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So, I don't have a lot of time but I just wanted to share a bit about my experience at the MJ Symposium today.
First of all Siedah Garrett, Ricky Lawson and Greg Phillinganes were all at the evening panel and it was crazy! Ricky Lawson, drummer for Mike for Bad and Dangerous, played Thriller on the drums for us and did some improv and it was AMAZING! And then the three of them sang Man in the Mirror and it was AMAZING! Siedah is very thin, muscular and very emotive! She was cracking all of these jokes in her talk and it was easy for me to see her and Mike interacting together. She told a joke about how when she first spoke to him on the phone, the only thing that was running in her head the whole time was how she was on the phone with her "husband"! She said, "Y'all don't understand. Mike was my husband! And Jackie was my sister's husband! So when I finally was on the phone with my husband as a grown-ass woman, I put on my AT&T voice. In my head, I was going: Omigod!Omigod!Omigod ! But when I spoke I said "Yes, what can I do for you, Michael?" She said in a very sex-phone operator way and we all died laughing!
And then she said that when she was in the studio with him for the first time, she made fun of the fact that he was wearing one grey sock and one green sock and he said that he had gotten dressed in the dark that morning (only Mike) And then the next time she saw him, he made a big deal about showing her that he was wearing matching socks that day. "Look, Siedah! I did this for you." She says, "Yeah, I'm glad that you are wearing matching sky-blue socks today but those socks do not match the rest of your outfit!" He said, "Oh, Siedah, you so crazy, girl." Hilarious.
Greg and Ricky were wonderful because they talked about their early experiences with Mike (Greg-Triumph Album) and it was nice to hear about how meticulous Mike worked and how he could replicate any sound and instrument. Greg said that Mike actually played drums sometimes in the studio and Greg was always surprised at how well he played considering that he wasn't a drummer.
There was also Harry Weinger, who is in charge of the Motown catalog. He is now going through the vault and picking songs for release for the first time. He played us some earlier versions of songs like "The Love You Save" and "ABC" that are very different from what we know those songs to song like and Mike's voice was absolutely stunning. I got chills. And Harry also played us some covers that Mike did of other artists before they were officially signed to Motown and not much changed to be honest. Definitely his phrasing and pronunciation changed but the rest of his vocal abilities were very much the unchanged.
An 80 year-old man commented that Mike died on his birthday and he was so heart-broken that he wrote a poem. He shared the poem with all of us and it was the sweetest thing.There were all kinds of people from all of the world today. From a 10 year-old girl who asked "Who is Justin Beiber?" And I was like "Amen, sister!" to the 80 year-old man who wrote that poem. Very diverse crowd, all ages and races. What else would you expect?!
What else? Oh, Siedah was HILARIOUS. I've never seen her speak in an environment where she was surrounded by friends (and you could tell how much the three, S, Greg and Ricky, really enjoyed each other!) and she was so funny. Very expressive, very playful, flirty, smart and she has an amazing voice.
I didn't know that she had to audition to be in This is It. She said that Grace found her at the studio where they were doing American Idol, Michael Jackson week. S happened to be at the studio and Grace came over to her and said that Mike wanted to talk to her and that he was on the phone. Sideah had been replaced on the Dangerous Tour and it sounds like her departure was very shady. Anyway, S hadn't spoken to Mike since the say she left the tour, 15 years ago, but when she finally spoke to him on the phone that day at American Idol, he asked her to do the London shows with him and she agreed. AEG made her audition (What?!) and then said that she was too expensive so they decided to go with Judith Hill. Greg said that he had also spoken with Mike that day (Grace handed him the phone and said Mike wanted to speak with him) and Mike wanted him to do the shows, as well but Greg had to audition (WHAT?!) and AEG said no. So, they alluded to the fact that Mike didn't have any control over the shows and it was sad to see especially since Greg, especially, had worked with Mike on some many tours and Mike had always been in total control.
All in all, I had a great day with the different panelists who spoke about Mike's work and I even got to be a part of an intimate concert with those three musicians. The only disappointing part of the day was when a music critic, Greg Tate, spoke about Mike and used JRT as a source! I, of course, called him out on that especially given the fact that Greg has reviewed all of Mike's albums (and honestly doesn't really seem to like him all that much) and instead of talking about what he does know, he starts quoting JRT's thoughts about Mike's financial life, something that he doesn't really know and that JRT definitely doesn't know. I was like, ???????????????????? What the fuck? He was annoyed with me and my questioning but everyone else in the audience seemed to agree with me that JRT was not a legitimate source and the whole point of the symposium was to get away from tabloid shit and more into Mike's craft and give him the dignity that he deserves. Can I get an AMEN?!!
Gotta go. I have an early flight tomorrow but when I get back next week, I will go into more detail.
It was really great. Anyone who is in Chicago tomorrow should go to the Symposium at Columbia College. There will be a great talk about the Jackson 5 and Michael in Chicago, as well as a talk about his dance. You can also go to the website of Center for Black Research at Columbia College and find that they are doing a live blogging all day long in case you can't make it.
Greg, S, and Ricky were such nice and humble people who were playful, talented, respectful and enormously talented. It was such a treat. Really and truly.
So, I don't have a lot of time but I just wanted to share a bit about my experience at the MJ Symposium today.
First of all Siedah Garrett, Ricky Lawson and Greg Phillinganes were all at the evening panel and it was crazy! Ricky Lawson, drummer for Mike for Bad and Dangerous, played Thriller on the drums for us and did some improv and it was AMAZING! And then the three of them sang Man in the Mirror and it was AMAZING! Siedah is very thin, muscular and very emotive! She was cracking all of these jokes in her talk and it was easy for me to see her and Mike interacting together. She told a joke about how when she first spoke to him on the phone, the only thing that was running in her head the whole time was how she was on the phone with her "husband"! She said, "Y'all don't understand. Mike was my husband! And Jackie was my sister's husband! So when I finally was on the phone with my husband as a grown-ass woman, I put on my AT&T voice. In my head, I was going: Omigod!Omigod!Omigod ! But when I spoke I said "Yes, what can I do for you, Michael?" She said in a very sex-phone operator way and we all died laughing!
And then she said that when she was in the studio with him for the first time, she made fun of the fact that he was wearing one grey sock and one green sock and he said that he had gotten dressed in the dark that morning (only Mike) And then the next time she saw him, he made a big deal about showing her that he was wearing matching socks that day. "Look, Siedah! I did this for you." She says, "Yeah, I'm glad that you are wearing matching sky-blue socks today but those socks do not match the rest of your outfit!" He said, "Oh, Siedah, you so crazy, girl." Hilarious.
Greg and Ricky were wonderful because they talked about their early experiences with Mike (Greg-Triumph Album) and it was nice to hear about how meticulous Mike worked and how he could replicate any sound and instrument. Greg said that Mike actually played drums sometimes in the studio and Greg was always surprised at how well he played considering that he wasn't a drummer.
There was also Harry Weinger, who is in charge of the Motown catalog. He is now going through the vault and picking songs for release for the first time. He played us some earlier versions of songs like "The Love You Save" and "ABC" that are very different from what we know those songs to song like and Mike's voice was absolutely stunning. I got chills. And Harry also played us some covers that Mike did of other artists before they were officially signed to Motown and not much changed to be honest. Definitely his phrasing and pronunciation changed but the rest of his vocal abilities were very much the unchanged.
An 80 year-old man commented that Mike died on his birthday and he was so heart-broken that he wrote a poem. He shared the poem with all of us and it was the sweetest thing.There were all kinds of people from all of the world today. From a 10 year-old girl who asked "Who is Justin Beiber?" And I was like "Amen, sister!" to the 80 year-old man who wrote that poem. Very diverse crowd, all ages and races. What else would you expect?!
What else? Oh, Siedah was HILARIOUS. I've never seen her speak in an environment where she was surrounded by friends (and you could tell how much the three, S, Greg and Ricky, really enjoyed each other!) and she was so funny. Very expressive, very playful, flirty, smart and she has an amazing voice.
I didn't know that she had to audition to be in This is It. She said that Grace found her at the studio where they were doing American Idol, Michael Jackson week. S happened to be at the studio and Grace came over to her and said that Mike wanted to talk to her and that he was on the phone. Sideah had been replaced on the Dangerous Tour and it sounds like her departure was very shady. Anyway, S hadn't spoken to Mike since the say she left the tour, 15 years ago, but when she finally spoke to him on the phone that day at American Idol, he asked her to do the London shows with him and she agreed. AEG made her audition (What?!) and then said that she was too expensive so they decided to go with Judith Hill. Greg said that he had also spoken with Mike that day (Grace handed him the phone and said Mike wanted to speak with him) and Mike wanted him to do the shows, as well but Greg had to audition (WHAT?!) and AEG said no. So, they alluded to the fact that Mike didn't have any control over the shows and it was sad to see especially since Greg, especially, had worked with Mike on some many tours and Mike had always been in total control.
All in all, I had a great day with the different panelists who spoke about Mike's work and I even got to be a part of an intimate concert with those three musicians. The only disappointing part of the day was when a music critic, Greg Tate, spoke about Mike and used JRT as a source! I, of course, called him out on that especially given the fact that Greg has reviewed all of Mike's albums (and honestly doesn't really seem to like him all that much) and instead of talking about what he does know, he starts quoting JRT's thoughts about Mike's financial life, something that he doesn't really know and that JRT definitely doesn't know. I was like, ???????????????????? What the fuck? He was annoyed with me and my questioning but everyone else in the audience seemed to agree with me that JRT was not a legitimate source and the whole point of the symposium was to get away from tabloid shit and more into Mike's craft and give him the dignity that he deserves. Can I get an AMEN?!!
Gotta go. I have an early flight tomorrow but when I get back next week, I will go into more detail.
It was really great. Anyone who is in Chicago tomorrow should go to the Symposium at Columbia College. There will be a great talk about the Jackson 5 and Michael in Chicago, as well as a talk about his dance. You can also go to the website of Center for Black Research at Columbia College and find that they are doing a live blogging all day long in case you can't make it.
Greg, S, and Ricky were such nice and humble people who were playful, talented, respectful and enormously talented. It was such a treat. Really and truly.
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