Do Your Thing (previously unissued extended version)
Scorpio (previously unissued extended version)
Thank You (previously unissued extended version)
All Praises
Shaft
Kashmere
$$ Kash Register $$
Zero Point - Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 (45 version previously unreleased)
Getting It Out Of My System
Track Listings (14) - Disc #2
Intro (live)
Zero Point (live)
All Praises/Zero Point (Reprise live)
Intro (live)
Do You Dig it, Man? (live)
Don't Mean A Thing (live)
Thank You (live)
Ain't No Sunshine (live)
Do You Dig It, Man? (live)
All Praises (live)
Thank You (45 version)
Zero Point (LP version)
Do Your Thing (instrumental)
Getting It Out Of My System (alternate take)
The best high school band of all time! Two discs of '60s and '70s funk, containing rare studio recordings and unreleased live cuts from Houston's Kashmere High School Stage Band ? directed by Conrad O. Johnson. Monster dru... more »m breaks, as heard on Funky 16 Corners and Cold Heat comps, including songs sampled by DJ Shadow and more. Includes 40-page booklet, rare photos and bonus documentary by B+ on Enhanced CD.« less
The best high school band of all time! Two discs of '60s and '70s funk, containing rare studio recordings and unreleased live cuts from Houston's Kashmere High School Stage Band ? directed by Conrad O. Johnson. Monster drum breaks, as heard on Funky 16 Corners and Cold Heat comps, including songs sampled by DJ Shadow and more. Includes 40-page booklet, rare photos and bonus documentary by B+ on Enhanced CD.
CD Reviews
UNBELIEVEABLY Perfection in jazz/band
Patrick E. Harrington | Kirkland, WA United States | 08/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I just heard cuts from this album on NPR tonight, and I HAD to own it! This album selection is absolutely the best thing I've heard in years. In fact, it's in music, one of the few things I've been excited about it years! Thank you, Conrad, for re-releasing these brilliant pieces and for dedicating your life to teaching music to kids, and an adult now (me)."
A Joyous Listening Experience
Christina Penn | Brambleton, Virginia, United States | 08/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I heard a preview on NPR for a story they would be airing during All Things Considered that evening. It was about the Kashmere Stage Band. I only heard the teaser, but it was enough to get me to go online and find the CD on Amazon. I immediately sent the link to my husband, and he bought the CD as soon as he checked it out.
Well it's been about 4 days with our discovery, and let me tell you, the NPR teaser didn't begin to do these kids any justice. Every time I listen to a song I marvel at the technical skill, musicality, and emotion of the KSB. If you like jazz, funk, or soul then you will be hooked as well."
Incredible!!!
Gerhard Apfelthaler | Graz, Austria | 08/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I just heard a feature on the Kashmere Stage Band on NPR/KCLU. The music is absolutely amazing, a definite must-have!"
Its got my vote ! ! !
Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 02/18/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I listened to the segment about the Kashemere Stage Band on NPR and was definitely amazed...
Listening to many of their tracks if no one told you would you believe that this was... high school band club???
Think... band clubs - - you know really bad big band arrangements with drummers who hit the high hat on the one and three and sometimes knocking over the crash cymbal, the note flubbing brass section and the greasy haired music teacher with the horn rimmed glasses named Mr. So and So always sending you to the office for sleeping or making fake f*rting sounds in class to relieve the bordom - - But what a minute, this is the deep south, late 60's/early 70's... enter an inspired bandleader who played with the greats, got inspired by the new sounds (Otis Redding, JB, etc.) and had a dream and vision to unite these guys, create timeless music that people would be listening to down the line, give them something to work hard on and be proud of... and KICK BUTT - - first in BAND competitions around the world, but then in record stores and on the radio. Alas, Conrad Johnson did it... creating a band feared as an undefeatably tight funk unit... and with a rhythm section so strong, long after the group fell into obscurity, rap DJs were sampling it.
On this record you'll hear the sounds behind the story (*Somebody needs to make Kashmere's story into a movie - - talk about a man inpsiring young kids to do their best !!) - - Johnson not only took his guys into the studio but recorded just about every performance (and apparently put a lot of work into his charts too - - amazing, considering that now-a-days most band directors just order them over the net.) You'll also hear ample space for members going off, powerhouse originals, and tunes demonstrating inspiration - - and remarkable hipness in an age when music teachers were anything but! No wonder the band always took the prize wherever they competed... In addition, while the band may not have been as tight as the JBs (hey they were just kids), trust me... they could have opened up for him and NO one would have complained...
As a sidenote, if you dig KASHMERE, check out the VOICES OF EAST HARLEM... a group with a similarly inspiring as well as funky story... and the PROPOSITION'S AFRICANA, another youth group of the era who were insanely bumping.
All in all rare funk... and a window into the long lost time and sound. Like the song says... they were SUPER BAD !"
Kashmere Rocks
KitKat | TX | 08/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is how I remember the original material....I previously owned the original releases of this music. I am a former student of Kashmere and purchased these albums as they were released. I'm not disappointed in the re-releases."
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1