FROM AFROS TO SHELLTOES BLOG » Anthony David

Sweet Tea Ethics: Ed Garnes Anthony David Talk Soul Music Songwriting

From Afros To Shelltoes — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:29:29 +0000

Ed Garnes, Founder of From Afros To Shelltoes, and Grammy nominated soul man Anthony David discuss creative process, soul music, and the importance of songwriting during a special edition of Sweet Tea Ethics at Spelman College.

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Anthony David Kindred Live Center Stage

From Afros To Shelltoes — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:55:52 +0000

From Afros To Shelltoes play cousin Anthony David and Kindred, the first family of soul, play Atlanta’s Center Stage November 16, 2011 with special guest Choklate. Proceeds benefit New Hope Enterprises. The event is presented by our friends at Muddy Water and Rival Entertainment.

From Afros To Shelltoes One Music Fest The Foreign Exchange Giveaway

From Afros To Shelltoes — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:40:19 +0000

From Afros To Shelltoes One Music Fest The Foreign Exchange Giveaway

From Afros To Shelltoes (FATS) always shows love to progressive movements and damn good music. In support of Atlanta’s One Music Fest August 27,2011, FATS will lace five (5) lucky winners with FATS Prize Packs courtesy of our play cousins Sol Fusion and featured artists The Foreign Exchange.

FATS Prize Pack 1

A pair of tickets to One Music Fest

FATS Prize Pack 2

CD/DVD The Foreign Exchange-Dear Friends

Release Date: June 28, 2011

01. Introduction/Fight For Love
02. All Roads
03. Take Off The Blues
04. Lose Your Way/Band Introductions
05. House Of Cards
06. Greatest Weapon Of All Time
07. Something In The Way She Moves
08. Laughing At Your Plans
09. Daykeeper
10. I Wanna Know
11. Steal Away feat. Jeanne Jolly
12. All The Kisses feat. Amber & Paris Strother of KING

FATS Prize Pack 3

CD The Foreign Exchange-Authenticity

Release Date: October 12, 2010

01. The Last Fall
02. Authenticity
03. Eyes To The Sky
04. All Roads
05. Fight For Love
06. Maybe She’ll Dream Of Me
07. Don’t Wait
08. Make Me A Fool
09. Everything Must Go
10. Laughing At Your Plans
11. This City Ain’t The Same Without You

FATS Prize Pack 4

CD The Foreign Exchange-Leave It All Behind

Release Date: October, 7, 2008

01. Daykeeper feat. Muhsinah
02. Take Off The Blues feat. Darien Brockington
03. All Or Nothing/Coming Home To You feat. Darien Brockington
04. I Wanna Know
05. House Of Cards feat. Muhsinah
06. Sweeter Than You
07. Valediction
08. If She Breaks Your Heart feat. YahZarah
09. If This Is Love feat. YahZarah
10. Something To Behold feat. Muhsinah & Darien Brockington
11. Leave It All Behind

FATS Prize Pack 5

CD The Foreign Exchange-Connected

Release Date: August 24, 2004

01. Foreign Exchange Title Theme
02. Von Sees
03. Raw Life
04. Hustle, Hustle
05. Let’s Move
06. Nic’s Groove
07. Be Alright
08. Sincere
09. Brave New World
10. The Answer
11. Come Around
12. Happiness
13. Foreign Exchange End Theme
14. All That You Are
15. Be Alright (Nicolay’s Easybreezy Sunday Afternoon Remix)
16. Call
17. Downtime (Nicky Troutman’s Bounce To The Ounce Remix)

To enter the From Afros To Shelltoes One Music Fest The Foreign Exchange Prize Pack Giveaway:

• Be rsubscribed to From Afros To Shellotes’ mailing list via http://afrostoshelltoes.com/word/

• Entrants must email sweetteaethics@afrostoshelltoes.com (Subject Line: FATS One Music Fest The Foreign Exchange Giveaway) your COMPLETE NAME, EMAIL, PHONE NUMBER, and ZIP CODE. Entries will be accepted from 9 am , 8/9/11 until 5pm , 8/23/11.

• All entrants must be residents of Atlanta or surrounding areas and a least 18 years of age.

• Five (5) Winners will be randomly selected and notified on 8/24/11 via phone or email to arrange prize pick up.

• Winners email address and contact info will only be shared with our sponsors One Music Fest and The Foreign Exchange. From Afros To Shelltoes will not share, sell, or distribute contact information with any other third parties.

Sweet Tea Ethics: Ed Garnes Anthony David Talk President Obama

From Afros To Shelltoes — Sat, 07 May 2011 01:28:46 +0000

When singer Anthony David heard that Spelman adjunct professor Edward Garnes Jr. was using his songs as part of his public speaking curriculum, he decided to see the students in action for himself. David, whose popularity took a major jump when President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama noted him as one of their favorite singers, visited a joint session of Spelman’s public speaking classes on April 27. According to Garnes, the students were assigned to use his song, “God said,” as a basis for preparing an informative, persuasive or entertaining speech. This semester the public speaking classes have also featured music A&R executive Amir Windom, and spoken word artists Khia Stone and Chezon Jackson. — Source: Inside Spelman

Peep the special Sweet Tea Ethics chat with Anthony David below...

Anthony David God Said

From Afros To Shelltoes — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:52:39 +0000

The following joint was written by Grammy nominated artist and From Afros To Shelltoes play cousin Anthony David in advance of 106 & Park’s world premiere of his hard hitting video for the song “God Said”…

So,

As you know, my albums are more than just love songs. I like to tell stories, and I like to cover issues that I think affect us all.

So I did. I wrote a song called GOD SAID after watching Pat Robertson declare that the earthquake in Haiti was because of a curse from God. After hearing A man named Rev Wiley say that he was praying for President Obama’s death during the election (the prayer didn’t work BTW). After hearing people fiddle around with the idea of a curse on Japan after their recent disaster. After hearing about Koran burnings and battles that seem to have peoples interpretations of religious texts at the foundation of them all.

I’m not one of those who claims that religion is the ONLY thing that causes all of the wars and bloodshed, but it has caused many. But not necessarily even the religion but the interpretetation of a few dangerous minds put into the wrong position of power or influence. I figured it was time to have a conversation with extremists like this, and put that kind of thinking in it’s proper perspective.

Its just my opinion, but I suspect peace loving people from all walks of life will agree with me on SOME level.

I wanted to illustrate the vision I had for the song, and make it clear what I meant, because just off of the title, many didn’t catch the satire. I contacted my longtime friend and incredible director, Devaughn Hughson to work with me on these visuals. We actually started out together when I was writing more screenplay than songs. Music became my format for expression wile he went further in film, but we always shared ideas in hopes to do something powerful together one day.

This is it, or definitely one of em.

Once we started combing and looking for footage that went with it, there was TOO MUCH (unfortunately, and this is further evidence that it needed to be made).

I’m extremely proud of the work we did on this. We made it for the internet, but somehow it got cleared to play on BET of all places. I’m proud of them for airing it. Stephen Hill has always been a supporter of mine from the first album (I can remember seeing this guy in the front row at SOB’s singing ALL THE WORDS, and wondering who he was- it was him). They brought me in on this MUSIC MATTERS TOUR (ft Marsha Ambrosius and Melanie Fiona- check my tour dates, we’re coming to you) and they have exposed me to their audience quite a bit. I’m grateful to them for that.

I’m sure there will be some disagreements. I put some of my more radical ideas in there, and there will probably be some disagreement about a few things here and there. That’s ok with me, I’m all for civil discussion and people having their own ideas. I don’t mean any harm, but they’re my ideas (and the directors- we all pitched in). There will be places to have these discussions, but mostly, I tried to stick to the unifying point, which is anti extremism and fundamentalism. I mean well by it. I encourage THOUGHT, REASON, LOVE, and RESPECT. I hope that comes across at the very least.

Whenever something comes out that’s a little more pointed than love songs, or whatever, I suppose they need to be prefaced with a little disclaimer. Heres mine.

Enjoy? yeah, you can and should

106 & Park airs at 630- cheers!

For more info on Anthony David, visit his site http://www.rollingmojo.com.

ATL Anthony David Album Release Party

From Afros To Shelltoes — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:32:37 +0000

ABOUT

Georgia-based singer/songwriter Anthony David is another in a growing list of impressive, talented performers who are successfully merging old and new school grooves with a Southern flavor and are quickly turning Atlanta into perhaps the most exciting city for new soul music.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, David moved to Atlanta as an adult to pursue a career in music. One of the first people he met was India.Arie, and the two formed a friendship based in part on their mutual love of 60s and 70s soul music. A break came when Arie released her highly acclaimed debut, Acoustic Soul, in 2002, which included a David composition, “Part of Your Life.”

Thinking of himself more as a songwriter, it took several years before David was willing to showcase his voice publicly, but he began to perform and gather a following in Atlanta. Using soul greats Bill Withers and Anita Baker as models, he developed his own vocal style, a rough, raspy Southern baritone that worked well with his poetic, storytelling compositions.

David signed with Atlanta-based Brash Records and in late 2004 released his debut album, Three Chords & the Truth. An impressive series of stories set to mostly acoustic backing, the disc found David moving effortlessly along the spectrum that began with the contemporary blues sounds of Keb Mo and ending with the accessible acoustic soul of Arie and P.J. Morton. Lyrically, the disc was mostly about early love relationships, although it occasionally moved into more complex territory, including urban social issues (“Krooked Kop”), personal spirituality (“The Water/The Fire”) and a sad family tradition of marital infidelity (“Cheatin’ Man”). Musically the disc was even more impressive, with David’s laid-back vocals covering a baker’s dozen of solid, melodic blues, soul, folk and even reggae tracks.

David received a strong response from the indie soul community, and Three Chords catapulted into a leadership position in that movement, at the level of Morton, Eric Roberson and Frank McComb. He solidified that position two years later with Red Clay Chronicles, an album that was even stronger than his debut and that featured two simply outstanding songs: The bluesy first single, “Stop Playin’,” and the duet with Arie, “Words.” The latter became one of the year’s most played indie songs and won for David the 2007 SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Award for Song of the Year.

David’s ascent led him to the door of Universal Records via Arie’s own Soulbird label. His Soulbird debut was Acey Duecy, a compilation of 11 tracks from his first two albums and a nice introduction of his music to the general music world.

Anthony David The Set Up

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:08:02 +0000

“I want people to see in me the vast potential black music has to offer. I want them to see positivity, negativity. An artist that is complete knows how to deliver the full range of the human experience, from sorrow to extreme joy and celebrate all of it.” Anthony David as told to Ed Garnes

To placate swelling demand for his upcoming album, AS ABOVE SO BELOW, Grammy nominated soul brother Anthony David is releasing an unplugged joint, THE SET UP, recorded live at Atlanta’s Sambuca Jazz Cafe. For die hard fans, our play cousin has provided an audible treat for you to lunch on.

Anthony David “Let Me In”

ORDER THE SET UP BY CLICKING HERE

For more on Anthony David, visit his official site http://www.rollingmojo.com/

Pickin Cotton:Why Black Artists Still Aint Free

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:49:59 +0000

Young black girls need less Nicki Minaj and more Nikki Giovanni.

Pickin’ Cotton: Why Black Artists Still Aint Free

By: Edward M. Garnes, Jr.

With mega churches more concerned with tax returns than spiritual bankruptcy, absentee parents content on living second childhoods instead of raising competent adults, and ego driven leaders jockeying for a seat at Master’s table, it’s easy to understand why shallow billboard hits are all pretense and no power.

Click Here to read the full story @theloop21.com:

http://theloop21.com/society/pickin-cotton-why-black-artists-still-aint-free

Anthony David feat Phonte Algebra 4evermore

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:13:36 +0000

“I never wanted my album to be some obscure thing you pull out for your grand kids and tell stories about. I always wanted to touch a global community with my songs. Some people search out good music…Just like folks who don’t eat McDonalds.. they like high end food…this is high end music and some people have ears to hear it.” Anthony David (as told to Ed Garnes)

Soul man Athony David has a gift for fans of the From Afros To Shelltoes Blog. Damn Good music. Peep this exclusive joint, “4evermore” (produced by Dj Keimit) feat our play cousin Phonte( Little Brother/Foreign Exchange) and Algebra, from his upcoming album As Above So Below. The song is a “summer time get down with a cutey at Rae Rae’s cookout sho nuff jam.”

Anthony David feat Phonte Algebra-”Forever More”

http://www.zshare.net/audio/602842340a594fdc/ (Dowload Here)

For more info, peep the links below:

Anthony David http://www.myspace.com/anthonydavid

Phonte http://www.myspace.com/phontigallo

Algebra http://www.myspace.com/algebrablessett

Anthony David ATL Grammy Party

From Afros To Shelltoes — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:36:34 +0000

Our homie Anthony David & India.Arie are nominated for a Grammy (Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals). Peep the flyer below to RSVP for David’s viewing party in ATL. Tell em’ From Afros To Shelltoes sent ya’. Peep Ed Garnes’ back in the day joint on why Anthony David’s blue collar soul is the best thang since sweet tea!!!

http://afrostoshelltoes.com/word/2008/12/27/ed-garnes-traces-anthony-davids-rise-circa-00/

Ed & Sugar Pres Obama’s Southernplayalistic Inauguration Mixtape

From Afros To Shelltoes — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:44:03 +0000

Everybody needs a soundtrack. I bet you Obama would bump these joints from Outkast, Marvin Gaye, Erykah Badu, and Gil Scott Heron in his Presidential Caddy!

Raheem DeVaughn ft. Ludacris – “Bulletproof (Remix)”

Marvin Gaye- “You’re The Man”

Erykah Badu- “Solider”

Gil Scott Heron “The Bottle”

Outkast (Feat. Cee-Lo) – “In Due Time”

Goodie Mob “Black Ice”

Outkast feat Cee-Lo, Big Rube,
Erykah Badu & Joi – “ Liberation”

Anthony David – “Red Clay Chronicles”

Ed Garnes Traces Anthony David’s Rise Circa 00′

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:56:59 +0000

Other Side Of The Game: Soul Singer Anthony David Traces His Musical Roots (2000)

By Edward M. Garnes, Jr.

The following joint is an exclusive excerpt from award winning writer Edward M. Garnes, Jr.’s long awaited collection Other Side of The Game: Rare Testimonials On Music & Black Cultural Production to be published by Home Grown in 2009. This was the first story ever written on Anthony David way back in 2000.

Throughout his childhood in Savannah, GA he had displayed his consummate skill as an artist, churning out poems and screenplays, and acting in numerous productions in his community. But after performing in an Army benefit while a soldier, he realized that he could actually sing. Apprehensively, on the fire escape of his West End Atlanta abode, Anthony David began the laborious task of reading chord books and finding his voice – his signature sound. Right up the street from prestigious Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, in the city too busy to hate, he struggled to find that beautiful place where instrumentation and inspiration meet.

The first person he met on his journey, India Arie (who is now signed with Motown records with a slated March 2001 debut), would soon become his sister in soul. “I was getting out of my car at the Underground in Atlanta and I saw her and her friends. We became close over the years. We liked the same music and we kinda grew together.”

Hooking up with his musical mentor and guardian angel, Lazz, helped to further cultivate David’s gift. Standing a slim 6 feet tall, Lazz is the cool cat on the corner who use to bump Stylistics tunes in an age when ‘art for art’s sake’ was an everyday thing. “Lazz gave me a $10,000 music education in three months. He set a great foundation and taught me how to learn from other people. Like an angel, whenever he was around, things just seemed to work out. I gotta keep that power in reserve.”

Five years removed from his first guitar lesson and decked out in an Adidas pullover, loose-fitting jeans, and sneakers, Anthony David looks more like a high schooler on his way to class than a seasoned soul stirrer creating underground buzz and hosting open mike nights at poet Jessica Care Moore’s storefront in downtown Atlanta. Moore, who rose to national acclaim after her poetry mesmerized the notoriously brutal Apollo audiences for five straight weeks, is creating a new Black Renaissance in the dirty south. She and her husband, poet Shariff Simmons, packed up and brought their energy to Georgia. Moore Epics has quickly become to Atlanta what the Nuyorican Café and Lennox Lounge are to New York, and David is an intricate part of the building process.

“Me and Jessica are on the same vibe – like Saul Williams and Shariff, who she published. I would go to New York and we’d run in the same circles. I had been trying to do an open mike thing, and she gave me a chance.” And he is taking full advantage of the house that Moore built. In an incense haze, sitting on stage with guitar in tow, Anthony David doesn’t just sing. He testifies. He transcends.

The best exemplar of his unique voice is the groovy plea of “Cold Turkey,” in which he employs a catchy hook as a fiending lover attempts to exorcise his love jones. The lyrics plead, “Cold turkey/ feelings don’t go away so easy/ Just a little more time/ and I swear I’ll leave you alone,” leaving audiences empathetic and mesmerized by David’s sincerity.

“Eyes Closed” is a boastful ballad of a superman lover “I can do it with my eyes closed/ ‘cause I know how to treat a women with my hands behind my back/ I can keep the good loving coming.” Another tune, “Backstreet,” is a poignant social critique that infuses the singer’s political consciousness like a millennial “What’s Going On.” David readily admits that his work is a sharp veer from Billboard’s Top 40, and credits a soulful narrator for giving him the license to do his thing.

“I am slightly to the left. I could never sing anyone else’s songs or stuff I heard on the radio. But when I was introduced to Bill Withers – as I cultivated my work – it gave me confidence and something to relate to. If he could do it like that, then I could too.”

This modern day crooner is a redeemer who belts blues with an old school sensibility, and his craftsmanship as songwriter conjures up the liberating effect of unconventional singers like Withers, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. Yet, David is the Scottie Pippen of soul, the all around cat who is just as comfortable busting a flow as he is singing a ballad. A hip hop theologian, he blends rhymes and riffs like the ground-breaking and Bob Marley-influenced mainstream marauder, Lauryn Hill.

Like the work of all great artists, his emotional compositions detail what it is like to be human. To hurt…to love…to live. ” I like being human. Many of my songs come from everyday conversations. I soak up the influence for a little while and really don’t mess with it until it really comes. Until I feel it,” David explains. It’s this attention to detail, this respect for the craft, that sets artists like Anthony David apart from the norm. With descendants of soul like the flower child Erykah Badu and the buffed D’Angelo (and more recently, poet/vocalist Jill Scott, and funky child, Musiq) ripping billboard charts, taking home Grammy awards and thriving in the mainstream, perhaps timing couldn’t be better for Anthony David’s rise.

But David is quick to point out that soul never died. It’s recent popularity can be attributed to the consumers’ ever-evolving taste. “It’s always been there, even in the ‘80s with Prince and Cameo. People just weren’t receptive and didn’t pay attention. People are getting tired of stuff that doesn’t seem to be cared about by the people that make it. Consumers are getting smarter and demanding a better product.”

And David is right. Groups like Toni!Tony!Tone!, Mint Condition, and The Roots had been putting it down in obscure, smoke-filled, underground clubs before live music from actual bands got consumer stamps of approval. Like any other business, music is competitive, and persistence pays off. You may have to pour out your soul for years, playing small venues, sharing your gift, before industry insiders ever take notice. You might even have to play on your fire escape in front of no one, in anticipation of your big break.

The prospect of being a struggling artist was not the sexiest of career choices for David. People were unreceptive to authentic soul, yet David always believed. He put in the work. He moved beyond despair. And when asked what the secret to his growing success is, he steadfastly replies, “I loved music even when music didn’t love me.”

David has a new album slated for independent release in the spring of 2001.– The End

Award winning writer, educator, counselor, and activist Edward M. Garnes, Jr. is the founder of From Afros to Shelltoes: Art, Action, and Conversation, a nationally acclaimed series of cultural productions confronting the social divide between elders and hip hop heads, and holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and a M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University . His seminal essay, ” Sweet Tea Ethics: Black Luv, Healthcare, and Cultural Mistrust,” currently appears in Not In My Family: AIDS in the African American Community, a 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated collection edited by Gil Robertson. (www.afrostoshelltoes.com).