Merry Christmas, Godfather of Soul.

Of all the days to pass away...

I used to refer, only half-jokingly, to my dance performances as "Drawing Down James Brown". I can't say he was a direct influence -- I never set out to "move the crowd" like I do, much less to continue to do so, show after show -- but...
...it wasn't just the talent, hard-washed as it was. And it sure as hell wasn't his abusive nature. It was the way he so relentlessly attacked the understructures of the music he started with, and rebuilt them into something different, powerful, mind-blowing. For one magic decade he redefined music for a generation of people, and it's painful to think that it was one extreme that built another.
Even more painful to think how much more he could have given, er he not fall into that glittery, spiral trap.

As I look upon my thoughts and ideas about the future of my own work, I know that, on some level, I try, desperately, to follow the path of a certain kind of excellence that James Brown laid down. As I look upon the past of raqs sharqi, and try to map a future, I think upon how one builds a new future while honoring where you came from. I hope, and pray, the things I love can do so.

Thanks, Godfather.