Doomtree

Posted on May 21, 2013

Maaaaaaan, it’s been a jam-packed week over here at Doomtree HQ. So much sweet news to talk about, let’s just dive right into it. Dessa just dropped “Call Off Your Ghost,” the smash hit second single from Parts of Speech!!!

The good folks over at Wall Street Journal and Speakeasy premiered the track yesterday (read their kind write up HERE), and today it’s available for purchase digitally through iTunes (HERE). Click the Soundcloud player below to stream the whole song. Dessa on the vocals, Paper Tiger on the beat. Always such a great pairing. You are gonna like this one, promise.

SO GOOD! And it gets even better: Last week Dessa announced the dates for the first leg of her Parts of Speech Tour. West Coast, it’s your turn. Click on the flyer below for all the major deetz and ticket link information. Des Moines and Sioux Falls were just added yesterday. Oh, and don’t forget about the Parts of Speech pre-order, available at the Doomtree Webstore (HERE) and now Fifth Element as well (HERE).

Last week also saw the arrival of the brand new Sims & Astronautalis collabo single “This Is The Place,” produced by the one and only Cecil Otter!!!

You can purchase the track from iTunes (HERE) or Bandcamp (HERE), all for less than the cost of a small frosty. Once again, click the Soundcloud player below to stream the song in its entirety. It’s a monster.

Man, I love that track. You can see the dudes perform “This Is The Place” live for the very first time June 14th at the First Avenue Mainroom for their one-time only joint co-headlining concert. Mixed Blood Majority and Greg Grease round out the completely stacked line-up. Bill of the summer, hands down. Click the flyer below to grab tickets while they’re still available.

In more big show news, the sixth annual Soundset Festival is going down this Sunday in Shakopee, MN. P.O.S and Mixed Blood Majority are both on the insane line-up, along with Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Juicy J, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Tech N9ne, Mac Miller, Aesop Rock, and about one million others. Click HERE for tickets and info, and check out the promo video roll call below to get completely amped.

And speaking of Doomtree related summer festival promo video roll calls (these segues are seriously reaching new heights), Summer Set Festival just put out this sweet video yesterday. The entire Doomtree crew will be performing there this August, along with Passion Pit, Girl Talk, Big Boi, Diplo, and tons more (apparently we only play festivals that have the word “Set” in them). Click HERE for tickets and info, and check out the roll call video below.

For the Bonus Jam today I wanted to talk a little bit about this new Daft Punk record that just dropped. I’ve been a pretty huge fan of these guys since Discovery, and I definitely bought into the masterful marketing campaign that led up to this release. Spent the last week streaming the album from iTunes and trying to digest it as much as possible. At this point I feel like I could write 100 pages on it, but I’ve already outstayed my welcome at a few parties this past week rambling on and on about it, so I’ll spare you the details. Let me just say that I can’t remember the last time a new release made me think and talk about and analyze music for more than just a day or two. I feel like I’m in junior high all over again nerding out about Sonic Youth records and Woody Allen movies. In 80 minutes this thing runs the gamut between amazing, challenging, hilarious, jaw-dropping, even frustrating and pretentious, but it really is a front to back insane ride and I can’t say enough about their unwillingness to cut any corners in the process (not to mention the way they made everything sound like a Steely Dan album). I absolutely do feel like this is an IMPORTANT record (there I said it), as old as that might make me sound, and I think you should hear it if you haven’t yet (iTunes HERE). Pitchfork’s review actually kind of hit the nail on the head too if you really wanna read more about it (HERE). Anyways, here’s “Get Lucky” for the millionth time, along with the cool unboxing video and snippet of the intro track (yet another amazing hype building marketing example). Hopefully you’ll be into it even a fraction as much as I am. If nothing else you’ll at least be treated to the completely flawless Michael McDonald/Doobie Brothers homage of “Fragments of Time.”

Alright, enough music talk for one week. I’ll leave you with a couple Bonus Penny Pics to tie this whole thing together. My mom sent over a couple cool shots when she was watching her last week. Here’s Penny really getting in touch with nature and, more specifically, tulips. Is there a trademarked Flower Whisperer title out there yet?

And here’s Penny demonstrating some kind of crazy lightning fast shape shifting hummingbird freak out arm scenario. Pretty cool move actually. I’m into it.

As you can see, she’s getting really close to being able to walk. My favorite photo happened last night when I was trying to get a good pic for the blog. My goal was to capture her pushing around her favorite toy cart, but about halfway through she just stopped and did this:

I can only imagine that this is some sort of display of ancient magic wizardry, judging from her stance and the look on her face, not to mention the Gandalf-like robe she chose to don. If you’re at all familiar with my TPC! lyrical background, you know that I am pretty into ancient magic wizardry, so I put out a call to the internets to assist me in a Photoshop contest, in order to convey the great levels of mysticism that my daughter so clearly possesses. Here are a few of my favorites:

Lightning Mage Penny courtesy of Elizabeth Simmons.

May the Force Be With Her courtesy of Ben Cohen.

And my absolute favorite: Healer Penny courtesy of Elizabeth Simmons. Thanks so much for sending these over everybody. Photoshop pics make me laugh harder than about anything else out there (and yes I’ve seen The Big Lebowski AND The Hangover).

OK, that’s about it for this post. Make sure to spread the word about the new Dessa and Sims singles if you can, and I’ll hopefully see a ton of you out at Soundset this Sunday. If not, next Tuesday for sure. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

– Beak

Twitter: @_LAZERBEAK_

Instagram: @lazerbeak

HA! And this just in, a few final Photoshop offerings:

LAVABANGER Mage Penny courtesy of Elizabeth Simmons, aaaaaaaand………….

Penny Magic courtesy of Arlo Guthrie (who you might remember from previous Photoshop contest victories, as well as the infamous Stevie Nicks picture). Thanks again everybody!

Posted on May 16, 2013

BEST NEWS: Sims just dropped his brand new single,”This Is the Place,” featuring Astronautalis and produced by Cecil Otter!

The Current dropped the track on air yesterday afternoon, and world premiered the song online this morning, along with an excellent Sims Q&A (read about all that right HERE). You can check out “This Is The Place” on Soundcloud below, and purchase it from iTunes right HERE for less than the cost of a small frosty.

SO GOOD. All of this awesome news on the heels of Sims and Astronautalis’ announcement that they will be co-headlining the First Avenue Mainroom on June 14th for a special one-time only joint set with a newly formed live band! And on top of all that Mixed Blood Majority and Greg Grease are both on the bill. Lineup of the summer, hands down. Plus it’ll be the first chance to see the dudes perform “This Is The Place” together live. Click the flyer below for more details and ticket info.

BAM! Make sure to spread the word about “This Is The Place,” and don’t forget to grab it from iTunes HERE (for less than the cost of a king size Take 5 bar). Have a great week!

Posted on May 14, 2013

Hey! Welcome back to Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. It’s a relatively off-week compared to the last month or so of crazy posts, so I figured we could switch things up a bit and actually start with a couple Bonus Jams. P.O.S and Marijuana Deathsquads are getting ready to drop POS/WDELH/MDS/RMX, a front to back remix of Stef’s We Don’t Even Live Here album, in conjunction with Rhymesayers and TGNP.

They dropped a remix of “Piano Hits” last week, and it is a monster. Beat contributions from Arson Only, Mark McGee, Cecil Otter, Lazerbeak, Isaac Gale, Slapping Purses, and Plain Ole Bill. Plus new verses from Lizzo, Sims, and Stef himself. Check it out:

Out on the East Coast our main man Paper Tiger is putting the finishing touches on a new collaborative album with ultimate homie F. Stokes (Stokes on the raps, Papes on the beats). It’s called Fearless Beauty and they’re releasing it independently on June 17th.

I got a chance to hear the whole album recently and I promise you it does not disappoint. They just dropped the first single last week, and it is by far one of my favorite songs of the year. Check out “Shaka Zulu” below:

BAM! So hot. Speaking of heat, I figured it might be time to fill everybody in on all of the Doomtree related summer shows taking place in the coming months (best segue yet, amiright?). I’m doing this just as much for me as I am for you. I don’t know how else I’d keep track of everything. Here goes nothing:

Soundset is upon us, and this year P.O.S and Mixed Blood Majority will be performing along with Snoop Dogg, Atmosphere, Busta Rhymes, and one millllllllion other great rappers. It all goes down Sunday, May 26th. Click the flyer for more details and ticket information. This will be the best.

The following day Stef will be flying out to play the Sasquatch Festival on Sunday, May 27th. I believe this whole weekend is sold out, but again, click the flyer for all the deeeetz.

Then a few weeks later it’s the completely stacked Sims & Astronautalis crazy co-headlining First Avenue show back home with Mixed Blood Majority and Greg Grease. I’m already billing this as the best lineup of the summer here in Minnesota, although I might be just a little biased. Tickets are moving fast for this, so make sure to grab them HERE. And stay tuned for more big time news from these two coming later this week.

The following Saturday (6/22) Dessa will be playing the first of her two sold out Parts of Speech release shows. This one is at the Fitzgerald Theater and it’s gonna be faaaaaaancy. There’s no flyer image for the show since it sold out within hours, so I’m gonna use this opportunity to shamelessly promote the Parts of Speech pre-order. BAM!

That exact same day Stef will be out in Denver performing a solo set at the Westword Music Showcase. Click the flyer for details.

Then it’s Dessa’s second sold out release show at First Avenue on the 29th, followed by Stef playing July 2nd at Target Field DURING A MINNESOTA TWINS GAME!!! So amazing/bizarre. I guess he’ll be performing songs live from the left field balcony during pre-game, inning breaks, and pitching changes. I cannot wait to see this. You can grab Twins tickets right HERE.

July ends with Dessa in Chicago performing an outdoor show in Millenium Park with our good friend Psalm One. Click the sweet image below to get an idea of what this is all about. Sounds awesome.

August brings the first public all crew Doomtree set of the year. All seven of us will be performing at Summer Set Festival in Somerset, WI (see what they did there?) during the weekend of August 9th-11th.  There are a ton of INSANE bands playing this year (Big Boi, Passion Pit, Diplo, Zedd, and Polica just to name a few). Check out the lineup below and grab tickets HERE. Really looking forward to this one.

To close out the summer, we’ll all be flying to Sacramento, CA on September 7th and 8th for the Launch Music Festival with Imagine Dragons and Girl Talk (and a band called Doombird?!). Expect a big full-crew Doomtree performance plus solo sets from P.O.S and Dessa earlier on.

OOOOOOOOkaaaaaay, you made it through the show posts! I think that about covers it for now. There are a couple other things still waiting to get announced, but I’ll make sure to keep you posted as those come up. Should be an outstanding summer.

I’m gonna hold off on doing a Dessa tour recap til next week when the gang officially gets back. They just wrapped up their third NYC residency show last night and have two more shows left as they make their way back home (Sellersville, PA tonight HERE, and Pontiac, MI on Thursday HERE). Here’s a quick pic of Dessa trapped in an East Coast thunderstorm earlier in the week though, just so you know she’s still out there. Stay tuned in the next couple days for even more Dessa tour announcements.

Last Wednesday was Marijuana Deathsquads’ SLAM DUNK night at Icehouse, and probably my favorite night of all time (2013 at least). Lizzo and I got to do our first real LIZZOBANGERS set and it went off without a hitch. Feels super official to finally be playing all this new stuff out in public. Here’s a quick pic of Lizzo, Cliff, and Lauren at practice a few days before the show. Who needs a rehearsal space when you have a Toyota Camry! Seriously where is my free Toyota Camry?

So yeah, the Lizzo set went great and then everything got a million times more crazy. I got to play with Deathsquads as they performed for almost 40 minutes to nothing but awesome beats and 600+ synchronized slam dunks. Here’s a quick idea of the layout at soundcheck.

My phone doesn’t do it justice, but the main stage had two big screens front and center, plus a TV on each side, and then there were two more huge screens on each side of the venue, all playing rapid fire DUNKS while like 20 different rappers shared stage time and freestyled over all the different tracks. Steve McPherson was at the show and ended up doing an excellent write up of the whole night over at GRANTLAND (!!!), one of the best sports site out there. If you’ve got a couple minutes it’s definitely worth the read right HERE. Here’s a quick video he took to kind of give you an idea of the mass chaos that ensued. SO GREAT.

Alright, before I go I wanted to quickly highlight a couple sweet Local Video Bonus Jams that just came out recently (ahem, circle of life from the top of the post). First up is Metasota, who’s H.I.P. 2 album is out now. This Bobby Raps produced “Force Fed” track is a definite stand out, plus the Sway Heavy directed video looks awesome. Check it out:

Most welcomed music industry news ever: Y.N Rich Kids are back with “My Bike,” the follow up to “Hot Cheetos & Takis,” and these kids just racked up yet another summer anthem! Totally killing the game, plus the video rules. Shouts to the Vikes!

Up next are the homies Taj Raj. These dudes have a new record coming out this summer, and the first single “Pollice Verso” is outstanding (love the chorus and the drums). Really good early morning suuuuuper chill music. Check it out:

And lastly, here’s the brand new Har Mar Superstar “Lady, You Shot Me” video (he’ll always be local to me). Love this song.

OK, that about it does it. I’ll leave you with one Bonus Penny Pic. We had a great Mother’s Day weekend celebrating with Mom and Grandma. Here’s Penny wishing all moms worldwide a very happy Mother’s Day. Check out Della the Dog’s sweet photo bomb in the background.

Alright, I hope you all have a wonderful week. Definitely stay tuned over here. We’ve got some big announcements coming in the next few days. See you next Tuesday!

– Beak

Twitter: @_LAZERBEAK_

Instagram: @lazerbeak

Posted on May 07, 2013

Welcome back to a very special Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. Today we are unveiling the brand new Doomtree Spring/Summer line of gear!!! Figured we could finally make the announcement now that the snow has melted in Minnesota for good this year (did I just jinx us?). We’ve got a ton of new season specific clothing and accessories to get you ready for the beach! Oh man, is this already starting to sound like a Sears commercial? Let’s start things off with a new CD and slowly ease into the department store talk. It is my great joy to present to you the first ever Doomtree Karaoke disc!

That’s right, 14 of your favorite Doomtree HITZ on an official CD+G karaoke disc (for all of you die hard karaoke-ers). Created by our webstore’s own Grace Zimmerman (Stef’s mom), this thing is the real deal. Grace and her husband Doug have been diligently running our webstore since Day 1, and they’ve been doing pro karaoke since way before that. Grace often makes her own karaoke CDs to bring out to events, frequently visiting nursery homes over the weekends and hosting karaoke wedding receptions all over the place (Sims’ wedding was the best). When she told us she wanted to make an official Doomtree Karaoke disc we simply could not refuse. Also comes with a free download of all 14 video files, so you can play them from any computer in addition to the karaoke machines. Very limited supplies and only available at the Doomtree Webstore. $9.99 right HERE.

Alright, now let’s jump into the rest of the summer gear! It’s our first ever attempt at a seasonal line, so bear with me on all the cheeseball selling points. Click any of the images below for more details and ordering info.

COOZIES!

Keep your Mike’s Hard Strawberry Lemonade cold all summer long! Or any flavor of Mike’s Hard Lemonade for that matter. No Kings logo printed big on both sides. $3.99 right HERE.

SUNGLASSES!

So your eyes don’t catch too many of those harmful UV rayz. Blacked out shadez with the wings and teeth logo on the right arm. $4.99 right HERE.

TANK TOPS!

American Apparel tanks in both white and blue, so you can represent all over the basketball/volleyball courts. $19.99 right HERE.

TOTE BAGS!

A Doomtree tote bag to carry your Doomtree coozie, Doomtree tank top, and Doomtree sunglasses to the beach with! Cream with mini black No Kings logos printed on front side. $11.99 right HERE.

WINDBREAKERS!

For when the sun goes down at the beach, right? The pictures might not do it justice, but this thing is seriously AWESOME. American Apparel nylon taffeta light weight zip up windbreaker. Wings and teeth logo on the front, No Kings on the back. I will actually wear this one! $39.99 right HERE.

“DOOMTREE, MN” WHITE SHIRTS!

The classic Doomtree, MN design stylishly revamped in white so the sun can be more forgiving to your sweaty body. $19.99 right HERE.

 P.O.S BUTTON PACK!

Not sure if buttons are really a summer thing per say, but Stef wanted to make some so we did it! Five different 1″ buttons from the WDELH artwork. Very limited supplies. $6.99 right HERE.

P.O.S “C.R.E.A.M.” SHIRT!

Get it? Another sweet MN Vice and P.O.S collabo. C.R.E.A.M. logo on front, MN Vice/P.O.S logos on back. $19.99 right HERE.

BAM! There you have it, the first ever Doomtree seasonal clothing and accessory line. We’re gonna try to do this twice a year from here on out, so get ready for the exclusive Doomtree snow blower coming out next fall!

OK, let’s get back into some music news. Last week the good people over at Blackbook premiered a sweet new lyric video for Parts of Speech first single “Warsaw.” Created by the one and only Adam J. Dunn (check out tons more of his phenomenal work right HERE). Watch this and try to keep up with the breakneck lyrical spiritual miracle cereal raps.

Dess and the band are currently about a third of the way through their East Coast run. They’ll be playing Boston tonight and Brooklyn tomorrow, and you can get details and tickets for the whole tour right HERE. I stole a couple pictures off of Dessa’s Instagram feed to give you a brief recap of what’s gone down so far.

MOUNTAIN appears to be thriving in the bumper to bumper East Coast parking game. Very impressive.

Joey and Dustin sipping margaritas from some seriously fancy goblets. 100% Lazerbeak approved activity.

Before and……..

After! I’ve seen Young Baby find a million different ways to sleep in hotel rooms all around the country, but this takes the cake.

Aby vs. Annie’s. Might be time to step up the Mom Snacks guys.

These dudes!!! The band is playing three separate shows in New York throughout the tour, which means they’ll get lots of quality time with Sick Trim co-founder Paper Tiger and his awesome new dog Winston.

I told you they were debuting a ton of new Parts of Speech material at these shows. Here’s the proof. Make sure you check out one of the remaining shows if you’re in the area. Tickets right HERE.

While those guys were gone grinding it out on the road, I got a call yesterday from Noiseland saying the Parts of Speech deluxe vinyl just came in! We only made a total of 500 on red vinyl, and they’re going fast. Make sure to hit up the pre-order right HERE to snag one.

Last week we announced the insane news that Sims and Astronautalis will be playing a joint headlining show together at First Avenue on June 14th, along with Mixed Blood Majority and Greg Grease. And now tickets have officially gone on sale to the public. Click the flyer below to grab them while you still can. Show of the summer!

Oh yeah, one other bit of show info. If you’re in the Twin Cities make sure to come out to Icehouse tomorrow night to catch the second installment of Marijuana Deathsquads’ “Music Rocks” Residency (Slam Dunk Edition). Lizzo and I will be opening up and playing a ton of new material off of LIZZOBANGERS, plus there will be constant and unrelenting slam dunk vizualz synced up to Squads’ entire set. It’s gonna be completely nutz. Click the flyer below for more info, and hopefully I’ll see a bunch of you out there.

OK, I’ll leave you with a couple Bonus Penny Pics, since I took a lot of heat for not including her in either of last week’s posts.

Little drummer girl. Already a natural. Hoping she can eventually step in as the percussionist in my Luther Vandross family tribute band. I’ve got the high bass covered.

Here we are practicing something I like to call “Gentle Pets” with Della the Dog. It consists of me attempting to explain the difference between a “gentle pet” and trying to poke Della’s eye out with one hand while ripping her ear off with the other. We’re making progress.

And lastly, here’s Penny hanging outside and soaking up the rays with her NEW DOOMTREE COOZIE!!!! ONLY $3.99 AT THE WEBSTORE!!!! See how good I am at sewing these posts up?

Alright, I hope you all have a wonderful week enjoying this awesome weather. I’ll see you next Tuesday for sure!

– Beak

Posted on April 30, 2013

UPDATE (Friday, 12:00pm): Tickets for the Sims and Astronautalis show at First Avenue are now officially on sale to the public! Cop them right HERE while you still can.

Welcome back to a regularly scheduled Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. Two back-to-back blogz, I told you this was gonna be a huge news week. Here’s the reason why: Sims and Astronautalis have just announced a ginormous co-headlining show at First Avenue on June 14th!!! Mixed Blood Majority and the homie Greg Grease are playing too! THIS IS GOING TO BE INSANE!!!!

 As the flyer says above, both Sims and Astronautalis will be sharing the stage for a one-time only special collaborative joint set with a full live band. I’ll let Sims break down all the details for you in his own words though (in red, cuz I can). Check this out:

When Astronautalis’ house burned down in January he moved into my house for a couple of months. There was lots of rap. And whiskey. One night, we got to talking about our summer show plans. It’s been a while since he or I have played a headliner in Minneapolis and we were like, “We should do a show together…duh.” We talked about what that would look like and how to make it special. We were clear: this is a one-time only occasion so we should maximize the opportunity. We decided to combine our sets into one awesome collaborative set and find a band of some talented people to spruce up our songs. We’ve both been working on new material and a few collaborations. We will be debuting plenty of new stuff live at First Avenue on June 14th.

There will be a lot of firsts on June 14th. It will mark the first time we’ve performed a collaborative set, and our first time performing with this band. The first time either he or I have headlined at First Ave. And the first time we’ll be playing some new songs, including our new collaborative song “This Is The Place” (more on that soon).

- Sims

There you have it, directly from the man himself. Tickets are now officially on sale to the public! You’re gonna want to cop them right HERE while you still can. This lineup is too stacked to miss, and I’m not just saying that because I’m on it. We’ll make sure to keep you posted with further details on this one-of-a-kind show, like when that new “This Is The Place” collabo track is dropping and what the live band entails. This will definitely be one for the history books.

Segueing ever so smoothly into Mixed Blood Majority news, last Sunday we shot our first ever music video for “Story to Tell” (off the MBM self-titled debut album) featuring ultimate homie Toki Wright. Here’s a picture of the dudes hamming it up and soaking in the beautiful weekend weather over at Powderhorn Park.

 And here’s a couple action shots of rappers in the wild, climbing trees.

Toki wins.

I’ll definitely keep you posted on the “Story to Tell” video as we get closer to dropping it. For now let me just say that Penny does make a cameo in her first ever on screen performance. Big things for an 11 month old baby.

Moving on to big Dessa news: The second episode of Direct Flight, Dessa’s very own fake show in which she interviews Parts of Speech musical collaborators over airplane bottles of booze, is all wrapped up and ready to air. It features yours truly as the (incredibly special) guest and covers such riveting topics as the best flavor of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, made up sports theme songs, and our thoughts on the new Taylor Swift album. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the world premiere of Direct Flight Episode 2: Lazerbeak. WATCH IT.

Haha, shouts to Young Baby Ander Other killing the filming, editing, and “putting me out there for not washing my jeans” game. I wash em every once in awhile, promise.

In other Dessa news, the Early Words Tour has officially kicked off! Dess and the full band are en route to Buffalo, NY as we speak for the first show of tour tonight. They’ll be spending the next three weeks out East going up and down the coast and rocking a three show NYC residency. All details and ticket info can be procured by clicking the flyer below. And don’t forget about that super mega deluxe Parts of Speech pre-order going on right HERE.

Our very own Mike Mictlan is wrapping up his own video in the coming weeks, but in the meantime you can check out this sweet SNAXXX promo deal we’ve entered into with Soundsupply, a new digital music servicing company. They do these promotions called Mini Drops, where you can get super cheap five album bundles for a limited time only. Mike is a part of their first ever Hip Hop Drop, and you can pick up SNAXXX, along with records from Astronautalis, Kid Static, Skewby, and Mike Schlitz, for only $10 total (this week only). Click the links and images below to check out the deal.

Click here to visit Soundsupply.

If you stopped by here yesterday you know the deal about all the exciting LIZZOBANGERS news. I’ll just give you a brief recap in case you missed it.

For the last six months I’ve been working on an album with rapper/singer/renaissance woman Lizzo. It’s called LIZZOBANGERS and will be dropping on Totally Gross National Product later this summer (shouts to Garrett Born on the press pic). We put out our first single from the record yesterday, and you can stream “T-Baby” below. BUMP THAT.

You can also download the song on the brand new (and FREE.99) Totally Gross National Product 2013 Sampler. 10 sweet new trackz from a bunch of projects they’ll be putting out later this year. Click the cover below to grab that.

Lizzo, Cliff, and I will be playing our second show ever on May 8th at Icehouse in Minneapolis as part of Marijuana Deathsquads month long Music Rocks residency. Check out the details on the flyer below, and just know that our May 8th ‘SLAM DUNK’ night will feature video projection of thousands of real deal slam dunk timed up to MDS music. I cannot wait!

In closing, I’d just like to say a few words about the recent Roosevelt High School workshop and final performance that Doomtree was lucky enough to be a part of. For the last 10 weeks or so we’ve been putting on an after school creative writing/performance workshop over at RHS, working with kids on everything from similes and metaphors to mic handling and stage presence. This past Friday was the final performance in the school’s auditorium, where some of the students were brave enough to perform their final pieces on stage, followed by a Doomtree crew set. Reed Fischer and Erik Hess over at Gimme Noise did an amazing recap of the entire night that you can read about right HERE. Since I was up on stage most of the evening and unable to get my own pictures, I’m gonna sneak a few shots from their post to give the students that performed a little bit of shine time. All photos are courtesy of the very talented Erik Hess (please don’t sue me).

Zoey Friesen performing “A New Me”

Bernard Dixon (AKA Fat Man) performing “I’m Going Down The Hill”

Bri LeGarde (AKA Rany) performing “Thank You”

Bernard Riley (AKA Gee-Whiz) performing “Let It Go”

Farhia Jama performing “Shining Back”

Jayson “JT” Hosley (AKA Suave) performing “The Perfect Song”

Tyler Scaramuzzo and Damarez White (AKA Just Tyler & Apollo) performing “70′s Genre”

Also huge shouts to Raymond and Lavar (who were unable to make the performance), Tony, Shelby, Felipe, and all of the other students that attended the workshop throughout the last couple months (you too Julia). Could not be more proud of you guys. Thanks for putting in the work and absolutely crushing it. I haven’t stopped smiling since the show.

Alright, that about does it for this beyond mammoth edition of Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. Congratulations on making it through the whole thing. Hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll see you next Tuesday for sure!

– Beak

Posted on April 29, 2013

Hey! Welcome to an extremely rare Mondays With Lazerbeak post. There’s so much news going on this week that I’m gonna need two whole days worth of blogz to cover it all. Good problem to have I guess. Today is 100% dedicated to LIZZOBANGERS, the new album I’ve been working on with Lizzo, Ryan Olson, and Cliff Rhymes for the past six months. Lizzo on the vocals, Beak on the beats, Ryan on the creative/spiritual guru music editing overseer guy, and Cliff on the hypes.

Photo by Garrett Born

We debuted the first single from the album last night on The Current as part of the Totally Gross National Product Local Show Takeover. The track is called “T-Baby,” and you should probably check it out (not now but) right now, below.

You can stream the entire uncut and hilariously remixed Current interview (and learn about a slew of upcoming TGNP projects) right HERE. Towel Man even makes a few appearances. By far the best radio interview I’ve ever been a part of.

And if that wasn’t enough, TGNP has just released a 2013 sampler album for FREE.99 with 10 awesome new tracks from groups like The Cloak Ox, Marijuana Deathsquads, Slapping Purses, as well as the Lizzo track. Click the album cover below to grab that.

Speaking of Marijuana Deathsquads, they’ve just announced a five show May residency at Icehouse that kicks off this Friday in Minneapolis. Tons of new music, interactive video displays, and very special guests at each show. Lizzo, Cliff, and I will be playing a set on May 8th for the ‘SLAM DUNK’ themed night. Expect tons of LIZZOBANGERS world premieres, plus a synced up video display during Deathsquads set that will include hundreds (thousands?) of real deal slam dunks timed up to the music! Just dusted off my VHS copy of NBA Superstars to contribute to the footage. Here are the details for the entire month of the Music Rocks residency.

Can’t say it enough, these shows are gonna be INSANE.

OK, that’s about it for this special Mondays With Lazerbeak post. Make sure to listen to “T-Baby” (HERE), download the free TGNP 2013 Sampler (HERE), and hit up the Music Rocks residency (HERE) if you’re in the area. And definitely stop back here tomorrow for even more big announcements on the regularly scheduled Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. Have a great day. See you tomorrow!

– Beak

Photo by Garrett Born

Posted on April 23, 2013

Welcome back to another Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. Gonna kick things off today with a very special world premiere of Dessa’s new Direct Flight web series, or “visual podcast” as she’s labeling it. Here’s the gist of it: Dessa bought a ton of airplane sized bottles of booze (she loves tiny things), and invited several different Parts of Speech musical collaborators over for quick one on one rapid fire Q&A sessions. When the airplane bottle is empty, the interview is over. For the debut episode she interviewed the one and only Paper Tiger (Sick Trim 4 Lyfe), producer of Parts of Speech lead single “Warsaw.” Check it out below:

Enormous shouts to the absolutely indispensable Young Baby Ander Other for filming and editing this series (please say the Baby). Totally crushing it.

While we’re on the subject, Dessa will be taking MOUNTAIN out this weekend as her and the band head off on a three week tour of the East Coast. Things kick off this coming Monday in Buffalo, NY. Click the flyer below for more details and ticket info. If you’re in any of these areas, make sure to come check out a show. They’ll be road testing a bunch of brand new Parts of Speech material, and you can say that you saw it first. Oh, and if you hadn’t noticed from all of my overzealous Parts of Speech linking, you can still pre-order the super crazy mega deluxe version (and normal but still awesome standard version) of the album right HERE.

In other news, you may or may not know that I’ve been working on an album with rapper/singer/renaissance woman Lizzo (1/3 of the The Chalice, guest verse on Mike Mictlan’s “Give It To Me Mikey”). It’s called LIZZOBANGERS (get it?). Last week we wrapped up all the final tracking for LIZZOBANGERS over at Ryan Olson’s house, on the same day that Lizzo was awarded City Pages’ venerable Best Female Vocalist accolade. Here she is with Isaac Gale (former Best Male Vocalist recipient) performing some sort of time honored torch passing tradition, one best vocalist to another. I picked up some pretty strong illuminati vibez, but who am I to judge?

Finishing the tracking of an album and moving into the mixing stage is a huge step forward for any artist, so I decided it was definitely necessary to force everyone to drink Mike’s Hard Raspberry Lemonade in celebration. My way of popping bottles I guess. Note the sweet plastic Gayngs cups for good luck.

We’re gonna be dropping the first single LIZZOBANGERS single shortly, but in the meantime make sure you tune into The Current (89.3 in the Twin Cities, streaming HERE) this Sunday at 6:00pm CST, as Ryan Olson and Totally Gross National Product are taking over The Local Show for a special hour long interview and premiere of tons of new music. Towel Man even makes an appearance. I can drink to that!

Alright, so next week is gonna be a HUGE news week, but I think I’ve covered almost everything for this week. It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten into a mammoth Bonus Jams zone, so let’s just go for it. Brace yourself, I’m about to lay down one miiiiiiiiillllion Bonus Jams on you (well, 15 at least). Several of them are local, and several are of the Deep Cut R&B variety I have grown so found of. Here goes nothing. Let’s kick things off with the new awesome Daft Punk song that will be completely inescapable for at least the next three years. By far the best album marketing campaign I’ve seen in many years. These guys and their team are geniuses. The Creators Project interview series is a must watch (HERE) too. So good.

Daft Punk – “Get Lucky” ft. Pharrell and Nile Rodgers(!)

Greg Grease – “C.R.E.A.M. Dreams” – Great new video for a standout song from Conrbread, Pearl, and G.

Har Mar Superstar – “Lady, You Shot Me” – Best song, plus the new Har Mar album is out TODAY! Cop that HERE.

Kenny Burke – “Risin’ To The Top” – Classic Deep Cut R&B Bonus Jam. Best bass and drum soundz ever!

Polica – “TIFF” ft. Justin Vernon – BANGER! Super amped for this record.

I.B.E. and Benzilla – “Bottomless Bottom” – Love this pairing. This That and the Third out soon!

James Blake – “Overgrown” – POWERFUL IMAGEZ. One of the greatest song/video combos I’ve seen in years.

Levert – “All Season” – I love this Rope A Dope Style album! Half insane New Jack Swing, half super slow Slow Jamz.

Longshot – “Thank You” – Julian Fairbanks on the beat! Instant 4 Eternity drops May 14th.

Phoenix – “1901″ ft. R. Kelly – I already played that “Entertainment” video in another post, so here is their insane Coachella collabo with the one and only Kellz. BANKRUPT! is out today, can’t wait to check it out.

Keith Sweat – “Nobody” ft. Athena Cage – ULTIMATE CLASSIC!!!! Nothing else to say really.

The Micranots – “Illegal Busyness/Decapitation III” – The re-release of Obelisk Movements is out NOW! Holler at that HERE and pay your respects to a classic record. This album was an total game changer for me back in high school. Pretty sure I bought it at a Sam Goody too, haha. Things done changed.

Jai Paul – “Jasmine (Demo” – I totally fell for the illegally leaked demos on Bandcamp a few weeks ago, but I stand by the fact that a lot of this fake record is still absolute fire. If that’s really just demos, I cannot imagine what the real album is gonna sound like. Put that out already XL!

Absynthe – “Magic Ride” – New rap project from Lizzo and Sophia Eris of The Chalice. Mixtape coming soon.

The Stylistics – “Hurry Up This Way Again” – Beyond Deep Cut R&B Bonus Jam. Such a jam. 16 years before Ski flipped it for Reasonable Doubt.

Haphduzn & Dimitry Killstorm – “Brand New Nostalgia” – Bang. Whittier Alliance is out now. Cop that HERE.

Crunchy Kids – “Nash Money” – Shouts to Jay Anker on the editing tip!

Maxwell – “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” – This dude was and is THEE best. This song still holds up.

OOOOOOOOKAY, there you have it. Tuesdays With Lazerbeak: All Bonus Jams Everything Edition. I’ll leave you with a couple Bonus Penny Pics. It’s been snowing a pretty ridiculous amount here the last few weeks, which is generally bringing everybody down (myself included) considering May is right around the corner. Luckily, Penny is super into it all (eternal optimist that she is), which makes it nearly impossible for me to stay bummed on the weather for too long. Here she is watching the snow come down last week and geeking out.

And here’s a picture of her driving her first car. That crazy demon look in her eyes and iron tight grip on the clutch does not bode well for the future. I think we’ll stick with crawling for the time being.

Alright, that about does it. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Make sure to come back next Tuesday for some big time news. See you then!

– Beak

Posted on April 16, 2013

Hey! Welcome back to Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. Last week things got a liiiiiiiittle bit crazy with the big announcements. Here’s a quick recap in case you were off on a tropical vacay.  We released the news that Dessa’s brand new full length album, Parts of Speech, will drop on June 25th (via the one and only Doomtree Records, of course), and “Warsaw,” the album’s first single, was subsequently debuted. Check that out below if you haven’t heard it yet.

That news was immediately followed by Dessa selling out TWO album release shows in less than 24 hours (BAWSE), and the launch of the super mega deluxe Parts of Speech pre-order, which has too many bonus items to even mention again. Click the image below for all the details and ordering info. That red vinyl is going fast!

We’ve been seriously overwhelmed by the support already shown to this album. If you’ve picked up a copy already, thank you very much. We talk a lot about what the pre-order does for a small indie label like us, and it really is the way we’re able to stay afloat leading up to a big album release like this one. Dessa wrote a much more eloquently worded post that better breaks down what I mean by that, so I’ll let her do the explaining (in red, cuz I can). Take it away, Dess.

“It’s preorder season, which means you’ve probably seen a lot of posts about the new record, Parts of Speech. Those of you who’ve been with us for a while, you know the deal. For the new arrivals (welcome), here’s the schtick with preorders:

Preordering a record is the best way to support an indie label. It allows us to compete with the big guys in two important ways.

First, preordering an album allows us to consolidate our sales in the first week of its release. That first week is disproportionately important in this business and it’s usually when you’ve got the best shot at scoring some major press or landing on a Billboard chart. By preordering, we can gather our momentum to make one big jump–which is more effective than making a lot of little jumps.

Little labels are more sensitive to cash flow issues than the big guys who’ve got generous lines of credit (and, presumably, silos full of gold coins). We spend money recording and manufacturing the record, and presales help bridge the gap between the big expenses and the album release date.

So, there it is. To those of you who’ve ordered the record, thanks. To those of you who intend to pick up the record, now would be an awesome time to do so.

Gotta say, being an indie rapper feels more like being a Girl Scout than I ever would have imagined. Still knocking on doors with an armful of thin mints.

More art soon.”

So there you have it. The honest truth and the sales pitch all wrapped up in one. If you’re so inclined to pick up the album, you can do so HERE.

Moving on from all of that, let’s get into a sweet tour recap from the seriously awesome StrangDoomSayers Tour that just wrapped up this past week. Toki Wright, B. Dolan, and our very own Mike Mictlan recently teamed up for a five date mini run of the Midwest. I still can’t believe that lineup all shared the same stage together each night. Here’s Mike rocking a B. Dolan shirt in solidarity before showtime. Notice MOUNTAIN in the background hollering at that fancy Lexus.

Things kicked off in Chicago with a special surprise appearance by P.O.S. There’s Stef, B., and Toki holding it down backstage.

Another unannounced guest showed up at the merch booth that night as well. Shouts to the big homie Will Smith for taking time out of his very busy Monday night to slang a few Snaxxx Paxxx. He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper pretty much changed my entire life, so I’m definitely kicking myself for missing this show.

And here’s a final shot of the three StrangeDoomSayers in action. Thanks to everyone that made it out to the shows! Hopefully this isn’t the last time these three gentlemen rock a stage together.

Now let’s switch gears a little bit so that I can regale you with the epic tales of STAYCATION 2013 (my own personal version of mini tour). A few weeks back my in-laws came into town to stay with us and watch Penny, so that Brittany (aka Killa Cam aka The Wifepiece) and I could get out of the house for a few nights. Instead of going the small town bed and breakfast route, or trying to hop a plane to someplace warm for a few days, we decided to Priceline a hotel in downtown Minneapolis and kick it in the city for the weekend (100% kid free might I add).  IT. WAS. GLORIOUS!!!!!!

That’s me ringing in the Staycation and embracing the bed that I would sleep in until 10:00am on three mornings in a row!!! First time in 10 months I’ve slept in past 6:00 three days in a row. NEW MAN.

Thursday night we went out and saw Divine Fits, which was awesome, despite my mild anxiety attack after not being out in public at a beyond sold out show for some time. Had to ease back into it I guess, but it all came back to me by the end of the night. Gimme Noise did a great review of the show right HERE. That Divine Fits record is still one of my favorites from 2012. Shouts to Tony Nelson at City Pages on the above pic.

Got into a lot of this throughout the Staycation. Room service is by far one of Brittany’s favorite things on this earth. I still struggle with the concept of eating in bed, but that’s mostly because I tend to spill strawberry jam all over everything 100% of the time.

Friday we hit the shops downtown and totally balled til we falled (that slang works in the past tense, right?). There’s Brittany confused as to why I asked her to pose in front of some Macy’s jewelry, but still playing it off pretty cool. Hey, I don’t get out too much these days. I’ll take pictures of whatever I feel like. Anyways, shopping was a total success. Many items were copped. Many tags were popped.

Decided to kick the snowy weekend off with some tropical margaritas, to get into the spirit before seeing Harmony Korrine’s new movie Spring Breakers. Nothing can prepare you for it. It’s like an amazing hour and half music video and Scarface if it was set in current spring break Florida times with white college kids, all rolled into one. JAMES FRANCO vs. GUCCI MANE. Seriously, it is a must see. One more shot of the margaritas because the theater manager personally asked me to turn my phone off before the movie started.

We followed the movie up with dinner at that new Burch Steakhouse on Franklin (two thumbs way up!) and a bar crawl with a bunch of friends that ended up consisting of only one bar. Shouts to Muddy Waters for all of the grape apes and beer-tinis! I will never drink Coors Light out of a can (or without olives) ever again.

Saturday we roamed some fairly abandoned downtown skyways and I ran into this cool guy. If I ever make it big in the rap game I would like to personally pay someone to carry this statue behind me at all times. I feel a great sense of security and protection when I’m around it.

Couldn’t find a Redbox for miles, so I just straight up balled til I falled (that’s gonna catch on, trust me) and bought This Is 40 at Target. Good movie! 45 minutes too long per Apatow’s usual, but good movie nonetheless. Anyone in the Twin Cities that wants to borrow it, just holler. I got you.

We ended the weekend with a performance from one of my favorite comedians, Aziz Ansari. This guy and Louis C.K. and Hannibal Burress are currently THEE funniest dudes in the game to me by far, and we’d been super lucky to catch everyone live but Aziz this past year. Staycation 2013 brought the trilogy to an epic close.

I love comedy shows so much! Aziz absolutely crushed it. I mean Divine Fits sounded great, but the feeling I get while watching a comedian tell extremely funny jokes is just a lot cooler these days than seeing a band or rapper nail a song live. I’m sure it’s just because I’ve been seeing bands now for well over half my life, and I’ve just started seeing comedians live in the past year or so, but there’s just no comparison right now to me. I know I’ll come back around to live music, but for now let me just say that good comedy is the best thing in the world. Haven’t stopped smiling since the show. Here’s my obligatory Aziz “proof I was there” pic during his opening Rules & Regulations bit. The best.

Well, there it is: STAYCATION 2013 in all of its glory. Shouts to the wifepiece for a truly awesome and memorable weekend. I highly recommend that each one of you take one weekend out of every year of your life and get a hotel in your own city. Spend a little bit of money, do a bunch of stuff you wouldn’t normally do, and remember why you like living where you live. It was a total game changer. Plus once you do it, you too can say that you balled til you falled! I gotta pitch this campaign to Explore Minnesota or something. Year of the Endorsement Deal FOREVER.

I’ll leave you with a couple Bonus Penny Pics in case you were getting the impression that I don’t love my daughter anymore. By Sunday we were thrilled to come home and hang with this crazy baby. Here she is rocking spring shadez and a winter coat at the SAME DAMN TIME. Because you really cannot predict insane Minnesota weather at all these days.

And here’s one from this morning. Penny trying out her new No Kings onesie for the first time. I would have said that she totally loves this thing, except for what happened in the onesie moments later (no details necessary). Not cool Penny. It’s possible she is already rebelling against her father by taking an All Kings stance right out the gate. Tough times ahead.

Alright, that about does it for this week. Just wanted to say a quick thanks for sticking with us. I’m sure you’re familiar with how the album cycle works and the necessary promotion needed leading up to a new release. And I know someone telling you to buy something over and over again gets to be a drag. In these coming months I’m gonna try my hardest to balance all of the “Sell, Sell, Sell” stuff with this type of “fun/interesting/personal” stuff as best as I can, promise. Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you next Tuesday for sure.

Oh! Almost forgot. If you’re nearby the Twin Cities this weekend, I’m gonna be playing a mini set with Mixed Blood Majority this Saturday at Fifth Element to celebrate Record Store Day. We go on right around 4:30, but there’ll be all sorts of cool stuff happening all day long (more details HERE). Hope to see some of you out there!

– Beak

Posted on April 09, 2013

UPDATE (Friday, 12:00pm): Both album release shows are officially SOLD OUT!!!! Two sold out shows within 24 hours of the public announce. Thank you so much for the support.

UPDATE (Thursday, 12:00pm): Tickets for Dessa’s two album release shows are now officially on sale to the public. Both shows are selling fast though, so make sure to grab your tickets HERE (Fitzgerald Theater, 6/22) and HERE (First Avenue, 6/29) before they’re gone. Then check out an in depth Q&A Dessa just did with Bullett (HERE), and tune into MPR tomorrow at noon (central time) for her roundtable discussion with Kerri Miller (91.1 for the locals, streaming HERE for everyone else).

UPDATE (Wednesday, 9:05am): Dessa just announced the details to her TWO album release shows for Parts of Speech on air at The Current!

That’s right, two shows. On June 22nd she will be playing the Fitzgerald Theater with her full band (plus some very special fancy guests). Anyone who’s seen a Dessa theatre show over the last couple years knows these types of events are all out and completely one of a kind. The brand new Parts of Speech material is gonna be insane in this setting. Then the following Saturday, June 29th, Dessa takes it back to the First Avenue Mainroom for a bit of a rowdier (and boozier) evening. Expect the full band, plus a ton of special guests (several from the top of this website). This night will definitely put the “PARTY!!!!” in “CD Release Party.”

Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow, so make sure to stop back here for even more sweet deeets and ticket info. You can also tune in to MPR (HERE) on Friday to catch Dessa’s roundtable discussion with Kerri Miller (91.1 FM for the locals). Now check below in case you totally missed yesterday’s huge Parts of Speech album announce and deluxe pre-order launch. SO MUCH NEWS!

Oh man, the day is finally upon us! It gives me the greatest joy to announce that on June 25th Dessa will be releasing Parts Of Speech, the long awaited full-length follow up to A Badly Broken Code and Castor, The Twin. That’s the truly sweet album cover below (sorry for the tease yesterday).

So beyond excited that this info can finally be out in the world! It’s been a long time coming, frreal. With every new album announcement should come news of a new album single, and the good people over at Billboard have been kind enough to host the world premiere of “Warsaw,” the third track off of Parts Of Speech. You can read what they have to say about it right HERE, and click the Soundcloud player below to be one of the first to check out the brand new track. If you’re really feeling it you can also download it from iTunes (HERE) or Bandcamp (HERE), OR just keep reading a little bit further to get it for free. Shouts to Paper Tiger on the beat! I love this song.

Alright, now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of what is to come, it’s probably about time we roll out the very special Parts of Speech pre-order announcement – one of our most elaborate to date. Starting right now you can pre-order the album from the Doomtree Webstore in both CD and vinyl, as well as in standard and deluxe editions! Check out all the glorious details below:

Both standard and deluxe pre-order packages will include:

- Your choice of CD or vinyl, signed by Dessa

- Access to a private Ustream chat and performance with Dessa and special guests on Wednesday, June 19^th.

- Instant free download of “Warsaw,” the first single from Parts of Speech

- Free download of “Icing Burns,” an unreleased B-side not available on the album. This track will be emailed to you in the week leading up to the release date.

The mega deluxe pre-order package will also include:

-  Special edition deluxe versions of the physical album. The deluxe CD pre-order will contain more elaborate, limited-edition packaging (different from the standard retail version). The deluxe LP pre-order will come in red vinyl (different from the standard black retail version). We’ve pressed only 500 red albums; when they’re done, they’re done.

- Limited-edition Parts of Speech screen printed t-shirt. This specially designed shirt is being manufactured exclusively for the pre-order and will not be made available ever again. Please make sure to specify shirt size when ordering.

- Limited-edition copy of Are You Handsome?, the second installment in Dessa’s miniature book series (continuing the tradition started by “Sleeping With Nikki” from the Castor, The Twin pre-order). This one is a cleverly formatted dialogue, told one line per page. The spine is just over 2 cm high, 50 pages in all. Tiniest books in the game.

Totally insane. Here’s a more detailed glimpse at the awesome shirt that MK Larada designed specifically for this pre-order (created completely out of typographical elements). These will not be made available anywhere else.

So sweet. Plus all pre-orders will be shipped almost an entire week before release date! Truly incredible. Holler at the Doomtree Webstore right HERE for all the extra details and purchase info. DOOOOOO IT.

OK, that’s probably enough stimulating new album info for one post. I’ll leave you with one brand new Bonus Jam in case you completely skipped passed the above Soundcloud player in all of the excitement. Here’s “Warsaw” one more time for good measure.

As always, thanks a million for the continued and absolutely tremendous support. I live for big announce days like this, and we certainly could not do it without you. Stick and stay all week as even more exciting news gets rolled out in the coming days.

In closing, here’s a couple Parts of Speech themed Penny Pics (to tide over all the relatives). Just picked up the test pressings yesterday, and it looks like we’ve already got her co-sign. BAM!

– Beak

Posted on April 02, 2013

Our very own Mike Mictlan is about to kick off his Midwest tour run with the homies B. Dolan and Toki Wright this coming week! Things get started in Chicago on Monday, and continue through Minneapolis, Des Moines, Fargo, and Duluth from there. You DO NOT want to miss this legendary trifecta sharing the stage on the same bill. Click HERE for more details and ticket info, and check the flyer below for all the sweet deeets. It’s gonna be the best.

In other tour news, Dessa announced the Early Words Tour last week on the heels of her triumphant return from SXSW. She’s gonna be hitting the East Coast with her full band in May to further test out this new material and knock out a three week residency in NYC. Check out all the dates on the flyer below, and grab your tickets right HERE. There’s still a couple shows waiting to be confirmed, so we’ll definitely keep you posted as those roll in.

Last Saturday night Stef knocked out the very first episode of P.O.S is Ruining The Current, his new weekly hour long radio show on The Current (duh). It’s on every Saturday night from 11:00pm to midnight, and you can listen on 89.3FM in MN or stream at thecurrent.org. Click the player below to stream the entire first show. There are some serious gems on here (Jay-Z into Kill Sadie!), and more than anything it is just kind of hilarious to hear what Stef’s radio voice actually sounds like.

This past weekend I got to sit in on the recording of a new project that I am beyond amped about. My Number One Dun, Jeff Allen (guitarist/vocalist from TPC!, you may know him by Nedrick Lamar Top Rapper), has been working on some solo jams for the last year or so, and the time has come to lay down some serious trackz in the studio! Here’s Jeff (aka TYTE JEFF) at the Sound Gallery last Saturday, along with our other ultimate homie, MJ (him Jay fadeaway perfect), manning the boards.

And here’s Matt Scharenbroich (alsoTPC! alumni, you may know him by The Greatest Drummer of ALL TIME) laying down some super tyte drum beats, as he is known to do. This iPhone action shot doesn’t do it much justice, but trust (bruv), there were some extreme power fills taking place.

Really excited that Jeff is nearing the finish line on these heat knockers. It has been awesome getting to watch everything come together under the thinly veiled guise of “Project Manager” (aka Beer, Pizza, and Funny YouTube Videos Manager). More on all of this stuff coming much sooner than later. TRULY TYTE.

Since we’re on the subject of rock music, I figured it might be alright to take a week off from the constant pummeling of Deep Cut R&B Bonus Jams, and instead pay tribute to one of TPC!’s secret favorite rock bands: My Chemical Romance (My Chemmy Romo for short). These dudes finally called it quits last week, but their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album will live on forever (as will at least half of The Black Parade). So many great memories of bumping these records on nearly every TPC! tour throughout the Mazatlan and Crusades campaigns. I like to think that they sound just like Queen, if Queen all worked at the same Hot Topic in the early 2000s and decided to start a mall punk band. Certainly not for everybody, but these guys wrote some pretty incredibly technical and massive songs if you can get past the look and some of the lyrics and the videos and….you gotta get past quite a bit, I’m not gonna lie. Truly rewarding though if you can make it out on the other side. Here are a few of my all time favorite jamz. R.I.P My Chemmy Romo. Legendz Recognize Legendz.

I’ll leave you with a possible overdose of Bonus Penny Pics. Sunday was her very first Easter, and she got this very Easter-y dress in the mail from her awesome GG in Florida. Bear with me anyone who is not directly related to us, we got a lot of out of town family requests for these pics. So without further ado, let the fashion show begin!

The Year of the Endorsement Deal rages on! Cherokee, I see you, and I’d like to propose a hip, young new spokesperson for your next clothing campaign. Let’s talk college funds. Here’s one final pic of Penny hanging out with this very sweet care package that just came in the mail from the Minnesota RollerGirls (thanks Jay!). Getting Penny started early, gotta toughen her up a bit. She’s already taken a liking to the RollerGirls trading cards. Potential future statistician?

OK, that about does it for this post. I hope you all have a wonderful week. See you next Tuesday! It’s gonna be a blog post for the ages, true story.

– Beak