One night last month I was leaving the studio after working on a mix of Sheryl Crow and I stumbled onto a goldmine. On my way home I saw an unlikely multi-cultural crowd hanging outside of Arlene’s Grocery. It struck me so I walked in. What I found was one of the most engaging musical experiences I have come across in a while.
I step in the door, the place is jammed packed. My first thought – its a hip hop party….not my usual hang…. but I wait and listen. The MC is talking about love and positive energy and elevating your soul. Whaaaaat???? I’m intrigued. Then the drummer and bass player hit this insane groove….I’m hooked. The vibes at this thing are incredible. The crowd is jammed in like sardines but smiling and in no way annoyed I’m shuffling through their personal space. Not the usual lower east side music or crowd. I had been to so many well rehearsed hipster drenched indie rock shows in the last few weeks, I’m blown away at how much more visceral this is than anything I had heard from the cool kids. These guys are free-styling and making up the jams along the way. My first thought is I gotta play this band on my Amazing Radio show, but there were no recordings. It’s a live thing.
The stars of The Lesson are a band called Gentei Kaijo. It’s made up of Lenny The Ox Reece on drums, Phaseone as the main MC, David Cutler on bass, Jordan Peters on guitar, Christian Almiron and Nick Semrad on keys, as well as Kennedy and Melanie Charles on vocals. There is a revolving cadre of players every night including MCs, guitar players, horn sections and singers. The vibe will elevate your soul and the musical talent will blow your mind. It is so refreshing to hear MCs come up and freestyle about the important things in life rather than the typical self-aggrandizing hype of most rappers laden in bling. Phaseone sets the tone of the night like a workingman’s bearded sage. His evolved sense of self lays out rhyme with a philosophy like an urban self help guru. Check the ego at the door, stay in the moment and feel the love coming down. I could go on for days about the mad talent onstage, the killer grooves, and the amazing vocalists but let me just say this is not to be missed.
Apparently this party has been going on for some time and on March 25 they are celebrating a 2 year anniversary with special guests Talib Kweli, Res and more. Come join me and the talented cats of the Lesson at Le Poisson Rouge. Here is the poster for the event. Click on it and you can grab a ticket. See you Tuesday.
