Soul Scribes at O'Brien's

Looking forward to rockin' Santa Monica once again this Thurs. night (Dec. 11). We have been workin on some new songs...here's a taste of a low quality recording from our lockout space. Just go to our facebook page and check out the song, "For Two." Find Soul Scribes on Facebook

Soul Scribes playing the 2nd Thurs. of the month at O'Brien's Irish Pub. Check us out...

Funky Gem- 24 Karat Black

24 Karat Black
24 Karat Black Theme



I don't know exactly how to classify this..do you call it jazz, funk or soul? All I know is that it is a groove and a half. I picked up this record in the fall of '94, when I had moved back to Iowa from a 3 month stay in San Diego. This compilation has a few classic gems on it including :The Three Pieces- Backed Up Against the Wall, Blackbyrd's - Wilford's Gone, and Gary Bartz- Celestial Blues are my favorites.
These tracks were taken from the vaults of Fantasy Records, which absorbed some other labels including Stax, Riverside, Prestige, and then was absorbed by some larger label.
24 Karat Black was a group of studio musicians, headed by Dale Warren, that sat in sessions with the likes of Issac Hayes, the Bar-Kays, and others on the Stax/Volt label.

Proper gander

While listening to KPCC today, I heard the program, AirTalk with Larry Mantle. THis is a show aired on NPR, so you expect a little bias from the "left," but is that always good. Here's the issue...taken from the AirTalk web page on www.kpcc.org

"The latest New Yorker cover depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in a turban, fist-bumping his gun-slinging wife. Obama's campaign has condemned the rendering as tasteless and offensive. Even McCain's campaign agreed. The New Yorker says it's simply satire. Is it really offensive - or is it just funny? Could it have a negative impact on Obama’s (italics added- this is actually published on the KPCC website. WTF?) campaign? If so, is that fair? Should we be concerned that it might play into the fears and ignorance of the voting public? Or should we all just lighten up?"

I was in general agreement with the host that this cartoon is satire. It is obviously making fun of all the attacks on Obama from those who would have us believe he is Muslim, too black, un-American, elitist...or whatever. I was a bit turned off by the fact that Larry Mantle was amazed that one couldn't see it as merely funny satire. " I can't believe that there are really people that believe that, but I guess there may be," he said after talking to a caller who was offended by the article. There are still lots of charged emotions built into our society, and these images repeat the same images that have conditioned our society. It is a matter of perception.
The thing that is not ever said is this: It doesn't matter to the opponents of Obama if it is satire or not. Their message has gotten through loud and clear, and with the great help of the "left-leaning" media. Good thing Jon Stewart is on vacation right now or millions more people who wouldn't read the New Yorker would be bombarded with the image as well. The people who run the presidential campaigns are advertising people. They understand and have studied the effect of repeated images on people. Like my man Prose quoted to me from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, "sixty-two thousand four hundred repetitions make one truth." "The McCain" people are lovin' that Obama's image of a terrorist who rolls with Angela Davis is gettin plastered on TVs everywhere. Much greater than the 1 million readers the New Yorker (who has more readership in Los Angeles than anywhere else, no doubt our Larry Mantle is one of them.) gets monthly.
The bottom line is that this campaign has issues of race and historical context that many people have strong emotions about. The cover of the New Yorker was put out for one reason: to sell copies. To make money. Controversy sells. Racism is easy. Everybody has an opinion. So, you still wanna be in show business?
I don't really like Carlos Mencia either.

Crate Digs Vol.1 -Dred Scott

Crate Digs is a section where I go randomly into my stax and pull a handful of records. Record number one is from an obscure artist named Dred Scott. This record is from 1993 and I got it as a promo copy from the record label while I was a DJ at KRUI.


I'm a man who listens to the music more than the lyrics at first, so I'm gonna drop the "Duck Ya Head"- Funky Flute Mix from the B-Side of the "Nutin' Ta Lose" 12" Single. It is just a funky hip-hop instrumental with a little Funk Inc. sample and a smooth flute solo. This reminds me of some of the stuff from Guru's early Jazzmatazz albums. Both songs were produced by the arist, with a Marley Marl remix on the A-side.

Find out about the real Dred Scott.

Hard Times - Pt. 1

Hard Times
David Newman
from The Best Of David Newman.

This song was recorded in Nov. of 1958 with David Newman playing alto sax and Ray Charles on piano. Newman actually spent 4 years as a member of the Ray Charles Orchestra before recording his first solo album at Ray's suggestion. The rest of the players were from the orchestra as well and include: Bennie Crawford- baritone sax; Marcus Belgrave- trumpet; Edgar Willis- bass; and Milt Turner- drums.

Is anybody listenin?

Check out this video: Prose-For Whom The Bell Tolls



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In this day we are bombarded by quotes and images. What Obama did, how Jesse Jackson wants to cut his nuts off, and how our troops are finally "turning the tide in Iraq." The media spends a lot less time covering how Dennis Kucinich has put forth his third motion in the House of Representatives to commence articles of Impeachment for the President. Or how Iran is testing missiles in response to Israel's "training" exercises that look too much like preparation for Israeli bombing raids on Iranian nuclear refinement facilities. Keep diggin' for the truth.
Casey J. Porter's You Tube Page
http://cbftw.blogspot.com/
911truth.org

Pump It Up Homeboy

This song really says it all...and it is a hip-hop classic, so you should just check it out.

Ice Cube
Today Was A Good Day (remix)



Thanks all for the b-day love. Another circle completed.
One.

Jazz Gem- Ruby, My Dear

This is a somewhat melancholy, yet pretty ballad from Thelonius Monk (piano), recorded in July of 1957. Also playing on the record are a young John Coltrane- alto; Wilbur Ware- bass; and Shadow Wilson- drums.

I watched the movie Thelonius Monk: Straight, No Chaser on Fri. The movie is a documentary using mostly archival footage of Monk in 1968. His mad genius can definitely be tasted by watching this truly unique individual at work. It was executive produced by Clint Eastwood, a piano player himself, in 1989. You can get it anywhere...Netflix.

Motiv8

Ya gots ta K.I.M. (Keep it Movin'). I was listening to this

Sizzla CD called Reggae Max (I believe it is an import and has 21 tracks on it- bought it @ the Wherehouse). This song Do Some Good came on and got me in a nice mood, helping me stay positive and motivated. It is a compilation CD, so I don't know which Sizzla album this song comes from (and there are a lot of Sizzla albums), but I've never been disappointed with the limited doses that I've sampled. I feel like sitting down to write this is doing some good and it is also practice. Sharpening the tools and sharing my life and passions.
Speaking of sampled, I sampled Sizzla on one of my songs- just a short intro- for my song, dub stylee, on the album Environ Mentalz. That song was inspired by a couple of friends of mine, Sam and Mose...dubbing is a must.
So, my wife Beth and I rode about 20 miles today on our bikes. My motivation is vacation on bicycles in the form of RAGBRAI starting June 20. Hey, Lance Armstrong will be there, so I need to at least feel in shape when I get to ridin 80 mile days. So tomorrow, I will get up and do it again...which brings me to

Soul Scribes, the band I've been playing with for the last 2 years. Before I was in the picture, Sal Lopez had a band with some others, including his brother, Justin. Their band was called Mindshift, and they made only one album in 1999 before the band broke up. Sal brought some of this material into Soul Scribes and adapted it to the new style, members and growth. Noisemaking 101 was released in March of 2007, and just as we started gaining momentum and making a buzz in L.A. and elsewhere, our MC, Phil "UP" Benjamin, in June 2008, made a difficult personal decision to leave the band and follow his heart elsewhere. Since then, Justin Lopez has joined Soul Scribes full time, and I fully expect Prose to continue to collaborate with the band and put his sound into the Soul Scribes mix. So, will this song get the hat trick?

Mindshift- Do It Again(1999)
Soul Scribes- Do It Again (2007)

Songs of Freedom

Being "Independence Day" and all, my thoughts go historical. History of this country, and personal history.
I spent a few childhood summers on my grandparents farm in Iowa. My grandpa Ruble used to collect old cars and every 4th of July, he would drive one of the cars in the Osceola July 4 parade. We would go and throw candy to all the people (but not too much, we don't want to throw ALL of it). That really is just remembering good times from the past, not really anything to do with patriotism.
While listening to KPFK yesterday, somebody quoted an historian, David Hackett Fischer. He has written a book called

Liberty and Freedom.
I haven't read it yet, but history is always interesting. It deals with U.S. history and what our forefathers- the common people, thought about freedom and how the United States came to be. One of the quotes was from an interview with a soldier from the revolutionary war and said something like this: what we wanted to show those redcoats was that we always thought ourselves as free, and they didn't think we should.
So, that makes me think... are we free. The spirit of our forefathers IS alive today, but not in power today. Check out the book, The Framing of Mumia Abu Jamal by J. Patrick O'Connor. Then listen to a selection: Homeland and Hip- Hop by Immortal Technique on the album Revolutionary Pt.2. He has a new album that dropped on June 24 that I WILL be buying. Stay tuned...
I must conclude with my favorite song of freedom, Redemption Song , by Bob Marley. This version is from his very last concert in 1980, from the city of Pittsburgh, PA. It is the last song on disc 4 of a gem of a CD box set called Songs of Freedom.

A Hip-Hop Gem - Diamond D

Starting my new blog in the month of July, my birth month, I was thinking of rubies (the gemstone of July). Since this is my month, I have decided to drop a few gems on ya'... Number 1:

Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics
Stunts, Blunts and Hip-hop


Diamond D (rumor had it that he dropped the "D" over legal rights to the name or something) was the first to call himself "the best producer on the mic." This was one of my top 5 albums of 1992. The title track, Stunts, Blunts, and Hip-hop is pretty self explanatory...and having just turned 21 at the release of this album, you may understand my fascination with the song... and album. Great, simple, bass driven hip-hop (this track samples the Buddy Miles Experiment- more on that later) with catchy hooks. The epitome of 1992. Favorite lines: "give us a kick like a football punt,/ so much money has been spunt./Much, much more than Donald Trump's./I hope my boom spot doesn't get bumped./ As I listen to Thelonius Monk," Click below to listen:

Mix Down Babylon.mp3

Live mix recorded in 2002 (but just as relevant today) from 100% vinyl...oooh hear the crackle and pop. The theme of this mix is this: anger at the political system, fear mongering corporate owned media, police brutality, corruption, twisted mentalities, abuse of power, social injustices, ...AND HOW THE MUSIC CAN SAVE US. THE REVOLUTION WILL BE DOWNLOADED!





SONG LIST FOR MIX DOWN BABYLON

The Clash- Sean Flynn
Bob Marley- Burnin' and Lootin'( Bill Laswell dub)
The Beastie Boys- Cookie Puss (inst. version)
Meat Beat Manifesto- Radio Babylon
808 State- Reaper Repo
Busta Rhymes- Gimme Some More (inst.)
Kraftwerk- The Telephone Call
Public Enemy- Brothas Gonna Work it Out (inst.)
Buju Banton- Sufferer
Supacat- Rama Jama (Kenny Dope remix)
DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince- Brand New Funk (inst.)
Bobby Konders- Rising to the Top
Arrested Development- Revolution (inst.)
Sly and Robbie- Fatigue Chic (remixed by Howie B)
Sly and the Family Stone- I Want To Take You Higher, You Can Make It If You Try
The Jungle Brothers- I Got It Like That (vocal dub)
Parliament- Flashlight (Cameron Paul's Loops vol. 1)
De La Soul- I Be Blowin' feat. Maceo Parker
Eric B. and Rakim- In The Ghetto (drum and vocal mix)
Tha Mexakinz- Phonkie Melodia
Madlib- The Rain 12" Beats 11 & 12
Cutty Ranks vs. Poison Chang- Limb by Limb (Drum and Bass remix)
Outkast- Hootie Hoo (inst.)
Mobb Deep- Give It Up Fast (inst.)