Chris Vos was an integral cog in the Milwaukee music scene for years before he changed course out to La-La Land, otherwise known as Los Angeles. When Vos was in Milwaukee he became well known for his incendiary voice and the overall passion that flowed from his music. Localplaylist.com wanted to catch up with him and find out what he is up to these days.
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Look forward to what 2013 has in store for Milwaukee’s hip-hop scene. Shedding this forecast is the release of The Jellyfish Brigade’s EP, “The Art of Being Pulled Apart.” It demonstrates the opulence of Wisconsin’s artists and their contribution to the hip-hop scene on a national scale. Download it for free here: http://jellyfishbrigade.com/album/the-art-of-being-pulled-apart.
“The Art of Being Pulled Apart,” feature’s three tracks that tactfully tap into a poetic lyricism, beat production, and art design. It brings about a form of storytelling that is rarely executed with such composure, honesty, and thoughtfulness. Joining its songs will be a full-length album, “Diving Lessons,” which will be released and performed this summer.
While hip-hop at large has given off the vague notion of an existence within its own cultural captivity, “The Art of Being Pulled Apart,” serves the listener with a refreshing break from the stagnation of the genre’s “swag” fixation. The Jellyfish Brigade is not only distinguishable for the sole fact that they offer something different. It is the sheer talent of its two members Lucas Dix and Jeffrey Acciaioli (aka The Great Mundane) that sets them apart.
Their two previous albums hold a particular enthusiasm that still shines in their current style. Carrying their newest work, is the polished sound of Jeffery Acciaioli’s production, using both organic recordings of the rivers in Oregon and the synthetized percussion found in the best of contemporary hip-hop.
In tandem is the lyrical prowess of Lucas Dix, making the EP catchy, yet meaningful. Its stories are personal, yet accessible to the listener. Packed into the bars and delivered at a thrilling rate are the depths of subtle tales with the wisdom of simple messages. With one phrase, the EP tells the listener that The Jellyfish Brigade will continue to evolve and uphold its past strengths: “The art in being pulled apart is how we pull it back together.”
Performing in We Are Your Father at Jam for Jam 2012
Craig Baumann seems to have a lot on his plate with being in four bands (Fat Maw Rooney [rumors abound about a reunion], Honest Monday, Moloko Shivers and We Are Your Father) and starting Jam for Jamaica as well as owning his own music store, Outpost Music, in Waukesha. At that point most people would probably rest on their laurels. Not Baumann; about 2 years ago he also had time to set up his first A Tribute to Otis Redding concert with a band full of local giants. Baumann of course handles the vocals. The band behind him is Ryan Ogburn on guitar, Marc Ballini on keyboards, Matt Turner on bass, Aaron Gardner on saxophone, Kevin Klemme on trumpet and Dave Schoepke on drums. Bryon Cherry of Localplaylist.com sat down with Baumann as he geared up for 2012’s Otis Redding Tributes which will be centered around the 45th anniversery of Otis Redding’s airplane taking a tragic plunge into Lake Monona on December 10th, 1967.Cherry: Why did you choose to do an Otis Redding tribute?Baumann: Someone gave me an Otis Redding four disk set in high school and I listened to it pretty religiously, one disk at a time. I did that for a long time. I never thought about doing a tribute show but I had a buddy who wanted to do a Sam Cooke tribute that never happened. That kind of sparked the idea. We still do a fair amount of Sam Cooke because Otis (Redding) covered a lot of it.
Cherry: How did it work out from there and how did you decide on musicians?
Baumann: I decided to do it about a year before the first show. I handpicked all of the musicians to fit the material. Everyone did a good job of playing like the original players.
1) How did you become a rapper?
I started out freestyling with friends at parties, etc… at some point after high school I began to take emceeing and the craft of writing more seriously. My friend and artist, Erica Heisdorf Bisquerra and I were thinking about starting an all female crew back in the day, but that sort of didn’t pan out. But, it was around that time that I linked up with Eric Mire who was producing another hip hop group in Milwaukee … and our vibe went so well together. He featured me on his his self titled album “Eric Mire” and one year later we released my first album, “Strawberry Cadillac” (HMP, 2008).
I met Milwaukee rapper Blax (previously known as Adebisi) while he was in the last stages of having his fade freshened up. He laughed with the barber and was in good spirits as he was throughout our meet up, with good reason to be happy. He recently re-planted himself back in Milwaukee, after a two and a half year sojourn to New York City. He took the knowledge that he reaped from Gotham City and he is now using it to stage an epic run of spitting his life’s story on top of head nodding beats. While kicking it with Blax for a few hours it became clearly evident that producing his music is the crux of his life.
Once his fade was lined up right we traveled back to his home near 35th and Villard; a gritty, no frills north side of Milwaukee neighborhood. We then went directly down to his basement which he has lovingly christened “The Dungeon.” Blax then immediately started playing some of his new music. Up first was collaboration with Brooklyn artist Nello. On a smoothed out Stevie Wonder-outro type sample Blax’s flow glided seemingly without effort while declaring bold wide open proclamations. When asked how he figures out his raps Blax simply replied, “It’s about catching a feeling. I quit writing because I’m moving at the speed of space.” From some rappers that last statement might sound boastful but from Blax it reads as a man who is passionately in pursuit of sounds and ideas.
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There is nothing quite like the first time I hear new music. With my headphones in place, I hit “play” and the anticipation of what’s to come is an experience like no other. John the Conqueror’s self-titled debut album grabbed me from the get go and held my attention straight through to the end. Released today, this gritty, sexy, blues-infused rock album is not to be missed.
This three piece is made up of cousins Pierre Moore (vocals, guitar) and Michael Gardner (drums) who hail from Jackson, MS, and bassist Ryan Lynn, a native of Philadelphia, PA, and where the entire band now resides. Their east coast tour kicks off with an album release party at the Legendary Dobbs in Philly on November 3. There aren’t any Milwaukee dates listed (yet), but I know we at Local Playlist would love to see them rock Brew City.
Check out their website for tour dates and more information on how to get your hands on this album. Believe me, your ears will thank you. In the meantime, here is a link to their single, “Say What You Want” to tie you over.
Saturday June 16th Antioquia is squeezing in their official album release event in Oakland CA between a busy list of tour dates. Recently on tour in the Midwest in May, Antioquia blew up the music scene in Wisconsin with performances at Jam for Jam in Sullivan, Club Garibaldi in Bay View, a gig in Madison and others. I first met Antioquia at Jam for Jam and it was an instant attraction. Viajero is the most recent album release for this spunky charismatic group (pronounced An-tee-oh-kee-ah if you were wondering). The band members all live in Oakland California when not on the road, touring and promoting their new album all over the nation. There is a little Milwaukee flavor in this album as lead percussionist Craig Miller is originally from Milwaukee and attended Riverside High School. Viajero was produced by Jesse Sheehan, a Milwaukee native whose name might be recognized by his past career with De La Buena on saxophone produced this album. Tracks such as “No Sleep Till Oakland” and “There’s A Man Jumping Off The Planet” feature a funky, cranky and rude baritone saxophone sound played on the record by Jesse Sheehan. Viajero is well balanced with a large emphasis on percussion as well as lyrics that relate to current events that are happening here in Wisconsin and around the world. This full drum flavor is well rounded and topped with sprinkles of chimes and powerful female vocals from lead singer Rachel. Their genre is self-created of tribal and electronic rock influence. The power of protest is most prominent in “No Sleep Till Oakland” with lyrics referring to one versus the ninety-nine percent, as well as in “Rage of Love”. Songs “Dibon” and “Kassa-Nisoro” are original to the culture in Columbia. Mentioning they have a large focus on percussion is only a understatement during a live show. They use traditional Columbian drumming styles picked up by living in the region for a couple years and set up in the front of the stage during shows, immersing themselves in the audience. Some of their other releases include Gringolandia, Live at the Uptown and My Piano Ate the Front Page of the San Francisco Chronicle, all have that fun blend of rock and traditional Columbian percussion. Seeing Antioquia live is a very fun and engaging experience. I highly suggest picking up Viajero and listening to it to understand what the buzz is about. Antioquia is a great group of people, talented to say the least. Catch them next time they are in your neck of the woods. There is a full list of tour dates on their homepage.
Also check out the music video for “Idaho” “Idaho” one of the tracks off Viajero.
I would like to introduce and bring more attention to a local band named Calliope. A few weeks ago they performed at my favorite east side bar, Yield. The show brought out a really good crowd and also more exposure for the band. I originally learned about the band through Vic Buell and Al Kraemer who documented our Local Playlist launch party back in February through their other project FUN TV. If I could describe Al Kraemer, I would say he is a 1970s teenage movie character, maybe one who played music with the Doors in some dream land at one point. If you put an organ in front of him you are likely to be ignored for a while but highly amused by his musical genius. Vic on the other hand is a dashing young individual who has the potential to take over the universe with one fell swoop. When Al and Vic invited me to come to the show, of course I was going to make it out. They have a sound that comes from various influences like Robert Plant, Jim Morrison, Bon Scott, Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, Jerry Cantrell, George Harrison, the list could continue for so long because whose to say where inspiration starts and stops. In order to get more first person information from the guys, I shared coffee and maybe a Schlitz Tall Boy with Al and Vic at Fuel Café, or Church as some people call it in Riverwest. The reason was to find out more about the beginnings of Calliope, best and worst show moments, and up coming events. So I asked them a few questions and recorded what they had to say…
Me: How long have you guys been together?
Al: Calliope has been practicing for about a year and a half now. However, before we started performing at bars we had a little band make over by adding John on bass and Eric on drums. These changes all happened before we played on the 18th of March 2011 for our first show.
Me: So currently who are the members that make up Calliope?
Al: Right now we have Eric Gomoll on drums and vocals, John Larkin on bass who also plays with Bread King’s Temple, Al Kramer on keys and harmonica, sax, vocals, and Victor Buell on guitar, and vocals.
Me: It is really important to have a practice space for any band, where do you guys practice? More of a basement thing or do you have a studio or warehouse?
Al: Right now we are practicing in a warehouse located on the West Side off of Green Bay Ave and Port Washington. The place is vacant and perfect for us to be as loud as we want but I feel like zombies might live there. (chuckle)
Me: Asking a band what their genre is, is never my favorite question, but I have to ask because I feel there is a mix between circus music and rock n roll, how would you describe the sound of Calliope?
Vic: What is hilarious is the other night the owner of Kochanski’s referred to our song as “Like the shrine circus on fire!” However I would like to describe Calliope music to be loosely coined progressive oldies only because it’s an oxymoron. We are making music based on the instruments we have available to us. The idea of paying homage to our rock n roll forefathers, while at the same putting our own spin on things. One thing someone said to us is how well we have evolved since the first recordings and performances. The real rock n roll is becoming apparent to the true madness that is brewing. I would say we were pseudo serious novelty rock before we were a full band and after Eric and John joined we were able to evolve into something a little different. To summarize, let’s say psychedelic blues.
Me: What are some of your favorite and least favorite gig moments?
Al: My favorite moment would have to be our most recent Yield show. All of the right things went wrong with the Yield show.
Vic: My favorite gig moment has to be when Andy Kochanski the owner of Kochanskis’ started playing the air accordion on stage with us and then all of our friends from Bread King Collective decided to get on stage and play together as well! As for bad moments, I would probably just say any time something little goes wrong, for example a guitar sting breaking during a song.
Al, Vic and I continued to talk for a little while longer at Fuel bringing up things like shows in the near future. Save the date for, May 5th with Ivy Spokes @ Stonefly Brewery, May 24th with The Small City’s @ Yield Bar, and last but not least the have a time slot on July 4th Cascio stage @ Summerfest. And one last thing, there is talk of a full length album release in the next few months.
-Dee$$
