DJ PRESTIGE GUEST SPOT

(One of our favorite sites to nerd out on is Flea Market Funk, ran by our dude Jamison Harvey, a collector who also goes by DJ Prestige. Stop by FMF for merch, cool features, funk-bombs, and posts like the one below. Glad to kick-off 2014 with this one. More stuff like this in the coming year. Without further ado, DJ Prestige. -DM )

Soul Tornadoes – ‘Go For Yourself’ [Burt]

Here’s a record that I scored at my go to “Spot” in New Jersey. I used to scour this place about three days a week. It took me many years to finally get in with the local, old-time vinyl dealer. He would piece meal me records every week. I had to buy stuff from “The Old Man” aka “Samurai Mike” even if he sold me the same record previously to keep him bringing more from his stash. Unfortunately we lost him a few years ago and his massive collection got stolen from his family by swindlers. This particular day I had bought my stash from Mike but saw another dealer, The Meatball, who was notorious for trying to make a quick buck. As I dug and found this record, he immediately told me it wasn’t for sale. Bullshit I said. I’ll give you $20. Now I don’t pay more than a few bucks for records but this Midwest burner was not slipping through my fingers. He agreed at $20 but said he wanted to do research. Whatever man, and the next week I saw him he tells me it’s not for sale. I don’t want to say I bullied him into selling it to me but I questioned his character as a record dealer, and he finally had to sell it because he knew I’d see him every week and give him shit until I finally got it off of him. I read about this record from an old Big Daddy article and knew it had to be in my 45 box.

Straight out of Rubbertown, Akron, OH, the Soul Tornados Heller Twins (not really twins) were destined to be entertainers. Their mother, who at any time had performers like Jimmy Smith or Brother Jack McDuff sleeping and eating her home cooked meals when they were performing at the local Hi Hat Club, might have given those boys the inspiration to play the B-3 and drum kit she bought them a little longer with those kinds of house guests around. In other words, these boys learned from the pros. They formed the Soul Tornadoes and soon were signed by Ernest Burt to Burt Records. Burt was responsible for labels like Magic City, Mello, and Sock-It among others. The Tornadoes dealt with a lot of adversity including a bad contract with Burt that locked them in, preventing a move to Motown,, a diss by James Brown on this very record as a rip off of “Cold Sweat”, and various other tragedies that prevented them from making it big. Some members found their way to LA where they were in the band Lakeside, but all in all this two-sided 7″ on Burt was their shining moment.

This record absolutely moves me because I believe they weren’t trying to rip off JB per se, I’d like to think they were paying homage to the Godfather in their own Midwest way. It’s an all around Funk bomb and a record I dare anyone to sit still to. You just can’t. This was $20 well spent, as this kind of Funk never would turn up in any of my digging spots ever again.

TNT Band – ‘The Meditation’ [Cotique]

I have never been a Latin expert so when I was digging through a 50 cent box with some other friends and someone said “This looks right up your alley”, it wasn’t long before I fired up the Fisher Price 825 and listened to this Latin Soul record through some headphones. Immediately this mellow side with Tito Ramos on vocals called to me. No sooner did I get into this record did I hear a shout of “Drum call” before this giant drum break which then went right back into the Latin flavored Soul pill I just ingested. 50 cents for this? I wish there were 10 of them. Now this particular digger had totally passed on records like the Funk Factory LP , Dave and Ansel Collins “Double Barrel” and a few other choice 45s in my collection, so I’ll tip my hat to Long Beard Neil for passing on those sides. This side quickly became one of my favorite 45s ever.

The Cotique label was short-lived (1968-1970), but initially was attempting to capture the “new Boogaloo sound” (already available since the 50’s known as guajira) coming out of New York City. Clearly trying to lure in the young Latin audience with liberal lyrics about illegal drugs and LSD to a Boogaloo rhythm, it would be bad business practices and gradual move to Disco that eventually crippled the label. However, this is just one of the gems released on this NYC label, and it found its way to a pile of 45s in some dirt farm in Central Jersey. I will take the mint copy with pleasure. I’d like to think that this side is equal parts Archie Bell & the Drells “Tighten Up” and a James Brown dance cut rolled into one all done in the TNT Band’s unique Latin style. Although both vocalists, Ramos and Tony Rojas were accomplished front me in their own right, it would be Ramos taking center stage on this record. 3 records and a few hits later, to me, “The Meditation” is of their all time best. Who would have thought that a mellow Latin Soul 7″ could also be so funky?