Ana her
Grand Slam
Pai ley Park R cord and
an LA entertainment firm
ush r in th new year with the
opening of a We t Coa ver-
ion of Prince' famed Min­
neapoli nightspot, the Grand
Slam.
Prine's role in th venture
has not yet been di closed,
however Paisley Park
Records has invested a great
deal of money into refurbish­
ing the downtown Lo An­
geles site, formerly known a
Vertigo.
BBD launches
aclothin
With their triple platinum
debut, "Poison", Ronnie,
Ricky and Mike proved they
could make it without Bobbie,
Ronnie and Johnny.
Now, BBD's moving on to
what they hope are bigger and
better things with their
sophomore release, "Hootie
Mack". Additionally, BBD
ha (a hioned a line of cloth­
ing called "Mental Wear",
manufactured by Starter'
new Flip Side Divi ion.
hai off
on R&B charts
The tour-man R&B group
Shai, which is Egyptian for
"personification of destiny",
look as though they have a
de tiny with succe s. In fact,
Garfield Bright, Marc Gay,
Carl Martin and Darnell Van
Rea alier probabl y never
thought their Howard Univer­
sity doc-wop would be so hot.
Their acappella demo
ingle, "If I Ever Fall In Love
Again" became D.C.'s num­
ber one mo t reque ted tune
almo t overnight. They were
signed to MCA' Ga oline
. Alley Record. Their imme-
diate ucce has been-mind
boggling, but Marc ha
graduated from degree.
Disney's
World On Ice
Strike up the band as Con-
ductor Micke), Mouse
pre ent the Walt Di ney'
World On Ice mu ical ex­
travaganza, Beauty and the
Bea l. This all-new magical
production will skate into Jo
Loui Arena Tue day, March
9 through Sunday, March 14.
Tickets are on ale now!
An educational story
Beauty and the Bea t unfold
a tale about a beautiful girl, an
arrogant admirer, a magic
ro e, an enchanted prince, and
a ca tie full of talking objec
that holds an underlying me -
age-tlDon't be fooled by
utw rd appcaran es, for
b auty i found within."
Ti ket a' priced' at
14. 11. LJ and .50.
For m re information call
( 1 /3 -7 0).
By the Way
"['11 Fly Away'"will di ap­
pear aft r It Feb. h w, but
remains a c mender or next
fall's lin up. De pite it criti­
cal acclaim, the how ha been
in ratin tr uble aIm t from
the tart.
- P�CIQ/ contributors, L, a
lIins (Behind-The- cenes} and
RadJ.� op . The olumn,
,
e
From a 1 ng list Brown plays
rhythm with dried beef bones,
spoons, water-filled gla es, pots,
pans, cow bells, bong and con­
gas. He Ii ts his fav rit instrument
as being the lumberjack w which
he plays with a mallet.
Brown's first debut was at Tai
Pings in Los Ang les. Unaccus­
tomed to inging alone, one night
someone handed him a
microphone and h began to sing.
After receiving a big round of ap­
pIa us he decided to stick around
and as a result he learned to sing in
Jap nese.
By PATRICIA -COLBERT
Cor; •• pond."t
Canada) and has performed on al­
bums with Hamilton Bohannon,
Anita Baker, The Four Tops, The
Dramatics and last but not least,
The Saint James Choir.
o OfT - From beef bon
comes rhythm. Lorenzo "Spoons"
Brown som times known a II
Rhythm" and "Bag of T-' "can
now be called the master of
rhythm. Brown, a native of
Detroit wa born and rai ed in
foster homes, "I was shifted from
one home to another until I was
grown," he said.
Refusing to let the negativity
from his childhood stand in his
way, thi self-taught, multi­
talented percussionist and vocalist
has mastered an array of in­
strumentation that goes beyond
what most in his field would care
to endeavor.
Some of hi commercial
productions include The City of
Detroit promo with the Four Tops
and a Beer comm rcial.
Hi . televis d p rforrnances
span Nairobi, London, Paris, Puer­
to Rico, Vienna and Toronto.
Brown plays
rhythm with
dried beef
bones! spoons,
WI ,- " t1
_ glasses, pots,
pans, cow
bells, bongos
and congas.
�ents Brown has mast red; pots
and pans, water-filled g , tim­
bales, caracas, oven racks,
slap ticks, Dongs c!timptas, tam­
bourine, Kalimba, quica, gato, 0 i
drums, marimba, flexitone and tri­
angles.
• Currently Lorenzo "Spoons"
Brown performs with the
Alexandi r Zonji Quintet. i addi­
tion h has teamed up witli master
guitarist, violinist and composer
Michele Ramo. They have per­
formed in numerous public
chools sharing their unique talents
for senior citizens and audiences of
all ages. For further information
call (313) 86S-1762
OR THE PA T 10 years
Brown has traveled with
Alexander Zonjic (the flutist from
WNfIJAF. �ca.
anything that you want to do if you
set your mind to it nd don't let
anything stand in your way. I
know, because I have been th r ."
Brown's life long dream i to
leave a legacy of rhythm for
African American children. He
said, "Our young African
American children should be
learning this craft. This is part of
our culture, it i simple and inex­
pensive. All you need are the bones
from a package of beef ribs. Within
one week, I can teach a child t
play rhythm on bones or regular
kitchen poons." aid Brown.
In addition to e array of instru-
BORR WI :r LI that
is u d frequently by th Reverend
Jesse Jackson to reas ure in­
dividuals who think pessimistical­
ly 0 playing uch instruments,
Brown said, "If your mind can con­
ceive it you can achieve it." Ad­
ding to that he aid, "You can do
By TUREKA TURK
Michl n Citizen
Mississippi Delta,
bing mor of a.Jllonotonous
murmur than that th • Mandinkas.
For those who have the capa ity
dig not just hip hop but jazz,
re gae, dan ehall, and other
manifestations of African music,
th return of the griot is not a
surprising feat, Wheth r it be a fad
or a personal vow,
African-Am ricans dig d per and ,
deeper into th makin of th
as African-American ultur and find
Africa as th
mu
m
the
rhythmic
every tim .
KANDIA KOUYATE
. .".
.,
