Miami Music Blog

​If cult movie messiah Alejandro Jodorowsky and PFFR co-produced a mass psychosis session in the secret subterranean tunnels that link Vizcaya Gardens to the Domino's at NE 2nd Ave. and 34th, then Miami-bred psychedelicists Ice Cream would be named official jam band. 

myspace.com/theshakersmusic

​If you're nostalgic for the punk of the '90s, when it still had some muscle (despite the osteoporosis that was setting in), catch Margate punk band The Shakers, a group that formed in 1994 and whose blend of punk and hardcore would have been an appropriate addition during the Warped Tour's early years.

The band's latest effort Good Enough falls somewhere between a raspy Fenix TX and the Bouncing Souls, and includes a lot of brawny punk tunes buzzing with major chords, rapid-fire drumming, and the gruff vocals of Pat Stahl, who sounds a little less abrasive (or more abrasive depending on how you look at it) than Rancid's Matt Freeman.

The Shakers will play two shows Friday, the first of which will be at music-community staple Radio-Active Records (1930 E. Sunrise Blvd.). The show starts at 8 p.m., and is free. Everymen will also perform, and there will be an in-store appearance by Yacht. The second show, at Roy's (8000 W. Sample Road) in Margate, starts at 11 p.m. It's a bar, so admission is only for 21 and up. It's also free.

​Hey, lost soul. Word is, you've been searching for some kind of trippy party shaman to lead you on a spirit quest to the center of your very own inner outer space. True? OK, then, it's totally time you took a tab of that Space Voodoo Crystal stuff. Hence, today's free MP3, "Mutations." 

Russ Rogers

Kill Miss Pretty

​Boynton Beach's raunch-punksters Kill Miss Pretty announced Sunday via Twitter that they are giving away their two albums, Permission for Strange and 2006 EP Bite Your Tongue, for free. The trio, which consists of vocalist Alicia, guitarist Russ, and bassist Martin, blend indie rock and electro for a sideshow that is one part carnival, one part sex (mainly on Alicia's part), and one part glam. They were part of the huge Halloween party, Moonfest, and are scheduled to play Saturday at New Times' fashion/art/music soiree Artopia.

Click here to download the band's music.

Santigold: She's a lady.

​Last time Santigold (a.k.a., Santi White, formerly Santogold) was in Miami, she played at Ultra Music Festival back in March. Unfortunately, she was relegated to an early slot on the first day of the festival, so she played to a sparse crowd. We missed her set all together because it never crossed our minds that the festival organizers would waste her talent by putting her on so early. As we were picking up our press passes, we could hear Santi singing "Creator" from a distance. By the time we arrived to the main stage, Perry Farrell had taken the stage.

But thanks to Diesel, the semi-Euro trashy clothing brand, we'll have another chance to see her perform live. The eclectic artist will hit the Paris Theatre (550 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach) alongside "Day 'n' Nite" singer Kid Cudi November 17. Best part of it all, it's free! The catch? You've got to snatch tickets at one of its stores starting Saturday, November 14 through Tuesday, November 17:

• Diesel Lincoln Road (933 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach)
• Diesel Avenutra (19501 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura)
• Diesel Miami Beach (801 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach)
• Bloomingdale's Aventura (men's and women's Diesel Departments) (19555 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura)

According to the press release, there are a few more (bigger) acts that will be announced soon. Cudi and Santi seem good reason enough to go as is, so we wonder who else will be added on the bill. The event is part of the Diesel U:Music tour that has already made stops in Berlin, New York, London, Paris and Tokyo. The tour wraps November 25 in Sydney.

​Like some buff God-looking dude, Jon Gaiser (a.k.a. Gaiser, a.k.a. Fraktion) emerged from his bedroom studio in a blaze of blue light. The genius was naked, except for a sweaty sheet wrapped about his waist, and he stroked his beard while muttering this rote quote: "My bedroom has always been a room full of gear that happened to have a bed in the corner." So wise, so sagacious, so weird -- Gaiser had just given birth to today's free MP3, a minimal techno baby called "New Dust." 

Album art by Reeve Schumacher

​For five years, local duo Michael John Hancock and Brian Robertson of Awesome New Republic have made hipsterized pop that sounds like some dead future from the '80s. They self-describe as "punk, soul, R&B," but that hardly probes the bloggy depths of the ANR enigma. It's way more complicated than just crossbreeding genres. In fact, Awesome New Republic is like a Pro Tools-powered tuneage collider that eats a bazillion bits of sonic matter (synthy soul, sci-fi folk, New Wave-y disco, etc.) and poops retro-futuristic fireworks for your ears.

United States law says that the airwaves belong to the people.

​Mixx 96, the underground Caribbean station on Dade County airwaves did a killer live broadcast of the International Flag Party at Space on Friday that we tuned somewhere around 4 a.m. on Saturday morning.

This is the station that gave DJ Khaled his start, and is also the recipient of three of our Best Of mentions. We've also written some articles about the station, click here to see those.

They broadcast live on the internet at 96mixx.com. Log on to stay in tune with the streets.

​At her tender young age, Inbal Lankry is already something of a scene veteran. At age 15, the Brooklyn native was promoting for legendary NYC clubs Limelight, Tunnel and Paladium, while helping out older brother DJ Baby Sean with his residencies at various hot spots all over the city. In 2002, Inbal and her family migrated to South Florida where they opened Sonar nightclub in Hollywood, voted Best Club of 2004 and 2005 by New Times and City Link. A natural progression into DJing followed, making her one of the only female DJ/promoters in Miami's local underground house music scene.

In 2006, Inbal and Baby Sean started the weekly Retox party at club Blue in South Beach, which has since provided locals with some of the finest underground house music from around the globe in the most intimate of settings. While she continues to spin at Retox every week, Inbal has also gone on to play at Ultra Music Festival and has shared the bill with the likes of Christian Martin, Vincenzo, Sunshine Jones, Roland Clark, and Scott Wozniak. Inbal's new DJ mix is one hour and nine minutes of pure unadulterated groovy deep goodness, and if it gets your juices flowing (and that it will) be sure to catch her spinning in the flesh tonight at Blue along with special guest DJ Greg Cuoco of Aqua-booty NY.

Click here to download Inbal's new Curling Beats mix.

​Like all purebred party animals, the adventuresome men of Miami garage psych crew Lil Daggers welcome any kind of fun, no matter how dangerous, drunk, or bizarre. They'll play house parties. They'll play pool parties. They'll play satanic séances, bake sales and shit fights. From the very first Pagan fuck fests to last weekend's killer kegger, we've always needed Daggers like these to keep things from getting dull. 

​You've heard the haters' standard bitch: "Man, the rap game these days ain't nothin' but a lobotomized, blinged-out, corporate pimp." And while that's true to a certain extent, hip-hop in the late aughts is anything but a bag of boring, homogenized bullshit. For every one-dimensional gangsta rap retread, you've got a Nintendo-obsessed hipster hopper, or a Tao-infused backpacker, or even some lyrically deranged, schizophrenic superstar like Lil' Wayne. Basically, the rap world's infested with weirdoes. Just look around ...

And, for one creeping through our own backyard, meet the modestly odd Yakuillasin, a.k.a. YK.SIN, a Pasadena transplant who sounds sorta like the perpetually drunk test-tube baby of ODB, Kool Keith, and the Insane Clown Posse. Earlier this year, he gave us a 19-track opus entitled The Darker Side Of Light, featuring nuggets of certified strange such as "Count Drunkula," "Lethal Injection," and today's free MP3, "Bump Datt." Alternately hyper-violent, horny, dumb, dorky, and funny, YK.SIN keeps it street while also messing with rock riffs, sci-fi sound effects, and rubber ducky squeaks. He's even got his own YouTube video series, Yakuillavizion, typified by this hater-baiting, nuclear apocalypse-themed episode wherein the Yak asks: "Will you witness the rebirth of hip-hop, or continue to dance in the flames?"

MP3: Yakuillasin - "Bump Datt"

via myspace.com/fancymeyet

​X & Y Fest took place last weekend at The Talent Farm with 20 bands competing to see who would be chosen to represent a generation of music fans in Broward county.Oh, and there was a $500 prize, but the honor of winning has got to trump any monetary reward right?

Fort Lauderdale-based Submission Red, a hard Christian rock band, took home top honors during the X portion of the festival. Combining throaty screams, airy melodies, and beat-like poetry, Yvonne Winfrey's vocals soared above the crunching guitars. Check out the video after the jump to see their entire performance at X & Y Fest or click here to check out their MySpace page.

​DJ/producer Michael Christopher is a Boston transplant who moved to Miami in 2004 to pursue a college baseball career, and soon became a mainstay of the local underground dance scene, playing various weekly residencies and parties throughout the years at local venues like Blue, Laundry Bar, White Room, and PS14.

He has since become affiliated with the local PL0T collective (headed by DJs Alejandro Sab and Basti) spinning in support of artists like Adultnapper, Ryan Elliott, Seth Troxler, Butane, and most recently Matt Tolfrey and Crazy Larry. Christopher additionally has some collaborative productions in the works with local artists Tucson, Basti and Pedro Zanetti, with expected releases in the near future -- in the meantime you can check out some of his dark, atmospheric minimal stylings on Myspace.

Here is an exclusive recording of Christopher's opening set for Matt Tolfrey and Crazy Larry at the last  PL0T party at Electric Pickle on Friday, September 18. A mix that perfectly encapsulates the sultry and hypnotic sounds of minimal techno and microhouse that have taken over the Pickle's upstairs room at PL0T's Friday night sessions.

Click here to download Michael Christopher's opening set from that party.

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The world is full of awful noise and sometimes one's sanity depends entirely upon getting a teensy bit of quiet time. But it should never be too quiet. That's where Sharlyn Everetsz' unsteadily strummed guitars and whispery vocals come in handy. Hers is singer-songwritery stuff that's better than silence. 

The ever-elusive Scotchy as rendered by Jamie Tao.

A man of many beards and a million sunglasses, local blues rocker Uncle Scotchy is so rarely seen -- truly seen -- that some of you have begun to doubt his very existence. Admittedly, the guy's an enigma wrapped in a riddle inside a nutshell buried at the center of a brick-sized 'shroom brownie ... Yet, rest assured, Scotchy isn't merely some figment of our riff-deprived collective mind. He is very real and he's out there tearing shit up.

According to the official MySpace biography, Uncle Scotchy was "born in or around 1950, and raised in an orphanage just west of Turkey Neck Falls, Montana" where he cared for "his mentally challenged twin brother, Ezra" before meeting, wooing, and losing "Matilda Anne Magillicutty, daughter of famous horse breeder, Anus Magilligutty." From there, the wild saga goes on and on and on. Go get the unedited version here.

Then, if the bio's still not proof enough, all you doubters need to ponder today's free slab of digitized muzak, "Hold This" by Unk himself. It's the sound of a one-man blues band boozing and blazing its way from living mystery to living legend, using nothing more than guitar, harmonica, "cajonbassdrum," and the human voice. Indeed, you shall be swayed.

MP3: Uncle Scotchy - "Hold This"

Every Thursday. Bougainvillea's, 7221 SW 58th Ave., Miami. Set starts at 8 p.m., and there's no cover. Ages 21+ with ID. 305-669-8577; bougiesbar.com.

Courtesy of myspace.com/mrsoulville

​When Slip 'N' Slide Records announced their 2008 Next Big Superstar Tour, artists from all over the country answered the call. But only one, Mike Bless aka Mr. Make It Happen, could win the title. Though there's a whiff of Flo Rida's breakthrough hit "Get Low" track-wise and Bless' staccato, twang-ed out, upbeat delivery -- hopefully Bless won't abandon us for a career in straight pop music like Flo did.

"Do it Like This" status as a strip club anthem is clear from the time you press "play," with a female vocalist declaring, "If I was a stripper I would do it like this." Click here to hear the track, and hit the jump to see footage of Bless' unanimous Next Big Superstar win.

​If the current South Florida thrash scene were a rotting animal carcass, then Vultures are Wolves would be the three-headed scavenger beast sent forth from, as the band describes it, the "disgusting swamps of Miami" to clean up the mess. (Well, maybe I shouldn't say clean up so much as devour/ digest/expel.) And, extending the metaphor, V.A.W.'s recent self-titled album -- rife with bowel-destroying bass, hardcore guitar chug, growls, hell screeches, and demon-beaten drums -- would be the terrifying sonic record of that bloody-faced feasting ... Oh, did I mention that these guys are also very funny?

Now naturally, despite the very real danger posed by the twisted, joke-loving psychos of V.A.W., you'd like to become better acquainted with their violent metal-punk thrust, right? Well, lucky you, the New Times has made your highly inconvenient trip to Satan's Lair CD Emporium totally unnecessary, offering up a free download of the band's hilariously titled "The River took Dee Snider." It's two minutes and three seconds of hysterically smiling insanity which should be enough (perpetually looped) to satiate your hunger for dead flesh.

​The knock on the door came late; too late for most folks. But DJ Heron was working in a recording studio, where work often doesn't start till the witching hour. And the cat doing the knocking said he was a friend of a friend who'd been working in the studio earlier that night, and that he was supposed to meet him. Was the friend still there? He asked Heron. No? Did anybody know where he'd gone?  

Heron couldn't really see the would-be visitor's face, but his story sounded legit. So he unbolted the door -- and knew it was a mistake the moment he did it. At once the knocker had a gun to Heron's face and an accomplice by his side. Quickly, the two ushered the DJ back into the studio where they tied him up, wrapped a gag around his mouth, and left him to listen as they proceeded to clean out his entire studio.

Every machine, every microphone, every wire was carried out and loaded on to a waiting truck. Most devastatingly, though, the robbers stole Heron's hard drives, which were loaded with untold beats and rhymes. Beats and rhymes he could never get back. 

​In the vast suburban everywheres of the North, there is a surplus of Sublime-obsessed white boys who smoke reefer as if it were a bodybuilding supplement for the brain. They jam incessantly, knocking out funky pseudo-ska while backed by their great-aunt's analog drum machine. And during band breaks, each individual member takes five to fantasize his own private version of the following paradisiacal scenario: Hot (vaguely Polynesian) chick in a bikini cradles a frosty, overflowing beer mug while wedged (waiting for her white boy) between a pair of crooked, lazy coconut trees. 

​PL0T resident DJ Alejandro Sab has been quite active in the last couple years, playing along some of the finest underground EDM talent we've had in Miami, such as Konrad Black, Ryan Elliot, Alexi Delano, and Camea. Besides his DJ accolades, Sab has also delved head-on into collaborative production work with the world-renowned techno producer Alexi Delano (the preview of which you can currently check out on his Myspace page). Despite his reputation as our preeminent local proponent of minimal techno, Sab's latest mix embraces a far headier melodic sound, much in tune with the current international deep house revival, but without straying far from his signature stripped-down minimal style.

Click here to download Alejandro Sab's "Sentience" Mix.

via myspace.com/xplicitmiami

​Miami rapper Xplicit's biggest in-roads in the industry so far have been as a songwriter. His biggest score so far has been a co-writing credit and appearance on the hook of Diddy's new single "Diddy Bop," and he's worked with most of the local heavyweights. (Here's an old Crossfade video of him in the studio with Jim Jonsin.)

But of course, on the Internet, the fastest way to increased attention is a remix of a popular song.... So Xplicit tackled Drake's "Best I Ever Had." Here it is.

So. Thoughts: yes/no? Does this add anything to the original? He does a pretty good job of staying on beat (that beat is really what makes the song anyways, as well as its The-Dream-style repetition), and he's easy to understand.

 I'll say one thing though ... the spelling of his name makes me miss Xzibit. Damn.

MP3: Xplicit - "Best I Ever Had" (remix)

​Last week, you totally blew it, missing the jumpoff for Dade County hustler Pitbull's impending album Rebelution. (I mean really ... Where is your civic pride? The guy carries the keys to our city.) You missed a backdoor taste of club bangers like "Calle Ocho," "Hotel Room Service," and "Krazy" -- not to mention a crunktastic Lil' Jon cameo. Plus, there were Hornitos and unitarded vogue girls and gentleman thugs in black tie. You know, it was a Thursday. 

​The local hard rock-rap band Purple Popcorn does, in fact, rock, but has gotten most of its recognition from stomping all over pop hip-hop. In the early days of its formation two years ago, the band pummeled both Soulja Boy's "Crank That" and Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss," and in so doing added some much-needed weight to both tracks.

More recently, Purple Popcorn did the same thing with Kid Cudi's "Day N Nite," though why they did so is anybody's guess. Thankfully, these days the band is after more righteous game. Their mashing in on Lil Wayne's "With One Arm," Flo Rida's "Low" and, most impressively, Eminem's "3am" shows that, given the right track to back, that part of what they do is well worth getting done - and then some.

 

​You may remember rising local R&B queen Shonie from an episode of Prunk TV here on Crossfade from last May. Since then, she's been working on material for her upcoming debut album, to be released on Slip N Slide and Def Jam, for now titled Passionate... Pieces of Me. Recently, she scored some YouTube heat with a female-perspective response to Jeremiih's "Birthday Sex,"

Capitalizing on the Internet traction, Shonie's released a new mixtape, What the Game's Been Missing. It's hosted by DJ 5053, a fellow Slip N Slide character, and includes remixes of tracks by The-Dream, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Lloyd, etc. -- and of course Rick Ross, Flo Rida, Trick Daddy, and Trina.

Download the mixtape for free after the jump.

​Besides Young Money's still-really-underground Nicki Minaj, the term "mainstream female rapper" is one usually heard before "ain't doin' shit." Kim tried to come back with a song that was so 2002 that I nearly called my mom to ask her money for books and a plane ticket home from college, Foxy popped up on Ross' album (and as his lover on the blogs), but other than that pfft. And the other day, a new single from Trina popped up in my inbox. "That's My Attitude" sounds more like a track from the Baddest Bitch than the Diamond Princess, whom even Trick Daddy told us he wasn't really into.

On this new joint she talks about her favorite shit - money, clothes, and cars - and says "Still running over bitches" and "Still running over ni**as" so it's safe to say that those things plus the hard bass line and catchy hook makes this street single strip club-friendly and will probably do well in the 3-0-5. Not sure whether the rest of the country will fall in line, but hit the jump to hear for yourself.

 

Dooms De Pop

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August's edition of the monthly event Florida? Yeah! will feature singer-songwriter Alex Nelson and Gallo's band Dooms de Pop. Nelson crafts lo-fi acoustic numbers infused with keyboards and topped with emotional and sincere lyricism. Dooms de Pop is the opposite. Noisy, but not sloppy, Dooms de Pop mixes heavy, crunchy guitar-playing with aggressive drumming for a prog-rock delivery that has an added shot of punk adrenaline.

Florida? Yeah!, held the last Saturday of every month, kicks off at 11 p.m. on Saturday, August 29 at Fort Lauderdale's favorite dive bar, the Poorhouse (110 SW 3rd Ave.). Admission is free. Call 954-522-5145.

Jacob Katel

Ian Lewis of Inner Circle walks through the backyard at Circle House studios in North Miami

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​We're all guilty of romanticizing the Sixties. We forget that the era defined by political struggle wasn't always a big, naked party. Civil rights struggles, women's rights, gay rights, and various Chicano movements battled deep-seated ignorance and hate. But the shifting social mores and revolutionary tone laid the foundation for the golden age of rock. Conscientious and loud, the music mirrored what people were feeling. And nowhere was it better captured than at Woodstock.

Cinema Paradiso will team up with Majic 102.7 this Saturday, August 15, to celebrate the festival's 40th. Work by local artists will be displayed, auctions and organic food available, and concert films shown throughout the day. All films shown will pertain to artists who played at Woodstock, though not all include actual Woodstock performances. Admission is free. Get the film lineup after the jump. 

Photo by EM

​No, Calahoney won't take your dinner order, then wash the dishes. (Although, they might consider it, if you ask nice and promise to buy their album.) Truth is, Josue Cruz and Laura Askins don't even run a restaurant. They're a husband-and-wife duo who "teach in the winter and rock in the summer." And so far, these Miami-based alt-folkies haven't wasted a single second of summer vacation '09, releasing their second album Slow Stride before setting off on the Enjoy Your Day Job tour, an intercontinental June-July jaunt from Miami to NYC to Merry Olde England and back.