Clouds in a BLUE sky

BLUEfiveone has a new video out for the single CLOUDS. The video seems like an abstract piece taken from a larger piece of work, ala a new age musical where exposition of story takes place via a musical device. I would love to see if this video can be wrapped into a larger work as BLUE is working on releasing a ep, BLUE County EP. Catch the video below for yourself.

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Dem Boys Real Rockers, an' Mash up de Place!

It's been a loooooong time since I made my way back to you via this outlet, I'm shouldn't of left you with out a dope beat to step to :) Well I'm back and re-energized. I been hitting the streets with my ears to the pavement for some new tunes and I'm liking what I'm hearing.

So you must be wondering, "why heavens, why does he speak in such a manner, I haven't the foggiest what the title of this post says" well this post goes out to all my brothers and sisters out in the Caribbean and it's diaspora who are mixing up their island heritage and rock'n'roll. There have been a few great examples of this mixture in the past most notably Bad Brains,

The Washington, D.C., natives formed the group in 1977 mixed what was the early formation of "Hardcore" punk rock, a fast, jarring and angler sound filled with riffs and attitude; with dub reggae taken up after seeing performers such as Bob Marley.

Well so have UK band Skindred who formed in the late '90's they have a dancehall/metal approach as to the brains are more ragga/dub/punk.

There are a who host of other great bands out there who rep it up island style but I wan to get to the focus of this piece. This new crop of bands as they rip-pit tup! Lets start with this band from my home town Khasha Macka.

A great outfit carrying on the tradition from Brooklyn NY. Very heavy stuff and full of heart and soul.

Learn how to get your music heard at ReverbNation.com

Next up is Philly's Blayer PointDuJour and the Rockers Galore.

Blayer and his rockers galore do something unique out of the previous groups I mentioned. They mix Haitian Kompa music. They style of music is indicative of Haiti and much of the Caribbean. It's hard for me to  explain it to someone who isn't of Caribbean background, when you hear it you have an idea what it. Until hearing this band I had no idea what the word for the "sound" was, I just thought oh that's Haitian music. It's very interviewed, from my perspective, with the culture.



Next is a band smack dab in the Caribbean, TnT's (that's Trinidad and Tobago) 5 Miles to Midnight.

Founded in the mid 2000's this Trini sextet does straight up post punk. Hey just because they're from the Caribbean doesn't mean they have to be ragga ragga, calypso and soca all the time (although they can do that too). In their time as a band they have opened for the likes of Marcel Mantano, Stephan Marley and Maroon 5. Their have infectious bopping tunes have also catapulted them to being featured  MTV Iggy. Vote for them to be artist of the week.

Those poor Africans

The following is a video from PEPFAR. (The Presidents Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief)



I agree we should end the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS...but video's like the one seen on the PEPFAR website don't tell the full truth about elminating HIV/AIDS. It makes the issue as a "oh those poor African's" Who comes up with the discourse of the issue. The virus is more then just a "poor African" issue. People here in our own country are still being affected in great numbers. Although the highest rising group of new infections in the USA is between MSM's there is still a great number of hetero infections. We need to change the face of the epidemic, because it affects us all.

The myth making and magic of John the Conqueror

photo by Jonifin Marvin

Down N' dirty blues blues man Pierre Moore of John the Conqueror is a man of luck and he's here to bring you his magical bag of tricks n' licks. I interviewed the voice behind the band about his path towards creating the band, life and of course music.

Kaos Blac: So Pierre your originally from Jackson, MI when I first met you you where in another band, the now defunct Slack Republic, based in Atlanta, Ga and now your doing John the Conqueror based on your travels I can assume your ascribe to the rolling stone gathers no moss lifestyle in regards to your music. Would that be a clear assumption?

Young country boy Pierre and that fat  farm mascot
 Ronald McDonald

Pierre Moore: Yea I do....when I was growing up, my mama always told me that she was raising me so that when I turned 18, I'd get the hell out of her house....so I got about a thousand miles away! 

Kaos Blac: Well that is a jump and a leap from home. Also it sounds like a as if you were set upon a path to a down homespun blues man from the get go, although that wasn't what you were playing with your previous band. What lead you to from the break up of that last project to what your doing now with John the Conqueror.

Pierre Moore: It was 4 years since the breakup of the last band till I hopped on stage again.....I'd given up playing music because I'd missed a couple opportunities to sign with small indie lables (going back to my college days) due mostly to my own stupidity ....basically I was broken! But it turns out that no matter how I felt when I put down the guitar, I felt even worse the longer I didn't play!

I don't really know if that answered your question but doesn't it feel good to share! hahah

Kaos Blac: No good answer, good answer! LOL.

Pierre during his Slack Republic days circa 2007,
photo by Kaos Blac

So eventually you got back up off your ass picked up your guitar and poof instant music or what? I want to know how you got from the post-punk/alt that was The Slack Republic as the lead guitarist to being the Blues tinged front man of your current project it's a drastically different approach to musical story telling.

Pierre Moore: Probably the most anticlimactic part of my whole life: December 2010 I decided to start a band. I couldn't find a singer that I liked in the WHOLEEE MONTHHH I tried (you can tell I tried soooo hard) so I said I'd give it a go.

Last week of december we got a bassist (Merry Christmas!). 3 months later we played our first show at a ROCKERS event (I know you're familiar with those folks and that scene)...1 month later we recorded a 6 song EP. 5 months later we recorded another EP. 

Click the jug to listen to and download the EP
designed by Katrina Tapper

4 days before our 1 year anniversary of finding our bassist and officially becoming a band, Alive NaturalSound Records contacted us about signing (Merry Christmas again!)....

That was December 21st ...but in true Pierre fashion, I fucked shit up (sorta) ...I didn't see the fuckin email somehow! So I didn't respond till New Years day! I damn near pissed my pants when I realized that I'd (almost) fucked up an indie label offer AGAIN! 

Apparently Patrick, the head of the label, thought he should get back at me for being so bad at emailing because it took him two weeks to get back to me...

John the Conqueror/Robert Johnson tat
design courtesy of Katrina Tapper

Anyway, fastforwarding ...we signed, recorded an album...

comes out october 16th...the whole band got John the Conqueror tattoos (mike, the drummer and I are cousins and he was the bassist in slack.....when we started this band, it was for fun, but we jokingly said if we got signed this time, we'd get band tattoos)

Kaos Blac: Well thankfully you answered that email and didn't fuck up. One thing I been dying to know is why the name John the Conqueror?

Pierre Moore: Mannyyy reasons ....

1) The John the Conqueror root is a staple in the lyrical tradition of blues and if we're gonna try to honor our roots then.... (bad pun!)

 2) High john the conqueror root is traditionally used in a mojo hand and can be applied for many purposes but usually its for a gambling type of luck ...the first year of this band, I carried my mojo hand almost everyday cause lord knows I needed some luck.

3) The character of John the Conqueror is as old as our peoples in America.... He was an african prince, stolen from his kingdom and brought here to be a slave. But he was smart....he constantly was outwitting his master at every turn ....thats how I feel about the proverbial hand I've been dealt in life.... Thats also why I have a highway 61 north tattoo on my shoulder. Thats known as the blues highway....thats the road all the great blues musicians had to take to leave the mississippi plantations and find a happier life....It took em to memphis, chicago and (if i recall) detroit ...and from the 30's till the 50's, these were like the promise land to black folk! I need a constant reminder that I love my home and I miss it ...but I had to leave to actually DO something! And hopefully I'll do something!

Kaos Blac: Which you are as seen below.

  JOHN THE CONQUEROR - Time To Go by Alive Naturalsound

You have the self titled album coming out October 16th, are you and the band amped about it's debut?

Pierre Moore:  lol yea.

Kaos Blac: No big pressures eh or pre-jitters?

Pierre Moore:  We were told that we should already be writing our next album so I suppose thats a little pressure. The album isn't even out yet, we haven't started touring yet and im already writing MORE songs!

Kaos Blac: lol. Hey your in the big times now, now is the time of John the Conqueror. From what I heard of the current album I think you have something with legs especially with acts like Alabama Shakes. Speaking of touring what are your plans to travel out with the album.

Pierre Moore: In november we're doing some dates on the east coast. We'll be full fledged touring at the beginning of the new year.

Kaos Blac: Well folks will have something to look forward to coming up in the new year. Any closing words about the band?

Pierre Moore:  Umm..nope 

Kaos Blac: LOL. Well Blac-out! 

You ca get the self title debut John the Conqueror, out October 16th via Alive NaturalSound Records , and on tour this fall starting tonight at Milk boy Philly.

Friday Oct 5
Milkboy Philly
Philadelphia, PA | 9:30PM

Saturday Nov 3
The Legendary Dobbs
Philadelphia, PA | 7:00PM

Thursday Nov 8
Broadway's
Asheville, NC | 8:00PM

Friday Nov 9
Jack of Hearts
Weaverville, NC | 8:00PM

Friday Nov 16
Joe Squared Station North
Baltimore, MD | 10:00PM

Saturday Nov 17
Clementine
Harrisonburg, VA | 8:00PM

Monday Nov 9
Slim's Downtown
Raleigh, NC | 8:00PM

Melody Nelson takes NYC, pubs and all.

First night of the tour off to a great start,
After meeting up with the mates at a local rehearsal spot.

As we transverse the city we end up at where else a pub for a few brews to take the edge off of a long arduous flight and flight mishaps. After a bit to eat and a cool down they finally got to make they're NYC/US debut at the Trash Bar Brooklyn.

Aiden

 Rich

 Peter

It was a brilliant night one of many more to come. So if your in NYC for the next couple of days check them out click on the link below for tour info.

Damen Samuel - Heartache

This is one of my favorite tunes from Damen. It's a lullaby for the broken hearted called "Heartache", I glad that there is a video out for it so I want to share it with you. Take a view. If your feeling the song get his album, A Gypsy's Lullaby.
 

WEREBEARS

You always wondered what happened after Yogi and Boo-boo became tired of going after picnic baskets? Well they went after picnickers. Cute and cuddly my ass. From the bloodlust dense brush of Jolly stone park to the wilds of Jersey came WEREBEARS. Well that's how it plays out in my mind anyway I asked Daryl Shelton aka WEREBEARS about how he came about.

Kaos Blac: So well me about Werebears? where Do they come from I can see Yogi and Boo-boo going on a rampage and biting people. How did Werebears come about?

WEREBEARS: This motherfucker was a werewolf with a dirty habit, feel me?

Kaos Blac: LOL, So then you started to pick up a guitar and rock the forest huh?

WEREBEARS: Exactly. I got the moss game on lock down.

Kaos Blac: You have a new video out entitled Locals, it's off of the Roar Album. Tell me whats it about.

WEREBEARS: The album is like a vignette of what WEREBEARS is doing. Literally plays on the dichotomy of hard digital and warm analog music. That play goes further into the sort of vocals between really honest and harsh lyrics sung but a really sweet dude voice. And that voice comes out of my heinous mug. All themes associated with WEREBEARS are contrary to each other and Roar is the first exhibit of that with the band.

So there you have it, WEREBEARS a mixture of cute and cuddly with tough as nails. Click the link below to pre-order the WEREBEARS album Roar.



Finally take a look at the latest WEREBEARS video, LOCALS

 

Wassup ROCKERS

Start of August with a bang in Philly the the city of brotherly love and a kick ass music scene with the second annual ROCKERS BBQ WEEKEND. Created as a platform for women and people of color the ROCKERS events started small and just blew up much like how Afro-Punk use to be but ROCKERS has maintained its relative communal atmosphere while still catering to a growth. Founder of the event Camae Dennis, member of The Mighty Paradocs puts it best by this statement:

Dear Rockers Family
I thank you from the top and bottom of my heart for all ur support this year. When I started ROCKERS! I just wanted a place to play. I wanted to play and hear music by women and people of color. Now that is a reality and I am thankful for another year. This weekend is for you! This year we bring you ROCKERS CLOSET, THE LAST WORD, COMPULSION, PHILLY PRINTWORKS AND LIBERATION ART AND CULTURE WORKS!!!

It all gets kicked off by The Last Word event on Thursday August 2nd featuring the premiere of the first of many short films about The Last Word party. Why would there be films made about a party you ask well because well I'll let them explain it better:

The LAST WORD is the performance art fiasco of PHILLY legend that people have snickered, whispered, exclaimed, written and raved about. Its performance art with out the uppity, spoken turd bigotry and plain fun, creative, unique and sensational open mic goodness! brought to you by the folks that your elders always warned you about...! We know it sounds like fun, but it may NOT be for everyone... We're okay with that, so bring a friend to cuddle up next to!!!

We're encouraging everyone to come out dressed in their best [by that we mean COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED!!!!]
Torrent Collective 938 S 8th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

Friday August 3rd is the Rockers Closet Pop Up Shop at Rockers Closet 818 S. 4TH ST.  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  19147 and later in the night is the Punky Reggae Party at the Torrent Collective 938 S 8th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147.

COME THROUGH THE SHOP TO ENJOY MUSIC, FOOD AND LIVE SILK SCREEN PRINTING. WE'LL BE MAKING LIMITED EDITION ROCKERS PRINTS TO COMMEMORATE THE 2ND ANNUAL ROCKERS BBQ WEEKEND. BYOTEE!
MUSIC BY LILLIE RUTH BUSSEY
 PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE ILLUSTRIOUS ABBIE SUE
 ROCKERS CLOSET 818 S. 4TH ST. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19147
 PUNKY REGGAE AFTER PARTY @ THE TORRENT COLLECTIVE!!

Saturday August 4th is [obSeSSive]COMPULSION.7: 'High-Contrast'. The party is two fold in that its a audio-visual party. The Compulsion aspect is the visuals featuring a wall sized canvases that revelers could paint, draw and bomb on with Black, white an florescent paint. The Obsessive aspect is the music component featuring a Actual Records triple headlining set: WILLY JOY [Chicago, TandB]; PROPER VILLAINS [NYC, Play Me]; PLS DNT STP [Philly, Sex Cult] along with local faves: Speaker For The Dead, Deadman, Jack Deezl, Aaron Ruxbin.
9PM-4AM $10 before 12am/$15 after
[WARE]HOUSE RULES: *NO OUTSIDE ALCOHOL*
 *NO CAMERAS*
 *NO WEAPONS*
 *BRING ID, Venue will card!* 
 18+ to enter, 21+ to drink at our fully stocked bar

Finally Sunday August 5th is the finally featuring a Kickball game and BBQ, and later the Sunday Night Rockers Concert at the Torrent Collective featuring:
STARWOOD
GDAG
UPHOSTRY  
CHARMAINE's NAMES 
BAPTIST PREACHERS
ALEXIS GOLDENLOVER 
JOE JORDAN
and more!

We Can End AIDS Mobilization

I hit the ground running yesterday as I awoke from my bed, after two hours of sleep, and dragged worn and tired carcass towards the shower then out the door. I was running late and where I live I have to walk a few blocks to the nearest train station if there is no bus en route. Being that it was just a bit after 3 am I knew I had to hit the pavement. The thing about MTA service around that time of the night is it's hit or miss, hit if you reach your station and the train is minutes away or miss and you just missed the train and you'll have to wait 20 to 30 minutes for the next arriving train that time frame is exasperated by trying to make a connecting train. As I made my way through the transit system to my destination of  LGBT center in the west village I kept thinking about why I was going to join up with others in Washington DC to march through a foreign city to a uncertain faith...in my mind it was all because of faith.

Faith in our numbers en mass we can accomplish a movement to push law makers to see the cost; symbolically; of how much it could to supply generic drugs;



 to see that taxation with out representation as in the case with DC natives is wrong;



 to see that Wall Street shouldn't be the ones in charge of policies;



to see we as a now global community will not stand idle as war is raged upon women, sex workers, the LGBTQ community.

As I arrived in Washington I was let off my bus at the convention center. I didn't know what was going on in the halls of the convention center where the International AIDS 2012 speeches where given, who was there, the ideas bantered being about from ear to mouth but I knew what was going on in the streets.






Feet were marching, butts were sitting in the street, at times ringing bells, because yes WE NEED MORE COW BELL.  

Getting my photo taken was great, who wouldn't want to show off something great to put up on your facebook wall or that your in the local or national paper but it's more than my own superficial vanity in posturing and nourishing my psyche it's about showing support for myself, friends, family. Its about doing something anything to ease the pain of those dealing with so much. We are greater than this crisis. The end of multiple groups marches throughout the city of DC ended up at the gates of the White House and tied red ribbons to the gates along with times that symbolically are tied to the ends of the epidemic: money, drugs, condoms, policies.   

International AIDS Conference 2012

Next week in Washington, DC will be the International Aids Conference, July 22-27. Throughout the week there will be events sharing information regarding new scientific research, committees on sharing harm reduction. The WE CAN END AIDS campaign will be doing a march on July 24th. If you didn't know I was recently a part of a lead up action sponsored by Housing Works.

We hoisted a banner on public space in front of the capitol building,

The protest went for sometime before any authorities made any indication of physical action. I feel that this action was a good start to get out in-front of the conference and get people to pay attention to some of the issues that need to be addressed in relation to HIV/AIDS and civil rights. A list of demands are being put forth by WE CAN END AIDS,

So remember if your in the DMV area, come to the March.