Riddums: Stumpy, the Band
November 2002 Story, by Willie Painter
Shirlette Ammons is an author, poet, musician, and arts educator based in Raleigh. Her band, Stump ("it's a fancy word for moonshine where I'm from"), has performed at the Lincoln Theater, Cat's Cradle, Humble Pie, and other venues throughout the Triangle. As a writer, Ammons has won the Ebony-Harlem Award for Literary Talent (1999) and Spectator Magazine's Critic's Choice for Best Area Poet (2001). Her new book of poetry, Stumphole: Aunthology of Bakwoods Blood, is available at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham and the Internationalist Bookstore in Chapel Hill.
Stump is a three-piece group consisting of Ammons on bass, Merritt Partridge on guitar, and Marshall Eure on drums. Their five-song CD, The Intoxication of Makedo Funk, can be purchased at www.stumphole.com. I recently spoke to Shirlette Ammons about her music and writing.
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I was born in Wilmington, four minutes prior to my sister. After a short stay in the New Hanover County Hospital, where my prematurity matured, I moved to Mount Olive, North Carolina (home of the laborexploiting Mount Olive Pickles). I moved to Raleigh at the wide-eyed age of 18 and have been here (give or take a year or so) ever since.
I started playing electric bass in my early twenties. I was strongly influenced by gospel music because of my upbringing in the church. Soul music, particularly the music my aunts would listen to on their eight-track players, was also a big part of my musical experience. Cats like Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Teddy Pendergrass, Barry White, Clarence Carter, Betty Wright, James Brown. Soul music. Later came the hip-hop on my radio late at night. I have to be honest: I loved Janet Jackson in the late '80s, early '90s. She was my introduction to a "concert production." Her innate rhythm (and how she worked it) would just blow my mind. But Meshell Ndegeocello was my first experience with live music. After seeing her play, I knew the power of fusing music with message in a tight-ass, soulful way. Her soul made me realize that all things are possible.
Who do you listen to now?
In heavy rotation right now is mood music: when I'm feeling cloudy, Donny Hathaway. I have a live recording of "The Ghetto" by him. He really takes you to church on that tune. When I'm feeling nothing but love, it's Bill Withers. When I need to move and groove at the same time, Meshell or Curtis Mayfield. I've got Curtis live at the Bitter End in '74. I love live music from that era - the roundness of the drum, the bass that just sits in the pocket, the feel of what's happening, the "right ons!" in the background. It just sounds like folks are coming in from the storm. I also dig The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, true pioneers of spoken word as we know it.
When I'm feeling happy, Stump's probably playing somewhere! Stump's been together for a hot minute, maybe longer than that. It's the second group I've played with. The first was more of a loose fusion of jam music and poetry called museovamusak.
Do you write music and lyrics?
The music is a communal effort. I write the lyrics but they are often influenced by conversations I have with Merritt, which often include the inspirations of whatever we're reading or people and situations in our lives.
I really don't see how folks live without live music. I am very honored to be a part of our Triangle scene. I've met so many beautiful people. I mean, I know cats who have been down with music around here for 30 years! That's powerful. It speaks highly to the number of creative people we have right here that we have access to. I think every national act that comes through here, or any town, should have a local act opening for them out of respect for these area musicians who are just as committed to their art as anyone is. By supporting local artists, I feel like I'm supporting the arts on a much larger scale. I wish there wasn't such a division between national and local music, but that's caused by the industry. Distribution (which translates to money and politics) is what decides which artists are local and which become national acts. I would simply like to be heard; that's my motivation.
Music doesn't ask a whole lot of us. It's simple: You create it, nurture it, then hand it out to people. Share, exchange, get up, get involved. I'm honored to be a part of the process. What a blessing! Ain't too many simple pleasures left.
What's the difference between writing lyrics and poetry or prose?
Not one that I can really see, as far as what I'm required to do as a writer. I consider myself a working-class poet and hope that experience comes through in what I write. My purpose as a writer is simply to honor the story through my interpretation of the word. That way, I'm only required to be truthful about what I transcribe.
What authors do you enjoy?
I'm primarily influenced by the works of people who have a way of sharing story that is very musical. Folks who speak in the language of the people whose stories they are honoring: June Jordan, James Baldwin, Audre Lourde, Flannery O'Connor, Haki Madhubuti ... the list is endless.
Right now I'm reading [former James Brown sideman] Fred Wesley Jr.'s autobiography, Hit Me, Fred. It's full of stories that let you in on his life experiences. I keep coming back to June Jordan's work, particularly her collection of essays called Civil Wars. Her language is so politically sure and people-connected. She died this year and her prolific legacy really encourages me.
I took an American Fiction class with Tim McLaurin. He was a beautiful man. He would often come to class bearing pets. My favorite was a turtle named George, a big old turtle that would slowly crawl between desks. Just checking out the scene.
Tim encouraged us to write. He told us if we wrote a story, he'd make copies and allow the class to read it just like the big time authors we were reading. I took him up on the offer and wrote a short story called "Homeless."
Do you feel an organic need to express your feelings, like if you don't get them out you'll explode? Or does it take more work to get them out of your subconscious?
Well, the need to express, I think, is natal. When I'm talking to my twin sister Shorlette, we get tickled at how much we remind each other of ourselves when we were kids. Just two li'l balls of creative energy. And I thank God (in all names and languages) for the ability to hold on to that spirit and nurture it and encourage it. I don't believe that innocence is something that has to be lost, not if we keep a fresh perspective on the world, and are always questioning and leaving room for growth and change. As far as writing goes, the process is enigmatic. My relationship with it changes, which is good. In a poem I wrote in honor of Gwendolyn Brooks, the closing stanza goes:
I hope to rupture one day
To criticize the cancers that plague
And write the breath I breathe
On a prolific sleeve
Till my lungs sit punctured
Wit conception.
Will I explode? I hope so. There's a whole lot more room outside than inside.?
Willie Painter lives and works in Durham. He enjoys playing and listening to music. His column "Riddums" appears regularly in the Urban Hiker.