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HAIR WARS Weekend Includes Performance in Hollywood

Although the main show was Sunday aboard The Queen Mary Cruise Ship, Hair Wars kicked off the weekend on Thursday at Rudy’s Barber Shop on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood as part of New York’s Paper Magazine promotion, co-sponsored by M.A.C. Cosmetics, followed by KTLA TV 5 News on Friday morning with reporter Gayle Anderson. It’s obvious Hair Wars is crossing over to white audiences across the nation. This goes to show that ‘hair entertainment’ has no color.

Tyra welcomed three competitors from a worldwide hair event where some of the most over-the-top weave creations competed for top prize. Check out the photo of three models with extravagant weaves.

A Detroit-Based Traveling Hair Show Makes Outrageous Hair, Not War

Best Chance For Detroit To Get Its 'Do (Again)

Hair Wars Book

It's a quintessential Detroit yarn. A struggling DJ named Hump the Grinder starts throwing theme parties and invites D-town hairdressers to show off their wildest stuff with live models. It catches on. The idea is to see "how wild" things could get - and the hairdressers take the challenge. Wild it does get. The events go nationwide and eventually catch the spotlight on The Tyra Banks Show and elsewhere. Look for the next round of media attention next month with the publication of Hair Wars (powerHouse) by New York photographer David Yellen. Meanwhile, Hump's next Detroit-area event is set for Jan. 20, 2008, at a venue to be determined.

By GUY TREBAY

Last year's Paper Project saw the gallery opened to fashion wrestling, with women wearing Yohji Yamamoto and Prada wrenching each other into half nelsons. Among the highlights of this year's edition, which takes place on Saturday, is a stitching bee organized by the collective Alabama; a sock puppet runway show staged by the House of Craft; and an appearance by Hair Wars, a Detroit-based production company that specializes in competitive tonsorial spectacles.

''For hairstylists,'' said David Humphries, the Hair Wars promoter, ''this is an opportunity to really put it out there with hair.'' How far out there? ''Well,'' Mr. Humphries said, ''last week we did a thing with the Detroit Tigers and had 20 stylists doing baseball hairdos on the field.'' The pièce de résistance was a baseball mitt with a zipper woven into the hair and baseballs hidden inside. ''I pulled the ball out of the girl's hair,'' he said, ''and threw out the first pitch.''

Hair and outfit by Steven

Noss, Weave Artistry International,

Pittsburgh Model: Desirée Green

Hair and oufit by Lisa B.,

Turning Heads Hair Salon,

Oakland Model: Nicole Johnson

Website designed by www.tcarlitagraphics.com

Model Tyra Banks checks out Detroit's extreme hair shows

Nov 2, 2005 | Detroit Free Press

"The Tyra Banks Show" . Festival of follicles. In a show that's all about hair, Tyra Banks highlights Detroit's own exotic "Hair Wars" by staging a competition among three stylists.

From the New Yorker Magazine

(edited version)

ROOTS

African-American hair stylists get creative in L.A.

by JUDITH THURMAN

Issue of 2004-03-15

Posted 2004-03-08

The free spirits of the hair world convened in January at the Los Angeles Airport Radisson Hotel to attend Hump the Grinder's Hair Wars 10-Year Anniversary & California Hair Grammys. Hump the Grinder is the stage name of David Humphries, who is also sometimes called "the Don King of black hair entertainment." We first met in 2002, at Deitch Projects, a Soho gallery, where a few of his stylists were participating in-and stealing-a show of fashion as performance art. Their espaliers of hair were as fanciful as the topiary in a Baroque garden or the headgear of Mardi Gras queens. (Here one should probably note that the world of black hair is not predominantly gay. Flamboyance, as Dennis Rodman liked to demonstrate somewhat pedantically with his tonsorial antics on the basketball court, can be a measure of conspicuous virility.) Humphries is a soft-spoken, forty-seven-year-old former teacher and copywriter who wears his own grizzled locks conservatively cropped, and who is probably the last contestant you would pick out of a lineup as the impresario of an entertainment that features, among other novelties, hair shrubbery, helipads, spiderwebs, tires, and lingerie.

The idea for the spectacle that Hair Wars became occurred to Humphries in the nineteen-eighties, when he was working as a d.j. in his native Detroit. "I used to give a lot of gimmick parties in the clubs," he told me. "Hair was really happening, and I thought, Let's get exotic with it. Detroit hair was always famous for its edge, probably because it's a predominantly black city, and people were more comfortable trying things that only high-school kids elsewhere had the nerve for." The popularity of the early performances emboldened him to "take the concept on the road" and to promote it like a rap tour.

The show, which travels to some ten cities a year, is primarily a runway extravaganza, but it's also a trade fair and a convention of hair designers. Performing stylists, who pay for the privilege, compete for what Humphries calls "bragging rights." Each headliner creates an extravagantly coiffed and costumed vaudeville skit, with song and dance, to showcase his or her virtuosity. These often inspired but sometimes cockamamie production numbers call to mind the artier experiments at a high-school science fair-homemade volcanoes, Rube Goldberg kitchen gadgets, and miniature ecosystems-but endowed with the sex appeal of a music video. The models are, in most cases, amateurs recruited from among the stylists' friends and staff, and many are refreshingly ultra-Venusian. Their diversity of shape makes that inhuman and homogeneous regularity of beauty from which there is no relief or appeal in mainstream magazines, or at the collections, seem insipid.

While I was waiting to check in at the Radisson, I noticed a figure ahead of me in line who, among the nondescript budget travellers clutching the hands of cranky toddlers, was as fabulous as some temple idol from ancient Nineveh. The outré splendor of his garb suggested that we were registering for the same event, and I mustered the courage to introduce myself. He was Big Bad D-the sponsor of Hair Wars-a forty-two-year-old, three-hundred-pound, six-foot-four-inch hair stylist, bodybuilder, salon owner, magazine publisher (of a new periodical entitled Bobby Pin), and billboard star. He is also the C.E.O. of BBD Products-a company that manufactures expensive hair-growth enhancers.

Hair Wars is still a fringe happening-covered sporadically on local television, or on programs like "The Ricki Lake Show"-and there were no paparazzi, red carpet, or Joan Rivers in the lobby of the Radisson to hype the Grammys and greet the stars, among them the belles of Hair Erotica; Mike-Mike & Baby Boy, from Head Bangers; Giorgi-O, of Beverly Hills; the L.A. Braid Queen; Von Jour Reece; Dontae Dupree, of Hair Traffic Control; Infamous Lisa B.; the magisterial Kevin Carter, celebrated for his elegant spider women and hair flowers; and Steven Noss, who bills himself as "Tha Baddest Whyte Boy in Tha Hair Business" (he is the only white boy in Hair Wars). Noss, who hails from Pittsburgh, is the engineer of a crowd-pleasing "hairy copter" that takes off from a deck of braids. Like Lisa B., he specializes in faintly surreal "hair couture," which has nothing in common with the macabre ornaments, tatted from the tresses of a defunct loved one, that Victorians once hung in their drawing rooms. His collection of bras, miniskirts, and ruffled gowns is inspired, he says, "by Barbie and Bob Mackie." One might describe them as hairshirts for the terminally unrepentant.

The coach in Humphries prides himself on discipline and punctuality, so the show started, as scheduled, at five past six, the first acts playing to a semi-deserted ballroom. D was impassively resplendent in a crimson-and-gold kimono. A camera crew directed by the filmmaker Regina Kimbell was shooting footage for a documentary entitled "My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Our Hair-itage," and after the Grammys were presented by Ms. Color-me-Vic, a stylist from Columbus, Ohio, whose rainbow-tinted poodle cut and three-inch fingernails have been televised on "Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not," I met Kimbell backstage. The hair industry, in her view, is rallying African-Americans to shake off the fetters of their subservience to unattainable ideals of Caucasian beauty. It is, she says, "the business of liberation."

When the hot buffet materialized, so did the audience. Of a thousand people or so, no one I noticed (except Humphries) wore a natural. Both off and on the runway, there were wavy weaves; feather cuts; lightning-bolt bangs; punky spikes; ponytails; twists; dreads; knots; bristles; corkscrew curls; crimping; radical asymmetry; exotic color (hot pink and blue); an assortment of pinecone- and ziggurat-shaped finials; and heads on which neat cornrows exploded into fantails of frizz, like a terrace of cultivated paddies ringed by a forest of bamboo.

Episode Guide About The Show Tyra The Judges Grand Prize

Episode 703

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

8/7c

Wednesday, September 27th

The Girl Who Hates Her Hair

(TV-14D, L) (HDTV)

HAIR WARS / QUEEN LATIFAH GUEST STARS - Tyra makes a surprise visit to the house to announce that the girls will be getting makeovers by beauty guru Frederic Fekkai. One girl has a meltdown over her new haircut but they all must use their new looks to compete in a fast-paced makeup challenge that is judged by Queen Latifah. One model returns to the house a sore loser and causes a fight that amps up the competition for a "hair wars" photo shoot. One model is eliminated. Special guests include Queen Latifah, photographer & guest judge Tracy Bayne, and hairstylist Frederic Fekkai.

Jay Manuel talks about Hair Shows such as "Hair Wars" which consist of street style weaves that have crossed over to the runways. The theme of the day is, "Does the hair wear you or do you wear the hair?" Weavologists Mr. Little, Lisa B. and Weavin' Steven were introduced as the stylists.

Tyra-EMail tells the girls their next photo shoot will have something to do with wigs, because what better way to show off their new hair styles then with, um, wigs? At the shoot, Jay Manuel introduces the weavologists behind Hair Wars, wild wigs and hairpieces that includes everything from windmills to parakeets; I think I even say the Virgin Mary in their somewhere. The girls get outfitted with their mini-modern art pieces and step in front of the camera. Anchal, Caridee, and Melrose all manage to break through the craziness, while Megan and Jaeda get lost behind the neon mohawks and spinning doughnut curls.

Hump The Grinder

Hump The Grinder's Hair Wars

From the front page of The Wall Street Journal, to a feature on Ripley's Believe It or Not, Hair Wars has attracted the attention of media from all over the world.

Some of their coverage includes The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Ricki Lake Show, Dateline NBC, Life Magazine, CNN, Inside Edition, The Tyra Banks Show, America's Next Top Model, Oprah, Allure and Instyle.

Hair Wars has been exposed to millions of people and more projects are currently in the works.

“This is the zaniness of wrestling matches, the bigness of Broadway sets, the fantasy of Star Wars and the competitiveness of any street game of b-ball.” - MIAMI HERALD

Hair Wars competitors

Do you get a lot of reader reaction to your stories?

Indeed. It's crazy sometimes how I get hundreds of phone calls or letters or emails, depending on the story. For example, I did a story on these hair fashion shows that are really popular in Detroit. Some hairdos zip off, others have motors and move around and others put birds or bottles - some of the 'dos are two feet tall or more and every color imaginable. It was a Page One feature story. In addition to many other newspapers running the story, other major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune did their own versions. The Hair Wars story even made the television show rounds, being profiled on Sally Jesse Raphael and the Queen Latifah Show as well as several other entertainment shows. The group strikes a poignant, frozen pose as the beat stops and silence hangs in the air - suddenly, with a blur of movement, they fly into a tightly choreographed dance routine as the music strikes up again in a furious pulse. Onlookers applaud and roar with excitement.

LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL

HOT IRONS

Notwithstanding the claims that John Waters used to make for Baltimore, lately Detroit has emerged as the true Hairdo Capital of America, with ambitious stylists setting up shop all over the city's black neighborhoods. Many, like Jonathan the Hair Tamer, are former auto workers who, in teasing, curling and weaving, found a powerful creative outlet unavailable to them on the Big Three's assembly lines. Andrew Dosunmu's Hot Irons introduces several such sculptors as they prepare for the "Black Hair Extravaganza" known as "Hair Wars," where some of their most inventive and vibrantly bizarre 'dos will be on display. Forget the Conk, the Wet Look and the Jheri curl, and instead picture peacocks in flames -- or exploding birthday cakes. Hair-raising indeed. (Screening with Come Unto Me: The Faces of Tyree Guyton; Saturday, April 17, 11 a.m., DGA 2) (JP)

Hair Wars

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hair Wars is an annual event which has become one of the biggest black hair shows in the US. It is a showcase for artists and salons to create unconventional, elaborate, vibrant hair styles and fashion using primarily human hair. Creations of note include a spider web head piece by Kevin Carter, a flying "hairy-copter" by Steven Noss and a full Vegas showgirl outfit by Lisa B.[1]

Hair Wars was started in Detroit in 1991 by David Humphries (a.k.a Hump the Grinder). The event began touring nationally in 1994 and has a circuit of about ten cities including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami and New York.[2]

A documentary was made about the event in 1999 by Andrew Dosunmu called Hot Irons.[3] Footage from the events is also featured in a documentary made in 2005 by Regina Kimbell, My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Our Hair-itage. [4]

Detroit is the capital of many things - cars, Motown, garage rock … and hair entertainers. That's right - not barbers, hairdressers or even hair care specialists. Hair entertainers. This genus of performers was spawned by the one, the only and the original Hair Wars, a Detroit-born collision of hair, fashion, dance, competition and a heaping dose of sass.

It started back in 1985 when David "Hump the Grinder" Humphries was DJing at a Detroit club, looking for a way to spice up his parties. Humphries saw something in the black hairstyles of the time: intricate, colorful and aggressive. He invited a few stylists to show off their skills at his club night, and the ball was set rolling. Two decades later, Hair Wars is a nationally recognized phenomenon.

Robinson helps Jajo with her hair at the show.

KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DFP

Desiree Green, 30, of Pasadena, Calif., waits to be crowned with her hairy-copter, by stylist Steven Noss, 38, of Pittsburgh. In back, her twin sister Erin sits waiting.

Kendra Williams, 43, left, of Farmington Hills, assists Artistry of Hair's Kevin Carter, 44, of Detroit, as he styles Michal Butler, 21, of Farmington Hills, for the show.

Super Bowl XXL Detroit 2006 Coverage

HAIR WARS at the Artist Village in Detroit, Michigan USA

"A lot of people don't really know what they're getting into when they come to Hair Wars," Humphries told Stereohyped. "They don't know its entertainment - they think it's a trade show. But these are hair entertainers, and they actually put on stage productions and they put a lot into these five or 10 minutes of stage time. You don't have to be into hair to get into it. People just come and see what these folks will do."

And what won't they do? Let's see. Humphries said the most outrageous 'do he's every seen go down the runway was by Little Willie (the creator of the zipper 'do), who had his model unzip her huge hair design to reveal a live, four foot python.

"It freaked everyone out a bit," Humphries recalled.

And then there's the hairicopter, a motorized 'copter made out of, you guessed it, hair. But like a designer at a Paris couture show, the stylists might highlight the crazy, totally unwearable looks, but they also know how to do classic hair.

"Each show has about 250 models," he said. "More than half of those are actual hairdos that you can wear everyday. People try to show their versatility - that they can do 9-5 clients and the crazy stuff, too."

The crazy stuff is what attracts the media, Humphries said. Three Hair Wars stylists appeared on an episode of America's Next Top Model two seasons ago. The clearly mystified model wannabes hadn't the slightest clue how to work the colorful, motorized hair creations, but the cameo appearance on the popular show proved that Hair Wars had literally hit prime time.

But why is Hair Wars, with its outrageous hair fashions and flamboyant stylists, so popular among African American audiences? It doesn't take a genius to realize that we are a community extremely obsessed with, not only our own tresses, but weaves, and wigs, and straighteners, and color.

And while a segment of the population is very much about natural hair, there's an entirely different segment that really has no interest in anything of the sort. Plus, according to Humphries, Hair Wars is about more than just the hair.

"It's a new form of entertainment," he said. "It's safe and fun and exciting."

They have names like the Infamous Lisa B, Weavin' Steven, Little Willie, Big Bad D, and Color Me Vic. No, they're not rappers. They're hair dressers. Excuse me, hair entertainers. And they're just some of the creative experts that keep Hair Wars, an African American hair show known for its outrageous designs, afloat.

It all started in the '80s at Detroit nightclubs, where David "Hump the Grinder" Humphries, a promoter and DJ, would stage hair shows as entertainment in the middle of parties. He knew nothing about hair or hair styling, but he knew he was onto something when he saw how well-received the hair shows were.

From the nightclub gimmick arose Hair Wars, a monster touring hair show that has piqued the curiosity of the mainstream media and made stars of its stylists. And there is nothing else like it.

What we talk about when we talk about Hair Wars

by Becky - September 19, 2007 - 9:00 PM

In an age where a showdown between Kanye and 50 seems to draw more attention than so-and-so’s potential running mate, maybe the spotlight is aching to warm another subset. That’s just what David Humphries, Detroit-based founder and producer of Hair Wars, thinks: “The rappers have been in the spotlight since the early 1980’s and it’s bigger than ever. But it’s time for a new type of celebrity.” Enter the hair star…

So here we go: David “Hump the Grinder” Humphries (pictured with George Clinton) dishes on Motown, presidents, “hair theft,” and what it’s like to be the vanguard of “Hair Entertainment.”

David, Hair Wars has a giant fan base–comprised of people passionate about experimenting with aesthetics, and probably also some people who don’t know much about hair show culture but who relish its OTT aspects and want to seem hipper than they are. Which, hey, includes me. What do you think is so attractive to people about this movement?

It’s creativity in its rawest form. We represent the artists and entertainers with imaginations, along with skill. The sky is the limit to these hair stylists’ concepts. They are true hair entertainers and they create their own stage names, their images and coordinate stage performances - bringing you a barrage of fantasy hair that will explain why some people treat them like underground rock stars.

It seems people consider “the hairy-copter” the pièce de résistance of Hair Wars. Can you talk a little bit about its importance in furthering your brand, or do you think there are pieces that deserve more attention?

The Hairy-Copter is definitely our signature piece. The first one was created in 1991 by the late great Mr. Little, and a photographer from the Associated Press came to the show and put it on the wire. It ran world-wide, and ever since, everyone’s been wanting to see it again and again– and several stylists have created different versions. We even held Hairy-Copter contests. People definitely connect Hair Wars with the Hairy-Copter and it does help promote our name and the hair entertainment industry. Sometimes But as old as some of the hair stylists think it is, I encourage them to keep showing that Hairy-Copter and it doesn’t hurt that it gets lots of media attention. So I tell the stylists who think it’s getting old, to keep showing that piece of history. It’s like the Temptations have to keep performing “My Girl”–because it’s a hit.

One of your newsletters seemed to imply there is an actual hairy-copter. As in, the Air Force One of Hair Wars. Is this true?

Naw, but some people do believe there’s one out there somewhere. We run radio spots sometimes with me shouting over a helicopter soundtrack, giving updates of hair happenings in the streets and salons. However, it would be nice if one of the TV stations let us decorate one of their choppers so we can cruise for real. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll have our own, with the Hair Wars logo on it.

What is in a Hair Wars stylist’s tool belt?

Cutting Shears, combs, bobby pins, hair clips, hair spray, some silky oil, curling irons, a blow dryer, a CD, and maybe even a battery-operated motor and a serious attitude.

Your nickname is Hump the Grinder. Can you walk us through how this came about?

I’m from a family of “Humps” – coming from Humphries and Hump The Grinder came from my dj name when I began doing parties at Oakland University outside Detroit. When I graduated from school, I was going to drop it, but I couldn’t – the name was out there, so I decided to keep it forever. The name fits me pretty good. I am a “Grinder.” I’m like the hockey player who goes into the corner and scraps for stuff all game – It doesn’t stop.

I understand you have a new book coming out with photographer David Yellen. What do you look for in a good hair photographer?

I met David Yellen and Johanna Lenander when Hair Wars presented “The Battle of America’s Hair Entertainers” at the Apollo Theater in New York. He was shooting the show for Life Magazine and he said he wanted to shoot a book about Hair Wars and its interesting characters. He had a hook up with Powerhouse Books and he was prepared to hang out with us on the road. So he followed Hair Wars all over the country for about 2 years and was welcomed inside our world. His skills–and equipment–were top notch. So was his personality–he seemed to be really feeling it. Then when I saw his photos, I’m like damn, you can see everything–the good and the bad, all the flaws, the pimples on the forehead, the glue on the tracks. David Yellen did an excellent job.

As I’m sure you’ve seen, people can become obsessed with their hair. Have you ever encountered cases of extreme obsession (for example, trichotillomania)?

Yes, I’ve met people who can’t even go to the store without their hair being in perfect condition. They carry a mirror and hair spritz everywhere they go and they’re forever touching it up–-I’m like, why don’t you put on a damn hat and leave it alone.

Which celebrity has hair you’d love to get your hands on?

Probably Beyoncé because her weave is so long and silky. Can you imagine how tall that do would stand? And the way she moves, she would work the hell out of it.

You’ve said one of your goals is to bring “hair entertainment” into the mainstream. What is the essence of this kind of entertainment, and why do you think the climate is right in the United States for this kind of revolution?

I didn’t know this was a revolution. I just know that we’ve been cultivating this hair entertainment concept for a long time. I do see hair stylists as future superstars. I mean, what else is out there? Has there been something out there brewing throughout urban America? The rappers have been in the spotlight since the early 1980’s and it’s bigger than ever. But it’s time for a new type of celebrity. The hair entertainers have their names, their images, the stage performances – they are packaged to be stars. And the shows are developing into a multi-cultural event. It’s for everyone who wants to be entertained - you don’t have to be connected to the hair business to enjoy a show. It has the feel of a sporting event or a concert with mostly women – it has a fresh, new, clean-cut approach, with raw and funky edges. It’s definitely outside the box. But who knows when the major sponsors will see the value of the hair entertainment industry? There’s a chance it may bust wide open in Europe before the U.S.

Who are your inspirations?

Cedric “Ricky” Walker, the creator of UniverSoul Circus. I used to work for him during the days of the New York City Fresh Festival – the world’s first major rap tour. He grabbed the black circus idea and ran with it. Others who come to mind would be Muhammad Ali, George Carlin, Don King and both my Mother and Father.

What do you think of the hegemony of fashion stylists? Do you feel there’s a point at which stylists should let their clients go, or do you think it’s acceptable to have someone in your life who tells you what to where and when?

I think the celebrities feel too much pressure about what they should wear. Forget the critics and wear what you feel. Just be YOU. Dress the best that fits you and don’t worry about winning a fashion award. But many celebrities give the media and fans what they want – a fashion war.

How would you define style?

Sharp. Neat. Original. Slick. Head-turning.

What do you think hair should smell like?

Real fruit–like lemons, peaches, bananas and cherries.

We were in touch earlier this year about getting you on Dream Vote, and it broke my heart that we couldn’t get to watch you cruising down 75 in your own tour bus. Can you give us an update on where you are with that dream?

I’m still holding the shovel for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Hair Wars Headquarters and the Hair Wars U.S. Tour Bus hasn’t left the paper yet–it looks good on paper, too. But in reality, no major sponsors have stepped up–yet. I do feel that the right situation will happen and even more hair stars will be born.

What’s the biggest misconception you think people have about Hair Wars?

Lots of folks think it’s a competition – they’re always asking “who won?” Hair Wars is a showcase. It’s entertainment. Some think Hair Wars is just for people in the hair business, like a trade show, and others think it’s a black thing or it’s just for women and gay men. But once they attend an actual show, they realize it’s for everyone.

What’s the biggest mistake people commit when wearing or caring for a weave?

Trying to make it last too long. It’s like a car, it needs maintenance. Get it re-done!

Do your stylists copyright their creations? Is there much concern about idea theft, etc. in Hair Wars?

I don’t believe it’s a practice for stylists to copyright their creations. I’m not sure about how they really could protect their ideas. They do talk about who stole what style and they have their ways of trying to prove they originated a particular design. But yes, there is rampant ‘hair theft’ going on. And as far as people using the Hair Wars name, lots of people have used it at one time or another, and it keeps my lawyer very busy. Some are innocent – but others are trying to be sneaky and try to mislead people into thinking they are the original. Or they’ll call it Hair Warz with a “z.” But with all of our history and all the documentation on the internet, it will be very hard trying to pass as an impostor.

I live in LA, and people here tend to be pretty obsessed with grooming their pets. Have you ever been approached about styling dogs or any other kind of animal? If you could style the “hair” of any animal, what would it be?

Yes, we’ve had dog-lovers on the stage a few times, sporting some hair dos that were looking better than their handlers. One of our stylists in Pittsburgh, PA – ‘Weaven Steven’ Noss, was asked to style a lady’s poodle for some special event. And she paid much more than an average hair do would have cost. If there was one animal I would style, it would probably be a grizzly bear–if I could keep his big butt still.

Which technological invention has helped hair styling the most? Is there one you’d like to invent?

I would invent “It Styles While You Sleep Hair Do.” Go to bed nappy and wake up happy.

What are you currently reading?

Standing In The Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson. I really like the book (I just finished it today), because it exposed a lot of behind the scenes activity of the Motown sound. These musicians were in the background for a long time, but it was their music that made it happen. I also have a close connection to the early Motown days. I went to elementary school with Berry Gordy’s children (Berry, Terry & Hazel). I was real close to Terry and I used to ride in the Motown Records limo sometimes when I would ride with the Gordy’s to their house and play in their backyard tree house. erSometimes we would stop at Hitsville U.S.A. (Motown) on the way to the house. Hazel Gordy was my dance partner at one of her birthday parties, where just about everyone from Motown was present, and we got $2 each for winning the dance contest. And plus, I played the upright bass in school, starting in the 4th grade. So there were many reasons to get a hold of that book. Berry Gordy is also one of my idols because of how he created stars from the streets of Detroit – very similar to what I’ve been doing with the hair entertainers.

If you had to advise 2008 presidential candidates on their hair, what would you say?

Most of the 2008 presidential candidates have real simple hair. I would like to see something done to Hillary’s do. ewIt has potential, but it’s very bland. She needs to add some extensions so it can flow more. I can see some streaking in the hair to add color and some layers to give it that ‘up-to-date’ flavor. She would look 15 years younger and it would add some sex appeal and probably help her attract the younger voters. Right now, I would say she’s sporting a ‘granny do.’

Which president has had the best hair?