By: Staff Writer
April 27, 2021
The Philadelphia sound of funk group Fyrestorm can’t wait to get to the islands to put on a show to get us up out of the doldrums of the COVID-19 pandemic says the band’s leader.
John “The Bossman” Hall, Fyrestorm’s group leader, told Caribbean Magazine Plus that he has been scoping out venues around the Caribbean for his band as he finds it his mission to get Caribbean people moving again after the horrific lockdowns and economic and social sanctions imposed on us by way of the various COVID-19 restrictions.
Mr Hall said: “I like the islands because of the peace of quietness and the people and their culture. I’m mostly into the culture of people. I’m very religious wise and spiritual, and I stay in good physical condition, I always keep my mind as sharp as possible.
“Most people that are from the islands they’re not like city people over here in America, it is a totally different feeling.”
The Philadelphia based group is an eight piece band that has played all across the United States and Asian including Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, with Hall himself having played with the likes of James Brown, Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle and Sister Sledge.
Hall has also worked with Michael Jackson, who he said was “misunderstood,” as people could not appreciate the time and restrictions he grew up in and reconcile that with his behaviour as an adult always wanting child-like things an adolescent entertainment options around him. Hall was close enough to the King of Pop where he did an album with him through a former group he was a part of called the Flamingo Dancers in 1984.
Fyrestorm music consists of funk R&B and a bit of reggae from time to time and Hall does not work as a dancer anymore, despite still having the moves in his later years.
Hall plans on taking his band across the world and along with the Caribbean he wants to make a stop in Europe when the COVID-19 restrictions begin to subside.
Mr Hall also went further on his Caribbean ambitions and said, “We can just come to The Bahamas or we can just you know do several states because sometimes, like when we go to like Singapore, we may just be there for like, two or three months.
“Then we have to negotiate, because the once we get there, and the people hear the music, and how we keep people on the floor dancing, they don’t want us to leave and they are like wow, you Americans are playing really well because we really play that funk.”
Mr Hall also said: “We have a few members in our band that has Caribbean roots and we want them to have that experience of playing for that audience now.”
Fyrestorm has not picked out a date when they would like to have their Caribbean entrance, but Hall assured us that it will be with them and several other acts that he can bring along just to add to the flavour of the event.
