Miami Music Blog

photo by Jipsy / Nefariousgirl.com

Radioboxer plays a FLIFF party at Cinema Paradiso

​Friday, November 6

Girls who rock...plus Johnny.

​Alright, if you're not headed up to FLIFF tonight to catch Radioboxer at Cinema Paradiso, but you are in the mood for a little local rocking this weekend, there's a simple solution. It involves floors covered in a perpetual sheen of freshly spilt beer, a haze of cigarette smoke so thick it makes the eyes water and a bathroom where at least seven new infections as yet unknown to man are no doubt being cultured at this very moment. That's right, I'm talking about Churchill's. Where else would you find such a decidedly rock 'n' roll element in Miami?

And tomorrow night they've got a pretty sick lineup waiting to make a hell of a lot of noise. They've got Guilty Fingers (but who doesn't?), Sector 11 and Eztorbo Social. And Guerrilleros de Nadie. The three-piece band, comprised of guitarist/vocalist Michi, bassist Twan and drummer Johnny, play loud, and they play fast. And they're music is really, really aggressive. Plus, they kick ass bilingually, which is like getting a beatdown with the SAP turned on. If you want to rock hard, Guerrilleros' thrash punk is your ticket.

Guerrilleros de Nadie perform at Churchill's Pub (5501 NE 2nd Ave.) on Saturday, November 7.

​We checked them out in the studio and then followed their adventures on their latest national tour... So Crossfade fully recommends Jacobs Ladder's EP release party tonight at, of course, Churchill's. Yes, this kicks off another tour, this time around the Southeast and a little bit up the East Coat, as far as Brooklyn. Too bad there isn't such a thing as frequent van miles. Your $10 entry gets you a free copy of the EP, Ours For the Taking, which is worth owning physically because the album art is awesome. The excellent retro-ish power-poppers of Ex Norwegian also play, as do frequent Jacobs Ladder bill-sharers Flower Flower Yes and I Shot Broadway, and finally, Talent Farm/Solid Sound Studios mainstays Vega Under Fire.

​Is it just me or does it seem like there's a whole lot going on this weekend? This time of year always gets a bit crazy, I suppose. Thanksgiving (and Black Friday) is just a couple weeks away. Holidays and holiday parties right around the corner after that. Art Basel is fast approaching too... the list goes on and on. Competing for your affections this weekend, Sleepless Night, and FLIFF.

That's right, the 24th annual Fort Lauderdale Film Festival is already upon us, the festivities having kicked off yesterday on October 23rd. But tomorrow, there's a special treat you won't want to miss, and it doesn't compete with Sleepless Night at all! It's going down in the Paradiso Patio Courtyard at Cinema Paradiso--the Florida Filmmaker Party and Auteur Explosion, featuring a performance by one of Miami's most buzzed about bands, Radioboxer. If you haven't caught them live for yourself, you're seriously missing out on a hell of a live performance. And what better opportunity than this, in which you can support the arts across the board, and impress your friends and coworkers, saying, "Oh, tonight? Just going to support the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival." It'll make you seem classy. Unless you were already planning on going there, in which case, carry on.

Te event cost is a mere $5, unless you attend the A Taste of Florida Film screening just prior in which case it's free. Score!

The Florida Filmmaker Party and Auteur Explosion takes place at Cinema Paradiso (503 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale) on Friday, November 7 at 10:30p.m.and Radioboxer is expected to play at 11. The event is preceded by A Taste of Florida Film.

via myspace.com/ycentertainment

Check out this killer guitar solo from Radio Galaxy's performance at the Wednesday night blues jam at Titanic Brewery by the University of Miami in Coral Gables.

Click here for Radio Galaxy's myspace.

Like blues music? Check out the jam tonight from 9 p.m. to midnight with an open blues jam hosted by Chris Cosner.

The bar is running specials with $2 Triple Screws, and it's also Mug Club night. So, check it out, kick back some microbrews, bring your guitar, harmonica, voice, or whatever, and bang out your wang dang doodle.

Titanic Brewery and Restaurant, 5813 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Coral Gables. 305-668-1742

​Let's talk for a minute about Soul Do Mato. Because I feel like you don't hear enough about this Miami-based band. While enjoying their vids on YouTube, I did find that they have at least one metric shitload of views though, so it's entirely possible I'm just preaching to the choir when I say Soul Do Mato are one talented group of dudes, and well deserving of support.

Honest and heartfelt with a laid-back, "stop, sip some booze and listen" sort of appeal, it could be said that SDM's music lies somewhere along the lines of Jack Johnson, or at times, Mat Kearney. But they make it their own.

Started in 2005 and not fully formed until '07, the five-piece Soul Do Mato (which is Portuguese for "of nature," and not yet another pronunciation for tomato), comprised of singer and rhythm guitarist Ravhi DeMello, lead guitarist Robbie Carroll, drummer Doug Carroll, saxophonist Frankie Jurado and bassist Greg Andrews, have tapped into something special. Their sound bears a distinct straightforward approach that is obviously the product of mature songwriting, and the result is catchy and often arresting tunes. The music is not simple. Just soulful. Check them out for yourself in the flesh at Bougie's tomorrow night.

Soul Do Mato performs at Bougainvillea's Old Florida Tavern on Thursday, November 5. No cover.

Photo by Christina Mendenhall

Kill Miss Pretty's Alicia Olink dressed as a sexy zebra.

Photo by Logan Fazio

Lady Gaga last performed locally at Revolution.

​Lady Gaga's New Year's Eve show at the Knight Center is going to be one hell of a 2009 send-off. So, while tickets are available, all the good ones are long gone (what remains, basically is a bunch of side-view seats). South Florida is full of the pop diva's biggest supporters -- gays, glamazons, club kids, and so forth -- and she clearly wants to spread the love back. So she's added a second show, on Saturday, June 2, at the same downtown Miami place.

Tickets aren't any cheaper, but for a big pop star's show, they're still reasonably priced. Regular-people tickets range from $23 to $63, although at the lowest tier, at this point all that's left is, again, that dreaded side-view. For the truly obsessed, there are still plenty of "Hot Seat" ticket packages for $240 -- premium reserved seats and some other goodies -- but the "Meet and Greet" tickets are already all gone, sorry.

And to think, just a few months ago, she was playing Revolution. (Click here to check out our slideshow from that gig.)

The other piece of local-interest news related to this show is Gaga's choice of opener, Jason DeRulo, who she's upgraded to the opening slot for the entire tour.  

​The upcoming national outing headlined by New Found Glory and Dashboard Confessional was going to be a showcase of '90s Broward and Palm Beach County heroes made good. But this past Friday, Dashboard had to suddenly drop off the tour, which was scheduled to land locally at Pompano Beach Amphitheater on November 27. And with Dashboard off, the whole tour -- which was also to feature much younger acts like Never Shout Never, Meg & Dia, and Single File -- is also off. Here's a statement from the band:

"Due to a family situation that is beyond our control, we have to cancel our upcoming tour with New Found Glory, Never Shout Never, Meg & Dia and Single File. We don't take this lightly but family has to come first. As this is a last minute development, we are still figuring out what we will do- as soon as we know, you will know. We apologize to everyone who planned on coming to the shows. We will find a way to make it up to you." Chris, John, Scott, Mike / Dashboard Confessional.

The band does plan, right now, to reschedule the tour for some time in 2010. Refunds are available at point of purchase.

​Crossfade has been following Miami-based DJ/producer Alejandro Sab for a while now, considering his PL0T parties and international artist bookings have been a veritable cornerstone of our local underground EDM scene for the last couple years. At least once a month since 2007 PL0T has made us privy to some of the finest and most cutting-edge contemporary talent in techno and house from around the world, including intimate and memorable performances by Ryan Elliott, Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss, Camea, and Alexi Delano, among many others.

A fruitful collaborative relationship was forged between Sab and internationally-acclaimed techno producer Alexi Delano in 2009 which has now resulted in the duo releasing their first EP Slipping Through The Cracks on Ritchie Hawtin's prestigious Plus 8 label. This is quite an auspicious beginning to Sab's career as a recording artist and surely the first of many great things to come for the young producer as he continues to make his mark on the international techno scene. The new EP is out today on 12" vinyl format, and will be available in digital format with an additional two bonus tracks on November 4. With its dark atmospheric textures, slick understated rhythms and relentless subsonic driving basslines, this record is an exemplary slice of contemporary minimal techno. 

Click here to purchase Alexi Delano and Alejandro Sab's Slipping Through The Cracks EP and support our local talent!

[Update: Alejandro Sab has informed us that the release date for this record was actually extended until November 23, in order to finalize the mastering process on the tracks. The EP will still be available at the above link on that date.]

CC by 2.0, via stopnlook's Flickr

Bring plenty of bills to Pulp Live -- performing bands, this means you, too.

​Well, it's that special time of year kiddies, when real kiddies get to go door to door yelling "trick or treat!" and collecting candy, most of which their grandmothers will warn, "esta envenenado" ("it's poisoned"). Meanwhile, grownup kiddies get to dress like strippers and dipshits (I managed both at once two years ago with "guy out of the shower", donning only a towel and shower cap) and get drunk while reveling and celebrating the birth of Candy Corn. It's all good wholesome fun, truly. And if you don't believe me, then why did they make an awesome Peanut's special for it?

Giving you one more reason to love it while simultaneously providing a damned good place for drunken revelry and celebration of the birth of Candy Corn, Spam Allstars and Hoy Como Ayer. This Halloween, come party in true Miami style down on la Calle Ocho at Vampiros en La Habana, named for a Cuban animated film. Fanged cubaneo, yeah! As you already know, Spam, quite simply, are the kings of Afro-Caribbean Latin funk hybrid descarga in Miami and abroad. And Hoy Como Ayer is offering ladies in free and two-for-one boozers 'til 11 p.m.

So do it up. Don your loincloth or your way-short Judy Jetson garb. And save me a tiny Snickers, if you nab one. I friggin' love those things!

Spam Allstars perform at Hoy Como Ayer (2212 SW 8th Street) on Saturday, October 31. Doors open at 9 p.m.

U-Tunes is a musical competition show produced by college students for the University of Miami's television network. The show is a joint venture between the School of Communication and The Frost School of Music.

This episode, the season premiere, features the band Ex Norwegian, a Miami indie band who has a song critiqued by a three-person panel of local music industry professionals.

Log on to umtv.miami.edu/U-Tunes for more info, to stream the show live, or to view other episodes, or click here to catch up with U-Tunes on Facebook.

Earlier this summer, ¡MAYDAY! released its Technology EP, which is available free for download via Bandcamp. Off that release, the guys have decided to release a video for the track "Red Carpet Affair." The video features Brooklyn musician and artist Andrew Strasser, a.k.a. Bad Brilliance, who was in town during the summer while preparing his exhibit, "Bad Brilliance in Miami," at the Bas Fischer Invitational. Check out the video, which was filmed mainly at Transit Lounge in Miami, above. And after the jump, a bonus video of Strasser's teaser for his exhibit.

​It's about time that someone take back the synth-pop sound back to the Magic City. Joseph Espinoza, a.k.a. Jesp, seems to be doing exactly that. With sound that something of cross between Chromeo and Jan Hammer, Jesp will drop his debut album, Heart Rhythm, November 3 via Sweat Records' website as a limited free download.

Espinoza is no stranger to the city's music scene. He gain notoriety as the vocalist and guitarist for the now defunct band Outereach. After that, he quickly picked up the pieces and decided to go solo as Jesp, performing at places like White Room, Vagabond and PS14.

If you haven't caught the man live, you'll have another chance during the upcoming Wynwood art walk on November 14. No word yet on where exactly, but we'll keep you posted.

Update: You can download the album via Sweat Records' website by clicking here.

​Hurting on funds after spending 90 bones on that Halloween costume? You know the one, a slutty nurse, or a slutty cop, or a slutty Margaret Thatcher or whatever. And for you ladies, the slutty costumes only get more expensive! But, while Halloween isn't until Saturday, it is Halloween weekend, and that means you're obligated to party throughout--in this case we'll accept Thursday through Saturday or Friday through Monday, but three days is minimum. I don't make the rules.

Anywho...if you're looking for some Friday night partying on the cheap, Transit is always a great option. As you may well know by now, last Friday of the month means Conjunto Progreso will be throwing down, and that means you can expect nothing less than the very best in ass-shaking cubaneo (wait...is that redundant?). For some Grammy-nominated son from the local masters themselves, make your way to the downtown night spot.

Conjunto Progreso perform at Transit Lounge on Friday, October 30, and every last Friday of the month. And, as you know, there's never a cover.

Jacob Katel

Three sixths of ¡MAYDAY!

​Last Friday, Miami live-action hip hop group ¡MAYDAY! brought six band members, keyboards, amps, monitors, guitars, drums and a sound guy named Monkey to a WDNA studio further cramped by a show host, engineer, intern, and 3 separate camera folk.

The occasion was the real time broadcast of Sound Theory Live, the Friday night show on 88.9 FM (streaming live on wdna.org) that puts local bands live on non-commercial, community FM radio playing and talking about their music.

Show host Carlos Garcia is always looking for musical talent of all genres to feature on his show so if you're interested or know someone who is, then reach out to soundtheorylive@gmail.com.

Here are some pictures and a video from ¡MAYDAY! on Sound Theory Live.

Photo by Arielle Castillo

Jacuzzi Boys played after the drink-sodden film screening.

​Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry Screening
Miami Art Space, Wynwood, Miami
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Better Than: Shopping for remaindered Ed Hardy clothes in that sad sample sale/clearance trailer on US1 down south.

The Review:

Last night's screening of Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry, a fun documentary about the tattoo innovator's life and times, was characterized by a crowd of people drunk as, well, sailors (as they say). Take a Wynwood locale and add the promise of free booze on a Tuesday night, and you're just inviting foolishness. While things started out rather calmly, with people sipping Sailor Jerry brand spiced rum (yum), the ambient volume increased proportionally with everyone's blood alcohol level.

Bartenders' pours were generous -- so generous, my breath was probably flammable and I started to lose motor control about a third of the way through drink number one. Thus, by the time the actual documentary was set to go on, keeping people quiet and corralled was pretty much a lost cause.

Photo by Ian Witlen

Miami band Awesome New Republic at Fontana's in the Lower East Side. Click here to view more pictures.

​Just a few months ago, Awesome New Republic seemed the next South Florida band likely to strike big. But a few months is a million years in blog time, and somewhere in the last few real-time weeks, West Palm's Surfer Blood seems to have become THE South Florida hype band. They played some 12 shows in five days at last week's annual CMJ Music Marathon in New York, and ended up in pretty much every major blog. The band even garnered a mention in a "real" non-blog piece in the New York Times.

That kind of hype is both a blessing and a curse. Zach Baron at our sister paper the Village Voice even compared Surfer Blood's "coronation" at this CMJ to that of Jacksonville's Black Kids, previously. And getting one's band's hype compared to that of the Black Kids is seriously to be avoided. Black Kids are a decent band that got talked up way, way too much before the release of their debut. The record was, by the time it was released -- a million blog years after their initial buzz creation -- seen as a disappointment by all the snooty Internet types who contributed to its press avalanche.

Anyways, Surfer Blood hasn't yet suffered the deluge of press that Black Kids did, and at least in Crossfade's humble opinion, boasts more solid material. It's a long way to go before their debut record gets released on Kanine next year, though, so after the band's CMJ deluge, it may be time for a little break.

Miami darlings Awesome New Republic didn't get ignored, though. Hit the jump for a run-down on the coverage of both Surfer Blood and ANR at CMJ. Other local acts playing official showcases were Afrobeta, Pitbull, and OrganicArma, none of whose performances got much of a mention in the big-time CMJ recaps. Pitbull is, of course, swimming in his own wave of international adulation -- it was weird that he even played CMJ in the first place, considering it's mostly for the industry's next wave of breakout acts, and mostly indie-rock-centric. Afrobeta and OrganicArma's CMJ performances seem to have been overlooked on the Internet -- too bad.

photo from myspace.com/murderousrampage444

​Watch out Zombie Strippers, Murderous Rampage has just released a video for their song "Programmed to Kill." And the topless zombie chicks are way more brutal than Jenna Jameson (no matter how much Nietzsche she reads). They don't strip, they just want to kill you.

Or maybe just kill their creator (think The Terminator), played by MR frontman and horror aficionado Tommy Newman. The "Programmed to Kill" video starts off with a sleepy Newman dozing off amid his many life-size zombie mannequins. (Creating the undead mannequins is actually a real-life hobby of Newman's. He has them throughout his house). The protagonist dreams he's being chased by three of his bloody, half-naked, come-to-life creations, and therefore attempts to flee. But the zombies are just too damn clever. Not-much-of-a-spoiler alert: There's a shower scene!

Pushed on by fist-pumping choruses, gutteral, shouting vocals, straight metal riffs, special effects, and the never-satisfied thirst of the undead, Murderous Rampage's video for "Programmed to Kill" is as brutal and artful as you can get on no budget. Another fun fact: The make-up took over 3 hours. (Though they must have saved time on costuming, the zombie women don't have much of a wardrobe!)

See the video after the jump.

Junior Boys play the Vagabond on Saturday

​Friday, October 23

​Seriously, there's really not a whole lot more praise I could pay Locos Por Juana without seeming gushy. If you read Crossfade even twice a year, there's like a 50/50 chance you've read something I wrote about them before. Sooo...instead, I've opted to share a few of my all-time favorite Chuck Norris facts.

In no particular order, they are:

-Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits.

-Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until they give up the information he wants.

-Chuck Norris doesn't produce sperm. He produces tiny white ninjas that recognize only one mission: seek and destroy.

-Chuck Norris always knows the exact location of Carmen Sandiego.

-When someone says "nobody's perfect," Chuck Norris takes it as a personal insult.

-When Chuck Norris jumps in the water, he doesn't get wet. The water gets Chuck Norrised

-Chuck Norris once struck lightning.

and, my personal fav...

-The human body contains 46 chromosomes. Chuck Norris' contains 47...and they are all lethal.

Now, this has nothing to do with LPJ, obviously--it's just a testament to Chuck Norris' extreme awesomeness. But LPJ is awesome in their own right. Just not as awesome as Chuck Norris. And you'd be wise never to suggest otherwise. Ever.

If you somehow missed every single one of their countless performances around SoFla and have no idea what I'm talking about, or you just want to have a surefire good time and cheap drinks, check the hard-gigging band out for yourself at Transit this Saturday, and see why these two-time Latin Grammy nominees are worthy of hosting Chuck Norris facts on a blog (only marginally) about them.

Locos Por Juana perform at Transit Lounge (729 SW 1 Ave) this Saturday. No cover.

Photo by Kara Starzyk

Astari Nite

Halloween won't fall on a weekend again until 2014, and it won't fall on a Saturday again until 2015. So Palm Beach residents will have no excuse Saturday. No "next year," no "I'm too tired after working all week." This is a call for them to take to the streets for the free street party Moonfest.

Dress code will include favorite celeb/public villain (cough, Sarah Palin, cough), condiment (Florida orange), idiom (dead ringer: dress as a zombie and bring a bell!), or anything creative.

Music will include performances by Astari Nite, Leading the Heroes, Nothing Rhymes with Orange, Mission Veo, and Surfer Blood, the last of which seems positioned to be our next rock heroes after receiving favorable reviews from Spin.com and Pitchfork, among others.

Other entertainment will feature street performers, a haunted house, circus acts, rides, games, and an adult costume contest including $1,000 in cash and prizes. The party starts at 4 p.m. and will be held from the 500 block of Clematis Street to the end of Clematis in downtown West Palm. VIP tickets for the private R.I.P. tent cost $35 and include free food and drinks.

Moonfest afterparties will be held at Oshea's Irish Pub (531 Clematis Street) and Respectable Street (518 Clematis Street).

Sweet Bronco performing at The Bubble

​This Halloween, indie space the Bubble (810 NE Fourth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale) will again be Broward's hub for local art and rawkin' local bands. Some of the bands/acts include:

Sweet Bronco: Largely the solo project of Chris Horgan, Sweet Bronco delivers the kind of lyric-centric, expressive folk reminiscent of early '90s indie. Literate, authentic, and self-aware (in a great way), Sweet Bronco sparkles with heart-on-sleeve poetics.

Dooms De Pop: Bubble co-founder Garo Gallo's rock trio Dooms De Pop used to be a prog-noise act, but it has recently transitioned to a more, say, "experimental" alternative rock sound. The members still take risks, they just aren't afraid of a little melody.

Photo by Rebecca Smeyne

Surfer Blood

​Every day, RollingStone.com publishes news on the music industry as part of its Rock and Roll Daily blog. Each day averages about 25 stories. And yesterday, between "Led Zepplin II Turns 40" and "Lenny Kravitz: I Want to Work With Jack White," the site's Hype Monitor recommended West Palm Beach's Surfer Blood and listed song "Swim" as its "Key Track."

The band has kept an extremely busy tour schedule lately. (They're playing two shows today, and three tomorrow in New York City.) But they will be back for Moonfest in West Palm for Halloween, which will be the last time to catch them before they head out on the road again immediately. They won't be back until at least December. Read what RollingStone.com wrote here.

via myspace.com/theresolvers

The Resolvers

​The revelry swings into high gear on Lake Avenue on Halloween as Lake Worth's inaugural Halloween Street gets under way that Saturday at noon. Organizers promise three stages of music, "Coney Island-style" freak shows, a psychic fair, a costume contests for kids, pets, and adults, and arts and crafts vendors galore.

The Rum Shack stage will have open mike hopefuls strumming their stuff all day, while the Cheney Brothers Cultural Plaza stage will be headlined by Illumination, known for producing wacky bluegrass covers of contemporary hits from the likes of Metallica and Sheryl Crow. 

The main stage, meanwhile, will appeal to the tie-dyed flower child in all of us. Playing early is spacey jam band the Burnin Smyrnans, from, you guessed it, New Smyrna Beach. (We wonder what they've been burning?) Singer-songwriter Shauna Sweeney and her backing band take the stage next, and will uplift the goblins roaming around with her sunny melodies. Deerfield Beach's the Resolvers' fluid dub will make sure everyone's feeling irie. Rounding out the bill will be headliner Jupiter Beach's riddim 'n' roots four-piece B-Liminal, whose island vibes will have fans of Sublime and Jack Johnson jamming along.

Halloween Street Scene. Saturday, October 31. Along Lake Avenue in downtown Lake Worth. Event runs from noon to 10 p.m., admission is free. halloweenstreetscene.com

-- Alex Rendon

OrganicArma is one of a handful local bands who won a spot to play an official CMJ showcase through SonicBids. Their CMJ debut took place last Tuesday at the Ace of Clubs, on Great Jones Street in the East-ish Vilage. Here's a quick video probided by the folks at SonicBids, with a few seconds of performance and an interview afterwards. It looks like, for this gig, they eschewed much of their usual costumes and make-up, and performed as just a duo instead of a trio. Still, in the half-minute we get here, it seems like they managed to build up a pretty good groove.

​Sarah Jacob
Damask
(Reppertoire)

According to the Merriam-Webster, Damask is a firm lustrous fabric make with flat patterns in a satin weave on a plain-woven ground on jacquard looms. After listening through Miami's own Sarah Jacob's Damask, I can say the title is fitting. It's filled with flat patterns, plain-woven lyrics, and a puzzling propensity to crowbar those lyrics into schizophrenic musical arrangements.

Damask's opening line on "Deprivation" perfectly describes my time with the album. "You came on ever so quickly. You filled me with expectations, but only briefly." The opening track "Prelude" is a sparse and beautiful piano and violin arrangement that lasts 31 seconds. "Dare I," substitutes keyboards for pianos and begins to fall apart a few moments later. Jacob's singing is beautiful at times, especially when she goes from a raspy whisper to a full on belting out of her lyrics. But she gets a sort of beat poet vibe and stops singing mid line to speak certain words before suddenly breaking back into singing. It makes for an uneven experience.