Dance Your Way Across Texas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feel like dancing next weekend? I hope so and if you find yourself in Austin or Houston, consider it on. Friday night in Austin, I’ll be playing some records alongside my friends Greg Most and Second Line Social at our regular Soul Happening night at the Legendary White Swan. A fantastic old juke joint that’s steadfastly stood at the corner of 12th and Chicon for well over 40 years. Saturday night, back in Houston, I’m honored to have my Dallas-based compatriot, Rerog play some fine soul 45s alongside me. I promise both shows will be chock-full of Houston’s funkiest 45s. Why not just come out to both for a super soul-filled weekend? Now who wants to carpool to Austin and back?

Advertisement

Speaking on Houston Soul Music

Just a quick note for any of those out there who may be interested. Saturday October 23rd, I’ll be speaking about the history of Houston soul music and then playing some of the best examples alongside DJ Flash Gordon Parks. If there’s something you’ve always wondered about a group or record from Houston, feel free to email me and we can try and discuss it during the lecture portion or afterward. This is a community-based event and I welcome all the interaction possible. There might be a few surprise musicians in the house but I’m not making any promises as of now. The evening will start at 6pm and be over by 9pm, so make sure to get there in a timely manner.

Saturday October 23rd.
4400 Almeda
Houston, TX
6-9PM

Here’s some more information about the event from the press release.

ROOTamentary examines the cross-section of generations, races, and cultures being exposed to Blues, Funk, Soul, and Jazz music. The program also promotes the significance of the “mom-and-pop” record store and the importance of vinyl preservation. This experience is designed to create a hyperlink that connects success to the stories of those recording artists that built the foundation. Young artists will be exposed to their musical predecessors to draw inspiration that will enhance the quality of their musicianship.

This month we will be focusing on artists from Houston TX and also highlighting the contribution of Duke/Peacock Records to music and culture. This will be the final chapter in our series….Special guest DJ Brett Koshkin will be stopping thru to share some of his rare 45s…..You don’t want to miss this!

Dirty Honey Friday August 7, 2010

Your monthly dose of rare funk and soul 45s is back with Brett Koshkin and special guest from Austin Second Line Social.

I’m very excited to have my Soul Happening cohort down to Houston to wreck the dance floor. He’s a busy man these days. When not doing Soul Happening in Austin with me, he’s DJing the Second Sunday Sock Hop at the Shangri La and providing some of the best soul music around to the public at his store Breakaway Records.

FREE as always, nothing but the best and rarest soul vinyl will be played.

We Dance Just As Good As We Want

Photo by Mark Roach

Archie Bell Tightens Up

Last Week, I went out with Photographer Mark Roach and Assistant Extraordinaire Alex LaRotta to finally meet Mr. Tighten Up, Archie Bell and his lovely wife Juanita in the flesh. If you want to write and record the history of Houston soul music, you’d be hard pressed to come up with someone else that played such a vital roll in the story to start with.

The two were nothing but a pleasure to spend the afternoon with and Archie loaded us up with stories about starting out in Houston, what it was like touring Africa and plenty of other nuggets. Most interesting were some facts I had never learned in my years of research like the different figures that filled rolls as members of his group The Drells through their career and how Archie may have got his start in one very, very, very infamous local high school band.

You’ll be able to read all about it when the Bayou City Soul Project finishes later this year. Until then, check out a few of these great photos Mr. Roach took to tide you over and watch this video of Archie Bell and the Drells doing a live version of “Tighten Up.”

Speaking at DiverseWorks

I was caught briefly on video speaking about the Bayou City Soul Project at DiverseWorks. Fortunately, you can’t see my ugly mug too well in the video but you can see a few nice promo photos of Houston soul musicians Bobo Mr Soul, The TSU Toronadoes as well as the Masters of Soul.