35 published works to date:

(2008). (Short Story) "The Red Letters". The Prism Review (2:5).

(2007). "(Interview) 50 Cent: Whoever Falls Upon the Champion's Face". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (June, 2007)

(2007). "(Interview) Dir En Grey: Still aftershock from Family Values Tour". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (May, 2007)

(2007). "(Interview) Joe Simko: Splattered, Oozed and Abused". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (April, 2007)

(2007). "(Interview) Second Life: But not the last by a long shot". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (April, 2007)

(2007). "(Interview) Busdriver". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (January, 2007)

(2006). "(Interview) The Open Door: An interview with Amy Lee of Evanescence". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (November, 2006)

(2006). "The Road Raged My Father". Coffee House Digest. (November, 2006)

(2006). "(Interview) Talib Kweli: A preference of substance over style". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (September, 2006)

(2006). "(Interview) Donald Glaude and his end to a year-long relationship". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (July, 2006)

(2006). "(Interview) Paul Oakenfold: Changing the world from LaLa Land". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (June, 2006).

(2005). "(Interview) Paul Van Dyk: The Politics of Dancing". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (March, 2006)

(2005). "(Interview) The Pioneer of Trance: DJ Tiesto". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (December, 2005)

(2005). "(Interview) Rhys Millen: Drifting, East meets West". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (October, 2005)

(2005). "(Interview) Fischerspooner: An Interview with Casey Spooner". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (August, 2005)

(2005). "(Interview) Alley Kat: More than meets the eye". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (August, 2005)

(2005). "(Interview) Erick Morillo: The Many Sides of His World". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (July, 2005)

(2005). "(Interview) North Coast Underground". Skinnie Entertainment Magazine. (June, 2005)

(2003). "Vandals Strike Transgender Memorial". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2003). "Dalit Baum: Speaker tackles controversial issue". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2003). "Sprawl: Scenic California". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Campus Hosts Successful Sexuality Conference". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Sweet Honey in the Rock: Has Never Been So Sweet". U.C. Riverside, Higlander.

(2002). "The Orange Groove: Rilo Kiley". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Kila: Irish Musical Traditions". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Laramie Project: Examining Hate". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Unfaithful: Losing Faith". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Ives Quartet: World Class Foursome". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Perla Batalla: Mind Connection". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Things Undone, Mel Edelman: Welcome to My House". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Lines of Sight: Breaking Barriers". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "We Were Soldiers: The Fake America". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Phung Huynh: Sweetest Taboo". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Bjork". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

(2002). "Cracker So Full of Crumbs". U.C. Riverside, Highlander.

Read my one of a kind interview with 50 Cent in the June issue of Skinnie Entertainment Magazine, released today! No, I did not get shot.

It does not take a Masters degree to realize that the majority of Korn fans in the United States do not speak fluent Japanese. When Korn chose Dir En Grey to open at the 2006 Family Values Tour they were making it clear that there is something greater to be sought at a venue than smashing lyrics or the dancing image of the guy in leather on stage: there is a synergy that exists between all elements that make up a performance - even when the audience can not understand a single word.

Speaking to Dir En Grey via an interpreter, they say that their purpose when touring is to "be able to focus on what they want to tell the people", pointing to the notion that despite the language barrier, they seek to communicate with their audience abroad through feeling the "music in the body" and the "sounds in the atmosphere". However, even more surprising is their admission that they "don't care what the fans are feeling" - they are there to speak to the fans, nothing more.

Dir En Grey, formed in 1997, roots itself in Japan's visual kei movement, baring similarities to bands of the Glam rock movement in the United States and Europe. The band has slowly moved away from this image over the course of releasing six albums and has gained notoriety on more than three continents. Dir En Grey's music cannot be easily dismissed as a Japanese equivalent of Deftones, Korn and Flyleaf mixed with black lipstick and hairspray - their visuals dramatically infused with ghostly images of isolation, rage, and disturbed apathy. In the case of one of their music videos, the viewer acts like a intoxicated partygoer, leaving consciousness at the sight of Kyo, the band's lead, to awaken to the sign of a disembodied, live head in a birdcage staring out with stunned eyes. It looks like an 8mm version of the Paris Hilton video seemingly directed by Marilyn Manson.

Dir En Grey says that the biggest difference between their American and Japanese audience is that their American audience is more apt to respond though jumping, dancing, and moving their bodies. This phenomenon hints that an American audience is ready and willing to accept bands such as Dir En Grey from foreign shores: despite the ambiguity of their message - without any idea what is being sung or celebrated.

Dir En Grey is a hellfire puzzle-box waiting to be unlocked by the susceptible fan - a road best not taken by the light at heart or the mentally stable. For example, Kyo, the band's vocalist is noted for the presence of heavy burns upon his skin and engaging in self-mutilation on stage. While the authenticity of these acts is disputed, this performance suggests an underlying theme throughout there being. They are much more complex than this. Giving them credit, their use of makeup and occasional effeminate self-presentation lends to their visual kei base, while appealing to performance enthusiasts though their dramatic stage presence lends to a fuller understanding of the band as a prophetic dynamo. While imagery such as that espoused by Dir En Grey has been seemingly on a decline in recent years, Korn seems to believe that this workhorse his far from dead. Arguably, Korn understands something huge is coming.

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Somewhere between a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure box, Nintendo's Maniac Mansion and Garbage Pail Kids one will find the style of artist Joe Simko. Splashed or oozed, as it were, onto everything related to the Vans Warped Tour 2006, Simko's art is a blender-splattered mix of slime, tentacles, and disembodied eyes, heads, hands and nearly any other body part you can imagine. Over the past three years, his art has become iconic in neo-punk, rock, and Indy scenes on both coasts - symbolic of the furthering infusion of pop art, music, and culture.

Simko defies traditional conventions as his artistic style draws upon influences solely found within the past three decades of pop culture, mashing these facets into a chunky jelly of cereal box art, kitsch, slasher comics and a graphic wonderland of acid-induced musings. Where else could you see a punked out cheerleader command a swarm of killer, flying eyeballs while holding a pompom and a fiddle? Simko's art is on the edge of the meshing of worldwide pop culture that will dominate the direction of media for decades forward.

Success has come at a price, however, as he has not had a office job in years - by choice. He considers the alternatives to arranging work by word of mouth and email, but understand that working for a large studio means loss of freedom and time. He is not suffering, taking on a job in May's Magama Festival:

"Coming up is the punk rock hardcore festival in Japan with New York and Japanese bands. I am a in a better position than warped tour... now I am the art director. I came up with the theme of giant monsters. In Japan, they will have cell phone covers with the art on it... t-shirts, posters, everything."

With complete freedom, Simko will enjoy running the festival in regards to art direction. While his gig with Vans Warped Tour 2006 offered him the ability to have his name and art presented nationwide, Magma will offer him to build a name for himself as a true professional, at a level that will lead t o further jobs down the line. For those of us watching our TVs, reading our Skinnie's, and listening to our music, these new opportunities for artists such as Simko, being involved on a very visible, tangible level at concerts, conferences, and festivals will translate to events of a strikingly higher quality - a quality of events that has been on the rise in recent years.

Considering the growing venues by which artists such as Simko can transmit their talent, there is little doubt that this growing trend of pop culture infusion in media will be the wave of the future - frankly, it is the status quo today. Get involved. Post your talent online. You might be the next big discovery.

Published in April, 2007, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

Sitting with your grandfather can be especially entertaining when he leans over the table, pushes his huge glasses up to the top of his nose and says, "You know, the internet is going to change EVERYTHING," interrupted by you smart-phone buzzing to remind you about the doctors appointment you have in ten minutes - the phone tells you where you are, determined by global positioning satellites, and tells you the quickest route to your physician's office. Grandpa's a bit late to the party.

When 40-year-olds with makeup on CNN and FoxNews discuss Second Life as being the next revolution in communication, networking, and virtual reality, one has to ask, "Haven't ANY of these people seen Lawnmower Man?" For the majority of us who know the difference between a back button and a start button, there is no surprise that the success of Second Life, a massively multiplayer online role-playing experience, is not the result of revolutionary design, programming, or innovation, it has simply been marketed better than any other similar product out there - oh, and the users are getting smarter.

Ten years ago, Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc., released Furcadia, a massively multiplayer online social game that, for free, allowed players to create a personalized character to represent their virtual selves, called an Avatar, and interact with other players online. Eventually, players were able to obtain land, create their own home and invite others to talk and play. This was in 1996, when most people in the United States still did not have a computer in their home. Well, times have changed. Computers are everywhere - and it almost seems antiquated to say that.

Frankly, there are dozens of similar pieces of software out there on the market, but what makes Second Life stand out from all the others is the buzz created by a single word - marketing. Consider this: the Internet, in large, exists as a vast library. Any time you type a word into a search box in Google or MySpace, billions of pages are suddenly at your finger tips. Out of the infinite possibilities of pages you could click on, one thing is certain; you will see an ad somewhere along the way. Companies such as Google do not make a product to sell on store shelves - people invest in Google just because they are betting that the company will sell more adspace to other companies than anyone else. Well folks, here comes Second Life. Instead of interacting with the web in a click and scroll scavenger hunt, Second Life allows you to explore a virtual world, socially interact with others, go to college, attend business meetings, and even engage in online commerce (yes, you can actually buy things in Second Life). Eventually, there are going to be a lot of billboards littering the landscape. Companies are more than willing to pay.

Companies such as Illusion Factory are already taking part in this online revolution, but not in the way that you are thinking. Chief executive officer, Brian Weiner is shepherding his digital flock into something truly unique, being one of the few (if not the only) company to be focusing on philanthropic purposes (that's "charity" for you illiterate nubes) in the virtual universe. Brian explains one his first projects in Second Life, a virtual learning center: "We built 20 pods that people climb into and fly out to the middle of the room so you are in a nice circle and there is a streaming whiteboard. My thought process was that I would get a professor of cardiology from Harvard and he would do a very specialized demonstration of some form of a heart surgery of one of the valves. He would lecture to people from all different continents with students sitting on the floor. We would bring in a huge three-dimensional heart and then we do a Fantastic Voyage moment and go into the valve and watch it work. I think the opportunity to teach things in the virtual space allows teaching methodologies that have never been available." Illusion Factory, a company which is based upon the guiding principle of doing the impossible, will surely be a power play in the emerging virtual world - the real Internet. Watch for other such companies to spring into existence soon, pushing the mark even higher for innovation.

Second Life offers users a number of features that are not new to this genre of software, but will seem special to those who before which have never interacted online with others in this fashion. Registration is simple and easy, choosing a username, which consists of a first name of your creation and a last name chosen from a drop-down list of pre-established family names within the Second Life universe. The whole process takes less than a few minutes. The client (software package) is then downloaded and is about 35 megabytes for Windows users (God help you) and 65 megs for Mac enthusiasts. After a quick, mindless installation, you can log in and be walking around the world of Second Life. New users must complete a number of introductory tasks designed to teach them how to interact within the virtual world - yes, walking lessons, dressing lessons, etc. For the seasoned pro, this part really bites. Within twenty minutes of first browsing onto secondlife.com, you can be online, chatting with friends, building your own house or business, and avoiding Harvey, the 36-year-old pervert who lives with his mother.

Even the most experienced gamer may have difficulty when first being introduced to Second Life. Initially, when you first register, you must choose an avatar from only a handful of body types. You can't even change the hair color when first setting up your account. One may find themselves deciding if they want to look like the guy from Queer As Folk or that guy who was stalking you last time you went to the club. When first being introduced to the gaming environment, it is very difficult to understand where you are spatially in relation to everything else. Ironically, Orientation Island, where you first are placed in the game, can be a very disorientating experience, especially if you have a suffering internet connection. Over a very short amount of time, most users will be able to interact with the universe of Second Life with very little difficulty.

What does make Second Life revolutionary is its employment of uBrowser, a piece of Second Life's software engine that is used to display web pages on any surface of any 3D object. What this means is that any user can create a building that shows a web page of their design in the Second Life universe. This translates to huge opportunities for businesses that are seeking an virtually new market of adspace. Anyone who can place their money on that bet may reap unimaginable profits. Get this - the Linden Dollar is now a currency that is actually traded against the U.S. Dollar. That is something that no other software can boast.

So, users who are looking to do research for that next essay probably will not find much use for Second Life - yet! However, if you want to be part of the next chapter of a true virtual reality, sign up today. Second Life will not be the last piece of software of its kind, but finally people are buzzing about this technology. The future is ours for the designing.

Published in April, 2007, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine.

Remaining one of the final vestiges of the defunct Goodlife Café's hip-hop byproducts, Busdriver, perhaps one of the most eccentric and dynamic free-association rap artists, finds himself a bit bewildered by the attention he gets in lieu of his underground status. Regan Farquhar (aka Busdriver) has been seemingly groomed by his Los Angeles upbringing to be involved in hip-hop scene, his father being the director of the iconic film Krush Groove (1985) - Busdriver released his first album by his 13th birthday and since has garnered the collaborative talents of TTC, Daedalus, Nobody, and Z-Trip (to name a few) to his lyrical dossier. Yet despite his background, his supporters, and his seventh album to be released in early 2007, Busdriver has remained and still remains a relatively obscure, underground artist - perhaps with good reason.

Speaking to Busdriver, there is a sense of self-deprecating abstraction that lends to his seemingly surreal visage: The contact number his publicist provides is the artists actual cell phone number. Farquhar, surprised by the call, provides an introductory, "Oh, yeah... hello... um... yeah!" It seems second nature to for an experienced interviewer to check to make sure the right number has been dialed. Asked about what he is currently working on, he says, "Nothing. I am working on another Busdriver record, I guess, nothing terribly exciting - just keeping it going. Usually after I do a record I record a couple songs just to get off whatever extra creative ideas that I have lying around. This time around I am just trying to stockpile songs. Beyond just doing more Busdriver crap, I don't have any plans." He does not seem thrilled.

His records, however, speak for his talent as an innovative artist who addresses not only BD's own personal broodings about life, society, and spirituality, but muses in a style reflective of the unmistakable Goodlife roots that are grounded in nothing less than underground themes. Undeniably, as a relatively obscure underground artist, Busdriver retains the ability to speak about that which he wants. "[In hip hop] the political rap just sort of died off. At least the whole, didactic, Public Enemy derived rap - there is only a handful of people that can do it. Like a Mortal Technique, Sage Francis, people who do it. I want to do it - I tackle controversial issues. I don't necessarily want to take that approach with vaguely different slants. I think the approach is more important than the actual content. The approach I take may be more valuable. I don't know! For hip hop there was always a difference in the LA sound. We had little real kind of violent kind of ganster stuff. On the flip side of the coin, we had the free kind of free willing underground style of hip hop with groups like the Fellowship and the Farside." BD expresses his desire to produce content that is didactic and alive.

His new album is no exception. "[The new album] Is called Road Kill Overcoat. I wanted it to be a song oriented rap album kind of ... *trailing off* I doesn't know what to say about this album. It shoots for the stars at certain points. It's filling a grander scope." One cant help but feel a bit made fun of, as his answers provide no substance whatever. Suddenly, however, the artist comes to life, saying, "One of the most predominant themes is me making fun of liberals or the left - basically calling them out on being ultimately gun-shy. Because of the war and the anti-war sentiment going around and the substantial unreliable vision of about the current administration. You know, the Dems are taking over the house and senate - hopefully they can put some things into motion. I just did that because of how I feel. It was a fun scene. The little words and terms are fun to toy with. I really like to tackle issues with words and terms. I am not trying to beat anyone down - I am, in a sense, beating down people with ideas, but I don't want to beat anyone down. I want it to be enjoyable - not necessarily fun. What is the point of making music anyway? Do I have an agenda? Do I want people to pull away with some sort of idea?" His listeners naturally do and through his musical narrative his listeners may find themselves challenged by his ideology. However, as with any underground music, it invites response from the audience. In the vacuum of iTunes, something may be lost in the translation. Good thing he is going on tour.

In the next months, BD will tour with art punk, noise band Deerhoof from January to February nationwide. "They are an edgy sound. I went to go hear them play. When I was backstage, the lead singer was signaling someone offstage and I thought she was talking so someone else. She was talking to me and I freaked out - she wanted me to sit in, so I freaked out and I sat in. After that they said, ‘Yeah, we should gig with us.'. We will do some shows in end of January and the middle of February. After that I am touring with god-knows-what." Asked about other projects that may be in the works he says, "I wish I did! I have been trying to create side projects but I cant find any that make any sense that would actually happen. My band and I are hoping one day we can get into a movie or something like that."

Published in January, 2007, Skinnie Magazine.

The original text of of this publication is unavailable.

Group lead singer and founder, Amy Lee appropriately describes her music as a product of her perfectionism, a sound that exemplifies intricate, moving instrumental arrangements alongside her distinguished, unique vocal talent. Over the past seven years, Lee has taken Evanescence from being a small band in Little Rock, Arkansas to a phenomenon of such a characteristic presence that it has become the embodiment of an entire segment of popular culture, where striking visuals and exceptional music come together to create a connecting experience between artist and observer -- communicating on an archetypal emotional-spiritual level.

Their new album "The Open Door" easily qualifies as a success -- one which stands apart from their previous work, taking the music to another level entirely. From the uninformed standpoint, however, of those outside the inner circle of Evanescence, considering the pressure of creating a new album and competing with 14 million copies of their six-times Platinum "Fallen", alongside fellow member Terry Balsamo suffering a stroke in November 2005, coupled with the dismissal of their former manager, one may see the pressure as too much for the band to handle. Lee, on the contrary, describes the reality of making of their new album "The Open Door" as something completely different:

"[When creating the album] I did not feel like there was pressure. People ask about the pressure of competing with 14 million copies of Fallen and for me that was not any pressure. I felt like the success we had made it even easier to write the record because we had all this artistic and monetary freedom. We made enough money to take our time and put a lot into the album and just let it come out when it wanted to. The pressure is defiantly on now, because touring, press, and the label ... everyone wants something. It is getting a little bit crazy and I defiantly want to pull off live what we did on the album. I know that we can do it, but you can’t just get up on the stage and just do it one day. Terry is doing amazing, but he has to work ten times harder than he has had to before, because of the stroke and he is still recovering. It’s a trip... Everyone in the press lately is looking at the band and seeing so much drama, saying it looks like its falling apart -- but it has not been like that all. There defiantly have been challenges, but I think that through every challenge we have come out of it stronger. Everything that has happened to the band has made it a better band. Ben leaving the band was a really positive thing and it needed to happen -- his chapter did end and it was the only way for us to grow. All the changes that I have made in the past year with people who were working with me and people that I was involved with, those were very positive changes for me. Terry having a stroke -- that is still a challenge that we are overcoming and I know we can overcome it and already the positives that has come out of it has made us all have to rely on one another and appreciate what we have. In the simplest forms in our life we are all very grateful to be here and you just become that much closer."

Amy Lee suggests that it is through the challenges Evanescence faced that the band was brought to where it is today. The process of creating "The Open Door" has been that of transcendence, moving from the challenges, to the emotion, and then to the triumph. The album itself follows this same lyrical equation. As Lee states,

"Listening to the album and knowing how it was for me, I think it starts out in one place and ends in another. It starts in an angry place and ends in a happy place where I finally let it go. The album is really a journey, going through all these trials and struggles and hurdles that I have to get over through the whole thing and it finally ends with Good Enough, which is this calm after the storm -- I just let it all out. I said everything that I needed to say and I feel better now. To me the album is so much more of a journey than "Fallen". To me what stands out the most is that you can hear the freedom in the music. For the first time, I actually felt open and confident enough to just jam with somebody and make music organically, like we actually had drums going on computer and Terry would play guitar and I would sit at the piano and knock out ideas, recording them into ProTools. It was new for me, because last time it was really different, I was really immature and I was very young and [Ben and I] never sat in a room together, not once. I always had my ideas that I would write on my own, very very secretive, having to be alone all the time and I was very vulnerable -- it was scary. Ben too, he would write by himself and we would try to bring our ideas together and make them work. This time I think all the parts intertwine together and make sense. [Though] I am the leader of the band and I do most of the writing... it is so important to have somebody to work with and work off of, because if one of us comes up with an idea, the other can take it to the next level, and the other can take it a level even higher than that. You can keep growing and growing and make things that much better and better. I felt like every song we did, it would just raise the bar and it would be a challenge to top that song."

Overall, Amy Lee makes the case that the state of the band is as clear as the eye can see -- thriving, alive, and ever that much more than they were before. The success that they have enjoyed is only a testament to the talent that embodies Evanescence. Just as Lee says, "We are totally excited." -- So are we.

Published in November, 2006, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

The success of Brooklyn-born hip hop artist Talib Kweli is more cultural than commercial - defining himself as an artist of quality rather than quantity, who characterizes his calling as one that has avoided the snare of "empty" gangsta motif's - "candy music", he says, that tastes good, but is not great for the body. Like many artists outside the mainstream, Kweli does not enjoy the luxury of long-standing relationships with labels and, by association, radio station giants that guarantee many conventional artists thousands of on-air spins and video plays. By his own admonishment, his work is much more difficult. Springing from a jump-start up-and-comer in 1998 alongside rappers Mos Def and DJ Hi-Tek with their self-titled album "Black Star", Kweli has emerged through his solo career a defining figure in the underground hip hop movement - a ground-breaking advocate of hip hop as a culture of art rather than a commercial vehicle toward financial success; a culture that concerns itself with notions of political change and social justice.

Urban artists such as Talib Kweli do not have the same lavish access to air play as many "top" hip hop artists. "The record industry is falling apart...", Kweli says, "all they want to do is get those spins on the radio and spins on the video and they don't think outside of that box - it enables people to not have to work to get their job done. If you have a song getting 3000 spins on the radio or you have a song getting in the top-ten video, your target audience is going to see that song - job done. These promotion people and these people at the record labels with established relationships understand that certain songs get played based upon certain relationships - they don't do any work outside of that. If you're an urban artist and you are not a multi-platinum artist, if you don't have a single out or a video out, you're not touring, you're not getting any work, you're not showing up in any cities doing any shows unless you have a song playing on the radio, because they don't do any work outside of that. As far as my career it has been more like a punk-rock or independent rock kind of thing where I don't get much action on the radio, but I can go to a city in the Midwest and sell it out." Arguably, the record industry knows that certain things sell better than others. What sells more records? Booty shakin' or social justice?

Kweli describes some music that gets play on the radio as being without moral or social value. "I'm uncomfortable recording anything that is empty...empty means devoid of value. It might just be ignorant or does not give you any kind of cultural value, but just the music and the way it is put together just makes you feel good: like a piece of candy, you know... the way it tastes is incredible, you want to have some more, but it does not give you any sort of nutritional value. In fact, it takes away from some of your nutrition. I like candy, but I am not good at making it. I speak about us being Africans in America. I speak about race and class issues and I specifically speak about black-love, black-self-esteem and black-self-worth, but I do it in a way that is musical and entertaining, so that anyone, regardless of who you are or where your from, or where your going, can relate to it. [Despite the fact that] this music is about my people, its about people; it is about the human condition, as seen through my eyes." These universal, politically charged themes are what draws much of Kweli's fans toward his music.

Perhaps the forces of themes centered on community consciousness where what brought Kweli to work with controversial artist, Kanye West. Much of Kanye's music is equally concerned with social justice. West thrust Kweli into the limelight when Kanye produced a single for Talib's debut album "Quality" in 2002 entitled "Get By". "Kanye sold a lot of records and that's where lot of people first heard of me, and he talks about me on the album. Because of the way that he went on tour with me and the way that he shouted me out on the album, people just naturally put it together... that has helped my career a lot. Kanye's been instrumental in bringing down some tours to me." Kweli's music is, however, characteristically different than that of Kanye West as Kweli continues to set himself apart as an artist outside the mainstream.

Without question, Kweli is a pioneer in the underground hip hop movement - distinguished by music that is empowering and insightful. Kweli muses, "This music is powerful, and it is power. If I can have a platform and a voice to say something different than what the majority is saying, that's what I am going to do. Any artist who expresses themselves (Eminem talking about he want to kill his baby-mom or someone talking about smoking a hundred blunts) - I don't give a fuck. Express yourself! Whatever you want to say. There is no way that I am going to say that any artist should say what I say. [As an artist] you should be able to say anything you want. What's happened in my career is that, because of the body of work that you put out, people expect you to say certain things - they say that you are sellout or that you are trying to change. As an artist, you should be able from the moment you come out, [to say] that you don't give a fuck and say whatever you want to say. People just have to deal with it... I've worked with many different artists, but all that shit about, ‘all artists should think alike', shit, you know, is Nazi shit. But, of course, as a human being you have to be responsible. You realize that there are babies in the world that are listening to you. You got to be a responsible human being, but that is not the job of an artist. The job of an artist is to express themselves. Now, the best artists, the one that you end up listening to and the ones that have the longevity are the ones that add value to society instead of being ones that take away from it. When I write a lot, I think ‘who am I writing this for?' What's the purpose of this song? I could turn on the radio and hear a hundred songs that make you want to dance and I want to make songs that make you want to dance too, but why waste the opportunity to write something that is going to last?"

With nearly ten years in this business, Talib Kweli is facing the obstacles faced by many artists who have chosen to create a body of work defined by value and substance rather than easy commercial achievement brought about by sexual and valueless imagery. Kweli's building success with his record label "Black Smith", whose signees include Jean Grae and MF Doom, and his XM radio program are some of the avenues, along with his art, by which he continues to fight for his devotion to subjects that matter.

Published in September, 2006, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

Thank Glaude It's Friday -- or, rather, thank God it's over, as West Coast House DJ Donald Glaude says "I think we needed to stop it" referring to his decision to end his year long residency at Ice in Las Vegas. Donald Glaude is a bit of an enigma when it comes to his goals, free spirit, and the conflict between the two as he describes his torrid relationship with the twelve-month gig that has gained him, perhaps, the most critical exposure that his career has seen thus far.

Over a year ago, Ice and Godskitchen approached Glaude about the idea of doing a yearlong residency at the Las Vegas club. Glaude, even now, is conflicted about the decision that he made to commit to the deal that eventually led to bored fans in addition to his realization that he would never do such a regular appearance in a club again. In his own words he says, Ice was "really the first time I ever convinced myself of doing something like that. It was a tough decision to make at first, because I was at the night club and the guy's from Ice and Godskitchen came to me with the idea of doing a residency and I though we could do it once every three months and if we did it that way it probably would have lasted a bit longer. They had this crazy idea to do it three times every month on Friday and I was a bit weary because I have done residencies before… people get to know where you're going to be once a month and they can pick and choose when they want to see you. I usually don't like to do residencies. I thought it was only going to last three months, to be honest, I thought we were going be in and out. I learned a lot from that night."

After speaking to Glaude, one gets the feeling that he is speaking like a guy who just took the roller-coaster ride of his life, got off and said, gee that was nice, but I will never do that again. He says, "I thought that a year was long enough and I did not want the people to, you know, get bored of it which I could already begin to see happen to it; the year goal was my goal. I usually I don't do residencies, especially those that are at the same place every month. It was really fun and we made the year goal. This residency was great and I think we needed to stop it. Ideally, I like residencies like unspoken ones, every two or three months. Crowbar Miami, Church of Violence Denver, I do every two or three months. I am starting a residency in Seattle and will probably will do it every two or three months."

Besides the recurrent theme that he does not like to be trapped for too long in one place, he muses that he still holds a special place for Seattle, near his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. "I feel comfortable going to Seattle even once a month. I thank God I was brought up in Seattle. I think my sound would have been a bit different if I were from somewhere else. I just think the quirkiness and rawness comes from Seattle and Seattle's rock and it's open-mindedness. Growing up in the music scene, especially when I was growing up when you are open to open your mind up… following Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, the Industrial Deal, Skinnie Company from Canada, the Network... Before that I listened to Hip Hop and R & B because I was brought up on that. There is a bit of rawness there -- whatever way your gonna take it your going to take it." After speaking to Donald, one does not know how to take it. Was the year-long party that bad?

What is for sure, is that he is going places now and this comes in great excitement when he speaks about his up and coming projects, which include a double CD album this summer called "For the People" that will feature one live mix compilation next to his production tracks, his up and coming residency at an unnamed club in Seattle, his presence on an XM Radio program, and his future collaboration with a mystery DJ who's name does not start with a "P" or an "O". We will pray that Glaude will find the courage to say "no" any future month-to-month gigs.

Published in July, 2006, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

The party is at the Queen Mary, but what's going on is titanic - floor after floor of beat-fueled dancing alongside patches of individual spiritual expereinces evident on the faces of the throngs of people jumping and smiling on the lower levels below couches and bottle service. As one descends each level from the entrance of the Exhibition Hall, finding at least a ten degree temperature difference after every flight of stairs, the experience feels more like participation in a joyful pagan rite than a night "clubbin". Friends agreed, looking down on Paul Oakenfold from above as he put another CD into one of his turntables, that to see him live is too monumental to call memorable - it's something legendary. By June of 2002, Oakenfold had already been acknowledged as club royalty when he created something no one else had been able to create before: a tasty mix of pop music and techno. With Bunkka's fusion of such "new" talent as Nelly Furtado in "Harder They Come", the promise of Carla Werner in "Southern Sun", and a few final statements from Hunter S. Thompson in "Nixon's Spirit", a big step was taken in the world of music - Paul Oakenfold was doing the walking.

As his subtle-talk about his latest ambitions in film suggest, just about the time Bunkka found it's way to shelves in America the possibilities of making a move west were already brewing in Paul's mind. Whether his draw closer to the Pacific was a product of the same forces that found him contributing to the scores of such films as "Swordfish" and "The Bourne Identity", his drive toward the next step as the all-in-one DJ-Producer package in the tradition of Prince and Madonna, or a combination of both these factors, the reality is that Paul Oakenfold embodies something the world has never seen: an acclaimed general of underground music riding into the world with the force and support of musicians, directors, and producers behind him. Accordingly, his journey has taken him half-way around the world from London, to New York, and finally to what he calls "La La Land" - Los Angles. It's three in the afternoon when we finally catch each other on the phone. As he muses about his new hometown, it sounds like he just woke up. "I have lived here for four years. I consciously decided at one point I would live in Los Angles, out to work on a calling in film... If I had asked myself five years ago if I would have come to L.A. to live I would have said No. It was important on my next step as a DJ to work in film. Currently, I've got three films in the mix. One film that I am working on is a British Gangster film called "The Heavy". Musically they want dark, dangerous music that stands out and that intrigue's me." He sounds excited.

No question, people are excited with him. With his performance at Coachella operating as his gateway to his world tour, which includes stops in England, Japan, Singapore, and China, Paul reflects on the fact that when you are driven there is never an end to work in sight, but you have to keep running - pointing toward "A Lively Mind", his second studio release due in stores June 6th. "There is a lot going on because obviously my main priority is in the album," Paul says. "I'm very proud of it. The great thing of technology is when I am on my tour bus I can take my tour rig. I can take the tracks from the studio and the film that I am working on and I can write on the road. [Considering the album] I think the rhythms are very cutting edge - it's a dangerous thing, especially in England. Some people will get hit on the face and say I don't like it, because I have combined Rock with guitar. There are guitar and dance records and it's not the norm, but fuck ‘em. I believe in what I do… - like a race in the last ten meters it's the hardest thing to do, but when you climb that wall, when you get over it, you've done it."

Paul understands that while he runs a great risk in presenting a breakthrough album that is comprised of "generally, wholly new talent", that combines two genres of music rarely mixed, as he says, he is just doing what he loves: sharing music. Paul considers this balance between two different worlds of music when he says, "In America you listen to KROQ or 106 in Los Angles that plays all hip hop, and KISS that plays all pop. You realize how important it is [to listen to many genres of music], honestly, when you become older, because when you're a kid growing up you listen to Nirvana, LL Cool J - to the hot star tracks. As I grew up, rock was a very important part of my make-up, [but] you're influenced by all kinds of music and that's why I think as a remixer and artist I liked all kinds of music… New talent is what I enjoy: finding new talent. I am very happy that I can help new people and I hope they move on to something great." Paul believes the benefits of having one's hand in the art is worth the associated risks, but if his previous album offers any clues to "A Lively Mind"'s future success, he has nothing to worry about - continuing in his tradition of exposing and infusing dynamic, fresh content and talent into his creations.

As a master of his art, he understands what it is to come from humble beginnings. In addition to still seeing himself as an infant, he says about his first gig "at a small bar with tons of people" that he "was extremely nervous" and "probably fucked it up", but "stumbled through it". In a serious tone he says that to get ahead one has to not only be driven onward, but willing to dispense the emotion necessary to be successful. "[When I was getting my start] I had three jobs. I was a chef Monday to Friday, I was working in a shop on Saturday and I was DJing on Friday and Saturday night," Paul remembers. "My father taught me at an early age to work very hard and that was one of the great things that my dad gave me and I am very proud of that. I enjoy that. I work hard and play hard." Overall he says that in the end you have to just "get on that stage and deliver".

There is little question of Paul Oakenfold's ability to deliver solely unique, vivid manifestations of the next, emerging standard of musical content. With the release date of "A Lively Mind" set for the start of June, we can be as he is: energized about the next step of his journey, enthralled that he is guaranteed to deliver, because of his belief "in great songs" and "melody and motion" - You may become a follower.

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Surprisingly -- or perhaps appropriately -- trance architect Paul Van Dyk once listened to illegal music; smuggled mix-tapes and wayward radio transmissions into Soviet controlled East Berlin where he was born. According to online sources, he began making mix tapes for his friends shortly before the fall of the Berlin wall. In collaboration with Cosmic Baby, Paul released "Visions of Shiva" (1992), followed successfully by his remix of Humate's "Love Stimulation" (1993). He gained notoriety as a pioneer of the trance genre with his release of his second album "Seven Ways" (1997) and established infamy in the UK with his singles "Forbidden Fruit", "Seven Ways", and "Words", being quoted as saying that by the time the British discovered he was German "it was too late". By this time DJ Mag began publishing it's yearly Top 100 DJ Poll in 1997, Paul was listed as #42. As a measure of his success, he jumped from #42 in 1997, to #4 in 2000, and to #2 by 2003. Respectively, during this time we saw the release of "Seven Ways" in 1997, "Out There and Back" (his third studio Album) in 2000, and "Reflections" in 2003, his forth album, sparked by a trip to Africa. At the end of 2005, Paul released his single "The Other Side", which preceded his fifth studio album, "The Politics of Dancing 2". Most recently, Paul Van Dyk unseated Tiesto (see last month's issue) from his three year title of Top DJ, as voted by DJ Magazine.

Speaking with Paul about his preparation for his upcoming Las Vegas show set for December 30th, he say's "I never really plan my shows -- I have a very clear idea about what I would like to do, the music and the sound I would like to bring across. Of course, I do have my favorite records, you know, that I play and records I definitely want to play [at the show]. The ways in which I am putting the whole thing together, it [the music] is never the same because the kind of technology I use -- I can never repeat myself, for one thing. Another thing [that can not be repeated] are the sounds of the atmosphere of the club and the action of the crowd. At the same time it's about this interaction with the crowd… its much more than normal DJ-ing its more interaction with the music and the crowd itself, I am like the remote control."

Paul uses two Apple PowerBook G4 Laptops, "one is driving scratch live which is a DJ software and that signal goes from the mixer and interfaces to another computer which is running Ableton Live, another program, and its kind of like a sequencer software, combining the elements of a DJ driven software with a sequencer program, therefore I have endless opportunities to do the craziest bit." The combination of these laptops and their software gives Paul the unique opportunity to create on-the-fly remixes using a library of samples from his computer, samples from an adjoined turntable and from other sources. Regardless of the equipment he has, Paul emphasizes that one must possess knowledge of their preferences, ability, and resonance when creating music.

"Based on the fact that I have a very good idea about my sound, I move the crowd through within my parameters of sound. You will never here me playing a cheesy vocal house disco record. That's not a type of music that I particularly like. You might hear me playing a really cool house beat on a house record with some real life base and substance because it fits. [When producing] I don’t like DJ mix CD's in the normal account of how most people understand them, for me its about the atmosphere. You can’t really bring across the atmosphere of a club night on a CD. As far as the way "Politics of Sound" goes, the technical concept of combining me being a DJ, a producer, remixer, musician and artist, taking all the elements of the tracks and completing meshing them up -- that's how everything comes together. The other thing, of course, is when I make an atmosphere album, I usually have a clear idea about an atmosphere I would like to bring across with a certain track, and then I just feel the atmosphere, usually I like instrumental tracks. If I have a specific topic I would like to write a track about, usually it becomes a track that includes lyrics as well and a vocalist. I produce it the way I feel about that topic coming across."

Paul says that a variety of experiences have brought him to create many of his songs. As mentioned earlier, Paul may owe his success for his album "Reflections" to Africa, which inspired the concepts of many of its tracks. When asked what inspires him, he light-heartedly replies, "Well everything, "Like a Friend" was inspired by a visit I had one day in India when I experienced the most devastating kind of poverty that I had ever experienced in my life... when I got back I was so moved that I went to the studio and did a track about it. "Time of Our Life" for example was fueled by all this political stuff going on in the Middle East -- by putting all those opposite things next to each other in the lyrics we created the tension -- its time to take a stand because these are the times of our lives. "The Other Side", my latest, is based in the wider meaning of death, but in the positive sense when you don’t forget people -- they are always with you. The wisdom they achieved throughout their lives, if you don't forget about them, it will stick with you and they will help you and be with you all the time."

As far as his current inspirations and his new album, which he tells me it is already being created, "I am already working on the next album. There are some very interesting collaborations coming up. I hope I will be able to finish it before the summer so it can come out at the end of summer." In closing, being asked if he would like to drop some names about who he is working with, he calmly, but sternly says with his German accent, "No, I would not."

By Guy E. White

Taking calls from press before his ten-thousand person strong, sold-out, Bucarest show, Tiesto hardly skips a beat when balancing conversations between the interviewer on the phone half-way around the world and his urgent manager, standing next to him, mindful that they are only hours from the next stop of the big event this fall season: Tiesto's eight-country Central Eastern European Tour. This DJ is no stranger to the success of sold-out shows with over 25,000 people in attendance. Besides winning DJ Magazine's "prestigious" poll three consecutive times, he lives with the confidence that he has moved DJ-status to a higher state of being.

As Tiesto says, "DJs used to be DJs just playing records and now they are like full blown artists: a stadium for 25,000 people - that had never been done before. That is the main difference I made, taking the DJ status to a full blown artist kind of performance."

Besides gaining main-stream notoriety with his remix of Delirium featuring Sarah McLachlan's Silence, which, according to his website, was "the first house track ever broadcast on daytime radio in North America", he proudly bares the hallmark of playing in front of the world during the Parade of The Athletes at the Olympic Games in Athens - "one of the highlights of my career, I think".

Tiesto began his career from humble beginnings before his pioneering contributions to the trance scene. "I always enjoyed playing for other people I would listen to the radio all the time and DJ from the it and things from records. I started playing for parties and for friends and in holiday resorts I would ask to play in bars and I enjoyed that so much - I like the whole experience and unity feeling you have when you come to a show... I just built off that".

Overall, he has gained his status through his label, Black Hole, which released his hugely acclaimed "In Search of Sunrise" in 1999 - distributing his tracks to a worldwide audience. He makes the task sound easy when he says, "Most of the ideas I get from being on the road, hearing a record or something, and then I just write it down in a little notebook. When I am making a CD I just look at the ideas. To find out ideas is the hardest part, once you have the ideas the record comes together".

Overall, Tiesto admits that despite his success over the past eight years he is still growing; "I am still improving my shows a lot. I am learning more and more every year about it, I just love touring and I would like to take touring to the next level." The big question stands of how an artist that can sell out stadiums of to over 25,000 people expects to do more. When asked what this next big event will look like, he simply says, "On New Years Eve I will do a big show in Las Vegas". This leads to speculation about some surprises that he may have in store for those who will spend the last moments of 2005 and the first moments of 2006 in Sin City.

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Published in December, 2005, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

Sitting across from me before the August 27 event that has nearly crowned him a Formula-D Drifting Champion, Rhys Millen, who has piloted his Pontiac GTO toward this feat from the start of the Formula-D season open, looks confident about what he already knows – that this highly competitive season will lead to something big, championship or not.

Millen has a lot to be confident about. Nearly taking the championship this weekend at the Irwindale Speedway was only the icing on the cake, his team working diligently on seven cars for the new Fast and Furious sequel as well as being slated to be the lead stunt driver for the film. Millen, a New Zealand native driving an American car in a Japanese sport, is quickly taking on the role of being the face of this emerging phenomenon that combines elements of extreme racing and precision driving.

Drifting, forming in Japan about ten years ago, calls for “drivers to control a 450hp car while it slides sideways at high speed through a marked course. It is similar to rally racing, but is done on a closed course and judged on execution and style rather than who finishes the course fastest.” Unique to the sport is the “U.S.- based Formula Drift that takes the excitement one step further by being the only drifting competition that features aggressive side-by-side action as finalists burn up the course two-at-a-time often only inches apart.”

While drifting has existed as a predominantly underground sport for the past decade, it’s wide-recognition in the States has been only recent. In 2003, Irvine-based Slipstream Global Marketing flew top Japanese drivers to an exhibition event that sold out the Irwindale Speedway. Since this debut, Yokohama Tire Corporation and Slipstream have brought the D1 Grand Prix to the U.S. Formula-D Driving was created in 2003 by Slipstream Global Marketing, delivering the first “sanctioned” competitions to the States.

Since the sport’s premier, Formula Drift announced in 2004 that G4techTV would broadcast “programming based on the Formula-D Championship series”.

“This partnership is an incredible opportunity for us,” comments Jim Liaw of Formula Drift, Inc. “Never did I think that in just one year the Formula-D Championship series would make it to television. G4techTV understands our vision and as a result our sponsors and drivers are going to reap major rewards. In this industry it is truly unique to have a partner who not only wants to televise our product, but is also excited to promote it and see it grow.”

Before the qualifying event where Rhys Millen took first place, he jokes that he’s ahead “today… I just reach in my pocket and use a wad of cash to pay off the judges”. Showing off his modified Pontiac GTO, he points out the modifications that his team has made to improve the aerodynamics of the car. With a smile on his face, he boasts that what you see on his car you will most likely be seeing on other cars next season. Out of the qualifying event, Millen battled Ken Gushi in his Ford Mustang and Samual Hubinette in his Dodge Viper. In the end the event’s title went to Chris Forsburg in his Nissan.

Regardless of the outcome of the Irwindale event, judging by the crowds of people flooding the speedway, the looming reality of next season already on the way, the movie deals, and media coverage, Millen has much to justify his smile.

Special thanks to Eric Edwards and the rest of Red Bull for providing such a warm welcome for my staff and I. You guys kick ass.

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Published in October, 2005, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

Recovering from the shoot of Fischerspooner's video for next single from their new album 'Odyssey', Casey Spooner, the troupe's front man and co-collaborative genius, muses that the past two days of 'torture and struggle', which happen to be guiding themes in the video for 'Never Win', are part of the 'dawning of a new era' for Fischerspooner -- what he has described as an ‘experiment in entertainment and all that entertainment entails'. Meeting in an experimental video class at the School of the Art Instititute of Chicago, Casey Spooner, front man and lyricist, and Warren Fischer, the group's musical wizard, collaborated on performance art pieces before losing touch until years later when they both moved to New York. Warren and Casey brought their talents together as Fischerspooner when they began to partner in various projects. From 1999 to 2000 they wrote tracks for their debut album '1#'. With their first album, the two birthed a new experimental performance idea, where a network of dancers, singers, costumers, and other artist friends gathered to create an idiosyncratic experiment in media, art, and entertainment. The video for the appropriately titled 'Emerge' blended elements of costuming, dance, and art, heralding the nativity of Fischerspooner's cult following.

Fischerpooner's preparation for their second album was altogether different. 'I knew I was going to make a different kind of record. From the Fall of 2000 to when I really started writing full time, which was in the Spring of 2003, my world had completely changed in New York after going through a fucked up election and the debacle in Florida -- then a terrorist attack, and then going to war... I knew I wanted to respond to that in some way. I knew it was more of an emotional thing I wanted to react to.' While Fischer drew from influences of artists such as Black Sabbath, Elvis, and Pink Floyd to create the musical backdrop to the album, Spooner drew from themes of romanticism to breath the lyrical and visual elements of 'Odyssey' to life.

'I was not sure why but I was really drawn to Paris... that lead to this idea of romanticism and how the romanticism of 19th century France was in a lot of ways the foundation for people like Jimmy Hendrix and Jim Morrison'. Spooner explains that his reaction to the events of the past five years have pushed his focus to this notion of 'emotion over ration and about how artists [in 19th century France] were all-of-a-sudden elevated into these idealized hero's'.

More than ever, Fischerspooner reached out further from themselves to collaborate with personas of various disciplines and talent. 'When I started thinking about who I wanted to work with on this record, the two people I wanted to work with were Susan Sontag and Linda Perry because I like the idea of these two extremes.' Spooner approached Sontag, the late writer and human rights activist, in 2003 hoping that they could work on something together. Instead, after a brief discussion, she disappeared into her library and returned fifteen minutes later with a printed sheet of lyrics titled 'We Need A War'. Spooner read them and said 'I don't think I can say the word 'war', I'm not comfortable saying it.' Sontag responded, 'You need to get comfortable saying the word war. Your president approved eighty billion dollars for a war in Iraq yesterday.'

Fischerpooner's unique process of drawing various types of art and media together seemed to culminate these past months with the opening of their Excellent Workshop, an art space that has been compared with Andy Warhol's factory. Donated to them by galleriest Jeffrey Deitch, Fischerpooner opened up their creative process for the world to see. Spooner considering the project a success ruminates, 'I really wanted to create an environment that was social and safe for people to try ideas that wasn't a club, theater or gallery; it was sort of a nebulous space where anything could happen.'

Closing the warehouse down a few weeks ago, Spooner prepares for his tour that will begin with four intimate shows every Thursday in May at the famed NYC Canal Room followed by the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles and House of Blues in Anaheim and San Diego in June. Spooner, described by many as a shape-shifter, will undoubtedly have some surprises for the curious and faithful to come.

Reflecting on the album, Spooner says that the stress of being pressed against a deadline for the first time began wearing on him and Fischer. Considering this tension, Spooner says, 'all the cliches about making a second record are true -- everything changed for me'.

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Published in August, 2005, Issue 4:7, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

When his father was convicted and sent to Prison for charges surrounding trafficking of narcotics and tax evasion when Alley Kat was only a kitten, the breakup of his family -- his entire life was not the only result. You can't help but starting twenty-year-old hip-hop up-and-comer, Alley Kat's story at this point, because of the way that he speaks, sings, and acts out. When listening to him, its like speaking to sinner, prophet, prisoner, and savior all at once, because unlike many artists on the scene today, Alley wishes to "build unity" through an evolving story, a graphic novel, parable, and album all rolled into one package, that "everyone can relate to".

His story, "The Life and Times of Christopher Smart", is told through, according to Alley, at least ten separate characters that speak and act distinctly different; almost like multiple personalities. The "novel" as it exists now is his album that starts with his prologue, "Walk With Me" that presents his life as an open book where we are the ink with which the tale is written. Alley's characters become audibly alive in the tracks and, if you are fortunate to see him in person, they physically can come to life right in front of you.

"The world is a fallacy", Alley tells me sitting next to his hotty-girlfriend, Carol Lee who looks between Alley and the table -- she has heard this before. Alley first came to the hip-hop scene about a year ago, when he found that this music culture has uniquely "true honest roots" where he could present his art as "interpretation of what you already know" -- our shared stores. Alley Kat feels hip-hop is all about stories that everyone knows from experience. He invites us to "walk with" him and "close our eyes and open our minds".

Alley Kat is as true as they come. Starring you in the face with the realities of his life and the losses that he has suffered, he promotes a message through an undeniably unique style of channeling his subjects and characters. What are his motives?

"I want a fucking family, Guy," he stares at me from across the table. The frank message he delivers in his lyrics give testament to his life, his father, "every kid that is look down upon and every neglectful parent that fails to raise their children". Alley is look for redemption, condemnation, and resurrection in his life through his music. Through his supports with Rob Gilliam of Star Voice Records and The Wall Recording Studio, he has broken out kicking and screaming into local venues and has up and coming performances at Rock the Bells on July 31st and at Hip Hop Fo Show on August 19th. Alley Kat has the advantages of our open ears and a true story that will give you shivers, but will he get our attention? "I'll do your fucking barmitsva," Alley says, "...here is my life, my fucking tangled spider web -- don't get trapped in it."

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Published in August, 2005, Issue 4:7, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

His name sounds familiar right? It did to me when my editor told me his name on the phone when I took this assignment. His name seems to register almost like a bi-word or something synonymous with someone notorious and when I browsed to his website early this week, I found him just that -- somehow notorious in his own right, the site's headline boasting him as having "remixed everyone from Whitney Houston to Basement Jaxx, from the Sneaker Pimps to Macy Gray".

On the cover of DJ Magazine I got my first glimpse of Erick Morillo, starring back at me like a bad-ass from the glossy paper. He reminds me of a million-dollar-mogul -- not anyone I would expect to have laid down some of the most well known work in his genre. Until DJ Dangermouse released the Gray-Album a couple years ago, spawning international controversy on his illegal mix of unlicensed tracks from the Beatles "White Album" and Jay-z's "Black Album", remixes were something you would find from faceless artists in the dark corner of a coffee shop in a youth Mecca like downtown Riveriside. What artists such as Moby and Oakenfold were able to do is to bring recognizable face to what has been and still is a largely underground subculture of artists and producers that make up the electronic genre. Morillo builds on this tradition in a way no other artist-producer has -- marketing himself as the package deal, a person that writes, creates, and produces his own music, forming an image of himself that seems characteristically infamous.

"I think that wearing all those different hats, running a record label, being a DJ and producer, but also knowing how to have fun myself, keeps me able to adapt to different situations when I'm playing out. Playing all over the world - the crowds respond to a different sound in NYC, where I've got a harder, afterhours vibe, than in say England, where they like it funkier and upbeat."

The quality of Erick Morillo that makes him so interesting is his versatility, the ability to shape shift from the platinum selling artist that created albums such as "My World" and, his new album, "The 2 Sides of My World", to the producer of chart-topping Reel 2 Reel's hit "I Like To Move It".

On the cover of "The 2 Sides of My World" he is a Zen-like figure, a man who has reached nirvana (see noun, not band name) and he has good reason. Besides the obvious strides in his career, such as his albums, high profile gigs are defining and reinforcing his current direction.

"Well, I just played a charity event for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, as a favor to my friend Naomi Campbell for her birthday. It was in Cannes - what a beautiful town, and the women are beautiful, as well. Coming up, of course, I've got the beginning of my summer residency at Pacha in Ibiza. Every year has been getting bigger and bigger, and I've got some amazing guests lined up. Also, I'll be playing at a festival here in NYC at the end of the summer, something New York hasn't really done yet. Judging from the crowds I've been getting at my gigs here lately, at Crobar and Spirit and Discoteque, I'd say the people are ready for anything."

Up and coming Morillo will be taking part in the 2005 Independence Festival with fellow artists Paul van Dyk, Mauro Picotto, Steve Angello, and Dave Armstrong -- one of the largest events of it's kind.

"I'll be headlining the house arena at the Coliseum in LA on July 2nd. Playing with me is a really hot DJ right now, Steve Angello. He played the Subliminal party at Space in Miami for the WMC, and really blew people away. He's also mixed our newest compilation, Subliminal Sessions 8, along with his fellow Swede Sebastian Ingrosso and our own Jose Nunez."

While Erick Morillo has secured himself as a defining face in his genre, much is left to be seen as to how he can further develop as the artist-producer that will emerge as the breakout mastermind that he is becoming. God knows many of us will be watching and much more will end up hearing about him anyway.

"As you know, I DJ entirely using CDs and 3 CJD-1000s, plus a number of filters. I love those things. Being able loop records and use specific bits of my own stuff (drums, accapellas, or whatever), I can basically remix records on the fly. I have a lot more flexiblity as a DJ right now, and have a lot less fear about really mixing it up, track-wise.

It's the same thing with the record label, responding to the changes in the technology and the market. That's why Subliminal started their own MP3 store, and we're now on Beatport and iTunes as well. I'm really happy with how it's turned out."

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Published in June, 2005, Issue 4:5, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

What's in a name -- or more appropriately, what's in a genre. Driving home from dropping off an old friend at the airport and I have college radio blaring in my '88 Taurus. Between the garage bands and Bjork tracks, Ani Difranco pays a visit and says 'hip hop is tied up in a back room with a label stuffed in it's mouth' -- at the gas station by my house, an old school bus has a giant mural of Snoop Dogg in a Raiders jacket throwing a football and somewhere there is an obese restaurant manager dawning a Sean Jean necktie. One does not have to look hard to see that the commercialization of art and artists only dilutes their message. For Northern California hip-hop group, North Coast Underground, it's all in the message.

Boasting that they are 'throwing down' what's real with hip-hop, dub, roots, rock, and reggae, North Coast Underground drives an informed, politically minded message that echo's the inner broodings of students and young workers in Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties. The band is comprised of 6 members, David Mouton (vocals), Jameson Hodder (vocals), Ian Stinson (rhythm guitar), Chris Forsythe (drummer), James 'Nips' Cole (Bass), and Mike Kumec (guitar). Drawing their art from 'anger toward ridiculous politics, social malfunctions, environmental atrocities, and ignorance', their 'funky conscious mix of music styles' and 'lifestyles' is embossed with their characteristic overconfidence in their (as they say on their website) 'awareness for what's really going on'.

What's really going on for North Coast is their self-titled EP that released last year and a local following that has earned them sponsorships with companies such as DVS Shoes, Gravity Skateboards, and General Hydroponics. They have played shows with artists such as Mix Master Mike, Talib Kweli, The Marleys, Black Eyed Peas, and Lifesavers. Furthermore, they have been featured on numerous action sport films such as Caguamas the Long Road, IMAX's Ultimate X, and on such TV networks as OLN, ESPN, ESPN 2, and NBC. Through their hard work they have secured attachment to many of these labels and rough association with these artists, undoubtedly a crucial step to their success.

Interesting about North Coast is their ability to integrate the familiar styles of Rage Against the Machine and Sublime with their lyrics that are at times part lullaby and parable simultaneously. Their verse is thoughtful in a way that is mindful of their musical roots in hip-hop and reggae -- this quality shines.

With their sponsorships, they have a large following in 'the action sports world that includes pro riders, strippers, video producers, felons, DJ's, and some of the coolest people this world has to offer', as their bio states. Their website provides a focal point for much of their world, letting visitors download free tracks and music videos. They have no stated up-and-coming shows. What is to be seen is where they will go from here -- hopefully the message of their lyrics will shine over all else.

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Published in June, 2005, Issue 4:5, Skinnie Entertainment Magazine

On Monday, Nov. 24, students of UCR's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center found that their memorial display for victims of transgender related violence had been vandalized.

"When we arrived on Monday morning, several of the posters had been violently torn down," said Elizabeth Green, campus coordinator for the LGBTRC. "Entire lengths of the display wire were carefully dismantled so that the posters could be removed.

"The posters were found littered all over the Commons Walkway. Display boards that explained the event were also destroyed. At first we thought that perhaps the wind had played some factor, but after inspecting the posters, it was obvious that someone was intent on tearing them off the wire."

The U.C. Police Department was subsequently contacted.

"It has been reported that about a third of these posters were purposely ripped," said Sergeant Mike Lane, U.C. Police Department. "Members of LGBTRC were able to recover some of them in the nearby area, but this incident is still disheartening to them and our community. I am glad to see that LGBT was able to reconstruct this display."

U.C. police believe that the vandalism might have been a hate crime, due to the nature of the material vandalized.

"Of concern in this matter is the motivation of the person or persons responsible," Lane said. "Did the vandal(s) do this just for the sake of ripping something down or was it bias-motivated?"

"I think it would be inappropriate to disregard the fact that LGBT represents a specific group of people who have traditionally been victims of hate crimes and incidents in our society," Lane said. "I also think it would be too idealistic to believe that every member of our campus, or those that visit it, will always act responsibly and with due respect and sensitivity to others. To this degree our department is currently investigating this vandalism as a possible hate crime."

Chancellor France Cordova was remorseful over the possibility of a hate crime occurring on campus, however she does not believe the actions of the vandal or vandals should represent the campus as a whole.

"I find