Go-Go's Mambo Sauce is hot, sweet, and original

There is not much you would expect traveling down a paved, quiet road in Bowie at nine o'clock on a Wednesday night. Not much except some lighting from living rooms as families are finishing up their dinners or unwinding in front of their televisions. Nonetheless, on Wednesday, there is a driveway full of cars and teenage guys gathered in the garage, who gaze as a car rolls by. Perhaps their parents have gone out of town, thus the reason for a gathering on a "school night."Several houses down, there is another driveway. Six or seven cars and SUV's are parked in the driveway leading to the brick, single-family home with the warm light to the left of the front door. There's some music playing from the back of the house. A guy appears to the left, casually dressed in a standard white tee and jeans. "Oh no, not the house, don't ring the doorbell," he smiles.

He introduces himself as Black Boo, the lead vocalist for Mambo Sauce, a five-year-old DC-based band fusing a mixture of Go-Go, R&B, rock, Latino, and alternative genres to create a unique new sound of music. We walk back to a small crimson red shed with white panels, off to the rear right of the house. Lead guitarist, Drew, is in the midst of cracking jokes, and doing covers of Lil' Wayne's "Tie My Hands" and D'Angelo's "You're My Lady." Other band members laugh along with his renditions. Practice is winding down.

They give warm introductions in our little circle, starting with Black Boo, who keeps things in order and running smoothly. J.C. Jones, the newest addition to the group, is the female vocalist. She is a Baltimore native who attended Howard University. Drew is the lead guitarist, the lighthearted member who keeps the humor.

Khari is the bass guitarist, who founded the classic Go-Go band Northeast Groovers when he was 15. Pep is the percussionist, who's slightly quiet, yet his drums speak volumes. And Twink is the drummer, the only female instrument player with a youthful face, covered in some cool retro, black, square, personality frames. Oh, and there's Chris a.k.a. "Keybo," the keyboard player who left practice a little early.

With such a bold, in-your-face name like "Mambo Sauce," a name inspired by the popular sauce served in DC carryouts, one would think that the group is another Go-Go band. Wrong.

"Our Music is not local. It's beyond DC. Its vibe is more diverse," said Jones. "We don't play other people's music. We cross more boundaries than the average Go-Go band. The repertoire is open and that's what separates us."

There is a formula for their success. While the music still has a sound that remains true to its native DC roots, there is a hook, there is a chorus, there is originality, and those factors are clear distinctions between them and other Go-Go bands that they are compared with.

They want to break away from the stigma that surrounds Go-Go. They do not play at a specific venue weekly, like most bands. They also want to break away from the criticism of violence that Go-Go receives. They pride themselves on being a five-year-old band which has never triggered a fight.

"Go-Go is our foundation, but we're out here to make our sound national. If it were up to Go-Go, we wouldn't do what we're doing," said Black Boo, when asked how the band responds to criticism that the music is too positive and not as strong of the percussion, song-covering sound that Go-Go represents.

It's sort of evident that people like their sound. They're already gaining national recognition. Last year, their video for "Welcome to DC" aired on MTV networks, including the popular "MTV Jams" and "VH1 Soul." "Our music is so diverse, because we all came through different paths musically," Black Boo said.

"We want to be 'A'-status celebs," Twink enthusiastically chimes at the end of the interview. They are well on their way.