Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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16 UCW MAY 10-16, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM EVENTS Mother's Day Soul Jam: An Interview With the Stylistics by DR. SHANESSA FENNER e Crown Coliseum presents a Mother's Day Soul Jam featuring the Stylistics on Saturday, May 13 at 7 p.m. Stylistics member Airrion Love and I had a conversation about the Soul Jam, their greatest hits and new projects. What should the audience expect to see at this Mother's Day Soul Jam performance? We don't feature other people's material and our portion of the show is going to be all of our hits that people have come to love over the years. What is your favorite Stylistics song? You know it's funny because each year it is a different one. My favorite is "Payback Is A Dog." It was not as big of a hit like "Betcha By Golly Wow" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New," but it is a popular song. What messages do you convey in your songs? All of our songs are about being in and out of love. e message may change depending on the song we sing. "People Make e World Go Round" is a song that was about what was going on at that particular time. Everybody that knows our music would say it relates to love. When were you first inspired to do music? Coming up I wanted to be a singer, and I was singing at the age of six. I was part of a few groups. When I got older, I was interested in computer programming, and that is what I was gearing things for. I was working at a bank in Philadelphia in the computer department and I took a leave of absence from my job to take a chance and make music with the group, and it turned out to be a great decision. Some bands and groups break up over a period of time. What is the key to keeping a musical group together and continuing to make beautiful music for decades? If I knew that answer, I would bottle it and sell it. One of the things that has helped us maintain our position is that we were given great material. ose songs were so good. In the 70s we were a part of what was going on along with the other 70s group. But now we have maintained it and people have loved our group through the years. Are there any future projects for the group? We have a couple of things in the fire, but it is too soon to comment on. We have a meeting next week in regards to doing some background for some people. We have a finished product that we are trying to work out a record deal for. Treat mom to a pre-show dinner buffet at the Crown eatre from 5–7 p.m. Dinner includes tossed garden salad, smothered chicken in gravy, grilled Tilapia with yellow curry sauce, red beans and rice, seasonal mixed vegetables, biscuits and cornbread, seasonal fruit cobbler, freshly brewed coffee, iced tea, water and one glass of red or white wine. e dinner is $25. Ticket prices for the concert are $45, $60, $75 and $90. For more information, visit www.capefeartix.com. DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Principal, WT Brown Elementary School. Contributing Writer. COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. The Stylistics will be at the Crown on May 13.