Vibes blog

“I know that for some musicians, writing songs is like therapy and the way they get their emotions out,” says Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Robert Francis. “But for me it’s more than an outlet — it’s a way to keep me from completely losing my mind.”

Meet Robert Francis. When reading the above quote you might think that this is just another artist trying to sound good in an interview. Not this time. I had the opportunity to speak with Francis before his show in support of Noah and the Whale in Pontiac, Mich., and one thing is for sure – Robert Francis puts everything he has into his music, and he does it well. When speaking with him, I learned that he had just gotten out of the van after driving for six hours to the Michigan show. From there he would be off to Toronto, and then make the drive over to New York City for a 3-day gig. Let’s just say that’s a whole lot of van time.

The first thing you notice when talking with Robert is his humble, down-to-earth view on life and his career. Throughout the interview he repeatedly thanked me for my time and for the praise I gave him for his album Before Nightfall. When I asked him about the theme of the album, looking back on a failed relationship, Francis said, “It’s all about being comfortable in one ’s self. Accepting reality as it is, especially when you’ve been haunted by something for so long. This record puts all that to rest.” (more…)

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As promised, here’s video from CL blogger Mike McCray losing to NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr. in DJ Hero before Saturday’s Bank of America 500. How does someone who’s actually touched real turntables lose to a guy who’s favorite group is Rage Against The Machine? The world may never know.

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Former indie soul songstress N’Dambi (who’s now signed to the legendary Stax label), is hitting Charlotte Sat., Oct. 17, to perform songs from her catalog of music — including cuts off her latest CD, Pink Elephant. We caught her on the phone recently and chatted her up about a number of topics — from music to her now-famous nude photos in Marc Baptiste’s coffee table book Beautiful. Check it out:

Creative Loafing: What prompted you — a long-standing independent artist — to make the move to a label like Stax?
N’Dambi: Well, I’ll be honest: I’ve never been an independent artist that always wanted to be independent. It has promise in doing it that way, but [being independent] is a hard road. I wanted to make music and get a deal at some point — always have. I wanted to find a label that I felt would be best suited for the interests that I had in making music — someone with a legacy that created good music on their own. And I could relate to [Stax] because they were from the South — that being where I’m from. And I liked the artists that the label had, such as the Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, The Emotions, The Barkays, Otis Redding … a cool list of people. I just wanted to be attached to something cool and leave some music that can be around after I’m gone. Being independent did not go in vain because all that information that I learned doing that actually helped me to be a better artist in this particular situation with a label. Because you don’t stop working. It just puts you ahead of the curve if you choose to be with a label.

How would you describe your new CD Pink Elephant?
Well, it’s a soul/pop/funk album — I guess that’s the best way I can describe it. The goal for me was to write an album that felt like a collection of short stories out of the lives of folk and gave people a window into someone’s life … And I wanted to give people something to talk about.

How did you get involved with the book Beautiful?
Actually I went to Marc Baptiste to talk to him about [photographing] a cover for an album. At the time, I wanted to do something that was inspired by The Ohio Player’s cover for Honey. We took a bunch of pictures, but that didn’t work out. But Marc told me he was working on a book of nudes and wondered if I would be interested in him using the photos for that. I was like, “OK, that’s fine” … They actually chose my picture for the cover, and I was pleasantly surprised.

What kind of reaction did you get from doing the book?
A lot of people enjoyed the photos; they talked about them being tasteful. Now, I run into some people who’re like, “N’Dambi, you didn’t have to do all that!” And my mama hasn’t seen this book to date. I haven’t even mentioned it to my mother.

What can folks expect from your live show this Saturday?
In performances, I always like to give a lot of high energy … and incite the audience to respond in a way that gives the energy back to me. So, it’s kind of like reciprocity: We give each other energy and we both receive it from the whole experience.

Check out the video below to see N’Dambi in action. Then, take your ass to the show.

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