Hidden Beach Revue a big hit for label
The label Hidden Beach Recordings is prospering and is the home of Jill Scott and Kindred and the Family Soul among others and on October 4, the label had it's first revue in Los Angeles.
Artists from the label, saxophonist Mike Phillips, trombone master Jeff Bradshaw, and the soulful vocalist Lina debuted the first ever "Hidden Beach Revue" during a fundraiser for the Keyshawn & Shikiri Johnson Education Fund, which benefits Los Angeles-area youth.
The event helped inaugurate the fabulous Esquire House Mansion and had attendees the Honorable Mayor Hahn, actress and film director Penny Marshall, actress Holly Robinson-Peete, NFL star Eric Davis and others.
The event was a big success and all who attended enjoyed the sounds of the HBR threesome. Mike, Jeff and Lina will appear together again later this month in Jamaica.
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New book on Bob Marley shows different side of the reggae legend
Reggae legend Bob Marley had lived a life worthy of a king and really was the peoples person in his native land. There's been many books written on the reggae star but there's a recent book that sheds new light on the 'reggae king'.
The book shows images of Bob cackling as his band the Wailers take their reggae grooves through some very funky paces. Bob Marley sleeping, slouched on a couch while songs are sung around him. Bob Marley in a passion dance, rocking his dreads in a sprayed twirl that fans worldwide has etchd in their minds forever. Pictures sell a tousand stories and when you see reggae's most profound symbol rehearsing his group at Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens amusement park - Tilt-a-Whirls, Ferris Wheels, and rollercoaster in the background – you get a feel for Marley the working musician, not Marley the superstar.Kate Simon's book called "Rebel Music: Bob Marley and Roots Reggae" is a rich compilation of the photographer's travels with the Jamaican legend during the late '70s, and its visual candor is unusually expressive. Simon, who snapped the Clash's first album cover and documented loads of musicians throughout the years, shot Marley on numerous occasions (there are 400 images in the book, which is a limited edition of 2000 copies, each one numbered and signed). On the stage at London's Lyceum, on the bus during the famed Exodus tour – "Rebel Music" is rich with the intimacy and perspective that comes from a subject yielding to an image-maker. There's a great offhand feel at work - even the pictures of the funeral parade that stretched across Jamaica when the singer died - and it draws you into Marley's intriguing world.
Simon, who starts a show of her Jamaican archive at the Govinda Gallery in Washington, D.C. on December 3, began taking pictures of rockers in London during the early '70s. These days she makes portraits of authors, painters, and musicians (her work can be seen at Rockarchive.com ).
- Source: VH1.com
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Fugees to reunite in the studio - album expected in 2006
After last month's surprise get-together in New York for Dave Chappelle's 'Block Party', The now reunited Fugees (Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill and Pras) are now heading into the studio to record a new album.
At the moment Lauryn is currrently n the studio herself recording her new album (her long awaited sophomore follow-up to her widely successful debut 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill') so at present the trio will likely get together to start recording after the album is finished next year.
Recently Pras and Wyclef joined forces in the remake of Richie Valen's 'La Bamba' which appears on Wyclef's new album Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101. Wyclef is currently promoting his new set which celebrates Haiti's 200 years of independence.
- Source: reuters.com
R. Kelly works the drive-thru at McDonalds__________________________________________________________________
You might wanna do a double take the next time you're in a McDonalds drive-thru in your area or town, chances are you might see a superstar serving you. That was the case for some folks in St. Louis last weekend as they were served by none other than R. Kelly.
The R&B singer manned the drive-through window for three hours late Saturday night at a St. Louis McDonald's following his show at the Savvis
Center, musch to the surprise and astonishment of fans in the neighborhood.At first, Kelly just tried to convince the manager of the McDonald's, which was in the midst of closing since it was midnight, to stay open long enough so that he and his crew can get something to eat. But then Kelly persuaded the manager to take him on as a very short-term employee to work the drive-through window.
"He just loves working behind the counter, he gets a kick out of it, I guess as a way to interact with fans without it being totally crazy." Kelly's spokesperson Allan Mayer confirmed.
This is not the first time that Kelly has worked a shift at McDonald's either — he previously did the same thing in Atlanta while recording his 'Loveland' album (that was never released) some 2 years ago. "I came to the window and said, 'Can I take your order?' and people are like, 'Yeah, give me a whatever.' They'll take their order and then they'll leave," Kelly laughed at the time. "And I'm looking them dead in their face. A lot of people look at me and can't believe it's me. They just walk right past me."
This time, however, it was different as word spread quickly around the neighborhood, and the fast-food franchise was swarmed with fans who wanted to be served by Kelly, his spokesperson said.
Kelly has long professed a love for the Golden Arches, since it conjures up childhood memories for him. It's not uncommon for Kelly to have the tour bus pull over for a quick pit stop when he sees a McDonald's, or to hang out at the Rock and Roll McDonald's in Chicago in his own 'hood. And most of this stems from reminiscing about his late mother, with whom he used to spend every morning at the fast-food joint.
"She'd fix a cup of coffee," he told "Primetime Live" in a segment that aired earlier this month. "She'd wear this cheap lipstick. She'd leave this red lipstick ring around my cup. And I'd turn that around and drink that part, taste lipstick and coffee at the same time. 'Cause if I could, I would have married my mom. But you know, she turned me down ... Those are the things that my mother and I shared."
- Source: VH1.com