Soul Funk! : Judith Hill at Harvelle's

The world recently discovered singer Judith Hill as she sang the final number "Heal The World" at The Michael Jackson Memorial at the Staples Center this past Tuesday. Gathered here are a few clips of her performing at Harvelle's back in May with Ryan Cross on bass, Gene Coye on drums, Dennis Hamm on keys and Katisse Buckingham on sax.

They Got It Made : Audible Mainframe

Special Ed?

Who listens to Special Ed, let alone covers him?
Here? In Harvelle's?
Evidently the fierce roar of Audible Mainframe do!!!
And the joint they covered? "I Got It Made"!

But up until that point I had already been pretty absorbed in their turntable/guitar/bass/drums/keys format. 

Exposition, the lead singer, referenced real hip-hop and stayed true to it by expanding the boundaries and bringing fresh originality to it! The players were all heavily armed and prepared. 

Their sound is their own! 

The crowd agreed. 

Come check it out!

Every Wed in July!

9:30 sharp!

Nichelle Monroe : A Soul Funk Thing!

Nichelle Monroe came to Harvelle's as part of Ryan Cross' Soul Funk Tuesday night party. Ryan Cross knows that if you mix the funk and the soul just right, you get something that can be captured - but only for a few minutes at a time. I got about 45 minutes of Nichelle Monroe and she lit the place up like one of those movie premiere searchlights! 

Ryan Cross knows this too!

Like Rotary Connection, Nina Simone, Freda Payne and Dionne Warwick (when she was hanging out with Isaac Hayes) Nichelle took some wild psychedelic twists and jazzy turns and did the unexpected. She covered "Ohio" by Crosby Stills Nash and Young. She danced around in her bare feet with abandon! She was beautiful and captivating! She took her time. She sang towards my soul. She made me rejoice!

The right-on groove of Iajhi Hampden provided the backbeat for Ryan's bass and Dennis Hamm's keyboard precision. Soul Funk is every Tuesday night!

House Of Vibe : Digging The Scene With A Gangsta Lean

Maseo of De La Soul

Maseo looking at Shaunte while Fish (white shirt) looks on

Maseo from De La Soul, Greg (keys) on the left.

Kris rocks steady with Fish on the mic and Brew on keys

Pete hits the skins - Corey finds his groove

Jon Swift and Deploi (center) threw DOWN!

CC White shares the mic with Brew 

Amee Jana jammed on some reggae vibe

Kris and Pete

Trombone heaven:

(l—r) Tombone, I-Timothy and Shaunte Palmer

The House of Vibe All Stars took to the stage with the scorching strings of Kris Hawkins and  Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain"! That set it off, and with not 1, not 2, but 3 trombonists on deck, the night looked like one of great promise. (That's Shaunte Palmer on the right in the photo.)

As the evening progressed, the band played extended versions of Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" and the William DeVaughn classic "Be Thankful" (diamonds in the back, sun-roof top, diggin' the scene with the gangsta lean... OOH-hoooo).

As always, Westside Tribe represented. Deploi and Jon Swift STEPPED IT UP! They threw down in a very serious manner. In fact, the 10 piece(!) horn section with Fish on drums rocked the house and set the roof ablaze! When seemingly things couldn't get any crazier, Maseo from De La Soul took the stage!! 

How high's the water children? 

3 Ft High And Rising INDEED! 

Damn! 

Brew and the crew win AGAIN!

Tonight! Harmonica Boss JT Ross

This high energy dance party will feature the Guitar genius of Blues Cult Icon Junior Watson !

Drummer Jerry Angel has a bio which reads like a whos who of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. To name (drop) just a few. . . Carroll King, Glen Campbell, The Blasters, Brian Setzer, Dwight Yoakam, The Divinyls, Leon Russell, Tommy Tutone, The Blues Brothers, Lester Butler (Red Devils) and many more.

This is gonna be a packed night ! 

The Twilight concert on the Santa Monica pier throng will bum rush Harvelle's just after 10:00pm . . . So, get there early and get a good seat cause they're gonna tear the muthuh up ! ! ! 

DANCING DANCING DANCING ! ! ! 

House Of Vibe: Audible Mainframe

Double header tonight! 

Wednesday house band - the House Of Vibe All Stars - shake it to it's core with their funky jazzy soulful reggae-ish approach to doing it live. Westside Tribe rappers kill it on the mic and special guests from Cecilia Noel to Tweet (Next) are often in the house and up on the stage. 

Returning to the Harvelle's stage, Audible Mainframe tears it up and puts it back together again... and do it the way THEY want. 

Come early and check out what's next in electro hip-hop.

Ryan Cross : Soul Funkin' Tuesday Night

Tuesday night, Ryan Cross brings the Soul Funk session to Harvelle's. Tonight's feature is talented singer Rachel Sierra(left). Dennis Hamm will also be featured on keys. Always plenty of special guests, beautiful people, delicious cocktails and good times.

_____________________________

addendum: 

Nichelle Monroe (rt) also on the bill!

Judith Hill : Shining at the Michael Jackson Memorial

Having recently performed at Harvelle's as part of Ryan Cross' Soul Funk, Judith Hill shined for the world as she took the lead vocal on the closing number of "Heal The World" at this morning's Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center (see video below). 

Judith had been rehearsing for the upcoming Michael Jackson tour; as his sudden death has changed everything, it was amazing to see her in front of millions take the lead vocal, poised and shining even more brightly than before.

Click here for a video of Judith at Harvelle's trading vocals with Nikki Grier on Sade's "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" back in May. (Judith enters the video at the 1:20 mark)

Check out Judith Hill's website.

OH! It's The Toledo Show

What could follow up a day and night of friends, family, food and fireworks?

THE TOLEDO SHOW of course!

You party, while they do all the work.

Singing, playing, dancing - all for your entertainment.

Mr. Toledo Diamond (above) oversees the whole production.

:o