An Interview with Bobby White Jr. of BWJ Records

Back in the 1970’s and 80’s the musical landscape in the Miami Valley was the focal point music lovers. People came from miles to catch the best local live punk and funk acts right here in our back yard. This was of course before Reaganomics and the collapse of the economy back in the 80’s. Right around 1983 many manufacturing plants in the Dayton area were closing and that meant people had a lot less money to go out and enjoy their favorite band. As the numbers in the clubs began to dwindle, artist from the area were forced to make a decision; should I stay or should I go. Unfortunately many decided to go; bands from all over the state of Ohio were doing exactly what everyone else in the area was doing at the time, trying to survive. Great bands like Heatwave, Slave, Lakeside, Faze O, Zapp, and even The Ohio Players were forced to make that same decision. To survive, many of these bands had to go where they could to keep their music alive; cities like Detroit, Miami, Chicago, New York, and LA were still thriving relatively speaking, so bands had little choice but to flee the struggling Miami Valley and the state of Ohio.

While the music of these great bands lives on to this day, many in today’s music industry have all but forgotten about Dayton and it’s rich musical heritage. However, there are those in the Miami Valley who are doing their part to bring Dayton and the rest of the Miami Valley back to musical prominence. Guys like Mick Montgomery (Canal Street Tavern), Ronald Gable (Jazz Advocate), Donald Blanton (City Boy Entertainment), Lamar Webster (The Dayton Musicians Guide), and others like Bobby White Jr. (BWJ Records) are as White puts it, “putting Dayton back on the musical map.” Bobby White Jr. is a Trotwood, OH resident who is well on his way to doing just that. White (a cook by day), has turned his love for the Dayton music scene into a passion creating BWJ Records in 2010. Lamar Webster was kind enough to introduce me to Bobby via Facebook after a couple of e-mails the two of us hooked up on the telephone for an interview about the future of music in Dayton and his goals for BWJ Records.

BMM: Thank you so much for taking time to chat with us today.

BWJ: “Thank you for having me.”

BMM: You have a lot of irons in the fire I see. Do you still have your cook job at Miami Valley Hospital?

BWJ: “Yeah, I’m still doing that. Everybody asks me that and I am always honest; people from Louisville, New York, Detroit, and Indianapolis always ask me how I can do that. I guess I’m just ambitious. You now I really don’t work any extra hours; I work from six in the morning to 2:30 Monday through Friday but you know once I get this stock open to the public and the tour going over the next few weeks there are going to be some changes.”

BMM: Are you going to be performing as well?

BWJ: “No I’m not going to be performing; I am the executive producer and owner now. I produced that one CD just to get everything started. But I can’t perform any more; I just have so much going on.”

BMM: How close are you to getting the tour on the road?

BWJ: “The next couple of weeks we are going to be rolling. As soon as the buses come in and I sign the rest of the contracts and get all the uniforms they’re going to be rolling.”

BMM: Who is on the bill for the tour?

BWJ: “It’s gonna be Ms. Kivey, she is one of my Hip-Hop and R & B artist and J.M.P both from the Dayton area. I also have this hot video by one of my Jazz artist called the Miracle Jazz Masters. They are going to be using the video to promote their tour. The video was made in Chicago and it represents Chicago and they have a song on their CD called “Bound to Chicago”, boy they love it.”

BMM: What is the first stop for your tour?

BWJ: “The first part of the tour will be in Ohio; we will be hitting many of the universities and colleges, then it’s off to Michigan with more dates to come.”

BMM: Tell everyone a little about BWJ Records and what your goals are for the Dayton area.

BWJ: “My goals for the Dayton area are to put Dayton’s music history back on the map. There have been a lot of stars that came from the area but they never had their own label; the Dayton music industry has been shut down pretty much for the last 25 years. I’m not only going to be doing Hip-Hop and R & B, I also have a couple of Country artist coming out in June. I have three more Jazz artists coming out in June also and have more Hip-hop artist as well. We are also going to be doing Rock & Roll and Gospel. There is a lot of talent in Dayton.”

BMM: Oh I agree, even today I feel Dayton has one of the best music scenes around.

BWJ: That’s true, but the thing about it; you know what the holdup is? There is nobody to represent, nobody wanting to spend the money, and nobody wanting to, you know, do the whole thing. You know being an executive producer takes a lot of time and you have a lot of big decisions to make not only with the artist but also with the lawyers, accountant, and bookkeepers. It’s a big job. My goal is to put Dayton on the map and I’m going to put it on the map.

I have a publishing company too called Professional Blessings Publishing so the same thing I am doing for the Dayton area I am going to be doing in other states and help those artist get on the market too. Within the next year I’m going to have a DVD and CD studio so we can do our own manufacturing. So everything will be done here in the Dayton area.”

BMM: Are you financing all this a on your own?

BWJ: Yes sir, I’m financing it on my own from years and years of working hard and saving. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret, it’s not just my money it’s my knowledge. The stuff that I’m doing, if I would have had to pay somebody to do it, it would have been much more difficult. That’s the blessing that God has given me, to learn the business.”

BMM: That makes a big difference doesn’t it?

BWJ: “Yes sir! You know you have to know how to talk to people. To get things done through others you have to know how to talk to them and you have to know how to make them feel confident in you. The bottom line, you have to make it happen.”

BMM: You mentioned that there is a lot of talent in Dayton, how do you convince the talent in the area to stay in the area and not bolt for another city like New York or LA?

BWJ: “I let them know that what I am doing is positive and they see that because I make things happen. You know getting them out there on tour and getting their music out there, I know all that cost money. Most independent labels want the artist to come up with 50% of the cost of the CD up front. I don’t ask for any money up front because I know I’m going to make my money back.”

BMM: That is definitely not the norm. I bet it helps to build report and trust with your artist though?

BWJ: “You know like I said these companies want 50% up front but most of these artists don’t have any money; they have talent. So I make the two work together, we negotiate a contract with lawyers and do it right.”

I want folks to know I’m not just working with today’s music, I’m working with history. I grew up in the Detroit and that’s where I learned a lot about the music business; my father sent us to music school and we had a band and everything. Rick James was going to produce us, me and my brothers had a band called the Junior Punk Funk until my father took our instruments because we didn’t want to do all those things like house work and all that you know. We also bought the rights to what used to be the number one Jazz radio station in the world WJZZ out of Detroit and we are due to launch it this month on the Internet. The city of Detroit is going to be shocked when the ad comes out in those two newspapers.”

BMM: Man I love Jazz.

BWJ: “I do too, but I love all kinds of music; Country, Jazz, Blues, Hip-hop, I love it all man.”

BMM: You have another internet radio station as well right, on Live365?

BWJ: The station is produced out of Trotwood.http://www.live365.com/profiles/no1hiphoprandb

BMM: Is there anything else you would like to tell folks about BWJ Records?

BWJ: “I want them to know that it is going to be a prosperous business and we are going to make it happen. We are putting Dayton back on the map.”

BMM: Thanks so much for talking with me today, I really appreciate it. It was a real pleasure!

BWJ: “Thank you for having me.”

I can’t thank Bobby White Jr. enough for taking time to chat; as you can tell he is a busy man. I have to say it was a joy to talk to Bobby and it was refreshing to hear him talk with such passion. After talking him I am convinced that the Dayton music scene is in good hands and the music industry will soon be taking notice that Dayton’s music is back; bigger and better than ever.