 | Nice one for Wide Hive! A four star review in URB.
They call out the track Unison, which we released under a Creative Commons License. (I've been working with dissent's Gregory Howe on a new band that I'll be able to tell you all about soon! I just want to have a track finished first :) |
URB - January 2006 - 4 Stars
"This funky hip-hop unit from Northern Cali [still led by Gregory Howe] takes a nice step forward on their fourth album. First is the more concentrated focus on tribal beats and techniques, although it doesn't overwhelm the smooth and inventive production. But even more impressive is the songwriting on cuts like "Unison," which highlight the vocals of Nathalie Sanchez and a semi-trip-hop taste that makes one of the best entries to the genre since Portishead went their merry way. But it's not really dour; rather upbeat, even when slow. Catchy, even when complex. "Kaleidosouls" is some fine neo-soul while "Native Time" rides a swinging beat against smooth jazz chords and some serious laser beam effects. This much melding doesn't usually come off so well, but Howe and company keep it tight. An unexpected pleasure." (Jack Real)
Yippie. The first review is in, and it's a goodin' I don't think the online version is up yet, so here it is:
BPM - September 2005
"Dissent is back with their forth long player, Primal Deconstruction. If you enjoyed their last journey through emotion and sound this'll surely treat you right. Gregory Howe, the brainchild behind the blunted, sonic landscape (who also happens to serve as el jefe for the label), delivers the sort of musical variety that makes a lasting impression. Between the brushed drums, loose horn arrangements, syrupy jazz licks, guitar strums and memorable beats, many arenas are dabbled in - it's one big harmonius nuptial. But, without Howe's clear vision and passion, the album would, no doubt, come off as yet another generic broken beat excursion. Thankfully that's not the case-spectrum of sound serves as a sonic narrative, but the message is fully realized through the hauntingly sultry voice of Nathalie Sanchez. Highlights include the rhythmically adventurous uptempo jam "Native Time" and "Pouvez-Vous Voir Le Soleil," which serves as a low-key coda to an elegant album." (Jackie Chiles)
So one of the reasons why I've been so bad about blogging lately is that I'm quite obsessed with learning everything there is to know about running a record label -- in this case, the everluvin' Wide Hive Records.
It's part of my graduate research at SFSU, and my experience will also supplement a couple books I'm in the process of writing...
Anyhoo, our latest release is dissent's
Primal Deconstruction.
There are three different tracks you can check out in MP3 format.
It has been our experience during the course of my research that our downloads only increase as we increase the number of free mp3 tracks samples we give away on our website. (just to be clear, these are complete versions of these songs :)
Also, our number one and number two itunes downloads for the month of May 2005, were the two we've been giving away for free for almost a year. Interesting.
Anyway, more on all that later...just give it a listen for now, and tell me what cha think.
interested peeps: I'd be happy to send you an advance cd. Email me at lisa@widehive.com
Remember to come as my guest -- and bring friends.
It'll be quite a show. More info here.
Opening at 9:30pm Each the Beat Boxer performing with DJ Quest
Then from 10-12:30:
Variable Unit w/Special Guest Hosts:
Zealous and Prophet
Felonius: One Love Hip Hop
(Soulati, Infinite, A kid named Keith and D. Wolf)
Ho Flow and Mic Blake and their whole vocal crew from Bop City Pacific
(Caitlin Cornwell, Dawn "Dee Dee" Hilgesen, Christi "KiKi" Hilgesen)
Mark Stretch
(Foreign Legion)
V.E.R.A. Clique
(Anderson Ray & Macsen Apollo)
Marquand (beatboxer)
From the Delinquent Monestary Crew:
Complexity, Lush One, and Ajaxx
Audio Tracks -
Video Tracks
Davu (Poetry Slam Champion)
Shania D.
Nameliss
Hilary Star
Plus More Guests TBA
Prozack Turner and Marc Stretch
Here's a short clip (5 MB) explaining how Foreign Legion is anything but dissolved, and the complete interview (22 MB) from last week's SCOUT at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco.
I had some interesting conversations with these guys off camera, and I must say, they were mighty real - whether talking about the pros and cons of being signed to a big label (Turner) or comparing the social networking architectures of Friendster and MySpace (Stretch).
Both Zack and Stretch are plannnig to drop back by in on either June 22 or June 29, but nothing is confirmed yet.
These last two shows are going to be special like that -- in addition to the announced performers, there will be a lot of past peeps dropping back by to rekindle...
So it was another fantastic show -- albeit another poorly attended one -- at SCOUT wednesday night.
We're beginning to think of these more as live recording sessions:)
It would be nice to have a larger than 75 person audience there, because I think it helps the performers out, but this isn't a "live" album, where we need to hear the crowd and such.
We've been very pleased with the music that's been coming out of these. We're not at all sure yet how all the tracks are even going to be used. (There are more than 25 hours of shows recorded already.)
Anyway, this last show rocked with a really neat group of people. I'm getting the pictures and video together now, and I will get at least some of it up today, along with some more general information about this great family of artists that Variable Unit had the pleasure of collaborating with Wednesday night.
It was really neat having like 8 different mcs and singers each perform leads and switch to back ups for each others performances all night. They were all obviously good friends that had known each other forever. Gennessee hooked me up by arranging for all of them to come by for SCOUT. I was interviewing one of the other performers out front when they each descended and assembled promptly at 9:30 in front of the Red Devil Lounge.
They all looked happy and ready for action. (They already had the right vibe, and they hadn't even entered the club yet.)
Here are the performers of which I speak: Gennessee, Cait Le Dee, Genevieve, L*Roneous, Dogwood Speaks, Bazooka Joe Gotti, Prozack Turner and Marc Stretch...hope I'm not leaving anyone out.
There were other great performers that night, such as JBo and his friend Chris Lee (who was just in from Norway visiting this week), Kero One, and Jesse Seaver the Beatboxer. Plus Each the Beatboxer guest hosted.
Anyway, it was a good time.
Hey - if the $7 entry fee is what's stopping you from coming by, tell the door man you're there as my guest. And don't be afraid to bring friends. The more the merrier. (Do buy drinks if you can :-)
Okay...back in a minute...I'm trying to get as much up as I can today...
Kero One is another artist performing at
tonight's SCOUT, and he's definitely a star on the rise.
You can hear tracks
here.
From the California bay area, Kero One is an artist who had been emceeing, producing beats, writing graff, deejaying/scratching and collecting records since the early 90's [more]. In the summer of 2003, Kero One released his first 12" record entitled “Check the Blueprints”, based on jazzy funk beats and metaphor heavy lyrics. Within just a month of its release, positive reviews and recognition poured in from record stores, dj's, to record labels everywhere. In addition, “Check The Blueprints” reached top 5 spots on radio and deejay playlists worldwide from Dj's such as J-boogie (OM records), Jon Kennedy (Tru-thoughts UK), and Alexander Poulikakos in Sweden. The 12” release included instrumentals for all songs, an exclusive remix for vinyl collectors, as well as an acapella for remix deejays and producers. Several months later, Kero One was recognized by Japanese labels and promoters (Jazzysport.com) and invited to tour Japan in January of 2004, headlining shows with renowned deejays and producers such as Dj Mitsu the beats , Gagle, and dancers whom all had deep passion for music, art and hiphop culture.Aside from his first 12” single release, Kero One is currently working on his full lenth solo LP coming out in 2005 and various other projects such as production work on a full length LP for emcee Niamaj and orchestrating a live latin/jazz group.
We have a really interesting group of performers at tomorrow night's SCOUT -- all of which are up and comers who are becoming more recently established. (I have Gennessee, another one of tomorrow night's peformers, to thank for it, too :-)
Take Cait La Dee, who currently has one of her tracks being used in a Tide w/Downy commercial. She has a nice voice, and, I'm told, also has some flow.
Honestly, I'm also just glad to have another female MC at the show.
She will be only the second female mc we've at in our entire SCOUT series! (The other being Shania D, who played on
May 4.)
Where are you ladies? Give me a holler. There are only two shows left after this one! (Newcomers: this is a chance to debut with the best band in the world watching your back.)
anyway...I'm just trying to give you guys an idea of some of the cool performers we have coming by tomorrow night. It should be a really great show.
I'm probably gonna crash now, but I'll be up in the AM with more about tomorrow night's performers.
Here's an interesting article about one of tomorrow night's headliners:
Prozack Turner's Sound Click page.
There are some samples too from his record there.
According to this article, Foreign Legion has parted ways. I didn't know that -- I know both Prozack Turner and Marc Stretch are performing at
tomorrow night's SCOUT!
Taxation Without Representation: When DreamWorks' music division was cannibalized, Prozack Turner had a record but no label. So he released it himself...THE DOMINANT image on the cover of Prozack Turner's solo debut, Death, Taxes & Prozack, is a baseball cap emblazoned with a San Jose logo. Flip the CD over and scan the production credits: Pete Rock, Alchemist, Supa Dave West, Organized Noize, Jake One, Madlib, DJ Design, Jay Dilla. In the corner, a tiny, out-of-focus insignia that resembles the DreamWorks logo teases the eye.
From the packaging, one can infer that Prozack Turner is a San Jose emcee who recorded an album with DreamWorks and hooked up with hotshot producers. That's half the story. The reality? Zack "Prozack" Turner is from San Jose. He was in the local hip-hop group Foreign Legion (with DJ Design and Marc Stretch) that released the excellent Kidnapper Van and Play Tight full-lengths. Prozack was courted by Virgin and Grand Royal but signed to DreamWorks for a four-record deal.
In 2003, he assembled his dream production unit and recorded Death, Taxes & Prozack, with a $450,000 budget. In October of 2003, UMG bought out DreamWorks' music division. Turner's record, due to drop five months ago, was shelved. He got out of his contract, bootlegged Death, Taxes & Prozack and is selling it independently. If you look closer at the DreamWorks logo on the CD, it's jacked up to say, "Out of Work."
"It's totally illegal the way I'm putting it out," Turner admits. "They're like, 'We own this album.' But I created this! It came out of my brain. Technically, on paper, they own the rights, but I held up my end of the bargain. I recorded the record thinking they were going to put it out."
Here's the full text of the entire article in case the link goes bad:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/idcprozackturner.htm
PROZACK TURNER "DEATH, TAXES & PROZACK"
IDC cat# 0010 / DTPO1
Taxation Without Representation: When DreamWorks' music division was cannibalized, Prozack Turner had a record but no label. So he released it himself.
Flow Pro
San Jose rapper Prozack Turner contemplates the music business, his next move and why eating cats isn't racist
By Todd Inoue
THE DOMINANT image on the cover of Prozack Turner's solo debut, Death, Taxes & Prozack, is a baseball cap emblazoned with a San Jose logo. Flip the CD over and scan the production credits: Pete Rock, Alchemist, Supa Dave West, Organized Noize, Jake One, Madlib, DJ Design, Jay Dilla. In the corner, a tiny, out-of-focus insignia that resembles the DreamWorks logo teases the eye.
From the packaging, one can infer that Prozack Turner is a San Jose emcee who recorded an album with DreamWorks and hooked up with hotshot producers. That's half the story. The reality? Zack "Prozack" Turner is from San Jose. He was in the local hip-hop group Foreign Legion (with DJ Design and Marc Stretch) that released the excellent Kidnapper Van and Play Tight full-lengths. Prozack was courted by Virgin and Grand Royal but signed to DreamWorks for a four-record deal.
In 2003, he assembled his dream production unit and recorded Death, Taxes & Prozack, with a $450,000 budget. In October of 2003, UMG bought out DreamWorks' music division. Turner's record, due to drop five months ago, was shelved. He got out of his contract, bootlegged Death, Taxes & Prozack and is selling it independently. If you look closer at the DreamWorks logo on the CD, it's jacked up to say, "Out of Work."
"It's totally illegal the way I'm putting it out," Turner admits. "They're like, 'We own this album.' But I created this! It came out of my brain. Technically, on paper, they own the rights, but I held up my end of the bargain. I recorded the record thinking they were going to put it out."
The major-label experience, piled onto many others, soured him on the music industry. To say that Prozack is going through a transition is an understatement.
"Every independent label [Foreign Legion] ever messed with has stole from us," he says. "Every person who had been my manager has fucked me over. I got sued for 10 grand by some manager. It's such a dirty business. I'm a real honest guy. It's a hard, hard business to be in, especially when you get so close to succeeding. I'm having meetings talking about Spike Jonze directing my music video. Six months later, I'm looking for a bartending job.
"I feel a little jaded. Even on my album, I put all my homies on, breaded everybody up. People got paid more than they ever did in their career. Man, I don't know if I want to be around this any more. It's destroying relationships, too. It's like the music business is a girlfriend I'm in love with, but I know we're not right for each other, and it doesn't work out, and we're fighting and treating each other awful."
It's a shame because Death, Taxes & Prozack is one of the tightest-sounding rap albums ever to emerge from the 408. His flair for bragging and his metaphors ("Wonderful Life," "Feelin My Steelo") have all the subtlety of a steel-toed boot. It's a supremely entertaining record with Prozack using skills, not anger, as his prime motivational tool. And with producer royalty like Pete Rock, Organized Noize and the Alchemist, Turner is sitting on a potential gold mine.
"I'm in New York, standing in the glass booth, and Pete Rock is on the other side about to record me," he remembers. "Even if the album never comes out, I made it. All the people who told me not to do it--'You're not going to make it; you're white; you're from San Jose, the suburbs'--here I am with one of the illest cats. That was an emotional moment in my career."
Along with the label and legal drama, he and Foreign Legion recently parted ways. Just last week, Turner contemplated quitting music altogether and getting a straight job to pay his bills. Then he got a check from one of his Death, Taxes & Prozack distributors for a thousand bucks. And then he got an order from Japan for 400 CDs--an extra 3 grand. The record is also selling in Germany and Australia. This boost, plus working with San Jose production team the Buckle Brothers on new tracks, improved morale and given him incentive to make music.
"I don't know if I'd do another major-label deal again, because I'm pretty bitter," he says. "Things get shelved all the time: Rass Kass, Planet Asia. The music business is in disarray. I'm not mad because they were trying to market me to alternative radio. I know they wouldn't have done that if I were black. I didn't do a rock rap album. It wasn't an angry album. I don't know what they were looking for. But a lot had to do with race."
Race is something Prozack's been examining within the past two weeks, he says. Prozack, who is white, feels labels have a set feeling about him before hearing him rap. "I've been oblivious to [race issues] my whole life. I'm good enough; I'm cool; I do my thing. Every now and then, you get people who hate. I never got that much of it. I listen to my album--it's good. I think if I weren't white, people would take it more seriously. I honestly do. People automatically compare it to Eminem because I'm white, and I don't think it sounds anything like it."
While on the topic of race, I bring up a line in "My Favorite Song": "I'm not Vietnamese, but dog, I be eating cats." When I mention that it might offend people, he says he understands that people might get mad, but he defends his right to mix metaphors.
"It's a play on words," he says. "'I battled this cat.' What culture eats cats? Vietnam eats cats. There's nothing negative about what I said. It's a complete play on words. I have another line where I say, 'I get more pussy than a cat box,' too. But it's a play on words; I don't get any pussy--I got a girlfriend."
He laughs hard at the line. Don't dismiss the fight in this dog, even if he's eating cats.
"I believe in good, and I believe I deserve to win," he says. "If they shut the door, I'm going in the window. If they shut the window, I'll go in the basement. I'm getting in. I'm not going to stop. I'm just as good as a lot of cats."
Variable Unit just got a great review in the San Francisco Bay Guardian for Mayhemystics OutBreaks.
See Variable Unit for yourself at tonight's show!
Featured MCs include: Wonway, Conceit & Top.r (Strangeface)(Hardly Celebs), Wordsmith, Boac (Earthlings), Rush, M.C. Mars, the Supah Intergalatic Street Poet, Amuzition, Hall of Fame
(Eboo, Exec D, Da Kid St. Nick, M.O.B.) and Ryan Greene.
See you there!
Here's an interview from the SCOUT show on May 11:
Variable Unit keyboardist Jacob Elijah Aginsky.
Here's a video clip and mp3.
Here's another video and mp3 of an interview with SCOUT guest MC Jaw Prophetic.
This is from May 4, 2005.
These last 4 shows are looking good -- and they're filling up fast -- we only have a few slots left on June 22nd and 29th. (Which is great for me, because it will give me more time to promote the participating artists if I know who they are weeks in advance.)
MCs for this Wednesday, June 8, 10 pm
Red Devil Lounge, 1695 Polk Street, San Francisco
DJ Mars - Opening from 9-10pm
Guest MCs:
Wonway
Conceit & Top.r (Strangeface)(Hardly Celebs)
Boac (Earthlings)
Rush
M.C. Mars, the Supah Intergalatic Street Poet
Amuzition
Hall of Fame
Eboo, Exec D, Da Kid St. Nick, M.O.B.
Ryan Greene
MCs Announced for SCOUT Next Wednesday, June 15, 10 pm
2 Fresh - Opening from 9-10pm Guest MCs:
Noble House Records recording artists:
Foreign Legion
(Zach Turner, Marc Stretch)
Gennessee
Also appearing:
kero one
Jesse Seaver (a beatboxing comedian)
This whole next month of
SCOUT shows is gonna be sw-eet.
First of all, due to popular demand, Variable Unit will be jamming a lot more on its own.
Another change: We're having a different DJ every week now for the opener.
This week, DJ Quest. Next week, DJ Marz (another of the Space Travelers). The week after that, we don't know yet...
Here's the line up for tomorrow night's show. (Wed June 1, 2005)
DJ Quest - Opening from 9-10pm
Guest MCs:
MC Link-Letterz
(Ctrl Z)
Paulie Rhyme
(Finless Brown)
JBo
(Nightcrawlers)
Zealous
Special Guests TBA
For those of you who are interested in such things...
Here's a link to a prototype of a
Wide Hive Media Player
(Thanks Nacho!)
So far, I was just planning on making all of our samples available via the media player, so that cover art and purchase info could be displayed while the songs played. We're also going to make it so you can just start at one song and have the player keep going through our entire sample library.
Love to hear your other suggestions for this.
thanks,
lisa
Here's a very funny and accurate review of the evening's events of May 18, 2005.
Rocky Types with Rocky Flows
By Rob Harvilla for the East Bay Express.
Here's a quote from the article:
But who wants absolute confidence and total success at a hip-hop jam session anyway? Embrace this experiment's danger and uncertainty, which can only magnify its high points. Beatboxers are Scout's secret weapon -- Howe raves that the prior week featured the talented crew Felonious, which valiantly challenged McCree to a Live Drums vs. Beatboxing battle. This time out, Each of the highly talented Vowel Movement crew took on both McCree and VU turntable expert DJ Quest, and though he lost on both counts, he tackled the job with admirable enthusiasm. As did Tha Archivez, a robust pirate radio dude who launched into a spastic, hilariously unhinged freestyle that seemed to last a half-hour, to the point where he was forced to rhyme Frisco with Crisco.Will any of these performances make the Scout CD? Perhaps not, but quiet excellence gets old fast -- Scout's awkward humanity and human drama make it both fascinating and slightly more authentic than your typical polished MC flow.
Here's some feedback from us at Wide Hive on the Rob's constructive criticism.
We were generally very pleased with the article.
(And it's pretty funny too!)
Here is the full text of the article, in case the link goes bad:
http://music.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2005-05-25/music/downinfront.html
Rocky Types with Rocky Flows
The open-mic jam session Scout provides a Portrait of Rappers as Young, Nervous Men.
By Rob Harvilla
http://music.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2005-05-25/music/downinfront.html
Published: Wednesday, May 25, 2005
As any municipal rock star will tell you, other than maybe "heroin," there are really only four words that local musicians should avoid like the clap, the plague, and the fretless bass combined: "Battle of the Bands." For permanently scarred survivors, even invoking the phrase conjures images of apathetic crowds slogging through eighteen-band-bill monstrosities. Okay, "Open-Mic Night" is a similarly toxic phrase -- lousy Dylan-aping amateurs trapped on a two-song conveyor belt of fear and self-loathing.
This is no way to make a living, or no way to become a rock star in the hope of avoiding having to actually make a living.
To Wide Hive's credit, the Bay Area label's new Scout experiment contains elements of both entities, while managing to not entirely invoke either. The weekly series is part-A&R audition project and part live-action MC jam session: A steady stream of rappers and beatboxers -- some recruited, some completely unknown and untested -- will flow into the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco every Wednesday night in May and June for fifteen-minute slots. Everything is recorded, and the best moments will be compiled onto an official Wide Hive Scout CD. One track also will appear on the label's upcoming solo album from D.U.S.T. -- the Zion-I rapper also serves as the series' official host MC.
Best of all, there's the house band Variable Unit, a fabulous live hip-hop ensemble (drums, bass, keys, turntables, etc.) with a bit more of a loungy soul-jazz edge than Oakland's own similarly arranged Crown City Rockers. Furthermore, VU possesses the uncanny ability to instantly match its tempo and temperament to fit any aspiring rapper's vibe, no matter how confident or clunky that vibe may be.
You see, some of these rappers are profoundly lousy.
"In those cases, those people are just gettin' their feet wet, kinda rookies, and occasionally you run into one who's got no flow," admits Wide Hive founder and VU producer Gregory Howe. "But I think you have to accept that. There's gonna be an occasional unqualified rapper, but I don't necessarily think we're gonna discriminate on that level. I want to see what anybody can do."
So it's a murky Wednesday night, and the Red Devil is overrun with Nervous Amateur Rapper Types. They pace around aimlessly. They scribble furiously in their notebooks, aided only by red-tinted candlelight (a very Ruby Room vibe in this joint). And they bob and weave Rocky-style on the stairs as the instrumental hip-hop duo Cubik and Origami inaugurates this hoedown with an hour of Enthusiastic Knob Twiddling and synchronized, hypnotic head-bobbing. Both these dudes will need chiropractors within five years.
And then, the Nervous Amateur Rapper Types stare intently at Variable Unit as the dudes take the stage, attempting some sort of lock-in telepathy. The live hip-hop band racket might look easy to you people, but excellence is most assuredly not a foregone conclusion -- the following night, the heavily hyped Prefuse 73 played the Great American and sounded like a guy trapped in an enormous bong violently pounding a drum kit. By contrast, VU, to steal a phrase from an associate of mine, is like listening to champagne. Most remarkable is defensive-tackle-sized drummer Thomas McCree, who rattles off absurdly nimble Here Comes the Cavalry fills with the ease and nonchalance of a man picking his teeth.
He'll pick his teeth with these rappers, if they're not careful. First up: San Leandro's own Enzyme, who starts rockin' the somewhat sparse crowd like a champ as he regales us with tales of old high school classmates who became strippers and meth addicts. He inquires as to how we motherfuckers are doing tonight, and we motherfuckers feel just fine. He trades verses with two slightly less dominant associates: One has a laid-back, reggae-fied flow that does the trick (VU keyboard guru Jacob Elijah Aginsky rises to the challenge with some breezy G-funk melody lines), but the other literally spits a rapid-fire, largely impenetrable block of verbiage. (Memo to aspiring rappers: slow down.)
Enzyme entreats us to wave our ass, flop our tits and, most important, smile. He then hops offstage and starts talking up his MySpace page. Next up is poet N8tive Sun, who instructs VU bassist Matt Montgomery to launch into the "For the Love of Money" bassline as he verbally denounces the IRS; Sun's next tune is explicitly "for the ladies," but as he moves from ex-girlfriend to next girlfriend you get the sense that's definitely "ladies," plural.
Goodword, an amicable-looking dude with a benevolent frathouse air to him, takes over and verbally berates his haters as his lady friend stands nearby and giggles appreciably. Not particularly compelling, but hardly catastrophic, either. The same can be said for the Retainer, a particularly nervous white kid carrying around a Scout T-shirt who flips his hoodie up 8 Mile style as he grabs the mic and commences discussing his inner-city past and prospective future (college doesn't seem right for him). This is not like listening to champagne -- the phrase vibrant community doesn't exactly roll off his tongue. He fires off one good line (kill Dick Cheney, and the Retainer'll give you props like a stagehand) and bails out pretty early, nearly forgetting his T-shirt as he makes a beeline for the door.
But who wants absolute confidence and total success at a hip-hop jam session anyway? Embrace this experiment's danger and uncertainty, which can only magnify its high points. Beatboxers are Scout's secret weapon -- Howe raves that the prior week featured the talented crew Felonious, which valiantly challenged McCree to a Live Drums vs. Beatboxing battle. This time out, Each of the highly talented Vowel Movement crew took on both McCree and VU turntable expert DJ Quest, and though he lost on both counts, he tackled the job with admirable enthusiasm. As did Tha Archivez, a robust pirate radio dude who launched into a spastic, hilariously unhinged freestyle that seemed to last a half-hour, to the point where he was forced to rhyme Frisco with Crisco.
Will any of these performances make the Scout CD? Perhaps not, but quiet excellence gets old fast -- Scout's awkward humanity and human drama make it both fascinating and slightly more authentic than your typical polished MC flow. Why watch neophyte musicians battle each other when you can watch them battle themselves?
Ctrl Z's MC Link-Letterz is performing at this week's SCOUT.
Ctrl Z = MC Link-Letterz + Moped (Beats)
Here's a nice track from the Ctrl Z music page:
Hone Your Craft (MP3)
I'm starting to post video and mp3 clips of my interviews with the SCOUT performers over on the Wide Hive Blog.
The first is of Each the Beatboxer. He's really incredible. I've got a clip of his performance around here somewhere...
Each will be performing with Cubik and Origami from 9-10 pm at this week's SCOUT, and he might even jump in a bit with Variable Unit during the night's main set.
Ed note: I'm really having a blast documenting hip hop subculture. I mean, I'm a part of it, I suppose, running a record label and all, but there's a part of me, perhaps the media researcher part of me, that will always feel more like an observer, and an archivist of, this very unique time in our history.
We could use some more people at these shows! Please come by.
Mention the blog and get free CDs :-)
This Wednesday At Wide Hive's SCOUT
WIDE HIVE RECORDS PRESENTS SCOUT
A LIVE PERFORMANCE SERIES FEATURING VARIABLE UNIT + SPECIAL GUEST MCs
This Wednesday, May 25th, 10 pm
The Red Devil Lounge
1695 Polk Street, San Francisco
Cubik and Origami Opening from 9-10pm Special guest
Each the Beatboxer:
Video and MP3 of Variable Unit and Felonius from May 11 Show
Variable Unit
w/Guest MCs:
reMo'Conscious
“Brace yourself” – URB Magazine (May 2005)
bace135
Dan Millar
Jesse Seaver
Sam Haves (w/emcee nicky P)
Randy White
Special Guests TBA
S C O U T
W h e n: Every Wednesday in May and June, 2005
W h e r e: Red Devil Lounge, 1695 Polk Street, San Francisco
T i m e: 9-10 pm Cubik and Origami -- Catch them for their last week opening! This week Each the Beatboxer will be performing on and off with them during their set.
10-12 pm SCOUT - Variable Unit w/ D.U.S.T. and this week's guest MCs.
The SCOUT May 18, 2005 Show featured: Enzyme, Goodword, n8tivesun, tha archivez, Retainer, The Astral Force, and Each the Beatboxer. See photos from the show at: http://www.widehive.com/scout-may18.html
The SCOUt May 11, 2005 Show featured: Celcius 7, Mic Blake, HoFlow, D. Wolf, Soulati, A kid named Keith, Infinite, Julian Martinez, Cold Showda, Oposit, The Genie - scratch guitar, and Proficy.
See photos from the show at http://www.widehive.com/scout-may11.html
The SCOUT May 4, 2005 Show Featured: D.U.S.T., Kiwi, Baba Israel, Each, The Nucc, Jaw Prophetic, Shania D., and Phoenix Normand. See photos from the show at http://www.widehive.com/scout-may4.html
See you there!
Come by and say hi -- tell 'em you saw the show on my blog and I'll give you a free
Mayhemystics OutBreaks CD.
Enzyme
n8tive Sun
Goodword
Goodword's MySpace Page
Retainer
tha archivez (formely kene-j)
Adam Schraft (The Astral Force)
Soulati (Felonius), Oposit and Cold Showda (The Greans)
I've uploaded photos and a video/mp3 of Variable Unit w/Felonius from the May 11 SCOUT show.
If you're in San Francisco this week, come by and say hi.
Felonius: D. Wolf, A Kid Called Keith, Soulati, Infinite.
Here's the line-up for Wednesday night.
Here are some pictures from the May 11 show.
MCs Announced for next SCOUT
This Wednesday, May 18th, 10 pm
The Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco
Enzyme
n8tive Sun
Goodword
Goodword's MySpace Page
Retainer
tha archivez (formely kene-j)
Adam Schraft
Special Guests TBA
What a show! I've got the photographic evidence and will be posting soon here.
I've got clips from last week too.
I think I've caught a cold, so I'll be home bound the next couple days and can hopefully get a lot of stuff up.
It would be great if you headed down to the Red Devil Lounge this Wednesday, May 11, for SCOUT. (And do please stop by and say "hi," if you do come by. I'm easy to find :-)
We've just announced the
line up of MCs for May 11th, and it's a goodin:
Celsius 7 and Spidey of Psychokinetics
Mic Blake and HoFlow
(Bopcity/Alphabet Soup)
All four MCs from
Felonius: One Love Hip Hop
D.Wolf, Soulati, A kid named Keith, and Infinite
All three MCs from The Greans (Oposit, Cold Showda, and King Solomon)
The Genie-scratch guitar
(thegeniemusic.com)
Proficy
Special Guests TBA
The
May 4 show was incredible. here are some photos.
I'll be putting up videos and mp3s right here in a bit...
I finally got a blog going for Wide Hive.
I'm going to use it to track developments and help spread the word about all the cool stuff going on over there.
Our blog lives at widehive.net.
Thanks in advance for spreading the word. You can subscribe to our
RSS Feed too.
So I hope that some of you will come down to the SCOUT show at the Red Devil Lounge this Wednesday night.
We have a nice batch of MCs and vocalists coming through that will be performing with
Variable Unit:
KIWI (nativeguns), groundworkmusic, Kiwi's MySpace Page)
Baba Israel (
Open Thought)
HoFlow
(bop city/alphabet soup)
Shania D. (http://www.shaniad.xbuild.com/)
Mic Blake (
bop city/alphabet soup)
Infinity (infinitythemc.com)
Each (eachbox.com)
Jaw Prophetic (Joshua Walters)
Phoenix Normand
Hope to see you there!
Hi guys. Sorry I've been away for so long, but the reason I've been so busy is that I've been planning and organizing SCOUT, a nine week series of concerts at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco that will be going on every Wednesday night in May and June.
Here's the deal: MCs can show up and freestyle, or bring prepared lyrics, and they get to perform with Variable Unit a band that Straight No Chaser called "The most talented band the States has to offer." We'll be recording the show every night (all nine of em) and the best tracks will be on a SCOUT CD that comes out in October.
We just landed international distribution this year, so SCOUT will be released in the UK, France, Spain, Japan, and many other countries when it's released in October.
VU's new album, Mayhemystics OutBreaks just came out today, and I'm particularly excited about it for purely selfish reasons. It's the first "real" record that I've been on -- singing background vocals on the track Black Gold, which is a song about the Iraqi war and the U.S. exploitation of Iraq for its oil. (Although based primarily on a frightening dream that Gregory Howe had one night, it was also inspired by this Bill Moyers program about the real "Iraqi Gold Rush.")
So that's the scoop guys. Email me at scout@widehive.com if you're interested.
And everybody should come to the SCOUT shows in May and June at the Red Devil Lounge.
Cubik and Origami will be opening the show every night. (More on them later.)
Thanks Pete!
Remember that it's "Sunset Salvage" now :-) since we got sued.
Here are some free MP3s if you want to check it out.
Village Voice Critic's Poll For 2004
Update 3/3/05 - Wow! Has a week gone by already! Tonight's the night guys. We'll be there from about 7pm on. Cubik and Origami are on from 8-11pm.
These guys are really cool. Their equipment consists of three turntables, a couple laptops, and even a bass and other instruments that they play live -- all blended together in their set.
Hope to see you there!
Hey gang! I'm having a party next Thursday night (not tonight, but next week - March 3, 2005).
Well actually,
Wide Hive Records is having a party, but I'm taking the opportunity to invite all my friends and readers since I haven't seen so many of you for so long.
Cubik and Origami is the latest offering from Wide Hive. Their first EP (vinyl only) is due out in May. Their second EP (vinyl only) and first CD will be out in June. Here's a sample that's not even up on the website yet.
We'll be there from the early evening on.
I've got about 50 test pressings available. Djs should Email me at lisa@widehive.com to let me know you're coming and would like a test pressing so I don't run out on ya.
See you there!
Our latest release at Wide Hive is Plate Fork Knife Spoon. It's basically the Crown City Rockers' rhythm section with Eric Krasno from Soulive on guitar and David Boyce from the Brown Fellinis on Sax.
Crown City emcee Raashan Ahmad guests on one track, Wonder.
(MP3 - 6 MB). It's my favorite track on the record.
Give it a listen...
Wonder is only available on the CD and 12" (not the LP. The 12" also contains an Exclusive beat, "Sabado."
Update 2/7/05 - found it! It's called
Callin On Sunday by Party Ben. thanks guys!
I heard a mash-up of Lyric Born's "Calling Out" and U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" the other day on San Francisco's Live 105.
I want to hear it again, but it doesn't seem to be anywhere. Can you guys help me out?
It's cool to hear Lyrics Born blowin up on Live 105. It reminds me to plug our
DJ Zeph 12" (and CD) that features Lyrics Born:
Hands Up. (MP3 - 5 MB)
You can also buy it on iTunes.
