Événement

The Gogo in Harrisonburg

ATTENTION: #Harrisonburg, #VA, Surrounding areas, JMU Alum, #JMU, #EMU, #Bridgewater, #MaryBaldwin

#GogoHVA: JMU Homecoming Edition

We bringing the Crank to Harrisonburg on October 26th at the Golden Pony featuring Onehunnit Proof Gogoband... Also Performing Saan Don, Nia Myel, Keynote Illidge and many more.

$10 all night
Sounds by: DJ Golden Boy

What is Gogo music? (I'm glad you asked)

Go-go is a popular music subgenre associated with funk that originated in the Washington, D.C., area during the mid-60s to late-70s. It remains primarily popular in the Washington metropolitan area as a uniquely regional music style. A great number of bands contributed to the early evolution of the genre, but the Young Senators, Black Heat, and singer-guitarist Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers are credited with having developed most of the hallmarks of the style.

Inspired by artists such as the groups mentioned above, go-go is a blend of funk, rhythm and blues, and old school hip-hop, with a focus on lo-fi percussion instruments and funk-style jamming in place of dance tracks, although some sampling is used. As such, it is primarily a dance hall music with an emphasis on live audience call and response. Go-go rhythms are also incorporated into street percussion.

In technical terms, "Go-go's essential beat is characterized by a syncopated, dotted rhythm that consists of a series of quarter- and eighth notes (quarter, eighth, quarter, (space/held briefly), quarter, eighth, quarter) which is underscored prominently by the bass drum and snare drum, and the hi-hat... [and] is ornamented by the other percussion instruments, especially by the conga drums, rototoms, and hand-held cowbells."

Unique to go-go is an instrumentation with 3 standard Congas and 2 "Junior Congas", 8" and 9" wide and about half as tall as the standard Congas, a size rare outside go-go. They were introduced to Rare Essence by Tyrone "Jungle Boogie" Williams in the early days when they couldn't afford full sized Congas, and are ubiquitous ever since. A swing rhythm is often implied (if not explicitly stated).
(Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go-go)