Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Aug. 1, 1996, edition 1 / Page 17
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Cfjarlotte ^osst THURSDAY, August 1, 1996 1BIARTS & ENTERTA INMENT merfest At least that’s the number ifPEGAVBAV officials hope will cram Memorial Stadium Saturday for the second annual Summerfest. It looks like they could get thek wish. “Our ticket sales are increasing daUy,” said Bobb Ferguson, mar keting and promo tions directw- for WPEG. “We’re ahead of ticket sales from this time last year. We’re looking to take the stadium to capacity.” It could happen. Last year’s acts, which included Jody Watley, Hammer, D’Angelo and Mad Lion, drew nearly 23,000. This year’s acts include super hot rappers Outkast, The Goodie Mobb and soul crooners Horace Brown, Men of Vizioa and Donell Jones. Old school lovers have found a lot to be happy with the line up. The Ohio Players, Con- Punk-Shun, The Gap Band and Cameo will also perform. WPEG also increased its pro motions. McDonald’s was added as., a sponsor, which allowed customers to register for fine tickets on special tray liners. Coca-Cola, Red Dog beer and Chevrolet returned as sponsors; The event opens at '3 p.m. with Atlantic recording artists The Braxtons (sisters of Grammy Award-wining Toni Braxton) and closes at 11 p.m. with old school funk band The Ohio Players. “The lineup is a joint effort between the promotions staff and program director Andre Carson,” Ferguson said. “He did a good job in finding artists that will have the broadest appeal to the listening audi ence. I think it’s a wonderful ' variety of old school and new school.” Ferguson is also crediting low ticket prices for the festi val’s popularity.' lof~ “No where else can you fi this much talent on stage $10,” Ferguson. “I’m from the See FEST Page 2B Fly jock Joyner to ‘get my party on’ at weekend music festival in Memorial Stadium Joyner By Winfred B. Cross THE CHARLOTTE POST Morning drive radio host Tom Joyner loves to party about as much as he loves to fly. He’ll do both this weekend as he travels from Dallas to party with Summerfest concert-goers in Charlotte. He’ll be a guest, not a host. “I’m coming to get my party on,” Joyner said Wednesday by phone from Dallas. “I heard it was going to be a party and I’m going to be there. That’s right, old school will be in.” Joyner, host of “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,” heard each week day on WBAV 101.9 FM, has been doing a lot of old school vis iting lately. He recently took in Sinbad’s ‘70s Music Festival in Jamaica, did the Essence thing down in New Orleans and was in Miami for its 100th birthday celebration. All featured old school music. “That’s my favorite era in music,” said the Tuskegee Institute graduate. “They don’t make music like that any more. Well, they do, but they call it sampling.” This is Joyner’s second visit to the city. He was here in 1994 for the NCAA Men’s Final Four. “I really like the city,” Joyner said. “It was so clean. Everything just looked so fresh. And you’ve got some fine women.” Joyner’s morning radio show is syndicated in 72 markets across the country. It features music, news and a hilariously funny soap opera called “It’s Your World.” “Everybody always asks me about that show,” Joyner said. “I’ve been working with that cast of crazies for a while and there’s no telling what they’ll come up with.” Until about a year and a half ago, Joyner flew from Dallas to Chicago each weekday to do a morning show in Texas and an afternoon drive show in Illinois. He got tagged “the fly jock,” racking up 7 million miles in the air. You wanna talk fre quent flyer miles? See JOYNER page 6B By Winfred B. Cro^ Group gets its musicaivision across without going |he raunchy route with Ifrics By Winfred B. Cross THE CHARLOTTE POST Desmond Greggs is trying to juggle the phone while ironing a shirt he's going to wear on Radio City Music Hall’s stage later in the evening. Can’t a member of a group with a Top 20 r&b hit get a little housekeeping help? “It ain’t like that yet, man,” Greggs said chuckling. “Maybe one day soon.” Maybe it’s just as well. Greggs’ group Men of Vizion, which includes Corley Randolph, Brian Dermus, Pranthan ‘Spanky’ Williams and George Spencer III, is climbing the charts with a single appropriately titled “House Keeper.” The group brings its silky sound to Memorial Stadium Saturday as part of the WPEGAVBAV Summerfest. Greggs took time recently in a phone interview to talk about the group’s tour, hit single and new CD titled Personal “We’ve been blessed so far,” Greggs said. “Sometimes I don’t even believe it because it hap pened so fast.” The group formed four years ago at LaGuardia High School of Music in New York. Greggs, Spencer, Randolph and Dermus had begun singing together but wanted another member. Along ^romes \\®ams with a pierc- tenoriloice to complete the -^up. a Y “Georgipfcnew of Spanky but had nevlp met him,” Greggs said. “H^ heard Spanky sing in churcljftnt didn’t know if he was invested in singing r&b.” Turns ^ut Williams was intereste|Eand can sing secu lar musiclfeth nearly the same fervor he ttes in gospel. “He’s go§a real strong voice,” Greggs saf^ “He surprises us every shote He changes up without tel||(^ anyone.” All group ^embers can sing lead, again Miming from train ing in the chittvsh, Greggs said. They even auditioned for some record executives with gospel songs. - “We sang • a lot of Commissioned' and Take 6 songs,” Greggs s^d. “We even got the privil^^ to. meet Commissioned laa Detroit. They came to see u^That blew us away.” “We even considered putting a gospel number on the first CD,” Greggs said. “But we didn’t want to confuse the pub lic.” Greggs said the transititm from church to secular wasnl" that hard. “It just depends on your sur roundings,” he said. “If you feel strongly in doing some thing, and y o, u have support from your family, it’s not going to be hard.” The group’s sound is straight-up r&b. Though its mtisic can be con sidered sexy, Greggs said they avoid being raunchy. “House Keeper” even reverses traditional male/female rolls, plac ing the men in the a less macho position. “There are so many songs out there that are (too explicit),” he said. “We’re not knocking those songs, but we didn’t want to be like other groups. We want to make songs that young kids can listen to. We feel we can get the same message across in a different way.” So how does Greggs feel about touring with R. Kelfy, known for his steamy ballads and sexually suggestive con- “Well, I love the tjAr and I artisfo on the tour,” h e said^ “It’s a privilege for our first tour to be with plat inum acts.” Greggs said the group also felt privileged to work with super producer Teddy Riley. “That’s amazing,” he said. “Our manager knew him so he introduced him to us. He inspired us to write and pro duce.” Riley also convinced the group to move from New York to the more tranquil setting of Virginia Beach, Va. They all live in the same house, which helped them focus on the CD. Riley took a copy of the group’s demo tape to buddy Michael Jackson, who was so impressed he signed them to his 550 label, distributed by Sony. “The MJJ staff has given us a lot of love and support,” he said. The group returned the favor by doing a smooth remake of “Show You The Way To Go,” a minor Top 40 hit for the Jacksons in the mid ‘70s. “Hey, it’s Michael’s label, so we thought it would be a nice touch,” he said. “Plus, we all liked the song.”
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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