Tag Archive for new orleans

The Good

Van Morrison adds another to his brood (not a brown-eyed girl)

It’s true —Van Morrison is still alive and actually quite virile. This week the reclusive, 64-year-old singer became a father for the fourth time when his manager/partner Gigi Lee gave birth to a son, who the couple named George Ivan Morrison III.

New Missy Elliot Track leaked

Missy Elliott

Speaking of reclusive, Missy Elliott has been keeping a low-profile of late, finishing up work on her long-anticipated album, Block Party. The hip-hoptrix joined forced with Lil Wayne on the track “All 4 U,” which leaked unfinished onto the interwebs this week.  Check out the rough mix here.

The Bad

Vic Chesnutt dies on Christmas Day

Vic Chesnutt

Athens, Georgia singer-songwriter Vic Chestnutt died on December 25th following an apparent overdose of prescription muscle relaxers. Confined to a wheelchair since his teens, Chestnutt struggled with depression for much of his life, but remained a prolific musician. In 2009 he released two albums, At The Cut and Skitter On Take Off and collaborated with several artists, from Widespread Panic to Sparklehorse.

Avenged Sevenfold drummer dies

The Rev

Not to crush your spirits even further, but the music world suffered another loss on Monday when Avenged Sevenfold drummer James Owen Sullivan, a.k.a. “The Rev,” passed away in his home in Southern California. Local authorities say Sullivan appears to have died of natural causes, but his death is still under investigation.

The Ugly

Lil Wayne heads to the clink with a bang

Lil Wayne (born Dwayne Carter) will likely be spending a year behind bars for his conviction on a weapons possession charge in October. But, he’s not going softly into that good night. This Monday the rapper performed in his hometown of New Orleans to a crowd of thousands as part of his self-described farewell tour. Lil Wayne’s next album, Rebirth, is due for release Feb. 1. After New Orleans, he is scheduled to perform in Lafayette, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi before being sentenced in February. We bet “a milli” they won’t let him bring his auto-tuner to prison.

Miscellany

• New Yorkers win free “American Idol” concert
• Spike Lee directs Michael Jackson “This Is It” video
• New Julian Casablancas video for “11th Dimension”
• Lady Gaga medley becomes YouTube sensation
• Alicia Keys bonus track leaks

New Orleans-based Jealous Monk is a live hip hop band on the brink of major cross over success. The band began as the brain child of MC and DJ Jermaine Quiz. His goal? To marry the sounds of New Orleans funk with the lyrical stylings of the Bronx. The fusion was well received by the locals — the band now plays all over the city and is garnering quite a bit of buzz. This week’s free download “Black Magic,” is the hard-hitting lead off track from their debut album Sun Up To Moon Down. You can give it a spin while delving into this Q&A session with frontmen Jermaine Quiz and Intelligence.

First off, the story behind the band’s name—I reckon it’s a reference to Bob Dylan’s song “Desolation Row.” What made you guys decide on the name?

Jermaine Quiz: Surprising or not, I am a Dylanite. Bob Dylan is one of my biggest influences when it comes to songwriting. “Desolation Row” is about a place forsaken by God, in shambles; a dirty place with entire sections of the city wiped out… sounds like New Orleans to me! In the song, Einstein disguised as Robinhood and his friend, a Jealous Monk, were the last people playing music on Desolation Row. It just seemed fit and almost cryptic in relation to the state of our city.

SC: What was it like starting a band in New Orleans right after Katrina?

Jermaine Quiz: We had already been on the scene playing with other band for quite a while. We wanted to bring a new style to the New Orleans swagger. It was real rough coming back and seeing the city destroyed. What do you do? I guess the consensus was to rebuild. Every aspect from buildings to culture. People don’t realize New Orleans is still in recovery mode —but we are coming back!

Intelligence: For us starting a band right after Katrina was our way of helping to rebuild the city. Music is such an integral part of New Orleans’ culture that we wanted to continue the tradition of bridging two generations into one element that various people can connect with.

You guys have a lot of funk influences in your music—who are your favorite funk artists?

Jermaine Quiz: We are Funk! A lot of the close family of Jealous Monk are these legendary funk musicians such as George Porter and Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) and Kirk Joseph (Dirty Dozen Brass Band). New Orleans is known for the funk and we’ve taken our lessons… some of my favorite funk musicians are The Meters, Chuck Brown, Sly and so many more.

What was the recording process like for Sun Up To Moon Down?

Jermaine Quiz: The album came together over 2 years. Myself and my engineer Andrew Greenwood basically produced and mixed it together over that time. Producing a band hip hop record is way different than a beat-based record. A lot of attention to detail and I think [it] is a great medium between funk and hip hop. Funky hip hop with some rock edge. It was a really fun record to make with a lot of our friends. We are in the middle of recording our second one right now.

What are your thoughts on the current state of mainstream hip hop?

Jermaine Quiz: Hip hop is vast. Mainstream hip hop is what it is. There are some bright points: The Roots are still in the spotlight. Talib and Lupe are doing it. Hip hop is becoming more eclectic, but in today’s information age you really can program your own mainstream. Consumers don’t have to rely on the traditional forms of media dissemination like MTV or the radio. They can get it on YouTube or places like OurStage or Pandora. I like “my” mainstream.

Intelligence: Hip hop in it’s current state is cool, but it is missing the creative diversity that used to exist. Back in the day artists strived to be different and now it seems that artist have the mind set of “if it works for one then it works for all.”

Lastly, do you have any advice for up-and-coming artists?

Jermaine Quiz: Live it. Breathe it. Eat it. Sleep it. Drink it. Be it. Love it! Work. Work. Work. It’s a really tough industry. Rejection is everywhere. So much competition. But if you put in that 18 hours a day and you keep your eyes on your mission, ya might make it. That’s how I try and conduct myself.

The New Orleans tent was a really cool place to hear some killer blues and grab some spicy bayou bites. It was $5 for an all day pass into the tent and all proceeds went to fund raising efforts for NOLA. Here’s a pic of one of the musicians we saw that night …

When we stepped outside & looked up we were greeted by one of the highlights of Bonnaroo …

Shinny got geared up, VIP style, for the nights big show – My Morning Jacket.

Sorry, the night shots got a little blurry … I promise it wasn’t the booze

Well that’s a little better.