Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020056
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
OK, maybe it's not back completely, but if Robb Webb, K.C. Bratton and his little brother, Lloyd ``Duke'' Bratton, have anything to say about it, that old sound - call it soul music - will soon make its return.
And it will start at Venture Records.
Just as it started long ago at places like Motown and Staxx and Chess.
Venture Records is a new label, based for now in Roanoke. It was begun by Webb and the Bratton brothers as an alternative to ``bump n' grind'' - as they call much of today's music - and their ideology or slogan is: ``The sound of black love is back.''
Tonight, Venture Records officially will be launched with a talent showcase and party at Lowell's Restaurant in Roanoke. The party is open to the public. Admission is $5.
At the kickoff party, the infant label will premiere its debut artist, Latonya Smith, a Philadelphia transplant to Franklin County whom Venture Records has yet to record and who, being the company's sole act to date, reflects just how far the company has to go.
Venture's young entrepreneurs, however, are undaunted.
The story of how and why they are starting their own record label dates back to their days at Roanoke's William Fleming High School. Really, it goes back to William Ruffner Middle School, where classmates Webb and K.C. Bratton forged their first partnership.
It was a Michael Jackson dance act that they performed at school talent shows during Jackson's ``Thriller'' heyday. Webb danced to the song ``Billie Jean,'' and Bratton mimicked ``Beat It.''
But it was at Fleming on the school track team where the pair formed the bond that was a hint of things to come. As they tell it, as juniors, Webb was the star runner of the two and Bratton was his biggest booster. But as seniors, it was Bratton who shined and Webb who became the booster.
``We've always supported each other like that,'' Bratton said.
Now, at age 25, they are banking on that same supportive alliance in launching Venture Records and its parent company, NTO World Communications, which they hope to take to Atlanta and then to the world.
Don't completely count them out, either.
Webb has some inside connections, cultivated both when he was a performer himself and when he worked as a disc jockey at WTOY radio in Roanoke from 1990-92. His on-air name was Rob ``Lover'' Webb.
He also was a member of the group F.B.I. (Forever Being Innovative), which performed around the region for several years before splitting up in 1991. He said he learned a little about both ends of the music business during this time and realized then that he wanted to run his own record label.
To educate himself, he read up on Motown founder Berry Gordy.
Today, under the NTO umbrella, Webb heads up the music end of things and Bratton is his primary support man, just like in their track days at Fleming. Likewise, Webb acts as Bratton's support when it comes to his end of the NTO business: film and television.
Bratton, too, is working connections.
A graduate of Virginia Military Institute, where he edited the school's literary magazine, Bratton has befriended actor and fellow VMI man Dabney Coleman. He also has written script proposals for several television and film projects.
He said Uptown Entertainment, which produces the television show, ``New York Undercover,'' among other programs, has expressed interest in his ideas. He also has been in contact with Eddie Murphy's production company.
Meanwhile, Bratton's younger brother is in charge of the fashion and finance segments of NTO. And the deal they have all made is that whatever takes off first - whether it's music, fashion or television and movies - will get first priority.
For now, Venture Records is getting the most attention.
Webb said his hoped-for return to a retro soul sound comes from the heart. He is bothered by the negative messages dominating much of today's music, he said, and he believes that audiences are ready for a musical alternative that celebrates love again.
This approach also makes good business sense, he added, because there is such a glut of negative artists now competing against each other. ``In a battle, would you rather fight 10 or 10,000?'' he said.
Webb plans sometime to move Venture Records to Atlanta, which has become the new capital of black music. From there, he sees no reason why Venture's ideology can't catch on everywhere, just like the Motown sound once did.
``We're laying the foundation here.''
Venture Records: Talent showcase and party, tonight at 9, Lowell's Restaurant, 2328 Melrose Ave. N.W. Admission $5. 344-4884.
by CNB