The biggest go-go bands can be like small companies: Personnel comes and goes, but the overall brand generally retains its standing. Occasionally, however, a lineup change is a Really Big Deal in go-go circles, like rapper Killa Cal's recent decision to leave the WHAT? band and take his firm verbals to Rare Essence, one of the [...]
Your favorite weekly assemblage of D.C. cultural noise cannot be diminished. Put down all those fall previews and dwell in the now, baby, because if you sleep on Far Out vs. Hot Dang, you're snoozin' on life. On the left, as usual, are the mind-bogglers and the head-scratchers—as well as the sweet epiphanies and fond [...]
The influential go-go outfit Junkyard Band formed 30 years ago, and like its peers Rare Essence, it's taking measure of its legacy in 2010. The latter band, we already reported, is celebrating its 31st anniversary on Sept. 11. Now Junkyard has announced its own 30th birthday show: Aug. 7 at the Capitol Skyline Hotel. Like [...]
Ready to start planning for the fall? Go-go vets Rare Essence have announced a 31st anniversary show, "Past, Present & Future Reunion," that will take place Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. Old-school RE members such as James Funk and Donnell Floyd will be there, and they'll be paying tribute to members [...]
Friday
Marah. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15. +21
Victor Wooten. 9:30 Club. $25. All ages.
Color School, the Walkaways, Round About. The Red and The Black. $5. +21
Eric Roberson w/ Jay Hayden. The Birchmere. $29.50
The Ash Lovelies and Friends. The Velvet Lounge. $8. +21
XIB, ABM. Le Pearl Ballroom. All ages.
Alpha Dog Blues Band, Mike Lapadula and the Lost [...]
No word yet on funeral arrangements. Click Track reports that Ballou Senior High School will host a vigil for Anthony "Little Benny" Harley, who was a member of Rare Essence and later played with Chuck Brown and other go-go acts. Harley, who graduated from Ballou, died Sunday morning.
The Ballou Marching Band will perform a tribute [...]
Early Sunday morning, Washington D.C. lost one of go-go’s pioneering musicians, Anthony “Little Benny” Harley, who at age 46, according to published sources, died in his sleep, after having performed with Chuck Brown the night before at the Capitol Heights Ballroom in Capitol Heights, MD on a bill with EU, Bela Dona, and Da Mixx [...]
Washington City Paper: What's your name?
Luca Vortex: Luca Vortex.
That's not your real name. That's a punk name.
That is how everybody knows me.
How old are you?
33.
Are you familiar with go-go music?
Ask anyone in the industry about go-go music and they'll tell you the same thing: it plays exclusively to the the greater DC area. This new series is an attempt to refute that claim by presenting hard evidence of Go-Go's influence throughout the music world. It'd be hypocritical to complain about biting since most of [...]
In eight years of DC flea market and junk store hopping I've encountered all sorts of strangeness from jars of urine to bongs made from the skulls of monkeys (I am not even making this up) but as far as local muscial ephemera goes nothing can really top this this confusing pen drawing of Rare [...]
