“John Connelly’s Theory” by 24-7 Spyz feature by John M. Ellison IV

Hey folks, I’m in the midst of building up my musical repertoire. Since I do mainly instrumental music, I thought I’d do a running theme of rock instrumentals to tide everyone over until I get back to more thought out articles, reviews etc. So, to kick off Monday Feburary 28th, 2011 I thought I’d start out with a cut off of the classic 24-7 Spyz album “Gumbo Millennium.”

Around 2003 I remember when I first heard this song! Well, sort of. Actually, I heard this song sampled in a rap song that I’m not going to name because I’m not exactly sure if they got the sample cleared. When I first heard this, I had no idea where the sample was from. I even asked my guitar teacher at the time, he thought it was somebody replaying a royalty free version Black Sabbath classic “Electric Funeral” and I also heard elements of “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix.

Around this same time period, I discovered an internet forum called Afro-Punk (don’t worry it relates to the main story) and they featured bands like Bad Brains, 24-7 Spyz, Fishbone, Living Colour etc. Honestly, 24-7 Spyz was okay but wasn’t something that I really seek out though. One night, when I was feeling nostalgic for the legendary rock club CBGBs, I noticed some live footage of 24-7 Spyz playing the venue on Youtube. It just said 24-7 Spyz CBGBs 2006. Then, I recognized the song in question. My eyes widened and I became elated! But, the video didn’t say what the song was called. Then after reading comments, it turns out that the song is question is called “John Connelly’s Theory.” So, in a weird way, I was a fan of 24-7 Spyz after all.

Seriously, I can’t expatiate on the heaviness of Jimi Hazel’s guitar work, you just have to listen for yourself. Peace.