Tag archive for ‘michael gonzales’
Riffs&Revolutions: Granny’s Grits
Being raised by both my mother and grandmother had its advantages. Thinking back to life uptown during my 1970s wonder years, one of the first thoughts that come to mind is the food that was constantly cooking on our old stove.
Dark as mahogany, grandma came from Harrisonburg, Virginia; born into a family of country chefs [...]
Riffs&Revolutions: Thanksgiving Chitlins
Last week Aretha Franklin told NPR: “Chitlins are off the menu. They were keeping my weight up. Chitlins have been canceled off of my list, and I know my fans and friends are screaming ‘Hallelujah!’ I want to be around for a long time, so let’s drop the chitlins.”
Listening to this confession about one of [...]
Riffs&Revolutions: Michael Gonzales on writer Nelson George
The moniker “renaissance man” is perhaps overused, but I really can’t think of another way to describe journalist/author/producer/director/man about many towns Nelson George. That’s a lot of slashes for one East New York raised dude, but the fact that he does each with perfection is enough to make a roomful of posers pissed on sight.
As [...]
Riffs&Revolutions: Michael Gonzales on novel ‘Mercedes Ladies’
Novelist and former rapper Sherri Sher knows how to tell a good story. “I’ve been keeping a diary since I was a teenager and I’ve always had stories in my head,” Sherri says. As the author of the recently published novel Mercedes Ladies, she mixes fact and fiction while delievering one of the most compelling [...]
Riffs&Revolutions: Michael Gonzales Takes a Trip Down Old School Hip Hop Lane
With the taping of VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors being at the Hammerstein Ballroom last Thursday (the show aired this week), New York City was overflowing with parties and events that brought back a million memories of back in the day adventures. Indeed, it seems like just yesterday that Dante Ross was playing me some of De [...]
Riffs&Revolutions: Michael Gonzales on Luther Vandross
Recently my friend and fellow critic Amy Linden and I were discussing the joy of finding buried treasures in the closet; which, in our case means discovering music we haven’t listened to in ages. She recently began spinning the brillant 1995 Society of Soul disc Brainchild, and couldn’t be happier.
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