Austin360 blogs > Almost Urban > Archives > 2007 > July
July 2007
‘Making the Band 4’: hot crooning, fly moves and painful cuts
Is it time to start making predictions? Obviously, now that Dan is out, Donnie gets the white boy card, which, save a rerun of last week’s goofball dance routine, should keep him in for at least a few more episodes. I’m not knocking his talent, I’m just sayin’ … Carlos has the hard-luck human interest story and mad heart, and the ladies love him. I’m pulling for my boy Brian A., the good-natured pup-sitter from Houston. Julius is awfully adorable, but he does have the perpetual sob story that’s getting a little old. Robert’s got the lady drama, which makes for good TV, plus he can really sing. And of course, who doesn’t love Big Mike.
At the top of the episode, we’re reminded of Julius’ weak knee, which he busted during Laurie Ann’s training, Donnie’s ridiculous dance routine and last week’s Diddy/Laurie Ann smackdown.
Diddy drops in at the top to remind us it’s almost time to make the band, so he’s bringing in his friends, veteran choreographer Jamal and producer Brian Cox, to work with the crooners.
Dance practice is first, and hobbling Julius is warned that he better move as much as he can, because the show must go on. Then the training begins. In what might be a little passive-aggressive editing, everyone seems to pick up the steps much faster with Laurie Ann’s fishnets out of the picture. Everyone loves Jamal.
In a break, Donnie confides his struggle to internalize the music to Jamal. The choreographer tells Donnie he needs to get past the white boy hangup and really feel the music.
We cut to the house, where frustrated, wounded Julius is comforted by his girlfriend over the phone. Then the crooners are off to the studio to meet with Brian Cox and songwriter Jack Knight. The challenge is to prepare a new song in 24 hours and present it to Diddy. The crooners start rehearsing. Surprise! It’s the ‘MTB4’ theme song.
We cut back to the house, where Carlos is looking at ultrasound pictures. He tells us he’s very excited about being a father. His dad walked out on the family, and he’s ready to stand up and be a better man. He goes home to visit his baby mama Josera, and the two share a touching scene over a pizza.
Meanwhile, Deangelo shaves his braids off. Diddy’s dogged him for his hair, and D is determined to remain a part of the competition.
Back at the studio, the crooners each take a whack at the ‘MTB4’ theme song. Robert nails it. Julius, on the other hand, struggles with his pitch. What with the bum knee, things aren’t looking so good for our boy J. Brian Cox splits up the parts in the song, and Robert and Mike knock their verses out of the park. Our boy Brian A. sounds good too.
We cut back to the house, where Julius acknowledges his rocky standing. We also learn that although sensitive Qwanell was useless on the courts, he’s the best dancer in the house. He coaches Donnie and Carlos with his fly club moves.
Then Carlos is on the phone with Josera. The hospital has called her with concerns about the baby. She has to go in for more tests, and Carlos is shook pretty hard.
Back at the studio, the crooners go into their final rehearsal with Jamal, and everyone has improved dramatically. Donnie’s feeling better with Q’s coaching. Jamal tells him (with a half-smirk) that the he has a style, but he has to learn to own it. Julius tries to dance all out on his leg, and he can’t work through the pain.
Back at the house, Robert tries to give Julius a pep talk, but J’s feeling pretty defeated. Carlos calls home, and his lady’s crying. It turns out the baby might have Down syndrome. Carlos is understandably devastated.
Our crooners have to showcase their skills on stage at Spotlight, and cue the entrance graphics, Diddy’s dropping in. He tells the crooners he’s about to make some cuts. He’s looking at the dance, he’s looking at the vocals, and he’s looking at past history.
They dance first. In the first group, Carlos is distracted, and he gets called out. Then it’s group two, and Donnie’s still got to work on the whole goofball thing, but he’s better than last week. Big Mike cuts up the rug. In group three, Julius is predictably weak.
On to singing. Robert sings the first verse, and he’s still hitting it. Deangelo gets his hair approved by Diddy, sort of, and he drops a solid verse. Carlos gets choked up on his verse, and Julius trainwrecks.
The crooners are sent out of the room, and Diddy does “a little exercise” where each man on the talent team picks his top four. Robert, Willie, Donnie, Brian A., Jeremy, Qwanell and Mike are on the cards that get shuffled around.
Diddy brings back the crooners and lets us know that in four years of doing “Making the Band,” this is the first cut that hurts him. “It’s not going to be a fair cut, but life’s not fair, and the music industry definitely isn’t fair,” he tells us.
The ten top crooners are Qwannell, Big Mike, Willie, Robert, Brian A., Deangelo, Jeremy, Brian H., Donnie and Dyshon.
Ah, man, that cut did hurt. We’re informed that the finalists will be sent home for two months unsupervised, after which they are expected to return as superstars for the season finale, in which Diddy will select the top four.
Naturally, we have touching goodbye sequences from Julius and Carlos. Carlos’ girl Josera comes to help him move out of the house. Whether or not the child has Down syndrome, they’ve decided to keep the baby. And it truly is a tough goodbye. Sigh.
Next on ‘Making the Band 4,’ it’s the season finale, which includes a gig opening for the New Edition. Will Donnie prove he’s not just “the pretty white boy in the house”? Will naggy girlfriend June reappear to throw salt in Robert’s game? Will Qwanell bust with more fabulous dance moves? Tune in; your girl will be watching.
- Episode 8 recap
- Episode 7 recap
- Episode 6 recap
- Episode 5 recap
- Episode 4 recap
- Episode 3 recap
- Episode 2 recap
- Episode 1 recap
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Weekend Picks: DJs and VJs, Latin experimental crunk, a World Carnaval and more
This Friday night is off the chain! I’m still trying to figure out how a girl might hit up three downtown spots in one night and rock a pair of heels. Since I’m a little low on pedicab funds, it might not be possible. So if you see me wandering around downtown in a pair of flip flops, don’t hate! A girl’s gotta travel.
Friday: The Livid Cell NAMM Afterparty at Copa. As you may or may not know there’s a big music trade show going down at the Convention Center this weekend. The National Association of Music Merchants is an industry-only event that’s more about gear and gadgets than bands and albums. In any case, when the doors close at the Convention Center the party kicks up around town. Livid Instruments - a local company that develops digital mixing instruments, VJ and DJ technology, and interactive video systems - is hosting a shindig at Copa Bar & Grill. Among others, my favorite ATX trip hop, electronica outfit Ohn will be in the house, and DJ Dojo’s Mixmaster Manny will hold down the wheels. There will be video mixing on multiple screens, interactive video tables (whatever that means) and product giveaways. Party starts at 8 p.m. and it’s free!
Friday: Black Mike CD release at the Light Bar. Austin up-and-comer Black Mike aka Black Meezy hosts a release party for his new CD “Mixed Emotions” Friday night. I caught the man on a set with Gerald G. during SXSW, and he put it down hard. I spent a few minutes on his MySpace page today, and his style runs the gamut from gritty streetwise Dirty South rap to soulful crooning. He’s bringing a full band to this show, and DJ Grip will be in the mix too. And once again, it’s free!
Friday: Kanko at Flamingo Cantina Brian Ramos, the original frontman for local cumbia powerhouse Grupo Fantasma, unveils his new project, described on MySpace as Latin/experimental/crunk. The group features Alex Marrero from Brazilian funk unit Ghandaia on drums and Nic Trevino from the now-defunct dub outfit Echobase SoundSystem on bass. Nic, incidentally, also hosts the excellent Afro-beat show “Tradewinds” Sunday afternoons on KOOP radio. (Full disclosure, your girl also hosts a show on KOOP on the first Thursday of each month.) Slipping easily from Spanish to English and citing influences from Iggy Pop and the Stooges to Andre 3000 and Big Boi, this group has a sound that’s truly unique. I’m pretty amped about this show. $5-$7.
Friday-Saturday: Midsummer World Carnaval at Kenny Dorham’s Backyard. As we reported earlier this week in the Music Source blog, longtime Austin cultural institution DiverseArts is trying to save Kenny Dorham’s Backyard, the outdoor performance venue adjacent to the historic Victory Grill in a section of East Austin deeply afflicted by condo mania. To raise funds DiverseArts Director Harold McMillan and company are hosting a two-night extravaganza featuring everything from belly dancers, fire dancers and capoeira artists to hip-hop, jazz and rock-soul fusion. In addition there will be food, crafts and a children’s area. 6 to 11 p.m. each night. $5-$10 donation, kids younger than 12 free.
Saturday: Grupo Fantasma with Bavu Blakes and NickNack at Antone’s. The best of Austin Latin dance and hip-hop on the same bill. Show up ready to shake something. ‘Nuff said. $15.
Saturday-Sunday: Second annual Funkfest at La Zona Rosa. While there is an element of hippie jam band to this lineup, there’s also some serious funk to be reckoned with throughout this festival. I expect Topaz and the The Midnite Disturbers will bring the heat on Saturday, but the big guns come out on Sunday with Karl Denson’s excellent San Diego-based jazz funk group KD3 and Leo Nocentelli, founder of the legendary Meters. $40 each day, VIP passes and wristbands are available.
(Pictured: DJ Manny, image courtesy of myspace.com/mannydroid)
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Preview Common’s new album at MTV.com
Common’s new joint “Finding Forever” comes out on July 31, but you can preview the whole album over at MTV.com. I’ve been bumping it in my browser and on the first listen I’ve gotta say I’m really feeling this one. Common brings the fury over a hard-driving beat on “The People” and “Southside” (ft. Kanye West) then slows it down and comes mad soulful on tracks like “So Far To Go” (ft. D’Angelo) before dropping witty flirtations on “Break My Heart.”
Tickets for the Sept. 16 show go on sale Saturday, July 28. Buy early, expect a sell-out.
(album stream spotted over at Honey Soul Music)
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Still not urban at all (The annual ACL Fest rant)
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that ACL Fest is not geared towards people like me. Straddling the line between indie hipness and adult-contemporary safeness, the promoters consistently seem to overlook anything urban. Out of the 130 bands playing the fest there are about six to seven acts scattered through the three-day event that I’m intrigued by, certainly not enough to buy a ticket for myself, or anyone I kick it with on the regular. And in a sense I suppose that’s fine. The promoters know their demographic, the fest consistently sells out and the people who go seem to enjoy themselves. More power to them.
The thing that irks me is the name. Calling the fest Austin City Limits suggests that the event provides some sort of microcosm of our city. It does not. I went to ACL Fest for the first time last year to check out Gnarls Barkley. It was a surreal experience, watching Dirty South hip-hop legend Cee-Lo Green performing to a sea of white faces. I’m not trying to hate. As I wandered around the fest I was truly charmed by the idyllic musical campground pitched in the park, musicians and music lovers sweating it out together in the ungodly September heat. It’s a beautiful thing. But I was also totally weirded out by the absence of brown people.
It can be argued that Austin isn’t a hip-hop city, despite the fact that there is enough interest in urban music to support two large-scale commercial hip-hop/R&B radio stations within the city limits, but the Latino influence on our culture is undeniable. According to 2006 Arbitron ratings Spanish-language radio station La Ley was the top radio outlet in Austin last year. So where is the Musica en Espanol at ACL Fest? It’s a little strange to me that a music fest named after my city so deeply fails to represent the sounds that made me fall in love with Austin. It doesn’t quite sit right.
Last week promoter Charles Attal addressed the lack of hip-hop at ACL Fest in the Austin Music Source blog. He explained that the fest doesn’t get every artist they attempt to book, and apparently all the hip-hop artists they contacted were busy this year. Consequently, we at Camp 360 have been scratching our heads trying to figure out why big-name hip-hop artist Common was booked for an official ACL afterparty, but not for the fest itself. With his broad cross-over appeal, Common seems like an obvious choice for ACL and a refreshing alternative to Bob Dylan in the Sunday headline spot. Who knows, maybe his name will end up as a late-addition to the Sunday ACL bill, or maybe this is just a concession prize to those of us who gripe about the fest’s lack of diversity.
On the bright side, hip-hop fans can catch Common in the relative air-conditioned comfort of La Zona Rosa for just $30, which is certainly nothing to complain about. Another exciting side party is the Stephen Marley/Zap Mama show at Emo’s for $25. I’m all over that one too, I’ve been wanting to catch Zap Mama for years. So yeah, I’m not going to hate. I do appreciate the promoters’ effort to bring diversity to the Austin scene during ACL, even if there’s something about it that smacks of separate and not quite equal.
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‘Making the Band 4’ boxing gloves, b-ball and the last of Laurie Ann
Top of the episode recaps remind us that Dan has indeed dropped a good chunk of weight since the show began and that a room full of young, strapping men sparks Laurie Ann’s dominatrix fantasies.
Diddy drops in to welcome us to his show and assure us that this week won’t be another disappointing love fest. “It’s time to get physical with the guys,” he says smiling maniacally, “let men be men, let them box, play some basketball.” Finally! The scene shifts to an empty basketball court allegedly in the projects where Michael Bivins awaits our crooners in a Celtics jacket. The challenge is to play two-point games one-on-one. Snitchy Dan surprises everyone by holding his own, Brian H. turns out to be a tall brother who can’t ball, and sensitive boys Jonathan and Qwanell play the sorriest game ever broadcast on television.
To drive home the point that this is about being in shape, Bivins sends the losers to run the perimeter of the court. Jonathan whines about his aching head and refuses to run.
In a brief segment, sensitive Qwanell goes out of his way to convince us that he has a crush on Laurie Ann. He just loves the way she bosses him around, he gushes.
Next, our crooners are sent off to the boxing gym where Diddy has matched them up with sparring partners for a few 3-minute rounds in the ring. Up first again is Dan matched against Chris, who’s got a good 40 pounds on him. Dan takes a beat down as does Robert a few matches later. Big Mike shows mad heart. Whiny Jonathan confides that he and sparring partner Qwanell had planned to pretend fight, but Q comes out swinging. Until, of course, he actually lands a punch that bloodies Jonathan’s nose, at which point he reverts to half-hearted chucks of the chin.
We cut to Diddy who tells us he’s been having a hard time making decisions and needs to hear the fellas sing one on one. We’re barely into their spots when Laurie Ann lets out an encouraging whoop for Dan right as he fumbles his Usher impression. Diddy warns her to keep her enthusiasm to herself. and the two share a heated exchange that heavy handedly foreshadows tensions to come.
After Qwanell reminds us once more that he really, no seriously, has a crush on Laurie Ann, we’re off to the dance studio.
This time, Laurie Ann left her skimpy electric blue number at home and instead is wearing sweats with only a tantalizing unzipped hoodie to tease the youngsters. As she sets about berating our crooners into a little coordination, Jonathan has the grand revelation that he doesn’t really like being Diddy’s whipping boy. He explains that his heart is not in it and, dignity intact, he walks.
Laurie Ann shoos him off haughtily then lays into the rest of the crooners. No one is particularly impressive, but Donnie does a fantastically YouTube-able white-boy boogaloo, and Julius strains his knee and is carried out on a stretcher.
We cut to Dan on the phone to his dad. He confides that someone quit. His pops assures him that the tests are just a weeding process.
Back in the dance studio, our boys go before Diddy. Group after group, our crooners fall apart, with Diddy relegating almost everyone including an indignant Donnie to the “can’t dance” section of the room. Diddy is bewildered by the lack of coordination and, as tense music builds to let us know this is the grand chair-waving conflict we’ve been waiting for, he sends the boys out so he can talk to Laurie Ann. Diddy claims Laurie Ann was supposed to have the crooners practicing through the weekend, while she thought the dance routine was a single-day challenge. The camera cuts out before any furniture is flung and instead we hear much shouting about who is more psycho, with words like respect and ego tossed in for good measure. At the end, we hear that Laurie Ann and her awesomely inappropriate fishnets are out. Boo!
Diddy comes back to civilly let us know that Laurie Ann was a positive influence on the show and there are no hard feelings.
Back in the studio, he delivers the bad news to our crooners, “Hardly none of y’all can dance.” Instead, he makes cuts based on who has the endurance, who has the fight and who has the passion. Big Mike gets ribbed for not losing enough weight but Diddy concedes that big and sexy might work. And Julius is warned that his sob stories are wearing thin, but he’s given a pass, as is Donnie who seems amazed to survive the backtalk incident. On the chopping block are Curtis, Andrae, Eric, Armando and finally Dan, who’s accused of riding the weight loss thing too hard. “It’s not ‘Celebrity Fit Club,’ ” Diddy declares, explaining that Dan’s voice hadn’t grown enough. I suspect Dan’s smug snitchiness also amounted to a deduction of at least a few points. Everyone hates a tattle tale.
Next week, with a smaller group will the competition really heat up? Will tensions flare? Will Qwanell be heartbroken over the loss of Laurie Ann? Check back, your girl will be watching.
- Episode 8 recap
- Episode 7 recap
- Episode 6 recap
- Episode 5 recap
- Episode 4 recap
- Episode 3 recap
- Episode 2 recap
- Episode 1 recap
‘MTB4’: Chair tossing episode preview
If you fail to waste the same sort of time combing mean-spirited hip-hop gossip sites that I do, you might have missed the whole Diddy vs. Laurie Ann chair chucking controversy that went down on the set of “MTB4” earlier this year. Back in April, our favorite electric blue dance dominatrix got into a scuffle with the Didster and Michael Bivens during which the artist who prefers to no longer be called Puffy allegedly threatened her with a chair. Though Diddy claims she was overreacting, (what’s a little manic furniture tossing between friends?) Laurie Ann filed a complaint with the New York Police Department on May 11.
To get up to speed on the whole incident before tonight’s episode, check out Laurie Ann’s interview with Wendy Williams over at The Pop Culture Junkie.
(via Crunk and Disorderly)
Weekend picks: Harmonious reggae, hoppin’ hydraulics and Chamillionaire
The big urban music event this weekend is Saturday night’s Chamillionaire show at the Texas Heatwave Custom Truck and Car Show at the Travis County Expo Center. As far as I can tell, the only way to buy tickets to the show is by purchasing the $45 all access pass to the car show. Yes, it’s a big chunk of change, but in addition to the performance by red-hot Cham, you get monster trucks, a hydraulics show, BMX and motorcycle stunt teams, and a bikini contest. Alternately, the Beat 104.9 is giving away tickets, so feel free to call it up and sweet talk the DJs or drop by Planeta on Thursday or Paradox on Friday to harass them in person. The car show kicks off Friday morning and Chamillionaire performs Saturday at 8 p.m. Online tickets.
Friday: Midsummer Mashup boat party. High Corda Productions presents a 3 and a half hour dance cruise on Town Lake. With the event described as a “meltdown of people, jammin music and soulful vibes,” music will be supplied by a wide variety of DJs including Orion, Dirk Diggla and Horizontal K. Mixed drinks from The Daily Juice as well as beer from Red Stripe and Independence Brewery and food are included in your ticket. The boat loads at 8:30 p.m. at Walsh Landing (1600 Scenic Drive); the cruise begins at 9 p.m. and continues until 12:30. Tickets are $30 advance, $35 on the boat.
Friday: The Melodians at Flamingo Cantina. Known for hits such as “Sweet Sensation” and “Rivers of Babylon,” these pioneers of Lover’s Rock and Rocksteady reggae still perform with two of the trio’s original members. (The third Melodian, Brent Dowe, passed away in 2006.) Expect lush harmonies, easy grooves and a positive vibe. $12
Saturday: ‘Saturday Night Special’ at Beerland. The same DJs who bring you the Second Sunday Sock Up each month at the Longbranch Inn will be firing up the vintage R&B and sprinkling talcum powder on the dance floor at Beerland this Saturday. They play everything from Doo Wop to girl groups to rockabilly and ska, all will the express purpose of keeping the dance floor live. Cover unspecified.
Saturday: DJ Mel and Radiotron at the Whisky Bar. Speaking of keeping the dance floor live, Austin’s top-notch party rocker DJ Mel takes over the front room of the Whisky Bar on Saturday night. My favorite Mel at the Whisky Bar gig concluded with the entire crowd standing on their seats singing along to Al Green’s “Love and Happiness” as the lights came up. Good times, good times. Cover unspecified.
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Ararat enters partnership with Hot Mama’s Espresso
Surely I’m not the only Austinite who lamented the demise of long-standing Austin Middle Eastern restaurant Ararat earlier this year. Having shared many an intimate evening over tasty platters of hummus, baba ganoush and tabouli, I was very sorry to see the colorful North Loop spot shut their doors. Consequently, it pleased me greatly to find out that Ararat is entering into a partnership with Hot Mama’s Espresso, the hip little coffeeshop tucked into the Pedernales Lofts on East Sixth Street. With a partnership celebration planned on Saturday, Aug. 4 from 6 to 10 p.m., Hot Mama’s will begin serving Ararat food and hosting Ararat events. Almost Urban hit up Kelly Abshire from Ararat for a few details, here’s what we found out.
Almost Urban: What prompted Ararat to leave the old location on North Loop?
Kelly Abshire: Quite the scandal to be honest. Ararat lost our lease at the end of March to another Middle Eastern Restaurant (and a now former belly dancer). After 13 years. We are devastated but carrying on trusting that this is for the best and that we will be taken care of.
How will the menu at the Hot Mama’s location compare to the old Ararat’s menu?
We plan to serve all the old Ararat faves and some new tasty treats. It will rotate for a while during these first few weeks. That’s why we need lots of customer feedback. We wanna know what they wanna eat!
Will there be belly dancers nightly?
No, as of now we are only talking about a once a month event. Being that the inside space is very limited it will be difficult when the weather is a factor.
What can people expect at the celebration on Aug. 4?
They can and should expect the full on Ararat Experience! A delicious buffet of all the Ararat essentials, live music, belly dancing, DJ, a local artist bazaar and Hot Mama’s superior signature coffees and beverages. Not to mention the gorgeous atmosphere of Hot Mama’s Espresso.
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‘Making the Band 4’: mopey Robert, snitchy Dan and not a drop of blood
Thirty-second recap: Out of thousands who auditioned, a few choice crooners were brought to New York to appear in front of Diddy. The top 20 made it into the plush MTB crib, where they bonded, shed tears together and then were sent out on a grueling hazing ritual after which a few crooners were cut. Just as our crooners were starting to feel comfortable, a fresh group of un-hazed singers were thrown into the mix, knocking out a couple of the original kids in the process. The count in the house is 14 old dudes and six new dudes. Much hostility seems certain to ensue.
In this episode, we’re reminded from the jump of Robert’s made-for-reality-TV dysfunctional relationship with his lady June we encountered a couple episodes back. After a few brief cuts of the old dudes expressing their generalized mistrust of the new dudes, we’re back in the middle of the couple’s drama. This time, June is trippin’ on ol’ boy for failing to be at her beck and call. He tries to convince her that really he’s just trying to satisfy the whims of a narcissistic, sadistic super-producer, but she isn’t hearing it and tells him they’re through, setting up one of the episode’s heavy-handed subplots.
We cut to Diddy, who reminds us that the old dudes probably don’t like the new dudes. With hands clutched like a cartoon villain, he tells us that he’ll do whatever it takes to keep us entertained. Numchucks, Diddy, bust out the numchucks! Or at least throw in those boxing gloves we keep seeing in the trailers.
Back at the house, Ankh Ra splits the dudes into groups, mixing the old and new crooners. He sends them all off to collaborate. Despite the emphasis on old vs. new friction, everyone seems to be getting along fine except for (you guessed it) Robert’s group. Robert is distracted and sullen, and he wants everyone to know it. Even zen-like Ankh Ra seems a little irritated. Is this a setup for an impending end of episode departure?
Cut to the late night, where we find Big Mike, who has become serious about his physique, burning the midnight oil in the exercise room. Then it’s early morning, and Brian A. gets a call from Bivens alerting the crooners that the next challenge is a 5-mile run. The catch is, they all have to stay together. Even Mike must finish. More gratuitous male bonding ensues as his homies cheer Mike through to a heartwarming and triumphant finish.
After brief cuts of distracted Robert taking another call from his nagging lady and Michael choosing to eat a low-carb chicken dinner while his boys chow down on greasy late-night breakfast, the crooners are brought in front of Michael Bivens and Ankh Ra for a run-through of their group songs. All goes well until (you know it) we get to Robert’s group, who are told to get a little more unity.
In a quick scene, the crooners weigh in with Amy the trainer. Michael has dropped 11 pounds. Sure, there’s a lot of indignity to the whole “fat kid trying to get hot” subplot, but through it, Michael’s emerging as one of the most lovable crooners. You go, kid!
After appearing in front of Bivens and Ankh Ra, group five is pulls together and rehearses hard. Robert even turns down a call from the lady in order to stay focused. This episode is turning into another disappointing lovefest. There will be no boxing gloves. I missed the Femi Kuti show for what?
Diddy shows up and observes expressionlessly as our crooners sing their hearts out. Everyone sounds good. Diddy shuffles the crooners’ name cards menacingly before letting them know he planned to eliminate 4-6, but he’s having a problem doing it because they all did so well. A cheer goes up. See, feel-good crap all around.
Back at the house, a couple of the guys decide to go to the strip club to celebrate. New dude Jeremic calls it a bonding opportunity, while Michael dons nicknames like “Big Country” and “The Butter Man” and shamelessly indulges in the sequin-clad, gyrating goodness. Meanwhile, Carlos and goodie-two-shoes Dan sit around and “tsk, tsk” their reveling brethren.
Next day, it’s a surprise visit from Diddy, who says he’s there to determine the weakest links of the group. He pulls out the strongest performers to help him make the decision. Self-righteous Dan is the only one who doesn’t struggle with the idea of cutting his fellow crooners. He slaps down two cards, and everyone goes along with his selections. New dudes Devin and Jeremic are cut.
“I didn’t quite send you all home this time,” Diddy tells the crooners, clearly enjoying the salt he’s thrown into the brotherhood. We cut to a very smug and satisfied-looking Dan, who tells us those booty-loving-titty-bar-goers deserved to get cut. Has he always been this annoying? I’d like to nominate Dan for the impending smackdown that surely must be right around the corner.
Next week on ‘Making the Band 4’: Will someone slap that smile off Dan’s face? Will Robert get into another annoying fight with his girl June? Will Diddy finally (please!) bust out the boxing gloves? Tune in again; your girl will be watching.
- Episode 8 recap
- Episode 7 recap
- Episode 6 recap
- Episode 5 recap
- Episode 4 recap
- Episode 3 recap
- Episode 2 recap
- Episode 1 recap
Live shots: Bavu Blakes and Mojoe at Club 115
I hit up the Texas Soulful Hip-hop show at Club 115 on Friday night and was treated to a couple hours of fantastic songs and rhymes. Bavu kicked it off with on one of the tightest shows I’ve seen from him in a minute. A year later and his riff on Neil Young’s “Southern Man” is still electrifying. The brief sample of work from World Trade, Blakes’ collaborative project with Element 7D, left a girl wanting more, and just as I was thinking I wished the man would freestyle more, he closed out his set with a blazing acapella coda tacked onto “Nobody’s Leaving”.
As for Mojoe, this is the first time I seen them perform as less than a 7-piece ensemble and I did miss some of the onstage camaraderie and rich backing vocals that have marked other performances. But the road has been good to these guys, particularly Tre, who makes the ladies swoon helplessly as he spins swirls of syrupy Southern soul.
I cut out before the grand finale which included a performance by stellar Dallas MC Money Waters. It was a reluctant exit, but as the 1 a.m. set break stretched to 1:15, my early morning adventure in traffic court caught up with me. Luckily, word on the street is Money’s got a couple collabs with local crooner Ter’ell Shahid in the works, so hopefully he’ll be back soon.
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Weekend picks: Soulful hip-hop, erotic art and a side of Madness
Friday: Soulful Texas Hip-hop live at Club 115. One of the more exciting urban music acts to emerge on the Central Texas scene in the past few years is San Antonio’s MoJoe. The group consists of the duo Easy Lee and Tre, and together they create a ridiculously catchy blend of hip-hop, r&b and deep Southern soul. Last year, MoJoe caught the attention of Music World’s Matthew Knowles (Beyonce’s dad) who put the two on blast in Hollywood. They completed a tour with Brian McKnight and Joe earlier this year, and no doubt, more big moves are on the way. At this show MoJoe will perform with a full band, and very soulful Austin emcee Bavu Blakes will also be dropping a set, while DJ Viz will provide beats to keep the dance floor hot. Rumor has it an encore set will feature many Blakes, MoJoe, Money Waters collabos. $10.
Saturday: Dru Fay’s birthday party at Maggie Mae’s. If you didn’t catch him at Club 115 on Friday, Bavu Blakes is hosting a birthday party for Dru Fay, who helms METV’s hip-hop/urban music show ‘Smash,’ and all of y’all are invited. The D Madness Project will be in the house dropping funky beats and soulful vocals. In addition, local rappers Mike and Ike will bless the spot with their conscious rhyme stylings and DJ Diamond Tip will work the wheels. With any luck, the venerable Mr. Blakes might knock out a freestyle or two himself before the night is over. Best part, the whole event is free, daddy, free!
Saturday: Diversearts presents ‘Re-Imaging the Nude: Diverse Notions on Sensual Photography’ Before I got married, I spent the better part of the ’00s living with Sarah Alexander, a lovely visual artist with an affinity for doodling line drawings of naked chicks (which we affectionately dubbed “nakes”) on everything from sketch pads to bar napkins to bathroom walls. Through watching her work, I developed a whole new appreciation for how artists perceive and interact with the human form. This exhibit at New East Arts on East Fifth Street invites the viewer to experience nude/erotica photography from a variety of Central Texas artists. Nakes galore! The show opens on Saturday with a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. It continues Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Aug. 14. Free.
Saturday: Table Manners Crew Wu-Tang retrospective at Plush. Funny, Team360 events maestro “B-Rocks” Cobb and I were just pouring out a little Hennessey (no, not literally) for the ODB earlier this week. R.I.P Dirty! We’re apparently on the same page as Austin’s hottest hip-hop turntable crew, as this week they’re dedicating their regular Saturday residency gig at Plush to all things Wu. Promoter Avi Minkoff promises that the last hour of the night will be nothing but “beats and rhymes from the slums of Shaolin.” The gig is free before 11 p.m. and a pocketful of change that can be scrounged from the average couch will get you in after that.
Sunday: DJ-RJ Birthday Bash and Benefit. My two favorite times to tune into KAZI (88.7 fm) are Sunday afternoons and Tuesday evenings when the irie vibes of reggae riddims take over the airwaves. Frequently, the cut selecta in charge is DJ-RJ, who also supports reggae music in Texas through the essential events site texasreggae.org. On Sunday, Flamingo Cantina honors the man’s birthday while simultaneously raising money to help him with medical expenses, which include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The Mau Mau Chaplains, Irie Jane and Vida Deluxe will all perform. In addition, there will be a silent auction, and Winston will be cooking up tasty Jamaican grub in the back. Benefit runs from 5 to 10 p.m., cover unspecified.
(Image courtesy of mojoefamily.com.)
Diddy: ‘Do you really think that God meant for a man to have just one wife?’
Yep, our boy Diddy is leaving Kim Porter, mother of his 7-month-old twin girls D’Lila Star and Jessie James and his son Christian. Full story here.
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‘Making the Band 4’: Closer to bloodshed all the time
Let’s recap briefly. In Episode 1, thousands of boy band wannabes auditioned around the country for MTB4. Diddy’s “dream team” of talent scouts picked the top 100, who were brought to New York for an audition, which whittled the group down to 20. These finalists moved into the plush MTB crib in Episode 2. After the requisite squabbles and preliminary training, the boys were split into quartets. In Episode 3, our crooners were sent on a strange 18-hour sing-athon through the streets of New York and then performed at B.B. King’s. After the performance, four were cut, including Houstonite Anzeo. In the trailer for this week’s episode, we were informed that the MTB4 house was about to get crowded, because the dream team was recruiting a new group of crooners to square off against the remaining 16.
We get no lead-in from Puffy this time. Instead, a brief recap reminds us of rotund Michael’s love of buttery grilled cheese and the fact that Chris can’t sing. There’s also a quick sequence from last week’s B.B. King’s showcase.
Back in the house, Deangelo laments the Episode 3 cuts of Tyrice and Anzeo while Willie and Dre discuss the struggle to keep their voices together. Michael Bivens shows up to congratulate to the survivors. He singles out Chris, who gets props for actually singing on key, filling me with fear that we might be stuck with his frequent shriekiness for a minute longer. All of our crooners are warned that the four empty beds in the house won’t stay empty for long.
Finally, we get a little face time (complete with ample sunglass adjustment) from Diddy, who tells us he’s never satisfied. He’s sending the dream team out to find more talent to fill the empty beds. First, they head to Memphis, where there’s much off-key warbling and substantially more mockery than we got from the first round of auditions. Nonetheless, a few strong singers represent. Next, it’s on to Norfolk, Va., and then Birmingham, Ala., where Laurie Ann sweetly innuendos, “We don’t have a lot of beds in New York, so you need to lay it out.” Apart from an unfortunately misplaced banjo toter, these Southern cats appear to be killing some of the kids in the house.
The judges seem to agree. “There’s four beds to fill. If they’re good enough, who knows, they might take over the whole house,” Diddy foreshadows.
Meanwhile, our familiar dudes are stepping up their game, rehearsing in their groups. Julius articulates the well-calculated conflict, with seething hostility toward the new cats. “You ain’t gonna get no respect. You ain’t gonna get no trust.”
The new group is flown to New York, and in a condensed version of the Episode 2 love fest, Ankh Ra breaks them down and teaches them how to sing with emotion. Back at the house, a boot camp sequence illustrates the amped-up determination from the old boys. Even portly Michael is hitting the treadmill hard at this point. Speaking of determination, Diddy seems absolutely determined to get a little bloodshed out of this before it’s over.
After the new guys have their first round with Diddy, it definitely seems like the second group is a little stronger. Which makes sense in a way; they are all Southern boys. (Yes, I’m biased.) Diddy seems to agree. He claims he was going to let only four of the new singers in the house, but after hearing the new group perform, he declares, “Men have a lot of testosterone. Let’s have a war.”
Yep. He’s going for the bloodshed.
Back at the house, it’s 11:47 a.m., and here comes another surprise visit from Diddy, this time bringing 11 new guys in tow. Most of our original crooners are peacefully enjoying a late-morning snooze. Diddy is disgusted. The new cats seem ready to take over.
Michael Bivins rallies our crooners and sends them downstairs, where old and new line up on opposite sides of the floor.
“There’s always somebody in life trying to take your spot,” Puffy warns our familiar group. “These are the guys who are trying to take your spot. Every man for himself.”
It’s a battle now, and Diddy wants to see some action. Brian A., our boy from Houston, rises to the challenge, stepping to the center. A love song standoff makes much less sense than a rap battle, but still, Michael from Norfolk comes at Brian hard. Brian strikes back at him fiercely with the MTB4 theme song, “The End of the Road.” When he hits the first chorus, all of the original crooners join in, backing him in glorious harmony. This seems to please Diddy. “That’s the home team,” he tells the new crew.
All of the crooners are then brought into the auditorium for a one-on-one sing-off. In the first two rounds, the old guys are shut down fast. Our boy Brian A. fares a little better, but deep, gritty Curtis from the new team is tough competition. In a twist, Big Mike is the lone crooner who’s given a sexy lady to serenade. He reckons this is to test his sex-symbol chops. In less than a minute, he has the girl swooning. Chris, on the other hand, stumbles through a cringe-worthy rendition of “Let It Burn.” Perhaps he won’t be around so long after all.
Finally, it’s judgment time. Diddy says the decision is based both on the day’s performance and on whether he can see you being the group
It ends up a 14-6 split, with off-key Chris and Dre from the old team getting cut. Dre breaks down at the end. He cries; he shouts; he pleads in a futile appeal to Michael Bivins. Finally, defeated, he convinces his homies to join him in one final contrived touching round of “The End of the Road.”
Next week on MTB4. Will there finally be bloodshed? Will someone cry? Will there be endless renditions of “The End of the Road”? Check back; your girl will be watching.
- Episode 8 recap
- Episode 7 recap
- Episode 6 recap
- Episode 5 recap
- Episode 4 recap
- Episode 3 recap
- Episode 2 recap
- Episode 1 recap
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Weekend picks: Planet Rock, DJ parties and Pacino
If anyone knows of a good ark-building workshop going down this weekend, please clue the rest of us in on it! Otherwise, it’s shaping up to be a pretty slow weekend for urban entertainment in Austin, especially after the DMX show scheduled for Friday at Emo’s seems to have mysteriously disappeared from all listings. Thankfully, there are a few good DJ gigs going down in warm, dry clubs if you feel the need to get out and shake your thang following the soggy, cabin-fever inducing midweek Independence Day holiday that just passed.
Friday: B-Boy City Planet Rock party at the Whisky Bar. This birthday party for B-Boy Santos (Feliz cumpleaños!) should bring the better part of the Austin break dance scene out to throw down and show their moves. Happily for the rest of us, B-Boys (and B-Girls) preferred dance grooves tend to be chunky, neck-lock funk cuts, the kind of music that can coax a hip-twitch out of even the most uncoordinated of souls. DJs Tats, Element and Silent Rob will be on the wheels. $5
Saturday: Ring the Alarm at Copa Sure, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to lounge around the back patio eating tasty Caribbean grub and watching soccer outtakes, but rain or shine this party still provides two rooms full of great dance music. Baby G and Jah Mighty will be dropping reggae, soca and dancehall for your bumping-and-grinding pleasure in the main room. Meanwhile, upstairs it’s salsa and Latin dance grooves all night long. $7, dress code enforced.
Saturday: DJ Mel and Nicknack at the Beauty Bar. Two of Austin’s most consistent party rockers bring the heat at one of Austin’s hippest nightspots. Cover unspecified.
Sunday: ‘Scarface’ at the Paramount. I’d like to nominate this flick for the next Alamo Drafthouse Quote-a-Thon. You drop this one in the DVD player at my spot, and all of a sudden everyone in the room is Tony Montana. In any case, like most members of the hip-hop generation I was far too young to check this in theaters when it first dropped in 1983, so the opportunity to see the gun fights and gore on a big screen sounds mighty enticing. $5-$7
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‘Making the Band 4,’ surviving the sing-athon
As you might recall, last week, in an episode blithely titled “Weigh In” by the wacky folks over at MTV.com, the show kicked off with elements of “Celebrity Fit Club” audition and Laurie Ann’s dominatrix dance den. It then degenerated into a touchy-feely love fest where Ankh Ra helped our young crooners make emotional breakthroughs. Along the way, there was very little actual singing, and no one got cut.
This week, after briefly plugging his sunglasses, Diddy assures us from the jump that heads will roll. The guys will be put to a tough task, and then they are going to perform live at B.B. King’s. They will be evaluated both on their live performances and on their drive to succeed.
We cut to the house, where Robert, who hasn’t received much face time thus far, is fruitlessly trying to call his girlfriend. According to Rob, ol’ girl has a history of creeping around on the side, and since he can’t get in touch with her, he’s afraid she’s at it again. Donnie warns him to stay focused on his music, but sensing a good made-for-TV subplot, Robert continues to blow up her phone. When he finally gets in touch, he launches into her with a mess of accusations. She furiously accuses him of being a “drama king.”
The scene fades to darkness, and our crooners are trying to catch a little beauty rest when Diddy and Co. burst in to wake them up. Diddy hovers menacingly over Houstonite Brian A., giving him a Burger King commercial-style creepy wakeup call that will probably haunt him forever.
It’s the middle of the night, but Diddy wants the boys to get to know N.Y.C., so he’s sending them off on a strange citywide sing-athon. Along the way, they’ll promote their upcoming gig at B.B. King’s, raise money for the homeless (in a Sharpie-scrawled cardboard box, cause they’re street like that) and fetch a slice of Diddy’s favorite cheesecake. It’s hard out there for a boy-band wannabe, Diddy warns the boys. There will be no excuses, someone might go to the hospital, but they can’t stop singing, and there best be cheesecake at the end of the run.
At 3:24 a.m., the boys arrive at Times Square, where they practice crooning in groups. Anzeo, the other Houstonite, is struggling with the weather. “It’s like trying to sing like your lungs full of ice,” he moans. After a couple hours of serenading bewildered late-night passers-by, it’s dawn, and the boys are off to Brooklyn, singing all the way. Next up is Queens, where the boys share a contrived touching moment with a homeless man who begins to sing along with them.
Around 10 in the morning, Anzeo starts to get hoarse. He tries to devise a strategy to help his team keep their voices.
After spending the afternoon in the Bronx, the boys make their way to the Washington Street Bridge as the sun goes down. Unfortunately, the crooning crossing ordered by Diddy is cut short by N.Y.C.’s finest. Anzeo reasons that in these circumstances, attempting to cross is actually as good as crossing itself. I’m starting to suspect that we’re going to be down a Texan before this episode is up.
Finally, it’s 8:30 p.m., and the boys have arrived at Bad Boy Entertainment headquarters, where a pack of fawning young white girl tourists perks our young songsmiths up significantly.
Puffy makes a grand entrance, the boys present him with cheesecake, and he gives them all props for their perseverance.
Back at the house, we get a little face time with clean-cut, sweet Jonathan, who’s having, like, the best time of his life, and then Robert’s back on the phone with his girl June. June is much sweeter this time, but Robert, still determined to capitalize on the trifling girlfriend subplot, seems suspicious.
The boys don’t know how many of them getting cut, and tensions are running high. Our Houston boys, Brian A. and Anzeo, get into an altercation over a plate of allegedly abandoned eggs. Camaraderie is clearly breaking down.
Appropriately, we cut to a montage of our boys getting preened backstage at B.B. King’s.
On to the performances. 37th Ave., featuring Brian A., Jonathan, Robert and Donnie, goes first. They knock out a solid Boyz II Men cover, and the judges seem pleased. Campus Block, featuring Anzeo, Armando, Carlos and Makio, are up next. They’re a much shakier unit. Only Carlos (who, remember, before this contest was sleeping on trains) sings like his life depends on it and delivers a standout performance. Then it’s Face, including Tyrice, Lewis, Maurice and Willie. They come with a rendition of “Peaches and Cream,” and it goes fairly well until Maurice, having a full-on Chippendale fantasy moment, strips off his shirt and starts to bump and grind for a group of startled-looking ladies in the front. Oh, Maurice …
Finally, the guys from Switch suck up to Diddy, with all four members performing in sunglasses. They sing well and execute charmingly goofy choreography, and spiky-haired Dan gets props for having a fun personality. Finally, Legit featuring fan fave Julius closes out the night with a somewhat pitchy shout-out to all their soldiers who might be going home.
At the end of it all, Diddy is pleased. Instead of cutting 10 dudes, as was originally planned, he decides to cut only four. Predictably, Houstonite Anzeo and shirtless Maurice are both among the cancelled crooners. Also Tyrice, who has a somewhat alarming affection for neon clothing, and the barely memorable Makio are going home.
There was no bloodshed, but all in all, I have to say it was a more satisfying show than last week. And next week? A whole new crew of crooners will be introduced to face off against our 16 remaining songsmiths. Good times, good times …
- Episode 8 recap
- Episode 7 recap
- Episode 6 recap
- Episode 5 recap
- Episode 4 recap
- Episode 3 recap
- Episode 2 recap
- Episode 1 recap
Crafty Scion marketing scheme enters a new phase
Those of us who have enjoyed countless hours of free hip-hop shows on the dime of Scion, the scrappy stepchild of automotive behemoth Toyota, already knew the company had an unorthodox marketing plan. For the past couple years Scion has been throwing monthly “Metro” events in selected cities across the country, including Austin. Austinites have enjoyed free shows by groups like Ghostface Killah and Femi Kuti. In order to get in to these shows, music fans merely submitted e-mail RSVPs.
In the process of these promo events, no doubt, Scion has collected contact info for tens of thousands of music enthusiasts (and potential car owners). Now the car company has launched Scion BroadBand, a multimedia site that includes film and music shorts, an original WebTV series featuring rapper Slick Rick and 17 channels of streaming music. Naturally, there’s a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle Scion self-promotion on the site, but there’s also some real quality work. I bumped the mix by NYC DJ team The Rub this morning, and it was a solid blend of hip-hop, soul and funk that was, for the most part, commercial-free and slammin’. There’s also a live joint on there that’s Ghostface Killah with the Rhythm Roots All-Stars recorded at Stubb’s during SXSW 2007. It’s good stuff.
My only apprehension about this new aspect of Scion’s scheme is that they might phase out the free Metro events in favor of online contests as they are doing with the upcoming Femi Kuti tour. For those of us who have become used to monthly free shows from the likes of De La, Little Brother and Devin the Dude, that would be unfortunate indeed.
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