Smooth
"Smooth covers all things soulful, R&B and in the 'John Genre'," says host Bavu Blakes, a respected Austin musician and journalist.

"By that I mean John Legend, John Mayer and John Coltrane." Add some reggae to the rhythmic mix, some gospel, pop and jazz and Mr. Blakes comes full circle with all of his favorite influences. Beyonce, Norah Jones, Mary J. Blige and even legends like Prince, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson find their way into the Smooth blend.

In studio performances and insightful interviews help make Smooth one of the best new shows on ME Television.

In Mr. Blakes' Words
Gary Clark, Jr. is at once a shy, humble musician and a movie star-in-the-making about to blow up! This guy's a pretty good buddy of mine, but it was a unique experience to have him on Smooth to discuss the latest and greatest in his music career with the cameras rolling. Some might say his low key personality doesn't translate well to teleivision. But I say 'you are who you are' so people had better accept him now or hop on the bandwagon later.

Keep in mind, this is a 23-year-old man who's known in Texas and beyond for belting out blues numbers like someone my grandpa's age. And it was a trip hearing him chuckle while I mentioned his upcoming starring role in a movie with the likes of Danny Glover and Charles S. Dutton. Gary does not see himself as any sort of star or big deal. He's simply doing what he loves, which is making music. He plays a few instruments well, and also has built a home studio where he makes hip hop beats.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for Gary's upcoming role in the movie "Honeydripper". And if you're alert, you'll also notice he's touring with blues legends Henderson Huggins, Arthur Lee Simmons, Dr. Mable John and Eddie Shaw to promote this John Sayles-produced flick. Clark is the only young, non-legend on this high profile promotional run which includes the Chicago Blues Festival, River to River Festival in NYC Bumpershoot Festival in Seattle, Monterrey Jazz Festival and Long Beach Arts Festival. And that, my friends, makes Gary Clark, Jr. a bonafide star in the making!

To top it all off, Gary Clark, Jr. debuted two new songs he's working on. My super-producer Ryan and I couldn't agree on our favorite song of the two. But nonetheless, Gary gave us a preview of what's to come in the most important aspect of his life -- the music! So we got to pick his brain (with moderate results), brag on him and make him blush, and then be blessed with a couple of exclusive acoustic tunes.

Beautiful,

Mr. Blakes



On a beautiful, warm Monday afternoon, Austin-raised rising star Karma stopped by the M.E. Television studios on a brief hometown trip from Los Angeles. Thankfully, she'd given me the heads up on her visit a couple of weeks in advance. This allowed me (and M.E.!) to showcase her undeniable, in-your-face vocal style on "Smooth".

The most interesting thing about Karma is her "star quality". She hasn't released an album, but her vocal style, fashion sense, etc, really just pulls you in and paints a picture of how bright her music career will be. We sat down and chatted about everything from her humble beginnings in Austin to her music academy schooling in L.A. and the projects she's working on. And then came the performance!

Certain "Smooth" guests have a way of drawing half the M.E. staff near the soundstage. Karma is one of those guests. Between her five-minute soundcheck and three-minute performance, several people appeared on or near the set with the same "who's that?" look on their faces. It's great to have a staff willing to encourage artists along the way even before they're stars or Grammy winners.

I hope that one day we'll all look back and grin about how Karma came to our station before she even had a record out. Ideally, we'll be bragging about it at her platinum party featuring Prince and Grupo Fantasma!

Mr. Blakes