Chromeo Boogies his way to the Big Apple

Hey kids!

I have officially purchased my Chromeo ticket! Jealous? You should be.

Our favorite throwback man has announced his 2011 tour dates, starting with a headlining show at Terminal 5 in the Big Apple on February 4^th.

Chromeo is an electrofunk duo with origins in Montreal, Canada. The group consists of P-Thugg (Patrick Gamayel) on keyboards and synthesizers and Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) on guitar and lead vocals.

The two met in high school, when they were both 15. Although Chromeo’s current sound falls into the electronic realm, their roots began in hip-hop. At the time of their first productions, Gamayel was working on opening a record store in Montreal with Tiga (House DJ Extraordinaire). Oh, and did I mention that Macklovitch is the younger brother of world class DJ A-Trak? It looks like Montreal is a breeding ground for phenomenal musicians.

Chromeo’s debut album, She’s in Control, was released in 2004. It opened to mostly favorable reviews, and included crowd favorites such as “Needy Girl”. The debut album opened with great success in the advertising world. “Needy Girl” was used in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercial, “You’re So Gangsta” was aired in a Heineken ad, and “Rage!” was used in a McDonalds television campaign.

Here’s the Reese’s commercial.

Even from this short clip, you can see Chromeo’s unique sound. A little bit 80’s, a touch of Disco, and a dose of modern electronic flare. I can honestly say that no one has a sound that even comes close to the uniqueness of this group.

Here’s the music Chromeo’s hit song, “Night by Night”.

Gotta love that New York Skyline. Honestly, I had the pleasure of seeing Chromeo at Webster Hall in ’09, and his moves aren’t quite as suave on stage, but he was extremely entertaining nonetheless. From the looks of the music video, it’s not hard to see why Macklovitch has been dubbed a “womanizer” by his fans and critics.

Since their debut album, the duo has released two others: Fancy Footwork in 2007 and Business Casual in 2010. Both albums received largely positive reviews.

Personally, I’m really excited to see where this group will go in the future. They possess such a one of a kind sound, and add a needed dosage of humor into their music and performances. It’s pretty impossible to not like these guys.

Macklovitch and Gamayel have proclaimed themselves the “only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture.”

Coachella

Okay guys, so I know that this is about 1 million years in advance, but I had to dedicate a blog to this fantastic music festival.

Formally called "The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival", this three day event hosted every April in the middle of the Colorado Desert in Indio, California.

Here is some AMAZING footage of the event directed by Sam O'Hare.

After making the video, he said:

"I wanted to portray a unique view of the incomparable Coachella experience. Following the crowds in the sunshine from arrival, camping, exploring the art in the arena, all the way through to the headliners at night, this film brings a miniature feel to this huge festival."

O'Hare is right... this festival is huge. In 2010, over 225,000 people attended, and it only seems to be growing.

This event is over 10 years in the making- the first ever Coachella was held on October 9th, 1999, immediately following the infamous Woodstock '99 festival held upstate in Rome, New York. Because of the chaos that occurred at Woodstock (including but not limited to the following- violence, arson, and assault), Coachella was not granted a camping permit, ban that lasted until 2002. It was in 2001 that promoters made a crucial decision to move the concert to April in an attempt to avoid the blistering heat of the fall months.

Originally, the line up consisted of artists such as Beck, The Chemical Brothers, and Rage Against the Machine.

Recently, the festival has hosted numerous artists from all different genres. For instance, more mainstream performers such as Madonna and Jack Johnson have played alongside electronic artists like Deadmau5 and Orbital.

In "Pop and Hiss", The L.A. Time's music blog, readers have already began to investigate who will be headlining in 2011. Rumor has it that big players like Lady Gaga, Daft Punk, and Kanye West will be hitting the sun drenched Coachella stage this coming year.

Turkey, Stuffing, and HARD NYC.. yum.

On November 27th, 2010, our brothers who bring HARD to New York and Los Angeles so many glorious times a year will be making a pit stop at Terminal 5 a few days after Thanksgiving.

The official line-up has been released, and its looking pretty good y'all- A-Trak, Flying Lotus, Tiga, and Yelawolf.

Tiga, a Montreal based artist hopped onto the scene in the early 1990's hosting raves around Canada. In 1994, he opened up a record store called DNA records and later founded his own label, Turbo Recordings in 1998. Over ten years later, he has gained popularity with such remixes as Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and the Scissor Sisters' "Comfortably Numb". Also, he has released two albums, "Sexor" (2006---> it won the Juno Award for Best Dance Recording in '07) and Ciao! (2009)

Listen to Tiga's Nelly cover here.

A-Trak (born Alain Macklovitch) is yet another Montreal born and raised man hitting the HARD stage in November. At 15 years old, he was the youngest and first Canadian to win the "DMC's World DJ Championship". Throughout his career, he has been the only DJ to win all three DJ competition titles (DMC, ITX, and Vestax) as well as five other championships. Needless to say, A-Trak has some serious credit in the electronic music realm. ALSO- he is the younger brother of David Macklovitch of Chromeo! You learn something new everyday...

A-Trak keeps his fans up to date on upcoming events and musical escapades on his blog called "Fat Free Since 1982" (his year of birth) On the blog he says. "I’m not really in touring mode right now but I do have various shows lined up… just wanted to draw your attention to 2 in particular, both Holiday-themed." Referring to HARD Turkey Soup and a Halloween show he played with his brother in Chicago.

I have to be honest, I had never heard about Yelawolf until this lineup was released. After some researched, I learned that he is a rapper from Northern Alabama. He has been active in the music scene for about 5 years now and is signed with Interscope Records based out of Santa Monica, California. He is most well known for his collaboration with Gucci Mane "I Just Want to Party". Hmm... Yelawolf seems to be a little bit out of place in this lineup but we will see. Thats the great thing about HARD... they love the diversity.

I got my tickets for this about a month ago at $30, I think they have gone up about ten dollars but it's totally worth it. I'll see you guys there! Can't wait!

1st Article- Fake ID's

New York City- One of the most exciting places on the planet. This metropolis boasts some of the best nightlife in the world. There’s just one problem… you have to be twenty-one to reap the benefits.

So this leaves some underage students in a predicament- stay inside on Saturday night or put on your fancy pants and mingle with the New York twenty something’s at a downtown hotspot.

“Everyone who is not 21 has a fake, seriously, everyone,” said Andrew Simmons, a sophomore at NYU.

“People are honestly shocked when you don’t have one,” said Brittany Mason, freshman at The New School. “I am the only one in my group of friends who is yet to get one.”

Why are undergraduate New Yorkers so notorious for their fraudulent identification? One would think that with the excitement of New York, there would always be activities available for college students. However, according to some, the city does not offer enough 18+ venues for young people living in the city. There are hundreds of thousands of students in New York, yet only a handful of venues that caters to an undergraduate audience. Webster Hall (which you have to be 19 to get into), Pacha (only on certain nights) and a dance club called Europa in Brooklyn.

“You get tired of going to the same places,” said Andrea Moreno, freshman at NYU.

There are many ways to obtain these ID’s. Many students used the expired licenses of older brothers and sisters who resemble them, others buy them off of upperclassmen with similar facial features, as well as the plethora of miniature ID factories scattered around New York.

“I got mine in Chinatown,” said Melanie Sanders, sophomore at The New School. “On the inside, it was a typical bodega, but you went in the back and said a password to some guy and he brought you into a back room where they took your picture and made the ID for you on the spot… super sketchy.”

However, this valuable item might cost you; some “scannable” IDs can run for as much as $200. However, the legal ramifications may be even larger. Worst-case scenario, if you get caught using a fake ID, under New York state legislature, you could be fined up to $1000 dollars. Also, if the identification is legitimate (rather than completely fake) and belongs to someone else, charges of identity theft can be included.

“I’ve never heard of anything bad happening,” said Cater Brandon, sophomore at Hunter. “You will either get rejected or some 300-pound bouncer will take it away.”

“I’ve heard of bouncers taking fakes, and then selling them back to the people they took them from,” said Marcus Corenza, sophomore at NYU. “Everybody’s so corrupt.”

For many students, being in college is synonymous with legal drinking. Going away to school opens endless doors for complete independence, devoid from the hassles and responsibilities of home life. As the legal drinking age remains, many students new to the city are finding ways to adapt to their surroundings. However, it looks like the students of the Big Apple aren’t waiting for 21 candles on their birthday cake to join the fun.

(I MEANT TO SEND THIS TO YOU EARLIER, COMPLETELY FORGOT, SORRY!)

Reading Journal

In the New York Times, there was an article titled “Caffeine and Alcohol Drink Is Potent Mix for Young” by Abbey Goodnough that particularly caught my eye. If you haven’t noticed lately, the beverage company “Four-Loko” has been receiving a great deal of press lately. Apparently, these beverages contain toxic amounts of alcohol in combination with caffeine, and numerous teens across the country have been hospitalized from consuming them. There has also been a large debate on the packaging, with its bright colors and fruity flavors, is targeted directly at the American youth. For this particular article, I chose to focus on the quotations. One of my earliest journalistic observations has been that quotes can make or break an article, as well as shape a pieces voice and bias. Trusting the author is simply not enough, legitimate sources are necessary to validate the information in an article. Furthermore, I believe that an article should have a wide array of sources from different perspectives and professions to make an article more multifaceted. For example, in Goodnough’s piece, she has a quotation from a doctor in Pennsylvania, a congressman of New York, a college president, the co-founder of the corporation that sponsors Four-Loko, an Attorney General in Washington, and several student testimonies. The article is filled with factual data from medical professionals, yet is counteracted by quotations such as these- “You can get drunk for $5 all night,” said Christine Binko, a junior at Boston University who said she had noticed Four-Loko cans littering streets near campus on weekends. “But I definitely think it brings out the aggression in people.” I think this method of using a diverse selection of sources, for instance combining the commentary of professionals with the “man on the street” perspective is an effective way to clarify a pressing issue.

A Chat with Ashley Hefnawy

Ashley Hefnawy sits in front of me… fashionable, poised, and radiant with her distinctive head of curly locks. What started as a typical twenty questions evolved into a conversation of music, art, and of course, the Big Apple.

Ashley, a sophomore at Eugene Lang, was born in Westport, Connecticut, a town in Fairfield County. She spent only a portion of her childhood in New England, and the remainder in New York City. She is of Egyptian heritage, a quality that she is particularly proud of, and is also semi-fluent in Arabic. As an adolescent, she lived with her family in Cairo for a number of months. She is the oldest of three children, and has a 16-year-old brother and a 13-year-old sister.

It is clear that Ashley’s passion is music. She describes her melodic tastes as extremely eclectic. Lately, Ashley has been heavily evolved in the electronic music scene, and enjoys artists such as The Chemical Brothers. Recently, she attended the Electric Zoo festival on New York’s Randall Island.

“I got the tickets the morning of the event” she says, “I was so lucky, I had the time of my life.”

Indie and folk bands also fill the contents of her iPod. Despite a multifaceted interest in music, she declared that hands down Andrew Bird is her favorite artist. Ashley is a musician herself… she was classically trained on the violin for ten years, and has picked up the guitar more recently.

When asked what she likes to do in her spare time, Hefnawy said that she enjoys walking around the city, finding new music venues, and meeting new people.

“I really am a people person.” She said.

When asked why she moved to New York for college, Ashley said that she has known she wanted to live in the city as a child. She is extremely interested in pursuing a writing career, and knew that the Big Apple would be the best place to succeed in that dream. When asked what she wants to be doing in ten years, Ashley said she would like to be a journalist specializing in musical reporting.

Ashley describes the New York experience as a unique one.

“When you move to a city like New York for college, you aren’t just beginning your college life” she says, “You are beginning your adult life as well.”

Since moving to the city, Ashley mentioned that she has become more independent and resilient.

What’s on the horizon for our Ashley? I think we will be seeing her name at the top of a Rolling Stone article in the near future.

Bumblebees of Bass

On November 6^th, 2010, beloved electronic music artist Bassnectar will be leaving the bay area and gracing us with his presence in the Big Apple.

We’re lucky, Bassnectar plays over 150 shows a twelvemonth… you know what that means? A third of the year crowds of habitual ravers in North America and beyond can enjoy what is called the “Bass Ritual”, also known as the sweatiest and craziest musical experience around with our main man on center stage.

Bassnectar was born Lorin Ashton in San Jose, California. As an adolescent, he says that he got musical inspirations from numerous rock bands, Metallica and Nirvana to name a few. He described himself as a metalhead teenager, heavily involved with the underground scene, hosting “battle of the bands” competitions in the Cupertino Library’s basement. At 18, he went to his first dance party that changed his life forever. It was at that point that he had discovered his genre and his passion. Shortly after, he moved to Santa Cruz for college and began promoting parties, djing, and studying electronic music. After over a decade of involvement in the underground electronic scene, Bassnectar has become a worldwide sensation.

Here’s a clip from Ashton’s unforgettable performance at our very own Electric Zoo on Randall’s Island.

HERE.

Although he had some previous releases, his first true debut was “Mesmerizing the Ultra”, launched in 2005. Ashton had four EP’s before then, “Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks” (2001), “Beatfreak Mania” (2002), “Motions of Mutation” (2003), and “Diverse Systems of Throb” (2004), however, he was unsigned at that point. His 2005 debut was the first time that Bassnectar’s music was actually distributed in stores.

Here is one of his better-known tracks, “Bass Head”, from the album “Timestretch”, released in 2010.

HERE.

Bassnectar has some of the most unique sound out there. He uses the broad spectrum of speeds in electronic genres to create what he calls, "omni-tempo maximalism” (whatever the fuck that means). Oh yeah, and we must not forget the generous portion of throbbing bass lines.

This fall, Ashton is playing sold out shows around the country. On the 23^rd of October, he will be landing in Bloomfield, Colorado, and will begin his conquest of the Midwest, injecting the bass to cities such as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Chicago. Come November, he’s hitting the Atlantic, starting in DC and working his way up to Philly, and eventually landing home at the one and only Terminal 5.

The tickets in New York sold out quick, so I’m trying to make it to his show in Philly. Let you know if I make it!

Until next time!