the new D.C. Go-Go thread

i can't figure out this site: http://www.gogolive.com/ does it do anything? maybe it's my browser.

http://www.thatgogo.com/

video for "ride out," too.

tmottgogo.com

Go-go shows happen nearly every night in DC or Maryland, but only the ones involving post-show violence ever get any press. Sadly, there are too many such incidents (and too many killings in poor DC and Maryland neighborhoods period, whether or not they occurred in relation to a go-go show).

It seems like police are getting a lot more active in pulling licenses for clubs with recurring violence, we'll see if that ends up impacting the scene over the long term. I guess at this point it's so decentralized that even if one of the more prominent venues (Club U) gets shut down, there are enough other venues to absorb the crowds. It's been pretty encouraging that most of the police and community action against clubs has been a lot less about go-go itself (as it seemed to be a couple of years ago) and more about the actual violence.

Some stuff the P.A. Palace is selling:

* 06-26-05 MOB at Culture Club
* 06-10-05 3DB at Mad Chef
* 05-27-05 MOB at Culture Club featuring Ms New York
* 05-14-05 Suttle Thoughts @ Classics with Rah Rah of What/NEG
* 05-12-05 Suttle Thoughts @Safari Steakhouse with Rah
* 05-06-05 M.O.B. @ Wakefield Comm. Ctr
* 04-30-05 YBI
* 03-02-05 **unreleased** Backyard @ Tradewinds

Rare Essence-10/05/04 Tradewinds PLAYLIST: The sweetest thing, percusion break, work the walls, pieces of me, headsprung, thoia thong dip it low, slow motion, yes , come on (click here for an audio sample)

http://www.tmottgogo.com/wtgo.html

event/show flyers here, and they used to/still(?) had an up-to-date listing of go-go shows night by night

washingtoncitypaper.com also has listings

Sarah Godfrey had an article on those tv commercials for the DC lottery and for the Washington Post that Chuck Brown has been appearing in. He's got a new cd coming out soon. I am not sure if the article is available online.

pgc was playing a live rare essence show the other day, they did a version of that awful black eyed peas song & somehow, it was no longer bad. at the corner of 7th and florida there's a shop selling phones and go-go cds that pretty much blasts go-go music all day long.

so with all the cover versioning and such, does modern go-go = hiphop jam bands?

Anyone know where I can get hold of modern Go-Go stuff?

No. Go-go groups have been covering hiphop songs since rap's inception. Chuck Brown basically started go-go by stretching out top 40 hits back in the pre-rap day.

modern go-go: http://www.papalace.com/

"P.A. Palace-your one-stop show for all your musical needs including rap,hip hop, reggae, chop n screwed, gospel, and of course go go music. We are located in Forestville Mall and Iverson Mall."

I suppose I could rapidshare this Backyard Band thing..(or would a mod frown at that)

"Thanks for those website links, but the amount of stuff is pretty overwhelming (if there are gigs every night, how do you choose which P.A.-rip to buy?). I'd rather make an informed decision if I'm going to pay for postage all the way to the UK -- has anyone heard anything from the past year that they can recommend? "
-- sean gramophone (sea...), July 5th, 2005.

I have just been listening on ocassion to whatever I hear on the radio lately, and have not been buying cds of any particular show. So much for helping anyone make an informed decision.

Ha and likewise if you wanna keep taking what I said too seriously then good luck with that. I don't know what I meant by hiphop jam band either, I probably meant "hiphop + jam band". In any case I was spitting verbal diarrhea.

Jordan, I'll see about upping it later tonight.

http://www.tmottgogo.com/tmottboard/viewforum.php?f=2

The go-go forum. Plus the new Wax Poetics magazine has a Chuck Brown feature that I saw linked to on the Washington City Paper Black Platic Bag blog

"Plastic"

Big Tony from Troublefunk is apparently on the local circuit again with one of those more polished go-go groups for the "grown-up" audience.

Backyard Band @ a Wire-merch auction in Baltimore a couple months ago were pretty awesome. love their version of Mary J.'s "Just Fine."

I used to love this group called "Pleasure" from ca. '91-'92. Wore out their cassette.

Is there ANY way I can ever get this again? Or is it lost to time; too obscure? I never see any of this stuff on S0u1se3k or anything.

I remember them. They were pretty good. PApalace.com might have it. They're also selling Pleasure live cds---

06-12-95 Hagerstown

1990

00-00-90 Univ of MD

1989

06-00-89 King George Lodge

http://www.papalace.com/pages/patapes.html"> http://www.papalace.com/pages/patapes.html

whoa, the names of the acts alone on that royal rumble dvd on the p.a. palace tapes page make it sound like dynamite:

A4O HAB PERFECT KEMISTRY UNDECIDED TMA UP N COMING KORRUPTION DEEP IMPACT OJB REAL TALK TAKIN 4 GRANTED EPD UEB EXCLUSIVE MAB BWA HIGH QUALITY TIB BAD COMPANY CIB

i love the way go-go band names project this secretive, corporate, googleproof aesthetic. ueb's segment is pretty fucking amazing on youtube.

I was just e-mailed (via the Take Me Out to the Go-go website) very sad news:

Robert Michael Reed -aka- Syke Dyke of Trouble Funk passed away at 10:42 last night of Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 50.

For those who don't know, Dyke founded Trouble Funk in 1977.
He served as musician and vocals for many Trouble Funk tunes...
included probably one of his most notible signature rap delivery in the song "Pump Me Up."

Funeral Arrangements and info will be forthcoming...

bummer

"Pump Me Up" was awesome.

From the Washington City Paper blog
Lil Al Says:
Apr. 14, 2008, at 4:02 pm
Rest In Peace Rob…..This man taught me all that I know about the go-go industry. He taught me how to count measures, he taught me how to lead talk, he taught me breakdowns and bridges. etc. Im 23 now and he taught me when I was 9. I have nothing but respect for Rob man and will be happy when I meet him in heaven. REST IN PEACE ROB, I MISS U ALREADY JO…….Lil Al aka Lil Zo(X-rated Band, Nu-Styles Band)

From TMOTTGoGo-

Robert Michael "Dyke" Reed (Trouble Funk)
August 4, 1957 - April 13, 2008

Funeral service for Robert Michael "Dyke" Reed will be at
Jerico City of Praise, Landover, Maryland on Friday, April 18, 2008.
Viewing: 9am-11am
Funeral: 11am-12noon

There will be a big cookout held in his name...
off of St. Barnabas & Wheeler Rd... that evening.

Flowers & Cards can be forwarded
c/o David Rudd
5819 Barns Drive
Clinton, MD 20735

A little more info about Dyke:
- Grew up in Southeast, DC (over by the Navy Yard)
-Graduated from Howard University where he majored in Guitar & Keyboards.
- His brother, Taylor Reed, Jr. also was a member of Trouble Funk (where he played Trumpet and vocals)

Lissen reunion

anyone seen all the D.C. stuff running on MTV2 the last few days? it was pretty weird to see a Mambo Sauce video on there...I wish it was some Go-Go I actually liked, though, I fucking hate "Welcome To D.C."

Just have basic cable and don't get mtv2. Obviously even the new Obama lyrics on "Welcome to DC" probably aren't enough to win you over to it. I guess it has its annoying aspects but I kinda like it.

http://tmottgogo.com/?p=17270

Below is a complete list of winners.

BAND OF THE YEAR

TCB

UP & COMING BAND OF THE YEAR

Bela-Dona

VENUE OF THE YEAR

Icon

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

Team Major

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Weencey - (Backyard)

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Binta Campbell – (Reaction)

MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Rick Ross - Reaction

LEAD TALKER OF THE YEAR

Big G - Backyard

BOUNCE BEAT BAND OF THE YEAR

TCB

SONG OF THE YEAR

Reaction – “Swag Beat”

BEST POCKET

Backyard

CHANGE AGENT AWARD

Big G

http://www.tsellis.com/images_gogo.html

Some great photos that will be in Thomas Sayers Ellis's book

http://gogobeat.com/UpcomingShows

That go-go book The Beat has been updated for '09. Saw it on sale at the National Gallery of Art giftshop! It has some Thomas Sayers Ellis writing and photos added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2q4ndlovQs

Reaction's "Swag Beat" live(I think)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/26/AR2009112600054.html

The holidays are synonymous with the sound of chiming church bells, but in Washington we march to the beat of a different drummer. Bucket drummers, to be exact. You can find them standing sentinel behind their makeshift kits on Seventh Street NW before any old event at Verizon Center, tapping out supple, tick-tocking go-go beats while the city rushes past.

They're still down on Constitution Ave near the Smithsonian museums too

I posted a City Paper blog post by Noz linking to go-go cover of Gucci Mane on the Gucci thread.

covers.

I'm still making up my mind what I think of them

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/01/14/meet-all-female-go-go-band-bela-dona/

q and a interview with all female go-go band Be'la Dona

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040903257.html?referrer=emailarticle

go-go being gentrified out of DC into Maryland

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/04/12/update-official-statement-on-polo-of-tcb/

Polo of TCB in a coma

The U Street NW and H Street NE corridors have gone upscale, pushing out the places where you could buy tickets, hear go-go music live and purchase your neighborhood's unique brand of embroidered sweats.

I'm gonna have to call bullshit on this one, every single go-go venue I can think of that has closed was either shut down after repeated violence or went out of business, with new tenants not taking over for years afterward.

Ibex, a popular Georgia Avenue NW go-go club, has been transformed into luxury condos.

Ibex was closed after a police officer was shot to death outside the venue in 1997. It sat empty for over two years, then reopened as a short-lived furniture store. The condo conversion wasn't even planned until 2005.

The flagship store for local urbanwear designer We R One on Florida Avenue NW went out of business a couple of summers ago.

That location was bought out by HBCU Howard University (which has been in the area for close to 150 years) for expansion of their facilities. It's still sitting empty.

I-Hip-Hop and Go-Go, a store on H Street NE, has been shuttered. The flagship location of P.A. Palace, a chain of go-go stores, has been bulldozed to make way for a Wal-Mart in Landover Hills.

I don't know about I-Hip-Hop and Go-Go, but P.A. Palace has been a Maryland thing rather than a DC one as long as I can remember. And certainly the closing of retail music stores has more to do with the music business than gentrification.

Among them was Club U, at 14th and U streets, which had helped rejuvenate the neighborhood beginning in the early 1990s, transforming the Reeves Municipal Center into a go-go at night. After a fatal stabbing in 2005, the club lost its liquor license and closed.

There are a lot of business and housing types that have been "pushed out" by gentrification in DC. Go-go's shift to MD has much more to do with crackdowns on club violence during Anthony Williams' time as mayor.

i don't want to undercut the general overtone that of course minority + less bougie arts are being whitewashed out of the city limits proper, but it does feel like the author is largely ignoring the fact maryland has always been a strong part of the gogo scene and instead depicting it as some sort of alien place it's being pushed out to for the sake of the point she's taking in her writing.

author of the forthcoming "Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City."

ehhh.

i always thought go-go straddled the md/dc border and was particularly big in p.g. county. weird article

There are a lot of business and housing types that have been "pushed out" by gentrification in DC. Go-go's shift to MD has much more to do with crackdowns on club violence during Anthony Williams' time as mayor.

― I DIED, Monday, April 12, 2010 6:48 PM

^^

But there's still this cliched weird disconnect where go-go in PG County is somehow not considered as legitimate. Go-go is also shifting where its demographic has shifted to. Then there's the lack of coverage for go-go other than via its own insular blogs--although some would say that is the fault of the young go-go groups themselves not marketing themselves and not putting out product that is as appealing to a non-hardcore go-go audience as Wale and other DC rappers are.

Oops, I'm saying in part what fauxmarc said. As someone who attended go-go shows at the Capital Centre in Landover, and one at Rosecroft Raceway in PG County back in the '80s, obviously go-go always had a presence there.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/04/16/is-d-c-shoving-go-go-aside-natalie-hopkinsons-washington-post-article-discussed/

By the way, this week I passed by an "I Hip Hop" store on Georgia Ave in Petworth - do we think the upscaling of the area forced them to drop "& Go-Go" from their name? They do sell a bunch of go-go, btw.

http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/cultural-genocide-drums-fall-silent-chocolate-city

For instance, Washington, D.C. has been targeted as one of Clear Channel’s “Branded Cities” or the plan for complete corporate advertising emersion where “Brandscaping” turns communal spaces into “controlled environment[s]” where “brands [are] to be experienced” and unavoidably interwoven into people’s daily lives. This is the live version of what some lament as the creeping shift of sleeker, more convenient and accessible DJ digital technology which encompasses the closing of record stores which, as all public spheres, mean so much more than a place to purchase albums. It also includes the policy of cleansing the city of its most recognizable cultural expression. Go-Go, with its live musicianship, polyrhythmic, conga-based funk has, according to sound man Greg McNeils, been all-but banned from the city proper. Bands are literally told to leave their congas at home in order to re-form themselves as jazz or R&B bands, and the famed “pocket,” go-go’s equivalent to hip-hop’s “break beat” is said to now be off limits. And similar to EuRok’s dismay at the shift to digital formats McNeils describes a similar trend where street vendors and small store operators are being forced out of business which in turn hurts the underground distribution of go-go mixtapes, or PA taped recordings of live performances, which have been the mass medium network of distribution for those without access to radio.

x-post. Ha, I noticed that Ga. Ave. location online but the phone number I found did not work and I saw a real estate site indicating that the property was for sale, so I thought the store had shut down. If it is still open it of course further muddies Hopkinson's argument.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2010/05/03/tonight-go-go-allstars-tribute-and-benefit-for-polo-of-tcb/

RIP Little Benny Harley, 46, vocalist/trumpeter played with Rare Essence way back when and also with Little Benny & the Masters, Proper Utensil, and the Legends of Go-go, plus most recently with Chuck Brown. He had been walking with a cane lately and had recently undergone back surgery

:(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd380Ys5XaU

Gotta love that distinctive voice,the dance moves, and his trumpet playing. Channel 9 News noted his death and various folks on Facebook and elsewhere have as well.

Search: Junkyard Band - The Word...preferably emerging from Good Vibrations on an Optimo mix.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2010/05/31/r-i-p-go-go-pioneer-little-benny-chuck-brown-others-reminisce/

just saw chuck brown's "bustin loose" used 4 a commercial for fuckin chips ahoy

Ha, although Chuck himself used to do an entertaining DC Lottery commercial

There was a vigil at Ballou High last night for the late Little Benny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIN78Qba_Qw

Ha, that Chips Ahoy commercial is great.

On a more serious note--

Friday June 11,2010 A 9a-11a Service will be held for Lil Benny @ the DC Convention Center section E

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/06/13/ST2010061304347.html?sid=ST2010061304347

column and photos re Little Benny

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2010/06/20/d-c-s-troubled-go-go-scene-continues-to-attract-the-cops/

It's probably a little late, but high school friends of mine were involved in this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYGZwpCNl0w

also avon barksdale

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2010/07/14/go-go-loses-one-more-venue/ Lots of comments here too

http://tcbbouncebeat.blogspot.com/2010/09/we-still-here.html

Polo and TCB update

I know lots of folks hate bouncebeat go-go, but I'm kinda curious about this TCB album.

The Crank Brothers nostalgic video for "Everybody Loves this Go-go"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBSD5ZfoaxM

nice bass on this one

Kemistry Band "Afterparty"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lq0g2x7DpE

Northeast Groovers together again

Here's "Smashed my Homie"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nOLT5cJJfc

i've been bumping the tob cd lately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oADMMDaNKUM

"grown & sexy" go-go bands tribute to Prince coming:

PURPLE RAIN TRIBUTE FT SUTTLE THOUGHTS & L!SSEN | SAT MAY 21 | CAFE ASIA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soytbTIe44Y

Da Mixx Band

Kinda old-school style go-go actually--they use horns and cover old and new songs

some ugly comments re article and video about bounce beat

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/dcs-go-go-has-a-new-beat/2012/04/06/gIQAEsNg0S_allComments.html#comments

rip Chuck Brown :(

Fuck.

:( rip

RIP

An unexpected pairing with another late local legend, miles away from go-go, yet it worked:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paqeAg7fZ5c

huh, this is relatively high up on the front page of cnn.com

anyone know of any links to a good live p.a.? I haven't listened to any chuck since my last cassette player.

guys sitting outside the convenient store downstairs were just talking about this. RIP.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/chuck-brown-dies-the-godfather-of-go-go-was-75/2012/05/16/gIQAJAfPUU_story.html

Last saw him live for free in DC in September 2010, he was great as always. They are having a Chuck Brown celebration of life at the Howard Theatre tonight. DC's all news radio station WTOP is covering this, and DC's r'nb oldies station and the 2 rap/r'n'b stations are also paying tribute(with djs down at the recently reopened Howard). RIP Godfather

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/chuck-brown-at-the-ronald-reagan-building#slide=23306886

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/05/16/u-street-reacts-to-chuck-browns-death-when-he-plays-he-has-meaning/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chip_py/sets/72157629761589234/show/

on the drive home I heard Chuck's music on 5 different radio stations, including a Baltimore station and a rock station.

also i didn't realize until reading that obit that he died at Hopkins and i was prob less than a mile away at the time

Soon Chuck and Eva were coming to the studio every week to record. He was drawn by her craftsmanship, her sly sense of humor, her lack of pretension and, most of all, by the sense of possibility that she'd lit in him. "My fright was gone," is how he would describe it later.

As for Eva, she had found a fellow singer who wanted to do the classic American songs she loved and who might actually meet the impossibly high standards to which she held herself. That this singer had already won some renown didn't hurt, either. "The fact that someone like Chuck wanted to sing with her was great for her self-esteem," Biondo says. "She thought he was a singer of the caliber of Ray Charles. And Eva was real big on Ray Charles."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/music/features/1browncassidy0309.htm

I guess PA Palace still sells lots of old Chuck Brown shows on mix cds

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/05/17/he-brought-joy-to-the-city-d-c-toasts-chuck-brown-at-the-howard-theatre/

http://www.expressnightout.com/printedition/PDF/EXPRESS_05172012.pdf

I like the drawing on the cover of the newsprint W. Post Style section. City Paper has a full-page photo in their newsprint today also I think

so much Chuck Brown tribute stuff going on in the W. DC area--at clubs, online etc.

so so sad abt Chuck Brown, grew up in DC area so go-go is in my DNA,

wish i could experience the DC love as most ppl around me say "who?" when i mention my sadness. last time i saw him was at the new 9:30 club in abt '99 or 2000 on a go-go summit with trouble funk and EU.

I was in heaven taken back to HS years, my friends i'd dragged to the show were all new DC transplants so all hung bythe bar while i spent my night on the dance floor

RIP

You can buy Chuck Brown tribute shirts now--they're selling them near the baseball stadium at a stand.

Wish I could make it up to Teaneck, NJ for the gogo poster show (collected by Al*na W*rtofsky, former writer for the Washington Post, City Paper and others)

http://blastgallery.com/

go-go drummers Sunday practicing in the shed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVdDbR1FiME

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/05/31/live-blogging-the-chuck-brown-memorial/

Wow, totally missed news of his passing until now. I was just going through some old cassettes last night and almost played Chuck Brown. What great music. RIP.

Memorial service is streaming on various DC media outlets. His death is huge news here in DC

for some reason it was broadcasting on pgc but not kys? weird imo. good service tho. always nuts to hear how much washingtonians love marion berry.

Yes and yes and yes. WPFW was also broadcasting it

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/42988/go-go-live-by-natalie-hopkinson-reviewed/

Mixed review of new book

i was on a panel w/ Natalie last year and she was really cool, enjoyed her paper.

I heard part of Kojo's interview with her on WAMU 88.5 (need to check if that is archived) and she made 2 bookstore appearances in DC lately. I am anxious to read her book, although I nitpicked online one little aspect of an excerpt that she had published earlier. The excerpt gave me the impression that she was suggesting that go-go was just a within DC's border thing, without mentioning the longtime role of nearby Prince George's County where gigs were also always held, and where they are predominantly held currently. Mentioning a longtime PG role kind of muddies one of the premises of her book. I may have misinterpreted the excerpt, need to read the book.

lol chuck even lived in brandywine, not even particularly close to DC relative

references to PG county don't seem to interest anyone except wale apparently

"DMV" includes PG. Way back when I saw a big go-go and rap bill at the Capital Centre(20,000 seat arena in Landover, MD, part of PG County) groups used to do shoutouts to specific PG Cty cities.

But yea, I understand just referring to DC

references to PG county don't seem to interest anyone except wale apparently

― NASCAR, surfing, raising chickens, owning land (zachlyon), Friday, July 20, 2012 6:47 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

this is patently untrue btw, PG gets shouted out in any DC rap or go-go show or radio broadcast

o i know! i'm talking outside the local sphere ie everyone in the world attributes go-go to dc and shuts out pg, and for some reason i decided to mention wale at 7 am last night

i'm pretty sure they're referring to the dc area in general including any related surroundings they've never even heard of,like pg and moco rather than purposely shutting them out

That new Joey Negro compiled set Go Go Get Down is pretty good.
Was thinking it might trigger more recognition of the music but judging by the contents of this thread maybe that ain't neccessary.
Nice stuff on there anyway.
Though odd that I'm hearing more synths on the Troublefunk track than horns.

Never heard of till now that Brit house dj compiler Joey Negro and his (soon to be released) compilation of odds and ends old tracks with the awkward subtitle Pure Ghetto Funk from Washington DC.

Static Disruptors I recall were not pure go-go but a punk/funk band. Jim Bennett is doing Southern soul now (interesting to see his past). Later period Troublefunk did use more synths than horns. Osiris were pre-go-go but stuck around into the go-go era.

http://www.nataliehopkinson.com/2012/07/30/go-go-live-banned-in-chevy-chase/

jfc

City Paper quoted manager with a slightly different take-- although they admitted that the employee turned off the song due to the stupid complaint, owner insists sound was put back on after

It was put back on AFTER her talk, while ms hopkinson had planned to include the music as part of her presentation.

Were you there? I wanted to go to one of her readings but missed them. There seems to be disagreement re how long the cd was turned off.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2012/07/31/go-go-live-author-says-politics-prose-silenced-her-mix-cd-store-disagrees/

Washington Post and commenters and P & P weigh in:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/post/politics-and-prose-is-not-down-with-chocolate-city/2012/07/31/gJQARE56MX_blog.html

excerpt from Washington City Paper interview with Timothy “Judah” Matthews, DC hiphop producer and head of website For the DMV Only, re: go-go.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/08/06/interview-the-dmvs-one-and-only-judah/

How does it make you feel to see that maybe go-go has been ... not corrupted, but go-go has definitely been altered by hip-hop. I mean, early go-go informed hip-hop, so it’s not like that relationship is new, but it seems like go-go is losing a little bit. Is that true?

J: It has lost! You know what I mean? Like, it has lost a lot over the years, a lot of pioneers have died, a lot of violence throughout the years, a lot of change in the music, the locations, the crowds ... what it stood for, a lot of that is gone. You know what I mean, it hurts me, but at the same time, it’s like, I think everything has to go through this cycle, where we have real strong go-go or hip-hop, and then it gets watered down, and then it comes back around ... it’s just cyclical. ... But it hurts my heart. I have a niece that’s 16, and she wants to go to the go-go, and it’s just not the same that it was back in the day. You went to a real live show. Go-go at the Capital Centre. I wish every young’in today could really understand what go-go at the Capital Centre was like. ... Young’ins haven’t witnessed like, a real-live go-go at that level. Go-go at the Capital Centre! ... People don’t really think about where it’s been and where it could be again. Because it was something so great ... these live brass sections ... choreographed movements ... know what I mean, it was crazy. We don’t have it no more.

He's 33 years old btw. Is anyone making the case (other than the bands themselves) for bouncebeat? Chr*s Richards has given it attention via a few articles in the W. Post. Online, the TMOTT-Gogo Facebook page and website seems more interested in old-school go-go.

I remember those big arena shows at the Capital Centre. Went to 1 or 2 of 'em. RE and others with early generation NY rappers

im jealous!

I think the best case to be made for bouncebeat is that kids are really into it and old school go-go heads aren't. The music is actually changing in a way that's keeping it distinct from hip hop and it's gaining a whole new audience - isn't that what the go-go council of elders keeps wishing for?

I need to listen to KYS more and check out the PA Palace online and other spots to see which bouncebeat songs are at least reaching that audience beyond those teens who go to the bouncebeat gigs in PG and DC.

Or is bouncebeat more like regional rap that does not get KYS attention?

I saw a bouncebeat band at the Smithsonian Folklife Fest(!). I have to confess that crotchety old me did not think too much of 'em.

Meanwhile, for the old-timers there's this latest Chuck tribute on August 18th at the DC Convention Center:

The Lifestyle Empowerment Symposium presents Chuck Brown Day hosted by R&B crooner Christopher Williams and Chuck Brown’s daughter KK. Performances include: Ayre Rayde (Go Go) | Backyard Band (Go Go) | Bela Dona (Go Go) | Calvin Richardson (R&B) | Christopher Williams (R&B) | Da Mixx Band (Go Go) | Dwele (R&B) | EU featuring Sugar Bear (Go Go) | India Arie (R&B) | Junkyard Band (Go Go) | Original Soul Searchers (Go Go) | Pleasure Band (Go Go) | Suttle Thoughts (Go Go) | Trouble Funk (Go Go)

This will be the first time The Original Soul Searchers and Pleasure’s all girl band have performed together in years,

But yep the kids love bouncebeat

The Cold-hearted Band" is the one I saw on July 4th on the mall

"DMV" includes PG. Way back when I saw a big go-go and rap bill at the Capital Centre(20,000 seat arena in Landover, MD, part of PG County) groups used to do shoutouts to specific PG Cty cities.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 20 July 2012 14:58 (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what gig did you see there? I saw an epic one with Geto Boys, Leaders of the New School, Tribe, Rare Essence, Stinky Dink, etc. etc. - maybe in 1991? Were there others at the Cap Centre in those days?

This will be the first time The Original Soul Searchers and Pleasure’s all girl band have performed together in years,

Ahh! I loved Pleasure! I had a tape of theirs which I lost years ago and have never found available again.

http://www.pr-inside.com/the-lifestyle-empowerment-symposium-presents-chuck-brown-day-at-the-dc-convention-center-r3307686.htm

that convention center lineup sounds incredible, also sounds like serious ❀ the cult of: ➥motivational speakers ➥life coaches ➥personal growth gurus ➥new-age charlatans ➥AWESOMENESS FEST territory

That aspect sounds kinda scary (or annoying). The all-female go-go/r'n'b cover band Bela'Dona have been also hyping this event on Facebook without much mention of that portion.

what gig did you see there? I saw an epic one with Geto Boys, Leaders of the New School, Tribe, Rare Essence, Stinky Dink, etc. etc. - maybe in 1991? Were there others at the Cap Centre in those days?

― Walter Galt, Tuesday, 7 August 2012 16:54 (Yesterday) Permalink

A 1987 one. Several in the 80s.

That aspect sounds kinda scary (or annoying). The all-female go-go/r'n'b cover band Bela'Dona have been also hyping this event on Facebook without much mention of that portion.

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, August 8, 2012 10:22 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

i worked an event Bela'Dona were playing a couple months ago, they're pretty dope.

Chuck's band played a tribute set at the Erykah Badu/Common show at Merriweather the other night

They had Chuck's daughter singing one song with film footage of her dad in the background (but no hologram like Tupac). Chuck's band has been doing a number of these shows plus bringing on old-school folks like James Jas Funk from Rare Essence and Sugar Bear from EU as well.

http://earcave.mybisi.com/products/dc-go-go?pagesize=12

This dude is selling old go-go 12"s for a lot of money

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/08/17/chuck-brown-day-may-relocate-to-d-c-star/

"Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Events DC—the company that runs events at the Convention Center—says she doesn't know anything about Chuck Brown Day."

welp

Multiple calls and one email to Kappstone have not been returned.

I guess it got moved to DC Star?

So both WKYS and WPGC are playing go-go on Sunday nights. I'm trying to get into the bouncebeat stuff they play, but it's hard to do for old man me.

Show was cancelled and not moved to DC Star I see from the internets

Chuck Brown's Band with Raheem Devaughn at the Howard will probably be good tonight.

Repeating the earlier question: recommendations for Various Artists Go Go CD box set anthologies?

I found these, but it seems like there should be a Rhino (or Rhino-style) 4-disc set out there somewhere. It's a little difficult to search for because of the name of the music.

http://www.amazon.com/Gogo-Get-Down-Ghetto-Washington/dp/B007NCII5C/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2230PHUZA3UZV&coliid=I3TJ17JPG2NS5L

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Dcs-Best-Various-Artists/dp/B00004TD2A/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2230PHUZA3UZV&coliid=II1QCFO5OYVRJ

Anything else?

Not that I know of. That Joey Negro Brit dj put together comp is, as I noted above, not just go-go btw.

Just get a Trouble Funk best-of and a Chuck Brown Greatest hits and a Rare Essence best of

This 2-CD comp from 2001 is real good; no idea if it's still in print.

http://www.amazon.com/Beat-Go-Gos-Fusion-Funk-Hip/dp/B00005NWNW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354468573&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Beat+Go-Go%27s+Fusion

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-14/lifestyle/36343625_1_conga-players-judges-rgiii

go-go conga drum competition took place recently

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5122A6pQd9L._SS400_.jpg

LOVE IT

Ok, but as noted above it's not just go-go.

That comp xhuxk listed is out-of-print but worth finding used.

i'm curious about which tracks aren't go-go?

Osiris and Static Disruptors are funky but not pure go-go

http://www.tmottgogo.com/smoke-dazzles-em-on-fox5-morning-news/

go-go conga drum winner on tv

RARE ESSENCE is currently looking for SONGWRITERS, PRODUCERS and
TRACKS for our upcoming release

From their Facebook page

http://dcbrand99.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/go-go-the-giver-and-the-gift/

a state of go-go piece

https://soundcloud.com/dj-dyn-o-might/adorn-go-go-remix

Go-Go remix of "Adorn"

― some dude, Tuesday, January 15, 2013 1:59 AM

nice

http://www.examiner.com/article/backyard-band-wins-band-of-the-year-at-viewer-s-choice-awards

RIP Leroy Fleming, sax player from Chuck Brown's Soul Searchers.

http://www.gogocentral.com/forum/index.php?/topic/278756-who-will-be-the-best-bounce-beat-band-of-2013/

i miss my go-go

No Ethiopian equivalent I guess

not really

Saw the reunited Static Disruptors at the 930 Club a little while back. Fun (I think it was a onetime deal though. Nice City Paper article about them also)

Have not been following this, but maybe I should

http://future-go-go.tumblr.com/

http://wpgc.cbslocal.com/2013/04/30/selena-gomez-goes-gogo-in-new-single/

whoa

Isn't that something

Couldn't find too much of interest last night on the P.A. Palace forum; I guess go-go fans young and old are communicating elsewhere. Although it's not the most user friendly site.

photographer and videographer Chip Py keeps posting nice clips of live shows by grown n sexy go-go bands like Familiar Faces and Be'la Dona on the TMOTTgo-go Facebook page.

http://www.dcgogoparadise.com/

they sell live tapes of shows listed below:

http://gogobeat.com/WeeklyGigs

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/44299/drums-along-the-potomac-may-20-at-the-kennedy-center

Also free in NYC for 2 shows Thrsday night May 16th (tonight)

Now Tate’s biting off even more: Together with his expanded Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber, he’s teamed up with go-go and jazz pianist Marc Cary, the D.C.-raised poet Thomas Sayers Ellis, go-go vocalist Donnell Floyd, and percussionists Go-Go Mickey and Kenny “Kwick” Gross to form “The Upper Anacostia ~ Lower Gold Coast Symphonic.” Count on their concert, called “Drums Along the Potomac: A Global Go-Go Fantasia,” to bust loose with a challenging blend of polyrhythms, melodic vocals, and bleating horns

― curmudgeon, Thursday, May 16, 2013 3:17 PM (5 minutes ago) Book

2 lengthy go-go articles out today.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/chuck-brown-godfather-of-go-go-missed-by-family-and-fans-one-year-after-death/2013/05/15/9e144a62-bcaa-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/go-go-bands-make-their-way-back-into-city-but-dcs-music-is-still-a-neglected-treasure/2013/05/15/71c0e67a-bcad-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2013/05/17/chuck-brown-fans-friends-assemble-for-joyous-tribute-at-howard-theatre/

A fun tribute event (a year after his death)

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/44780/crank-groove-a-go-go-love-story-sept-1314-at

this could be fun

And it was--Playwright Nina Mercer was once a dancer with EU and her Dad worked for TTED Records, Black Picasso had a great story about trying to go from uncool to cool by playing a horn; C. Bacon related how he first got into go-go; Natalie Hopkinson told a touching tale about the beat ya feet dance and go-go at a Hot Shoppes; and more. Oh, the 2 beat ya feet dancers were great as was band Be'la Dona.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/15/go-go-back-to-the-1980s-with-washington-dc-rap-legends-trouble-funk-3543081/

Wonder if any Brits here saw them earlier this year at their UK gigs?

Totally missed that they were here until it had happened - they played a venue that's off my radar (Islington Assembly Hall) so I didn't see it mentioned any of the usual places I find out about gigs. I would have loved to have gone.

Too bad. Maybe they'll be back soon

http://www.tmottgogo.com/rest-in-paradise-go-go-legend-melvin-butch-lewis-phenomenal-drummer/

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, October 8, 2013 5:00 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Posted this on the Capital Swamp thread but will post it here too. He played with EU and with Little Bennie. He died at his dayjob hospital job from faulty machinery leaking Freon. Very sad.

http://passionweiss.com/2013/11/07/passion-of-the-weiss-fall-mix-4-harold-stallworths-go-go-fall-collection/

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2013/11/12/listen-on-4g-mambo-sauce-vents-about-the-state-of-go-go/

Go-go is actually getting shut down in PG County too (and returning to certain DC locations)

A lot of his/their criticism makes sense. However Mambo Sauce disappeared the last few years. Wonder who's in the group now?

RIP Ricky Wellman, drummer extraordinaire

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/reggie-polo-burwell-of-dc-go-go-group-tcb-dies-at-the-age-of-42/2013/11/26/69550e1c-56e0-11e3-835d-e7173847c7cc_story.html

fuck

Yep, in a coma for 2 years after a brain hemmorage(sp?). Sad.

Bounce beat bands can't seem to get gigs anywhere but Ikon in Waldorf, Maryland these days

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/tre-former-go-go-star-and-current-wale-sideman-plots-his-next-musical-move/2013/11/28/aa45af2a-5777-11e3-ba82-16ed03681809_story.html

Tre, songwriter from UCB on writing for Wale and recording his own stuff and what's next

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2013/12/02/remembering-the-great-d-c-drummer-ricky-sugarfoot-wellman/

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2013/12/05/the-king-of-bounce-beat-how-polo-brought-go-go-into-the-21st-century/

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2013/12/10/hop-hop-and-step-step-doing-the-chocolate-city-shuffle/

Noticed via some twitter research that there was a big bouncebeat show scheduled at Ibiza back in November, most bouncebeat has been pushed south down to Waldorf, MD. A couple bouncebeat post-Xmas shows are scheduled down there.

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/go-go_swing_fantastic_late-80s_documentary_about_washington_d.c.s_funk

It's pretty good. Watched a little bit of it early this morning.

Wonder what happened at that PG County meeting yesterday re the dancing license rules that are restricting go-go events in the county?

Local NBC 4 tv news coverage suggests that the county politicians and the police are happy with the CB-18 law, no matter the views of go-go band members and fans

Lloyd Pinchback played sax, flute, & cowbell with Chuck Brown’s Soul Searchers. First sat in with Chuck Brown on a gig that still happened in SE DC on the day MLK was killed in 68. He wrote Soul Searchers song “Ashley’s Roachclip “ that had a drum break sampled on many rap records . Here’s my obituary for him

https://thedcline.org/2020/02/22/the-cowbell-king-memorial-service-saturday-to-celebrate-the-life-of-lloyd-pinchback-who-played-with-chuck-brown/

Nice piece, RIP

Been listening to Go-Go Crankin': Paint the White House Black, and I wondered if Robert Palmer might've covered Go-Go while he was the critic for the NY Times, and sure enough he did, in an article published June 9, 1985. The heart of it is this primer, pretty much what you'd expect from Palmer given his expertise in musicology:

Go-Go's musical roots are in the Progressive Funk of the late 60's - Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, George Clinton, Jimi Hendrix. All the leading Go- Go bands were originally black show bands that kept local audiences entertained with their versions of the latest national hits. But some time during the 70's, when the black pop mainstream evolved in the direction of a slicker sound, with sophisticated production values, strings and, later, synthesizers and drum machines, the Washington bands developed at a tangent.

They rejected the slickness of sweet soul and the new synthesizer technology, preferring to rely on tried and true instruments - guitar-bass-drums, percussion, organ or electric piano, saxophones and brass. And they developed their own distinctive body of rhythmic usages, taking a cue from the street rhythms that Washington kids were banging out on tin cans, pots and pans, empty bottles and beat-up conga and bongo drums.

The British writer David Toop notes that in Go-Go, ''The commitment to live performance is total'' and ''the idea of human endurance is sacrosanct.'' Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers are credited with being the first of the bands to begin keeping the beat going for up to several hours at a stretch, with a single tune lasting 30 or 45 minutes. This approach puts an incredible strain on drummers, and first Mr. Brown's group, then the massively powerful Trouble Funk and various newer aggregations expanded their percussion sections. The typical Go-Go band now includes several percussionists in addition to the drummer, playing conga drums, cowbells, timbales, and roto-toms; the latter instruments, tom-toms that change their pitch when they are rotated after being struck, are a key ingredient in the Go-Go sound.

In earlier funk bands, percussion instruments functioned as seasoning or coloring. In Go-Go, a polyrhythmic dialogue of loping percussion patterns is pushed to the front of the mix, along with heavy bass and the bass drum's insistent syncopation. The guitars, keyboards, horn sections, and call-and- response vocals often seem to be an accompaniment to these emphatic percussion patterns.

The rhythm patterns themselves are unique. They give Go-Go a pronounced tropical lilt; the closest parallels would be the ''junkanoo'' street percussion that traditionally served as carnival music in New Orleans, Miami, Key West and other Southern port cities. There is an evident Afro-Caribbean influence at work here. And another parallel may be worth examining. Like New Orleans, Washington has had a long history of brass bands and parades; the blaring brass riffs that decorate Go-Go records clearly have marching band antecedents. Go-Go rhythms may have developed partly from the spontaneous cross-rhythms played on homemade instruments by neighborhood youngsters following in the wake of parading bands, like the ''second line'' street percussion of New Orleans.

Each of the bands that contributed to the ''Go-Go Crankin' '' album has developed its own style within the music's basic parameters. Trouble Funk is notable for its particularly dense and sophisticated polyrhythms, and for sheer muscle. Most of the songs on the record are basic party-time chants, but Mass Extension's ''Happy Feet'' and the captivating ''Movin' and Groovin' '' by Redds and the Boys have the sort of sing-along ''hooks'' that Go-Go will need if it is going to compete in the pop marketplace. Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers are the music's elder statesmen and among its more sophisticated musicians; Mr. Brown's songs and arrangements quote from jazz sources like Horace Silver's ''Filthy McNasty'' and King Pleasure's ''Moody's Mood for Love,'' with a few themes from popular television shows thrown in for good measure.

The most impressive 4th and Broadway/T.T.E.D. 12-inch single so far is ''E.U. Freeze'' by the group E.U. (Experience Unlimited). ''Freeze'' songs usually consist of slangy instructions for doing the latest dance steps and are distinguished by periodic breaks when the music stops, pauses, then cranks up again. The first ''freeze'' hit was also one of the very first black dance records and the direct progenitor of the original boogie-woogie craze - ''Pinetop's Boogie- Woogie'' by the pianist Pinetop Smith, released in 1928. ''E.U. Freeze'' plays audacious games with the discontinuity inherent in the stop-and-go format; the percussion jam is periodically interrupted by everything from a wailing electric guitar solo to a comical ''Shortnin' Bread'' fanfare from the brass. If Go-Go can continue to forge such personal visions from black dance traditions, its future should be bright indeed.

Hadn't thought about this being a scene that continued beyond the era I was interested in. Which would be late 70s to mid 80s. I think after which I was hearing Trouble Funk getting slicker and glossed.
I love the live set they recorded in London in 86 and the Ebony tv special of them live at the Town & Country Club.
Unfortunately doesn't seem that that Say What set is in print or around in CD.

So is there an ongoing DC or elsewhere scene? One that is sweaty and funky still rather than toned down or whatever.
It seemed to almost be a black punk scene at one point and one that crossed over with the nascent DC hard-core scene in shared bills with some bands. But definitely a somewhat d.i.y. alternative scene addressing some of the same concerns. Though sets were considerably longer.

I think what was putting me off later Trouble Funk was the increasing element of synth that was creeping in. & their popularity seemed to have them watering themselves down more. So I lost interest by the end of the decade.
Though loved the 86 T&C set enough that I think the version circulating is probably the one I shared on Dime. That I borrowed from my little brother who is visible in the footage.

I had to go into my office on Wednesday, which is in the heart of PG county, and I knew coming back in the office wouldn't be so bad when I heard them bumping Go-Go in the lobby to welcome us back

Go-go lives . Old school style and bouncebeat style happen multiple times a week. I include events on my concert calendar. My wife and I were the lone non Black attendees at a recent Proper Utensils show at Takoma Station in DC . Alona Wartofsky and I both have written about go-go over the years for the Washington City Paper .

There have only been a handful of punk and go-go shows over the years but punk fans like to pretend it happened or happens more than it does. I have gone to a bunch of free go-go shows on the roof of the MLK Library in downtown dc and the crowds have always been 98 % Black and not noticeable as dressed “punk “ whatever that means in 2025. Friday night in my calendar I listed the following: Fri Jan 31 in DMV DC- Rare Essence @ Fast Eddie’s (go-go); Backyard Band @ Restaurant 55 (go-go); Still Familiar @ 10 @ Throw Social; Blacc Print Experience @ Takoma Station Tavern (go-go); TCB @ Power (bouncebeat go-go); TOB @ Martini's (bouncebeat go-go) 🧵

But yea, Trouble Funk got too polished at some point decades ago on their records and that also led them to lose popularity, plus they were touring the world and losing their fanbase at home. Years later their bandleader Big Tony has had health issues and another member of band passed away.

All go-go and also now the bouncebeat go-go bands also struggle to write creative new songs. Most bands just rearrange rap and Rnb and pop covers in the style. But I still enjoy seeing the bands live on occasion even if they don’t have much original material.