FAU student-run record label Hoot/ Wisdom Recordings has organized a diverse lineup of 5 bands for Green Room this Saturday night as part of the label’s ‘takeover’. Of the 5, only Raggy Monster and Phantomime have graced the GR stage (with a killer performances). To better educate the public and potential attendees on the entertainment, we have provided some streambable music by each of the bands, as well as a short blurb describing the act’s sound. Stream and enjoy.
Named after an imaginary best friend in Kindergarten, West Palm Beach quintet Raggy Monster not only oozes masterfully crafted melodies; they also have an opera-trained vocalist in Rachel Duvall that competes with Regina Spektor, minus all the annoying mouth effects.
Miami’s emerging live glitchdub act Sounduo return to Green Room, and this time are bringing a pro-grade production to accompany their already beloved original jams. Fresh off opening for Pretty Lights at The Fillmore in Miami Beach this past Tuesday and wrapping an extensive East Coast tour that took them as far north as NYC, the band is poised to be the next South Florida breakout act. Get it straight, their set is a live set; this is NOT A DJ SET. The remixes and tunes you’ll be hearing from Sounduo tonight will be created on the spot.
But more on the rave-friendly production. Check out this teaser video that showcases some of the colors you’ll be seeing tonight…..
No cover, 21+, $1 drinks all night, 10pm, DJs Renegades Of Funk, Lazer Wolf Kris, and Big Boy will be spinning throughout the night.
The first time I (DJ Mig) witnessed The Mission Veo’s wild frontman Jonny Veo perform was interestingly enough at a karaoke night (remember Green Room’s short lived karaoke night Babble On Sundays– yeah, I barely do either). Jonny chose The Darkness’ “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” and totally exposed every other karaoke performer, preceding or proceeding. For Jonny that night, the stage wasn’t merely a platform with a mic stand; it was a hot sand beach, and if he didn’t constantly move and rip his shirt off, he’d burn his soles and experience heat exhaustion. Unfortunately for my girlfriend and I, we were the sacrificial lambs that were slated to perform Everclear’s “Santa Monica” directly after, fated for the ultimate calamity.
I mention the above story, not only because it was a highly entertaining first encounter, but because it eludes to the frenetic energy that will occur tonight when Jonny and the rest of team Veo perform songs that actually have personal meaning. Not only will the mostly locally-based fivesome put on a memorable show though, The Mission Veo couple their performance with a quality dance-friendly brand of upbeat synth rock that mixes a touch of The Killers, a dash of a non-monotone She Wants Revenge, and the speed of newer AFI (more specifically the AFI side project Blaqk Audio). Check out The Mission Veo’s smash single New York Scum on Youtube for a sample of what to expect.
I asked the band a couple questions about the new EP and tried to get them to open up about their beef with Diplo. These were their answers….
What’s your favorite track on the new EP? Why?
My personal favorite track on the album is “Fate Loves the Fearless” and that has a lot to do with the color the melodies and notes evoke.
This year you’ve been featured in a prominent German music mag. Some of your bigger shows have been in Germany. How do the German fans compare to your American ones?
Our German fans are very loyal and a different breed of music enthusiasts. Music still matters overseas and is a way of life. We have great fans in the states and some of them fall into that category of music lovers, but I must admit that our music is better understood in other countries. With that said, there is no replacing a show in your hometown with the fans that supported you from the beginning. This is actually the toughest interview question I have ever answered, and I tried to be as honest as possible. The people that appreciate our music are very dear to me for many reasons, but the fact that they can listen to these songs and relate to the despondency or elation I was feeling at the time is very special to me.
You’ve played shows with some well-known acts, Dead Stars Assembly, Surfer Blood, Foxy Shazam, Paramore, The Sounds, and you almost replaced Diplo on the Sleigh Bells tour. Reveal a crazy story about playing alongside any of these acts.
Well there are plenty of crazy stories on the road but one that comes to mind is the time we where laid over between shows and got stuck on this island. There was this crazy bearded guy that was trying to genetically clone dinosaurs. Things got a little out of hand and one thing led to another, there was a great theme song, a cup of water and Newman from Seinfeld died. All in all we learned our lesson and now know that Jeff Goldblum is forever destined to be type casted as “that really smart guy” unless of course there’s a fly or any other kind of living creature in the room. There was also this one time when we where stuck on our tour bus and it couldn’t go below fifty miles an hour or a bomb would go off…. but no one wants to hear that story.
Although I’ve never participated in an actual freestyle hip hop battle before, I have seen the movie 8 Mile three times so I know a little thing or two about ‘conquering’ the mic. Here’s some of the tips I’ve compiled for a stunted freestyle battler:
1. WWFACD, What Would Fist-A-Cuffs Do?
Dave Chappelle’s hip hop alter ego Fist-A-Cuff’s is an icon to stumbling freestyle battlers everywhere. He taught us that when in doubt, ignore everything you learned in public speaking class: scream “uh” (not to be confused with Master P’s “ugh” which mimics bad hip hop). In addition to “uh”, throw in words like “what”, “yeah”, and make sure to throw in some improvised air punches. Most importantly though, make sure to look directly into our production manager Brian Big Boy’s eyes and say “turn my [mic] up”. Need a reminder of the skit, see below:
2. Look at the walls
Green Room always has plenty of interesting visuals to break anyone out of mental block. Take the below piece of titillating art by Madison Brody as a perfect example (censored by DJ Mig’s hand):
3. If all else fails, 8 Mile them
Can’t dig up dirt about the other contestant, look no further than Eminem’s character in 8 Mile. Rap about your own weaknesses. Start with your race, then your hometown (especially if its in Palm Beach), then your physical appearance, then some kind of sexual rumor that may or may not be true, then sky’s the limit.
Whatever you do, DO NOT GO ALL RUFIO ON THEM
In all seriousness though, tonight’s Brown Bag hip hop freestyle battle should be really entertaining. I’m sure all the contestants will be well-equipped for battle. I’d be remiss though if I said I wasn’t secretly crossing my fingers for a Fist-A-Cuffs tribute tonight.
Brown Bag Wednesday’s Conquer The Mic, $5 at the door, $300 prize to the top dog, 10pm doors, 18+
Director Wes Anderson’s films warp the viewer to another slightly altered world. Cliche I know, but it’s true. Whether the plot takes place in stop-motion fox hole, a shoreline of Electric Jellyfish Viet Cong Man O’ Wars, or in the house of a highly dysfunctional/ slightly incestual family, the audience always seems to get lost in the dark humor universe of quirky characters, timely music selections, and revenge-laden plot lines.
This Saturday night, local collective Subculture, the team that brought FTL this year’s Record Store Day at Radio-Active Records and the uber-packed Back To The Future event at Gateway Theater, will provide Green Room with an extreme makeover unlike any other; each corner of the venue will be dedicated to one of the director’s films: The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, The Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox, and Rushmore (no Bottle Rocket because that movie is boring as cuss). The entire venue will be dressed from head-to-toe with art from some of the brightest local and national artists. Upper Florida-based indie bands Levek and Saskatchewan will be performing on the GR stage, playing both songs from the movies and originals. Conceptual DJ sets by Jolt Radio and Andie Sweetswirl, custom screen printed tees by The Fine Print Shoppe, food by Riverside Market, Indie Craft Bazaar vendors, a photobooth, tons (I mean tons) of giveaways, and many more surprises. Just know that even if you’re not a fanboy of Wes’ movies, you’ll be floored by both the visuals and sounds in Green Room this Saturday.
Stream the event trailer below to furthur your level of excitement about this weekend….
Before I put the final period on this blog post, I’d like to mention my original blog post idea that just didn’t have the time to create. I share this only because I’d like to see someone do it…. 2 Live Crew (Fantastic Mr Fox Cuss Remix).
Subculture presents By Way Of Wes Anderson @ Green Room, performances by Levek and Saskatchewan, DJ sets by Andie Sweetswirl and Jolt Radio, tons of themed-artwork curated by Kristin Frenzel and Gina Bentivegna, 21+, 10pm doors, only $5 to enter
We chose 2 photos to compete in the contest for free Misfits tickets for this coming Friday at Revolution Live. Go to our Facebook page to vote for your favorite. Every week, we’ll be doing a similar contest for free tickets, so make sure you’re tagging @greenroomftl or hashtagging #greenroomftl in your Instagram photos.
I’ll write more about this show next week, but I thought everyone should see the animated version of the flyer design by Bleeding Palm (damn, Facebook for not allowing moving images #myspace4lyfe).
County Grind Night w/ Holly Hunt, Shroud Eater, & Slashpine. DJ sets by Mikey Ramirez of Radio-Active Records & Andie Sweetswirl, music-themed art show, doors at 10pm, $5 cover, $3 vodka drinks before midnight
This Friday night, Green Room and Revolution host 2 very different, but equally entertaining acts. Inside Green Room, Radio-Active Records and artist Strangeways have brought down New York duo White Ring whose M.O. consists of making unique haunted house soundtracks, more commonly known as witch house. Fusing a plethora of influences, the band will surely provide a unique experience for those in attendance. Fellow Brooklyn outfit Death Face will be opening with their brand of deathbass (?). I’m not sure if they made that genre up or not, but I like the sound of it.
Next door in Revolution, the always intense original Ruff Ryder (ride or die, muthaf**ker!) DMX slays Ft Lauderdale with a FULL performance (this is NOT a cameo, or just 2 or 3 song performance).
Being fans of both musicians, I figured I’d do my best Girl Talk impression and fuse the two together for the latest Green Room Original (Beach Day’s “Beach Day” Unofficial Music Video was the first). Enjoy….
Typically, a band name is simply just a band name. For instance, The Butchers (performing on 6/2) don’t really chop up beef for a living, and although the Jacuzzi Boys (performing on 6/16) may own a hot tub, they’re certainly not children. Despite the troubling trend of misleading band monikers, I’ve recently encountered some Ft. Lauderdale paparazzi photos that suggest that tonight’s headlining band REBEL is indeed rebellious. This leads me to a new series I like to call “REBEL Don’t Give A Sh*t!”…
