We want to come right out of the gate with a Xmas gift from one of our favorite electro-disco masters. Ghosts of Venice's edit of Le Knight Club is sure to help anyone get in the holiday spirit. Le Knight Club - Holiday On Ice (Ghosts Of Venice Edit) *FREE XMAS GIFT* by Ghosts Of Venice The second track is nothing new but it wouldn't be Xmas without something funky. Does anyone bring more funk than the mighty Kashmere Stage Band? Check out their [...]
The only high school band that mattered. High school bands are typically something you are subjected to, not something you seek. The Kashmere Stage Band was an exception. Bestowed with the unequivocal title of "Best Stage Band in the Nation," the Houston high schoolers were something to behold. Led by Conrad O. Johnson, a mentor better known as "Prof", they dominated the high school band competition circuit and gained international recognition. This two-CD plus DVD set documents their 1968 to 1974 reign...
Hot on the heels of tomorrows release of Thunder Soul , the documentary about Conrad Johnson and the Kashmere Stage Band, Now Again will be releasing "Texas Thunder Soul 1968- 19743 on September 27th. The 3xLP plus DVD set compiles the best tracks ever recorded by the greatest high school band ever. The bonus DVD includes a vintage documentary from 1973 and a live performance from 1972. Preorders are available for just $32 here and here . Check out the trailer below for Thunder Soul, the new documentary about the [...]
COME TO THE GRAND LAKE THEATER IN OAKLAND TO SEE THE PREMIER OF 'THUNDER SOUL' ABOUT THE KASHMERE STAGE BAND. SHOWTIMES THURSDAY SEPT. 23RD 7:00PM - THUNDER SOUL 9:00PM - AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE SATURDAY SEPT 25TH 10:00AM - THUNDER SOUL MOVIES, BEER, AND TACO TRUCKS OUTSIDE PART OF THE OAKLAND UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL MANY OTHER GOOD FLICKS TOO.. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUFF HERE AND THUNDER SOUL HERE .
Happy Labor Day! In honor of the holiday (but mostly due to the fact that I haven't done one of these in about a week), I have an extra long Odds & Ends for y'all. Nine tracks of pure enjoyment. First up we have "Wavlngth", a fantastic track from Headless Horseman. I don't know too [...]
The title explains it all. Not only are there some down right dirty cuts of some quintessential sly recordings on this release, but it also made me think back to one of my favorite live performances by Sly & The Family Stone. That being said, this leads to more of a double barreled type "poast" He 6 - Sing a Simple Song Kashmere Stage Band - Thank you Personal Top Live Performances 1. Sly & The [...]
Kashmere Stage Band: Getting It Out of My System and Al\'s Thing From: Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974 (Now and Again, 2006) Kashmere Stage Band just reunited this week in Austin for the premier of Thunder Soul, a documentary on the legendary school band down in Houston in the late 60's and seventies. Far and away the funkiest high schoolers ever. Some of their members played horns better than some of the best bands of their day. Not only did their film premier but [...]
So here's how the story goes. Legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck's long-time music partner and alto-saxophonist Paul Desmond came to Brubeck one day with a piece he'd written in 5/4 signature. That song, my friends, is the Dave Brubeck Quartet's most famous song of all time: "Take Five". Even if you don't know what I'm talking about this second, take one listen and you'll know exactly what I mean. I figured it might be a nice treat to include a remake of "Take Five" by the Kashmere Stage Band. All I can say is "FUNKAAY!" Enjoy. [...]
The Nite-Liters: Afro Strut It's hard not to strut to this 1971 jam by Harvey Fuqua & Tony Churchill's Nite-Liters. Dig the solid wah wah. Get it on Flying Funk . Mandrill: Fat City Strut Straight forward strut takes a sudden turn towards Brooklyn salsa. Fine Latin soul and back to funk again. Get it on 1973's Just Outside of Town . Kashmere Stage Band: [...]
Bill Withers: Ain't No Sunshine The original and arguably the most powerful, Bill Withers' 1971 classic still has the ability to send shivers. Stark and solitary the strings absolutely drip off the record. Here is proof that sometimes the simplest songs can be the most moving. Get it on Just As I Am . Freddie King: Ain't No Sunshine Freddie King is too often overlooked in my opinion. [...]
Well I was saving this one for a rainy day, but I guess today is truly as good as any other day. R.I.P. Isaac Hayes 1942-2008 Chef's gone! Well, technically Chef has been 'gone' for a while , but unless you were living in a cave, or a Scientology Testing Center yesterday, the great Issac Hayes passed away. Scientology jokes aside, the man's contribution to funk and soul plays second fiddle only to James Brown. While he left behind a string of classics, here's his most infamous [...]
From: Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974 (Now-Again, 2006) Download Learn Home Egon on Conrad O. Johnson (1916-2008) NPR
A hundred hearts would be too few To carry all my love for you. ~Author Unknown . " Simple and Sweet, Uncomplicated " 01. Antony & The Johnsons - Bird Gehrl I Am a Bird Now (Secretly Canadian, 2005) 02. The Skygreen Leopards - Egyptian Circus Disciples Of California (Jagjaguwar, 2006) 03. Ani DiFranco - As Is [...]
Now-Again Records is the little brother of Stones Throw Records. Created by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt it focuses on reissues of little-known funk bands from around the country. The latest is Now-Again Re:Sounds Vol. 1 . Set to drop July 17, the compilation features previously vinyl-only remixes and new, deep funk-influenced cover songs by Edan, Koushik, Aloe Blacc, Guilty Simpson among others others. Check out Kenny Dope's remix of the fantastic Kashmire Stage Band it'll blow your mind. [...]
"Get off, bad Flamin' Groovies! I just played good Flamin' Groovies, not bad Flamin' Groovies! -- Tom, after the band's Chuck Berry rock 'n roll cover snuck on the air for a few seconds "Gonna see it soooooon, won't be loooong now. Gonna seeeeeeeee it ... soooon." -- Philly Boy Roy, breaking into a song about his impending viewing of Rocky Balboa "Well, some people debate whether he's human or not." -- Philly Boy Roy on the nature of his son [...]
I remember my good friend Chris talking about this album earlier this year but it wasn't until last week while reading Fader that I realized that the album was done by a bunch of high schoolers . AW of Fader wrote one hell of a review of the record: If you're fingers haven't been dustified in a while, then you don't know that KSB stands for "Kashmere Stage Band" and also "the baddest ass high schoolers in the history of high schools." Kashmere, as [...]
Given that 1/3 of this blog is supposed to be dedicated to music, I actually rarely write about the subject, mostly because of my nagging "graduate school application" guilt and piling research responsibilities at work (4,000+ pages to read on service economics this week! Hooray!). However, I've kept a backlog of links that I've found notable. Prepare to waste two hours of your life and enjoy every minute of it. My parents are moving to Canada this coming Spring, which means this Christmas will be my last in Southern California for a long, long time. Consequently, my [...]
Today’s entry comes to you fresh from a break at my first day back at school in a bazillion years. Luckily, not too much has changed in the way of breaks, and I now find myself with more than an hour to kill, with nothing more than a cheese sandwich and a can of diet coke (yes, bring on the brain cancer) to fill up my time. Sadly, while this is also the first laptop entry, I can’t actually sort out the wireless network here yet (and don’t even get me started on the headaches I had last night with [...]
On the Texas Thunder Soul: 1968-1974 2-CD set, the Kashmere Stage Band unleashes some powerfully good funk jams. Who, you ask, were the Kashmere Stage Band? They were high school kids at Houston's Kashmere High School, of course. Read all...
so to officially say i'm back from vacation, here's a bunch of songs that have either been forwarded or recommended to me over the past little while...i will warn you, it's quite an eclectic mix, so don't be afraid if some of this doesn't make any sense to you. it's just stuff that i've listened to and put the good ol' ydb stamp of approval on. if you didn't learn anything from my 10 days of birthday mp3 brouhaha, then maybe this can be your tried and true intro as to what makes me tick. by no means is this [...]
Analog Giant
PopMatters
Buy These Records
HEAR THE SOUNDS
The Tape
Life Signs Project
ear fuzz
Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream
Buffalo West Music
Versions Galore
Audible Vitamins
motel de moka
Recidivism.
Chasing.Red.Chasing.Red.Chasing.Red
yr dirty boots
Comfort Music
Antony and the Johnsons - "Rise"
Beach House covers Queen
