SHOW: I had the opportunity to see the Time in concert once again this Friday night at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. Our funk crew: myself, my girl Gi Money, the Electric Man, and Face (Down) Man were treated to true musicianship, funk, blazing rock, r&b ballads, dance steps, and showmanship that the Time bring to every concert and these ingredients are sorely missing in the live concert scene today. My musical highlights were "Cool" and "777-9311". Some added aspects to the Time's concert have been Torrell Ruffin striding thru the crowd and blazing an extended solo during "777-9311", and Jerome taking a bigger part with the crowd interaction (the brother definitely needs his own comedy series.) Since the beginning of the 80s when I grew up on the Time's music, I have never seen a show where the fellas punched the clock in. They live for the stage and leave their sweat up there. In my opinion, it is musically criminal that the Time does not garner as much accolades as a group such as an Aerosmith (who I like). And, when their next album drops, radio and concertgoers need to support these musicians. Don't let real musicianship fade away.



BACKSTAGE REPORT: As always, the Time were true gentleman and very friendly. Much thanks to all of the guys for their kindness. We hung out with the Time for an hour and had a lot of laughs and talks about old times. Monte Moir is getting ready to release his new solo CD, This Side of Paradise. Expect a different sound from the Time with Monte playing most of the instruments with help from a few friends on some cuts. Advance reports are that the songs are really nice. You can go to www.montemoir.com for all the latest info on release and ordering. When the album is ready to drop, I hope to have Monte back on the show. Jellybean Johnson is busy with various projects. He is in his guitar mode lately while producing Ronnie Baker Brooks' new CD. Jellybean produced Ronnie's last one which is available on www.ronniebakerbrooks.com. It mixes vintage and contemporary blues. For those in the Minneapolis area, check out Jellybean playing guitar at Bunkers every Thursday night . In between Time dates, Tori Ruffin has been tearin' up stages with his band, Freakjuice. He recently played in Texas and Oklahoma to rave reviews. You can go to www.lamusic.com for all Freakjuice info. In addition, Tori is an in-demand studio musician in Los Angeles. Keyboardist, Stanley "Chance" Howard, is also working on a solo album which we can't wait to hear. Chance worked in the Flyte Tyme production crew years ago and is also a highly in-demand studio musician.



Morris Day was genuinely surprised and happy when The Electric Man showed him a solo tour Morris Day program circa 1985. Morris joked that he was still cleanly dressed when he saw a picture in the program when he was about 2 years old. The room broke up laughing. Morris is very kind as well. Jerome Benton is a burst of energy who is as funny off-stage as on-stage. Hollywood don't sleep on Jerome's talents. Ricky "Freeze" Smith is a really cool guy too who has really kept the bass thumping strong in the Time's music for several years. My fiance really enjoyed her talk with Freeze about Montreal.



Looking forward to seeing the guys again soon and don't forget to go see them when they are in your funk headquarters.