Deep Down, You Know Wale Doesn’t Have a Chris Cooley Tattoo (But He Never Denies Having One …).
Our Ashley Hall caught up with Wale last week before his performance at the TLA. They talked about everything from twitter and football, to Seinfeld and go-go music.
Would you say that twitter allows you to connect with your fans further?
I mean absolutely, it’s the new version of fan mail. Unfortunately, it has its ups and downs.
It seems like your haters get a lot of attention on your twitter. Why is that?
I do it a lot. I just give them who I am, ya know? I take twitter literally a lot. Like, if somebody says explicit shit about you in real life, I’m gonna say something. You know what I’m sayin? I’m gonna have my reply. If somebody does it on a social network, I’m gonna take it the same way. I’m challenging you to be as real as you are in person as you are on social networks. In all facets of that. Like, if you a real fan, I expect you to buy an album. I say I’m a real rapper and I say I’m gonna drop free records every week cause I think that’s what you deserve. I am being real to the person that I am.
I heard when you hit 1 million followers you are going to release 11 new songs?
It may be more the way I am working. Read more…
Dude! That’s Me at Mad Decent!
Here’s the official Mad Decent Block Party Philly 2011 video. Find more images here.
New Music From Mercury Radio Theater.
The trio of experimental/ instrumental/ surf punk/ good time rockers in Mercury Radio Theater are set to drop their next album, Kilroy, on September 3. You can listen to it here.
The album is the final installment in their “Monster Trilogy,” and they’ve added a horn section to some of the tunes. Overall, the album is loud, intense and frantic … the perfect soundtrack for a ridiculous adventure.
The band will celebrate the release with a performance at Johnny Brenda’s on September 3. Click here for details.
By the way, we profiled the band in the summer issue of JUMP. Find the story here.
Only One More Day Until This Is Hardcore 2011!
On Thursday, the onslaught begins: over four days, more than 50 hardcore acts will play the This is Hardcore 2011 event. The Saturday and Sunday shows at the Starlight Ballroom are nearly 12 hours of live music.
We profiled Joe McKay, the brains behind the festival, in the summer issue of JUMP. Find the story here.
Summer Jam: Mike Taylor’s Otis, Part 2.
Check out the new video from Mike Taylor, aka Tu Phace. You can download his latest mixtape for free on his site here.
Das Racist @ The Mad Decent Block Party.
The Piazza at Schmidt’s was packed again for the second Sunday in a row, this time because of the the fourth annual Mad Decent Block Party.
Diplo, as usual, was the main draw but this year’s line-up also featured Das Racist, the Brooklyn-based good time rappers.
Das Racist’s album Relax is set to drop on September 13.
The group recently announced their fall tour – and while they’ll be hitting Boston, Providence and Washington D.C., they won’t be swinging through Philly. Bummer.
FREE PARTY: Mad Decent Block Party on Sunday!
These guys are performing at the Mad Decent Block Party at the Piazza at Schmidt’s on Sunday at 5:45.
Here’s the full schedule:
Luvstep (Dirty South Joe & Flufftronix) 1:00-2:00
Kito 2:00-3:00
Brick Bandits 3:00-4:00
Special Guest!!! 4:00-4:30
PO PO 4:30-5:00
Paul Devro 5:00-5:45
Das Racist 5:45-6:15
DJ Sega 6:15-7:00
Diplo 7:00-8:00
Summer Jam: “Return Address” by The Fleeting Ends.
Check out the new video from The Fleeting Ends, whom we profiled in the summer issue of JUMP. Find the story here.
The Tea Club @ The North Star Bar.
Text and images by Rick Kauffman.
The idea of modern prog-rock typically evokes ideas of spastic vocals, chaotic time signatures and pure guitar wankery – the type of music that tends to confound the listener rather than engage them.
As far as this idea of prog-rock goes, The Tea Club is not.
“You don’t want me to start harping on what my idea of ‘prog-rock’ is,” says guitarist Dan McGowen. “It’s not about playing as fast as you can and shouting shitty vocals, although that’s what most prog-rock sounds like these days.” Read more…
Orrin Evans: Live From Tokyo.
Philly’s own jazz piano superstar, Orrin Evans, is currently playing in Japan. He posted this video from a performance yesterday in Tokyo.
We interviewed Orrin in the spring issue of JUMP and he talked about the jazz scene in Philly. It was pretty fascinating. You can find that story here.
Also fascinating have been his facebook posts from his time in Japan … they are laced with thoughts of Philly.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 