WEBVTT - Questlove Supreme: Larry Blackmon of Cameo 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.080 West Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:12.799 Hey what's up y'all? This is uh West Love Supreme. 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:16.760 It's kind of awesome. I've been knocking out bucket list 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:21.480 after bucket list of all the drummers that have influenced 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:22.000 my life. 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:22.920 Time out. 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:26.040 Let me say what's up to the team Supreme? Startists, Sugar. 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:29.120 See where you at right now? Brouh, he's in the elevator. Wait, 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:30.800 you're at your apartment already? 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:33.279 Yes, sir, A little walking down? 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:41.000 You ran you ran home? No, I briskly. I think 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:43.800 you lived to New York City, locks away from where 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:47.080 we work, So you're you're a speed walker then? 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:50.280 Anyway, Uh fan tickelo, what's going on? 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:50.440 Bro? 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.800 I'm good man, I'm cool man, Uh Fran send him 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:55.840 on up for likeya, man. I hope she gets better. 0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:01.279 She hurt her leg today, so that's right, but yeah, hope, 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:02.040 hope you get well. 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:02.760 Work wife. 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:05.119 We're praying for you, Yeah we are. 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:07.000 We're playing for you. 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:07.200 You know. 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:11.640 I'll say that our guest today is well. 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:13.560 I feel like all of our guests on Quest Love 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:17.440 suprem a legendary, but our guest is definitely a legendary. 0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:21.240 Trendsetter U in both music and fashion. 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:23.679 Yes, the rid cod piece. 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:25.520 We cannot state that enough. 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:30.720 I'll say that, you know, once behind the driver's seat 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:35.720 of I think at its most maybe fourteen piece Funcatorium 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:40.440 called Cameo. And you know, I'm dying to know how 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:43.440 per Diem was handled back in the day. But you know, 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:48.360 haven't been of age to witness this band and their 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.160 first incarnation as a fourteen piece. 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:50.440 I got. 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.480 I got to say that these brothers definitely took entertainment 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:57.920 like to the next level. Their their live show had 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:00.720 to be seen to be believed it. If you can, 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.720 there's there's a clip of them, or there's a show 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:06.840 he used to watch as a kid called Don Kirshner's 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:11.119 Rock Concert. And you know, the first incarnation. For those 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:15.639 of you that remember when Cameo just wasn't a quartet 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.400 or or a you know, or a trio, that's that's 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:20.680 one for the history books. 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:23.720 But I would like to note. 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:30.120 That while many of the bands that were you know, 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.240 from the sixties and the seventies, they kind of found 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:36.120 the transition to the eighties a little difficult to make. 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:40.000 And our guest today and his band of brothers not 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:44.720 only found kind of a way to coexist with a 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:48.119 new art form that was really much going to eclipse 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.000 Black culture in general, and of course I'm talking about 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:51.440 hip hop. 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.920 I will say that our guest today probably. 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:59.560 Pioneered what we know is New Jack Swing basically by 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:04.760 by embracing a hip hop attitude. You know, clearly like 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.959 a year or two before Shakas I Feel for You, 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.640 three years before Teddy Riley sort of figured out the 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:15.440 magic combination net connect with Jimmy and Terry. Shout out 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:17.720 to Jimmy and Terry. Of course, you know, we discussed 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:21.280 what's control of the first New Jack Swing album, like 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:26.360 the idea of hard drums and soul music. But I'll 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:30.040 say for many you know, of those albums in the 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:34.880 eighties like She's Strange, Single Life, and especially the Timeless 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:39.840 and Still you know gets much play today, like songs 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.960 like you know, word Up and Candy, I will say 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:46.400 that this band has gotten to go places that allow 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:50.520 their contemporaries like the Commodorees, the Ohio Players, the OJ's, 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:54.200 the Barks Mandrell named them, really wasn't able to make 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:58.520 that transition, and we're just honored. I again, thank God 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:04.440 for DMS shot my shot, and it happened, And ladies 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:06.640 and gentlemen, welcome to Quest of Supreme, the One and 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:11.480 only Larry Oh Black men down there a cameo. 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:18.240 That's pretty good question. I appreciate you having me on, man, 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:20.000 it's a pleasure. 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:23.880 I appreciate you, you know, making making this happen. Where 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:25.760 are you residing right now? Where are you talking to 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:26.480 me from. 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:29.560 At the moment, I'm talking to you in a place 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:30.880 called Atlanta, Georgia? 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:33.799 Hey, so you still reside in the A? 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:34.160 All right? 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:40.600 No, no, no, I reside in Henderson, Nevada. Okay, Vegas, 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:46.640 but for for other family reasons. And I've been here 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:52.080 off and on for for a minute. And uh, as 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:56.160 you know, New York is my home. No matter where. 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.360 I am, I feel. 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:01.479 I'm zipping a across here and there. Man, you know 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.800 how we do it, you know. And I happened to 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:08.800 really enjoy that June teen celebration. It was singing them, man, 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:11.960 I saw you, and you know you're one with a 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:17.760 few drummers that respect the pocket, because without that, it's nothing. 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:22.599 You taught me well, man, Yeah, that's. 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:26.679 Funny man that you're from Philly, because that's when I 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:34.240 really started. I went to Edison. There I heard yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:36.440 So I guess you know a little bit more about 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:37.760 me than I know about myself. 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:42.760 But I'm not just I'm not just a you know. 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:45.960 I knew Candy and I knew you were a red 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:50.159 Jack Strap, I knew Cameo. Man, I've read interviews and 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.320 not you know, for me as a professional, this is 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:56.000 thirty years in the making. Like the fact that we 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.480 haven't crossed paths yet to me is crazy, but it is. 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:02.719 I know a lot about you because you have so 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:05.120 much history, man, I might as well. I got immediately 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:08.160 dive in. Can you tell me in your life? What 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:10.280 was your first musical memory? 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:15.520 My first musical memory, Yes, in your life. I was 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:22.280 about five years old and my aunt was staying with 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:27.120 us in New York. She was from Augusta, Georgia, mother's sister, 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:32.320 and she always talked about the Apollo and she took 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:36.520 me to my first show there. So my first musical 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:42.440 memory was I guess being about two rolls back from 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:49.320 the stage and observing Sam Cook. That was first musical memories. 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:54.520 And then she tells me the story about after leaving there, 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:58.000 I broke away from her running down the street and 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:02.920 almost ran across Seventh Avenue and came close to being 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:09.039 met by a greyhound bus. And she didn't think it 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:13.680 was that funny, but she said I would laugh and 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:15.960 let her catch up with me and then break away 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:18.240 and run that much more. And that had nothing to 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:21.880 do with music. But being that my first musical experience 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:26.560 was there, I was like, and then after becoming old 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:29.680 enough to make it there myself, I used to play 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:33.080 He'll keep from church and catch the Maynes on Sunday 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:35.040 four years. 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.800 Okay, so do me a favor because this is like 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:42.160 a rabbit hole show where we nerd out on information 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:48.280 like that, could you please walk me through like a 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:52.320 typical day where you go to the Apollo? Like how 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.040 much did it cost? Like where would you sit? The 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.960 acts that played? Like can you walk us through a 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:02.560 typical hollow? What year are you talking around? Is this 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:03.800 the sixties? Seventies? 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:08.800 Oh my god, this had to be the sixties. Okay, 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:13.960 A typical day was you know, parents would give us 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:19.720 these envelopes. We were members of the Union Baptist Church 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:23.840 on one hundred and forty fifth between seventh and eighth. Okay, 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:26.600 we would go to church. I would take my sister, 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.880 she was about five years younger than me, and we'd 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:34.439 go and we'd wait until the offering time, which we 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:38.080 would take the envelopes and put it in plate. And 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:41.000 after the plate went around and everything, there was something 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.200 else that happened. They would play music and do something. 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:46.120 But I would give her the signal and then we'd 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.600 meet in the back of the church if she wasn't 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.320 sitting with me, and then I would take her across 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.400 the street to my cousin's house, leave her and take 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:57.760 the eighth Avenue bus to one hundred and twenty fifth 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:01.600 Street and go up to the Apollo. But anyway, they 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:04.400 had mad names. On Sunday, there were two shows on Sunday, 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:09.320 and I would catch the earlier show, and my seat 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.120 was if you're on the stage, you look to the 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:18.120 left and the first balcony right there, that was my seat. Okay, 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.480 it didn't have my name on it, and strangely enough, 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:26.800 I was never challenged about where I sat, and that 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:32.000 went on for years. I've seen every lake great performer 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:38.480 of color, I mean, everyone from Okay, Sam Cook, Jackie Wilson, 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:45.360 Flip Wilson, of course, James Brown, I mean, and the 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.440 lines went around the corner in both directions all the 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:55.640 way to the rear of the theater. Became acquainted with 0:09:56.280 --> 0:10:01.880 acquainted with a couple of the massive ceremonies. Goodness names, 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:04.559 I can't think of some of the names right away, 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:09.120 but I don't think and I've seen everybody, Ray, Charles, 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:16.320 b B. King, Benny King, Joe Text. 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:20.160 For you, who was the act that really grabbed you 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:22.880 the most, like when you saw them? Like for you, 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:24.959 is it just like on board, let me go see 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:28.439 what's at the Apollo? Or you know, was the music 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:30.440 calling to you or was it just something to do 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:31.400 on a Sunday? 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:35.280 I did that. I was, I was. I was totally 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:40.079 captivated by everything that happened. And I don't know if 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:42.920 you have any memories of the Apollo, but they used 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:49.360 to show a movie before the live acts. It just 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:54.160 it just grabbed me. I mean every Sunday that's something 0:10:54.320 --> 0:11:00.360 I did. Like Clockwork wasn't discussed. Didn't feel if I 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:04.160 had to. I just had to see whoever was there. 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.120 The one show I did not see was the jewel 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:10.640 Box review. Didn't even know what it was until some 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:15.760 years later. You know, I never questioned that, but man 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:20.400 I was there, and you know, turned into friendships with 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:28.960 five stair steps with Kenny and Clarence and family, and man, 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:31.640 I mean I remember times when the Jackson five were there, 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:35.040 when Michael was running around back stage, up and down 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:39.280 the stairs and Jermaine you know, you know, if you 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:45.440 know Jermaine, you know he was the protector and you know, 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:47.480 just to get to know those guys on a one 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:51.760 on one basis was was. I enjoyed that in a 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:52.280 great deal. 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.400 So you would you were just allowed lee way like 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:57.680 throughout the theater or just the. 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:02.800 More the more people noticed me. I was allowed to 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:07.960 enjoy what I enjoyed doing, and that was you know, 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.600 it was a weird thing. I cannot even remember how 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:18.240 certain things turned into friendships, but I did that. That 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:19.240 happened a lot. 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:22.360 At the Apollo. How many of these shows would occur 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:25.960 a day? Is it just one long concurrent show from 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:28.720 like what a typical show just be like a two 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:30.680 hour experience and then they get rid of people and 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:33.200 then you come back, or yes. 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:36.720 It was like that, I believe at one time. I 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:40.960 understand there were several shows a day, Okay, prior to 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:45.679 my attending, but I would remember at least two shows, 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:50.760 and they would add a show according to whatever was 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:56.680 going on. I watched the documentary on HBO, and a 0:12:56.720 --> 0:13:02.840 lot of it. I remembered some of the acts that 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:07.920 were there prior to my going. I heard a lot 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.080 of things. And then Amateur Night I believe it was 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:14.680 on Wednesday, and that was a guest within itself. It 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:20.360 was apollo to me, was a finishing school, if you 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:24.680 want to call it that. But that's where I really 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:28.960 cut my teeth. I remember George Clinton Parliament before it 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:33.320 became Funker Delicment. I remember the first show when it 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:38.439 became that, And of course George was wild, as it 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:41.880 would always to be over the years. But there was 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:46.760 a group called Flamingos that had a song called Funky Broadway, 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:54.720 and that was the group that, as far as drumas 0:13:54.760 --> 0:14:00.319 were concerned, that turned me out. That solo end of 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:04.360 Funky Broadway was the solo you had to play if 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:08.079 you were wait not dyk in the Blazers, Dyke in 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:14.000 the Blazers, And there was was an called Dyking. The 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:17.760 Blazers was one thing, but the Flamingos it was called 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:24.960 the Battle of the Bands. Groups from the Manhattan's Parliament's 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:27.680 Parliament and a lot of other acts. 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:32.560 Can I something the incarnation of the parliaments that you saw? 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:37.720 Have you has Funkadelic the sort of the rock version 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.760 of the p funk organization. Have they ever played the Apollo? 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:43.720 Oh? Yes? Indeed? 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:46.480 Were they well received or were they a little bit 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:48.960 too wild for that audience? 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:54.080 Strangely enough, they were well received. Uh. And they were 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:58.200 using I believe the amplifiers were called. I forgot what 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:02.000 they called their They the dan amplifies lit up. 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:03.520 Okay. 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:09.000 It was Eddie Hazel, Yes, oh man, okay. He was 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:13.000 louder than I've heard anything on that stage at the 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:18.560 at the Apollo, and strangely enough, audience enjoyed it. I 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:22.160 never understood that. And on that particular show was on 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:26.720 the second balcony at the top right. I think it 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:31.720 was about fourteen years old at the time, and it 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:36.960 was it was for me, It was apropos for the time. 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:42.080 It was well received because it was unlike anything we'd 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:46.920 ever heard before or seen before. We were all aware 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:51.760 of the new music coming because he still was nashing 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:58.920 young sly you know, and his members Larry Grant and 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.360 you know. It went from there to I forget what 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:02.400 it was called. 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:04.320 Like Graham's Graham Central six. 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:11.000 Yes, and man, that whole transition was then it was 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:15.200 quite enjoyable. And the Chambers brothers you know about them. 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:19.040 So psychedelic, psychedelic black rock that played well with the 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:20.000 Apollo audience. 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.320 Yes, indeed it did. Wow. 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:27.720 You know for me, Well, tell me, like did you 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:32.440 come from a musical family or like how how did 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:35.840 music enter your life as far as like this is 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:36.440 your calling. 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:43.040 No musical family members at all. It started with the 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:48.520 drum and bugle car. There was a military organization called 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:53.320 the Junior Guard and it was it was located at 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:57.320 the three hundred and sixty ninth Armory on one hundred 0:16:57.360 --> 0:17:00.600 and forty second Street, right down the block from where 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:04.840 the world famous Cotton Club was located. Okay, but at 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:09.120 that time Conton Club had been torn down and they 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:14.840 had some other was it minis minicent organization who had 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:19.440 been known for that, you know, a fierce German bugle corps. 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:22.560 I mean they were about the best uh in Haarlem 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:28.760 at that time. And three hundred and ninth Armory was 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:33.680 where this organization that was modeled after the army. If 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:42.000 you remember, Hitler had a youth organization. Oh and I 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:48.240 you know, didn't have a historic record about how this happened. 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:53.439 But they had a junior called a junior Guard. And 0:17:54.320 --> 0:18:01.359 I just noticed in America a lot of the Gestapo 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:07.520 habit habits were used by our FBI. The head of 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:13.840 the FBI, Jaker Goohog, So I noticed, you know, and 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:17.640 they dressed it differently and brought it in a different way. 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:19.640 But they used a lot of what they saw work 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:30.159 in Germany, okay, with with Hitler's business, and I figured 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:33.639 that had something to do with this, uh, how this 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:38.040 organization came together. They saw what worked, and they tried 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:45.800 different things, and the government paid for this organization, and 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:51.320 so joined it at an early age, around twelve, and uh, 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:56.400 you know, went up and ranked to uh master sergeant. 0:18:56.720 --> 0:19:00.119 But what I loved about it was the organization, the 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:03.520 things you learned. You couldn't learn these things in anyplace else, 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:09.280 the typical of our armed services. And then at one 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:12.440 point they started a drum and bugle corps. All right, 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:18.080 And at this point I'm approaching junior high school and 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:23.560 from there and then going to junior high school, I 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:29.160 immediately applied for the orchestra and I played drums first year, 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:33.280 baritone baseball after the second year, third year, went back 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:40.280 to drums, and that's where my musical career started. Dagona 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:45.720 Blazers came out with Funky Broadway the Flamingos did. It 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:48.359 was something that they did, they apolloed I never seemed 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:52.440 done before. But the beat that the guy used was 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:59.400 similar to that of Funky Broadway, okay, and they had 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.960 a move that and with it, but it was it 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:06.600 just it just totally took me someplace I hadn't been previously. 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:11.040 As soon as they got home, I started doing that, okay. 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:19.320 And then we started an all acoustic band in school drums, trombone, baritone, 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:25.639 tennis sacks and there was another person who floated in 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:30.679 and out. But we played for the assembly and it 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:34.320 came off and people wanted to hear us play. So 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:40.400 occasionally we would play at the one hundred and sixty 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:49.359 audobone audubonn Ballroom where, yeah, it was across the street 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:53.000 from a hospital I had attended with a thick file, 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:59.760 Presbyterian Medical Center, and so I remember those times well. 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:06.920 But from there it went to an electric band, and 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:11.240 that band wound up being cameos. Some years later quite 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:11.560 a few. 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:19.600 Actually, how did you wind up in Philadelphia? Because when 0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:20.520 did you go to Edison? 0:21:21.440 --> 0:21:24.399 Oh? Man, God, I went to Edison for one year. 0:21:25.880 --> 0:21:32.560 I I was My grandmother lived in Philadelphia. The family 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:39.400 was from Georgia, Thompson, Georgia and then Augusta, Georgia, and 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:44.160 then they spread out from there. And mother had seven sisters. 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:49.520 She was the oldest, and most of them moved to 0:21:49.720 --> 0:21:57.840 Philadelphia with Grandma so and she was an avid church gooer. 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:04.960 So it's just like the net there in Philly, which 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:07.920 was yet to be done. And I understand, and it's 0:22:07.960 --> 0:22:11.560 supposed to be phenomenal inside. I haven't seen it since. 0:22:12.320 --> 0:22:15.359 But that was the place that we would go at 0:22:15.440 --> 0:22:22.639 least four nights a week. Church was mandatory. You didn't 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:26.280 get to avoid it. And uh so that's how the 0:22:26.359 --> 0:22:31.280 whole Philly thing happened. And we we were in an 0:22:31.320 --> 0:22:40.680 area between Norris and Diamond. Yeah, North Philly, you know 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:41.320 r F. 0:22:42.800 --> 0:22:46.040 That's how Jill Scott says, n O r F North Philly. 0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:51.800 Okay, you were from West Yes, yes, I have a 0:22:51.840 --> 0:22:55.240 lot of relatives there too. I didn't even know what 0:22:55.400 --> 0:22:58.720 West Philly was. I knew where the Greyhound bus station. 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:03.280 Was did you like it too much as a kid? 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:08.000 Or was New York more like? Was New York too hip? 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:10.880 Was Philly like a downgrade for you when you came or. 0:23:10.960 --> 0:23:14.879 No, I wouldn't call it a downgrade. I'd say that 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:21.040 there was a large gap between culture and you know, 0:23:21.119 --> 0:23:25.560 it was just very different. You know, as I remember, 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:29.359 there was a lot of a lot of violence going 0:23:29.400 --> 0:23:34.520 on in Philly, and the older you got, the more 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:38.880 you understood what was going on, but never did really 0:23:38.960 --> 0:23:39.920 understand why. 0:23:40.560 --> 0:23:43.040 So how did you because because of the gang culture, 0:23:43.400 --> 0:23:47.240 especially back then, how did you avoid that? Or is 0:23:47.280 --> 0:23:50.600 it just the unspoken thing of like if gang leaders 0:23:50.640 --> 0:23:52.919 knew that you had some sort of talent or you 0:23:52.920 --> 0:23:55.440 could get out, they just left you alone. 0:23:55.760 --> 0:23:59.160 I really don't think it mattered to them. I don't 0:23:59.200 --> 0:24:02.159 know if they knew or not. But I know we 0:24:02.440 --> 0:24:07.280 lived in between to Norris Street and Diamond Street, and 0:24:07.680 --> 0:24:11.159 you would probably know more about that than I know. 0:24:11.240 --> 0:24:15.760 That's where we were and they were talking about I mean, 0:24:15.760 --> 0:24:20.719 I couldn't believe they were actually talking about drafting people 0:24:20.720 --> 0:24:26.879 into certain gangs. We were the guys that did not 0:24:27.359 --> 0:24:33.280 go for that. We avoided that. I like the plague, 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:37.399 I see, and that's how we avoided it period. You know, 0:24:38.040 --> 0:24:40.400 they had I'm sure they had their things to do, 0:24:40.440 --> 0:24:45.560 whatever that was. But as I said, you know, my 0:24:45.560 --> 0:24:50.680 grandmother was an avid church bower, and that wasn't part 0:24:50.680 --> 0:24:52.960 of the agenda, I feel you. 0:24:53.640 --> 0:24:54.879 So here's the question I have. 0:24:55.840 --> 0:25:01.359 You know, for most of the Funk legacy, most of 0:25:01.400 --> 0:25:04.840 them get their start in the Midwest. And probably one 0:25:04.880 --> 0:25:07.919 of the key components of starting in the Midwest is 0:25:07.920 --> 0:25:11.240 that families move out there. There's industry. You know, they 0:25:11.400 --> 0:25:13.960 get factory jobs, good paying factory jobs, and they live 0:25:13.960 --> 0:25:17.600 in these houses that either have wreck rooms or dens 0:25:18.480 --> 0:25:23.200 or garages, of which you know, with that extra curriculum money, 0:25:23.240 --> 0:25:29.000 you buy instruments. But how are bands able to form 0:25:29.359 --> 0:25:33.320 and living in a cosmopolitan city in which you know, 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:38.199 the average black family lives in an apartment or you know, 0:25:38.240 --> 0:25:41.280 Philadelphia is kind of known for its small house structure. 0:25:42.320 --> 0:25:44.360 So I know when I was, you know, coming up, 0:25:45.160 --> 0:25:47.200 I mean, my neighbors kind of liked me, so they 0:25:47.200 --> 0:25:49.320 were willing to put up with the noise. It was 0:25:49.359 --> 0:25:51.960 like it was like I was I was Calvin for McDonald's, 0:25:52.000 --> 0:25:54.159 Like I'll leave a mirror alone because he's going to 0:25:54.200 --> 0:25:56.920 be something one day. So but you know, the walls 0:25:56.960 --> 0:25:58.679 were really thin and Philly, I didn't live in a 0:25:58.680 --> 0:26:01.480 place where you had unless you lived in Queens or 0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:05.479 something like that. But like, how when you start a band, 0:26:07.000 --> 0:26:09.760 how would you where would you guys rehearse or be 0:26:09.840 --> 0:26:12.800 allowed to make noise to even see if you have it? 0:26:13.680 --> 0:26:19.520 Everything sort of developed from school, okay. And in that 0:26:19.800 --> 0:26:26.200 area there was an apartment or complex called the Bridge Apartments. 0:26:27.400 --> 0:26:30.240 It was on the other side of the Washington Bridge, 0:26:30.760 --> 0:26:35.960 and they had these rooms when you went into the 0:26:36.000 --> 0:26:39.720 building to the right or left that were just rooms 0:26:39.760 --> 0:26:45.240 with space. And as you said, people like you. They 0:26:45.280 --> 0:26:48.880 see that you're trying to do something different, and somehow 0:26:49.119 --> 0:26:54.520 they let us use these rooms and we were rehearse there. 0:26:55.440 --> 0:26:58.560 It was difficult. I grew up in the projects and 0:26:59.080 --> 0:27:02.840 everyone knew who was playing drums when it you know, 0:27:03.000 --> 0:27:07.040 reverbed off the walls on that on that block, we 0:27:07.119 --> 0:27:09.600 didn't have a lot of different musicians, but the ones 0:27:09.640 --> 0:27:12.160 that I mean, you knew of them because you could 0:27:12.200 --> 0:27:17.680 hear them. So uh yeah, I'm sure I annoyed quite 0:27:17.720 --> 0:27:22.240 a few people right in a couple of buildings. But 0:27:22.320 --> 0:27:25.000