Biggz from the Dynamic Concepts Tells the Story

Mr. Biggs is the local tennis instructor in my community. He is is know as a community leader. On Friday July 27,2012, during general conversation Mr. Biggz revealed that he is an original member of the “Dynamic Concepts”. Arthur Woodard is his birth name, but we all know him as “Biggz”. He is known in the music industry as the lead guitar player in the group entitled “Dynamic Concepts”. The native Delawarean man was born on September 3^rd 1951 in Wilmington, Delaware. The group did international tour with Edwin Star.

The group Dynamic Concepts was formed in 1965.He was only 12 years old. The original group had eight members. The Dynamic Concepts consisted of eight African American and Hispanic band members from Wilmington Delaware. (Please See Photo Below):

Photo Taken By Andrew Young

 Top Right Greg Davis next him Samuel James (back round singer Trumpet) Ronald Reed (Drums), top right James Johnson (Singer, Saxophone, Flute), bottom Left James Bayard (Trumpet), Frank Clark (bass guitar) Raufeia Coullezo (Congo’s and back round vocals) Ronal Jackson (Drums) and Bottom right Arthur Woodard Biggz (Lead Guitar).

SW asked: When did your parents find out that you had a talent of playing the guitar well?

Biggz stated “That his parents never knew that he would take playing the guitar so serious. They realized that he a great talent when people in the community came back and told his parents how amazing he was playing that guitar at a local festival.

SW asked:  Where did you hold practices and how often?

Biggz stated: “In 1965 the group started we practiced at Ronald Ridgeway’s house on 218 N Harrison street in Wilmington, Delaware twice a week. Music was there form of expressing themself and keeping out of the local prisons.  The local community respected the band members, to the point where they were able to enter any part of the city and there was no physical altercation.

By the 1970 they we were intensely increase there scheduled practices to five days a week for 8-to10 hour per day. These intensive practices session placed them on the stage with groups such as: New Birth, Ojays, The Spinners Kool and the Gang etc. They performed at the Uptown Theater, DuPont Hotel and Manhattan Center just to name a few locations. They were being recognized all over the east coast however they wanted a broader audience.

Actual Performace List From a show list 

Compose by Charles E.McManus

The Big Break For the Dynamic Concepts

Biggz said: “In 1973, the eight-member group fly out to Los Angles California with a dream to become famous musicians. We rented two-bed room apartment that was share amongst eight men. We immediately stated pick up odd jobs and rehearsed at the Musician Union in Hollywood, CA. This was a studio where major musicians rehearsed. It was nothing to see groups such as Earth Wind and Fire, Jonie Mitchell and Mandrill rehearsing at this studio”.

 In the mean time we were performing at small clubs in LA area. After a year of playing in small clubs in LA. They had a huge breakthrough they connected with Lillian Kyle who was Edwin Starr manger. The Dynamic Concept’s and Lillian and Edwin Star scheduled a meeting in South Pasadena where they were rehearsing. After the rehearsal Mr. Starr offered the Dynamic Concepts to play musical back round for his up and coming International tour with Betty Wright, Arthur Connelly and Edwin Star. The group agreed to the offer and got their passports and they were on their way to South Africa.

                                                                                                                Copyrights Edwin Stars music and back round vocal done by Dynamic Concepts Inc.

The group stayed at the Laundress hotel in South Africa. The tour lasted six weeks in South Africa. Than this opened up door so they stared performing at bigger vineyards in the United States. The relationship between Dynamic Concepts and Mr. Edwin Starr developed to the point where they were actual friends with Edwin Starr. The Dynamic Concepts on the album “Stay with me” they did all back round vocals and all musical arrangements on this album”.

The Downward Spiral of the Dynamic Concepts:

Biggz stated: “In 1976, there were some group members that partnered with producers in the UK. The business deal consisted of 18 original tunes from the Dynamic Concepts Inc. The rights to the tunes were sold. However the entire band member wasn’t included in this initial deal. All band   members were not compensated concerning this business deal. This decision cause serious chaos with in the group. Shortly after the group broke up.

 In March 1976 Biggz received a call from Delaware stating that his father had pass away. During the funeral Biggz made the decision that he was going to stay in Delaware to start a normal life with his wife and children”. He briefly joined another group Name “Time Space Continues” this was a shortly lived membership.  Since then he has been divorced twice. Biggz is now singing in a group name “Alice’s Voice” at Second Presbyterian Church in West Chester, PA.  He is totally comfortable in his music career now.

The Pill That Prevents HIV

 

Al Jazeera's Gerald Tan reports

On Monday July 18,2012 in Washington, DC a representative from the FDA confirmed that FDA approved a once-a-day pill that can drastically lower the risk of contracting the HIV virus. The name of the medication is called Truvada it’s first HIV virus prevention pill. This medication is not cheap the pill's annual cost ranges from just under $11,000 up to $14,000. It's not clear what insurers will pay for it. As a surviving family member of an uncle who lost his life in 1994 to AIDS related complications. I totally endorse and support Truvada. It’s a break through in modern science and it will save many lives.

The FDA previously approved Truvada to be used in combination such as with other antiretroviral Emtriva^® (emtricitabine 200 mg) and Viread^® (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg), agents for the treatment of HIV-infected adults and children 12 years or older. This medication is to be taken once a day with or without food.

Bottles of antiretroviral drug Truvada, the first approved by the FDA to prevent HIV infection
Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

TRUVADA blocks the action of a protein that HIV needs to infect your body

• TRUVADA does not cure HIV or AIDS.
• TRUVADA alone may not keep you from getting HIV.
• If you have HIV infection, you may still get other infections that happen in people with HIV like TB (tuberculosis) or fungus, while taking TRUVADA.

As a HIV advocate with an organization called Each One Teach One in Wilmington, Delaware. Individuals that are at high risk for the HIV virus will benefit from the daily dosage of Travade. If the medication is taken daily it will cut the risk of receiving a positive HIV results by 90%. However all other prevention measures must stay in place so this medication will be effective.

The other option is to remain giving positive HIV results. This is a complicated situation for a medical provider. To reveal a positive HIV result is not an easy task to conquer. Throughout the initial assessment the medical professional will retrieve personal information to identify all risk factors that is associated with the persons life style. Once an individual is diagnosed with HIV the objective of the provider to educate and decrease the risk factors of the individual transmitting this virus to someone else.

The medical provider must be trained to give accurate information about prevention and services. However you must properly educate the individual with the appropriate up to date medical treatment/medication of current HIV treatment clinics. No matter how many years you have been doing HIV counseling it is never easy to give a positive HIV result.

There are worries that people taking the pill might relax safe-sex precautions. But health officials hope the pill will help reduce the number of Americans who get HIV every year — a figure that has hovered around 50,000 for years. While it sounds simple, the new prevention strategy involves a bunch of complicated issues

Dr. Ashraf Grimwood, he’s concern that there could be serious negative consequences if Truvada starts being used as an HIV prevention pill. Truvada currently is part of the primary drug regimen in South Africa to treat HIV. Doctors here say Truvada has far fewer side effects than most other AIDS drugs but it still has some. Dr. Ashraf Grimwood, a longtime AIDS activist based in Cape Town and now the head of Kheth'lmpilo, says, “He's already seeing decreased kidney function among some HIV-positive patients who take Truvada.  It’s unclear what the long-term effect would be of putting healthy people on Truvada, but he worries that it could cause more kidney failure.

Jim Pickett says, that he has had the AIDS virus since 1995. He says had no complications. Side effects from long-term use are unclear, but some of the more serious complications linked with Truvada include kidney and liver problems. The potential for those problems shouldn't be dismissed, but it's not a reason to reject using the drug for prevention, said Pickett, whose group is not affiliated with the San Francisco foundation. For some people, the risk of kidney problems "10 years down the line may be less than the risk for acquiring HIV, which is significantly more problematic and can be fatal," Pickett said.
"We need options for people. This is one option. It wouldn't be an option for everybody. It's not meant for everybody," Pickett said.

Up Close And Personal Interview With Baltimore’s Own Thomas Pointer Jr

Composed By Thomas Pointer

This was a face-to-face interview that was conducted with author Thomas Pointer at his initial book-signing event. The interview lasted 45 minutes right in the heart of Baltimore, MD on July 3rd, 2012 in room 107 in the BWI Hilton hotel. There were 10 to 15 attendees. I spoke with an attendees by the name of Terica Price and she stated,” They read the first six chapters and the story engaged them in to read the complete book and this is a must read book of the summer”. There was no cost to get into the event. However individuals had to purchase the book for $10.00. Mr. Pointer was personally signing each copy of the book that was purchased at this event. The book is entitled “When Dark Secrets get Darker‘. Mr. Pointer was very excited about his new and upcoming documentary entitled Thirty Days in Ghana, which was filmed in West Africa. He discussed his bestseller book entitled “Dark Secrets get Darker”. Mr. Pointer’s up and coming projects leaded us right into the interview surrounding the book “When Dark Secret’s get Darker “.

SW: What is the concept behind your book “When Dark Secrets get Darker”?

Mr. Pointer: The book is about a man named Benjamin Bishop an investigator of a very powerful small law firm in the city of Baltimore, MD. His client’s list ranged from thieves, judges and politicians. He was confronted with a high profiled murder case, which made him analyze and question his moral judgments.

SW: Are you the actual Mr. Benjamin Bishop in the “When Dark Secrets get Darker “book?

Mr. Pointer: There are parts of me that are in Benjamin Bishop. People that know me say that they see a lot of similarities.

SW: Where can your fans find your book?

Thomas Pointer at the book signing all right belong to Thomas Pointer Jr

Mr. Pointer:  The book can be viewed on my website Thomaspointer.net or http://whendarksecretsgetdarker.com/ where anyone can read the first six chapters of the book for free. These chapters will wheel the reader in. The reader will have no other choice but to purchase the book at Amazon, or the eBook version on Barnes and Noble. The book is selling for only ten dollars on either site.

SW: What are your up and coming projects?

Thomas Pointer shaking hands with a chief in Ghana all photo rights belong to Thomas Pointer

Mr. Pointer:  I did a documentary entitled thirty day in Ghana, which is still editing now. I literally spent thirty days in Ghana.  I had the privilege of meeting a chief and the people of Ghana. I learned In 2011 Ghana was one of the fastest growing economic systems ranked higher than United States and China. If you want to invest your money or buy a reasonable home invest it in Ghana. Through out this documentary I wanted to focus on bridging the gap between Ghanaians and African American people. This relationship needs to be strengthened.

SW: Correspondent: Out of all the countries in the world why did you choose Ghana?

Mr. Pointer: Ghana is one of the most stable countries in West Africa. Ghana was the first country in West Africa to be independent from colonialism in 1957.

SW: Where can your fans contact you?

Mr. Pointer: My fans can reach me on: Facebook, Twitter, Google search Thomas Pointer Jr. also you can go to my website: Thomaspointer.net, or

Facebook: Thomas Pointer Jr.