Artists over the years, ourselves included, created works with the hopeful purpose of bringing us all together. This, was not what we meant. This, being our worldwide community, simultaneously affected by the unknown, leaving us all with our fears. This song, “Pray For Peace”, is an offering. An offering of prayer.
(from April 12th) – However you pray, meditate, ruminate, affirm or yearn, let’s do that, together. Pray For Peace. The song will be on a 24 hour watch party loop, every hour on the hour. I will be there with you, to chat, give and receive comfort and encouragement, or just say hey. We can do this. See you there. TODAY, Sunday April 12, 2020. 11 am est. until April 13, 2020, 11 am est. – Sandra St. Victor of The Family Stand
Film is produced and edited by Mem Nahadr. Technical services provided by James P. Nichols of Commercial Free Jazz.
THE FAMILY STAND – “PRAY FOR PEACE” – AN ART FILM. . from the forthcoming Album entitled: “EVOLVE’
Questlove’s QLS podcast is infamous. So are The Family Stand. This is what happened when they got together. Hold on to your wigs.
The Family Stand 2020 LIMITED CONCERTS
Peter Lord, V. Jeffrey Smith, and Sandra St. Victor present the “Full Moon In Scorpio” album set!
TFS perform their seminal album, “Moon In Scorpio” in its entirety for the first time.
Set will include other fan must-have cuts from additional TFS albums.
The Cutting Room New York City
https://tickets.thecuttingroomnyc.com
City Winery Washington DC https://citywinery.com/washingtondc/thefamilystand3272020.html
*more dates to come
The Family Stand, the bio
“The Education of Jamie”, live at Pinkpop, Holland. June 1992
The world according to The Family Stand is full of funk, love, rage and introspection. Formed by the powerhouse triple team of vocalist/keyboard wizard Peter Lord, vocalist multi-instrumentalist V. Jeffrey Smith and soul siren Sandra St. Victor in the early 90s, the band made the legendary “Moon In Scorpio” before going on hiatus in 1999. They have sustained a ravenous, excited following even in their absence. Largely this is because their dazzling live shows back in the day. Performances where impeccable musicianship, sizzling stagecraft and volcanic energy left indelible imprints on the memory on their fan’s hearts, feet and imaginations.
They did what Great Black Music performances used to do on the regular–make you think hard about the world and your own inner life while you had a stomp down, sweaty, good time in the process. And in a community full of loving like-minded fellow travelers to boot.
[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]Built around the songwriting and production talents of Smith and Lord and the thermonuclear vocals of St. Victor, The Family Stand recombinated elements of rock, folk, soul, free jazz, hiphop, funk and hardcore gospel into a melodic amalgam rooted that’s answered the musical question, What if Stevie Wonder ever sat in with Living Colour, Fishbone and Bad Brains?
More than the sum of their influences though, the group took on social issues with a fury rare for a contemporary band rooted in r and b. Family Stand classics such as ”Plantation Radio” and “The Education of Jamie” are emotional rollercoasters that turn topical, political content into eargasms. At another end of the spectrum is their big club hit “Ghetto Heaven” which brought pure romance back to the hood with a soulfulness and a bounce that still can’t be denied or easily duplicated.
After disbanding in 1997, The Family Stand briefly reformed in 2007, cooking up a mind body and soul throttling release for the occasion, “Super Sol Nova”, which tackled the hot topics of that day: the ant-democratic fallout from 9/11, the war in Iraq, fratricide in the music — and on the streets — with hard crunchy beats, loud and raunchy guitars, pyrotechnic vocalizing, sensuous horn and keys and a rock of ages sense of hope and redemption.
2019 saw the Stand return to the Black Rock battlements when the BRC Orchestra stormed the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There they demonstrated no loss of ferocity, negrocity or spiritual funkgnostificiation, fluidly re-establishing Family Stand’s totemic status as a long distance runner in the almighty funk n roll cosmos.
– Greg Tate
Greg Tate’s books include Flyboy In The Buttermilk, Everything But The Burden: what white people are taking from Black Culture, and Midnight Lightning: Jimi Hendrix and the Black Experience. He also leads the sometimes 26 member avant-funk ensemble Burnt Sugar. [/expander_maker]
Where In The World is The Family Stand?
June 1992, Limburg, The Netherlands. The Family Stand prepare to take the biggest stage of their career, Pinkpop. Already knowing this is more than likely, the last tour of a fantastically fulfilling, but uneasy musical journey.
2020, 20+ years to the date of their last official concert as a unit, before the breakout projects formed, The Family Stand find themselves together again, realizing the strength in their union. Their epic performance at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 2019, for Black Rock Coalition’s History of Our Future, propelled them once again into the fury, and sexy creative consciousness that brought them together in their formative years.
This tour brings back all of the original band members, including Rocky Bryant on drums, and Ronny Drayton on guitar. The set is primarily based on their seminal work, “Moon In Scorpio”, adding fan favorites from earlier albums like, “Sweet Liberation”, and “The Last Temptation”.
The highlight of this limited tour will be a New York City appearance on the exact date of their last concert in March, 1995, The Last Stand, at Tramps, and will continue into festival season, 2020-21.
The Family Stand, September 7, 2019, performing “The Education of Jamie” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The BRC presentation, “History of Our Future”, was an epic bringing together of New York City’s black rock pioneers, curated by Darrell McNeill. – photo Lisa Cortes
The 3 core members stay busy
Sandra St. Victor
– finishing up her “Beautifully Dark” project with super producer, Mark Batson.
– traveling to Africa as often as possible for concerts, and workshops.
V. Jeffrey Smith
– traveling the planet with the sometimes 26 piece ensemble, The Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber.
– produced the just released Average White Band’s album, “Inside Out”.
Peter Lord Moreland
– putting finishing touches on a new screenplay.
– in LA prepping for a film he’ll be directing next year.
The Family Stand, the videos
Some old and new videos here.