Jody Watley and Shalamar Reloaded® – LIVE at the Roxy in L.A. | Jan. 29th, 2016

Grammy winning artist Jody Watley and her dynamic new group Shalamar Reloaded are set to make their debut appearance in Los Angeles at the legendary The Roxy Theater on January 29, 2016 presented by Goldenvoice and AEGLive

“There was a fist fight in the dressing room in the early days of Shalamar when we played here.” Watley laughs. “I’m looking forward to a new fun experience. It’s the first place I saw Prince as well..and so it’s cool to give Nate and Rosero this opportunity. It’s also the day before my birthday which will make it even more special.” This will be Watley’s first full major live concert in Los Angeles since The Wiltern Theatre in 1989.

In 2015 Jody Watley and the newly formed trio toured America, Japan, Amsterdam and Sao Paulo as well as performing at high profile festival dates in the U.K. including Let’s Rock London. Watley sprinkles the hit packed double sets (first half Shalamar Reloaded, second half Jody Watley) with cuts from her critically acclaimed ‘PARADISE.’ The concert takes you on a journey from disco, R&B, Pop, Hip Hop, Ambient Electronica and dance music. All 3 members dance which makes the show a nonstop party.

“PARADISE” which featured the Top 5 disco soul “Nightlife” is set to be re-released in conjunction with The Roxy date. The current ‘DANCER’ Remixed takes Jody back to her dance roots, featuring some of the best street style dancers in Los Angeles, as well a the youngest dancer 7 year old Jaxson whose parents drove him down from Utah make his first video appearance. The concept dance video directed by Rosero Inc. and released just before Christmas has gone viral generating over 300K views from Facebook alone.

Shalamar Reloaded released the contemporary R&B burner “SlowDance” single and video now available via The Spectra Music Group. The group is set to release their second single “O.R.I.G.IN.A.L” to take on internet trolls and haters. “It’s a topic that needs to be covered, online bullies and trolls,” Watley says. “I’ve been the target of a lot of it the past year. We want to partner with an organization that works against bullying online and off. It’s out of control…

Jody Watley

• The video for her classic 1987 song “Still a Thrill” (from her Grammy-winning eponymous debut album of that same year) dazzlingly incorporates waacking, the underground freestyle dance (think of it as an even more beat-driven cousin to voguing), and is the first time a major pop star used their artistic platform to showcase this particular means of body expression. But Ms. Watley had actually brought the dance to widespread American attention a few years earlier as a teenage dancer on the iconic TV show Soul Train. Now, waacking has fans and practitioners around the globe, many of whom use the music of Ms. Watley in their routines as a show of respect for an OG who’s kept the flame burning.
• Her groundbreaking 1989 cut “Friends” carved the template for both R&B/hip-hop and pop/hip-hop fusions to come; as it was the first time a rapper (the legendary Rakim, of Eric B. & Rakim) wrote original verses for an R&B/pop song.
• The video for “Friends” was a landmark of subversive/progressive representation that has still not yet been matched – or given its due as a taboo-shattering cultural artifact. Set in an underground New York dance club, and featuring performances by Miss Watley and Eric B. & Rakim, the club’s denizens are made of up straight, gay, and transgender folk, of all races, body shapes and sartorial aesthetics. B-boys jostle alongside drag queens, Rakim rocks the mic, and Jody serves face and fierceness. It’s a warm utopian vibe. The gathering is organic, and lacks the opportunistic marketing tactic of gay-friendly advocacy that is now on trend for pop divas.
• Long before making his mark as a film director, David Fincher (Se7en; Fight Club) cut his stylistic teeth on Jody Watley’s sleek, hugely influential music video for the 1989 smash “Real Love,” perfecting a signature visual look that he would later impart to other pop divas.
• Unhappy with the constraints of being on a major label, she parted ways with her industry home and started her own label Avitone Recordings in 1995. Through it she has released four critically acclaimed CDs (Affection, 1995; The Saturday Night Experience, 1999; Midnight Lounge, 2001; The Makeover, 2006), which have collectively spanned the genres electronica, ambient, R&B, and House. They’ve also reinforced her roots in and solidified her ties to the global dance underground, as everyone from 4Hero and King Britt to Masters at Work and Junior Vasquez jumped at the chance to work on these projects.
• A fashion-forward visionary from her Soul Train days, Miss Watley never used a professional stylist but, as a solo artist with a singular vision and keen instincts, carved her own look by weaving vintage clothing and contemporary street fashions from her own closet with high-end pieces from fashion designers who hadn’t yet caught the public or industry eye (Jean-Paul Gautier; Rifat Ozbek.) Photographers from the legendary Francesco Scavullo to firebrand Steven Meisel lined up to work with her. For her iconoclastic and influential eye, she was honored with a feature in VOGUE Italia’s groundbreaking “Black Issue” in 2008. Watley has been featured in Rolling Stone, People Magazine 50 Most Beautiful, Harper’s Bazaar, Working Mother, Japanese “SPUR” (the first woman of color to grace the cover of a high profile magazine in the country), released million selling fitness video “Dance To Fitness” (another benchmark for a woman of color) among other benchmarks.
• Watley has also been featured in celebrity ad campaigns for GAP, LA Eyeworks, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
• Shalamar Reloaded.
• Formed in 2014 by Jody Watley.
• Male lead vocalist: Singer, Dancer Nate Allen Smith new talent hails from Massillon Ohio and won his spot after major auditions beating over 100 hopefuls.
• Vocalist, Dancer, Artistic Director: Rosero McCoy is a renowned choreographer with a resume that includes music video (Usher, Toni Braxton, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Keke Palmer, Beyoncé, Jody Watley, Prince..) Television (Disney’s Shake it Up, The Sing Off, MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, Castle..) Film (imDb).

Set to open The Roxy Theater show is Grammy nominated artist / DJ Vikter Duplaix.

Tom Estey Publicity & Promotions