YOU CAN'T WEAR WHITE UNTIL NEXT SPRING!

I am sure the people I write about this week were told that "You Can't Do" whatever it is that they do! I'm also sure a lot of people are glad they did. I began my final week of wearing white visiting some different places. I found myself going underground, you know, below the radar where I could put on the same white clothes for seven days and no one would know that I repeated my wardrobe. 

YOU CAN'T WEAR WHITE!?!?

I started at the legendary Blues Alley in the heart of Georgetown. There was a show produced by an artist I had never heard of named Lala Hidatha. Lala and her band of 9 filled the small venue on a Wednesday night for the 8 and 10pm shows.  Hidatha, a Washington native, started a little slow vocally, singing a couple of cover tunes. I wasn't sure if it was a bad case of the "pre-show jitters" or just the perils of an 8 o'clock show. She picked it up in a hurry when she did her own music. Lala slowed down the tempo and interacted with the audience, filled with a lot of family and friends. The band was tight and her background singers sounded good as a unit, the strongest being the male singer. Her style is what I like to call "Modern or 21st Century Blues" which puts you in the mind of Vivian Green, except Lala's strong alto voice has more resonance. She belted out a few songs that the room grooved to. The song that stuck with me was an original entitled "This Is Me," a sort of reggae rocker from her album "My Thoughts, Vol. 1" which she did sell after the show.

I had a chance to talk to here after her set, since I have never heard of her before and couldn't find her on CD Baby or any of the other music websites. I needed to know more about this mysterious artist because after all, I am KNOWWAX! I introduced myself to her mother who, in turn, introduced me to her husband (the bands guitar player and Musical Director) who led me upstairs. Ms. Hidatha was all smiles as she got ready for the next show. She filled me in that she got her "Lala" nickname at an early age following behind her mother singing. You see, she's the daughter of a mother who sang for some time with the Adam Cole Gospel Singers and Lala herself puts in work at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church of DC, singing in their choir. So you won't find her on any of the local radio stations playlists (and maybe you never will). There aren't pictures or music of hers on the internet sites where you usually pick up your music, but you might catch Lala Hidatha cutting her teeth in spots like Blues Alley.

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SINGER WENDY McINTYRE

I ironed my white suit for a second day of wear and so I could look fresh for work. While I was slaving my day away at my place of business contributing to America's efforts (for a little over $8 an hour) and keeping my ears peeled for new music, which is my passion, I plugged my headsets into my co-workers iPod (I've been known to plug into other people's pods a lot) and heard some GREAT music. Wendy McIntyre and her 2009 release "The Anthem." CD Baby says that The Anthem is:

"...a beautiful fusion of R&B, soul and jazz. Thought-provoking lyrics, delivered effortlessly in sultry, honey-coated alto."

I just think it was a surprise to my ears! I've heard of the Columbia, Maryland native before but didn't take enough time to listen to her work. She has that something that makes it easy to listen. She only has one album which only has seven songs. Two standouts are "The Difference" and "Count It All Joy." What's also great to find out is that this beautiful singer is in my family, the Zeta Phi Beta Sigma family! Blue & White!!!
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BRASSERIE BECK

I took off my white jacket in order not to spill anything on it when I went to Chef/Owner Robert Wiedmair's Brasserie Beck at 1101 K Street NW in DC. Brasserie Beck isn't the newest restaurant to bless the District but it seems to be a secret to some of my peers, cousins, brothers and sisters but it shouldn't be. Besides, the French-Belgian cuisine is interesting and better than you will find at the DC hotspot Marvin's. Brasserie Beck has a bartender who knows his liquor too and he takes it very seriously. He was quick to point out to me that he put the drink menu together which was pretty exotic. After I gave him a compliment on his menu he let me sample some ginger vodka and a few other odd concoctions.  If you are looking for a spot to hit late night, especially Thursday's through  Saturday from 10:30 until closing during their late Happy Hours (you can get half-priced oysters and drafts), may I suggest Brasserie Beck. My stop at Beck's was short but enough time to take in a brew and some oysters. Then I promised myself that I would comeback with a few friends to make some noise and start my own party. It could be good for my (and your) lifestyle.
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CHERRIE AMOUR

My week ended at a house warming in Baltimore of all places. Yes, the white suit was still, for the most part, looking fresh and I didn't see anybody that saw me wearing it earlier in the week. The house warming was for a dear friend of mine. She put her own line up together including me on the MacBook Pro (where all the music is stored) and a spoken word artist Cherrie Amour. She's a fiery Caribbean-Canadian Princess who came to the Baltimore area to work at a History and Culture museum. We all gathered in the homes den where Ms. Amour did selections from her debut CD. I will tell you, I did hear the debut work before and didn't care for it much. When she performed "Live" the pieces took on a new lives! I guess there are some artists that give better performances than the recordings and vise-versa (sorry Mariah). Cherrie has a new, yet to be named CD of "Spoken Songs" that is due out before the end of the year. The recordings sound much better than her first work so I am eager to hear her perform them on stage. Now, there are a couple of songs that have a little too much reverb added, but I was listening to an un-mastered demo. The cuts that got my attention were "I Love How I Look" and uptempo, uplifting song for women everywhere and "Love Came Rushing In" which almost sounds like poetry added to a House Music Track; it is infectious. Check her out on CD Baby and Facebook or just look for the name Cherrie Amour showing up on a website in your house soon...