Back in the day, (that would be 1982 - Dayton, Ohio Y’all) Jenny Douglas, Chris Bowman, Roger “the Dodger” Parker and Jared Michael Nickerson laid tracks reel-to-reel stylee in Dean Bowman’s basement studio.
A few takes and a few mixes later, Dayton Flic & The Music Suite came to life.
Fast forward to 1999, with a bassline and a hook, Jared Michael Nickerson did a taste of tracking at the home of guitarist/engineer Chris Bowman back in the Gem City and in 2007, enlisted the fabulous Justice Dilla-X on vocals at Eric Ronick’s Thin Man Studios in Brooklyn, N.Y. to top off Takin You Back and T.Y.B. remix.
- The result, as described by Dusty Groove America - “Basement soul grooves that reach for the cosmos.”
This basement adventure and Dean’s recommendation led Jared to a performance at the Dayton club “Walnut Hills” with Cleveland, Ohio’s “Human Switchboard”. (Who’s bass player at the time didn’t want to make the trip for the gig.) The gig went well and the band offered Jared the gig t on the spot . Ultimately he moved with the band to New York City and fell knee-deep into the NYC Club scene of the Eighties (Peppermint Lounge, Danceteria, The World ) from which he’s still trying to recover. (If you see him tell him the Peppermint Lounge is still closed!! ) He’s since performed and recorded with a bevy of national & international talent including Matt Johnson & The The ( 2nd world tour & Disinfected recording ) to Freedy Johnston ( world tours and Can You Fly & Unlucky recordings) to Charlie Musselwhite (national touring & Sanctuary recording ). Throw in stints with Gary Lucas and Gods & Monsters, Catie Curtis, Bernie Worrell, Kattel Keineg, Yohimbe Brothers ( with Vernon Reid & DJ Logic ), Wadada Leo Smith….and whew, you get the picture!
Also of note would be the life of the track, “Livin For Your Love” as a “live” staple of Jared’s funk band “J.J. Jumpers.”
The Jumpers’ first performance was in Hoboken, New Jersey at the 1985 edition of the Hoboken River City Fair curated by Steve Fallon, the owner and music booker for the local hotspot Maxwells. Myrna Marcarian on vocals and Jerome Harris (Who Jared met at the New England Conservatory in Boston during his undergraduate studies in the Jazz Department in the late 70’s. ) on guitar were amongst the original group. It was from the combined material of Jerome and Jared that prompted the J.J. that fronted the Jumpers name.
Following the fair the Hoboken Reporter printed,”Day One’s highlights were provided by the J.J.Jumpers, whose palatable cull of uptempo, funky rhythm and blues was driven by the slap antics of Jared Michael Nickerson and the vocal prowess of Myrna Marcarian. No strangers to the music scene this pair, their efforts previously well-documented with the more notorious ensemble Human Switchboard.” After that gig everyone went there separate ways and Jared, with Jerome’s blessing, decided to continue the group and keep the name.
From the beginning Jared’s idea for the band was to be a two-guitar driven, female-vocal-spitting funk machine. From 1985 to 1993 the Jumpers was populated with fabulous players ( Lisa Dean, Beverly Slade-Perry, Marty, Marisa, Keli Sae, Billy White, Johnny Floyd, Lenny Covington, Venlo Odom, Eric “E-man Groove” Armstrong, Alex Alexander, Rocky Bryant and Michael Hampton ). The Jumpers were also knee-deep in the Black Rock Coalition, performing at the first Stalking Heads festival at CBGBs; amongst the 40-person-traveling party to Italy for the five-day black rock festival in Bari; opening for Living Colour during their heyday, and providing a tune for the first BRC compilation release on Rykodisc, that was followed by nationwide touring by all the groups who participated on that disc.
Jenny Douglas’s early years on the Dayton Funk scene included work with “Dayton” has for minute now been one of the most in-demand live back-up singers in the world ( Rob Thomas, Cher, Janet Jackson)
Keep up with Jenny on her MySpace page
Chris Bowman and Dean Hummons stayed in the Gem City and after a run with a number of local funk bands that went national (Sun & Dayton ), still do their thing locally to this day.
Chris was with the group “Dayton” in the early 80s and co-wrote and performed on the “Cutie Pie” recording. Among his later achievements, he authored the CBS Early Show theme hosted by Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson that played from 2000 - 2004.
His self produced cd “First Love” was in the top 30 Smooth Jazz CDs on the US charts in 2001. As a solo artist, he’s opened for numerous artists….Kenny G, David Sanborn, Micheal Buble, Boney James, Walter Beasly, Phil Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Maya Angelou….to name a few.
Keep up with Dean on his website.
Dean Hummons (Organ, Piano, Clavinet) was an original member of Sun which was an R&B, disco, and funk band that was active mainly during the late 1970s and the early 1980s.
Originating from Dayton, Ohio, Sun recorded prolifically for Capitol Records from 1976 to 1984, with their most popular recording being “Sun Is Here”, which made it to number 18 on the R&B charts in 1978. Following a management dispute, founding members Sandridge, Jones and Hummons left Sun to form a new group called Dayton. Dean Hummons played keyboards on the first two Dayton albums, that was fronted by vocalists Jenny Douglas and Rachel Beavers. The group signed to Liberty Records in 1980 and soon released their self-titled debut album which included the memorable track “Eyes On You”. Dayton was highly respected and also toured with such musicians as Ashford & Simpson, Quincy Jones and Stephanie Mills. They recorded a second Liberty album, Cutie Pie, in 1981. Guest musicians included James “Diamond” Williams , Chris Bowman, Keith Harrison , Clarence “Chet” Willis , Billy Beck, Wes Boatman , and Vincent Andrews.
Roger went on to perform with Slave and the Steve Arrington’s Hall of Fame and is somewhere on the West Coast ( he is the Dodger, Ya Heard!!).
Slave was a Dayton, Ohio funk band formed by Steve Washington and Mark Hicks (Drac) in 1975. Amongst their R&B hits were “Just a Touch of Love” in 1979, “Watching You” in 1980, and “Snap Shot” in 1981. Young, Washington, Jones and Lockett departed to form Aurra in 1981. Slave added Roger Parker, Sam Carter, Charles Carter, Delburt Taylor, and Kevin Johnson as replacements. Arrington himself left in 1982 after the Showtime album and formed Steve Arrington’s Hall of Fame with the Carter brothers and Roger Parker. After Steve found religion the group disbanded. But not before releasing some nasty funk including “Make You Weak In The Knees and “Nobody Can Be You But You”.
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