Long Overdue…RESPEK Vol. 1

As you may or may not know I like to write for this blog and have drafts and even final versions for posts done long before I actually post them. Partly because I have to share my time with my brothers, but also because I get distracted (just like the rest of you) with the new stuff coming out. So this series of posts hopes to deal with that somewhat, in which they are dedicated to those artists throughout music history that have been overlooked, by this blog in particular, or that I just haven’t had time to post up on (and neither has Banner or MB for that matter). If what I just said doesn’t make any sense, I can’t say it any better than Ali G (above).

For the first installment, it’s about time that the GETDOWNNN crew gave it up to the Kashmere Stage Band. I’ve seen ‘em talked about in other blogs, but again, this is for the GETDOWNNN peeps. This high school band, that’s right, high school band from Texas in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s could funk it up with the best of ‘em. Led by their band leader/teacher Conrad Johnson, he unlike other band leaders at the time, was able to embrace the funk sound of time and incorporate it into the big band ideology, which was being pushed in the curriculum at the time. And his students embraced this like no other, being able to play the current sounds that every kid wanted to jam to. Conrad Johnson just shows what more teachers out there need to do: make the curriculum relevant to the students and you can not only get the students to learn, but to make something of their own. Thanks to the fellas at Now Again for putting together these reissues/remixes for us common folk. Make sure to pick up their Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974 compilation.

[MP3] Kashmere Stage Band :: All Praises
{All praises to Gerald Curvey on drums!!! The last minute of the song is sickness.}
[MP3] Kashmere Stage Band :: Getting it Out of my System
[MP3] Kashmere Stage Band :: Ain't no Sunshine
{A Bill Withers classic}
[MP3] Kashmere Stage Band :: Ain't no Sunshine (Oh No Remix)
{No longer just “Madlib’s little brother”. Checkout my “Out Of The Shadows” post.}
[MP3] Kashmere Stage Band :: Ain't no Sunshine (J-Rocc Remix)
{By the man who created the Beat Junkie sound, The Funky President, see him spin if you haven’t yet.}

Now Again Records

Now that’s the funkin’ message, ya dig?
::MISTA HIPPO::