In Memoriam | J Dilla | 1974-2006 | “We reminisce over you”

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A lot of people don’t know this, but before I went to law school, I worked at a small boutique entertainment law firm in Santa Monica, CA.  One of our clients was the production company that had signed Slum Village as an artist.  One of the first albums I got my entertainment law hands dirty with was “Fantastic, Vol. 2”.  I took great pride while working on the project because I knew there was something special with the talent in that group, particularly the talent of the producer J Dilla, who produced the ENTIRE album, which is amazing.

When I entered my second year at law school, I decided to work part-time, splitting my time  hustling in the class room, and hustling in the office.  Though J Dilla decided to move on from Slum Village, he produced a couple tracks off of Slum Village’s next album, “Trinity (Past, Present and Future)”.

James Dewitt Yancey, pka J Dilla, born February 7, 1974, passed away February 10, 2006 from a blood disease, and I remember feeling a great sense of loss.  He was part of my professional evolution and maturation, and is a reason why I love this business so much.  To work, albeit somewhat remotely, with talent makes it all worthwhile.

His instrumental album “Donuts” and his first solo album “The Shining” are 4 and 5 star albums based on my own personal rankings.  NPR, in their obituary, stated that J Dilla “was one of the music industry’s most influential hip-hop artists, working for big-name acts like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, The Pharcyde and Common.”

This is a terrific four part interview of J Dilla from back in 2003. You want and in-depth take of his come up and the way he produced, and what inspired, his music? You need to set aside 40 minutes of your day and listen to this interview.

Here’s a great video of man who lucked out and scored a storage unit of J Dilla’s record collection. I hope all of that wax is being taken care of.

Below are some of my favorite J Dilla Tracks.  RIP, Mr Yancey.  Truly a visionary.  Lost but not forgotten.  “We Reminisce Over You”.

Note:  If any of the links don’t work, let me know, and I’ll find an alternate version:

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Happy Bday, Bob Marley!

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Nesta Robert Marley, OM, pka “Bob Marley”, was born February 6, 1945 and passed on May 11, 1981.  He is an icon in reggae music and is credits with helping the spread of both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement throughout the world.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  As such, rather than post original recordings of Bob Marley performing, I figured that I’d share some of my favorite covers and renditions of those songs that he made so famous.  In no particular order, here they are:

NOTE:  If any of the video links don’t work, please comment such, I’ll find a replacement.

Good music, is always good music, regardless of who sings the song.

Young bud nuh know storm (experience teaches wisdom).  Respect, Bob.

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Music Splurge: Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Humble Pie

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This past weekend I stopped by record store to do a little “research” on two band’s whose music I don’t own:  Humble Pie and Emerson Lake and Palmer.

Humble Pie

I recently blogged about Steve Marriott, and I was particularly drawn to his work with Humble Pie, specifically his live performance of an Ike and Tina song called “Black Coffee” [Click here to read the blog and check out the video].  I made it my quest for the weekend to find it on vinyl.

I figured I’d start with their first albums, so I bought “Lost and Found”.

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This album was a double LP compilation for the United States which contained their first two albums originally released in the UK: ” As Safe As Yesterday Is” and “Town and Country”.  Both individual albums received excellent reviews.

If you didn’t already know, the original incarnation of Humble Pie featured Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton, and both of these albums, and particularly as a compilation, really shows the musical genius of the members of the band.

The musical stylings of “As Safe As Yesterday Is” covers blues rock to hard rock.  In fact, this album was the inspiration of the term “heavy metal” as it was used in a Mike Saunder’s 1970 Rolling Stone article to describe an element and stylings of the sound on the album.  The quote is as follows:

“Here Humble Pie were a noisy, unmelodic, heavy metal-leaden shit-rock band, with the loud and noisy parts beyond doubt.”[Click Here For Source]

“Town and Country”, on the other hand, is a predominantly acoustic album.  Though Humble Pie tended to lean towards the “heavier” stylings throughout their career, this album seems to demonstrate the bands more “sensitive” side.  More country than  city.  I think any music enthusiast can probably draw from the album that this may have been a foreshadow of the type of music Peter Frampton would pursue in his solo career.

In my opinion, this compilation album was the perfect introduction, at least for me, to the band.  “As Safe as Yesterday” reveals a new band putting together a new, rough and raw sound that they’d develop, while “Town and Country” was just the opposite.  A very insightful album, and highly enjoyable.

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I bought “Rock On” because this was the last album that Peter Frampton performed on for Humble Pie.  Based on what I’ve read, it was this album which solidified Humble Pie’s legacy as being a preeminent heavy blues/rock band.

The production quality of this album is quite stunning, and it’s probably because Glyn Johns produced it.  While listening to the album, it really felt like I was in a club listening to the band play live, but it is so clean.  Peter Frampton kills it on his guitar parts, and Steve Marriott wails through blues riff after blues riff.

A terrific album and worth every penny.

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I probably didn’t need to buy this album, but it was the only vinyl in stock that had a recording of “Black Coffee”.  Mission accomplished.

Emerson Lake and Palmer

Progressive Rock.  Some love it.  Some hate it.  For me, I just have to be in the mood for it.  Emerson, Lake & Palmer was on of the largest progressive rock bands during the 1970s.  Their self titled, debut album was an album that I thought I should have in my collection because it was, if you are in the mood for it, an album that you can drop the needle on and just let play.

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I’ve only listed to this album once in it’s entirety, and it’s just simply overwhelming.  I’ve studied music.  I’m familiar with jazz music.  I’m familiar with classical music. I’m familiar with rock music.  With Emerson, Lake and Palmer, it’s like the edges all blur and … you’re just overwhelmed by their musicianship.  I’ll be honest with you, I can’t hum a single musical passage from the album, but I’ll guarantee you that it blew my mind.

The other Emerson, Lake and Palmer album I bought is a live concert recording of the band titled “Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends: Ladies & Gentlemen, Emerson Lake & Palmer”

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Let’s just say I’m holding off on that one for a little while.  I’ll need a good two hours to listen to the four sided album, and I understand that I need to listen to it loud … really loud.

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Laura Mvula’s “Jump Right Out”

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I’ve been on a jazz/neo-soul/R&B kick the past week, and one of the artist’s that I’ve been playing over and over again is Laura Mvula.  I posted a live performance of her song “She” a little while ago: https://musicofmymind14.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/laura-mvulas-she-live-lauramvula-youre-amazing/.  I felt like sharing another video of hers.  The song is amazing and the video, with its cool stop-motion, paper animation is quite fitting.

For your aural pleasure, Laura Mvula’s “Jump Right Out”.  Enjoy.

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In Memoriam | Steve Marriott |1947-1991 | You, Sir, Were A Bad Ass Frontman

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I always stayed away from the band Small Faces because I knew Rod Stewart used to front that band. I recently found a copy of Small Faces’ “Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake” and when I listened to the first few tracks off the album I said to myself, “This isn’t Rod Stewart.”

Steve Marriott was the original front man of Small Faces, and to my dismay, I just found that out. He’s got a killer rock voice. Check out the 1968 video clip of Small Faces, fronted by Steve Marriott, singing “Talk To You” and “Rollin’ Over”.

I found another killer video of Humble Pie performing “Black Coffee” back in 1973.  Wow.  I wish I could sound like that.  Artful dodger indeed.

Look’s like I’ll have to look into Humble Pie now…

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“From Me To You”: PHAZE

My client Phaze just released his newest mix-tape titled “From Me To You”.  Click through on the following link and click the photo on the webpage to automatically download it to your computer:  http://officialphazemusic.com.

We’ve been hustling since last year trying to make some good music and getting it out there to the masses.  You may remember me pushing the song “Kosher” hard last year (over 40,000 views!).  After all, I did have a 3 second cameo in the video 😉

Every so often, I meet artists who really impress me. Every so often, I meet an artist who blows me away because not only are they musically talented, but they also possess a personable and self-assured aura about them. Something more than just music. Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been wrong more than I’ve been right, but just trust me when I say that I’ve hit the nail dead on the head a couple times with a handful artists who turned out to be pretty damn big (too bad I wasn’t making client decisions back in the day… lol).  These days, though, working alone, I can pick and choose my projects. Now, I don’t just dole out free work left and right, and I know that I shouldn’t really gamble with business, but where’s the fun if you never take a risk and go with your gut.

A few years ago I met Frank Freeman, pka “Phaze”, through another client of mine.  He was a kid just finishing high school, whose parents, bless their hearts, wanted their kid to at least have a chance to chase the music dream.  But there was something about him that really made me pay attention.

Don’t get me wrong, the music and videos he put together with his high school friends … let me repeat …. high school … were really good.

Exhibit “A”:

Exhibit “B”:

I could just see it in his eyes that he wanted it and wanted to hustle to get it done.  I hooked him up with some of the people that I work with on the regular, and we started turning out more music [you can download a free copy of Phaze’s mixtape “Dead Memories” here: http://www.datpiff.com/Phaze-Dead-Memories-mixtape.320575.html] and more videos to showcase Phaze’s evolution.

“Exhibit “C”:

Exhibit “D”:

Exhibit “E”:

I’m looking forward to letting you know when his next album is about to drop.  In the meantime, you can check out iTunes and buy copies of Phaze’s singles “Stoner Girl” https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stoner-girl-single/id572658954 and “Kosher” https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/kosher-single/id538080875 and peep the latest video for the first track off of “From Me To You” called “Black & White” below:

I hope that you’ll support independent music and hip-hop that’s as true and pure as it gets. “From Me To You” is now available as a free download.  Again, click through the link and click on the photo on the page for the free download: http://officialphazemusic.com.  Feel free to hitch a ride.

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Social Distortion at the House of Blues (Sunset) 01/26/13

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Social Distortion sold out over 25 shows for a residency of various Southwest House of Blues (“HOB”) venues.  Their shows at the HOB Sunset location sold out almost a quickly as they went on sale.  I remember when those tickets went on sale … and I remember when I called in to find out that those tickets had sole out…  Thankfully, Social Distortion and HOB decided to add additional shows, and I was lucky enough to grab a few tickets!

Based on what I’ve researched, Social Distortion used to do a Southwest residency at a venue once a year, but the last time they did residency was five years ago.  Apparently, they’ve been touring relentlessly the past two years domestically and internationally.

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I’ll be honest with you… I didn’t grow up listening to punk and rockabilly.  I mean, I always knew that Social Distortion were one of the pioneering bands of the Southern California punk rock movement during the late 70s and 80s, but (and I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit it …) it wasn’t until I played “Story of My Life” on Guitar Hero III that I started to really pay attention.  When I read that Pearl Jam did a couple of shows with them back in 2009, I really started to pay attention.  Hell, if they were good enough for Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready, then it must be good for me!

Mike Ness, the lead vocalist and guitarist, and the only original member of the band, performed with the energy of a rock-and-roller half his age (50).  It was a good crowd at the HOB with the pit swirling around with male and female bodies alike.

They played songs I knew and songs I didn’t.  Most the crowd was singing along, but even though I didn’t know all of the words by heart, it really didn’t matter.  Getting lost in the music, dancing with abandon, in a cloud of some smoke from the hidden doobies people in the crowd were lighting, it was what I would have imagined it was like back in the late 70s and 80s had I gone to a show back then.  It was like everyone was immersed in some kind of nostalgic, punk era haze, where nothing mattered except the music. It was a good feeling.

It’s pretty crazy, but even though Social Distortion has been around since 1978, they’ve only released 7 studio albums and 1 live album, and I  only have two digital tracks: “Story of My Life” and “Ring of Fire” (by the way, not many artists can cover Johnny Cash and Social Distortion’s recording (and live performance) of “Ring of Fire” is as faithful to the original attitude as it gets.

I think it’s time for me to start buying the albums…. starting with “Mommy’s Little Monster”.

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The Stone Roses Headlining Friday Night of Coachella!

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The lineup for Coachella 2013 came out last night, and the first band listed, to my immense joy, was The Stone Roses.

There are other notable acts that were listed: Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand (2004 anybody?), Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Hot Chip and Passion Pit (Coachella 2010 revisited?), Lou Reed, Postal Service, OMD and New Order (British New Wave contingent?), Descendents, Violent Femmes and DInosaur Jr (80s, early 90s, throwbacks?)… BUT, my quest for the a “golden wristband” (Coachella issues wristbands instead of tickets) is ground in the fact that The Stone Roses are headlining Friday night.

Their self-titled debut album was a sensation. From the moment you pressed play, there was no reason to fast forward or skip through tracks because, as a whole, that album was perfect. Their brand of indie rock fused guitar pop with dance culture, but it’s attitude was all rock and roll.

Lead singer Ian Brown’s vocals assumed a laid back and nonchalant approach which seems almost to be contradictory in style to the underlying music, but it all meshed together. “I Am the Resurrection”, “I Wanna Be Adored” and “She Bangs The Drums” are highlights from the album.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the “kids” responding to the line-up news seem to be disappointed with some of the selections. They seem to be more upset that Daft Punk or other “dance” acts aren’t on the bill. What they don’t seem to understand is that The Stone Roses have musical, historical relevance in that they created an album that brought, and in late 80s and early 90s, “dance music to an audience that was previously obsessed with droning guitars, while it revived the concept of classic pop songwriting and the repercussions of its achievement could be heard throughout the ’90s.” (quoted from http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-stone-roses-mw0000653335)

It’s too bad that the younger generations can’t understand how big this act is in the context of music history. Hopefully, newbies at their crowd at Coachella will hear and feel the the amazingness of their music like I did when I first pressed play on that used cassette tape that I bought back in high-school.

Cheers, Goldenvoice and Coachella. You’ve made one hopeful patron very happy.

UPDATE: Click here to read my blog entry about Coachella and The Stone Roses performance.

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Jose James’ “Park Bench People” (Live)- A Cover of a Freestyle Fellowship Classic

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Back when I was a young tyke, I was heavily influenced by jazz infused hip-hop. Tracks by A Tribe Called Quest, Guru and De La Soul were getting heavy spins on the radio, but I was more drawn in to the underground sounds of the Los Angeles based hip hop group (being an Angeleno) Freestyle Fellowship. Their album “Innercity Griots” is, by my standards, a hip-hop classic.

Earlier today, a Facebook friend posted a couple videos of a relatively new American vocalist named Jose James who blends modern jazz and hip hop to perfection. After snooping the inter-webs for more information about his albums, I found that he covered one of my favorite Freestyle Fellowship tracks, “Park Bench People”. 

Jose James’ cover of “Park Bench People” blew my mind, and I hope that it impresses you as much as it impressed me.

Enjoy.

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REM’s “Losing My Religion” (the original) Turned Happy

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A friend of mine posted this digital reworking of REM’s “Losing My Religion” on Facebook and I had to share it. The video takes the original tune, set in a minor key, and digitally reworked it (the original, mind you) and transformed the instrumental and vocals to fit in a major scale.

This blew my mind. Prepare to have you minds blown as well.

Warning:  It may mess with your head for a few minutes afterwards…

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