I recently was blessed with the opportunity to interview Mr. Gary Hines who is the creative director of well popular soul group Sounds of Blackness who is known worldwide for their inspirational, spiritual and emotionally filled songs such as “ Optimistic” and “I Believe” and "Hold On".
They are currently celebrating their 40th year anniversary and have also recently released their new self-titled album and the visuals to their new single "Fly Again" and below you can find out more deets on the history of the group, creative direction, their longevity and more!!!
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NW: After some research, I found it quite interesting how SOB was formed, so for those who don’t know can you explain exactly how the group started?
Gary Hines: SOB as of this year are celebrating our 40th anniversary began in 1971 at my alma mater, Macalester College here in Minnesota and a group students had gotten together actually a couple of years before that and formed a group called “The Macalester College Black Voices”. In 1971, I was asked to be music director and really the vision that God gave me for the group, which was already very excellent at the time, was to continue in the tradition of artist such as Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones – that was Jazz, Blues, Gospel and Spirituals and we were going to format ourselves in that same mode and we needed a name that would represent that fact that we were going to do all styles of black music and hence the name Sounds of Blackness.
NW: How has SOB been able to stay creative and continue to incorporate R&B, Soul, Jazz, Reggae, Rock and avoid being labeled as just another gospel choir?
Gary Hines: We believe in the words of an old phrase “To thy own self be true” and as artists we are clear about who and what we are and what we do and why we do it, if were going to live up to the name Sounds of Blackness, that has to represent the music of a culture and yes the industry, the media and sometimes the public as well likes to, for convenience sake or whatever, to pigeonhole an artist or us into just one category and sometimes that is gospel and we gently correct them….it's not offensive it's just not correct and we do the music of the experience.
It’s really impossible to fully appreciate “the glory halleluiah of the gospel” with out the pain of the blues and the history of the spirituals and jazz and the work songs in the field howlers so that’s the full of family of American music and that is what we bring in SOB.
NW: Was it ever expected that SOB would help launch the solo careers of Ann Nesby, Cynthia Maria Johnson, as well as giving a platform for Mrs. Nesby’s daughter, Jamecia Bennett and her daughter American Idol Contestant Paris Bennett?
Gary Hines: Even from our early days as college students at Macalester, we would write out our goals and one of those goals was to eventually to be in the position one day to be in the springboard for solo careers.
So by the grace of God we have been blessed to do that … one of the great Alexander O’Neal, speaking of R&B, he was a SOB member and was with us for about a year. Also Cynthia Johnson is the lead vocalist on disco classic “Funky Town” and she started with us, then later started a solo career but she is now back with us and is a featured on our new CD as a lead vocalist.
NW: So the buzz is that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have a lot to do with SOB's career, explain
Gary Hines: We always give big props to Jam and Lewis and in fact we such saw them last week in Atlanta for the taping of the Soul Train Awards and they're out with their own
with their own new project …. So I know they would want me to send them a Shout Out! … *laughs*
We’ve known Jam and Lewis since the 70’s and when they were known as The Flyte Tyme Band, many times we would be performing at some of the same events…. And frequently SOB would open up the evening and often times The Flyte Tyme Band would close the show, so we spent a lot of time backstage together and were familiar with each other's music.
So that was important b/c when SOB was signed by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as the first artist on their Perspective Records Label, the first thing they said was “don’t change, we want to present you to the world just the way you are” and of course they were already familiar with SOB.
NW: What was the creative direction for new album ”Sounds of Blackness”?
Gary Hines: The feeling was to really bring the essence of SOB, that’s why we titled it, this is our first self titled CD, The Sounds of Blackness, and we really wanted to the convey the essence of the group and we are self produced on this one and within our very talented membership. Including our assistant director brother Billy Steele, Jamecia Bennett is a producer and writer as well, Carrie Harrington who is the choreographer, Drummer Larry Robinson (Cadillac) and also the SOB extended family, rapper XROSS, Kory Dean, and so it’s a family affair kind of things and really features the creative efforts of SOB singers and band.
NW: Features and Production on New Album?
Gary Hines: Our new CD features some real and astounding artists and international artists as far away as India, Japan so it has a real international flavor as well.
We have a big band arrangement of the classic spiritual “Every Time I Feel The Spirit” and that features Grammy award winning, jazz guitarist and vocalist, Norman Brown and legend in jazz Doris Hines on the vocals, so we have a real mix on this record and there is definitely something for everyone on this new CD.
NW: Why was “Fly Again” the first single?
Really for us it’s the “Optimistic” of 2011. The circumstances under which it (“Fly Again”) was created were many of the same circumstances as "Optimistic" - war, economic down turn, unemployment, lay
So in 1991 it was SOB and “Optimistic” with Ann Nesby on the lead vocals and now in 2011, 20-yrs later it's SOB and “Fly Again”, with the daughter of Ann Nesby, Jamecia Bennett on the lead vocals.
NW: Mary Mary performed “Optimistic” at the 2011 Black Girls Rock Awards, How does it feel to have longevity in this business and being able to reach a younger audience?
Gary Hines: It is very gratifying and very humbling at the same time to know that type of influence to that extent is so pervasive and transcends generations, ethnicity, religions, traditions etc … With that burden comes responsibility and we are always about being responsible in what we say and how we present.
It's important to us to have music and messages that are timeless that expand across generations and that’s one of the reasons in terms of reaching out to the youth now … we now have members who are the children of some original members who performing now in the group. And they relate directly to the youth as well.
NW: Feelings on the current state of the music and entertainment industry today?
Well, like so many things in life, there is some good and some bad. On the good, there is a lot of great creativity and continuity in R&B, HIP Hop, Gospel, and so forth.
On the downside for me, those very music styles have really evolved and the proliferation of them was band driven…So I am a little concerned about the level of musicianship ... and I would love to see a return of instruments in the music that it originated from.
NW: New Projects and Performances?
Gary Hines: We just returned, Jamecia and I, from an east coast and south – DC, Baltimore, Atlanta and, as mentioned, we did the Soul Train taping and we are going to continue to do that type of activity as well.
Our next live stage performance is here in Minneapolis, where we’re are based at the well renowned Guthrie Theater. We are going to do our annual musical play called “The Night Before Christmas - A Musical Fantasy” ….. and we are also looking to have some of our productions televised or ideally even made for the big screen.
