The career of Charles “Shorty Corleone” Garris can only be described with one word- Multidimentional. Many artists of today can do one thing well and maybe half of another thing partially well. This well rounded and level headed young man has it all. With one hand in writing and producing, one hand in the politics of the DC mayoral race, one foot in South East, DC, where he was raised and one foot in elevating the ambitions of the underserved youth of the DC area, the question is where is Charles “Shorty Corleone” Garris’ heart? Actually, Garris’ heart is in all of the above.
Continuously moving non-stop to manage and complete all of his various projects, Garris sat down for an interview in the middle of his busy schedule just before dashing off to complete a commercial for DC Mayoral hopeful Vincent Gray, then attending a birthday celebration for the Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, only to leave after that for a quick trip to New York to work on another project.
As a young man visiting his grandmother who lived just one street over from Xenia Street, in South East Washington, DC, the street that became legendary as thanks to the days of the Rare Essence practices, Garris was exposed to the music of one of the hottest bands on the music scene at that time and some may argue that they are still in that category today. Garris smiles, “my family knew a lot of the band members in Rare Essence and went to Ballou High School with them. I knew that I wanted to be a rapper or an R&B singer, but being from DC, you can’t deny that beat. Mark “Godfather” Lawson (keyboardist for Rare Essence at that time) encouraged me to come to the rehearsals and the shows and he is the one who introduced me to the band and set everything up. Godfather is the one responsible for me being the newest member of R.E.” So, in 1994, it was only natural that Garris would join the band he grew up watching- Rare Essence.
Although joining Rare Essence may have been his longest standing gig, it certainly wasn’t his first. Signed to a publishing and recording deal with Warner Brothers at the age of 14, Garris got a bittersweet taste of the business side of the music industry when this contract did not produce any finished product.
This disappointment did not stop Garris from writing and producing as he co-wrote both of the Rare Essence singles “Bodysnatchers” and “Scenario” with D. Floyd. Garris chuckles as he describes writing his portions of “Bodysnatchers”. “I wrote “Bodysnatchers” in the car on the way to the studio. I had one hand on the steering wheel, a napkin on my knee and a pen in my other hand.” “Bodysnatchers” charted in the Billboard’s Top 100 singles. Garris also wrote RE’s “The Hop” which was featured on the accompanying CD to the book, “The Beat” which was written by Charles Stephenson and Kip Lornell. Garris has certainly contributed to many other RE songs as well.
Unhappy with content as well as the lack of existing music programs available to youth, Garris has decided to work with DC Mayoral hopeful Vincent Gray by lending his support to Gray’s campaign. “I think that Vince Gray will focus on the disappearing music and arts programs for the youth and make sure that those do not continue to be overlooked.”
Music as education is extremely important to Garris, so much so that he is establishing his own school, Innovative School of Performing Arts, which is on course to rival the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He shares, “Right now the school is focused on students from the 3rd through the 8th grade. We are currently conducting courses at the Walker Jones Educational Campus. We hope to have a facility up and running by 2011.”
A lot of thought, planning and preparation has gone into the focus of the school and determining which programs are currently missing which will benefit the overall mental and physical health of the DC area youth. Nutrition and exercise is a major concern for youth in the underserved community across the country and Garris not only has an understanding of this epidemic, but is going to provide a tool that will assist parents and teachers to combat this troubling issue. “We are planning an exercise video for the youth that is going to incorporate music, a step cadence entitled “the Southside”, nutritional information including the proper foods that you need to eat and what to do to keep your heart rate moving.”
Garris is also producing a documentary entitled “Go-Go: One City, One Sound, One Movement” which should be completed by the summer of 2011. He reflects, “The percussion or drums (of Go-Go) is similar to an African War Dance that has been brought into the 21st century. Come meet the cousin of Rap.”
The documentary will “focus on all of the elements of the Go-Go industry speaking from the club owner to the promoter, the bartender to the sound technician and lastly, the councilmen and government officials that have to deal with a good night gone bad. This industry brings commerce to everyone- the taxes and revenue that it brings to the city. I think the homegoing service for Little Benny at the Washington Convention Center showed the power of Go-Go and these politicians wanted to be physically seen.”
Garris got the nickname “Shorty Corleone” from a combination of his brother, Q, who used to call him “The Boss” and would say “Corleone, how we rollin’?”and from Little Benny, who used to call him “Charles in Charge” and the name developed into “Shorty Corleone”. This nickname fits Garris’ character as he is the boss of the many things he is involved in. To get a true feel of the creativity of this artist, one needs to look no further than the video of Garris’ remake of “Frosty the Snowman”. This is undeniable genius.
No one, not even Garris, would realize how poignant a recent trip to the studio with Little Benny to record “Straight to the Bank” would turn out to be. “That recording of “Straight to the Bank” was Benny’s last studio recording. It will be featured on the “Go-Go: One City, One Sound, One Movement” soundtrack. We have a lot of video from that day with Benny telling his story. It’s incredible. It’s history.”
Whether he is Charles Garris or Shorty Corleone working on his school, helping Vince Gray, writing or producing, recording or perfecting one of the many, many projects this talented man is involved with, there is no doubt that he will have continued success in whichever arena he chooses.
Comments
Looks like this man is on his way!!! Finally we have some one from our city ready to take that next step...
Good for you Shorty. Someone the City could be proud of.
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