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T he P ortland O bserver » M ay 31, 1995
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JJortktitb (Dbseruer
ENTERTAINMENT
D o w n -H o m e S o u lfu l “ B lu ”
Take a real ‘old school’ vocal
approach, place it within a content
porary musical setting, add a healthy
dose of basic, down-home soulful
ness and what have you got? Try Out
Of The Blu, the musically refreshing
Motown Records debut by Los An
geles native Blu. “From start to fin
ish, this record represents who I am,
vocally, musically, creatively,” says
the genial singer, who co-wrote five
of the ten cuts on the album. “I don’t
have a particular favorite track be
cause I listen to the album as an
entire package.”
From the smooth groove of “My
O f Lady,” the hypnotic first single
to the insistence of the upbeat jam,
“Lip Service,” Blu sings with the
kind of out-and-out passion that is
the hallmark of early vocal influ
ences like Jeffrey Osborne, Philippe
Wynne (of The Spinners), Teddy
Pendergrass and Sam Cooke. You
can hear Blu’s heartfelt approach on
tunes like “Clap Your Hands,” an
obvious nod to Seventies sweet soul;
“Pillow Talk,” a sensual standout,
and the quiet storm-flavored “Can
We Vibe?” And, when it comes to
the kind of intensity that up tempo
tunes require, Blu delivers; check
the aptly-named “Groove,” or funky
“Easy Come, Easy Go.”
For his all-important introduc
tion to the music world, Blu worked
with Dwayne Wiggins (of Tony Toni
Tone), the album’s executive pro
ducer, who also contributed his writ
ing skills to seven cuts and played
instruments on all but two tracks.
“Dwayne was a constant source of
creativity,” says Blu. “He was defi
nitely a role model for me in doing
this album. He made it possible for
me to see that it is possible to make
it in this business and still keep your
feet on the ground.”
That Byron Mitchell a/k/a Blu
would make the kind of album that
reflects his love for real music is no
surprise when considering his back
ground. His father, Jewell Mitchell
was vocal partners with the legend
ary Scatman Carruthers and music
was aconstant in the Mitchell house-
Byron Mitchel a. k.a. “Blu
hold for as far back as Blu can re
member. “As a child I was exposed
to the blues of people like B.B. King,
Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, and
Bobby Blue Bland. In fact,oneof the
reasons I got my nickname Blu was
because I always sang the blues as a
child.”
By the time he was nine, Blu
was taking vocal lessons and study
ing opera and classical music; five
years later, at age 14, he was per
28
M IL E S
FROM
forming a twenty-song set of R&B,
blues, and gospel at a local Los
Angeles church event. “I sang solos
in church from a very young age as
well as performing indifferent school
plays,” recalls Blu. “You could say I
developed the idea of wanting to be
an entertainer early on in life.”
The talented young singer’s
skills propelled him into the spot
light as a member of various L A
choirs: he participated in all-city,
SALEM
all-state and nationwide contests for
the Unified School District and by
the time he was 17, Blu had emerged
as a city and state vocal champion.
Word-of-mouth led to then-Motown
A&R elective Kerry Gordy (son of
owner and founder Berry) signing
Blu to a development deal with the
label and he began working with
producer Michael Stokes.
With the sale of Motown in 1989
Blu’s initial deal with the company
was halted and he decided to join a
local vocal group Trevous as lead
singer. The group won several rounds
of the popular "Big Break” TV show
in 1990 and 1991 and worked on a all-
star session with industry heavy
weights James Ingram, Phil Perry,
Carl Carlton, and Leon Haywtxxl for
a single made especially to raise funds
for L.A.’s homeless. Although the
group generated interest from differ
ent labels, the trio eventually split and
Blu resumed his search for a solo deal
in 1993.
Through manager Greg Cham,
Blu was introduced to Dwayne
Wiggins who had begun expanding
on his success as a member of Tony
Toni Tone to create production op
portunities with new and develop
ing artists. Enter Blu, who just hap
pened to fi, the bill: "Dwayne was
looking for someone who could de
liver his mukic the way he wanted so
I flew to Oakland and did a live’
audition for him.”
It didn’t take long for Wiggins to
recognize Blu’s obvious vocal artistry
and he suggested the singer sing on
the track he’d done for “My O f Lady.”
Once he played the cut to Motown
A&R chief, Steve McKeever, Blu
found himself back with the label who
had originally shown interest in him
five years earlier.
In addition to the tracks pro
duced by Wiggins, Out Of The Blu
includes work from Travon Potts
(who had been a fellow member of
Trevous) renowned remixer Dave
Hard Drive’ Pensado; Atlanta-based
producer C-1; and Terry-T, from
Wiggins' Grass Roots Entertainment
production company.
23rd
& NW
Johnson
248-0163
It all started last year with a
question: W hatever happened to
the good old street fairs, where
neighbors gathered for a day to
soak up su n sh in e, h ear good
music and sam ple great foods?
So, in June of 1994, the concept
was brought to fruition with the
First Annual Sum m er solstice
Street Fair and D ance, which
drew over 3,000 people to N orth
west P o rtlan d ’s Couch Park and
ra ise d $ 3 ,0 0 0 fo r th e In n e r
W estside C om m unity D evelop
ment C orporation which helps
lo cate d ecen t and a ffo rd a b le
housing and econom ic o p p o rtu
nities for N orthw est P ortland
residents.
It’s happening again on June
17, from 11 a.m. to 8 p m., the
Second Annual Summer Solstice
Street Fair and Dance will again fill
Couch Park (N W. 19th & Glisan)
and N.W. Hoyt Street with arts and
crafts booths, informational booths
from a variety of non-profit organi
zations, food carts, family perfor
mances, a microbrew and wine tent,
and live music from som e of
Portland’s top performers. Featured
performances include the sweet, sul
try sounds of the Holly Rae Band; the
unique bluegrass of the Pagan Jug
Band; Cal Scott’s cool jazz; down
IN
and d irty blues with N orm an
Sylvester; the funky feel of Rubber
neck; and to top it all off, the African
rhythms of Obo Addy.
The Fam ily Stage is sp o n
sored by the Northwest C hildrens
T heater & School and will fea
ture Dr. Suess S tories, scenes
from W innie the Pooh and The
Jungle Book; perform ances by
Kids C om pany N.W ., A rabian
D aze, and B rain w a v es. A lso
sch eduled are appearances by
Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby
and R ibsy; face painting, puppet
m aking and balloons, pony rides,
“Old W orld F olktales” as told by
sto ry teller Kelly Hansen, OM SI
D em o n stratio n s, and C heshire
the C low n. B ring the whole fam
ily for a day o f fun.
Destined to become one of
Portland’s most unique events the
Summer solstice Street Fair and
Dance will showcase what makes
Portland's Northwest neighborhood
Such a special place. The mission of
the Summer Solstice Organizing
Committee is to strengthen North
west Portland’s cultural and ethnic
diversity, and to promote activism
and community spirit.
If you have questions or are
interested in helping please call
Aaron Corman at 230-1871.
C O N C E R T
JOHNNY “GUITAR”
WATS O N
JUNE 10 ★ 8:00
Roseland Theater
Special Guest
Motown
Recording Artist
& Vybe
pm
Blu
Tickets at all Fred Meyer Faslixx
and House oí Sound Records
I ’r r x iiifr it by I t n l o r q e U a H r E n l r r l a i n m n i l
BEAT AT <HAMP©E6 AMPHITHEATER
OR
P O R T L A N D • 1 -5 N O R T H
OR SO UTH
T O E X IT 2 7 8 . F O L L O W
S IG N S
5 M IL E S
W E S T TO C H A M P O E G
PARK
k
Music
Millennium
32nd
& E.
Burnside
231-8926
Fair Will Rock Northwest
Portland’s Couch Park
M
/ O
ft L 0
M
T
O ü R ’9 5
fe a tu rin g
DENNIS BROWN ♦ BUJU BANT0N
W0RL-A-GIRL
;
, WAILING SOULS
JUNIOR TUCKER L
J
SISTER CAROL
CNRISTAFARI
A l T TONNY COWAN N.C.
FEM I KUTI
BAABA MAAL
BOUKMAN
EKSPERYANS
OUMO
SANGARE
SKOOLBAND
INTER N A TIO N A L ARTS «. CRAFTS PAIR
BOOTH INFO (213) 2S5-B346
JUNE?
M
ONOUI
PRFSENTS
GATES AT 5PM • SHOW AT 6PM • $17.50 ADVANCE
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