May/June 2006

Live, Loud And Local

Hampton Roads bands strive to make it in a diverse regional music scene with a rich history.

By Kip Tabb

The NorVa is a cavernous, old movie theater in the heart of downtown Norfolk. There is no seating tonight, just some random tables and chairs scattered about, three bars, a balcony and a spectacular chandelier hanging over the middle of the floor.

The Fuzz Band prepares to debut its new CD, and the audience filling the dance floor is a microcosm of Hampton Roads society—college students, mothers and fathers—from barely legal to successful professionals in their 50s and 60s. Groups of friends representing many races stand around and laugh, then break into spontaneous dance and then laugh some more.

The Fuzz Band, a rare phenomena, has managed to create music for everyone—its sound is a mix of cool jazz with a little bit of funk, some soul and occasionally a driving rock Ôn’ roll beat.

NorVa management has brought in some of the best emerging urban talent around to kick off the show. The band DMP, from the New York area, shows how far rap has come with carefully crafted yet free-flowing dance and well-written, nuanced poetry.

When The Fuzz Band takes the stage at midnight, the fans press through the crowd with palpable excitement. But this is The Fuzz Band and friends—the eight-piece group swells to a 20-something piece mini-orchestra, complete with string and brass sections, three guitars and a baritone sax. And the sound is marvelous. Singers Nakia Madry, K’Bana Blaq and Michon David choreographed their numbers for the first time, and the combined energy of music and dance reaches out and grabs the audience and seems to insist that this is a night of unforgettable music.

While many people feel that Hampton Roads lacks a top-quality music scene, plenty of others argue that the business of music is alive and thriving in the area, a pulsating concoction of jazz, hip-hop, alternative rock, country, rock Ôn’ roll and classic beach sounds. Every town and city in the region features its own venues—favorite places to showcase local and sometimes national talent. Norfolk has the NorVa and The Taphouse Grill. Virginia Beach claims The Jewish Mother and South Beach Grill. Manhattan’s in Newport News has been bringing in regional bands for more than 10 years. On the road to Williamsburg, the Yorktown Pub provides weekend showcases for local groups, and in Williamsburg, JM Randall’s has featured some of the finest jazz and blues musicians anywhere for the past 11 years.

“I think it’s [Hampton Roads] a wonderful hub of music,” says Randall Plaxo, owner of JM Randall’s. “There’s a diversity and history of music here that is wonderful. And there’s a tremendous amount of local talent out there. There are some wonderful local bands. Really good.”

For the rest of this story, see the May/June 2006 issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.