Root Down in the Shadow

What a trip down memory lane!  Through the years, I've been writing down all the concerts I've attended with openers, venue, friends etc.  I'm only half way through this trip of digitizing the list, but so enjoyable to go through this list.  So many firsts... arena show, club show, jazz, Buffett, Electronica, all kinds of stuff.  I've seen quite a few bands, and quite a few of them have been repeats.  This makes it very hard to pinpoint a favorite.  Instead of detailing one awesome concert that I went to of the too many to count shows, In this case, I want to weave a quick story for you.  Sit back & enjoy! I've seen Moby four times now, and it has been an adventure each time.  The very first time, was during just my second festival.  The first time, I went to a festival was Lollapalooza '94.  It was with a group of friends and we pretty much stayed on the lawn the entire time sitting back and enjoying some awesome bands ( George Clinton, Beastie Boys, Sma

Back in college, through a monthly compilation from CMJ NEW MUSIC MONTHLY , I first heard DeeJay Punk-Roc .  I'm not certain which track it was that caught my attention, but I had to get my hands on the 1998 album Chicken Eye .  Over ten years later, I still find the album fresh and unique.  The album is somewhat of a collection of tracks rather than a complete story or single composition, but it weaves themes of tweaks, scratches, excellent sampling and some horns.  In today's post, I'd like to review Chicken Eye for you, go over a few tracks from other releases and then lament his disappearance with you.  Chicken Eye. is across the board with slow rhythm numbers, to rap, to party songs.  'I hate Everybody' starts off the album.  I could totally picture this song coming out of the speakers, while watching a turntablist perform during a d.j. battle.  It's filled with tweaks & scratches, while sampling a girl saying "I hate everybody" presumably

Back in '96, I had a semester abroad in Bristol, England .  Bristol and it's surrounding area was booming with Big Beat and Trip Hop.  The "Bristol Sound" included  Portishead , named after the town across the way, Massive Attack, and Tricky.   Being young (19) and carefree at the time (I rarely had class, and even less was expected of me as a foreign student), made it extremely easy to see this scene in it's prime.  I was frequently being asked by a young french co-ed, named Julie to accompany her to the clubs to partake.  But, I was into this German girl named Annette , and I totally missed it.    ALL OF IT. The sounds, the scene, everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even know what I missed until a few years later.  I did, however, start my journey into Big Beat, Trip Hop and Electronica, a year later.  I had been receiving CMJ New Music Monthly for a few years at this point, and during my junior year of college, I was getting exposed on a montly bas