Nightwind - Why Can't We

This post is LONG overdue. You see, we here at Sound Boutique had made this track the first release for our record label. While that diverted some attention and energy away from this blog it was a necessary journey for me. And, a completely enjoyable and fascinating voyage for all involved. My right hand man in all of this, Luke Holton, the creator of Nightwind, can attest to the joy it's been for us.
It started with me scoring this Nightwind original 45 from a French record dealer. I liked this b-side so much I had to have it. It wasn't the normal uptempo funk or boogie bangers that I was usually after. But, it signified a newer development in my tastes and a direction that myself and the entire Sweaterfunk crew were taking... a turn to more mellow tempos, slower burners to break up the party rockers. Also happened around the time we started turning to two step and mid tempo jams. All greatly influenced by Dam Funk coming to share his mid-tempo jams, and spawned from his original mid-tempo themed night.

Nightwind circa 1981

It wasn't until later, actually after having the 45 for some time that I realized there was a fantastic uptempo party rocking flip side to this great record. Once I realized that this was golden either side you played, I started to try to track down the artists. Spoke with Fred Walker on the phone, yes he's the sax man on the beginning of this song, and he told me how to find Luke. Spoke with Luke next and he was thrilled to hear someone was into the music had made years ago. Once he told me the tapes were still laying around somewhere it was quickly decided to make it happen and put this song to wax once again.

Nightwind circa 1979

I set a date for release and so glad I did. If I hadn't, this re-release might never have seen the light of day..you know, people get busy..life kinda takes over. Anyways, the date pushed everything along and made it happen. Also, Luke was once of the nicest guys you could do this kind of thing with..an exceptional gentleman, a real sweetheart and a creative genius. So, without his kind, loving approach, and stamp of approval this would have never happened.
Loads of amazing and exciting things have happened since we first put it back out in November of 2011. First, we sold out within less than a year (and keep in mind, almost NOBODY knew of this record). Second, Luke discovered a video the band made for a local public access channel in St. Louis. Third, more tapes were discovered with MORE amazing Nightwind material..things like 'Spaceman', and multi-tracks with stuff like 'Mr. Silky's Rap'... be sure to check out the videos down below.

Leading lady Janet Savage and Nightwind
performing on a local public access TV show 

After a surprise guest visit at Lipo for Sweaterfunk, an interview with our fam and numero uno homie Ken Maxx (K-Maxx) on KPOO and people playing this song from New york to Australia, from France to Japan, it's official Nightwind is loved universal! Luke has also told me he has taken back up his piano playing and now regularly plays solo piano at a local club. Fantastic. This has been good for all of us. Now, we're about to press up the 3rd run of the re-issue, finally press the long awaited 'Spaceman', and working on a TON of other material all found on 10 multi-track tapes. It's a frickin' dream.

Ken and Luke, the Night-Maxx connection.
Super big thanks to Ken and the legendary KPOO

The biggest thanks to Nightwind, Luke Holton, Fred Walker, Janet Savage and the music loving crowds at Sweaterfunk for loving this tune. These songs, and Nightwind in general championed Sound Boutique's existence as a record label, and now we're devoted to sharing more music via that channel.

Somewhat minor but important details about the release of these songs.
Absolute first pressing in 1982 is on Star City Records.
Second pressing on Sound Boutique is from 2011, has two styles one with center hole
punch, one without. Both are from same run in 2011. Pressing plant mistake that we went with just to see the differences.
Third pressing is a black and silver label from 2013.
Fourth pressing hopefully coming soon as the 2013 run is almost gone.

thee first pressing...and thee hardest to find.
1982

Sound Boutique's proudest moment and first
release from 2011. 

Same as first batch released in 2011, but quantity
was sent back to pressing plant to have center holes
removed like originally designed. turns out we liked both!

2nd Sound Boutique pressing. We decided to
redesign to contrast from 2011 version

This second run was released in 2013

You can still get a copy of this record by going here...
http://soundboutique.bigcartel.com And make sure to peep all the videos here..






For the sake of still selling our track and Luke actually getting his royalty we're NOT sharing the mp3. You can hear the whole tracks via these youtube posts. We hope you will support Nightwind and Sound Boutique Records by buying a copy of the vinyl. thank you.







Oh yeah, and this test pressing of the 2011 version...

release deadline was so close to the record release party,
we only had the test pressings available! They are now ridiculous RARE!

Martin L. Dumas, Jr. - Attitude, Belief & Determination

Well, I finally, finally got a copy. It's a grail amongst the two-step and boogie crowd. It's also rare as shit. Harder to find than a mosquito dick. Even in Chicago this record has been known to be impossible to find. Our good folks from both far and near, from the folks at Cherries Records to Peabody's know this track doesn't turn up very often. Speaking of the Peabody's and Chicago this song is the mascot, if you will, of the amazing compilation by the Peabody's called 'The Real Side Of Chicago'. Most of you know about this comp, but until I had this glorious Martin Dumas 12 inch in my greasy hands the comp was the only way I had it.


The song is a serious mood setter, and epic at almost 10 minutes. It also has this awesome salsa or brazilian turn around that it plays with throughout the song. This is definite driving music, ripe for cruising around in a convertible or old school ride on a sunday. What I love most is it's positive message it's the kind we need more of in our world.

Martin L. Dumas, Jr. - Attitude, Belief & Determination

Flight - No More Part Time Lovin'

Much like the previous Frank Alstin post, we know next to nothing about this group. No, wait. I want to correct that, we know absolutely nothing about them. Still that doesn't take away from this obscure gems magic. If this is the sole outing for this group then they represented quite well in 1981 with this jam. This disco boogie grail is trading hands for big money these days and I'm glad to finally have a minty copy. It's been a hard one to track down, and after a listen you'll see why it's in demand among collectors. This is proof of the excellent mixture of both funk and soul in the boogie tunes of this era. It has it all. Tasty synth, nice backing vocals and several enjoyable breakdowns. It's very much a classy and soulful track. I just love those double disco claps. I'm wondering if they are somehow connected to the group 'Future Flight', but that's just a wild guess. If you know anything more about 'Flight' please get in touch with us.


Flight - No More Part Time Lovin'

Frank Alstin - It Must Be Love This Time

Here's another jam that seems ripe for the summertime. I know very little about Frank Alstin, however he had quite a few tries at this particular jam. This version has a very home spun almost demo tape sound to it. He recorded it again in 1986 with the fabulous Jean Carne. And, in 1992 it was revamped and given a few 'house' remixes and released in the UK. We know close to nothing about the rest of his career, but this little slab of funk boogie soul definitely increases the desire for more of the same caliber. He did pen a few songs for First Choice, Loleatta Holloway, Sandra Phillips and The Jones Girls. Not a bad gang of folks to be associated with!

This earliest version is the best version in my eyes, but it's hard to deny the excellent vocals from Jean Carne. This version lacks those extra female vocals but does have a crisp snappy funk feel and some excellent synth soloing. Although a lot of the versions out there are dated 1983 but, seem to be the later version from 86. I'm happy to share this track as it seems to be the hardest version to come by and doesn't go for cheap these days. I hope you enjoy.

Frank Alstin - It Must Be Love This Time

James Bootie Tuten - This Is A Love Affair

Wished I could have made it to the city tonight, would have loved to go to the Lipo for Sweaterfunk. It would have been nice to see the crew. I love them folks. And, even better they love some good ass music. I was planning on going. But, I'm nursing my daughter back to health from a flu and as expected I've quickly caught her bug too. So, we're both home sick tonight. And, damn it turned out RAINY! As much as I bitch and whine about being sick, it just shows I still could do a better job taking care of myself. It also shows that the saying is true 'Kids are like germ magnets' and unfortunately I'm living that folklore to the fullest.

I've also been bitchin' and whining about getting tired of boogie too. And, although I say that, I'm still constantly playing it, buying it, and talking about it. Could be I just gotta find the 'right' tunes. Here's the example. This fine tune by James Tuten has been on my want list for a while and now that I picked up a copy it's been in the box and getting played out where ever I go.  If this proves anything, it's just the simple fact that I'm always desiring to discover something new, something fresh. Although at times I may gripe and groan, the music I keep playing speaks for itself. Let's just say that boogie will continue to be my 2nd baby. Or, is it third? Oh well, it's important.

This song is completely bangin' and now one of my funk anthems. From the wicked huge open drums to the chant at the end, it satisfies me on a major level. So, out go my grievances right out the door. Those hard drums, space sounds, and the disco missile launching at the beginning only warm it up for the monster synth bass line. Then the deep commanding vocals come jumping out of the speaker. James should have been nick named 'brutal' as his voice so completely rocks this shit. Yeah, James 'Brutal' Tuten. So stoked to have it in my box, after a long wait. For the moment, it's a 'love affair' with this song.

James Bootie Tuten - This Is A Love Affair

Homegrown Syndrome - Confrontation

Big ups to my man Renmin
Cardona. This is a Soundboutique exclusive courtesy of Renmin. Not only does he have the coolest name in the world, but he's truly one of the coolest cats I know. It's rare I come across someone so honest, so mellow, so cool, and with such a great sense of humor. So, I gotta give him dap. But, let's rub his thick cool cat coat of fur a little more...He's deep in the crates game and discovered this true gem of a song by Homegrown Syndrome. WOW! When he first told me about the title, I thought it sounded cheesy as hell. But, once his portable turntable got up to 45 rpm, I also got up to speed with this killer disco boogie cut. Such a aggressive disco burner, complete with tuff breakdown. Anybody that still unearths gems and digs deep until they find something new, get mad, mad respect from me.

He's been a crew member of Sweaterfunk for a few years and along side Proof has brought us two volumes of 'Night Shift', which was one of the earliest boogie mix Cd's floating around San Francisco. He's also my right hand man in busting out with our own pressings of vinyl. More to come in the future. Let's pedal backwards a little to his name, although understand this.. the name does not make the man. How cool is the name Renmin? I mean, you don't have to change your name for DJ flyers or nothin'! Sure, he gets the most amount of ad libs due to the 'Ren' and 'min' in his name...but, this guy is sooooo cool and soooooo mellow, he's usually crackin' the jokes on himself. A comedy style much like myself. But, his humbleness is in it's purest form I would say. My favorite is REN DMC, or rather the more fitting REN DJC. I noticed on his record box the other day it said 'Philip E. Knowles', as in 'Filipinos', truly a cool breeze of a brother in my eyes. So, in addition to the constant humor you have him to thank for discovering this nice little disco boogie funk track.

Sadly this was Homegrown's only offering. Even in 1981 bands got signed to majors like Arista and were dropped like hot cakes with or without a chance for a full length LP. In this case, without a full length album shot. There was an additional issue of this 45 released with the tune 'You And Me Baby' on the flip. It's rumored that this band was in fact a band called 'Home Grown Funk' that recorded with and were under the wing of Ike Turner. But, this can't be confirmed as of yet, it may have been a name for the band that Ike carried around with him for some time supplying it with whomever backed him up. There's an album called 'The Edge' by 'Ike Turner and Home Grown Funk' which appears to be the same group, but again it's not confirmed and hard to pin point.  Homegrown Syndrome were Los Angeles based and Home Grown Funk were from Memphis. It gets confusing with the 'Edge' album release as it's dated 1980, yet sounds more like 1973. Even more affirming is the appearance of Tina Turner's vocals on the 'Edge' album, probably just a marketing of previously unreleased material. Maybe Ike had a hand in helping to sign 'Homegrown' to Arista for the release of this 45.

Whoever Homegrown Syndrome were, if you're out there...we want to know you. We are thankful here on this blog for your music. Again, props are due to Renmin Cardona for discovering and sharing this great tune. Truly a Jedi in the music world and a cool dude to boot. A.k.a Philip!

Homegrown Syndrome - Confrontation

Cardell Funk Machine - Shoot Your Shot

With it being Sunday you think it'd be time to ride the gospel train again, but I've got deeper funkier places to take you. The slow seedy funk of Cardell's Funk Machine seems fitting. This is raunchy drop top 80's funk, is perfect for cruising. The beat is mellow and the mood is pimperific. Fantastic analog dripping synthesisers over slapped up bass lines. It's sloppy, atmospheric, and down right rude. I don't think I've heard a stripped down bass and drum track sound so nasty.

This was another one I wanted to share for the anniversary party. There's some bacon gettin' cooked up around the beginning of the song. It's not mint, a bit scratchy really, but because it's so majorly rare I think its ok. I've heard that even Mr. Cardell doesn't have a copy. However, I know he's struck a deal with PPU and made a little cash from this slice of funk. I know the folks at PPU take care of thier folks and have honest business practices, something I think needs commending. I think many artists are getting more these days then when these tunes first came out. I know I bought my first copy of this on the PPU label, and maybe that's a way to ensure they get a piece of the action. I'm struggling with figuring out a way some of the artists that get exposure on this blog can make a dime or two. I'll figure it out, but I wouldn't want to scare people away with a fee. For now, we'll just stick to spreading the good word on artists that need exposure, and sharing a few offerings in hopes that consumers will hunt down and/or buy what IS available. We'll come up with something for the site though.... For now, we'll just continue to pay tribute instead of paying fees.



Cardell Funk Machine - Shoot Your Shot