“It was his combination of technique and soul,” says Allstars frontman Luther Dickinson. “We were just freaked out by this guy we had never heard of before.”
The Allstars, who were touring with Medeski, Martin & Wood, had been kicking around the idea of doing an instrumental gospel album with keyboardist John Medeski. They tapped Randolph to open for them at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, and were floored by his electrifying performance. It was Randolph’s first gig outside of church; he had entered the world of secular music at last. “I might have to pay some karmic retribution for that later,” Dickinson says with a laugh.
The instrumental album did come together, and The Word was released in 2001. It served as a coming-out party for Randolph, who was warmly embraced by the jam-band crowd, which already monitored every move made by the Allstars and MMW.
Randolph embraced them right back. “The reason the jam-band scene is getting so huge and you have all these big jam bands today is because mainstream music is so bad,” he says. “A lot of these kids who like these bands had parents and aunts and uncles that grew up on true bands — band like Led Zeppelin and the Stones. They watched actual bands sing and play and perform, and these kids want that, too.
“That’s what the jam scene is all about. These bands are coming out and they’re actually playing their guitars. You listen to records these days and a lot of the bands are not even playing. A guy plays a riff, it goes into a computer. That gets looped, the drums get looped. And when you go see the actual band perform, it’s like, ‘That’s not what I heard.’
“I just call it a true music scene, that’s what I call the jam scene,” he continues. “When the right band performs, like the Allstars or Widespread Panic, it’s great. They have fans of all sorts and different ages.; hippies, fraternity or sorority kids, whatever. And that’s what we’ve become. We’re in that jam scene and we just play and jam for like 30 minutes sometimes.
“A lot of people are kind of afraid to listen to a jam band. With us, it’s just a new sound and a new thing. It’s positive and it makes people want to dance. At our shows, we’ll have people from 18 to 60. It’s just great. It makes my heart feel so good to be interacting with people and to let the music connect with people in a good spirit. Making people happy — that’s what music is about, and that’s what it should always be about.”
The jam-friendly New York City venue Wetlands was the natural place to record Randolph’s live album. Last year, he and the Family Band added another line to their impressive resume by serving as the backing band (along with guitarist Ben Harper) on the Blind Boys of Alabama album Higher Ground.
“It was cool, just learning from those guys and just talking to them about all their times on the road and what they’ve done in the music business,” Randolph says. “It worked well because we’re used to playing with older gospel singers anyway, coming from the church. Those guys can sing anything. They’re ready to do whatever, as long as it’s cool and it’s spiritual to them and as long as it fits.”
Paying respect to his elders comes a little easier for Randolph today, for as the head of his own label, Dare Records — part of the deal when he signed with Warner Bros. for the release of Unclassified — he can dole out a few record contracts, as he has done with Calvin Cooke and several other of his inspirations. Cooke’s album, which Randolph produced, is due in the fall.
“It feels great to be able to do that for these guys,” Randolph says. “Guys like Calvin — he was me and probably more 30 years ago. To be able to help him, to continue on his dream or whatever he wants to do now that I have my foot in the door, it’s great.”
Randolph has other acts lined up for Dare as well, and he’s setting his goals high for the label and his own career. He’s intent on nothing less than changing the face of music itself — or at least its attitude.
“I want to do this thing now where music becomes this thing that is good and true and about the instruments and about the heart and the soul again,” he says. “You have some of that out there, but as far as the mainstream and what is being pushed to kids…” his voice trails off.
“I’m still young, but when I look at some of these kids and the mind frame that they’re in, it’s like, the world is in trouble, man. Corporations don’t look at that. All they look at is making a dollar. But you can make that same dollar if you spend time putting a good message out there.
“What I want to do with Dare is to do music of artists that I know that are talented, putting it out in a way that can appeal to a mass audience. Music that’s not cheesy pop or cheesy rock. Music that has that gospel flavor and that energy. People will love it. That’s what it’s all about.”
Daniel Durchholz worships at the altar of rock and roll.
