#greg sellin

[writtenbyjos]

Spellbound: A Ghostly Tale Chapter, 5

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

After a rather unsuccessful therapy session with the Doc, Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso belly laughed and smoothly glided out the door, opening it with their fists. They left James at his desk, head in his hands and papers scattered everywhere.

"Thank you Doc, for anothah fulfilling and enriching appointment that taught us absolutely nothin'!" Stretch said as he flew through the door.

"Sweet dreams Doc!" Stinkie waved.

"Don't let the desk-bugs bite!" Fatso smiled.

James just waved his hand without lifting his head or making eye contact. They all laughed and collected into the main parlor where they plopped down in sync onto a large purple sofa and turned on the TV. Stretch yawned and made a loud groaning sound. Stinkie popped his neck, his back then his knuckles and picked out some earwax out of his ear. Fatso scratched his stomach and belched, making the room shake.

"Seven and a half." Stretch said not looking away from the soap opera on the screen.

"What?" Fatso interjected, outraged. "That was clearly a ten! No hesitation."

"Not in this afterlife, you overgrown sack of flour." Stretched waved his hand half heartedly. "You break all the damn windows in the kitchen like Stink did back in '49, then we'll talk." He squinted. "Oy!" He yelled, pointing to the TV. "What the hell is Julia doin' back on the TV? I thought she ran off to Mexico with José to find her birth mother!" Stretch folded his arms and scoffed.

"Nah, you's thinkin' of Janice. See, she ran off with that blonde fleshie—what was 'is name…" Stinkie snapped his fingers trying to remember.

"Greg!" Fatso suggested.

"No, Greg was da one who was sellin' all that alcohol to those high schoolers and got himself arrested." Stinkie said.

"Oh yeah." Fatso said smirking. "What a guy! Jeremy?" He asked.

"Jeremy died two episodes ago when his drug dealer ran 'im over with the car!" Stretch yelled. "Don' ya remembah? The funeral was last episode and Kerri kept crying every five minutes."

"Shhh!" Stinkie slung his arm around his brothers' heads, covering their mouths with one hand and flapping the other excitedly. "I'm tryin' to listen!"

Stretch raised an eyebrow and removed his brother's hand slowly, but stayed silent. On the television, a man and woman stood in the small living room of a cabin in the snowy mountains, holding hands.

"But, Brad!" The woman said in an exasperated tone. "What'll happen to…" she looked at the camera dramatically. "…us?" She put a hand to her forehead. Suddenly a short man in a ski mask holding a bulging sack beat the door down and held out a gun.

"Oh, no!" Brad said pointing to the masked villain. "It's the man with the gun!"

"This plot is too predictable," Stretch said, unamused, lighting a cigar.

"Shhh!" Stinkie said again, making a face at his brother and glueing his eyes back to the screen.

"Who are you?" The woman said flipping her hair. The man pulled off his ski mask to reveal a handsome, blonde-haired fellow with blue eyes. The woman gasped and fell to the floor.

"Her twin brother Harold?" Fatso gasped, putting a hand over his gaping mouth

"My twin brother, Harold?" She whined.

"Goddamn," Stinkie emphasized.

"I KNEW IT!" Fatso rose immediately pointing at the television.

"Okay wow, I didn't even see dat comin'," Stretch laughed, one arm griping the sofa and one hand raising his cigar to his mouth. "She bettah get that nice blonde ass o' her's movin' or she's gonna be buttered toast," he raised his eyebrows.

"I told you's guys he wasn't dead!" Stinkie threw his hands in the air. "I always had a feeling about that pipsqueak."

"Speakin' a' which," Stretch looked around. "Casper!" Within moments Casper poked his head through the stained glass, parlor double doors.

"Yes, Uncle Stretch?" He asked quietly.

"Go fetch today's papah and make it snappy. Don't make me wait around so long, eh short-sheet?" He grinned his teeth together.

"Like always, Uncle Stretch." Casper sighed.

"Ya wanna run that by me again, bulbhead?" Stretch snapped.

"Nothing, nothing." Casper reassured, rolling his eyes behind their backs. After he disappeared from view, Stretch turned to his two brothers.

"Look at dat, boys!" Stretch said. "No respect for the head honcho." He shook his head. "I mean look at us!" He rose up and turned off the television.

"Hey what gives?" Stinkie snapped. "I was in the middle o' dat!"

"It's a soap opera for christ's sake! We should be out terrifying souls, making people wet themselves, scaring 'dem fleshies silly!" He placed his hands on his hips sternly. "Boys we—we've lost our touch." Stinkie and Fatso gasped.

"No," Fatso gasped.

"Yes!" Stretch whined.

"But how—?" Stinkie questioned.

"We gone soft! Two fleshies livin' in our place! And a third one one the way! That's three whole bags o' bones suckin' our air and eatin' our food."

"But Stretch you's said just the othah' day that you love the Doc like our own brothah!" Stinkie said jabbing a finger at Stretch's chest.

"I ain't nevah—" Stretch furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, yeah. An' Kat—" Fatso stood up and cut off his brother. "She runs all the errands for us! She got your special cream that you like to put on when—"

"Alright, ALRIGHT!" Stretch snapped, the windows shaking a little. "That's private." He tapped his cigar and ashes fell to the floor one by one. He was slowly turning red as a tomato. "Just look at you two's! You being all lovey dovey with fleshies!" He put his hand on his hip.

"Sure the Doc is a-okay, and Kat's—eh," he twirled his cigar between his fingers. "But three whole fleshes takin' ovah our territory? That's crossing some lines, that is." He said.

"Come on, we're still scary!" Fatso interjected.

"Oh yeah?" Stretch said, squinting.

"Yeah!" Fatso said confidently.

"When was the last time we actually scared a fleshie?" He asked smirking.

"Uhh," Fatso frowned.

"I got it!" Stinkie said. "Last Wednesday that Mormon came to our door," Stinkie laughed. "Yeah, yeah! You remember the look on his face?" Fatso cackled and pushed Stinkie on the shoulder. "Good day," he said puffing his chest as a pair of circular glasses appeared on his nose. "Have you heard the good word of our Lord and savior—DEMONS, DEMONS, DEMONS!" Fatso bulged his eyes and laughed along with Stinkie. Stinkie held out a pretend cross and held it up.

"By the grace of Zeus, be gone foul demons!" Stinkie got on his knees and laughed so hard tears came from his eyes.

"Yeah nice work boys." Stretch scowled. "We scared one bible beater back into heaven." Stretch frowned.

"We got not one, not two, but three fleshies livin' in our home, boys!" He snapped. "Whataya call that huh?"

"Hospitality?" Fatso shrugged.

"No, you idiot!" Stretch folded his arms and rose from the couch. "It means we gone soft!" Stretch closed his eyes and lifted a first to his chin, stifling a few pity sniffles. "Never thought I'd see the day."

There was a moment of silence as he let his brothers mull this over.

"Here you go Uncle Stretch—" Casper flew into the room with a newspaper in his small hands. He paused and floated in the air making a face.

"Great timing, pipsqueak," Stretch muttered.

"Do you still want the paper…?" He asked quietly.

"Of course I want the damn papah!" He snatched it from Casper's hands, made it into a roll and slapped him up across the head. All the of the ghosts laughed and pointed. "At least we're still good at one thing…" he smirked. "And the yard needs dirtyin', go make yourself useful and scatter some leaves or somethin'. Now get outta here, short sheet!" Stretch snapped, blowing a puff of smoke into Casper's face.

"Second hand smoke kills people—especially children-everyday, Uncle Stretch." Stretch cackled lightly.

"Well it's a good thing you're already dead, ain't it?" He said quietly.

"Yeah, lucky me." Casper said rubbing his head and dusting off his nose. Stretch squinted and scowled.

"Get outta here, go on scat!" He ushered Casper out of the room and began eyeing the paper for his weekly crossword puzzle. He ran his slim fingers through the pages and yawned. Stinkie and Fatso had turned on the television and resumed their soap opera.

"She's breakin' Brad's heart!" Stinkie sobbed into Fatso's shoulder and he shook his head consoling Stinkie.

"That good for nothin' two timer!" Fatso shook his fist at the television.

"Eh, quiet down ova there I'm doin' my crossword puzzle." Stretch said behind the paper.

"Yeah, all two words!" Fatso and Stinkie laughed to themselves.

"Hey shut up the two of you's!" Stretch quickly lowered the paper and spat. "I'll have you know I found almost five last week!" He squinted raising the paper again.

"'Toins out dat 'glozzom' ain't a word…" he said sheepishly. He readjusted his position on the couch, but this time, didn't go back to his crossword puzzle. He had found something much more interesting. His eyes glazed over the "Social Events" column and grinned.

"Hey, hey, whata we have 'ere?" He said slyly. He saw a picture of families gathering around town hall carrying pumpkins and jumping into leaf piles.

"Lookie 'ere boys," Stretch said turning off the TV. "Hey, Jessica was just about to kill Jordan with the golden shovel her father gave 'er!" Stinkie yelled.

"Get ya asses ovah 'ere!" He pulled them in a showed them the article.

"Oh, the annual Harvest festival," Stinkie said in a slimy, smooth tone. "Oh boy, oh boy it's a masquerade pahty dis year." Stinkie said rubbing his hands together.

"There'll be tons of suckers just waiting to be scared outta their minds." Stretch said grinning.

"Not to mention a buffet," Fatso licked his lips and rubbed his stomach.

"Boys, I think we're back in business." Stretch said eyeing his brothers and blowing a puff of smoke into the air. "Time we reclaim our title."

Kat and Lucy barged through the front doors of Whipstaff Manor and slammed them shut with their backs. They both slid down to the floor and closed their eyes. Kat put a hand over her head and Lucy laughed, out of breath from running up the driveway.

"Wow," she said her mouth hanging open.

"Yeah." Kat eyed Lucy and thumped her head against the wooden door. "Safe to say I can't ever let you out of the house again?" She asked.

"Hey that girl was being really rude! I couldn't just sit there!" Lucy said standing up. She held out her hand for Kat.

"I'm used to it by now, Lucy," she said taking Lucy's hand. "Do you know how many schools I've gone to? How many houses I've lived in over the years? The rumors that went around about me? I mean when your dad is a therapist for dead people you're giving them a lot of room for insult."

"Well that doesn't mean you've got to take it," Lucy slumped her shoulders.

Casper zoomed in. "Where were you guys?" Kat and Lucy looked at each other.

"We were having some milkshakes…" Lucy said slowly. "And maybe, possibly, by accident I dumped them all over our waitress…" she smiled innocently. Kat folded her arms and shook her head.

"No way! That's so cool!" Casper held up his hand. "High four!"

Lucy enthusiastically jumped to hit Casper's hand but stumbled, going right through it.

"Oops, sorry," Casper grimaced and smiled nervously. "I keep forgetting I'm made of air."

Lucy stood up gingerly and brushed herself off.

"Say, Kat!" Casper flew around her happily. "Check this out!" He handed her the newspaper. "Page eight," he smiled looking over her shoulder.

"The annual Harvest Festival will be up and running on October fifth, a great way to spend a Saturday filled with family fun." Kat read aloud. "And at midnight, a masquerade party under the stars." She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Casper I don't know," she sighed.

"Come on, Kat! You promised!" He said. "This would be a great way for Lucy to get out of the house!"

Lucy sheepishly rubbed her arm. "Casper, don't you think it'd be a little weird for people to see me walking around with a complete stranger and a white cloud? Not exactly the kind of attention I'd want to attract." She chuckled and folded the paper.

"No, no, listen," Casper said. "I had a brilliant idea! I could turn invisible or better yet, I could wear a full body costume! No one would know the difference! Plus, you know I'm a good dancer."

Kat blushed and looked away.

"Life of the party! Er—death of the party?" Casper shrugged. "Come on, please?I've been dying to get out of this old, dusty, barn," he clasped his hands and held them to his cheek. Kat sighed.

"Oh, all right." Casper did a back flip in the air.

"Yes!" He cheered. "Thank you, Kat!" He said flying around her. "Lucy?" He stopped and looked at Lucy with large, hopeful blue eyes.

"I mean, what's a Harvest Festival without a witch?" She giggled.

"Come on, let's go find a costume!" Casper yelled. He headed straight out the door and Kat looked at her watch. "3…2…1…" she counted. They heard Casper sigh from outside the door.

"Oh right," he floated back into the closed doorway and chuckled nervously. I forgot—got too excited."

"Let me grab my wallet," Kat jogged up the stairs. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be here," Lucy called after her.

"NO!" They jumped when they heard Fatso cry from the parlor in the next room.

"Haha, you owe me ten bucks, puddin' belly!" Stinkie yelled.

"I told you's not to trust that bastard, Brad! He's a two faced liar!" Stretch snapped. Lucy sighed and glanced at Casper with worried eyes.

"I have a bad feeling," Lucy said. "What if…" she looked at the parlor door again.

"Oh, don't worry. They've actually calmed down a lot since you came here." Casper said. "They're not gonna show up. They're too busy with that soap opera to notice anything!"

Kat and Casper began cracking up. Lucy joined in, nervously, but her gut was telling her something else entirely.

[coolestranchxyz]

the tambo rays in oakland

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Whoop-dee-frickin'-doo, an "A" What's an "A?" It's just a letter on a page meant to distract us from the pain But it's not like any "A" can make a difference in the day Sure, I could get an "A" if I wanted to get an "A" But who cares about an "A?" I don't I don't care Although I coulda made that grade if I did care But I don't

But I could if I wanted to

Whoop-dee-frickin'-doo, look at this guy In the red-and-blue-striped tie Makin' millions till he dies Sellin' bonds and stocks to other guys in ties Who have millions with which to buy a bunch of bonds and stocks and ties I'd rather die, which I will, eventually, of course But in the meantime, I could make millions Sellin' stocks and bonds and ties if I tried But I don't But I could, but I don't

But I could if I wanted to, yeah Yeah, I could if I wanted to Who cares?

Whoop-dee-frickin'-doo, a happy dad With his big dad calves and his stupid baseball cap And his T-ball shirt and dumbass son Throwin' a ball Like it's so important to know how to throw a ball Whoop-dee-frickin'-doo!

Who cares about throwin' a ball or havin' a kid? It'll get ya nowhere in life Not like gettin' anywhere matters Although I guess it does if you care Which I don't! But I could! But I don't!

But I could if I wanted to, yeah Whoop-dee-frickin'-doo if I wanted to— This song sucks! I could make it good if I wanted to, yeah Yeah, I could if I wanted to!

I could do that if I wanted to.

~Greg (Crazy Ex GF) 

[newyorktheater]

Kelli O’Hara singing A Cockeyed Optimist from South Pacific: I have heard people rant and rave and bellow That we’re done and we might as well be dead, But I’m only a cockeyed optimist And I can’t get it into my head. I hear the human race Is fallin’ on its face And hasn’t very far to go, But ev’ry whippoorwill Is sellin’ me a bill, And tellin’ me it just ain’t so. I could say life is just a bowl of Jello And appear more intelligent and smart, But I’m stuck like a dope With a thing called hope, And I can’t get it out of my heart!

Kelli O’Hara seems as busy now as when theaters were open: She’s singing this morning at 10 a.m. on “Morning Song,” with her husband Greg Naughton, on the Instagram of Say.org (the Stuttering Association of the Young.)  The Merry Widow, in which she stars with Renee Fleming, will stream on the Met Opera website on April 23 (see a video from it below.). She can also be seen on the cast of All The Bright Places on Netflix. She is scheduled for a week performing at Feinstein’s/54 Below in May (it’s unclear whether this will be live or online), singing songs from her “celebrated career.”

There is much to celebrate: O’Hara landed on Broadway from Oklahoma at the age of 21 and has never left — 12 shows in two decades; she has been nominated for a Tony for all seven musicals in which she’s starred since 2005, winning for “The King and I”

Check out the rest of the Broadway Alphabet series

Kelli O’Hara in Sweet Smell of Success

Kelli O’Hara in Dracula

in Light in the Piazza

Kelli O’Hara in The Pajama Game

in South Pacific

Nice Work If You Can Get It

in Far From Heaven

Kelli O’Hara and Isaiah Johnson in “Far From Heaven���

Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale

Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale in Bridges of Madison County

Kelli O’Hara in The King And I

The King and I Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe

in The Merry Widow

Kelli O’Hara in Kiss Me Kate

Sweet Smell of Success, 2002

No video of her singing, but here’s an anecdote (for her fans back in Oklahoma) about auditioning for the show.

The Light in the Piazza, 2005

by Adam Guettel;

O’Hara sings the title song as part of a fundraising telethon. This was the first role for which she was nominated for a Tony

The Pajama Game, 2006 revival

There Once Was A Man, with Harry Connick Jr. at the Tonys

South Pacific, 2008 revival

Sings “A Wonderful Guy” At 3:25

I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair at 2:30

Nice Work if You Can Get It, 2012

A jukebox musical, with music by George Gershwin; lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Book by Joe DiPietro; Inspired by material by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse

A montage of the show, but it has enough of Kelli O’Hara to include it

Someone to Watch Over Me (a version that, obviously, is not from the show)

Far From Heaven, 2013

Book by Richard Greenberg, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie Adapted from the movie by Todd Haynes

Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons

The Bridges of Madison County, 2014

Book by Marsha Norman; Music by Jason Robert Brown; Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown; Based on the novel by Robert James Waller;

With composer Jason Robert Brown on the piano, Kelli O’Hara & Steven Pasquale sing “One Second and a Million Miles” on The View

To Build A Home

The Merry Widow, 2014

“We’re the Ladies of the Chorus”

The King and I, 2015

I Whistle A Happy Tune (in London)

“Getting to Know You” and “Shall We Dance” at the Tonys (“Shall We Dance” starts at 2:20)

Hello Young Lovers in concert

Kiss Me Kate, 2019 revival

by Cole Porter and a book by Sam and Bella Spewack

recording “So In Love”

I Hate Men (audio)

Sondheim’s “Take Me to the World” At Rosie O’Donnell quarantine special

K is for Kelli O’Hara. Busy on Broadway. Watch Her Online. Kelli O’Hara seems as busy now as when theaters were open: She’s singing this morning at 10 a.m.

[usuallyrics-blog]

Heart Of The Projects

New Lyrics has been published on usuallyrics.com https://usuallyrics.com/lyrics/heart-of-the-projects/

Heart Of The Projects

I’m stuck right now, I’m on my back right now And then I see you, all fucked up and shit You know heart problems, surgery and shit I’m the oxygen and shit (This temptation shit crazy though) Shut up and take that deep knee

I’m the heart of the projects, hope I don’t stroke Over here we live in poverty, everybody broke Over here it ain’t no comedy, nah it ain’t no joke We just tryna make it out of it, they hanging us for rope Never choke, young nigga sellin’ dope Young nigga smokin’ poe Kickin’ door, jumped right out the post Ready to cut your throat Ready to let em go Project baby, youngin’ on the stroll Sellin’ coke, stressin’, man we broke Doctor check my pulse

In this a cold world It’s an icebox that’s where my heart beat I’m the last hope for my hood, I’m they heart beat I ain’t tryna flat line, they won’t live without me Golden acre boy free my nigga Greg Roundtree Niggas played me dirty Bitches played me dirty Your niggas and your bitches, they’ll leave you hurtin’ I just want a better life, I know I deserve it The hood on life support and it’s real urgent And I’m fucked up bad, I need a real surgeon Why they do ya boy bad? I’m a good person I’m the one who gon’ ride out like a derby If you my nigga imma slide out with you lurkin’ Dye your nose, paranoia I be gettin’ nervous Had to wait the fourth quarter, I ain’t have a jersey Niggas dying everyday can’t behave they self Before you jump off the porch nigga take a step (Nigga slow down) I was just a litttle boy, had to raise myself I was movin’ too fast, had to pace myself Paper chasin for that cash tryna race myself You know a nigga like to spaz, had to take a breath Sometimes I think I’m too much for myself And I done cost a lot of hurt to my health It’ll make a nigga cry, all the pain I felt While everybody fold up, I remain myself

I’m the heart of the projects, hope I don’t stroke Over here we live in poverty, everybody broke Over here it ain’t no comedy, nah it ain’t no joke We just tryna make it out of it, they hanging us for rope Never choke, young nigga sellin’ dope Young nigga smokin’ poe Kickin’ door, jumped right out the post Ready to cut your throat Ready to let em go Project baby, youngin’ on the stroll Sellin’ coke, stressin, man we poor Doctor check my flow

Who is Kodak Black

The rapper was born in Pompano Beach, Florida. Recently, he often declared his name as his perfect marks, and his crimes. The Baby project, the heart of the projects, Instution and Lil Big PAC have been released so far.

[ketodietfactor]

EATING KETO ON THE ROAD

Want To Start Your Own Online Fitness Business? Check out “Fit Coach U” https://fitcoachu.com/ __ Yo waddup waddup. Thank you for watching this video. I hope that you keep up with the daily videos I post on the channel, subscribe and let’s build a community of winners. I read every comment, holla at me. __ Subscribe for New “Daily Vlogs” EVERY DAY! http://BrandonCarter.com/VictoryVlog __ Follow Me Online Here: Main Channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/HighLifeWorkout Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingketo/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigBrandonCarter/ Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/killercarter187 Website: http://brandoncarter.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCarterMusic?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor The Victory Unit – https://thevictoryunit.com/optin-948427015708544 __ My company – https://www.brolaboratories.com/ __ FAQ’s – – 6’2 – 200lbs __ Harry’s channel – https://www.youtube.com/harryfaceyfilm brandon carter, carter, brandon, big brandon, big brandon carter, victory, vlog, victory vlog, daily vee, daily v, gary vee, gary vaynerchuck, 00 for the vlog, Arrested, Police, Connor Murphy, Prank, Sick, Sellin, Workout, Fitness More from my siteKeto Diet – Police Academy & TrainingKinobody & Brandon Carter Are Having A Boxing Match… Over Ketogenic Diets?Brandon Carter Links Study Showing Women Losing A LOT Of Muscle On A Keto Diet To Support ItKETOGENIC DIET [WHAT I EAT IN A DAY] [WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY UPDATE #4]“Kino Vs. Keto” I’m Gonna Whoop Kinobody/Greg O’Gallagher’s Ass!Brandon Carter Vs. Vegan Gains “Keto Vs. Vegan” from Keto Diet Fact or Fiction http://www.ketodietfactorfiction.com/keto-diet/eating-keto-on-the-road/%20

[live105fm]

LIVE 105 BFD 2017: WATERS

LIVE 105 BFD 2017: WATERS

Learn more about WATERS before they perform on the Festival Stage at LIVE 105 BFD 2017.

Members:

Van Pierszalowski Brian DaMert Greg Sellin Andrew Wales Sara DaMert

Origin:

San Francisco & Los Angeles, CA

WATERS Around The Web:

Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

[youtube…

[colour-is-sound-blog]

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE

Fred Wesley, a key player in James Brown’s mind-blowing 60’s and 70’s masterwerks, before heading to hyper-space with Parliament-Funkadelic, reckons that:

“If you have a syncopated bass line, a strong, strong heavy back beat from the drummer, a counter-line up from guitar or keys, and someone soul-singing on top of that, in a gospel style, then you have the funk”. (Funk:The Music,The People, and The Rhythm of The One”).  

You heard the man, you have the manual - now go find the funk!

Music and not just the evolution of funk, reached a watershed moment with Stand, Sly & The Family Stone’s fourth album. To reach such dizzy heights, Greg Enrico had been tricked into joining Sly & The Family Stone on drums, aged 16. Sly also recruited Funk’s version of The Ox, Larry Graham, creator of the hugely influential ‘thump and pluck’ attack of the bass strings. A rhythm section that could set sail for the furthest regions of Funkalonia and wouldn’t miss a heartbeat.

Jerry Martini (great name for a jazz-man) joined on saxophone and the amazing Cynthia Robinson on trumpet. A horn section which drew heavily from RnB innovator Junior Walker to become the Motorhead of brass. Sly wrote, arranged and sang the songs, whilst he and brother Freddie took care of guitar and Sister Rose sang and played piano.

From the first rehearsal, everyone knew they were creating something completely different. The band’s earliest supporters were high-fiving a unique sound unlike anything else in soul or rock and roll, and when you consider the number of musical geniuses pushing the boundaries in 67, Sly’s music is even more incredible

MONSTER SIZED URGENT FUNK THAT EXPLODES IN YOUR HIPS; AS IF SOMEWHERE IN THE MUSIC IS EMBEDDED THE ZEITGEIST, AND ONLY DANCING UNLOCKS THE CODE

A Whole New Thing, the often-overlooked debut LP opens with Underdog, soul’s version of a ram-raid. A tune that kicks harder than the Chemical Brothers, jumping out the speakers to grab your funk glands until they swell and groove. A prime candidate for breakbeat theft and reinvention. It’s one of those songs that make the rest of an album think,” ah sheet-we gotta follow that?”.

A dense complex innovative ambitious and playful first record which weaves between psychedelia and soul towards the birth of funk, three years before Norman Whitfield’s amazing Psychedelic Shack.

Before Sly formed the Stone, he started a band called ‘Sons of Ray’ with Billy Preston, inspired by the one and only Ray Charles. Sly was also a popular DJ, spinning platters that matter with no time for the transistor broadcast formula. In his supposed ‘soul only hour’, Sylvester would sprinkle the airwaves with The Stones and Dylan, early signs of an eclectic appreciation of music, one which would influence the sound and structure of his next project.

Sly put together one of the first male/female/ black/white bands in America and unlike the leadership style of James Brown, Sly gave his brothers and sisters free reign to go find the funk. Boy, did they find it!

Dance To The Music, the band’s second LP, did exactly what it said on the tin. Life, released 6 months later, began the ascent towards perfection. As the music grew ever more stellar, Sly’s observations became more sophisticated, sensitive to the subtleties of power and the manufacturing of consent to quash individuality. Colour Me True show-cased Sly’s ability to more fully define and articulate the individual’s struggle for integrity, equality, for inner-outer peace.

SEE AMERICA THROUGH SLY, CURTIS OR CHUCK D EYES; GIMME SOME TRUTH AND UNCLE SAM AINT LOOKING SO FREE

Life is superb, driving funk agile as a cheetah, the song’s arrangements allowing the band to effortlessly shift through the gears, always on the one. The Family shake their tambourines harder than Moonie hits a drum kit and the interplay between the band is astonishing.

The BIG BANG, the unified funk surge, arrived in May 1969 with the release of Stand, one of the most powerful and original records ever made. The album opens with the brilliant song of the same name, a tune containing one of the best breaks ever, allowing the band to lock into a seriously heavy recurring funk-out. One minute you’re below the mirror ball, then that change, and boom; your looking down on the club from the clouds, way beyond the spires.

If John Lennon had written Don’t Call Me Nigger Whitey it would be rightly considered the bravest song of all time. A snarling slab of truth, defiance and soul power, aimed right between the eyes of hatred and intolerance. Lean and mean with a kick like ten tons of dynamite, a song unrivalled in 60’s America. Dylan at his hypnotic causeless rebel best, or even the mighty MC5, didn’t aim the guns of the guitar army so accurately towards the dark heart of broken America. A monster track and safe bet as the last song on side A (no other song must follow it), but not so on a SATFS long player.

I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER IS A RELENTLESS PULVERISING HIGH-ENERGY SOAKED BLAST, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE THE LAST NORTHERN SOUL SONG EVER TO BE PLAYED BEFORE RAPTURE ENGULFS THE DANCEFLOOR

Catch your breath as the song dissolves and the haunting glide of Somebody’s Watching You flashes past. Bitter sweet existential soul blues. The compartmentalised fragmented production accentuates the feeling of dissociation felt by the characters in the song. Everyday people trying to keep it real, battling the duality of life and wage slave compromise.

To fully appreciate Slymania, check out the live albums from Woodstock and the Fillmore East. Electrified non-step medicine strong enough to knock down Lourdes and replace it with a Sound System playing only Sly & The Family Stone. Watch as pilgrims, lost in the beat, throw away their crutches.

One can only wonder at what happened to some of the unfortunate souls who did ingest the ‘not necessarily good’ Brown acid at Woodstock. Seekers who may have peaked past as Sly’s cosmonauts swung into the acapella section of the all-out funk assault M’Lady. The band’s blistering Woodstock set is as good, heavy and fresh as The Who’s oomph wallop capow juggernaut performance a few hours later.

Legend tells of Sly being given joint-headline billing with Jimi Hendrix in New York that year. Sly went on first, played a blinder, then led the band and audience down the aisles, out into the street. Even guitar arson struggles to top that in front of an audience whose DNA has just been reconstructed by an hour and half of high voltage sub-bass funk.

It’s a measure of just how good the original Wailers must have been, to get booted from their support slot after playing only four of the seventeen dates booked on Sly & The Family Stone’s tour of 73. The Wailers were at the very height of their powers whilst Sly’s Family had imploded two years previously. Bob’s Rastaman’s vibrations were too powerful for the host as powders from Columbia burned bridges quicker than they could be built.

Sly was snow-blind exhausted as the sixties slipped from view and the band discovered a ghetto in their musical utopia. Left to drift, 1971 finally saw the release of their long awaited fifth album. There’s A Riot Going On is the dark master of funk, devoid of hope yet inspirational, warm but desperate, experimental yet reassuring; laying down the blueprint passed onto Miles, George Clinton and the birth of Hip Hop.

Unlike the previous four records, this last gathering of the original line-up saw the band record individually with Sly, who recorded his vocals lying down, deep inside the grip of free base addiction. A non-local approach which heightened the sense of isolation and claustrophobia within the songs. As America fragmented so did the band, one still able to deliver a modernist masterpiece, and certainly one of the most important records of the 20th Century.

A prophetic record which literally teeters it’s so heavy. An album that begins with Luv & Haight, a song which is groovy as hell but tired as a four-day bender, “I feel so good I don’t need to move”, sings an aching numb-buzzed Sly, suspended in a free base tunnel. The contradictions within the record are incredible, creating tensions which are never resolved. The record crawls on its belly through the highs and lows, towards the final track, “Thank You For Talking To Me Africa”, funk’s odyssey of pain, confusion, fear, hope and renewal.

Lookin' at the devil, grinnin' at his gun.

Fingers start shakin', I begin to run.

Bullets start chasin' I begin to stop.

We begin to wrestle I was on the top.

want to

Thank you f-lettinme be mice elf

Agin.

Flamin' eyes of people fear, Burnin' into you.

Many men are missin' much, hatin' what they do.

Youth and truth are makin' love,

Dig it for a starter.

Dyin' young is hard to take,

Sellin' out is harder.

I -- want to

Thank you falettinme be mice elf

Agin.(Lyrics by Sly Stone, Epic Records 1971)

Despite the fall-out from the Riot, Sly somehow managed to keep it together to record new albums in '73, '74 and '75 before it all got too much for the world's first funk pioneer.

The riot’s still going on.

Sly & The Family Stone discovered the one within the one - go get them in your soul.

[leaveyourtoothpickathome]

fuckaing snap chat

[amusicblogyea]

Gimme Your Answers: A Video Interview w/ WATERS Touring with Matt and Kim in support of their debut record release What's Real, we caught…

[dominiquegoncalves]

[meagansullivanphotography]

Waters

This weekend, I got the chance to catch the cool kids in Waters play with Matt & Kim here in Dallas. I’m completely in love with their stage setup and the way their music makes me want to frolic through a field of flowers. Here are some of the photos I got during their set: 

[friedbebop-blog]

Song of the day is Got To My Head by Waters.The constant guitar tune that starts right from the first second of this song keeps it balanced as it runs through its story of how this poor guy may have caught a case of the feels for this girl. After a few moments of a cool introduction, this song immediately picks up into a cool rock sound that never tired itself out. The music video is nice and swell with enough cute costume ideas for this Halloween if you're as stumped as me for ideas.

[emildizon-blog-blog]

[leaveyourtoothpickathome]

with Canadian girls

[coolestranchxyz]

waters, the tambo rays, and the midnight hollow