They have a gig May 2 @ LA House of Blues!!!

PFunkjazz said:

I hope that Louis Johnson the bass player will be with them because for a while it was just George Johnson carrying them. If anyone goes I hope they post a report because the Brothers Johnson use to be the joint. Does anyone remember the debut album Look Out For #1!

I'm gonna stomp....all night, Oh lost my myself 4 a sec...Thats great news...funny I was talking 2 someone about them and there break up was the topic....now that there reunited ala *Peaches & Herb*, let that bass poppin funk pop on...Love these guys...if yall don't know the music at least pick up a greatest-hits...They have some great music. But I must say seeing that Strawberry ad with there song Strawberry Letter... as the hook bothers me....I'm not one 4 seeing TV ads using the classics I grew up digin~

eldog98 said:

DUH! that's what REUNITED means.

The ad for he gig is the cover shot from LOOKING OUT FOR #1 with the Bros J arm-in-arm.

I guess they resolved their differences. At one point Louis claims that his older brother threatened to kill him. Anyway, Louis is on my top 3 list of bass players.

Peace

UsexyMF said:

***Spotlight on "myself" please make sure I have my coffee B4 posting~
Checkit*

Look out for #1 from 1976? sheeeeeit... classic Brothers Johnson album with Tomorrow.. I'll be good 2 you... land of ladies... shit Thunder thumbs and Lightnin' licks is back

Finess said:

don't forget "Strawberry Letter 23"!!! That was the JIZZAM!!!

LadyCabDriver said:

23 wasnt until 1977

Oh snap wait till I tell my brother!

I love the Brothers Johnson!! My favorite album is their 1976 debut 'Look Out For #1',which kicks ass!! I'm thrilled that they have reunited.Does anyone know if they're planning a Bay Area performance?

Btw,their first four albums ('Look Out For #1','Right On Time',Blam' and 'Light Up The Night') were all remastered several yeas ago.I'm still waiting for them to remaster their 1981,self-produced album 'Winners'.Do y'all remember the hit "The Real Thing" from the summer of '81? I LOVE that song!!!!

yes, those brothers
BROUGHT THE FUNK,
& they brought it
HARD!


YEAH, uh huh!
YEAH, uh huh, uh huh, uh huh!

I'll definitely catch them when they slide through
DC!


Ain't we funkin' now!

Cool, they came to DC several weeks ago too. Stopped at WHUR 96.3 www.whur.com, didn't perform tho in studio, but did the interview. HUR has been redone so that artists can perform in it live with their band.

Do you dig Shuggie Otis? I never knew he originally came up with 'Strawberry Letter 23' until a couple of yrs ago. They didnt talk about him tho. That album is incredible. All you can do is sit back and go, "this man, here! Dang!"Where have I been? Where has he been?" Even the album cover looks like Prince's first and Shuggie is older then Prince. His dad was a musician too.

If I coulda gotten thru on the phone lines I woulda asked them about it, since he's been getting some play lately with his reissue. I would love to see him in person too.

Peace!

Does anyone have their tourdates? They don't seem to have an official site.I wanna know when they're coming to the Bay Area!

DavidEye said:

Dudes I promise I'll clue you in.

Louis and George are from right out of Crenshaw; my 'hood (not that I know them personally, but we're all homies). For a good part of last year, they were running around LA clubs as the J-Love All-Stars. My contacts tell me this was a sort of dress rehearsal and the final product is the reunion gig. I will definitely get to the HOB gig and I'll find out their plans and keep you apprised.



HMMM they need a website?

PFunkjazz said:

Didn't see the ad so chill!!!

eldog98 said:

I know that. Readthe title of the thread you're on; it's only fundamental.

PFunkjazz said:

Some of you are too funny, my point is that there have been many of bands that say they are reuniting but have either 1 or some of the original members, and it has been done countless times! Got it, gone!!!

eldog98 said:

I think you've confused the word RETURN with REUNION. I know George Johnson called it the Return of the Brothers Johnson when he toured without his brother and we were greatly disappointed at Louis' absence. In his defense, George said it was a "return of the band to recording and performing"; not a reunion. This looks to be a true reunion. Now we should have a better understanding of teminology.

ya im there! good lookin out!

I wish these guys could go back into the studio with Quincy Jones and create another kickass album.

N essence it would b great 2 c them 2gether again,jammin'

Eye remember...jamming 2: Stomp, Right on Time, Love Is Eye'll b good 2 ya', Get the funk out my face, Strawberry Letter 23, Ain't we funky now, Treasure, The Real thing.

Eye really miss those guys...so inspiring.

Peace Pious~

damn that was a long time ago,
but on the de'butt
my favs were
ill be good to you
strawberry letter
ill never leave you lonely
i had the pleasure of workin one of their concerts,
(the buffalo lowes)that year...
it was off the hook
even the bangers had to chill
i dont even remember who, or if someone opened for them...
the horns were tight

badlad00769 said:

didnt one of Billy Ecstines kids play with them???

PFunkjazz said:

Well I'm glad they are reuniting because together as a unit like their song said they we're thunder thumbs & lighting licks. I hope someone posts a review of the show!!!!!

eldog98 said:

I will be there and I will follow up.

OMG are you serious!? There was so much venom between the 2 of them I never thought they'd get back together. I saw them when they were on tour for the "Light Up the Night" lp.

Now I ask you, "Ain't We Funkin' Now?"
[This message was edited Tue Apr 23 16:08:12 PDT 2002 by NeptunesDaughter]

Speaking of the 'Light Up The Night' album,dontcha just LOVE that song "Treasure"? That song is heavenly!!

BROTHERS JOHNSON @ HOB – LA 5/02/2000

I slipped into HOB and I could tell the funk was ready to fly. Normally, the DJs have no clue about playing PA music that was consistent with the performing act. This time Mary J Bilge’s “Family Affair” was bumpin’ real hard. DJ featured a nice mix of old school and new hits. (There was a supposed link-up with SINBAD’s morning show on 92.3 FM, but he was nowhere insight and the pre-pub was totally non-existent…go figger). He also had Arrested Development’s mix/cover of Sly’s “Everyday People”, “More Bounce” by Zapp, “Atomic Dog”, some hip-hop version of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up (beat actually drags), Michael Jackson’s “Butterflies”, “Oh Casanova” - Levert , “Kiss” – Prince, plus another newbie goes “I Need A Love” and some others. It was all cool cuz I was watchin’ the last minutes of Toronto/Detroit Game #5 on the projection screen; kinda like bein’ at home.

I got to talkin’ to folks and stuff. There was this one light-skinned bruh who I recognized from some previous shows in LA. I asked him ‘bout it and he said he was around for John Scofield, Marcus Miller and also hit the Kodak for Prince’s tour a few weeks back. He’s a jazzer and he told me to check Christian Mc Bride at UCLA’s Reggae Jazz Fest next month, so I told him Clinton’s bringing Funkadelic in there next week. (This was news to him!).

After the game was over, I got my position 2 feet off stage’s edge; at center. (HOB is SRO and that’s how I like my funk). The projectionist running the SOUL TRAIN clip that featured Quincy Jones’ appearance for the “Is It Love That We’re Missing” from ‘75. The next clip was their first full appearance as Brothers Johnson. It featured them doing “I’ll Be Good To You” and “Strawberry Letter #23” with the requisite Don Cornelius Q&A interview in between. That was from ’77.

I got to talking to another bruh ‘bout the George Clinton date next week. He told he wouldn’t be bothered cuz “Grady and Ray ain’t with him; so that’s PFunk All-Stars”. I said “Yeah but those guitars are Funkadelic and that’s a good part of why I don’t miss no Clinton shows”. So now I got labeled him as a lightweight Parliament-only fan.

After the clips, a short blonde white guy comes out introduces himself as the manager for the Brothers Johnson and explains how they’re getting back together to tour in Europe and parts of Asia and then back to the States. Before he intros the band, he trots out this blonde-dyed PR hoochie he manages and offers up copies of her latest porno tape. It was a professional release all boxed up nice and neat. I caught one that bounced off the Parliament-fan in front of me. It was too cumbersome to hold on to while taking notes so I passed it back to the light-skinned dude, "the jazzer", I talked to earlier.

Anyway, the lights are dimmed and the band comes out. Off to stage right is a long haired older black guy on 2nd/rhythm guitar, an Asian babe with a butterscotch dye job with tambourine, 2 vocal mikes placed close together for these 2 tight PYT bricks. Then, about center front are two more vocal mikes though placed further apart Continuing across is the sax player who has an alto, tenor and flute on the stands. Behind him continuing back is the first keyboard player, a sista on percussion, a full drum-kit and back across to the 2nd keyboardist on the right. The sax player led the ensemble on a funky riff . He works the crowd into a groove with a list of the Bros’ hits. George and Louis take their places center stage on guitar and bass, respectively. They start into “Ain’t We Funkin’ Now?” and I’m flying my funk sign like crazy!

The Bros are a bit different from their covers back in the day. Once they sported humongous Afros and slender wiry bodies in their youth. The pounds have been added and the hair has thinned, but they started right off throwing funk up in our faces.

George tends to be a bit efficient and understated with his licks, but Louis has always attacked the bottom with a great ferocity. He was right there thumpin’ and pluckin’ just like the old days. The band was generally tight. They ran thru a few their tunes like “I’ll Be Good To You”, “Thunder Thumbs and Lightning Licks” and the jazzy instrumental “Q” (the flute part was a great showcase for the sax player).

The tune “Tomorrow” was originally an instrumental. Lyrics were written for it on Quincy Jones’ “Back On The Block”. For this number, George and Louis introduced their daughters (the PYT bricks on background vocals) for the leads. They’re both absolutely stunning looking young ladies who likely have a future in music. Somewhere after the bridge, the band distorted the groove and confused things, but the ladies pulled thru fine for the final chorus.

George then announced it was “time to take you back” and the band launched into a series of Sly covers which included “I Want To Take You Higher”, “Everyday People”, “If You Want Me to Stay”. I’m up there front and center singin' loud and out of tune and George is lovin’ all of it. Then, they did the Jackson 5 classic “I Want You Back”, sans vocals, and a brief flirtation with OP funk with “Skin Tight” and Cameo’s “Word Up” (y’know I’m like “What? No Parliament? Tear The Roof Off!”). This segment harkens back to their roots. The Brothers Johnson was the tightest cover band in LA. They started as a group called the “Johnson 3 Plus One” (older brother Tommy did drums. The PLUS ONE was cousin Alex Weir, on guitar who did some work later with Talking Heads)

There was a brief pause as their manager brought forth two gifts wrapped in gold foil. They were from Quincy Jones. Apparently, he was in attendance and was showing his appreciation. George made mention that the VIP section was chock full of celebrities like Halle Berry and Denzil Washington, but I didn’t see them around. George also mentioned that they have “more than 20 albums in the can”. He said this is some “real stank funk that hasn’t seen the light of day”. (Now I’m pretty jazzed about that because those Brothers Johnson sessions were largely Q’s lab to the string of Michael Jackson hits). Looks like this material is looking for a label cuz the Bros quit dealing with A&M long before it closed doors.

They made a return to “Brother Johnson music” with “Get Da Funk Outta Ma Face”. Bass man Louis was killin’ on the bass taking wide swings ending in monstrous thunderous thumps. Man, it was really gettin’ real funkadelic in there! George did a salute to the fallen victims of 9-11 with a mix of “Taps” and the closing cadenza of “Star-Spangled Banner” (a brief nod to Hendrix). The set closer was an extended version of “Stomp!” that had the whole place partying even harder.

They came back for an encore and I expected them to do their cover of the Beatles ”Come Together” which was a standout track on their debut, “Looking Out for #1”.
I was caught off guard: They started playing the opening licks for “Cosmic Slop” (no thunderous drum roll though). Parliament-Fan was tuggin’ at my arm pointing at George. He was layin’ those licks down but the real star on this was their 2nd guitarist. An older dude with long straight hair named “Henderson”, plus they brought out a guy from the audience to sing the vocals. I joined right in (George is pointing me now). They also brought out their sons (jokingly referred to as the Sons of the Brothers Johnson) who rapped a bunch on top of the Slop.

The concert ended a bit after midnight. They played more than 2 hrs. My ears were ringin’ and the funk was heavy. It made me anxious for next Sat’s PFunk gig and it was great seeing the Bros J out and jammin’ in their hometown. Ya gotta see ‘em when they hit your town and fly your funk signs proudly.

To those of you who live in the San Francisco Bay Area,you will get the chance to see The Brothers Johnson for free!! They are performing June 13 at St.James Park in San Jose,only minutes from where I live.The free concert is sponsored by radio station KISS FM (98.1) and I will be there,can't wait!!

Pfunkjazz,that's a great,informative concert review you posted!! Will you be at the San Jose show?