To give a little perspective to the Coachella lineup this year, let's take a quick look at two other big music festivals: Langerado and Bonnaroo.
Scheduled for March 6-8 this year in Miami, the Langerado Music Festival announced today was "cancelled due to sluggish ticket sales." Co-Promoter Ethan Schwartz said: "Langerado has always put the fan experience first. Unfortunately, during these difficult economic times, and facing a first year in a new venue, it's become apparent that we cannot execute a production that lives up to the high standards of our past events. Putting Langerado on hold was the toughest decision we have ever had to make. We are very grateful for the support of the greater-Miami community and the music community during this difficult time."
Too bad. The festival had some nice lineups over the years. This year's lineup was scheduled to include: Death Cab for Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Thievery Corporation, Slightly Stoopid, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Dashboard Confessional, The Pogues, Matisyahu, Flogging Molly, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Broken Social Scene, Café Tacuba, Umphrey's McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Pepper, The Faint, Cold War Kids, Steel Pulse, Public Enemy, Gym Class Heroes, Tricky, Girl Talk, Chromeo, Mute Math, Bad Brains, Ozomatli, Against Me!, George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic, Tortoise, DeVotchKa, Black Kids, Grupo Fantasma, Holy F*ck, Budos Band, Tokyo Police Club, Lotus, The Virgins, The Gaslight Anthem, King Khan and the Shrines, Lucero, Murs, Ra Ra Riot, Tortured Soul, Rebelution, K'Naan, The Egg, Zac Brown Band, Tigercity, The Aggrolites, Cloud Cult, Spam Allstars, Rachel Goodrich, Blue King Brown, The Heavy Pets, Awesome New Republic, The Postmarks, Suenalo Sound System, Live Painting by LEBO, Modest Mouse, Gene Ween Band, Deerhunter, Alberta Cross.
That's a pretty nice lineup, but there's probably not the big name headliners to anchor the whole thing... Sound familiar?
On the other end of the spectrum lies Bonnaroo. The eighth annual four-day festival will be held June 11-14 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., 60 miles south of Nashville. The lineup is slightly more rootsy and mainstream than Coachella, but Bonnaroo pulled off what the Southern California desert could not: nail down some bonafied headliners.
Check out the list of bands playing Bonnaroo this year:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish (2 Shows), Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Snoop Dogg, Elvis Costello Solo, Erykah Badu, Paul Oakenfold, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gov't Mule, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, Merle Haggard, MGMT, moe., The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Galactic, The Del McCoury Band, of Montreal, Allen Toussaint, Coheed and Cambria, Booker T & the DBTs, David Grisman Quintet, Lucinda Williams, Animal Collective, Gomez, Neko Case, Down, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Robert Earl Keen, Citizen Cope, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, The Ting Tings, Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Kaki King, Grizzly Bear, King Sunny Adé, Okkervil River, St. Vincent, Zac Brown Band, Raphael Saadiq, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Crystal Castles, Tift Merritt, Brett Dennen, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, Toubab Krewe, People Under the Stairs, Alejandro Escovedo, Vieux Farka Touré, Elvis Perkins In Dearland, Cherryholmes, Yeasayer, Todd Snider, Chairlift, Portugal. The Man., The SteelDrivers, Midnite, The Knux, The Low Anthem, Delta Spirit, A.A. Bondy, The Lovell Sisters, Alberta Cross.
Pretty impressive. So you have one festival kicking some serious ass, booking the big names needed to sell tix, and then you have another festival closing its doors. The decision is yours Coachella: follow suit on the former (add a few more bands), or suffer the fate of the latter.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Monday, February 02, 2009
¡DEVOTCHKA!: 'Tuba dance party'
Arrange the uppercase letters anyway you want: Devotchka, or DeVotchKa ... but more like ¡DEVOTCHKA! The band and their excellent label ANTI- prefer DeVotchKa, so we'll defer to them (despite the extra key strokes).
The Denver-based quartet is coming to town for a show this Wednesday at the Belly Up, so I thought I'd get myself pumped by delving into their music a bit. I'll try to write a few words as a follow up to the live experience. They were one of my favorite bands at last year's Street Scene in downtown SD, so I'm excited to check them out in a smaller venue with a more focused eye and ear.
In the wake of the heralded "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack and signing with a major label, DeVotchKa released a shiny new album in 2008 "A Mad and Faithful Telling" with the help of Craig Schumacher at Wavelab Studios in Tuscon (see the cool video press release from ANTI- below). He's produced some of my favorite artists from recent years (Calexico, M. Ward, Richard Buckner and Neko Case to name a few), adding a desert-inspired, feverish shimmer to the record.
Sound
Sidestepping all the Eastern Euro-gypsy-mariachi-desert noir lingo, this is what I hear:
Sweeping strings sing and dual mariachi horns blare, like a wide angle sepia-toned photo of flat arid land as far as the eye can see...
... And then the sousaphone stomps into view on the tune "Twenty Six Temptations" like a hairy Hungarian strongman lifting a 300 dumbbell in one hand while grabbing the song by the scruff of the neck and tossing it to and fro with the other hand.
... And then the accordion sweeps you off you're feet in a song like "Strizzalo" with Parisian street busker flair.
But the real gem at the heart of DeVotchKa is the songwriting: sweet and sad and longing for a homeland that's anywhere but here. Flesh of my flesh/Soul of my soul/Come back home sings Nick Urata on "Dearly Departed" in his high-pitched plaintive voice.
One listen to Urata's voice and his crystal clear songwriting, and you're transported into his world of doe-eyed longing for the places you've been and a sense of wonder for the small things surrounding you now. DeVotchKa's music is about movement, not only the journey through the dizzying array of genres they inhabit, but the inherent feeling of missing places you've never seen.
Lineup
Nick Urata: Vocals, guitars, piano, Theremin, trumpet
Jeanie Schroder: acoustic bass, sousaphone, vocals
Shawn King: drums, percussion, trumpet
Tom Hagerman: violin, accordion, piano
Clips
Here's a live clip featuring the song "The Enemy Guns" from Twist & Shout, a record store in the band's hometown of Denver:
"Along the way" live at a SXSW showcase last year in a clip produced by their record label:
Another clip produced by the label, on the making of their last album:
The Denver-based quartet is coming to town for a show this Wednesday at the Belly Up, so I thought I'd get myself pumped by delving into their music a bit. I'll try to write a few words as a follow up to the live experience. They were one of my favorite bands at last year's Street Scene in downtown SD, so I'm excited to check them out in a smaller venue with a more focused eye and ear.
In the wake of the heralded "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack and signing with a major label, DeVotchKa released a shiny new album in 2008 "A Mad and Faithful Telling" with the help of Craig Schumacher at Wavelab Studios in Tuscon (see the cool video press release from ANTI- below). He's produced some of my favorite artists from recent years (Calexico, M. Ward, Richard Buckner and Neko Case to name a few), adding a desert-inspired, feverish shimmer to the record.
Sound
Sidestepping all the Eastern Euro-gypsy-mariachi-desert noir lingo, this is what I hear:
Sweeping strings sing and dual mariachi horns blare, like a wide angle sepia-toned photo of flat arid land as far as the eye can see...
... And then the sousaphone stomps into view on the tune "Twenty Six Temptations" like a hairy Hungarian strongman lifting a 300 dumbbell in one hand while grabbing the song by the scruff of the neck and tossing it to and fro with the other hand.
... And then the accordion sweeps you off you're feet in a song like "Strizzalo" with Parisian street busker flair.
But the real gem at the heart of DeVotchKa is the songwriting: sweet and sad and longing for a homeland that's anywhere but here. Flesh of my flesh/Soul of my soul/Come back home sings Nick Urata on "Dearly Departed" in his high-pitched plaintive voice.
One listen to Urata's voice and his crystal clear songwriting, and you're transported into his world of doe-eyed longing for the places you've been and a sense of wonder for the small things surrounding you now. DeVotchKa's music is about movement, not only the journey through the dizzying array of genres they inhabit, but the inherent feeling of missing places you've never seen.
Lineup
Nick Urata: Vocals, guitars, piano, Theremin, trumpet
Jeanie Schroder: acoustic bass, sousaphone, vocals
Shawn King: drums, percussion, trumpet
Tom Hagerman: violin, accordion, piano
Clips
Here's a live clip featuring the song "The Enemy Guns" from Twist & Shout, a record store in the band's hometown of Denver:
"Along the way" live at a SXSW showcase last year in a clip produced by their record label:
Another clip produced by the label, on the making of their last album:
Friday, January 30, 2009
Coachella Lite
Coachella just announced the official lineup. The first thing that stands out: Paul McCartney? Another out of touch artist tries to use Coachella as a comeback kickoff, a la Madonna a few years ago. I would rather he show up and play an acoustic set in a tent rather than try to claim headliner status.
Glad to see SD represented by the excellent Night Marchers. I'm intrigued by Patton & Rahzel, Glasvegas, Los Campesinos!, Okkervil River and what exactly is Shepard Fairey doing? But is there a bona fide, cant'-miss headliner? I don't think so. I'm hoping a bunch of bands swing through SD before or after, so we get to check the bands without the dust, heat and crowds (and high tix prices). And I get to sleep in my own bed. Wait, I'm starting to sound old and boring. I hope they add a Wilco/Pixies/Jane's Addiction/Smiths/Led Zepp-type of band, or maybe a couple so I want to go this amazing festival in the desert. Do the organizers really think The Killers can headline Saturday night?
Here it is:
FRIDAY APRIL 17: Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, The Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, The Presets, The Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, The Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, The Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19: The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.
Tickets for COACHELLA go on sale Friday, January 30 at 9:00 AM (PT) at all Ticketmaster locations. Three-day weekend passes are $269.00 +$3 charity + $9 facility fee ($1 charity/$3 facility fee per day) and single day tickets are $99.00 +$1 charity + $3 facility fee. The same layaway plan that Goldenvoice successfully implemented for STAGECOACH: California’s Country Music Festival will be available for weekend passes ONLY for this year’s COACHELLA. Festival goers now have the option to purchase 3-day festival tickets and onsite camping tickets on a payment plan.
Glad to see SD represented by the excellent Night Marchers. I'm intrigued by Patton & Rahzel, Glasvegas, Los Campesinos!, Okkervil River and what exactly is Shepard Fairey doing? But is there a bona fide, cant'-miss headliner? I don't think so. I'm hoping a bunch of bands swing through SD before or after, so we get to check the bands without the dust, heat and crowds (and high tix prices). And I get to sleep in my own bed. Wait, I'm starting to sound old and boring. I hope they add a Wilco/Pixies/Jane's Addiction/Smiths/Led Zepp-type of band, or maybe a couple so I want to go this amazing festival in the desert. Do the organizers really think The Killers can headline Saturday night?
Here it is:
FRIDAY APRIL 17: Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, The Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, The Presets, The Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, The Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, The Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19: The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.
Tickets for COACHELLA go on sale Friday, January 30 at 9:00 AM (PT) at all Ticketmaster locations. Three-day weekend passes are $269.00 +$3 charity + $9 facility fee ($1 charity/$3 facility fee per day) and single day tickets are $99.00 +$1 charity + $3 facility fee. The same layaway plan that Goldenvoice successfully implemented for STAGECOACH: California’s Country Music Festival will be available for weekend passes ONLY for this year’s COACHELLA. Festival goers now have the option to purchase 3-day festival tickets and onsite camping tickets on a payment plan.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Eyes on the horizon: SD spotlight shows
Here are a couple of San Diego shows I'm looking forward to in the near future:
Ozomatli with Chali 2na
Three nights at the Belly Up
Why it's important: Reuniting with MC Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) represents a much-needed return to this seminal SoCal rock en espanol band's roots.
Show: Jan. 22-24
Devotchka
Totally rocked Street Scene last year
Belly Up
Why it's important: Great songwriting embedded in Eastern European and mariachi desert noir bittersweet music
Show: Feb. 4
The Bird and the Bee
Inara George (Lowell George's daughter) sings sweet indie pop with Greg Kurstin (Geggy Tah)
The Casbah
Why it's important: One of the freshest voices in indie pop
Show: Feb. 5
Andrew Bird
My favorite singer songwriter from the past few years
SOMA
Why it's important: Multi-faceted classical musician skilled with violin, guitar, voice and his world-class whistling skills
Show: Feb. 15
Hank Williams III
A REAL maverick
4th&B
Why it's important: Master of all styles country from traditional twang to hellbilly, 'III' is touring on a new album
Show: Feb. 24
Ozomatli with Chali 2na
Three nights at the Belly Up
Why it's important: Reuniting with MC Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) represents a much-needed return to this seminal SoCal rock en espanol band's roots.
Show: Jan. 22-24
Devotchka
Totally rocked Street Scene last year
Belly Up
Why it's important: Great songwriting embedded in Eastern European and mariachi desert noir bittersweet music
Show: Feb. 4
The Bird and the Bee
Inara George (Lowell George's daughter) sings sweet indie pop with Greg Kurstin (Geggy Tah)
The Casbah
Why it's important: One of the freshest voices in indie pop
Show: Feb. 5
Andrew Bird
My favorite singer songwriter from the past few years
SOMA
Why it's important: Multi-faceted classical musician skilled with violin, guitar, voice and his world-class whistling skills
Show: Feb. 15
Hank Williams III
A REAL maverick
4th&B
Why it's important: Master of all styles country from traditional twang to hellbilly, 'III' is touring on a new album
Show: Feb. 24
Monday, January 19, 2009
M-A-C-E-O: Shake Everything You Got
Let's stay on the funk tip and hang with Mr. Maceo Parker for a while. This clip features "Shake Everything You Got," a Maceo staple recorded for a live DVD titled "My First Name is Maceo." This is a great clip with the original Horny Horns (James Brown's legendary horn section): Fred Wesley on trombone (giving an amazing solo that sounds like butter sliding off hot mashed potatoes), Pee Wee Ellis on tenor and Maceo on alto. I believe this was filmed in '94 (as proven by Maceo's abundance of hair and sideburns). Maceo's brand of funk is much more subtle than JB's, slowly evolving through long jams to create a feeling. I always crack a smile when I listen to live Maceo:
I was sniffing around the Interweb when I came across this bio of Maceo (which happens to quote yours truly):
http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003969/Maceo-Parker.html
Here's the quote:
Throughout the 1990s, Parker continued to tour, record, and collaborate. Parker told Chris Nixon of the San Diego Union-Tribune, "I still love the work, I love my job and I love the people. At the same time, it gets a few bills paid as well."
Here's the article I wrote:
http://chrisnix.blogspot.com/2004/01/father-of-funk-sax-and-ghostly-country.html
I'll try to post a few soundclips from the interview in the next day or two.
Lastly, a non-music related note. My wife and I are attempting our second half marathon next Sunday in Carlsbad. I think our training looked a little something like this:
I was sniffing around the Interweb when I came across this bio of Maceo (which happens to quote yours truly):
http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003969/Maceo-Parker.html
Here's the quote:
Throughout the 1990s, Parker continued to tour, record, and collaborate. Parker told Chris Nixon of the San Diego Union-Tribune, "I still love the work, I love my job and I love the people. At the same time, it gets a few bills paid as well."
Here's the article I wrote:
http://chrisnix.blogspot.com/2004/01/father-of-funk-sax-and-ghostly-country.html
I'll try to post a few soundclips from the interview in the next day or two.
Lastly, a non-music related note. My wife and I are attempting our second half marathon next Sunday in Carlsbad. I think our training looked a little something like this:
Friday, January 16, 2009
Video du jour: Godfather teaches you his moves
I love this kitschy little clip of James hamming it up for the camera.
Here's another JB clip I love:
That's JB at the Olympia in Paris circa 1971. Bootsy Collins on bass, Bobby Byrd on organ, and that's a ripping trombone solo by Fred Wesley. The only thing that could make this better is a hot Maceo solo (but he wasn't on this date). Awesome, awesome band at their peak.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Boom Boom's in town
Tony Hawk brings his Huckjam to the Q
By Chris Nixon
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
After six years of touring the states and spreading the gospel of skateboarding to all corners of the country, Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huckjam continues to showcase the lighthearted side of skating, BMX and FMX (motocross) in a noncompetitive environment.
But what is this Boom Boom Huckjam, and how did it get its unusual name?
Tour namesake Hawk explained while on the road somewhere in the Midwest, his 2-month-old baby girl, Kadence, sitting on his lap as he talked: “We use the term 'hucking' to refer to launching ourselves in the air. And it's a 'jam' as opposed to a competition. And I just threw the 'boom boom' in there for a little Japanese kitsch flavor.”
Basically, the Boom Boom Huckjam is a chance for Hawk to hang out and skate with a bunch of his professional skater friends, spreading the joys of hucking throughout the land. The tour is a culmination of Hawk's 26 years as a pro skater, giving credence to his status as the Tiger Woods of action sports.
Hawk started his journey as a skateboarding icon in the local community of Tierrasanta. His dad, Frank, was in the Navy, and the skinny kid found an outlet for his energy and high level of focus in skateboarding.
“It wasn't cliché California, because it wasn't like we got to go to the beach all the time,” recalled the 40-year-old Hawk. “But the fact that there was support for skateboarding back when it wasn't an acceptable activity for kids was pretty major. There were skate parks and my dad was supportive, if I had lived somewhere else, I wouldn't have that support.”
Since his days learning moves in the few local skate parks in the early '80s, Hawk has transformed himself into the face of action sports (skating, snowboarding, motocross and BMX). He has clothing lines and video games and all the accouterments of top-echelon sports celebrities.
But the accolades mean nothing without the cred, and Hawk has earned his street credibility through gold medals at the X-Games and achieving the previously unachievable in skating.
The legendary Dogtown team sponsored him at age 12. He was pro by age 14. He owned his first house at age 17. During his 17 years as a pro skateboarder, Hawk entered 103 pro contests. He won 73 of them, and placed second in 19. He landed the first 900 (2.5 revolutions) in competition during the 1999 X-Games, and has climbed over every hurdle offered by his sport.
Every athlete has to make decisions in their career about when to hang it up. In the afterglow of the 900 at the X-Games, Hawk decided to step away from competition.
But the drive and focus that propelled the skater to the top of his sport kept his creative juices flowing, and Hawk couldn't stay still for long. Hence, the Boom Boom Huckjam.
“Basically, I stopped competing after '99 and I really enjoyed performing still,” said Hawk. “It felt like the only time I got to perform at big venues was on the coattails of some other big events: a concert tour or a halftime show. It was never focused on what we did. I felt like we had come far enough and had the merit to headline our own tour. I just decided I wanted to make a tour exclusively designed around arenas, hire some of the best talent and make a show out of it as opposed to competing.”
Starting in '02 with a one-off show in Las Vegas, the tour has grown into a 30-date annual tour. This year, the Huckjam features skaters Hawk, Jesse Fritsch, Kevin Staab, Neal Hendrix and Sergie Ventura; BMX-ers John Parker, Dennis McCoy and Kevin Robinson; and FMX-ers Sean Nielsen, Greg Garrison and Drake McElroy. Jason Ellis will be your master of ceremonies. Also featured this year are the scratch skills of Mike Relm.
A self-professed DJ nerd who never really skated growing up, Relm has been impressed with Hawk and his work ethic.
“Skating isn't like the Ice Capades, where everything is razor sharp and if you fall it's a rarity,” said Relm. “People fall. It is what it is. They are constantly pushing themselves. And when you do that, you'll fall because you're trying things you've never done before. And he does that at the show.
“He can say: 'I'm Tony Hawk. I'm going to do a perfect run right now.' Bam-bam-bam, do a perfect run and all the kids love him. But he'll do his run and he'll nail most of the tricks. But every once in a while, he'll try stuff and he doesn't quite make it. But he'll keep doing it. He'll even do it while the credits are rolling, until he lands the trick. It's crazy. I think that's great for the kids to see.”
Tony Hawk's fond memories of Boom Boom
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
Cue the string quartet – Tony Hawk is going down memory lane. Actually, scratch that. Hawk isn't the melodramatic type. But he does have a few choice memories from the past six years of Huckjams.
“The tour keeps evolving, but definitely there are highlights for me,” said Hawk. “One highlight was our very first show, our sort of test show in Vegas in '02. We had Shawn White come out at the last minute as our special guest rookie. And you know how far he's come since then, so that was pretty cool.”
And here's another from the Hawk archive: “One of my favorite memories was from our first tour year in '03, we had Devo play at our San Diego show. Devo is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I'd never seen them live before. And they're playing our tour. It was like Spicoli throwing the birthday party for himself with Van Halen.”
– CHRIS NIXON
Mike Relm: Scratch DJing with eye candy
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
“I never skated,” admitted DJ Mike Relm, the resident audio and video technician for this year's Boom Boom Huckjam tour. “I was a hardcore DJ nerd. Once I got turntables, I've had blinders on since.”
Sporting his trademark horned-rimmed glasses along with the old school skinny tie and Men in Black/Reservoir Dogs black suit, the Bay Area DJ continues to redefine the boundaries of scratch DJing. With a playful party vibe, the mix master takes scratching to the next dimension: video.
Juggling pop culture clips from films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Office Space,” quirky obscurities like “Pee-wee's Playhouse” theme and old Lucha Libre videos, random kitsch from the likes of “Napoleon Dynamite” and forgotten '80s groups like The Outfield, Relm literally scratches video.
Here's how it goes down at a Mike Relm show: While the DJ scratches traditional turntables, DVD and CDs, a large screen shows synced images bouncing to and fro: everything from Bjork hopping about in her video “Human Behavior” and the “Peanuts” characters dancing to the sounds of Vince Guaraldi's classic soundtrack to mash-ups of Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song” and Jimi Hendrix's “Fire.”
His original style has led to gigs with Lyrics Born, Money Mark, Gift of Gab, Del tha Funkee Homosapien and most recently the Blue Man Group, and solo shows at high-profile music fests like Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Bonnaroo.
For Relm, the technique is secondary to keeping the party vibe to his shows: “I did parties for so long that it was always in what I did. But I always scratched. That's for sure what I do. I've seen guys that can scratch better than most of the top-notch DJs. But if you don't have the instinct of playing a party or a show, then it really doesn't sound like much. It comes out sounding technical.
“You have to apply (technique) to entertainment, which is what this is,” continued Relm, speaking from a recent Huckjam tour stop in St. Louis last week. “It's like in skating: You can do all the technical tricks, but if you can't present it as a show, then you're just doing it for yourself.”
Relm adds a live element to the show lacking in year's past, according to tour founder Tony Hawk.
“Once we lost live bands in our show, we basically just had a soundtrack every year,” Hawk said. “That's fine, but I really like the element where he could mix stuff on the fly and change up the show right in the middle of it.
“In the past (when someone took a fall during a run), the music just stopped and we had to wait and figure out what we're going to do next, and now Mike really keeps the flow going.”
Relm is also scheduled for a local solo show Oct. 23 at The Casbah, ($12, casbahmusic.com).
– CHRIS NIXON
By Chris Nixon
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
After six years of touring the states and spreading the gospel of skateboarding to all corners of the country, Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huckjam continues to showcase the lighthearted side of skating, BMX and FMX (motocross) in a noncompetitive environment.
But what is this Boom Boom Huckjam, and how did it get its unusual name?
Tour namesake Hawk explained while on the road somewhere in the Midwest, his 2-month-old baby girl, Kadence, sitting on his lap as he talked: “We use the term 'hucking' to refer to launching ourselves in the air. And it's a 'jam' as opposed to a competition. And I just threw the 'boom boom' in there for a little Japanese kitsch flavor.”
Basically, the Boom Boom Huckjam is a chance for Hawk to hang out and skate with a bunch of his professional skater friends, spreading the joys of hucking throughout the land. The tour is a culmination of Hawk's 26 years as a pro skater, giving credence to his status as the Tiger Woods of action sports.
Hawk started his journey as a skateboarding icon in the local community of Tierrasanta. His dad, Frank, was in the Navy, and the skinny kid found an outlet for his energy and high level of focus in skateboarding.
“It wasn't cliché California, because it wasn't like we got to go to the beach all the time,” recalled the 40-year-old Hawk. “But the fact that there was support for skateboarding back when it wasn't an acceptable activity for kids was pretty major. There were skate parks and my dad was supportive, if I had lived somewhere else, I wouldn't have that support.”
Since his days learning moves in the few local skate parks in the early '80s, Hawk has transformed himself into the face of action sports (skating, snowboarding, motocross and BMX). He has clothing lines and video games and all the accouterments of top-echelon sports celebrities.
But the accolades mean nothing without the cred, and Hawk has earned his street credibility through gold medals at the X-Games and achieving the previously unachievable in skating.
DETAILS
Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huckjam
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: AEG Live Concerts on the Green, Qualcomm Stadium, 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley
Tickets: $24.75-$39
Phone: (619) 641-3100
Online: ticketmaster.com
The legendary Dogtown team sponsored him at age 12. He was pro by age 14. He owned his first house at age 17. During his 17 years as a pro skateboarder, Hawk entered 103 pro contests. He won 73 of them, and placed second in 19. He landed the first 900 (2.5 revolutions) in competition during the 1999 X-Games, and has climbed over every hurdle offered by his sport.
Every athlete has to make decisions in their career about when to hang it up. In the afterglow of the 900 at the X-Games, Hawk decided to step away from competition.
But the drive and focus that propelled the skater to the top of his sport kept his creative juices flowing, and Hawk couldn't stay still for long. Hence, the Boom Boom Huckjam.
“Basically, I stopped competing after '99 and I really enjoyed performing still,” said Hawk. “It felt like the only time I got to perform at big venues was on the coattails of some other big events: a concert tour or a halftime show. It was never focused on what we did. I felt like we had come far enough and had the merit to headline our own tour. I just decided I wanted to make a tour exclusively designed around arenas, hire some of the best talent and make a show out of it as opposed to competing.”
Starting in '02 with a one-off show in Las Vegas, the tour has grown into a 30-date annual tour. This year, the Huckjam features skaters Hawk, Jesse Fritsch, Kevin Staab, Neal Hendrix and Sergie Ventura; BMX-ers John Parker, Dennis McCoy and Kevin Robinson; and FMX-ers Sean Nielsen, Greg Garrison and Drake McElroy. Jason Ellis will be your master of ceremonies. Also featured this year are the scratch skills of Mike Relm.
A self-professed DJ nerd who never really skated growing up, Relm has been impressed with Hawk and his work ethic.
“Skating isn't like the Ice Capades, where everything is razor sharp and if you fall it's a rarity,” said Relm. “People fall. It is what it is. They are constantly pushing themselves. And when you do that, you'll fall because you're trying things you've never done before. And he does that at the show.
“He can say: 'I'm Tony Hawk. I'm going to do a perfect run right now.' Bam-bam-bam, do a perfect run and all the kids love him. But he'll do his run and he'll nail most of the tricks. But every once in a while, he'll try stuff and he doesn't quite make it. But he'll keep doing it. He'll even do it while the credits are rolling, until he lands the trick. It's crazy. I think that's great for the kids to see.”
Tony Hawk's fond memories of Boom Boom
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
Cue the string quartet – Tony Hawk is going down memory lane. Actually, scratch that. Hawk isn't the melodramatic type. But he does have a few choice memories from the past six years of Huckjams.
“The tour keeps evolving, but definitely there are highlights for me,” said Hawk. “One highlight was our very first show, our sort of test show in Vegas in '02. We had Shawn White come out at the last minute as our special guest rookie. And you know how far he's come since then, so that was pretty cool.”
And here's another from the Hawk archive: “One of my favorite memories was from our first tour year in '03, we had Devo play at our San Diego show. Devo is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I'd never seen them live before. And they're playing our tour. It was like Spicoli throwing the birthday party for himself with Van Halen.”
– CHRIS NIXON
Mike Relm: Scratch DJing with eye candy
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 21, 2008
“I never skated,” admitted DJ Mike Relm, the resident audio and video technician for this year's Boom Boom Huckjam tour. “I was a hardcore DJ nerd. Once I got turntables, I've had blinders on since.”
Sporting his trademark horned-rimmed glasses along with the old school skinny tie and Men in Black/Reservoir Dogs black suit, the Bay Area DJ continues to redefine the boundaries of scratch DJing. With a playful party vibe, the mix master takes scratching to the next dimension: video.
Juggling pop culture clips from films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Office Space,” quirky obscurities like “Pee-wee's Playhouse” theme and old Lucha Libre videos, random kitsch from the likes of “Napoleon Dynamite” and forgotten '80s groups like The Outfield, Relm literally scratches video.
Here's how it goes down at a Mike Relm show: While the DJ scratches traditional turntables, DVD and CDs, a large screen shows synced images bouncing to and fro: everything from Bjork hopping about in her video “Human Behavior” and the “Peanuts” characters dancing to the sounds of Vince Guaraldi's classic soundtrack to mash-ups of Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song” and Jimi Hendrix's “Fire.”
His original style has led to gigs with Lyrics Born, Money Mark, Gift of Gab, Del tha Funkee Homosapien and most recently the Blue Man Group, and solo shows at high-profile music fests like Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Bonnaroo.
For Relm, the technique is secondary to keeping the party vibe to his shows: “I did parties for so long that it was always in what I did. But I always scratched. That's for sure what I do. I've seen guys that can scratch better than most of the top-notch DJs. But if you don't have the instinct of playing a party or a show, then it really doesn't sound like much. It comes out sounding technical.
“You have to apply (technique) to entertainment, which is what this is,” continued Relm, speaking from a recent Huckjam tour stop in St. Louis last week. “It's like in skating: You can do all the technical tricks, but if you can't present it as a show, then you're just doing it for yourself.”
Relm adds a live element to the show lacking in year's past, according to tour founder Tony Hawk.
“Once we lost live bands in our show, we basically just had a soundtrack every year,” Hawk said. “That's fine, but I really like the element where he could mix stuff on the fly and change up the show right in the middle of it.
“In the past (when someone took a fall during a run), the music just stopped and we had to wait and figure out what we're going to do next, and now Mike really keeps the flow going.”
Relm is also scheduled for a local solo show Oct. 23 at The Casbah, ($12, casbahmusic.com).
– CHRIS NIXON
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
A pair of 'kindred spirits'
Twist of fate linked Marc Brueland, Tuomas Holopainen – and created a life-affirming friendship
By Chris Nixon
May 22, 2008
“Higher than hope my cure lies,” reads the gravestone of Marc Christopher Brueland, a San Diego DJ, artist and animator who passed away in 2003 after battling liver cancer for seven and a half years.
In a strange twist of fate, three disparate elements have combined to create a powerful story: a British cartoon from the 1980s, a Finnish metal band and Brueland's battle with cancer. The story has inspired a song, numerous YouTube video tributes and music fans around the world.
Brueland grew up in Tierrasanta, a kid fascinated with both music and art. He started his own comic book company, Invincible Studios, and later worked as an animator for The Lightspan Partnership, a local computer animation studio.
Brueland also DJed every Saturday night at Club Sabbatt, a goth/industrial club in Hillcrest. At age 22, he was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer, fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
During his formative years, Brueland fell in love with a 26-minute, animated piece called “The Snowman.” First shown on the BBC, the cartoon includes the haunting song “Walking in the Air,” which reached No. 5 on the United Kingdom pop charts in 1985.
Halfway around the world from San Diego, the young Tuomas Holopainen watched the animated film at his home in Finland. In 1996, the musician formed Nightwish, a Finnish prog-metal band. On its 1998 album “Oceanborn,” the group covered “Walking in the Air” from “The Snowman.”
Brueland discovered the song on a compilation he found at Tower Records in San Diego. Marc's mother, Georgene, remembers the day Marc brought home the compilation: “The music brought us together as a family once again as it did in Marc's childhood, especially at this difficult time in Marc's life.”
Says Marc's sister Erin: “It was one of those moments that just changes you forever. It was just fate or chance that he found the song on a compilation.”
Over the next four years, Holopainen would get to know the Brueland family through correspondence and visiting San Diego. Each time the musician visited San Diego, Marc was too ill to meet him. Terminally ill with cancer, Marc decided he finally needed to meet Tuomas.
So the Brueland family traveled to Atlanta to see Nightwish perform “Walking in the Air” onstage at the ProgPower festival.
“When he flew to Atlanta, he had metastasis all over his abdomen and all over his lungs,” remembered Georgene. “He was in severe pain. But he wanted to do this for Tuomas and for the band. I'll never forget the flight there. It was terrifying for me as a mom to watch, because his body was wracked with this disease. But that's the kind of person Marc was.”
In front of thousands of fans at the ProgPower V festival, Nightwish performed with the Brueland family watching from the wings. Before launching into the song, Tuomas dedicated “Walking in the Air” to Marc. Even in his weakened condition, Brueland was able to get out of his wheelchair and walk to the stage to hug Tuomas.
A month later, as Marc Brueland lay on his deathbed at the San Diego Hospice, Erin and Georgene called Tuomas so he could say goodbye to Marc. Georgene thought to call the Finnish musician: “Tuomas was on the phone with Marc a few minutes before he died.”
Erin added; “We called Tuomas from the hospice just so he could say goodbye. Marc couldn't talk. He was wheezing from all the fluid in his lungs. But Tuomas got to hear him breathe.”
Touched by Marc's life, Holopainen wrote the song “Higher Than Hope” as a tribute. The song includes an excerpt of Marc's voice recorded in an interview with local television reporter Sandra Moss for News 8 KFMB. Brueland's gravestone inscription is the chorus in “Higher Than Hope.”
In the years following Marc's death, the Brueland and Holopainen families have become more intertwined. The friendship between the families has helped Erin and Georgene cope with the passing of Marc's father, Eric, also from cancer, in 2007. Tuomas' parents Kitia and Pentti were in San Diego when Eric passed away.
“To this day, Tuomas has joined our family,” Georgene said. “I lost my husband now. So there's nobody left but Erin and I. We have an adopted family now in another country. And the kinship of these metal fans is so loving.”
Nightwish will be playing its first show in San Diego tomorrow at the House of Blues downtown, and it's going to be a special night for the friends and family of Marc Brueland.
“They're two kindred spirits that met just the one time, but their story has really touched everybody who hears it,” said Erin Brueland. “The fans of Nightwish still remember him. They still talk about him on the forum of the Web site. When we go to gigs all over the country, people know who we are and they remember Marc.
“That's why it's a very special day when they finally play his hometown. We've been waiting for this forever. It's really a celebration of Marc and the band.”
Georgene Brueland said it best: “This is a beautiful thing that came out of a horrible tragedy.”
MARC WAS ALWAYS A HEAVY METAL FAN
Drawing inspiration from fantasy novels like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Dragonlance series, Holopainen creates fantastic imagery in his lyrics.
The band is currently touring behind its 2007 release, “Dark Passion Play.” Tomorrow's show at the House of Blues will be the band's first appearance in San Diego.
Erin Brueland on Nightwish's musical appeal to her family: “Marc (her brother) was always a heavy metal fan. And this European style of symphonic metal, with the orchestra and the female vocals, was somewhat new to us at the time. We got the best introduction to it with Nightwish.”
The Nightwish lineup includes Holopainen (keyboards, vocals), Anette Olzon (vocals), Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen (guitar), Marko “Marco” Hietala (bass, vocals) and Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen (drums).
Learn more about Marc Brueland at invinciblestudios.com and see more photos of Brueland and Nightwish at invinciblestudios.com/marcphotos.html.
By Chris Nixon
May 22, 2008
“Higher than hope my cure lies,” reads the gravestone of Marc Christopher Brueland, a San Diego DJ, artist and animator who passed away in 2003 after battling liver cancer for seven and a half years.
In a strange twist of fate, three disparate elements have combined to create a powerful story: a British cartoon from the 1980s, a Finnish metal band and Brueland's battle with cancer. The story has inspired a song, numerous YouTube video tributes and music fans around the world.
Brueland grew up in Tierrasanta, a kid fascinated with both music and art. He started his own comic book company, Invincible Studios, and later worked as an animator for The Lightspan Partnership, a local computer animation studio.
Brueland also DJed every Saturday night at Club Sabbatt, a goth/industrial club in Hillcrest. At age 22, he was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer, fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
DETAILS
Nightwish
When: Tomorrow, 9 p.m.
Where: House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., downtown
Tickets: $25-$60
Phone: (619) 299-2583
Online: hob.com
During his formative years, Brueland fell in love with a 26-minute, animated piece called “The Snowman.” First shown on the BBC, the cartoon includes the haunting song “Walking in the Air,” which reached No. 5 on the United Kingdom pop charts in 1985.
Halfway around the world from San Diego, the young Tuomas Holopainen watched the animated film at his home in Finland. In 1996, the musician formed Nightwish, a Finnish prog-metal band. On its 1998 album “Oceanborn,” the group covered “Walking in the Air” from “The Snowman.”
Brueland discovered the song on a compilation he found at Tower Records in San Diego. Marc's mother, Georgene, remembers the day Marc brought home the compilation: “The music brought us together as a family once again as it did in Marc's childhood, especially at this difficult time in Marc's life.”
Says Marc's sister Erin: “It was one of those moments that just changes you forever. It was just fate or chance that he found the song on a compilation.”
Over the next four years, Holopainen would get to know the Brueland family through correspondence and visiting San Diego. Each time the musician visited San Diego, Marc was too ill to meet him. Terminally ill with cancer, Marc decided he finally needed to meet Tuomas.
So the Brueland family traveled to Atlanta to see Nightwish perform “Walking in the Air” onstage at the ProgPower festival.
“When he flew to Atlanta, he had metastasis all over his abdomen and all over his lungs,” remembered Georgene. “He was in severe pain. But he wanted to do this for Tuomas and for the band. I'll never forget the flight there. It was terrifying for me as a mom to watch, because his body was wracked with this disease. But that's the kind of person Marc was.”
In front of thousands of fans at the ProgPower V festival, Nightwish performed with the Brueland family watching from the wings. Before launching into the song, Tuomas dedicated “Walking in the Air” to Marc. Even in his weakened condition, Brueland was able to get out of his wheelchair and walk to the stage to hug Tuomas.
A month later, as Marc Brueland lay on his deathbed at the San Diego Hospice, Erin and Georgene called Tuomas so he could say goodbye to Marc. Georgene thought to call the Finnish musician: “Tuomas was on the phone with Marc a few minutes before he died.”
Erin added; “We called Tuomas from the hospice just so he could say goodbye. Marc couldn't talk. He was wheezing from all the fluid in his lungs. But Tuomas got to hear him breathe.”
Touched by Marc's life, Holopainen wrote the song “Higher Than Hope” as a tribute. The song includes an excerpt of Marc's voice recorded in an interview with local television reporter Sandra Moss for News 8 KFMB. Brueland's gravestone inscription is the chorus in “Higher Than Hope.”
In the years following Marc's death, the Brueland and Holopainen families have become more intertwined. The friendship between the families has helped Erin and Georgene cope with the passing of Marc's father, Eric, also from cancer, in 2007. Tuomas' parents Kitia and Pentti were in San Diego when Eric passed away.
“To this day, Tuomas has joined our family,” Georgene said. “I lost my husband now. So there's nobody left but Erin and I. We have an adopted family now in another country. And the kinship of these metal fans is so loving.”
Nightwish will be playing its first show in San Diego tomorrow at the House of Blues downtown, and it's going to be a special night for the friends and family of Marc Brueland.
“They're two kindred spirits that met just the one time, but their story has really touched everybody who hears it,” said Erin Brueland. “The fans of Nightwish still remember him. They still talk about him on the forum of the Web site. When we go to gigs all over the country, people know who we are and they remember Marc.
“That's why it's a very special day when they finally play his hometown. We've been waiting for this forever. It's really a celebration of Marc and the band.”
Georgene Brueland said it best: “This is a beautiful thing that came out of a horrible tragedy.”
MARC WAS ALWAYS A HEAVY METAL FAN
Drawing inspiration from fantasy novels like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Dragonlance series, Holopainen creates fantastic imagery in his lyrics.
The band is currently touring behind its 2007 release, “Dark Passion Play.” Tomorrow's show at the House of Blues will be the band's first appearance in San Diego.
Erin Brueland on Nightwish's musical appeal to her family: “Marc (her brother) was always a heavy metal fan. And this European style of symphonic metal, with the orchestra and the female vocals, was somewhat new to us at the time. We got the best introduction to it with Nightwish.”
The Nightwish lineup includes Holopainen (keyboards, vocals), Anette Olzon (vocals), Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen (guitar), Marko “Marco” Hietala (bass, vocals) and Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen (drums).
Learn more about Marc Brueland at invinciblestudios.com and see more photos of Brueland and Nightwish at invinciblestudios.com/marcphotos.html.
Globe-trotting journey
Ska gets around, and Warped Tour's Aggrolites have followed its path
By Chris Nixon
August 14, 2008
The story of ska is a journey spanning continents, beginning with a percussive extension of American rhythm and blues that developed into a uniquely Jamaican style of music under the Caribbean sun.
Mixing a punk ethos with reggae, The Aggrolites, a five-piece ska group, lands at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre as part of the Vans Warped Tour. And the story of ska – with its circuitous passage from one island in the Caribbean to another island in the North Atlantic and back to America – is also the story of The Aggrolites, a Los Angeles-based reggae and ska band whose sound encompasses the genre's history. The band is one of the headliners at this year's Warped Tour, which lands at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Chula Vista tomorrow.
People tend to divide ska's history into waves.
The first wave came out of Jamaica in the '50s (Prince Buster, The Skatalites), influencing later island sounds like reggae and rocksteady. The second wave hit the shores of the U.K. in the late '60s and '70s, with the advent of 2 Tone Records and bands like The Specials and Madness.
The third wave spilled onto the beaches of the U.S. in the '90s (Hepcat, Bim Skala Bim, Mighty Mighty Bosstones), giving birth to pop ska/reggae bands like Sublime and No Doubt.
Meanwhile, a young Jesse Wagner delved through his father's record collection while collecting chops from his musician uncle.
“My uncle was into soul music, and played in soul bands in Cleveland, Ohio,” said Wanger, the Aggrolites' singer and guitarist. “So I was raised on my dad's Motown and Tower of Power records.”
Immersing himself in the American soul music catalog, Wagner's love of brassy horn sections led him to ska, and that led to reggae. That musical heritage led him to Jamaica, which eventually steered him to the U.K.
“I was listening a lot to Madness and The Specials,” recalled Wagner, speaking via cell phone from a tour bus headed toward a Warped Tour stop in Canada. “There was also a local band called The Skeletones and another band called Hepcat, and I started getting into more old school ska from those bands. A lot of punk bands, too, turned me on to reggae.”
And reggae brought Wagner to his current situation, leading the five-piece traditional reggae/ska group. Formed in 2002, the Los Angeles-based Aggrolites draws from the soul of ska and reggae mixed with the pure adrenaline of punk, a style they call “dirty reggae.”
Wagner and his band have released three albums, 2003's “Dirty Reggae,” the 2006 self-titled major label debut and 2007's “Reggae Hit L.A.,” while also serving as the backing bands for Jamaican performers like Phyllis Dillon and Prince Buster. The Aggrolites also collaborated with Rancid's Tim Armstrong on his 2007 solo debut “A Poet's Life.”
Ska icon Prince Buster once said after playing with The Aggrolites: “It reminded me of the old days. I can't believe that this young band from America could play my music just as good as the day it was recorded.”
Along with the link between punk, ska and reggae, The Aggrolites' inclusion in the Warped Tour this year represents founder Kevin Lyman's vision of diversity for the festival: Maybe some kid will check out The Aggrolites and get turned onto The Specials or Prince Buster, he reasoned.
“I think Kevin Lyman wanted us on there with a handful of other bands to keep the spirit of the Warped Tour alive,” said Wagner. “It's always been about diversity, about coming to a concert with dozens of bands and experiencing something you've never heard or opening your ears.
“You could go see a punk band, then move over and see a hardcore band and see a reggae band after that. It's about opening up your mind and exploring other genres of music.”
SKINHEAD SKA: ISLAND MUSIC BECOMES SOCIAL COMMENTARY
So how did a reggae/ska band playing traditional music from a tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean find its way onto the Warped Tour bill?
The annual traveling festival may be known as summer camp for punk bands, but Warped founder/promoter Kevin Lyman is known to step outside the tightknit punk family for his bands and artists. From hardcore to hip-hop to even edgy pop, the Warped Tour sports a diverse amalgam of sounds every year.
The Aggrolites' appearance this year represents the long history of reggae, ska and punk living and how those musics have thrived off each other's energy.
Aggrolites lead singer Jesse Wagner pinpoints a time almost 40 years ago and many thousands of miles away as the moment when reggae and punk became intertwined.
“Reggae came to the U.K. in 1969,” he said. “It became their Motown, what we would now consider oldies. In England, reggae was everyday music.
“Reggae was pretty much working-class music. That's why you had skinheads listening to reggae music in the '60s. It had nothing to do with racism. It was a working-class thing. There were Jamaican skinheads working in factories, just as there were the young English kids working in factories.
“That's how reggae music became social commentary, rebel music. Punk rockers heard what these Jamaicans were saying, and got into it. And it became the working-class music of the U.K.”
– CHRIS NIXON
BOOKED FOR WARPED TOUR
Bands playing the 14th annual Warped Tour tomorrow at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista:
3oh!3, Against Me!, The Aggrolites, Alesana, All Time Low, Anberlin, Angels and Airwaves, Beat Union, Bring Me the Horizon, Broadway Calls, Charlotte Sometimes, Classic Crime, Cobra Starship, Confide, Danger Radio, Devil Wears Prada, Dr. Manhattan, Evergreen Terrace, Everytime I Die, Family Force 5, Forever the Sickest Kids, Four Year Strong, From First to Last, GBH, Greeley Estates, Gym Class Heroes, Horrorpops, Katy Perry, Ludo, Mayday Parade, MC Chris, Motion City Soundtrack, Norma Jean, Pierce the Veil, Protest the Hero, Reel Big Fish, Relient K, Rise Against, Say Anything, Set Your Goals, Shwayze, Sky Eats Airplane, Story of the Year, Street Dogs, The Academy Is..., The Audition, The Briggs, The Bronx, The Color Fred, The Fabulous Rudies, The Human Abstract, The Lordz, The Maine, The Saint Alvia Cartel, The Vandals, We the Kings
By Chris Nixon
August 14, 2008
The story of ska is a journey spanning continents, beginning with a percussive extension of American rhythm and blues that developed into a uniquely Jamaican style of music under the Caribbean sun.
Mixing a punk ethos with reggae, The Aggrolites, a five-piece ska group, lands at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre as part of the Vans Warped Tour. And the story of ska – with its circuitous passage from one island in the Caribbean to another island in the North Atlantic and back to America – is also the story of The Aggrolites, a Los Angeles-based reggae and ska band whose sound encompasses the genre's history. The band is one of the headliners at this year's Warped Tour, which lands at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Chula Vista tomorrow.
People tend to divide ska's history into waves.
The first wave came out of Jamaica in the '50s (Prince Buster, The Skatalites), influencing later island sounds like reggae and rocksteady. The second wave hit the shores of the U.K. in the late '60s and '70s, with the advent of 2 Tone Records and bands like The Specials and Madness.
The third wave spilled onto the beaches of the U.S. in the '90s (Hepcat, Bim Skala Bim, Mighty Mighty Bosstones), giving birth to pop ska/reggae bands like Sublime and No Doubt.
DETAILS
14th annual Vans Warped Tour, with The Aggrolites, Angels & Airwaves and Rise Against
When: Today, 11 a.m.
Where: Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, 2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista
Tickets: $24
Phone: (619) 671-3600
Online: warpedtour.com
Meanwhile, a young Jesse Wagner delved through his father's record collection while collecting chops from his musician uncle.
“My uncle was into soul music, and played in soul bands in Cleveland, Ohio,” said Wanger, the Aggrolites' singer and guitarist. “So I was raised on my dad's Motown and Tower of Power records.”
Immersing himself in the American soul music catalog, Wagner's love of brassy horn sections led him to ska, and that led to reggae. That musical heritage led him to Jamaica, which eventually steered him to the U.K.
“I was listening a lot to Madness and The Specials,” recalled Wagner, speaking via cell phone from a tour bus headed toward a Warped Tour stop in Canada. “There was also a local band called The Skeletones and another band called Hepcat, and I started getting into more old school ska from those bands. A lot of punk bands, too, turned me on to reggae.”
THE AGGROLITES
Jesse Wagner – vocals, lead guitar
Brian Dixon – rhythm guitar
Roger Rivas – organ
Korey Horn – drums
Jeff Roffredo – bass
And reggae brought Wagner to his current situation, leading the five-piece traditional reggae/ska group. Formed in 2002, the Los Angeles-based Aggrolites draws from the soul of ska and reggae mixed with the pure adrenaline of punk, a style they call “dirty reggae.”
Wagner and his band have released three albums, 2003's “Dirty Reggae,” the 2006 self-titled major label debut and 2007's “Reggae Hit L.A.,” while also serving as the backing bands for Jamaican performers like Phyllis Dillon and Prince Buster. The Aggrolites also collaborated with Rancid's Tim Armstrong on his 2007 solo debut “A Poet's Life.”
Ska icon Prince Buster once said after playing with The Aggrolites: “It reminded me of the old days. I can't believe that this young band from America could play my music just as good as the day it was recorded.”
Along with the link between punk, ska and reggae, The Aggrolites' inclusion in the Warped Tour this year represents founder Kevin Lyman's vision of diversity for the festival: Maybe some kid will check out The Aggrolites and get turned onto The Specials or Prince Buster, he reasoned.
“I think Kevin Lyman wanted us on there with a handful of other bands to keep the spirit of the Warped Tour alive,” said Wagner. “It's always been about diversity, about coming to a concert with dozens of bands and experiencing something you've never heard or opening your ears.
“You could go see a punk band, then move over and see a hardcore band and see a reggae band after that. It's about opening up your mind and exploring other genres of music.”
SKINHEAD SKA: ISLAND MUSIC BECOMES SOCIAL COMMENTARY
So how did a reggae/ska band playing traditional music from a tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean find its way onto the Warped Tour bill?
The annual traveling festival may be known as summer camp for punk bands, but Warped founder/promoter Kevin Lyman is known to step outside the tightknit punk family for his bands and artists. From hardcore to hip-hop to even edgy pop, the Warped Tour sports a diverse amalgam of sounds every year.
The Aggrolites' appearance this year represents the long history of reggae, ska and punk living and how those musics have thrived off each other's energy.
Aggrolites lead singer Jesse Wagner pinpoints a time almost 40 years ago and many thousands of miles away as the moment when reggae and punk became intertwined.
“Reggae came to the U.K. in 1969,” he said. “It became their Motown, what we would now consider oldies. In England, reggae was everyday music.
“Reggae was pretty much working-class music. That's why you had skinheads listening to reggae music in the '60s. It had nothing to do with racism. It was a working-class thing. There were Jamaican skinheads working in factories, just as there were the young English kids working in factories.
“That's how reggae music became social commentary, rebel music. Punk rockers heard what these Jamaicans were saying, and got into it. And it became the working-class music of the U.K.”
– CHRIS NIXON
BOOKED FOR WARPED TOUR
Bands playing the 14th annual Warped Tour tomorrow at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista:
3oh!3, Against Me!, The Aggrolites, Alesana, All Time Low, Anberlin, Angels and Airwaves, Beat Union, Bring Me the Horizon, Broadway Calls, Charlotte Sometimes, Classic Crime, Cobra Starship, Confide, Danger Radio, Devil Wears Prada, Dr. Manhattan, Evergreen Terrace, Everytime I Die, Family Force 5, Forever the Sickest Kids, Four Year Strong, From First to Last, GBH, Greeley Estates, Gym Class Heroes, Horrorpops, Katy Perry, Ludo, Mayday Parade, MC Chris, Motion City Soundtrack, Norma Jean, Pierce the Veil, Protest the Hero, Reel Big Fish, Relient K, Rise Against, Say Anything, Set Your Goals, Shwayze, Sky Eats Airplane, Story of the Year, Street Dogs, The Academy Is..., The Audition, The Briggs, The Bronx, The Color Fred, The Fabulous Rudies, The Human Abstract, The Lordz, The Maine, The Saint Alvia Cartel, The Vandals, We the Kings
Only danger for Danger Mouse is overwork
By Chris Nixon
July 24, 2008
Danger Mouse, aka Brian Joseph Burton, is in the midst of a personal dilemma. After working his way into the top echelon of music producers, the 30-year-old artist now has the resources to take time off and relax, but chances to work with Beck, The Black Keys and Damon Albarn don't come around often.
“I have more opportunities to do more stuff than I ever have,” said Burton on a recent tour stop in Forence, Italy, with his current project, Gnarls Barkley. “So, I've been taking advantage of those opportunities instead of taking time off. I just can't get myself to stop.”
Since he gained notoriety for his seminal 2004 mash-up disc “The Grey Album,” (instrumental tracks from The Beatles' “White Album” with rhymes and vocals from Jay-Z's “Black Album”), Burton produced 2005's “Demon Days” for Gorillaz (nominated for Grammy as best producer of the year), The Rapture's 2006 disc “Pieces of the People We Love” and Sparklehorse's “Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain” in 2006, not to mention a fruitful collaboration between Danger Mouse and rapper MF Doom as DANGERDOOM.
In 2007, he produced with the supergroup The Good, the Bad and the Queen's self-titled album, working with Damon Albarn, Clash bassist Paul Simonon, The Verve's Simon Tong and Fela Kuti's drummer Tony Allen. Just in 2008 (so far), Danger Mouse turned the dials for The Black Keys' “Attack & Release,” The Shortwave Set's “Replica Sun Machine,” Martina Topley-Bird's “The Blue God” and Beck's latest opus, “Modern Guilt.”
So, what makes this guy so appealing to so many different kinds of musicians?
Black Keys vocalist-guitarist Dan Auerbach said of Danger Mouse: “Brian has a real ear for melody and arrangement.” Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse added in a 2007 interview with the Union-Tribune: “He was able to realize a lot of the stuff I heard in my head.”
Danger Mouse's main skills as a producer stem from his background in hip-hop and his love of film scores, particularly the music of Ennio Morricone. Hip-hop gives him knowledge of beats and rhythms, along with the ability to think of music in terms of a patchwork of samples. After studying how music can create moods in film, Danger Mouse is masterful in the art of creating lush landscapes to surround an artist's songs.
In his role as producer for Albarn and The Black Keys, Burton uses subtle methods to shift the sound and texture. But his collaboration in Gnarls Barkley with vocalist-MC Cee-Lo gives him the largest canvas to paint his image of the perfect song.
Cee-Lo hails from the Dirty South hip-hop school, adding rhymes to three albums by Atlanta's Goodie Mob before pursuing a solo career. With Gnarls Barkley, Cee-Lo adds his powerful vocals and outsider lyrics, giving the most sugary Barkley creations a bittersweet tinge.
Gnarls Barkley burst on the scene in 2006 with the debut disc “St. Elsewhere,” which gave birth to the soulful single “Crazy.” The album went platinum, selling 3.6 million copies worldwide. “Crazy” shot to No. 1 on the charts in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand and Italy.
For the follow-up album, Burton drew upon his experience as producer to other artists to help hone Gnarls Barkley's sound.
“I had to work with a lot of people between (the first album) and now,” said Burton. “So, this time around I felt like I was a little better at trying to get the sound I wanted. We dug a little deeper into some of the genres from the first album. We wanted to keep it dark and keep it colorful too. Without revisiting things, we just wanted to keep going. We still have plenty of things to say.”
The culmination of Danger Mouse's experiences as a producer the past few years, “The Odd Couple” expands on the hand-clapping, sing-along infectiousness of “St. Elsewhere.” With its blend of 1960s pop sensibilities, hip-hop percussion and Cee-Lo's booming vocals, Gnarls Barkley's songs sound distinct, rising above the din of disposable hip-hop and pop on the charts.
It looks like Danger Mouse will be busy for a while: “Some days, I wake up and I say to myself, 'I need to take a break.' And then, later on that day, I come up with another idea I want to do. As long as I don't break down, I should be fine. But I'm pretty happy on the whole.”
July 24, 2008
Danger Mouse, aka Brian Joseph Burton, is in the midst of a personal dilemma. After working his way into the top echelon of music producers, the 30-year-old artist now has the resources to take time off and relax, but chances to work with Beck, The Black Keys and Damon Albarn don't come around often.
DETAILS
Gnarls Barkley
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar
Tickets: Free with admission to the racetrack
Phone: (858) 450-6510
Online: delmarscene.com
“I have more opportunities to do more stuff than I ever have,” said Burton on a recent tour stop in Forence, Italy, with his current project, Gnarls Barkley. “So, I've been taking advantage of those opportunities instead of taking time off. I just can't get myself to stop.”
Since he gained notoriety for his seminal 2004 mash-up disc “The Grey Album,” (instrumental tracks from The Beatles' “White Album” with rhymes and vocals from Jay-Z's “Black Album”), Burton produced 2005's “Demon Days” for Gorillaz (nominated for Grammy as best producer of the year), The Rapture's 2006 disc “Pieces of the People We Love” and Sparklehorse's “Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain” in 2006, not to mention a fruitful collaboration between Danger Mouse and rapper MF Doom as DANGERDOOM.
In 2007, he produced with the supergroup The Good, the Bad and the Queen's self-titled album, working with Damon Albarn, Clash bassist Paul Simonon, The Verve's Simon Tong and Fela Kuti's drummer Tony Allen. Just in 2008 (so far), Danger Mouse turned the dials for The Black Keys' “Attack & Release,” The Shortwave Set's “Replica Sun Machine,” Martina Topley-Bird's “The Blue God” and Beck's latest opus, “Modern Guilt.”
So, what makes this guy so appealing to so many different kinds of musicians?
Black Keys vocalist-guitarist Dan Auerbach said of Danger Mouse: “Brian has a real ear for melody and arrangement.” Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse added in a 2007 interview with the Union-Tribune: “He was able to realize a lot of the stuff I heard in my head.”
Danger Mouse's main skills as a producer stem from his background in hip-hop and his love of film scores, particularly the music of Ennio Morricone. Hip-hop gives him knowledge of beats and rhythms, along with the ability to think of music in terms of a patchwork of samples. After studying how music can create moods in film, Danger Mouse is masterful in the art of creating lush landscapes to surround an artist's songs.
In his role as producer for Albarn and The Black Keys, Burton uses subtle methods to shift the sound and texture. But his collaboration in Gnarls Barkley with vocalist-MC Cee-Lo gives him the largest canvas to paint his image of the perfect song.
Cee-Lo hails from the Dirty South hip-hop school, adding rhymes to three albums by Atlanta's Goodie Mob before pursuing a solo career. With Gnarls Barkley, Cee-Lo adds his powerful vocals and outsider lyrics, giving the most sugary Barkley creations a bittersweet tinge.
Gnarls Barkley burst on the scene in 2006 with the debut disc “St. Elsewhere,” which gave birth to the soulful single “Crazy.” The album went platinum, selling 3.6 million copies worldwide. “Crazy” shot to No. 1 on the charts in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand and Italy.
For the follow-up album, Burton drew upon his experience as producer to other artists to help hone Gnarls Barkley's sound.
“I had to work with a lot of people between (the first album) and now,” said Burton. “So, this time around I felt like I was a little better at trying to get the sound I wanted. We dug a little deeper into some of the genres from the first album. We wanted to keep it dark and keep it colorful too. Without revisiting things, we just wanted to keep going. We still have plenty of things to say.”
The culmination of Danger Mouse's experiences as a producer the past few years, “The Odd Couple” expands on the hand-clapping, sing-along infectiousness of “St. Elsewhere.” With its blend of 1960s pop sensibilities, hip-hop percussion and Cee-Lo's booming vocals, Gnarls Barkley's songs sound distinct, rising above the din of disposable hip-hop and pop on the charts.
It looks like Danger Mouse will be busy for a while: “Some days, I wake up and I say to myself, 'I need to take a break.' And then, later on that day, I come up with another idea I want to do. As long as I don't break down, I should be fine. But I'm pretty happy on the whole.”
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