Graham Central Station – All Aboard!

In 1968, Sly and the Family Stone put out an album that probably had the biggest single impact on the music of that era than any other single musical creation of those times.  It was called Dance to the Music.  It was on this album that Sly decided to feature more of the individual members of his multi-cultural group in an effort to appease CBS executive Clive Davis' request for Sly Stone to make his sound more pop-friendly.

“I’m gonna add some bottom, so that the dancers a-just won’t hide …”

It was from the title track of their breakout album, Dance to the Music, when we heard Larry Graham play that funky, fuzzy bass line and introduce us to the purest, richest baritone voice in the Western hemisphere.  And that was only because the Eastern half of the world had not yet heard him. Little did anyone know that the standard for playing bass in R&B, pop, funk, psychedelic, rock, punk, garage band … whatever – would be changed forever.

Over forty years have gone by since we were first mesmerized by Graham’s signature thumb-plucking, slapping, funk-a-fide bass-playing style that has become the norm for anyone who wants to to call himself a bass player to incorporate into his skill set.  There isn’t a bass player on the scene today that does not use Graham’s classic technique.  Not only is Larry Graham the undisputed originator of the “slap-pluck” technique, he is still the undisputed master of it.  Oh yes, he is. I saw it with my own two eyes this past Saturday night at the Ram’s Head On Stage, in Annapolis, Md. If you ride through Annapolis and go past 33 West Street, you can probably still feel the building rumblin’ from all that thumpin’. 

Graham started the show off with some of the GCS favorites, such as “Ain’t No Fun to Me, Feel the Need, Release Yourself, The Jam”, and “It’s All Right”.  He then slowed things down and gave the audience some of that incredible voice with songs like ”Just be my Lady” and of course, there was a house sing-along during his must-do performance of “One in a Million” which was enjoyable even for anyone who might have thought they couldn’t bear to hear it one more time.  Let me tell you something: it’s a whole lot different when you’re hearing the real deal singing it right in front of you - and not some karaoke wannabe at destroying it at your local pub.

Larry Graham and GCS brings so much energy to the stage that for the first fifteen minutes of the show you are literally stunned. Then, just when you think you’ve adjusted to the GCS train coming through, they throw some more coal in the burner and rev it up some more.  Ashley Cole, aka “Biscuit” is the current female vocalist for GCS. Strongly influenced by the late Teena Marie, Biscuit kept the party going (and believe me, it WAS a big ole’ party) with her rendition of “Square Biz”.  She was fantastic as she belted out the tune with incredible authenticity.  If you are a Teena fan, then you would have loved this performance.  The band also accepted a mock challenge from an audience member to perform the song, Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. After doing a slam-dunk version of the song, Graham proclaimed , “Don’t mess with The Station! You just never know what we might play up in this camp!”

But it was the final set that really let the joint out. “The Station” went on to do a medley of tunes from the Sly and the Family Stone glory days, including “Family Affair, Everyday People, Dance to the Music” and even an open-mike version of “If You Want Me to Stay”, at which time audience members were invited to the stage to perform a verse or two.  They closed out the show with their encore song “Higher” which left us all wonderfully exhausted. It was a night of good, clean fun that made you glad to be a child of the 70’s, and made you jealous if you were not. This was one of the most electrifying performances that I have ever seen from any band.  After it was all over, all I could say was “Wow”.

G.

Check out this recent video and see for yourself!