INNER
CITY SOUNDS "Gritty Soul & Underground
Funk From the Vaults of Inner City Records"
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As
we pick through the vaults of Inner City Records, owner George
Semper rattles off tales of recording funk 45s in the
back of Oakland record stores, playing with Cheech &
Chong, and chillin' with Al McKay of
the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. If his record
deal with Imperial records hadn't gone sour we may not have been
able to bring you these stories, and more importantly this compilation
of mostly unreleased funk and soul music that he produced between
1969 and 1977.
In the mid 1960s an organ player called George Semper recorded
and released the "Makin' Waves" album
through Imperial Records, re-issued recently
on the UK based Hubbub label. Semper's deal with Imperial went
bad so in 1966 he became a partner in the Jazzville nightclub
in San Diego. He was responsible for bringing in artists like
Miles Davis, Little Richard, The Temptations, BB King,
Marvin Gaye , Jackie Wilson, Dave Brubeck, Jerry Butler, Gene
Chandler, Johnny Guitar Watson, Ramsey Lewis, Curtis Mayfield
& The Impressions, John Coltrane, Cannonball and Nat Adderly
and Otis Redding - major acts that wouldn't normally
venture south of Los Angeles.
Semper had booked Ike and Tina Turner in 1966,
it was a high maintenance gig with temperamental Ike Turner threatening
not to show. A few days before the Turners were due to play Jazzville,
Semper was asked to fill-in for a friend and play organ in Las
Vegas. The gig was on the same night as the Turner show. After
several calls with Ike Turner he was sure that they were actually
going to make it and decided it was safe to take the Vegas gig.
He played with Ray Charles backing band at a
club and hotel called the Moulin Rouge. Unfortunately
the band played to an empty club. But having such a good time
together they played another night. By the third night word had
spread about a hot new band at the Moulin Rouge and the club was
busy. The club owner was so impressed he had Semper stay for a
week in order to play the following weekend. Semper ended up staying
2 years in Vegas. The band evolved to feature his musicians from
San Diego and they eventually moved to Caesars Palace becoming
George Semper and the Soul Patrol.
Semper sold his stake in the San Diego club and moved to LA in
late 1969 with the money he'd saved from his Las Vegas gigs. Between
1969 and 1972 he was kept busy with studio work and made the unusual
but smart business decision to request he be able to keep the
masters to songs he played on and wrote. That's how songs like
the covers of "Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
and "It's Your Thing" appear on this compilation.
Semper started his own production company called Inner City Attractions.
He made it his mission in life to go and find acts around the
country. "I went all over and recorded groups, probably only
breaking even when you figure in traveling and taking chances
on acts."
Ron and Candy were the first act signed to Semper's Inner City
label. Their "Lovely Weekend" single
was a massive success selling close to 200, 000 copies. "The
two of them came and sang the song at my house and I knew straight
away I wanted to sign them," explains Semper. "We recorded
it at CBA (Clark Brown Audio) recording studio in the Crenshaw
district of Los Angeles in 1972. It was a let-your-hair-down session
with the musicians and singers recording with all of their hearts.
They all recorded for free, based on faith that things were going
to happen. Even the studio was free. And things did happen - so
everyone got paid five fold," he adds.
"The only thing that kept me from selling a million was that
I was on tour with Merry Clayton and
Cheech & Chong when the record took off! Being on
the road I couldn't keep up with demand for the record in certain
markets. I ended up turning down offers from a couple of major
labels who wanted to take the single off of me, and I was going
to go with MGM before they closed down," says Semper. The
single was even bootlegged by a company in Florida. Featured on
this compilation is "Plastic Situation," the B-Side
to "Lovely Weekend".
The Ron and Candy single was so in demand in 1972 that Semper
used it as barter to record other tunes that ended up on this
compilation. Ray Dobar's House of Music record store in Oakland
had an 8-track studio in the back. Dobar gave Semper studio time
to record In One Peace and Funkafreek in exchange for copies of
the single. "It was funky little studio that didn't cost
much money," remembers Semper. "The sound is really
raw on those tracks, it's so hot it's almost distorted!"
he adds.
2 or 3 takes of each track were recorded across several master
tapes. Fortunately some of the tapes were sent back to Los Angeles
by mail because passing through the X-Ray machine on the flight
home the tapes in Semper's possession were wiped clean! None of
either bands tunes recorded in that record store session were
released until now. One member of In One Peace went on to release
many records. The 14-year-old keyboard playing bandleader was
Rodney Franklin who had a very successful career as a jazz pianist
with Columbia Records.
Several of the artists on this compilation came to Sempers attention
through Paul Mack, national promotions manager for Inner City
Records who was based in the Bay Area. Finding In One Peace and
Funkafreek, he also introduced Parliament and Funkadelic to Semper
when they saw how well Ron and Candy had sold. Semper was tied
up with a group called Mean Machine at the time and unfortunately
couldn't get free to work with George Clinton
and Co.
Together Mack and Semper brewed a Bay Area sound typical for the
times. "Funk from the Bay area is so identifiable when you
hear it," says Semper. "It's hard to pinpoint, but certain
areas have certain styles and the Bay Area had it's own style
- Sly Stones band, the Pointer Sisters backing
band, Tower of Power, it's loose sounding funk but often more
arranged than other funk jams and with vocals. There was a big
live scene all around the Bay, and rock mixed with r&b a lot
of time. In LA you were doing one or the other, but in San Francisco
it was all mixed up - the people were just different there."
Semper and Mack's Bay Area style stuck with them through the 1970s
even when they recorded the Perfect Circle in the latter part
of the decade. Perfect Circle were another Paul Mack discovery
and Semper once again was caught choosing whether he should work
with one band over another. He turned down Mandrill to finish
up work on the now collectible Perfect Circle
album that blended funk, soul and disco influences.
There's a hint of early disco, a touch of boogie tune, and a whole
lot of soul in Mary Love's 1975 recording "More Love".
Hailing from Los Angeles she was a big attraction on the club
circuit. "In the '70s L.A. had clubs from one end of the
city to the other end, and Mary Love played nearly all of them,"
says Semper. Today, Mary Love sings and teaches as an evangelist.
Not all the artists featured here were obscure, underground or
one-hit wonders. Semper was in the line-up for the United Soul
Association band, which also included guitar work by Al
McKay also a member of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm
Band and Earth Wind and Fire. The Funkateers were a backup band
for Ode record's Merry Clayton, and often toured the University
and college circuit appearing with acts like Billy Preston,
Carole King, The Rolling Stones, Buddy Miles, ELO, Isaac Hayes,
and Johnnie Taylor. Funkproof began as Brenton Wood's
backup band. Wood penned and performed three multi million selling
hits; "Oogum Boogum Song," "Gimmie Some Kinda Sign,"
"Baby You Got It." A Funkproof album was scheduled for
release by MGM, but just like the song Ron and Candy song it was
never released as MGM abruptly closed its doors.
Looking back at the years captured here Semper has few regrets.
"I would have brought in investors, or at least a
partner, for which repeatedly I turned down offers, because I
wanted total creative, and decision making control, "
he says. "I'm not a control freak, I just didn't
want hassles from any other party; though often times, outside
resources sure would have helped," he adds.
Semper continues to produce and compose music and his maintaining
funk connection. "I mostly make instrumental jazz
hip-hop in a soundtrack style, with funk flavoring always somewhere
in the mix," he explains.
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