aloe blacc - The Upful Life

The Upful LIFE Podcast 095 : OTIS McDONALD, DERRICK ‘Smoker’ FREEMAN [SOUL Brass Band, Shadow People Pod], PIET DALMOLEN

January 19, 2026January 19, 2026 B.Getz aloe blacc, atta kid, bassist, Bay Area, bob weir, derrick freeman, derrick smoker, drummer, eric krasno, eric krasno always, eric krasno and the assembly, eric krasno otis mcdonald, Hyde Street Studio, jazz mafia, joe cohen, king canyon, mickey hart band, music podcast, musician interview, New Orleans, nicholas payton, otis mcdonald, Piet Dalmolen, producer, san francisco, soul brass band, wil blades

Prolific San Francisco composer, producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist OTIS McDONALD is finally here. BG also checks back in with Derrick ‘Smoker’ Freeman [SOUL Brass Band, Shadow People Podcast]; and introduces rising NorCal guitarist/solo artist Piet Dalmolen.

Upful Life is at Waldorf Astoria New York.

2 hours ago

During the Prince RnR HoF solo sorcery, there's a moment after his first full pass where Prince makes some of the only real direct eye contact w the other players (save for w Dhani). This was a mission, not a small time thing. (c)Special Ed, & Prince trusted no one going in. After the agreed upon solo portion, Prince non-verbally communicates w drummer Steve Ferrone via deeply focused stare - only a beat & a half but actually an eternity. Whereas Prince lets Ferrone know under no uncertain terms that ITS ABOUT TO BE A MURDER & that he was counting on the drummer to have his back. And Ferrone - who like the rest of the band had no idea Prince was about to take a flaming purple sledgehammer to a half century of stodgy racist rock n roll cognoscenti- in an instant dude had to decide whether he was down for accessory to homicide. In response to this cold as ice stare from P, Ferrone delivered one of the most unheralded 3 minutes of drumming. Leveling up w just enough style & grace. Prince simply could not have gone full Genghis Khan x Marty McFly on Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone & by proxy the whole industrialized legacy complex w out unwitting co-conspirator Steve Ferrone heating up & holding him down like a mf boss. -bg #prince ... See MoreSee Less

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