Fela's Musicians - Interview with Rilwan "Showboy" Fagbemi, Part 6

Showboy...almost 40 years around Fela

Ron: The tragedy of Fela's death is that nobody ever got beyond that music. 

Showboy: He created that pattern. No one, no one has yet, because, him in Nigeria, he was like the father of Nigerian musicians, most of the musicians in Nigeria were feeding from what he does. If Fela release an album today, all other musicians will release two, three albums from picking one phrases from Fela's music and use it, maybe the percussion aspect of the music, maybe the whole line, maybe the guitar, they will use it, and before you know, they've got their own. 

Ron: How did you get so good on the sax that when Fela heard you, he said "That's it!"?

Showboy: Well, I've always been a member of the Africa 70, always been with him as an acrobat, I've always been around him when he was writing those music. So I'm part of it, part of the creation, part of the development, so I grow up in this shape, almost 40 years around Fela, since I was a kid, so this is what I know how to do best, Afrobeat, that's all. 

Ron: That's enough.

Showboy: Yeah (laughs) 

Ron: I came to see Femi the other night, you don't see music like this where I come from, four hours straight through.

Showboy: In our time, when Fela was alive, I start playing about 11:00 in the night, Fela come about 12:30 -1:00, and we play 'til 6:00 AM non-stop. 

Ron: And everyone stays too, the crowd.

Some of the crowd stays 'til 7:00 AM. We are used to playing for 4 - 5 - 6 hours. We can play straight for 5 hours non-stop. 

Ron: You go to New York now, you're going to pay 50 bucks and hear a 45-minute set.

Showboy: We had that problem at the Apollo, listen, listen, we are having two shows at the Apollo, so the first show was supposed to end at 8 o'clock. Fela started the last track, and the last track is about 25 minutes, and if we have to play everything with all the solos, 3 solos or 4 solos, because you have the trumpet solo, you have the baritone solo, you have the tenor solo, and you have the guitar solo, if all the solos have to go on it is more than 35 minutes, you understand? So the promoter now came and tell Fela you cannot play for more than 10 minutes, and Fela said "I cannot cut my music because of you, I will play my music til the end." And he never stopped 'til we got to the end. So by the time we finished playing we exceed about 5 or 7 minutes. We paid for it. 

Ron: When you soloed with Fela, did he just let you solo what you feel, or did you have a certain time?

Showboy: You see, we the solo players on Fela's stage, we are known, even the audience they know us, at this time we are expecting Ronnie, at this time we are expecting Showboy. The know that at the Shrine there are particular people who are doing the groove. Like me, I sing, I play, I lead the band until Fela comes. So I do most of the songs, most of the records, because Fela has this, what do you call it, it's like his, he has never played any recorded song, you cannot ask him to play any record he has released, so he is always playing something new. That is why he will not accept you coming on Monday playing sha-ba-de-ba-de-ba, coming on Tuesday playing sha-ba-de-ba-de-ba, he will say , "What's wrong with you? Leave that place, man." 

Ron: What I'm asking is say one night you feel like playing 3 minutes, the next night you feel like playing 10 minutes, he let you?

Showboy: Yes, yes, look, you see, this is it, when you are on the path, music is about your expression, if what you are giving is good, everybody wants to listen to good music, good solos, because there are times you come in with anger, that is why your mood tells your expression. 

Ron: I play good when I'm angry.

Showboy: (laughs) You see, so sometimes you are happy, you come there, you play, you freak out, and sometimes you have one problem your mind is busy fighting, you just get there...BAH.  BAH.  BAP. What's happening to him? And before you know, you are out of there. What's wrong with this man? But when you are on course, when your mood is OK, when you are happy and you are doing good he will let you finish your solo, he will let you satisfy yourself, play everything, because one, when you start your solos, you have people who gonna back you up. So when they back you up and they stop, that's all. After they stop, you have to play for maybe 8 bar, maybe 16 bar, maybe 24 bar, then you cut off. That's it.