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Local bands, doing their thing
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Chicago Tribune, Local bands, doing their thing >>
Growing up in Michigan, Occidental Brothers Dance Band International guitarist Nathaniel Braddock, determined to discover music outside the mainstream, extended his search far overseas—eventually stumbling onto the music of West Africa. Up to that point, Braddock had immersed himself in underground rock (The Smiths, Sonic Youth, etc.), so the first time he heard African pop he was caught off guard by how different it sounded.
"I was just starting to play guitar and I was struck by the technique," says Braddock. "It was a single note pattern and there were usually single guitars interweaving. They weren't just banging out chords."
Unfortunately, the Midwest wasn't exactly a hotbed of activity for someone interested in world music—especially in the mid-'80s—and early searches were often fruitless. This was, says Braddock, a good ten years before there was even a resurgent interest in Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Discoveries were rare; the guitarist would unearth records digging through bargain bins and searching library stacks. In college, he developed a friendship with a professor from South Africa who let him dub a couple of third-generation cassettes.
Braddock's first experiments with the music were as much a struggle as locating the source material. "In the early days I wasn't good at it," he says bluntly. "But I listened to enough of the stuff that it became an influence on my style even when I wasn't trying to imitate it."
Eventually, the self-taught Braddock began teaching a class in African guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music and has since gone on to study with some exceptional African musicians. Indeed, much of the crew's new album, "Odo Sanbra (Come Back, Love),"—they'll celebrate its release with a show at Empty Bottle Friday—took root after a January, 2008 trip to Ghana. There Braddock performed everywhere from the city's night clubs to the streets.
The swinging new tunes are a testament to how far the band has come from its early days banging out obscure covers by Congolese artists like Mwenda Jean Bosco and Bantous de la Capitale. Part of that growth can be attributed to the addition of Ghana natives Kofi Cromwell (vocals/trumpet) and Asamoah Rambo (trap drums), who performed together in Western Diamonds, a celebrated highlife band in Ghana.
"The president [of Ghana] would send cars to pick up Rambo because he just wanted him to come to the palace and hang out," says Braddock. "They were big, big stars. [Being in the Occidental Brothers] is a really different experience. I think they get frustrated sometimes, but they're excited. They're excited by the potential."
Mic TerrorLocal rapper Mic Terror, recently named best hip-hop act in The Chicago Reader's "Best of Chicago" issue, has a way with words that would make Dennis Leary proud. Just check out some tunes (streaming at myspace.com/micterrormusic), where the blunt MC takes on everything from organized religion ("Don't read the bible/Cause I don't believe in fairy tales") to American indifference ("You know they reinstated slavery cause/It was on the news, but you was watching 'The Flavor of Love' "). With his say-anything lyrical style, Mic Terror, born and raised in Riverdale, comes across as fearless. Besides, how else could one explain his willingness to list Kris Kross as an influence alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Tupac and Ice Cube?
-- Andy Downing 04/17/09 >> go there
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