Whoopi Goldberg: egot winner~~One of the few individuals to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award.

#whoopigoldberg #tcmedia #katiemaejane #popology #matsuversepbc #lemonade #onelifefoundation

Birth Name: Caryn Elaine Johnson

• Birth Date: November 13, 1955

• Birthplace: Chelsea, New York City, USA

• Multi-talented: Actor, comedian, author, television host

• EGOT Winner: One of the few individuals to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award.

• Notable Films:

• The Color Purple

• Ghost

• Sister Act

• Star Trek: Generations

• How Stella Got Her Groove Back

• Television:

• Co-host of the talk show The View

• Star Trek: The Next Generation

Career Highlights

• Early Life: Raised in a New York City housing project, Whoopi's career began in theatre and with improv groups in California.

• Stand-up Comedy: Her one-woman show featuring the character Moms Mabley gained attention and led to film roles.

• The Color Purple: Her breakout performance in Steven Spielberg's film earned her critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination.

• Ghost: Whoopi's portrayal of the eccentric psychic Oda Mae Brown won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

• Sister Act: Her successful leading role solidified her position as a major comedic force.

• The View: Goldberg has been a co-host on this popular talk show since 2007.

• Other Facts

• Goldberg is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social issues.

• She has been married three times and has one daughter, Alex Martin
  

"André 3000 Redefines Temporal Perception"

last week, André Benjamin, best known as André 3000, one-half of the hip-hop duo OutKast, finally released his début solo album. Over the past decade, Benjamin, who is forty-eight, has chosen a life away from the spotlight, but has stayed close enough to it to occasionally record a guest verse. His last headlining release was “Look Ma No Hands,” an EP of turbulent jazz compositions he uploaded for free to SoundCloud on Mother’s Day, in 2018. Mostly, he’s been a presence on the social-media feeds of fans, who’ve happened upon him doing everyday things, like fetching coffee or walking in the park. More often than not, his companion is a flute, which he plays with a kind of blissful ignorance to his surroundings.

That Benjamin has seemed a reclusive mystery since OutKast’s heyday says more about our expectations for the famous, for whom performative oversharing is now part of any new-release cycle, than the choices he’s made. And his new album, “New Blue Sun,” is definitely a choice. There’s no singing or rapping, as he forewarns on the lead track, which is titled “I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.” Instead, the record is nearly an hour and a half of deeply soothing instrumental music on which he plays a variety of woodwinds. The flute, he’s explained, is a way to commune with the air around him, to experience the sensation of breath, as well as a coping mechanism for social anxiety. Beyond that, he feels as though he’s run out of things to rap about. In an interview about his formal return, he said the contours of middle-aged life couldn’t coalesce into bars: he felt rapping about his life now—colonoscopies, worsening eyesight—seemed ill-advised.

Most people would happily listen to him rap about such things. But fans know him well enough to recognize that he’s beyond doing things just to do them. He and Antwan Patton, also known as Big Boi, his partner in OutKast, never would have made it beyond their southwest Atlanta neighborhood if they’d been overly conscious of expectation. In the early nineties, when hip-hop was synonymous with New York and, to a lesser extent, Los Angeles, success was a far-fetched dream for a pair of kids from the South. But OutKast became one of the most exhilarating rap duos ever, a shape-shifting marvel, pimps one moment and aliens the next, streetwise but with their eyes to the cosmos, righteous yet conscious of their own contradictions. They felt a true partnership, teen-age friends whose contrasting voices and styles both challenged and complemented one another. In 2003, “Hey Ya!”—a garage-pop gem that was essentially an André 3000 solo track—turned OutKast into an inescapable cultural phenomenon. Their last album together was “Idlewild,” released in 2006, the companion to a trippy, overlooked film of the same name set in a postmodern, Depression-era juke joint. In 2014, they briefly reunited for an underwhelming performance at Coachella.

OutKast has never felt irrelevant because their lineage has remained so clear. Big Boi has continued recording and touring, and artists like Future and Killer Mike are associated with the Dungeon Family, the loose Atlanta collective of rappers, producers, and singers that includes OutKast. The duo’s iconoclasm lives on in the storytelling approaches of Frank Ocean or Kendrick Lamar, the attitude and flamboyance of Tyler, the Creator; Lil Yachty; or Teezo Touchdown. There’s rarely been a sense of acrimony between Patton and Benjamin, just deviating ambitions. One of Benjamin’s most notable recent appearances was as an actor in Kelly Reichardt’s 2022 film “Showing Up,” a quiet, absorbing meditation on art and creative process. Benjamin plays Eric, a ceramicist, whose chill, fastidious vibe is balm-like amid the film’s petty rivalries and under-the-surface tensions. “He just plays this flute whenever he’s not working,” Reichardt said in an interview. “That was kind of a soundscape for a lot of shooting.” One day, he let the film crew record as he played in a field, and Reichardt used some of those sounds in the film. She remembered his enthusiasm and curiosity as he became immersed in ceramics while preparing for the role. “Aw, man, clay,” she recalled him texting her after a day spent practicing for his part. “I knew I’d be interested in this.”

We would all be lucky to have so many interests, and also the time and inclination to explore them. “New Blue Sun” is the product of Benjamin’s life in Los Angeles, where he has lived for the past few years. It draws on the overlapping local scenes that explore the intersection of devotional music, jazz, and ambient experimentation. There is, typical of the industry nowadays, a limited edition on vinyl. But it’s a modest album that asks for little beyond our time and attention.

The tracks are largely improvised. Many of them are built upon the synths of Surya Botofasina, a keyboardist who studied with Alice Coltrane, later known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda, at her ashram in the Santa Monica mountains. (Botofasina’s 2022 album “Everyone’s Children” feels like a spiritual predecessor to “New Blue Sun.”) Carlos Niño, a respected composer and bandleader, contributes bells, chimes, and percussion. Nate Mercereau, as capable of liberated shredding as ambient, feedback-drenched howls—he once recorded a “duet” with the Golden Gate Bridge—plays guitar. Benjamin is not a virtuosic flautist, and he’s described the album as a document of discovery. The Roland Aerophone Pro AE-30, a digital wind instrument that appears throughout the project, is something that Benjamin started playing just days before the album was recorded. On the opening track, it takes a couple of minutes for him to join the fray, and when he begins playing it sounds tentative and exploratory. His presence is often playful, ornamental. On “Ninety Three ’Til Infinity And Beyoncé,” a simple, lurching synth line repeats as Benjamin’s woodwinds wend and weave their way around it.

For all its associations with peace and stasis, ambient or New Age music often still aspires to be disruptive, if only to reorient our perspective, our sense of time. Sometimes epiphany arrives when a motif repeats so often that a slight change feels radical and transcendent. It’s not hard for this ensemble to sound good together—Botofasina’s euphoric, shifting layers of synth mean that “New Blue Sun” is, at a baseline level, quite beautiful. It is more of a challenge to evoke feeling, to arrest the listener, and Benjamin’s ensemble occasionally reaches those celestial highs. “BuyPoloDisorder’s Daughter Wears a 3000Ⓡ Shirt Embroidered” begins with Benjamin’s flute exploring spooky terrains, and the group sounds as if it’s playing something generically ritualistic. But four minutes in, the synth surges to the front, and then again a few minutes later, cresting in an ecstatic dirge reminiscent of Coltrane’s great devotional music.

“New Blue Sun” isn’t a difficult album; quite the opposite. These are instruments that would sound gorgeous by accident. The task for the listener is finding the space or setting to listen closely, to avoid distraction and feel the lower depths of “The Slang Word P(*)ssy Rolls Off the Tongue with Far Better . . .,” to live inside the expanse of “Dreams Once Buried Beneath the Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens,” as the ensemble grows comfortable playing louder and louder. At first, they all sound deferential: Mercereau’s flickering guitar, Botofasina’s arching synths, the occasional, majestic sweep of chimes. But over fifteen minutes, it builds toward a sublime, overwhelming crescendo—a feeling of awe.

The last time Benjamin really surprised me was in 2006, when he recorded a guest verse for a remix of the d.j. Unk’s “Walk It Out,” one of the great dance-craze hits of the era but not the kind of song most fans would have expected him to love. Benjamin, always a delightful enunciator, traipsed all over the original’s stomps and plinks, comparing long white tees to nightgowns, before criticizing the shoddy, modern-day construction of automobiles. The only surprising aspect of “New Blue Sun” is that he recorded it at all, since the flute, for years, has just been a daily accompaniment, as natural for Benjamin as breathing and walking, an instrument for living rather than one meant for performance. “New Blue Sun” isn’t a statement of legacy or even, really, an André 3000 solo album. It’s a moment in time, a chance encounter with the wind, the sound of some people in a room, maybe you’ll wander in, too. ♦

#andre3000 #andrebenjamin #Tcmedia #popology #outkast #katiemaejane #matsuversepbc #onelifefoundation

Umphrey's McGee: A Genre-Bending Musical Experience

Witnessing a Umphrey's McGee concert is akin to embarking on a multi-sensory odyssey through the annals of musical history. It's

a full-bodied experience that engages your mind, body, and soul.

A chance encounter at a party changed everything. Meeting Ryan "Pony" Stasik, Brendan felt a connection and soon they formed Tashi Station. This band eventually caught the attention of future Umphrey's McGee members Jake Cinninger, Kris Myers, and Andy Herring. Brendan then convinced Ryan to join forces with them,

forming the core of what would become Umphrey's McGee

Hailing from the heartland of Illinois, Umphrey's McGee isn't your typical rock band. For over 30 years, these musical chameleons have defied categorization, weaving a tapestry of sound that transcends genres.

Their journey started humbly in the college town of South Bend, where they were just another rock n' roll band. But fueled by a relentless passion for music, they've evolved into a juggernaut, capable of performing for days on end without repeating a single song.

Their repertoire boasts a staggering 40-60 originals, alongside masterfully reimagined covers that pay homage to a diverse range of musical titans.

Listen here now to the entire show recorded at the mcDonald Theater in Eugene Oregon on March 14, 2024 recorded live by Teamgooch of blacktcmedia (popologist)

Set 1:

Conduit > 

White Man's Moccasins 

Hourglass > 

Half Delayed > 

Phil's Farm [1] 

Syncopated Strangers [2] 

Cemetery Walk

Set 2:

Attachments-> 

Crucial Taunt 

Wappy Sprayberry > 

Partyin'Peeps 

Mail Package

Puppet String

Encore:

Cemetery Walk II [3]

Super Duper Fantastic they are~~

Imagine a band that seamlessly blends the progressive rock fury of Dream Theater with the infectious grooves of Parliament-Funkadelic, all seasoned with a dash of disco swagger and a healthy dose of folksy charm.  Add in the virtuosity of seasoned jazz musicians and the songwriting prowess of classic rock giants, and you begin to approach the sonic phenomenon that is Umphrey's McGee.

Umphrey's McGee Are:

Brendan Bayliss

Founding Member of Umphrey's McGee:known for his dynamic guitar playing. His style blends elements of rock, jazz, funk, progressive metal, and more. He's regarded for both his technical proficiency and his melodic sensibility. His vocals have a smooth and soulful quality that adds another layer to the band's sound.

bassist Ryan Stasik

Stasik possesses a unique musical background. He's a trained pianist but switched to bass to help form Umphrey's McGee during his college years at the University of Notre Dame.

A wide range of artists inspires Ryan's bass playing, including funk, soul, rock, and jazz legends. He's known for his smooth grooves and ability to adapt to the band's frequent shifts in style.

Other Projects: Beyond Umphrey's McGee, Ryan plays in the groups Motorboat and The Omega Moos.

Stasik is synonymous with the punchy, clear sound of his F Bass BN5.

Lead guitarist Jake Cinninger embodies this spirit perfectly.

A dedicated student of the guitar, he meticulously researches forgotten sounds and riffs, resurrecting the magic of legends like Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Morse, Danny Gatton, Jeff Beck, and countless others, and weaving them into the band electrifying live performances.

Joel Cummins (keyboards, vocals) Sonic Weaver:

Joel's keyboards contribute a huge part of

Umphrey's McGee's signature sound. He can lay down funky organ riffs, atmospheric synth textures, blazing piano solos, and everything in between.

He also sings lead and backing vocals, adding to the band's harmonies.

Joel has a cheerful and infectious energy onstage, endearing him to the fans.

Andy farag is the dynamic percussionist for the progressive rock phenomena Umphrey's Mcgee. Known for his laid-back personality and infectious stage presence, andy adds a unique and essential element to the band's sound.

Andy's diverse percussion setup complements the band's eclectic style. His use of congas, bongos, cowbells, and various other instruments adds depth and texture to Umphrey's McGee's music. He's adept at both rhythmic improvisation and playing meticulously composed parts.

Kris Myers is considered one of the most talented and exciting drummers in the progressive rock scene. His ability to effortlessly navigate complex rhythms and blend elements of jazz, rock, and funk sets him apart. He continues to inspire and influence aspiring drummers.

In 2002, Kris Myers reached a major milestone in his career when he became a founding member of the progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. His technical prowess, energetic style, and ability to seamlessly blend genres quickly made him an integral part of the band's sound. Kris is beloved by fans for his passionate drumming and contributions to the band's impressive catalog of music.

Live @ Ace of spades~ sacramento, ca 2023

Umphrey's live on jimmy kimmel with their friend Huey Lewis 2006

Pioneering the world of progressive rock and jam bands, Umphrey's McGee has established itself as a musical force to be reckoned with. Emerging from the vibrant music scene of South Bend, Indiana, the six-piece band has captivated audiences worldwide with their electrifying live performances and genre-bending soundscapes.

"Explore Music" sits down with umphrey's mcgee

Founded in 1997 by guitarist and vocalist Brendan Bayliss, keyboardist Joel Cummins, and bassist Ryan Stasik, Umphrey's McGee quickly gained a loyal following for their fusion of progressive rock, funk, blues, and electronica. Their intricate musical arrangements, improvisational prowess, and soulful melodies have earned them a reputation as one of the most innovative and exciting live bands in the contemporary music landscape.

Over the course of their career, Umphrey's McGee has released twelve studio albums, each showcasing their ever-evolving musical tapestry. Their music has garnered critical acclaim, earning them praise for their technical virtuosity, compositional brilliance, and ability to connect with audiences on an emotional level.

Beyond their studio recordings, Umphrey's McGee is renowned for their unparalleled live performances. The band's improvisational jams are legendary, often stretching into epic explorations of musical genres and styles. Their high-energy shows, filled with dazzling instrumental interplay and passionate vocals, have cemented their status as one of the most sought-after live acts in the industry.

@ Ace Of Spades~Sacremento, Ca 2023

Umphrey's McGee's impact on the music scene extends beyond their own performances. They have paved the way for a new generation of musicians to explore the boundaries of progressive rock and jam music, and their influence can be heard in the sounds of countless bands that have followed in their footsteps.

With their undeniable talent, unwavering commitment to innovation, and dedication to their craft, Umphrey's McGee continues to reign supreme as one of the most influential and captivating bands of their time. Their music is a testament to the power of improvisation, the beauty of genre-bending creativity, and the enduring magic of live music.

"plunger" the london session

"shine on you"crazy diamond~07-03-2015

when doves cry~~04-24-2015

"wizard burial ground" Ocean billy~02-04-2021

jake cunningham's take on "mash-ups" and effects

Umphrey's McGee is more than just a band; they're a testament to the boundless potential of music. They push boundaries, defy expectations, and create a space where genres collide and audiences are left breathless.

#umphrreysmcgee #popology #tcmedia #katiemaejane #itwentdown #matsuversepbc #onelifefoundation