isley

ok. i have SERIOUS love for the isley brothers. when i lived in oz, i listened to the the heat is on at least a billion times. they don't realize it, but the isley brothers are some of my closest friends. they make me happy when i'm blue, dance with me when i'm joyous and best of all listen to me when i need an ear. so naturally, when my cousin kevin brown was spilling good gossip on the brothers, my ears perked up. *note: he's not my real cousin....he's a dj on my fav radio station KBLX

according to my cousin, rick james' last live show (aside from an awards show) was the stone soul concert. the following year they asked teena marie (self-proclamed "ivory queen of soul" and rick james protegee/lover) to perform some of james' songs as a tribute. naturally, this should close the show. the uncomfortable duty of telling ron isley that he wasn't going to headline went to my cousin. mr. isley's reaction? "do you know who i am?" man, he's a badass. i'd also like to point out that ron isley was just released from prison (tax evasion) and at the young age of 69, insisted at this year's concert to play for 90 minutes! and he headlined, of course. so impressive.

double note: i missed this year's concert to be in San Diego at my very dear friend's wedding. very worth it. but next year, i'm there.