Back From the Brink

As I said in the last posting, I'm gonna go solo for awhile (although Sherry will be pitching in as well...),erstwhile my compadres are off doing their respective things....

The topic...back from the brink of unpopularity.

Charlie Tee's comments:
It's hard to categorize the Rolling Stones here because they haven't actually gone out of vogue, or out of people's conscientiousness.
There are alot of people in the music industry who seem to be here one day and gone the next, and I've often wondered how or why that is.
I enjoy loads of different kinds of music, and I'm puzzled as to how we choose the people that we've chosen to be our favorites.
How did Elvis get this popular ? How did the Moonwalk propel Michael Jackson so far in the industry? How come Dizzy Gillespie wasn't a superstar, or other people in jazz for that matter.
I don't believe in my heart that just because we're Black (African American) that we can't or couldn't, in some cases, achieve mainstream popularity.
I felt so saddened when the great singer Luther Vandross died, but he seems to be one of those people who are back from the brink of death. I'm hearing his music all over the airwaves these days...it's either a blessing or a strange curse.

Sherry's comments:
I'm not sure what brings people back into popularity or what it is that makes them fade for a time and then, resurface bigger than ever. Some people I think come back because of nostalgia. People want to relive their youth and music is a big part of most of our coming of age. some people never really go away but newer and different acts come to the fore. Some, like Tina Turner come back bigger and stronger.some people grab our attentions with the newness of it or a fresh sound put to old standards. some, took standards but because the audience they were geared toward had never experienced them, they made it big using classic sounds albeit new to their fans. a few that come to mind are the stones and the beatles, both groups were influenced by black artists yet put their stamp on it and offered it to a different audience. they at least, had the honesty to give credit were credit was most certainly due. elvis, well, even his manager and mentor admitted that he was looking for a white boy that could sing like a black man and found Elvis. Elvis wasn't exactly welcomed with opened arms by the white adults as most know, but he drove the little girls crazy and still drives middle aged ones into fits today PLUS the nostalgia kicks in. tho I must admit, I never really cared for him EXCEPT for one love song that makes me think warm and fuzzy thoughts!I do not know why most jazz greats are mostly only recognized and given their due by other musicians. perhaps it is because jazz is complex. It has patterns to it that force one to almost think about the music as a mathematical equation.me, I love all sorts of music, but I'm a big, blues fan. I'm so happy that there's been a resurgence in it. It makes it much easier to find to buy and the blues festivals are bringing some great acts to more and more cities. there is even a station here in pittsburgh, WYEP, that plays blues all Saturday night.sad , truly sad, that so very many supremely talented musicians not only struggled to just eke out a living only because they were black but had to endure humiliation and then, bite their collective tongues as their talent was stolen and their contributions ignored. they watched as the theft of their passion made the thieves rich. i think one of the factors in fame is fate, timing, luck, call it what you will. That is something beyond anyone's control, but as anyone that is in the arts comes to realize, you had better be in it for the love of it, the NEED of it, because few achieve fame, few even make a good living at it, but if it is your passion then it is truly a gift to yourself and if there are those you come across that refuse the gift you offer because of prejudices, then they are the pooer for it and are to be pitied even as they anger you. singers, musicians, painters, actors, dancers and even odd little poets like me, we do it cuse (to paraphrase the lyrics of an old song) "it's in us and it's gotta come out!" It's an honest question that Charlie's posed, but it's one with many answers. I'll bet every one of you reading right now can come up with a few of your own.

Charlie added...
I think that obviously there are many in music that never recieved the ovations and accollades that they deserved, but to sum up the "resurgence" of some of the forerunners of music, the unsung heroes, so to speak, one would have to realize that if it is out there in the universe, at some point it has to surface. What is in the dark eventually comes to the light...so as with popularity.
Also, there are a great deal of other factors that come into play with popularity. How the person involved deals with people around them, plus adding their God given talent, plus having people believe in them, and talking them up, contributes to making someone popular, and oftenttimes the person(s) involved don't take time to make themselves accessible to their fans, thereby cutting off a key resource. A simple thank you to the crowd that cheers you on is more helpful than signing a hundred autographs.

It's Been Awhile...

Forgive us, we all have been so terribly busy with our individual things that we've sort of neglected The Soul of Us...

So here is the deal for right now, I will keep on maintaining the sight, and hopefully when we all get our ducks in a row maybe we can pick this thing up and run with it again.

I still feel as though this is a worthwhile undertaking, and I'm certain that my partners do as well, it's just that when you have your other life to deal with, it makes it slightly difficult to juggle everything.
Anyway, starting this weekend I will begin to start posting again, and we'll just take it from there.
I had gotten some responses from folks on my regular blog post Standing In The Shadows Of Music, so I know that there is a readers interest at least, so with that in mind look for more posting here.
Thank you all for your support...( I sound like a Bartles and Jaymes commercial....uggghhh!!
Take care, lovingly,Charlie Tee :-)

Black History Month

The topic: For this post, I thought that we'd honor the African Americans who have influenced us through music...

Jen'comments:
There's so many....Aretha and Etta, Alicia and Whitney, Mary J and Tina....the list goes on and on and that's just the women! I have many men on my list as well. But when I was thinking about how African American musicians have influenced me, I realized that the majority of them were women. There is something about the power of them.....their spirit, their voice, their prescence! The first word that comes to mind when thinking about these wonderful women is STRENGTH. They are so strong! Even in a song telling a story of lost love or other vulnerable situations, these woman are strong. They give a voice to fears by facing it head on. So, for me, I would like to honor the women that give me inspiration to be strong. Even if the only way that they do it is through their song. Singing along in my car (although my voice is no comparison to theirs) makes me feel strong and helps me face problems or just to face another day. So, thank you to all of the powerful women who have such amazing strength, no matter your skin color....

Charlie Tee's comments:
I agree with Jen about being given the strength to carry on through song. For me especially since I am a musician much of my life has been shaped and re-shaped by the music that I listened to. I'm a person that is very easily moved to tears ( I know, it ain't pretty, but it's me...), and many times in my life it was people like Aretha that got me through feeeling akward about myself. When I was younger, I was outgoing, but unsure of myself, and songs like Aretha's "Baby I Love You," helped me to find my voice in the world...it was the first song that I ever sang out loud in public.
There are so many African American musicians that have influenced me that there is not enough ink in a printer to tell them all, so I'll say, short and sweet, that they've all come through for me...in one way or another.

Sherry's comments:
hi, i thought about this question quite a bit. it's not an easy question even tho it seems it would be. pittsburgh has always been an "oldies" town. do wop groups and such, most of those singers were either black or italians from philly(my friends tease!). so i heard do wop before most anything except for my mother's old rosemary clooney and some opera from one of my uncles and the obligatory italian songs and those old country songs of doom and gloom and 18 wheelers from my dad's side of the family. i never gave it much thought. i never really gave much thought as to the ethnicity of the singers anyway tho i do know that there were some parents that did. i thought that was not only basically wrong, but it was stupid to refuse to enjoy something as magical as music because one was dumb enough to think skin color or ethnicity mattered in any way for any reasons.so, i listened to pretty much everything, but my all time favorite, smoky robinson!!!!someone once said that smokey could burp a song and it would be a hit cause he was just that good. i think they were right. i had tons of his 45's, played them to death on an old plaid suitcase type record player with a needle that looked like a thick pencil lead, bet charlie remembers those! i knew all the flip sides,"fork in the road" is still one of my favorites!then the late 60's hit, i was in awe of hendrix, i loved that gorgeous white leather fringed jacket thing he wore, god i did! i watched him play and it was like the music was making an electrical circuit through his body, into the guitar and back into him. that was also when i started to get into the blues, tho you couldn't find many blues albums around those days, but i had found out that a lot of the songs that the english groups had out and a lot of janice's stuff were blues covers. at least the english groups were honest enough to credit them and were in awe of those old time blues singers.now, i listen to almost every type of music, from blues to old rock to tibetian singing bowls and native american chants to celtic goddess songs. there is so much to enjoy, but now and then, i dust off my old turn table, get out that round "thingy" for the 45's and listen to smokey the way i did back then, a little scratchy, but still, the best!

In Concert...

The topic: Micahel Ann asks...if you've ever been to a concert, what were those feelings like, sharing the music? Who did you see?

Sherry's thoughts:
i am probably one of the few people my age that has never been to a concert.true, unless you count a free performance of some of the songs from HAIR given at point state park in pgh down where the Allegheny and the Monongahela meet to form the Ohio river.The park was full of hippies and business people and college kids and just regular folk and me, about 17, i think. in bells and sandals and probably skipping doing something i was supposed to be doing but it was an event not to be missed and the vibes were strong. it was a different time truly, like every turning point in society, so multifaceted and complex that even those that lived through it still can not agree on exactly what it was really like.that was the only concert i was at. i was too busy and too cash strapped to spend the money for a one night thing. i was, as most were in my circle and in pgh. in general, more into buying albums or 45's with the cash we had. then i got married in 72 and a year later had my daughter and well, money was even harder to come by.now, well the stones were just here, but damn, i'm wasn't going to save up to pay their prices and even tho i really like them, hey, i'd STILL rather buy a cd, same with Dylan or even Aerosmith. i would have loved to see John Lee Hooker live, Buddy Guy still, a few more, but not enough to justify that much cash when a cd or a dvd of a concert is forever.did i miss out on a rite of passage all those years ago, yeah, probably, but i survived, besides on a personal note, i'm allergic to pot, the smoke that would waft my way at parties back in the 60's was enough to swell my eyes into slits and make me wheeze and head for the great outdoors or at least the back yard or an open window.

Charlie Tee's thoughts:
Wow, Sherry, you've never been to a concert...
While I do agree that listening to a CD is forever, there is nothing that can even come close to being a part of an experience that is live. Since you're into poetry primarily, here's an experience that I think that you can relate to. In the 70's I went to visit my Sister Caroleigh at Howard University Law School just before she graduated, while there she took me to see Nikki Giovanni in person, and I can still vividly see her weaving her poetry like the greatest musician.It was so full of life and so brilliant that it ranks up there with some of the best concerts that I've ever seen.
(for those unfamiliar with the name, Ms Giovanni is to poetry, especially African American poetry, what Beethoven is to music, or moreover, what Duke Ellington is to Black music.).
Anyway, as I'm sure you can imagine, I have been to many concerts, large and small, but if I had to narrow it down to an absolute favorite I would have to say that it happened here in West Virginia, the setting was Mountain Stage (our internationally broadcast radio program), and the group that caught my undivided attention was Storyville. Their frontman Malford Milligan was hands down the best showman I've ever experienced...he hypnotized me with his stage presence, and that is how I try to operate as a performer now, I try to make it an event that people remember.
After that it would be Stevie Wonder, and Earth Wind and Fire, they made me realize how much I wanted to be in the music business. I don't worship idols, but Maurice White of EWF is still my hero, along with David Sanborn.
In short, music portrayed by people who really love it is the stuff that gets my juices flowing, and there are alot of folks who move my soul.
At the end of my posts I always encourage that we should support live music today tomorrow and always.The reason that I say this is that being in that live music moment can be life changing on so many levels, and it can free you from the stresses of life.So sister Sherry, I am going to treat you to a concert: large or small, you find someone that you might like to see and I'll send you the tickets, you deserve to go at least once in your life. I know your criteria, you don't want to go where there is lots of smoke and etc.,so you pick the venue, and date at your convenience.

Jen's Thoughts....
Okay, so I'm sure that the list of artists that I have seen live will not compare to the rest of the group, but here it goes.....

Yeah, go ahead and make fun....I saw Tiffany and New Kids on the Block in concert. Hey, I was a kid and I thought that Tiffany was SO COOL! The funny story about this concert is that the music and the young girls screaming was so loud when NKOTB came out, my parents and I ended up leaving a few minutes into their set. Tiffany was great, as I remember. And my dad bought me a tshirt from the concert. Which he made perfectly clear that he thought was too expensive, but I pleaded for it and he ended up giving in. I think it was $18, I don't remember, but I do remember that it was what my dad considered "damn expensive". Hey, it was at the WV State Fair, okay..... I thought I was cool for going! :)

So, with the "teenie bopper concert" aside, I've seen Aerosmith, Matchbox 20, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Blessid Union of Souls, Seven and the Sun.... and I think that is it. I know, not an extensive list, but that's all I've got! HAHA

Aerosmith was a gift from my mother (she was trying to make up for not letting me go to the Bad Boy Entertainment concert in high school). I had a great time at the Aerosmith concert...I've always loved Steven Tyler and Joe Perry! :) I guess it is more memorable that I saw ROCK ICONS in concert than Puff Daddy (now P. Diddy), Usher, Faith Evans, and a few others. (I still would love to see Usher in concert....)

Rascal Flatts and Tim & Faith were gifts from Anthony. They were great concerts. I was very impressed by Rascal Flatts-- They are great performers!

All concerts are memorable...in different ways.

The Matchbox 20 concert was very speical. Anthony and I went with our good friends, Libby and Chad, to Morgantown to see this concert. It was special to share this awesome concert with Lib and Chad on the day after they got married. It was a wonderful road trip and a WONDERFUL concert. It doesn't hurt that Rob Thomas is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Lib and I definitely had a great time! :) Weird how we stood beside our husbands and drooled over Rob. HA HA j/k

The Seven and the Sun concert was an outdoor concert in Charleston at the Regatta. I went with my friend, Lib, and we got to hang out with the band. They were so nice and fun. There's a funny story about this concert.....I might tell that story later......hmmmmm

I love concerts...not only is music LIVE and REAL, but it is an experience like no other.

I have many concerts on my list...I hope that I have a chance to get around to all of them. Some of the ones that I want to go to are so expensive, I doubt that I'll be getting around to them. :(

Sherry - Even though I've not been to many concerts, I definitely recommend it. It is priceless!

Joel's thoughts:
Wow Sherry, that's extremely student of you! Charlie… I'm bloody jealous. Anyone who's seen Stevie should be envied. And EWF.. not that I've listened to them for a long time, but I can imagine a motley assortment like them would be cool and crazy to see live. Jen.. I can't say I'm particularly jealous except maybe of you seeing Matchbox20.I think that's because, in my small experience of rock concerts, I've found you either get – an AMAZING vibe, with the pieces played groovingly, and a cool buzz, everything played EXACTLY to record, or everything overdone and very fake sounding… it's something that you have to kind of .. survive with. The groove to me is what I'm going for when I go to a concert… It's got be a good performance… a show…well rounded. I'm sad to say that I have yet to go to a decent hiphop concert, but that I'm still trying.. I couldn't get tickets to Jehstthe last two times he was in London, or Immortal Technique… or Eminem during the Marshall Mathers tour… or however you spell it.Anyway, concerts I have been to that I really digged or found interesting. Nine Inch Nails, Nils Langdren, Maceo Parker, Rammstein.Rammstein was just … exciting. Its unfortunate that the venue wasvile, and I had vile seats… but apart from the fact I was seeing an industrial band yet needed binoculars, it was a fucking fun concert.Really tight… amazing support band (apocolyptica), and all the customary pyrotechnics. Not my favourite concert though. Nils Langdren I list purely for vibe. You can't beat a really good OUTDOOR concert very easily for vibe. It is worth noting I may have a rosy memory of it due to the influence of weed, but it was just a happy funk concert,with everybody dancing around having fun..Maceo was the man. I'm not sure how old he is, but he's still rocking the house, managing a 90 minute set, and then some. And he's not young. He is the funkiest horn player, and the feel of the band is wonderful.He's also an awesome singer, and he controls the audience masterfully.My favourite concert ever was Nine Inch Nails. It was a concert where I knew the words- to everything! A really dynamic set too… and being the only one of these concerts on my little list except for Rammstein that I DIDN'T go to alone.

Charlie Tee adds...Maceo that Joel spoke of has been James Browns's principal horn player since the 60's, and he has been a huge influence on many of today's saxophonists...an amazing player.

Michael's thoughts:
I still remember my first concert like it was yesterday. I was in the sixth grade and my Dad took me, my sister, and my best friend to see El DeBarge and Jeffrey Osborne. Many of you won't even remember them, but I was so in love with them. El DeBarge sang that song "Donna" and "Who's Johnny" from that 80's movie "Short Circuit". Jeffrey sang "If you want, want, want..." It was festival seating, which doesn't even exist anymore due to stampedes.I was right up front at the stage and I got to go up and sing with Jeffrey Osborne, I was hooked.Since then I have been to so many concerts I can't even list them. Some of my most memorable were when I lived in Pittsburgh:U2 (2 times) Three Rivers and Mellon Arena Melissa Etheridge at Starlake Amphitheater (which now has a corporate name, but I refuse to use it)Lillith Fair - Starlake,Boys 2 Men - Starlake,Amy Grant - Starlake,10,000 Maniacs - Starlake,INXS - Starlake,Def Leppard - Starlake;Every one of these experiences were unbelievable! There is just something about "being there".I know that buying an album lasts forever, but I like experiential journeys. The sounds, the smells, the drunks, the energy, the freedom. It brings us all together for a time and I can relive it in my mind with great detail.My husband played in a band and he still recalls the excitement of playing a live show and how it really connected the band to their fans.I can't wait to go to my next concert...

How Does It Feel?

The Topic: When listening to music, usually there is a section where one of the musicians takes a solo: how does that make you feel after hearing it ?

Charlie Tee's thoughts:
Joel wanted to know the thoughts behind the feelings when one listens to certain portions in music (I think specifically the solos in the songs).
I would have to say that for me that is a sort of hard to answer because it depends on what's going on around me at the time that I first hear it; for example, I'm an enormous fan of saxophonist David Sanborn, and in the 80's he had a live album entitled "Straight to the Heart," and there is a song on there called "Smile," which was originally done on another of his albums. Anyway, there is a section toward the middle of the song where David and guitarist Hiram Bullock trade lines, in other words Hiram would play a line, then David would match the line and so on. It starts off sort of slowly but then it builds into this great wall of sound with each player trying to outdo the last one, and in the end David does this absolutely unbelievable finger run up and down the saxophone, and it moves me to tears still to this day...why ? because I know David personally and I know that his left arm is atrophied (from being born with Polio), but he never let that stop his music, and to me it's awe inspiring, he didn't let disability disable him.

Jen's thoughts:
I'm not a musician, by any account, but I will give my 2 cents on this topic, for what it's worth. (Besides...doesn't being a music lover count for something????HAHA)

There are several songs that come to mind when I think about a specific part of a song that excites me......One song is Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight". I don't know what the part of the song would be called exactly, but the part where there is a drum solo (I guess)...It is somewhat unexpected in the song and it just ROCKS! My dad loves this song, too, which adds to the reason why I love it, too. He always plays the "drums" on the steering wheel when we listen to this song in the car. Another song is "Steamroller" with James Taylor. I guess I thought this song was cool because of the musicians' talent throughout the song, especially at the end. And this song sounds like no other James Taylor song. It is one that gets me pumped up and excited. (I know, I know....Phil Collins and James Taylor get me pumped up....Man, I'm a hard core rocker, aren't I????)

Sherry's thoughts:
Music affects me in odd ways. yes, i am like most. many times, when i hear an old song memories come rushing back at me, sometimes with a force that shakes me. my memories tho are almost little film clips, little snatches of the past. when i hear the song, SHOTGUN, I'm back at a little diner that used to be on the blvd. of the allies and wood st. across from point park college, now university. I can SEE my hand putting a quarter in the jukebox to play that song. i can taste the toasted english muffin i just finished, see the steam rise from the cup of tea i left on the table.if I hear SOMEONE by the contrails(not sure that's spelled right) I'm in the backseat of a certain car, hummm! yeah, I am. I can see as if I'm observing, odd that.this summer, i was with some friends sitting outside by their pool and a friend of mine(he and i are the same age, 1 month apart) started out of nowwhere to sing the song PLASTIC JESUS ( no offense, i do believe Jesus has a keen sense of humor )now, i hadn't heard that song in years and years. i had completely forgotten it's existence(or so i thought) but i joined right in, sang the words as if i was reading them off of a paper in my hand. go figure?his wife looked at me and told me that she thought her husband had made up that song just try to make her believe that it was an actual song! nope, it's a song! i searched around a bit on the internet, low and behold. there it was. so i posted the link on my blog! the really strange thing is, i rarely sing out loud, don't know WHY i just joined in singing that song, but it made me think of the blue plastic madonna my parents had on the dashboard of their rambler when i was a kid. i could see her clearly. hadn't had that memory at all before that day by the pool, but there i was, a grade school kid with penny loafers and scabby knees sitting in the car going to the store with my mom, looking at the suction cupped little virgin.so, yes, music affects me in a very real, very potent way, not always, but sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing, but i push the bad down and change the radio station!

Michael's thoughts:
One song that truly moves me is the love theme from St. Elmos Fire. Every time I hear that song my heart flutters. I think it takes me back to high school and doesn't necessary invoke feelings of "love", but of excitement about new things and growing up and discovery. That movie is so complex and sad and I can remember watching it when I was 14 and thinking those people were so cool and that their lives were so glamorous and sad all at the same time. Now looking back they were all so young and just learning how to find themselves. I saw them as mature and all grown up, but they were just kids. I also get all pumped up about the Phil Collins drum solo and Jen and I have been in the car together and skillfully played the dash board drums in unison. I also really like several heavy metal instrumentals like Van Halen, ZZ Top, Metallica, Linkin Park, and Disturbed. I am moved by many types of music. I also have to say that INXS has great saxaphone solos. I could go on and on...

Joel's thoughts:
It's always been a hard one for me- for anyone really, to single outthe groove on a song is being just that much greater than the others,but it can be made easier by talking about this ethereal factor called'groove'. I'm actually going to begin by giving my 2 cents on theopinions of the others.I've never been much of a fan of David Sanborn, but he seems to be avery varied player. I'll be honest and say that I've really only heardhim play 'smooth jazz' - a bane!Jen, I don't know the Phil Collins, but James Taylor should pumpanyone! Steamroller is just ridiculously groovy because its a reallynice, stylish blues. If we stick on James Taylor, I like 'Don't let mebe lonely'. Its just so... intense? Its a really structured song. Itsvery simple, but it climaxes in a damn big way, even if its only inreality a chilled out sax solo by Mr Session himself, Michael Brecker.Michael's mentioned I also don't seem to know. Now me, first justSONGS that really move me... the MASH theme. I always forget what itscalled... but Paul Desmond's playing on that is mindblowinglybeautiful, and haunting. Its music that you can listen and just sitthinking about life. I think thats a pretty unusual quality. I alsolike Rodriguez'z concierto de aranguez (sp?), in particular Miles'sversion and the Chet Baker Paul Desmond. Its just so lyrical a pieceof music, without lyrics, and I think its quite sad that music seemsto be only accepted as moving if the lyrics are poetry. Sometimeslyrics can be ingenious or hilarious, and sometimes they can beimmature, but for me, when I write lyrics, I just want them to soundgood. I couldn't give a (insert something here) about whether theymake sense or not if they sound great!Sounding great should be a priority. Three other songs to brieflymention that I think are really really groovy.Nine Inch Nails - Hurt ... Just listen to it. When I saw NIN live, itwas, and still is the best concert I have ever been to. I know itsonly 18 years of me, but still... Thats an example of the lyrics beingsheer poetic genious, and sounding good. Its a use of sounds andlayers, and the music isn't just angst. It is, in its truest form, agreat work of art...Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb ... I needn't really say much about that?And one of my favourites, Marvin Gaye, Whats goin on... the scat nearthe end, when the key is going up and down. Its a beautifully phrasedlyrical solo pouring out of his heart threw his mouth, direct insteadof into a horn or any other instrument. Its really beyondcomprehension to me. Its such a simple solo... but I certainlycouldn't improvise a solo like that over anything. I'm sure it mayhave been tweaked or memorized.. but in the first place... its justbeautiful... blah.

We Made It...

First of all welcome to our new home away from home, The Soul of Us.
As it says in the title, we are 5 friends who met through the medium of blogging.
Without being too redundant (you can read how this venture came to be on each of our individual blogs), we want you to know that this (hopefully) will be a labor of love, kinship, and fun.
Our plan is to talk about many things that are on our minds, but to discuss it as a roundtable subject.
As many things do, this project may be a bit haphazard at first, but as it grows then it will begin to define itself and find its legs, and we hope that you will find joy and some enlightenment digging in to the soul of us...
That being said, all that is left to say is, WHEW, we made it.
Again, welcome, come in sit back and enjoy the ride.

This inaugural post is dedicated to :
Joel (Joe's Bloggy)
Jen (On the Porch Swing)
Michael Ann (bound for home)
Sherry (After the Bridge)

Thank you for your friendship...lovingly,Charlie Tee

Support Real friendship today tomorrow and always.