DESCRIPTION:
In 1982, Awareness' reggae sound was made "official" when guitar virtuoso Melvin Glover(from Plunky and the Oneness of JuJu Band) joined AAE. Ras Mel provided the music with the familiar skank and nuances common to reggae music, not to mention his stellar guitar solos. Not long after, Oye Yemi(keyboards) and drummer extraordinaire Earnest "Drummie Zeb" Williams came aboard. With the rhythm section of X and Zeb, the blazing guitar of Ras Mel, the bubbling keyboard work of Ojuleba and Oye, the mystic percussions of I-Life and the showmanship of Olamina, AAE was set to make it's mark in the world of reggae. Kingston,JA. had 56 Hope Road...Richmond, Va. had the "gates" on 5th Street(which became sort of reggae central) where Awareness would rehearse and practice until the wee hours of the morning. The groups first appearance in a "night club" was at a small black jazz club on the southside of Richmond called "The Tradewinds", where they slowly built a following...but it was not until they played in the Fan at "Stuffys" Deli on Harrison street that they really begin to build an audience and fan base. AAE was soon playing to packed houses around town, places like "Going Bananas", "Benny's", the iconic "Hardtimes Cafe", and the perverbial "New Horizon" Cafe(which became the mecca for reggae music in Richmond), becoming a major player on the Richmond music scene. They would also become a hard touring road band that was in big demand playing colleges, bars, clubs and festivals up and down the east coast and mid-west. This is a live two track recording of one of AAEs' earliest gigs circa 1983-84, the place..."Hardtimes Cafe", at the corner of Harrison and Main on the VCU campus. .

Note: This is the original two-track live recording and has been enhanced as best it could with the equipment on hand.

Copyright: Myown Publishing Co. 2013