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BILLYRACXX. Photo: Shane Converse
There’s a pretty good chance that you don’t know Orlando native turned Houstonian BILLYRACXX. However, if you took the time to check out last year’s Billy Ocean Two, you might wonder why you missed such a prolific performer. Known for an intense live show, the rapper is on the cusp of the new Houston rap world, where fans mosh at shows and get crazy like they’re at a hardcore show. Keeping things on the next level, today BILLYRACXX released a 20 minute film entitled Flamingos and Finches, and it’s pretty epic. The film, featuring new tracks, concert footage, and intimate behind the scenes footage showcases how intense the rapper’s shows are and how next level he’s doing things. The Houston rapper plans on releasing the soundtrack to the film immediately following this weekend’s Super Bowl LI. The album will feature guest spots from OG Maco and Greg Money, and if it’s as insane as the film, it should be a welcome follow up to his album last year.
While there are no shows planned around the soundtrack release, you’d be doing yourself not to keep an eye out for BILLYRACXX, as he’s definitely at the forefront of the next wave in Houston hip hop. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/houstons-billyracxx-debuts-20-minute-film/ It’s that time again, when we remind the world the music video is alive and well and kicking ass as an art form. Let’s see what hit the internet this week!
5. Fit for an Autopsy — “Heads Will Hang” As America continues to lurch headfirst into a dystopian future under the Trump administration, it’s made the world look a little bleak these days. Enter “Heads Will Hang,” directed by Max Moore. It starts off a little slow, but eventually the story of a young family watching their country fall apart reaches out and grabs a viewer by the throat. It’s loud and utterly unapologetic in its vision of a mad world, and that makes it the perfect music video for this time.
4. Boy Epic — “Kanye’s in My Head” “Kanye’s in My Head” is almost a send-up on the concept of the music video itself. It’s expertly shot like a good David Fincher flick, but with somewhat comically amateurishly-looking effects that feel like someone crudely defacing images in MS Paint. The combined effect is dreamlike and gritty at the same time, giving the video a unique identity unlike pretty much anything else to come out over the last year. The fact that Boy Epic has such a compelling physical presence in his movements certainly doesn’t hurt the video’s watchability either.
3. Moon Duo — “Cold Fear” Micah Buzan’s glorious animation makes it feel like Liquid Television never left. “Cold Fear” is a stomach-churning visual experience that plays with body horror and cannibalism themes. Every second makes your skin crawl, like you’re being forced to watch someone else’s nightmare in progress. It’s just beautifully grotesque.
2. LP — “Tightrope” LP has gotten to be one of the most wonderfully playful pop stars out making magic in the world. “Tightrope,” directed by Chuck David Willis, is a pretty standard love story video, but it gains so much from every gesture and turn that LP makes that it feels new and epic. The boardroom opening is one of the most solid comedic bits ever shot for a music video, and LP pulls off every punchline perfectly with little more than a crooked smile. It’s a simple video, but fun for all that.
1. Shannon Taylor — “Two-Faced” “Two-Faced” hangs pretty much all of its hopes and dreams on the make-up effects done by DeAndrea Vaughn, and it pays off! The cherubic Taylor also makes a damned frightening demon, representing her darker half as she wanders a rotting and abandoned house. The video is capriciously evil, and Taylor eats up every inch of scenery. Definitely the best new video of the week! from http://www.freepresshouston.com/top-5-music-videos-of-the-week-boy-epic-lp-more/ NOTS. Photo: Don Perry
“When the real world is transformed into mere images, mere images become real beings-dynamic figments that provide the direct motivations for hypnotic behavior.” – Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle. The face presented to the world, the idea of saving face; presentation is the play of the day. It all becomes disingenuous, the whole thing, the betrayals and the truths, all determined as the catalyst and the revolution, the prophecies and the protest. Somehow, in all of this, we are just playing our part, participating in the melee; “You, stand here, now throw a rock.” So, we put on that face, masking the truth, or whatever that means. NOTS is a band from Memphis, a wonderful band, that has made an equally wonderful album called Cosmetic. A great word, “cosmetic.” Masking injury or imbuing performance, a prosthetic limb or a clown’s face, a toupee. “It’s more about the façade,” informs guitarist, singer, and phone conversationalist Natalie Hoffman. “The title Cosmetic actually comes from a Pablo Neruda poem where he calls government propaganda cosmetic, a band aid to a much larger wound, something that is completely false and it easy to see through if you’re paying attention.” And at this point, who isn’t paying attention? But what is being attended to? There is no shortage of outrage and discontentment, but how much of it is manufactured. Here is your Che Guverra blend, half off with Frantz Fanon quote. There is a sense that it has all been commodified, rendered clear of relevance or impact. It is only another voice, another sentence on a poster board, we have been pacified by revolt. “Choreographed discrepancies over hearts and minds tonight.” – “Blank Reflection” Cosmetic takes shape and form, within that shape emotes color and wonder. It’s like looking at the radar of a storm and then being in the actual storm; those shades of yellow and red are not the trees being blown down the street, and the floods and the lightning, but they are indicators of the chaos, to know you are in it, and then actually be in it. “A slight of hand, a human face, I lost my way, through a scripted rage / a new structure, a used structure, and unrelenting atmosphere of fear.” – “New Structure” “It’s certainly a positive thing that people are starting to question the systems around them,” says Hoffman. “We’re still stuck in a system that is just so scripted against those ideas, so as much as I want to fight with them, and I do, it’s it’s hard to see something coming into fruition when our government is so stacked against the positive change that so many people want, so it does keep us sort of stuck.” CAN had a wonderful album, Monster Movies, which contained the song “You Doo Right.” It reminds me a lot of NOTS’s music. There’s the rhythmic center of Charlotte Watson on drums, outlining the structures and establishing form, Meredith Lones then creates a bassline, hues and temperature, Hoffman and Alexandra Eastburn are the expressions and effects, ricocheting off of each other, flying around and within; it’s a beautiful thing. An attack within defined space, a marked plan of departure, each song seems as if ends and beginnings are coincidental. There is method, the challenge of structure and definition. “I would say that it’s a challenge that we like to present,” Hoffman notes. “At this point we’ve come to embrace it, for a while, especially with the song ‘New Structures,’ that was one. That song actually turned into three different songs on the album; at one point, ‘Rat King,’ ‘New Structures, and ‘Blank Reflection’ were almost the same, not really, but like a rock opera. For us there was editing. When did go into the studio to record, the songs were complete in a way, but we thrive off of a certain extent of improv in the songs, so the songs can go forever or be short or whatever. We were very comfortable in the studio because we recorded with a friend, and what we would basically do is record three different versions, or four sometimes of the same song, just playing it as we felt it was natural and it would hardly ever be the same and then we would sit down and say ‘I think that one has the best verve or feels the most alive and feels the most like we’re all listening to each other.’ So yeah, it’s a challenge, but at the same time it’s just something we’ve come to accept about ourselves.” In preparation for writing about someone, it is not always encouraged, but it is a practice: reading what was written before about someone you are about to interview. Well, mainly to get a sense of context before trying to establish and individually, or at least a respectfully derivative version. Well, a phrase that often appeared was “all girl.” I struggle with the term because it is sort of a misnomer by default of possible being reductive, not intentionally though, but to fetishize something as common as playing music. Is it so weird that there would be some bands primarily be made up of women? But, on the other hand, there is truth in experience; I am sure that it is in some way inspiring and it is significant in a truth to power sense, Black music does inject some semblance of experience of racial identity in relation to “the world,” but at the same time… “I think it often goes both ways for me,” says Hoffman, “Unfortunately, the press often wants to turn it into a very one sided ordeal, they want to make it like, ‘You’re not a feminist if you don’t like these all female bands,’ and of course I don’t like a bunch of ‘all female’ bands, I mean I like them, too, but that doesn’t define whether I like the music. Someone’s gender, or any defining factor about someone, it’s not that, you know, like you said, it’s a band. There’s a music part, but there is also of course a perspective part, and that is where I say that it is important to think about it both ways, because when you watch someone and you consider where their coming from. People always ask, ‘Who inspired you vocally?’ and plenty of women did, absolutely, but I was also inspired by The Germs and The Stooges, just like anyone else that’s into punk rock. I think it’s important to have a broad viewpoint of this and not let yourself fall into the easy traps, the traps of, ‘Well, they’re women so they play guitar like this,’ or some weird essentializing factor. It’s a very reductive way to be and it’s also silly to put someone on a pedestal of like, ‘You’re all girls and you seem like you think about politics and your place in things and blah blah blah,’ so all your songs have to be about that. I just think it’s important to consider perspective and consider the fact that, [the music] does fit into the larger context and we’re not just our own little sub group. I never sat down and said this has to be an all-female band, it was just how most people get bands together, ‘These are my friends, oh cool they like to play music, let’s try it, we’re all drunk, it sounds like a great idea.’” NOTS is performing at Rudyard’s (2010 Waugh Dr.) on Thursday, February 2 along Keno Sims. Tickets are $13 and doors are at 8 pm. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/an-interview-with-nots/
Not your ordinary spinach dip. No Artichokes in this one and one of my favorites. How many dips can you name from your years of cooking. Onion dip was on top of my list and way back when I used Lipton Onion Soup mix to make it. I can only imagine what a homemade version would taste like; will have to give that a try. Mexican Cheese Dip was always a favorite also. Adventurous wasn’t in my vocabulary back then. I knew onion and cheese dip, that’s about it. Then one day someone tried putting spinach and artichokes together; [...]
from http://houstonfoodblog.com/houstonfood/houston-food-blogs/hot-spinach-dip-with-tomatoes/ We are thrilled to partner with Camp Olympia to bring you this sponsor content, and we hope it helps bring you and your son a little closer this February too!There is nothing quite like that mother / son relationship. My six year old is a total momma’s boy — I really dig it. But I’ll […] The post 6 Ways to Connect With Your Son This Valentine’s Day appeared first on Houston Moms Blog. from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HoustonMomsBlog/~3/ywQx5G-TLrg/ Join us for a fun-filled Houston Moms Blog play date at… >>> Goldfish Swim School – West Houston <<< Celebrate the month of love and prepare to swim your heart out at our upcoming play date that’s fun for the whole family! Our partners at Goldfish Swim School – West Houston are pulling out all the stops […] The post {Play Date Announcement} Swim Your Heart Out at Goldfish Swim School – West Houston appeared first on Houston Moms Blog. from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HoustonMomsBlog/~3/78q3Z_K56Oo/ Sonder. Photo: Uncredited/Courtesy of Artist/Facebook
There’s something to be said when artists who share a similar mindset and sound get together to create something new. Sometimes collaborative efforts can fall flat and go nowhere, even if the songs see the light of day. However, for Sonder, the fact that those within the new group share a common interest just makes the tracks hit as they’re intended. On their new EP Into, the three-piece featuring Houston’s Dpat alongside Atu and Brent Faiyaz, the group presents some of the sexiest tracks to drop this year so far.
They get started with the slow burning track “Feel” where the vocals sway onto the track and add a smooth vibe that’s only escalated by Faiyaz and Atu’s vocal prowess. These two together seem to feed off of one another while Dpat’s production offers up the opening soundtrack to either a sexual revolution or just a late night interlude. This matures through the second track with the abundant and rich energy of “Lovely.” There’s a subtle darkness that lingers in the backing tracks while the peppered combination of vocals dances atop lush bass lines and a beat that doesn’t stop, creating sounds like dalliance. The real truth lies in the beats housed in the song, they groove things along and you should find yourself bopping in unison as they thump throughout.
By the third track you should be invested, if not for only trying to see what this three-piece brings to the following songs. With “Sirens,” they opt for a softer approach in opening, before straying and dropping beats and elements that make the track hit with a depth you wouldn’t expect. This is echoed on the fourth song as well. The lengthiest track of the seven, “Too Fast” combines all of the previous elements to create a banger that you will not shake after the first listen. While the tempo never gets fast in terms of progressions, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hit like it’s intended to. Live drums, a syrupy bass, and varying strings and keys collaborate and dance together while the vocals define copulation with hints of animalistic carnality in the breaks. While the interlude sensation of “Baldwin Park” finds it’s way onto the release, and the following track “Searchin” keeps in line with the rest of the album, it’s the sultry simplicity of the album’s closer “Care” that’s the hardest to shake. With an essence that’s closer to the tracks that Maxwell dropped in the ’90s, Sonder creates a very subtle nod to the R&B jams of the past with acoustic guitar and a very unpretentious beat from snaps that stops as soon as it gets going, but still leaves it’s mark as if it were coming in much harder.
The end result is another classic release involving Houston’s Dpat. The tracks come off like a sultry soundtrack to late nights while hitting with an intensity that most can’t achieve whilst swinging a much larger stick. The collaboration with Atu and Faiyaz really bring things together in a way that makes you want to turn off the lights and place your phone on silent. The album is only twenty five minutes in length, but the depth of that time should resonate with anyone after the first listen. While Sonder doesn’t have any live dates scheduled yet, you can pick up the release through all the digital outlets now. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/sonder-drops-sultry-debut/ Surfer Blood. Photo: Courtesy of the band
Florida rock quartet Surfer Blood have experienced known bumps in the roads throughout their five year existence, but, much like anyone as they age, they’ve come out stronger for it. Their upcoming record, Snowdonia, releases on February 3 and includes singles like “Matter Of Time” and “Six Flags In F or G.” Following the passing of guitarist Thomas Fekete, guitarist and lead vocalist John Paul Pitts and his bandmates were stuck in a position with a lengthy tour just months ahead with an empty spot, though more importantly a lost friend, so they scrambled to tie the knots together, later adding Mike McCleary to fill in. In advance of their show tonight at White Oak Music Hall, Free Press Houston spoke to Pitts about the band, the album, and a few of their misfortunes.
Free Press Houston: Congratulations on your new record, Snowdonia. Before the release date of an album, do you expect a certain response, or is it just a matter of what the public thinks about it post-release? John Paul Pitts: This is our fourth album. We’re always sort of nervous, because you don’t know the reaction that people are going to have. I think this is a really solid record, something we set out for it to be. It’s exactly what I imagined in my head, so I’m really satisfied. Hopefully people will see where we’re coming from. There are also catchy songs, so I think there’s a lot of good stuff on it.
FPH: Going back to the formation of the group, is it fair to say that an electronic festival was the birthplace of Surfer Blood? Can you elaborate on that? Pitts: I don’t know if that’s completely fair, but it’s part of the reason we all got together, yeah. I assume you’re talking about the fact that we met at an Ultra Music Festival after party, which is a true story. I did not make that up. We had played a show at this bar in Miami earlier that night — we basically played to a few people who came out to the show. Afterwards, we were at the bar hanging out and our friend called us from down the street at this crazy after party. We weren’t busy, so we were like, “Okay, we’ll go to that. Why not?” That was the first night Thomas and I hung out. I had seen him play with his various bands throughout the years, but we’ve never actually met. We met that night, exchanged numbers, and we went to practice together the next day. A month later we were booking shows all along the east coast. That was really fact. It was, in part, half EDM to thank for.
FPH: Did you attend the festival as well? Pitts: Oh, the Ultra? No, we were just going to the party because we were 23 and it was free, you know? I don’t remember anything about it, I’ve never been to Ultra, still after all of these years. I wanted to go the year Kraftwerk played, though. I honestly don’t listen to a lot of that music, but it seems like a lot of fun.
FPH: How do bands like Kraftwerk and Chromeo pull it off, playing largely-DJ festivals, even though they’re more like bands? If offered, would you play one of those festivals? Pitts: Oh, yeah! I’d be happy to play. I think people would be very confused as to why a four-piece rock band was playing, though. For bands like New Order and Chromeo, it fits. But yeah, I’d be happy to. There’s a lot of young people who are open-minded, who listen to that as well as other stuff, so I don’t doubt that there’d be some people who’ve never heard of us that would catch our set. But the offer hasn’t come yet, so we’ll see [laughs].
FPH: For anyone unaware, this is your first record following the death of Thomas Fekete, your guitarist and founding member of the band. Were any of the songs recorded while Thomas was still in the group, or is this entirely following his passing? Pitts: Well, most of this was written during the period when Thomas was sick. He left the band in January of 2015, and that’s when we heard the news that they found cancer cells. After that we had about 50 shows already booked, and we were leaving in a month-and-a-half to do these. We got our friend Mikey to step in. We were really scrambling to play those shows. After the tour I went back home to California, where I had been living for years now. It was during that period where we had a few months at home, so everything started to slow down and get quiet, so we started to write a lot of songs that ended up on this record.
FPH: To clarify, you said your tour consisted of 50 stops? That seems like a very lengthy run. Pitts: Yeah. Our last record — we had already recorded it, got a release date, and had the tour booked when we found out about Thomas. But yeah, we played around 40 to 50 shows booked in 2015.
FPH: On this tour, you’re playing another lengthy set of dates. Have you always preferred to visit as many venues as you could, or have you started to enjoy it more once the band has progressed? Pitts: I don’t really have a preference. At this point, we’ve done every kind of tour imaginable — you know, we’ve been around for five years. I’ve never really thought about that, actually. I guess I like to do shorter ones, but we don’t always have that luxury.
FPH: Has Snowdonia come with switching up your tour gear? What’s on your board right now? Pitts: Well, I’m not big on switching up gear. Michael, the other guitarist, is always getting new pedals and adding or taking them away. He owns a ton of guitars and a ton of amplifiers, it’s like, you never know what he is going to have when we load in. When I find a guitar or pedal I like, I usually stick with it for a long time. I never sell gear, I always hold onto it. I get so attached to it. I use one of those Mad Professor Sweet Honey overdrives, it plays great with pretty much any amp. I’ve always used those EHX Memory Boy’s — I’ve had so many of those, because they do break sometimes, but they have that modulation knob that you can do so much with. Other than that, just a clean boost, and sometimes I’ll add a chorus in there. I get really confused trying to assemble a whole pedalboard, because I’m playing and singing.
FPH: You have performed live using a Harmony Bobkat, a vintage Japanese guitar. What drew you to those, being as Harmony’s in general were built pretty poorly? Pitts: Well, the Bobkat, which, unfortunately, was stolen — I actually loved that guitar. Not because it was easy to play — it was very difficult to play — there was not dots on the fretboard, so you always had to guess where you were landing, which is difficult to do while you’re singing and playing guitar. But those gold-foil pickups were absolutely incredible, they’re so crunchy and unique sounding. Actually, Michael has a Telecaster, and he dropped in a goil-foil middle pickup, so he has the best of both worlds.
FPH: When exactly did the break-in happen? Were you able to recover any of the gear? Pitts: Oh, well we had a break-in back in 2015 in Chicago. But that wasn’t the first time that has happened to us, which is unfortunate. It’s sort of a fact of life when you’re on tour. Back in 2013, I had a few guitars stolen, they were really nice. They were guitars I really loved, so that was the last time I brought guitars I really love out on tour. But you know, it’s just an unfortunate fact of life, that there is petty crime. You have to constantly watch your stuff. We’ve had stuff stolen from our dressing rooms, too. Being on tour just means constantly watching over your things. You know, it’s sad but true. I’ve never gotten anything back that was stolen, despite my best efforts. Usually, once it’s gone, it’s gone. And there’s no hope in finding it, even with the benefit of the internet and being able to send stuff.
FPH: What are we expected to see at your show in Houston? Pitts: I think of us as guitar-driven, melodic-based — just, you know — heavily effected pop music. Like, I get asked this question a lot. Early on, I would tell people “If the Beach Boys had overdrive pedals.” That’s what Surfer Blood is going for. I think that’s still true today. Even though a lot of influences have crept in through the years, it’s what we go for, that’s out default setting. The last time we played Houston, I ended up crowd surfing and knocking out one of the stage lights with the headstock of my guitar. It usually, depending on the night, gets pretty wild. We’re going to be playing a bunch of new stuff. Oh, and we sell our own merch. We’re a very friendly band, and there should be a lot of great energy.
Surfer Blood will perform alongside Young Mammals on Monday, January 30 at White Oak Music Hall (2915 N. Main). Doors are at 7 pm with $15 tickets. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/thats-our-default-setting-an-interview-with-surfer-blood/ Grief is such a strange thing. When we lose those who we love so dearly, grief manifests itself in different forms. It cycles in and out of our lives as we grow older, experience new things, and change our priorities and perspectives. Some days it weighs heavier on us than others. Sometimes it’s a thought […] The post Losing My Parents Made Me a Better Mom appeared first on Houston Moms Blog. from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HoustonMomsBlog/~3/YXi0oSV1u3k/ |
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