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| P.N.G. To Collaborate With Lorence Michaels After a year of schedule conflicts, personal setbacks, and general phone-tagging, a tentative agreement to begin recording several tracks for Lorence Michaels' solo debut CD has now been reached. Many tracks for his up-coming "Real Love" CD have been completed, but as the former front man of The Donz enthusiastically explained "I want to branch out, and I wanted to work with someone who is ready to take it to that next level. I love R&B; I ooze it, but I want to stretch it into other areas. With the inclusion of P.N.G.'s tracks . I believe it will add that dimension. It's time to bring music back" For anyone not familiar with Lorence Michaels, it was back in 2000 when he was signed to legendary Hank Caldwell's label Heartless Records, alongside his cousin Jeff Oakes who formed The Donz . by 2002, their single "Cry No More" cracked the Top 50, even achieving the Number 1 position in the Los Angeles local charts. This accomplishment being not only formidable in the short time span from signing to release, but was also made more substantial in part because it was an independent release. This feat was not lost on The National Black Broadcasters Association (NBBA), who promptly acknowledged the group with its highest award that same year. The other end of this spectrum is P.N.G., who, unlike Micheals, a virtual unknown, had spent many years trying to remain 'in the background' by trying to pursue his creative dreams strictly as a producer. Playing four instruments fluidly, having an engineering background, and such solid writing skills that have taken some critics aback, felt in 2005 that the only way for him to gain any access into the industry was to just put out an album. "The Darkest August" was the result: A mini concept EP about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its reflection of American culture. "The last thing I wanted to be was a solo artist. I was pushed into it largely because the manner in which I was perusing it wasn't working. The CD was borne from a lot of that angst, as well as that human rights disaster known as Katrina. It was all relative in my mind." The CD was released last September and is meant to be a platform as a charitable donation to the still under-rebuilt Lower 9th Ward. P.N.G. has even received a letter of gratitude from controversial New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagen for his efforts. " To be able to work with an incredible talent like Lorence, I just know nothing but greatness can occur. Its exciting on two levels: the potential to create some incredibly groundbreaking songs through this great friendship, and to have this as a platform for my wanting to further help those who have been largely ignored by the media in the wake of Katrina." Lorence Michaels will also lend his talents to P.N.G.s' second effort "Programmed Response" due out later this year. "Lorence has often told me 'we need to get YOU off the ground, too'" P.N.G. notes, " you can not ask for a better situation creatively or personally then the one we are embarking on." Lorence, a devout Christian, states "God is working with us, man. It's a beautiful collaboration that he has brought together." write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |