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Another veteran soul singer delivers a powerhouse comeback
Whether it's in the middle of New York City's Central Park or down in Manchester, Tennessee for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings have a way of winning over nearly any crowd with their own undeniable brand of retro-flavored soul. The reason for this, according to Jones, is a simple but powerful one:
"To me, soul music is music that comes from the soul, comes from the heart, that goes out and I think when we get on that stage, that's what we be doing, I know that's what I'm doing," Jones said. "That's my goal, that's what God gave me, this gift to sing, to perform, so when I get on that stage, that's what my job is to do, just to reach everyone to portray what I'm feeling and what comes from my heart."
Based out of Brooklyn, N.Y., Jones and the Dap-Kings will be coming to Sayreville for a show on Saturday (Dec. 5) at the Starland Ballroom.
While Jones and the Dap-Kings have what is quite frankly one of the tightest, most impressive live shows in music today, Jones said the show itself doesn't require all that much rehearsal at this point.
"We've been touring and we've been playing together for like the last 13 years and we've just basically worked on the (new) album and I think now for this next show coming up we'll probably have a rehearsal or something just to see if everybody's still got everything down, but basically other than that we've done this material, we know our show," Jones said.
Jones revealed that Dap-Kings bassist, producer and Daptone Records co-founder Gabriel "Bosco" Roth, is currently at work on post-production for Jones and the Dap-Kings' follow-up to their 2007 LP, "100 Days, 100 Nights."
"Yeah, he's been in the studio, he said he's been doing like a song a day, so that means that maybe he's gotten like five songs now, six songs maybe, getting them down," Jones said in mid-November.
Jones, who jammed with Phish this Halloween in California and has previously performed with artists such as Lou Reed, recently appeared with the Dap-Kings on "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" on Canadian crooner Michael Buble's latest LP, "Crazy Love."
"Our manager said, ‘Hey Sharon, this guy named Michael Buble wants to do a song with you,' I was like, ‘Yeah? Who's Michael Buble?'" Jones recalled. "So now I go on the internet, ‘Oh him, oh yeah, oh I've seen the guy,' and then I knew. You know, I've seen him on this show or some talk show or something. And we did that song and it was fun working with him, I liked that."
According to Jones, the Buble project was a nice change of pace from one of the previous freelance gigs for the Dap-Kings: backing Amy Winehouse on her smash-hit "Back to Black" LP in 2006.
"You know, when (producer) Mark (Ronson) got the guys to work with Amy, they didn't ask me to sing on the album, so Michael came and asked me to sing it was a thrill it was a joy and I'm looking forward, I hope more people do that, ask me to sing, because I would love to sing on stuff like that," Jones said.
Discussing Daptone's Winehouse/Ronson connection, Jones recalled the day Ronson and Winehouse visited Daptone Records.
"I remember the day they came, they wanted us to do this record, six songs or something for this British girl named Amy Winehouse," Jones said. "I was like, ‘Oh yeah, cool,' and then the next thing you know you read about this British girl doing retro soul and she's bringing this and I'm like, ‘Wait a minute, that's the same girl that was in our studio, recording,' and that's how things got out there.
"But through Mark and her I guess the Dap-Kings name (got out there, they) put us a little bit mainstream. A couple of people who never heard of us said, ‘Man, who's the Dap-Kings?' and then when you go on the internet and they're like, ‘Wow, who's Sharon Jones?' and so I think it just helped out."
For anyone left wanting to know more about Jones, the Dap-Kings and Daptone Records, a fine place to start is "Daptone Gold," a recently-released 23-track compilation of classics, rarities and previously unreleased tracks from the label that, for many, is synonymous with modern soul. The set features label stars such as The Budos Band, the Menahan Street Band, Lee Fields and of course, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
Discussing her role from the beginnings of the label which was started in 2001 from the ashes of former soul label Desco, Jones said, "You know, I should be partners, my name should be up there as one of the (executives), but it's like I know where I stand with Daptone, and it's like I'm proud of it, just like if my name was on there as president or vice president, I know I started it, so I'm just as proud.
"We just keep growing, and we're going to grow even more. I told them, I said, ‘Daptone's gonna be Motown, Stax of 2000s, of this century, if we just keep going.' I mean, I know there are other labels out here, but it just comes from our hearts."
