First off, I wanna wish a bon voyage to my dudes JFK and
Onry Ozzborn, who as you read this are headed off to
Europe ’til May. Grayskul is always an international
incident waiting to happen.
Meanwhile, Pearl Dragon, Sir Thomas Gray, and DJ
Gajamagic—the men of Champagne Champagne—are
fresh off SXSW, increasing international awareness of their fight for
your right to fuck it up. The struggle continues, and if you come to
Nectar on April 16, you’ll be on the front lines, along with Champagne,
Weekend (the big-voiced Ryann Donnelly from Schoolyard Heroes
plus Mr. Gajamagic), They Live! (which as you know, are me and
Bruce Illest), the slapadelic Linda and Ron’s Dad (which
are Tyler Swan of Foscil/Truckasauras and Derek
Bourcier of Ghostbait), and Darwin (DJ for those
battling bantams Mad Rad). (Speaking of “teh Rad,” they’re
playing at the Bit Saloon in Ballard, which I’ve noticed has been
booking some hiphop, on April 22 with Fresh Espresso and DJs
Swervewon, 100 Proof, and Darwin.) This is not
like whoa, it’s just whoa.
Okay, so I know I told y’all about that Yo, Son! reunion
going down at Chop Suey back in December; however, that snowy blanket
of cold white oppression we got hit with at the time shut that shit the
fuck down. But you just can’t keep “Low Class Hiphop, Turntablism
& Bad Taste” out the game, so on Sunday, April 19, if you got a
goddamn brain in your triple-thick skull, you’ll be at Chop Suey to
rage to the selections of Yo, Son! OGs DJ Scene and DV
One as they take you back to the night’s halcyon days of 2003. The
long-standing ban on trucker hats might even be lifted for an evening
to commemorate this once in a lifetime event!
The next morning, drink some water and chomp some strawberries
(they’re packed with electrolytes, dawg), or perhaps choose a
more appropriate hangover remedy for 4/20 (try Jah love).
Whatever your twist, you’re definitely getting lifted at Neumos that
night, where the one and only Mr. Lif will be rocking the
dogshit outta that stage, along with Willie Evans Jr.,
Nite Owls, and Grieves. Boomfiya! But really though, that
Willie Evans (of the Alias Brothers crew, aka Asamov) cat
has some terminally ill rap tunes on his MySpace player,
player—what the hell is in the water in Jacksonville these
days? Evans, Astronautalis, and Rob Roy have all been
recently infiltrating my headphones with some next. I just
caught Astro’s set at Nectar and was fully captivated by his fully
committed, self-consciously witty Tom
Waits/pirate-chantey/indie/shoegaze-infused rap. He calls Seattle his
home now, so when he gets back to town and you see him coolin’ at the
Redwood, buy the man a bourbon sweet tea. They’re good! 