Musical Musings of a Tiny Rager

Bowlive 2011 Poster

Being asked to write for The Royal Family Records website has been one of my greatest accomplishments.  I discovered Soulive in Charlottesville, Va back in 2000 and have been following their talent ever since.  Eric Krasno is one of my top ten favorite guitarist, I won’t tell you at which spot he lies 🙂 Alan Evans is a beast on the drums and what Neal Evans can do with his hands is spectacular, playing both the bass and keys himself.

Get some!

Following their music over the years, I knew that this is where their musical headquarters lay when I decided to move to NYC.  I knew that my musical pallet would get a wide variety of musical flavors to choose from moving here in 2004 but it wasn’t until I fully immersed myself in the culture of music in NYC that I realized just how much there was to see and hear.

The lovely female voices of The Royal Family

Bowlive 2010 was announced last March on the heels of my re-entry into NYC’s musical culture after 6 years being taken away due to life’s responsibilities.  Once I realized what this musical event was going to entail, I knew I couldn’t miss a single show.In addition to Bowlive containing all the Royal Family projects, we were delivered some of soul music’s greatest musicians and singers over a 10-night run. Unbelievable…

Ragin'

Don’t believe me? Go buy the 2010 Bowlive DVD on Amazon!! The 112-minute feature includes special guest appearances by Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Susan Tesdeschi, DJ Logic, Ivan Neville, Oteil & Kofi Burbridge, Robert Randolph, ?uestlove, Rahzel, The London Souls, the Shady Horns, Nigel Hall, Danny Sewonik, Tash Neal, Raul Midón & more!

Taylor Hicks & Lenesha Randolph @ 2011 Bowlive

By the time Bowlive 2011 had come around, I was in place to write for The Royal Family and cover each night of Bowlive. This was a dream come true as I had placed various members and groups of The Royal Family in my “Top Ten Favorites” lists since discovering them.  This writing project was unmatchable in terms of excitement and it poured out in my writing without any help.

Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall @ Bowlive 2011

Over the course of 10 days, this musical marathon exposed hungry music lovers to over 25 artists, such as old school Funkateers, saxophonist Maceo Parker and keyboardist Bernie Worrell and jazz legend, guitarist John Scofield and pianists James Hurt and Ivan Neville.  As well, many were introduced to the amazing young talents such as vocalist Alicia Chakour and trumpeter Maurice Brown.  We were treated to the poetry in motion of rappers WAX, Pharoah Monch and Talib Kweli as well as the amazing musical talents of the Burbridge brothers, flautist Kofi and Bassist Oteil.   Our minds were blown as horn player Karl Denson and pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph brought the spirit of John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix respectively to the stage for us all to climb to the highest heights of musical ecstasy. Corey Glover, Yonrico Scott and DJ Logic were all lying in the cut bringing their own flavors.  Behind it all, what really made this musical marathon amazing is the chemistry and talents of Eric Krasno, Neal Evans and Alan Evans, the brilliant New York City Soulfunk trio Soulive.

Karl D is the man!

Here is a link to each of my nightly reviews on The Royal Family Records website. Enjoy!

• Night 1 Recap with Lettuce & Maceo Parker

• Night 2 Recap with Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, & Wax

• Night 3 Recap with Bernie Worrell & the Royal Family Allstars

• Night 4 Recap with Robert Randolph, Corey Glover & the RF Allstars

• Night 5 Recap with Robert Randolph, DJ Logic & the London Souls

• Night 6 Recap with John Scofield & Ivan Neville

• Night 7 Recap with Scofield, Oteil & Kofi, Ivan, Marco, & More

• Night 8 Recap with Ivan Neville, Van Hunt, Karl Denson, & Kofi Burbridge

• Night 9 Recap with Karl Denson, Van Hunt, Maurice Brown, Kofi & Break Science

• Night 10 Recap with Matisyahu, Break Science & Very Special Guests

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