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Nile Rogers Brings Rev. Right Time and a Pool of Celebrities Together to Record 'We Are Family' By Rev. Pat Ferris Editor's Note: Days following the September 11th Terrorist Attacks, the Rev. Pat Ferris of the perennially tight groove band 'Rev. Right Time & the 1st Cuzins of Funk' sent me an e-mail stating that he and the group were heading to New York City. Producer Nile Rogers invited the band to record with Elton John, Diana Ross, Lenny Kravitz, Run DMC, and other rock luminaries on September 28th. The objective? To record a new version of The Sister Sledge song 'We Are Family' as a theme for charity to the WTC losses. Given such a unique opportunity, I asked the Rev if he would write his thoughts in the form of a diary or journal entry and share them with Review readers. The following is his dispatch. _________________________________________________________________ Tuesday morning just 5 days after my birthday I rose to the computer to check my e mails. The TV is always locked on MTV or VH1 and the sound is always down, just a medley of fast flashing pictures (Deaf since birth). I looked at the tube and saw the WTC burning and smoking. I thought, Great special effects, must be a Lethal Weapon sequel. But soon the same picture appeared on AOL news headings. Then before I could scrape away another sleepy sand from my eye and sip another hit from the Java, my world had changed instantly. George, Nick, and Rev with Dionne Warwick I have a beautiful 3-yr. old daughter and my whole life is geared towards hitting the big time with music. I never stop to think of anything other then my focal point. With my daughter only 3 years into the world, this became a very Rude Awakening for the entire world and me. The thought of all the incredible minds working inside the Trade Center from around the globe, the families lost love ones, hit home pretty deep for everyone and me that morning. (Goose Pimples right now.) The world as we knew it became a new vibe of terrorism, mayhem, chaos and evil. Making Rev Right Time available for every charity possible was the goal for this sad week in September. We hit the road as usual traveling for 4 days, hundreds of miles from home, trying to gather as much news and newspapers along the travel. I have to admit I personally have never been more concerned with the news and the world before. On our final day getting ready to hit stage for a Delta Sigma frat party on Lake Superior in Sault Saint Marie I received a call from Nile Rodgers, our producer. Kenny with Spike Lee Nile explained that he was organizing an all-star recording of the 70's hit song written by Rodgers for the group Sister Sledge, "We Are Family." In the line up was Diana Ross, Lenny Kravitz, Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, Patti Labelle,Run DMC, etc.. He wanted us to join and we were honored to be invited and to be part of history for an incredible cause. We began to plan and worked out details to join the All-stars. We were informed we would be singing the chorus to "We are Family" in the music video filmed by Spike Lee. We gigged our Thursday night E. Lansing Red Bull party and packed the van to head east. The recording session took place at Avatar Studio's in New York. Driving into town that morning trembled the hearts of us all. The ports were filled with Navy Aircraft Carriers, Destroyers, Red Cross Ships, helicopters, and fighter planes, as though we were gearing up for Armageddon. The candles and memorials lit the city sidewalks as the gloom and sadness filled in. We checked into our Hotel across from the Empire State Building to catch a little sleep before the session. Rev with Mike Tyson Next we jumped on the subway and headed across town. When we approached the studio the media and fans were already there. We signed in to receive our passes as camera's fired off like strobe lights. We entered the conference room and set on the couch as we waited for the stars to arrive. Spike Lee was setting up. Rich Hilton (Niles engineer who recorded our tracks in West Port) took us into the studio room and we caught up the year's gossip and times. Soon Run DMC, Rosie Perez, Anada (MTV), Tyson Bedford, Ashford & Simpson, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, Roberta Flack, Darius (Hootie), Montel Williams, etc. were waiting as we all prepared to contribute to history. Soon we all gathered in the Session singing the chorus to "We Are Family." To be singing next to Diana Ross and in harmony with Patti Labelle was the pinnacle of my career. The love in this room and the spirit was so immaculate that no words can explain the uplifting of one's soul we experienced that day. After the session we got to hang and rap with the celebrities. I always knew Right Time had special commanding energy, but never would have guessed that we would lead the whole group with our non stop humor and ranting. We managed to talk, laugh and mingle amongst the greats, like we were their entertainers. We did photo's with just about every one of interest. Did a shoot for People Magazine. Really, this was most incredible day of our life, and it was too bad that it had to be born out of tragedy. Sunday after checkout we headed to Ground Zero. As we approached, the air was filled with the most unpleasant aroma (don't want to describe this), smoke and more gloom had reign of our life's. Thousands of people stood in the street crying and grieving. The rollercoaster ride went straight down from the recording session to its reality. Out of something bad, comes something good. I couldn't grasp this philosophy with any insight as we stood staring at the burning rubble that towered the skyline. I have never been more proud of a group of guys in my life. Everyone involved handled the situation with professionalism and respect. I will cherish this moment the rest of life and couldn't have spent it with a better bunch of cats. The single and video premier this week. Watch for Rev Right Time & the 1st Cuzins in the back row singing their hearts out for all the right reasons.
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