Remix Album you MUST have

RELEASE BY STEVE AOKI YOU SHOULD OWN

PILLOWFACE AND HIS AIRPLANE CHRONIKLES

Steve Aoki has done it again this time a full length release of his remixes and the remixes of his friends... I love Steve Aoki, as a person, I love everything he does and everything he represents (not to mention we went to the same college, University of CA, Santa Barbara). I admire him so much, he is so passionate about everything he does and works VERY hard at it. He's literally in 5 states or more in one week, I never knew half the things he does were humanly possible. (see my blog on him here).

I randomly went to the music section at Target and I was as happy as a small child going into Toys 'R Us seeing their favorite toy when I saw this I remember seeing it when it was released in December and knew as soon as I saw a hard copy I would have to grab it. I ran to my car (literally, I actually ran to my car) and popped this in there and had a few minutes to scan through each song while on my way to The End for a show, and haven't stopped listening to it since. It is jam packed with all my favorite electronic artists, as well as some indie rock favs, and even Franz Ferdinand, all remixed by the best of the best. Everyone from Justice, to Bloc Party, to Klaxons to Peaches are on there featuring remixes by MSTRKRFT (one of my favorites), Soulwax, Erol Alkan, and Steve himself (Weird Science).

*Track listings below
There are of course the Justice gems on there that you would have already heard had you listened to the tracks on their album. The MSTRKRFT remix of D.A.N.C.E has made circulation in the digital world already, but nonetheless it's my favorite way to listen to this track. There is also the Durrdurrrrr Re-Edit remix of Waters of Nazareth is by Erol Alkan with Pase Rock's Guest Drop. And then there's Steve Aoki's Weird Science remix of HELICOPTER (Bloc Party) which features Peaches responding to Kele's "running on" "some things will never be different" with things like "you want it, you want it all," "go further further." I LOOOOOVE this remix so much I could listen to it over and over and over and over. What a great song to begin with and this is a whole new song. Two amazing ways to listen to Helicopter. I'm still thinking about Kele spinning at the Bloc Party after party after their show here in town back in summer. I also love Peaches "Boys Wanna Be Here" which is already a great tune but has the greatness of Steve Aoki behind this remix. "Boys wanna (boys wanna).........girls wanna (girls wanna).......boys wanna, girls wanna...." DO YOU WANT TO is instrumental and its intro is a blend with the song with a very familiar song we all know. The verse transitions into Eron Alkan's Glam Racket Remix with bits of the melody tied in between. BRING IT ON remix with Todd Fink guest drop is sooooooo f'in cool, this is a fun one. LA Riots remix of Low Life by Scanners is my favorite. I am of course biased because DJ Dan of LA Riots is a friend of mine and I generally love all of their remixes, but I think this one is really appealing. It sounds like a totally different song. Low Life is a great indie tune and it has been transformed into electronic dance gold. I got to see LA Riots at SXSW. (they spun at the Vice Party opening for MSTRKRFT Saturday, March 15 302 E. 6th St. 11:00 p.m.). Their myspace has free downloads.

Long story long: if you are a fan of electronic remixes you don't want to let this one pass you by. Buy it on iTunes here. $9.99 album only (believe me it's worth it)

Buy it on Amazon here. $14.99

Track Listings:

1. REFUSED New Noise
2. JUSTICE Waters Of Nazereth (Erol Alkan's Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr Re-Edit) w/ Pase Rock's Guest Drop
3. DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? We Are Rockstars w/ Spank Rock & Amanda Blank's Guest Drop
4. SERVICES Element Of Danger (MSTRKRFT Remix) w/ Har Mar Superstar's Guest Drop
5. GOOSE Bring it On w/ Todd Fink's Guest Drop
6. LARRY TEE & PRINCESS SUPERSTAR Licky (Work it Out) [Herve Goes Low Remix] w/ Santogold’s Guest Drop
7. GREEN VELVET Shake and Pop w/ Kid Sister's Guest Drop
8. KLAXONS Gravity's Rainbo (Soulwax Remix)
9. MYSTERY JETS The Boy Who Ran Away (Riton Re-Dub)
10. PEACHES Boys Wanna Be Her (Weird Science Remix)
11. DATAROCK Fa-Fa-Fa w/ Steve Bays' Guest Drop
12. YELLE Je Veux Te Voir
13. FRANZ FERDINAND Do You Want To (Erol Alkan's Glam Racket Remix)
14. KIM Wet 'N Wild w/ Mickey Avalon's Guest Drop
15. BLOC PARTY Helicopter (Weird Science Remix feat. Peaches)
16. JUSTICE D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix)
17. SCANNeRS Low Life (L.A. Riots' Remix) w/ Uffie's Guest Drop

Great event on Thursday

Join the Nashville community for this great event Thursday night for Pico Vs. Island Trees, Tommy and the Whale, Cassino, Ricky Young, and the Features. Most importantly come out to support the cause of this event; to raise money for a young victim of cancer and by doing so bringing awareness to the community with support from American Cancer Society. There is a minimum donation of $10.00 which is a small cost to see some of the best bands in town and help a young local fight her disease.

Imagine being 23 years old and hearing the words: "You've got squamous-cell cancer".
Carolyn Benedict had the world at her fingertips when she was struck with the news. In 2007, She had a canker sore in her mouth that didn't seem to go away and immediately went to get it checked out. The mass in her mouth turned out to be squamous-cell carcinoma. Strange for a girl who was healthy and happy as a clam and never smoked a day in her life. She underwent major surgery on her mouth and on her neck, where the doctors removed her lymph nodes as a precautionary measure. The surgery was a success and they believed they removed all of the cancer cells. The world is at her fingertips once again.The current problem lies in her financial situation. At the time of her diagnosis, Carolyn was working as a coffee barista at Fido and did not have health insurance. Because of this, she's been stuck with an exorbitant amount of medical debt, and you can only imagine what kind of burden this is on a young girl just starting her adult life....
for more please visit the myspace page

With the help of a strong community of caring individuals in the music industry here in Nashville, F**K Cancer Benefit Concert came to fruition.

The purpose of the F**K Cancer Benefit is to raise money for Carolyn's Medical Fund and entertain you with some of Nashville's finest talents. There will be a silent auction full of goodies for people to bid on, t-shirts, posters, information about cancer provided by the American Cancer Society. A Reverend at Brentwood United Methodist, Carolyn's childhood church, set up a fund for her. People can make additional tax-deductible donations (in addition to the $10 minimun for the show) to the BUMC Ministerial Discretionary Fund WITHOUT Carolyn's name on the check so she won't be taxed for it. The church will send the money straight to Vanderbilt to cover her medical bills.

F**K Cancer Benefit
with performances by: Pico Vs. Island Trees, Tommy and the Whale, Cassino, Ricky Young, and the Features.
Thursday, March 27th
Mercy Lounge
100 Cannery Row,
Nashville, TN 37203
18+
9pm, minimum donation of $10


A message from the organizers of the Benefit:
"Seriously ya'll, together we can F**K Cancer."

Shows this week

*3/27 F**k Cancer Benefit with The Features, Tommy & the Whale, Ricky Young, Cassino, Pico vs Island, Mercy Lounge 9pm, $10 min donation
*3/28 Disappointed By Candy, Rutledge 8pm
*3/28 KS Rhoads, Erin McCarley 12th and Porter 8pm
*3/28 Luna Halo, Mercy Lounge, 8pm
*3/29 AutoVaughn, Brenn, The Lonely Hearts, The Effects, Mercy Lounge 8pm

Move to the Music tomorrow at the Exit/In

.....with American Bang, The Jane Shermans and Cougar Fight

American Bang just got back from kicking everyone's ass in Austin for SXSW '08. They played NINE times and haven't stopped since. High school friends from Nashville, TN, American Bang (formerly Bang Bang Bang) is in your face, balls off the wall (they literally jump all over the place), rock 'n F-in roll. With AC/DC riffs and Paul Stanley meets Chris Robinson vocals, Jaren Johnston is guaranteed to give you weils and yells to his songs, and Ben Brown will blow your mind with Angus Young style riffs and blistering solos. This band will remind you of all the rock n roll bands you love and make you feel like you're right here in 2008.

Their October release EP Move to the Music (Warner Bros.) is available now and currently doing some major damage.

Playing with American Bang is The Jane Shermans who will be celebrating their new release.

American Bang
The Jane Shermans
Cougar Fight
Exit/In
9pm, $8

Buy tickets here

SXSW '08

Oh Austin, it's always so sad to leave you at the close of SXSW.

SXSW 2008 has officially come to a close and I'm without a voice and barely alive but smiling BIG.

Great bands, great parties and great company. Since I left LA in summer for Music City, USA, I haven't seen any of my friends and old co-workers from LA. Maaaaaan I missed my people.

Friday was my best day. One of my favorite annual events is the BMI Accoustic Brunch at the Four Seasons. Almost at delirious from the few nights before, but yet just getting started, you trek over to the Four Seasons for great acoustic performances (this year was Brooke Waggoner, Eldar, Kaki King, James Yuill, Rachel Goodrich, Cecil Batista, Pricilla Ahh, Laura Marling, Jacol Jeffries) for a full breakfast, fresh juice, and bottomless mimosas and bloody marys! Need I say More? Plus nearly everyone goes to this so it's a great way to get with everyone at one place (when it's usually impossible to hook up with people). When we had a good mimosa buzz going and saw a few great performances, we walked out to Stubbs for the annual SPIN day party for more free drinks and great performances. We stayed for most of the party to see The Whigs, The Raveonettes and Vampire Weekend.

I had the treat of seeing a bunch of friends from my Geffen days at the Suretone Party where one of my favorite indie bands The Black Angels played along with Meriwether, Eastern Conference Champions and Shwayze. I also caught the Deadly Syndrome at the Dim Mak party and popped into the ASCAP Rock Showcase. There was a Perry Farrell sighting at Bank of America and a long conversation about our hometown and all the annoying yuppies that have chosen to reside there with Hermosa Beach punk rocker/American Punk Hardcore founder Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks) at the Little Radio showase at Red Eyed Fly. Pretty awesome to talk about my hometown in Austin with him. Of course as a founder of the hardcore scene in the south bay he had a lot to say about how much our little beach town that could has drastically changed with acquiring people from all over the country and turning it into an upscale conservative beach community. Yuck. The Alternative Press party is always a good place to get good swag (skateboard deck, Vans wallet, headphones, I needed a new deck so this was perfect), and see some tattooed, peirced punk rockers. I got to chat with my good friend Mike of MXPX and met some people from the South Bay punk scene.

I also made sure to be in attendance at one of my favorite bands from my current neck of the woods: Cage the Elephant. I knew when I looked out into the crowd that there were people who had never experienced their show and were about to witness something beyond what they would expect in the least bit, which is exactly the point, you never know what to expect at a Cage the Elephant show. Halfway through their first song Soil to The Sun the band realized Matt's vocal mic cable was out and rather than making a fuss about it, he said "fuck it" and kept singing. He proceeded to walk through the crowd over to the bar, it begins. He climbs the bar and up the balcony, facing the crowd and holding on from behind. He mouths "will you catch me" to those below and jumps and starts crowd surfing. Now imagine that this place is smaller than The End with about 10 feet between the end of the stage and the bar. Whenever Matt starts to feel his music run through his veins he is unstoppable and purely AMAZING. He even stepped outside to sing for the people outside looking in who seemed to love it. You always leave satisfied at a Cage the Elephant show.

Another party I enjoyed was the Chop Shop Records party sponsored by Atlantic Records. Since I had spent some time at Universal Music Publishing Group in the Film/TV Department, this was a reunion party for me. Got hooked up with my old colleagues and boss from UMPG and back in touch with some great music supervisors (including the amazing one who founded Chop Shop). I stayed for The Republic Tigers and Yael Naim and waited for everyone to cheer at the sound of the song from the current Apple Air campaign, had a few beverages before leaving for the Filter Magazine Cedar St. Courtyard to see Sea Wolf and Levi's Fort Fader House to see Birdmonster. By the end of the night I even got to hang with Rolling Stone Editor Joe Levy who is now the Editor-in Chief for Blender Magazine. My week ended at the Vice Party where my friend DJ Dan of LA Riots opening for MSTRKRFT which was grrrreat.

Most interesting performance was from electro-dub Santogold based out of Brooklyn, NY. They played at the Levi's Fort FADER Magazine house (click here for a photo gallery from the Fader house) around 6 pm on Saturday. There were three girls up front, one singing, one on each side of her dancings, with one white guy in the back line spinning. The two girls on each side of Santagold's Santi White alternated between standing completely still like soldiers (see video below) to breaking into little dances to the alternating beats of the DJ. Santi White was wearing purple velvet pants with a multicolored and purple top, short hair and big sunglasses. The Two girls up front were wearing sailor style outfits with berets and collared shirt suits. There was everything from reggae, dub, new wave, hip hop, jamaican and electronic incorporated into their performance. Electronic spinning with hip/hop beats mixed in. This was the most unique and entertaining show of the whole week. The Fader House was over capacity at this point and I had to get in especially since my friend DJ Dan of LA RIOTS was spinning in between sets so I walked over to exit area and the dude let me in.


Santogold - Video for "L.E.S. Artistes"


mp3 - Creator
mp3 - Shuv It feat. Spankrock


From myspace-
Santogold is a survivor of a half-century worth of living along musical evolution’s most cutting edges. The only live act that can boast of having out-aged Barbara Bush, having outlived Mr. Miyagi and out-styled Liberace, Santogold is here with future flavor. Already receiving weighty club rotation and airplay in urban Afghanistan and downtown Beirut, Santogold is the first act of the century to boast a post-war following on the International Space Station Mir. Following a live performance broadcast from three thousand miles off the Cape of Good Hope last June, inmates at Leavenworth Penitentiary received Santogold with a celebratory confetti parade. Just another first for the modern super group that knows no bound. Composed of absolutely no members, Santogold is also the first musical outfit capable of claiming the planet’s broiling collective consciousness as their front woman. Longtime collaborator, singer and songwriter Santi White says of her work with Santogold, “We began trying to write pop songs to sell, which made us depressed, so we started writing songs for ourselves instead.” The results of that self-centered conceit is the songwriting work heard for the first time on the full length Santogold album, as yet untitled, to be released in 2007 on the Lizard King label. As unmastered tracks leaked over the internet this past November, the request lines of radio stations from Miami to Hanoi began freezing with a flood of calls from listeners eager to hear the new Santogold sound over their frequencies. From his radio show in the United Arab Emirates capital city of Abu Dhabi, Michael Jackson (the King of Pop) played what Santogold snippets he had been able to pirate from a bootleg MySpace page dedicated to the group. Days later, BBC Radio One reported that the unreleased Santogold debut was heard blasting from the iPod shuffle of Libyan ruler Moammar Qaddafi as he entered an international summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Recognizing the urgent need to address the uproarious buzz, Santogold released the following statement through their label reps at Lizard King: “The response to our unmastered songs has been both premature and phenomenal! We were happy to hear that the children of Darfur have found hope in our melodic interpretation of life on the battlefield of love! We’re hoping that each and every 20-something from downtown San Francisco to central Mumbai will also learn something from our work! And to the people dropping no-knock fire on old ladies in Atlanta: shame on you! Santogold ain’t with that shit!” The trajectory of such early successes leading to newfound political clout is nothing new for Santogold, whose debut album, though half a century in the making, is sure to rock glass pipes from the Lincoln Memorial to Buckingham palace. The flavor of the gold is guaranteed: Santogold!


Most of the bands I saw at SXSW '08
The Deadly Syndrome
The Wombats
Color Revolt
Birdmonster
Franki Chan
Steve Aoki
Spindrift
Working For A Nuclear Free City
Gliss
The Black Angels
Meriwether
Eastern Conference Champions
Swayze
Grand Ole Party
Brooke Waggoner
Nada Surf
Vampire Weekend
The Raveonettes
The Whigs
American Bang
Cage the Elephant
Castledoor
Republic Tigers
Yael Naim
Sia
Santagold
Sea Wolf
Spankrock
LA Riots
Liam And Me
Action! Action!
Mstrkrft
DJ Z Trip
The Little Ones
Henry Clay People

Until next year.....

Hope I can make all this tonight

1:00 The Republic Tigers FILTER Cedar St. Courtyard 208 W. 4th ** (below)
2:00 The Black keys La Zona Rosa 612 W. 4th
2:30 Low vs. Diamond Filter Cedar St. Courtyard 208 W. 4th St.
3:00 Grand Ole Party Levi's the Fort FADER HOUSE*** (below) 204 E. 4th St.
The Ravonettes Little Radio Red Eyed Fly 715 Red River
3:15 The Duke Spirit Filter Mag Cedar St. Courtyard 208 W 4th
Meiko Viper Room Orchid 405 E. 7th
3:30 Color Revolt Paste/Stereogum Volume 612 E. 6th Free gift bags
4:00 Be Your Own Pet Filter Mag Cedar St. Courtyard 208 W 4th /
Hello Stranger, Girl in a Coma HUNNYPOT MoMo's 618 W. 6th
4:00-7:00 Alternative Press party Congress Ave
4:15 Birdmonster Levi's the Fort FADER HOUSE
4:30 Franki Chan iheartcomix BEAUTY BAR 617 E. 7th
& 4 more electronic djs after
4:30- 6:30 Orchard's Happy Hour Driskill Hotel 604 Brazos St.
5:00 Spindrift little Radio RedEyed Fly 715 Red River
5:30 The Black Angels little Radio RedEyed Fly 715 Red River
7:00-9pm Ben Harper, American Bang, & special Guests Stubbs (might not be right at 7 find out)
7:30 Greg Laswell The Parish HOTEL CAFE in Austin 214 B E. 6th
8:00 Kate Havenvik The Parish HOTEL CAFE
Eleni Mandell The Ale House 310 E. 6th alley
9:45 Working for a Nuclear Free City iheartcomix Beauty Bar backyard 617 E. 7th
10:00 Rocco Deluca The Parish HOTEL CAFE in Austin 214 B E. 6th
Man Man Cedar St Courtyard 208 W. 4th
11:00 Meiko The Parish HOTEL CAFE in Austin 214 B E. 6th
My Morning Jacket Austin Music Hall 208 Nueces St.
11:30 Flyleaf (Songs pub) La Zona Rosa 612 W. 4th
11:40 The Presidents of the USA Cedar Door 201 Brazos
12:00 Serj Tankian La Zona Rosa 612 W. 4th
Perry Farrell Punaga 409 Colorado St.
1:00 Darker My Love BD Riley's 204 E. 6th
The Octopus Project Emo's Main 603 Red River
The Wombats Maggie Mae's Roof 323 E. 6th
NOFX Red 7 611 E. 7th
Gliss Spiro's 615 Red River
Halifax Spiro's Amphitheater 611 Red River

Where I'll be in Austin

SXSW '08 here I come baby........

Wednesday
Little Radio
The Fader
Viper Room
Pure Volume
Aussie Hoe Down Under
Party at the Moon

Thursday
Bay Area Takeover
British Music Expo
Filter Mag Showdown
Great Tailgate
NME
The Fader
Under the Radar
Paste/Stereogum
Hunnypot
Viper
PureVolume
Alternative Press
iheartcomix
Sink or Swim
Little Radio

Friday
BMI Acoustic Brunch
Filter
Next BIG Nashville
Australian BBQ
Viper
Paste/Stereogum
Little Radio
SPIN Mag
iheartcomix
PureVolume
Bug/Windswept
6 Degrees of TX
Blender House

Saturday
Viper
SF Showcase
Filter
SXSeattle
ChopShop/Atlantic
Feedback
Dim Mak

...and many more....

holla! (always makes me laugh to say that)

If you missed Ricky at the 5 Spot last week....

....you can catch him in Austin at two SXSW showcases both on Thursday, March 14th

If you were there, you had the pleasure of hearing Ricky's beautiful songs, including; Sing me A Song, Acoustic Guitars, Suitcase Afternoon, Queen, Tom Petty's American Girl, and a few others. People screamed, people danced, people sang along, and everyone had a smile on their face. Ricky's show is guaranteed to make you happy. Even when he introduces himself as Jeremy Lister "thanks for coming out."

If you missed the show, catch Ricky in Austin:

Friday, 3/14
Official SXSW Next BIG Nashville Day Party
12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
@ The Tap Room at Six Lounge (114 W. 4th St.) and also the

Friday, 3/14
Red Gorilla Music Festival
6pm
@ Nuno's Upstairs (422 E 6th St)

Later this month back in HonkyTonkville:
March 27,
F**k Cancer Benefit Concert
with The Features, Tommy and the Whale and more,
8pm
Mercy Lounge

Brooke Waggoner @ 3rd & Lindsley
TONIGHT
w/
Jeremy Fisher
Chrisopher Denny
10:00 pm

Brooke Waggoner

If I could choose the soundtrack for my life….it would definitely be Brooke Waggoner’s music. It’s brilliant, charming, melodic, beautiful, sweetly unassuming in moments and epic in others. It satisfies that longing in your soul for something ‘nostalgic’ and ‘other’ while being completely fresh & new. Discovering Brooke’s music is like finding carefully wrapped 8mm reels of film in your attic…and as you begin watching it for the first time you realize it’s of your parents when they were young & in love—there’s something so special and significant and magical about it. To listen to Brooke's music or find out how you can seize her latest EP Fresh Pair of Eyes, go to http://www.brookewaggonermusic.com/ or www.myspace.com/brookewaggoner .

And then there’s her live shows…I am proud to say that I’ve been ‘in’ on the Brooke Waggoner secret back since 1 year ago when she started playing shows here in Nashville…I've caught everything from her simple 3 piece band to a modest crowd show at the Basement to her sold out CD release show at 3rd & Lindsley (complete with a full string section--whoa!) to one of her latest shows at Mercy Lounge where we literally missed her set because the line was so long to get in! Each and every single show is incredible—it takes the unique sounds from her record and brings it to a whole other level.

If you have not yet discovered & experienced the treasure that is Brooke’s music ….then do yourself a favor and do whatever it takes (run, hitchhike, scooter, MTA….or considering our freak snowy weather this weekend….snow shoe, cross-country ski) to go to her show at 3rd & Lindsley tomorrow (Saturday, March 8th) at 9pm with Jeremy Fisher & Christopher Denny. I promise you will not be disappointed…in fact you’ll wanna thank me…you can send all thank you notes & gifts to me by contacting the lovely peeps who run this site. –Miss Kat

Virgin Blogger

I'm a virgin blogger.

I'm just gonna put that out there.

I'm not gonna pretend to be experienced in the ways of blogging--this is my first time.

I've got friends though who are...........quality bloggers that is........don't get the wrong idea.......they're not blogging whores. I don't read their blogs everyday (who's got that kind of time?!), but when I do, their brilliance, profundity, and humor blow me away and honestly, they make me say, "This is freakin insane! I can't believe I get to be friends with this person! "

Which leads me to a little secret I'm gonna let you in on: I don't know how it happened (I know it's nothing I did to deserve it), but I somehow get to meet & know some of the most brilliant, witty, inspiring, and amazing people currently on the planet. I know you're thinking, 'Yeah right, not possible, everybody says that!" but I'm tellin' you, if you spend a week with me, you will run into these people and you'll believe it. They are the most ridiculously talented, creative, generous, funny, deep, compassionate, and wonderful people you will ever meet.

(I would go on and on, but they're really humble too, so I know this'll embarrass them that I'm even saying stuff like this in reference to them but who cares...this is a public service announcement...people need to know the truth.).

In any case, don't be jealous. All this can be yours too--I don't keep them all to myself. I'll freely share them with you. They can be your friends too (well, I guess they'll need to decide that for themselves, but knowing them, they're pretty open & warm-hearted, so you've got a really good chance...

So anyway, enough of my ramblings--let's reveal who a few of these people are so you can start reading their awesome blogs & figuring out your social strategy on how to become their friends too!They are....drum roll please.......in random order:

Allie Dearest http://alliedearest.blogspot.com

Cameron Conant http://www.cameronconant.blogspot.com/

Joseph Paul Padgett http://josephpaulpadgett.blogspot.com/

Isaac Marion http://www.burningbuilding.com/

Pam Stone http://tdbpamstonejustsaying.blogspot.com/

You can thank me later. :)

Love,

Miss Kat

Steve Aoki

STEVE AOKI: The King of the Hipsters. there is NO one like him

What doesn't he do? Where HASN'T he dominated? What deejay does not want to be him? What hipster kid does not want to be him?

Okay maybe I'm speaking of him as if he is one of the greatest of our time - I AM!!! He IS one of the GREATEST of our time. We have never had anyone like him! There have been The Beatles movements, the 60's Summer of Love Movements, Nirvana and the Grunge movement, and the hip hop movements in the 90s. Everything since has been copy of something from our past -which doesn't devalue any of it, or make it less cool, it's just not innovative. No one has been an innovator of all sorts since the 90s quite like Steve Aoki has been. Yes, he is still pretty underground and not mainstream at all so the whole world doesn't not know about him. But those who don't use MTV for their source of music do follow him. Those who read indie magazines, streaming radio stations, listen to indie music, or follow underground fashion. Steve Aoki has brought what so many people probably thought they could bring but haven't been able to do so in such a way as he has.

By starting off deejaying at his University's quaint party neighborhood in Santa Barbara, and now deejaying around the world, literally, he has created an EMPIRE. From remixes, to his record label, to bringing and breaking artists from around the world to the United States, to his T-Shirt and hoodie designs, to his own headphones and shoes, Steve Aoki has created a BRAND.

With Dim Mak Records, he has made Bloc Party successful around the world, imported and developed artists such as MSTRKRFT, Klaxons, and and signed the best indie bands around today: The Deadly Syndrome, Scanners, Whitey, Mystery Jets, Oh No! Oh My!, Datarock, The Icarus Line, Foreign Born, The Willowz and more.

Steve has taken club promotion and Deejayig to another level. By remaining completely loyal to his independent and underground roots, his club nights have become the hottest spots in Hollywood and Tokyo. He somehow manages to be all over Los Angeles running Dim Mak, to club nights, to New York, to London, Tokyo, Germany, Atlanta, Austin, Paris, Canada all within a matter of weeks. This man does not sleep, he is constantly working. His wheels are always turning. Also an artist, his logo designs have turned into designing T-Shirts, tank tops, hoodies, and even shoes. His products are not cheap, but GUARANTEE once you see them you will want them. Steve Aoki has brought back the nostalgic art direction for clothing. All his designs are 100% pure from the heart. He doesn't follow a model, trends, or even keep within the lines, the shirts are the most unique you will ever find. They may represent anything from an album cover from a Dim Mak artist, to a totally random creature, to a tic tac toe sketch. There is no rhyme nor reason to his art. THAT is why he is amazing. Not many people have been able to be 100% true to their heart without following ANY rules and developed an empire, and here's the best part WHILE remaining totally independent.

Steve Aoki is the true hipster. Whatever he does, wears, says, listens to, or spins, everyone around him will follow in his lead. People who are new to the hipster world think it's cool to be snotty, elitest, and a dick. Growing up in LA I can say what IS cool is to be totally true and honest to everything you do. If it's music, listen to what you like not what others tell you to like, if it's clothes, where what you like. Steve is one of those people that you see everywhere and think "he's so awesome, he's probably a dick." Totally on the contrary, he's one of the coolest, nicest, yet passionate guys I know who does what he does.

Some other amazing things from Wikipedia:
*Under the moniker Weird Science, he has remixed everyone from Lenny Kravitz, Bloc Party, Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke, S.P.A., Duran Duran to Timbaland, & Peaches.
*Aoki and friend Greger, the owner of WESC, came up with the idea together to do the "Aoki headphones." Each season Aoki plans to design new headphones for WESC.
*Aoki also is endorsed by KR3W Apparel and Supra Footwear, where he develops and designs an entire range of clothing and shoes for both companies under his name. For more information go to kr3wapparel.com and suprans.com
*Aoki also is a co-owner in a Korean BBQ restaurant called Shin alongside Danny Masterson, Julian Casablancas from the Strokes, Mark Ronson, Laura Prepon, Jerry Butler, Chris Masterson among others.
*Aoki co-owns a management company called Deckstar with Adam Goldstein otherwise known as DJ AM along with their managers and manager mogul Paul Rosenberg who also manages Eminem and Shady Records. Underneath the Deckstar Management division, Dim Mak management has been formed to manage some of the label's artists and other djs.
*Aoki was featured in the video game NBA 2K8 as a special celebrity player, even though he admits to be horrible at basketball. He is featured again in NBA 2K9 with The Cool Kids, Quest Love, among others.

Download:
Bloc Party's Helicopter (Weird Science Remix feat. Peaches) - from Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles==============>

Buy hard copy here
Buy it here Digitally
Stream in iMEEM free

LINKS:
Steve Aoki Official Site
Steve Aoki myspace
Weird Science myspace
Dim Mak
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Come on out to the 5 Spot

Come out tonight to see one of my favorite local artists Ricky Young. Horse in the Sea will play first and Kyle Andrews is headlining.

Tonight will be a special treat; all artists will be playing brand new music from their upcoming and recent releases. Ricky and Kyle from their upcoming albums and Horse in the Sea from their recent debut release.

Ricky Young has been busy working on his album and playing sold out shows all over Nashville, most recently Mercy Lounge, Exit/In, and 5 Spot. His new full length album Learn to Steal is in the final stages of production and will be available in April. I've been listening to the roughs, they're yummmmmmmmy. Join mailing list to keep up to date with his new release.

Make sure you catch him in Austin for SXSW '08, he's playing two great shows next week including the official SXSW Next BIG Nashville Day Party which is 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm @ The Tap Room at Six Lounge (114 W. 4th St.) and also the Red Gorilla Music Festival 6pm @ Nuno's Upstairs (422 E 6th St)

Ricky's an East Nashville guy. Tonight at the 5 Spot will be a great show to catch him at.

Kyle Andrews' release of Find Love, Let Go has made impact on KCRW's Top Tune on Februrary 28, 2008. Kyle also has written a song on the new For The Kids III compilation which also features Moby and Barenaked Ladies, the track is called The Wheels On the Bus. Not only has he been working on his own music and finishing up his next release, but as an artist on Bad Man Records, he is has been working with other artists as well. New album by Horse in the Sea (who play first tonight) I Order the Sun to Shine On Everyone is actually produced by Kyle himself.


Tonight's show starts at 9pm. Hope to see you there.

Horse in the Sea
Ricky Young
Kyle Andrews

The 5 Spot
1006 Forrest Ave,
Nashville, TN 37206-2736

Tonight's show is brought to you

by our friends Movement Nashville

Upcoming shows worth your time

"Everyone is a tool and they all want V.I.P, you can't fit 2,000 people in V.I.P"
Thanks D.

Mar 6 Kyle Andrews, Ricky Young, Heypenny, Horse in the Sea, 8pm 5 Spot East Nashville
Mar 8 Brooke Waggoner 8pm, 3rd & Lindsley
Mar 8 Katie Herzig and Andy Davis, 8pm Exit/In Get tickets here
Mar 10 THE LONELY HEARTS VS HARRISON HUDSON SHOWDOWN 8pm, The Basement
Mar 22 American Bang with the Jane Shermans, 8pm Exit/In
Mar 27 F**K CANCER BENEFIT with The Features, Ricky Young, Tommy & The Whale and more ===========>


Mar 29 AutoVaughn, Brenn, The Lonely Hearts, The Effects 8pm, Mercy Lounge
May 6 Katie Herzig CD Release Show with Jeremy Lister and others, 8pm The Rutledge

3 Genres / 3 Shows / 1 night / 1 City

Although some may think nashville should be called country music, usa, it is rightfully called music city, usa. Like LA, NY, Chicago, Austin, and all it's competetors , there is always live music all over the damn city. With the exception of electronic and good reggae, - you can catch most every genre every night. After I left the office, I head over to Music Publisher's writer's Night. A Writer's Night always means songwriters in the round, taking turns playing their songs they hope to get "cut" which is in deed in the Country world. A "Cut" from a major artist. We saw 4 writers, each play 2 songs, one which has been "cut" by George Strait, who in this world is VERY highly esteemed. See Nashville Music Guide here

After talking to a few people, I went over to the Sommet Group to see Linkin Park. I'm not generally a Linkin Park fan at the least bit - don't have a single album, don't plan to, not interested at all by them, saw Chester at the House of Blues once and he was struggling to sing. BUT I recognize the genre they created and I get why people like them. That being said though, since I'm obsessed with music and wouldn't want to do anything else for an hour, I saw then in concert. Show was pretty good actually, and I enjoyed seeing them live. Stage was very basic and I appreciate that. Chester hada LOT of energy. After one hour, I drove to East Nashville to see The Jane Shermans, our friends Brenn, and also Mona who was recently showcased by Rick Rubin in LA.

I love Brenn. Their show was full or pop driven beats, apathetic beautiful vocals, blistering guitar leads, and thick rhythm section. Their sound reminded me of Muse-like riffs which full of fuzzy guitar goodness, a loud, noisey and great sing along chorus, high tone guitar melodies and unexpecting guitar solos.

All this and I was in bed by 1:15 AM.