Sunday May 26, 2013 – 4th Street Live Louisville. Click Here To Learn More About The FREE Event!!
June 8, 2013 – Night of Fortune GRAMMY Stars Concert, Chengdu, China
July 6, 2013 – Essence Festival Mercedes Benz Superdome – Superlounge Tickets and Info: Here
Funky NEW MUSIC! singles “Nightlife” produced by Count De Money and “The Dawn” produced by Mark de-Clive Lowe Coming Summer 2013!
Art Design/Logo: Ray Easmon, Jody Watley (c) 2013
With the backdrop and history of New Orleans as the backdrop amidst a variety of artists of various age demo’s; I’m so looking forward to being a part of this spectacular music and cultural event! Saturday night July 6, 2013 – it’s going down with my eclectic show of stylish funky pop soul in a concert of classic and dynamic hits (solo and Shalamar), a couple of critically acclaimed under the commercial radar gems, well new music and perhaps a surprise or two! To coincide with the performance I’ll be releasing two new singles titled ‘Nightlife’ Produced by the UK’s Count De Money and ‘The Dawn’ Produced by Mark de Clive-Lowe this summer. ‘Nightlife’ is a nod to my Shalamar / disco past though totally modern in approach – the groove never subsides. ‘Nightlife’ features vocal contributions by original Shalamar male lead Gerald Brown (Take That To The Bank) for added authenticity – if you loved Shalamar or music from that era – you will love ‘Nightlife.’ ‘The Dawn’ is another nod to my disco funk roots and written recalling my youth, while appreciating the me of now and adding those elements. This is the type of real dance music that not unlike what Daft Punk is being heralded for. Traditionally, other’s doing music rooted in soul, disco and funk receive more accolades however it’s not really about that – in the end for me my music always comes from a place of passion, joy and love first to represent me at a particular time in my creative and artistic life.
http://www.essence.com/2013/04/30/jody-watleys-coming-essence-festival/
Photo: Jody Watley 2013 (c)
We’re off to Japan for concerts at Billboard Live in Tokyo and Osaka tomorrow – a trip my band and I always look forward to! I had fun with Rosero, Havic and new understudy Eric McCoy – son of Rosero. Eric told me before joining us onstage in Oakland he had been waiting to dance onstage with me since he was little and his Dad brought him to our show in Las Vegas. His revelation and quiet dream was priceless, very sweet and a joy to know that it had come to fruition as I had no idea! We’ve added a Shalamar medley to the show with some nice dance breaks. It’s always tricky when I’ve included Shalamar songs because the majority of Jody Watley fans still don’t connect with that part of my repertoire resulting in mild crickets – to this day people will say they never knew I was in a group. In the early days of my solo career I really went out of my way to establish myself as a separate and distinct entity – and succeeded. Because some of my upcoming new music has a soul disco funk vibe I’ve decided to try a new approach to incorporating a few Shalamar songs in the mix.
Rosero is currently very busy with Disney’s “Shake It Up” and other countless shows and artists as a choreographer as well as the perfectly chiseled John ‘Havic’ Gregory. Anytime they can be a part of the concerts is always extra special and we have a lot of fun with great chemistry on and off the stage.
Upcoming Concerts / Appearances:
BILLBOARD LIVE Tokyo – April 10-11, 2013
BILLBOARD LIVE Osaka – April 13, 2013
BROOKLYN BOWL, NY – April 19, 2013 –Special Guest with French Horn Rebellion
CHURCH, Los Angeles – April 27, 2013 –Special Guest with Mark de Clive Lowe
ESSENCE FEST Mercedes Benz Superdome – July 6, 2013
Current new music includes my recent collaboration with French Horn Rebellion titled ‘Cold Enough.’ I’ll be making a special guest appearance with the electro pop party duo on April 19, 2013 as they begin their residency at the ultra buzzed about Brooklyn Bowl. This is really exciting for me because this is a new audience, young party people. One of the unique things about my musical journey is that it continues to reach a variety of audiences – and I’m comfortable in all the genres and scenario’s. We’ll also preview another collaboration titled ‘Dancing Out’ – another fun song, and I must tell you they’ve done an awesome mash-up on one of my classics ‘Don’t You Want Me’ – it’s going to be a great time. For info and tickets: Brooklyn Bowl – also on the collaboration front I contributed vocals to the forthcoming new album by Dam-Funk coming on Stones Throw (pronounced Dame-Funk aka name is Damon — and he is world renowned in by young music heads as the artist of modern-funk). This is long awaited follow-up to his critically heralded and all around banger Dam-Funk’s classic “Toeachizown” – a must have for the collection. Don’t sleep because there are artists in today’s music scene thriving without an ounce of Top 40 airplay.
Don’t miss ”A Real Fool” from the international musical event I starred in this past fall “Loving The Silent Tears: A New Musical” now available at iTunes. The African inspired groove and song of gratitude is composed by Emmy nominee and Oscar winner Nan Schwartz and Al Kasha with arrangement by Emmy winner Doug Katsaros. The entire soundtrack is gorgeous and spans the globe reflective of the stellar cast of artists including Kay Tse, (China), Heather Park and Brian Joo (Korea), Persian born Siavash Shams, Liel Kolet (Israel), Camellia Abou-Odah (Lebanon), Mark Janicello (Italy), Black Uhuru (Jamaica), Hồ Quỳnh Hương (Vietnam), Fabiana Passoni (Brazil) and more.
On the Jody Watley 10th album front – it’s coming this year for certain. I posted before that I’m not sure if it will still be called ‘Chameleon’ – as the project has evolved along with me..I have other ideas floating in my head with regard to the title and vibe. The state of the music industry and spending time assessing and re-evaluating why I continue to do what I do as an artist are factors. It really is for the love and joy through music — and that’s the feeling I want people to have when listening to it around the world; even if folks are no longer really buying albums – or supporting the veteran acts who continue to progress artistically and beyond the corporate controlled mainstream bubble. That fact has certainly made it less a priority to finish and release however, the music on it so far is too good to not see it all through. It’s feel good music with soul and there’s something still to be said for that. The song I did with Morel was finished last week ‘I Love, Music’ (not the O’Jay’s song, but certainly inspired by that message and era of music. I’ve been dancing around to it since the final mix. ‘Nightlife’ is still sounding as fresh as ever produced by Count De Money out of the UK. The new extended mix will have you pushing rewind. ‘Sanctuary’ is a healing loving song that I’m looking forward to having everyone hear – it’s all about creating an environment of love, I produced that one with my longtime collaborator Rodney Lee. There’s so much more.. forthcoming late spring, summer and fall.
Creativity is a process - not a destination and when allowed runs in and on it’s own time and space. What I do has never been for everyone – it’s just me always carving out my own corner of the universe in my own distinct way. I’m not 70′s Jody, 80′s Jody, 90′s Jody and so on –just and always Jody Watley in the moment.
Upcoming concerts:
Yoshi’s Jazz: March 23, 2013
http://fusicology.com/event/jody-watley-at-yoshis-oakland/
Billboard Live Tokyo Japan, April 10-11, 2013
Billboard Live Osaka, Japan; April 13, 2013
Brooklyn Bowl : Special Guest Appearance with French Horn Rebellion, April 19, 2013
Essence Festival, New Orleans Mercedes Benz Superdome / Superlounge: July 6, 2013
More ‘select’ dates to be announced.
Jody Watley Photo: (c) 2013 Jody Watley
My recent music collaboration with electro pop duo French Horn Rebellion “Cold Enough” is now available at iTunes from their EP “Love is Dangerous.” This keeps in line with my creative progression and joining forces with unexpected partners and keeps my musical journey fresh. Additionally, I’m going to do some appearances with the band and perform in front of their younger generation unaware of my history (I love that), allowing another type of freedom and broadening of my fan base in a non-contrived way. Often, I feel older fans just want the ‘previous’ and long ago incarnations – namely my first 2 solo albums’ and aren’t always open-minded of my continued growth, creative experimentation and evolution. My thing is to always do what feels natural and authentic to me – and each time I’ve planned, envisioned, conceived, recorded and released an album – my goals and motivations have changed. Each year when The GRAMMY’s come around, and as a former nominee and ‘Best New Artist’ winner; I can truly say that I continue to be a torch bearer for longevity, artistic progression and that indomitable spirit of being ‘new’ – even as I’ve continued to blossom in age.
In line with that, I recently connected with funky Australian and globally acclaimed music artist Sam Sparro and we’re in the midst of a couple of fabulous collaborations – one for Chameleon, one for him. I’m also writing with one of music’s best electronic bands out of London – that I’ve been a fan of since their debut. This is another major major creative milestone for me, and I can’t wait to tell you about it – soon! The one and only ‘modern funk‘ master Dam-Funk is also still in the mix, along with Count De Money and Richard Morel. What’s also fun is the inclusion of one of Shalamar’s original male lead vocalists Gerald “Take That To The Bank” Brown who contributed vocals to one of the mixes of the forthcoming single ‘Nightlife’ – perfect for the classic disco modern funk inspired song-this song and collaboration with Count De Money from Peace Bisquit also provided a perfect way for me to give a node to my Shalamar past. This is quality music as my standards have remained high.
The one time only sold out musical event ‘Loving The Silent Tears’ directed by the legendary Vincent Paterson is still receiving praise around the world. As one of the stars of the global cast if you missed it I must say it was really something to behold and experience. The cast album is available for purchase, including my African tinged ‘A Real Fool’ written and composed by Grammy winner and Emmy nominee Nan Schwartz and Oscar winner Al Kasha. Learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/SilentTearsMusical
Speaking of ‘Chameleon,’ I’ve been working with the title for some time now and have recently considered changing as the process as evolved – we’ll see. One thing is certain – I will be finally be releasing singles and the full length in 2013 the follow-up to my 2006 #3 iTunes Electronic album and former #1 VirginMega exclusive “The Makeover.” Stay tuned.
I’m looking forward to my performance this summer at Essence Festival, and will be letting you know about upcoming shows in and a handful of other select rare engagements coming soon. Up next, my concerts on the sold-out first ever ‘Soul Train Cruise: The Hippest Trip At Sea,’ February 17-24. March 23, Yoshi’s Oakland. More to be announced.
It would be great if you share this post with your fellow Jody Watley fans.
Photo: Jody Watley (c)
I’m looking to performing and being a part of this years Essence Festival line-up which includes Maxwell, Jill Scott, Mint Condition and more. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time – and am thrilled it’s finally going to happen. I intend to turn it out!
There’s nothing like this weekend of music and culture July 4-7 in New Orleans. Get tickets and more Festival info here ow.ly/8jf8H
Photo By: Doug Seymour
