Thanks to Jenny May at BandWeblogs.com for the great article today!!
BLVD tour dates (incl Phish after show, SXSW)
Showing posts with label souleye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label souleye. Show all posts
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
BLVD Featured On tra.kz Roll Out Today
We are thrilled to have been invited by our friends at MixMatchMusic to be part of the newest way to promote your music online. tra.kz is an easy-to-use linking technology that helps musicians virally promote their music and engage fans using Twitter. Controlled Substance Sound Labs label artists Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, the Expendables, Mat McHugh, and Rebelution are among the first bands to promote their music via Twitter campaigns powered by tra.kz.
MixMatchMusic will be supporting these artists’ Twitter and tra.kz campaigns by releasing a song on Twitter each hour throughout Wednesday, February 11, accompanied by information about the song and artist on Evolving Music.
“Great music deserves to be heard and Twitter is quickly becoming one of the things artists use to make sure that happens,” said Charles Feinn, CEO and co-founder of MixMatchMusic. “tra.kz is a highly effective way for artists to connect with their fan communities on Twitter with great new music and related content, and another way MixMatchMusic helps them engage with their followers.
BLVD will be taking the tra.kz spotlight at 5pm PST tonight, so tune into to our Twitter accounts for all the details and a new song release.
Follow us here...
Curtis Sloane - Electronic Guitar/Samples
Dylan McIntosh - Drums/Samples
Tripp Bains - Bass/Keyboards
MC Souleye - Conscious Wordsmith
MixMatchMusic will be supporting these artists’ Twitter and tra.kz campaigns by releasing a song on Twitter each hour throughout Wednesday, February 11, accompanied by information about the song and artist on Evolving Music.
“Great music deserves to be heard and Twitter is quickly becoming one of the things artists use to make sure that happens,” said Charles Feinn, CEO and co-founder of MixMatchMusic. “tra.kz is a highly effective way for artists to connect with their fan communities on Twitter with great new music and related content, and another way MixMatchMusic helps them engage with their followers.
BLVD will be taking the tra.kz spotlight at 5pm PST tonight, so tune into to our Twitter accounts for all the details and a new song release.
Follow us here...
Curtis Sloane - Electronic Guitar/Samples
Dylan McIntosh - Drums/Samples
Tripp Bains - Bass/Keyboards
MC Souleye - Conscious Wordsmith
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tourblog By Tripp : Slim's : San Francisco : 9-27-08
Our show at Slim's was something I was looking forward to pretty much from the moment we booked it. It's been incredibly difficult for me to formulate a blog for this show in my head nevermind actually typing!) because there were so many things to fit in to any kind of synopsis. But at the urging of my fellow cohorts, this show is really something I really want to share with you all. That being said, here goes...
It was a homecoming of sorts for us as well, since BLVD had been doing tons of touring during the summer, but without many performances in the Bay Area. We had also been selling hard copies of our new album "Music For People" at our shows for a couple months, but our Slim's show was the official release party marking the date when people could actually buy the album through online channels.
The album "Music For People" represents many things for BLVD. For starters, it's our first release with our MC: Souleye. The last time we performed at Slim's, Souleye was relatively new to the group, and the CD we were releasing (the all-instrumental and electronically produced "Digital Disorder") didn't even feature him. It was refreshing to have an album with his vocals. In addition, we finally had a release that was way more characteristic of our live show! Our previous efforts, while exciting studio projects, didn't really capture what people heard from us live.
It's always been a battle for BLVD to try and bridge the gap between the live music venue and the DJ club, anyway, and this show was no different. The show itself was fun to put together...our friend Random Rab opened things up at around 9pm, which was maybe a little early compared to when most people are used to seeing him, but I thought he tailored his set to the circumstances really well. It's not every weekend that a DJ is done playing by 10:30pm, haha!
We took the stage at around 10:30, and played every song from our album, in addition to some newer tunes that haven't been recorded yet. We've also been playing a lot of tracks from "Digital Disorder" that have been modified and augmented to include live instrumentation. It's always been fun for us to represent older material in a new format, which is what we've done with songs like Brown Eyes, Deep State, and Stained Glass.
After we were done, James Christopher took over the stage to present "Savage Journey," which was a project he had been working on for over a year mixing drum'n'bass with documentary footage from Hunter S. Thompson's life. What I didn't realize until the show was that it was actually a full-on stage performance...Chris as Richard Nixon, MC Manny Vibes and Rob Newell (a.k.a. Dave Laser from Seven Minute Style) as a secret service agents, DJ Majitope as a 60s-era hippie, just to name a few...it was a kind of organized chaos and a pleasure to behold. It was hard to know whether to dance to the banging beats or watch and try to unravel the mystery of what was unfolding onstage!
After the show came to a close, we all walked outside to see our sleek new Dodge Sprinter van that our manager had pulled up in earlier. People kept coming up to me offering me their congratulations, and it was hard to know whether they meant the van or the show we had just played, haha! The Slim's show was the first date beginning our upcoming fall tour, so it was nice to know that we'd be a little more comfortable driving east the following week. Anyone want to buy a '99 Chevy Suburban? (grin)
Check out this highlight video of the Slim's show by our friend Luxvibes...
It was a homecoming of sorts for us as well, since BLVD had been doing tons of touring during the summer, but without many performances in the Bay Area. We had also been selling hard copies of our new album "Music For People" at our shows for a couple months, but our Slim's show was the official release party marking the date when people could actually buy the album through online channels.
The album "Music For People" represents many things for BLVD. For starters, it's our first release with our MC: Souleye. The last time we performed at Slim's, Souleye was relatively new to the group, and the CD we were releasing (the all-instrumental and electronically produced "Digital Disorder") didn't even feature him. It was refreshing to have an album with his vocals. In addition, we finally had a release that was way more characteristic of our live show! Our previous efforts, while exciting studio projects, didn't really capture what people heard from us live.
It's always been a battle for BLVD to try and bridge the gap between the live music venue and the DJ club, anyway, and this show was no different. The show itself was fun to put together...our friend Random Rab opened things up at around 9pm, which was maybe a little early compared to when most people are used to seeing him, but I thought he tailored his set to the circumstances really well. It's not every weekend that a DJ is done playing by 10:30pm, haha!
We took the stage at around 10:30, and played every song from our album, in addition to some newer tunes that haven't been recorded yet. We've also been playing a lot of tracks from "Digital Disorder" that have been modified and augmented to include live instrumentation. It's always been fun for us to represent older material in a new format, which is what we've done with songs like Brown Eyes, Deep State, and Stained Glass.
After we were done, James Christopher took over the stage to present "Savage Journey," which was a project he had been working on for over a year mixing drum'n'bass with documentary footage from Hunter S. Thompson's life. What I didn't realize until the show was that it was actually a full-on stage performance...Chris as Richard Nixon, MC Manny Vibes and Rob Newell (a.k.a. Dave Laser from Seven Minute Style) as a secret service agents, DJ Majitope as a 60s-era hippie, just to name a few...it was a kind of organized chaos and a pleasure to behold. It was hard to know whether to dance to the banging beats or watch and try to unravel the mystery of what was unfolding onstage!
After the show came to a close, we all walked outside to see our sleek new Dodge Sprinter van that our manager had pulled up in earlier. People kept coming up to me offering me their congratulations, and it was hard to know whether they meant the van or the show we had just played, haha! The Slim's show was the first date beginning our upcoming fall tour, so it was nice to know that we'd be a little more comfortable driving east the following week. Anyone want to buy a '99 Chevy Suburban? (grin)
Check out this highlight video of the Slim's show by our friend Luxvibes...
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tourblog by Tripp : Steamboat Springs, CO : 10-09-08
It's no secret... I love Steamboat Springs, but not for the reason you may think. It's a great skiing destination for tons of people, but I love it for the people. Every time we have played there, we've had a venue full of people rawking out... it doesn't matter if it's in the height of the winter season, or in the off-season. This time was no different!
What was different was: This marks Souleye's first return to Steamboat since he moved to San Francisco (so BLVD could join forces once and for all!). We had a great turnout, and I know it was especially sweet for Souleye since he knows so many people in town.
BLVD has also been getting the royal treatment when it comes to the airwaves. Steamboat's local radio station has been playing Stamina (off our new album "Music For People") religiously. Much love to KFMU! We were also interviewed for the first time to television at Steamboat's local TV-18, which is broadcast to all the resort hotels. It was a fun experience to be on Steamboat Today, and somehow we all managed to be there for the 8am live broadcast! For myself especially, this is no small feat.
The icing on the cake was on our way to Denver (to begin our 8-show run opening for Lotus). Instead of just hearing ABOUT our song being played on KFMU, we tuned in and actually heard it for realz. Thanks so much to the entire Steamboat community for supporting BLVD!
What was different was: This marks Souleye's first return to Steamboat since he moved to San Francisco (so BLVD could join forces once and for all!). We had a great turnout, and I know it was especially sweet for Souleye since he knows so many people in town.
BLVD has also been getting the royal treatment when it comes to the airwaves. Steamboat's local radio station has been playing Stamina (off our new album "Music For People") religiously. Much love to KFMU! We were also interviewed for the first time to television at Steamboat's local TV-18, which is broadcast to all the resort hotels. It was a fun experience to be on Steamboat Today, and somehow we all managed to be there for the 8am live broadcast! For myself especially, this is no small feat.
The icing on the cake was on our way to Denver (to begin our 8-show run opening for Lotus). Instead of just hearing ABOUT our song being played on KFMU, we tuned in and actually heard it for realz. Thanks so much to the entire Steamboat community for supporting BLVD!
Monday, September 15, 2008
2 New BLVD CD Reviews
Album Review:
Music For People
September 4, 2008
Genre bending electro hip hop for those who think young and have the energy to shake it all night long accordingly. Truth? The hot, young accountant or lawyer that's bleary eyed at your morning meeting was out until 4 in the morning bopping to this, not looking at your file. Get her a Red Bull and an Urban Detox and make your move, with this as the soundtrack.
Midwest Record Recap
www.midwestrecord.com
September 12, 2008
Album Review:
Music For People
BLVD is the marriage of Colorado's MC Souleye and San Francisco electronic mavens BLVD. The trio has become four as MC Souleye ads his rhythmic poetry to BLVD's breaktronic sound. Music For People, BLVD's groundbreaking debut will be available on September 29, 2008. If you want to be on the forefront of a new musical experience, this is the place to start.
Recorded live in studio, Music For People captures the energy of a live show. You can't help moving to this music. Even the rhythm challenged will be moved by BLVD. Music For People is party music, or feel good music, or workout music, or whatever you want it to be. It's lyrically safe for young rap fans (parents will approve). Highlights include 108 Rose Petals, Stamina, Sounds Of Blvd and Alignment. The messages throughout are positive, the music is bright and energetic, and the band itself is more than just samples.
BLVD is a talented concatenation including MC Souleye, Dylan McIntosh (Drums/samples), Tripp Bains (Bass) and Curtis Sloane (Electric Guitar/samples). Music For People is just different enough and full of sufficient talent to make a dent in urban and pop radio. Don't be surprised if you hear a lot more of this band in the coming months.
Wildy
wildysworld.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Mahogany Ridge
Steamboat Springs, CO July 23, 2008
Steamboat Springs is the home of Souleye and his fiance: Jen Fritz. It has always been a favorite tour stop for us... Unlike many of the cities we play on tour, we have always played the same spot: Mahogany Ridge. They are a restaurant by day and a music venue by night. They have an extensive menu, but every one of us always orders the same thing: buffalo steaks with porter cream dipping sauce. It will not fail to disappoint! The steaks are great on their own, but they fact that Mahogany is a brewery and they make a sauce out of beer they brew themselves makes for a meal that I have dreams about.
On this visit, we got invited to do a radio interview at KFMU, local Steamboat radio. It was a great opportunity for us to promote the show, and they were kind enough to play a few tracks off our new album Music For People, as well. Thanks guys!
Once the interview was over, we went outside to find that one side of the trailer's axle had completely dislodged itself. It didn't actually come as a surprise, as we haven't been looked upon kindly by the trailer gods over the years. This was our second trailer, and third trailer axle. Trailer 1 died when we were driving back from Yosemite and a kind passer-by noticed the left tire looked "a little wobbly." When we stopped and jacked up the trailer, the tire completely fell off! Trailer 2 (New and Improved!) eventually had the exact same problem, only we replaced just the axle, not the entire trailer. With these wonderful experiences under our belt, this current dilemma came as no surprise. I was honestly surprised it hadn't happened sooner!
So we ever-so-carefully brought the trailer down to a safe place, then picked up a rental for the rest of the tour, and reloaded the gear. You can still go visit our old trailer somewhere in Steamboat, where you will likely find moss growing into the axle's cracks by a nearby sulphur spring.
The show at Mahogany Ridge that night was a great one, and that's saying a lot, considering how awesome the crowd is whenever we visit. It was a little bit sad since it was the last time we'd be there while Souleye and Jen lived there, but I'm psyched to go back in the winter.
And I'm definitely excited to have Souleye in San Francisco.
By: Tripp Bains
Steamboat Springs is the home of Souleye and his fiance: Jen Fritz. It has always been a favorite tour stop for us... Unlike many of the cities we play on tour, we have always played the same spot: Mahogany Ridge. They are a restaurant by day and a music venue by night. They have an extensive menu, but every one of us always orders the same thing: buffalo steaks with porter cream dipping sauce. It will not fail to disappoint! The steaks are great on their own, but they fact that Mahogany is a brewery and they make a sauce out of beer they brew themselves makes for a meal that I have dreams about.
On this visit, we got invited to do a radio interview at KFMU, local Steamboat radio. It was a great opportunity for us to promote the show, and they were kind enough to play a few tracks off our new album Music For People, as well. Thanks guys!
Once the interview was over, we went outside to find that one side of the trailer's axle had completely dislodged itself. It didn't actually come as a surprise, as we haven't been looked upon kindly by the trailer gods over the years. This was our second trailer, and third trailer axle. Trailer 1 died when we were driving back from Yosemite and a kind passer-by noticed the left tire looked "a little wobbly." When we stopped and jacked up the trailer, the tire completely fell off! Trailer 2 (New and Improved!) eventually had the exact same problem, only we replaced just the axle, not the entire trailer. With these wonderful experiences under our belt, this current dilemma came as no surprise. I was honestly surprised it hadn't happened sooner!
So we ever-so-carefully brought the trailer down to a safe place, then picked up a rental for the rest of the tour, and reloaded the gear. You can still go visit our old trailer somewhere in Steamboat, where you will likely find moss growing into the axle's cracks by a nearby sulphur spring.
The show at Mahogany Ridge that night was a great one, and that's saying a lot, considering how awesome the crowd is whenever we visit. It was a little bit sad since it was the last time we'd be there while Souleye and Jen lived there, but I'm psyched to go back in the winter.
And I'm definitely excited to have Souleye in San Francisco.
By: Tripp Bains
Samana Lounge
Vail, CO July 22, 2008
After our show in Denver, we kicked it a couple days in Boulder before driving up to our show on Tuesday in Vail. In case you missed my last blog, the drive down I-70 is a totally different experience in the summer. There's a stretch of road before you get to a tunnel which is pretty treacherous in the winter. We were on our way to Aspen when our trailer started fishtailing on a patch of ice... at 50 mph. After seeing our lives flash before our eyes, I don't think we cracked 20 mph the rest of the way.
Needless to say, the voyage was much smoother this time around. We met up with the promoter for the Samana Lounge, Peter Blick, who is also a great DJ. The venue itself is right in the main pedestrian area of Vail, and features a wall which looks as if one million candles have burned on it. Different colored waxes merging with stone in weird ways.
Before our show, Boombox was playing a free show at the Ampitheatre in town, so we went up after our soundcheck to scope out the tunes. They are a duo with Russ Randolph DJing and Zion Rock Godchaux on vocals and guitar. There were a bunch of people up at the show, and they were definitely into it... so much so in fact that they stormed the stage. Zion, normally quite cool in his demeanor, quite abruptly ended the show and they went off stage. The crowd quickly became hostile, demanding that they come back, but it became clear they wouldn't. The security force started running around the stage trying to corral people... this is some intense action for Vail!
We went down to Samana Lounge and played our show, and the crowd was pretty hype considering it was a Tuesday night. After things were over, Dylan spotted Zion from Boombox, who had been checking out our show. Excerpt of the conversation follows:
Dylan: "Sucks how they shut you down at the end of your set."
Zion: "It's Rock'n'Roll, bro."
By: Tripp Bains
After our show in Denver, we kicked it a couple days in Boulder before driving up to our show on Tuesday in Vail. In case you missed my last blog, the drive down I-70 is a totally different experience in the summer. There's a stretch of road before you get to a tunnel which is pretty treacherous in the winter. We were on our way to Aspen when our trailer started fishtailing on a patch of ice... at 50 mph. After seeing our lives flash before our eyes, I don't think we cracked 20 mph the rest of the way.
Needless to say, the voyage was much smoother this time around. We met up with the promoter for the Samana Lounge, Peter Blick, who is also a great DJ. The venue itself is right in the main pedestrian area of Vail, and features a wall which looks as if one million candles have burned on it. Different colored waxes merging with stone in weird ways.
Before our show, Boombox was playing a free show at the Ampitheatre in town, so we went up after our soundcheck to scope out the tunes. They are a duo with Russ Randolph DJing and Zion Rock Godchaux on vocals and guitar. There were a bunch of people up at the show, and they were definitely into it... so much so in fact that they stormed the stage. Zion, normally quite cool in his demeanor, quite abruptly ended the show and they went off stage. The crowd quickly became hostile, demanding that they come back, but it became clear they wouldn't. The security force started running around the stage trying to corral people... this is some intense action for Vail!
We went down to Samana Lounge and played our show, and the crowd was pretty hype considering it was a Tuesday night. After things were over, Dylan spotted Zion from Boombox, who had been checking out our show. Excerpt of the conversation follows:
Dylan: "Sucks how they shut you down at the end of your set."
Zion: "It's Rock'n'Roll, bro."
By: Tripp Bains
Monday, August 4, 2008
Denver
We took a few days rest after our trip to Chicago, then it was time to begin a 6 show run over 8 days, starting with a 20-hour drive to Denver! We had actually done a similar drive to Colorado last year when we relocated to a house outside Boulder to work on the music that eventually became Digital Disorder. The difference was: that drive was in the middle of winter and we were driving thru snowstorms and frigid wind in the middle of the night. This time around, it was refreshing to see the summer terrain and enjoy the mountain air, instead of keeping our traveling cabin airlocked for fear of hypothermia.
BoogiedDown Productions brought us to play Owsley's Golden Road is a venue right in downtown Denver, walking distance from the baseball stadium. These guys know how to hook it up! Really want to thank them once again for being such excellent hosts.It was also great to work again with Eric, who does a great job with lighting and projections. We also got to kick it with some of the fine people from Steamboat Springs, where Souleye currently lives with his girl, JenJen.
Chordata opened the night with a DJ set, and what do you know... the fire alarm goes off! It was pretty amazing to see 3 large fire engines and 2 police cars roll up to the venue in seconds flat... at least 10 firemen -- complete with oxygen tanks, axes, and full fireproof suits and helmets -- storm into the venue and head straight for the green room! They all seemed pretty pissed when it was just a false alarm, but it was pretty damn amusing to see everyone in the club mingling with the firemen.
After the smoke cleared (hehe) and Jantsen played a DJ set, we took the stage. We were excited to do a few tracks with Dominic from The Motet, who played sax with us on Music Is A Medicine, and well as doing some improv while Souleye did some beatboxing on the mic. Thanks to everyone who came out for the show, and thanks again to BoogieDown for inviting us! Hope to be back in Denver soon!
By:Tripp
BoogiedDown Productions brought us to play Owsley's Golden Road is a venue right in downtown Denver, walking distance from the baseball stadium. These guys know how to hook it up! Really want to thank them once again for being such excellent hosts.It was also great to work again with Eric, who does a great job with lighting and projections. We also got to kick it with some of the fine people from Steamboat Springs, where Souleye currently lives with his girl, JenJen.
Chordata opened the night with a DJ set, and what do you know... the fire alarm goes off! It was pretty amazing to see 3 large fire engines and 2 police cars roll up to the venue in seconds flat... at least 10 firemen -- complete with oxygen tanks, axes, and full fireproof suits and helmets -- storm into the venue and head straight for the green room! They all seemed pretty pissed when it was just a false alarm, but it was pretty damn amusing to see everyone in the club mingling with the firemen.
After the smoke cleared (hehe) and Jantsen played a DJ set, we took the stage. We were excited to do a few tracks with Dominic from The Motet, who played sax with us on Music Is A Medicine, and well as doing some improv while Souleye did some beatboxing on the mic. Thanks to everyone who came out for the show, and thanks again to BoogieDown for inviting us! Hope to be back in Denver soon!
By:Tripp
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Entheon and Kinetic Playground
Chicago, IL July 12, 2008
It was my birthday weekend, and what better way to celebrate than take a trip to Chicago to perform for the first time there with BLVD!
A little backstory: This past year at Burning Man, we were fortunate enough to be invited to play a show at Entheon Village... they had built an incredible dome, the largest one on the playa, visible from miles around in Black Rock City. The enormous white metal structure was composed of these enormous interlocking polygons, some covered with screens displaying ever-changing beautiful graphic projections. The space was energized with people when we took the stage on Friday night, and our MC Souleye was also camping with them. About halfway into our set, after performing many of our instrumental tracks, Souleye pulled up on Abraxas - Entheon's gigantic fire-breathing bronze double-decker mutant vehicle! He jumped on the stage with incredible fiery energy and rocked the rest of the set with us. Magikkal...
Flash-forward!!!! So it was wonderful to be invited to Entheon's hometown after having such a great experience with their crew this past summer. Kinetic Playground is a sleek venue across the street from the famous Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, with shiny corrugated metal walls and subdued lighting. The Entheon crew did a fantastic job decorating every square inch of wall space with beautiful psychedelic tapestries - some of which I had remembered seeing in their dome from the summer. We were also honored to share the stage with MO2 and Ana Sia, rounding out an all-BayArea night (2000 miles from San Francisco) LOL!
MO2 opened the show, and it was great to see them perform again, after having just seen them before our set the previous weekend at High Sierra. We took the stage after they were done and had a lot of fun playing for the Entheon crew... they definitely know how to get down! Souleye was kind enough to point out that it was my birthday more than once on the mic! THEN... what better way to celebrate the completion of another lap around the sun than to groove to Ana Sia doing her thing surrounded by the beautiful people of Entheon Village.
The Kinetic Playground is actually one of the only venues in Chicago to serve alcohol until 5am, something I'm not used to out in California.... so combined with the fact that it was my birthday, it was a winning combination, and the Patron was flowing until the sun came up. Local DJ Cringer finished out the night with a nice dubstep set, always appropriate for the wee hours....
Thanks again to the Entheon crew for inviting BLVD to play Chicago, and I look forward to seeing them again this summer!
By: Tripp Bains
It was my birthday weekend, and what better way to celebrate than take a trip to Chicago to perform for the first time there with BLVD!
A little backstory: This past year at Burning Man, we were fortunate enough to be invited to play a show at Entheon Village... they had built an incredible dome, the largest one on the playa, visible from miles around in Black Rock City. The enormous white metal structure was composed of these enormous interlocking polygons, some covered with screens displaying ever-changing beautiful graphic projections. The space was energized with people when we took the stage on Friday night, and our MC Souleye was also camping with them. About halfway into our set, after performing many of our instrumental tracks, Souleye pulled up on Abraxas - Entheon's gigantic fire-breathing bronze double-decker mutant vehicle! He jumped on the stage with incredible fiery energy and rocked the rest of the set with us. Magikkal...
Flash-forward!!!! So it was wonderful to be invited to Entheon's hometown after having such a great experience with their crew this past summer. Kinetic Playground is a sleek venue across the street from the famous Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, with shiny corrugated metal walls and subdued lighting. The Entheon crew did a fantastic job decorating every square inch of wall space with beautiful psychedelic tapestries - some of which I had remembered seeing in their dome from the summer. We were also honored to share the stage with MO2 and Ana Sia, rounding out an all-BayArea night (2000 miles from San Francisco) LOL!
MO2 opened the show, and it was great to see them perform again, after having just seen them before our set the previous weekend at High Sierra. We took the stage after they were done and had a lot of fun playing for the Entheon crew... they definitely know how to get down! Souleye was kind enough to point out that it was my birthday more than once on the mic! THEN... what better way to celebrate the completion of another lap around the sun than to groove to Ana Sia doing her thing surrounded by the beautiful people of Entheon Village.
The Kinetic Playground is actually one of the only venues in Chicago to serve alcohol until 5am, something I'm not used to out in California.... so combined with the fact that it was my birthday, it was a winning combination, and the Patron was flowing until the sun came up. Local DJ Cringer finished out the night with a nice dubstep set, always appropriate for the wee hours....
Thanks again to the Entheon crew for inviting BLVD to play Chicago, and I look forward to seeing them again this summer!
By: Tripp Bains
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
High Sierra Music Festival
Quincy, CA July 4-5, 2008
The best thing about going to High Sierra was that there were rumors it wouldn't even happen! Tons of fires were burning throughout California, roads were intermittently closed, and the fire department was actually using the fairgrounds as a headquarters until right before the festival began! It's a testament to the warriors who fight those fires that we even had a High Sierra...
That being said, it was great to never hear "it's cancelled" and we rolled in on Friday afternoon, July 4th and set up camp. After catching the end of MO2's set, we set up on the Shady Grove stage as the sun was setting. It was great to see so many people make their way over to the stage to see us play... the weather was perfect! Dylan's little nephew Jack even busted out some dance moves. As it got dark, it was harder to see all the people, but the word afterwards was that there had never been that many people at that stage before! And... the dust cloud from all the dancing was pretty intense... I had a great time rawking out.
Managed to see the end of EOTO's set with Lynx sitting in, along with the Spam Allstars late night in the Tulsa --- the same room our late would be in the following evening. After kickin' it with the good people at Javagogo for a bit, got a little rest...
The next morning had a chance to catch Lynx play solo with Jamie Janover before napping a bit. Did our loadin and soundcheck, then caught the end of Buckethead's set. The dude can do weird stuff with a guitar, that's all i can say... he's a monster.
Our set time was listed as "1:45 - ?". Ahh the dubious question mark. After talking with people about previous years' late night shows, it became clear that many people might expect us to play until dawn. While a typical set for us is about 90 minutes, we put a set together that definitely pushed the envelope. We like to hit people hard and not draw things out too much... The crowd was full of energy from the get-go, and it was awesome to see a lot of familiar faces from Javagogo right in front. Also had the pleasure of having Lynx sit in with us for a song and jam with Souleye a bit on the mic.
My favorite moment was at the end of the set... the place was HOT. I went thru more towels than i can remember, and that was with multiple fans blasting on stage. I'm sure the crowd was exhausted too, but the adrenaline was carrying us through. We played "Stamina" and I picked out this girl in the crowd, jumping up and down, fist in the air, eyes closed... I'm thinking to myself "I'm about to fall over, how can she still be jumping in the air?!" but as the lyric goes... "Move like you
never have before, here's some stamina!" It was seriously powerful.
Got lots of compliments seeing people the next day. Thanks to everyone who I had a chance to talk with... we had a great time!
By: Tripp Bains
The best thing about going to High Sierra was that there were rumors it wouldn't even happen! Tons of fires were burning throughout California, roads were intermittently closed, and the fire department was actually using the fairgrounds as a headquarters until right before the festival began! It's a testament to the warriors who fight those fires that we even had a High Sierra...
That being said, it was great to never hear "it's cancelled" and we rolled in on Friday afternoon, July 4th and set up camp. After catching the end of MO2's set, we set up on the Shady Grove stage as the sun was setting. It was great to see so many people make their way over to the stage to see us play... the weather was perfect! Dylan's little nephew Jack even busted out some dance moves. As it got dark, it was harder to see all the people, but the word afterwards was that there had never been that many people at that stage before! And... the dust cloud from all the dancing was pretty intense... I had a great time rawking out.
Managed to see the end of EOTO's set with Lynx sitting in, along with the Spam Allstars late night in the Tulsa --- the same room our late would be in the following evening. After kickin' it with the good people at Javagogo for a bit, got a little rest...
The next morning had a chance to catch Lynx play solo with Jamie Janover before napping a bit. Did our loadin and soundcheck, then caught the end of Buckethead's set. The dude can do weird stuff with a guitar, that's all i can say... he's a monster.
Our set time was listed as "1:45 - ?". Ahh the dubious question mark. After talking with people about previous years' late night shows, it became clear that many people might expect us to play until dawn. While a typical set for us is about 90 minutes, we put a set together that definitely pushed the envelope. We like to hit people hard and not draw things out too much... The crowd was full of energy from the get-go, and it was awesome to see a lot of familiar faces from Javagogo right in front. Also had the pleasure of having Lynx sit in with us for a song and jam with Souleye a bit on the mic.
My favorite moment was at the end of the set... the place was HOT. I went thru more towels than i can remember, and that was with multiple fans blasting on stage. I'm sure the crowd was exhausted too, but the adrenaline was carrying us through. We played "Stamina" and I picked out this girl in the crowd, jumping up and down, fist in the air, eyes closed... I'm thinking to myself "I'm about to fall over, how can she still be jumping in the air?!" but as the lyric goes... "Move like you
never have before, here's some stamina!" It was seriously powerful.
Got lots of compliments seeing people the next day. Thanks to everyone who I had a chance to talk with... we had a great time!
By: Tripp Bains
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Flagstaff Brewing Company
Flagstaff, AZ June 28, 2008
The following morning, we needed to return our 1-day rental and get a van to drive the 500 miles to Flagstaff. Of course, getting to bed at 7am makes it hard to get that done by 9am, but we powered it out as best we could. Our man at the van rental thought we weren't going to be there until 1pm, so that didn't help matters, considering we had to transfer all our gear from our trailer. Getting the new rental van was quite a blessing driving thru the Mojave Desert, since our broken-down Suburban's AC is out-of-commision. That doesn't bode well when travelling thru 115-degree heat!
Once we got on the road tho, we stayed in contact with everyone involved with the show in Flag to make sure the show would still go off. Luckily, a local DJ was able to open the night to give us time to set-up our gear and soundcheck. It all went quite smoothly, and we were able to start our show on-time after taking advantage of Arizona's high speed limit, haha! Thanks also to the crew at the patio for powering thru the set-up process! The actual patio is a great place to play compared with the indoor show we had done at the Flag Brew in the winter... let's just say, there's more... space.
By: Tripp Bains
Once we got on the road tho, we stayed in contact with everyone involved with the show in Flag to make sure the show would still go off. Luckily, a local DJ was able to open the night to give us time to set-up our gear and soundcheck. It all went quite smoothly, and we were able to start our show on-time after taking advantage of Arizona's high speed limit, haha! Thanks also to the crew at the patio for powering thru the set-up process! The actual patio is a great place to play compared with the indoor show we had done at the Flag Brew in the winter... let's just say, there's more... space.
By: Tripp Bains
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Cre8tivity
Venice Beach, CA June 27, 2008
We left San Diego en route to our show with Cre8tivity in Venice Beach. After going about 50 miles, the fuel pump on our battle-worn Suburban decided it's time had come. The scrambling then ensued! There was no way the pump could be replaced, and we had to get 6 people and our gear up to LA in 3 hours. Everyone on their phones calling every local Orange County rental establishment finally got the job done, and we rolled into Venice Beach with a little time to grab some local pizza and sandos after parking on Electric Avenue (i kid you not).
A friend who used to live in Venice had told me that Cre8tivity had been blowing up... Souleye and Dylan did a show with them a few months back, which helped pave the way for this BLVD show. The venue was beautiful -- hardwood floors, ornate wood trim... and a huge outdoor area featuring massive projections of the psychedelic variety coupled with fire dancers galore! While sound checking, a comment was made "It's going to be HOT in here" and that prediction definitely came true. Thank god for industrial-sized fans, because from the moment we started our set, the sweat was pouring down my face. I can only assume similar things were happening to other people's faces!
By: Tripp Bains
A friend who used to live in Venice had told me that Cre8tivity had been blowing up... Souleye and Dylan did a show with them a few months back, which helped pave the way for this BLVD show. The venue was beautiful -- hardwood floors, ornate wood trim... and a huge outdoor area featuring massive projections of the psychedelic variety coupled with fire dancers galore! While sound checking, a comment was made "It's going to be HOT in here" and that prediction definitely came true. Thank god for industrial-sized fans, because from the moment we started our set, the sweat was pouring down my face. I can only assume similar things were happening to other people's faces!
By: Tripp Bains
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Harmony Festival
Santa Rosa, CA June 6-8, 2008
Techno Tribal, hosted at Harmony Festival by Mystic Beat Lounge, was something I'd heard about from friends who had attended in years' past. It sounded so over the top, that when BLVD was booked to play, I was so excited, and even a little humbled. That being said, we were ready to bring it big time!
The day of the show, we arrived, and after being welcomed by the awesome staff, we went to the Grace Pavilion to load in our gear. Upon entering the building, the scope of the event was immediately apparent. The decorations and and size of the room were impressive to say the least. We set up, soundchecked, and spent the next few hours seeing the rest of the festival.
When we took the stage, Damian Marley (headliner for the night) was still on outdoors, so we had maybe 200 people watching. Over the course of the set, that number grew to over 4000. I got incredibly high just looking at the constantly growing masses in the pavilion, and was probably visibly freaking out on stage as the set neared a close. It was an awesome crowd, and spending time with the other artists backstage was also a great time. Thanks to Mystic Beat Lounge for putting together such a great event... I'm sure it will be a hit for years to come!
By: Tripp Bains
The day of the show, we arrived, and after being welcomed by the awesome staff, we went to the Grace Pavilion to load in our gear. Upon entering the building, the scope of the event was immediately apparent. The decorations and and size of the room were impressive to say the least. We set up, soundchecked, and spent the next few hours seeing the rest of the festival.
When we took the stage, Damian Marley (headliner for the night) was still on outdoors, so we had maybe 200 people watching. Over the course of the set, that number grew to over 4000. I got incredibly high just looking at the constantly growing masses in the pavilion, and was probably visibly freaking out on stage as the set neared a close. It was an awesome crowd, and spending time with the other artists backstage was also a great time. Thanks to Mystic Beat Lounge for putting together such a great event... I'm sure it will be a hit for years to come!
By: Tripp Bains
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Lightning In a Bottle
Santa Barbara, CA May 23-26, 2008
By: Tripp Bains
Driving up the windy hill from Santa Barbara, we arrived in the late afternoon Friday to Lightning in a Bottle. After rounding the bend the first thing we noticed was how many more people had started packing into the camping areas compared to the previous year's festivities.
Then we saw it: the beautiful Bamboo Stage... an incredible structure made with gigantic bamboo poles and strips, all organically weaved together to amass into the main stage for the weekend. After checking in with the festival, we learned that that it had rained... ALOT. Therefore, all the set times had to be truncated and we'd only be playing half the time we had expected. While this was unexpected, it was also quite fortuitous, because we had just come from Los Angeles where we had finished mastering our newest album "Music For People" -- our fourth release, but our first featuring our man on the mic, Souleye. It was the perfect opportunity to play the new tracks.
After watching West Indian Girl put on a great set, our performance was basically a short and sweet BLVD show, featuring the new album from start to finish. It was a great start to the weekend for us, and the Friday night time slot allowed us to relax for the rest of the weekend and see lots of other artists throw down with our performance already under our belt. The Do Lab brought it big time, and it's clearly this festival is blowing up in a big way!
Then we saw it: the beautiful Bamboo Stage... an incredible structure made with gigantic bamboo poles and strips, all organically weaved together to amass into the main stage for the weekend. After checking in with the festival, we learned that that it had rained... ALOT. Therefore, all the set times had to be truncated and we'd only be playing half the time we had expected. While this was unexpected, it was also quite fortuitous, because we had just come from Los Angeles where we had finished mastering our newest album "Music For People" -- our fourth release, but our first featuring our man on the mic, Souleye. It was the perfect opportunity to play the new tracks.After watching West Indian Girl put on a great set, our performance was basically a short and sweet BLVD show, featuring the new album from start to finish. It was a great start to the weekend for us, and the Friday night time slot allowed us to relax for the rest of the weekend and see lots of other artists throw down with our performance already under our belt. The Do Lab brought it big time, and it's clearly this festival is blowing up in a big way!
By: Tripp Bains
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
710 Club
San Diego, CA June 26, 2008
By: Tripp Bains
We arrived in San Diego under beautiful skies on Thursday and loaded our gear into the new 710 Club, which used to be Blind Melon's. One of the great things about this venue is it's proximity to the beach, which was literally around the corner! So after loading in the gear we had a chance to take in the sunset.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Vokab Company - 2 local MC's with original rhymes, who warmed up the packed house. They merged with Frame of Mind on this particular night, a 5 piece band with drums, guitar, bass, keys/trombone, and flute/sax. The crowd was diggin it, and BLVD kept things rocking until the venue had to close down.
It was a pleasure to see so many people come out to support live music, when they have multiple options nearby with no cover in Pacific Beach. Our friend Tim also did some dope projections for the show, who we originally collaborated with at the Joshua Tree Music Fest back in May.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Vokab Company - 2 local MC's with original rhymes, who warmed up the packed house. They merged with Frame of Mind on this particular night, a 5 piece band with drums, guitar, bass, keys/trombone, and flute/sax. The crowd was diggin it, and BLVD kept things rocking until the venue had to close down.
It was a pleasure to see so many people come out to support live music, when they have multiple options nearby with no cover in Pacific Beach. Our friend Tim also did some dope projections for the show, who we originally collaborated with at the Joshua Tree Music Fest back in May.
By: Tripp Bains
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