by Jacob Blickenstaff

The Dig Deeper series, organized by DJ's Richard Lewis (DJ Honky) and Michael Robinson, is now nearing it's 3rd year anniversary of presenting near-forgotten yet influential and vital soul artists to a NY audience. Last Friday (6/24), they brought back Syl Johnson who had played a sold-out show at Southpaw in December last year. Pictures from the Bell House show, which was opened by The Sweet Divines, are in this post.

Syl Johnson was recently the focus of a 6-LP + 4CD box set on the Numero Group label that was released around the same time. Following the Bell House show, Syl and the Sweet Divines played the Wilco-curated Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, MA. (Wilco play NYC on September 22 at Central Park Summerstage. Ticketing info is forthcoming.)

Dig Deeper will be celebrating their 3rd anniversary Saturday, July 23 back at Southpaw with Lou Pride backed by the Solid Set. Tickets are still available.

More pictures of Syl Johnson in Brooklyn below....

Continue reading "Dig Deeper brought Syl Johnson to the Bell House (pics)"

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Kings Go Forth @ Mercury Lounge

"Dig Deeper is a monthly 60's Soul Party in Park Slope, Brooklyn at Southpaw. Hosted by Mr. Robinson and DJ Honky, generally on the fourth Saturday of the month, with the dancefloor primed with the finest funk and soul records anywhere in the world from their collections and a live performance each month at midnight from a legendary soul / funk artist that we particularly treasure. Past artists have included Don Gardner, Tami Lynn, Obie "Young" Jessie, Dean Parrish, Harvey Scales, Eula Cooper, the Mighty Hannibal, Garland Green, Delia "Dee Dee" Gartrell, Lee Fields, Renaldo Domino, Lenis Guess, Marva Whitney, the Green Berets, Darrow Fletcher, Billy Prince of the Precisions, and at the Brooklyn Soul Festival that we put on with Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Hermon Hitson, Roscoe Robinson, Barbara Lynn, Maxine Brown, and Otis Clay.

When Michael and I started Dig Deeper two years ago, it was with a goal of booking our soul heroes of the 1960s and 1970s, artists who haven't performed in town in 20-40 years - an endeavor we took on because nobody else was doing it. So why exactly are we breaking rank and bringing a contemporary band from Milwaukee to town for our April 24 show?

We've been friends with Andy Noble for a good while, a fellow soul and funk record obsessive whose knowledge about the genre would fill volumes. We remember when he mentioned that he was starting a soul group and were intrigued. Then we remember when he shared a recording of what would be the first Kings Go Forth single (released on 45rpm vinyl, naturally), and were blown away." [Dig Deeper]

Kings Go Forth just released an album on Luaka Bop, and they're currently on tour to promote that record and will appear at Dig Deeper this soulful Saturday evening at Southpaw in Brooklyn (4/24).

You might have caught the band when they recently played DC (if not you can stream that whole show now), earlier today at their Vintage Vinyl in-store, or the other night at Mercury Lounge where they shared a bill with Rafter. More pictures from that Mercury Lounge show, and all tour dates (with tonight's flyer), below...

Continue reading "Kings Go Forth played Mercury Lounge w/ Rafter (pics), playing Dig Deeper @ Southpaw (tonight) & other tour dates "

words & photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed and Barbara Lynn @ The Bell House

The 1st Brooklyn Soul Festival was a great success. Sell out crowd on the 1st night and nearly so on the second. The crowd was a nice mix of the soul intelligentsia, older music fans and twenty-somethings out to hear some good music. Both backing bands, Eli Reed and the True Loves and the Sweet Divines/Divine Soul Rhythm Band did a phenomenal job bringing the groove and nuance out of a large range of material with obvious love and attention. That set the stage for the artists - Hermon Hitson, Roscoe Robinson and Barbara Lynn on the first night and Maxine Brown and Otis Clay on the second - to shine brightly and deliver stunning performances.

One of the great highlights for me (among many) was Maxine Brown performing a gorgeous take on "Piece of My Heart" - the song originally performed by Erma Franklin, then Janis Joplin, and then interpreted again by Ms. Brown around the same time. If felt as if the whole room was singing along.

The music at the festival was able to connect the different groups and ages in attendance as well as the artists themselves. Many musicians who had played previous nights at the monthly series Dig Deeper were in attendance. Dean Parrish, Lenis Guess, Otis Clay (on the night before he performed) and Baby Washington were all enjoying themselves, watching each other perform with respect and reverence.

The music of the festival spanned blues, gritty funk, Brill Building craft, Hi Rhythm grit, gospel raves and plaintive ballads - and most importantly connected with the audience as great music of the here and now.

More pictures from the first night, below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Soul Festival - night 1 in pics (Eli Reed & The True Loves, Hermon Hitson, Roscoe Robinson, Barbara Lynn)"

Village Voice: So how did the idea of a soul festival first start out?

Richard Lewis, Organizer of the Brooklyn Soul Festival: We've known Eli [Paperboy Reed] for a while and have been talking about doing a bigger deal than Dig Deeper; something more like a festival. In Europe, they have this concept of a weekender where everyone goes somewhere for the weekend and stays up til dawn dancing and listening to DJs and bands. That's done less so here in the U.S. Michael and I had this idea of doing a bigger thing with multiple artists like that and Eli had been thinking of doing a night with three artists that he had backed at various times. So we said, 'why don't we just do the thing together and make a festival out of it?'

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed & The True Loves will play backing band at The Bell House tonight (8/28). The Sweet Divines have that honor on Saturday. Tickets and more info on this weekend's festival, which includes a record fair on Saturday, HERE.

Recent live Eli Reed, who makes an appearance on the new Basement Jaxx album, videos below...

Continue reading "The Brooklyn Soul Festival is here (Friday & Saturday)"