House Of Vibe : Wed Night Leo Party TONIGHT!!

The House Of Vibe AllStars is a collective of players, singers and rappers who get together every Wednesday night to stir souls and kick out the jams. Not all at once of course, but a night with HOVAS is like a cool party. It starts mellow but ends up a full-out bash. You never know who's gonna drop by!!

Anthony Brewster

Shaunte and Sebastian

Cecilia Noel

Brew

Kris Hawkins

Greg Raymond

Amy Lou

Myka 9

Chali 2na and LaidLaw

Deploi

It's funk, it's hip-hop, it's soul and r&b. There's nothing like it anywhere else. Every Wednesday, Brew and the crew get down like it's the last day on earth.
Like it's 1999.
It must be experienced to be understood.
A HOVAS show is like surfing a giant wave on an inflatable ass. It's like getting yelled at for playing your drums too loud - and not caring. It's like winning at chess and selling the most candy bars. It's impossible not to have a memorable time.

Just Dave Band : My Old Crummy Life

Just Dave Band's Lessons Learned Vol. 1 sounds like a bunch of friends jammin' in the barnhouse, empty amber Bud™ bottles everywhere, vintage Fender™ amps buzzing deep into the night while the tape rolls. Spontaneous, inspired and rough around the edges, Dave testifies his heart-felt lyrics - sincere as Al Green - and full of So-Cal Holden Caufield angst and Gram Parsons narratives of traveling North of Ventura Blvd - (i.e. buying wine at Ralph's on Riverside Dr. in "My Old Crummy Life"). I can definitely relate to that!!!

[JUST DAVE OFFICIAL WEBSITE]

At times Dylan-esoteric or Eagles-rockin' and others Steely Dan-shiny, Dave Bernal's (aka J.D.) strong song-writing skill-set and obvious joy at the performing of these songs makes for an enjoyable experience which has been accompanied by repeated listenings.  Of course the star here is Bernal's harmonica playing! Innovatve, captivating and wholly musical, JD says a lot through that mouth harp of his.

[JUST DAVE FACEBOOK PAGE]

 The Burrito Brothers-esque "California Wildfire" bounces around comfortably full of sharp pedal steel and a sing-along chorus. Interesting thing about those California wildfires is that they can be witnessed from the basin of the San Fernando Valley; they can be felt (especially when those Santa Ana's kick in early in the fall), but they don't venture into the 'burbs of "the Valley". There's definitely a lot of heat there ("I been through hell" J.D. declares in "It's Only Life")!!

Just Dave (the band) is J.D.(vocals, harmonica, guitar), Johnny Stachela (guitar), Nelson Blanton (guitar), Lawrence Baulden (bass) and Dennis Pagano (drums)

Lessons Learned Vol. 1  is available  at all the usual outlets including:

AMAZON  +  iTUNES  +   CD BABY

Tasha Taylor : Totally Tuesday

Every Tuesday night at Harvelle's, Tasha Taylor brings her "A"-game and gives us an evening of indelible soul with her incredible voice. [TashaTaylor.com] Feminine and knowing, her voice has a warmth to it, not unlike Gladys Knight's or Carole King's - comforting and deeply passionate. That voice, she owns!! 

Her originals - culled mostly from her CD Taylor Made - are plush, radio-friendly bites of classic songwriting with some memorable lyrics; In What Difference Does It Make she manages to rhyme "high life" with "sunrise" and "Hawaiian islands" which is a great trick not many can do! 

"I want to marry a man who meditates/ who asks me to slow dance in the middle of the day/ drive home ... just to see my face..." she sings in Somebody, listing the qualities she desires in a Prince Charming who hasn't yet shown up. 

My fave track continues to be "Refund"; we can all relate when she - completely unsatisfied with her selection - demands "I need a refund for my lover!"; later in the verse she drives herself crazy trying to figure out what went wrong ("You WON'T (and) I CAN'T do the right thing...") - I just want to hug her and tell her it's going to be o.k. and not to listen to too much Alanis Morisette in the interim. 

Some of Taylor Made's other standout cuts include "Wonder Woman", "Best Friend" and "Queen", although the song quality and craftsmanship is very consistent throughout. In her live show, she mixes things up with versions of R&B classics, often doing Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood", her father, Johnnie Taylor's hit record "Who's Making Love" and last week, in dedication to Amy Winehouse, she covered "Valerie" (see video below).

Her band is Tommy King (keys), Kunio Kaneki (drums), Kyle Bolden (guitar) and Rick Taub (bass). The horn section is Zane Musa (sax), Wes Smith (sax), and Will Artrope (trumpet). Tasha's brother Jon Harrison Taylor plays acoustic guitar, and Tasha herself boldly rocks the rhythm on a black Gibson SG.

Already extending it's run twice, Tasha's Tuesday night residency at Harvelle's is scheduled to continue through until the end of August. Tasha's CD Taylor Made is available at the gigs and all the usual outlets: CD_Baby + Amazon + iTunes + DigiStation

 DJ Arthur Allblack representing Club Soleside, always spins a funky selection of rare grooves from the 1960s exclusively on vinyl 45's, keeping the crowd moving with smiles on their faces, until closing.

below - Tasha performing Amy Winehouse's "Valerie"

for more about Tasha Taylor check out my other blog [fulltimepoet.com]

UltraLove : The Ultra-magnetic Emcee

Mike - the Ultra Lover hisself - has a mutha-funkin' serious party at Harvelle's once a week every Monday!! Real talk!! It's a great time and there's plenty of young beautiful L.A. "10"s that the band attracts. What more do you need? Party goes off around 9 or so... and it's a really good time.

Ultralove is Mike "UltraLove" Wagner (vocals, guitar), Seth Murphy (drums), Douglas Showalter (guitar), Mike Gunn (bass), Adam Berg (keys), Jon Piazza (keys and rap) and DJ Paper (spins).

 Ultralove brings his brand of soul and hip-hop flavored r&b to Harvelle's every Monday night.

Shaunte Palmer plays the trombone with House Of Vibe on Wednesday nights. Sometimes he and trumpeter Sebastian Legar come down to the Ultralove show and add some major brass.

Ultralove gives Saturday night style entertainment on a Monday.

DJ Paper 

can't stop playing 

those 

block-rockin' 

beats!!

Dinner Show : Acoustic Blues With Doug MacLeod

Back in the 1940s, Harvelle's incorporated the real estate to it's immediate North - now the home of West 4th/Jane. Friday, July 29, the club brings back some of that flavor with a summertime dinner show. With food prepared by Chef Demitrius (West 4th/Jane), the club's layout will be tables and chairs on the dance floor, and dinner will be served while Doug MacLeod plays his acoustic blues in an intimate and unique setting.

Limited Seating Available + Get your tickets early.

Seating is based on arrival of guests and if you're dining or just coming for drinks, get in early for best seats! (no pre-assigned or reserved seating)

buy tickets • dinner menu • doug macleod • gary allegretto

DOUG MACLEOD VIDEO:

House Of Vibe & Chali 2na : Makin' Hip-Hop History

 The early '90s was a great time in rap music on the West coast, specifically L.A. and even more specifically the corner of Crenshaw & Exposition; a place called The Good Life Café. This mecca of creativity and it's new-school patrons took an academic approach to re-drawing hip-hop's architecture. In a wholly supportive atmosphere, The Good Life provided nourishment, not just for the body, but for the mind and soul as well, hosting workshops and open mics as a regular part of the curriculum; blatantly moving away from the gangsta posturing, misogyny, and other damaging stereotypes that had really thus far defined the West's rap game.

Deploi 

Kris Hawkins plays the guitar while Brew toasts on the m-i-c.

Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 and Myka-9 of Freestyle Fellowship were 2 of the scenes most active members. Last week at House Of Vibe's Westside Wednesday, they were re-united. With Chali firmly in control as the session's MC, he kept this 3-ring hip-hop circus moving as the video below clearly shows. As for the others involved - here's a very brief accounting; Ellay Khule (aka The Rifleman) is one of the original "lifers" who still use the original fast wordy style. J-Smoov and St. Mark were in a crew called 3 The Hard Way until J-Smoov went solo and St. Mark started Dark Leaf. Laidlaw (upper left corner) is Chali's brother, Deploi, Anon and Freewill are part of House Of Vibe / Westside Tribe. Freewill is also part of The Luminous Movement.

The video above is of House Of Vibe's performances of :

1-Welcome To The Fish Market (Chali 2na)

appearing on the mic in order is Chali 2na, Chali's brother Laidlaw, J-Smoov, HOV's Deploi, Freestyle Fellowship's Myka 9, Anon the inspirational MC, St. Mark, and Ellay Khule.

2-Mass Appeal (Gangstarr)/The Next Movement (The Roots)

Chali 2na, Laidlaw & FreeWill.

House Of Vibe Allstars - in this particular session were Anthony Brewster aka Brew (v, k), Greg Raymond (k), Corey Cofield (b), Deploi (rap), FreeWill (rap), Amy Lou (perc), Kris Hawkins (g), Shaunte Palmer (trombone), Sebastian Legar (trumpet), Jamon Laws (sax) and Walter Turner III (d)

House Of Vibe get down like this every Wednesday - only at Harvelle's in Santa Monica.

Dinner Show : A Retro Evening WIth Acoustic Blues

Back in the 1940s, Harvelle's incorporated the real estate to it's immediate North - now the home of West 4th/Jane. Tonight the club brings back some of that flavor with a summertime dinner show. With food prepared by Chef Demitrius (West 4th/Jane), the club's layout will be tables and chairs on the dance floor, and dinner will be served while Guy Davis plays his acoustic blues in an intimate and unique setting.

Please make your reservations now!

Limited Seating Available + Get your tickets early.

Seating is based on arrival of guests and if you're dining or just coming for drinks, get in early for best seats! (no pre-assigned or reserved seating)
buy tickets • dinner menu • guy davis • gino matteo