The Brute Chorus @ The North Star.
Tonight, we saw The Brute Chorus play at the North Star Bar. The East Londoners stopped by Philly on their DIY tour on the way to SXSW.
They played a brief but lively set before a decent-sized crowd. Frontman James Steel sings like a Delta bluesman and dances like Elvis, and the whole band was tight throughout the set. They meandered from eerie tunes to rockabilly to danceable punk stylings that you could sing along to.
Everything’s Going Gogo.
Text by Niesha Miller. Images by Marie Alyse Rodriguez. Styling by Rebecca Roe of Rockers Closet.
Just one hour after shooting a showcase pilot with NBC, Gogo Morrow sits at a booth at Johnny Brenda’s and reminisces about her childhood in Philly.
“In the summertime, when I didn’t have school, I would literally sit in the house all day and watch The Box,” says Gogo, 24. “And I would pray to God, my video, the one I wanted to see, would come up.”
Unlike her four sisters, Gogo had little interest in playing outside. She didn’t know how to cornrow hair. She couldn’t jump double dutch but she was a good turner on the ends. Instead, the singer stayed in her room, listening to CDs, practicing riffs and writing lyrics from songs by her favorite 
artists, Brandy and Deborah Cox.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve been totally consumed and obsessed with music,” the singer confesses.
The singer, dancer and songwriter has flirted with performing since she was a baby. She would carry tunes her father would sing around the house from his group, the Golden Chandeliers.
At the age of 12, she toured with the Rainbow Company, a multicultural theater comprised of middle and high school-aged performers. This was 
where she shaped into the explosive performer she is today. A few years later, she would be accepted into the prestigious Philadelphia School of Creative and Performing Arts, where she was a vocal major.
When she was 16, Gogo and her girl group, Bella, schmoozed their way into opening for Bobby Brown. Some guy claiming to be Brown’s cousin promised the girls an opportunity to open for the notorious performer at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. After making their way past security, the girls spotted Brown and told him about the alleged cousin.
“He said, ‘I didn’t know anything about ya’ll being here but alright. Go for it,’” Gogo laughs.
Her stage name was inspired by Gogo Yubari, the 16-year-old assassin from the movie Kill Bill Vol. 1.
The soulful R&B singer compares her sound to music 
“guys in the hood blast in their cars”—songs you can dance to that are filled with 808s and a lot of bass.
Like her voice, Gogo’s style is powerful. She wears a pair of custom-made cutoff shorts with a vintage turtleneck. Her silver wire earrings hang just above her shoulders, taking the shape of a large vertical zigzag. And to top it off, her six-inched Jeffrey Campbell boots are laced with thousands of white, blue, pink and green pieces of glitter.
“I’ll wear anything from Gucci to the thrift store,” she says. “My style would say that I’m not afraid to try anything.”
In 2009, she received the opportunity of a lifetime. She was selected as one of three girls to dance and sing background for Lady Gaga on her 2009-2011 Monster Ball arena tour.
“For that to be my first international tour, and to be with the biggest star in the world, I was like ‘I can’t be more blessed,’” Gogo admits. “I built a second family by being on tour with everybody who was a part of it. Everybody just shared same sweet, appreciative, grateful spirit. They’re my family.”
Taking thousands of pictures wasn’t enough while touring with the Haus of Gaga across Europe, so Gogo pocketed room keys from every hotel she stayed in.
“It’s my way of having a souvenir,” she says. “I wanted something physical I could hold on to besides some pictures.”
Several months after touring around the world with the megastar, Gogo is back in Philly, launching her solo career.
She uses her influences from the different cultures she experienced in her music and performances.
“Lyrically, I have a lot more to write about,” she says. “I’ve seen so much. It really opened me up to a world I never knew anything about. I incorporate it into how I operate every day because I’m very humbled by the experience I had.”
Besides performing at mega-venues around the world with Gaga, she’s performed at Theatre of the Living Arts, the Electric Factory, Sigma Sound and Luxe Lounge in Philly.
“I’ve been in the arts forever,” she says, “and Philadelphia is where it all happened.”
Pierre Robert: Rock Radio Icon.
“Greetings, Citizen!” booms that engaging, rugged voice over the radio waves, through your car speakers and into your brain. Thick and rich – and loaded with music history and culture – the cordial tones seeping through the sound system are nothing short of comforting, especially if you’re a rock ‘n’ roll fan from Philadelphia.
After 28 years in radio, Pierre Robert is an icon. Our Bianca Crespo talks to the bearded legend about his roots, his path to WMMR and the future of radio.
Let’s start with origin. Where was the great Pierre Robert born and raised?
I am a California native from a special place, near Lake Tahoe, which is pretty similar to the shore. My family owned a motel. I always loved the rock ‘n’ roll culture of California, especially San Francisco. Music was a big part of my life. It was actually my older brother who suggested that I become a DJ. I liked the idea. I saw DJs as kinda like gypsies with the way they traveled from town to town. So, I went to school for broadcasting and ended up as an intern in my beloved San Francisco. The internship was at KFAN radio, one of the first FM rock stations. I stayed there for a couple of years, working both on the radio and in the office. After that, I left San Fran and went to Philadelphia, where I had a few connections.
Was being a radio host always in the cards?
I have always wanted to be as close to rock music as possible. I wanted to be a concert producer. I even wanted to be in a rock band. But I didn’t manifest any of those things. I’m a social person, so just being able to host a party on the air fulfills my rock ‘n’ roll fantasy.
How far do you think women have come from your perspective in the media, specifically in regards to radio?
Leaps and bounds. There have always been women in rock radio but there have always been more men. We’re still a little top-heavy with more men than women these days but I think there’s some progress being made. Like Marisa Magnatta. She works in my studio, primarily with Preston and Steve. Even though she works backstage most of the time, she’s a vital part of the morning show. Kathy Romano is another influential part of that show. In general, I think women have progressed but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
What’s the future of music radio?
I think the future of radio is great as long as it stays true to its local roots and has a full-time air staff manning the station. If these kinds of stations continue to exist – like WMMR – there will always be room for radio personalities. Good radio always has room for real people on the air. My own plans call for me to stay here for at least another three years.
Tonight: The Brute Chorus @ The North Star Bar.
You might not be aware of this, but JUMP began as a London-based project, during the summer of 2010. In the protype edition of the mag, Kevin Brosky caught up with an exciting London band, The Brute Chorus, a four-piece who churns out a stompy storm of dark rockabilly.
Around that time, they were just releasing their second LP, How the Caged Bird Sings, a record that has since garnered plenty of critical acclaim in the U.K. Now, they’re marching toward their third full-length LP, landing a prized showcase gig at SXSW in Austin, TX, later this month.
The Brutes landed in the States this week for the first time in their history, playing New York City the other night. Tonight, they’ll bring their energy-filled live show to Philly’s North Star Bar.
They’ve launched a fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo to make up some of the mammoth costs of a U.S. tour and released the below video of a brand new song, titled “My Testament.”
Very Happy: Two’s Company (But Four Might Be Fun).
Text by Maddy Court. Images by G.W. Miller III.
Very Happy bandmates Michelle Ritondo and Maximillian Weinstein-Bacal II appreciate a good pun and enjoy fancy word play.
“We were going to be Very Very or something like that,” says Ritondo, the singer and guitarist, better known as Meesh. “But then Max was like, ‘Let’s be called Very Happy and every time we’re at a show we can be, ‘Hi, we’re very happy.'”
Meesh, a 27-year-old lifelong resident of Philadelphia, met Max, a 25-year-old recent transplant from rural Virginia, while both were admiring the Christmas decorations at Macy’s in Center City. They hit it off and in February 2011, they formed Very Happy.
Saturday: The Shakedown 10th Anniversary Party!
This Saturday at The Troc, The Shakedown will celebrate ten years of their monthly dance parties. And this will be a hot mess, featuring local DJ legends King Britt and Josh Wink (Wink will be spinning for 5 straight hours on the balcony).
The after party, at a location yet to be named, has a killer DJ line-up as well – DJ Everyday, Lee Mayjahs, Sean Thomas, Willyum and Rob Paine
Ticket info can be found here, or swing by The Troc or Milkcrate Cafe to purchase tickets.
The Quarterly DIY: Your Band Needs Internet Skills.
Anthony Caroto founded Origivation, a Philly music magazine, in 2001. He sold off the magazine in 2006 and then bounced around the country before returning to Philadelphia in 2010. He now works at The Grape Room in Manayunk, doing a variety of tasks including promotion and booking. For JUMP, he offers advice to young bands and musicians …
Booking agents have a process. I’m no different.
Upon opening an email, I quickly scan for a link to their ReverbNation page. I look for this first because the site offers bands – for free – a clean and easy-to-navigate profile that provides music, hometown, shows and links to web and social sites. I start the music and go back to read the email.
Next stop: the Facebook page.
Facebook is a remarkable tool for bands that, unfortunately, goes unutilized more often than not. It’s more than just a platform to announce shows. It’s a key piece to your marketing strategy. And with the exception of that one friend who still refuses to sign up for Facebook, everybody you know has a profile.
What will they find should they visit your page? To start, is your profile ‘likable’? It’s mostly the singer-songwriter contingency who are guilty of this but having a profile that needs ‘friending’ is a huge turn-off for potential fans. And it prevents you from having a music player or event listings.
Compatibility is required for survival in today’s music widget market, which is why every ‘we can help bands, we’re experts’ company has an app for Facebook, ReverbNation, Twitter, YouTube, CD Baby, iTunes and a slew of others (that you just don’t need to bother with because they’re inefficient and will junk up your page) are all available for syncing.
ReverbNation is my favorite because everything is available at a glance. It’s the column version of an actual ReverbNation page. A quick scroll down and I can see when and where you’re playing (most venues try to respect the unspoken radius clause).
Don’t overlook the services provided by Facebook, most importantly the events listing. Some people discount its usefulness but I find it to be quite beneficial. By listing your show via the events tab, visitors have the option to share the link on their page as well. And if you choose to post the event automatically when you update your ReverbNation page, all of the other bands and their links will be included. Cross-promotion at its finest!
People want information quickly. It’s easier to bore someone than it is to win them over.
What do you sound like? Where are you playing? How can I keep in touch. Where can I buy your music?
Win me over.
Shane Henderson: Life After Valencia.
Text by Beth Ann Downey. Images by G.W. Miller III.
When Philadelphia pop-punk band Valencia announced in October that it was taking an indefinite hiatus from recording and touring, frontman Shane Henderson had one clear message for fans – he’s not done yet.
He wrote it in a statement right after the news broke and reinforced it while standing on the Electric Factory stage during the band’s farewell show in December. And from the novel that could be written about Valencia’s successes, failures and tragedies, Henderson is ready to live the next chapter – on his own terms.
“I really can’t see myself doing anything other than playing music,” he says. “So, even though Valencia’s not really on tour right now or working as a band, I wanted to just keep going and give it another shot with the songs that I have because I’m really proud of them.”
Those songs are penned under Henderson’s solo moniker, 
Promise of Redemption, which began as a side project and took off after a 2007 debut release, When The Flowers Bloom. The album’s somber, acoustic-based tracks were written and recorded as a tribute to Henderson’s former girlfriend, Dana Leigh Burrell, who died in a freak accident in 2006.
Though PoR started as a musical outlet to cope with his loss, Henderson says his new songs will really surprise people.
“It’s going to be somewhat like Tom Petty-meets-Valencia type of vibe,” he says. “There are somewhat rock songs, and then there are songs that are going to be just stripped-down acoustic.”
Henderson has been in the studio since January, pulling from his list of musician friends to provide contributions – including drummers Will Noon of fun. (formerly of Straylight Run) and Jay McMillan from Jack’s Mannequin.
Chocolate Milk To Go …
Text by Kevin Stairiker. Images by G.W. Miller III.
David Patrick, Andrew Aulenbach, Curtis Arnett and Justin Davis sit on different couches, fidgeting. This is their first interview as Chocolate Milk, a privilege earned via a combination of their own hard work and by winning a recent Grammy U Live! event at the Legendary Dobbs.
They met at freshman orientation at Temple University three years ago. Vocalist Patrick and keyboard player Aulenbach performed a ukulele and rap hybrid that impressed sax player Arnett and bass guitarist Luke Reitz, who is currently studying in Ecuador. They jammed together a couple times with drummer Davis, who Aulenbach and Patrick knew from high school, and Chocolate Milk was born. Read more…
Swift Technique: Band On The Run!
Text and images by Ashley Hall.
It’s another Friday night in Manayunk and six grown men don themselves in random costumes – everything from lab jackets with axes in the pockets, to a pair of goggles with glow-in-the-dark ice cubes in each eye.
It’s just another evening with the guys of Swift Technique.
Bassist Jake Leschinsky shoots a smirk and says, “So, how would you feel about going across the street to ask the fire company if we can take pictures with their truck?” Read more…
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 