tUnE-yArDs @ The Roots Picnic.
Text by Beth Ann Downey. Images by Rick Kauffman.
Backstage at the Roots Picnic on Saturday, Merrill Garbus looked like any other carefree festival-goer.
In a simple purple T-shirt and jeans, she walked around hugging and chatting with friends or texting on her phone.
But leave it to Garbus, the woman behind quirky indie pop band tUnE-yArDs, to take the stage barefooted in pink tights, a black frock with long orange tassels and matching orange face paint.
After playing the picnic two years before, she knew to bring her party clothes and her game face.
“How are you all doing today? In a dancing mood?” she asked the audience after opening her set with the hit track “Gangsta.”
Garbus said backstage that she was excited to play the picnic again, even though a lot of her hip-hop knowledge is dated and she missed Shabazz Palaces, who played earlier in the day. But with fellow festival darling Annie Clark of St. Vincent still to go on, and The Roots and De La Soul rounding out the night, she was still excited for what was to come.
“They’re like the busiest, most hardworking guys in the business right now,” she said of The Roots, and not without personal knowledge.
The Friday before the picnic, the internet buzzed about a collaborative track featuring tUnE-yArDs and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson covering Fela Kuti’s “Lady,” which was made to benefit (Red) and the Red Hot Organization’s fight against AIDS.
Garbus said as soon as she knew she wanted to do a collaboration track for this cause, she knew who she wanted to do it with.
“They’re one of my favorite bands of all time and I think one of the best sounding bands these days just in terms of their musicianship,” she said of The Roots. “So yeah, I inquired whether the collaboration could be with them, and Questlove agreed to do it, so it’s awesome.”
tUnE-yArDs’ display of musicianship on Saturday wasn’t too bad, either. Their picnic set featured Garbus’ signature and spot-on vocal, drum and ukulele looping, licks from bass player Nate Brenner and lengthy solos from the band’s touring saxophone section.
Playing all of the biggest hits from their sophomore album Whokill and rallying up the crowd for an evening still jam-packed with performances, Garbus seemed to accomplish what she said was the main goal of the band’s live performance.
“I just want to connect with a spirit greater than myself, and something that we all can connect with as an audience and as performers,” she said. “I like to keep it alive so that neither I nor the audience knows exactly what’s coming next. It’s different enough [from the album], but the same enough so that people can jam out.”
Tweets From Danny Brown @ The Roots Picnic.
Danny Brown is making some buzz in the hip-hop scene. He showed up in leather, head-to-toe, and performed on the main stage at The Roots Picnic yesterday. Then he hung out and enjoyed the day. Oddly, he seemed most excited about meeting Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent.
“Fuckkk St Vincent was sooo fucking dope today,” he tweeted. “And I hugged Annie I was in super groupie mode bruh bruh best part of my day today.”
He left Philly for Houston today. And he seemed a little, well, not excited about Philly afterward.
“Niggas was stealing laptops and shit backstage at that roots picnic,” he tweeted, “shit that shit was ratchet bruh.”
The Roots, Mos Def & De La Soul @ The Roots Picnic.
As they tend to do, The Roots (above) stole the show tonight even though they shared the stage with the legendary De La Soul (below) and surprise guest Mos Def (bottom images).
The picnic continues on Sunday evening with Diplo, Major Lazer, Chill Moody, Kid Cudi and Rakim … as well as The Roots. Tickets are still available. And if you come, you can grab a print issue of JUMP at our table near the entrance.
We’ll post information and images from the two-day event throughout the week. Stay tuned.
OCD: Moosh & Twist @ The Roots Picnic.
Our summer issue cover boys OCD: Moosh & Twist tore it up at the Roots Picnic this afternoon, thrilling the crowd with an energetic performance. They had the crowd bouncing, and then Twist jumped into a sea of fans and bounced right alongside them.
We’ll have a lot more from the Roots Picnic over the next few days.
Veteran Freshman 3 @ The TLA.
Text by Sofiya Ballin. Images by Samantha Sade.
“Ready to see a good ass show tonight?” Veteran Freshman 3 host Cory Townes asked the crowd at the TLA last Saturday.
And the crowd clapped, cheered and yelled.
Yusuf “Yuie” Muhammad watched from backstage, his phone glued to his right hand. The Veteran Freshman Concert Series was conceived last year on Muhammad’s couch in his dorm room. The name is purposely an oxymoron: Veteran Freshman showcasing what will be fresh faces to many but in reality are veterans in Philly music.
“DJ Drama once said, ‘In Philly there’s so much talent but not enough platforms,’” said Muhammad, a 26-year-old filmmaker and freelance photographer. “Dosage performed with Lupe but never headlined in his own city! I provide the platform.”
Rapper Pharaoh started off, hyping up the crowd and ending with freestyles over four different beats. The Great Outdoors, a group of friends ranging from ages 16-20 who used to rap together in Rittenhouse Square, came out next.
“It’s awesome!” said The Great Outdoors’ producer/rapper Hazzah (left). “I mean, look at us, this is our first show!”
South Philly MC Chris Vance followed, letting his lyricism stand on it’s own. Ace Porter lady killed his way into the crowd’s favor. Then MC and vocalist Lee Mekhai, towering in six-inch heels, bounced and dipped across the stage.
“I murder the stage and make ya’ll an accessory!” proclaimed Mekhai (left, below).
Well, damn.
Chase Allen combined rock and hip-hop, hyping up the crowd with the song “Outstanding.” Khemist entered while rapping with intensity, exuding the vitality of his craft yelling, “Hip-hop saved my life!”
WyldLyfe hit the stage with a mosaic of members and instruments, including bongos, flutes and a harmonica. He ended with the eclectic “Jungle,” featuring Khemist. Mic Stew, the king of cadence, got on stage and made everyone bounce to every word.
“I’m gonna be honest,” admitted Stew (bottom image). “This is the biggest venue I’ve ever tried to rap in and it’s not easy.”
Dosage (top image) and DJ Ferno closed out the show.
“Last summer, Ferno and I were at Ishkabibbles across the street,” the 21 year-old Philly Dosage said. “I was telling him that I wanted to headline the TLA. I’m at a loss for words. I never take it in until afterwards.”
His banner dropped, a projector descended and dozens of hands twisted into 3-D position on the screen.
“Dosage does it big yo!” Ferno said.
“All fucking night Ferno!” Dosage responded.
“AWWHH yeah!” Ferno answered.
Dosage’s niece, who had been rapping every word, was brought on stage. Dosage’s mother watched with pride from the front row.
“I think it’s time to show the people who I am!” he yelled to the crowd.
With more than 800 people in attendance and diverse high energy performances, Veteran Freshman 3 proved to be a major success.
Muhammad has plans to one day have Veteran Freshman take over all of South Street for a week, and create a clothing line around the brand. This is merely the beginning.
“I’m already planning the next one for August,” Muhammad said. “This is only 20 percent of what I actually want to do.”
Roots Picnic Show Guide! (Sorry … No Set Times)
If you checked in earlier today, we had set times posted for the acts that will perform at this weekend’s Roots Picnic. We were asked to remove the times as things are constantly evolving.
You know how it is in showbiz. Schedules mean nothing.
For now, at least, you can see which acts will play on the main stage or in the tent, and on which day. Sorry.
Saturday, Main Stage
Kids These Days
Danny Brown
tune-Yards
De La Soul and The Roots
Saturday, In the Tent
Reda
Shabazz Palaces
Mr. Mutha Fucking Esquire
The Hood Internet
Star Slinger
Stretch Armstrong
Flosstradamus
James Murphy
Sunday, Main Stage
afroDJiak
Major Lazer
Rakim
Kid Cudi
Sunday, In The Tent
Selah Sue
Quadron
Check out our interview with Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter in the current issue of JUMP. And read about (and hear) Chill Moody and OCD: Moosh & Twist. Plus, see Kevin Stairiker’s list of acts you need to see at this year’s Roots Picnic.
Pick up copies of the summer issue of JUMP at the show!
The Tough Shits: Fun, Witty and Well-rounded.
Text by Brian Wilensky. Image by G.W. Miller III.
Not too many bands in Philly have had their lyrics stolen by Bruce Springsteen. And there probably aren’t too many bands in the city who are self-diagnosed, manic-depressive Scotch snobs who are down with performing in drag when the opportunity presents itself.
The Tough Shits wrote, “Hard times come/Hard times go,” before the Boss wrote the same line in his new song, “Wrecking Ball.”
“We’re going to make a YouTube video to prove it, too,” jokes singer Mark Banfill.
Actually, their entire first LP, co-released in February on Burger Records and The Colonel Records, was recorded well before “Wrecking Ball.” They laid down the tracks two years ago for The Colonel. Then, well, nothing happened.
“Our good friend Bryce at Colonel paid a lot of money to fund the recording and that was cool,” says guitarist Nick Carlisi. “But for whatever reason – we’re not even sure, it never came out.”
Luckily Avi Spivak, who did the album artwork for the self-titled album, got tired of it being stagnant. So Spivak took it upon himself to send it to Burger Records.
Burger ate up the album’s witty, garage/pop tunes like “Early Grave,” which pokes fun at suicide, and “Holding a Seance,” about being light as a feather, stiff as a board. The album’s more than ideal closer, “Hombre de la Cocaina,” (English translation: cocaine man) is bilingual and it refers to exactly what it suggests.
Burger helped them get gigs around the country after the album dropped, including a show at the Iron Bear, a “bear bar” in Austin, Texas where the band performed in drag.
“We took the drag thing really seriously,” says drummer James Horn. “We spent a hundred dollars of band money and painted our nails and stuff. The other bands basically just wore ratty, old dresses.”
(The Tough Shits want the rest of the details of that night kept off the record.) Other nights on their national tour weren’t so great.
“Being on tour is kind of like being manic depressive,” says Banfill. “And I think it’s because we all kind of are.
The first show on tour was kind of shitty because we were excited to be on the road, so we got too drunk and stuff started breaking. So the next day we were just like, ‘Ugh, why am I doing this?’ But then we played a great show and it’s all good again.”
Their last show on the tour, in San Francisco, was significant for the Tough Shits, they say, because folks remembered them from their tour about five years ago.
Carlisi, who says he doesn’t know much music happening now, cites the Beach Boys as major influence. When they signed to Burger, he says he learned “there is some good stuff out there.” Others in the band may know the new stuff but they certainly don’t seem to like it.
“I looked up that video of Lana Del Ray on SNL,” says Banfill. “It wasn’t really that bad. Sure, it was awkward but it wasn’t really that bad. And then, soon after, that Bon Iver was on and holy God damn it, it was some of the most boring, dumbest, shittiest shit there is.”
In Bon Iver’s defense, Banfill and guitarist John Heald have some high-end taste. In Scotch, at least.
“Try the Highland Park 12,” Banfill says. “It’s God’s nectar.”
Heald seems to be all business about his Scotch because he says some others are “less than superlative.” But the Tough Shits’ collective personality isn’t some high class, special night out affair. And they reflect that in their music.
“What you look for in a band is what you look for in a person,” says Banfill. “You don’t want to be with someone who’s serious. You want someone who’s fun, well-rounded and witty.”
Text by Beth Ann Downey. Image by Joe Perri.
The Starting Line’s song “Islands” hinted at what the band’s Philadelphia-based former frontman Kenny Vasoli is now going for with his new project, Vacationer.
“Let’s sail away, find our own country. We’ll build a house and beds out of palm trees,” sang Vasoli on the track, which was featured on the band’s 2007 album Direction, their last original release before disbanding the following year.
Written in a different time and place — and about a different girl — Vacationer’s debut LP Gone, aims to transport the listener to a place like that island described but with its chillwave electronic elements, lavish layers and catchy beats.
“We make very serene, for lack of a better word, chill music,” Vasoli says, acknowledging the departure from his pop-punk rock roots. “It’s just really hard to get 
yourself worked up listening to our music, I think. It’s not designed to make you feel sorrow really, or aggression. It’s more just very much like a muscle relaxer for your ears. It’s just like a sitting-on-the-beach, toes-in-the-sand kind of feeling, at least to me and the guys that I make it with.”
Vasoli’s foray into the dreamy, electronic sound comes after a rock-heavy career in both The Starting Line and his experimental/indie project that followed, Person L. But when Vasoli got his hands on albums by Beach House, Radio Department and Neon Indian, he quickly became interested in starting his own pop-sensible electronic act.
All Vasoli needed was the right team, which he found in Matthew Young and Grant Wheeler, both of the Brooklyn-based band, Body Language.
“I just liked the sound of it and I liked the songs a lot, so I was really pushing to work with those guys,” Vasoli says of hearing Body Language at the insistence of his manager and former Starting Line guitarist, Matt Watts. “I went up [to Brooklyn], and it was just like a blind date. We did one session together and a lot of good stuff came out of it. We actually wrote the better part of the song ‘Great Love’ that’s on the record. Then we just made a thing out of it every other weekend. It was really great. It was just such a natural progression. Working with those guys was like the most effortless experience for me. I can’t believe the product of what came out of us working for such a short time together.”
Though the band had already been touring, little news came out about Vasoli’s new project until the end of January, when they released the three-song Gone EP and the voice behind the smooth beat and bird calls of “Trip” or the soft croons and hand claps of “Gone” was unmistakably that of the Starting Line and Person L singer. Vasoli says he wanted his involvement to remain shrouded in mystery until people had the time to judge Vacationer for the music, not because his name was attached.
“I didn’t really want to ride the coattails of anything I’ve done in the past,” he says. “I think if you’re trying to do something truly different, then that’s probably the worst thing you can do because then people have expectations. There’s really nothing that annoys me more than people expecting something out of me.”
Along with a new sound, Vasoli shed his teenage angst in favor of the tranquil positivity of each Vacationer track. He admitted that much of the album was written about a personal experience with a girl (again, not the same girl that “Island” was written about) and has no reservations about chronicling his experience with her for everyone to hear.
“It’s really nice because that reflected on an extremely positive time in my life where I was feeling an intense love,” Vasoli says. “I’m glad that I have a bookmark in my life to really capture the spirit of that. I can listen to these songs and know exactly what was going on. It was a really beautiful memory.”
Vasoli’s new memories will be made on the road for the indefinite future. The rest of this year will involve “tons of Vacationer,” with new tour plans still in the works. But on the musical journey that spans multiple successes and failures, genres and decades, a few months on the road away from home doesn’t seem to scary for the singer.
“I’ve always just been on a journey to write the best songs that I can,” Vasoli says. “I’ve never really felt too comfortable with staying stagnant in the same type of sound. Just with my tastes in general, my tastes are always changing from year to year. I’ve never really been a slave or a purist to tradition or what I’ve been listening to. It’s always been kind of ever changing. It feels good to have people respond to the different things that I do because I definitely go out on a limb with a lot of the choices that I make creatively. The fact that people have still been staying along with me is a really good feeling. It’s very affirming.”
G.W. Miller III talks to first-term at-large City Councilman David Oh, who wants Philadelphia to host a massive, week-long, city-wide music festival in 2013.
It sounds like you have big plans. What do you have in mind?
It’s not so much that I have big plans. I’m on a new City Council committee, which is the committee on global opportunities and the creative/innovative economy. What I see is that our city is really kind of poised on the cusp of becoming something – or not becoming something. Call it a crossroads. As the world’s kind of tightening our economy, Philadelphia has to identify what we can offer in this global world.
What are the things that government can do to foster the creative economy?
There are a number of things. One of the things that could come right away is for government to be the glue that brings everything together. For example, the city spends a certain amount of money on tourism. Is it productive? Do we get more out of spending a dollar for music, making a music destination point or creating more concerts and opportunities for live music, than we do by spending it on tourists who aren’t coming to Philadelphia and spending their dollars?
We can also use our public assets to have concerts. We can have a large, international music festival.
If there would be a major festival, what would be the city’s role?
You need the big name artists and they need to be able to make money. We can enhance that by making it a music week, inviting international musicians and tourists to come and participate in Philadelphia’s big, international music week. For musicians who want to play and need a public stage, we can provide them opportunities for them to play – at train stations, our bus station, our public areas. We can put a concert on at the Art Museum area and have free concerts for people.
By the city promoting and putting itself behind a big music event, we’re trying to do a couple things. One is to generate the dollars that will bring people to the city during times when the city really isn’t that active, like during the summer months. The second thing is that we want to make Philadelphia a place where the creative and innovative workforce likes to be, where they will want to make their home. That workforce is very mobile and has the ability to choose where they live and work, based upon the environment that areas have.
This idea about music, the arts and the creative economy – is it a recognition of something that we have or something that we need?
It’s a recognition of something that we have but we have not really taken advantage of in the way that we should.
There are a thousand attacks going in their own direction. By having a big event, we can kind of galvanize them and give them an opportunity to start pushing out the things they have been doing.
You are assembling a music advisory board. Who are the folks involved?
We’re collecting representation from a wide breadth of music. As a legislator, in order to create laws, we need to know what’s happening. If I don’t talk to international investors and manufacturers, I don’t know what they liked about our city or what they didn’t like. Without knowing, you can’t really adjust. Same thing with the music industry. We’re going to talk to musicians, producers, everyone. If these folks come behind having a big music festival, we can come behind that.
In what way?
One, by having it. By putting advertising dollars behind it. By coalescing it around this one week where we get optimal mass.
What would a success look like?
It would have to be big. The size of it is one of the issues. We have done smaller music festivals and those are fine. To have a signature event for the city, it would have to be large. We would need the highest level performers. We’d need five or six major performances. We’d need people coming from out of town, staying for the weekend or the week.
We’d have to line up hundreds of acts throughout the city.
Do you have an idea when it will happen?
We have a ballpark timeline of June or July of 2013.
That’s not that far off.
It’s not that far off and maybe it won’t happen then. But we’d then look at 2014.
Mic Stew: Your Favorite Rapper’s Favorite Rapper.
Text by Sofiya Ballin. Images by Michael Bucher.
Michael Stewart starts his day with prayer, coffee and a cigarette. In that order.
“God puts me in perspective, humbles me,” he says as he takes a drag.
Known as Mic Stew, he’s your favorite Philly rapper’s favorite rapper and there isn’t a mic in the surrounding area he hasn’t touched. Stewart has recorded more than 120 songs and released six projects, with more coming soon.
Today he’s hosting a block party sponsored by Red Bull. There’s an open mic for freestyling but he’s often asked for free drinks rather than to take the mic. He watches a basketball game going on while the DJ spins for a small crowd.
“Music in general is very rehearsed, very packaged, especially commercial hip hop,” Stewart says “Not as many people grow up actually loving to rap. I want to create something people can grow up with.”
Born and raised in Royersford, Pennsylvania, Stewart has been rapping since he was 12.
“I would walk down the street and start free styling in my head,” he says.
He moved to Philly in 2008 to attend Temple University. He’s since won accolades and numerous battles in the city, including the 2011 Red Bull EmSee competition. That gave him the right to compete in front of Eminem.
He’s working on two projects, one of which is a yet untitled EP due out this summer.
“It’s specifically written for people to have a good time,” he says. “Everything feels good.”
His impending debut full-length album, All Good Things, takes on a darker tone.
“It chronicles struggles that I go through personally,” Stewart explains. “It’s me ranting about things that make me unhappy, being cynical and critical of both myself and my environment.”
It’s getting windy and a small cypher begins to form. Stewart sits on the bench and watches. Just a few days ago, he opened for Raekwon at The Blockley.
“Raekwon is one of the most badass people alive, so calm and so honest with his work,” Stewart says. “Sitting in a room with him, I felt very nervous. I felt like a child, so humbling. Onstage, it was a blast and it was a bigger honor and bigger experience than expected.”
Stewart jumps up mid-sentence and grabs the mic. His hair is pulled back in a low ponytail so you know he’s serious. Mic Stew begins to flow with a bouncy cadence and high energy that his performances are known for.
After a few minutes, he sits back down, slightly breathless but smiling broadly.
“I let my excitement spill into the crowd,” he says. “It’s kind of like high school dances. A few brave souls will dance and encourage the others to dance. As an MC, I look at myself as the first person on the dance floor.”
As a Temple student, he originated the Friday afternoon Bell Tower cypher that continues today. Other Philly artists have cited the cypher as their starting point and Stew as source of encouragement.
“The fact that people come out and say that is surprising,” he says. “It means a lot. It’s an honor to be able to help people in that way.”
He freestyles and writes everyday when he’s not making phone calls, booking gigs, promoting, cross-promoting or recording in the studio. He manages his own career, which is a hassle, but he has a large support system behind him, especially his family.
“They promote when I come home or have big ticket out in Philly,” Stewart says. “My little brother knows every lyric to every song. My big brother just told me that he’s proud of me and that he finds me inspiring. My dad gives me tips on what he thinks people would want to hear and how I can get my foot in different doors. My mom, she’s always pulling strings. I have my whole hometown pulling for me.”
As people begin to leave the Red Bull event, Mic Stew raps even when there is virtually no audience. His head bobs to the beat and his hand moves rapidly, punctuating the words coming out his mouth.
“My rhymes are an extension of myself, so to ask me to rhyme is like asking me to go out to lunch or asking me to breathe,” he says. “It’s fully integrated into who I am. It’s natural, it feels good.”
All Good Things will portray him as a realist, maybe even a pessimist, but his unwavering belief that all good things will come is evident in his persona, and it reveals his inner optimist.
“Try to eat three square meals, get plenty of sleep, make sure your shoes are on the right feet,” he says. “Feed your pets, brush your teeth, when possible buy a sandwich and water for the homeless.”
He pauses for a moment.
“If you like what I’m doing,” he adds, “share my music.”
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 