speaker 5 (01:47:27):
Amazing? Yeah, just yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:47:29):
It was really dope. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:47:31):
I always forgured that that was like before d' angelo
was d Angelo.
Speaker 2 (01:47:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was like a couple of songs
on the Samplo tape for a second.
Speaker 1 (01:47:40):
So what what what will the rest of twenty eighteen
look like for you? And you're playing for twenty nineteen?
Speaker 8 (01:47:47):
Oh man, just yeah for all hey, yeah, you know,
just really trying to push you on what I'm doing
with this, introducing stokely just to my my journey, you know,
everything I've lurted up into now, Like I said, I
got a couple more gears. I want to talk about
different projects you know, uh that I got in my mind.
(01:48:10):
I would toast say it like a jazz project, something
like that, something African inspired inspired, more of this kind
of journey. More nati is you know pop, you know,
R and B, sensible, whatever you want to call it.
I don't want to get into the labels. And because
HARVERD comes out, man, but definitely more of this. I
think it's it's a lane that's missed. Like I said,
(01:48:30):
I I see it as a hybrid because I'm like
I feel like I'm I love analog and I love digital.
I love you know, uh technology, but I'm rooted in
you know, the past, So I think meshing both of
those worlds together, that's what pretty much uh introducing stokel.
I've got a lot of that energy in there, you know,
(01:48:51):
so definitely, I mean more touring and just kind of
creating awareness.
Speaker 3 (01:48:54):
So that just save a baritone joining for me, that's all.
Speaker 5 (01:48:58):
Yeah, and that too, Yeah, absolutely serious about that.
Speaker 1 (01:49:00):
We might be calling man, I know I spun that
playing your game baby thing already. Yeah, it works.
Speaker 2 (01:49:08):
You not to be the ask the female questions here,
but since it's not really asked too much, what's your situation?
Speaker 5 (01:49:14):
Situation?
Speaker 2 (01:49:15):
Yeah, like are you married? You got some babies?
Speaker 5 (01:49:17):
Oh, I take it off and play them.
Speaker 1 (01:49:29):
About carefully.
Speaker 5 (01:49:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:49:34):
Yeah, you know the question that I don't have to ask.
Is it a sister?
Speaker 5 (01:49:43):
Oh wow, yes, okay, I got some babies we need
to see from d C. The Howard baby, Yeah, I am.
Speaker 1 (01:49:59):
Shut it down. Wait, why are you vicarious celebrated?
Speaker 2 (01:50:03):
Not she's like a sister, She's from d C. And
she like y'all think I'm black, like she.
Speaker 3 (01:50:11):
Even matter yet?
Speaker 2 (01:50:12):
No, I don't need to meet her. He gave me
facts she's married.
Speaker 1 (01:50:18):
And she's from d C.
Speaker 2 (01:50:19):
We were raised and she's of a certain age. We
were raised. The march we made Martin King Holiday, we thought.
Speaker 3 (01:50:27):
Please just let people have their misagination in peace.
Speaker 8 (01:50:44):
Yes, and you're you're touring currently, Yes, yes, yes, doing
a lot of that weekends. You know, we can worrying
the chuf everything, the kids.
Speaker 1 (01:50:54):
Well, we thank you for coming on Request super Thank
you for having me.
Speaker 5 (01:51:00):
It's a great show.
Speaker 8 (01:51:01):
By the way, man, congrats you listen to It's great
to put the faces voices.
Speaker 3 (01:51:12):
Hopeful, go right in hope.
Speaker 1 (01:51:16):
Yeah for our listeners out there, both fante and and
stokely and yeah and sort of me were we're dealing
with domestic home situations with our countertops and bathrooms and
when it's time to pick up in.
Speaker 5 (01:51:34):
The middle of America and St.
Speaker 1 (01:51:35):
Paul, ladies and gentlemen, we thank you very much. There
is another episode of Quest Love Supreme on behalf of
the Team Supreme and it's like on the next round.
(01:51:56):
Quest Love Supreme is a production Heart Radio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
What up, y'all is Laiyah from teen Supreme? Okay, So
it's June, and you know in his Black Music Month. Now,
this month and its cause was started by my godmother,
Dianna Williams, the legendary Kenny Gamble, and the great and
right back in nineteen seventy nine after being invited to
the White House along with the Black Music Association. Now,
the Black Music Association was a group of black folks
(00:32):
that were the best of the best.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Of the music industry.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm talking record execs, I'm talking radio people, I'm talking artists.
I'm talking to everybody from Clarence Avon and Frankie Crocker
to Percy Sutton, everybody in the middle right. So they
all get invited to this big party on the White
House lawn June seventh, nineteen seventy nine. And before the
performances started, President Carter said many things addressing and reminding
(00:53):
people of the importance of Black Music Month, and one
of the things he said was end quote in many ways,
the feelings of our own black citizens throughout the history
of our country has been accurately expressed in the music,
and it presents a kind of history of our nation
when you go back and see the evolution of black
music word. So, we've spoken a lot about Black Music
(01:15):
Month on Questlove Supreme and this June we are running
a different episode from the QLs archives every single day
in the name, spirit and Cause of Black Music Month. Today,
we are re releasing an interview with one of my faves.
I'm talking about Stokely now known as Rick James. Do
(01:36):
your thing from men Condition. This is a dope interview, y'all.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Sun Supra le sub subra role called subprema so bree
my roll.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Something something sure, yeah, shank, Yeah, Now what coming man
would I be?
Speaker 5 (02:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
If I this on blank.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Roll hanging Wow, my name is Fante.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, y'all know how we go?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah, my favorite men in the lou Yeah, asturanto something
Supremo s.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Ro call. My name is Sugar. Yeah, No need to squint, Yeah,
because my condition.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
Yeah, I need a man.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Something roll.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Roll paid bill. Yeah, and I'm telling truth.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
When you model your bathroom? Yeah, No, news is good,
come Supremo.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Roll.
Speaker 6 (03:08):
I'm a little reluctant. Yeah, to make this confession. Yeah,
but make condition. Yeah, made a bad first impression. It's
all your now now.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It's like yeah and it's no surprise. Yeah my first
slow crime. Yeah it's pretty brown eyes.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Sup Come, my name is Stokely. Yeah, some might know me. Yeah,
I play a little bit of Yeah tat t.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
T ll come Supremo, Supreme roll.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Some up roll sire. This is gonna be a good episode. Lad,
welcome to Quest Team. Say hello, Hey, anyway, the god
(04:21):
Stokely is here with us. That'sition your musicians, musicians, musicians
favorite singer. I once watched D'Angelo almost get into a
argument for him, like for for him choosing Stokely as
(04:44):
one of his favorite singers. Like it was one of
those minds where like usually any arguments had to near
pugilistic levels. Is always over like songs or albums or
this album is better than Puturely. But yeah, it's that's
That's what I knew when when he went that hard
(05:05):
for that argument.
Speaker 7 (05:05):
Then I was like, all right, let me, well, I
think Stokely is definitely worth throwing hands over.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, you were lazy gentlemen worth throwing hands over.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Yeah, thank you, Now.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Hit me Bill.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
All right.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
So, so I was watching video solo one day and DONNYE.
Simpson is hyping up this new group straight out of Minneapolis.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
How were you at the time?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Twelve?
Speaker 6 (05:30):
Yeah, that was So he's about to throw this video.
He's like, yeah, they sign of Jimmy Dame Terry Lewis's label.
I'm all hyped up because you already said Minneapolis Jimmy
jam Terry Lewis.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
So I'm on board. So the video for are You
Free comes on and I did not like that song.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
I didn't like the video, but then pretty Brown Eyes
came out then forev Your.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Eyes, and I realized that, so it's all good.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, that first single like was not it was. I mean,
I liked are You Free? But it definitely didn't.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
But we still ain't Free.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah. When's the last time I did that in concert?
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Man?
Speaker 8 (06:03):
We did the Disneyland grad Nights and probably ninety two.
We've remixed it, Like I'm saying, it would like, you know,
if I would like glass or something like that, we
just can't let's play, you know, it just kind of
a different yeah, you know, but yeah, well, thank you
for coming.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
On the show, Thanks for having man, I know, that
at least Fire Burges is losing her mind right now.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Man, I told her fire.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Shout out the Fire.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yeah you know, yes, yes, she took me to my
first Man Condition concert.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Wait what okay?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Oh wait, I'm years old? Like this is like look
at album.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Okay, shut out the fire.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yes, I want new bad I get it, I get it.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I said, sorry, but y'all y'all good, y'are good? Yeah, yeah,
you know so you okay, I don't want to see
the city, but I'm saying so can B two in
ninety nine? Were you born in Saint Paul?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Yes, from downtown.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So yeah, my you know often uh, the I guess
the death of the Black Band is something that I
was hearing of a lot, especially. I mean, I guess
at least between both of our groups were coming out
in like the three year range. That's one thing I've
(07:31):
always heard from journalists and never thought about. But even more,
I mean, us being a hip hop was not like
a saving grace, but you know that was our marketing,
you know. But you guys were basically the last literally
the last of the of the caboose, So you know, one,
(07:53):
why even develop a band knowing well, knowing it that
it was in endangered species.
Speaker 8 (08:02):
Well, we didn't know, I mean things, we were just
doing what was in front of us. Of course, you know,
Brother Prince and all the groups said at that time
that were coming out and everybody was flocking to Minneapolis,
and we were first getting our deal. We went out
to la and they were like, why you guys here,
It's like everything's happening back in Many. So we we
were just developing and doing what we did, playing at
you know, virginal music, and it just so happened, you know,
(08:25):
called the attention to Jam and Lewis, And at that time,
you know, bands were on their way out, you know,
so vocal artists were in you know, Joe to cy
Boys and men. That kind of thing was so you know,
but I think Jam and Lewis they kind of knew,
you know, them coming from a band, if they understood
what we're trying to do, so it probably wouldn't have happened.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
Otherwise we would have, you know, would have fell on
deaf ears and all that.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
So, so, what what's your childhood h like during this pero?
You born in like six sixties, right, six seven? Yeah, and.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
So yeah, Saint Paul Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
I grew up.
Speaker 8 (09:05):
Doing a lot of uh, playing percussion, you know, drums,
that kind of thing. So my background was more like
African drumming, dance, that kind of thing. So I was
there was three groups that I was that was instrumental
and in my early development. There and I was a
group called Black Arts Midwest and that was kind of
a I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
There was a group before that.
Speaker 8 (09:25):
I had my first gig when I was like four,
and you know, I was standing up on you know,
this chair playing congress with this group called Admonden Game.
My dad was a friend of his and he was
from Panama, Okay, and so he took me with him.
My dad didn't know whether it's yea, it sounds good
than me, but I don't know, you know what, you know,
if it sounds drummer's dad, you know, so took me
(09:49):
with him, you know, so he's got good hands kind
of things.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
So did that.
Speaker 8 (09:53):
There was another African dance group where just we did
like African chants and you know, this was time where
you had a lot of poetry and stuff going on
and we were celebrating quants and back then, you know,
before it was way popular, you know, yeah, yeah, we
had a little you know about ron k Ring and
that whole thing.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
And so being as though you're the first generation exer
from the Twin Cities that we've interviewed from the Twin Cities,
everyone else being baby boomers, a lot of their experiences
was there was truly no black experience, no black radio,
(10:33):
no vibe, no African culture, that sort of thing. So,
at what point is there black identity in the in
the Twin Cities. It was just small and who developed it?
Speaker 8 (10:46):
It was a small community. And mind you, I didn't
know any different. I grew up a little different. It's
because and I thought everybody was having the same experiences.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
Yeah, so I was.
Speaker 8 (10:58):
I didn't know O for a long time. I was
a halfway homeschool, you know, So I go to school,
but then like on the weekends, and you know, my
dad were that he's both of my parents educators.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
Most uh English and every grade, uh specially at all
that stuff.
Speaker 8 (11:13):
And my father's a professor of African studies, African American studies.
And so I did that for like thirty thirty five years.
Place called my Council College in the same po And what.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Were their lessons like were they filling into gaps.
Speaker 8 (11:27):
Filing to get what treats me about you know, about
African history, but like you're gonna learn about the horn
today to the left side of Africa here and you know,
just all that, you know, it was just really that's
where I you know, it was like I thought everybody
knew that, you know, so so I started getting teased.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
You learned about Africa.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
You know, African modis Africa.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
That's it means for a fight, Yeah.
Speaker 8 (11:51):
Exactly what. Yeah, But it wasn't so much that I
got mad. It was like I was just confused on Wow.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Why is that like a thing?
Speaker 7 (11:59):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
But where were your parents born?
Speaker 5 (12:02):
My dad's from Savannah, my mom's from Fort Dodge, Iva.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (12:06):
The met that Wilberforce in Ohio College there, okay, and
came up to make a better way in Saint Paul,
you know. I mean there's a lot of opportunity up
in there. So but so it was you know, a
small community of black folks up there, and you know
that's kind of that was my uh tribe, you say, so,
I mean that was my my even still to this day,
(12:29):
and my extended family. These are people who watched me
when my parents couldn't you know, if I was on
the street trying.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
To do you know, village.
Speaker 8 (12:37):
Yeah, yeah, that kind of Yeah, no matter how they
rape your parents, it's like this, The streets is strong man,
The streets is you know what I mean. It's we
were talking about that earlier. So, I mean, you need
a lot of people around you. So a lot of
folks who knew my my family, my palms were like,
oh nah, I ain't messing with that.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
You do what you're supposed to do, man, you know,
and kind of keep me away from So was.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
It gang culture in the MIDI?
Speaker 8 (13:00):
You know, I had the whole pimp thing and you know,
drugs and that, that whole thing you know in my
house was right, it's one of those spaces where you
go two blocks up, you know, you could get into something.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So they knew to leave mister Williams kid alone.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And something like that.
Speaker 8 (13:14):
Yeah, yeah, it was a kind of vibe. So, but
it was a small community of you know, African Americans.
They're really into the culture. And this is too when
you know, everything was everybody's trying to find the identity,
so you know, father his name, and my mother and
all that kind of thing, just trying to feel closer
to the culture, that kind of thing. So that was
(13:35):
my that was surrounded by that. And then I would
go out into the world and you know, you turn
on the radio and you hear all these you know,
different things. I'm in the Midwest, and then it was
fly over country, right, So.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
That's what it was.
Speaker 8 (13:46):
So I'm hearing all this uh pop radio. You know,
you know Crosby Steels and Nash and you know everything
about Dylan, you know, you know all that.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So can I can I assume that your your name
came from Stokely Carmengle. That's why they Stokely Mandela, So
he wanted yeah. Now yeah, So were any of your
(14:18):
parents musicians?
Speaker 8 (14:19):
Like how did play nothing but the radio? You know,
my mom like to dance and sing every probably getting
my energy from both of them. They love music, you know.
You know Dad loved to play me big jazz heads.
So you know, if he wasn't listening to Malcolm X
or you know, Martin Luther King records, you know, he'd
have some Richard Prior records too, just a little bit
(14:41):
of everything jazz records.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
So you were playing like the speech records.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Oh, yeah, I'd be hearing him in the house that
come in. It's like playing that thing, you know, and.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Damn so y'all could have been a tripal quest like.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Exclan that sort of thing, glorious.
Speaker 8 (14:57):
Do you have siblings, Yeah, older brother, youngest sister. Yeah,
and yeah, so that was uh, he was playing a
lot of stuff in the house.
Speaker 5 (15:06):
It was. It was a musical house. There was always
music going all the time.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Do your siblings pay play anything or no?
Speaker 5 (15:13):
My sister played flute. She tried singing in church.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
But yeah, it was were you always like when did
you first start singing? You know?
Speaker 8 (15:25):
It was one of those things where singing happened for me. Yeah,
drums was first, yeah, so, but then the singing thing.
I would always you know, you know, any kid as
a family, you put on your little plays for your
family and that kind of thing. So I was into
mocking any and everything, you know, anything I would hear,
you know, my parents, you know, Uncle jam is out
(15:47):
here coming in with his you know, a little flask
you know, and so be the same with music. But
the time I heard al Green, That's did it for me.
It was like fifteen people in one I was like,
I mean, all these different voices, I'm like.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Wow, who was this dude?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
So you took on his his inflections all.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Yeah, it was just amazing to hear that.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
So even as a youngster.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
Yeah, but I didn't know what I was doing. I
just like doing it.
Speaker 8 (16:17):
I just thought it was fun and you know, but
singing was one of those things. Actually when I got
to high school, basically we had kind of like a
uh it was a performing arts school and it was
called a Magnet Arts program. But we had like, uh,
we had there was a recording studio there. I Sweller
and steel Pain had an acting class in there and
(16:41):
different things like that, so I was involved in that.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
But taking the recording class, I was. There was two classes.
Speaker 8 (16:50):
One where they paired you with other musicians and be like, okay,
you play funk and you're gonna we're gonna pair you
with somebody plays rock and roll something like that, so
just to get it. Yeah, yeah, you know that whole thing.
And then there was the technical aspect where you actually
learn how to record. I wanted to take that class
so I can learn how to press nop and learn
the technical aspect so I could do my own stuff.
(17:10):
And so when I did that. It was a little task,
you know, forty four whatever. It was four track and
a little eight O eight and a little uh j
X three P. And I go in there and make
up little songs. And at this time and here all
the Prince inspired stuff, and so I wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Uh, just go for you. It was like eighty two
eighty three, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And so.
Speaker 8 (17:32):
I'll go and make these little songs up. And I
was shy of saying I wouldn't wouldn't want anybody to
hear me. So I was singing in my false subtle
Prince esque kind of you know. And the door was
right there, so anytime i'd be like stop stop everything.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Called yeah video door look out.
Speaker 8 (17:59):
In that, you know, and I would play them at
the person who really heard the stuff. I would play
for Homer Rodell, the guitar player for men. Oh, people like, man,
it sounds really good, you know, just the way you're
putting the songs to get the arrangements and stuff, you know,
and it'd be like ten minutes long, of course, you know.
But I think that's what helped me to develop just here,
(18:20):
because I felt like I was meeting.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Myself for the first time. You know, stacking vocals and
that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Now, before the Orange Slaughter of the first wave of
Black Minneapolis, say seventy eight to eighty four, was there
any presence of any of those guys in your life
pre then? Like was Grand Central playing like the local
(18:45):
church down the block? And okay, did you know any
of the All Stars of Minnesota? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (18:51):
Now, so there was some stuff told me because I'd
forgotten it and I was younger, and there are a
lot of people who filled in the blanks for me
because I was so young. The second group was called
Black Arts Midwest Trummers. It was like, like I said,
we did African Chance and that kind of thing. And
so I remember there was this place in Minneapolis, I
think it was Sabbathany and they used to throw like
(19:13):
local dances and things like that. And I remember we
were either on before Grand Central, either opening or we
were rehearsing there and they were getting ready to play.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
Either way.
Speaker 8 (19:27):
And this was told to me not too long ago actually,
and by a couple of people. So I was like
the first one I didn't believe. I was like, all right, okay,
but I do remember a couple of things. One was
I remember Prince was there.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
It was a group.
Speaker 8 (19:39):
I remember just Afro happening and so and I remember
somebody screaming out, you know, I was playing Congress and
you know, a couple of people filled in that story.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
It was like it was Prince saying, oh little brother
God play.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I was like, oh wow, wow.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
Really, so that's funny.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
How old were you at the time.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
I was about nine nine ten? Yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
The Minnesota music scene, I know that it's it's you know,
it's heavily populated. So I mean in high school, were
any of like the Peterson family clan or like, was
anyone uh in high school at the time when you
were in school?
Speaker 5 (20:24):
I didn't.
Speaker 8 (20:25):
I wasn't aware the Peterson's in only when I got older,
but I'm sure they were around, you know, doing the
thing developing too.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
So I didn't know.
Speaker 8 (20:34):
A lot of people. I just knew my own little circle.
And then the people that were local, like Grand Central
and Enterprise and you know, Mike Brown's man and you know.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
So did any of their albums make an impression on
you at the time, Like, yeah, when you saw the time,
was it like yeah, we got it?
Speaker 8 (20:51):
I Mean that's been how Purple Ranglent. It was pretty
much like that becausehen we were coming through even with Mint,
we would have you know, it was kind of like
the competition.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You know.
Speaker 8 (20:59):
It was a good I think it was called Peach
Tree And there's a bunch of different bands around that time.
And I remember we would always borrow equipment and we
had this one show. It was always a futures one show.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
In particular.
Speaker 8 (21:11):
I remember we had like like some real Barron equipment,
like each Jeff had one keyboards, Bard, Larry had one keyboards,
Barn and yeah, it was it's They would be like,
oh man, what what's your Midian? This was like when
MIDI was like a big you know it's coming out,
so it's been out a few years, but.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
But y'all stacking up on it.
Speaker 8 (21:30):
No, we only got this one keyboard, Like, uh, okay,
you don't really give up your secret nothing like, No,
we only got one keyboard.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
That's all we got.
Speaker 8 (21:39):
Now what we did do was going in, you know
and just work it as best we can. We would
know every looking cranny about that keyboard or whatever. You know,
that's all we had. But they thought we was just
you know, but it was really what were y'all using
like Oberheim's or we had a it was a rolling
Juno one was one of them.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
June. Yeah, still use that, you know, absolutely, and uh
it was X three P and a D X seven Yeah,
what was it?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Cheesy DX seven?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (22:06):
You know what with that Seinfield bass.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Face?
Speaker 5 (22:11):
He was that on so much.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, So how did the other guys enter your life?
Were you all in high school together?
Speaker 5 (22:17):
High school?
Speaker 8 (22:17):
So yeah, Saint Paul Central was a high school there,
and we all went there at different times. Larry's first
to come out, and then it was me and O'Dell
and then Jeff and then Carrie Rick came up. He's
from Chicago bass player, and he came up about was
it nineteen eighty three or something like that, but we
(22:42):
didn't I didn't meet him till like eighty six, eighty
six something, you know, I think about eighty six, and
you've seen him in bands. We had all this little
leather pants and you know, leopard and whatnot. Teacher look, yeah, yeah,
you know, okay.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So Masariety once told the story of how, like, you know,
how competition was was just Steve amongst black bands back then,
who was going to out do each other? Or out
shock somebody or whatever. But I mean, was that almost
expected at the time, because I would assume that, you know,
nineteen twenty whatever. I mean, it was eighty seven, so
(23:23):
Prince was really Prince by the Yeah, so was there
a need to feel like, Okay, we have to follow that,
like what Jesse Johnson and those guys look like, and
would Masariety and those guys look like.
Speaker 8 (23:33):
And I think the whole country at that point was
just like, you know, that was the phase. You just
had to make an impression, make an impact, and that
was that. But you know, also not only that, we
were just trying to be really heavy on the music
and have substance at the same time. You know, you know,
we were a group that we didn't really do covers,
so our shows were limited to certain you know, like
(23:55):
events we didn't really do.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
How long were your shows if you didn't do covers.
Speaker 8 (23:59):
Damn, we probably only doing thirty minutes. We were doing showcases, well,
unless we were doing less somebody with you know, somebody's mom,
so well we can play down after such and such.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
You know, they minutes y'all own material.
Speaker 8 (24:09):
It was not you know, we weren't interested in anything else.
It was you know, that's rare, but yeah, I know
because I noticed that. Yeah, and we would try to
do you know, had segues and everything, and I was like,
you know, let's do it, like you know, JB or.
We would see all the groups that were there at
that time. It was like that they would play you know,
original music. It's like why yeah, why not? And then
(24:31):
you know, so, I mean it was like the nerve
they to who are these dudes, the nerve of you
to you know, be trying to hit segues and but
you know it worked because we had We would do
these showcases and that's how it got discovered.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
You know, when we were at.
Speaker 8 (24:45):
First Avenue, we invited Jam and Lewis. I think at
the time there was a rep from m c A there,
Prince had Levi come down. He said I'd rather see
them than hear them, and so he sent him down.
He's a videotape and so he did. And then after
(25:05):
that show, I think it was just Jam and Lewis
would always say, man, we just you know, signed you
off for your live performance. You know, that was the strongest.
That's what we really really worked on. We had demos
and everything, so it does as well. But that's the
thing that really did it.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
What was the practice regiment?
Speaker 5 (25:22):
Like we got it in it was like, you know,
after school, it'd be pretty much all day.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
And at that time, I was where would you practice?
Speaker 8 (25:30):
Like, yeah, it was like warehouses, you know, all those
warehouses you see in purple and stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (25:36):
Yeah, exactly that how.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
You balancing the studying on the weekends and school.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
Well let's see, so your parents.
Speaker 8 (25:45):
Okay, let me back up. So a lot every group
I've ever been in is like been at my parents'
house in the basement.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
There's a lot of group. So that was first.
Speaker 8 (25:54):
So after I actually after I graduated, then we started
I was working jobs, odd jobs, that kind of thing.
Then we did the warehouse thing and it got more
serious there, and then from there, if we weren't working,
we was like be like all weekend, be like twelve
hours if you get in there.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
And just hit it.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
And your parents were supportive because I don't know if
that's what.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
They saw for you.
Speaker 8 (26:13):
Yeah, well they wanted they wanted school, of course. You know,
Like I decided that I don't know, there's something, there's
something in me. I just I'm gonna take a break
on that, you know, and I just felt something and
you know that was always like, man, my worst nightmares
like you being in around fifty dollars, you know, a
night making musician.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
You know, it's like, no, I don't see that, you know.
Speaker 8 (26:36):
So I just kind of went from I just said,
I'm gonna try as hard as I can to really
do what I can do, you know. So you know,
I think the practice thing, that's why we just kind
of work so hard, you know, And a lot of
us do that have that drive whatever it is that
drives us. You know, I know you always here work hard,
just trying to get our ten thousand hours plus in,
you know, right.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
You know, So how did you get over your shyness
into really developing your voice?
Speaker 5 (27:00):
Is?
Speaker 1 (27:01):
I mean, I know everyone's like, oh, yeah, that's my
natural voice, but do you have a fucking spot on
skill dass voice? So how do you? You had to
do some you had to get out of that shine
it's eventually.
Speaker 8 (27:17):
I think part of it was theater. There's a small
theater company. We're not so small. There's a small big
coming up a number. I was in a production there,
and I think that experience opened me up to go
to open me up, you know, just kind of not
to get beyond that, you know. I think also performing
too is one thing because there's a lot of shine
musicians and you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You there's one thing you didn't mention. Did you not
have a church experience at all? Yeah, because most black
musicians have to.
Speaker 8 (27:46):
I didn't sing in church pay okay, like the midnight
musicals and stuff. So I was always Now, church definitely
has a big effect because I just knew every time
I went there, I felt like crying, you.
Speaker 5 (27:59):
Know, brings all that emotion. I was like, why am
I crying? But it was always crying in church. That's
what it is.
Speaker 8 (28:07):
Spiritual is something gets in you and I just all
the the bending of the notes and all that kind
of thing, and you know, just it's just an amazing experience.
So I was playing percussion, you know, some drums and
but just really listening and taking it all in, I think.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
But I didn't sing in any choir.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
When did you get your first drum set? Was it
a Christmas experience?
Speaker 5 (28:30):
Like how Sears and Roebuck.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
And uh it was.
Speaker 5 (28:37):
I was nine and I heard them stumbling. I was
sleep trying to my dad and my brother try to
set it up, trying and I heard I'm like, this
might be it, you know, I heard them.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
So you don't have to interview me because this month drumming.
Their first drum.
Speaker 8 (28:56):
Set you mad, like everything, I can't sparkle, but they
had some of the wrong pieces so they had to
take it back and silver sparkles, so I still got yeah,
you still I.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Still got yeah. Yeah, Yeah, it's that feeling, man.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
I know, you'll never there's never a feeling of coming
downstairs Christmas morning seeing your brand new drums.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
Yeah, that's everything.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Yours came from Serious and Rob Mine. Mine came from
my dad's drummer's bad drug Habiteah, it's yours now. Who
(29:41):
were your drumming idols.
Speaker 8 (29:42):
At the time, uh An art Laking, Max Roach, So
you were in the jazz drumming Yeah, absolutely, yeah, those
two were for it, you know, just because at the
time I had a couple of I was both formally
and informally taught, so a lot of ear training, but
(30:02):
I had some you know, piano, little piano and uh
drum training and they were like, look, man, if you
can hit jazz, you got everything you learn how to
read a little bit. But really, if you've got all
those skills of four wad coordination, all those books, you know,
stick control, you know all that stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Stick control. I still have those books. Yeah. So if
you when you were young, are you imagining yourself as
more like, were you trying to pursue jazz or his
R and B looked down upon? Because I know a
lot of serious jazz musicians that, like, you know, every
(30:40):
jazz musician looks down on pop music.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Yeah, you know I was.
Speaker 8 (30:44):
I think I was right in between it. I could,
I could at the time. I could definitely respect you know,
whole pop music. I liked a lot of it, you
know what I mean, So I can see where all
that stuff fit in. There's a lot of fusion stuff
that I started listening to us like, man, this is
you know, I've turned it forever and all that stuff.
(31:05):
I was like, all that stuff was in there. I
was like, wow, this is crazy, you know they're actually
fitting it in there. But yeah, so I liked it,
you know, I was just kind of I felt like it,
I feel like a hybrid.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Who will put you on to that stuff? Though? Like
was it an older cousin or.
Speaker 8 (31:21):
That like just people around you know, you know, because
I was always the youngest musician in any group I
was playing in, and you know, it's like, you know,
it's returned to forever. It is a you know, Mike
Stern or whatever. As a you know, it was just
people put me on you know, certain things like that you.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Study it and yeah, you know, I mean yeah, so, uh,
what year is it around the time you guys were
serious about pursuing a record deal like a demo or
it was signing to Paisley Park or whatever, like.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Eighty eight eighty nine is what happened?
Speaker 8 (31:54):
Was you know, after high school, I was like, okay,
I m work and I'm going, you know, try to
do this thing as hard as I came at the time. Uh.
It was probably one time where I was in I
don't know, like twelve bands one time. It's just so
we just working gig in you know.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
You know.
Speaker 8 (32:12):
Michael Bland was actually he was actually in met He's
on the first draft of the contract. Michael Bland drummer,
used to play with Prince. He It was right at
the time Prince was was breaking and we were right
at the time we were about to sign, you know,
so he obviously would Prince and that kind of thing.
But between me and Mike, we had like it seemed
(32:34):
like we had all the gigs in time. We was like, man,
we just need to call ourself the drum hos. How
did we go?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Because I know that a lot of the initial MPG
musicians were local Minneapolis, like the coach what was Yeah,
So I mean, could there have been a chance that
you could have had that gig or like a word
of audition?
Speaker 5 (33:01):
Probably he would just go down there in Jam and
you know, and it'd be killing it, you know.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Of course, So what's the nightclub that the central nightclub
that all the bad musicians would be?
Speaker 5 (33:13):
That was it Bunkers? Yep, that was it at the time.
Everybody would go down there.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
They'd hit their seventies and eighties reviewed kind of thing,
and everybody would come down, you know, and they would,
you know, after their gig whatever they're playing, you know,
whether it be Excel Center or you know, Target Center,
they'd come down.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
You know, they would stay over later than normal.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
Yeah, like one sometimes I think it'd be two o'clock
at at some point. But yeah, it would come down
there in Jam. But he found out about it and
it's like this group down there and Margaret Cox and
all these great you know people from Twin Cities.
Speaker 5 (33:45):
Amazing, amazing.
Speaker 8 (33:47):
So yeah, he just kind of come down there and
you know jam and of course he'll be packed within
ten minutes of people knowing.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
That he's there.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
Yeah, that whole thing.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
So it wasn't like he was trying to well that
he could blend it with I mean people, he.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
Was still friends, like yeah, I mean, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 8 (34:04):
I mean if the people knew who he was, it's like,
I think you'd like coming there too, just because he'd
have a little corner. Nobody really bother them. They would
want to, but they can't get them. You know, they're
not say anything. Somebody might say something crazy and he'd
be like.
Speaker 7 (34:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
What keeps when? Okay? So I know that in most
cases that I've seen, I can tell when musicians are
showing off when someone else is there like, okay, this
might be my my big chance to flex and what
what keeps? I would imagine in that environment if he's
(34:43):
there a lot that everyone's just trying to go for
broken and show with chops they have and forget that
you're a unit and.
Speaker 8 (34:52):
Right it depends people who don't know how to be cohesive.
When you got those people in this like of course
he's next, you know, and then you have people like look,
stay in the fold, stay in.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
Your lane, and make all this shit sound good. You
know what I mean.
Speaker 8 (35:09):
That's that's everything you know when you're playing with it ensomer.
So some people would be aware of that, and other
musicians would be like, you know, and just go for it.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
And then you know, he would be like.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Because there's a jam session here in a village underground
village ground Actually yeah, I mean like Princeton. Larry would
go there a lot, and it's almost like the same thing.
It's like these mode of musicians that were like just
everybody's over playing, like from one one hundred, they're all
(35:42):
on five hundred. And that used to always just turn
me off about jam sessions because it's like they're not
you know, jamming with each other. They're trying to like
make an impression on whoever the celebrity is like in
the audience. So yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 8 (35:56):
Yeah, he was more about you know, staying in pocket,
you know, and that kind of thing he would want
to say about keyboard players, like I'm more interested in
their timing, you know, and probably passing cords and that
kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
So so how many labels uh offered you guys deals
before you chose a perspective?
Speaker 8 (36:20):
Maybe three or four I think MC it was in there.
Of course a M was in there, might have been
some silly offered Columbia.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
And you guys were always be in conditioned.
Speaker 8 (36:36):
Okay, yeah, yeah, we uh as I was saying before,
so after I'd say about we formed in nineteen eighty
six and yeah that was that was had the first
anybody's been to the Mall of America yea America lost.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Uh.
Speaker 8 (36:55):
There was a place called the Carlton's Celebrity Room there
and they used to have this thing called Black Arts,
the Black Minnesota Black Music Wars, and it's kind of
Pete and Kim Roha to run it, and they would
have that would be the spot you have the Minnesota
Music Awards, more of the pop stuff, but then you'd
have Black Music warges and the Jesse Mobs variety everybody,
all the.
Speaker 5 (37:15):
Acts and everything.
Speaker 8 (37:16):
So that's where we first kind of uh cut our
teeth right there, and that's right. Carton Selebrity Room was
right where the Marlve America is now and so that's
that's where it happened.
Speaker 5 (37:27):
Nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 8 (37:28):
We had these crazy ass outfits on with one leg
mashed out and leather where backwards turned to the audience
is when the curtain came up, like what yeah, we
turned around. It was just yeah great, we had fringes
flying and yeah, we didn't wear no draws and it
was just crazy.
Speaker 5 (37:45):
Like we look back it now, like, what do you.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Guys have a recording of the stuff that you guys
did back then? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (37:51):
Yeah it looks would cal.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Oh yeah, some of it's in the the unsung some of.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
It yeah, yeah it is yeah, yeah it is yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Curious yeah, because how much time in between eighty six
and the song that Bill hates five years?
Speaker 5 (38:04):
Five years? Yeah, and then from there, I guess what happened.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
Was why do you have to say it like that?
Speaker 2 (38:09):
I just needed a reference.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
From there.
Speaker 8 (38:14):
So from eighty six, you know, I was still playing
around the drums and everything, and I got offered this
sum this guy named George Pettis.
Speaker 5 (38:20):
It was he was doing this choice much.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Yeah this is yeah, okay, wait he's from Minnesota.
Speaker 8 (38:28):
No, but he moved there again. Everybody was flocking trying
to you know, and he had to deal with m
c A. And he was gone on tour opening for
Whitney and uh opportunity to go out with him and
we were That's how I met her in Europe for
like three months.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
This was like eighty seven eighty.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Eight, her second moment for the for the second album.
Speaker 8 (38:54):
Then it was the second I believe its second, Yeah,
and so I kind of had to put the mint
thing on on the whole.
Speaker 5 (39:00):
That's what we whenever we're doing.
Speaker 8 (39:02):
And but that was a great experience because you know,
all those people I met and I just kind of
got to see it, you know, up close for about
three something months, you know, over in Europe doing that
and came back and you know, we.
Speaker 5 (39:15):
Just started grinding.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Man.
Speaker 7 (39:17):
Yeah, what was it that made y'all sign the Perspective
rather than the other labels that was out on the
yoab'll were the first act on the label?
Speaker 1 (39:27):
Correct?
Speaker 8 (39:27):
No, some blacks are are Loky, you're the one, yeah,
are Lucky also from the Twin City. They're from Kansas City, Okay,
but they moved up again. Everybody's moving up there and
we used to have same rehearsal spot that was like
what that?
Speaker 2 (39:44):
What was their hit?
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (39:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, Sorry.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Stokes.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
I just wanted to ask you have you had your
Your journey is kind of parallel in some ways with
Sheila Ease, So I was just curious if you guys
have ever talked about that, especially in the drummers since
turned into the artists and the African roots and whatnot,
we haven't talking.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
Much about me played together a little bit.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
You know, she's African, know, but.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
Her African most Latin.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Started you want to East eastaff.
Speaker 7 (40:51):
Yes, I do as y'alluys, y'all signed perspective.
Speaker 5 (41:01):
Yeah, it was because of jam and Lewis.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
You know that.
Speaker 8 (41:04):
I think we felt some kinship just because of them
being from the time and you know, after the first
Avenue showcase, I remember walking to my car and I've
seen both of them.
Speaker 5 (41:15):
It's like, ain't so great job, man, we'll talk.
Speaker 8 (41:18):
At that time, I had seen enough and you know,
artists around town they were like, you know, we're gonna
do this and nothing happened.
Speaker 5 (41:26):
So I was kind of like grain of salt. If
it happens, great, I was like, yeah, great, sounds great.
Speaker 8 (41:30):
Thanks man for coming really showing, you know, because I
definitely appreciated it came out. So that was a big deal,
but I didn't really know if anything.
Speaker 5 (41:38):
Was really gonna happen. You know, this is Jam and Lewis,
you know, Jackson, all these people.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
You know.
Speaker 8 (41:43):
So two weeks later, we were sitting up in the
flight Time office, you know, They're like, what do you
all want to do. We're like, we want to make
a record, but we want to produce our own ship,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, I was gonna say, but they were so red
hot at the moment.
Speaker 8 (41:57):
Yeah, and they're like, well you can. We said we
wanted to do at least half the album. He was like,
well y'all can do the whole thing. We were like okay, okay, wow.
Speaker 5 (42:08):
So I mean that was you know, I don't think
we would have gotten that, you know, any other label,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Yes, Like yeah, and then if they would have douced,
y'all would have just sounded just like an R and B.
Speaker 5 (42:20):
Yeah yeah right basically. Yeah, So yeah, that was that's
pretty nice. Yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 7 (42:29):
When y'all went into recording the first record, because we
talked about are you free?
Speaker 3 (42:38):
I like, you, I like, are you free? I just
didn't forget it. It was just one of those records.
It came out, and then it was then when I heard,
you know, the ballance stuff on the record. Why did
they come with that first? What was the what was
the thought?
Speaker 5 (42:57):
I guess here's the thing about you know, it just
happened like this.
Speaker 8 (43:01):
We weren't really uh we became I guess, really good
at doing ballads after we came out, but we didn't.
All this stuff was all up temple. We like to
dance and you know, all that kind of stuff, and
you know, I used to be boying ourselves that. I
was always energetic. So I was like, I was like,
why are we going slow like that?
Speaker 5 (43:21):
What?
Speaker 1 (43:21):
You know, I was gonna say, for a band with
such skilled musicianship or whatever, it was it frustrating that
the songs that were really hitting bullseye with with the
audience were the slow songs where you guys really couldn't it's.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Flex that much on the fast joints.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
Yeah, I mean it was.
Speaker 8 (43:38):
It was at first it was like, man, this is
you know, we didn't really understand why we couldn't. We
just learned in the industry. It was like and say, look, man,
you better take you know, if it's hidden, you got
to flow with it, you know. But we hadn't learned
that a little bit later, so that's find a live show,
you said, Okay, we just still we do. But yeah,
it was a little a little frustrating at first because
it's like we tried, you know, people would want to
(43:59):
hear what they want to hear year yeah, and be like, man,
we can't even you know, we can't get what we
want to do. So it was kind of it was
a little weird at first. We had to learn where
how to fit inside of that.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
You know, how did you guys learn to like agree?
Like was there like a mint like voting system on
all things?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Like how did y'all what six people? Is anything? Ever? Democratic? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (44:23):
Like like from songs to like like I don't it's yeah,
it's it's democratic. Is yeah, definitely democratic? And that's that
can be frustrating too, you know, Yeah, being as.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Though I used to have a relationship with them, I'm
just saying, like, what is I mean? I can safely
say that even in the root situation, it's like there's one, three, four, right,
that seems really good I'm no, really, I've forgotten toak. Damn.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
That's bad.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
No, you know what, because to just get the final say,
he gets a final say in the way that I don't.
His final say is I can't write to about to say.
He can't If he can't write to this, you know,
it doesn't make sense. Only my only power is like, well,
I can't come in the studio, so I'm working on
this project. So but I'm just saying that there's clicks
(45:21):
and so is it.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
But yours is a more uneven balanced than Stokelydell, Like.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
What's the.
Speaker 3 (45:30):
Balance of power?
Speaker 1 (45:32):
What's slithering Griffin?
Speaker 2 (45:34):
Did y'all have us because you know the roots? Do
they have different buses?
Speaker 5 (45:37):
Slythering?
Speaker 3 (45:38):
No, I'm on the same bus, and you'll stay together
this whole time.
Speaker 5 (45:43):
Yeah, we've we've had some healthy debates.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yeah, yo, you got ship.
Speaker 5 (45:52):
Yeah, I mean we used to go.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Oh yeah, I know, I know what For those who
didn't see that, Yeah, there was some in the beginning,
Like in the beginning, how do you But you've known
each other since high school, so you should already know
the personalities. You know who's going to be on CP time,
(46:16):
you know whose girls saying that you should be rude
and you know, fighting over this girl and that girl.
Why are you cock blocking? Whatever? Like how do you.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
Who are you?
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Are you guys friends? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (46:30):
I mean I'm I'm I'm kind of like the cleanup
clean up guy, utility a little bit whatever the holes
need feeling, you know, Yeah, which is great for me
because it's it's been like a university truth for me.
I mean, it's just, you know, I think I can
write in the spirit of everybody, because you know, everybody's
(46:54):
a writer and producer and their own right. So a
lot of these songs, they were like, Okay, we're going
to produce a vocal this way.
Speaker 5 (47:04):
So I've been that vessel for them, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 8 (47:07):
And so I feel like that's an added advantage I have,
so I can, you know, kind of whatever they were thinking,
I want this. It's not something I would do, you know,
but I was like, okay, wow. So I had to
learn that and be patient and so the other patients
for me had to come in kick in hard.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
But so what's the division of labor amongst the band members?
His glass rehearsals. Who organizes?
Speaker 8 (47:32):
I would say that everybody comes with grooves first of all,
like oh Dell, he's like the top of the funk master,
you know, p funk rock and roll.
Speaker 5 (47:43):
Rick is like the.
Speaker 8 (47:47):
Kind of saying funk rock and roll with really good
rock and roll edge. It writes from a lot of
narrative standpoint, you know, stuff that happens to him, that
kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (47:57):
Larry's more related, you know.
Speaker 8 (48:01):
His thing is he's perfectionist, incredible keyboard player, and great songwriter.
So he's kind of all over in that area. Jeff
is kind of like he's got a lot of bridge
It's really interesting chor changes and things like that.
Speaker 5 (48:19):
It's interesting thoughts, you know. As far as songwriting as well.
I'm kind of like I like to arrange beats.
Speaker 8 (48:28):
Is my funny thing is like my I love like
rhythm beats, you know, say like that's just first before
the singing.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
And all that.
Speaker 8 (48:36):
So it's I'm just kind of like, you know, whatever
holes need feeling, you know. That's that's way I can
explain it, I guess.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
And how do you know when a song is done
and going to make it to the album, are you
guys A let's do thirty songs and have a vote
on the best yeah, and then how do you campaign
your song that's with the problem? Yeah? Yeah, okay, so
what's it?
Speaker 3 (49:03):
Unpopular?
Speaker 8 (49:04):
Some stuff is just unanimous. You're like, okay, this is
definitely gonna you got some stuff that because it's like, okay,
we got to let other people besides us listen the
feel and so that's good and bad sometimes because then
you know, depending on who who's people you know see
But isn't it.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
Good to have a producer for that because I see
a producer more as a referee.
Speaker 8 (49:27):
Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Yeah and mhm for that reason, Yeah,
definitely would it would be good. But we were our
own referee sometimes, so not.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
Yeah, do you recommend that for future practice? I mean
twenty years later, like do you?
Speaker 5 (49:42):
It depends?
Speaker 8 (49:43):
I mean, I think if you have an outside ear afterward.
You know, we started getting that a little bit more
than not so because we knew that we needed that.
It's like, okay, we can't just be insulated like that.
It's got to be other people that realize, you know,
it's get some you know people. I would always say,
you know people some friends and friends who I don't know,
(50:03):
so they're out of it. They don't have any Yeah,
you know what I mean, can you.
Speaker 1 (50:08):
Name a Mint classic that either you felt indifferent about
or didn't like that wound up winning verses or like
them saying they didn't like I don't like pretty brown lines.
Speaker 8 (50:23):
I think all of the hits were pretty unanimous. Where
where it was really jacked up. It's like the people
at the company like stuff like so fine, like pretty
much all of its. So like when we first got
the deal, it's like when you know, when MC I
heard its like now that would have been on the
demo it was, you know, swing, and it's like it's okay,
(50:49):
really okay, a lot of these you know, So, I
mean it was it was kind of like that people
that at the label that would hear's like you know,
I mean we did Turning so fine.
Speaker 5 (50:58):
You're like when if you're the guitarre so nobody does
guitar solos.
Speaker 1 (51:02):
Like wow, there's all the more reason for us to
do it. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (51:06):
So, I mean you're Ernie Eisley and you know, these
great people. So yeah, it was more so the people
at the labels. I think, like as far as the hits,
we we knew, you know, Jam and Lewis, we definitely
they would be like, okay, you talk about outside ear.
They would definitely be like, Okay, look, you all need
to think about this one, or you know, or not
(51:29):
do so many chords on this you that kind of thing, so,
you know, which was definitely we learned a lot from them.
I mean absolutely they knew exactly they had that magic.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
First album was meant to be meant Yeah. So the
beginning of it, what were your were you guys personal goals?
I mean, I know everyone's like world domination.
Speaker 5 (51:55):
But.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
For you, was it just like, yo, we want to
be like the best black plan ever. Or was it
like yo, we want to be on that pop level shit?
Speaker 8 (52:05):
Or I think it was you know, we just had
Join and craft Man just creating. I think part of
our thing was just we didn't really care about anything
else but the music. You just wanted to be tight
and funky and just have an impact. And I think
that's partly why, like the show was what it was.
We worked so hard on that, and then we learned
(52:25):
as we went in the studio, I was discovering my voice.
Like if you listening to the first album, like to
the last Couple, you can list all the vocals are
very tight, and arranging everything is saying, you know, the
way formally really really tightened is that I got I'm like,
you know, you got to lett some life in here
and you breathe. I think that's just that first time,
you know, doing the ceedy, You're excited and everything. Everybody's
on edge because you want to be perfect.
Speaker 1 (52:46):
Yeah. Well, I'm just asking because the early nineties also,
you know, there's a lot of black artists that had
like breakout records and suddenly they're selling in the five
and six and seven millions. So I know that's hard
to ignore. But were you guys say we're gonna stay
in our lane and we know that like a cat
like Prince rejected Soul Train four times because I don't
(53:11):
want to be pegged as a soul artist. I want
bandstand in solid Like, So, were you guys fine with like,
okay being BT Staples and not? I mean, eventually you
guys made it on like MTV jams and that sort
of thing.
Speaker 5 (53:25):
But yeah, I mean got to understand though too.
Speaker 8 (53:28):
I mean, you know, it was being a band, some
of our exposure was limited just because it's hard to
move a band, you know, and we got to we
even had a thing Exam Lewis at one point because
it's like, you know, the first few gigs, you're like, look,
we got to get you all out here, you know,
because at one point they were doing out of their
pocket because A and M they had a joint venture
with them. They don't believe, they don't get they don't know, right,
(53:50):
So we got to get you all out here because
you know, are you free?
Speaker 5 (53:53):
Wasn't free? You say, you know, you know it was
going on. Sorry, So we got to get y'all out
here so they would have us doing these track shows.
Speaker 8 (54:04):
You know, how do you and so what we did, okay,
we got to do that. We're gonna go back and
remix everything. And that's when the whole you know, Teddy Riley,
the whole now his whole sound was really prominentent and
so everybody was dancing and you know, we had a
lot of choreography back then, and so the pretty yeah,
pretty much but with the instruments and uh. We were
(54:26):
doing that until we got to Houston and after the
show we were getting into the van, heard some do
that fucking computers.
Speaker 5 (54:40):
This ain't even playing.
Speaker 8 (54:41):
I was like, oh, ship, that's it, that's that's it
like we gotta we just defeats our whole purpose was
supposed to be a band like na man, damn. So
that one Heckler, Yeah, that one. Yeah, thank you Heckler,
thank you truth. Yeah, it was real real And then
it hit me. I was like, man, that's he's right.
Speaker 1 (54:59):
You know.
Speaker 5 (54:59):
He just felt like I was. You know, I wouldn't
my mic would be on, but it was just like
it did. It wasn't real. Life is live, man. You
couldn't extend nothing. It's like the track is the track
and that's it, you know.
Speaker 1 (55:11):
Speaking of Houston, hmm, the world's crazy as human being
lives in Houston.
Speaker 3 (55:18):
How does he wind up?
Speaker 2 (55:20):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (55:21):
In the in in the Mint family. Speaking of Chris
Daddy Dave, Chris Dadlin Dave.
Speaker 8 (55:29):
He met him at Howard University and while we were
while was going down to charts, we put down put
out uh Breaking my Heart Pretty Brown Eyes, which was
going down.
Speaker 5 (55:42):
To charts as well. So yeah, until when we get out.
Speaker 8 (55:46):
In a winter bagel and we went to all the
HBCUs in the country. Yeah, And so we got to
Howard University and this was around the time too, where
you know that I'm telling you about Michael Blant. So
we had a uh drummer, A couple of drummers filling
in correct down Friols.
Speaker 5 (56:05):
What's up?
Speaker 1 (56:05):
So you weren't going to fill Collins this ship?
Speaker 8 (56:08):
No, because at that time I felt like, I know,
way I can I can't. I felt I started to
feel differently perform. I started to come into it a
little bit more, you know. I was still I loved
the state I couldn't. I could express myself definitely. I
was learning all about how to perform and.
Speaker 5 (56:26):
That kind of thing.
Speaker 8 (56:26):
So I was like, I couldn't you know, I couldn't
do it. I feel I would feel confined, you know.
Speaker 1 (56:33):
Plus none of the girls go for the drummer.
Speaker 5 (56:37):
Put the drums in front, man come to the front,
to the side.
Speaker 1 (56:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (56:44):
So yeah, it it was at Howard University and jelly
Beans Johnson was out with us.
Speaker 1 (56:50):
Yeah he was.
Speaker 3 (56:50):
He was playing with y'all.
Speaker 5 (56:51):
Yeah, playing with us. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was real.
And he he went into one of the practice room
He's like, yeah, man, it's something, dude. Man. He sounded
like Michael Blad you got.
Speaker 8 (57:00):
I was like really a little dude, And I was like, okay,
but I don't I think I don't know if I
met him. Then we were on the road and we
got to Uh. I remember speaking to him. I called
him when we got to l A and we were
doing the Disneyland Grad Nights and the Crazy Story too.
Speaker 5 (57:20):
I think I'm like, this is just off.
Speaker 1 (57:23):
Anything with Chris Dave is definitely crazy.
Speaker 5 (57:25):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 8 (57:26):
Now I was thinking about the Grad Knights. I remember
Leila Hathaway to, yeah, did you play my grad Knights?
Speaker 1 (57:31):
Like what? Oh wow? That was crazy?
Speaker 5 (57:35):
Yeah crazy.
Speaker 8 (57:36):
So yeah, Disney that grad Nights and I ended up color.
I was like, you know, man, yeah, I have heard
about you, and if you can just send me, you know,
just send me something slow, something made, something fast.
Speaker 5 (57:45):
And you know he's like, okay, yeah man, yeah here's
a voice. Yes yeah, And so it was like okay, cool.
Speaker 8 (57:56):
But it wasn't until you know, I really audition up
in a flight time and yeahs, cred ahead, chops and everything.
At that point, I'm just like, Okay, all I need
you to do right now is I want to feel
this rise and move like play harder, you know, play harder,
because I think it was more jazz reinly t killing,
you know, I like play hard and we're gonna play long.
(58:18):
And we had these super thick arrangements at the time,
some of them recorded.
Speaker 5 (58:24):
But he's like, you know, he could handle it.
Speaker 1 (58:26):
Was he that abstract even back, and I didn't even
start seeing him droning until like maybe like two thousand
and four, two thousand and five. Okay, I had heard
about we did one gig with you guys in like Seattle,
or at least all you guys were there, like we
(58:47):
that's the first time I met you guys in Seattle,
but you guys had even y'all there the night before
or something or whatever. That's the first time my man.
I was like, oh, I've heard of you, Chris Dave.
Speaker 8 (58:57):
But yeah, well he was, you know, we've playing R
and B stuff, So I mean, that's the gig, is
what it is. It's kind of somewhat theatrical, but it was,
you know, we need you to hit that.
Speaker 1 (59:09):
I know he's known for he's an awesome pocket, but
his calling card and his reputation is based on coloring
outside of the lines.
Speaker 5 (59:18):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (59:18):
How in a group so uh disciplined and it's in
it in its songs, it's how did that?
Speaker 8 (59:30):
How it was it fits because I call it like
pocket aggressive, where it's like, okay, there's parameters because sometimes
we've auditioned drummers in the past they just think it's
like you go wow, because you know, it's like no,
there's certain stop signs, you know, from between.
Speaker 1 (59:43):
Here and here.
Speaker 8 (59:44):
This is just here's where you start out, and there's
a couple of things and then you have to know
here you can kind of do what you want, but
make it tasteful, you know. But sometimes there's certain drummers
of the song like oh, they're just going off like no,
it's it's not you got to play the music. It's
like you know, solo and is like with five percent,
but I'm just really interested and you know, you got
to most of the times playing trying to play with
(01:00:05):
the ensemble make your head brought, you know, And yeah
he did that.
Speaker 5 (01:00:10):
It was just like, you know, we'd have.
Speaker 8 (01:00:12):
Our part where we do a little little drum battle
and all that kind of stuff, so which was cool,
but a lot of it too. We spent a lot
of time because he lived with me for off and
on for a couple of years, and we would just
shed you know, and just kind of exchange ideas. And
it's so funny because a lot of ideas I hear
now is just kind of like, you know, just kind
of the color and I like, I say, coloring outside
(01:00:33):
of the line. As far as the tempo changes, you know,
with inside four four time and all that kind of
stuff is it's become like a thing ye hear drummer's
doing now.
Speaker 5 (01:00:43):
But that was just was just kind of messing around.
I was like, Wow, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (01:00:47):
Whose idea was it? One of your most probably iconic moments.
I remember whose idea was it?
Speaker 1 (01:00:53):
To have half the go to knew the video?
Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
Please remember the audition of how.
Speaker 3 (01:01:04):
Like he was like a newscaster or he was like
a broadcaster.
Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
He was a broadcast.
Speaker 7 (01:01:09):
Yeah, he was singing in front of the TVs and
then came under knows.
Speaker 2 (01:01:14):
Yes, I'm sorry, I know.
Speaker 1 (01:01:26):
It wasn't.
Speaker 8 (01:01:29):
Who was this dude just trying to find a ledge man? No,
that was that was my version of Ilande. I wasn't
gonna dolines half a bid, you know, shaven man.
Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
You know, but that video was a whole raror because
I was just thinking about how I remember the call
the model call in d C at Howard y'all had
a whole relationship with Howard in that way where that
y'all did.
Speaker 5 (01:01:56):
The The girl was from d C.
Speaker 1 (01:01:58):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (01:01:58):
Yeah, we did a the video contest.
Speaker 1 (01:02:01):
We won it. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:02:02):
So it was that senior year. I remember because I
slow grind across the street at the A k. A
House to Pretty Eyes the first time I ever got
felt us. It was really and everybody else was in
the coat line because it was the end of the
party or whatever, but he wanted dance with me one
more time before the door closing. Pretty Brown Eyes came
on Forever Your Eyes.
Speaker 8 (01:02:21):
I just had.
Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
That.
Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
It meant like, I'm sorry, all right, okay, what kind
of man we're gonna get that you don't slow ground
to that?
Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:02:35):
Right?
Speaker 1 (01:02:36):
If people could get married to pretty wings, why can't
you slow ground? What kind of man?
Speaker 2 (01:02:46):
Was just awkward lyrics as we listen to those, though
we listened to the condition lyrics. I feel like it's
the hole at least the hook, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
The Earth on fire reason story. Yeah, we gave up
two million dollars once the couple found out what it meant,
like what a couple wanted the earth winding fire Rich
couple comes singing reasons at their wedding and really opened
his mouth, was like you sure, and they're like why,
It's like just about cheating and that's it. It was
(01:03:20):
lost two million dollars. Yeah wow, I mean we loved
every every song is about for you, all the sweet.
Speaker 2 (01:03:32):
Except for pretty Brown hold on just breaking his heart?
Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (01:03:37):
Fuck the condition to the Sie sage one as we
(01:04:01):
lay this morning putting on a playlist called songs for
February fifty.
Speaker 1 (01:04:13):
The week the weekend before the seventh February. Oh, we
told her.
Speaker 3 (01:04:25):
I wouldn't know that about that.
Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
Yeah, February thirtieth. Baby, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:04:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
Wait is there a black love song that pledges black
love and commitment without being the side piece or music?
Speaker 3 (01:04:42):
I celebrate my love, yeah, spending my life?
Speaker 1 (01:04:46):
Yeah, but your hair ship is it? Just do me baby?
That's it?
Speaker 2 (01:04:50):
And sat.
Speaker 1 (01:04:53):
Was that well.
Speaker 3 (01:04:54):
I don't think somebody.
Speaker 1 (01:04:55):
Second verse the HR though.
Speaker 9 (01:04:57):
If he shows you, I feel like you're in the
office and you don't go to HRY.
Speaker 1 (01:05:09):
Do you ever think you have HR conversation at NBC?
I know you do now, but like before, every day
in my life, no, every day in my life is
how not to go to HR the principals off with.
Speaker 3 (01:05:21):
The second record, I thought that that was where.
Speaker 7 (01:05:25):
That was the first record that I listened to like
all the way down, like complete, and that was probably
the one that I just played because I felt like
y'all got your up tempo game right and it was
really good songs and just everything was dope. What was
the process between the first record to the second record?
Speaker 8 (01:05:42):
Well, I guess we'd heard about this sophomore Jenks thing
with that. Didn't know what it was, what does that mean?
Just you know, we just said, look, we all come
with the best songs we can come with.
Speaker 1 (01:05:54):
You know.
Speaker 5 (01:05:54):
We were just really.
Speaker 8 (01:05:58):
Really focused, you know, and having that and we went
through that process of like, Okay, no, this doesn't sound good.
And I think at that point, at that point, each
one of us knew what you know, we were bringing.
Speaker 5 (01:06:09):
It had to be good.
Speaker 8 (01:06:10):
And I think we'd learned so much from you know,
touring from the first album and then first somehow that
didn't what was really resonating with everybody and it's like, Okay,
we we really gotta get.
Speaker 5 (01:06:21):
That, get that up so our tone game.
Speaker 8 (01:06:23):
I'm a tone dudes, like like drum sounds, keyboard sounds,
all that kind of stuff had to be on points.
Speaker 5 (01:06:29):
So I think that was all, you know, part of
that it was, that was the sum of it.
Speaker 1 (01:06:34):
You know, what's how's your engineer? Steve Hodges, Jimmy James,
did you work with you guys at all?
Speaker 8 (01:06:42):
He would kind of oversee because I was, always, like
I said, interested and it sounds like, for instance, like
the remember like the drum tones on what kind of man.
We worked a little bit on that, and I'm just
kind of watching what he did. But yet amazing, amazing technician.
Speaker 2 (01:06:59):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:06:59):
Just what studio did you guys record on flight Time? Yeah?
Speaker 8 (01:07:05):
Yeah, not oh yeah. It was a four studios up
in there. It was jamming them had their studio. There
were Studio A was a smaller studio, which I love
them in their studio, you know, studio scene in the
studio was a bigger studio. Steve Hodge had his own
studio and that he mixed primarily in there. But it's
four of them.
Speaker 1 (01:07:23):
Is that still in operating in Minnesota?
Speaker 5 (01:07:25):
It's up there.
Speaker 8 (01:07:26):
It's uh, Paul Peterson is over there now, Saint Paul
in the family. But some of the boys they used
to have Harrison Boys, and so there was all gone
now and they have different you know, because you don't
need those big boys.
Speaker 2 (01:07:40):
And more so during that time, what were some of
the other projects that were being worked on while you
guys are in the studio.
Speaker 1 (01:07:50):
Because you're playing on my Ship? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:07:54):
Yeah, what did I do?
Speaker 1 (01:07:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:07:55):
Ye, he's on the Body that Loves You to.
Speaker 5 (01:08:00):
Some of that stuff. Man, I would I would do
those sessions and not know where the song was going.
Speaker 1 (01:08:05):
Were you guys the band for what Will I Do?
Speaker 5 (01:08:09):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:08:10):
No, not that one. You just dreamed on it.
Speaker 8 (01:08:11):
But I need a remix and I can't remember. Yeah,
I ended up on it was a giant thing, for sure,
that must be what. There was so much stuff I
don't know, some of it don't even know.
Speaker 3 (01:08:25):
On that album, man, talk about ten million strong. Like
that song.
Speaker 1 (01:08:28):
I used to put that when I would make my
slow jam tapes Midnight.
Speaker 3 (01:08:37):
I loved doing like my Cake, my cake tapes. I
kept that tape.
Speaker 1 (01:08:43):
Yeah, that was like.
Speaker 3 (01:08:45):
My cake tape was what you made, you know what
I'm saying. When you it was your music for when
you was on the phone.
Speaker 1 (01:08:51):
Cake that cake.
Speaker 5 (01:08:55):
Cake, So that was what it was.
Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
So I kept that song on like that made several iterations,
you know what I'm.
Speaker 1 (01:09:03):
Saying, talk about that multivo Where were you? What was yall? Only?
I did that? I love that record.
Speaker 8 (01:09:10):
That one was influenced. I was listening to this this composer,
Japanese composer I'll reach yeah, and he had all these
you know, black rain.
Speaker 1 (01:09:20):
He did that.
Speaker 5 (01:09:21):
That that score just amazing.
Speaker 8 (01:09:23):
I just love his the way he used textures and
sounds and that kind of thing, and that is where
that came from. It's just that's that whole thing, and
then the whole ten million strong kind of thing. Just
you know, just certain songs coming I can do in
five minutes. Other times it might be, you know, a
couple of hours, it might be a week. I'man just
set it down, the hook is done. I want to
(01:09:43):
spend some time with That was just kind of like
maybe ten minutes on that one, you know, but yeah,
it was just one of those.
Speaker 5 (01:09:50):
It was just kind of a vibe. That's exactly for that,
I mean, just to kind of chill the vibe.
Speaker 7 (01:09:55):
I certainly feel that purpose going back, I forgot my
dear on the More Money soundtrack.
Speaker 8 (01:10:03):
No, it's funny about that, you know, it's the spearheaded
by Homer Owe Dell guitar player man and that we
really originally did that for Calling Me Back in a
group called And but it was produced differently to have
more of kind of pop sensibility, and they something happened
(01:10:25):
when they didn't take the song they were going and
they didn't, and it's like, okay, we're gonna make it
for us. So we went in, rehearsed it, you know,
did the music, and then me and Odell pended. You know,
we just wanted to make it kind of an extravaganza.
Speaker 1 (01:10:43):
You know, used to run that joint. Thanks man.
Speaker 3 (01:10:47):
We talked about soundtrack joints. Jason's lyric trouble was Money Money.
Speaker 1 (01:10:53):
That one.
Speaker 5 (01:10:54):
Yeah, that was.
Speaker 1 (01:10:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:10:57):
They wanted they wanted the songs, but they wanted to it.
So Carrie Lewis was brilliant at doing that. He had
Carrie had like a he's like a really great pop sensibility,
you know, knows the textures to use and everything.
Speaker 3 (01:11:12):
So he was.
Speaker 8 (01:11:14):
Really instrumental the group for that. So you pen swinging
as well me swinging. So yeah, he's just amazing. Still
to this day, it's just crazy with it.
Speaker 2 (01:11:25):
Do you really still enjoy singing like your classics, like
are there's some that you like still enjoy always wanted.
Speaker 5 (01:11:31):
Because I appreciate the catalog as I appreciate it.
Speaker 8 (01:11:34):
Yeah, you know, as you get older and doing this thing,
it's like you know what you know, doing music man,
you know, changing hearts and minds and actually changing you know,
the vibration is actually going through people and helping. You know,
it's like feeling different, you know. So it's uh, I
learned later on life like this really about healing.
Speaker 1 (01:11:54):
It really is.
Speaker 5 (01:11:55):
You know, if we didn't have music, I mean, what
would that feel like?
Speaker 1 (01:11:59):
You know what I mean? What is your vocal regimen?
Speaker 7 (01:12:06):
Because I've I mean I've seen you like a couple
of times, and you guys are still, you know, twenty
years later, still singing these songs in the same key
like you still.
Speaker 3 (01:12:15):
I shouldn't be, you know, I mean, it's just like
that's amazing.
Speaker 5 (01:12:19):
Man, that's you know.
Speaker 8 (01:12:23):
I definitely try to baby it as much like I'm
not one of these dudes who have these Some dudes
can just sing all night and you know the next
you just got these still lungs.
Speaker 5 (01:12:32):
I'm like, I gotta do my garlic.
Speaker 8 (01:12:35):
And my ginger and all that honey, you know, warm up,
you know, it's a big thing, and really it's just
about it's just about endurance, really and trying to sing differently.
You know, your voice changes as you get older, it
drops a little bit, and but I like where it's
at now because it kind of rounds it out because.
Speaker 5 (01:12:54):
I listen back and I'm like, man, I sound like
many a.
Speaker 1 (01:12:57):
Mouse pete those y'all guys. That the way that you're
speaking now, that your baritone game is on point when
your voice resource but you saying and your low register.
I was like, yo, do the low register? Yeah, and
you killed it. Like have you ever thought of of
(01:13:21):
doing a project where you just use your your your
low register.
Speaker 5 (01:13:26):
And then that day like I already started it.
Speaker 2 (01:13:29):
It's like a song on a new record, Like at
least one song, I feel like you use it.
Speaker 3 (01:13:34):
Even on the Soulfine remix, you kind of went a
little lower than normal.
Speaker 1 (01:13:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:13:38):
I think people are so focused on the.
Speaker 8 (01:13:42):
Natural high registered and on your life, you know, and
if they see it live, you know, or they'll ask
me that, they assume it's somebody else that's singing.
Speaker 5 (01:13:49):
That's that's me saying yeah, but.
Speaker 8 (01:13:51):
Yeah, I enjoy that. I missed that baritone. I missed
that whole very white out the price sock.
Speaker 5 (01:13:58):
You know, you know I'm that right. Nobody sings, yeah,
there's there's there's a lane.
Speaker 2 (01:14:03):
It's funny you say that about your voice, because last
night and I were trying to figure out, like, who
is in your your try vocally right, because you are
just in an elite situation where there's not a lot
of people that, oh, he sounds like stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:14:14):
You y'all need to do a jam together. Yeah, I know,
y'all like, who's who.
Speaker 6 (01:14:25):
Together?
Speaker 1 (01:14:26):
Phrase that because the argument was three between Ray and
Son and him.
Speaker 2 (01:14:39):
Okayan and Stokely is like cousins in this game.
Speaker 1 (01:14:46):
Get me beat up.
Speaker 2 (01:14:48):
A great producer.
Speaker 3 (01:14:50):
But yeah, it's yeah, it is y'all are similar.
Speaker 8 (01:14:53):
Yeah, yeah, I mean we seen we talk about this,
like what is that? I guess he just comes out
and it comes out, man, you know for the first
I guess you know a little while that breaking my
Heart was out. Nobody really there. We had no video,
so they didn't a baby face. It kind of sounded like, Stevie,
who's what you know? We had gotten?
Speaker 5 (01:15:13):
I had gotten a few different you know, artists.
Speaker 7 (01:15:16):
And people thought it was, you know, on the cover
of the uh definition of a band album. I'd always
want to ask you about what was it that made
y'all not be on the cover and just fos the instruments.
Speaker 3 (01:15:28):
I thought it was a statement behind it, But I
want to hear your definition of a band?
Speaker 5 (01:15:35):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 8 (01:15:36):
It's like, okay, this is let's be what we are, like, man,
enough of this trying to look pretty on the cover
and that kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (01:15:43):
Let's just more rugged, be what it is.
Speaker 8 (01:15:45):
It's like, we're musicians, let's letting we always say that
the music is king over everything that speaks, you know,
So put the instruments on there, you know, the old
warehouse looking thing, you know, and that represents us, you know. Definitely.
I think it was perfect, you know, definition of man.
Put instruments boom, that's it, and I think it resonated.
Speaker 1 (01:16:05):
Why did it take you guys three years between on
that one? And is it risky to well I know
that well, yeah, for the next three records. It's that
was ninety six.
Speaker 5 (01:16:17):
Y between that one and what was one after that?
Speaker 1 (01:16:23):
Was that aquarium? Well okay eight yeah, man, factory to
Definition band was three years.
Speaker 8 (01:16:30):
And then just just toring, you know, a ment factory
to definite Yeah, touring and h I think to from
definition band to Life's Aquarium. There was a couple of
things that happened, so, uh, Carrie had found love, got married,
you know, all the things.
Speaker 5 (01:16:45):
We're trying to figure out our sound, you know, and how.
Speaker 3 (01:16:49):
Did he handle that?
Speaker 1 (01:16:50):
Did he like give your heads up or was it? Yeah?
And did you guys handle that? And we did?
Speaker 5 (01:16:55):
We we were on tour with.
Speaker 1 (01:17:01):
I didn't watch the Lifetime.
Speaker 3 (01:17:05):
It was the Lifetime movie? Was it accurate?
Speaker 6 (01:17:07):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (01:17:08):
What?
Speaker 2 (01:17:08):
Was it the Whitney's movie, because I mean, we're not
Whitney I'm sorry Tony movie.
Speaker 5 (01:17:14):
Sorry, No, they mentioned in the movie kind of remember that.
I only watched half of it, so I'm not I
don't even know if it was in it.
Speaker 1 (01:17:28):
But was it good? After the Whitney John and Leah Jorn.
I didn't do it.
Speaker 3 (01:17:38):
Yeah, I saw the TC one that wasn't Lifetime, that
was one life Time. Oh you're thinking about it? Oh
yet no, little Mama she killed the TLC version, the
t G. She did good in that one. I wasn't
met at that one at all.
Speaker 1 (01:17:51):
So how did they depicted just just for my ignorance, like,
how did they depict.
Speaker 2 (01:17:58):
The It's been depicted that the band was not happy.
That's what it's been depicted at all.
Speaker 3 (01:18:04):
I can imagine that.
Speaker 1 (01:18:05):
Yeah, I mean yeah, I mean with someone for your
life and then they're like, I'm out in love.
Speaker 8 (01:18:12):
And then y'all were on tour together to so there
was a whole thing, right, so that it developed with
them on tour. So I mean we've seen it kind
of was like okay, all right, all right, see what's
going on? And uh so announced getting parried and that
whole thing.
Speaker 1 (01:18:26):
Say, Bryce was, I'm sorry, this is a long story.
Speaker 3 (01:18:33):
He was anyway, good.
Speaker 8 (01:18:37):
Yeah, so they did that, and so we were, yeah,
I mean everybody in the band wasn't you know, It's like, man,
what's going to happen? I guess all he was asking
for is like, look, he's give me some time to work,
Steff hars gonna happen? Like noah, we got we got
it roll out man. I guess it was like an ultimatum.
You know, it's like any out kind of thing. But
(01:18:58):
you know, to me, I just thought it was business
and you know, let you know, short life loves love man,
let him do this thing. So I went to wedding.
Some people were supposed to make it and had some
technical difficulties as well. So in somewhere up bet yeah
(01:19:20):
what it was. But I understand that, you know, that's
just human nature. It's going to be that, you know,
and it's uh this, you know, I've been married to
these dudes longer than you know.
Speaker 2 (01:19:31):
It's very faithful. Like I wonder how many times somebody
says so stokedly when you're going on solo, like how
is it like thirty fifty hundred?
Speaker 3 (01:19:38):
What do you think was there a chance of you
actually going solo in the late nineties because you did it.
There was a couple of soundtrack records that was you
album every.
Speaker 2 (01:19:46):
Yeah oh in the press and the rate in the
interview like oh.
Speaker 8 (01:19:50):
Man, I mean if there was to deal with pretty
much album's done, it was pretty much every every time.
So but I just think there was a ment was
you know, necessary, like at that time, there's so many
solo artists galory, you know, so I'm like, you know,
I think it needs to be you know what I.
Speaker 5 (01:20:08):
Mean, it needed to be a making there's nothing like that,
you know, there's not a roots.
Speaker 1 (01:20:15):
Am I the only artist that believes that in the
open marriage like Amie Davis and the Ship. It's no, no, no,
you can have this, dude, go to common.
Speaker 7 (01:20:28):
Yeah, but you have to kind of watch that because
the while you kind of end up cutting your package.
You know what I'm saying, you have to you kind
of dilute yourself too much. And it's like you saying
I don't need to cut it.
Speaker 2 (01:20:40):
Metaphor.
Speaker 3 (01:20:42):
Yeah, it's like you, like you, you're diluting you know yourself.
Speaker 7 (01:20:45):
So it's like, Okay, if I'm here and then I
start going here and here, here, here, here, here, I
think it's different yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:20:50):
I think it's different for musicians versus singers.
Speaker 2 (01:20:54):
Okay, okay, with drumming, it's hard at all.
Speaker 3 (01:20:58):
Like was anybody talking, Steve Gett, you're playing on too
many records, Pinos, gonna have to chill.
Speaker 1 (01:21:06):
Right, right, yeah, let get these tell you. But I
think that you know, you would want to, like I
want to start aside jazz combo with blah blah blah,
do a supergroup.
Speaker 8 (01:21:19):
And what the thing it's even like right when I'm
doing now is all this stuff. It's there's a few
ways and you can do that, and I've been doing that.
Actually there's a couple of groups that I played with,
you know. Still that's been last fifteen probably the whole
time through. You know, I've always been active, you know before,
meant you know, during, and now it's just like I
(01:21:40):
feel like, you know, I give him so much time,
attention and care to that. You know, as a musician
and artist, you have to figure out you know, I
put When I do something, I'm like really focused in
on it. So at this time now I'm just like, Okay,
it's time for another facet.
Speaker 1 (01:21:55):
You know, I have.
Speaker 8 (01:21:56):
I got a couple more gears, I think, you know,
while I'm still healthy and you know I can do it.
I want to give it it's full attention, you know.
So there's different ways to do that. I have done
what you talking about as far as you know, being
in a group and doing all the other things outside
of it, you know, making that the mother.
Speaker 1 (01:22:13):
Do those guys have side options as well or just
doing different things everything? I'm sorry, you know what I'm saying.
Do they have side options as well?
Speaker 3 (01:22:21):
Or is this group there.
Speaker 8 (01:22:22):
Everything everybody's got different things. And that's the thing that's like,
once they decide to do that, you know, if they
want to, then you know what they've got. Definitely, it's
it's they're amazing dudes, you know in so many different ways.
They just you just know about me because I'm lead singer,
you know, and that's usually the way it happens. It's
a focal point. And yeah, there's there's a lot of
(01:22:45):
magic within and beyond me.
Speaker 2 (01:22:47):
I mean, because there's a moment in reading the title
introducing Stokely as a fan where you're like, well, that's nice,
but what you mean introduced like like.
Speaker 3 (01:22:59):
When you're starting over. Its introducing.
Speaker 5 (01:23:03):
Decades of music.
Speaker 1 (01:23:04):
It don't matter.
Speaker 3 (01:23:06):
Black people don't read.
Speaker 2 (01:23:12):
It.
Speaker 7 (01:23:12):
It's like people like people know you too, they don't
know necessarily or yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (01:23:19):
So it's like, let me ask you just why we're
on this subject, because I told you one of my
favorite songs that is yours. Yours was meant something something.
So the other day we were talking to Fonte and
he was saying how he's real selective with his features. However,
he was on the condition song you know it's you
know something something, because that's mean conditions.
Speaker 3 (01:23:40):
My mama, she Mama, I wouldn't. She didn't validate me
until that ship was cool. I talk until I got
a gentleman condition.
Speaker 2 (01:23:52):
She was like, oh, ship talking, ship like the ship
talking is just my favorite.
Speaker 6 (01:23:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:23:59):
I couldn't believe. I can't even remember.
Speaker 7 (01:24:01):
I think like my manager hit me, but yeah, Like
me and Rick were talking and he was like, yo,
we got a joint we want you on and I
was like all right. I was like, man, crazy.
Speaker 3 (01:24:10):
So he sent it to me and so I do it.
Speaker 1 (01:24:12):
I just do my verse.
Speaker 7 (01:24:13):
I'm like, all right, my rap, bam, nick, I'm good,
sixteen a miuth And so I sent it and so
then Rick hits me.
Speaker 3 (01:24:21):
And he's like, yo, man, we love the verse. Stokely
wants you to sing on it.
Speaker 5 (01:24:25):
I was like, nigga, what.
Speaker 3 (01:24:28):
No, He's like, no, Stokely won't what like, what do
you want me?
Speaker 5 (01:24:35):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:24:35):
For real?
Speaker 3 (01:24:35):
That's like yeah, that's like you know, that's crazy.
Speaker 7 (01:24:39):
So I was like I and so I just went
back and added like some Marvin harmonies on or whatever,
and then he hit me back. I was like, Rick,
I sent you some vocals and I said, but dude,
I really would rather stokely do these.
Speaker 3 (01:24:49):
Oh he was like, he was like, let me hear you.
Speaker 1 (01:24:51):
I sent it to him.
Speaker 3 (01:24:51):
He was like, dude, we love it, we love it.
And so that was the time like that record.
Speaker 7 (01:24:55):
And then it was another record we just did on
Chris's album, the record I the Destiny and Stereo record.
Speaker 3 (01:25:03):
I sing the hook on that, but I sung it
as a reference for you to sing it. But Chris
kept my reference.
Speaker 1 (01:25:09):
Of course. He was you the man. But I heard it.
I heard like an alien aliens.
Speaker 3 (01:25:17):
Man, I'm trying to we did. Oh, it was on thing. Okay,
it was another record. We didn't.
Speaker 1 (01:25:31):
Look so where was the record we did?
Speaker 5 (01:25:33):
Uh?
Speaker 7 (01:25:34):
It was a brother I leave record and that was
a joint. I just again, I did the hook on
and then I leave. He like, put you in some
harmonies under me. That ship was stupid. It was called
I'll be around. It was man, this had to be
like two thousand and nine.
Speaker 1 (01:25:49):
And heard again, nice, you don't remember none of the teachers.
Speaker 5 (01:25:55):
Man, you were just singing.
Speaker 3 (01:25:57):
You were singing on it because I mean, because you
were like lead like y'all. He was all over, oh.
Speaker 5 (01:26:02):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I need
to hear that again.
Speaker 3 (01:26:06):
I'll send it to yes. Yeah, yeah, so yeah, man,
my mother she when I told I did the record
with y'all. I made it congratulations.
Speaker 1 (01:26:15):
That is funny.
Speaker 2 (01:26:17):
Didn't get to touch any of introducers, like was there
any memory?
Speaker 8 (01:26:20):
Was I wanted to make it, you know, because I
feel like we've done that, you know what I mean?
Think about it, you know, introducing it's like you know this,
You're getting me from the rude to the tutor, you know,
so to speak.
Speaker 2 (01:26:33):
So playing still drums? Is that somebody?
Speaker 3 (01:26:37):
Okayment Records.
Speaker 7 (01:26:39):
Yeah, that was my favorite interviews Ash and Rio the
Querros Revenge.
Speaker 6 (01:26:45):
I used to I used to have that ship time
so perfectly where I could loop it on my CD player,
like because it was only like forty three seconds and
it wasn't long enough.
Speaker 3 (01:26:54):
If I hit it just right, it would look perfectly.
Speaker 7 (01:26:58):
That I want to ask you about sometimes on uh
that record I got that brought the r A to
my dormime.
Speaker 3 (01:27:09):
That was my front.
Speaker 7 (01:27:09):
No.
Speaker 3 (01:27:10):
That was like my freshman year of college, and I
just I was beyond the too loud.
Speaker 1 (01:27:17):
I think this one is getting mean.
Speaker 7 (01:27:21):
Yeah, that joint so I would like just that drum
solo man and just a wonderful song.
Speaker 3 (01:27:26):
And so I just would have that ship like playing loud.
Speaker 1 (01:27:30):
How did that?
Speaker 5 (01:27:31):
That's brother Rick, you know he like on the rock
and roll Tippy's definitely master at that man.
Speaker 3 (01:27:37):
That one in fidelity, Yeah yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:27:40):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 8 (01:27:42):
The drum soul was amazing, just I think I like
the tones and just how raw it is, you know
what I mean. But as part of his personality, we
just kind of wonder h push his vision forward. And
again I feel just really fortunate to be a part
of all that. I mean, just creating all those those sonics. Man,
just amazing magical.
Speaker 5 (01:28:02):
So Glad resonated with.
Speaker 7 (01:28:03):
Somebody record what was the change or what prompted all
to change from perspective to electure for Life of Warrior?
Speaker 8 (01:28:12):
Better deal it was, Yeah, so what kind of man?
We just felt like at the you know, we'd given
them a gift and uh uh.
Speaker 3 (01:28:23):
Was dropped.
Speaker 8 (01:28:24):
Yeah yeah, I mean it was already it was a
gift in you know, the regime that came into a
and M didn't really pick up the ball and really
you could have did a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:28:34):
More, you know, And so that record was considered was
like just like a moderate hit.
Speaker 5 (01:28:39):
It was it It was definitely, but it could.
Speaker 1 (01:28:41):
Have been a hipoppet. Oh yeah, it was just it
felt like it could have been in a lank star
move right, it could have been.
Speaker 8 (01:28:48):
You know what I mean, it was right there, you know,
so they had to do with just pick it up
and do what they need to do. So that didn't happen,
and just what they were offering at the time just
didn't feel right. You know, a lot of times put
their own people in and you know, just a lot
of people are fighting. She's like, you keep people are gone.
Speaker 1 (01:29:04):
Did you guys have any relationship with and improper like
guilt Freeeson.
Speaker 3 (01:29:09):
Or whoever was?
Speaker 5 (01:29:11):
Yeah, they had.
Speaker 1 (01:29:11):
Yeah, So it was just basically your ceiling was jam
and Lewis and the perspective people.
Speaker 3 (01:29:16):
But never right the higher up set.
Speaker 8 (01:29:20):
No, I would have been you know, after have we
had we stayed on there because that's what we you know,
at that time, I think it was McClain had came
back on, you know at A and M and that
kind of thing. So they were in the meeting with
him trying to figure out the future and I'm like,
well I'd rather get off, and I'm like, okay, we
just we thought it was gonna be a big deal,
so you just give us two songs.
Speaker 5 (01:29:42):
Out, you know.
Speaker 8 (01:29:43):
So then we started talking to a Silver rown over
at Electra and did that deal pretty quick and she
was pretty excited. So and that one was just like,
I don't he dropped the ball on again. Just the
tour support, you know, because I think that was one
of one of the reasons why.
Speaker 7 (01:30:00):
Now I would say Life of Query that was one
that I like, you know, like Bossville you talked about
the are You Free? Life of Querim was the one
record where I was kind of like, Okay, what's happening because.
Speaker 3 (01:30:12):
That's probably my second favorite minelbum. It's so here's the
other part of it.
Speaker 7 (01:30:15):
So when I first kind of went through it, and like,
because the first single, god, what was the first single?
Speaker 3 (01:30:21):
It just didn't sound like y'all. It sounded, you know,
very like programming.
Speaker 7 (01:30:25):
No, it wasn't if You Love Me that was the ballad,
but it was the it was a faster I can't
remember what the Charlie that was pretty Lady, that was
pleasure touched that body of.
Speaker 1 (01:30:41):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 7 (01:30:42):
But so that that threw me off. But like the
ballads on that record, you know, what I'm saying like
that just the Man for you and this day, this
minute and God just uh tonight, like those are some
of my favorite Mint songs of all time.
Speaker 5 (01:31:00):
So yeah, I mean, you just do what you feel
in the moment. Man. It's one of those things where
you you know.
Speaker 8 (01:31:06):
People get what they get from it, and it's you know,
whatever your musical sensibility is, you take it or you
leave it, and uh, you know, some stuff is hit miss.
Speaker 7 (01:31:15):
So when y'all went indy for Living in the Luxury Brown,
how is that transition? What major decide to do that?
Speaker 8 (01:31:22):
So we would go in the independent stage at that point.
So that was I felt like we all felt like,
you know, people heard us, but they haven't seen a
lot of us. So we wanted to do like a
DVD component, you know with that, you know, living in
a Luxury Brown and Life from nine thirty Club and
you know, yeah DC. Yeah, so it felt like that's
(01:31:44):
the perfect spot to do it. You know, these do
always showed us love that part of the country and yeah, yeah, absolutely,
so that's kind of what drove that, and we struck
up a deal with Image Entertainment. Yeah yeah, Yeah, it
was perfect there because they did. They dealt with DVDs
and that kind of content, and yeah, that's pretty much
(01:32:06):
where it came from. It just from us wanting to
do something that was visual, you know. And yeah it
came out great man, until we put all these songs
on there. So remember that was not a target.
Speaker 7 (01:32:17):
My copy they had like an exclusive, so over here
I bought it, bought my other target.
Speaker 1 (01:32:27):
So you have a new album, Stokely. I'm over here.
Speaker 3 (01:32:33):
Chatting with Sugar.
Speaker 1 (01:32:34):
Yes, Oh Steve, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (01:32:37):
Yeah, he's here.
Speaker 5 (01:32:41):
About the yes, sir.
Speaker 8 (01:32:44):
Yeah, we started introducing Stokely, So that's like I said,
I felt that just you know, starting from the bottom.
You know, we got some folks on there with me
and some work with.
Speaker 5 (01:32:53):
Wild A on there.
Speaker 2 (01:32:55):
How do you after you waited all this time, how
do you get the producers the people that you want
to work with together, Because isn't everybody like yo, yeah
pick me, pick me, pig me like.
Speaker 8 (01:33:06):
I did off of Spirit, you know, it's not so
much off a popularity that kind of thing. Whatever fits
what I'm doing, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:33:12):
So you've done a lot of stuff with Way though, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:33:16):
A little bit worked on with last couple of CDs.
Speaker 8 (01:33:18):
Yeah, yeah, Rob and yeah, So I mean it's just,
you know, it's like this industry becomes very small. So
you know, touring, you see people on and it's like
always work together and when it happens, it happens. That
kind of thing, if the time is free and they're interested,
if it's something they want to get on, because you know,
we're all sensitive. Think they think it's wacking. You know,
(01:33:41):
it won't happen. So I mean, yeah, but we try to,
you know, do our best and you know, hopefully make
it something that's attractive to other artists. And you know,
Carvin Haggins and Ivan Various. Yeah, yeah, absolutely so they amazing,
definitely love what they do.
Speaker 1 (01:33:58):
You know, I gotta ask. Okay, so there's one project
that I'm really interested in that you were part of.
You became the facto lead singer of the Revolution for
their you know, their a couple of their date tours
(01:34:22):
or whatever. How did that come to be and how
hard was that for you? Uh? Do you stay off?
Speaker 5 (01:34:32):
I don't want to do I've been saying weird, but
it wasn't weird. It was just it was surreal. It
was it was just a really interesting to me.
Speaker 1 (01:34:43):
It's it's uh, I enjoyed, Like I enjoyed it. Someone's
got to sing those songs, and I'd rather someone that
really knows how to sing to sing those songs.
Speaker 3 (01:34:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:34:55):
And I know for you it might be a thing
like I don't want to get pegged in the weddings,
the purple singer mode thing.
Speaker 5 (01:35:02):
But well, it wasn't that.
Speaker 8 (01:35:03):
It was just that I was trying to figure out
my was like first, I just never thought in the
main years that what I was like still sometimes like
why am I here?
Speaker 5 (01:35:10):
You know, I feel like is he not here right now?
I'm like, it's just weird.
Speaker 2 (01:35:14):
I know that.
Speaker 1 (01:35:15):
But to me, it's like, you know, I would I
would talk to you know the one day you called
me or whatever, and I would tell her like, because
this was like the early stages of that. There's like
maybe the second or third week where I saw something
and I was like, look, I know, you guys are
like really really protective of the brand, and you know
want to make sure that no toes the stepped one
(01:35:37):
as if Prince is going to come back to be like, hey,
you're stepping on my toes. But I was like, I
think she's like, what do you think we should? I said,
I think the more that you guys just relax and
have fun with it, then that's when the magic starts.
And I felt that you were the perfect because of
your your your energy that you bring with it. I'm
(01:36:00):
not expecting you to show up with purple high hills
and to do splits and start humping the speakers and
none of that stuff. So I know that it's it's
it's a very weird, vulnerable position to be put in,
but I personally encourage it a lot, like I'd rather
(01:36:24):
you than say the lead guy from Doctor Fink's Purple Experience.
That cat. So how many days did you do with.
Speaker 5 (01:36:33):
Him last year? Still doing dates when I I'm not
doing my own stuff. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:36:40):
It was a gang of them, and who sings when
you're not there?
Speaker 5 (01:36:45):
Nobody they do. Yeah, So the Wendy and Mark had
little duties, but it was kind of a weird things.
I know that they knew.
Speaker 8 (01:36:54):
You know, Prince had a Prince and I had a relationship,
and it was he got into a Princeton got to
a place where you know, you could see him being
kind of mentor to a lot of different artists. You know,
he was like becoming that guy, you know, the yodas
like you know in the industry, and the conversations which
I missed so many conversations. The ones that I miss
(01:37:16):
is like, look, man, we talked about life and everything,
that kind of.
Speaker 1 (01:37:19):
Thing, and try to take you to kingdom on No,
you got lucky.
Speaker 8 (01:37:27):
Yeah, I think you know when people get happen to
lord sometimes like at the beginning, it's like, yeah, so
he may.
Speaker 3 (01:37:35):
Still prepaid legal.
Speaker 7 (01:37:37):
Yeah, it's just you're selling it way too hard. I've
kind of sold on the same way things. We're just
going too far with it.
Speaker 1 (01:37:51):
Too much.
Speaker 3 (01:37:52):
Zeal Yeah, legal, what's the other?
Speaker 1 (01:38:05):
What the other? Scam?
Speaker 5 (01:38:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:38:08):
I mean yeah that was those the college. Yeah, you
just did you have an experience in all your life?
Speaker 3 (01:38:20):
Sure?
Speaker 7 (01:38:23):
Yeah, because they came back as uh, they came back
as another company and I got recruited for that company,
and that to.
Speaker 3 (01:38:29):
Telling me, no, wow, scam scam.
Speaker 1 (01:38:35):
Way.
Speaker 2 (01:38:36):
The first time you did these songs, these print songs,
did you have any like unexpected emotional moments that you just.
Speaker 5 (01:38:43):
Wait, what is what is this?
Speaker 1 (01:38:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (01:38:45):
Oh for sure, I mean, like I said, doing them,
you know, the first couple of shows, you know, definitely
cost a little bit, costed a little bit emotionally. You know,
I could even see, you know, the first couple of
gimes I did, you know, when Manager was there too,
and we were like, you know, I do a couple
of songs and I go off, like come back on doing,
you know, and every time I come off from a
fan and I'm watching. In the first couple of times,
(01:39:07):
was like I could see them becoming themselves, but I.
Speaker 5 (01:39:11):
Think they were trying to find themselves.
Speaker 1 (01:39:13):
You know.
Speaker 8 (01:39:14):
It's like we were all like, where is he? This
is you know, this is a different experience, you know
what I mean. And so I think they're trying to
figure out where they fit and all this stuff. And
then the fans were looking you know some of the time,
you know, I they didn't a lot of fans unless
you sing the Purple Rain tour because that was it.
You didn't see the revolution, so a lot of people
(01:39:35):
were seeing them for the first time. So it's really
emotional for the fans, you know. And by the time
you get to you know, sometimes snows in April, it
was you know, it was just really never watch yeah,
it was it was you know, so now it's more
of a celebration. You know, we've you've done it a
few times and there's still a lot of fans in
the house are seeing it for the first time.
Speaker 5 (01:39:53):
It's really it's it's emotional, but you know, I just met.
I was just concerned.
Speaker 8 (01:39:59):
Like I told mar It's like, well, what what am
I going to sing? But you know I'm not in
First of all, this dude is an island. Nobody saying
we know that. That's that's it.
Speaker 1 (01:40:06):
It is what it is.
Speaker 8 (01:40:07):
It's a legacy and that kind of thing. So so
I said, I have to pick what I think I
sound good like. I just because I can do them
doesn't mean I should, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:40:17):
So so some songs are sacrilegiously you too, Wow, I.
Speaker 5 (01:40:21):
Think yeah, I think, yes, I think I shouldn't be
doing you.
Speaker 3 (01:40:24):
Know, I think the best way to handle that, uh.
Speaker 1 (01:40:27):
And I tell them this all the time that like
Princess fan base, Prince has the luxury of having non
hit songs just as popular as a hit song.
Speaker 3 (01:40:39):
Right, Stevie has that luxury.
Speaker 1 (01:40:42):
Go for the more obvious stuff, I mean, the less Yeah,
like the filler, you know what I mean, Like his
filler is just as amazing, you know what I mean,
Like slow You Killing Slow Love would be amazing. You know,
I know that's not a revolutionary song, but yeah, I
get it. I'm just saying that, you know, it's I
(01:41:03):
encourage that moves anyone gets a chance to see the revolution.
Speaker 2 (01:41:08):
So what's on the list, though, what don't you touch?
Was like holy ground, I.
Speaker 1 (01:41:14):
Don't think they would do me baby or okay.
Speaker 2 (01:41:18):
Okay, so that's the prince list. That's princess list that
he didn't do after a while, that's.
Speaker 1 (01:41:24):
What you mean basically, I guess, yeah anyway, So uh.
Speaker 5 (01:41:32):
But it's fun though.
Speaker 8 (01:41:33):
We have a good time and then I get to
learn a lot about him and her old stories, and
you know, it was really I just feel fortunate because
it's like even with this project, it was a thing
where he was, you know, really encouraging. It's like, okay, dude,
well when the last conversation I had with him is
about Paisley, and I didn't you know, he's just coming
(01:41:54):
like what are you doing tonight? Actually just sitting home
and come out that's all right? And they were rehearsed
and I think it was.
Speaker 5 (01:42:02):
Andy Alo was out there and a bunch of the horns.
You know, he had his his marching band out there with.
Speaker 1 (01:42:09):
The big Horns from North Carolina. I always wanted to
know what the predemned situation was those guys.
Speaker 5 (01:42:17):
He's killing it out there, killing it.
Speaker 8 (01:42:19):
And he was like, just go up and you start
talking just about whatever life and he's like, you know,
what's it seemed like he was waiting for me to get.
Speaker 5 (01:42:29):
To a certain subject.
Speaker 8 (01:42:30):
As we start talking about music and everything, It's like, yeah,
I'm working on some stuff. He said, you're working on something.
I was like, yeah, I've been working for a minute.
So he said, because I was wondering, why don't you
why don't you do something? You know this is you know,
it's time. And I said, I'm working on it now.
It's like, can I be a part of it? I
was like, whoa, No, you're beneath me.
Speaker 3 (01:42:57):
You know how I feel when I heard want you
to sing on?
Speaker 1 (01:43:03):
How did you?
Speaker 3 (01:43:03):
How did you feel when you got the call to
single and call my name?
Speaker 1 (01:43:07):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (01:43:07):
That was cool man.
Speaker 8 (01:43:08):
I was like, Okay, the same thing. It was like yeah,
I think at that time it was yeah. Kirk Comedy
was like yeah, yeah, pretty want you to come out
that's something they're doing out here. So it's me, uh
chance Howard and Kept blackshar Kept and his brother used
to sing with Prince for a while too, and went
out there, and you know, I taught us to harmony
(01:43:28):
and everything.
Speaker 5 (01:43:29):
At one point we was like, it sounds too tight.
Speaker 8 (01:43:32):
Somebody needs to dirty it up, you know, you know,
it's the harmony's too tight because we're trying to you know,
sing it like you know, it's like we're.
Speaker 1 (01:43:39):
Like, okay, cool, and which one of you to sing flat?
Speaker 8 (01:43:45):
And so yeah, that came out great. And then we
went out to the uh to l A to do
the video. And it's around the same time that Ray
was about to be released, the movie Ray. And I
remember me said a great time, man, It was said,
you want to go to this movie. It's like new
Jamie Fox. He's portraying Ray Charles.
Speaker 5 (01:44:04):
Like okay.
Speaker 8 (01:44:05):
So we went to the Sony lot and you know,
we you know, it's just like amazing. It's like then
I knew it was like, oh, this is Oscar material
right here, man.
Speaker 1 (01:44:14):
You know.
Speaker 8 (01:44:14):
Then the uh you know, doing the video and everything.
I remember we jo kind of joking around about the
Chappelle show, you know all that, you know, the basketball
basketball scene and everything. We're like, yeah, that was funny,
such and such and such. Yeah, he said he was
balling everything and blouses and all that stuff. And he
was like, and I hear him back of me, it's trill.
Speaker 7 (01:44:41):
Okay, talk about a super black question. Talk about your
time on the set of the Academy Award winning film.
Speaker 3 (01:44:51):
Panther would say, I look like you were not finding
(01:45:12):
the black of two minutes in this episode listen.
Speaker 7 (01:45:16):
Yeah, so that how did that come about? And we're
talking about the Mario Van people. Panther talk about that
Ryan Cooper not not not black paint. We're talking about
Panther with Bobby Brown.
Speaker 2 (01:45:32):
He was on drugs, wasn't he?
Speaker 3 (01:45:33):
No he was, Yeah, he was on drugs.
Speaker 1 (01:45:35):
But then he was in the movie too.
Speaker 3 (01:45:37):
She's in the movie.
Speaker 7 (01:45:38):
That's what that was a better reference. Yes, matter, Yeah,
I was talking about Yeah, he was about the movie.
I was talking about the movie to I wasnt talking
about it first. So yeah, dude, So Panther.
Speaker 1 (01:45:56):
Getting angry. I was just always are. So I think
it was just the label.
Speaker 8 (01:46:07):
You know, we're trying to, you know, get more opportunities
and seeing it that kind of thing, and you know,
they said anybody wants to act? I was like, yeah,
absolutely a little bit in my day and uh so
that came up, Bob, I was like, yeah, were these weirds?
Speaker 5 (01:46:20):
You guys are the purple suited hipsters?
Speaker 1 (01:46:22):
Was there?
Speaker 5 (01:46:23):
You know on script? You know, and we just you know,
you know, young I do just come on. But I
think we had a couple of lines I can't remember.
Speaker 3 (01:46:29):
Yeah, I was out there when the when they're in
the standoffs right there.
Speaker 5 (01:46:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're supposed to come out and kind
of react to that what's going on?
Speaker 2 (01:46:38):
You know, your parents must have been proud, you know,
now you somebody were.
Speaker 1 (01:46:45):
You or yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:46:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was crazy.
Speaker 1 (01:46:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:46:54):
I just remember the most amazing time I have with that.
Speaker 8 (01:46:58):
It's like we were actually doing the session and right
before we actually taped everything, there's just there was another
room that was happening, and D'Angelo was in there, and
it's like everybody's playing this stuff and we heard ship
that haven motherfucker he played that and every good body
he was playing all of it was just like amazing.
Speaker 5 (01:47:22):
We all just went crazy, like what who is this?
Speaker 1 (01:47:25):
Arn't you what?
Speaker 5 (01:47:27):
Amazing? Yeah, just yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:47:29):
It was really dope. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:47:31):
I always forgured that that was like before d' angelo
was d Angelo.
Speaker 2 (01:47:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was like a couple of songs
on the Samplo tape for a second.
Speaker 1 (01:47:40):
So what what what will the rest of twenty eighteen
look like for you? And you're playing for twenty nineteen?
Speaker 8 (01:47:47):
Oh man, just yeah for all hey, yeah, you know,
just really trying to push you on what I'm doing
with this, introducing stokely just to my my journey, you know,
everything I've lurted up into now, Like I said, I
got a couple more gears. I want to talk about
different projects you know, uh that I got in my mind.
(01:48:10):
I would toast say it like a jazz project, something
like that, something African inspired inspired, more of this kind
of journey. More nati is you know pop, you know,
R and B, sensible, whatever you want to call it.
I don't want to get into the labels. And because
HARVERD comes out, man, but definitely more of this. I
think it's it's a lane that's missed. Like I said,
(01:48:30):
I I see it as a hybrid because I'm like
I feel like I'm I love analog and I love digital.
I love you know, uh technology, but I'm rooted in
you know, the past, So I think meshing both of
those worlds together, that's what pretty much uh introducing stokel.
I've got a lot of that energy in there, you know,
(01:48:51):
so definitely, I mean more touring and just kind of
creating awareness.
Speaker 3 (01:48:54):
So that just save a baritone joining for me, that's all.
Speaker 5 (01:48:58):
Yeah, and that too, Yeah, absolutely serious about that.
Speaker 1 (01:49:00):
We might be calling man, I know I spun that
playing your game baby thing already. Yeah, it works.
Speaker 2 (01:49:08):
You not to be the ask the female questions here,
but since it's not really asked too much, what's your situation?
Speaker 5 (01:49:14):
Situation?
Speaker 2 (01:49:15):
Yeah, like are you married? You got some babies?
Speaker 5 (01:49:17):
Oh, I take it off and play them.
Speaker 1 (01:49:29):
About carefully.
Speaker 5 (01:49:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:49:34):
Yeah, you know the question that I don't have to ask.
Is it a sister?
Speaker 5 (01:49:43):
Oh wow, yes, okay, I got some babies we need
to see from d C. The Howard baby, Yeah, I am.
Speaker 1 (01:49:59):
Shut it down. Wait, why are you vicarious celebrated?
Speaker 2 (01:50:03):
Not she's like a sister, She's from d C. And
she like y'all think I'm black, like she.
Speaker 3 (01:50:11):
Even matter yet?
Speaker 2 (01:50:12):
No, I don't need to meet her. He gave me
facts she's married.
Speaker 1 (01:50:18):
And she's from d C.
Speaker 2 (01:50:19):
We were raised and she's of a certain age. We
were raised. The march we made Martin King Holiday, we thought.
Speaker 3 (01:50:27):
Please just let people have their misagination in peace.
Speaker 8 (01:50:44):
Yes, and you're you're touring currently, Yes, yes, yes, doing
a lot of that weekends. You know, we can worrying
the chuf everything, the kids.
Speaker 1 (01:50:54):
Well, we thank you for coming on Request super Thank
you for having me.
Speaker 5 (01:51:00):
It's a great show.
Speaker 8 (01:51:01):
By the way, man, congrats you listen to It's great
to put the faces voices.
Speaker 3 (01:51:12):
Hopeful, go right in hope.
Speaker 1 (01:51:16):
Yeah for our listeners out there, both fante and and
stokely and yeah and sort of me were we're dealing
with domestic home situations with our countertops and bathrooms and
when it's time to pick up in.
Speaker 5 (01:51:34):
The middle of America and St.
Speaker 1 (01:51:35):
Paul, ladies and gentlemen, we thank you very much. There
is another episode of Quest Love Supreme on behalf of
the Team Supreme and it's like on the next round.
(01:51:56):
Quest Love Supreme is a production Heart Radio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Hosts And Creators
Laiya St. Clair
Questlove
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.