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Saturday, June 30, 2012

San Francisco Native, Chante Moore, Comes Back Home to Yoshi’s



By:  Kevin L. Nichols

For those of us who have been in the Bay Area for a while, you may recall seeing Chante Moore perform at Kimballs East in Emeryville regularly back in the 1990’s.  I have had the pleasure of seeing Chante there numerous times and she puts on a fantastic show, by speaking and singing straight from her heart.  Next week, Ms. Moore will be performing at Yoshi’s San Francisco, and she will have a lot to share with us after her divorce with Kenny Lattimore. 


Recently, I spoke with Chante and asked her about her new album that she has been working on and what the audience can expect to hear at Yoshi’s.  Chante mentioned that since her divorce, this album will be about “things that she won’t talk about.”  Chante said that all of her music is about what is currently going on in her life.  For example, please see this clip below titled “Bitter”.



I think that song resonates well with her fans here in the Bay Area.  Chante hits notes that many humans don’t know exist, but dogs and other animals with keen senses do.  Her voice is amazing.  Some of my favorite tunes are “I Wanna Love (Like That Again)” (1992), “Love's Taken Over” (1992), “Candlelight And You” duet with Keith Washington (1992), and her part in "Contagious” featuring The Ron Isley and R.Kelly.


Being from San Francisco and growing up in the church, she is also doing gospel music.  Since the loss of her mother to melanoma, she is also actively involved in cancer related fundraising causes.  Chante’s coming back home, so let’s roll out the welcome mat and celebrate the 4th of July holiday with a unique entertaining experience.


Chante Moore will be performing live at Yoshi’s San Francisco located at 1330 Fillmore Street,  SF, CA 94115, Phone: 415.655.5600 on July 5, 2012 at 8pm and 10pm.  For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/LWIYte 


Kevin L. Nichols is the President & CEO of KLN Publishing, LLC
He is also a social media consultant based out of San Francisco. 
For more information, please visit www.klnconsultinggroup.com
Follow us @KLNPublishing and @kevnix


Copyright 2012   KLN Publishing, LLC   All rights reserved.


Thursday, June 21, 2012

Rose Royce - A blast from the past that everyone still loves



By Joy M. Marion

You’re driving down the road with the radio tuned to your favorite R&B station and a blast from the past begins to play.  The timeless song “car wash” with that unmistakable clapping intro instantly transports you back to the 70’s; or as some call it, back in the day, when music was soulful, funky and fun.  It’s an unmistakable tune by the super group Rose Royce that nearly everyone knows with that infectious guitar rift featured with simple lyrics.

It has been over 30 years since they burst onto the music scene with other monster hits that so many of us grew up with and still love.  “I wanna get next to you” and “Wishing on a star” are only a few of the songs the group which reins from South Central LA has produced to create the soundtrack to the lives of millions of their fans around the world.

Right out of the gate they saw superstardom, eventually earning them eight gold and five platinum records. There were eight talented male musicians and the unmistakable voice of female singer Gwen Dickey, who all shot to the top of the charts almost from the beginning.

I had the opportunity to talk to Rose Royce leader and trumpeter, Kenny Copeland, a few days before the group preformed at Yoshi’s in San Francisco.  Many may be wondering what they have been up to after so many years, and the short answer is they never stopped playing.  They have been touring for the past 15 years and remain hugely popular with their loyal fans, especially in Europe.

“There has been no age barrier with our music and it’s still so popular after all these years,” explained Copeland.  “ We play our music all over the world and people 25-85 years old show up to listen.  The music is in our blood and the moment I hit the stage it’s like going into a trancelike state.  We really want to give people a good show because we still love what we do.”

I asked Kopeland what current artists he likes to listen to and shouldn’t be surprised to learn that one of his favorites is Charlie Wilson, aka ‘Uncle Charlie’ of the Gap Band, and to a small surprise, R. Kelly, whom he called “super talented.”  He rounded his picks out with one female singer, former superstar voice of none other than Whitney Houston.

Rose Royce’s biggest influence on them as a band…?  None other than Earth, Wind & Fire, whom he says they patterned themselves after as well as Cool & The Gang.  Copeland proudly acknowledges that his band has been the muse for current artists such as Mariah Carey, Jay-Z (“Wishing on a Star”) and Mary J. Blidge (remade the hit “I’m going down”) who have both recorded from the groups catalog of songs, along with various other musicians who have sampled in the familiar tunes, further extending the timelessness of their songs.
What is Copeland’s favorite Rose Royce song to perform? “Love don’t live here anymore.”  The most exciting developments with the group are their plans to hit the studio in the near future to lay down some new tracks with the guys and the new female vocalist Debelah Morgan (see her here) whom he says blew his mind after being introduced by a friend and heard her sing.  Morgan had limited success here in the U.S. but had done exceptionally well in Europe before joining the group.  Morgan replaced former original singer, Gwen Dickey, who helped drive the groups unique sound.  She left the group many years ago after band infighting, financial and legal issues tore them apart.
Other members of the original group included Henry Garner (drums), Terral "Terry" Santiel (congas), Lequeint "Duke" Jobe (bass), Michael Moore (saxophone), Kenny Copeland (trumpet, lead vocals), Kenji Brown (guitar, lead vocals), Freddie Dunn (trumpet), and Victor Nix (keyboards).
How much longer can Rose Royce keep going?  Copeland, a young 57 years old, says he and the group have much more to achieve and wants the chance to achieve success again.  “I want to make more money and it’s also a prestige thing.  Just like 50 Cent got his mega mansion, I want mine too,” he remarked.  “I just want to keep on pushing it and see how it feels.”

Saturday, June 16, 2012

SMASH Needs Math & Science Speakers!

Summer Math and Science Honors Academy (SMASH) presented by Level Playing Field Institute (LPFI) is hosting a Speaker Series. In brief, the intent of the Speaker Series is:

• An opportunity to expose our SMASH scholars to ideas and career fields which they may not have previously considered within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). 
• Present speakers with similar backgrounds as our SMASH Scholars (low income, minority and first generation college graduates)to share their stories and their paths to their current careers. 

SMASH Speaker Series & Dates:

(1) SMASH-Stanford: Seeking speakers who are entrepreneurs, who have studied environmental sciences, or a combination of the two

Stanford University
July 7th & July 28th: 7:30pm - 9pm
Contact James Sarria for more info: james@lpfi.org

(2) SMASH-Berkeley: Seeking speakers who have used their STEM degrees to pursue careers that our scholars may not be aware of (environmental, IP law, artistic, etc.).

University of California at Berkeley, Barrows Hall
Saturday July 7th & 21st: 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Contact: Ruby Geballe at ruby@lpfi.org

(3) SMASH-USC: Seeking speakers to expose our scholars to STEM fields

University of Southern California
June 30th – July 28th, 2011
Sundays, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Contact: Shantina Jackson at shantina@lpfi.org

(4) SMASH-UCLA: Seeking speakers to expose our scholars to STEM fields

University of California at Los Angeles
June 30th – July 28th, 2011
Sundays, 4:00- 5:30 p.m.
Contact: Cathy Douglas at cathy@lpfi.org

If you or someone you know would be interested, please contact the individuals listed above.  Please help support this cause.  Our Youth need it.  Many thanks.

Sincerely yours,

KLN via Danielle Rose

Kevin L. Nichols