Beacon of the Midnight Lamp
Midnight Lamp playing the Cafe Boogaloo, as they will do again this Friday. The band also plays Sunday at Saint Rocke.
“In 2002 we were playing a ton of Hendrix songs… but we weren’t a Hendrix cover band, and didn’t want to be labeled one either… though, there was a relation, so we took the name Midnight Lamp from [the Jimi Hendrix song] ‘Burning of the Midnight Lamp’. As time would reflect, our musical message would be shaped by the purpose of what a Midnight Lamp is: A beacon of light shining through dark nights: A ray of hope.”
So recalls Jason Flentye, rhythm guitarist and lead singer of Midnight Lamp.
Midnight Lamp has been a fixture in the South Bay for a solid decade. From their rough beginnings, throwing together jams and shows mostly for friends, oft times struggling to button down permanent members committed to the band, they’ve since evolved into a tight and fully developed blues-based, R&B, funk-jam outfit.
“I think the band is just now coming into its own,” says Ed Lugo, bass guitarist and singer. “There is rarely a time that Joyce, Fred, or Steve is not acknowledged for their individual talent… It has just taken time for our sound to break through.”
The group is Jason Flentye (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), Fred Flentye (lead guitar), Ed Lugo (bass guitar, vocals), Joyce Isles (lead vocals, tambourine), Jeff Blackman (drums, percussion, background vocals), and Steve Arnold (tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones).
“I wanted to call the band Plenty of Flentye,” says Lugo.
“We’re a diverse group,” admits Jason Flentye. “Visually you see six people from all different places and stages of their lives, and you hear that complimented in the music.”
The band’s age ranges from about 30-60 years old, providing for one of the more diverse group of unlikely musicians on stage at the same time. While half of the band is from the South Bay area, with Jason Flentye graduating RUHS in ’99, the other half originates from Ohio. They all currently reside within or near the South Bay, ranging from Redondo, Palos Verdes, Marina Del Rey, and Long Beach, to Compton. Some members have been playing music most of their lives (Blackman began learning piano at age 7, and drums soon after), while others are schooled musicians (Arnold has been a professional sax player for 34 years and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston), and others are veterans who touched on the pro life (Fred Flentye opened on tour in the 70’s for the Drifters, Shirelles, and Coasters, and Isles performed before the Dramatics while her own brother is actually an original member of the O’Jays).
“I had an opportunity to go on tour with the mighty O’Jays back in the ‘70s, but my parents wouldn’t allow it,” says Isles.
Lugo started playing in 1982. “That was the time when punk rock was alive and well in the South Bay,” he says. “Bands like Bad Religion, Redd Kross, Anti, and Descendents were all influences.”
Their collective backgrounds and journeys through life and music manifests in an eclectic ensemble both visually and aurally. One minute, the dynamo-powerhouse of Fred Flentye will be pounding out a head-swirling lead from another realm, while the next, he and Arnold converse together through sax and guitar. This is followed by a bellowing, crooning ballad from Isles, likely to knock the bottom out of any American Idol contestant. If it’s not Lugo slapping out some deep funk or blues on his bass, singing an upbeat tune with a smile, it’s Blackman beating the skins with the precision of a surgeon, maybe blowing a whistle for the Latin flare. Then there’s Flentye the younger — Jason lays down clean, rhythmic canvases which any band could paint upon. Always: it’s chunky, bouncy, fat jams, full of improvisation and a positive charge that keeps your feet dancing even if you try to sit down.
Even though most of Midnight Lamp’s positivity shines through each individual member, it has traditionally been Jason Flentye who translates their beaming light into words. While the group is reputed for transforming obscure cover songs, mostly from the R&B and blues world, into strikingly new renditions, their catalog is full of Jason Flentye originals. The young man’s writing and songs come from a much older, wizened perspective than would seem possible. A path of internal trial, external travel, and a passion for helping others and working with children (Flentye works for the Friendship Circle, see page 1), brings forth songs of hope, of reflection, blessing, and offering; and a musical performance that can feel as refreshing as a spiritual sermon served at a gospel brunch.
Jason Flentye says, “Things aren’t always good, plans don’t always work out; but you have a choice how you handle those things, and can choose who you surround yourself with. We play music from the soul that says, ‘I’m here for you brother, I’ll treat you right sister, and along the way let’s have a good time!’”
To date, Midnight Lamp has played such notable venues as BB Kings, Brixton, Saint Rocke, Cafe Boogaloo, and several years’ worth of charitable events, including D-Man Fest, UCLA’s Light the Night, and March of Dimes. They’ve performed alongside the Soul Rebels Brass Band out of New Orleans, as well as local favorites Too Rude and Tomorrows Bad Seeds. In the studio, they’ve produced two LP’s, Whatch You Know About The Scoop (2002), and Better Days Ahead (2005), and one EP, Charlie’s Coolin’ Down (2005). Not a single recording is reflective of what the band does, what their music has evolved into, or how they come across in person.
“We aren’t a studio band, we’re a jam band,” says Jason Flentye. “We’re awkward in the studio. I’d like to put together a live recording in the near future to really capture who we are. We need the energy of a venue and its patrons to put our music out in true form.”
The curse of the jam band. Can Idlewild South truly ever kick you in the gut the way Live At The Fillmore East does?
As the band looks to the bright future and the idea of producing a live album worthy of their powerful performance, they’ll continue to play locally as much as possible. They’ll be appearing at Saint Rocke this Sunday, Oct 23 with the Santa Cruz-based neo-soul-funk-reggae-rock band Wooster, and typically perform the happy hour session at Cafe Boogaloo a couple times a month, including this Friday, Oct 21 from 5-8 p.m.
While in his life, local icon Darren “D-Man” Marsee called Midnight Lamp his favorite band ever, Gary Alonso (current owner of Cafe Boogaloo) says they’re, “Hands down one of the most powerful, charismatic blues bands producing an insatiable sound of contemporary and traditional blues in the legendary style it was meant to be played!”
Midnight Lamp gets down Friday, Oct 21 at Cafe Boogaloo from 5-8 p.m. and will be opening for Wooster at Saint Rocke on Sunday, Oct 23 at 8 p.m.. Both bands can be heard streaming 24/7 on DirtyHippieRadio.com