Foxy Python's Flying Circus: March 2010

3/24/10

New Release: Freeway & Jake One - The Stimulus Package

If anyone was wondering how to release a physical album in 2010, Freeway has the answer. His latest effort, a collaboration with producer Jake One entitled "The Stimulus Package", has the best packaging I have ever seen, along with a great promotional campaign through Rhymesayers Entertainment culminating in the release party at the Troc about a month ago. Check out these videos and go pick up a copy if you want to see CD and/or vinyl packaging done properly.

CD packaging

Vinyl packaging

Discussing the album

Release party at the Troc

Live on Jimmy Fallon w/ the Roots

Catch Freeway at a free in-store performance at Ubiq tonight from 8-11!

3/16/10

Buzz Artist: OnCue

My friend CJ Luzi put me up on OnCue, with whom he will be working on an upcoming project sampling various indie and rock songs for a mixtape. To prepare you for that eventual release, I encourage you to check out OnCue's current mixtape Cueyfornication, on which he spits over beats based on Red Hot Chili Peppers samples, sponsored by IllRoots and The Press Play Show.

You can find it on DatPiff, the largest mixtape download site, by clicking [here]. Mixtape heavyweights Mick Boogie and Terry Urban are already involved with both projects, making Cuey a great bet to make it big in the near future, receiving coverage from major hip-hop blogs including The Smoking Section and 2DopeBoyz. Check out my exclusive interview:

What got you into hip-hop in general and sample-based productions specifically?
Started when I was really young. I have a brother that is 7 years older than myself. When I was roughly 3 or 4 years old, he brought home old rap cassettes (Run DMC, Keith Sweat, Kriss Kross, O.P.P. etc.) And my love, started there. The "sample-based" part of your question, came out of the idea to put out an alternative/indie/electro sounded project mixed with hip-hop, at cost and time efficiency. All of my mixtapes, are/tend to be sample-based projects, but albums, EPs and singles coming soon, will be 100% original.

Do you find yourself pigeonholed into a certain style/persona as a white rapper from Connecticut?
I did once, but I grew out of it. Prior to Cueyfornication I made straight, well generic sounding hip-hop. It wasn't until I did a song called "Inhale, Exhale" [off of 2008's Elevator Muzik] that made it all click. Guitars, pianos, and I started to sing, and now we have what you -- now probably you know me as.

How did you get 'discovered' by big names like Mick Boogie and Terry Urban?
Mick, Terry and I have a mutual friend Christopher Truth. Short and simple, Mick and Terry heard the aforementioned "Inhale, Exhale" and loved it. I also do graphic design on the side, and us 3 tend to help each other out, favor for a favor. I owe those guys alot, they definitely have alot to do with the some-what still building name that I have today.

How much of an advantage is it as an artist to be able to do your own graphic design work?
I love it. I love being creative, that's what I believe I was put on this earth to be -- is creative. It helps me shape the sound of my music, the marketing, the image -- that I myself want to really convey to the fans, listeners, bloggers, DJ's, etc. Plus, design has helped push my career along as perfect as it can be. It puts my music in hands in times when people in high places would be quick to turn the cheek, before they take a listen.

Which artist(s), past or present, do you identify most strongly with?
Good question, wow -- real good question. I was thinking about this the other day. I have this idea I want to be the next Billy Joel. The guy had soul, and heart -- and was one of the few musicians who you could always hear that he was pouring his heart and soul into every note, and lyric he wrote. A few other musicians I admire are Ben Gibbard, Hov, Kanye, Big. But back to Ben real quick, Death Cab and Postal Service changed my life -- "Give Up" and "Transatlanticism" are probably 2 of my top 3 albums ever made.

How important do you think the live show is to hip-hop music?
Now? More than ever. As the music business revenue is rapidly declining, CD sales are in the tank -- ringtones are getting bootlegged -- live shows are the main avenue for profit in today's music business.

Why did you choose to make the move to Brooklyn and how has it influenced your style?
The move to Brooklyn was a mixture of things. I felt as if I was growing tired of my home. I felt back in CT I didn't really fit in, musically. Plus once I did a self evaluation I realized more of the people I work with are located in the NYC area, and on top of that my management just opened a brand new recording studio in Brooklyn as well, it was a no brainer. In addition, Brooklyn really helped me finish writing all the songs for "Cuey Sings the Blues". Being in NYC helps you see things with a pair of glasses you almost thought you never had. I made sure the production sounded bigger. I made sure the lyrics pierced the heart of the listener, yet broad and generic but original at the same time. You see so many faces in this city each day, and I wanted to try my hardest to reach everyone I cross paths with.

Judging by the various artists sampled on "Cuey Sings the Blues", you have broad taste in music. What was the selection process like? How did you narrow it down to the current list of artists/songs to be sampled?
The artists and songs were chosen by myself, my producers CJ Luzi and Chanes, and curated by my manager, Mick, Terry and Chris. Most of the songs were songs I loved growing up, and once I went on this adventure to flip any song I wanted in the genres, I dove right in with the producers. Besides Chanes and CJ, I also worked with Remot, Emay & my dude AJ on this project. CJ Luzi and Emay did a bunch, Chanes did a few and Remot and AJ did a joint each.

How did you meet CJ Luzi, and what motivated you to choose so many tracks from such a relatively unknown producer after working with bigger names in the past?
When CJ and myself were first starting out we kinda clicked over the internet. He'd send beats, I'd send songs back. From there we grew a real friendship, and a great working relationship. CJ did the biggest bulk of production on Cuey Sings the Blues. But overall, the project will be awesome. I'm biting my tongue severely right now because I tend to hype every new project (as I should) -- but this one is on a different level. I'll be quiet and let the music speak for itself when it's released.

Sampling RHCP for a concept mixtape might seem like a gimmick, but for a rapper who claims to want to be the next Billy Joel and cites Ben Gibbard's writing for The Postal Service's Give Up and Death Cab's Transatlanticism as life-changing, the relationship with rock music obviously goes far deeper. Cuey's rhymes are not to be underestimated either, so be on the lookout for his live show and more music in the coming months.

3/15/10

Save HM Magazine!

Hey,
I know this isn't something I normally do, but I think that this magazine, and music magazines in general, need support to continue existing through this recession. As a blogger, it seems odd for me to support print journalism, but I read The Fader, Paste, HM, and whatever other magazines I can get my hands on as often as possible. Not having a permanent address makes subscriptions a bit difficult, but I support what they do. Please read this and help HM out if you can. They host a great stage every year at Purple Door, do some great interviews, and a lot of other things that help make faith a force to be dealt with in hardcore music and vice versa.
Thanks,
Foxy

Hello friends.

You may have seen this information in the new issue of the magazine or on my blog, but I wanted to make sure everyone we have community and connection with see this message.

I’ve seen magazines come and go in the time I’ve been editing HM. Metal Edge, which started the same year we did (1985) folded up last year, joining a growing list of music magazines that includes CCM Magazine. In April of 2008 I went to the Nashville party CCMthrew for its friends as a way of saying goodbye to print. I saw John Styll, who founded the magazine in 1978 and was often available to me over the years to answer questions and offer advice about publishing magazines. At this party I asked him, “How does it feel to watch your baby cease printing?” And he expressed frustration that it ended so close to its 30-year anniversary. “They were only 3 issues away from its 30th Anniversary issue.” I immediately thought of where I’d be two short years later. I hoped I wouldn’t face the same fate. I’ve done lots of soul searching and seeking the face of the Lord. I do not think it’s time to give up this publication or go all-digital. I’m in the thick of a fight and struggle to keep it going. But I need your help. This past year has seen a drastic dip in advertising sales, which is our major source of income (and we depend upon it to pay those large print bills). To keep the magazine printing, we went into debt. We found ways to cut our overhead and have done about everything we can think of to lower our operating costs. I think I’ve figured out a way to survive and actually grow again, but we need to get out from under this debt before it crushes us. Will you help?

We are not a non-profit group (although it’s something we’ve explored), so your gift will not be tax-deductible. You’ve probably seen other people or organizations say this, but it’s true that every little bit helps. Sometimes breaking it down to manageable chunks makes it easier to consider. If everyone on our list gave $5, we’d be out of debt and in a much better position to succeed in a strained magazine & music economy. Would you pray about what to give? Last year I saw my friends at Paste Magazine send out an appeal similar to this. They were able to meet their goals and look to survive. Thanks to many musician and label friends, we have some gifts to offer as a way of saying “Thanks” to anyone who donates (any amount). If you're interested in donating more than $100, you'll get a lifetime subscription to HM Magazine, that'll keep it coming to you as long as it lives on (both print, digital and who knows what else technology will bring). With my oldest daughter turning 14 the day I write this, I have to admit that I think about passing the torch to another editor someday as I hope HM Magazine lives on another 25 years ... and then some!

We’ve collected and are still collecting rare, unavailable-in-stores or just plain cool tunes. Artists like Superdrag, John Davis, Sophia,Theocracy, Harmony, Sleeping At Last, Mortification, Men As Trees Walking, White Collar Sideshow, Guardian, I Am Alpha And Omega, The Ember Days, Nightmare Records and many more... In order to make this easier on my server and your download experience, I have taken these 50 songs and broken them down into 10-song chunks (or "volumes," which is a mucher nicer word than "chunk"). So, when you make a donation to HM Magazine (using your credit card, debit card, paypal or send a check via the mail - to pobox 367, hutto tx 78634), you will receive a password that will unlock the various volumes (1-10).

I’m still collecting tunes, so please log in to hmmag.com/faqsupport to check out the latest information with this campaign (and see a full song list). And please consider doing some other things to help, too, like promoting HM Magazine at stores, to youth groups, pastors, friends, etc. If you know people that could benefit from marketing to HM’s audience, encourage them to contact us. Thanks for your help. I can’t do it without you.

Click here TO DONATE.

Sincerely and gratefully,
Doug Van Pelt
Editor

3/13/10

DJing in Oxford

Hey kids!

I just DJed part of the final bop for this term at Trinity College, where I've been studying this semester.

For those who don't know, bops are themed parties in the college bars (yes, British colleges have bars, the drinking age being 18 and all that).

If you aren't familiar with my DJing, I primarily use a program called MixMeister Fusion, which my old roommate Chris pirated for me after I got addicted to it by playing around in the studios at the V (WVMM, 90.7, Messiah College Radio). It's kind of cheating, as the program does automatic beat detection and matching, but it makes things simple so I can focus on rocking a party instead of the technical aspects of mixing (and also avoids the co$t of turntables).

I made an hour and a half long premix for the gig, was told I had an hour, so I chopped it down, then told I had as long as I wanted once I got there, and it ended up being about an hour and ten minutes. Here is the final live version (contains explicit language*):

If you like it, let me know and I'll post more (hopefully higher quality) mixes.

Bop Live Mix - Download MP3

Tracklisting:

* I do not have the edited versions of many of these songs, a large number of which were by request. Due to the last-minute mixing, I did not have time to edit them much myself. This was played live for adults in a bar, and if you are not used to the lyrical content of club-based music and/or hip-hop, you will most likely be offended and probably should not listen. If this is a concern for you, but you would like to hear a mix of mine, let me know and I will post one of my better-prepared ones. If you would like an edit of this, you can request that as well, but it may take a while and will not be true to the live experience.

3/7/10

All Your Radio Needs

While Flying Circus Radio is on hiatus, listen to my once and future roommate Jared High, his cousin Bryce Stever, and other fabulous people on the PB & J show Thursdays from 10-midnight EST on 90.7 FM WVMM, Messiah College Radio, or online here. They'll be playing some Letters from the Prom and other wonderful tunes on the regular. Enjoy!