Roy Davis Jr. Live from "Red No. 5" Chicago, 04-05-2002.

Roy Davis Jr. warming up the crowd.

   Originally from California before moving to Chicago, Roy was turned on to house music by greats DJ Pierre, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Marshall Jefferson and Lil' Louis. He then took that love and started DJ'ing while still in his early teens. Later on he began producing as he calls it "Soul Electronica". A blend of Garage, Disco, R&B, House, Soul, Hip Hop and Electronic music. Things really got moving in 1993 when he was asked to do A&R for Strictly Rhythm while still in college. Roy has released many great singles and albums during his vast career both as a solo artist and as a member of a group on label's such as Soul electric, Defected, Strictly Rhythm, Ubiquity, XL, Peacefrog, DJAX, and his own Redcat Records. Some of his stand out group productions were 1992's "Rise from your grave" with "PHuture" along side Earl "Spanky" Smith. 1996's "Times Fade" with "PHuture the next Generation" along side Chicago's DJ Skull and 1999's "Watch them come" while part of "Men from the Nile" with Jay Juniel. As far as collaborations go, You can't forget 1996's timeless "Gabriel" with Peven Everett laying down both the vocals and trumpet on the track. Many have credited "Gabriel" with kick starting the UK Garage scene when it came out and still holds it own to this day. Roy has also had Billboard chart success with hits for Eric Benet / Faith Evens, Mary J. Blidge, Seal, Patty LaBelle, Terry Dexter, Christina Milian and Morcheeba to name a few. With a steady stream of his own and production work for other artists and steady gigs all over the world, It's safe to say we will be seeing and hearing from Roy for a long time to come.

Crowd at Red No.5

     This set took place during the time I was recording audio for the Club and DJ TV show I was a part of here in Chicago. The guys from the show would call me up and have me come down to where they were filming and record the sets. This night they filmed and interviewed Roy for an episode that I think aired after it got finished but as far as I can tell it's not up anywhere online. Going off of who ever was talking on the mic during the night, this was an event called "Silly Rabbit 5" on a Friday night. The place was rammed packed with people (as you can tell from the photo's) and the vibe was very heavy and music was, well you can tell from the recording great! At one point during Roy's set a women in the packed DJ booth got on the mic and started singing along with Roy and Peven's  classic "Gabriel". As it turns out, Some one left the mic on during his set and on certain parts of the mix you hear the crowd yelling (mostly me. Ha!) and cheering in the background, especially towards the end of the night when he was really bringing it. The crowd noise isn't enough to take away from the recording but it does adds some character to it.

Roy Davis Jr live at "Red No. 5" Chicago. 04-05-2002. by Live Sets Chicago on Mixcloud

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Hope this finds you all well. Cheers!

Gus Audio.


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