​After a seemingly endless heyday, rap-rock eventually became one of the most reviled musical artifacts of the end of the last millennium. But it's been more than a decade since then. Fred Durst has disappeared from everywhere except Twitter, and critical darlings like Cage are starting to rhyme over guitars again. So the timing of Miami band Alukard's debut full-length, One Shot, seems fortuitous. To lump it in with the crappy nu-metal-with-scratching of two decades ago, though, would be seriously wrong.
First off, there is no DJ in Alukard (thankfully), and the group's style is more diverse than one might initially expect. The band members themselves have dubbed it "305 rock," and it's a punk- and hardcore-fueled brew that still occasionally dabbles in ska, acoustic balladry, and even a touch of New Wave. Over all this, a twin attack of MCs seems to barely control and egg on a joyous chaos.
Special guest Stephen Marley joins Nas onstage at the Arsht Center.
​Mayday!, Goodie Mob, and Nas The Arsht Center, Miami Friday, February 5, 2010
Better Than: BET's SOS Haiti benefit concert that took place earlier the same night, right up the street at the American Airlines Arena.
The Review:
Sure, Super Bowl week was chock full of celeb-infested, high-profile events promising "special appearances" by everyone and their mothers. But no event besides Friday's show at the Arsht Center could claim a full-scale performance from such a powerhouse name in the world of hip-hopas Nasir Jones, a.k.a. God's Son, Nas.
And sure, Jay-Z is indeed playing two weeks later at the Bank Atlantic Center up north, and that's something to be excited about. But us die-hard hip-hop heads know that Nas, lyrically, can butcher the Jigga any given day. If you disagree, listen to Nas' controversial single "Ether" off his 2001 hit record Stillmatic and get back to me.
The Arsht Center was definitely up late that Friday evening as the show was pushed back to a start time of 10:30 p.m. to accommodate the heavy-loaded BET Haiti benefit concert at the nearby AAA. Nevertheless, the crowd quickly staggered in and filled up the center's Knight Concert Hall, where they were greeted with a 20-minute opening set by local hip-hop supergroup MayDay. With an actual band set-up, Mayday truly gave a stellar performance as
Plex took his beat-making skills to the keyboards, and MC Wrekonize and
Bernie rhymed and sang their hearts out.
Shot from October, 2009, when we caught Locos at the WDNA studio for Sound Theory Live.
​Locos Por Juana are fuckin' awesome, and we've got the proof. Welcome to our first edition of Crossfade Live, where we bring you our original high definition concert recordings from bands and venues all over South Florida.
Today we bring you a full, live album we recorded Friday night at Jazid. If you've never seen or heard Locos Por Juana, they play a Miami-Latin blend of reggae, hip hop, rumba, cumbia, get down, soul force, radical shit.
Here's the link to the 13-track album we made from their show, after the jump.
​That Radioboxer and Humbert are playing a Valentine's-themed show this Friday at the Shack North in Hialeah is not, in itself, huge news. The former has played plenty of warehouse gigs in the City of Progress, and the latter are the town's patron saints (and owners of the place). What is news about the event: Not only has Humbert frontman Ferny not let his serious scooter accident last year slow him down, he's expanded his creative reach.
Friday marks the premiere of a new play he's written called Dick and Jane: Before We Fell in Love, a Friend Story. While it's unclear if it's a musical, per se, with characters breaking into song, Ferny did score the work, and cast as actors members from local groups like Only Right Left and the otherwise sadly dormant Waterford Landing.
To round everything out, there will also be visual art from John Baez, Karen Keesler, Holly Anne, Cristy Alma, Molly Bo, and Ariel Almeda. Someone's gotta keep culture alive in that 'hood! To add to organizer Tony Landa's overall good karma, the event is all-ages, and though there's no cover, he's collecting donations for Manos International and various Haitian relief organizations.
Humbert, with Radioboxer and other friends. Friday, February 12. The Shack North Annex, 9811 NW 80th Ave., Hialeah. Show starts at 9 p.m. and goes "until it ends." 305-610-4299; facebook.com/shacknorth
Better Than: Listening to Animal Collective's "My Girls" on repeat for an hour (probably)
The Review:
Alex Diaz, the man behind the rising Coral Springs act MillionYoung, makes exquisite music for earbuds. Or laptop speakers. It's intimate, multi-textured, bittersweet, and dreamy, tailor-made for an audience of one. The tracks seem to work best if you don't pay complete attention, their unabashedly nostalgic mood triggering all kinds of Proustian associations.
Still, there's a reason why, once upon a time, most downtempo electronic music was relegated to the so-called chill-out room. It's usually best experienced blissed-out and sprawled out, when you can safely retreat back into your own head. Dance floor fare, it is not. And so Diaz had his work cut out for him with his virgin appearance at the Vagabond -- in the club's main room, no less.
One-person acts of mostly laptop-generated music have an uphill battle in keeping a tipsy, skeptical crowd entertained. Several local artists have managed it -- Otto von Schirach and Dino Felipe, to name a couple, have done so by turning their shows into bracing pieces of performance art. Panic Bomber, while playing more orthodox dance music, has become a live favorite thanks to real-time improvisation and a unique light show.
​Ex Norwegian, Jim Camacho, and Dreaming in Stereo
The Monterey Club, Fort Lauderdale
Friday, February 5, 2001
Better Than: Paying $400 to hobnob with retired NFL players and B-list celebrities.
The Review:
Amidst all the celebrity sightings and Super Bowl pandemonium going on in Fort Lauderdale on Friday night, Broward's one-of-kind rockabilly spot, the Monterey Club, offered repose for those just looking to chill and enjoy live rock music. While not the typical retro-cool lineup you'd expect to see at this hangout -- which boasts its very own tattoo parlor -- the the three acts on the bill dished out some unique pop stylings that were very atypical from what people usually expect from Miami.
First on tap was indie-centric Ex Norwegian, a group that is completely consistent in its delivery of fuzzy, hook-laden tunes. There was none better this night than the clear crowd hit "Something Unreal," with its chirpy' 90s college-radio pastiche. It was reminiscent of Evan Dando's finer moments, and was the definitive clap-along number of the evening.
​I am a sucker for cheap things with maximum value. Thus I'm happy to report that if you're looking for something to do on Saturday night that agrees with these trying economic times, and falls in suit with your need to party, Legion Fest seems like the best bet.
This will go down at the über-hip American Legion Hall and while it starts at 8 p.m., which might be a little early for some of you trendy types, it'll only run you five bones at the door. Also, the Legion's drink prices and specials are legendary on the cheap. For your listening pleasure, as coordinator Benjamin Shahoulian puts it, "If you like music, then you'll like" the two stages that will be set up boasting a grand total of 15 extremely diverse bands.
And people complain that music isn't active in South Florida. Bullshit! Of note, will be the pop sensations of Pocket of Lollipops, the punk and roll and debauchery of the Dyslexic Postcards, the psycho-electrodes of Aria Kamikaze, the facial hair of Dead Dead Bird, the computer-assisted rock of Static Moon, the experiments of Experiments By Mice, the grammar of Space Between Words, reggae/ska touches by Askultura!, the friendliness of Sam Friend, punkers To Be Hated, the long-named Telekinetic Walrus and the Pride of Ions, the naval assault of Armada!, and the stylings of DJ Skidmark -- a name I'll let stand on its own. A couple more acts will round out the fun so come on down and tie one on!
Legion Fest. Saturday, February 6. Harvey's By the Bay at the American Legion, 6445 NE 7th Ave., Miami. Doors open at 8 p.m., admission is $5. Ages 21 and up. 954-394-7264; harveysbythebay.com
​Here's a track from the forthcoming collaborative effort between some of South Florida's most notorious, adept and unfortunately under-recognized musicians. We're talking here about Bobby Tak (formerly of the Bobs and New Wave sensations the Cichlids), guitar master Charlie Pickett, and Ian Hammond (of the DT Martyrs).
I'll be examining their previous output in depth on my weekly Blast From the Past columns here on Crossfade. In the meantime, though, check this collaborative effort from the trio. Together, they play as the Loose Cannons, and promise a new album dropping sometime soon. Enjoy their cow-punk blues racket.
​After a booming kickoff last week, organizer/DJ David Healey (a.k.a the Commissioner) was back in effect this past Wednesday night at American Rock Bar. It was the second edition of the new weekly party Smoosh. Although this week drew less of a crowd than last week's big opening event, there were certainly enough Pabst-slugging heads to get a collective mid-week boogie going.
The Commissioner and DJ Steve-E served up indie dance tunes and underground house as partygoers enjoyed dollar PBR tallboys. Some sipped and chatted on the patio, some formed teams and did battle beer-pong style, and others shared most of their beer with the dance floor as they grooved away. After a couple of hours of the high-energy dance music, the crowd was treated to an acoustic set by the veteran local indie project Catalonia. Then, it was back to the beats until the sweaty dancers began to disperse around 1 a.m.
The venue itself is a bit unlikely, but works fine. There is a nice indoor bar area with plenty of dance room and an outdoor patio with tables and chairs. Smoosh is scheduled to return to American Rock Bar every Wednesday. Expect dollar beers, killer DJs, and live music. It would be nice to see continued support for this party, 'cause lord knows, by the time Wednesday rolls around, peeps need to move! It's age 18 and up for ladies, and 21 and up for guys. There is no cover charge and the party starts at 9 p.m.
American Rock Bar, 1600 E. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach. 954-428-4539; americanrockbar.com
​Are you one of those people who absolutely dreads when a major event comes to town? Perhaps you're one of many SoBe residents who stays at a friend's when the boat show rolls in, or leaves town entirely for Memorial Day. If so, the draw of celebrity parties for Super Bowl weekend, probably isn't too enticing. Well, fuck Nas and Goodie Mob at Living Room on Friday then. The hell with Santana and Sinorice Moss at B.E.D. Who the hell wants to see Ludacris at Cameo on Saturday? Pretty Ricky, Chad Ochocinco, Antonio Freeman and Daunte Culpepper at a Shore Club pool Party? No thanks.
But if you're still beach-bound and don't want to deal with the hoopla, Jazid is breaking out the top shelf in local performers for Super Bowl weekend. Tonight they've got the masters of cumbia-fusion, Locos Por Juana, displaying live and in the flesh via their one of a kind hybrid sound exactly what two Grammy nods sound like. And Saturday the party continues with Suenalo, providing fans with their own lush blend of rumba, Afro-Cuban, son, cumbia, funk and more.
There'll be drink specials too. And if you needed any more coaxing, you're almost 100% guaranteed not to get inadvertently shot when an NFL pro's concealed handgun goes off on the dance floor.
​Blast From the Past is an occasional Crossfade column re-examining classic South Florida releases of yesteryear. Click here for past editions.
This here little seven-inch record in its full Pepto Bismol-pink glory is very dear to my heart. When I moved to Miami in the early '90s, I was fortunate enough to receive a cassette tape (via Maximum Rock N' Roll's classified ads) with some obscure regional punk rock dubbed on it. Most of that B-side was the Eat's first EPs and parts of the band's Scattered Wahoo Action tape. I was immediately hooked. And then I found out how completely impossible it was to find those records. Bummer.
But then one day in the back end of 1995 (or was it early '96) I walk into the Yesterday & Today Records store, which at this point in time had its counter helmed by Chris Lelucas, who briefly ran Starcrunch Records. What did I find? An Eat seven-inch titled Hialeah. The cover boasted a Xeroxed photograph of a bunch of middle-aged dudes enjoying an afternoon at the track.
Surely this shit couldn't be what I thought it was. But Chris who was a super nice guy who tried to explain to me that it was in fact a new Eat record. Bullshit! So he played it for me. A little poppier than I thought it would be, but the O'Briens were unmistakable.
What a rush, what glee! I ran home and blasted this fucker for hours!!! The opening track is a bitter love song for the Hialeah race track (which finally seems to have gotten its legs back, somewhat), complete with the humorous Catholic-guilt streak that makes a good Eat song. This is followed by "Shoes Shoes Shoes" which is quirky and ambient and at the same time satisfies the criteria for shoegazer pop; it's still a good song that has given me joy over the years.
Amateur scientists have told us that if you go too long without eating, your brain will start feeding on itself. That's kind of how Miami is when it's not tourist season. For local musicians it can mean ritual cannibal death.
Miami thrives as a playground for the rich, famous, and tourists, which is why all this NFL bullshit is fucking awesome and will end up benefiting the local music scene. So if you're sitting home now, smoked out, lazy, bored, morose, go outside, take a guitar with you, and put it to work. There's way too much money flying through Dade right now for you to not be trying to get some of it.
Watch our music video on the subject for more info. It's our soundtrack to Night Of The Living Dead, a public domain movie.
​Zach Baron, at our sister paper the Village Voice, called Surfer Blood's million-show spate at this past fall's CMJ a "coronation." By now, with the glowing reviews for Astro Coast, and rumors it's entered both the Billboard Heatseekers and Top 200 charts, that seems pretty much sealed. The band's appearances at SXSW in March, which will likely be numerous, will just further cement Surfer Blood's position as heirs to the zeitgeist-y indie rock throne. (In a world where Vampire Weekend's Contra is actually number one on the charts, the possibilities for original, creative rock music finally seem bright.)
But to straight-up toot the New Times parent company's horn, the Village Voice Media showcase at SXSW will be one of the best places to catch the band. Surfer Blood gets to share the stage with two of the other best new bands to emerge last year: the xx and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.... And another little band called f'in Superchunk.
If you're headed to Austin this spring, do it. The showcase is Friday, March 19 at La Zona Rosa, from noon to 5 p.m. It's free and open to the public, no badge required.
​New Found Glory's 2000 self-titled second album was what really catapulted the Coral Springs quartet into bona fide national stardom. Released before "emo" had become a dirty word, the mood of the album's boisterous but sensitive pop-punk was perfectly encapsulated on its cover. A collage of faded photos included images of things like video games, roller skates, but also condoms, perfectly encapsulating the record's lyrical and sonic dance between teenage romantic naivete and real adulthood. The single "Hit or Miss," with its plaintive but bouncy tale of waiting by a never-ringing phone. reached the Billboard Modern Rock charts. The album itself was eventually certified gold.
The band's star has only risen since then, and has lasted so long that they've now entered the pantheon of millennial new-school-punk legends. To celebrate, they've launched an extensive national tour to celebrate the record's tenth anniversary, and a reissued edition with bonus tracks. (They're also still technically touring behind their latest album, last year's Not Without a Fight).
​Back in November we highlighted hardworking local DJ duo thenextgeneration, who you can see spinning regularly at several spots around the Beach, like Sushi Samba, Beer & Burger Joint and Hakkasan at the Fontainebleau Hotel. Mikkel Dankner a.k.a. Soulscience is one half of the duo and an accomplished producer whose releases include a remix of "Change For Me" by Eric Roberson and Osunlade on the esteemed Yoruba label, plus "Hypnotize You" (featuring Dennis Baker), an original on Lars Behrenroth's Deeper Shades Recordings. Soulscience is now the host of new internet radio show "Music for the Modern Soul" every Monday night on DanceGruv Internet Radio. This weekly 3-hour show will specialize in classic soulful deep house with a good measure of Afro-Latin beats and will feature international and local guest DJs. Tune in for the show's premier tonight from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Click here to tune in to "Music for the Modern Soul".
It's not that long ago that Miami Beach was proud to be a racist entity. Segregation meant that by law the beach was only for whites. This week, South Beach will go insane with Super Bowl parties for everybody to enjoy, but don't forget what a fucked up place it used to be, and give thanks that it's gone and let's keep it that way. Happy Black History month. Check out the music video.
​The Coral Springs-based act MillionYoung has been hailed as South Florida's own bona fide entry into what is cringe-inducingly called "glo fi" or "chillwave." (The latter word actually started as a joke on the parodic blog Hipster Runoff.) In fact, impending blog hype looms. The one-man-band born Mike Diaz has had a track reviewed positively on Pitchfork, and his MySpace page already lists a manager and a publicist, as well as national tour dates as painfully hip as Brooklyn's experimental venue Glasslands.
All this, even though he has only begun to recently publicly perform in earnest. Chalk it up to the fact that his sound captures perfectly the sort of beach-nostalgic, gently psychedelic zeitgeist started by Animal Collective but distilled to its electronic essence by acts like Neon Indian and Washed Out. (Funnily enough, those other groups all come from distinctly beach-less locales).
Still, for Diaz's sake, it's best to consider his music on its own terms, rather than as part of a blog hype wave that was basically D.O.A. by the end of last year. MillionYoung tracks are less vocally driven than AnCo, but peppier than so-called downtempo, existing in a watery haze in between. It's the sound of far-away summer jams on a stereo as you fall asleep oceanside.
Here's a Dade history doc I made about Hialeah horse racing at the Hialeah Park Race Track with an original soundtrack.
Frank Sinatra and a lot of other famous people used to go to the Hialeah Park Race Track. It opened in 1921 and is one of the oldest recreational facilities in South Florida.
The park was know for the pink flamingos that lived there.
​Am I the only one shocked to find that January 2010 is already spent? Damn! It's certainly not the first time I find myself assaulted by a sudden passage of time. Still, this time I was sober. At least for the better part of it. Anywho, one group for whom the passage of time has been auspicious: Suenalo.
One of Miami's hottest local bands in recent years, already famous for their fusion of rumba with hip hop, son with funk, and cumbia with Latin jazz with baby-makin' descarga (their description, not mine), recorded a live album last year at a killer party at Transit Lounge, and it dropped over the holidays. If you haven't grabbed it yet, you need to get on that. And if you want to get in on the live baby-makin', well then by all means head on over to Jazid tonight. Here's a little vid from a previous performance at the Washington Ave. institution to whet your appetite. You can't see shit, but the vibe's definitely there. And besides, with Jazid's drink specials, you won't be seeing shit after long either.
New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert is enjoying a new found bill of health. Earlier this week he underwent surgery on his thyroid in order to have part of it removed. Doctors had feared that that part of his thyroid contained some potentially malignant cells. The surgery went fine, and he reported yesterday via Twitter that he his "chillin'" and "cancer-free."
Meanwhile, the Coral Springs band is on the road in support of its latest album, last year's Not Without a Fight. Anthony Raneri, front man for the pop-punk outfit Bayside, has been filling in for Gilbert on guitar. The band is scheduled to play Revolution on February 9 along with Saves the Day, Hellogoodbye, and Fireworks.
Keeping this short: Everyone's favorite South Florida band, Surfer Blood, premiered its first-ever music via Pitchfork today. The video has the same surreal feeling as the track itself. From what we can tell it wasn't filmed in South Florida, which is rather disappointing, but there are some the state references with burning palm trees and Mickey and Minnie Mouse making cameos. Still, we look forward to all the hype in the coming months. Too bad MTV doesn't play music videos anymore, but thank God for the interwebs.
If it is true (as surely it must be) that in the world of pop music there is nothing truly new under the sun, then surely a budding pop star has no choice but to steal from the best of everything that's come before. Okay, so stealing from everything might make for a bit of a racket. But a little selective expropriation, on the other hand, can work wonders for a band.
Take Miami's Astari Nite. Not only have they freely cribbed from '80s-era Manchester (especially Joy Division/New Order) and '90s-era London (primarily Placebo and Suede); they've got guts enough to cop to their thievery and to admit their indebtedness. More importantly, the lads (and lady) have put what they've taken to new use. And at the end of the day that's what will set Astari Nite apart from the also-rans.
If you've been out and about at any of the hipper venues that still allow live music, you've most likely seen Astari Nite swoop in and swoon through a few cool songs. You may have even wondered just what those songs were, and where you might get your mitts on them.
​Any time we hear anything about performance art we flash on Big Lebowski scenes of a naked lady flying through a warehouse on a zipline, and a pudgy dude in a unitard performing in a near empty theater.
Well, maybe Miami needs more of that type of shit, and thanks to the local strangeoid culture we'll be getting it soon.
Avant Gardeist Ana Mendez is producing a one off anti dance performance sponsored by Bacardi and in cahoots with the Psychic Youth about record producer Joe Meek.
We spoke to anti-dancer Ricardo Guerrero about the show. After the jump, here's what he had to say about life, death, and hugging & pushing.
Better Than: Chugging Mad Dog 20/20s from a brown paper bag in a parking lot.
The Review:
Underage bands have the toughest time finding places to play around town; they're often relegated to performing at warehouses or house parties with rickety sound systems. Fort Lauderdale's Radio-Active Records has truly filled a void in that regard, becoming one of Broward County's all-age hubs for young bands and their fans.
This past Friday night was no exception, with the record store offering up a line-up featuring some of the more experimental acts from South Florida's underage underground. Set to perform were Ice Cream, Totally Nebular, and Milk Spot, who boasted members who looked like they might still be taking Fred Flintstone vitamins.
Upon our arrival, we were bummed to find out that Miami freak-out troupe Ice Cream had cancelled. We were still very optimistic about the forthcoming set by West Broward's spacey Totally Nebular, whose material on MySpace -- which suggested a more digestible pre- Merriweather Post Pavilion Animal Collective -- thoroughly impressed us.
​Musical Missionary has played various roles in fostering Miami's underground dance music scene in recent years, from artist bookings and party promotions, to philanthropy through the "Dance for a Cause" parties in 2009 and the more recent "Sunday School for the Generous" DJ marathon at Electric Pickle on Januray 17, which raised $2,000 for Haitian relief. With a genuine love for underground music and a mission to champion some of the choicest EDM artists around, like Justin and Christian Martin, Bill Patrick, Catz 'N' Dogz, Maetrik, and Chris Fortier, it should only follow naturally that MM take on the role of record label as well.
The new MM label's debut release on Janurary 26 is an EP titled MM01: Between The Streets by Darren DuVall, a relatively unknown but fairly promising producer based out of Dallas, TX. With four tracks that cruise the gamut between loungey Balearic downtempo, deep sexy tech house, and breaks, this record offers a rich palette of sounds and is quite an auspicious debut release for MM. The EP will be available in digital format on iTunes, Amazon, Juno, Stompy and Traxsource on Tuesday, January 26, so be sure to get your copy of this phenomenal record and support our local music!
​Pity the hapless hipster who wanders into Sweat Records this Saturday night looking for a copy of Vampire Weekend's Contra. In an unusual but welcome change, the evening's in-store takes a turn away from the mellow indie and towards the grimy, in a four-band show organized by local trio Green Sky. The group's downtuned, sense-dulled guitar onslaught is distorted and fried enough to seem positively Torched, and well, that's no accident. Miami's best stoner rockers made good are an undeniable influence on this act, and Torche's Jonathan Nunez even produced the band's recent two-song Remote World EP. How they flip that influence and make it into something new will play out on the band's next EP, which is plans to record any day now.
Shroud Eater, meanwhile, were formerly known as Righteous Devices, and beloved by the Churchill's set for their coed take on dirty rock and roll. Under their new guise, vocalist/guitarist Jean, bassist Janette, and drummer Felipe slow things down and get more psychedelic, to our benefit. If you ever wondered what Kyuss or the Jesus Lizard would sound like with a healthy estrogen dose, well, here it is: Miami's answer to Savannah's Kylesa. The band's debut EP was released recently, mixed and mastered by -- surprise! -- Jonathan Nunez. The guy is turning into the Steve Albini of aspiring South Florida sludge rockers.
After the jump, get full show details, and the free download link for Green Sky's EP.
​To view a full slideshow of photos from the event, click here.
Stonefox
1921, Fort Lauderdale
Friday, January 22, 2010
Better Than: Having someone say, "It's not you, it's me" through a medium other than rock music.
The Review:
Have we just been dumped? There have been so many hot, sweaty nights that South Florida music fans have spent watching the blues-infused rock outfit Stonefox get drunk and loud at local bars with stages. And Saturday, it all came down to frontman Jordan Asher delivering a quick kiss-off: "South Florida, you've been fucking awesome. See you around."
But have we been "fucking awesome," or was Asher just letting us down easy?
Such awkward moments in life often beg the question, who's breaking up with whom? In the case of two of Stonefox's members - Asher and bassist Ross Fuentes - departing for northern climes, we have to wonder, did we have a hand in this? It's not you, it's me! Right?
The band has already been a bit geographically fractured -- that fourth guy, bassist Ross Fuentes, has always lived in Atlanta. But now he, and most dramatically, singer/guitarist Jordan Asher Cruz, are decamping to Brooklyn (where else?) within the next two months. The other half of the band, drummer Jeff Rose and guitarist Dave Barnard, have no immediate plans to follow.
"The fact that I'm all the way down here and so far removed from the rest of the fucking country boils my blood," says Asher Cruz. "I've been talking to my other bandmates about moving for about 4 years, and it consumes my mind anytime shit slows down here. There's only so many times you can play the Poorhouse, there's only so many times you can play Propaganda, or Respectable's or anywhere else."
Don't take him as an ingrate, though. "I love and appreciate my bandmates, and love and appreciate the fans who have developed into a humbling and amazing following over the past two years in Stonefox. I don't regret a single day in this band, and to this day it is the best band I've ever been a part of," he says. "[But] I have to throw caution to the wind and make a huge leap of faith in my life."
​Snobby, indie music site Pitchfork awarded Surfer Blood's debut album, Astro Coast, an 8.2 rating, also tagging as "Best New Music." However, if you've followed the bands meteoric rise, thanks in large part to Pitchfork, this doesn't necessarily come as a surprise. The site has shown its love for the band time and time again.
Pitchfork reviewer Ian Cohen says about the album:
But it's unfair to think of Astro Coast as reactionary in some way to the more overtly ambitious indie stars of last year-- there are no chamber sections, no pocket harmonies, no integration of West African rhythms (ok, there's some of that). But ambition can just as easily manifest itself as a desire to create a relentlessly catchy, "classic indie" album in your own dorm room, and if that's what Surfer Blood set out to do, Astro Coast succeeds wildly.
To submit your entry all you have to do is upload it to YouTube, email the link to info@sweatrecordsmiami.com and await the results. Deadline for submissions is February 17. The winner will be announced on February 19 via the Sweat Records blog. But wait, there is more! Winner received a $500 prize and will be premiere at the store during Rachel Goodrich's in-store appearance February 20.
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