This special podcast captures a few moments backstage with Simon Bartholomew and Jan Kincaid from “The Brand New Heavies.” Listen in to see what they have to say about the healing powers of music.

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Coach Betty and Simon Bartholomew

Simon Bartholomew, guitarist to ‘The Brand New Heavies‘ is a modern day renaissance man of many talents and interests. One fan has described Bartholomew’s guitar playing as: “a timely late 90s reminder that the guitar can be a delicately versatile tool, percussive and fluid as required…” However, this is not the only talent that Bartholomew possesses; his dexterity goes far beyond the mere strings of a guitar. Since forming ‘The Heavies’ (as he affectionately likes to call then) with school mates Andrew and Jay, Bartholomew has been involved in numerous other bands including ‘Akimbo’ and ’1ibear’, both of whom are from the same acid jazz genre. Surprisingly, however, when asked what his own musical influences are Bartholomew discloses that he is secretly a bit of a rocker. To learn more about Simon, read more: www.myspace.com/sybarmy#ixzz0utHkz99K

Jan Kincaid and Yvette Summers

A pioneer of the London Acid Jazz scene, Jan Kincaid translated his love for the funk grooves of the seventies into a sophisticated sound championing classic soul in an era dominated by Hip-Hop. The Brand New Heavies was originally an instrumental unit inspired by the James Brown and Meters records its members heard while clubbing the Rare Groove scene in vogue at the time.

When Jan played live in the USA he hypnotised audiences that hadn’t seen a live drummer in a long time, but especially impressed were the rap community who saw a drummer playing grooves that rappers would usually sample from old 70′s records. Legendary R&B artist Ray Charles was so impressed with the BNHs that he invited the band to play his 50th anniversary in the music biz.

N’Dea Davenport shares her story behind the superstardom of being the lead singer of “The Brand New Heavies.” She is a progressive musician, singer, songwriter and producer who has followed her dream and traveled the world. Her vision of how we can bring the planet back into balance includes embracing “living in the moment,” and nurturing and nourishing ourselves. There are so many wonderful healers working as musicians and traveling modeling the life that is restful, calm and happy. N’Dea Davenport is one of those people.

Listen in…

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N'Dea Davenport

The soulful voice of vocalist/ songwriter/ producer N’Dea Davenport first emerged in 1991 when she became the front woman for the Acid Jazz British funk band, The Brand New Heavies.

But long before worldwide notoriety was present, she fell in love with music, dance, performing and the arts. “I think I got involved in almost everything creatively I could do when I was in school, to keep my mind busy to try and stay out of trouble. From sports to theater, you name it. I probably did it.” A regular routine of piano and dance studies were the core of her development. Ironic as it is, singing would later be the focus of her affections.

As soon as it was possible to “break out” as she calls it, she left her home town of Atlanta, with little more than 300 dollars on route to Los Angeles with the primary goal of just going somewhere she had never been to alone. Little did she know, that early sense of adventure would begin a chain-of-events that would change her life forever.

To learn more about NDea and listen to her music, go to MySpace.com/ndeadavenport.