Welcome to the official Web site of the C.A.I.S.O. Steel Band. Stop by, listen to some music, learn about the history of our band and our current gigs, a nice place to be on the Internet. Professional (a.k.a Steel Pan) Musicians in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia.
A jam session drawing everything from guitarists, horn players, and vocalists is available for our enjoyment every Saturday and Sunday afternoon at Columbia Station. It has been hailed as the oldest ongoing jam session in the U.S., and is certainly not short on talent. DC jazz legend Lawrence Wheatley started the weekend celebration of sorts back in the 1960’s. It quickly became the training ground for some of DC’s finest musicians. The jamming gets started every weekend day at 4 p.m.
Wheatley passed away at the age of 73 on October 19, 2008 after leading the jam sessions for four decades. The Washington Post called him the "local music godfather" and "a legend in Washington's jazz community". In an obituary by the Washingon Post, saxophonist Andrew White remembered Wheatley with this comment, "He was the champion and main mentor in town for jam sessions. I had my first jam session with him at the Bohemian Caverns in 1960. My national career started right here with Lawrence."
Pianist Peter Edelman picked up the torch after Wheatley passed away, and has kept the sweet sound of jazz notes resonating for all to enjoy. Edelman and his four man group play on the weekends, but also jam on Tuesday nights at Tryst. The Edelman Quartet has many years’ experience together and it shows. They are thought to be one of the best kept secrets among local jazz talent.
To understand the roots of the jam session, one has to first realize the passion for music of the man who started it all, Lawrence Wheatley. He led the sessions for more than 40 years and was looked up to by many as the local music godfather. Interestingly, even with all his accolades he refused to allow anyone to record his music. Instead, he was more interested in getting people to come out and enjoy his live music.
Wheatley honed his musical talents as he dropped out of Armstrong High School to pursue a career in music in the 1940’s. During the 50’s he was part of an Army band in Germany. By the 1960’s, he was leading a jam session at Bohemian Caverns on U street. The performances then started at Columbia Station, where they continue today.
Wheatley was known to play for hours and had hundreds of tunes committed to memory.
For more information about the Columbia Station jam sessions held every weekend, call 202-462-6040. We suggest you go and attend one and take part in a legendary jam session that is a part of DC's Jazz History.
The place to be on August 28 this year is in Washington, DC for the dedication of the National Memorial for the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr which will also celebrate the 48th Anniversary of the day Rev. King delivered his “I Have A Dream Speech” in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. The event has been well planned and will feature many special events leading up to the dedication and unveiling of the center piece of the memorial, the statue of Rev. King.
The dedication ceremony itself will involve the King family, US Rep John Lewis (D-GA), former UN Ambassador Andrew Young, Rev. Jesse L Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, filmmaker George Lucas, actor Jamie Foxx, Rev. Al Sharpton, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Tom Brokaw, and Maya Angelou.
The memorial has been planned for over 14 years and involved $120 million for the almost complete site. The memorial features a 30 foot by 8 inch granite sculpture of Rev King in a business suit, arms folded, holding a scroll and gazing across the Tidal Basin. Set among the Capital’s famed cherry trees the memorial involves four acres of land.
The King Memorial will be open to the public starting on August 22, at 11 AM but the statue itself will not be uncloaked for viewing until its unveiling on August 28 at 11 AM.
Harry E. Johnson Sr, is the President of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. He commented on the memorial’s unveiling, saying, “The dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial has been long-awaited, and people from around the world are coming to experience this historic moment. We are excited to welcome them all.”
Events surrounding the formal unveiling and opening of the Memorial cover five days of events. The first event is invitation-only and involves leaders and workers who are making an effort for global peace and social equality at the “Honoring Global Leaders for Peace” dinner on August 24. There will then be a luncheon honoring civil rights leaders from the past and those in the present on August 25 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
A four day Martin Luther King, Jr. expo will open on August 25 for the public at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. That evening at 8 PM there will be a civil rights concert at the convention center as well.
On August 26 there is a luncheon for women making an effort in the civil rights movement followed by an interfaith prayer service on August 27 at the Washington National Cathedral. This will begin a day-long youth event at the convention center. That evening a gala and dinner will also be held at the convention center.
The day of the event, August 28th will be a star studded event and there are expected to be over 250,000 people in attendance. For further information about the dedication event and to see a virtual tour of the Memorial for Rev. King, please visit: Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.
Thirty years ago today, a monumental musical event occurred. At 12:01 AM on August 1, 1981 a new station came on the air, called MTV. The first images broadcast on the new music television station were the launch of Apollo 11. The first video was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles and the rest as they say was “History”. Music lovers, especially the young high school age and college age, were now going to be able to see their favorite musicians and bands more often than the usual Grammy awards broadcast or special guest appearance on a late night show, American Bandstand or Soul Train.
Teenagers and young adults now think of MTV as the channel to view reality TV, series aimed at the young adult, and short broadcasts once a day of the top videos. But where are those videos? What makes MTV “THE” music television station? For those that were aware of the new MTV channel it was revolutionary. Musicians became creative with their videos that held much more than what is seems is seen today, despite more technology. Getting cable was a must just to have MTV.
For those wanting to revisit the nostalgia of the good ol’ MTV days, there will be a re-broadcast of the network’s first hour as well as marathon playing of music videos from the 1980’s. However, this won’t be available on MTV, but rather VH1 Classic. It will be a three day celebration beginning on the VH1 Classic channel on Saturday at 6:00 AM EST.
Mark Goodman, was one of MTV’s DJs (disc-jockey) which later was dubbed as a VJ (video-jockey), meaning they had invented a whole new genre of music hosts, recalled the growth of MTV in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. He said, “Part of the job was to hang out with cable operators and convince them to pick up MTV. Within six months we started getting these stories back from small towns in the Midwest and in the South where people were going into record stores and asking for the Buggles, who had been off the shelves for about three years by 1981. I also remember doing an appearance in Cheyenne, Wyoming at a record store where thousands of people showed up. I said, 'What's going on?' They said, 'You.' I was completely blown away, and I said, 'Okay, it's working.'"
He added, "I think we only had 300 videos at first. Which is why you saw Andrew Gold every few hours. We also had lots of Rod Stewart, and even acts like Charlie Daniels. One of the early success stories was Duran Duran. We started playing 'Planet Earth' early on and it got them wide exposure. We started to hear about British bands coming to the States and being shocked by how many people showed up.
"As far as I know, MTV isn't doing anything in particular to celebrate the 30th. MTV doesn't want people to think about how friggin' old they are. The people watching now were so, so not born when we launched. They were light years away from being born."
The days of videos the likes of “Thriller” by Michael Jackson are long gone, just as MTV being a music video television station is long gone. Instead, videos are common, and can be downloaded and watched over and over, or viewed whenever you want on the Internet. Who would think MTV would change so much or have such a large impact on music in general? Then again, who could have predicted a television station based solely on short performances of music would evolve and give rise to several other video based stations. Change occurs, but for those that can recall the good old days and the thrill of viewing a favorite video after hours of sitting and waiting in front of MTV, it will never be the same. Happy 30th Birthday MTV!
