ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 13, 1996 TAG: 9606130013
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: off the clock
SOURCE: CHRIS HENSON
From within a deep throbbing ether comes a disembodied voice. It tells you right up front that you better "get your groove on." There's an empty dance floor and a CD player full of the once-dreaded, now re-coveted eight-track sound of disco.
The voice belongs not to your subconscious but to Rodney Lewis, a popular local disc jockey. And you'd better do as he says, because Friday night is Disco from the Old School Night at Lowell's Restaurant and Lounge on Melrose Avenue in Northwest Roanoke. And while remembering the '70s may get you a little red-faced at first, there is no better place than this to wear your groove out. Fact is, there aren't enough O's in smooth to describe Lowell's properly.
"I do get a complaint now and then about the dance floor," says Lowell Reeves, the club's owner. ``They say it's too small, so I'm working on it. We're going to see what happens."
The dance floor, which seems ample enough from the casual view, gets packed to capacity along about midnight on most Fridays. Old School Night brings out a lot of people, people with "Boogie Fever," those who "Love the Night Life," and want to "Turn the Beat Around."
And that's all Rodney Lewis' fault. He's the guest DJ every Friday. And when it comes to '70s disco, and other music for that matter, he knows his stuff.
``I just keep a bunch of greatest hits and `Sounds of the '70s' CDs,'' says the DJ, who also can be heard on WTOY-AM. ``Every once in a while I'll get a request I don't have, but not too often.''
He has a flashlight that he uses when he crouches over his CD cases and goes fishing for tunes. His favorites are the dance mixes. "There are several places around the country that specialize in MegaMixes," says Lewis. A MegaMix is a 20-minute track that seamlessly blends snippets of dozens of recognizable songs all at the standard disco tempo of 131 beats per minute, or so. The "FlashbackFreestyleMegaMix," for instance, might have a few bars of the SOS Band, Funkadelic, Dazz Band and the Gucci Crew. It's like throwing a bunch of eight-track tapes into a blender and whipping up a heck of a shake.
For Lewis, MegaMixes are the secret to keeping the booties shaking. "What will happen is, people will hear a cut in a Mix that they like and they'll head on out to the floor," he says. Next thing they know, they kind of get stuck out there looking like "when is this song over? I've got to sit down."
``I love it. It's kind of like an endurance test, you know?''
"I used to tell the DJs, play seven fast songs and two slow ones," Reeves says. "That's the formula for a busy dance floor." He points to T-Bone, one of his regular R&B DJs, laughs and adds, "Nowadays, they'll play 150 fast songs and maybe then a slow one."
Mr. Bone, also a DJ at WTOY, insists that he receives no complaints.
Meanwhile, the familiar hit parade keeps coming. Songs like "Mislead," "Ring My Bell," Herbie Hancock's "Rock-it," "Disco Nights" and "Freak Out" make appearances. The beat goes on, a little more than twice a second, for most of the night.
Behind the bar, above the beveled mirrors, there's an antique trumpet and figurines of jazz artists like Louis Armstrong. One wall features a black-lit mural of the Roanoke cityscape after dark, fluorescent and alive.
"I've wanted to do this since I was 18 years old," Lowell says of club-owning and the music scene.
"I started in high school in a talent show playing in a little old three-piece band. We won a Future Farmers of America thing, went to the Virginia State College and won second place. And I was down there saying, `Hey, man, I'm ready for show business.'''
These days Reeves works for General Electric. "That's what I do," he says. "My wife runs things here. I stay back in the back and do the financing and things. I come up with some ideas and tell her about them. She's a good partner to have."
Alice Reeves is in the kitchen overseeing a variety of dishes. The dinner menu has several points of interest: shrimp Creole, African tips (served with bean sprouts), smoked sausage and curry chicken. Lowell's is made up of a cafe that serves breakfast and lunch, and the lounge area, which serves dinner and dancing.
Another attraction at Lowell's is the live music every Saturday night. "The way I book bands," Reeves says, "is people come in here and tell me about bands they've seen. I consider the source. They'll say, `Lowell, you ought to book this band.' They might bring me a card. I call them up, tell them what I pay, and we work something out."
Last Saturday, the band "Something Else" from Richmond was making its Lowell's debut. The R&B band was having a brocade vest night, six in all. The sax player honked over extended, textural grooves while the band's one female member beat the fool out of a half-moon-shaped tambourine.
When the bass hit its lower notes, the lights wanted to dim, like when a big air conditioner kicks in to make a room cooler.
And cool it is. Cool at any tempo, smooth in the old school.
When you head out to Lowell's, remember that there is a dress code. Jeans are nixed, as are shirts with any type of lettering or sweat suits. But definitely don't forget to get your groove on. You'll be needing it.
Lowell's is at 2328 Melrose. Friday night will feature more '70s disco. Front Page will perform old and new R&B on Saturday night starting about 10:30.
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