Recent posts: Breaking Bits

For anyone with eyes, compassion for humankind and a heart, it’s obvious 2016’s been a roller-coaster year for many. There’s been darkness and death mixed with happy moments along the way. These extreme moments naturally bring forth introspection and pondering the meaning of life, with Selah Sue’s sophomore album ‘Reason’ arriving at the perfect time.

When compiling a list of the best blues rock guitarists around, it’s not a coincidence one name pops up repeatedly. Eric Gales’ name often appears on these lists, the musician who’d garnered comparisons to other guitar royalty, showing prodigy level talent before most teens can drive, dropping his first album on a major label at the tender age of 16. Known for his unique style of playing a right-handed guitar the opposite way, anyone who’s seen him live would agree his skill is magnetic. At 17 years old, he was flown in a helicopter to Woodstock to play with Carlos Santana. Spending some time with him at the Winter NAMM Show this year, beyond the cosigns in publications from Dave Navarro and Joe Bonamassa, I witnessed many other prominent guitarists featured in other booths take time out of their busy schedules to see him play or stop him while walking on the exhibit floor to express their genuine admiration. He took it all in humble stride, not letting the attention faze him, which impressed me even more.

A fan of DJ AM’s scratching style and clever mashups in the mid-late 00’s, melancholy washed over me as I read about his passing. The world saw a life cut short of a talented DJ with authentic good intentions, helping other recovering addicts but whose inner personal demons proved too potent to fight. Still there were lingering questions. What caused him to tragically end his life at 36? What made him turn to drugs in the first place? Were the pressures of fame too much? When I’d learned of the national tour of the ‘As I Am: The Life and Times of DJ AM” documentary coming in June, I needed to see the movie. Making the rounds at prestigious film festivals, the movie’s currently making its way to over 40 cities with a mass digital distribution planned for June 14th.

As the first third of the year quickly fades away and school end countdowns begin, that normally usually means one thing to a music fan- your fav bands are hitting the road and summer concert plans need to be locked down. One such group becoming road warriors again is LBC based Sunflower Dead. After the attention-grabbing album cover for their latest album ‘It’s Time To Get Weird’ caught my eye in one of my feeds, I needed to hear more. Produced by respected rock producers Dave Fortman and Channel Zero’s Mikey Doling with a feature from Korn’s Jonathan Davis, the album’s gotten rad reviews from death and nu metal fans alike.

As the first quarter of 2016 fades into the rear view and we begin to set vacation plans now that we can venture outside without risk of snow or frostbite, travel soundtracks must be selected. One such album virtually packed for such excursions is talented trio King’s recently released and much anticipated debut, ‘We Are King’. Whether you’re jumping in the car and rolling down the windows to feel the warm breeze or taking a plane to a far-off land, this album serves as the chill perfect partner. Getting co-signs from Questlove, Erykah Badu, Prince (being asked to open for him in LA) and collaborating with Robert Glasper on Grammy-winning ‘Black Radio’, the love for this threesome runs deep.

With the snow-capped mountains and foothills in the distance, I made the short trip from Cali last weekend to attend the fifth edition of Boise’s Treefort Music Fest. On the quest for a new adventure and exploration of a new city, the atypical lineup intrigued and drew me in as I justified the three hour flight commute up north. I gambled that I’d enjoy it because the fests off the beaten path and under the mainstream radar tend to be the best and Treefort fell into this category. There’s no stadium, no humongous park or jumbotron to make the music fan feel like an ant in a sea of thousands. With food, ale and skateforts providing fun during the day, the artists playing intimate, live music at the cozy venues around the city thrilled each night.

It’s no secret great music is timeless. Years might pass and you’d rock a great song in the same way you rocked it the day it dropped. Watching platinum selling R&B triad After 7 perform “Ready or Not” with Jazmine Sullivan during Babyface’s tribute at the last Soul Train Music Awards drew me back to their discography and I delightedly discovered they’d returned with a new single “I Want You”, with the promise of a new album in 2016. Combining original members brothers Kevon and Melvin Edmonds, Keith Mitchell and Melvin’s son Jason Edmonds along with the production prowess of Babyface and Daryl Simmons is bound to be another winning combination for recreating music magic.

As SXSW 2016 fades into the distance and the hype’s died down, it’s time to recap all the madness. Returning to ATX for my third year with a plane full of Angeleno based musicians lugging all sorts of instruments in tow, the aim always remained to have a diff experience than the year before. SXSW provides any type of week on the turnt meter you’d want to have and the target “turnt” level was towards the lower end of the spectrum i.e. I’d see as much as I could, sing, dance and remember what happened each night without sunglasses and Aleve the next morning. Intent on participating in more daytime activities this time around, I was about that “badge life” which provided access to all conference panels, day stages and a pretty dope press room.