After the viral success of Pacman & Peso’s insane Kickstarter campaign to film a music video in North Korea, today we’re finally able to see the result. The Guardian has the exclusive backstory of the young rappers from SE and the connections they made to achieve this strange accomplishment. The video, presented by the Forest Hills Tenleytown Music Group, is surprising for its rare glimpse at everyday streetlife in Pyongyang, but the Guardian profile of the trip is a gripping must-read. DatPiff hosts the duo’s latest mixtape Coming Soon featuring DJ Vega as a free download.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Dale and the ZDubs – Nothing At All video
The polar vortex of icy hell has gripped the nation and my Twitter feed is full of rants and jokes about how cold it is. Well DC, a feel good music video of pop-reggae band Dale & The ZDubs jamming out in t-shirts on the roof of Union Market can remind us that warm weather will come again soon. “Nothing At All” comes from DZD’s 2013 debut full length album Leave The Drama, a generous FREE download to add to your iTunes library.
Honest Haloway – New Year’s video
Synthpop band Honest Haloway made the Best DC Music Video of 2013, and the release of their new EP Perigee early in 2014 is eagerly anticipated. New songs from the EP are beginning to trickle out, including the appropriately-timed “New Year’s”, from HH’s performance last fall at now-legendary DIY venue Paperhaus. Here’s the video from that performance, shot by Cesar Perdomo and Walker Foley. Mark your calendars for a night of top-notch synthpop at the Black Cat on Thursday January 30th when Honest Haloway and Motion Lines open for NYC’s Spirit Animal.
Back From The Dead: An Interview with Presto Bando
Without a doubt, the DC music scene became several decibels quieter in the months following Presto Bando’s final performance on January 4th of last year. Their Southern-fried punk rock was hard to ignore, and singer Brandon Ables’ vocals encroached on the terrain of a deranged “future Dylan”. The band’s live shows were always a highly energized spectacle, and set a high watermark for performance art few other bands were able to match. During the band’s final set, Ables (vocals, guitar) cheerily described the “hatred” he and his bandmates had developed for one another to an uncomfortable audience, urging them to take their CDs, “because we’re just going to throw them in the trash anyway.”
Following their “break up”, Corey Shinko (bass, vocals) and Ables told me of plans to do a “posthumous” release, and this was a topic I pestered them about incessantly throughout the spring and early summer of 2013. Finally, there was an oddly timed July 4th “Pre-Release” Party thrown by Emanuel Pires, who Ables and Shinko claimed to be recording with at his home studio in Annandale, Virginia. Several more months passed, and I admittedly began to wonder if the project had been scrapped before I received a text from Shinko in November asking if I’d like to meet with him and Ables to discuss the now-complete 11 song record, entitled Witchtopher Columbus.
Read our full interview with Presto Bando after the jump, where they discuss the reasons behind their “break up”, the recording of Witchtopher Columbus, and Ables experiences working as an ice cream man.
Rasta Rock Opera & Flex Mathews – No More video
Happy New Year DC! I hope your new years resolution is to check out more great DC music. Hometown Sounds is as excited as always to show you all the great stuff being made right here.
Freestylin’ rapper Flex Mathews collaborates with so many different musicians (Justin Trawick, Buster Brown & The Get Down, See-I, Congo Sanchez, Matisyahu) you’d think he’s that rarest of commodities, a talented drummer. The new music video “No More” features Flex the Handsome Grandson trading verses with Stevie Marco of Rasta Rock Opera on a special song about children affected by gun violence.
It’s time to put an END to bullying and senseless gun violence, Flex Mathews, Stevie Marco and The Rasta Rock Opera have joined forces with Kid Power Inc., Jefferson Middle School, and Bancroft Elementary School of Washington D.C to create this important piece of art. On November 1st 2013, Jefferson Middle School was the site of a youth rally and music concert where hundreds of students signed the “Key is Love” banner” and also participated in the filming of a new youth empowerment music video. The release of the “No More” music and film anthem on New Year’s Day 2014 symbolizes the END of the hate and violence and the beginning of a new youth empowerment revolution that calls for resolving any and all conflict respectfully and peacefully.
Rasta Rock Opera’s full album Respect And Love Revolution drops on January 24th, but you can preview it now on SoundCloud.
What Are You Doing New Years Eve?
New Years Eve, the biggest amateur night of the year next to Halloween, is tomorrow night! If you’re constantly checking your suggested Facebook events and trying to figure out what to do, have no fear. Here are the Hometown Sounds suggested no-ripoff NYE good times:
The Beanstalk Library, Derek Evry & His Band of Misanthropes and These Future Saints @ Iota ($18)
Iota always keeps it real with a no-nonsense DC rock show on New Year’s Eve. Bonus: Derek Evry’s misanthropic drummer Ben Tufts fills in on drums for the other two bands on the bill. All Ben Tufts all night!
RSVP here
Alex Vans & The Hide Away @ Bayou ($30)
Celebrate the new year and Bayou’s 3rd Anniversary with the full band Alex Vans experience!
RSVP here & Buy your tickets now
Bad Domes @ The Dunes ($60)
Granted, this event is on the pricey side. But for that you get an open bar from 9 PM – 2 AM, and you get THIS:
Buy your tickets now, no door sales!
Jonny Grave & The Tombstones, Benny and Louisa Hall @ Nanny O’Brien’s (FREE)
Want to keep things a bit more low key? Cleveland Park Irish bar Nanny O’Brien’s has a great lineup including DC blues paragon Jonny Grave, and they aren’t even charging a cover. Get there early for this!
RSVP here
Asheru – Mood Swing feat. Talib Kweli (Nappy Riddem Mix)
Hey DC, I got a hot joint for your Friday afternoon listening distraction. It’s great to see a tight-knit crew like the Fort Knox Recordings boys guesting, remixing and performing with each other, creating and maintaining one of the most interesting and cohesive scenes in the last few years. Saturday night H St. NE’s Rock & Roll Hotel hosts The Empresarios, Nappy Riddem and Asheru for a Winter Soulstice Party for the longest night of the year. To get you in the right mood, the Nappy Riddem duo of Rex Riddem and Mustafa Akbar updated Ash’s early 2000’s hit single Mood Swing featuring Talib Kweli into a drum & bass dance floor burner, and you can download and add this remix to your collection for free! Asheru is one of DC’s most underappreciated rappers, though that’s changing with the popularity growing of his full length album Sleepless In Soweto released last month. Tix are only $15, so grab them in advance and guarantee your Saturday night fun!
Here are the set times!
Doors 8 PM
Asheru 9 PM
Empresarios 10 PM
Nappy Riddem 11:30 PM
Top 5 Videos of 2013 #1: Honest Haloway – Psycho Bitch
Once upon a time, just a couple of years ago really, high school friends Tim Kratzer and Greg Balleza wrote indie rock songs together as The Vita Ruins. After playing together for years and recording an excellent album A Day Without A Name (go download this FOR FREE right now!), they parted amicably and Tim dove into a dance music solo project called Honest Haloway. He produced a 5 song EP The Towns (Another FREE download! It’s your lucky day!) and then put music on hold for a year to focus on his career. When he resurrected the project he added hard-hitting drummer Charlie Karim and bassist Fico Lazzaro-Colon to make a full-fledged live band. Honest Haloway also asked former bandmate Greg’s older brother Nick Balleza to create this video for “Psycho Bitch”, which Hometown Sounds featured back in January. I was completely blown away and have literally spent the last 11 months trying to get as many people as I can to see it. This video embodies DC in subtle and spot-on fashion. I’m sure we’ve all been to dozens of apartment parties just like the one in this video. Oh, there’s that guy who’s in a bunch of bands. Who’s the eyepatch guy dancing like a robot? And the song fits this party vibe perfectly. If you haven’t yet seen this music video, I won’t spoil the end for you, so watch the whole damn thing today. But it’s rather NSFW, so wait until your boss is deep into this afternoon’s lame office white elephant gift exchange.
Oh and guess what else? Today just happens to be Tim Kratzer’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY & congratulations from Hometown Sounds!
Top 5 Videos of 2013 #2: Tom Goss – Bears
All this week Hometown Sounds counts down the top 5 music videos of 2013. DC bands made a ton of amazing videos this year and my long list of nominees was quite long indeed, but now it’s time for the best of the best!
Tom Goss usually rocks out with an acoustic guitar and loop pedal, but for “Bears” he tapped Deathfix keys player Rich Morel to produce the clubby tribute to burly & hairy beefcake. The video is partially shot at Town Danceboutique, home of the DC Bear Crue Happy Hour every Friday evening, where I’d bet you can find Mr. Goss regularly when he’s not touring the country. This video is hilarious for parodying “hot bikini girls with squirt guns” music video tropes but also sincerely paying tribute to the type of men popular on Growlr.
Holiday Podcast 2013
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Tracklisting:
Derek Evry – Hey! Ho! Let It Snow!
Tom Goss – Christmas, Chicago Time
Melodime – December
Last Train Home – I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Kev Brown – Christmas Wish feat. Tazania
Veronneau – Santa Baby
Vandaveer – Merry Christmas Baby
Andy Zipf – Baby, What Do You Want For Christmas
Birdlips – O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Wytold – Do You Hear What I Hear? (Medley)
Vandaveer – Auld Lang Syne
Or listen in SoundCloud:
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