Day 4 - 6
Artist: Feral G and Atto Pilot from Music Production team called TimeMachine
After looking online for open mics, live music, and other artist performance opportunities in Rhode Island, there was one voice we frequently posting events - Feral G, a DJ/Music Producer from Providence, Rhode Island. Him and his producing partner Atto Pilot, along with a few other members who collectively go by TimeMachine steer-head an independent music production company with long-term goals to expand both in offering additional creative services, as well as operating out of multiple locations. First, their finessing their production game, and finessing well.
At the moment their growing their clientele providing quality mixing and engineering, fire production and more, at great rates too. Their studio located in the heart of what was once considered the hangout spot for artists in the 80’s and 90’s in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, has seen a drastic change since them lively times, as depicted in the cool graffiti that surrounds the inside of the multi-floor garage next door.
The culture has sort of dispersed elsewhere over the years, so I was surprised to learn from them about all the up and coming talent being brewed out of Rhode Island, and Time Machine has been a strong force behind this. Feral G and Atto Pilot, including their intern Broke Island Baby are putting in work, and not only providing what their clients need, but also helping revitalize and expand the hip hop music scene in Rhode Island if not to what it use to be, then much larger than what it was decades ago.
Left: Feral G, Right: Atto Pilot
After taking advantage of the natural sunlight, we finished our interview and they continued to give me a tour of the historic building their studio was in. When we got back to the studio, the intern was with hip hop artist Zay, who was checking out the studio for potential work. He showed us some songs, and the man’s not bad. Ironically, he told us he was the son of a Dj who dj’d for local legend, Chachi, and was apart of the legendary creative scene decades ago in Providence, Rhode Island.
“There’s some dope folk in PVD that are low-key"
While we all talked music in the studio, Feral G got on the midi board and created a quick melody, Atto Pilot then came in and layered some drums and also faded adlibs, and within 10-15 minutes all of us in the studio were glued to that head-bopping position you can’t get out of when you hear a track that makes you make that stanky face. 7 second tease below:
We finished the evening by chatting more about the culture of RI (Rhode Island) and their goals and plans with their group, TimeMachine, while we got some grub at this spot that just opened up last month called Chinatown on Thayer. Their fried shrimp was friggen' delicious. Get that when you go.
We got back to the studio and went through more local music, and then they impressed me their catalog of projects they’ve worked on and currently working on. By the end of the night, we cooked up another beat that had us breaking neck. They've got z fire. If you’re looking for beats, you need to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Day 5 was devoted to logistics of the trip and getting organized, while Feral G and Atto Pilot had sessions booked with artists. Day 6, our last day in Rhode Island, Feral G Dj’d at a artist/designer showcase at a cool bar/lounge call Troop - another example of a dope spot in Rhode Island embracing creativity and artistry. They frequently host these artist showcases, so if you’re ever going through Rhode Island, make sure you stop by.
Meanwhile, Atto Pilot and intern Broke Island Baby were setting up and getting their event ready they host every Thursday called The Beat Down--a get together for local artists to get together, share and go through music, feedback on one another and connect and network.
Final thoughts on RI:
Similar to Connecticut with its history of firsts, as I stopped off to check out the place that invented the hamburger in New Haven, Connecticut, it was only fitting to also check out, Modern Diner, America’s first diner located in Pawtucket, RI.
Quiet, old, with a lot of creative potential. While their were neighborhoods of suburbia, we saw more older beat down towns that seemed worn out, but then again we didn’t go through the entire state. Nonetheless, after meeting with Feral G and Auto Pilot and learning a bit more about the areas culture, it’s definitely apparent that there is a large growing creative culture bubbling, and they're doing their part to make it happen for RI.
The artistic love was definitely felt. I was even asked by local store owner if the art work I had in my car was for sale. It was, however it’s price was out of range, so he offered to pay $50 if I could get him a print copy of it with my signature on it. So I went to the nearby Walmart, made a copy, and not only sold my first piece of art involuntarily, but also made a new friend.
2nd Stop: Connecticut, July 22, 2018
Artist: Shiwan
DAY 2: After going back and forth for a few years on Facebook, as the case with several of the artists we will be meeting with on this project, we finally met up with the up-and-coming Hip Hop artist Shiwan. Sporting his signature look, low-brimmed cap as seen in his videos, it was good to finally kick it. The conversation immediately became productive, which is always good, so once the interview was done it was good to relax a bit and play a few rounds of pool.
Towne Billiards in Hamden, Connecticut is a dope, large spot with 18 tables, darts and a bar serving drinks and food, so it was surprising to see that we were one of the few people in there, then again it was Sunday night and the area outside was a bit empty and industrial - good for photoshoots though! Nonetheless, after we left we continued the conversation and I got a deeper glimse into his future plans and goals, and we aligned our creative visions even more. The man's got several projects coming up, so stay tuned.
Stayed at an Airbnb in New Haven, 30 minutes south of the capital. The area was quiet, historic, green and hilly, with pockets of run down and old parts of neighborhoods. However you take one turn to the left or right, and you'd find yourself in a more upscale area camoflaughed with vintage styled buildings, and Tesla's zipping by you. Between backing up and charging equipment there isn't much time to sight see, however there was the opportunity to take a quick snap infront of the place which is known for inventing the first hamburger in America, 'Louis Lunch'.
Day 3 - Connecticut Part 2
Coast2Coast Live - Artist Showcase
The next day the largest artist showcase in the world according to Coast2Coast LIVE was having it's pop-up Artist Showcase, an event they host in cities throughout the country. While the music is usually Hip Hop, and sometimes blended in with other genres, these events are great opportunities for any aspiring musician to attend not only to network with other aspiring talent, but to also use its stage as practice for performing and comfortabillty in front of an audience, or even to test out an audience with new music, etc.
The way the showcase works: There's a host and DJ who sets/controls the vibe, about a dozen contestants perform on stage back-to-back, and then 2-3 celebrity judges agree on the winner and runner-ups. The host then awards what the prizes will be.
At this event in Connecticut, 1st place winner would advance to a second round where they would then compete for $50,000 in Atlanta. See pics below. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Showcase Winner
Media
First State: New York - July 21, 2018
Artist: Latasha, Hip Hop
DAY 1: A week after she electrified energy at Brooklyn 2018 Hip Hop Fest, we met up with the Flatbush-native and Hip Hop's Class of 18', Latasha, and her extremely creative and multi-talented photographer, filmmaker, designer and collaborator boyfriend, Jah, she took us to one of her favorite places in Prospect Park, where she likes to get some creative inspiration someties.
As we passed through dozens of people setting up in prep for Brooklyn’s 2018 Curl Fest later that night, among regular small talk, growth and evolving as an artist was a theme of conversation. Not sure if it was her show coming up that night, the high from her performance a week prior, her album set to drop end of 2018, other big upcoming projects she's got coming up end of summer of 2018, her recent moments with Lil'Kim she included in her recent docufilm project 'Missy Elliot', but nonetheless, there was this strong, natural feel of emergence, creativity and positive energy around her, and her powerful, high-energetic performance later that night at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, would prove this. See clips and pics from the show below. #VibrasNYC
Media
Beginning in New York with hip-hop artist based out of Brooklyn, Latasha, we’ll be traveling to the remaining 47 states not including Hawaii and Alaska. We’ll be interviewing an Independent artist per state, catching a performance and/or music sessions and more, which we'll put together at the end of the tour to make a larger visual experience intended to not only showcase and highlight the independent talent we link up with, but to also embrace creative diversity within America.
Social and Sponsors
You’ll be able to stay updated through our social; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube. After the first couple of weeks, thanks to our prize sponsors—Image-Line, makers of music software FL Studio, and Bandzoogle, a company that’s helps musicians better their online portfolios—we’ll be running some contests and other campaigns where artists we’ll be able to win prizes.
Types of Artists
We’ve got the majority of states booked already with talent and currently filling in the remaining. The first few stops will kick us off on a hiphop start, however we will be meeting with artists from a wide range of genres; alternative rock, pop, acoustic, electronic and more. Some are just starting out, and others like Hannah Mrozak from Wisconsin, who has advanced on both The Voice and American Idol have a great amount of experience and just need to get heard by the right ears to help them get where they want to be. As we meet with artists, in addition to updating snippets on our social, you’ll be able to see pics and clips on the blog.
The Underbelly Jam jamming out in NYC somewhere under the jungle. See the video below the soundcloud and facebook link.
https://www.facebook.com/thebrooklynunderbelly/
L.S.C
L.S.C is a boston-based band and film scoring group. Known for having roots in alternative rock, they commonly borrow elements from other genres such as classical and electronic, however have began to fuse in more soul, which has created a beautiful and funky combination of sound and vibes. Radiohead meets Foreign Air meets HRVRD meets Prince.
Follow:
https://www.facebook.com/crudemusic
https://soundcloud.com/light-sweet-crude
http://www.lightsweetcrusade.com
booking/info: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cassle Fires
Imagine it's 1987 and you're in the movie theatre watching a blockbuster Philip K. Dick inspired film directed by Ridley Scott. Not Bladerunner, but the soundtracks Cassle Fires creates makes it feel like it. Cassle Fires - Instrumental duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota fuses genres post-punk and dark-wave together to produce instrumentals that carry this 90’s retro Nirvana-feel, vibes perfect for independent film projects or background tracks for other visual projects. They’ve tagged their sound as 'soundtrack, art-rock, dark-wave, industrial, krautrock, lo-fi, new wave, post-punk'.
Stay tuned on where they will perform next by following their Facebook page.
Check out their projects via Bandcamp or Soundcloud.
Doug "The Sleeping Bag" Campbell
Doug 'The Sleeping Bag' Campbell is a multi-talented young Independent musician from Louisville, Kentucky. Now in 2018 and only 16, Doug has produced 5 albums within the last two years, each covering a new ground of sub-genres in avant-garde, indie rock, and post rock. Packed with acoustic synergy and DEEP lyrics. Very deep.
A popular Music Magazine Never Nervous from Louisville has stated that his solo projects “blends the earnestness of Elliot Smith with the melancholia and sense of exploration and vulnerability of Mount Eerie”.
His passion for music is not only evident in his growing catalog of his unique sound and style, but also what he's done with his friends outside his studio - cofounding Lo-Fi Lullaby Records, a music collective with his friends that curates several other independent talents with their own unique vibe.
When asked to describe his latest albums, Doug gave a very detailed and thorough response for each - a good look into the origins of his creativity, his sound and his rembrandt-like journey. We're definitely looking forward to his progression.
The Sleeping Bag: My first album, Sadness Eternal, released October 25th, 2016, chronicles the stories of a man I met named, Anthony, in a rehab center. Though I say “chronicles” (I guess in an attempt to sound sophisticated or something), I more so mean represented. The album contains no vocals up until the second-to-last track, in which I retell the story of how he ended up in the rehabilitation center after a drunk driving incident left him badly injured and took his best friend’s life. It’s a short album, but nonetheless and album dedicated to him and his struggle to overcome alcoholism.
My second album released only 4 months after is my longest release to date, at an easy hour and seven minutes. What If You Stayed This Time (the name of the record), tells the story of a boy questioning whether or not his summer has been worth living or not after finding out the girl he’s been chasing the whole time is generally not interested. Looking back on it now it seems like a bit of a stretch, but it contains some of my best writing (I think). And even under a cheesy narrative, I manage to keep the sounds of the album very reserved, aggressive, and somewhat contemplative.
3rd record, No Frustration. Not much story to be told. It’s an album inspired by divorce and what it’s like to be a kid growing up in a broken home. It’s an album that focuses more on musical growth in my progression as a musician, not so much my lyricism, although I do manage to tell a concise story.
4th record, I’m On Your Side. Easily my most personal album. This album truly chronicles the chaotic end of my longest friendship. I don’t know much know how to describe it in words, other than the words I used to describe it at the time of its release, noted on the back of the CD:
I hadn’t originally intended to release YET another album before the end of 2017, but recent events led to rapid songwriting. This album signifies the death of an abusive friendship and each song represents the nails in its coffin; a coffin filled with memories that are useless to me now; memories I once cherished but now dread to recall...
This is a final resting place...Goodbye old Friend...
This album is my most accessible and most well known album to date. Instead of a lo-fi sound quality with distorted guitars throughout. I opted for a storytelling approach and kept it strictly acoustic (for the most part). Lyrics deal with nightmares, murder of the ego, wearing masks, and ultimately, the motif of “where will your family be when you die?” along with “who is your family?”.
My 5th album was set to release June 1st, but the release will most likely have to be pushed back on account of the fact that I am unemployed and currently lack the funds to have CD’s manufactured."
Contact: (502)-991-1431
Links
Bandcamp - https://thesleepingbagky.bandcamp.com/music
Music Magazine: Never-Nervous - http://www.never-nervous.com/2017/11/30/interview-doug-campbell-on-his-musical-aesthetic-embracing-chaos-and-fights/
Music Magazine: Never-Nervous - http://www.never-nervous.com/2018/01/19/review-the-sleeping-bag-im-on-your-side/
Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War" Still Soaring Up The Charts [Movie Review]
Written by Max Ataraxis10 years ago, Marvel Entertainment released the movie "Iron Man". Little did they know, they were starting what would eventually become the biggest movie franchise in Hollywood history. The MCU is the first of its kind, bringing the idea of a comic book universe to life mixing and combining characters in a same universe across different movies. "Avengers: Infinity War", Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo,
is the culmination of every Marvel movie the studio has done in the past ten years.
The most recent accolade it's acquired is the fastest movie to surpass 1 Billion dollars in the market. The most amazing part about that achievement is that the movie has made that much money and it hasn't even opened up in China yet; China has the second biggest movie market in the world! For the studio to have made so much money, having not opened there yet, is incredible.
Growing up, I was really into The Lord Of The Rings. I was into a lot but for some reason I LOVED that franchise. You have the crazy dedicated fandom that goes into Harry Potter and Star Wars, for example. What Marvel and Disney have done is my personal favorite franchise of all time. I LOVE the MCU and this movie was FOR THE FANS!
Now, for the actual movie review.
I think the strong point for the film and the reason that it is making so much money is because you don't need to be a dedicated Marvel Cinematic Universe fan to enjoy the movie. They keep the plot simple and if you know everyone's back story from previous movies, then all the feels hit you even harder. This movie makes you feel. Whether it's excited, sad, happy, or indifferent. The movie makes you feel.
Thanos is an alien who lost his family due to his planet dying because there were not enough resources to sustain life. After the loss of his family, Thanos goes on a intergalactic quest to obliterate life in half the universe, in order to "restore balance". His thought process is that if half of life in the universe is destroyed, then the remaining half can live like kings and queens because there will be an abundance of resources to live off of. For a long while, Thanos went around physically killing half of life on many different planets thoughout the galaxy.
The plot of the movie surrounds Thanos' quest to acquire all 6 Infinity stones, the most powerful entities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each stone possesses great power. They were created during the big bang that created the universe: Time, Soul, Mind, Reality, Power, and Space. If Thanos aquires all 6 stones, then he can literally obliterate half of life in the universe with the snap of his fingers.
The set up for the movie is great and he definitely reigns superior as the greatest foe that the Avengers has ever faced. I would talk about all the other characters but to be honest, this was a THANOS movie. The villain probably had the most screen time out of anyone, as the story follows him on his quest to get the stones. There are different team ups in this movie hosting the household and iconic names that make any comic book fan squeal. Spider-man, Iron Man, and Dr. Strange team up with The Guardians of The Galaxy. Captain America and Black Panther are the heroes leading the battle on Earth. Literally, every important person in the galaxy was doing all they could to stop Thanos.
I honestly don't even want to talk any more about the movie because spoilers. It's one of those movies you just have to see before it's discussed.
The only weakness in the movie, from my personal opinion, was that I found it to be a little too long-winded. I think Some of the scenes could have been shortened or cut completely. Besides that, the film has lived up to the hype that surrounded it.
Avengers 4 will be dropping next year in May and the story they have been building for the past ten years will be completed in this film. Like many people, I can't wait to see what is next in store for the earths mightiest heroes!
LINKS:
Ticket Purchase Information and Locations near you can be seen here: FANDANGO
-Max Ataraxis
Kanye West Announces New Music and Production Credits For The Summer [Pop Culture]
Written by Max AtaraxisThe past year and a half has been a quiet one for the normally, visible and outspoken Kanye West. After releasing his 2016 album, "The Life of Pablo", Ye embarked on a nationwide tour to acompany the album release. On one of the tour dates in November, Kanye apparently had a major meltdown, which lead him to spend his thanksgiving 2K16 in a mental hospital. Ever since then, Kanye has been lowkey and private, deactivating all his social media accounts. Well, last week, Ye Began tweeting kanye-esque philosophical type tweets that sent the world into a frenzy.
Along with those philosophical tweets, Kanye has been tweeting what some would deem controversial. For one, his support for right wing analyst Candace Owens was not taken well by many. On top of that, his co-sign for our current president Donald J. Trump, was taken even worse. It's safe to say that many have believed Kanye to be in "The Sunken Place" for quite some time, now.
Well, lets get to the meat of this post; the reason your even reading this. King Yeezus is blessing us with not ONE but TWO new albums this summer! And on top of that, he's also producing new albums for a slab of musicians!
Last week, he made the major announement that he would be releasing his 7 track solo album on June 1st, followed by a Collaboration album with Kid Cudi entitled "Kids See Ghost", the following week on June 8th. For anyone who knows me, they know that Kanye West and Kid Cudi are tied for my number one favorite musicians to walk the planet! So, obviousy, I'm beyond hype about this release.
But on top of his personal releases, Kanye also announced a list of musicians he's producing albums for via this tweet.
"I'm hand producing all the albums I tweeted about. Been chopping samples from the sunken place 
Pusha May 25th My album June 1st me and Cudi June 8th and Teyana June 22nd and oh yeah... Nas June 15th"
The fact that Kanye is aware that people think he's in "The Sunken Place" lets me know that he's also aware that people think he's fallen off ever since he's become Kanye Kardshian. Knowing the type of person and EGO that Kanye has, I'm sure he's out to prove to people that he hasnt fallen off of anything. Kanye recently tweeted that producing beats for Nas makes him feel 18 again. Teyanna Taylor has even went on record to say that the "Polo Ye" has returned.
All this being said, I must say that I am HYPED for June. Yeezy season is upon us and I cannot wait to see what the legend has cooked up for us. Stay tuned for more updates !
LINKS BELOW: