Bobby Archives - WE ARE LOS ANGELES TOO

BOBBY

Firoza — Tue, 10 May 2022 11:01:26 +0000

Bobby is a blues sax player, singer and composer who grew up in Oakland and came to Los Angeles because, at the time, this was the happening place for music. He is well-known and regarded on the blues circuit in Los Angeles and has his name on the Blues Walk Of Fame In Oakland. You can […]

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JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

Firoza — Wed, 11 May 2022 00:34:34 +0000

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES They were very strict. We couldn’t dance, I remember they had dances at school. She wouldn’t let me go anywhere. How do I explain it? Their religion was very strict. And when I got to be 9, well it started when I was 8, the Jehovah’s Witnesses trained you […]

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MY MOTHER

Firoza — Wed, 11 May 2022 02:47:50 +0000

MY MOTHER My grandmother kept me on the right path. Had I been with my mother, I would probably have been insane. My mother acted like she wished she didn’t have us. She had 3 children, all from different fathers. I think this lack of love is what destroyed my brother and sister in adulthood. […]

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I DISCOVER MUSIC

Firoza — Wed, 11 May 2022 03:43:36 +0000

I DISCOVER MUSIC This was when my mother bought records from a record club and I would listen to them. That’s how I was introduced to Charlie Parker—I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of him. And all kinds of musicians. They would send us every kind of record and that’s how I heard music. […]

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LIFE IS NOT EASY

Firoza — Fri, 13 May 2022 04:27:13 +0000

LIFE IS NOT EASY Looking back, I find I had forgotten how dangerous life in the ghetto was. We were new living there and we didn’t know anyone. One time we went down to the playground before school started, I was about nine years old. There was a gang of kids down there and a […]

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LIFE IN THE GHETTO CAN CATCH UP BUT I STAY SQUARE

Firoza — Fri, 13 May 2022 04:40:10 +0000

LIFE IN THE GHETTO CAN CATCH UP BUT I STAY SQUARE I always had depression and anxiety attacks. It started when I was 16 and I got a therapist. But it stuck with me way long. Growing up, it was a tough place to live, almost everyday I was scared. You could get beat up. […]

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MY JOB

Firoza — Fri, 13 May 2022 23:35:14 +0000

MY JOB You know, what I did, I was working part-time in the post office. After several months, they were eliminating that position and they said, “You could go work full time”. You know, mailman or whatever. I was happy in the part time job but I was miserable in the full-time job. I used […]

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ALWAYS MUSIC

Firoza — Sat, 14 May 2022 17:30:39 +0000

ALWAYS MUSIC But the rhythm and blues got me away from the ghetto life. I got into some bands and played the rhythm and blues scene and then I didn’t need a therapist. I was with Marvin Holmes and the Uptights. He got the best gigs in Oakland. There was a club owned […]

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DOOWOP AND LOS ANGELES

Firoza — Sat, 14 May 2022 17:46:59 +0000

DOOWOP AND LOS ANGELES I was in a doowop band in high school called The Enchanters, running parallel to the school band. One of my friends who just died, he was the lead singer in the band. We sung everywhere — sororities, on campus. There was a girl who really loved the group and her […]

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MUSIC, GIRLS AND FAMILY

Firoza — Sat, 14 May 2022 19:11:29 +0000

MUSIC, GIRLS AND FAMILY I had a friend from high school, name was Jake, a Mexican kid. And he was hangin’ out in the Latin scene, you know, mambos and all that kind of stuff. So he introduced me to a guy named John Thomas who had a Latin band. I got the gig, played […]

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