|
|
Shocking Abuse Allegation From Former GCS Vocalist [Post a Comment]
I just recently blogged about the passing of Graham Central Station musician Robert “Butch” Sam. Well, here is some unexpected news from another former founding member of that seminal funk band, courtesy of a tell-all book from the lady herself: Patryce “Choc’let” Banks.
When Larry Graham left Sly and The Family Stone, he hooked up with a funk band called Hot Choc’let (not to be confused with the similarly named British funk band Hot Chocolate of You Sexy Thing fame). This band took its name from its frontwoman, Patryce “Choc’let” Banks. When Larry Graham sat in, he ended up taking over the reigns and renaming the band Graham Central Station and the rest, as they say, was history.
In 1980, after having moved on from Graham Central Station, Ms. Banks put out an obscure and now long out of print solo album titled She’s Back And Ready, which I own and have featured music from at T-Mad’s Music. Her album took a different turn from Graham Central Station’s hard hitting funk by instead opting for a mellow, disco soul sound.
Well, the lady has her own eponymous website, www.patrycechocletbanks.com so people can see what she has been up to. One of the things she has on tap is a pair of books documenting her life and career: Déjà View: Memoirs of a Funk Diva and A “Choc’let” State Of Mind.
As is customary these days when books are sold online, the lady provides an excerpt from one of her books on her site. Imagine my surprise to discover, via the excerpt from Déjà View, that Patryce Banks and Larry Graham had been an item during the band’s heyday. Alright — fair enough. Now for the shocker: according to Ms. Banks in her book, her relationship with the famed bassist was an abusive one.
The following is part of the excerpt freely provided by Ms. Banks herself from her book on her website:
What they can’t see is the blackness surrounding my right eye, competing with the blackness of the lens of the glasses.
A fake smile attempts to convince the audience of “Fonkateers”, that it’s all good. I want them to think the shades are hiding how high I am. I would rather they think I was too high, than know the truth. The ring of bruises and blackness, is the result of an assualt — a violent, abusive act committed by the same hand playing the thundering bass, the hand of the man I loved.
Wow. Coincidentally, I am currently reading an old book on Sly & The Family Stone, For The Record, and I recently read chapters which talked about Larry Graham’s own bout with drugs during those wild and crazy days. I haven’t gotten all the way through the book yet but, having read that about Mr. Graham and now reading Ms. Banks’ tale of abuse from the man, it now paints a completely different picture of the elder statesman of slap bass funk.
What do you think about this revelation about Larry Graham (who, incidentally, has new music coming out) from his one-time band member and lady, Patryce Banks?
I just recently blogged about the passing of Graham Central Station musician Robert “Butch” Sam. Well, here is some unexpected news from another former founding member of that seminal funk band, courtesy of a tell-all book from the lady herself: Patryce “Choc’let” Banks.
When Larry Graham left Sly and The Family Stone, he hooked up with a funk band called Hot Choc’let (not to be confused with the similarly named British funk band Hot Chocolate of You Sexy Thing fame). This band took its name from its frontwoman, Patryce “Choc’let” Banks. When Larry Graham sat in, he ended up taking over the reigns and renaming the band Graham Central Station and the rest, as they say, was history.
In 1980, after having moved on from Graham Central Station, Ms. Banks put out an obscure and now long out of print solo album titled She’s Back And Ready, which I own and have featured music from at T-Mad’s Music. Her album took a different turn from Graham Central Station’s hard hitting funk by instead opting for a mellow, disco soul sound.
Well, the lady has her own eponymous website, www.patrycechocletbanks.com so people can see what she has been up to. One of the things she has on tap is a pair of books documenting her life and career: Déjà View: Memoirs of a Funk Diva and A “Choc’let” State Of Mind.
As is customary these days when books are sold online, the lady provides an excerpt from one of her books on her site. Imagine my surprise to discover, via the excerpt from Déjà View, that Patryce Banks and Larry Graham had been an item during the band’s heyday. Alright — fair enough. Now for the shocker: according to Ms. Banks in her book, her relationship with the famed bassist was an abusive one.
The following is part of the excerpt freely provided by Ms. Banks herself from her book on her website:
What they can’t see is the blackness surrounding my right eye, competing with the blackness of the lens of the glasses.
A fake smile attempts to convince the audience of “Fonkateers”, that it’s all good. I want them to think the shades are hiding how high I am. I would rather they think I was too high, than know the truth. The ring of bruises and blackness, is the result of an assualt — a violent, abusive act committed by the same hand playing the thundering bass, the hand of the man I loved.
Wow. Coincidentally, I am currently reading an old book on Sly & The Family Stone, For The Record, and I recently read chapters which talked about Larry Graham’s own bout with drugs during those wild and crazy days. I haven’t gotten all the way through the book yet but, having read that about Mr. Graham and now reading Ms. Banks’ tale of abuse from the man, it now paints a completely different picture of the elder statesman of slap bass funk.
What do you think about this revelation about Larry Graham (who, incidentally, has new music coming out) from his one-time band member and lady, Patryce Banks?
Posted by T-Mad on 07/08/2010 at 10:37 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You are about to hear a random selection from the music player for
To hear more good music like this, go to the main site or click here to open the player directly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
302 people have read this blog post so far. Feel free to post a comment and share your thoughts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feel free to post a comment below to the above blog. However, keep
in mind that the following types of comments will not be tolerated on this site:
- SPAM
- Trolls
- Hijacking
- Excessive profanity (judged at my discretion)
- Personal attacks against another blogger, commenter, or listener here at this site
- Obscenity, vulgarity, or any other extremely objectionable or derogatory content (judged at my discretion)
- Anonymous comments (sorry but Anonymous, Anon, and other “anonymous” handles won’t cut it here)
While participation is desired and encouraged,
|
|
|