From: Bob Davis (earthjuice_at_prodigy.net)
Date: 2003-07-08 15:25:46
Back when Soul-Patrol first started, it was a pretty big deal when one of OUR artists would
die.
People like Curtis Mayfield or Grover Washington or Charles Earland, etc would pass away and
we would focus on that artist for many weeks...
We would have 2-3 of these artists pass each year and their deaths were treated almost like
an "online funeral".
Of course things were much different back then and the artists as people seemed very distant
from us as fans.
Sure we knew their music.
We had all been fans for many years.
But we didn't know them as people.
However knowing them as people didn't really matter, because we had no expectation that we
should.
This meant that dealing with their death as an abstract event was pretty easy.
Today the situation for us is much different.
Take for example the case of Barry White...
Just the other day I was on the phone with a west coast Soul-Patrol artist...
We were talking about the Soul-Patrol East Coast Convention, and how providing the
oppurtunity for the fans to have social/business interaction DIRECTLY with the artists was an
important thing for BOTH.
--Important for the artists to know that the fans actually give a sh*t about them
--Important for the fans to get to know the artists as people, and not simply as an abstract
object
--Important to facilitate the conversation between the two and elevate Soul-Patrol's
"Experiment in Empowerment" to a higher level
http://www.soul-patrol.com/convention/
This artist went on further to say...
"Bob, you have no idea how much support there is for Soul-Patrol by artists based here on the
west coast..."
He then rattlled off an impressive list of famous names that he said were either lurking on
Soul-Patrol or who were aware of and supportive of our objectives...
Some of them I knew personally, and some I didn't.
One of those names was:
BARRY WHITE
When that happened, I said....
Barry White, knows about Soul-Patrol?
He said....
"Bob, there are some artists who follow Soul-Patrol via hardcopy printouts that some of us
make sure get circulated..."
THATS WHY YOU NEED TO DO A CONVENTION ON THE WEST COAST...
I said....Isn't Barry White too ill to come to something like a Soul-Patrol Convention?
He said...
"HELL NO, IF YOU DO IT, HE WOULD BE THERE...."
Of course a few days later, Barry White passed away :(
I will NEVER have the chance to meet Barry White...
I will NEVER have the chance to shake the brotha's hand
I will NEVER have the chance to tell him how much pleasure his music has brought to my life
That conversation with Barry White will NEVER happen
Will we ever do a Convention on the West Coast?
(of course we will)
Will we ever do a Convention in the Midwest?
(of course we will)
Will we ever do a Convention in the South?
(of course we will)
If we could accomplish that, we would raise a LOT of money for the...
OPEN UP MY HEART FOUNDATION
All good things happen in time...
The question is...
HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE LEFT??????????
We have now reached the point in time where OUR artists are literally...
:::: dropping like flies...:::
RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES
In my mind we have become far too casual about it.
Most of the legendary artists we talk about here on Soul-Patrol are now in their 60's.
Many of them are NOT in good health.
On July 19th 2003 YOU will be able to meet and greet the following artists...
Billy Paul, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads and W00 Warriors), Soul Generation
(featuring Cliff Perkins), Vince Montana (Salsoul Orchestra), Ray Davis (P-Funk, Temptations
and Original P), Sonny Boy, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Sarah Dash (Labelle), T.M Stevens
(everybody under the sun), George Kerr, Kenny 'Spider' Webb, Jazzhole, Michael Henderson,
Raoul Cita (Harptones), "Giant" Gene Arnold, Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton, Bettye
Lavette, The Ebonys, Wil Hart (Delphonics), AD LIBS, Escorts...
(and some others that I haven't yet told you about)
Of thisn list, ONLY Jazzhole, Sonny Boy, TM Stevens and Michael Hampton are under the age of
50.
Look at the list again....
Billy Paul, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads and W00 Warriors), Soul Generation
(featuring Cliff Perkins), Vince Montana (Salsoul Orchestra), Ray Davis (P-Funk, Temptations
and Original P), Sonny Boy, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Sarah Dash (Labelle), T.M Stevens
(everybody under the sun), George Kerr, Kenny 'Spider' Webb, Jazzhole, Michael Henderson,
Raoul Cita (Harptones), "Giant" Gene Arnold, Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton, Bettye
Lavette, The Ebonys, Wil Hart (Delphonics), AD LIBS, Escorts...
Ask yourself, HONESTLY...
How many of these people will NOT be with us...
....in 10 YEARS?
......in 5 YEARS?
........in 1 YEAR?
..........in 6 MONTHS?
I'm NOT trying to be morbid here.
However TIME IS WORKING AGAINST US.
And that is a FACT
The Soul-Patrol East Coast Convention is going to be a wonderful event.
http://www.soul-patrol.com/convention/
Bigger and better than last year, we have expanded it into both an informational session in
the afternoon and an entertainment session in the evening so that as many of YOU as possible
will have the chance to interact not only with each other, but to interact with...
Billy Paul, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads and W00 Warriors), Soul Generation
(featuring Cliff Perkins), Vince Montana (Salsoul Orchestra), Ray Davis (P-Funk, Temptations
and Original P), Sonny Boy, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Sarah Dash (Labelle), T.M Stevens
(everybody under the sun), George Kerr, Kenny 'Spider' Webb, Jazzhole, Michael Henderson,
Raoul Cita (Harptones), "Giant" Gene Arnold, Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton, Bettye
Lavette, The Ebonys, Wil Hart (Delphonics), AD LIBS, Escorts...
(and some others that I am not ready to tell you about just yet...)
http://www.soul-patrol.com/convention/
It is an important thing for us all to be able to have this dialouge, with each other...
FACE TO FACE
I realize that some of you won't be able to make it this year for a variety of reasons.
I also realize that on one level it's...
"just another function"
However, I am here to tell you that it's also a matter of...
::::LIFE AND DEATH::::
Yes it is about the...
LIFE AND DEATH OF INDIVIDUALS
But it is also about the...
LIFE AND DEATH OF A CULTURE
Soul-Patrol has 20,000 registered members
All good people
All people who profess to have an undying love for the culture that Soul-Patrol talks about
All people who have on some level communicated to me that this culture is for the...
:::A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH::::
Let's find out just how SERIOUS the survival of this culture really is to YOU...
WHERE IS YOUR SKIN IN THIS GAME?
CAN'T COME IN PERSON
* Buy a ticket anyway
* The ca$h goes to the Open Up Your Heart Foundation
* Buy it online at the Convention site:
http://www.soul-patrol.com/convention/
(check, money order or credit card)
LIVE WITHIN 150 MILES OF PHILADELPHIA?
* Show up at the door
* Bring your younger people to the afternoon session
* It's FREE for students
* Give them a chance to meet some of the living legends of this culture
* Give them a chance to learn, what you already know
* Come to the evening session and party your azz off
* Meet some of the living legends of this culture
* Buy some of their music to keep them going
CAN'T DO EITHER OF THE ABOVE?
Tell 10 people that you know about it and encourage them to participate on some level
PUT SOME SKIN IN THE GAME
http://www.soul-patrol.com/convention/
RIP - Barry White
RIP - Herbie Mann
Bob Davis
earthjuice_at_prodigy.net