Tag: Santa Cruz

OH BEARS! – DRUGS AND BLASPHEMY (SELF-MEDICATE)

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Ok, folk music is not really Euphoric’s forte. However, local artists are. So when Santa Cruz folk duo, Oh, Bears! dropped their newest recording on Soundcloud I pounced on it like Yogi on a picnic basket.

For the past couple of years, Kyle Nosler (guitar/lead vocals) and Dan Lamothe (stand-up bass. You might also recognize him as the bassist for local punk outfit, Stellar Corpses) have rocked the local circuit as Oh, Bears! Steeped in dusty road stories, their music is more country folk than anything, but the energy and ethics of punk is undeniably there.

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“Drugs and Blasphemy (Self-Medicate)” is a perfect example. Anyone familiar with their live show will immediately recognize the tune, as it’s been a fan favorite for some time. It begins with a rich melody carried by self-conscious lyrics of someone in the throws of addiction and the fast, rock ‘n roll lifestyle. The somber opening quickly crescendo’s into a fast-paced, whirlwind chorus fueled by whiskey and chemicals. As the audiences head spins further and further down the musical self-medication, Lamothe and Nosler abruptly halted the tornado for the next verse. Trust me, when they play this live, even people who hate dancing find our feet moving without rhyme or reason.

Keep on the lookout for the next time they play and I’ll stay on top of the recordings for your euphoric listening. Crossing my fingers this will be the first of many new recordings to come in the near future.

 

Lulacruza – Comandante ( Kr3ture Remix)

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South American folk duo, Lulacruza, beautifully combines traditional, Latin American music with subtle, modern electronic beats to create a style that’s as current as it is ancient. Last year they released, Orcas, which featured a particularly rich and soothing track called “Comandante.”

Alejandra Ortiz’s shamanic voice travels through the listeners third eye while the Luis Maurette’s instrumentation transports anyone in ear shot to a different time and place. I know, sounds pretty fucking hippy, but I wouldn’t lie to you, my loyal reading public. It’s so good I immediately texted a close friend to check it out. Pretty exciting stuff.

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However, I was shocked to see Santa Cruz DJ, Kr3ture, had a remix of “Comandante” on Lulacruz’s latest version of Orcas Remixed: Vol. 5. mainly because why-the-fuck had I not heard about this?!? Afterall, I already knew Kr3ture had great taste in music and he proves it with the remix.

His “Comandante” captures the etheral spirit of the original but speeds it up for the dancing crowd. Well, for the chill dancing crowd at the end of the night, which is always my jam anyways (thanks weed!).  Ortiz’s lyrics haunt the background of the track while his active beats liven up mix. Sit down, straighten up and euphorically meditate to this dynamic new song.

 

DJ TRIPP – STRANGER HEATHENS

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What’s better than two awesome things coming together to create perfection? Peanut Butter and Jelly. Whiskey and Coke. Gatorade and hangovers. Ok, maybe that last one works but not in the context I meant. Whatever. Here’s another thing to add to the list of amazing combinations: Stranger Things and Twenty-One Pilots brought to us by the Bay Area’s own, DJ Tripp.

For those who never came back from that last acid trip over the festival season, Stranger Things is the take-off hit Netflix series. Set in the 1980’s the show follows a group of one-day-will-rule-the-tech-world middle school nerds who are trying to find their friend, Will, after he mysteriously disappears. Along with his friends, Will’s mother–played by Winona Ryder–is the only other person who also believes he is alive and joins the hunt. The series chases the viewer into a forest of twists and turns as a strange girl named Eleven shows up followed by Men in Black figures.

Oh, and did I mention the monster from a parallel universe that eats people? Yeah, there’s that too.

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Keeping with the kitsch 80’s theme, the soundtrack to Stranger Things is a tasty soup of hits from the decade and original synth music.

DJ Tripp–who is the resident DJ for 80’s and 90’s night at the Blue Lagoon in Santa Cruz every Thursday and Friday night and DJs Bootie at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco every Saturday–has quite the ear for music. While listening to the latest Twenty-One Pilots song, “Heathens”–written for the Suicide Squad soundtrack–he noticed it sounded eerily similar to the theme music for the Netflix cult hit. When he realized they were even in the same key, he set to work and created this fun remix.

I’ve been blasting it all morning while trying to figure out just wtf happened to Barbara.

 

 

LABRAT – LEMON TREE

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Fresh off the producer’s board and straight to your earholes we present Labrat’s latest track, “Lemon Tree.” The 29 year old Santa Cruz producer broke into the scene six years ago with his remix of XX’s “Crystalized,” which went viral on YouTube, earning him an international audience. In 2011 he dropped his debut EP, “Test Subject,” and has continued pushing the boundaries of the EDM scene to last year’s three song EP, “Break The Cage.”

“Lemon Tree” is Labrat’s freshest and most organically local material, named after the Santa Cruz medicinal strain turned brand. The track itself is a euphoric high of reggae with dubstep break downs and electronic build-ups. Floating over and throughout are mellow vocals reminding the listener to take a breath and chill in a cloud of the citrus goodness. Trust me, homie. You’re gonna wanna hear this shit.

Hit play on this fire track and prepare for Labrat’s sets at Northern Nights, this weekend on the–you guessed it–Lemon Tree stage,  and Organic Fest (August 12-14) in Wilseyville, California. Don’t be that person who won’t have anything to talk about with your crew because you slipped.

 

 

BASSNECTAR & G. JONES – “MIND TRICKS” FEAT. LAFA TAYLOR

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As Santa Cruz bass producer, G. Jones, gets ready for his What The Festival performance in Oregon tonight, we’re give YOU  a listen to his latest banger, “Mind Tricks.”  This four minute track finds Jones teaming up with two other NorCal alumni, Bassnectar and Lafa Taylor for an existential dive down the rabbit hole–well, earholes really. With piercing whistles and drugged-out, tripped-out loop vocals, it’s easy to see why this badboy already had over 40,000 listens in 72 hours.

This all begs the question: is “Mind Tricks” an indication of more tasty collaborations to come? With the festival season in full-swing there are a lot of chances for artists to meet-up over a few beers and discuss upcoming tracks. So, we’ll just have to keep our ears to the ground and eyes peeled because 2016 is only half-way done and a lot of our favorite artists are just getting started.

Make sure to check out our FREE, LAFA TAYLOR show at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz on July 2nd before he rocks the Northern Nights festival 7/15-17.

 

 

 

LAFA TAYLOR – LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE 2016 RECAP VIDEO

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In case you haven’t noticed, Los Angeles based producer and rapper, Lafa Taylor, has been murdering the music scene lately. Earlier this month he dropped not one, but TWO collaborations he’s featured on. One with major acts Beats Antique (“Killer Bee”)  and the other with a producer who got his start in Santa Cruz,  Bassnectar (“Speakerbox”). This comes after a string of constant touring and playing some of the year’s biggest festivals, like Serenity Gathering, Envision and Lightning In a Bottle.

For those who might’ve missed it due to poor decision making, Lafa just dropped a LIB 2016 Recap video, produced by Michael Daniel. Featuring the Starro remix of his and Aabo’s song, “Run To Me,” the two minute feature transcends the festival’s feelings of community and love.

Wide, aerial drone footage sweeps across the screen, landing on Taylor’s set that’s clearly a party for the audience and performers. Dancers, back-up singers and a stage full of fans, Lafa’s energy is clearly contagious as slow-motion shots capture the sea of smiles. Look closely and you might even see a familiar face or three.

Make sure to catch Lafa Taylor in July at the Catalyst Club in Santa Cruz and at the Northern Nights Music Festival in Cooks Valley between Humboldt and Mendocino Counties.

 

OLIVER TREE – SOULMOTHER, I LOVE YOU (FEAT. GETTER)

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H-O-L-Y SHIT. Oliver Tree–the Santa Cruz artist formerly known just as Tree– is K-I-L-L-I-N-G it!!!! A homegrown musician who expanded his creativity on darkly dreamy lyrics and odd sounds found in the strangest of places is fresh off a song collaboration and video–“Forget It”–with Bay Area DJ, Getter. Then, two days ago, the college-age, now Los Angelino, artist drops another introspective and banging track. “Soulmother, I Love You,” of course, featuring Getter.

The track features familiar Tree sounds–distant voices, introspective lyrics–combined with faster beats and more layers than he has stacked in the past. It’s a return to his electronic roots with the age and experience of someone who knows what their doing. Don’t believe me? Give it a couple of plays and try picking out all the different sounds. At under 3 minutes, Tree keeps the punk ethic while growing within his art.

We can’t wait to see what he does next.

 

THE PIRATE – BASS TRIBE’S SPRING BLING MIX SERIES 17

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It’s April, the sun’s out and that means it’s time to work on the beach tan during the day and pop bottles in the sweat-filled clubs at night. No party gets cracking without the right beats and Santa Cruz’s own The Pirate has just the mix to get those asses shaking.

Whether it’s spinning tracks at Emissions or setting up shows with Raindance Productions at clubs throughout San Francisco and Santa Cruz, The Pirate has worked ’round-the-clock in the Bay Area and Northern California EDM scene for a better part of the last decade. With a wide range of musical taste, the Pirate perfectly blends reggae, trap, hip hop, dub and even calypso into hard-hitting, one-of-a-kind tracks.

His latest mix is 29 minutes of slammin’ beats and intoxicating rhythms for the Bass Tribe’s “Spring Bling” series. From start to finish, Pirate pulls the fun and obscure together in a blend you can’t help but play over and over. One glance at that tracklist and it’s easy to see how he managed to gain over 1300 plays in under a week.

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Chef Red ft No Tv No Radio – King

Channels – OD (Original Mix/

Cavest – one to the two

Luude – Raichu

DZZ – Build Me

mac – skype

Thook – P P F

wize – the code (prod by ghosttown)

Suma – Matter (Final)

obei – Ruby

EVERLAKE – Turiyah

thefaded. – IXTLI

LOST CITY – LOST CITY x BUNNY GENERAL – SOUNDWAR [LIONDUB]

Popcaan – Where We Come From (The Heatwave Remix)

Busy Signal – Bad Longtime

miss bolivia – bien warrior (djcaution remix)

Chico Navarro – MIRA MIRA (Ghetto Vanessa Edit)

Busta Rhymes – I Love MY Bitch (NICK BIKE 1V EDIT)

 

 

Days 11-12: The Sanctuary of Home to Heisenberg’s Albuquerque.

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Sunday night I rode with Brian back to Santa Cruz and was overcome with a sense of elation when I saw my front door, and then my bed. I passed out somewhere around 3am, fully clothed, on top of my blanket, with the lights on. It was good to be home.

I knew the guys had to be out early on Monday and I didn’t’ want to be the flat tire of the group, so I woke up early to run some errands and grab some last minute items. I picked up a sack of California’s finest from my homie and met up with Brian for breakfast. The rest of my day was spent relaxing in Santa Cruz, writing, organizing and listening to Brian’s latest record scores.

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“This is why I pay so much for rent.” – Oog Skullbasher

As the hour grew later, I was frantically hitting the band up, hoping everything was alright. Apparently, my relaxing Monday was not shared with everyone.

For starters, Jesse was stranded in Oakland for several hours until my buddy, Greg, could give him a ride (thanks dude!). Then, Hulg was delayed in Santa Cruz and when everyone finally arrived at the RV rental shop, it took several more hours to sign everyone on, switch our stuff from one camper to another, and then drive back to Santa Cruz from Newark. By the time I got the call to meet up it was already 5pm and we still had to go to the band’s shop to dump unused gear.

“Oh, by the way,” Oog said as we were unloading a case, “I found a screw in the trailer tire, but I’m not too worried about it. The tire seems to be holding and I’ve done tours with 2 nails in those things. We just need to keep an eye on it.”

Aye Aye, Captain.

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We finally hit the road around 6pm, with an 18 hour drive to Albuquerque ahead of us. It was a long, dull, drive straight through the heart of Arizona; a state that has always hated me so I must, therefore, hate it. Every time I’m in its soul-sucking desert, something bad happens; whether it be a breakdown, or it’s too damn hot, or the Christian owned family restaurants tell me & my friends (all tattooed and wearing all black) that they’re closed for the day & refuse to serve us when the sign clearly says we have another hour.

And this time was no exception.

We stopped for gas outside of Flagstaff and I went into the station for some coffee and whatever morning processed junk I could stomach. After my purchase I remembered Oog’s warning about the tire and decided I should check on it.

“Holy shit. Uh. . .guys, You’re gonna want to look at this,” was all I could muster.

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It’s still good, right?

The trailer tire had blown and was completely stripped from the rim. It had been so extensive that some of the trailer paneling by the tire had started to peel away. Who knows how long we had been driving like that.

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Luckily, there was a tire garage only a few miles away, so we stopped there, only to be delayed another 90 minutes. Arizona is a terrible state, and it’s not just my bad luck. Iron Reagan also had a tire blowout and Gwar’s bus broke down for the second time.

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Breakfast of Champions at Brokedown Palace

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I will say this, AZ has some righteous retail.

When the tire was ready I looked at the clock. It was 11am and we had 6 more hours to go, just in time to make sound check if we were lucky.

And we were.

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Made it!

We pulled up to the Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque at 4:45 and did a quick dump of the gear. After setting up the merchandise, we even had time to shoot the shit with the venue’s crew and they pointed me and Jesse in the direction of some good food.

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And look! Immortal Technique signed my table! Keepin’ it real!

A common thread tying this whole tour together has been the savage response of the excited audience. Aside from the fact they’re seeing one of their favorite bands that demands such a reaction, by talking with the locals I keep hearing the same reasons for their excitement.

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A Band of Orcs, straight from Herntoadia

No matter what the state, the music scene is dying across the country.

Everywhere we go, kids and adults tell me how happy they are to have a real, rock show in their town. Hell, I even heard the crew say that at the House of Blues in Boise. They tell me that most of the touring acts are either hip-hop or electronic, and if it is a rock band, 9 times out of 10 it’s a screamo/metalcore/hardcore act. Adding lemon juice to the wound, one after another venues keep shutting down. Even if they kids have a garage band, there’s not much hope of ever playing anything bigger.

Albuquerque was no exception, full of crazed fans hungry for blood and biting at the bit. The crowd was as drunk and rowdy as the rest of the country with nothing to do.

GWAR’s set followed in the chaos. Earlier that evening the guys in Iron Reagan and Dave Brockie went out in a successful mission to find Walter White’s, a.k.a. Heisenberg’s, home from the series, “Breaking Bad.” As a result, Brockie was on his own high that night, shouting “Heeeeiiiissseeennnbbeeerrrggg!!!!” at the most random moments he could think of. And the fun didn’t stop there.

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The Eye of Gzoroth

When Oderus opened GWAR’s set, he dedicated it to “the people of the sun.” Knowing him to be a Rage Against the Machine fan and that his alter ego is actually a progressively thinking individual, this didn’t really stand out to me at first.

“Sure,” I thought. “When in Navajo land, dedicate the music to the natives.” Makes perfect sense, right?

As they got deeper into their set, it be came apparent Oderus had taken something before the set (at least to all of us) and clearly it was working. He continued his “Heisenberg” shout-outs, followed by laughter, rabid dancing and tirades about revolution and Breaking Bad.

“Clearly I’ve gone off script and my band is completely lost,” he chuckled after one particular rant about needing Heisenberg, “But that’s ok because so am I.”

I wasn’t able to capture much video, but what I did will be posted shortly.

The next day, Wednesday, was another day off, so by the end of the night in Albuquerque, the general consensus was to hit the road as soon as possible. There was another 881 miles ahead of us to  Houston, but we weren’t anxious to get there, we were just done with Tuesday.

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Blurry Reagan