Monthly Archives: July 2010

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AMONG THE GOLD : free album by Cheyenne Marie Mize & Bonnie “Prince” Billy

July 30, 2010 in Music

Last year Will Oldham released Beware [Drag City], the 7th full-length under his Bonnie “Prince” Billy moniker, and set out on a tour in support of it.  Although the album featured Jennifer Hutt, fellow violinist/vocalst, Cheyenne Marie Mize filled her position for the live tour.  Mize also appeared on the four song accompanying EP, Chijimi and, beyond being a very capable violinist, her voice harmonizes beautifully with Oldham‘s, as she was featured prominently in the live performances.  She is also a member of  an old-timey pseudo-bluegrass situation known as Arnett Hollow, as well as working with The Picket Line, a band that Bonnie “Prince” Billy recorded/released his lesser publicized collaborative work Funtown Comedown with at the end of 2009.  Cheyenne is really beginning to come into her own as an independent artist and, later this fall, her first solo album is slated to be released.  For the meantime, another joint effort between Mize and Oldham, titled Among the Gold, is being offered to tide you over.  This time, the collaboration comes in the form of the pair covering 19th century parlor music as a duet and it’s being offered ABSOLUTELY FREE.  It’s only a 6 song effort but it’s a beautiful album and, if it’s any indication of what we can expect from her debut release, things look really promising.

Here’s what Cheyenne Marie Mize has to say about the backstory and fruition of Among the Gold: Read the rest of this entry →

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FREDDIE GIBBS: FREE mixtape / video for “National Anthem (Fuck the World)”

July 29, 2010 in Music, With Video

Those of you who read our previous SXSW-related post about Freddie Gibbs know how excited we are to witness the Gary, Indiana native’s career as it matures.  It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a rapper the likes of Gibbs; one whose career is built off of straight hustle and talent.  Everything about him suggests the complete package of skill, focus, delivery, speed, work ethic, lyricism, legitimacy, etc. etc. etc…  Over the last few years he’s dropped a handful of impressive mix-tapes.  In fact, he dropped 3 of them just last year alone, including the 81 track, The Labels Tryin To Kill Me!.  Even with that much content being released in such a short period of time, it is somehow still all remarkably solid.  After being signed and, subsequently, dropped by Interscope, Gibbs didn’t change up his image and/or shoot for another major label.  Instead, he went even harder, releasing more material, while focusing on quality and creation over hype and marketing.  This guy’s an anomaly, pumping out more and more work just to make room for the next shit.  Last week saw the rapper performing a successful set at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago and, over this week or so, Gangsta Gibbs is making even bigger moves in the way of creating more widespread notoriety for himself. Read the rest of this entry →

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Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers at Chateau Ste Michelle [6.19.10]

July 27, 2010 in Comedy, Music, Reviews

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers

Chateau Ste Michelle Winery

Woodinville, Wa

June 19th, 2010

“Steve Martin Banjo Tour,” were sweeter words ever put together?  Turns out, some things might be better in my “Wild & Crazy” Imagination.” Last month, I was lucky enough to get tickets to see the legendary comedian/banjoist perform with North Carolina‘s Steep Canyon Rangers; part of the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery’s annual summer concert series. I was thrilled at the opportunity. But –now– I kinda feel like a “jerk.” I was, unfortunately, just a little let down by the whole Steve Martin banjo experience… and, now I am putting it out there for the whole world to see.  The following is my totally neurotic review of the whole experience.

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BONE, THUGS, & HARMONY : Live Q&A w/Harmony Korine in Seattle [VIDEO]

July 25, 2010 in art, Global Destruction, Movies / Television, With Video

I started hearing about Harmony Korine‘s new film, Trash Humpers sometime last year.  Slowly more info and video clips would pop up, but my main focus was to find out when I would actually be able to see it.  When that information finally arrived, it was coming from an unlikely source, Drag City records.  Drag City is a record label and, as far as I am aware, this is their first attempt at film distribution.  Aside from that fact, there are actually a few reasons that make the connection between the label and the filmmaker slightly less surprising.  At the end of 2008, Drag City released a collection of Harmony Korine‘s old fanzine work and, earlier that year, they put out the soundtrack to his last film, Mister Lonely, which featured original music by J. Spaceman and the Sun City Girls.  Harmony also has connections to other Drag City artists like Bonnie “Prince” Billy, of whom he has directed a video and even appeared on recordings, while the musician made a cameo in Korine‘s Julien Donkey Boy.  When I found out that Trash Humpers would be screening on June 18th at the NW Film Forum here in Seattle, this was great news because, not only would the director be in attendance, but we have a bit of a connection with Drag City as well.

Harmony Korine is an individual that I’ve been interested in interviewing for quite some time and I had hoped that this might finally be an opportunity to make that happen.  Unfortunately, two issues got in the way of making this a reality.  The first was that I didn’t want to request an interview through our connection at the label until we had already had the last interview with Drag City artist, Baby Dee posted.  Once that was handled, I sent my last-minute request at the worst possible time.  Our contact was traveling out of town, as well as working tirelessly to promote the project, so we were dealing with auto reply emails and missed connections.  We got an encouraging email stating that there was a possibility that the  interview could definitely go down, but never a confirmation that it definitely would.  Thanks to a nearly 1/2 hour Q&A and a flip cam, however, I was able to discover some interesting information and am now able to share the footage with all of you pleasant bastards. Read the rest of this entry →

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RAH DIGGA Returns to Make the Rap Game Grimy Again [w/NEW VIDEO]

July 23, 2010 in Music, With Video

Back when Busta Rhymes was at his peak, releasing rapid fast and genre mutating albums in the nineties, we were introduced to a female rapper that could not only hold her own, but that generally stole the entire show.  Rah Digga definitely provided a good deal of sex appeal to the male dominated rape game, but the important part is that it didn’t define her as an artist.  More than anything, what stood out about Digga was her undeniable lyrical skills and her incredibly raw delivery.  The Femcee wasn’t just another gimmick, holding her own among the most technical underground rappers and even being featured on the classic Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1.  When she joined Busta Rhymes‘ crew, The Flip Mode Squad, it became quickly evident that it would be nearly impossible for her to recede into the background on any track.  Everything about her approach made it clear that she was the real thing; a rapper that was well studied and knew what her abilities were. Read the rest of this entry →

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FUCKING GARBAGE : Harmony Korine’s “TRASH HUMPERS”

July 19, 2010 in art, Global Destruction, Movies / Television, Reviews, With Video

When KIDS was released in 1995, there was a lot of “controversy” behind it’s explicit content involving teens, drugs, and violence.  I remember all of the hype clearly; I was 16 at the time.  The film’s writer, Harmony Korine was 22, however, he was only about 19 when he wrote it [wikipedia claims "18" Korine has guessed "20"].  I watched KIDS and thought that it was a solid film, but it didn’t change my fucking life like the nightly news had claimed that it would.  Then again, I think that any lack of shock value for me may actually be a testament to the reality that had been infused within it.  While KIDS jump started the careers of first time actors like Rosario Dawson and Chloe Sevigney, Korine didn’t quite live up to the “promise” that many had expected for him.  That’s not to say that he didn’t continue to produce amazing pieces of work or to move forward in his career, it’s just that he never seemed harnessed into the limitations and ideas that had been placed on him by others.  One way to put it would be that the “promise” that the golden boy had placed on him wasn’t a promise that he had actually ever “made” himself.  In ways, his story is Pecker-esque and, as quickly as upper class socialites might take in a troubled youth for their own self-righteous ego boost, they will toss his ass out and turn their backs on him once he lives up to his inherent nature by intentionally smashing their Fabergé eggs, getting their daughters drunk, and stealing their Escalades. Read the rest of this entry →

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