Jazmine Sullivan Listening Party @ Milkboy The Studio.
Last Thursday, Jazmine Sullivan held a private party at Milkboy The Studio to celebrate the upcoming release of her third album, Reality Show.
“Every single thing on this album was chosen to convey a feeling,” Jazmine said to the small group of maybe three dozen people that included musicians, producers and at least one Hollywood star. “More than anything, I’m a storyteller.”
She’s been out of the industry for few years since dealing with a bad break up that left her soul-searching and even considering drugs (she turned to family instead). The 11-time Grammy nominee’s new album, which drops tomorrow, is an intimate look into her life (or so it feels). The songs range from classic R&B sounds to 70s-sounding dance grooves to club bangers with a little ratchet thrown in. Listen to it here.
“I’m nervous,” she told the crowd before she played seven songs from the album. “That’s my energy. But I’m really excited to be here with all of you, the people I grew up with, my family, everyone.”
The album was recorded at Milkboy, with famed producers like Salaam Remi and Key Wane contributing, as well as Philly’s own production team of JoeLogic & Dilemma.
Before listening to “Masterpiece,” Jazmine said, “Every day I have to remind myself of what is good about me. And it’s a lot. I feel like I have to say that.”
But there’s more to the song, she said. It’s an anthem for all women and all people.
“I wrote it to remind myself – and to remind yourselves – that we are all masterpieces,” she concluded.
After a brief Q&A session, Jazmine belted out two songs, backed by an acoustic guitar player.
She will do a tour to support the album, with details to be released soon.
“I’m still questioning if it’s fame that I’m after,” she said. “I want to be legendary, one of those household names.”
Weekender: A Shared Interest in Fuzz.
Text by Brian Wilensky. Images by Charles Shan Cerrone.
It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon in Fairmount, just two blocks from Eastern State Penitentiary where Derek Sheehan and two other members of Weekender are sitting at the bar inside London Grill. They mention that they’re moving in low gear because of hanging out late the night before.
Sheehan, the band’s lead songwriter, bassist Joe Grillo and guitar player Tom Anthony get a table outside when it’s time to switch from a liquid lunch to an actual meal. Each of them are laid back and seem rather carefree this afternoon as they start explaining how the hook-laden, yet prone-to-drone psych pop band works from the inside out.
Sheehan has been at the helm of the band’s writing process since its infancy back in 2012 under the moniker, The Tweeds. He starts with an idea and records all parts of the song – drums, bass guitars and all – even recording it, before presenting it to the rest of the band. But he doesn’t come into their practices with a totalitarian outlook. In fact, the way he comes in with tunes ready is actually welcomed by the band.
“I think having a primary driver is an effective way to work,” Anthony says. “Because when he brings songs in I put something over it and bounce ideas off Derek.”
DJ Sega: From Homeless to Hella and Back.
Text by Chris Malo. Images by Sean Kane.
Robert Taylor Jr. sits on a chair in the living room surrounded by clothing, bags, empty cigarette boxes, a laptop, a lamp covered in plastic and an aquarium that houses two pet snakes, Hidley and Kane. This is where he lives at the moment, in a house but it’s not his home.
Better known to the world as DJ Sega, he sits in a cozy chair, alternating between taking sips of Yellowtail sangria and taking drags from a cigarette. Locks of hair spill over his face to the black Mad Decent Block Party II shirt he sports. Dark denim jeans extend to the orange and green Pumas on his feet. A gold pendant is splayed on his chest. The chain was his father’s but the medallion that states “I AM SO IN DEMAND” was a gift from a fan in Australia, a place he lived for three months. He developed his penchant for the aromatized wine from down under.
“The original experience I was going for was always a fusion between breakbeats and club music, and the experience that you get from a live performance,” Sega says about creating his latest project. “There’s no irony that a lot of DJs are being looked at as all-stars. When I’m on stage, you’re not just seeing a DJ. You’re not just seeing an artist pressing a bunch of buttons. You’re getting a real, genuine live experience. But the sound itself is an experience.”
The cadence of his delivery is thoughtful, purposeful and with conviction, almost preacher-like, without any trace of a pontificating element.
Getting here, to this living room, to this chair, has been a process he has invited the world to see.
But only recently have people become entirely aware of how drastic things had become.
PropertyOfZack: The Online Punk Pioneer.
Text by Beth Ann Downey. Image by Rachel Del Sordo.
Zack Zarrillo looks up between bites of his Honest Tom’s burrito when he hears his name called. It’s more likely he thinks someone is addressing him in the West Philly taco joint due to the fact that he’s in the Drexel student’s neighborhood, where the majority of his friends live.
However, he probably never knows when he’ll be recognized for the creation of one of the most well respected punk music blogs, which also happens to bear his namesake.
Zarrillo started PropertyOfZack.com when he was a 16-year-old high school junior attending what he openly refers to as a private, all-boys “Gossip Girl” school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
“I never really had anyone to talk about music with,” he says. “My best friend [who lived in New Jersey and] was three years older than me showed me Sum 41 and Blink-182 when I was 9 and that was it for me. But in New York, no one I knew liked my music.”
Career Advice From Black Metal Band Mayhem (Who Perform at Union Transfer Thursday).
Text by Chad Sims. Images courtesy of Mayhem.
“Would you like to interview Mayhem?”
As I read the email from the label publicist, a chill ran down my spine. This sensation was not of excitement, but rather fear.
Did I want to interview Mayhem? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know if I wanted to have any contact with the band that could, without exaggeration, be called The Scariest Band on Earth. For those who don’t know let me explain.
Mayhem is a black metal band that has existed since 1984. Like most black metal bands they have evil sounding music and lyrics about pretty much what you would expect (death, decay, darkness, cold, etc). The big difference between Mayhem and many other extreme metal bands is they really lived this stuff.
Mayhem has had one lead singer killed himself (Per Yngve Ohlin aka Dead). Founding guitarist Oystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous) was later murdered by bass player Varg Vikernes. Around those years, some of the band members had also participated in a wave of church arsons perpetuated by the black metal scene. Vikernes was convicted of the murder and arson. He has since been released from prison but was later arrested and convicted on charges of inciting racial hatred in France.
So now you should understand why I was a bit hesitant to take on this assignment. Luckily, the surviving members of Mayhem seem to be focused on making music these days and in fairness, they didn’t really have much to do with the above events. The band plays Union Transfer on Thursday with Watain.
The Bul Bey: The Essence of Philly.
Text by Lissa Alicia. Images by Jason Melcher.
At one point or another, Philly MC The Bul Bey has called many areas of Philadelphia home. Over the years, he has lived in Southwest, West Girard and Germantown neighborhoods. Currently the artist, also known as Amir Richardson, is coming up with feel-good rhymes in his apartment that is only a hop, skip and a jump away from the 52nd Street El station in West Philadelphia.
After releasing singles ‘Where I’m From’ and ‘On,’ 26-year-old Bey is getting significant buzz from fans who are awaiting his upcoming project, Shaking Hands And Kissing Babies.
Bey looks nothing like a stereotypical Philly rapper – no beard, no visible tattoos and a smile. His charming demeanor and positive attitude allow him to serve up unexpected crafty bars and a playfulness that is comparable to Will Smith.
The Bul Bey began rapping at the age of 7 while growing up in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia. Much of his inspiration came from his older brothers after seeing them rhyming.
Cheerbleeders @ Connie’s Ric Rac.
Things got pretty wild inside Connie’s Ric Rac on Friday when Cheerbleeders took the stage during the RonBomb Punk Rock Pollyanna Party.
A small but raucous mosh pit emerged as soon as the band took the stage. A few kids barreled through the crowd on a skateboard.
When the skaters started jumping on stage, Cheerbleeders singer Summer started pushing and shoving them off the stage.
“You guys, skateboarding is for outside,” she growled.
The new band (they only have a 5-track demo available to the public) then burned through the rest of their set with a more subdued mosh pit before them.
Wonderboy, 66 Stitches, Beer Me and Thylacine also performed.
King Britt and The Playback Payback.
Text by G.W. Miller III. Images by Michael Bucher.
Tamara Dill and Joi Ross sit on the second floor of a North Philly rowhome with microphones in their hands as Alicia Keys bumps through the speakers. The two teens, collectively known as “The Queens,” both roll their heads with the music, occasionally singing along.
“Don’t be mad, it’s just a brand new kind of me,” Tamara harmonizes, soulfully sounding like she’s felt the same pain as Keys. “And it ain’t bad. I found a brand new kind of free.”
“Sing it, girl,” Joi offers.
It’s women’s appreciation week on their brand new radio show, called Playback Radio, and this is their first-ever live performance. They’ve played Etta James, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Miami Horror, Amy Winehouse and more. Now, the show is coming to a close.
King Britt, the internationally renowned DJ who has been sitting a few feet away from the duo, interrupts, “After the next chorus, you can say thanks for tuning in and come back next week.”
But Alicia Keys is hitting the crescendo and the girls jump to their feet, bouncing around, emoting and crooning along with Keys.
“I’ve taken one too many excuses,” they wail, “and one too many lies.”
As the song ebbs and then fades out, Joi gives a shout out to the Playback Musik crew, ending the broadcast.
“I feel like it’s the start of a new beginning,” says Tamara, a 16-year old who performs under the moniker Muzical, after they go off air.
“I feel special,” adds Joi, 16, who performs as Classi J.
“You always feel special,” Tamara teases.
“I do,” Joi concedes.
The girls pack up the Numark mixer, fold up the table and put everything in its proper spot in the modest studio that is loaded with professional equipment – Telefunken mics, Akai keyboard, Ableton Push Suite, Critter & Guitari synths and more. They collect their bags full of schoolbooks and dash out to the unpredictable streets.
“It was so perfect,” says King, who remains beaming, like a proud father.
He shakes his head, thinking about the talent he’s fostered while serving as an artist-in-residence here at The Village of Arts and Humanities.
The girls just learned how to use the DJ equipment two weeks ago.
And in a few weeks, the 10-track album that the five-member Playback Musik team wrote, recorded and produced in this studio will be released at a launch party.
“No one knows what we’ve been doing here,” King says. “When they hear the album, they are going to lose their shit.” Read more…
WIN FREE TICKETS! See GoGo Morrow @ The TLA on Friday.
Philly girl GoGo Morrow headlines at the TLA on Friday and we are giving away tickets to see the show.
If you want a pair of tickets to see GoGo with Aaron Parnell Brown, Guordan Banks and Crown Bella, like us on facebook and email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com (give us your name and put “I SAID GOGO” in the subject line).
If you want to play it safe and get your own tickets, find details for the show here.
Architects, The Ghost Inside, Every Time I Die and Hundredth @ The TLA.
Text and images by Erin Marhefka.
The hardcore kids gathered at the TLA on Sunday for a night of head banging and moshing. To many people’s dismay, the original openers, Backtrack, dropped the tour for personal reasons right before the show.
Hundredth started the show with “Carry On,” from their 2011 album Let Go. The band pumped everyone up with their classic quick rhythm and lead singer Chadwick Johnson spent a lot of time in the security pit, singing with the fans against the barricade. Read more…
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 