Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

My taste in music, which consists mostly of soul and R&B, belies my background as an Ivy League East-Coast preppie.

Another symptom of my East-Coast Ivy League-ness is my habit of listening to NPR most of the day and half the night.

A few weeks ago, these two affectations intersected. I was listening to the NPR podcast Fresh Air, and the interviewees were Sharon Jones and Gabriel Roth (aka Bosco Mann) of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. The two were nothing short of sensational.

Sharon Jones is about 5 feet tall, and is a former prison guard at Queen's notorious Riker's Island (note - the Riker's Island prison is within sight of the US Open stadium). The Dap Kings band should be famous, as they were more or less Amy Winehouse's backing band for a couple of years (during the Back to Black tour), but somehow fame has eluded them. I had seen them backing Winehouse, and had no idea who they were at the time.

NPR currently has a Podcast posted of a S.J.a.t.D.K.'s concert. I am listening to it right now, and it is infinitely, funkily superb. Highly recommended.

concert link

interview link

1 comment:

T-Rav said...

There is a band I've come to love - booked them at a festival I used to work for. They were recently on NPR. I suggest if you like old time string band (the birth of blues), you should check them out. They were cheap 4 years ago - paid them 400 for two hours. Now they're going for 5-6 grand. www.carolinachocolatedrops.com I'm usually a hard rock guy, but these guys put on an amazing show and sound great too.