Anyone who knows musicians also knows that they keep unusual hours.  It’s way after 1AM and downtown Bethesda is quiet as I pull into the deserted parking lot of Avalon Studios. The setting is vaguely creepy with emptiness and dark shadows. Deserted streets and absolute quiet allow me to imagine for a moment that I’m the only living person left in the world; I’m instantly happy to see one of the band members open the door to let me into the building. Inside the studio however, it is anything but quiet.

I step into the sound room and instantaneously transport to another world.  The music is like bits and pieces of rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop, and go-go sewn together in a groove that flows like honey.  I close my eyes and take a seat.  Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Black Alley.

I first heard the band perform at a small club in Dupont Circle. They opened for DC go-go band Crossover and the crowd was stunned after the first few bars. It was funny because at first, people weren’t sure how to react. Then the undeniable magnetism of their music seemed to erase the confusion, and everyone knew that we were witnessing an act of superior creativity.  Black Alley has created a new genre of music: soul garage.  I know, I know—you all are out there thinking to yourself “What the fuck is soul garage?”

Believe me, I asked the same question when I first read the flyer. I was skeptical, like what are these cats talking about?  But when you sit down and listen to a Black Alley performance, it all becomes clear. The sound is like otherworldly, nothing you’ve ever heard and yet all of the best things you remember laid out on a big fat green leaf and dedicated to the gods of creativity.  After the first show, I was a fan.  The music gets under your skin like an electrical current and will have you leaving the venue with a little smile.

As good as the band is I still had my inquiries. Where did these cats come from? How did this band happen?  What is it that inspired them to create soul garage?  It’s so rare to hear anything completely original.  I mean, in this age of technology and digital sound bites, how often do you really get to experience pounding sound waves of melody and bass rocking through your body at a thousand miles an hour as you try to keep up with the mad genius playing some of the dopest beats you’ve ever heard on his drum set right in front of you?

Practically never.

Don’t worry though, cause I Got You!!! Your sistah from another mistah is putting you on to this band because it’s our job to make sure we keep our peeps DMV Unplugged!

So listen up: Black Alley is set to take the DMV music scene to musically uncharted territory. The band includes Kacee (23), lead singer; Danny “Animal” (24), drummer; Stan (21), lead guitar; Jimmy (22), keyboard; Giles, bass guitar; Mack (29), keyboard; BoBeedy (36), percussion.  The Black Alley founders Omar Kashif and Cam Poles work behind the scenes booking shows in the DMV and significantly contributing to the group’s creative dynamic.

I met with them to have a short talk about their music and report back to y’all what’s happening behind the scenes of one of DMV’s most talented musical groups.  Want to find out more? Check them out every Sunday night at Indulj, 1208 U Street, NW, from 6:30 til 10:30pm.