Lee Fields And Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra At Southpaw
June 23, 2010
By Christopher Boyle
(Long Island, N.Y.) On Friday, June 18th, I descended upon Southpaw, a cozy and hip music venue located in Park Slope, Brooklyn NY. The reason? To check out a great double bill of soul, funk, and R&B, and chat with the guys responsible: Lee Fields of The Expressions, and Adrian Younge of the The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra.
Southpaw is located in a trendy area on 5th Avenue- it’s a street lined with small restaurants, vintage clothing stores, and knick-knack shops. I arrived a few hours before showtime because I had interviews scheduled with Adrian and Lee. I had interviewed Adrian once before- click here to read my chat with the talented man regarding his work editing and scoring the awesome blaxploitation flick Black Dynamite. However, the PR guy at Southpaw also set up an interview with Lee Fields, which caused me to sweat a little…mainly because I had no idea who Lee was at the time. Embarrassing, I know…I’ve been a life-long fan of all genres of music, but alas, the name of Lee Fields had never passed my ears before. But in my opinion, music, like anything else in life, is a journey where you should constantly be on the lookout for new artists representing all different genres and styles. Now was the time for me to discover Lee Fields.
I quickly looked up some basic info to prepare for the interview, and what I discovered was a man whose career spans 40 years of innovative music. Listening to online samples of his latest album, “My World,” I wondered how I could have missed out on Lee for so long…
Anyway, I was hanging out in Southpaw during The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra’s sound check when Lee strolled in, introduced himself to me, and perceptively asked if I was with the media. Since it was too loud to chat in Southpaw, he invited me outside for the interview. It was hot, so we walked across the street to the supermarket lot where his SUV was parked, he cranked up the AC, introduced me to his lovely wife Chris, and just like that, the interview was on.
I felt I owed it to the man to be upfront about my shameful ignorance of his work, but being the humble and classy guy he is, Lee wasn’t fazed in the least. I honestly hope that the interview born out of this introductory-style approach can help turn on others on to Lee’s work, as it should serve as a solid springboard into his world for the uninitiated.
Music is the only thing Lee’s ever done…aside from a brief stint in Real Estate in the 80’s, that is. He comes from a musical family, and his mother bought him his first guitar when he was but a wee lad of six. However, he soon got in the habit of singing, and it just stayed with him. He first sang professionally at age 13 when he did a James Brown tune at a talent show that drove the crowd crazy. His obvious talent attracted the attention of a band that asked him to join…provided his mother gave Lee permission to travel out of town to sing on the weekends (which she did). Soon he found himself making a cool $100 a night (a huge sum in the 1960’s) belting out tunes in front of crowds numbering sometimes over a thousand. When he turned 17 he traveled to NY, and has playing gig after gig ever since for the last 40 years, traveling all over the world while doing so. He’s collaborated with different talent over the years and released great funk and soul albums. He’s been with his current backing band, The Expressions, for 15 years now, and he feels his latest album, “My World,” is his best work yet.
Lee noted to me the changes he’s noticed in the music industry over his long career, and the recent (and welcomed) trend away from synthesized music in favor of artists actually PLAYING their instruments. “It’s a beautiful thing,” he noted. But the thing he said that really grabbed me was in relation to the passion he still feels for his craft after 4 decades. “Tonight will be the true test,” he said. “I’m actually very nervous.” “Nervous?” I asked, surprised. “Yes,” Lee replied, and went on to explain. “Fear is a state of awe, and awe is respect. If you don’t feel any anxiety or a bit of dread that something may go wrong when you get up on stage…it means that respect for what you’re doing has been lost. It’s like a religious experience in that respect.” I found this to be a very poignant observation on Lee’s part.
After I was done with Lee, I sat down with the leader of The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra, Adrian Younge. Adrian is a true prodigy: he’s self-taught on multiple musical instruments, a DJ, entertainment law teacher and digital film editor (and probably 8000 other things I don’t know about). My time with Adrian was limited, but it was great finally getting to meet the man after our cross-country phone interview last year. We touched on the origins of his band, which was formed in the wake of the recording of the Black Dynamite film soundtrack. The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra is just Adrian and a few of his friends, all of whom love listening to and playing 70’s-style funk and R&B. They’ve been touring the States on a regular basis but Southpaw was their first New York gig (followed by back-to-back shows in NYC the following night). Personally, I was excited to finally be able to check out their stuff live after the fantastic music contained in the Black Dynamite soundtrack.
Adrian and I also touched on the upcoming Black Dynamite animated series set to debut on The Cartoon Network. Of special note is the return in the cartoon of certain characters (such as Cream Corn) that met their untimely demise in the film. Adrian has been busy recording original music for the series and told me it’s turning out great so far. He also told me what he had in store later that night during the show: in addition to tracks from the Black Dynamite film score, he and the gang also planned on playing favorite songs that had inspired them, in addition to original material.
After the interviews, I grabbed a few drinks and settled in as The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra took to the stage in Southpaw, adorned in matching white tuxedos. They put on an amazing show, heavily steeped in funk, and the crowd ate it up. The band played with breathtaking intensity, with guitar, bass, keyboards, sax, flute, and vocals all converging to form a time-warp back to the 70’s. Unfortunately, at one point Adrian tried to introduce some of the aforementioned non-BD songs into the set, but the crowd stubbornly shot him down with chants of “Dynamite! Dynamite!” But, being the consummate professional he is, Adrian relented and the Sound Orchestra returned to the Black Dynamite catalog, starting with a rendition of the infamous “Anaconda Malt Liquor” jingle and eventually closing with “Shot In The Heart.” Overall, good times were had, but I just wish the crowd had been a bit more open to the non-BD material.
Next, Lee Fields and The Expressions went on, and…wow. If interviewing the guy didn’t make me a fan (actually, it did), his live show certainly did the trick. Lee’s vocals were mesmerizing, and expertly framed by the backing of the super-talented Expressions. It made me curse my not being familiar with Lee’s catalog all the more, but rest assured, after the show the man put on that night, I’m now a fan for life. The comparisons of Lee to James Brown that I’ve read in the press were indeed valid, but not completely warranted; Lee possesses a vibe and masterful stage presence all his own that’s just as distinctive as the late Godfather of Soul himself. And if he WAS indeed nervous about that night’s performance, as he had claimed he was earlier that night, he obviously used the energy that fear produced constructively; it fueled his performance to perfection.
All in all, it was a fantastic night of music at Southpaw. If you’re in the NYC area and are looking for a dark, cool, cutting-edge venue to experience music spanning all genres, Southpaw is the place. Getting to experience Lee Fields and The Expressions and Adrian Younge and The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra live there (in the interest of full disclosure: free of charge) is something that will stay with me for some time, and if you ever get the chance to check either of these acts out you’d best jump at the chance. These guys make magic happen.
- Lee Fields and the Expressions’ Myspace Music page: http://www.myspace.com/leefields
- The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Dynamite-Sound-Orchestra/159386941097
- Southpaw of Brooklyn’s official website: http://www.spsounds.com
Posted by News LI Editor · Filed Under Entertainment
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