Intern Matthew’s Weekend Picks: Go Local, People.
Every week, intern Matthew Albasi brings you his musical selections for the coming days …
Holy shit, this weekend is going to be awesome. It seems like the flying spaghetti monster in the sky has conspired to create a weekend not only filled with amazing bands, but amazing bands JUMP has already covered! Every day this weekend has another of JUMP‘s favorite bands playing.
FRIDAY
Nicos Gun, CHAPPO and Blayer Pointdujoir & the Rockers Galore @ The Fire
Raucous Philly miscreants Nicos Gun put on some of the best shows any band can offer. We covered them back in June of 2011. Add in Blayer Pointdujoir, who was in the most recent issue, to the mix and you’ve got a night you won’t soon forget. I’m not too familiar with CHAPPO but if they were put on this bill, you can be damn sure they won’t disappoint.
Yellow Ostrich and Fort Lean @ Kung Fu Necktie
I still don’t understand how more people haven’t heard of Yellow Ostrich. I first heard them while stalking through the archives of La Blogoteque and that video goes down as one of my all time favorites. Their loop pedal-obsessed lead singer/guitarist is just fantastic. Do yourself a favor and go watch their set.
SATURDAY
Those Darlins, Heavy Cream and Slutever @ Johnny Brenda’s
Last issue’s cover story, Slutever, will be bringing up the rear in this estrogen-heavy bill at Johnny Brenda’s. Heavy Cream and Those Darlins will bring their special brand of rock and roll.
If sludge metal and skateboard’s are you kind of thing you better check out this show. After Bum Rush the Spot at FDR skate park head over to EXIT to catch a free show by Warshack. As if that weren’t cool enough, local clothing company Radlands is releasing their new line of threads at the same event.
SUNDAY
Black Landlord and Saint James & the Apostles @ Kung Fu Necktie
This show is being called a “Halloween Extravaganza.” Frankly, I have no idea what that means, but it sounds fun, right? Black Landlord was covered last year by JUMP and their momentum hasn’t slowed since. Philly locals Saint James & the Apostles are opening with their three-piece holy acid rock stylings.
Electric Six, Little Hurricane and Starwood @ Milkboy Philly
Want to get a little weird? This show is for you. Electric Six is somewhere between Michael Jackson and Rocky Horror. There isn’t much more to say about them. Little Hurricane is likely to set the stage like it’s their living room and their gorgeous sound will surely sway you. But don’t let their innocent faces fool you, they’re kinda weird too. Finally, the acronym-loving S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D. (Sociopathic Time Altering Robot Warrior of Organic Design) returns from the future to rock your socks.
There you have it, a weekend full of brilliant shows that is so full of former JUMP stories I’m beginning to think editor George Miller might be some sort of Illuminati-appointed master manipulator of the Philadelphia music scene. Have fun this weekend, kids. See you on Halloween.
King Tuff, The Intelligence and Poor Moon @ Johnny Brenda’s.
Text and images by Brian Wilensky.
King Tuff brought his feel-good garage rock back to Johnny Brenda’s Monday night. And if it wasn’t to make the Fishtown crowd dance. It was to find out about something.
“It feels great to be back in Philly,” guitarist and singer Kyle Thomas, known as King Tuff to most, said mid-set. “But why does it smell like bacon everywhere?”
No one had an answer for him.
He and his moustached band – that’s right, they all had matching moustaches – sort of struck poses, smirked and made goofy gestures throughout the night while they rocked through much of this year’s critically acclaimed self-titled release. “Sun Medallion” and “Kind of Guy,” off their 2008 debut album Was Dead, stood out as the band’s tightest. The spell-along “Animal,” at the encore bit the crowd just right as everyone left amped and wearing smiles.
The Intelligence’s dissonant post-punk was fast paced, with little down time. The spastic “Hippy Provider,” from this year’s Everybody’s Got It Easy But Me, featured its weirdo-quivering keyboards, which last night stood on grandma-style walkers instead of a conventional keyboard stand. Approaching the end of their set “Moon Beeps,” off of Deuteronomy got a slightly extended intro so frontman Lars Finberg could take an extra sip of wine.
It couldn’t have been another song or two last before The Intelligence droned out their last song into a messy wash of fuzz, when Finberg slithered along the front of the stage onto one of the nearby tables just underneath the balcony. Before anyone could tell what was going on he simply handed his guitar to some guy at the table and grabbed onto the pole wrapped in wires for lighting that scales the wall. He pulled himself up onto the balcony and over the railing just to run back down to the floor, grab his guitar from the guy, take the stage again and end the noisy jam.
Before The Intelligence, Poor Moon’s baroque-like mellow pop featured Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott of Fleet Foxes. The shakers on nearly every song, harpsichord keyboards and airy vocal melodies made for a sunny, west coast vibe, breezing by the entire time they had the stage. Unfortunately, they didn’t get much of the crowd since they came on first.
“We’ve got a real quality over quantity vibe going right now, guys,” said Wargo between songs.
But that’s not a bad thing.
WIN FREE TICKETS: Shiny Toy Guns, MNDR and Colourmusic @ The North Star Bar Saturday.
Saturday should be a dance-your-ass-off kind of night the North Star Bar as Shiny Toy Guns, MNDR and Colourmusic will take the stage. MNDR, you may recall, is part of Mark Ronson’s crew, The Business Intl.
Email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com to enter to win a pair of tickets (give us your name and put “Shiny Toy Guns” in the subject line).
If you want to play it safe and get your own tickets, find details here.
Cafe Soho: The Mecca of Korean Fried Chicken And K-Pop.
Text by Seri Chao. Images by G.W. Miller III.
You know you’ve found the Mecca of Korean fried chicken bliss when you come face to face with the statue of a mysterious red monk that greets you at the front door. The next thing you should anticipate is the wait. You’re not the only one who’s been salivating all day. Welcome to Café Soho.
Shining liked a crowned jewel on Cheltenham Avenue, the Seoul-chic lounge serves up the tastiest chicken wings in Philadelphia. It’s true. Ask Micheal Solomonov, the James Beard Award-winning chef of Society Hill’s Zahav and the uber-popular Federal Donuts. He’s such a huge fan that Federal Donuts serves chicken wings inspired by Café Soho.
Magical seems like an unusual and even tacky way to describe the feeling you get when you’re eating fried chicken but there doesn’t seem to be a better way to describe the gluttonous rampage you will experience at Soho.
On most nights, owner Sue Park stands firmly, surveying the restaurant like the general of an army while her infantry of servers hustles back and forth with large trays of perfectly fried chicken.
Park opened Café Soho, her first restaurant venture, about five years ago with the intention of introducing Korean fried chicken to Philadelphia. The décor of the restaurant is a reflection of her impeccable taste. The ceiling is a beautiful black tile that reflects the glow of the red-leather booths and other color accents that flow throughout the restaurant. In the middle of the ceiling hangs a huge, white orbital chandelier that brings all of the aesthetic nuances together.
“It was pretty busy earlier but it’s died down a bit tonight,” says manager Sean Jeon, who is dressed in a slim black suit.
Hungry patrons usually show up much later in the night, he says.
When Park decides that everything is under control and she can call it a night, Jeon escorts her to her car, clutching her Louis Vuitton bag.
When he returns, the music suddenly kicks up a notch and the young crowd seems more alive. Perhaps it’s because they’ve been drinking watermelon soju all night or because of the infectious sounds of K-Pop blaring throughout the restaurant. Forget about the language barriers one might have difficulty with. This music is catchy enough that you don’t need a translator to enjoy it.
“There are people who aren’t Korean who ask me for the name of the artists,” says server Ji Kwag. “They want to hear more.”
Kwag rattles off names of Korean groups like Big Bang and Girls’ Generation. The song that’s currently playing is by the Wonder Girls. It’s a pulsating, rhythmic blend of old-school dance and catchy vocals.
“All of the music you hear is on my iPod,” Kwag boasts. “It’s a collection of my favorite music.”
Tucked in a corner of the restaurant is a tiny stage with a microphone. In between serving wings and drinking soju, a couple of the staffers will serenade the crowd with popular songs. It’s something new that they’ve been doing for a few months now and the patrons seem to enjoy the live action.
Kwag jokes that Jeon makes him sing in between serving. But he actually enjoys performing every once in a while – he’s competed at several singing competitions.
“Some of the guys are really good,” says Jeon. “It’s just a good way for them to have some fun at work.”
K-Pop is definitely one of the main reasons why people clamor through the doors at Soho.
“That’s the reason why people are flocking to oh ka, which translates into Five Street,” says Kwag of Café Soho’s location just off 5th Street. “It’s just a cool place to enjoy music and eat good food.”
Quality and detailed preparation, however, appear to be the main reasons why Café Soho has been so successful.
“The cooking process itself is a labor of love,” Park says.
The wings are fried twice to ensure that each wing is crispy on the outside and perfectly moist on the inside. The final step is to hand brush each wing and drumstick with one of their signature flavor blends to ensure a well balanced flavor distribution in each bite. “Our Soho wings are a perfect example of cooking as art,” says Park.
It was Park’s idea to create an environment built on her Korean roots, to serve the community that she’s been active in for years. The restaurant has been so successful that they opened a second location in Blue Bell.
“Everything about Soho has been my mother’s creation and hard work,” says Park’s son, Minu, who also works at the restaurant.
Sue Park exudes a confidence that can be intimidating to those who aren’t familiar to her but it’s a hardly the full story.
“Once you get to know my mother,” says Minu, “you’ll love her.”
Underground Arts: Arts Alive In The Basement.
Text by Rachel Barrish. Images by G.W. Miller III.
Head down the steps of the Wolf Building, on Callowhill at 12th Street, to a colorful hall that leads into a vast space with a stage, concrete pillars and a world of potential.
Underground Arts, a venue for theater productions, performance art, comedy, poetry, dance and music, has been quietly becoming more and more popular over the past few years, growing in size and steadily adding amenities.
This fall, the basement venue was the official bar for the Live Arts/Philly Fringe Festival, hosting the Late Night Cabaret as well as other performances.
Even before becoming Underground Arts, the space already had a somewhat rich and colorful history. It had previously been used as a storage space for the Convention Center and at one point, the room was used to film videos verging on S&M material.
The owner and operator of the building, Gary Reuben, got the idea to create a venue after his son used the space to put on a theatrical production of Appetite, which was directed by Pig Iron Theatre Company alum Sarah Sanford.
Then, everything came together.
Reuben teamed up with his business partner, Gary Reisner, to develop a sustainable place where emerging artists could display their crafts and talents. They received a $50,000 Creative Industry Workforce Grant in 2010 to launch the project.
After that, they began the slow, organic process of clearing out the basement and turning it into a 12,000-square-foot creative outlet for people to see and be seen.
When you walk into Underground Arts now, you enter the main performance space with room for 250 seated or 600 standing. There is a full bar and kitchen. Beyond that space is a whole other room, called The Black Box, which is primarily used for theater and dance performances.
“Producing other types of work makes us different,” says Reuben. “Broader acts can experience new arts and people can form new relationships here.”
Hidden in the back is Lorelei Recording Studio, run by Peter Tramo. It is an up and running facility where bands and musicians may come to rehearse, record, mix and master.
Underground Arts is dedicated to promoting a variety of arts but music has been one of the major draws. Bands such as Vacationer (above), Fishbone, Black Dice, El Malito & the 33rd Century and City Rain have packed the intimate room.
The majority of the booking is done in-house but they have also teamed up with Sean Agnew from R5 Productions, as well as the Electric Factory’s agency, Bonfire LLC.
Melanie Johnson: “I’m a Philly Girl Through and Through.”
As City Representative, Melanie Johnson represents the mayor and the city, handling all sorts of events, like the Welcome America celebration and the Fourth of July Jam. G.W. Miller III talks to the West Philly native about her role in promoting the city.
When the promoters talked to the city about Made in America, was it an easy thing to say yes to because we’re a city that loves music?
The mayor had to make that decision. And the mayor, as I’m sure you know, is a huge lover of music – all kinds of music. The man is never without music.
You deal with commerce but you also work with the folks marketing the city.
The city doesn’t have a whole lot of money. One of the ways we’ve been able to do what we do is through events like Welcome America. I use our special events as marketing tools.
Can music play a role in marketing the city?
So many people have come out of here in the past 10, 15, 20 years. You have such diverse artists as Jill Scott and Pink. Then you have a group like The Roots who have been around much longer than many people know. They are Grammy Award winners and they have a genius in Ahmir (Thompson). He plays with everyone from classical to rap. Working with him has helped us grow Welcome America. We couldn’t have gotten Lauryn Hill without him.
We’d like to do a huge music festival here in Philadelphia. It’s really the only big city that doesn’t have a huge festival. That’s something we’ve been talking about over the years.
We helped launch the Jazz Coalition two years ago. I was part of the Mellon Jazz Festival as a student and I loved it. I remember one night, I was at the Academy of Music where Sarah Vaughan and Miles Davis were on the same ticket. It was the same night that Wynton Marsalis introduced Christian McBride, who was about 15 years old at the time. I left that show and went to the African American Museum where Betty Carter was performing with Abdullah Ibrahim. I was the MC at that concert because I was on WRTI.
You hosted a music show?
Yes. My show was on Saturdays, overnight.
What were you spinning?
Jazz. All jazz. Big band. I was sax woman. And I was a Lee Morgan fan like you wouldn’t believe. I also loved vocals. I loved female groups and I would play them all the time.
How did you not wind up in the music industry?
I did. After I left Temple, I went overseas and worked for the BBC in London. When I came home, I became the producer of Blue Stage, which was a blues program on NPR. I was on NPR for five years. I stayed there until I came back to Philly for a job with Ed Rendell.
How did that happen?
My grandmother got sick. It was her and my mother living together, along with my brother’s son. My mother wasn’t well either. And they were taking care of a 7-year-old kid. So, I had to make a decision. I talked to a bunch of friends before coming back. There just happened to be a job opening up as deputy press secretary for Mayor Rendell.
I’m a Philly girl through and through. I love this city and I have to say I didn’t always love this city. I left this city because there were so many things happening that I didn’t like about the city. I had to leave.
Did the city change or did your perception change?
Meeting Ed Rendell made me change. Ed has such a love for Philadelphia. It is hard to be around him and not fall in love with this city. Working for him really gave me a new perspective of Philadelphia. He gave me my ability back to love this city.
I had traveled around – London, Paris, Italy, New York. My whole world had expanded. I didn’t think I’d come back. Life is funny. And life is really funny that I’m in the position that I’m in as the marketing, promotion and branding person for the city of Philadelphia. Who would have thought that I’d love this city so deeply again?
Do you make time for music anymore?
Not as much as I should.
OFF!, The Spits, and Double Negative @ The First Unitarian Church.
Text by Brian Wilensky. Images by Mike Bucher.
Imagine getting hit by a brick in the teeth. Then imagine getting hit by a brick between the eyes.
Now you have an idea what two songs from OFF!’s set at the First Unitarian Church were like Friday night. The intensity they pounded into the crowd made their return to Philly a circle-pitted massacre. But a band with a lineup like Burning Brides’ Dimitri Coats on guitar, drummer Mario Rubalcaba of Hot Snakes, Red Kross’ Steven McDonald holding down the bass and original Black Flag singer but best known for fronting Circle Jerks, Keith Morris, these guys are quite familiar with such a scene. That said, let’s stop calling them a supergroup. That shit’s lame.
And since Morris is who he is, he thinks it’s acceptable to rant about politics between songs and even before they started. He doesn’t want anyone to vote for anyone in particular, just vote. Then he got pissed off when someone heckled for going on his rant about voting.
“Voting is important!” he yelled back. “This isn’t Rock the Vote or something. You need to take this seriously.”
Listen, Keith, I’m with that guy. Take it somewhere else. No one goes to punk shows to listen to your opinion about, well, anything. ***
OFF! plowed through most of their material from both of their albums, 2010’s First Four EPs and from their recent self-titled album. “Vaporized,” “Jeffrey Lee Pierce,” and “Blast” especially went off like an incendiary grenade. Toward the end of their roughly hour and a half set, the crowd lost when OFF! played their flagship “Black Thoughts.”
The night’s only moment of comedy was when a chick found herself on stage without the cojones to stage dive. OFF!’s song ended and she stood there in front of Coats looking like a deer in the headlights.
Morris then explained, “We have a three second rule and we’re not looking for any new band members either. You come up here and you have three seconds to jump off. Don’t know where? Just jump on your closest friend you see.”
“I want to get back in the crowd but not be treated like an animal,” she replied as it was faintly picked up in Morris’ mic.
Morris got her to step up and take the dive as they burst into their next song.
Before OFF!, The Spits played their stripped-down garage punk. They opened with “Live in a Van,” and with nearly no time between songs blasted through some of their classics “Sk8,” I H8 Pussies” and “Dropout.” They satisfied multiple calls back to the stage as the crowd wouldn’t stop chanting their name.
Due to some issues at the door, I missed Raleigh’s Double Negative. But from outside it sounded heavy and brutal.
Okay, I’m done writing. I have a bangover to nurse.
*** EDITOR’S NOTE: Punk without opinion is pure crap. Keep preaching, dudes.
WIN FREE TICKETS: JJAMZ @ The North Star Bar Tuesday.
Want to see SoCal indie rockers JJAMZ for free on Tuesday with a friend? Email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com to enter to win a pair of tickets (give us your name and put JJAMZ in the subject line).
JJAMZ consists of members of Maroon 5, Rilo Kiley, Phantom Planet and other bands.
Mo Lowda and the Humble, and Ang & The Damn Band will open the show.
Lisa Love’s DJing 101.
Text by Aneesah Coley. Images by Sharon Calvin.
Lisa Love remembers being 18, living in upstate New York, visiting a club one night where she saw DJ Smooth on turntables. It was 1984 and she had grown up listening to the radio. Like many others, Love had never seen a live DJ before, even during her early days in Philly. She was amazed to see someone making music using the ones and twos.
“I was looking at the turntables,” she remembers. “He had a mixer. I didn’t know what none of that stuff was but I just knew that he was making it happen, and making it sound like what I was used to hearing on the radio.”
She started going to the club whenever Smooth was spinning.
“I would go on Fridays and Saturdays and just stand there and watch him,” Love explains.
She eventually went up to him and said, “Yo, you sound like the radio.”
Then she asked him to teach her the craft, which he did. He became her mentor, encouraging her to land her first job as a DJ.
Love has been DJing ever since, performing with or opening for the likes of Bilal, Floetry, Jaguar Wright, Jill Scott, LL Cool J, Musiq Soulchild and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
And now she’s turned the tables – in addition to spinning and mixing professionally, she teaches people the art of DJing from her studio in Kensington.
She founded the More Than Music DJ Institute (MMDJI) in 2007 after being inspired by the volunteer work she did for an organization called The Girls’ DJ Collective.
“It was two ladies who had an after-school program for young girls, 13 to 17,” Love recalls. “It was a DJ class but it taught them more about self-empowerment, to be yourself, free to venture into things that you’re interested in and not worry about it being a male-dominated situation.”
When The Girls’ DJ Collective folded, Love had received the blessings of the organization’s founders to go on and do her own similar thing.
Her students come from all walks of life, staying true to the institute’s motto, “Where Everyday People Become DJs.” She teaches students of various ages, interests and professions. One student, an accountant named Ravi Jackson, has amassed a huge following as an event DJ, specializing in Bhangra and Bollywood music. Another student, Reza Sayah, is a Pakistan-based international correspondent for CNN. He sought out lessons from her during a visit to Philadelphia.
Love teaches on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at MMDJI after finishing her day job as a prison recreation specialist. She gives her all when instructing, offering students four two-hour classes as a course.
“I can teach a person that has no skills how to DJ basically in two hours,” she says with confidence.
Amongst the various things that she uses as teaching tools are Technics, a 57 mixer, Numark NS7 and Serato Scratch Live. Students learn to mix, blend, go from one genre to the next and also how to find their “one,” their rhythm. Students also learn about professionalism and the business side of DJing.
“I love teaching more than I like DJing because I wanna create monsters,” Love admits.
Business has been so good, Love started schools in two other locations – in upstate New York and Greensboro, North Carolina. Her old mentor, DJ Smooth, operates both.
For the past 22 years, Love has worked in the federal prison system. A former social worker, she calls hers the fun job in the prison system, where the prisoners come to classes, learn beneficial societal skills and earn certificates upon successfully completing courses.
To her, it’s both challenging and rewarding.
Born in Southwest Philadelphia in a Catholic home for children and unwed mothers, Love had a tough time growing up, even facing homelessness at one point. Today, stability is really important to Love, which is why she plans to keep her job at the prison alongside her jobs as a DJ and teacher until she reaches retirement.
She says there is neither fear nor intimidation in being one of only a few local female DJs. It inspires her to go hard.
“The females, we’re so small a percentage in the world,” Love says. “I just tell them, ‘Go out there and do it. Don’t be afraid.’”
Daughter and Choir of Young Believers @ Kung Fu Necktie.
Text and images by Grace Dickinson.
Letting out a small giggle between each song, it would’ve been hard not to love Elena Tonra after seeing Daughter play at Kung Fu Necktie this past Tuesday. Aside from the lead singer’s powerful vocals, Tonra emitted a humble happiness that automatically made the audience want to smile too.
“Since we’re here, we should probably have a Philly cheesesteak,” Tonra said quietly, her arms tight by her side with the microphone meeting her grin. “We had one last time we were here. It was good.”
Guitarist Igor Haefeli remarked that the cheesesteak venture was back during one of their first trips to play in the U.S.
Daughter, based in London, originated as solo act from Tonra, who met Haefeli in a songwriting course at a North London music school. After playing guitar at her request during one of her gigs, Haefeli – who is now also Tonra’s boyfriend (sorry dudes), became a permanent member. They created their first EP together, His Young Heart, in 2011.
“You’re going to see a lot of tuning tonight,” said Haefeli after opening with one of Daughter’s new singles, “Run.” “Our instruments seemed not to have survived the plane ride too well.”
Haefeli remarked that the only guitar to stay in tune was the sparkly silver one, which he and Tonra both intermittently used throughout the show (“Probably because of its sparkles,” he said).
Daughter eventually added Remi Aguilella, current drummer, to the band, who set a striking, but not overpowering rhythm, often utilizing cloth-wrapped sticks and drum brushes. It was clear that not one of the three members took any of the crowds’ applause for granted. Twice during the show, Tonra raised her beer to give a modest cheers to the crowd, whom appeared entirely appreciative to be there.
Daughter cozily packed KFN’s intimate space, sparking the crowd to join in the singing when they broke out their hit, “Youth,” midway through the show. Off their latest EP, The Wild Youth, released in the U.S. in March, the track gives way to the relatableness of Daughter’s lyrics of love and growing up. Singing about being reckless, “chasing visions of our futures,” and the luck of being in love because “most of us are bitter over someone,” Tonra speaks of feelings in which nearly every 20-something could relate.
The 22-year-old herself has a beautifully powerful voice that almost resembles Florence Welch of Florence and the Machines, but with a softer side that makes this power also feel gentle.
Many have compared her to Enya, which can be detected in Daughter’s live performance with the distinct pedal effects that are often used to carry Tonra’s voice.
Opening for Daughters was Copenhagen’s Choir of Young Believers. The band is the brainchild of writer and guitarist Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, who pairs his crisp voice with heavy electric guitar, softened by cello and a keyboard that’s often utilized without any of its electric features. There’s also the drummer who could be found frequently breaking set to establish a softer feel with enthusiastic morocco shaking. With vocals like James Taylor, it’s not hard to see why Makrigiannis’ Choir of Young Believers has become a well-known name back in his country of Denmark.
Local singer/songwriter Lucy Stone also performed.
As for Daughter, expect a full-length album to be released this year. Next up they head to New York City for three consecutive shows, alongside the 1,000 plus other artists who will be playing at this year’s CMJ festival.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 