Here is the edited digital online version of The Soul Survivors Magazine interview with Alton McClain. Alton McClain is doing her first ever UK date at Brooklyn Bowl in Greenwich London 30th September as part of Expansion Records 30th Anniversary so cast your eyes over this and make it your “Destiny” to see Alton’s debut in the UK.. Click image 1st image for tickets
Exciting news “For those who like to groove” like Raydio. You can now pre order your personal copy of the forthcoming “Soul Survivors” album on Expansion Records due for release 1st September 2016. This can be done via The Soul Survivors Magazine website shop for £11.99 (£9.99 + £2 postage) including postage total if you are in the UK. The postage charges vary if from Europe and international countries so please check the information provided in the shopping cart. Compiled with universal love like Tom Browne by “Yours Truly” Fitzroy Facey, here below is the review as printed in the current issue 65 of The Soul Survivors Magazine for August & September 2016. These tasty Arthur Conley “Sweet Soul Music” musical treats like Opal Fruits, are made to make your mouth water. Click the image below which takes you directly to pre purchase your copy or copies.
Celebrating the magazine’s 10th anniversary, check out these contemporary underground jazz funk, disco and boogie productions, from some of the well respected artists, interviewed during the publications decade legacy. With more staying power than ‘Ever Ready’ or ‘Duracell’ batteries Fatback Band’s funky ‘Get Your Head Out The Phone’, Leroy Burgess’s ‘Heaven’, and Beggar & Co’s covered Kool & The Gang’s classic ‘Open Sesame’, make their debut on this CD. The absolute album exclusive, is Louise Pollock’s amazing vocal cover of Aquarian Dream’s ‘You’re A Star’. Shalamar collaborate on Steve Silk Hurley, DJ, Skip and Shane D’s disco house remix ‘Don’t Go’. Representing the UK is Yam Who’s ‘bassically” undeniably jazz funky, remix of Incognito feat Carleen Anderson’s ‘Show Me Love’ and The Pasadenas lesser known but exquisite ‘Round & Round’. Worth checking is Soul People’s awesome version of Roy Ayers’s ‘Our Time Is Coming’ and the albums only instrumental Nu Era’s ‘Beta Days’. Dome Record’s Angela Johnson and Eric Roberson contribute to the USA jazz funk fusion elements and wait until you hear some amazing Macedonian jazz fusion soul from Vladimir Cetkar. These alluring tunes were handpicked for you fellow soul survivors so please ‘Grab It’ like The Olympic Runners (Bad Tune!) whilst you can.
Don’t forget to click the image below which takes you directly to pre purchase your copy or copies.
Celebrating 10 years like The Soul Survivors Magazine this summer Margate Soul Festival Weekender had the best weather for the annual celebrations. In conjunct with Mi Soul Radio, Eli Thompson and Mick Bradley has tirelessly made sure they put the soul into Kent’s soulful seaside town pulling out a few stops. With the aid of my longtime fellow Knight Of The Cameo Sound Table, Perivalian neighbour and friend Cleveland Anderson supplying some of the creme de al creme performing artists, Jean Carne, Shirley Jones and CC Pensiton, the weekend was most certainly a festive one. Well done to all who contributed Dj’s, performers and audience participators alike. I had turntable duties at my resident Lighthouse Bar Friday & Saturday and a Sunday night slot in more intimate The Black Cat club. I certainly enjoyed digging in the crates on all three occasions and you can revisit or enjoy what you missed via my Mixcloud posts. here are some Slave “Snap Shot” moments with some of the artist backstage as I was working harder than Dolly Parton’s “9-5” catching up on the goss!! I gotta say a big thanks to Jean Carne who shamelessly plugged The soul Survivors Magazine on stage during her set when she spotted me in the audience. I was beaming like a Cheshire but was also slightly embarrassed, however grateful that Jean did that selfless act during her set. lets see if the subscriptions rise due to that kind of endorsement. I think I’d look at booking ya tickets now before it’s a case of a Jackson’s “Heartbreak Hotel” trying to find accommodation as it goes quicker than Usain Bolt !!
Jean Carn @ The Winter Gardens Saturday evening. Catching up with Kathy Sledge after her great showcase & hanging with the very gifted vocal songstress CC Peniston!!
I have been blessed over the years to meet and play for some of my musical inspirations. Quite a few from The James Brown Revue including Martha High and Maceo Parker in recent years at Under The Bridge in ‘blue is the colour manor Chelsea SW6. But having interviewed Fred Wesley about 3 years back I was looking forward to hearing him for the first time. Fred is up there in his own right with another amazing trombonist the late Crusader’s co founder Wayne Henderson and to interview play and then meet him was humbling. Given “Blessed Blackness” by his creator Fred and his new JB’s reminds all 400 plus people in attendance why he is one of the smoothest and funkiest horn players on the planet. Myself and Akin were in our element getting our albums and in my case also getting my interview with him signed, as well as being impressed with his “Slick” like Ramsey Lewis horn chops. Fred did some of the old grooves like “Chicken”, “Gimme Some More” & “Pass The Pea’s” and some new fan dangle funk bits and the brothers got soul for sure. Included in this blog is a link to my Cameo “Funk Funk” set which I enjoyed immensely, making me think of doing an out an out funk night so watch this space Ahite!!
Greetings on this special ‘Fro’back Friday’ “It Was A Good Day” back in 2006, because “The Soul Survivors Magazine” with the permission of Dave Fraser, was officially first distributed at Soul Village weekender this ‘Fro’back Friday’ 10 years ago. This is the front cover of a venture founded by Anna Marshall and myself as the ‘Info provider for the soul survivor”. There are no “Words I Manifest” like Gang Starr that can explain the journey this magazine has been on to still be here in the digital and technical age we live in. All I can say is “Thank You, Thank You” like Roy Ayers and the late Wayne Henderson for all the attention over the last decade. This next part I thought hard about whether to share but as an unorthodox journalist I have the “licence to thrill at will” and “it’s my part and I’ll cry if I want too” :O)
That song title “It Was A Good Day” an Ice Cube rap classic with soul sampled The Isley Brothers classic “Footsteps In The Dark” and depicted the typical day in the life of many dark skinned “Boyz In The Hood”, a film that Ice Cube providentially starred in circa 1991. It’s just a song right? Nah it’s ‘REAL TALK’ because sadly it paints the reality of surviving a catalogue of Tribe Called Quest “Scenario”’s, if you’ve grown up in the projects or The Fatback Band “Concrete Jungle” environment in the USA, initially but in any part of the world. That song was made in 1993 and 23 years later it’s a prophecy that unfortunately was not the desired outcome for two African American black men In Louisiana and Minnesota. Not only were they ‘allegedly’ assassinated excessively and unnecessarily,the evidence of their brutal death was has been filmed and broadcast on the various “So Shall Mad Ya” (Social Media) platforms. This is deep so please read on or switch off at this point because from here I rhyme and get Grime like UK hip hop!!
I was very moved today by a post from my fellow Spurs fan and soul survivors bro from anutha mo Cav Manning now residing in Bushwick Brooklyn USA. Your words “Touch Me In The Morning’ Like Diana Ross today bro so “I Still Got Love For Ya” like KAM. I was only having this same conversation last night about about the my own awareness. I know we are living in the subliminal age of the logical becoming the illogical and the illogical been seen as being logical. And I’m sure Roy Walker of TV program ‘Catchphrase’ used to say “Say what you see”, but are you seriously telling me like Pleasure that “I’m Mad”, and that this is a case of a Talking Heads classic “Seen And Not Seen”? James Brown said it in “Funky President” “People, people we got to get over before we go under”. This really is a Kool & The Gang ”Summer Madness” situation we have here.
Angie Stone in our forthcoming interview for issue 65 explains why she did the song “Brutha” to highlight to those who do not understand or are ignorant to the plight of the African American, and their fight for a Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five “Survival”. Many of you reading this have an affinity with the “Sound Of Universal Love”(SOUL) and it’s musical offsprings, albeit, jazz, funk soul, disco,latin, house RNB, hip hop, rap jungle or broken beat. Now we are all soul survivors aren’t we? If you really want an insight to “Know The Ledge” like Rakim about the situation in the USA, I urge you to listen to Main Source’s “Friendly Game Of Baseball” sampling Lou Donaldson’s “Pot Belly”, KRS1’s ‘Whoop whoop thats the “Sound Of The Police”, Ice Cube’s You “Ain’t Gonna Take My Life” or Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”.
The songs three Hip Hop and the other pre Be Bop speak of the brutality carried out by those swearing an allegiance wearing certain “uniforms” to protect their way of life, in the name of the USA flag. They do this with an ‘alleged’ 007 licence to kill black people and watch the RED blood splatter across their WHITE and BLUE attire, like ‘Black Lives DON’T Matter’. Is that really what the colours of the AmeriKKKan flag really represents? It’s kicking off like The Jets and The Sharks in West Side Story in JR Ewing territory Dallas with 5 officers dead, because for some disgruntled members of the community ‘allegedly’ like Barbara Streisand and Donna Summer “Enough Is Enough” . As a humanitarian any life lost is a life lost and I’m saddened in more ways that I can say, and my full hearts cup..has runeth over, hence then outpour.
I saw some footage from an African American police officer who believed she was doing right for her community and acknowledges there are epidemic issue within the black community, but when she saw the footage “Over & Over” like Shalamar, she felt ashamed and understood the outrage because she said if that was her son she couldn’t tell you what she would do as African American mother. She advised anyone who was caucasian that worked with her, if they have any racial issue to take the uniform off and delete her. These are the types of The Family “Screams Of Passion” that are being aroused on this emotive matter. As one of those Curtis Mayfield “We People Who Are Darker Than Blue” here in the UK of Jamaican and African ancestry, I guess I’m a Leroy Hutson “Lucky Fellow” not to be experiencing what’s happening to many of my long distance sister, cousins and brothers from anuva mutha. But let’s not get this twisted as JB said “People Wake Up And Live” because what we see on the “Tell Lie Vision” has a degree of positive and negative information. It depends if you understand or overstand what Jack Nicholson meant in a “Few Good Men” film, when Tom Cruise demanded “the truth”. Jack Nicholson bellows with attitude “You can’t handle the truth”..As a flip on a Shakespeare Hamlet quote “To See or not to see ..that is the question” fellow soul survivors..Enjoy and have a blessed day..Fitzroy
Greetings on this pinch punch first of the month and defo no returns 1st July 2016 Froback Friday. There certainly seems to be a massive “Ball Of Confusion” like The Temptations for peoples state of mind here in the UK since last weeks double Brexit and Punch & Judy show antics within politics in both the red and the blue camps. It’s been an emotive week of more twist and turns than a theme park roller coaster or an out of control tornado. But there is no Leroy Burgess “Confusion” about my digital memory of today’s post. 1986 was a vintage year that would impact on my life unknowingly for various reason. It was the spring and summer of that year when Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke corrupted my not so innocent mind with the ‘sexsational’ at the time film “Nine And A Half Weeks”, but I just threw that in to get your attention.
Seriously 1986 was the year I started djing in the west end of London at a night club called “Oxfords” at the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street, that apparently used to be Studio Valbourne, or so I’ve been advised. I made my debut alongside my fellow Pleasure loving music enthusiast Norman Cummins, on an Easter Bank Holiday Monday in April 1986, after contacting a fellow soul survivor comrade Joel Karamath, who had access to hiring the club. In short a now dearly departed and talented friend Debbie Miller, was leaving our front of house team at the musical “Starlight Express’s” home venue The Apollo Victoria Theatre, to do her first professional dance job. She was well loved and we managed with little time to pack the club out with those who were going to miss her presence. Joel teamed myself and Norman up with two guys I’d seen out but never previously conversed with Wayne Malcolm and Tony Francis who did the early set. This was the providential start of an Indeep “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”
The night was an overwhelming success and as a bonus both myself and Norman were paid £50 each, when we were only doing this free for the love of a friend. A lightbulb went off in Joel’s head and he asked if we (myself ands Norman) would be interested in working with him and the other two dj’s, plus another who wasn’t present that night, on a regular Saturday night residency. I was most certainly interested and about 6 weeks later we got the nod it was actually going to happen. On the opening Saturday night in June 1986 it was then that I met this young man in the photo for the very first time. His name is Paul Martin and as collective of 6 we dj’d under the guise initially as “The Buzzboyz Inc”. This name concept as I’ve been advised was originally devised by Tony Francis who had been djing with his friend Wayne previously under this umbrella and working with Joel on various events. That may fill in the blanks as to why I was known initially as “Fitzroy from The Buzzboys” which became “Fitzroy The Buzzboy” which eventually morphed into “Da Buzzboy” Fitzroy, coined around 1998 by Summer Soulstice’s Jamie Topham then working in club promotions at Arista Records.
To cut a longer story short Norman left early after landing a dancing job abroad and the remaining Enid Blyton “Famous Five” did various gigs together until I left in February 1989 and went as Napoleon Solo free agent. Paul Martin who lived local to me in Wembley west London when I met him, was selling 7 inch imports with his mate a record dealer Mark, to some of the top underground warehouse and ‘Rare Groove’ funk Dj’s in London. I remember buying quite a few things like Kellee Patterson’s “I’m Gonna Love You More” on a 7 inch promo and The Chakachas “Jungle Fever” promo from him at his mums house. Paul went on to make his own history working at Steve Jervier’s Black Market Records in D’Arblay Street Soho, and was later snapped up by Giles Peterson to work at the newfound UK label division of Talking Loud. Myself and Paul forged our own musical paths outside of the our initial collective foundation, and over the years we have crossed paths many times. It’s always been good and mutually respectful whenever I see Paul when he is out and a “Jeremy Beadle About”. These days we tend to bump into each other at private industry parties, like last year at Louie Vega’s Ministry of Sound album launch, and on Tuesday 28th June 2016 at Angie Stone’s soiree in St Martin Lane’s The Library Gentleman’s club in WC2. I asked my IT consultant and magazine photographer Anna B to take this photograph, as it suddenly dawned upon me at Angie’s gathering, that Paul and I first met and dj’d together 30 years ago..That impromptu meeting was no accident. Happy 30th to us in my 30th year djing and 10 years in the making of The Soul Survivors Magazine that first hit the streets this month in 2006..”Happy Days” like Fonzie..”Ayyyyeeehhh” and a set of double thumbs up!!
Greetings on this Throwback Thursday, as I listen to some John Coltrane “Giant Steps”, big shoes were filled reflecting on ‘”The Morning After” like Curtis Hairston, an unprecedented day of a dolly mixture bag proportions of Euro football. I watched the enthralling 3-3 draw Portugal V Hungary game, only to be climaxed by the Republic Of Ireland’s massive pint of Guinness proportion defeat over the slightly ‘Rocky’ Italian Stallions. More “Braveheart” as celts than Mel Gibson, I knew even though he missed a sitter moments earlier that when Wes Hoolahan wrapped his left foot around the ball in the 85th minute, that the inch eye private eye delivery, was somehow going to end up once touched by an incoming Irishman into the Italian goal. The disbelief on Robbie Brady’s face was enough to make all the Irish smiling eyes turn to tears of euphoria. By the way how d’you like me now as a football commentator ? John Motson or Jonathan Pearce I certainly am not but it is TBT!!
This is the start of my 6 degrees of separation post today. One of the other thing’s I’m passionate about other than my spiritual wife music, is growing up in Perivale Middlesex, that place in west London that’s at the end of the Central Line, that sounds like it’s way out in the countryside. Yesterday providentially I guess an old photo came up from a reunion 2 years back where I ‘”Reunited” like Peaches & Herb with some school chums I hadn’t seen in 40 years, since Perivale Middle School circa 1976. Our school had 4 house teams and when it came to sports in my era my house team were pretty much dominant during my 1973-1976 duration. There was St David’s who were yellow and affiliated to Wales naturally, St George’s (red) affiliated to Inguurrrlund(England), St Andrews(blue) for Scotland and last but certainly not least, St Patricks the lucky green shamrocks flying the flag for Ireland. I was proudly in St Patricks and we had some of the best footballers including from memory ‘Runny” Stephen Hawkins. Phil Holmes(wicked goalkeeper) Kenton Kerr and Richard Shelly (whatever happened to him?). So I was always a ‘Proud Paddy’ which unbeknown to me had a more significant association with the green celtic pastures of Ireland.
My surname is Facey and I was advised at some point in my life that it was of celtic origin either Scottish of Irish. I grew up initially in my first 8 years in London NW10 which was quite heavily populated with an Irish community and my child minder Liz Hills in Harlesden was Irish whose sadly no longer here. I always remember her telling me to eat the crust of my bread as it would make my hair curly (bless you Liz it already was). On Monday I spent the day speaking with someone from the British Institute Library who is documenting my history as a black Briton growing up in Blighty, and some of what is in this is mentioned, again another providential old school ‘Connect 4’ in this conundrum. Well this morning I googled the origin of the Facey name and it actually initially originates from Normandy France, around the Battle Of Hastings 1066 historical period. It then finds it’s way to Ireland via Northampton when some of the Facey’s moved there. Clearly through slavery and via colonisation in Jamaica, my family name derives via France and Ireland and is not remotely like anything African, which brings us back to The Euro’s because that’s where this post started. I knew I’d get there in the end :o)
Any way well done to the Republic Of Ireland who almost brought on one of my ex Spurs native Irish football hero’s Robbie Keane, just before his name sake scored. I must say that the passion of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane is very admirable. The worrying thing is that this makes someone like a fellow music Aquarian born in the Irish Republic, the retro 1970’s cardigan wearing crooner Val Doonican seem somewhat very cool like Fonzie right now. I guess thats what happens when you have a direct connection to you native land unlike some born outside the Diaspora’s who are still trying to connect spiritually to their place of origin. So happy St Paddy’s day to all around the world and those from my ole manor school chums of Perivale Middle School..and yes I might be wearing green today lol !!
Greetings I will let the homage in our 10th anniversary issue of The Soul Survivors Magazine say in words and artistic visual format and articulate heartfelt interpretation speak about the synergy of Prince Rogers Nelson who would have been 58 today.
“Are You Ready?” like Billy Ocean, will you “Smile” like Kathy Sledge, can you “Keep On” like James D Train Williams , or STOMP like Scott James? Wanna feel the “Sweet Power” like Dr James Mason or do you feel cool like Danny John Jules “The Cat”? Either way you need to get your copy of the 10th Anniversary issue of The Soul Survivors Magazine!!