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Fertile Ground By Tanya Bailey Guest Writer
Baltimore's fertile ground known as the heavyweights of independent music have been together for eight years and have had countless performances and dozens of recordings to their credit including there recent highly anticipated full length masterpiece called Black is.. a sequel to there 2002 effort called seasons change. With a six band member family, that includes the groups founding member james Collins, who started Blackout studios. To help get the bands music to listeners the best way possible. This outstanding band has shared the stage with such platnium performers as Cassandra Wilson, Hugh Masekela, Me'shell n' degeocello, india Arie, Wynton marsalis and even run dmc. I had the pleasure of hanging out with James and his wife/ lead singer Navasha daya. t- Its a pleasure to finally meet you f- thanks for the support t-How did fertile ground come together? f- We came together in1997. We used to all jam together as a pick up gig w/ markus ashanti, and we were all in the same scene just doing seperate things. The vibe we had was great so we started to write and record in 1998 and the track that started to make noise for us was field songs. t- i must say that i love your work. It is very uplifting. What vibe is the band trying to give its audience? f- we are all about a family and spiritually concious vibe. We have always been a very modest band. We are into the small venues that fit 75 people, so we can bond with our audience. t- Who are your musical influences? and why? f-dizzy Gillespie, he went to cuba and started the afro-cuban movement. Miles Davis for his strong emotions, and duke Ellington he wrote for individuals. meaning each musical component was personalized by him. t- Would you consider doing collaborations with other artists? f- We shy away from that Although, a great source of that would be a collaboration with a producer or a bass player or a singer. That would be more exciting. (navasha)- i would love to do something with Miriam Makeba t- That would be monumental. t- Since you are half way through your mini tour of canada..what do you think? Is this your first time here? f- This is our third time here. There out similliarites to baltimore, yet very distinct differences...that is refreshing. (james)- Canada reminds me of a big high school. t- That's funny yet so true. t- Outside of the band what do you both do? f- (james) I dj (ol skool, afro beat etc..) and i do promotions. (navasha) I am a voice coach, a life coach, i teach reiki, african dance and i make jewellery etc... t- You both are serious multi-taskers t- How long have you both been married? f- 4 years in june. We were best friends for 9 years.(n)- James was my favourite person to be with. t- that's beautiful, What is your opinion on how marriage is viewed in our society today? f- We are bombarded with the idea of "The perfect couple" and the "power couple" that is very false. we need to revamp our views of relationships. t- very true f- We get our marriages from t.v and have unrealistic ideas of what life is 'we need to talk to old people" We are missing the essence. We need to learn from there mistakes. t- Very true especially in our community? f- We need to remember our foundation. Our Goals today seem to only be success and money. We need to focus on the long term. A think about a legacy. t- How do you feel about our community in the music industry( hip-hop) and how we are represented in the music industry? f- In Hip hop we are mass producing clones. we need more independent thinkers. We as a people are becoming numb. One great thing about hip-hop is it has helped the black culture be more comfortable in its own skin. A downfall is that we are still trying to prove something an example is that we have a " networked that is named for us, yet none of us fully own it." t- As a group that is in the independent forefront of self- sufficiency What advise would you give other aspiring artists? f- Get control of the industry. Create your own labels remember business creates communities. You can check out more from fertile grounds website: www.blackoutstudios.com |
