I often stay away from blogging about my friends. Business, friendship, and blogging doesn't really mix well. You have an obligation to your audience to be truthful and honest. You have an obligation to your friends to love and be courageous. It is a tough line to toe sometimes. Not in this blog...TANK AND THE BANGAS are TERRIFIC! I am so honored for all of my supporters and friends who read this blog to UNDERSTAND these words: GET UP and GET to TANK and the BANGAS show. Often Memphis is a big celebrity city, we get up and spend 100's of dollars for tickets to big names to give mediocre at best shows. Well tonight you have an opportunity to see two ridiculously talented bands: Memphis own-Chinese Connection Dub Embassy and New Orleans raised- Tank and the Bangas. Both bands tonight well give mind blowing energetic performances. This is a great moment for Chinese Connection Dub Embassy to open for Tank and the Bangas tonight. We know there worth to the Memphis scene. They support everybody here. It is only right that we support them tonight. So as a whole you have a choice, sit and complain about the lack of options or see THE BEST OPTION for a great time tonight.
WHO is TANK?
I ran across Tank for the first time at Southern Fried Poetry Slam. She was the star of the Slam that year. Her team won it all and she anchored with amazing vocals. When I say amazing I mean think an equal mixture of Prince-Macy Gray-Floetry (funk and soul)- Jessica Care Moore Poetical brilliance-and well TANK. The biggest think about Tank is that she is TANK. There is not another quirky, smart, musical, brilliant, vocally talented, and consistently fresh performing individual. The really cool part is THE BANGAS. They are true musicians and hold their own in providing new outlooks on popular cuts of tracks, as well as, a soul- rhythm and blues- hip hop feel. To limit the BANGAS would be a huge mistake though. A year or two later I found myself in New Orleans listening to them rift on a Jazz take of Ellington that lead into a Blues cut back into a crazy rendition of their own original music. Tank is a friend, though i have only shared a few precious conversations. To be honest, if I stood in a crowd I would have to reminder her that I was the poet asking all these questions about slamming and leading a new Poetry TEAM from Memphis as the slam master. Tank took the time to answer my questions about being a slam master and being a poet. I told her thank-you but tonight this blog is a bigger thank-you.
I would have to tell her how great she is, how much I loved her hair, and why she is destined to play the biggest stages. The cool part is that she will listen, hug, and give daps. It is who she is. She is a kindred spirit of music that somehow is connected to us all. At least that is how she makes us (the audience) feels when she performs. I dropped this blog nationally, in Mid-South Music, and will definitely try to give a cover article to two magazines. WHY? I believe in hard work. This band will travel through snow when it would have been easy to cancel but because she loves Memphis...TANK and the BANGAS will be here giving an awesome show.
My blog averages 8,000 readers per blog and over 95,000 per week so I am counting on you guys to pack this show. I will be there chilling in the crowd in my TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY hoodie, so feel free to come hug or give URBAN THOUGHTS some dap. See you at the show. I am headed there now to see TANK and the BANGAS with my brothas Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, my sista TONYA DYSON, and my beat-boxing emcee friend DJ Siphne. COME OUT TO JUICY JIM's on Highland TONIGHT MARCH 6, 2015. $7 starts at 9 P.M. 18+ TONIGHT. You will thank me LATER.
