A New Approach for this "Source" Project will be our very first Studio Recording of Covering a Pre-Released Tune. All of Our previous Releases have been 100% Original Material. When we're onstage, there is a fair mix of our stuff and songs we've always admired of other Artists from days gone by. For those of you who've been with us from the beginning, you'll remember that we included the Joe Sample's brilliant "7 Years of Good Luck" featuring Cliff Barnes & Mike Austin and Sonny Rollins' stalwart "St Thomas" on our now Out of Print "SD Live" CD - but since it was a Performance disc chronicling our debut tour, it doesn't count.
We thought long and hard about the prospect of introducing a 'Cover Tune' on Source, rather than following our usual trajectory.
Here's What Happened...
My Good Friend & SD Baltimore Alumni, trumpeter H.Wade Johnson phoned me during the Christmas season of 2014. On the line with him was a guitarist named Eric Tyus that Wade said I MUST Meet and MUST begin working with "eeemeeediately!!" to quote H verbatim.
Now I'd never heard him - or of him. I remained polite and let the guy talk and tell me who he had played with, yada - but also mentioned having performed with my brother, bassist Chris "Thumbper" Rhodes, also in the BMore area. Problem was, Eric is from Spartanburg, SC and I'm in Youngstown, OH. I guess we could Skype, or he could send me a disc of his work, which he agreed to do and I agreed to listen to but chances were slim that I would be able to dive in. When it arrived, I popped it in and was "eeemeeediately!!" taken aback by the depth & dexterity this brother offered. With the exception of a few production tweaks, mainly the drums, this might be a situation that could happen!
Turns out that another great friend of mine, Ross Lytle, who was a major guide in helping me think through the process of forming my Record Company, Niayana Recordings, had recently relocated to of all places, Spartanburg (!) to head up programming of several local TV stations there - so perhaps the distance between us would not be such a hindrance since Ross was in the area to bring proximity. Once "Thumbper" told me that he had the times of his life on stage and off with Eric, I decided to go deeper.
After several conversations with Eric and his team, I decided to do some post production on his rendition of Bobby Womack's
"Stop On By" which was smoking - except for the drums - but with a few minor twists and turns, we could make this happen for him.
I'd always loved the tune, although I was more familiar with Chaka's version on Rufus' "Stompin' At The Savoy" album. The fact that Bobby was an Innovative Ohio native, whose music continues to make waves and Eric had put a distinct, personal twist on it, made my wheels begin to spin.
Starting with the drums, I quickly moved on to the bass, ultimately recruiting Dylan Waters to completely Funk It Out. Frank Walton is responsible for stripping all of my keyboard work down to the wire and rebuilding a beautiful structure to support the steady eagerness of Eric's magnificent artistry. The Icing on the cake is Mitch Lawrence's fiery sax, taking the song to another level while threatening to burn the whole building down! Once we were in - we got ALL IN! It was then that we decided it had to go on the project and that we could showcase the brilliance of Eric Tyus to the world.
Not Only will "Stop On By" be a dynamic feature on "Source," but will be Aired Nationally as a Single, July 6 across the Airwaves and on Satellite. When You Hear It, Contact the DJ and say "Play That One Again!"
We thought long and hard about the prospect of introducing a 'Cover Tune' on Source, rather than following our usual trajectory.
Here's What Happened...
My Good Friend & SD Baltimore Alumni, trumpeter H.Wade Johnson phoned me during the Christmas season of 2014. On the line with him was a guitarist named Eric Tyus that Wade said I MUST Meet and MUST begin working with "eeemeeediately!!" to quote H verbatim.
Now I'd never heard him - or of him. I remained polite and let the guy talk and tell me who he had played with, yada - but also mentioned having performed with my brother, bassist Chris "Thumbper" Rhodes, also in the BMore area. Problem was, Eric is from Spartanburg, SC and I'm in Youngstown, OH. I guess we could Skype, or he could send me a disc of his work, which he agreed to do and I agreed to listen to but chances were slim that I would be able to dive in. When it arrived, I popped it in and was "eeemeeediately!!" taken aback by the depth & dexterity this brother offered. With the exception of a few production tweaks, mainly the drums, this might be a situation that could happen!
Turns out that another great friend of mine, Ross Lytle, who was a major guide in helping me think through the process of forming my Record Company, Niayana Recordings, had recently relocated to of all places, Spartanburg (!) to head up programming of several local TV stations there - so perhaps the distance between us would not be such a hindrance since Ross was in the area to bring proximity. Once "Thumbper" told me that he had the times of his life on stage and off with Eric, I decided to go deeper.
After several conversations with Eric and his team, I decided to do some post production on his rendition of Bobby Womack's
"Stop On By" which was smoking - except for the drums - but with a few minor twists and turns, we could make this happen for him.
I'd always loved the tune, although I was more familiar with Chaka's version on Rufus' "Stompin' At The Savoy" album. The fact that Bobby was an Innovative Ohio native, whose music continues to make waves and Eric had put a distinct, personal twist on it, made my wheels begin to spin.
Starting with the drums, I quickly moved on to the bass, ultimately recruiting Dylan Waters to completely Funk It Out. Frank Walton is responsible for stripping all of my keyboard work down to the wire and rebuilding a beautiful structure to support the steady eagerness of Eric's magnificent artistry. The Icing on the cake is Mitch Lawrence's fiery sax, taking the song to another level while threatening to burn the whole building down! Once we were in - we got ALL IN! It was then that we decided it had to go on the project and that we could showcase the brilliance of Eric Tyus to the world.
Not Only will "Stop On By" be a dynamic feature on "Source," but will be Aired Nationally as a Single, July 6 across the Airwaves and on Satellite. When You Hear It, Contact the DJ and say "Play That One Again!"