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BEHOLD!

Remembering James Brown

The Godfather or Soul, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Soul Brother Number One...Mountain-of-a-man nicknames, no doubt, but not one of them ever did James Brown the justice he deserved. JB's influence is so large it's plain impossible to imagine what music today would sound like without him. James didn't just master soul and funk; he invented them. From the on-bended-knee plea "Try Me" straight to ground zero of the hip-hop revolution, where his screams, grunts, and funky drummer backboned every cut worth mentioning, Brown was soul power itself, an inspiration to an entire nation. Now that Mr. Dynamite has taken his last sweat-drenched shuffle offstage, we're all left like an awe-struck Apollo audience -- still screaming for just one more encore while trying to take in the force of nature we were blessed to witness. James Brown's face should be on money. And, most importantly, his music played forever.

Goodbye James.... Thank You!

What can I say? Merry Christmas? Not so Merry unless you focus on celebrating his life and his infinite contributions to music and the human race in general. No other person has ever had such a far reaching effect across all genres (not to mention the countless genres that he inspired). He re-defined music. He was the hardest working, most dedicated to his craft. He had the the most imitated sound & was my personal inspiration. The first 12" I ever owned was a white label remix of "Night Train" (all aboard!).

Not all public figures do good works - and few do so quietly. But, for James Brown, contributions to society are not limited to just music.

From lyrics with an edifying message - to delivering turkeys at
Thanksgiving - to playing Santa Claus at Christmas, James Brown has been a quiet, but effective, philanthropist. As someone who left school in the seventh grade, Mr. Brown
expressed his understanding of the value of education when he sang "Don't be a Drop-out" in a 1966 campaign to keep kids in school. And, in a nation where few public figures make a profound
contribution to the elimination of racism, James Brown used his personal stature to help calm riots in the wake of the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Examples of James Brown’s generous efforts include:

• Providing over 800 Thanksgiving turkeys to people in his
hometown of Augusta, Ga. This annual event has grown
during the past six years. Not only has Mr. Brown given his
own time and money, he has involved both local merchants
and prominent Georgians in donations that reflect the true
spirit of the holiday.

• Playing Santa Claus in red leather suit and cowboy boots for
hundreds of children in Augusta, Ga. Like his support for
Thanksgiving, his Christmas donations are personal (his own
money and live performances) and communal.

Again, his efforts have been a catalyst for local business involvement. " Mr. Brown does this every year because he grew up on the streets of Augusta, and he feels like the children of Augusta are like his own children,'' said Stacy Brown, general manager of Mr. Brown's radio station, WAAW (94.7). James Brown’s support for the elimination of violence in schools is best exemplified by his creation of the song “Killing's Out and School's In.” In pondering the recent loss of life in Santana, Jonesboro, and Columbine, he has shown not only an acute awareness of the challenge,but also a willingness to take time to contribute to the solutions. " We need to protect the kids by giving them something to do," Brown says. " (It's about) making them interested, making them love mom and dad more,love the family more, love themselves more and love their school. So there won't have to be killing in school." In the 1960’s, Mr. Brown’s commitment to the ideals of the American dream impelled him to give performances in Vietnam - despite the lack of popular domestic support for the war effort. Aside from donating 3,000 turkeys and 20,000 Christmas toys to underprivileged families this season, Mr. Brown gave a brand new Lincoln to a woman in Kansas who couldn't get to church on time because her car broke down. Mr. Brown was humble about his helpful act stating, " It was something that needed to be done. She's trying to get people to church and we need to go to church. I need to go more myself! Ha ha! I've been so busy, working so hard, but I don't put nothing before God. I'm always on my knees every night." It would seem that the influence of Gospel music had an impact on more than just James Brown's style and his interactive relationship with his concert audiences. It had an impact on the style of his off-stage life as well - his reciprocal relationship to his community. The term "soul music" is accurately linked to that part of humanity that shares a universal inner reality. And, James Brown, the " Godfather of Soul" can claim a profound understanding of not only soul music, but also soul living - contributions that enrich the quality
of our entire world.

"He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown," entertainer Little Richard, a longtime friend of Brown's

"James Brown changed music," said Rev. Al Sharpton, who toured with him in the 1970s and imitates his hairstyle to this day.

"He made soul music a world music," Sharpton said. "What James Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip-hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach was to classical music. This is a guy who literally changed the music industry. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music. He pioneered it."

He won a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

Brown's stage act was as memorable, and as imitated, as his records, with his twirls and spins and flowing cape, his repeated faints to the floor at the end as band members tried in vain to get him to leave the stage. His "Live at The Apollo" in 1962 is widely considered one of the greatest concert records ever. And he often talked of the 1964 concert in which organizers made the mistake of having the Rolling Stones, not him, close the bill. He would remember a terrified Mick Jagger waiting offstage, chain smoking, as Brown pulled off his matchless show. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy

Brown routinely lost two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years even as he fought prostate cancer, Ross said. With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince. And the early rap generation overwhelmingly sampled his music and voice as they laid the foundation of hip-hop culture. "Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," Brown told The AP in 2003. Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, Brown was abandoned as a 4 year old to the care of relatives and friends. He grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it, where he learned how to hustle to survive. "I wanted to be somebody," Brown said. By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in Alto Reform School near Toccoa, Ga., for breaking into cars. While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B. In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten. Pete Allman, a radio personality in Las Vegas who had been friends with Brown for 15 years, credited Brown with jump-starting his career and motivating him personally and professionally. "He was a very positive person. There was no question he was the hardest working man in show business," Allman said. "I remember Mr. Brown as someone who always motivated me, got me reading the Bible.

Adrienne Brown died in 1996 in Los Angeles at age 47. She took PCP and several prescription drugs while she had a bad heart and was weak from cosmetic surgery two days earlier, the coroner said. More recently, he married his fourth wife, Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers. The couple had a son, James Jr. Two years later, Brown spent a week in a private Columbia hospital, recovering from what his agent said was dependency on painkillers. Brown's attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, said the singer was exhausted from six years of road shows. Brown was performing to the end, and giving back to his community. Three days before his death, he joined volunteers at his annual toy giveaway in Augusta, and he planned to perform on New Year's Eve at B.B. King Blues Club in New York. "He was dramatic to the end - dying on Christmas Day," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a friend of Brown's since 1955. "Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He'll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way."

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EATING TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet

table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave

immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.



2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it

any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has

10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an

"eggnog-aholic" or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for

me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas.



3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.

Gravy does not stand-alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed

potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.



4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or

whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car

with an automatic transmission.



5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your

eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello???



6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New

Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is

the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet

while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.



7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted

Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position your self near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind,

you're never going to see them again.



8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and mincemeat -- have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?



9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory

celebratory calories, but avoid it at all costs. I mean, have some standards.



10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or

get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips.

Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.



HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! !

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Let's Smoke!

This past weekend my smoking adventures took me behind the Orange Curtain to my friends birthday BBQ in Laguna. It was a damn shame no one showed up but the people who were cooking massive amounts of food. Here is the rundown.... 8lbs Boston Butt smoked in a brand spanking new barrel smoker w/ side box. I neglected to take a picture of the smoker but the pork turned out great!

While the pork needed to smoke for 10 hours, I opted to make my famous braised baby back ribs in the oven. After just 3 hours at around 250F (no oven thermometer) they came out tender and fall off the bone delicious. I reduced the braising liquid to make sauce but I cut it with water this time. In the past I did not cut it and it reduces down to a kind of bbq sauce concentrate. Too salty to dip or brush on.

Happy Chanukkah!

I know there are not enough candles there for the 5th night of Hanukah but I took this pic the first night.
What a great holiday I am having! Check out all the goodies the Jewess got me! It just shows how well she knows me. It's so nice to get a great gift that you don't have to ask for! She knows Lance Armstrong is a personal hero of mine as well as Anthony Bourdain (each for very different reasons!). She knows I love the Baltimore Ravens (AFC North Division 2006 CHampions!), and that I needed a recipe box. Well check it out:

Let's Smoke!

Ok so this is supposed to be a food related blog so how about some food posts?

I recently became the proud new owner of a Bradley Smoker.

Now I have owned an old skool Brinkman smoker that my Dad gave me 8 years ago. This has served me well however it requires a LOT of attention. First off it's electric and you have to keep adding wood chips every 30 minutes or so and they have to be soaked in water so they do not catch fire and cause the temp to spike. Well they pretty much always catch fire at some point. If you are not nearby with your spray bottle of water handy the temp will jump causing precious juices to be lost.

I have had many fun nights over the past 8 years... Staying up all night... drinking and adding wood chips every 30 mintues. It generally takes 10-12 hours to smoke a 5-6 lb. boston butt so it is quite an investment. Beef ribs take even longer!

So now I say goodbye to the days of adding chips and staying up all night! The new smoker has a woodchip delivery system that not only adds fresh wood every 20 minutes but it burns evenly and cleanly which never catches fire and never spikes the temperature. The result is set it and forget it slow even smoking for up to 8 hours! Temperatures in the unit hover between 200-250F with the element on. Without it (cold smoke) it stays just above 100F.. perfect for cheese and fish!
Here is one of the Dream Dinners The Jewess prepeared. I ignored the cooking instructions and tossed the pork loin in the smoker for 3 hours. I added the beans after 2 hours. The result was succulent juicy pork loin with smokey black beans and rice mmm was it good:

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It's A Start

So here I am finally succumb by the ever present force of the blog o' sphere. Let me start by making a few things painfully clear:

1. I am not a good writter or speeler.
2. I don't care if you read my blog
3. The main reason I am starting a blog is to better support the Jewess, who is an avid (and might I say talented) blogger.
4. The second reason is so I can post comments to other bloggers who don't allow anon posts.

That out of the way maybe this will serve as a healthy outlet for.... well anything and everything. I will post from time to time but mostly I will be experimenting with templates and designs to further the Jewess's blog or shamelessly promote my friends blogs.
Cheers!