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PEOPLE & ARTS Thursday 13 June 2019

DC’s go-go sound becomes anti-gentrification battle cry

By ASHRAF KHALIL for an outdoor concert/ said Liza Figueroa Kravin- Authorities blamed the “go-go report” tracking all
Associated Press protest featuring go-go sky, founder of the band music for drawing vio- the shows in the area.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s mainstays Backyard Band. Go-Go Symphony. “In go- lence when he says go-go Glover says the attitudes of
the soundtrack of “Choco- “They’re not going to stop go, the fans know who the was simply the ambient the police have eased a bit
late City,” the nonfederal in recent years and Back-
Washington that has tradi- yard Band and others now
tionally been a tent pole of play regular shows around
black America. the district.
Go-go music, a distinc- But there’s still a shortage
tive D.C.-specific offshoot of the all-ages shows that
of funk, has endured for used to be the main gate-
decades through cultural way for young new fans.
shifts, fluctuations in popu- That age gap was evident
larity and law enforcement during one of Backyard
purges. Band’s recent shows at a
Now go-go has taken on a bowling alley in Chinatown.
new mantle: battle hymn The concert drew a healthy
for the fight against a gen- crowd of about 150 people
trification wave that’s re- — many of whom were ob-
shaping the city. vious hardcores who knew
“It’s a very deep cultural every song by heart. But al-
thing,” said Justin “Yad- most everybody seemed to
diya” Johnson, an activ- be at least 35 years old.
ist and organizer of sev- Now the renewed atten-
eral go-go-themed protest tion comes at a time when
concerts. “When you think go-go may organically be
about go-go, you should approaching one of its pe-
think about D.C. culture. It riodic flirtations with main-
should be the symbol of our stream popularity .
culture.” Glover has gained per-
Many longtime Washingto- sonal fame for a memo-
nians fear that culture is be- rable recurring role as Slim
ing steadily eroded as the Charles on the popular TV
city becomes whiter and In this image provided by Akil Ransome, Moechella music rally at the corner of 14th and U street show “The Wire.”
richer. NW in Washington, Tuesday, May 7, 2019. Artists as diverse as Snoop
A recent controversy over Associated Press Dog and Dave Grohl from
an innocuous noise com- Foo Fighters have paid
plaint placed go-go at the go-go.” conga player is more than soundtrack of a city in cri- public tribute to the genre.
center of a perfect storm of The concert, mischievously the guitar player.” sis . Rare Essence and Back-
gentrification symbolism. named “Moechella,” was The late Chuck Brown is “Those rave parties in the yard Band have both per-
The owner of a popular organized by Johnson. And generally considered the suburbs with these rich kids formed at the South by
mobile phone store in the since it was a protest, he godfather of the sound, — if anything happened Southwest music festival
historically black Shaw didn’t need to secure a starting in the early 1970s. there, they could just cover and Backyard Band re-
neighborhood was told to permit, so police obligingly And bands like Rare Es- it up. That was the differ- cently scored an improb-
turn off the go-go that he blocked off several city sence and Trouble Funk ence,” he said. able hit with a go-go cover
had been playing through blocks. have all flirted with main- The purge was especially of Adele’s “Hello.”
sidewalk speakers for more The location —the corner stream success, but there damaging because go- Wale, the most famous
than 20 years. of 14th and U streets — was has never been a full-scale go is all about live perfor- Washington rapper, pays
He claims the complaint no accident. That intersec- breakout star. Probably the mances. Glover and others regular homage to go-go
came from a resident of tion was once one of the most famous go-go song say there’s a missing gen- and recorded a song with
the gleaming new mixed- hearts of black D.C.; now is “Da Butt” by Experience eration of fans who weren’t TCB, purveyors of a neo-go-
used apartment building it’s within two blocks of a Unlimited, which was show- exposed to live go-go in go sound called bounce-
erected on the next block. Trader Joe’s and a lulule- cased in the Spike Lee film their youth. beat.
The reaction was fierce. mon. “School Daze.” “The reason a lot of kids But local musicians still feel
Seemingly overnight, a To the uninitiated, go-go While the music retains a lo- don’t know about go-go authorities have kept the
protest movement and music seems indistinguish- cal fanbase, musicians and is that it’s been erased,” culture at arms-length.
petition drive sprung up able from funk. devotees say the scene is said Angela Byrd, founder They want to see the Dis-
and members of the D.C. What sets it apart are a still recovering from the ef- of “Made in the DMV” in- trict government embrace
Council started weighing specific conga-driven syn- fects of the crack epidem- cubator for local artists and go-go the way Chicago
in. Within days, the decision copation, known as the ic, which ravaged Wash- activists. She was speaking has done with blues and
was reversed. pocket beat, and a culture ington and turned go-go at a recent conference or- New Orleans with jazz. They
The mini-controversy was of call-and-response that shows into magnets for vio- ganized under the banner want a go-go museum ,
over almost before it start- turns the crowd into part lence. of #DontMuteDC . a hall of fame and go-go
ed. But it obviously touched of the show. Go-go bands Eventually police began “I feel like go-go was landmark-themed tours.
a nerve. feature multiple percus- shutting down famous pushed out, but it’s coming Glover says District politi-
“I think that was messed sionists and often multiple clubs like the Ibex in 1990s back.” cians tend to rediscover
up. Go-go IS D.C. Go-Go is vocalists— with one usu- and forcing the shows out This official mistrust has con- their affection for go-go
our history,” said commu- ally designated as “lead of the city. tinued. As recently as 2010 during election season.
nity activist Tiffany Richard- talker.” Anwan “Big G” Glover, the alternative weekly City “They love us at campaign
son, one of the thousands “It’s the drumming it’s the lead talker of Backyard Paper published the Met- rally time,” he laughed.
of fans who turned out on rhythm pattern. Band, still recalls the time ropolitan Police Depart- “They know that’s the only
a Tuesday night this month It’s the feel of the rhythm,” with bitterness. ment’s bi-weekly internal way to bring people out.”q