Recent posts: Breaking Bits

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.

Wrapping up a pretty active live February music schedule, I figured Judith Hill at the Grammy Museum would be a great bet. Dropping one of my favorite albums of 2015, ‘Back In Time’, I talked to Judith a few months ago (check out the convo HERE) about making the album with Prince, singing onstage with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and winning a Grammy. On this particular evening, she chatted with the museum’s VP Scott Goldman, going into further depth on her funk-filled childhood and career, growing up with musician parents who exposed her to the stage, getting to see the likes of Billy Preston and Little Richard perform at an early age.

Constructing the February concert calendar for the whirlwind which led me to attend an event each night during Grammy week, I made sure to pencil in Hiatus Kaiyote who announced a series of last min shows in Southern Cali. Getting a chance to briefly chat with them at SXSW in ’15 (peep the interview HERE ), I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to see HK (who are based in Melbourne, Australia) twice in one week. For anyone who’s experienced Hiatus Kaiyote live, you know what’s up. For anyone who hasn’t, get thee to a show ASAP.