THE FUN BOMB! Q&A with KAMAL SOLIMAN, member of the band LANCE HERBSTRONG

The band LANCE HERBSTRONG also known as "The Fun Bomb" rolled through DC this past week as the opening act for Morcheeba at the 9:30 Club.  The universe seems to be conspiring for the band to be in the right place, at the right time with support coming from all directions.  We caught up with them backstage to get the scoop on who they are and where they're headed.  See what DJ Kamal Soliman shared with us before the show. 

Q:  Who is Lance Herbstrong and how did you formulate?  

A:  Lance Herbstrong is Kamal Soliman, Bill Sarver, and Peter Distefano.  Bill and I started all  this just as a fun studio project to remix songs we liked.  I was a big fan of Manu Chao  and befriended them all when they played Lollapalooza in 2006.  When Manu opened up the song Politkills for remix, I called bill to do the engineering for it.  I know Manu is a clash fan, so we decided to use the original instrumental version of the rock the casbah beat, a song called 'Mustapha Dance.'  after doing that song, we didn't do anything for a year, until I came off tour with thievery.  Bill and I did our second song, a mashup of Thievery's Meu Destino and Manu Chao's Mi Vida.  The new song is entitled Manu Destino and this is the song that launched everything for us.  Thievery loved it, ESL labelmate Federico Aubele loved it and enlisted us to do a remix for his album.  Once ESL licensed our music, we came up with the name, and were off and running from there. Peter joined the band when we played lollapalooza.  We remixed his Porno for Pyros song Orgasm, to debut at lolla.  I asked Peter to play it live with us and he loved it so much, he never looked back and is now a permanent member of the group.

Q:  You've been the tour manager for Thievery Corporation for several years now.  How supportive have Eric Hilton and Rob Garza been of your own musical endeavours? 

A:  Rob and Eric are a huge inspiration to me personally and to the band.  But with Rob and Eric it's not just a job.  I consider them to be great personal friends - and they are also one of my favorite bands, I love everything they've done, and after touring with them and the live band, I felt really inspired to work on music myself.  That inspiration led to our second remix Manu Destino.  From the second they heard it, they have been nothing but supportive of what we are doing.  And they invited Lance Herbstrong to play 2 official Thievery Corp/Massive Attack after parties on our last tour, and every time they both came up and played with us at some point during the set.

Q:  For those who've never seen one of your shows how would you describe your musical style?  

A:  That's tough to answer because we don't stick to anyone genre.  People tell us we do have a 'sound' but I'm not really sure what that is, although I do recognize that there is one.  What we do is take iconic old songs that people know and remix them or mash them up with others, so what you hear is a combination of the familiar music you've known all your life (but maybe haven't heard in a decade), and we put our own spin on it and modernize it for the people of today.  It's all an homage to these great songs of old that captured a feeling, and what we try to do is build on that feeling but take it to the next level.  I like to describe our show as a "fun bomb."  When we do our high energy sets, we see shit-eating grins on everyone's faces, and people both older and younger we see dancing like they haven't in quite sometime.  Especially these days when a lot of DJ culture is listening to really hard dub step, which gets people moving but not really dancing, I feel our

 show is a breath of fresh air to those that really like to groove and move their bodies.

Q:  We understand you've got tracks on Soundcloud and iTunes.  

A:  The songs on iTunes are the ones that we licensed to ESL music - those are Luna y Sol ( Federico Abuele remix ), I Came Running ( Ancient Astronauts remix ) and Cantata ( Natalia Clavier Remix ).  All the other unlicensed songs are on our Facebook, Myspace and Soundcloud.  If you go to LANCE HERBSTRONG and give us an email address, you can download our ACL set.  And once on the homepage you can click thru to all our other online properties.  The songs we've chosen to remix come from every genre.  Go to the sites and see for yourselves.

Q:  You played Lollapalooza last summer, tell us about that show...    

A:  Lolla was our second show ever, and where everything came together for us.  We had just finished the Orgasm remix and asked pete to sit in with us 2 days before the show.  Our drummers were invited to sit in with us here as well since they were from Chicago - they are Frank Orrall of Poi Dog Pondering and Thievery, and Ricky Gonzalez of the Thickness and Chicago Afrobeat Project.  We met Ricky the day of the show, and Peter never heard of us until we asked him to sit in 2 days prior.  The stage show was great, it was a coming out for us, where people in the industry who knew me came out of curiosity and left knowing that we actually have something good going.  We also played the Lolla afterparty on site at the festival, and this was the gig where everyone including us realized that Lance Herbstrong has something unique.  The after party was explosive, we did the high energy set and people were having the best time ever.  It was amazing, and this led to people in the industry giving us many more opportunities, without them having to doubt if the show was gonna be good.

Q:  You are based in Austin, TX and ended up playing an impromptu gig at the Zinc Stage at ACL 2010!  How did this come about?  

A:  This was crazy.  We had played the night before opening for Beats Antique.  At 3 AM I took all the band gear to my office on site, as we were playing the ACL after party the next day.  I got a call around 1 PM asking if it was possible for lance to sit in.  Since we had all the gear there, it was possible, I just had to wake up the other guys.  We got everyone down to the fest and went on at 3 PM.  We were replacing the Gayngs who had their bus and gear repossessed by the bus company and couldn't play.  No one knew who we were, but we won them over.  We had a huge crowd, and since I work for the festival, everyone was there to support.  Our creative team made an 8 foot joint and threw it into the crowd, all kinds of people were onstage dancing, it was a pretty epic, totally spontaneous, and a moment we will never forget.

Q:  How stoked are you to be opening for MORCHEEBA tonight the 9:30 Club! 

A:  We're totally honored and still surprised that we're even here.  And to start in DC at 930 club of all places is even that much sweeter for me, since Thievery and The Roots I have to them are all based here.  We're very excited, and looking forward to playing some of our more down tempo melodic stuff to warm up the crowd before Morcheeba.

Q:  We love your Electric Avenue Videdo! Why did you pick an Eddie Grant tune?  

A:  Electric Avenue is yet another reggae remix we've done.  Reggae is a big influence, and this song is so great, we felt it needed to be brought back to life.  We don't use any of the chorus parts, just the main verses, and the video, well we just had fun with it.   The whole thing is a blast back to the 80's - anyone who lived during that time knows how big that song was, and the comedic video is a reflection of that time.  We hope everyone enjoys it, we had a damn good time working on the song.  Special thanks to our VJ Chris Jackson for creating the video.  CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO .

Q:   South By South West is in right in your backyard in Austin.  Will you be playing any gigs that week?  

A:  We are.  Right now, we are playing the C3 CONCERTS  Late Night Industry Party, the Madison House Agency showcase at Beauty Bar, and a show at the Virgin Music House.  We will probably add another show or two by the time it comes upon us, but so far we have these 3 shows.

Q:  What are the 5 songs (& artists) that have been looping on your iPod this week?  

A:  A lot of whats on my iPod is old classic reggae: 

Reggae is therapy to me, and when we travel I pretty much need to hear it, it just hits you right, its like the sun or the ocean after a big hangover, it just rejuvenates.  I have 'Roll Call' by Tenor Saw, 'Wicked Act' by Black Uhuru, 'Legalize It' Sublime version, 'Ganja Smuggling' by Eek-a-Mouse, and 'M16' by Lone Ranger (who we actually mixed into a drum and bass track and mashed that up with Thunderball's dnb version of 'Bam Bam' by Sister Nancy - new version altogether is called Bam16).

Photo Credit:  Brad Dancy

In one word: FUNKY. Q&A with Daryle Maciocha a.k.a. DJ DMAC!

DC SETLIST recently caught up with local DJ, Daryle Maciocha.  DJ DMAC managed to cover ghetto funk, the art of being a "music-obsessive", digital cumbia, the Smithsonian all while "keeping the soul largely intact"!  Read on...

Q:  Hey DJ DMac, for those who have yet to catch one of your gigs, how would you describe your DJ Style?

A:  In one word: funky. In many more words, its an eclectic blend of nufunk, old-school hip-hop, funky breaks, electronica, vintage funk and soul, breakbeats, Latin, heavy disco, house, electro and a touch of indie. I have wide-ranging tastes and that's reflected in what I play.

Q:  Tell us your story. How did you get started DJ-ing?

A:  Always a music-obsessive, I was offered a gig at a local bar in college in upstate NY. It was an 'alternative' night (when that term actually meant something) and I was hired to play alternative rock and indie dance. Despite learning basic DJ skills on the job every week, my residency there was really popular and as the night grew so did my hunger for new sounds. Soon my sets encompassed hip-hop and techno and whatever else I thought would work. It was a crazy Thursday night party where a crowd of college kids and locals of all different stripes danced to music we all really loved. I had taste and talent in inverse proportion, but it didn't matter much at the time! Eventually I got some deep exposure to the underground rave scene, which was a real education. I heard some incredibly talented DJs and some really amazing music.

After I finished school and moved to DC, I got away from Djing for a number of years (I was a Smithsonian employee and believed I had to start acting like an adult--it didn't last...) but continued to collect vinyl like a fiend (indie, old funk & soul 45s, dusty soundtracks, hip-hop, whatever I was into at any given moment). I got an opportunity to DJ at Ian Spiv's [now-legendary] Spilt Milk night at [the even-more legendary] Red. Hearing friends with serious collections play deep funk and rare disco from original vinyl on that incredible sound system was a truly singular experience. Soon after Spilt Milk, I met DJ Eurok and really got inspired to step up my game and take the craft of DJing seriously.

Q:  What's your twitter handle?

A:  @therealdjdmac

[Some other dude registered 'djdmac' before I did, tweeted once almost 2 years ago, and has done nothing since. Luckily I've owned http://www.djdmac.com for years!] 

Q:  You've been on the DC scene for 10 years now. In your view, how has the scene morphed/changed?

A:  Like everywhere else DJ culture finally hit the mainstream, which has changed the scale of everything. DJs can now sell out mid-sized rock clubs. If you'd have told me in 2001 that local DJs would be selling out the 9:30 Club in less than 10 years, I never would have believed you! But here we are.

Technology has had the biggest impact. Laptops have largely replaced traditional vinyl and social media has completely reinvented promotion. Digital production tools are readily available--as are nearly instantaneous means of distribution--and we're seeing serious DC talent make waves globally without record label backing. That's amazing and inspirational.

Despite all that hugeness, though, you can still hear great underground DJs spinning in intimate spots all over town. There's room for everybody. And an eager audience for it, as long as you let them know you're there.

Q:  You've got a gig at Dodge City FEB 4th called VAQUEROS ELECTRICOS! Who's hitting the decks with you?   

A:  The always awesome Rusty B. of All Good Funk Alliance. We spin funk, boogie, funk, hip-hop and digital cumbia. DODGE CITY is a great little spot and the dance floor has been really heating up as of late. Come show us some love.

Q: You also have a show at Marvin's every 3rd Friday of the month, what can folks expect?

A:  Well, I'll be in Paris with my lovely wife this month so I won't be at Marvin in February, but come March I'll probably have a healthy stack of French house along with the funk, soul, breaks, disco and hip-hop I usually play.

Q:  What's your preferred source for finding new music these days?

A:  These days I rely on new release notices from folks like Groove Distribution, Turntable Lab, Rough Trade, and Soulseduction. I regularly read Pitchfork and Stereogum. And Ghetto Funk has been *killing* it lately!

I can always count on finding something new--whether its a brand new release or a dusty vintage gem--at Som Records. The internet's fast, convenient and seemingly limitless but nothing's more satisfying than digging through real crates in a real record store. [This is not a paid endorsement, honest.]

Q:  Finally, what are the 5 songs & artists that have been looping on your iPod this week?

A: 

1.) Escort – Cocaine Blues (Escort Records)

Slinky but chugging disco rework of Dillinger's dancehall classic 'Cocaine In My Brain.' One of my favorite singles of 2010.

2.) Mooqee and Pimpsoul – Keep Poundin' (Bombstrikes)

Largely based on a sample of Buddy Rich's cover of 'The Beat Goes On,' this is a swinging mid-tempo breaks monster.

3.) Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno - Dog With a Rope (Tru Thoughts)

Will Holland further explores his fusion of cumbia and dub. Simultaneously ground-breaking and authentic. Cold weather blues antidote #1.

4.) Incarnations - Make You Mine (Love Monk)

Members of Brooklyn-based Phenomenal Handclap Band head to the south of Spain to create a breezy slice of Latin-grooved pop. Cold weather blues antidote #2.

5.) Adele – Rolling in the Deep (Jamie XX Shuffle) (XL Recordings)

The warm, thumping acoustic soul groove of   Adele's pre-album single gets an electronic reworking by Jamie from The XX, adding martial snare drums, handclaps and synths, but keeping the soul largely intact.

                                                          

"I had always had a “shadow life” as a working musician..." Q&A with David Levy, Co-Founder of Bach 2 Rock!

David C. Levy has been the Cambridge Information Groups principal advisor since they acquired Sotheby's Art Institute in 2003. David left his home town of New York in the early 90's to lead DC’s largest private cultural institution, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and its College of Art and Design, where he served as its President and Director until 2005. Prior to leaving New York he was Chancellor of The New School University, a post he accepted after completing 20 years at the helm of Parsons School of Design. During his tenure at Parsons, David built it from a small school with fewer than 500 students into an international institution with an enrollment of 12,000 and a world-wide network of campuses including Los Angeles, Paris, The Dominican Republic and Japan. A life-long professional jazz musician as well as an art historian, photographer and designer, David founded New York’s first degree granting school of jazz, which thrives today as one of the world’s leading jazz conservatories, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. During his tenure at Parsons and The New School he initiated and oversaw the mergers of the Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County into Parsons and the Mannes College of Music into the New School.  We recently spoke with him about his latest venture, Bach 2 Rock - America's Music School! Check it out...

Q.  What is Bach 2 Rock?

A.  Bach to Rock (B2R) is an emerging chain of music schools serving students of all ages and based on a couple of very logical but innovative principles. These are summed up by our belief that students learn best when they join together to play the music they like the most. So the core of our method is to place students in small bands of four to six players, creating a powerful bonding based on social and musical interaction. This is coupled with an opportunity to play music that is meaningful today and for which kids get significant peer recognition and social credit.

Our students also take private lessons with us but we generally limit these to half an hour, so the ideal instructional time is 1½ hours -- an hour of band or ensemble practice immediately following or before the private instruction. From a technical perspective, B2R students are preparing themselves to play whatever music floats their boat – literally from Bach to Rock!

Q.  How Did B2R Come About?

A.  All of this began about seven years ago when my son, Alexander, then in third grade, was eight years old. He had begun to take very traditional piano lessons and though it was clear that he was musically gifted, the discipline of practicing was just not his thing. This was very frustrating to us because it was clear that he was not coming close to achieving his musical potential.

Then the mom of one of his classmates stumbled on a brand new storefront music school in Bethesda with the unlikely name of “East Cost Music Production Camp.” Something about the place intrigued her and so she ventured inside where she met its founder, Jeff Levin, a young, entrepreneurial performing musician and teacher who had left the school system to start a school of his own. He wanted a place where kids could learn the basics while simultaneously forming bands and playing classic, contemporary and even original rock music.

Excited by the concept, this mom sought out other parents in her son’s class, including us, and proposed that our kids form a band and study at “East Coast.” The result was a five-piece band of 8-year olds, in which Alexander was the only member with any prior musical instruction. Not only did these kids have to learn to play and work together, they had to learn their instruments from ground zero.  And learn they did!

The exhilarating thing for me was observing how this band rapidly became a central focus of our kids’ lives. It defined them in many ways, enhancing their self-esteem and giving them unique stature among their classmates. Perhaps of equal importance it became a strong bonding force among us, the parents. We barely knew one another at the beginning but we quickly became good friends, forming a closely-knit group that remains central to our social lives today, some seven years later.

For my part, the whole thing was especially intriguing and not a little bit nostalgic. I had always had a “shadow life” as a working musician, playing gigs and on the road with some of the world’s greatest jazz artists, and during my years in New York, where I headed Parsons School of Design and was Chancellor of New School University, I had founded, nurtured and written the curriculum for New York’s first degree-granting school of jazz, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. But when I came to Washington to head the Corcoran, the demands on my time made it impossible to play music professionally on a regular basis.

Picking up Alexander after band practice at East Coast was redolent with all that music meant to me, and as I would wait for him to finish his weekly practices my musings would run to such things as “wouldn’t it be great to be part of this?” or “why don’t I just do it?” But of course I had a full time day job and there was just no room to put such fantasies into action.

This changed, of course, when I left the Corcoran. In my new role as President of Cambridge Information Group’s Education Division, my initial responsibility was to head Sotheby’s Institute of Art (A graduate school with MA and PhD art history programs in New York, London & Singapore), but I also found myself in an entrepreneurial environment where there was both investment capital and a thirst for innovation. So I went to East Coast’s founder, Jeff Levin, and said, “This is a great educational concept. Let’s take it national.”

The rest, as they say, is history and in July of 2007 we opened the first of our six Bach to Rock schools in the DC area.

Q.  What intrigued you about the underlying concept of Bach 2 Rock?

A.  The thinking behind the B2R concept and curriculum (our secret sauce) is a little more complicated than it may sound at first blush. If you consider the nature of traditional music instruction, it becomes clear that this is one of, if not the most, solitary activity we ask of young people. The stereotype (which many of us have lived through) is of being confined to a room with a piano, clarinet or half-sized violin while a parent (usually our mother) has set the kitchen timer for 45 minutes. She informs us that we are not coming out until she hears us playing steadily and the timer’s bell has rung.

Meantime our friends are playing video games or soccer and we hear their gleeful voices, siren-like, through the open window. But unlike Odysseus and his crew, we can’t practice music while lashed to the mast or with our ears plugged with wax. So we suffer through exercises and silly compositions (with even sillier names) written by textbook authors of indifferent ability, or we play music composed three hundred years ago that has little resonance in our everyday lives and is certainly not discussed in the schoolyard or recorded on our iPods.

The end result is that unless a youngster discovers a deep and personal musical proclivity, the advent of music lessons is a declaration of war in most households. After five or six months the student is begging for release and the parents, after perhaps a year or more of acrimony, acquiesce and let him quit.

Does the study of music really have to be this way? No. As we say at B2R, “Learning to play music should be fun. It’s called play for a reason!”

That line may sound glib, but once you fully take onboard the fact that the solitary nature of musical learning is its greatest deterrent, you can focus on techniques to mitigate the problem and transform musical study into an important part of students’ lives.

Playing Music as a Team Sport

At B2R we turn music instruction into the equivalent of a team sport. Bands (teams) perform before large, enthusiastic audiences at exciting competitive events (e.g. Battles of the Bands); they play frequently in public at a variety of clubs and other venues throughout the region and they record in our professional, Pro Tools-based recording studios.

All of this fosters healthy social and interpersonal development along with a steady undercurrent of energy and excitement. And the self-confidence our kids develop along the way is truly astounding. When ten-year-olds can walk up to the mike on the 9:30 club stage and play to a packed house with the energy and bravado of a pro, you know your methodology is paying off, big time!

Q.  Tell us about the upcoming Battle of the Bands happening at the 9:30 club January 29th!

A.  B2R’s biggest public event in the DC areas is our semi-annual Battle of the Bands, which is held at the 9:30 Club in January and June. The upcoming “Battle” will run for three days, feature more than 90 bands and have an audience of about two thousand. We also have many outdoor concerts in parks and public spaces when the weather is warm and we arrange opportunities for our kids play in clubs and restaurants and to be featured at various community events throughout the region. In Maryland our “acoustic” musicians (i.e., our classical and pop players and vocalists) perform twice each year at Strathmore Hall. In Virginia they play in the concert hall of the Franklin Park Art Center, Northern Virginia’s most important regional venue.

Q.  Is Bach 2 Rock hiring?  If so, who are your best candidates?

A.  B2R is always looking for new talent. We have been expanding rapidly and need qualified musician/teachers to fill our growing needs. Also, we limit our faculty’s teaching loads so that they can focus on their students as individuals as well as continue their professional lives as musicians. As a consequence we have a rather large number of faculty and there is always an opportunity for gifted instructors.

Our faculty is comprised of working professional musicians, often in the building stages of their musical careers. We look for people who can couple highly developed instrumental skills with a solid knowledge of music theory and educational talent. We also seek teachers and staff who can both express and demonstrate a genuine interest in helping young people learn.

Q.  Your very own son has a band called R.A.T.E.D. at Bach 2 Rock, tell us about his experience.

A.  The band’s name, R.A.T.E.D, is an anagram formed from the initials of its members’ first names. I told you the band’s origins earlier, but the amazing thing about it is that even though these kids started from scratch as eight year olds, by the time they were 12 they had virtually become professionals. In addition to the 9:30 Club and the battles of the bands (which they have won four times), they performed at the Verizon Center when they were 9 and more recently at Comet Ping-Pong, Jaxx, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and at lots of other public venues throughout this area. Their main focus now is writing and performing their own music.

Combining Learning and Social Development

In addition to our kids’ intense musical learning, the socialization process inherent in the development of this band has been very interesting to observe. 

Kids, as you know, can be really mean to one another – they haven’t learned the social disingenuity that we adults use to overlay our more abrasive feelings, so they don’t cut each other much slack. As this band was developing, if one kid or another wasn’t learning his part or was goofing off, the others would really let him have it. The result was a lot of (relatively good natured) fighting as they came to understand how interdependent they were and how the music required full cooperation where every band member had to carry his or her weight. So in the beginning an hour-long practice was 50% about keeping order and discipline. As they matured, musically and otherwise, they hunkered down to real solid work. Today it is a joy to watch and hear them practice.

And I didn’t mention that they also write and record their own material (as do most of the B2R bands).  Here’s a link to a video of an original song called “Sorry,” which they wrote and recorded in 7th grade, at age 12.  CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO by R.A.T.E.D.

Q.  You currently have 6 locations in the DC area.  Word is you're going to franchise Bach 2 Rock nationally.  What's the plan?

A.  Right now we are fine-tuning the model, adding and developing some interesting new components such as DJ instruction in a program called “The Beat Refinery,” and we are also expanding our early childhood curriculum. As I already mentioned, we do a lot of recording for our regular students and we have state-of-the-art sound studios with Digi-Design control boards and Pro Tools software built into each school facility. So we are looking to develop a robust recording arts curriculum as well.

Once we are satisfied that all this is completely on track and assuming that the economy continues to improve, we will look at a variety of approaches to national expansion. This idea and the excitement our schools bring to their students, parents and communities, is just too good to limit to the DC area.

Interestingly, we get requests to develop schools in other parts of the country all the time – sometimes from parents of former students who have moved to other cities, but often from folks who have just come across us in some fashion and are excited by our approach and methodology. So we know we have a compelling concept and product.

Q.  What is it about the Bach 2 Rock methodology that sets it apart from from other music schools?

A.  I think this gets summed up pretty well in the way we use the socialization process and team sport approach to motivate students and to make playing music a central focus in their lives for a meaningful period of time.

My son is a typical example; a student who joined the program in elementary school and continues to play, practice and create music in the stimulating environment created by B2R all the way through high school. Like so many of our students, he will have music as a life-long resource, whether he makes it a career or simply a passionate form of artistic fulfillment. By contrast, most kids give up playing music after a year or two of waiting for the kitchen timer to ring so they can quit practicing and go out and play. 

Practicing Made Meaningful; A Sports Analogy

I always like the sports analogy, where a kid comes home from school on a late November day. The sun goes down at 4:30 and it is bitter cold but he spends an hour in his driveway putting a basketball through a hoop. This is not about having fun; it is about wanting to excel the next day when he plays on the team. So at B2R we take the solitary activity of practicing music and give it that same kind of meaning – a motivating social and competitive goal that goes beyond the very feeble incentive of merely not being scolded once each week by your music teacher for being unprepared, which is about the only reinforcement most “traditional” music students are likely to get.

Teaching Students of All Ages; From the Very Young to the Elderly

There is also our extremely innovative method of working with really young children. We start with musical games, which for the very young have been proven to have significant impact on cognitive development. When the child reaches 4½ to five years these activities begin to morph into a program we call “Kids and Keys.” This continues to be game-based and taught in groups but uses keyboards and computers to teach basic technique and music theory. Ultimately Kids and Keys segues (at age six or seven) into our regular private lessons and beginning band instruction.

We also use many of these techniques to work with retired communities and the elderly – even with Alzheimer patients. And there are 30- and 40-something adults who have re-formed bands they had as kids and now come to us for professional coaching and recording. So although B2R serves a very large cohort of elementary, middle and high school students, it is actually a cradle-to-grave operation and a significant community service.

Respecting the Needs and Time of Parents

Finally, we take the parents’ needs into consideration. In today’s over-scheduled world, the last thing a parent wants to do is sit around reading out-of-date magazines while their kid takes a music lesson. So we choose sites that are in or near really good shopping centers. Parents can then schedule their time to include their weekly marketing or other activities (including meeting friends at Starbucks) during the hour and a half that their children are combining their lessons and band practice at B2R.

Q.  Last but not least...what are the 5 songs & artists that have been looping on your iPod this week?

Glen Gould – The Goldberg Variations (Bach).

Dick Morgan Live at Montpellier*

Rick Whitehead, Live in Captivity*

Francis Poulenc, The Dialogues of the Carmelites,

and a couple of dozen tracks by Paul Desmond.

*Dick Morgan and Rick Whitehead are terrific Washington-based Jazz musicians who are as good or better than anyone, anywhere, anytime.

It all started with a "far-fetched idea": Q&A with Sean Peoples, Owner of Sockets Records in DC

Q:  So tell us what the impetus was for you to start the Sockets Record Label here in DC. [Quite a big undertaking, kudos to you.]

 A:  I started Sockets at the very end of 2004. I had been living in DC for a few years after attending American University. At the time, DC was home to a lot of amazing bands  after I graduated in 2002. I really wanted to be a part of that in some way. Beginning a label had always been a far-fetched idea, but I had a bunch of friends making some really interesting music around that time. Also, I just really love

all kinds of music – from run-of-the-mill pop to weird to really weird.

Some of the bands and artists in the noisier side of DC’s music scene, however, were not getting the proper documentation. Net labels were still a little while off and vinyl was just making its resurgence (even though that was a small resurgence in some ways). But there were a bunch of little community labels around 2003 and 2004 that were documenting their scenes in other cities. I felt inspired by what these small labels were doing: buy some recordable CDs, burn them yourself, and make the art cheap but replicable.

Q:  You said you were drawn to this city because of it's musical legacy; who specifically were you referring to? 

A:  Washington, DC’s hardcore/punk/experimental music legacy was always really important to me as a kid. One of the reasons I moved to DC for college was to experience some of these bands first-hand. I loved many of the bands on Dischord when I was in high school, including Faith, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Most Secret Method, the Make Up, and Rites of Spring. Duke Ellington. Marvin Gaye, and John Fahey were all from this area. Washington, DC was one of the main stops for the hardest working jazz artists throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s. And I feel like there’s always been a creative and distinctive energy to the music that gets created in DC. It's a great town.

Q:  You've been quoted as saying, "The best thing about DC is that it's positive and the worst thing about DC is that it's positive."  Explain please....

A:  I think sometimes your biggest strength is also your biggest weakness.  DC, I believe, is on the precipice of getting a lot more attention for its fertile music scene. I think sometimes, though, we might need to spice it up a little and spark a little more friendly competition. It will help drive each other to reach a little higher. I think that’s missing from DC in some ways.

Q:  Sockets Records has a showcase coming up, on January 15th at the Black Cat! Who's in the line up and where can we get tickets?

A:  Saturday, January 15th is the annual Sockets Showcase at Black Cat Mainstage. Three local bands, including Hume, Buildings, and Laughing Man will be playing along with a new Sockets band from New York, Skeletons. I really can’t wait to hear this show. It’s a set of bands that I’ve always wanted to see on the same stage. I think they all have a distinctive sound that pushes the boundaries of experimental pop music. And I think for people who may not know about any of the bands or may just know a few, they’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Tickets are available at the Black Cat website: CLICK HERE 

Q:  Tell us about the release of the new Laughing Man CD and where we can catch their next show?

A:  Laughing Man work hard. They are always playing around DC. And I think, over the last two years, the band has really come into its own.  The band just released it’s debut CD on Sockets. Entitled The Lovings (’63-’69), the record is a culmination of distilling a huge amount of influences from jazz to blues to soul to raw guitar driven rock. I can’t wait for people to hear the record, which fortunately will be available at the Sockets Showcase and via the Sockets website here: LAUGHING MAN 

Q:  We heard another Socket Records band, The Cornel West Theory, is going to be hitting the road soon!  What is their tour schedule looking like?

A:  THE CORNEL WEST THEORY is on the road as I type. The band is working on its follow up to their first record, Second Rome. They will be recording with Dr. Cornel West himself this weekend and I’m looking forward to a late spring release of their second record. This band is so hungry and after opening for Public Enemy, The Last Poets, and a few others last year, I think they have what it takes to get to the next level.

Q:  Not only do you run a record label but you DJ kick ass dance parties!  Tell us about the up coming 3rd Anniversary of FATBACK!  (and congrats!)

A:  FATBACK is a dance party that some of my good friends and I started in 2008. Our formula was simple: transplant the vibe of an amazing, no frills house party to wherever we DJed. And it worked. We had no idea that it would, but every month we get together and play some of our favorite funk and soul for fellow dancers. It’s a blast. And, honestly, it is the folks who come out and dance that really make the party so great.

Fatback celebrates 3 years on the 22nd of January. That’s just a week after the Sockets Showcase.  I know we’ve got a bunch of surprises in store and I’ve been working on my set for the last month. I can’t wait.

Q:  For our fellow DC twits >>> What's your Twitter Handle?

A:  Ah, it’s easy to remember: @Sockets

Q:  So tell us Sean, what are the 5 songs (and artists) that have been looping on your iPod this week?

A:  

 -The new jj mixtape, Kills, is so good. The first track, “Still”,

 combines ethereal vocals with Dr. Dre. Can’t go wrong there.

 -James Blake’s new self-titled full-length is staggeringly beautiful.

 The cover he does of Feist’s “Limit To Your Love” gives me goose

 bumps.

 -Coma Cinema just popped up on some best of 2010 list and I decided to

 check them out. It’s the perfect daydreamy-bedroom-pop I’ve heard in a

 long while. “Be Human” from the record Baby Prayers is a favorite.

 -I’m a big fan of dub reggae and I’ve been really feeling Niney the

 Observer lately. “Ranking Trevor / Whip Them Jah” is one of my

 favorites from him.

 -I just bought Hugh Masekela’s The Boy’s Doing It. The titled cut is

 one of the best tracks ever. There’s no denying it. You have to find

 it. So good!

DC MUSIC FEST by way of LONDON! Q&A with JEM BAHAIJOUB, Owner of impaginePR

DC SETLIST recently spoke with Jem Bahaijoub, owner of imaginePR.  Jem spoke to us about her years in the music business in europe, her impressions of the DC music scene, The Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit, the DC Music Fest happening next May and more; check it all out here...

Q:  You moved to DC 3 years ago from London after 10 years there in the music business.  Where exactly did you learn the ropes? Tell us about your history as a woman in the music biz in London.

A:  I started off working for Universal Music Group in their international promotions department, co-ordinating international promo tours and marketing activities for major artists and bands. I worked with artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Donny Osmond, and Sting.  I was there for 7 years and had an amazing time learning about the industry from the perspective of a major label. I left just before major labels started to take a hit from the digital download market. I went on to become Director of a smaller boutique PR and marketing company in London, working with independent artists and labels, music festival and digital startup companies. For example, I worked on the inaugural lunch of the Hop Farm Festival with Neil Young, Primal Scream and Supergrass. It was the first festival of its kind with no branding or sponsorship.

I definitely preferred this type of company set-up - small, dynamic, grassroots.  There was no bureaucracy, it was highly creative and I was able to work with artists just as the whole DIY digital movement started to build momentum. Both experiences were invaluable. I got insights into both sides of the industry. Fortunately being a woman was never an issue. It was all about persistence, enthusiasm and hard-work.

Q:  So now that you've been here in DC a while, tell us your impressions of the DC Music scene. In your view, how does it compare with other U.S. cities such as Austin, New York & Nashville (all killer towns for music).

A:  Well as a outsider moving to the city, I had preconceived ideas that DC was all about politics and nothing else. This is the major misconception most people outside of DC have. I was really pleasantly surprised to discover that DC has a very rich musical heritage and a very vibrant contemporary music scene. There is certainly no shortage of talent here. The major difference between DC and other US cities like New York is there is no music industry structure, so although there is lots of talent the mechanisms to support it aren’t in place. Also the city is very transient which makes it difficult to build a cohesive cultural identity. Both factors leads to low creative retention. Nevertheless, we still have plenty of artists flying the flag for the city - Thievery Corporation, Wale, Wayna etc... The city also has a very positive entrepreneurial energy which I absolutely love.

Q:  What was your inspiration to start your company imaginePR? What would you say is imaginePR's strength?

A:  My company imaginePR came about very organically. When I first moved to DC I immediately started to research the city to find out what it had to offer in terms of music marketing and PR for artists and arts organizations. I discovered there was a huge gap in the market, and saw this as an opportunity rather than a disadvantage. I started off doing some freelance work in the area to test the waters. I received an overwhelmingly positive response and it’s just taken off from there. Since then I’ve worked with some amazing musicians and music organizations and I’m having so much fun.        

I think one of the strengths of my company is that it’s very personality led - I offer a very personalized, bespoke service, I only work with people I believe in, and my clients know that when they hire imaginePR they are hiring me. They are not getting handed over to a team of juniors. I’m also a big believer in listening to your clients individual needs - what works for one musician doesn’t necessarily work for another. Everything has to be personalized and targeted.
  
Q:  We first met you at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit at Georgetown University in October.  What a great 3 day music industry event.  For those who aren't familiar please tell us what it is and why you think it's important.

A:  The Future of Music Coalition is a National non-profit organization based in DC which focuses on research and advocacy for musicians. It’s an invaluable organization as it fights for musicians rights across all areas of the music industry - from a legislative level all the way down to grassroots digital marketing activities. It’s a fantastic resource of information for musicians and has been instrumental in the development of the net neutrality debate and also recently the victory of low power FM radio.

Q:  One of your latest imaginePR clients is the DC Music Fest!  Finally, a DC music festival!  First the details:  when is it & where will it be held?

A:  Yes the DC Music Fest is going to be great! It’s taking place on May 7th at the Yards Park in South East DC. It’s a one day, open-air festival which will be showcasing 12 bands, 3 singer-songwriters and a DJ across multiple genres. It’s $25 for the day and tickets are on sale through the DC Music Fest website - www.dcmusicfest.com

Q:  We understand that you are encouraging local bands to make submissions to appear at the festival.   How should they do so?

A:  The festival is being curated in a number of ways. Firstly, DC area musicians are encouraged to submit for performance consideration via the DC music fest website. Secondly we are partnering with a number of local music blogs and websites such as The Couch Sessions and the Vinyl District who will be selecting a “recommended” band or artist to perform at the festival. Finally, we have talent bookers scouting for established and new talent in the area.

Q:  Will you be tweeting information about the DC Music Fest?   What's your Twitter handle?

A:  I definitely will be! You can follow my tweets at @jembahaijoub or “like” me on Facebook at imaginePR

Q:  Finally, what are the 5 songs (and artists) that have been looping on your iPod this week?

A:  Artists I’m listening to on my iPod at the moment are:  
1. Marina and the Diamonds
2.  Natasha Atlas
3.  Lykke Li
4.  Amanda Blank
5.  The Dreamscapes Project
6.  Tricky’s new album, Mixed Race.

NYE 2011 with THE BLACK KEYS

DC SETLIST rang in the New Year with THE BLACK KEYS at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL.  The Grammy nominated "Keys" did not disappoint.  #badass
 

Photo Credits: Joshua Mellin & Jennifer Vinson

You can also check DC Setlist out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/DCSetlist

MAMBO SAUCE! Q&A with DC's GRAMMY NOMINATED MUSICIAN & HUMAN BEATBOX: CHRISTYLEZ BACON

Christylez Bacon! You may have seen him at any one of hundreds of hi-fi & lo-fi events about the DC area in the last year.  The man is in demand!  As we head in to 2011 to see what he's working on, we also look back with the Human Beatbox to touch on what has been a stellar year for this local DC artist.  

Q:  As 2010 comes to a close we are guessing that your Grammy nomination was the highlight of the year for you.  Please tell us about the children's album you were nominated for and your experience attending the ceremony. 

 A:  The children's album is called BANJO TO BEATBOX. It was a collaborative project with Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, who are heavy-weights in both children's & old-time traditional music. This project 

< Photo Credit:  Mark Silva

 started as a cool way for us to explore the possibilities of our musical worlds with Human-Beatboxing, rhyming, ukulele, banjos, and washboards. Attending the festivities surrounding the Grammys was great! The Strathmore staff accompanied me there and I got to experience the red carpet, the after-party, etc...

Q:  You recently appeared at a SOFAR SOUNDS show at Marvins where you mentioned DC Mambo Sauce!  For those of us who don't know, what is Mambo Sauce!?

A:  Mambo Sauce is god inside of a sauce bottle that is only used for fried-chicken and french-fries! Actually, it's a sauce native to Washington DC, that can only be found in Carry-Outs here. I have a song "Mambo Sauce" which explains all the details.

Q:  You are currently working on a new album called "Hip Hop Unplugged", sounds great.  What can you tell your fans about it and when do you expect to release it?

A: I'm expecting to have it released by Summer 2011, but it's a great small body of work and I want to make sure that it has all the technical expertise that it needs. So, I'm not trying to rush music, even in this age where we want everything to be on a fast-food schedule. This album uses all acoustic instrumentation, vocal trio, and a string & horn section over my songs as well as guitar playing and human-beatboxing.

Q:  As an aspiring musician growing up in South East DC who were your greatest (local) influences?

A:  I draw my influences from various sources, but DC has influenced me rhythmically through Go-Go, and crowd participation. Those influencers would be:  Chuck Brown, Rare Essence, Backyard Band, Northeast Groovers, etc. 

Q:  Not only are you working on musical projects but you've taken on a project in fashion.  Tell us about your collaboration with designers Bill Johnson of Transient & Hugh & Crye?   

Photo Credit: Joshua Yospyn for WORN Magazine >

A:  I love what both HUGH & CRYE and Bill Johnson of Transient Clothing, are doing. They are filling a void in mens clothing. Hugh & Crye are creating mens dress shirts that fit according to body types and give a tailored look without the tailor prices. Bill Johnson styled me in his creations for the 2010 Grammy's. Both of them have pieces that match my vision, and I'm working with both to create some custom pieces that I hope other can dig as well!

Q:  Please give the details for your upcoming appearances at PG County Libraries in January & February. 

A:  This has to be my 2nd year doing the PG County Libraries. Yayyyyyy for consistency!!!! I travel to all the PG County Library locations using public transportation, performing my One-Man Orchestra concert for those communities, while trying to avoid catching a cold.

Q:  You also mentioned that a monthly musical series is in the works; what can you share with us about that?

A:  I can't reveal too many details because it's still in the incubating phase and I'm still thinking about the perfect venue for it, but every gig that I've done in 2010 (190 Gigs as of Dec 31st) have been people booking me to perform for the events, series, schools, etc...  I want to establish a performance-home where I can introduce audiences to my musical tastes and influences in a live & collaborative setting.

Q:  Finally, what are the 5 songs (and artists) that have been looping on your iPod this week?

A: 

Donald Fagen & Steely Dan

Earth Wind & Fire

Bust a Rhymes (Early 90s Era)

Jamiroquai

Kanye West (The New Album)

Photo Credit: Mark Silva