Interview: The Time Band

The Time as a band has been through ongoing turmoil and a lack of any consistency in their lineup since their inception and their short run from 1981 to 1984 that consisted of Morris Day, Monte Moir, Jellybean Johnson, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jesse Johnson, and hype man Jerome Benton. After that short window, they dissolved and scattered into various solo projects only to briefly reconvene in 1990 for Pandemonium and once again in 2011 as The Original 7ven for the album Condensate.

Over the years, the OG’s include Morris Day still fronting the band along with Jellybean Johnson still manning the drums. Monte Moir makes occasional appearances, but not enough credit and respect are given to the “other” members of The Time‘s lineup that includes Ricky Freeze Smith on bass and Tori Ruffin who outside of Morris and Jellybean have held court as band members of The Time multiple times longer than even the original members.

Mr. Christopher and Michael Bland welcome Jellybean Johnson, Monte Moir, Tori Ruffin, and Ricky Freeze Smith aka JMTF to discuss their history with Morris Day and The Time, their traveling Masterclass, and many untold stories to boot.