Our first ever We Don’t Even Know Variety Fest held on April 23, 2017 at DCTV in downtown Manhattan was a smashing success! To all of you who were able to attend - we love you and because of you we are certain to do it all over again next year. Although we won’t be able to share all of the performances via our podcast format from that day, we are honored to share with you our dear friend, a living music encyclopedia, WFMU’s Duane (Train) Harriott and his interview with soul and dance music icon, one of the original lead vocalists of Chic, the legendary Alfa Anderson.
Duane explains his spiritual connection to disco and introduces us to the amazing Alfa Anderson. Alfa talks about coming to New York City from Augusta, Georgia as a young woman seeking a teaching job until the moment she realized she could actually make a living as a singer. Does the name Luther Vandross ring a bell? “Big” Luther and Alfa used to hang out on a park bench near W. 72nd Street before they became famous! Alfa explains to us how to be “Haughty!” Duane talks about the music of Chic, how it changed his life and plays another one of his favorite Chic songs including At Last I’m Free. You will also hear about Alfa’s songwriting process for her brand new solo release, From My Heart and thank goodness she could not resist singing along with her new song titled “When Luther Sings.” Alfa is truly a magical spirit and we were so humbled by her presence. We hope you enjoy hearing her as much as we did. Check out Alfa’s website and her Facebook page here. Be sure to join us in attendance at Alfa’s upcoming show at Joe’s Pub on 7/7/17 at 7:30pm! We will see you there. Special note - this was recorded in a cavernous room & you may hear the sounds of a creaking door throughout the interview. Probably spirits who just had to join us in the room for the interview perhaps?