Cap Hill Block Party Tonight!

Block party starts in just 2 hours!  There are a bunch of great bands, and I hope I find some cool local stuff before the headliners come Holy Fuck! (yes!)), Yeahsayers and the big boys, MGMT.  I hope MGMT puts on a better show than they did at Sasquatch, as I was kinda disappointed with their energy there.

In case you don't know Holy Fuck!, you should.  My buddy Foxy introduced these guys to me back when I was in the 404.  Lovely Allen is one of my favorites.  Check it!

The Lo-cal Lo-down

So today we've got two awesome bands from Seattle, both of which will be at the Capitol Hill Block Party, near the end of this month (July 23rd - 25th), which I highly recommend attending.  These come on the rec from my girl Ace, who is totally hooked up with the Seattle music scene.  Big up yourself, chica.

Probably best to start with Mad Rad.  Now I'm not saying they're rowdy, but they were temporarily banned from a majority of Capitol Hill, after a run in with Neumo's security.  This energy translates into their music, which spans a number of genres and my itunes lists as "other."  There's a lot of hip hop influence, but that doesn't count out the rock or indie feel to a lot of their songs.  I like the first half of their 2008 White Gold album a bit more than the back-end, with songs like My Product, Superdope! and Glitzerland.

Now we get to Fresh Espresso.  Notice how one of the members looks like P Smoov from the Mad Rad pic above?  There's a reason for that.  Same dude....go figure.  He's paired up with MC Rik Rude (originally in Michigan, now chillin in the Bay) to lay some pretty dope tracks.  I think the Seattle Subsonic guys do a great job describing their unique style:

"they get one hand waving in the air while the other simultaneously strokes the nodding chin"

 Diamond Pistols seems to be the crowd favorite on their debut album Glamour.  While you're at it, check out their tribute to Styx, Vader Rap.  So tight!

The Knuckleheads

AWESOME time in Vegas with the boys.  Congrats Mark.  These two characters definitely contributed to the fun. I can't get enough of them!

There's not much out there on  Kentrell "Krispy" (left) and Alvin "Rah Almilliot" (right), but the Lindsay brothers are definitely worth getting to know.  The Knux, as they're more commonly known, are originally from New Orleans, but now get their badassery on in soCal, LA.  They've had a few songs featured on tv, including a snippet on Entourage season 5 (news flash, apparently people are still watching vinny chase smoke pot and chase tail) and in some movies, but for the most part have been pretty under the radar.  The LAist and MTV have some good material, if you want to give them a deeper look.  

My ears picked up when I heard their new(ish) album Fuck You for the first time.  It's got a few great tracks, but Whatchu Say is certainly one of my favs.  The song is some sort of mash up/tribute to the Imogen Heap song Hide and Seek, an awesome song in and of it's own right.

Aloe Blacc serves up some sweet MJ

No, not that MJ!

Heard this on the anniversary of MJ's death and couldn't find a version outside of a video.  Finally came across one, so wanted to post it...It's quite the soulful tribute to Msr Jackson, with his new Orleans Jazz influences coming through.  Love the slow beat accompaniment as well

In case you didn't know, Aloe Blacc is a badass singer, songwriter, rapper, musician.  He has a couple albums out (03 and 06) and just released some new stuff with Cradle, whom I need to dig into next...

Vegas tomorrow, but have a few dope tracks I hope to share soon.

mp3:  Billie Jean