Kevin Kato Hammond
Kevin "Kato" Hammond | |
|---|---|
| Kato Kato | |
| Pen name | Kato |
| Occupation | Publisher, Journalist |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | US |
| Education | Bowie State |
| Genre | The Go-Go Culture |
| Notable works | Creator of TMOTTGoGo (Take Me Out To The Go-Go) Magazine |
| Website | |
| TMOTTGoGo.com | |
Kevin "Kato" Hammond is an American musician and journalist. He is the owner and creator of Take Me Out To The Go-Go, Inc. (TMOTTGoGo), editor and publisher of Take Me Out To The Go-Go Magazine, executive producer of TMOTTGoGo DVD Magazine, and webmaster of TMOTTGoGo.com. Take Me Out to the Go-Go Magazine gains attention from outside media outlets for its designation as 'the official gateway to a Washington, DC music culture.' Such magazines as Vibe have made Kevin Hammond and Take Me Out to the GoGo Magazine a significant source of information about the go-go music culture. [1] His history as a musician includes performing and recording with the go-go bands Pure Elegance, Little Benny and the Masters, and Proper Utensils. Most recently he has served as co-music director of Fatal Attraction Band.
Kato is currently the director of marketing for Bag of Beats Records. He is also the chairperson for history and archives for The GoGo Coalition.
Born in Washington, DC, Kevin "Kato" Hammond grew up in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, and attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC and Bowie High School in Bowie, Maryland. As a child, he performed as a child in DC area organizations such as CUE (Childrens Urban Arts Ensemble), Bren-Carr Dancers and The T-N-T Poppers. Hammond is also an award-winning playwright. At the age of 17, he wrote a play entitled Buddies that listed in the finalist division of the Jospeh Papp New York Young Playwrights Festival. This play was performed Off-Broadway and starred Denzel Washington and Anna Maria Horsford, both of whom were lessor known actors at the time.
Take Me Out To The Go-Go (TMOTTGoGo)
Hammond started the online magazine Take Me Out To The Go-Go in 1996. In addition to the magazine being a source of information on go-go shows, it serves as a community forum in which go-go fans routinely submit their own articles on issues unique to the genre. Take Me Out To The Go-Go has expanded to include a radio show on GoGoRadio.com, as well as a YouTube channel.
External links
References
- ^ Chang, Jeff (2001). “Bang The Drum” Vibe Magazine, pp. 118 – UPCA 074470353959
- Coates, Ta-Nahisi (1999-09-02). “Go-Go’s New Folio”, Washington City Paper, pp. 56.
- Lornell, Kip; Charles C. Stephenson, Jr. (2001). The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion of Funk and Hip-Hop. Billboard, ISBN 0823077276.
- Brace, Eric (2001-02-23). “A Horde of Awards”, Washington Post, pp. T06.
- Wartofsky, Alona (2001-06-03). "What Go-Goes Around…", Washington Post, pp. G01.
- Brace, Eric (2002-01-18). “Perkin’ On The Railroad”, Washington Post, pp. T05.
- Hopkinson, Natalie (2003-07-16). “Low Budget Reality…” Washington Post, pp. A01.
- Smith-Barrow, Delece (2006-11-30). “Awards Celebrate Go-Go’s Funk”, Washington Post, pp. DZ03.
- Williams, Darona (2007-08-07). “D.C. Cyber Funk”, Washington Post Express, pp. 41.