Black Fans of Hard Rock! Fans of Black Hard Rock!

[Dannyalcatraz]

In a previous thread-
Black People!- I talked about how few of us are seen at hard rock & metal shows.

Well, tonight, I finally got to see the 2005 documentary, Electric Purgatory, which is all about the black rock musicians of the past...ohhhhhhh...35 years or so.

I don't care how militant you are, I don't care how educated you are: you watch this documentary and you will hear about bands you have never heard of.

I'm saying that as a person who grew up the child of a music teacher, an entertainment lawyer, and the owner of 5000+ CDs.

Definitely worth the time to track down and watch.

 

[Mark Chance]

I don't care how militant you are, I don't care how educated you are: you watch this documentary and you will hear about bands you have never heard of.

Such as whom?

Most of the music I listen to which is done by Blacks falls into funk, R&B, rap, hip hop, blues, and reggae (and reggae's relatives such as ska and toasting). There's Jimi Hendrix, of course. In terms of heavier rock, all I'm familiar with is Bad Brains.

So, spill some band names. I'm curious to see how many I can plug into Pandora for some free samples.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The one that springs to mind instantly was Mandrill, a rawer, rockier version of Earth, Wind and Fire.

There were others I'd have to actually go back and scan through my recording- there were clips of bands that looked like Motley Crue in blackface...genuine ROCK bands, all black.

The bands with prominent black members or predominantly black lineups I already knew from before (some of which were not in the film, or were only in photo montages) included Bad Brains and Living Colour, of course, but also ones like God Forbid, Straight Line Stitch, Killswitch Engage, King's X, Mother's Finest, 24-7 Spyz, and the incredibly awesome Fishbone.

But beyond even those, there were some of the bands some of those guys were in before they made it...

 

[Mark Chance]

The one that springs to mind instantly was Mandrill, a rawer, rockier version of Earth, Wind and Fire.

That sounds excellent. Definitely going to have to plug that one into Pandora to see if it comes up.

The bands with prominent black members or predominantly black lineups I already knew from before (some of which were not in the film, or were only in photo montages) included Bad Brains and Living Colour, of course, but also ones like God Forbid, Straight Line Stitch, Killswitch Engage, King's X, Mother's Finest, 24-7 Spyz, and the incredibly awesome Fishbone.

I like Fishbone and Bad Brains, but I never cared much for Living Colour. I'm not sure why. Probably has something to do with me not really being able to remember what they sounded like versus what they looked like. Still, perhaps they're do a relook.

Thanks for the names!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just as an FYI, Living Colour has 2 releases this century- one in 2003, as I recall, and one late last year.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I just noticed the film's website had a listing of many of the musicians who were interviewed for the film...

Many of these guys were in more than one band over the years.

Some others that were not, though, include

T.M. Stevens
Hard Corp
Lucy Brown
Follow For Now (super-talented, only one album)
Eye & I
Bodycount (Ice-T's metal band)

and most surprisingly, Bootsy Collins. Yeah, they talk about Parliament/Funkadelic, but he's also done some rock/metal with bands like Zillatron and Praxis.

And don't forget, there have been some killer rock/metal musicians in the lineups of bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Rollins Band.

 

[Bullgrit]

The one that springs to mind instantly was Mandrill, a rawer, rockier version of Earth, Wind and Fire.

Wait, what? A black band named after a monkey? They could probably get some free publicity by claiming that their record label forced that name on them.

Bullgrit

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Tosin Abasi, young black guitarist extraordinaire (Reflux, Animals As Leaders) just popped up on my radar:

Animals As Leaders
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VixG3b-C7Fk&NR=1]YouTube - Animals As Leaders - "Song Of Solomon"[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ho4-tExpTE&feature=related]YouTube - Animals As Leaders - "Tempting Time"[/ame]

Reflux
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qAm-WK1Vjc&feature=related]YouTube - Reflux - Above The Pyramid And The Eye[/ame]

His new band, Animals As Leaders, is on tour with Dillinger Escape Plan and others this year.

 

[ggroy]

In the really heavy stuff, race isn't as prominent of an issue. More important is technical musical ability and songwriting.

With that being said, there's some black musicians playing heavier metal type stuff.

In the virtuoso guitar world, there's Tony MacAlpine and Greg Howe.

In death metal, there's Suffocation.

(There's others which I don't recall offhand).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

True, but they're still sadly rare...though not so rare as black fans in the stands.