Club Bamboo

B. Anthony

Description

A group of friends plays music at Club Bamboo while facing the struggles of being black in the American South in the 70s, using the power of song to heal.

In South Georgia, 1977, beyond the bright lights of Atlanta, where darkness meets light, is Club Bamboo. Best friends built the place for live entertainment, accented with Georgia bamboo and featuring a fireplace, bar, and bedrooms. Club Bamboo is the pulse of South Georgia, and Raw—Ready and Willing—often rules the stage.



The band consists of Vincent “Fingers” on guitar. Charles, better known as Dr. Thump, plays bass. Sam “Pony Boy” is on drums, and Amos—Mr. Velvet—is lead singer, along with backup singers Cheryl “Butter;” Sue Ann, or Sweet; and Janet, known as Red Lady. The band plays at the club, but they’re more than musicians.



These boys can fish, known in the neighborhood as master fishermen. With woven baskets they made themselves and a jar full of bait from the store, they fill all the baskets with catfish in no time and feed the people who come see them play. Club Bamboo is a story of true brotherhood, as several black men struggle in the Deep South but find victory in the power of song.

Sujets

• Southern United States
• African American
• RNB
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 27 mars 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665739436
• Langue: English

Extrait

CLUB BAMBOO
 
 
 
B. ANTHONY
 
 
 
 

 
 
Copyright © 2022 B. ANTHONY.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3944-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3945-0 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3943-6 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023903508
 
 
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 03/14/2023
This book is a dedicated to my mom. God rest her soul. You only get one mom; never take her for granted. I will never forget how she spoke words of encouragement to me over and over. You are forever in my heart. Until we meet again, I love you, and I miss you!
To my family and friends, you know who you are. Each of you plays an intricate part in my life. You are truly my inspiration. Honor thy mother and thy father, and may thy days be long upon the land that thy God giveth thee. And for those yet to come, I welcome you with open arms for it was meant to be.
To achieve goals means you’ve worked hard to get to where you are in life. And as a direct result of hard work, success is achievable.
Celebrate life for time and tide wait for no one.
CONTENTS
1     The Spark
2     All Roads Lead Home
3     Devil Dogs
4     The Flame
5     Karma
6     The Reckoning
7     Obey
8     The Prodigy
About the Author

1
THE SPARK

It all began in 1977 South Georgia, way past the bright lights of Atlanta, beyond the trees and hills, nestled beneath Pine Mountain was Club Bamboo. It was built by a group of best friends as a nightclub with live entertainment. It was accented with Georgia bamboo. It had a fireplace, a stage for the band, a bar, and a few bedrooms. There were mirrors on the ceiling and walls. It was the very pulse of South Georgia. At night the club transformed. “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” by The Manhattans, played and faded into reality. The band Raw (Ready and Willing) argued about whether they should play that song tomorrow night at Club Bamboo.
“Man, fuck that. I am not singing that bullshit,” Amos yelled.
“Hell, nah. You wrong for that.” Vincent replied and laughed.
“You right! I’m just saying,” Charles answered. Then he laughed too.
“Pony Boy,” the drummer yelled. “Oh, I got you. Ask yourselves, ‘What are we about?’”
“Brotherhood!” they all responded.
Pony Boy replied, “We are the pulse that keeps Club Bamboo alive. Raw on three!” Drumsticks clicked.
In came a thundering drumroll, and “People of Today,” by the Isley Brothers, played. There, they had their song for tomorrow night!
The band consisted of Vincent, aka Fingers, on guitar. Charles, better known as Dr. Thump, played bass. Sam, aka Pony Boy, was on drums. Amos—Mr. Velvet—was lead singer, singing backup were Cheryl, aka Butter; Sue Ann, Sweet; and Janet, Red Lady.
“Right on! Now that’s what I’m talking ’bout, Jack! It’s on. It is on!” Kane yelled and the band played on.
Vincent said, “Let’s roll.”
After their performance, the band left Club Bamboo, but they had plans for Saturday.
•   •   •
At nine o’clock on Friday morning, the team met at the lake to fish. There were great expectations as they needed fish for the party later that night. They were known in the neighborhood as master fishermen. With woven baskets they made themselves and a jar full of bait from the store, they would fill all the baskets with catfish. In no time, they had more than enough.
“All right, guys, let’s pack it up,” said Vincent.
“What time is it?” Pony Boy asked.
“Noon, young man,” Charles replied.
Soon they were home. As three o’clock approached, the fish were cleaned and prepped, and the team was off to take care of business.
Meanwhile, Amos met up with Kane.
Kane said, “Low-key, laid-back, bad man indeed!” Kane is the older brother of Amos and Sue Ann’s boyfriend. “Hey, man, what up? Thought you said we was going to do this?”
Amos replied, “Where the hell you think I was headed?” Amos walked to the front passenger door and noticed Frank, Vincent and Charles’s older brother, sitting on the passenger seat. “What up, Frank? Didn’t see you. Aren’t you a special?”
Eyeballing that front seat, Amos jumped in the back, and off they went, all the while listening to “Slipping into Darkness” by War. The destination was Kook’s junkyard to search for a car part. Amos fired up a joint, and it was a puff-puff-pass rotation. After their third joint, they arrived at Kook’s junkyard. Frank and Kane got out to speak with the owner about a part.
Amos remained in the back seat, unaware that he was being watched. Amos sipped beer and began to roll another joint. He didn’t notice a monkey curiously approaching the vehicle. The monkey hopped into the car and on to the steering wheel, swinging with joy.
Amos laughed hysterically. The monkey stopped and turned to face Amos. Amos said, “Oh, hell, nah.” Their eyes met in a stare down. “Get your ugly ass out of here before I slap the piss out of your ass. Blowing my high, you little motherfucker!”
Amos continued to roll his weed. But the monkey let out a scream, causing Amos to waste the weed.
The monkey laughed hysterically.
Offended, Amos turned and slapped the monkey. The monkey fell to the front floorboard. Amos yelled, “told you. Now get!”
The monkey rolled over and shook it off. He grabbed the wooden handle under the front seat and leaped over the front seat. He landed on Amos’s chest and smacked Amos on the forehead with the object—a gun. Every lick produced a gunshot as Amos was pistol-whipped.
Frank, Kane, and Kook, ran out to check on the commotion.
“Cracker Jack, get your ass over here!” yelled Kook. Cracker Jack dropped the gun and retreated to the tree.
Amos yelled, “I been shot.”
“I will deal with you later!” Kook said. Kook completed the transaction and ordered them to leave.
As Kane and Frank entered the car, they smelled a stench. “What the hell is that smell, man?” asked Kane.
Amos replied, “I shit my pants, man. There was this monkey and—”
Kane interrupted, “I am not driving your stinking ass back. You better ask Kook to let you clean up before we go. Do something, man. We don’t have all day!”
Amos hopped out and asked Kook if he could use the restroom to clean up.
Kook grabbed his nose. “Go ahead. I don’t want a mess either!” Amos scurried off to the restroom to clean up.
On their way home, they all laughed about how Amos got his ass kicked by a monkey. “Priceless!” Frank said.
“Nigga, shut up and hit this shit!” Kane replied.
They smoked weed and drank alcohol all the way home. “Sunny,” by Boney M, played, played as the car exhaust pierced the sky.
•   •   •
Vincent entered his home and saw his mom. “Hey, Ma. How you doing?”
Before she could answer, Charles entered. “Hey, Ma.”
Kate, the boys’ mother, replied, “I’m fine, boys. I hope y’all are staying out of trouble.”
They both replied, “Yes ma’am!”
Kate, a pillar in the community, was known for her caramel cakes. The icing recipe had been handed down through generations.
“What you cooking?” Vincent asked.
“Collard greens, cornbread, fried chicken, and potato salad!”
“All right then, Ma.” They nodded in approval while George Benson’s “Masquerade” played on the radio.
“I want you boys to stay out of trouble. You hear me?” Kate ordered.
“Yes, ma’am. We hear you,” the boys replied.
“So y’all ready for tonight?” Kate asked.
Charles replied, “Yes ma’am. I think we are.” Charles answered.
Vincent agreed. “Yup!”
“So where is Dad?” Charles asked.
“Out there working on that car.” Kate replied.
The boys headed out back to see their dad. Cebo saw them but played like he didn’t notice them as they approached. As the boys got closer, they could hear Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” playing on the radio.
Cebo slid out from under the car. “When y’all going to play some grown-folk music?” he asked. “Hand me that 7/32 wrench, Charles. Where the hell Frank at? goddamn it! You want something done, got to do it yourself.”
“Dad, Frank went to get the part you needed. He should be here soon,” Vincent answered.
“Who is he with?” Cebo asked.
“Kane,” the boys answered.
“I try to tell that boy a friend will help you out. Next thing you know, he’s screwing your girl! That’s why I got me a dog. Isn’t that, right?” The dog barked. “But hell, nah. He doesn’t listen!”
Minutes later, Frank arrived with the part. “Hey, what’s up? What I miss?” said Frank.
Cebo looked at him and shook his head. Cebo asked, “Did he put it on my bill?”
Frank answered, “Yeah, Pop,” and handed him the part.
Cebo said, “Frank, stick arou