E-22 Café

I performed at E-22 Café again last night, and packed the house! I was so thrilled to see the faces of so many family members (Mom, Nina, Jeremiah, Naomi, Debra, Torri, Dwayne & Yvonne), friends (Raz, Brad, Linda, Kevin, Evan, Bill, Ai, Victoria and Kelvin, Ronald & wife) and super talented musicians (Bruce, Fuzzy, Amy, Jonathan and Sundra)! I performed for just over 2 hours, interspersed with performances from my cousin Torri (who I’ve been encouraging to sing in public for years! She’s got a great voice, but doesn’t do anything with it…), Bruce Dorsey, Fuzzy, Amy Levine & Jonathan Smothers (who’ll be performing at E-22 Café next Friday, September 18) and Sundra Manning. They’re all amazingly talented and inspire me to push to higher levels of musicality. I tried a couple of new songs last night, including one that I dedicated in remembrance of 9/11, entitled “Gratitude” by Nichole Nordeman. Thanks to Eric & Staff for their wonderful hospitality and GREAT food!

After my gig, a group of us headed over to Jack London Square to watch Sara and Lynette Williams at their gig. Sara was the lead singer, with Lynette on keys and background vocals, Mike Blankenship on keys, Donte McClinton on drums and Marcus Phillips on bass. WOOOOOH!!!! They were awesome! I’d never heard Lynette sing before, but something told me that she’d be good…and she is! I figure that if you have a sister who sings as well as Sara does, some of that must have rubbed off on Lynette. I loved their arrangements of contemporary Neo-Soul songs, and enjoyed a cameo performance by Michala Cheadle. I ended up going to bed FAR too late, but it was a good night!


Amy & Jonathan






Sundra & Bruce






Me & Bruce









Me & Fuzzy