Kashmere High School is located in a predominantly black neighborhood known as Kashmere Gardens in Houston, Texas. Music teacher Conrad O. Johnson attended an Otis Redding concert in 1967 and was inspired to translate the style of the concert into a program he could sustain at the high school in order to create opportunities for his student musicians. The Kashmere Stage Band was born. Professor Johnson was noted for revolutionizing the High School band experience by challenging his students to perform, record and tour like professional musicians instead of just rehearsing to march for a halftime show. This unique aspect of the group is how they got the title of a “Stage Band” which was quite unusual for the era. Prof (as he was affectionately known ) felt that if you challenged high school musicians to rise to professional standards that they could and would. During its time, KSB won national championships in high school band competitions and gained a reputation as being unbeatable. Johnson served as band director, arranger, and principal composer for the band. The band also went on to tour Japan and Europe using the proceeds of door-to-door record sales to finance some of the trips. KSB recorded eight albums during its life. The teenagers in the Kashmere Stage Band produced a sound equal to that of the contemporary funk bands the JB's and the Bar-Kays. Although lost for decades, since 2003 the KSB recordings have been released on 7" or 12" LP record or CD, and have become prized by hip-hop artists and dj's for their inimitable sound. A notable sampling occurs on the Handsome Boy Modeling School album So... How's Your Girl?, DJ Shadow’s track “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)” samples “Kashmere” from the album Kashmere Stage Band Plays Originals. Many of the modern KSB releases are occurring for the first time. Notable KSB alumni include jazz drummer Bubba Thomas. NPR's All Things Considered reported on KSB on August 4, 2006.
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