Lesli. Maybe the best thing, beyond her good looks and bangin’ body, was that she had a wonderful sense of humor. He would call her up, mad enough to chew nails and spit thumbtacks, and wind up laughing his hind parts off.

He sure could’ve used some of that sitting in the pit back then, holding onto his temper by a thread. A guitar string had snapped in the middle of a number. Keith naturally had kept playing, unavoidably missing notes, hanging in as best he reasonably could.

The musical director, at intermission, began bitching him out: “Where, Mr. Jackson, were my high notes on your instrument?!” As everyone else started to file out into the set-up room, he sat there staring at Gustav, not saying a word, and went about replacing the damned string.

It’s common knowledge high-e strings tend to break if you so much as look at them the wrong way, let alone after prolonged use. Which is why Keith changed his on a regular basis and kept a good supply on hand. It’s a pain in the behind when they break on the job, but hey, stuff happens.

He’d thought of trying to translate that to this over-paid jerk who, despite connections and a big name, a few folk thought would be more useful directing traffic than music. He had been directly inclined to cuss Gustav out and give him the guitar for a neck-tie. The music director, pulling his short, thin frame to full height, fluffing a mane of sandy-blond hair off his neck, went on: “When I ask you a question, I expect an answer. Or is English your second language?”

Keith saw out of the corner of his eye that his friends had gathered around. Luis was rubbing his congas, smirking, just waiting to see how this would turn out. Lola had her head down, tuning her timbales. Gerry, cradling his bass guitar, leaned back with an analytical gaze. All of them looked dispassionate but, knowing Keith since they were kids, were curious to see just how far Gustav could go without landing in the middle of next Tuesday. In an emergency ward.

If Keith had gotten up, gone over and kicked this idiot’s ass, two things were certain. Keith’s marketability would take a free fall from which it probably would not recover. He’d also land in jail. Well, he mused, three things — it’d be a few more Sundays and Mondays before he saw Lesli again.

He finished tuning the new string — not the least bit looking forward to it constantly going out of tune throughout the second act of the show — then stood and walked away, into the musicians’ set-up room. “How dare you walk away when I’m speaking?” he heard behind him. And felt sorry as hell for Gustav’s boyfriend, actually a decent sort who, the times he showed up, was cordially personable.

Keith had sat on a bench in an expansive area that reminded him of a small gym, still stretching the string out. The others came in, milling about. For a minute, nobody said anything to him. Then, perennial smart-ass Luis couldn’t resist: “I think Gustav is hot for you.”

In addition to being an ace percussionist, Luis qualified as a street-tough boxing champ. Knowing that was pretty much all that had kept Keith from going to jail after all. He’d reached into his wallet, pulled out Lesli’s picture, put it back and couldn’t wait to tell her about this.

By the time they all went back to work, Keith had a Kool-Aid smile. Refusing to look Gustav in the face, he got through the rest of the show, making a mental note not to work with this moron again, no matter how good the pay. As they packed up and called it a night, the cellist endured her turn catching hell from Gustav. Every so often, it was somebody’s luck to sit through a tongue-lashing, for whatever silly excuse.

Out on the sidewalk, when Lola invited the guys back to her place for a nightcap, he just about yelled, “Baby, you on!” And had a devilish thought: It’d be worth sitting down with popcorn and soda to watch Gustav make the mistake of jumping down Lola’s throat. With or without a good reason. Homegirl don’t play that.

On the trip to Lola’s place, everyone having a ball getting on each other’s case, he’d let the tension fall away, enjoying hanging with the gang. Thinking about Lesli.

Next week: Persistent thoughts of Lesli begin to scare Keith.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403. 

Eighties’ heartthrob, master vocalist and a fine songsmith, Jeffrey Osborne has a very special gift for fans, A Time For Love (SSR Records). His newest since 2005’s Yes, I’m Ready,

it’s a winning note on which listeners who’ve always enjoyed this premiere performer will eagerly welcome him back.

In addition to Osborne still being in top form, A Time For Love has going for it that he’s reunited with renowned producer-keyboardist-arranger George Duke (Jeffrey Osborne, Stay With Me Tonight, Don’t Stop).  The illustrious combination still gets the job done.  Beautifully.

This album is a collection of jazz standards like “The Shadow of Your Smile,” the timeless Nat “King” Cole classic “Nature Boy,” and “What a Wonderful World,” with some pop staples thrown in, i.e., “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” and “(They Long To Be) Close To You,” along with the dusty chestnut “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” done as a duet with Chaka Khan.  Most music lovers won’t recognize the name outside longtime readers of liner notes, but a splendid inclusion is bassist Christian McBride who, at one point or another, has accompanied just about everyone under the sun: from Freddie Hubbard to Carly Simon to Queen Latifah and back.

Osborne’s captivating baritone is rich as ever, even, in fact, subtler, as he pulls out a palette of shaded colors to give the songs— each of them old as the hills — freshly seductive vitality.  James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” gets a marvelously nuanced reading, starting with its sparse, sweetly arranged intro, which is a tad more upbeat than the original.

When Osborne hits the bridge, one of Taylor’s best songwriting moments, he truly makes the song his own, taking that highly emotive space to an unexpected, smoothly understated place.  It closes with him simply going for it, phrasing and letting the chips fall where they may. Which they do in ear-friendly fashion.  No surprise as one thing Jeffrey Osborne has always been able to do is expertly bend a melody to the frame of mind at hand.

It is hard for even the best singers to follow Nat Cole.  Osborne and Duke came up with a sma

rt approach. Don’t try to out-master a jazz master; just deliver the vocal in your own R&B ballad style and let the arranger sweeten up the backdrop.  Accordingly, between Jeffrey Osborne’s velvet vocal and George Duke’s gorgeous aesthetic, this is an aural tapestry of the first order.

However, nothing’s perfect. On “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” for all that Chaka Khan is legendary for her fantastic funk, rock, and soul vocals, she’s clumsy as a clubfoot here, and really has no business trying to sing jazz.

Ultimately, Jeffrey Osborne brings home a winner.  If A Time For Love has one cut that highly recommends the whole album, it’s “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” featuring Rick Braun on trumpet.  It’s a silky strut, accentuated by McBride’s hint of funk that, carried home by Osborne’s ingenious vocalizing, reminds you that, as the saying goes, they don’t make music like this anymore.

Whether you’re a faithful old-time fan, recently came across him, or are just finding out who Jeffrey Osborne is, get A Time For Love, because you’ll dig this one.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403.

To see more stories by Dwight Hobbes click HERE

The Music

Kool G Rap and DJ Polo 

Fri., May 17, 10 pm • Cabooze, 917 Cedar Avenue S., 612-338-6425 or www.cabooze.com • Kool G Rap is regarded as a hugely influential golden age rapper. He is often cited as one of the most influential and skilled MC’s of all time • With special guest Empire Status, (Bobby Raps & Muja Messiah), and Long Doe (Tony Bones, Big Wiz, Mike the Martyr & DJ Nimo the Hooligan) and dj’s King Otto & Just Nine.

Dennis Spears & Ginger Commodore

Sat., May 18, 8 pm • Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-332-1010 or www.dakotacooks.com • Spears and Commodore, both known for their contribution to Moore by Four, as well as being gems of the Midwest music and theater scenes in their own right, join forces for a night of sizzling soul and powerful vocals.

The Blu Ice Soul Session featuring. Erica West w/DJ Smoke D

Tues., May 21, 8 pm • Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls., 612-276-6523 or www.icehousempls.com • Combining R&B and jazz with a fresh neosoul sound, Erica West has fast become one of the most sought after female vocalists in Minneapolis • DJ Smoke D is a radio personality on KMOJ Radio every Saturday and has worked with KMOJ for many years.

John Legend

Wed., May 22, 7 pm • Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, 651-290-1200 or fitzgeraldtheater.publicradio.org • RESET Education presents: An Evening with John Legend • In addition to recording platinum R&B albums and performing worldwide, nine-time Grammy Award-winner John Legend is an outspoken proponent for improving the quality of and access to American education. Legend will share his views on the importance of effective teaching and strong school leadership, and his experiences working with high-poverty schools that are getting great results for kids. Legend will take questions from the audience and will close the evening by performing a few songs.

Soundset 2013

Sun., May 26, 11 am — 8:30 pm • Canterbury Park, 1100 Canterbury Rd. Shakopee, MN, 952-445-7223 or www.soundsetfestival.com/ • This years Soundset Festival features nine hours of hip hop music all in one day – rain or shine. Performers include Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion, Busta Rhymes, Atmosphere, P.O.S., Greg Grease, A$AP Ferg, Tech N9ne, Joey Bada$$, Dizzy Wright, Sean Price, The ReMINDers, and many more.

Memorial Day Blowout/Soundset After-Party

Sun., May 26, (doors open at) 9 pm • Insert Coins, 315 1st Ave. N., Mpls., 651-564-4016 or www.insertcoinsmpls.com • Hosted by Snoop Dogg and featuring a live performance by MN Fats and music by DJ D Mil.

The Screen

Peeples

Various theaters • Sparks fly when Wade Walker crashes the Peeples annual reunion in the Hamptons to ask for their precious daughter Grace’s hand in marriage • Produced by Tyler Perry and starring Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, and David Alan Grier.

Reel Talk! 2013: Killer of Sheep

Monday, May 20 • 7:00 pm • Penumbra Theatre • 270 N Kent St., St Paul, MN • (651) 224-3180 or www.penumbratheatre.org • Deemed one of the “100 Essential Films” of all time by the National Society of Film Critics, Killer of Sheep examines Watts in the 1970s – a Black ghetto of Los Angeles – through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse.

The Stage

Stick Fly

Through May 19 • Park Square Theatre, Historic Hamm Building, 408 St. Peter St., Suite 110, St. Paul, 651-291-7005 or www.parksquaretheatre.org • A relaxing weekend on Martha’s Vineyard … until the baggage got unpacked • Two sons of a financially privileged African American family bring their girlfriends home to meet their parents, only to find that Dad is the only one in residence. As family secrets unravel and sibling rivalries flare, class distinctions rise to the surface.

A Streetcar Named Desire

May 23-26 • Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S., 612-203-9502 or www.tenthousandthings.org • An all-new take on this universal story of family dysfunction, delusion and desire. Guest directed by Randy Reyes, in consultation with Lear deBessonet. Featuring Elizabeth Grullon, Kurt Kwan, Kris Nelson, and Austene Van.

The Arts

Realism Reconsidered

Through July 26 • Gordon Parks Gallery, Metro State Univ. Library and Learning Center, 645 E. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-793-1631 • Featuring Minneapolis-based artists Raina Belleau and Howard Quednau, who turn to folklore and the narrative to explore a different sense of truth. Belleau’s manipulated animal sculptures and Quednau’s skillful tiny model dioramas become playful, and sometimes dark, representations of altered realities and fictitious spaces.

“King”(Cover Art)
 by Cameron
, age 15

Contemporary Arts Studio: Spring 2013

Through June 6 • Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA), 1108 W. Broadway Ave., Mpls., 612-588-1148 • Visit their renewed gallery and see the ideas, issues, and techniques used in artwork by Cameron (age 15), Kayla (age 14), and Namir (age 14), who were employed as contemporary artists at JXTA this winter • Young artists in JXTA’s Contemporary Art Studio produce commission works for clients like Minnesota Alliance with Youth and Youthprise, in addition to developing, showing and selling their own work • All of the work on exhibit is reasonably priced, with items starting as low as $100 • Gallery hours: Tues., Wed., and Thurs., 10 am — 5 pm,  other hours by appointment.

Send all Entertainment Spot briefs abuchanan@spokesman-recorder.com, or call 612-827-4021.

By Dwight Hobbes

Contributing Writer

Going backstage to the dressing room, congratulating Sandra Robinson Hodges on her triumphant turn as Mahalia Jackson at the Old Log Theater, you’d never guess she’s Twin Cities’ gospel royalty, not from her unassuming manner.  She greets you with a warm smile, “Just call me Sandy,” and is fairly shy about accepting compliments.

For the record though, if she did have a swelled head, it’d be hard to blame her.

Sandra Robinson
Hodges as
Mahalia Jackson
Photo courtesy of
the Old Log Theater

For one, she has worked and recorded with her more famous brother, Robert Robinson, most notably at the well-renowned Twin Cities Community Gospel Choir, where she succeeded him as artistic and executive director.  Among her accomplishments in the area, she performed as both lead and background vocalist on albums for the Sam Davis Gospel Ensemble, Minneapolis Gospel Sound, and Excelsior Choral Ensemble.  Nationally, she has performed with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Jermaine Jackson, and Prince.

There’s considerably more, including her present tenure as choir director at Park Avenue United Methodist Church and chapel choir director at Bethel University.  Suffice to say, illustrious singer Sandra Hodges (SH) indeed is an entity of considerable consequence.  During the run of Mahalia, where she shared the stage with gifted performers Dianne E’Laine and Sam Reeves, she granted the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder an email interview to reflect on her artistry.

MSR: How did you come to do this role?  Were you in the premiere?

SH: I was blessed to see this play in 1994 when it first came out.  Mahalia was played by the remarkable Jeralyn Steele Battle.  She was so good and I felt connected to Mahalia.  I never forgot how her portrayal of her was so real.  When this opportunity arose last year to try out, I did.

MSR: What research did you do for the part, and how familiar were you already with Mahalia Jackson?

SH: I did very little research on her, her life.  I watched her on YouTube and realized that her genuine spirit is what touched lives.  I was raised listening to her all the time.  In fact, I was raised very much like her:  the same values, the same strictness, the same love of singing, and the same love of God.

MSR: What is it like working with Dianne E’Laine and Sam Reeves?

SH: Never a dull moment.  [None] of us have acting experience.  I have been blessed to work with Sam Reeves for the last 10-plus years.  He is a very talented and serious man.  I’m very grateful to have this opportunity to work with him.  This is a first for Dianne E’Laine and myself.  She is so special and very nice.  So far, so good.

MSR: What about working with the playwright, Old Log founding artistic director, Tom Stolz?

SH: Well, Tom and I have a very long and wonderful relationship.  We met years ago when he was doing the Book of St. Mark (from memory).  He is such a gentle man and so remarkable.  I have such respect for him and for his leadership.  I feel that through this play he and I have moved to a new level in our friendship.  He and his family are a force to be reckoned with.  Tom is the mastermind behind this play.  He has spent so much time researching this woman and when directing us through the script he was able to really lead and place us in the moment.  My mind is blown away by him.  He really has the patience of Job, for real!

MSR: I get the impression not a whole lot of Black people made it out to be in the audience.  What do you think about that?

SH: We worked so hard to get the word out to all people of every race, color and creed.  This play touches everyone right where they are…It contains great history and knowledge that our young people may not know about.

MSR: What’s next?

SH: A break and then back to my other jobs.  I’ve decided that I’m gonna live the life I sing about in my song.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403.

A long week. Spent in good spirits, but it was long. After leaving Lesli off at the airport, Keith had ridden back to the hotel and gotten his regular routine in gear — looking over the sheets, running fingering scales. Then he’d punched in and, throughout the show, guitaring in the orchestra pit for The Lion King, his mind was on her.

The leading lady, portraying Nala, sang “Showlands” with rich, earthen intensity. Reminding him how Lesli made love. Luis, second chair to first percussionist Lola, once in awhile — when not staring at Lola’s Amazon physique — shot Keith a sharp, smirking glance.

Luis, Keith thought, could go pee up a rope. As much as Luis loved riding his buddies who fell for one of these broads on the road, Keith knew the guy was himself holding out for a new lady love.

That last one had put a ring through his nose and dragged him around by a part of his anatomy considerably farther south. The day some woman wrapped her wiles around Luis’ heart, Keith made a mental note, there wouldn’t be coals hot enough to rake that rascal over.

The first week, between punching the clock after a Saturday matinee and getting back for the evening call, Keith had nothing better to do than hang out. For the pure hell of it, he’d swung through the casino. The place was glitzy as all get out. Though, not the least bit pretty.

Most folk there were expensively suited to the nines in more jewelry than a pawn shop’s. Some in knock-off outfits, trying to look like the rich folk. Some just had on cheap, loud clothes. Almost every eye, rich, poor or in-between, stared at this or that table where they’d laid down chips like junkies looking at a fix.

The tray-bearing, barely dressed, long-tall-drinks-of-water ladies, most of them skinny as six o’clock, saw him carrying a guitar case and looked through him like he was a pane of glass. Which, so far as they were concerned, he might as well be. Nothing more significant than hired help.

Musicians, even the best paid, didn’t make enough money to waste their waste time. Especially not those who doubled as flat-backers in their off-hours. He didn’t count as much as chump change. Not when whales — millionaires — tossed around thousand-dollar chips like it was lunch.

He had to admit, it must be cool to afford this lifestyle. But, frankly, if he’d had the money, he’d find something better to do with it. Never went back.

It was, yes, a long week, but Sunday night finally came. The cast had taken their bows, exit music had been played. Gustav dropped his baton.

Keith packed up and ran, getting out of there faster than a scalded dog. Hopped in a cab, couldn’t get to the hotel soon enough. Hot-footing it through the lobby, he rushed to the desk. Stephany, lethally cute, maybe making five-foot in stockinged feet, smiled officiously, handing him his key. “Ms. Hall is in your room, Mr. Jackson.”

Steph, he’d begun calling her, was a piece of work. More charm than the law should allow and damned good at her job, too. She perfectly threaded the needle, officious but not stiff, cordial without being casual. An indefinable way of being plain sexy as hell.

If Lesli didn’t work out, he definitely was going to take a run at Steph. He politely returned her smile, said, “Thanks,” and never mind waiting for the elevator — he took the stairs.

Once a week, it had gone that way. She’d materialize Sunday nights, sometimes earlier, about three in the afternoon, swinging in to catch the matinee.

For an uncharacteristically smitten Keith, every other woman in the world, absolutely all of them, had ceased to exist. Lesli grew so under his skin, made her way so into his mind, it occasionally scared him. Each time, he shrugged it off.

He had to laugh at himself in those moments, wanting to be as far away from her as he could get and as close to her as possible. A line from one of those damned books of hers he’d read, by that cat Baldwin, summed it up: Something about a river trying to run north and south at the same time.

Love, he’d concluded, is a weird thing.

Next week: Thoughts of Lesli keep Keith out of jail.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403. 

By Kam Williams

Contributing Writer

Born in Brooklyn on June 30, 1966, Michael Gerard Tyson is an all-time boxing great who, in his prime, struck fear in the heart of any opponent he squared off against. He compiled an impressive record of 50 wins, five losses and one disqualification for biting off an opponent’s ear over the course of an incomparable career in which he became the first undisputed heavyweight champ to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF title belts simultaneously.

Iron Mike has weathered a host of woes and controversies outside the ring ranging from allegations of spousal abuse to a rape conviction to the death of his four-year-old daughter, Exodus, to declaring bankruptcy after frittering away over $300 million in prizefight purses. Today, he is a very happily-married man, with a couple of children, Milan and Morocco, by his third wife, Kiki.

Tyson (MT) is currently nearing the end of a 36-city tour of the country in “Undisputed Truth,” a one-man Broadway show directed by Spike Lee and written by Tyson’s wife. The show is part comedy/part confessional and covers all of the above and more. Tyson has been getting rave reviews from his audience and theatre critics.

Mike McNulty of the LA Times wrote, “Like all those mouthy contenders who ended up flat on their back in the first round, I underestimated the former heavyweight champion of the world. He came to box with himself, to thrash out his story before his fans, leaving no controversy unturned and me dazed with a sympathy I hadn’t expected. I thought I’d be cold-cocking him in print, but his mix of street swagger and newfound humility conquered me.”

Here, the pugilist-turned-actor talks about his life, his boxing career, his acting and his latest movie, Scary Movie 5, co-starring a rogue’s gallery of controversial celebrities including Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Katt Williams and Snoop Dogg.

Kam Williams (KW): Hi Mike, thanks for the interview.

Mike Tyson (MT): What’s up, Kam?

KW: I really appreciate your taking the time to speak with me.

MT: It’s all good in the ‘hood, my friend.

KW: Ray Hirschman asks: What interested you in Scary Movie 5?

MT: Whew! It’s a franchise that’s going to last ‘til the end of time. I wanted to be involved with that. I don’t care how silly it comes across. It’s more so for us than for kids. It’s adults acting stupid and silly.

KW: What was it like working with this cast?

MT: Everybody was great. Ashley [Tisdale] was awesome. I got an autographed picture of her for my niece.

KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks: How did you get into acting?

MT: Just from messing around with a friend, Jim Toback, the director of The Pickup Artist. I always used to see him in New York and talk to him when I was younger, like a teenager. Anthony Michael Hall brought me onto the set one day in about ’86, and Jim and I became acquainted and then good friends, and he started putting me into his movies, first Black and White, and then we did Tyson. He thought I was an interesting character. After that, I did The Hangover and got bitten by the acting bug. I have a lot of friends who’ve won Oscars, and they started telling me I could do it, too.

KW: I remember your doing a great job in Black and White opposite some famous daughter. Who was it, Jennifer Jason Leigh?

MT: That was Bijou Phillips. She was awesome in that film.

KW: And Jim’s documentary, Tyson, was riveting from start to finish.

MT: I’m just very grateful for his friendship. He’s a remarkable dude.

KW: Larry Greenberg says, when we talk about comedy, you hear words that could refer to boxing like “timing” and “punch line.” Do you see any similarities between the two?

MT: I don’t know. People tell me I’m a comedian, but I don’t approach acting from that perspective. I do know that everything in life has to do with your timing and perception. You have to be comfortable with the rhythm that you’re in. You can’t just jump into a fast rhythm if yours is slow. You might have to pick up the pace but in your own particular way. It has to do with personality, too.

KW: Richie the intern was wondering how the play‘s coming along?

MT: We’ve been doing just great, selling out every night. And I couldn’t believe the reviews. I couldn’t believe it was me they were talking about. They’re saying,“remarkably funny” and “moving.” I was like, “they’re talking about me?” The biggest honor I had so far was when the comedian Jeff Ross told me he liked it and said, “You’re one of us, now” That was just amazing.

KW: Fight fan Mike Ehrenberg asks, who was stronger, Razor Ruddick or Bonecrusher Smith?

MT: Bonecrusher was stronger, but Razor Ruddick hit harder.

KW: Mike also asks: What was the hardest punch you ever took in the ring?

MT: Wow! A bunch of guys really rang my clock. Gee! Razor Ruddick…Lennox Lewis…Evander Holyfield… They all did a number on me.

KW: Mike is curious about how you think you would’ve matched up against some of the other heavyweight greats in the ring?

MT: I have no idea. I just did what I did in my era, basically because of my admiration for the guys who came before me. That’s how I’ve always looked at it. I never thought of boxing like, I’m going to be the greatest fighter ever and make a lot of money. Instead, I thought I was going to win because I learned from the best. I carefully studied the videotapes of all the fighters from the past, dissected their styles, and entered the ring with their spirit.

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: Champ, you’ve had a long and varied career that involved lots of press coverage. What’s the thing you’d most have us remember about you?

MT: Overcoming my adversities.

KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

MT: Me? I see an old, broke-ass Black guy taking care of a bunch of kids, living life, taking them to school, and all that stuff, who’s asking himself, “What the hell is this?” But I wouldn’t give it up for the world because I love my wife. I never expected to have a life like this. No chaos…no confusion…no lawsuits…no violence…no going to jail…

KW: I’m originally from Bed-Stuy, too, from around Nostrand Avenue and Eastern Parkway.

MT: I know where that’s at. That’s an awesome neighborhood! Bed-Stuy, do or die! I’m from Franklin between DeKalb and Willoughby. Do you remember the welfare place at 500 DeKalb?

KW: Sure, I’m older than you. I was born in the early Fifties.

MT: Oh, so you know what’s really going down. My mother used to have us waiting with her in that long-ass line when we were kids. But we moved to Brownsville when I was 10.

KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

MT: Being in the hospital at about five years of age, after I drank some Drano. I remember it like it was yesterday. My mother had a bunch of people over the house, and I drank it because no one was paying me any attention.

KW: Yeah, children would prefer to be praised than punished, but they’d rather be punished than ignored.

MT: No doubt about it. That’s life. That’s our nature as human beings.

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

MT: Artichokes.

KW: Lastly, if you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

MT: That my daughter could still be with us.

KW: My condolences, Mike. Thanks again, and best of luck with all your endeavors.

MT: Thank you, Kam. Okay, brother.

Kam Williams is a syndicated entertainment writer.

Mother’s Day Celebrations

Pre-Mothers Day Extravaganza: I’ll Always Love My Mama /She’s My Everything

Sat., May 11, 7 pm —1 am • Double Tree Hotel, 1500 Park Place Blvd., Mpls., 612-702-9018 • Celebrating Mother’s, sisters, aunts, girl friends, and grand mothers • Live jazz by Wenso Ashby and hosted by KMOJ, Q Bear, and Ms. Pink.

Annual Mothers Day Concert

Sun., May 12, 1 pm • Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th St., St. Paul, 651-528-6871 • Bring mom to the Landmark Center for some music this Mother’s Day • Hosted by the Saint Paul Civic Symphony, the Annual Mother’s Day Concert is free and all ages are welcome to attend.

New Orleans Mother’s Day Brunch 

Sun., May 12, 10:30 am — 3 pm • Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-332-1010 or www.dakotacooks.com • Celebrate Mother’s Day with a family-style brunch and New Orleans jazz by the Southside Aces.

Capri Big Band

Sun., May 12, 7 pm • Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1361 N. Lexington Pkwy., St. Paul • Take your mother to an outdoor concert of big band jazz.

The Music

Andre Nickatina 

Thurs., May 9, 7:30 pm • Fine Line Music Cafe • (612) 338-8100 or www.finelinemusic.com • San Francisco hip hop artist Andre Nickatina has his finger on the pulse of what is raw, uncut and capable of capturing the mind and ears of listeners. • W/ Roach Gigz, Mumbls, Toki Wright & St. Paul Slim 8 • 18+

Chicago Afrobeat Project 

Fri., May 10, 10 pm • 7th Street Entry • first-avenue.com • This 7-14 member ensemble energizes the classic afrobeat influences of juju, highlife, American funk, and afro-Cuban music with a formative infusion of experimental jazz and rock elements that thrive in the Chicago music scene. • 18+

Fourplay

Sun., May 12, 7 and 9 pm • Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-332-1010 or www.dakotacooks.com • For 20 years and a dozen albums, Fourplay has set the standard for contemporary jazz very high. With guitarist Chuck Loeb joining founding members Bob James (keyboards), Nathan East (bass/vocals), and Harvey Mason (drums), Fourplay brings an even newer level of energy and inspiration into a band that is already known for taking chances and pushing the limits of contemporary jazz.

World Music and Culture

Tues., May 14, 1-2:30 pm, Tues., May 21, 1-2:30 pm, Tues., May 28, 1-2:30 pm • Washburn Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612-543-8375 or www.hclib.org/pub/ • Explore the world of ethnomusicology and discover the music of recent immigrants to the Twin Cities • Chris Granias, Ph.D. and an accomplished composer whose works have been featured on Minnesota Public Radio, will provide new understanding of cultures through the arts.

Gorilla Zoe 

Wed., May 15, 10 pm • Aqua Nightclub and Lounge, 400 First Ave N., Mpls., 612-232-3232 or www.aquampls.com • Taurus Birthday Bash Concert & Party • Performances by Rello, Yung Pioneers, Phaino, Dolla B and Blaze • 18+

Kool G Rap and DJ Polo 

Fri., May 17, 10 pm • Cabooze, 917 Cedar Avenue S., 612-338-6425 or www.cabooze.com • Kool G Rap is regarded as a hugely influential golden age rapper. He is often cited as one of the most influential and skilled MC’s of all time • With special guest Empire Status, (Bobby Raps & Muja Messiah), and Long Doe (Tony Bones, Big Wiz, Mike the Martyr & DJ Nimo the Hooligan) and dj’s King Otto & Just Nine.

The Screen

Reel Talk! 2013: Killer of Sheep

Monday, May 20 • 7:00 pm • Penumbra Theatre • 270 N Kent St., St Paul, MN • (651) 224-3180 or www.penumbratheatre.org • Deemed one of the “100 Essential Films” of all time by the National Society of Film Critics, Killer of Sheep examines Watts in the 1970′s – a Black ghetto of Los Angeles – through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse.

The Stage

Power of Our Voices Showcase

Fri., May 10 • 7 pm • Pillsbury House, 3501 Chicago Ave. S., Mpls., 612-825-0459 or pillsburyhousetheatre.org • Throughout the school year, Keno Evol, aka Antoine Duke, has been teaching Power of Our Voices, an after school hip hop / theater / spoken word program in which young adults create original work • Join POV’s end-of-year celebration as the youth ensemble showcase their original performance based in hip hop, theater, spoken word, and movement • Free

You Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone  

Sat., May 11, 6:30 pm • Greater Friendship Missionary Church, 2600 E. 38th Street Mpls., 612-827-7928 You Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone is a play that depicts a young teenage mother who is raised by her grandmother, being taught the important lesson of motherhood.

Stick Fly

Through May 19 • Park Square Theatre, Historic Hamm Building, 408 St. Peter St., Suite 110, St. Paul, 651-291-7005 or www.parksquaretheatre.org • A relaxing weekend on Martha’s Vineyard … until the baggage got unpacked • Two sons of a financially privileged African American family bring their girlfriends home to meet their parents, only to find that Dad is the only one in residence. As family secrets unravel and sibling rivalries flare, class distinctions rise to the surface.

Send all Entertainment Spot briefs abuchanan@spokesman-recorder.com, or call 612-827-4021.

The Music

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars

Fri., May 3, 8:30 pm • Festival of Nations, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, 175 Kellogg Blvd W., St. Paul, FestivalofNations.com • The  musicians who form Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars were forced to leave at various times after violent rebel attacks. Soon, Ruben Koroma and his wife Grace joined other musicians in the Kalia refugee camp to entertain their fellow refugees, and the group was born. They are now one of Africa’s top touring and recording bands • Concert tickets are included with Friday’s regular Festival of Nations admission.

Secret Stash Soul Revue: Sonny Knight, The Valdons, Maurice Jacox, Chastity Brown

Fri., May 3, 8 pm • Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 612-332-1010 or www.dakotacooks.com • For two nights, the Secret Stash Soul Revue will be returning to the stage for another look back into the Twin Cities Funk & Soul music.

A Tribute to Ray Charles

Sun. May 5, 3 pm • The Capri Theater 2027 W. Broadway, Mpls. www.thecapribigband.com • Featuring Big John Dickerson and Mari Harris performing Ray Charles classics like “Georgia”, “Hit the Road Jack”,  “Busted” and more • Order tickets at www.capritheater.org or $10 at the door.

Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires

Tue. May 7,  8 pm • Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave S., Mpls., 612-338-2674 or www.thecedar.org •  Commonly referred to as “The Screaming Eagle of Soul”, Bradley celebrates the feel of funk and soul music from the 1960s and 1970s • With Paul & the Tall Trees.

Andre Nickatina 

Thurs.  May 9, 7:30 pm • Fine Line Music Cafe • (612) 338-8100 or www.finelinemusic.com • San Francisco hip artist Andre Nickatina has his finger on the pulse of what is raw, uncut and capable of capturing the mind and ears of listeners. • With Roach Gigz, Mumbls, Toki Wright & St. Paul Slim 8 • 18+ show.

Chicago Afrobeat Project 

Fri. May 10, 10 pm •  First Avenue & 7th St. Entry (in the Entry), 701 N. 1st Ave.,  Mpls., 612-338-8388 or first-avenue.com • The seven-14 person ensemble energizes the classic afrobeat influences of juju, highlife, American funk, and afro-Cuban music with a formative infusion of experimental jazz and rock elements that thrive in the Chicago music scene. • 18+ show.

The Screen

Reel Talk! 2013: Killer of Sheep

Monday, May 20, 7:00 pm • Penumbra Theatre • 270 N Kent St., St Paul, MN • 651- 224-3180 or www.penumbratheatre.org • Deemed one of the “100 Essential Films” of all time by the National Society of Film Critics, Killer of Sheep examines Watts in the 1970s — a black ghetto of Los Angeles — through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse.

The Stage

You Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone  

Sat. May 11, 6:30 PM • Greater Friendship Missionary Church, 2600 E. 38th Street Mpls., 612-827-7928 • You Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone is a play that depicts a young teenage mother  who is raised by her Grandmother, being taught the important lesson of motherhood.

Stick Fly

Through May 19 • Park Square Theatre, Historic Hamm Building, 408 St. Peter St., Suite 110, St. Paul, 651-291-7005 or www.parksquaretheatre.org • A relaxing weekend on Martha’s Vineyard … until the baggage got unpacked. Two sons of a financially privileged African American family bring their girlfriends home to meet their parents, only to find that Dad is the only one in residence. As family secrets unravel and sibling rivalries flare, class distinctions rise to the surface…

Tracy Morgan: Excuse My French

Sat., May 4, 8 pm • Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-339-7007 or www.hennepintheatredistrict.org • Back in town after a “shock and awe” performance at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center in March, downtown Mpls. seems a little more appropriate for Mr. Morgan’s ribald sense of humor!

Send all Entertainment Spot briefs abuchanan@spokesman-recorder.com, or call 612-827-4021.

It’s quite an accomplishment to write poetry well. If you don’t think so browse through the aisle of a bookstore — one of the few that may be left in an area near you — and take agood look at just how many books you can find of either cloying drivel or pretentious pap that pass for poems.

That, in and of itself, makes Autumn Reign’s Truth Serum, Watering Seasons of My Love (Belfrey Books) a relief, penned in a sure hand that consistently engages and, at times, wholly compels. All the more noteworthy, Truth Serum is a debut collection, the first time out of the gate for a voice that already warrants close listening.

As in, “No matter the threat of thunderstorm in my sky, you have been the lightening that has illuminated my heart, I cannot always express why or what but the light has always been there shining awaiting your return… Loving you has always been cloudy on a clear day.”

Autumn Reign (AR) is a native of Boston MA. She grew up in Dorchester and attended Boston High school and Northeastern University. She moved to Minneapolis in 1997 where she has settled down and is raising a family

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She is an educator, violence-prevention facilitator and community activist. She is especially interested in working with youth and their families, helping them to gain access to quality secondary education. She enjoys actively working in the community to bring awareness, of social justice issues including juvenile justice, poverty, equity in education, and incarceration rates in the U.S.

In an email interview with MSR, she reflected on her craft.

MSR: What fulfills you the greatest about using poetry as a medium?

AR: My father wrote poetry, for all of our birthday cards and taught me from a very young age about Phyllis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, Sonia Sanchez, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Nikki Giovanni. My father instilled in me that my thoughts were powerful and that I needed to be a critical thinker and [he] encouraged me to write about my feelings. I learned early that there was power in the written word and thus I think I began to write blues and narrative free-verse poetry.

MSR: When did you first become aware of your voice as a poet?

AR: I have been journaling since the age of 14 and I chose to write about anything that I witnessed, experienced or dreamed. I recognized I had a true voice when I attended Northeastern University as an Ujima Scholar and I shared “Black Roses,” my first piece, publicly without reservation, which is contained in Truth Serum. “Black Roses” is about Black men moving through life, I followed it up with “Black Man’s Hands.”

Autumn Reign
Photo and book cover courtesy of Autumn Reign.

MSR: You’ve a passion for oratory as well, as can be seen on YouTube. How did that come about? Was it simply a natural progression from, as it were, the page to the stage?

AR: I entered into the middle school oratory competitions in seventh and eighth grade. It was there I learned that I had a powerful voice and I often used it to defend others in school against teachers and students. In my careers I have chosen advocacy work to speak up and for those who were unable [to speak for themselves] or less fortunate. I also have chosen to write about what I am most passionate, which is Black love. I think there is nothing more powerful than that union as it has withstood many atrocities.

MSR: How long did it take to collect Truth Serum and what went into your decisions selecting the pieces?

AR: [It] contains many truths we think but don’t say out loud in life and love. One of my favorite poems is by Paul Laurence Dunbar, “We wear the Mask.” [“that grins and lies it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes...”] The content of Truth Serum comes from two other books, but I choose to compile these pieces…because if I were to leave the planet any day after submitting the manuscript, I would have left my love and poetry to touch and to heal.

MSR: How has the book been received?

AR: The book has been received very well with audiences in Minneapolis and in Boston. It is interesting that people choose to read it like a book, from cover to cover, unlike how I read a poetry book, which is by title and section. Men and women enjoy it and it has been used in domestic violence men’s groups and with students grappling with equity and equality.

MSR: Is there anything general or, for that matter, in specific that you want to impress upon readers about your craft?

AR: I hope readers will give Truth Serum a read as I dare each of us to love; more honestly and unapologetically; risk loving like you have never loved before, love like it is your last time to love.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403.

Love. Just like that. Well, he’d wondered, is there really any other way for it to happen except all of a sudden?

He’d stepped out of the cab. “Luis,” he said, “since you got so much mouth about other folk bidniz, you can pay the tip.” And went to the stage door. The security guard took one look at him, rather at his guitar case, and thumbed him on.

A good gathering was already there in the rehearsal room. He’d walked in and looked around, spotting a familiar, friendly face. “Lola! Who kicked over a rock and turned you loose?”

“The same one did you, you rattlesnake!” He rushed across the floor to hug her. She raced into his arms, almost knocking him over.

Lola Rodriguez was — he’d never dared ask, but guessed — about 200 pounds of impossibly gorgeous woman, pretty as a picture and put an hourglass to shame. Not to mention she always dressed to show her figure off, usually in skin-tight jeans she probably had to put on with a shoe horn. If she ever got interested in men, Keith wanted to be the first to know.

“Come on, let me introduce you around,” she said. Turned out Lola, after leaving the Bronx a few years ago, doing clubs and subbing on late-night TV shows, had been playing percussion in Vegas. Day in and day out. Knew everybody in the orchestra pit. For that matter, she informed him, every musical director in town.

“Luis!” she cried, throwing out her arms, pushing past Keith, who’d grinned as she sashayed away. He’d put her business card in his wallet, found a space, and got his guitar out. Could not stop thinking of this new chick. He looked over the music sheets and kept thinking of Lesli.

He’d worked with the music director before and knew what to expect. A lot of pretentious pomp and pain-in-the-butt circumstance. Some musicians, for instance those enough in demand to get triple scale, wouldn’t work with Gustav. Keith didn’t get triple scale and, accordingly, put up with this well connected jackass.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Lesli. And found himself hoping she thought about him.

When he’d got off work, it happened that Lesli’d thought about Keith plenty. He’d dragged himself up to the hotel room, dropped the guitar case on the floor and flopped face-down on the bed. Next thing he knew she had straddled him and began pressing and kneading the muscles in his back. Keith had groaned in ecstasy. Then fell straight to sleep.

When he woke up, she was jostling him. “I gotta go.”

“Okay,” he’d managed to mumble. “Let’s call you a cab.”

“I didn’t say I gotta go right now,” she said, spreading a devilish smile across her face. They stayed in bed a bit longer.

He rode the cab with her to the airport. At the gate, where she was to board a puddle-jumper back to L.A., they’d hugged. Kissed. And hugged. Until people behind them in the line began muttering and grumbling and someone said, “Hey, get a room.” Whereupon they both broke up in hysterics. Lesli had a musical laugh. Loud.

She also had a habit of parting those sensuous lips real wide giving him that great big sexy grin and emitting a raucous, ear-friendly noise that shorted out his circuits. When she talked, he couldn’t help but hang on her every word.

Lesli had told him about Ann Petry, the first Black female novelist to hit a million sales with her novel The Street. She told him about James Baldwin. About August Wilson. And some crazy White cat, Lonnie Carter, a genius who wrote Black plays. He’d listened. Couldn’t give a dead rat’s hindquarters about whoever they were — Petry, Baldwin, Wilson and whoever else.

He was going to, sure as hell, though, find out.

He’d gone straight back to the hotel and, passing the bar, had to politely ward off a well-dressed hooker. Got up to the room where he’d turned on the tube, pulled out his axe, and began running scales. All the while, thinking of Lesli.

Next week: Keith finds himself living with Lesli under his skin.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes reader responses to P.O. Box 50357, Mpls., 55403.