THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501060037
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CULPEPPER, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 174 lines
THE SOUNDS emit from garages in almost every suburb. Screeches, booms and sometimes soft melodies ring in the ears of neighbors, parents and remote cocker spaniels. And every so often, someone gets lucky.
Whether they star on MTV, or star in the school talent show, young musicians follow few rules, but have a single mission: to get noticed.
From blaring rock'n'roll to hardcore hip-hop, local garage bands reflect our cultural diversity. Their music is often rowdy, sometimes reflective, but always emotional. Getting noticed in the world of popular music demands talent, energy, time and more, and so does just having fun. CHIVALRY
Jim's house is no place to practice. For the four members that make up the garage band Chivalry, a 12-by-12 room is not enough.
Band leaders Jim Davis and Scott Joshway are riffing out new songs in the drummer's parent's spare room. Lead guitarist and vocalist, Scott, and his amp are cornered in a pool of electrical chords. Swallowing the room are Jim's mammoth drums. When the amps are turned on, band members duck. The neck of Scott's white Charvette guitar pokes and stabs anyone within its reach.
The two other members, bassist Damon Orr, and Jeff Mudgett, who plays rhythm, are tuning up. All four are Kellam High seniors.
Chivalry is the most recent descendant of the Kellam garage band family tree. Its members hail from such unhistoric groups as Caucasian Chalk Circle, Entropy and the recently defunct Shall Not Want.
Practice time is a sacred time for the band, whose members must balance sessions between chorus concerts, play rehearsals, marching band parades and scores of girlfriends.
Scott is the most experienced of the four. He has played in about 15 venues in Virginia Beach and Norfolk. He has even shared the stage with good friend and local/national recording artist Gib Droll.
``This is definitely the best band environment I have ever played in,'' Scott said. ``Everyone in the band brings a certain style to the table.''
Damon stands, bass in hand, looking very much like the traditional lanky, long-haired groove-man. He plays with an awkward body language that is half novice, half clown. Having played bass with countless other musicians, he is appreciative of his band mates, who are also his best friends.
``It feels good to finally be in a band that embraces artistic creativity,'' Damon said. ``We are not just dense noise, we just play what we think sounds good.''
Although their musical style is unclassified, Chivalry's current song ``Wild Hearts'' shows off their musical roots. A tribute to the lost souls of rock 'n' roll, the song sounds like Black Sabbath in Southern harmony.
``We wrote that song in one night,'' Damon said.
They are practicing new songs for an upcoming performance in front of Kellam's senior class.
Other songs such as ``I'' and ``Consumed'' show off their eclectic subtleties. Songs are calculated and refined to give depth. Chord progressions are methodical, emphasizing exactness.
Although it is not apparent in the music of Chivalry, humor is the best-known trait of the band, which enjoys wrestling in Jim's swimming pool after every practice. During the middle of this set, they take turns throwing a small stuffed bear named Pluko at Jim's cymbals.
``We knocked his eyes off. Cool,'' Jeff said.
When stuffed animals begin to fly, the end of practice is drawing near.
The four members of Chivalry are not so worried about impressing record companies or getting attention from their peers. They simply enjoy the craft of making music, for themselves, in a 12-by-12-foot room. EVIL MINIONZ ``With our lyrics, we kill you,'' Cue said. ``Then we bring you back from the dead.''
Black Iye, Cue and the Six-shoota and Billy the Kid are hip-hop traditionalists, collectively known as Evil Minionz. From the urban streets of Norfolk, their hard-hitting style is part of their environment: rugged, intricate and shrewd.
At Booker T. Washington High, they are known as Jerome Reid, 18; DeQuan Gregory, 19; and Billy Jones, 18. They met during lunch period, where many students try to show their rapping ability.
``We used to sit during our lunch hour and just kick rhymes,'' Jerome said. ``Then, out of the blue, Six (Billy) shows up and wanted to rhyme. I listened to him, we got together, met Cue (DeQuan), and wrote our own stuff.''
After local record producer Domonique Lamb heard them perform, he quickly took to them, along with Minionz's larger syndicate, Unknown Assassins. The Assassins, who include Evil Minionz and a host of other hip-hop artists, are expected to release their debut album this spring on Shadow Records.
The music of Evil Minionz is pure, hard-core hip-hop. It is influenced by artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang and Boogie-Down Productions.
``We call it `death lock' style,'' Cue said. ``When you listen to us, we paralyze you. Your eyes are closed but your ears are open.''
Their sound commands attention. As they recite free-style rhymes on the asphalt courtyard of Booker T., students walking by move in sync with the sounds, nodding their heads and snapping their fingers.
DeQuan is the leader of the group. His vocals are precise and lead into Billy's, the shy but tough back-up. Cue's lyrics stand out enough to be noticed by a rap audience or an English teacher. Using a heightened form of grammar, he comes across as astute, an intelligent hoodlum.
My lyrical dialogue enhances your thinking,
brain cells erupt - butterflies in ya gut,
No time for chit-chat talking about ``you can't stand me,''
But when I go gold, you want to be down like Brandy.
``After one of Cue's rhymes, people look for a dictionary,'' Billy said.
All three blend, vocally and philosophically. They preach the fundamentals of hip-hop culture, emphasizing the love of music over money. As they see it, it is a culture repeating itself.
``If you go back to the '60s, you'll see that they were saying and doing the same things that people today are rapping about,'' Cue said. ``They smoked weed, had afros and wore bell-bottoms. Now we're doing the same things.''
Blind Minionz will have a chance to show off their talents in March at the Hampton Convocation Center in an event organized by Kim Wilson, manager and owner of Shadow Records. Representatives of more than 25 record labels, including giants like MCA and Electra, will be in attendance.
The band's first single is scheduled to be ``Chalk Lines,'' a brutal, street-ridden rap about those who perpetuate a false lifestyle and whose fates are outlined in chalk on sidewalk corners. CHARLEY'S SONG
Named for their father, Charley's Song uses their music to express a more positive aspect of modern sound, while appealing to all audiences.
``A great deal of what we hear on the radio now is too hard-core or too negative,'' said Heather, a junior at Old Dominion University. ``We try to sing about more positive things.''
Produced by Levi Little of the popular R&B group BLACKstreet, they combine influences from jazz, folk and soul. The emphasis is harmony, as heard in songs such as ``I'm a Believer,'' ``Say It'' and ``One.''
Although the sisters have been singing together all their lives, they have pursued professional careers only since 1991. This summer, the duo visited executives at major labels Epic, Elecktra East-West and Columbia in New York.
``The trip made us get our act together,'' said Courtney, a senior and cheerleader at Cox High. ``We used to sing in school events like Mr. and Ms. Cox and the fashion show. Now we have to be more professional.''
Busy schedules limit their practices to Sunday mornings before 11 a.m. Their studio time is even less. Despite the difficulty rehearsing, Charley's Song expects three new songs in the studio by January, giving them enough material to begin working on an album and to play a few area venues.
As sisters, Courtney and Heather share a bond most groups do not.
``I look at my sister in two ways,'' Heather said. ``I am proud of my sister in a very motherly way, and I'm proud of her professionally.''
The sisters differ when it comes to the music. Courtney has a soulful, booming voice, whereas Heather focuses on alternative. Together, their sound is somewhere between Whitney Houston and Counting Crows - in complete harmony.
``We always argue about what we think sounds better,'' Courtney said, ``but when we get down to the music, we're very professional.''
The writing responsibilities are shared by the group, Little and partner Kenna Zemedkan. They also perform with studio musicians on bass, guitar and drums. When performing live, Charley's Song will be backed by acoustic instruments.
They have already scheduled one performance in May for the area Cancer Society Walk-a-Thon. They will open the event with ``Lean on Me.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
From left, Jerome Reid, Dequan Gregory and Billy Jones started
rapping together at Booker T. High, where they are seniors.
CHARLIE MEADS/Staff
The members of Chivalry, from left, Jeffrey Mudgett, Damon Orr,
Scott Joshway and Jim Davis, are Kellam High seniors who meet to
practice at Jim's house.
PETER D. SUNDBERG
Heather, left, and Courtney Criswell specialize in a cappella
harmony on songs with a positive message.
Photo
Michael Culpepper is a senior at Kellam High.
by CNB