From Elitaste

Interview by Jamie Benson
Perhaps you’re from DC and you’ve known about them for years, or maybe you live outside the area and just recently picked up their name via Wale’s success. Regardless of your familiarity with UCB (a.k.a.The Uncalled 4 Experience), one of the most legendary go-go bands in the nation’s capital, they’ve been an overwhelming presence in the city’s music scene for over thirteen years. In this exclusive interview with band members Tre and Slump you’ll get the full history behind the band, exclusive info regarding their new projects, and their opinion on go-go in the mainstream market.

We really needed a definitive UCB interview and here y’all finally are. Introduce yourselves for the people.

Tre: This is your boy Treasure a.k.a. Tre; ladies, you know what it is. I’m the lead vocalist.

Slump: This is your boy Slump – I got alotta names but lately they’ve been calling me Juice. I’m on percussion.

Tre: For the members that aren’t here tonight; we have Eazy on the drums, Godfather on the keys, Mack on the keys, Stan on the guitar, Rashad on the bass, Rock Mikey on the vocals, G-Money, Bo, and Myra on the vocals.

What’s the difference between the UnCalled 4 Experience and UCB?

Tre: Our original name back in ’95 or ’96 was The UnCalled for Band. We started using UCB as a simple acronym and people started to take to UCB more than they did UnCalled 4. We started to get a lot of negative press for the stuff they associate with go-go over the years and we had a stigma with us. In 2002 or 2003, we started using the name The Uncalled 4 Experience because we started to play at 21 plus spots and we had changed up our format for those venues. It was more like R&B, top 40, and mid-tempo grooves so we weren’t really playing raw, high-intensity grooves that we had made our name for. The Uncalled 4 Experience was a name for the intimate spots that we play in DC. When we’re on the road at colleges and at all-ages shows, the moniker is UCB.

When the name UCB is mentioned, it is often preceded by the word “legendary.” Tell us the history behind one of the greatest go-go bands ever.

Tre: It’s been about thirteen years that we’ve been in existence. The majority of the band hails from uptown Northwest DC – we were in the streets for a minute and then we took a step into the real music business. You can see what we’re doing now.

Slump: After being in it for a while and working the city circuit, we had to get outside of the area.

Tre: I can say that we will represent this city as best we can; we’ve always been an original group. We have five original albums, we released three or four singles, and we’ve even got a Christmas single that came a few years ago. Right now we’re focused on taking our sound outside of the beltway and supporting Wale with his album and his shows.

Are you guys looking at getting a major label deal?

Tre: There’s a lot of talking, but we’re still creating that buzz. At the end of the day it’s always about the music so that’s what we like to focus on in the band. That’s why we’ve got a team to handle all the rest of the stuff outside of the music. Something may definitely happen in 09.

Slump: He’s saying definitely – all I’m saying is that I hope it do. Even if it don’t, I’m still hoping.

What are you working on right now for projects?

Tre: We’ve got a new single out called “You Go Girl.” We’re working on an EP right now – it’s gonna be a UCB x Wale project. It’s gonna be like three to five hot songs and we’re gonna showcase them while we’re on the road with Wale. Our set is probably gonna be longer because everyday Wale is increasing his catalog with his album coming out in March, plus we’ll have more of our own stuff to play on his set.

UCB really brought it down in New York when y’all went to perform with Wale.

Tre: We should be doing that after playing live for thirteen years. We’ve been performing on an average of two to three times a week. We’ve never really got it in at a studio like most recording artists, but more recently by being a part of Wale’s camp we’ve been getting more focused on the recording aspect.

Some critics view go-go as confusing and loud. You all have revolutionized the sound and have begun to bring it mainstream. Why do you think go-go has been largely inaccessible for national audiences?

Tre: What we play is grooves rather than songs at our shows because we have two-hour sets on a weekly basis. We have repeated consumers coming in every week so you’ve got to give them something fresh all the time and you always want to keep them engaged. We’ve had to hold down a real go-go sound in our city and we’ve also had to compete concert style when we’re on the road with major artists. A lot of bands haven’t learned to condense their songs into a three or four minute format for the radio. I’ve got an article here that I keep with me at all times from a local newspaper. It says, “The Uncalled 4 Experience is a go-go band with vision. It understands the soul and funk legacy of older bands and the stripped down intensity of the youngins, while also having the knack of pop song writing that can yield a radio hit…” I keep this with me because it motivates me. With Slump the percussionist right here, he has really revolutionized making definitive beats in go-go that aren’t too sloppy.

Slump: No disrespect to the other bands – I don’t want to say they don’t have it, but when you got it, you got it. It comes with time; the longer you been together, the cleaner your music gets.

Explain to the uninformed how a go-go record is created.

Slump: The way we do it – we start with a concept first. Who are we attacking on this groove, who do we want to listen to this groove.

Tre: Sometimes Eazy and Slump will come up with a beat and the feel of a beat will lead to a concept. Sometimes Rock Mikey and I will come to the percussionists with our own concept from the vocal side; that’s how “SexyLady” came about.

What’s your relationship like with the “godfather of go-go,” Chuck Brown?

Tre: He laid the blueprint down and opened up a lot of doors for us. We supported him in Cleveland when we were trying to get him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’ve talked to Chuck a few times and he just supports everything that we’re doing. He’s like a real-life mentor. However, we’ve never been on the same bill nor shared the stage with Chuck. But that’s a whole other interview if we talk about the politics of go-go promoting.

Before I let you guys go, tell us about the film you’ve been pushing to get released.

Tre: We had our acting debut in a film called “Jazz in the Diamond District.” We filmed a couple of years ago but it should be set to be released in 2009. It’s been at festivals around the country and there have been a lot of people interested in picking up the film. We play supporting roles to Wood Harris from “The Wire” and Clifton Powell from “Next Friday.” We also did some work on the soundtrack. You can check out more information about the film at jazzinthediamonddistrict.com.

You can catch UCB each and every Wednesday at the Mirrors nightclub in DC from 7-11pm and on Fridays at the Blue Lounge in Bethesda, MD from 10pm-2am. They’ll be performing with Wale next Thursday at the University of Penn and on Thanksgiving night at the Fur nightclub in DC with the Backyard Band. Visit them on Myspace