Video of the Week- Life Is Better

Writin' Bloody...

I went to "art school" (cue: eye roll) and I consider myself "cultured". I'd like to think I have pretty discerning taste. I'm versed in Shakespeare and Becket, read everything from Tony Morrison to Robert Frost. But my favorite writer is Derrick Brown, hands down.

I fell in love with a man who read me his poetry... and still today, it is hard to discern whether I first loved him, or the poetry of Derrick Brown. I'm not often a fan of things, I have seldom been the weirdo in the front row screaming and crying at the presence of some rock-star.

But this guy writes words that make you say "hallelujah" (and I'm not particularly religious). He makes you want to forgive yourself for whatever you're not and get on with finding your own brilliance.

He inspired me to start this blog and when I began my regular "You Should Know..." posts about artists that I wanted to share with others, he was my very first subject. (This is my: hanging out by the stage door after the concert- in a mini skirt-equivalent).

DB- you can autograph my cleavage -any time.

Buy his books and check out all the other amazing artists that write like rock-n-roll at  http://writebloody.com/store/.

You Should Know: J* Davey

J* Davey is a multi-genre duo from Los Angeles, CA whose sound can be described as a combination of alternative hip hop, alternative rock, soul,electronica, fusion, jazz, punk, funk, new wave and R&B futurists. The group was formed by female vocalist Briana Cartwright (who performs under the name Jack Davey) and male producer Brook D'Leau when they were introduced by a mutual friend in high school.
Growing up, Jack Davey was exposed to classic jazz and hints of late seventies jazz fusion before being introduced to the sound of the eighties with R&B and new hip-hop sounds. By the time she relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 8, she landed a spot in an all-girl singing group that signed to MCA Records. The group never released any material.



J*DaVeY "Slooow" from JackBrookSOCKETUMi on Vimeo.

Brook D'Leau came up surrounded by new wave and pop-rock sounds by the way of Prince, Radiohead, Talking Heads and The Police. And at an early age Brook began to create interestingly melodic instrumental tracks in his father's home studio after school and on the weekends for fun.

Today the duo is being heralded as a cross between , Erykah Badu,Prince, Sa-Ra and Radiohead. J Davey's songs have been played on various radio stations in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, as well as overseas by way of Gilles Peterson, Benji B, and Berry King. Questlove of The Roots, Steven Spacek, and Prince have seen the duo perform in sold-out venues such as the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA and the Temple Bar in Santa Monica, CA. Prince invited them to open for him at his 3121 Club and they are also featured on the new the Bloody Beetroots album Romborama with Make Me Blank.

The group recently signed a record deal with the rock division of Warner Bros. Records. Currently J Davey is recording new songs with producer Greg Wells for their Warner Bros. debut release. 
In the meantime, the group have independently released their first effort, "The Beauty in Distortion" as a double disc along with "The Land of the Lost", a full length pop-culture/American-media satire-filled limited edition project that was born from a mixtape collaboration with Fader Magazine.

still the illest... doctrine.

You Should Know: Mayer Hawthorne

Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,” claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among his influences, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and 
Eddie Holland Jr. 

The “retro” tag is added to almost any contemporary work that sounds like it was originally recorded between 1966 and 1974, and Hawthorne, among the newest contributors to the genre, is aware of how trends come and go. After being introduced to Stones Throw label head 
Peanut Butter Wolf by mutual friend Noelle Scaggs of the Rebirth, even his current boss was skeptical. “He showed me two songs and I didn’t understand what I was listening to,” Wolf recalls. “I asked him if they were old songs that he did re-edits of – I couldn’t believe they were new songs and that he played all the instruments.”




And after meeting in person, it was even harder for Wolf to believe that Hawthorne was also the lead vocalist. Few expect such heartfelt sentiment to come from a 29-year-old white kid from Ann Arbor, but he has caught the ear of his family at Stones Throw, as well as BBC Radio 1 host Gilles Peterson and producer/DJ Mark Ronson. Expectations are high for the admitted vinyl junkie who never planned on taking his crooning public. Hawthorne’s hanging-by-a-string falsetto and breakbeat production on his first recorded effort, the tender
 “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out,” are simultaneously Smokey and J Dilla – equal parts “The Tracks of My Tears” and “Fall in Love.” “It’s soul,” he explains, “But it’s new.”

Hawthorne has produced and played instruments for much of his life, but never intended to become a singer. He isn’t formally trained, and never sang in the church choir or in any of the bands he was in before founding The County (formerly the County Commissioners). But here he is, new school soul sensation, who has taken the Motown assembly-line production model and eliminated nearly every element but himself and a few hired hands. “I think Mayer is the only artist in the history of the label that I’ve signed after hearing only two songs,” says Peanut Butter Wolf. “Sometimes, you just know it’s the right thing to do.”
-- Bio by Ronnie Reese.

An up HILL battle...

game, recognize game...

Academy Award winner Adrien Brody recently made an appearance at an event held by the Academy of American Poets. 

Brody decided to honor the late Notorious B.I.G. at the event by reciting the lyrics to Biggie’s “Ten Crack Commandments.”

Brody prefaced his slow, pensive reading by stating that he considers Biggie to be one of the most influential poets of his generation.

if you don't know, now you know...

You Should Know: Planet B-Boy

Of hip-hop's famed four elements - rapping, djing, graffiti writing and break-dancing or "b-boying/ b-girling" - the last one has gotten the least amount of attention. But in a dynamic documentary directed by Benson Lee, "Planet B-Boy," the most athletic of the elements gets its star treatment.

The global reach of hip-hop does extend to b-boying and Lee chronicles teams from Korea, France, Japan and the United States competing in "Battle of the Year" finals in Germany. Entrants come from 18 countries, and the competition is fierce.

Lee says the impetus for the film was his love of break-dancing as a kid in the '80s, when it had a cultural moment. "I saw the movies and was totally mesmerized. I had to break out the cardboard," he says, referring to the use of flattened cardboard boxes as practice mats. While he never got past being a "closeted breaker" he says he never lost his love of the dance.

the Empire Strikes Back!

to celebrate, a suggested campaign anthem for 2012: