Contributing Writer
Wes Green was just 16 when he met and started working on music with Steve Poindexter, close to forty years ago on the Southside of Chicago. Amongst many tracks they were involved with, one of them, Computer Madness went one to be recognised as a seminal house music anthem; a track that was solely credited to Poindexter. Now, Wes Green is telling the story of what really happened, and his decades-long quest to be credited with its production.
We talked to Wes about the history and current situation.
Could you tell us a little about your historical relationship with Steve?
After we were introduced, Steve started coming over to my house—I had a makeshift studio in my basement—to make tracks. I looked up to Steve and thought of him as a mentor/big brother so I liked hanging out with him. To be honest, it was very cool to have someone like Steve hang out with me and encourage me to make music.
I didn’t have much equipment at that time but I had a Casio Keyboard and a Synsonic Drum that my mother bought for me. I also had a job at a grocery store at the time so I saved up and bought a Roland TR-505. I liked this drum because it had percussion and I like to play with the Toms. One day I walked past a local store with Steve and we saw a Casio CZ-101. Although I thought the keyboard looked like a toy, Steve explained that keyboards without speakers were professional and he suggested that I buy the keyboard. After saving up some money, I came back and bought the keyboard but when I played the CZ-101 I was not happy with the purchase at all because it sounded like a toy to me! The good thing was that the CZ-101 is also a synthesizer so I was able to make new sounds—all I needed was time. I was 16 and I had the time, so I went to work.
I spent 6 months working on new sounds on the CZ-101. Late at night I would put on my Radio Shack headphones and work on sounds while I was in bed!
At some point Steve told me that he had seen other people use a drum machine to control a keyboard but he didn’t know how to do it himself and couldn’t tell me what I needed to do. But it piqued my interest and I wanted to figure out how to get my Roland TR-505 to control my Casio CZ-101. This is when I began to learn how to use the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). I looked at the manual for the TR-505 and found that I could assign MIDI channels to each drum. This was a cool discovery because I could use the 505 to play the bassline and still use that same drum machine for the basic drum pattern that I needed to make a track. This discovery opened the door to the music I created. It was born out of the necessity of wanting to make the music I could hear inside of me with the tools I had in my hands. Just the TR-505 and the CZ-101.
I shared my discovery with Steve and showed him that I could play a baseline and still have the base drum, high hats, and rim shot playing, which is why I didn’t have any other drums in Computer Madness.
I created Computer Madness by using the TR-505 to play my Keyboard with the MIDI that I just learned how to use. The name of the track, Computer Madness, came from Steve. He came into the basement studio one day and told me the kids are going to go crazy for this track! You should call it Computer Madness. He also suggested that I add a snare drum intro to the track so when people hear it coming on they will know its Computer Madness. I let Steve add that snare drum pattern and then, when I recorded the track, I kept the volume level down on the keyboard until the baseline needed to come in after the snare intro. When Steve heard the sounds coming out of the CZ, he was like, oh shit! I also knew it was special but I didn’t think people would love it as much as Steve knew they would love it.
Work that Mutha Fucker! came about a little differently. I had a Casio RZ1 from my buddy Garen Vaughn. Garen let me borrow his Casio RZ1 because he wanted me to work with Steve to make a track for him. None of us knew how to use the Casio RZ1 but Garen knew I could learn how. Garen sampled a bass drum sound in the RZ1 that was a lot harder than the one included in the RZ1. I used that bass drum in all of my tracks while I had it. I made a tribal track and about 30 others in a short time.
Steve came by one day when Garen and his cousin John John (Alfred Vaughn) were visiting my basement studio and said he wanted to make a track called “Work That Mutha Fucker!”. I played one of the tribal tracks I created with the Casio RZ1 and he liked it. Steve and I started to use the volume controls to remove the different drums to see how it sounded with different combinations and everyone loved it when we took out the low or high toms because it made the beat sound RAW! Next, Steve asked me to change the High Hats, so I did. Then I used a Boss Foot pedal sampler to Sample my voice saying “Work That Mutha Fucker!” Steve said “Man, that doesn’t sound right.” So I sampled his voice and of course he was happy with that. I used the RZ1 to trigger the sampler and recorded it on my MT1X Yamaha 4 Track recorder. And that’s how “Work That Mutha Fucker!” was born.
We read a Resident Advisor article where Steve appears to credit your involvement – but your assertion is that you were solely responsible for these tracks, is that right?
Like I said above, it was his idea to make a track called Work that MF but it was my track. He did want to change the Hi Hats. Also, he came up with the name for Computer Madness and added the snare drum intro to the track but that was the extent of his involvement.
Why do you think Steve has so far refused to engage with you on this matter?
He told me in 2014 that he was embarrassed. I guess when you tell a lie for so long it becomes part of you. I think that he had a hard time letting the lie go. I don’t think he thought I would get a lawyer to assist me in this matter. I had a few phone calls from other producers asking me to drop this whole thing. One person said man this stuff is old. What would Jesus do? Another producer said the he was accused of not only helping me find the lawyer but also, giving me the money to pursue legal action. Another producer call me and said that Steve was in a panic. He wanted to talk to me but not the lawyer. It got a little crazy around here for a while.
All of this happened a long time ago – what prompted you to take action now?
Well, when Roy Davis Jr. told me that my music was part of the foundation of house music in Chicago, I felt that people should know the truth! Also, I did get a lawyer back in 1989. He tried to go after the label but it was an underground label at the time and hard to track who you could hold accountable from what I was told. My lawyer took the case on contingency and didn’t see a way to recover any money. I guess at that time there were only a few records sold. I might have been too quick to act.
For you, what would be the ideal outcome from this situation?
As of Apr 2023 I have 100% of all publishing rights to Computer Madness, Work That MF, Chillin with the P and Whiplash. The last part is what I’m doing now. Letting everyone know the truth. I would also, like people to know that things happen in life. It doesn’t make you a failure because someone took advantage of you. The thing to remember is that you can always work on making things right. My lawyer told me that I have PTSD. He said when someone says Steve Poindexter it affects you. When you hear your songs played it affects you. When you hear someone say the name of your songs it affects you. Well now when I hear my songs played or spoken about it affects me too, but in a good way! It’s been a long hard road but definitely one worth traveling.
Have there been any positives you can take away from what we’re sure has been a stressful time for you?
Well, I learned a lot about business at a young age. I learned that having a contract doesn’t mean that you don’t trust someone. I learned that just because you think you are friends or brothers doesn’t mean that they won’t steal from you. These lessons have help me though out my life.
You’re also working on new music, correct? When can we expect that to see the light of day?
Yes, I have a few new track coming out. “My First Computer” and one called “Friction”. First Computer is in the same vein as Computer Madness made on the CZ-101 with new sounds that I made. Friction is more of an Afro track. I also have a remix that I did of a song that I releases in 2014 called Unconditional Love featuring Kaye Fox. These should be coming out in Dec of this year on Creative Limited Recordings. This is a label that Roy Davis Jr. and I own.