Cover Story
Stop what you’re doin’, ‘cause they’re about
to ruin the image and sound of what you’re used
to.
The Humpty? Nah, not this time.
Then who?
The Veldt.
Says whol
Says Spin Magazine, among others.
Picture that!
Yeah...and while ya at it, picture this.
Four young men, Daniel and Danny Chavis, Joe
Boyle, and Marvin Levi, make up a band that is
neither White nor Black. Four guys in a band that
play music that is neither Black nor White but, as
Spin magazine writer Steven Daly put it, “a biz-
zare musical hybrid.” Sound like a cross-cultural
ideal? Well it is— for people outside of North
Carolina.
getting prejudiced ‘cause you’re not actu
ally thCTe.”
The band is not totally concerned with
dealing with the racial prejudice that makes
life in Chapel Hill an unpleasant one. They
are far more concerned with leaving this
area and receiving a major-label deal.
“We as a band want to evolve and get out
of Chapel Hill,” said Daniel. ‘This town is
kind of stifling. We don’t want to be a band
that stays around forever and plays the same
kind of music.”
So, leaving this “stifling” area has been
one thing the Veldt has been woridng quite
diligently on. Aside from playing the frat
circuit and smaller clubs, the band has had
some pretty prestigious concertdates. When
they played New York’s Ritz Theatre, not
only was the audience enthralled, but so
were three record company presidents and
24 major label executives. The band opened
for African-American rock sensation. Liv
ing Colour, in both Norfolk and Philadel
phia and was quite pleased with the audi
ence participation.
“We got an unbelievable response”
Daniel said. “Yeah, the crowd was so loud
it sounded like the audience was completely
in tune with us,” chimed his identical twin
brother Danny.
By playing such dates, the band has
generated quite a bit of media coverage. In
its November 21 issue, the Triangle’s enter
tainment magazine. Independent featured
Unfortunately this young. Triangle band
that has national record labels chasing them
and is receiving incredible audience and
media siqjport away from home gets litde or
no respect in Chapel Hill.
Why?
Well, it seems that the Veldt’s music is
a bit too nouveau for the average African-
American in this area and a bit too boogie
down to daze Chapel Hill’s white fratonity
circuit Because they don’t play typical
R&B or rap. Black students don’t frequent
their concert dates and because they aren’t
a heavy rock or dance music band, White
kids often ignore them.
Sad situation for the Veldt? Well, not
really.
Although this band is caught in a ra
cially polarized comm unity that insists upon
forcing groups into prefabricated genres of
music based on their race, the Veldt is
simply not havin’ it They keep on playing
their own brand of music, keep on attracting
national attention and keq) on offering
Chapel Hill citizens a chance to experience
the new directions that the music industry is
taking.
In a take from Bell Biv Devoe’s own
personal anthem, the Veldt describes their
own music as being “Hip hop spiced up on
the punk-soul tip with a Brit appeal.” Inde-
pe/ufertf magazine’s Jim Desmond also notes
that the Veldt has a mixture of rock, soul,
hip hop and other types of music, “[the
Black Ink
Unfortunately the Veldt, despite media
hype, is involved in a rather grounding
experience which revolves around the pro
ducing of a record. Although the band had
signed with Capitol Records, a change of
staff at Capitol left the band with new label
head, Simon Potts. Potts decided -that he
didn’t like the band sound, and paid the
Veldt a large sum of money to let them out
of the deal.
AftCT the Veldt left Capitol, the band
began fighting with then manage. Jay
Faires, over how to divide the cancellation
fee. The fight is still going on today. To add
to the complex situation, Faires wants the
band to record their first albums on Mam
moth Records, his own independent record
company. Because the band was desperate
to make a record and disappointed with the
incident with Capitol, they signed a con
tract for seven record deal despite their
problems with Faires. Now, due in part to a
growing distrust of Faires, they want out of
the contract They have become frustrated
with the situation, but refuse to give up.
“We’re planning on making a record. If
we have any problems, we will go into
litigation,” Levi said. “Our side will obvi
ously prove to the defense that they are
cheating us out of a lot of money.”
In the meantime, the Veldt, who takes
their name from an African grassland, plans
to keep waiting and working towards the
the break that will establish them in the
Veldt’s music ] is like the Cure meets the
Jungle Brothers” Desmond said.
However, because these brothers wear
dreds, dress with a punky British style and
carry electric guitars, few African-Ameri-
cans in this area will give them a chance.
Due to their looks and the fact that their
music is not pure R&B, many young Afri
can-Americans immediately associate them
with Living Colour, label their music rock
or heavy metal and ignore them altogether.
Although the Veldt plays white frater
nity parties, they often do not go over well
with the crowd because of their looks and
their approach to music. Their music lacks
what Desmond calls a “frivolous” quality
that most fraternity types like. So the Veldt
ends up getting the short end of both sticks.
While this can be upsetting and frustrat
ing, it is not enough to make the band
conform. “It hurts me when I don’t see any
brothm and sisters in the audience” lead
singer Daniel Chavis said. Marvin Levi, the
band’s drummer, says that he is also upset
by not only the fact that some people are
close minded about the Veldt’s music, but
also because of the implications of this
close mindedness.
“People should be open,” said Levi.
“Everybody has to be open minded. It kinda
bothers me because this leads to a lot of
diffCTent things. If you’re close minded to
that, you must have the same stereotypes
about what goes with it And then you start
'‘People should be open, ” said Levi. “Every
body has to be open minded. It kinda bothers
me because this leads to a lot of different
things. If you’re close minded to that, you
must have the same stereotypes about what
goes with it. And then you start getting preju
diced ‘causeyou're not actually there. ”
the Veldt in an article called ‘Young, Gifted
and Pissed’ and gave the band rave reviews.
“The buzz within the music industry on the
Veldt is so loud it can be heard blowing in
from New York and LA on a still Carolina
Day,” article writCT Jim Desmond said.
He’s right. In addition to local coverage
the band has been on MTV and was recently
featured in the January 1990 issue of Spin
magazine. The article said the Veldt was
“intriguing,” among other things, and pre
dicted a good deal of success for the band.
With the coverage and the concert dates,
one would think that the Veldt’s path to the
top is an easy one, right?
Yeah, right Success is never easy and
when race prejudice is involved it’s twice as
hard.
record industry as a successful band. They
will keep on playing the concert dates, the
small Chapel Hill clubs and even the frater
nity circuit Their next concert date is
December 15 and if you’re smart, you’ll
check them out then, ‘cause it doesn’t look
like they are going to be around these parts
for long.
Interview and article by Erika F.
Campbell and Atinwole N'Gai Wright
The Veldt
December 15
Cat's Cradle