Sound Check's Blog – September 2010 Archive (5)

Punk in Kenya, No Limits Moving Forward

It's no secret that American rock musicians looking to expand their sound frequently mine African music for inspiration (hello Vampire Weekend, The Talking Heads, and Paul Simon). And despite the recent popularity of African hip-hop and pop music, American audiences' knowledge of African rock tends to begin and end… Continue

Added by Sound Check on September 24, 2010 at 2:30pm — 8 Comments

The theatrical mastermind behind Dearling Physique

It's Depeche Mode meets Orgy, just cooler with wayyy more theatrics. Afro-punk met up with Dearling Physique last year during the 2009 national Afro-punk tour, when the up and coming band shared the line up with No Bird Sing, Krak Attack, and Saul Williams in Minneapolis. Since the last time we saw Dearling Physique, they've been in the recording studio and just finished their first full album,…

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Added by Sound Check on September 15, 2010 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Afro Punk Classics: Anabella Lwin

Recently deceased punk rock impresario Malcolm McLaren will forever be mentioned same breath, same sentence as his noxious late 70’s creation, the Sex Pistols. But it’s possible that nothing does more to solidify McLaren’s status as louche music Svengali than his discovery of Annabella Lwin, the young English bird of Burmese origin who McLaren discovered humming a Stevie Wonder tune while sorting colors at a London dry…

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Added by Sound Check on September 13, 2010 at 6:00pm — 4 Comments

Fuck, Shit, Stack up with Reggie Watts

The dude is hilarious. I've been on this Reggie Watts kick for almost four months now, ever since my friend sent me a link to his music/comedy video, "Fuck, Shit, Stack," parody of his view of hip-hop. Aside from the crazy hair that he said, "adds to his look," Reggie was wearing a fitted Montana t-shirt, suspenders, and blinged out triple rings when he met me at the Ace Hotel in…

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Added by Sound Check on September 7, 2010 at 8:00pm — 8 Comments

Peter Lord Keeps it All in The Family Stand

The late 80’s/ early 90’s were the best of times and the worst of times for Black Rock acts. On the one hand, rock bands of color had finally broken through a musical glass ceiling thanks to the success of Living Colour, Lenny Kravitz and Fishbone. On the other hand, those who controlled access to radio and record promotion were hard pressed to use up their resources on a plethora of alternative Black artists so sadly, some bands got lost in the shuffle. This is where…

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Added by Sound Check on September 1, 2010 at 5:00pm — 3 Comments