Egadz!

Egadz! is an amazing producer/dj/performer as you just saw in the above video (if you watched it). He dwells is San Francisco and his beats are fantastic. He founded Kid Without Radio Records, which is a label that releases only electronic/hip-hop musicians with a live element to there performance. I have been enjoying his music for the past few years, and I thought that you guys might as well. On this video he is playing a beat from top to bottom, inside and out, live on an MPC midi controller. Egadz has excellent coordination, and speed on this device because he has been using the mpc pads for a long time undoubtedly. check him out at www.myspace.com/egadz
       
       

Lafa Taylor

      I am friends with a very innovative musician by the name of Lafa Taylor (above). We met in the 8th grade in Eugene, Oregon after I moved there from the Bay Area to live with my Dad. He has worked on numerous projects since then: producing all of his own records, i.e. Life Music, Hot Winter, and Different. He also has a clothing company called Vibration Clothing, and a record label called Make Music.
       I talked to him recently about the blog and he told me that his primary focus currently is a project featuring him, and Danger Russ called Bounce Brigade, here's a little video of them doing their thing:

I love there sound from what I have heard thus far. It both has grit and pounding bass, which are great things when they are combined. I have a lot of love for Lafa both as an individual and as a musician he has never hesitated to keep it real. He has always stayed true to music and to pursuing that dream. Also his clothing line is pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself. Here is some of that:

definitely pretty fresh. He also recently released A mix tape called Freak Funk Experiment Vol. 1, which on the first track the guitar samples are of none other than myself, Dan Millar playing, check that out right here:

      Also Lafa has released a record called ME.LT which consists of himself and an emcee known as Marv Ellis teaming up for one of the freshest hip-hop records to come out in a long time in my opinion. Furthermore, he produced my rap record almost 2 years ago now, which was a very fun journey to go on, you can hear some of those songs at www.myspace.com/danmillar. Lafa Taylor is a really good dude with a lot of talent, and I suggest you cop some of his music as soon as possible and put it in your i-pod for your next commute, or put it on your play list for the next house party you throw. You can get it at www.lafataylor.com

Homeboy Sandman: Real Emcees Still Exist

    I just went to the Homeboy Sandman concert this last Friday, and was blown away by this guys ability to perform. He did a great set at Southpaw, a venue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I hadn't been to a hip-hop show for at least a couple of years, and this emcees performing didn't let me down at all to say the least. He was vocal, rhythmic, and energetic as hell. I tried to get video and photos from the show on my phone, but they all turned out pretty bad. Here's one of the severely blurry photos I got:

    He is a musician who clearly takes his craft seriously, and doesn't hide behind anything when he performs. I loved the show, and I hope that anyone who reads this can appreciate him too. Here is a video that was released about him a while ago:

VIMBY - Homeboy Sandman

To me this gentleman is not just a talented emcee, he is someone who is real, and says what is real for him, which is a big deal in a world where being full of shit is the norm. I already had respect for him before I went and saw him play, but when I saw that he was able to do what he does on the record and bring it to life in the way that he did Friday, I realized that real emcees still do exist, and that hip-hop still has the ability to influence me in a positive way.

Drew Wittig's Artwork

     I have a friend named Drew Wittig who is a very talented artist. His work is expressive and abstract, it is gorgeously colorful, and exciting as hell. Drew and I met in San Francisco, through mutual friends, and recently reconnected here in New York City. He's also been helping me figure out how to do this whole blog thing, which is awesome. His work has changed and developed in some amazing ways since we first met in 06' or 07' (I'm not sure which year). Here's some pages from his sketch book, I love the vibrant colors in this first piece contrasted with black, white, and grays.  Also there is an awesome contrast between the real and the abstract, check it out:

        Here's another one:

   Again, I love the contrast between color, and black and white, it makes the colors pop out at the you. I also love the different characters he uses blending into abstract images, it gives the peace a sort of dream like quality. These pieces both really bring me in, and make me wonder like I did as a little kid, which is great. Wittig is a very dynamic artist with a mixture of different talents, i.e. photography, music, drawing, and painting. Here is a wonderful Polaroid photo he took of the Golden Gate Bridge (SF Giants World Series Champs 2010!):

 Here is a beautiful water color on paper, which he did more recently than the other works we have seen:

Krishnain Cosmic Battle

        As you can see Wittig has a very unique style. His works touch on the hidden parts of the human mind, the parts of ourselves that are less obvious to us in our daily lives. He also is someone who is not afraid to express emotion in his work. Wittig is an artist through and through, he is a person who is willing to try different things creatively, and thus to explore the unknown (in other words, Drew Wittig is a beast).

The Mars Volta EL-P Remix:

     This song is really good, and shows what el-p can do as a producer, it is great I found a video of him working on it in the studio in his studio in Brooklyn, NY. Here is that:


I am a huge fan of El's music, and I love The Mars Volta, and I just figured it would be something interesting for you all to hear. The song has great vocals, and the beat is expressive and different. Here is the song The Widow, off of El-p's We Are All Going to Burn in Hell Mega Mix 2:

It is hard to get this record since El-p only releases a limited number of these for die hard fans only, but you could probably download it off the internet somewhere (just kidding, NOT).

Darc Mind, we should have heard..

      This is a a hip-hop group who's wonderful record "Symptomatic of a Greater ill" never got released when it was recorded, in 97'. Nine years later Anticon records released it, now it's out and it reminds me of so much of the great hip-hop of that time, i.e. Blackmoon, Heltah Skeltah, Grave Diggaz, etc. etc. etc. Here's the song "visions of a blur" off of "Symptomatic of a Greater ill":

        On www.anticon.com they talk about this record being let go of by Loud Records. They say that this group would have been a part of the mid-late 90's hip-hop movement, which I don't doubt. None the less, it's a great record, and if you like hip-hop, check it out. Or even if you don't, give it a try. This group deserves more attention. It's just insane that a record this good could sit around for almost 10 years and never get released. I mean think about all the shitty records that get released every year on major labels, but something this great can just sit and collect dust for all that time. I'm glad it's here now though, and that I found it, I hope you like it too.

Das Racist!!!!

      These dudes are really funny, they sort of remind me of how my friends and I sound when we freestyle, but better and the beats are great. I found out about them by watching El-p's video below; he said that he was wearing one of their sunglasses during his interview. Here's their music video "Rainbow in the Dark":

   Something else that is great is that they are playing a show with one of my favorite New York emcees Homeboy Sandman this Friday, and Daedelus is playing a show this Thursday, both in New York, so maybe I'll get some footage or cool photo's from the shows and post them. I haven't been to a show in forever and now I am going to 2 shows in 2 days (two shows that I really want to go to). Here is Homeboy sandmans video for the song "Lightning Bolt":

I like these artists because they are clearly part of the weird rap world, and I've always known about music like this coming out of California, but to see it coming of New York right now is awesome. I mean I have always known it came out of New York, but it is just cool to see something this unique and current. Check out Das Racist at dasracist.net and Homeboy Sandman at www.homeboysandman.com
Here's the flyer for the show on Friday:

The Boogie Monster Dance Crew Live from the Bedford L stop

       I was on the L train tonight heading to Brooklyn and a group of kids started break dancing in the middle of the train to some beats on there boom box. I decided to say what's up to them and give them a dollar when we got off the train because they were so dope, and I wanted them to know that I support what they are doing. I told them that I am working on a blog and that I would like to get their picture for it, they said okay, and told me they are called The Boogie Monster Dance Crew. Here is the pic:

The dude on the left in the picture goes by Junior Soto, and the one on the right is named Jacob Navedo, but I didn't get the kid with the boom boxes name. Anyhow, it is wonderful to see that hip hop is still alive and well out here in NYC. They told me that I could take a video of them on my cell phone, and that I could post it on here. Here's the video that I took of them to the classic Slick Rick song, Mona Lisa:

El-P's we are all going to burn in hell mega mix 3

       I'm sure this record has already been blogged about a ton, but I couldn't help but say a few words about it because quite frankly it kicks some serious ass. Released this year this record is the perfect album to play on your i-pod when you are on the go. The tracks hit hard, and make you want to keep moving. The album consists of 16 futuristic instrumental tracks, and 4 different stems that are put there for producers to use, very cool. Here's El-p being interviewed by Damien Neva about the record before it came out:


The album artwork is something that I really liked and I found out that it was done by an artist by the name of Travis Millard. Here are some of his pieces:

I found a video of him talking to El-p about the album artwork on youtube and found it really interesting, so here's that:

On Jeremy Fish's Work

       An artist who I have been really digging lately is the artist Jeremy Fish, his work is fresh and he brings so many things into one piece that I find myself wondering how he does it. I emailed with him recently to find out how I could buy some original stuff, and he said that he has an art show in June at the Joshua Liner Gallery in NYC, and that some of his work is already being sold there currently.  He told me that the gallery is located at 548 West 28^th street, and that I should stop in there and check it out if I want to get something soon.

      I found out about Jeremy Fish because of the artwork he did for Aesop Rock’s album “None Shall Pass”. After that I started hearing about him all over the place and seeing his work on shirts and what not. This was when I was living in San Francisco. The pieces that I was seeing always had amazing detail, and they felt to me in some way like they were from a different time. They sort of reminded me of some of the illustrations that I had seen in some really old childrens books that my parents had for me when I was a kid, but with a darker sort of flavor. Anyway, ever since then I haven't stopped seeing his work around and appreciating it. 

     He takes cartoons to another level, and his images are amazing. His work is exceptionally imaginative, yet still keeps some very real qualities. I love his ability to draw the human hand, which for me has always been something very hard to accomplish. Check out these works, and if you want to see more you can go to: www.sillypinkbunnies.com

To Robin Hood of El Dorado

The Three Bummers

Remembering Those Adolescent Summers

Winter

The Good Owl

Deeply Rooted

Also, here is Fish painting a mural on Aesop Rock's "Pigs" music video:

                                      

    

Daedelus' Music!!!

      Lately I have been listening to a musician/producer/artist/highly creative individual who has a very unique style by the name of Daedelus. I originally heard his music in 2004 when I bought a record titled, “The Weather” which is an album that consists of the lyricists, Busdriver and Radioinactive, and the beat maker/producer Daedelus. At that time I didn’t know that Daedelus had solo music, or have any idea who he was. I had only previously listened to the 2 emcees who were on the album. Anyway, the mix of these three styles totally got my attention, and both lyrically and instrumentally I hadn’t heard anything like it, it was gritty, in your face, and sloppy in a really smooth way, sort of like how old school punk rock is, but not at all. I was living in Seattle when I got this record, and partying quite a bit, so it’s no big surprise that somewhere between there, San Francisco, and New York I lost it. However, it was always in the back of my mind as something that was really good.

      Anyhow, years went by as they do, and I saw Busdriver play some shows here and there. I would remember this avante guard trio, and the beats of Daedelus momentarily during these shows, however these thoughts were fleeting and I would eventually forget about the record that I loved so much in 04’ again.

      A long time went by and surprisingly enough in 2008 when I was in an electronic music class at City College of San Francisco we watched a video on a certain type of music style called circuit bending. The video was very cool, and in it the name Daedelus came up. Here is the video:

  

From that moment on he stuck out in my mind as someone who is definitely doing something exciting with sound. It is just recently that I have really started listening to his music (him as a solo artist that is), and what I am finding thus far is inspiring as hell.  I love the song and video for “La Nocturn” from his album “Friends of Friends Vol. 1” 2009. Its title and video are perfect for the song.  The video produced by Eli Stonberg is colorful and brilliant, dark and shiny, but I can’t do it justice with words, here it is:

The music in this song, however, is quite different than the first music of his I heard, more melodic, and atmospheric, while the latter was more gritty and low-tech. Here is a song off his 2002 album “Invention” titled “Muggle Born” which may sound a little more like I described his music earlier:

      What these two songs, and his other works show me is that he is an artist with a wide range of capabilities, and that he is willing to push the envelope. What I have found in listening to his music is that I never am sure what I am going to get, but I can be sure that it is going to be something innovative. Check him out at: www.daedelusmusic.com 

The art of "Super Ugly"

      I first came across this artist a few years ago when listening to some super dope underground hip-hop that a friend in San Francisco introduced me to. This artist is called Super Ugly, and he is the emcee of a hip-hop duo from the bay area titled Unified School District, the other half of which is a DJ named Ecto One.  Anyhow, their music stood out to me because it was something I felt like I identified with immediately; songs about life, video games, and an elephant man, among other things. Beyond that, they were unique, and actually sounded new, which wasn't my experience with much of the music that was coming out of the bay area at that time (circa 07-08). Here is a little video of them to give you a better idea:




      I  always liked the art that I saw on the bands website, on their flyer's and on their CD's, and wondered who was making it, but that was about as far as it went, just wondering, then I'd lose focus and wonder about some other weird shit probably, but that's beside the point. One day I walked into Shoe Biz on Valencia street in SF and I saw some purses with crazy characters painted on them in what looked like acrylic paints, the characters looked strikingly similar in style to the work I saw on USD's records, and on the price tag it said they were by Super Ugly who I remembered was the rapper from the group. I looked him up online and the rest was history, his work was dope, and still is.  And what I have found through recently emailing back and forth with him is that he is a really down to earth person.  I actually think I am going to buy some original pieces from him for our new apartment in Brooklyn pretty soon.
      A lot of what I like about his work is the playfulness. I think a lot of people from my generation can relate to what he is doing because of both the content, and the style of his characters. Cartoon characters were something that I would get lost in as a child, as I'm sure a lot of us did. His characters remind me of that time in my life, but they have this other side to them which makes them harsher and more jaded. They are in my opinion "adult cartoons", going back to the Fritz the Cat and Heavy Metal tradition, but of course more modern then those, and totally on their own tip. Anyway, here are some of his works and you can find him online at: thesuperugly.com

take us to your sideshow

balloon boy

3 bad men

fett the ruler

Misshapen Musings starter package

    Misshapen Musings really is a look at things that I find interesting and that I think you might find interesting. To describe myself in short, I am someone who moved to New York from San Francisco about 6 months ago to change my life. I currently live with my little lady on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, however, we are moving to the exceptionally "hip" neighborhood of Greenpoint/Williamsburg at the start of next month, so get ready for some pictures of people who think they are way cooler than you. Stay tuned and I might eventually post something that's worth a shit for you to read, but don't hold your breath. Oh, and here's a robot.