Blogswap: Record Racks on the Equatics
Greetings all.
As promised, today marks the very first time I’ve hosted a guest post, i.e. a piece written by someone other than me. Not too long ago Eric from Record Racks suggested a post swap (you can see the post I did for Record Racks here) and naturally, I was amenable.
Eric chose to put together a review of the recent Now Again reissue of the rare LP by Virginia’s Equatics.
I hope you dig it, and make sure to head over to check out what’s going down at Record Racks.
In other news, I’ve put together a two-hour mix, in a ‘late night’ stylee for my man Arvo at the Delirious Sunrise program on WLUW at Loyola University that will air this Tuesday, April 6 from 4 to 6AM. It will be archived at Posterity Playlists and then eventually posted in this very space. Make sure to check it out.
Peace
Larry
The Equatics
Listen/Download -The Equatics – Santana Pt2
From Doin It!!! (Now Again, 2010)
By Eric Luecking of Record Racks
I remember playing in the school band throughout middle school and part of high school, and never do I recall us sounding as sweet and professional as the likes of Kashmere Stage Band out of Houston, Texas; The Diplomatics out of Indianapolis, Indiana; or this group, The Equatics, out of Hampton, Virginia. These bands give studio musicians a run for their money and make 99% of the rest of local school bands sound like they just picked up an instrument, which may be true for many.
Whether or not these groups were as proficient with their musical chops due to fewer distractions (the internet), the product of an era where there was a focus on true musicianship (face it, it’s mostly lost these days on up-and-comers), a greater commitment to in-school music programs (prior to the big dollars athletics now bring in), or just a collision of a mishmash of factors that culminated in the same place at the same time is a topic that could be vigorously debated. But that’s a different discussion for another day.
Band members Carlton Savage, Benjamin Crawford, Wayne Jones, Calvin Billups, Renon Sumpter, Daniel Slade, Alvin Paige, Leo Davis, and Crawford’s coach Frank Johnson stirred some mean soul stew with their only album. It’s unclear how many copies were pressed, but we do know that it was funded by Pepsi after the kids won two separate contests sponsored by Pepsi, one of which was to write a jingle for the company to be aired locally.
“Doin It!!!” features a few covers including their take on the Isaac Hayes classic “Walk On By” and another on their state’s neighbor’s prodigal son Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine.” These covers stand strong as the band refuses to wilt under the pressure of performing songs that were wildly popular at the time and have since become staples of the songbook of America. Even on the remake of Brenda And The Tabulations’ “The Touch Of You,” which isn’t as strongly revered in musical history books, they breathe a touch of fresh air in replacing vocals, including the doo wop backdrops, with a jazz leaning trumpet lead.
Showcasing their skills even further is “Santana,” divided into two parts, and questionably separated by the previously mentioned Tabulations remake. Each part has musical sections that are either the same riff or a very close interpretation of it, but both smoke with a fury. Led by an upfront rhythm guitar that doesn’t try to overpower you with your typical leading solo guitar shtick, it’s cemented with aggressive bass plucking by Crawford. You even get a short solo on organ at no extra charge.
Their original material is just as fascinating, much of it as pleading balladry. “Coach” had a lifelong dream of a singing career that never materialized before or after this set, but you get a sense of satisfaction listening to him aspiring to attain his dreams. Even if this album would have had greater distribution and amassed an audience of talent scouts, he still may not have garnered much attention from the music industry. That’s not to say his vocals on the rhetorical “Where Is Love?” are bad (they aren’t), but merely to say he was competent enough to carry out the task. After all, failing to reach the stars isn’t really failure at all when you consider that most people’s dreams never even leave the ground.
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Themocracy
Whoa, I’m behind on checking out F16. I’m going through old posts and I see that Larry was on the airwaves right here in Chicago! Awesome!