View the video at The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC2jUqktpZH7x472KoVNNXdQ

Interview with JARA HARRIS and members of the FUNK group, “SLAPBAK” BAND on the Funk Chronicles, with your host, David Webb & Co-host Jasmine Summers “The Super Soul Sister” from the syndicated radio show called “The Dayton Scene Radio Show.” This interview was recorded at DATV Studios in Dayton Ohio on August 20, 2024.

The (“Fearless Leader”) Jara Harris started the Rock/R&B/Funk Band “SLAPBAK” in 1990, when Jara was only 20 years old. In 1991,”TJ” Quake joined the band as a production assistant/roadie, and then in 1995 he joined the band and became the (hype-man) and singing/rapper. In 1997, Jara Harris, John “Fingazz” Stary, and “TJ” QuakeShot wrote the song “Futurevoid” for the band. “SLAPBAK’s” debut album, Fast Food Funkateers, was released in 1992, and they released a follow-up album later that year.

Back in the 1990s When Jara started “SLAPBAK,” everyone thought the name meant the slappin’ of Jara’s thumbs up against his bass strings. Some even thought that it meant slapping’ back against society because he never drank, smoked or tried drugs in his life. Well, years later we discovered that “SLAPBAK” means none of the above, a matter of fact “SLAPBAK” isn’t even a noun.

It’s a verb…. it’s an untouched force of action. This band hates hype, just like their song says “Don’t Talk About It, Be About It” which means they are all about the delivery. This is the reason “SLAPBAK” hates bios or introductions before they hit the stage. The show and the music speaks for itself. They have an undeniable sound that Jara has finely tuned over the years he calls “Urban Crunch.” This is a sound made up of Funk, Rock, Hip Hop & Alternative that is mixed up in his own special way.

Here is some of the things I know for a fact. In the early 1990’s they signed to Warner Brothers and released their debut album “Fast Food Funkateers”. This record included George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley (James Brown), Larry Blackmon (Cameo), Dawn Silva (Brides of Funkenstein). Needless to say this only gave “SLAPBAK” the title “The New Keeper of the Funk” by 92.3 The Beat.

Their single “True Confession” had video rotation on BET and did well with radio. Since then Slapbak has produced 7 more cds. They have toured and performed with artists like Snoop Dogg, Mint Condition, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, Bootsy Collins, Roger Troutman and Zapp, The Time, 2 Live Crew, Fishbone and Digital Underground just to name a few. Then “Shock G” looked up “SLAPBAK” after seeing them 8 years prior and asked Jara Harris of “SLAPBAK” to be Digital’s band as well as an opening act. “SLAPBAK” toured and recorded with them for several years. Shortly after the tour “SLAPBAK” started working with Verdine White from Earth, Wind & Fire.

This has always been a stand alone band. They’ve toured in Europe 3 times and they’re about to go back to support the release of their latest cd “Underground Mayhem. “SLAPBAK’s” music has mutated quite a bit over the years and like the music has, so has the band. Some musicians that came through the Slapbak camp have gone off to play with The Time, Nikka Costa, Erukah Badu, The Gap Band, Good Charolette, Ben Harper, 112, Jordin Sparks to name a few, but the new band is the most interesting combination yet. You have African-American, Caucasion, Mexican and Japanese ages ranging from 20 – 40. This wasn’t planned, this is just the pieces of the puzzle that fit. This band will make you a true believer that music is truly universal!!!!!

“We are keeping Funk alive for the next Generation of children”. Let’s make history together – join us!!!
Funk fans, make a donation and help us build “TheFunkCenter” a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in Dayton, Ohio.

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For more information visit our website at www.thefunkcenter.org and follow us on Twitter @thefunkcenter. Be sure to like us on Facebook & subscribe to our YouTube channel The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center.

The views and opinions expressed on Funk Chronicles are those of the interviewees/guest and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center (dba TheFunkCenter). Any content provided by our interviewees/guest are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

Here’s a link to the YouTube video, while I figure out how to display it here.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC2jUqktpZH7x472KoVNNXdQ

Here are the items selected for review this year. I could find no justification for this selection other than “The WISeR Model tests the use of enhanced technology to decrease certain wasteful (low-value) services shown to have little to no clinical, evidence-based benefit. Technology companies participating in the model help streamline the review of medical necessity for select items and services earlier in the claims process to: 1) reduce inappropriate utilization, 2) lower spending in Original Medicare, 3) expedite decision making and(4) ease provider administrative burden.”

Who has shown these items to have no clinical, evidence-based benefit? RFK Jr?

1. Arthroscopic Lavage and Arthroscopic Debridement for the Osteoarthritic Knee (NCD 150.9)

2. Induced Lesions of Nerve Tracts (NCD 160.1)

3. Vagus Nerve Stimulation (NCD 160.18)

4. Phrenic Nerve Stimulators (NCD 160.19)

5. Electrical Nerve Stimulators (NCD 160.7)

6. Incontinence Control Devices (NCD 230.10)

7. Sacral Nerve Stimulators for Urinary Incontinence (NCD 230.18)

8. Diagnosis and Treatment of Impotence (NCD 230.4)

9. Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation for Vertebral Compression Fracture (L34228, L38201, L35130)

10. Epidural Steroid Injections for Pain Management (L39015, L39240, L36920)

11. Cervical Fusion (L39741, L39758, L39793)

12. Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (L38307, L38310, L38385)

13. Application of Bioengineered Skin Substitutes to Lower Extremity Chronic Non-Healing Wounds (L35041) and Wound Application of Cellular and/or Tissue Based Products (CTPs), Lower Extremities (L36690)

14. Deep Brain Stimulation (NCD 160.24) – implementation delayed and will not occur on January 1, 2026; to be re-evaluated for implementation in a future performance year

15. Percutaneous Image-Guided Lumbar Decompression for Spinal Stenosis (NCD 150.13) – implementation delayed and will not occur on January 1, 2026; to be re-evaluated for implementation in a future performance year.

Previously, the oldest known human writing was from Mesopotamia, about 3000 years ago! This is pretty rudimentary writing, but we do copy editing, and you’d be surprised at how rudimentary today’s writing is! We post funny AI mistakes periodically! Watch this space for more!

Andrew Paul

Published Feb 23, 2026 3:00 PM EST

New evidence published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates humans experimented with symbolic writing as much as 40,000 years ago. If true, the discoveries dramatically recontextualize the history of communication, given the earliest known written languages are Mesopotamian proto-cuneiforms dating back to around 3000 BCE.

“The artifacts date back to tens of thousands of years before the first writing systems, to the time when Homo sapiens left Africa, settled in Europe, and encountered Neanderthal,” explained Ewa Dutkiewicz, a study co-author and archaeologist at Berlin’s Museum of Prehistory and Early History.

Dutkiewicz and colleagues have spent years analyzing 260 relics recovered from Stone Age cave sites in the Swabian Jura, a remote mountain range located in southwestern Germany. These include a small mammoth figurine carved from the extinct animal’s tusk along with the Adorant, a famous ivory carving that appears to depict a human-lion figure with outstretched arms. These and many other similar artifacts also feature frequently repeating sequences of lines, crosses, dots, and notches.

The team then entered over 3,000 geometric carvings into a Stone Age sign database, and examined them using various computational analysis tools. They didn’t expect to translate any of the messages, but instead used the analysis to compare and contrast their attributes with writing systems that developed later.

“There are plenty of theories, but until now there has been very little empirical work carried out on the basic, measurable characteristics of the signs,” added Christian Bentz, a study co-author from Germany’s Saarland University.

Bentz explained that using methods like quantitative linguistics and statistical modeling allowed them to compare the symbols found on the Paleolithic artifacts to early cuneiform, as well as modern writing formats. With this approach, they could estimate just how much information could be contained within the carved symbols.

“The human ability to encode information in signs and symbols was developed over many thousands of years. Writing is only one specific form in a long series of sign systems,” he said. “We continue to develop new systems for encoding information. Encoding is also the basis of computer systems.”

The results surprised researchers. Although they initially theorized the proto-cuneiform would share more similarities to present-day writing systems, it seems that the Mesopotamian communication method looks more like its Stone Age ancestors. This means that writing may have changed very little for tens of thousands of years. While the exact meanings of Paleolithic Germany’s artifacts remain a mystery, the team is confident it does not represent any spoken language.

“The signs on the archaeological objects are frequently repeated–cross, cross, cross, line, line, line. This type of repetition is not a feature found in spoken language,” said Bentz.

The team can also now begin narrowing the scope of possible interpretations. The discoveries also highlight that in terms of cognitive capabilities, Stone Age humans had already achieved a similar capacity to the present-day descendents.

“There are many sign sequences to be found on artifacts. We’ve only just scratched the surface,” said Dutkiewicz.

Editor’s note: Think he MEANT that to be a pun?

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