I can still hear an old head (you name him or her) boasting now, “Y’all young folks don’t nothing ‘bout no real music.”
I don’t know if he meant real recorded music, with classic lyrics that Norman Witfield wrote for Marvin Gaye, Rose Royce, The Temptations and Gladys Knight and the Pips. Or the live musicianship of Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane or Miles Davis.
That old head would probably be happy to know that every Sunday in St. Louis since September 5, 2004, young heads get a hit of real, live music, which quickly has become a coveted platform for local performers seeking experience and exposure.
The joint is the 5 Spot: 5 genres of music (jazz, neo-soul, R&B, hip-hop and rap), backed by a 5-piece band and costing just 5 bones to get in.
The executive producers are Harry Colbert, DeAmon White, Will Hart and Isis Jones. But each will tell you that the soul of the 5 Spot is the house band, Level Ground.
They are: Byron Hayes (drummer), Marcel Dixson (percussion), Chad Franklin (keyboards), Lamont Patterson (guitar) and Jahmal Nichols (bass).
The 5 Spot features a different vocalist every Sunday. The band only has three rehearsals to absorb the accompanying music of the featured vocalists, learning new music weekly.
“The band is excellent,” said Maryam Austin, a 23-year-old programmer/analyst who has been attending the 5 Spot since November. “They do a good job every time I go, and they get rave reviews from everybody.”
The 5 Spot began at the Kastle in Midtown but relocated to the Hard Rock Café, where the 5 Spot matured into a standing-room-only, must-attend event.
“We knew if we stuck to our plan it that it would reach the success that is now,” said Colbert, who also founded Select Saturday.
The intimate Hard Rock was an excellent venue for the event. But the 5 Spot producers said they outgrew it.
The 5 Spot’s new venue is St. Louis’ new hot spot, The Vault (formerly Club Mercedes), 4915 Delmar Blvd. On Tuesday, the 5 Spot producers walked through The Vault and were overwhelmingly pleased with the club’s layout and ambience.
“This takes us back to the way it was at the Kastle n only bigger,” said Hart. “We can go back to the couches.”
Colbert added, “We love it. The Vault offers spacious accommodations, and we still have the lounge/club venue we like. It fits perfectly with our mission for the 5 Spot and will accommodate the national acts we plan to move in.”
The 5 Spot gets going at The Vault at 9 p.m. Sunday, April 3 with former American Idol contestants Aloha, DeAndre Perryman, Tanka, Philipe and Sasha. All of the performers have graced the 5 Spot stage prior to their American Idol endeavors.
Aloha who made a good run on the popular Fox 2 show, inspiring controversy over her exit, drew rave audience approval when she performed at the 5 Spot following her American Idol descent.
Isis Jones turned the spot out last week for her CD release party for her debut project Woman Child. She was also the first performer at the 5 Spot at its inception at the Kastle.
Isis Jones, Aloha and other vocalist give it up to the band week in, week out.
“The moment we all live for is after show, when the artists tells us how they were able to get energy from us and telling us they enjoyed us,” drummer Byron Hayes said.
“It makes us feel great, because nowadays people don’t realize how important a band is and what we do. A lot has been lost, but we’re starting to see a comeback with the band and artist working together.”
