Newspaper Page Text
Page 10
Lifestyles/Entertainment
May 1, 1993
Capitol Groove: groovin' up theAUC
Capitol Groove
By Chandra R. Thomas
Lifestyles/Enter. Editor
Watch out Atlanta, they
have their own “groove” and
they’re on the “go-go.”
You hear “The AUC’s [At
lanta University Center] own
Capitol Grooooooove." The
crowd jumps to their feet and
begin to chant: “One little-
two little- three little
Spelmanites; four little- five
little- six little Clarkites;
seven little- eight little -nine
little Wolverines... Let’s book
them all!”
The band fills the room
with the rousing rhythms of
their provocative paeans
Pretty soon, you’ll have a
room full of restless and
breathless college students
moving uncontrollably to the
beat.
This is a reoccuring scene
from the weekly perfor
mances of the go-go band
Capitol Groove (CG).
Though they’ve only been
together for three months,
the Atlanta University Cen
ter-based band said they
have performed throughout
much of the center’s social
circuit and the metro At
lanta area.
The members of the band
consist of the saxophonist
and lead vocalist Richard
“Go-go Rick” Allison; Andre’
"Dino” Meadows on the
cowbells, vocalist and tam
bourine player, Jay
Patterson, guitarists Jamal
Caliste and Darick Barnes,
bass guitarist Khari
Simmons, keyboardist
Reginald Stotts, vocalist and
trumpeter Eric Joyner, and
Thomas “Peeping Tom”
Curry on the congos.
All eleven members say
their goal is to have fun and
make music. Since their
first performance at Pearl’s
Night Club, in March, CG
has received numerous of
fers to perform. They have
averaged about two perfor
mances a week, “Our first
show was slammin’. Every
body had a real good time.
We were just relaxed,” said
Joyner.
The group performed at
the East Coast Step Show at
Georgia State University.
Spelman College, the Lanier
Plaza Hotel, and at a
Freaknic ’93 party. They
eventually hope to play at
the annual Jack the Rapper
convention.
The members define go-
go as a combination of rap,
rock, jazz, R&B, and funk,
with an African and Carib
bean influence, “We are the
only go-go band in Atlanta
It’s not rap, R&B, or jazz.
It’s everything mixed to
gether,” said Meadows.
Band leader, Allison said
the go-go style places heavy
emphasis on percussion as
the core of the music, “In
most music styles each song
stops then another begins.
In go-go we bridge each song
with percussion interludes, ”
he said.”
“Above all the nicknames
and the hype, the music al
ways comes first. Our music
is very soulful and we are
very serious about what we
do,” said Caliste.
Simmons said go-go con
sists heavily of improvisa
tion, “It’s pretty funky.
Sometimes you have to
watch where you go, it’s easy
to get carried away,” he said.
Although the group say
they attract mostly audi
ences from the Washington
D.C. area, the birthplace of
go-go, they seek to enter
tainment
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Caron Wheeler brings new life to her music
Tiana Harrison
Personals Editor
Back to life, back to
reality...,” those words
belted out by Caron
Wheeler on Soul II Soul’s
song Back to Life are the
main focus for her new
solo album, Beach of the
War Goddess,- and her
overall attitude.
“My music represents
everything I believe in
and stand for. I want to
serve as a griot (a term
meaning storyteller)
through my music, “she
said.
According to Wheeler,
the title of the album
expresses her overall
views on the world. "Life
is a beach, the world is in
turmoil, and the black
woman is a goddess, "she
explained.
The Jamaican-born
and England-reared
singer said she hopes
that people will realize
what is going on in the
world surrounding them.
“The land is being
abused, war, the Rodney
King verdict, storms, and
teenage pregnancy is
going on and it has a
direct effect on us,” she
said, “I could not make
music that didn’t tell
CaronWheeler
about the real issues,”
Wheeler added.
“I want everyone to be able
to relate to the music. I sing
about things I know about.
So if I grew up in Beverly
Hills I would sing about it,
but I didn't,” she said
When asked to compare
the music in America to the
music played in the United
Kingdom’s, Wheeler re
sponded that the songs in
the United Kingdom have a
more refreshing sound. “You
don’t hear the same type of
music over and over like you
do in the United States and
the sound from each artist is
more original,” the song
stress said.
She produced three tracks
on her current album and
chose all the music. “I make
all the final decisions about
the music on my albums
because it reflects my views, ”
said the Brltish-bom singer.
Wheeler said she would
like to write and produce
music for Chaka Khan, in
the future.
