A preservation of my history and occasional insights into the present
Showing posts with label ThoughtCriminals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ThoughtCriminals. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The ThoughtCriminals - Count3rCu1ture @ Nerdapalooza 2012
(Yes, I realize I did not do this yesterday. Things were happenin'. My wife's first day back as a teacher and other business had to be handled. Sue me, okay?Now then...
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Dust to Dust
Mikal kHill is at it again, kids.This time? A collaboration with Romero and a change of roles. With The Browncoats Mixtape, kHill mainly played the role of producer, putting together some great beats culled from “Firefly”. Now, he shows of more of his vocal skills on dust with Romero handling the instrumentals.So how is kHill on vocals? Please. You heard him on MegaRan’s Black Materia album, right? Sure you did, on track 7. (If not, you have another chance because the remix album is out now, too. On that one, look for track 13.) Good stuff. Now imagine that dexterity, only grittier. Hungrier. Tossing the mundane frivolity of life’s inane prattling out the window. You have an idea on how good he sounds on dust.And Romero backs him handily. For a guy in good company with 8-bit sounds and brilliant remixes of television scores, kHill sounds downright amazing backed by piano instrumentals, sirens, and whatever else Romero can get his hands on to make sure kHill’s vocals - and moods - shine.The best part of this is? This show’s hitting the road, starting today. kHill is on a mini-tour with Jesse Dangerously and Shane Hall (also of Whatevermore: Live From The Raven). With them, in each town, are selected local acts. Giving back to the community and rocking out. I knew I liked kHill for a reason.Catch the Humbled to Dust starting today at the following locations (courtesy of the tour’s Facebook page, which I just linked):Feb 3 - Columbia, SC @ Conundrum 8pm door/ 9pm show / $6 over 21 / $8 under 21 (Mikal kHill, Tribe One, cecilnick, Shane Hall & MC Stealth) Feb 4 - Orlando, FL @ Back Booth 7pm door / 7:30pm show /$7 ALL AGES (Jesse Dangerously, MC Wreckshin, Rainbowdragoneyes, Mikal kHill, Shane Hall, Slice of Life) Feb 6 - Charlotte NC @ The Milestone 8pm door / 9pm show /18 and up/ $7 over 21 / $?-9 under 21 (ThoughtCriminals, Jesse D, Shane Hall, MC Stealth, & 6SIGMA)Feb 7 - Durham, NC @ The Garage Bar @ Motorco -doors at 7pm/show at 8pm/$5 18 & up (17 and under welcome with a guardian) (ThoughtCriminals, Jesse Dangerously, Shane Hall)Feb 8 - Baltimore, MD @ Bohemian Coffeehouse 7pm / 8pm show / FREE $0.00!!! ALL AGES (Collectible Humans, Jesse D & Shane Hall)Feb 9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Little Bar ( Mikey Mo, Sketch Lightly, Jesse D, Shane Hall, Voss & LTC)Feb 10 - Brooklyn, NY @ moon-ii [319 Rutledge St, Brooklyn] (Schaffer the Darklord, People With Teeth, Jesse D, Mikal kHill, Shane Hall, remind) Hosted by Shane with DJ Halo on the tables ALL NIIIIGHT LOOONGFeb 11 - Worcester, MA @ 97 D Webster St. / $5-$10 suggested donation / ALL AGES (Jesse D, Mikal kHill, Shane Hall, Jon Von Wonderful, The Grand Arkanum, HW) with an opening set by DJ Snaxx Oh, yeah. Here’s a video off the new record. Because I like you.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Quoth The Browncoats, Whatevermore
Mikal kHill of the ThoughtCriminals has been one busy dude. Within less than a month, kHill has two releases in the can.
One, you may have heard by now, as kHill provided the beats and a handful of vocals on The Browncoats Mixtape. He and fellow Nerdcore star (I think we can cut “rising” out of the equation at this point) Adam WarRock have released an album dedicated to Joss Wheedon’s lamented “Firefly” series. Going in to this, I knew next to nothing about “Firefly” and wasn’t sure I’d pick up on a lot of what was about to transpire.
The good news, I didn’t have to. WarRock takes themes easily relatable - those of being your own man and standing by what’s right, relying on no one’s ideals but your own - and wraps them around stories involving the crew of Serenity. WarRock’s lyricism is deftly done here, as metaphors are easily woven in to the mix.
WarRock’s strongest asset as an MC is that he can spin lyrical tapestries that defy the human tongue, yet none of them are so heavy with slang and references that make no sense that they’re impenetrable. On the contrary, WarRock keeps things sophisticated yet simple. Anyone can follow along, but still marvel at how well the lyrics are spun.
In the case of The Browncoats Mixtape, WarRock has an excellent backdrop to tell his tall tales to. kHill takes the nouveau-Western music of “Firefly” (I assume) and turns them in to great accompaniment. The melodies are those of simultaneous despair and hope, capturing the feeling of not only WarRock’s stories, but of how many fans felt about the series itself.
The Browncoats Mixtape comes highly recommended, whether you’re a fan of “Firefly” or not. At the end of the day, it’s a solid hip-hop work. And it’s free! You can grab it from both the sites of Adam WarRock and the ThoughtCriminals.
After picking up The Browncoats Mixtape from the ThoughtCriminals site, you can then head to their Bandcamp site and pre-order the Thought Criminals live album. Whatevermore (Live from the Raven) was recorded not too long ago - July 31, as a matter of fact, on the second night of the “Pay What You Can” festival at The Raven in Worcester, MA.
For the live record, the ThoughtCriminals shared the stage with Shane Hall, a Massachusettes native with as much energy to burn as the ThoughtCriminals themselves. Having known each other a long time, 2011 is the year they started tag-teaming stages all over the country, starting at SxSW in March.
Here, the ThoughtCriminals and Hall are presented in all their independent, “no-money-mo’-problems glory”. That is to say, the record is a showcase of not only independent musicians dominating a stage with talent, guts and willpower, but also of the problems they face in doing so. The record is presented with technical problems intact to show the perils of independent art and touring, but those issues are actually rather minimal - a testament to the know-how of all involved.
And the music? You’re in for a treat. Whatevermore (Live from the Raven) represents the best of the ThoughtCriminals with tracks such as “Return of the Antagonist (Drastic Measures)” and “Warp Zone (1-2)”. kHill and company - Sulfur (vocals), Kevin Morgan (guitar), Alan Erickson (bass), Chris Wilson (keyboards), and Stephen Williams (drums) - combine to form a hip-hop collective that also include components of chiptunes (kHill does play an NES, after all), rock, punk, and just plain attitude. Hearing that on stage is a great time once it’s realized they waste no time bringing the energy. About halfway through, they are joined by Shane Hall. His manic, infectious rantings go perfectly with the ThoughtCriminals mentality of laying it all on the line each time they take the stage.
Whatevermore (Live from the Raven) can be pre-ordered now via the ThoughtCriminals’ BandCamp. On October 25, those that took the plunge will glad they did once the record is released. As Adam WarRock himself said, the album is “not just a great live RAP album, this album is a great example of acts sharing a stage, collaborating, melding hip hop and live instrumentation, and just making good damn music."
One, you may have heard by now, as kHill provided the beats and a handful of vocals on The Browncoats Mixtape. He and fellow Nerdcore star (I think we can cut “rising” out of the equation at this point) Adam WarRock have released an album dedicated to Joss Wheedon’s lamented “Firefly” series. Going in to this, I knew next to nothing about “Firefly” and wasn’t sure I’d pick up on a lot of what was about to transpire.The good news, I didn’t have to. WarRock takes themes easily relatable - those of being your own man and standing by what’s right, relying on no one’s ideals but your own - and wraps them around stories involving the crew of Serenity. WarRock’s lyricism is deftly done here, as metaphors are easily woven in to the mix.
WarRock’s strongest asset as an MC is that he can spin lyrical tapestries that defy the human tongue, yet none of them are so heavy with slang and references that make no sense that they’re impenetrable. On the contrary, WarRock keeps things sophisticated yet simple. Anyone can follow along, but still marvel at how well the lyrics are spun.
In the case of The Browncoats Mixtape, WarRock has an excellent backdrop to tell his tall tales to. kHill takes the nouveau-Western music of “Firefly” (I assume) and turns them in to great accompaniment. The melodies are those of simultaneous despair and hope, capturing the feeling of not only WarRock’s stories, but of how many fans felt about the series itself.
The Browncoats Mixtape comes highly recommended, whether you’re a fan of “Firefly” or not. At the end of the day, it’s a solid hip-hop work. And it’s free! You can grab it from both the sites of Adam WarRock and the ThoughtCriminals.
After picking up The Browncoats Mixtape from the ThoughtCriminals site, you can then head to their Bandcamp site and pre-order the Thought Criminals live album. Whatevermore (Live from the Raven) was recorded not too long ago - July 31, as a matter of fact, on the second night of the “Pay What You Can” festival at The Raven in Worcester, MA.For the live record, the ThoughtCriminals shared the stage with Shane Hall, a Massachusettes native with as much energy to burn as the ThoughtCriminals themselves. Having known each other a long time, 2011 is the year they started tag-teaming stages all over the country, starting at SxSW in March.
Here, the ThoughtCriminals and Hall are presented in all their independent, “no-money-mo’-problems glory”. That is to say, the record is a showcase of not only independent musicians dominating a stage with talent, guts and willpower, but also of the problems they face in doing so. The record is presented with technical problems intact to show the perils of independent art and touring, but those issues are actually rather minimal - a testament to the know-how of all involved.
And the music? You’re in for a treat. Whatevermore (Live from the Raven) represents the best of the ThoughtCriminals with tracks such as “Return of the Antagonist (Drastic Measures)” and “Warp Zone (1-2)”. kHill and company - Sulfur (vocals), Kevin Morgan (guitar), Alan Erickson (bass), Chris Wilson (keyboards), and Stephen Williams (drums) - combine to form a hip-hop collective that also include components of chiptunes (kHill does play an NES, after all), rock, punk, and just plain attitude. Hearing that on stage is a great time once it’s realized they waste no time bringing the energy. About halfway through, they are joined by Shane Hall. His manic, infectious rantings go perfectly with the ThoughtCriminals mentality of laying it all on the line each time they take the stage.
Whatevermore (Live from the Raven) can be pre-ordered now via the ThoughtCriminals’ BandCamp. On October 25, those that took the plunge will glad they did once the record is released. As Adam WarRock himself said, the album is “not just a great live RAP album, this album is a great example of acts sharing a stage, collaborating, melding hip hop and live instrumentation, and just making good damn music."
Thursday, August 25, 2011
"Man of Steel" Taking Lead From DC Reboot
WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for the in-production Superman: Man of Steel.
Another reason DC may be holding out information is the current lawsuit between DC’s parent company, Warner Bros, and the heirs of Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. If the lawsuit is not settled by 2013, some core elements of Superman’s origin and character become property of the estates of Siegel and Shuster. Is DC planning a pre-emptive srtrike in completely changing the world’s most recognizeable superhero?
- Me, Examining the DC Relaunch Part 03: The Heavyweights, Examiner.com
It was a damn set-up.
Looking back on that statement, it certainly helps make the DC Reboot make a little more sense now. Sure, that's an awful lot of change, but it goes a long way toward reigning in a little more control of the biggest character in the industry (no matter how many wanna hate, let's face facts here).
Let's get right to it. Take a look at the cover for the new Superman #1 (drawn by the legendary George Perez), coming out in September, for just a moment:
Got it? Good. Prepare to use that as a reference point, okay?
Now, some enterprising individual(s?) happened to snap some set shots of Superman: Man of Steel, due out Summer, 2013. The shots are meant to be a revelation of the character Faora, played by Antje Traue. Before you ask the question, no, I don't have a clue who she is. The actress or the character. And really, it's not important here.
And I have to say, I normally tend to ignore spoiler shots like this. They very rarely tell anything about the final product because, in the world of CGI, there's so much missing. And a photo can't say a thing about whether or not the plot's any good. However, this one I came across - and these set pics happened to tell me a lot. Not about how the movie looks or how great of a story we're in for, but more of how DC and Warner Bros plan to get around this lawsuit issue and still create a new buzz for the biggest character in comics all at the same time.
Take a good look at the set photo. Pay particular attention to the man inred and blue:
Whoa wait, what? One more time, in slow-motion:
Yeah, I think that's exactly what DC has in mind. "Freshening up characters," "relating to real-world situations," and "injecting new life" all sounds good and fine, but exerting more control over your properties - and how they're portrayed in other media - is just as important.
++++++++++++++
A coupla music videos for ya. Well, one full one and one teaser.
The full one comes from my pals Shinobi Ninja. It is the title track from their record, Rock Hood, which packs one hell of a catchy melody. But don't take my word for it...
The teaser is from the forthcoming The Browncoats Mixtape from Adam WarRock and KHill of the ThoughtCriminals. Not what I'm used to hearing from these guys at all - and it sounds so cool...
Oh, and speaking of WarRock? Feel free to head to the link above to check out (among all the other good stuff this guy unloads) the free singles he's been releasing this month, the latest being "Commedia Dell’Arte". He's unloading free stuff as part of a donation drive to help handle expenses for his upcoming tour with Random (aka Mega Ran), MC Lars and MC Chris. Go help a brotha out. And score some excellent free tunes to boot!
Another reason DC may be holding out information is the current lawsuit between DC’s parent company, Warner Bros, and the heirs of Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. If the lawsuit is not settled by 2013, some core elements of Superman’s origin and character become property of the estates of Siegel and Shuster. Is DC planning a pre-emptive srtrike in completely changing the world’s most recognizeable superhero?
- Me, Examining the DC Relaunch Part 03: The Heavyweights, Examiner.com
It was a damn set-up.
Looking back on that statement, it certainly helps make the DC Reboot make a little more sense now. Sure, that's an awful lot of change, but it goes a long way toward reigning in a little more control of the biggest character in the industry (no matter how many wanna hate, let's face facts here).
Let's get right to it. Take a look at the cover for the new Superman #1 (drawn by the legendary George Perez), coming out in September, for just a moment:
Got it? Good. Prepare to use that as a reference point, okay?
Now, some enterprising individual(s?) happened to snap some set shots of Superman: Man of Steel, due out Summer, 2013. The shots are meant to be a revelation of the character Faora, played by Antje Traue. Before you ask the question, no, I don't have a clue who she is. The actress or the character. And really, it's not important here.
And I have to say, I normally tend to ignore spoiler shots like this. They very rarely tell anything about the final product because, in the world of CGI, there's so much missing. And a photo can't say a thing about whether or not the plot's any good. However, this one I came across - and these set pics happened to tell me a lot. Not about how the movie looks or how great of a story we're in for, but more of how DC and Warner Bros plan to get around this lawsuit issue and still create a new buzz for the biggest character in comics all at the same time.
Take a good look at the set photo. Pay particular attention to the man in
Whoa wait, what? One more time, in slow-motion:
Yeah, I think that's exactly what DC has in mind. "Freshening up characters," "relating to real-world situations," and "injecting new life" all sounds good and fine, but exerting more control over your properties - and how they're portrayed in other media - is just as important.
A coupla music videos for ya. Well, one full one and one teaser.
The full one comes from my pals Shinobi Ninja. It is the title track from their record, Rock Hood, which packs one hell of a catchy melody. But don't take my word for it...
The teaser is from the forthcoming The Browncoats Mixtape from Adam WarRock and KHill of the ThoughtCriminals. Not what I'm used to hearing from these guys at all - and it sounds so cool...
Oh, and speaking of WarRock? Feel free to head to the link above to check out (among all the other good stuff this guy unloads) the free singles he's been releasing this month, the latest being "Commedia Dell’Arte". He's unloading free stuff as part of a donation drive to help handle expenses for his upcoming tour with Random (aka Mega Ran), MC Lars and MC Chris. Go help a brotha out. And score some excellent free tunes to boot!
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