Miami Music Matters

Common to ring in New Year at Delano

Lady Gaga and Phish not your thing? Grammy-winning rapper Common will ring in the New Year at The Florida Room in the Delano on Miami Beach.

The Chicago-native and his band will play an intimate set for 200 people. Common most recently performed in South Florida in November for the University of Miami's homecoming.

The set will likely rely heavily on songs from Common's 2008 party-themed album, Universal Mind Control, which is nominated for best hip-hop album at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

Last year, The Florida Room hosted The Roots for New Year's Eve.

Despite a recession, tickets are pricey: $275 per person.

Miami Music Festival better Saturday, but problems remain

I'm sounding off, but want to know what people think. What happened to you on the Festival? Good? Bad? Did you play? Did you go? Would you go back?

Checked back into the Miami Music Fest on Saturday night, guilt and a sliver of hope overcoming my annoyance and discouragement from Thursday night. Glad I did. Some things were better - the bands (that I caught), and certainly the turnout were much improved from Thursday night. But judging from what I saw and what I've heard talking to people and in comments and emails,  the underlying problems of disorganization, lack of focus and quality remain. And I still think the festival won't succeed unless it seriously addresses them. Moreover, they'll now have to battle skepticism from much of the local music community turned off by this year's experience.

 

Awesome New Republic playing the Transit Lounge for the Miami Music Festival Friday night. Photo by Alexia Fodere.

On the up side, there were a LOT more people than on Thursday - Tobacco Road and Transit both had good-sized crowds. The tents were better, though still too spacious for the turnout - better to pack 50 people into a small room and pump up their energy and the perception that this show is happening than have them looking around a mostly empty space and wondering if it's more happening somewhere else.

The bands I caught were better too, though most of the acts I saw were selected by people or organizations that picked their own acts for their own showcases, rather than from whoever applied to the Festival site. (Actually, many of the acts I talked to were invited in one way or another, often last minute, leading me to think the Festival organizers either didn't have enough bands applying/accepting or felt they needed some better artists to beef up their random line-up. And a number of artists said they were invited but turned the Festival down.). 

Vanne Dazza of Radioboxer performing at Transit Lounge during the Miami Music Festival Friday night. Photo by Alexia Fodere.

At Tobacco Road, Miami Latin-metal-dance-pop (categorize that!) group Music is a Weapon played the hard rock station WHDR's showcase outside, and judging from all the black t-shirts and demi-goth gear, looked like a mostly genre-loyal audience (with a few puzzled middle-aged couples I'm guessing were drawn by the opportunity to, ooh, hear some rock and roll after their nice dinner out). Liked Weaponeers energy and the combination of mohawks and conga and timbal players, but the music wasn't always catchy or coherent enough to be engaging. Upstairs at the Road the room was packed (partly with Music is a Weapon refugees) for the Disc Makers' showcase and Saints on Fire, a punk/hard rock combo with fine musicians and intensity but not a whole lot of originality - but head-banging, hair-tossing rock will never die.

The Patio at Transit, empty of bands and audience when I checked in Thursday night, was full for the SESAC showcase - at least some of them brought out by the performance rights company's connections to the artists and managers who work with them (Miami rock singer-songwriter Alan Hughes said he walked into the SESAC show and got invited to perform by the sound guy - how's that for careful band selection?). Caught a really good Puerto Rican rock group, Habitat (I remember legendary Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar, a Borinquen, going on about the island's rock scene and how he was going to boost it a decade or so ago and thinking "Puerto Rico and rock? C'mon" but they've got a terrific scene going. Question - how come an island that small can support healthy salsa, and reggaeton, and rock scenes?). Thania Sanz, a country-flavored (not according to her bio, but sounded that way to me) Latin pop rock singer-songwriter, was also good.

Inside hot Brooklyn indie band The Aviation Orange, invited by Festival co-producer Irwin Kornfeld, sounded fantastic - eerie alt power-pop. Their manager said they were a lot happier to be there than most of the local artists I encountered, in part because it was a kind of vacation for them - the Festival had flown the band down from NYC. "Who wouldn't want to come to Miami in December?" he asked. (Habitat was also invited and flown in by SESAC). Aviation Orange has played SXSW, they pull in good audiences (600-1200) in NYC, so their manager was happy to lend our humble little burg some cred. "We're the best band here, we came to give the festival a little legitimacy." And I'm sure all Miami musicians are very grateful. Even so, he said the same thing many here are saying, that the Festival needs to have fewer venues, and fewer, better selected bands, better focus. And then it could be great.

At the miami.com tent which had all the sound problems on Thursday, Mawon, a terrific Haitian-Caribbean band that can swing from rara to compas to reggae, managed to sound pretty good - pulling in people even at 1:30am.

So some things were better. But it won't be enough to save the Festival for another year unless they address the issues that created all the problems: disorganization, bad sound and technical back-up (for any musician, sounding good is what it's all about), focus. And fairness. A lot of local artists opted out because the whole festival set-up seemed like such a mess, or they felt they were being taken advantage of. A lot of significant folks (club owners, promotors, taste-makers etc) felt like they were ignored and disincluded. Some of those who did play had such a bad experience that it will be hard to convince them to come back. And a lot of Miami musicians seemed to feel like the Festival was taking advantage of them - charging them an application fee, getting sponsors, charging for the conference, etc - to make money. I don't know that that's true, but the perception is there.

But a lot of people on the local music scene want a festival. I kept hearing "this is a really good idea, but..." or "this could be/could have been great, but....." I'm guessing some bands are still thrilled they got a chance to play, and some audience folks still had a good time. So there's still an opening. It will be harder to stage the MMF again with the skepticism generated this year, but my guess is that most folks could get past the problems of a first year if things change significantly. Whether they will, or whether there'll be another festival, remains to be seen.

What do you think?

Mariah Carey to bring "Angels Advocate" tour to South Florida

Everyone's favorite Nick Cannon lover, Mariah Carey, has announced a 19-city tour that will stop in South Florida on January 21.

The Angels Advocate tour date will take place at the Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, a decidedly smaller venue than the American Airlines Arena, where Mariah last performed in Miami in August 2006.

The tour is in support of her 12th studio release, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which has spawned singles like the Auto-Tuned Eminem diss "Obsessed" and the Foreigner cover "I Want To Know What Love Is."

No announcement has been made about an on-sale date or ticket prices, but as soon as those are announced, you'll hear from me about it.

Island Music Weekend concludes with reggae mainstay Eeek A Mouse @ Culture Room tonight

 
 

Few musical artists are as distinctive as the 6'6"  nasally voiced Reggae singer Eek A Mouse - who has been playing his trade for 30 + years. Hailing from Trenchtown, the same Kingston slum that produced Bob Marley,  the mouse plays all sides of the street in the Reggae world, be it dancehall, roots or rock steady. and in this era of pigenholes and overspecialization - it is appreciated. The mouse may be an old dog - but he can learn new tricks. And that is enough to go to the culture room tonight and get your groove on along with a contact high.. 

Third Wave Ska Weekend continues with Less Than Jake at Revolution

If you grew up in the mid-late 1990s and wore checkerboard pants, this is a stellar weekend for you. Following the heels of last night's Stalkers show, are Gainesville, fl ska-punk legends Less Than Jake. Back in the days when LTJ's formula of punk with horns was the most tired thing going, even the most jaded punk rocker couldn't help but have fun during a Less than Jake set which would inevitably include some sort of freak collection, naked people stage diving, covers of silly TV themes and a show tempo that rivaled the Ramones at their peak.

And unlike most bands who get caught up in major label feeding frenzies, LTJ played the game right - jumping up to capitol , and letting them make them household names with their single "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts." on their major label debut "Losing Streak.  And right when the bottom fell out  - they jumped back into indie rock land, with drummer Vinnie Fiorello founding extremely successful label Fueled By Ramen - and LTJ releasing albums on NOFX's label FAT - and then  back up to Warner Brothers and  Sire - collecting checks along the way before eventually starting their own label - and even getting jones soda to name a root beer after them.

So go out and Skank tonight South Florida. Party like it's 1997 -  you know, when a kid  could still contemplate a way to make a living playing music for a living.

Tonight: The Slackers play churchill's in order to answer the question: "Was there any redeeming value in 3rd wave ska?" (Answer: YES)

Perhaps no movement in music history  was as reviled as the 1990s third wave of Ska.  Much of that was deserved, as for a year or two, it seemed any suburban teenager who wanted to, could get a pork pie hat and a trombone and play punk with horns, which for some reason was accepted as the same lilting Island  music that started out on in the early 1960s via    artists like Prince Buster, Laurel aiken and Desmond Dekker.

But for all the crap like goldfinger, a handful of great acts like the Pietasters and NYC's The slackers emerged to skank it up with all the greatness of their forefathers flowing through their bodies like an electric current. One of the most enjoyable nights I ever had, was in 1997 when I saw the Slackers kill it while  opening up for the Skatalites at Squeeze in fort Lauderdale. Back then the slackers had twin live singers, and they  drove the crowd absolutely nuts. Afterwards, the show was briefly marred by the cocky jackalope who played sax for King 7 and the soulsonics  when he crashed the skatalites show and blew some jazz school solo through their OG groove. If you ever wanted to see what it looks like when a senior citizen wants to stab someone, that was the time.

Since then , The slackers have kept it real - continuing to  tour the world and pay  south florida regular visits, as florida, at the peak of the ska movement, was the biggest market for it in the USA by a large margin. so go on down  to the church tonight and skank off some newcastle with me.

 

Miami Music Festival kickoff is not so festive

Went to the first night of the Miami Music Festival on Thursday night and am sorry to report that it was a hometown event in more ways than just musical. MMF is yet another prime example of the kind of over-hyped and badly executed events that seem to dog our town.

The Festival is a great concept: there's a lot of good bands and artists in town these days, a reasonably healthy ecosystem of musicians, clubs, and people into supporting both. The scene is beginning to extend beyond Miami; my friend and ex-colleague Evelyn McDonnell propped local music for the New York Times some months back, Miami acts are touring nationally, hooking up with national indie labels, producers, promotors. We're a sexy town, and people are ready to be seduced by our music scene. All of that primes the pump for a good music festival that could hype local artists and the city - bring it on!

But execution is a whole other matter. Maybe things will improve Friday and Saturday, but judging by Thursday night, MMF is too many amateurish and badly chosen acts, too many venues, really badly organized on the technical side. And not enough promotion. The festival's organizers say they've got a bunch of website sponsors to help promote, but it doesn't seem like they've had any results. One music executive friend who's been working the local music scene for almost 20 years found out about the festival driving by the tents early Thursday. When he asked others at the music-related company where he works if they knew about the festival, they had no clue. All of which will leave a sour taste for musicians and audiences alike.

I was there 8:30 to 11:30pm at the central locale of Transit Lounge, the festival tents, and Red Bar off the South Miami Avenue/Brickell area strip. No venue had more than, say, 30 people - most had less. Poor hard rock trio Los Inmigrantes Deportados came all the way from Peru to play for a handful of people at Transit. In the tents, singers gamely tried not to look forlorn as they tried to pump up the few puzzled people who were there. Anyone who came out looking for the big event they'd heard about and all this fabulous local music was bound to be disappointed.

Of the 8 acts I caught, half had no business being up on a professional stage yet. For those who did, the sound quality was often so bad, you couldn't tell what they really sounded like. No one got a soundcheck. Poor Eric Vick, one of the better local acts playing the miami.com tent, was suffering through soundchanges, halts and screw-ups in the middle of his set. Suenalo, who don't need the promotion but play a lot at Transit Lounge and recorded their last album live there, showed up for their 11pm gig at the miami.com hyped to play and found there was no bassline. Rule, you can't have a funky fusion dance band without a bass. After half an hour's discussion and milling around, they left. Jose El Rey never even showed up. When I asked the guy manning the soundboard on the empty patio of the Transit who was playing next, he couldn't even find which stage he was working in the festival brochure, forget knowing what bands he was working with. Looked like they weren't showing up, anyways.

There were a couple nice surprises. Dav Julca (Latino, not Jewish - Peruvian family raised in Panama) who was playing in the back of a stageless Red Bar, had a beautiful R&B falsetto and played some fine, jazzy, Santana-inflected guitar - even though he insisted he wasn't a guitar player (sure sounded like one to me). He came through even playing through a living room quality sound system with a bass player, and a friendly drummer who jumped in to help out for the last two songs. Unfortunately, that was his one and only gig on the Festival. Would have been nice to get some bio info, musical description, or at least links to the over 200 artists playing this huge event, so people would have an idea of who these artists were and what they might like to see, but that didn't happen.

At Transit, The 7th Link, headed by 16-year old drummer Christian Carcache, had a bunch of talented kids (the bassist and guitarist were 17!) playing energetic, Santana-inspired rock-Latin fusion, with sax, trumpet and even violin - they might be worth keeping an eye on. Alas, this was also their only gig of the festival.

It wasn't just the basic organization that was off, but the whole plan. Why not do a handful of venues, be really focused on the music you want to present, carefully pick the best Miami acts (instead of accepting whoever applies and throwing them all up against the wall, which didn't seem to work anyway, as most of the more talented or better known artists are playing special company sponsored showcases or were invited in some other way). Really hype the Miami acts, and really do a great job of presenting them, in a fun environment. (Wait, didn't someone try to do that with Future Classic?) Promote the hell out of the event, in a meaningful way. Don't make people drive all over town to hear acts they've never heard of, because they won't. Do a small but kick-ass festival that music-makers and music-listeners enjoy, and maybe the next year you'll get one of the big names who lives here to participate. And build on that. As it stands Thursday night, this festival has nothing to build on.

Mary J. Blige, John Legend headline Jazz In The Gardens 2010

 

After a successful turnout of almost 40,000 people in 2009, the 5th Annual Jazz In The Gardens festival will return to Land Shark Stadium on March 20 and 21, 2010.

Hosted by radio personality Tom Joyner, the festival features two days of performances from some of R&B and jazz's best musicians.

The March 21 lineup includes Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, Teena Marie, Joe Sample, and K'Jon.

The following day will be headlined by John Legend, along with sets from Boyz II Men, Cassandra Wilson, David Sanborn, and Melanie Fiona.

The 2009 lineup included Erykah Badu, Common, Kenny G, Babyface and Anthony Hamilton.

Tickets for the event go on sale Friday (December 11) at Ticketmaster, and range from $45 to $70 for a one-day pass, and $75 to $125 for a two-day pass.

Lolo's Lovin the Knight Foundation

Lolo Reskin of Sweat Records is very very happy about getting that lovely $150,000 grant from the Knight Foundation along with cultural heavyweights like the Arsht Center and Miami City Ballet. I think we can safely say that none of the other recipients said they would be using the money "to make South Florida even more awesome!!!!" (yes, four exclamation marks), but we can be sure that Sweat, stalwart and loving home to Miami indie music and alternative life, will do so.

 

Among Lolo's plans - put out some 7-inches by local acts, put on some movie screenings they couldn't afford before, put in a door that really locks, so they won't have any more visits from the type of thugs who stole everything valuable and smashed the fishtank to boot. And more creative ideas are sure to come. "We're making all kinds of plans on ways to maximize the money, we're gonna do as much as possible with it," Lolo said. "That's why this grant is so great, you don't have to have anythign behind you, you just have to have a great idea. And they’re going to get great bang for their buck, because we’ve already done so much with nothing."

 

And now they have something. Yay Sweat.

Exene Cervenka's dark love at Pulse/Basel

Caught legendary punk singer Exene Cervenka of seminal LA punk band X at the Pulse Art Fair Saturday afternoon during Art Basel. No more grotty punk clubs - she played just before sunset in the green and genteely appointed garden in front of The Ice Palace on the developmental border between Overtown and downtown, where Pulse was held. (Exene seemed to appreciate the irony of the location. "This song is to chase away the devil," she said at one point. "Then we're all gonna get our crack outside). Cherry haired and wearing polka dot vintage, she still looked impish-to-evil, just older, playing dark, ambivalent, catchy but despairing love songs on acoustic guitar. "Your empty bottle seems to say, If I was you I wouldn't wait this way, As I wait in the cold wait in the rain, wait in the pain." or "Now it's the 12th of never - weren't you supposed to be here?"

Lyrics like that, you'd think she'd be ready to give up now, but no, she was enjoying herself, loving the creamy peach pink sunset light (turns out she spent most of her teens in Florida, living in St. Petersburg and Tallahasse - no wonder the musical rage later), sitting on the grass surrounded by a small claque of aspiring young punks and other musicians. "I have a ton of respect for her," said Adam Lee Miller (also a multi-expressive musician/filmmaker) of Detroit band Adult, who bought his first X record, Make the Music Go Bang, in 1986, when the line "don't forget the motor city" made an indelible impression. "She's always been in the vanguard, and she's totally respectable - she's not a sell-out."

Unlikely as the folk persona seemed to me, Exene said she'd been making alt-folk/country music for years, with the Knitters, a band she started in 1982 while X was still going. The solo set was to promote Somewhere Gone, her first solo album since 1991. "There's no middleman, it's completely from the living room to the stage," she said, sitting on the grass. And punk and folk had more in common than you'd think. "They're the same music, only one's faster," she said. "The chords are the same, simple three chord songs, topical themes. They're all love songs - I'm always in love, I've never not been in love since the first day of my life."

Talking about another side of Exene, she also had artwork up at the gallery for New York's DCKT gallery at Pulse, collages and journal pages she'd been making for years. "The art thing really started about five years ago," Exene said. "I love that as much as the music."