Zblog

What You May Not Know...

2008-07-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

*I lived in the same house 'til I was 18 years old.
*I started formal piano lessons when I was about 7 years old, and continued with those lessons 'til my teacher died of breast cancer my junior year in high school. My teacher had a twin and she allowed me to continue lessons 'til I was done with high school.
*I wasn't the best student, but I wasn't the worst either. When I practiced my assigned sheet music, I almost always would end up improvising or writing original licks and tunes.
*When I was growing up, I was in my church's children choir and bell choir.
*I picked the trombone in sixth grade to play in the public school bands. I played trombone from sixth grade all the way through my freshman year in college.
*When I was a freshman in high school, I was good enough to be the second or third string trombone player in the symphonic band but my teacher kept me in the lower level concert band to help lead the other young trombone players... I never forgave her for that, mainly because the symphonic band went on to compete in the state competitions and finished in the top five in the entire state of Oregon.
*I had a different band teacher every year from sixth grade to my senior year in high school... I can't remember all their names.
*My most rewarding memory of high school was playing trombone in the pit orchestra for the theater production of My Fair Lady.
*One of my favorite presents I ever received was a Wah-Wah pedal from my older brother.
*My first tape cassette I ever bought was The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest.
*My first vinyl album was Business As Usual by Men At Work... which I got from the local Goodwill store.
*I bought my first CD before I owned a CD player or Discman- that CD was the Bizarre Ride To The Pharcyde by the Pharcyde.
*My brother gave me the Across 110th Street album (by JJ Johnson) when I turned 15, but I gave it back to him... which I regret doing to this day.
*I threw a no-hitter my junior year of high school baseball.
*I am an Eagle Scout.
*I jammed with a band in college called Uzbek Dog that had one of my grad. student teachers playing bass and one of my Geography professors on lead guitar and vocals.
*My dad's stage name while I was a little kid was Sunnyside Turner. My dad always joked that my mom's stage name was Page Turner since she would occasionally sit next to him to turn the sheet music pages on his music stand.
*I graduated from the University of Oregon in 3.5 years with two degrees, one in Geography and one in Sociology. I also completed the requirements to earn a minor in International Studies, but they stopped funding minors in that department the semester I completed the requirements.
*I attended summer school at University of Washington in 1997, and took two classes: Sociology of Family and the History of Jazz. The History of Jazz class was a morning class that I was on time to everyday, except for the day of the final exam... I missed the first hour of the two hour final, which meant that I didn't hear the music for the listening comprehension section of the test. I received half the points on the listening comprehension questions section of the test even though I didn't get to hear the songs (I knew the music for the listening comprehension section like the back of my hand).
*I couldn't handle being away from a piano for so long during my freshman year in college, so my dad gave me my first electric keyboard that he found in a music warehouse in Portland, Oregon... it was a Mark II Fender Rhodes. I had it set up in my dorm room and everyone thought I was nuts.... and then they realized I could play.
*My first band I played with in the Bay Area was a live Hip Hop group called Gazzi. Gazzi is a South African slang term that means family, and the band featured a mc by the name of Dust, who has toured with the world renown rap group, Zion I.
*During college I visited my brother in Seattle many times and would get a behind the scene look at the music industry and scene in Seattle. I use to act as a Rodie to get into shows before I turned 21. I got into shows at legendary venues like the Showbox, Crocodile Cafe, and the infamous 700 club Sunday shows with members of Maktub and Source of Labor. I went on my first tour as the so-called keyboard Rodie with Maktub and Source of Labor in 1997.
*I played a short stint with a cover band that included the son of Lenny Williams- one of the original singers of Tower of Power.
*I was asked to play keyboards with a cover band that was fronted by Garry Jackson who was a ghost writer and bass player for the Oakland Funk group, ConFunkShun (see writing credit on Touch album). He was also a room mate of Sly Stone for several years.
*I scheduled to leave work without pay for two months in order to go on tour with Tone Record's signed guitarist, Rick Holmstrom. I played one show on the tour at Long Beach's Blues Cafe and was let go.... I had less than 24 hours to learn about 55 songs... so naturally that didn't work out, and I went home bummed. The tour schedule had over 45 shows booked across North America, including a spot at the Montreal Jazz Festival. I later was told by the band's bass player that the tour was long, hard, and difficult because the pay wasn't as good as expected, and many venues were empty.
*I recorded two songs with Timm Walker for a compilation album that was called the Oakland School of Funk... from the best of my knowledge I was the youngest player and the only white guy on the compilation. The album was never released for sale.
*I dated a girl that was a cocktail waitress and one night she received a $200 tip for serving Stevie Wonder one drink... yeah she was cute, and some how he knew too.
*My brother is a rock star in Brazil. Before he left for Brazil he recorded with Dave Matthews and went on tour with Peter Buck.
*My band The Get Down was Pabst Blue Ribbon's band of the week (a full page ad) in the 2006 Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay issue.
*I recorded a live 4 song music video and band interview at the world famous Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. The video was supposed to have been one of many band videos to promote a new web site that featured music videos, but the site never took off.
*In 2006 my band The Get Down had our song, Stranger Danger, aired live on San Francisco's 97.3 FM radio station. This was the first time I had a recorded song aired on the radio.
*I had my own radio show in college that aired on Monday mornings from 4-6am. I called myself DJ Z. I spun and mixed songs from Funk, Soul, R&B, Hip Hop, and Jazz. Eugene needed this music on the air, and many of the donuts being made at that hour of the morning were the best the city has seen.
*I was interviewed in 2002 on Berkeley's KPFA's Hard Knock Radio Hip Hop show for being in the group Gazzi.
*I played live improvised organ with scratch DJ's on KALX's Sunday show with infamous DJ/writer Billy Jam.
*I was in an all harmonic group in grade school called the Adam School Aces.
*I grew up watching my dad play trumpet in a big band group- they wore tuxes, performed weekly, and had a huge repertoire of classic big band jazz music. The lead trombone player was the band leader, and I thought that was cool. My dad always had a show on New Year's Eve mainly due to this band getting lots of gigs.
*I once played a private show with The Get Down where the show was interrupted with a game of slide-down-the-table-naked... not sure what the point was, but it created quit a crowd.

Check back for more....

Catchin' Up Wit The Get Down

2008-06-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a long minute since many of you have heard any news about The Get Down. About a year ago our lead singer quit the band. We had many auditions, and basically didn't find the right fit for a new singer. We took some time off, and for a while it seemed as if The Get Down's career had come to an end. After taking time to focus on our individual needs, the band is back together. We're in the middle of updated our web site, writing new material for a full length album, and auditioning and searching for that perfect singer. In the meantime, check out some of our newer material at our myspace page.

If you're in the Bay, and know a great male Soul singer, hook me up! Hope all is good, peace- Z

Mind The Gap

2008-06-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

As some of you already know, I just recently visited Europe for the first time. It was an amazing trip to say the least. I pretty much did as much as possible in a very little amount of time. Most of my trip was in London, where I stayed with my friend Albert. Albert was a great host, and he pretty much showed me the ropes on how to fit in the "Brick City".

After about 6 full days in London, we went to Amsterdam for a couple of nights. Amsterdam was beautiful, but super crazy. We were there for their biggest holiday of the year, "Queen's Day". It's basically the day when they celebrate the Queen's birthday by dressing in orange, dancing and drinking in the streets, and some of the younger kids sell their parents old stuff to make money. It was so crowded that half the time I could barely move. Amsterdam is awesome, and I also got to see the city by bike- which is their first mode of transportation.

From Amsterdam, we took a train down to Paris for a couple of nights. We weren't even there for more than 40 hours, but I had a great time. Paris, as they always say, is a beautiful city. However, it's so expensive I couldn't believe it. I was practically throwing money at people everywhere I went. The cheese is good y'all. I dug how a lot of residential streets had little grocery stores every few blocks, and half the people would walk out with baguette's under their arm. I think I would love this city even more if I knew some French... oui?

From Paris, we took the train back to London for a couple of more nights before I flew back to the Bay. London was pretty hip, I thought. I can see how some people don't like it with brick building after brick building, and it being grey with clouds all the time. None of that really bothered me. There's always trade offs with everything, right? How cool is it that they have a tube station every 1/8 of a mile. It makes me laugh when the train doors open and you hear, "mind the gap"- it's so British. The London bus system is amazing, and I probably could have sat on the top level of the double decker all day if I hadn't been pressed for time.

The trip was one to remember. Here's a couple of pictures for your enjoyment:
1) Street shot in Paris, near Montmartre and our hostel.
2) Chamberlayne Road in London, a few blocks from Albert's place.
3) Here's your postcard shot of Amsterdam, with a nice shot of the clouds at sunset.

A Lesson In Rockin' It

2007-05-12T01:36:00.000-07:00

Herbie Hancock is one of the baddest, funkiest, impressive keyboardists to have ever played the keys. This world is a better place because of him- I ain't jokin'. Not only is he jazzy, but he's super funky. Check out these three video's I found on YouTube- Herbie is tearin' it up and schooling kids on the radness of electronic musical instruments:
(Part 1 of 2)

(Part 2 of 2)

(Teaching)

Show Some Support, Get a Free Download

2007-05-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

Check out my friend Piseas in his latest Bash Brothers double-CD release, Dirty Work/A Good Day To Die. You can hear selected songs from Dirty Work/A Good Day To Die on their new website. You should listen to the song Firefighter first (not on the new album), not because I co-produced the cut... but it sounds hot, too. Check it for yo'self- bump Firefighter now. Let me know if this hits.

For the first time ever, y'all can download one of my songs for free. FREE Y'ALL!!! Firefighter was a lot of fun to produce, and I hope to work with Piseas and Dawgisht (co-producer) in the near future. Before you take a groove, give some love to the artist and vote on the URB's Next 1000 contest. Click here to vote for the BASH BROTHERS. To download song, click here.

Behind the Beat: Dawgisht

2007-04-25T23:33:00.000-07:00

If you like down-tempo laid back grooves, then check out the beats of Geoff Rantala, or otherwise known as Dawgisht. He and I met through mutual friend, Piseas (of the Bash Brothers), one weekend afternoon in 2004. After shaking hands, he helped plug in my 1/4" keyboard chord into his home studio system, and we jammed for hours. I played my Fender Rhodes and Korg CX3 (Hammond B3 clone keyboard), Piseas held down the rhymes on the mic, while Dawgisht put together beats and samples on the spot with his computer software (he uses too many to list all of them, but Reason, CuBase, are a couple I can remember).

A few months after meeting, Dawgisht and I were talking about how surreal it was that a lot of his samples sounded like my keyboard licks. Kind of a funky, but a jazzy feeling with mixes of Hip Hop roots and today's urban flavors. Really hooky lines that seem to scream at rappers to do their thang over the cut. "Come ooooonnnnn, man. You know you wanna!" On Dawgisht's Myspace profile he explains perfectly how his music is understood and heard:

"Kinda crunchy mellowy instrumentally beat-driveny funky smoothy quirky jumpy sampley 8-bity backgroundy loopy bumpy bassy whatever shit... put it on while you wash your cat."

As you can see, it really details the intricacies and depth of his music. You will have to hear it to believe it. He has a personal website (www.dawgisht.com/music) but his Myspace profile is perhaps a little more obtainable. Click here to hear beats now!.

Not only is Dawgisht a creative beat maker and sampler, but he's been apart of special projects no matter what he's doing. Fresh out of high school (this would have been in the early 90's) he started doing graphic art and online design. One of his more well known album covers he produced was an early Kofy Brown album- who rocks Bay Area clubs and tours Europe on occasion with her Soul/R&B band. He established a close relationship with friend and business partner, Billy Jam, who has been an integral source and activist for Bay Area rappers, DJ's, and Hip Hop radio. Released in 2006, Dawgisht provided a remix on the 12" track by P.E.A.C.E. (Freestyle Fellowship) called Twisted Tongue. He's also been a key contributer to DJ scratch compilation disc sets released by Billy Jam's record company Hip Hop Slam. Live on stage Dawgisht has appeared with Bay Area favorite and Japanese phenom, Shingo 02, who not only creates samples, beats, and mixes, but also invented the Faderboard. Dawgisht has helped facilitate many jobs over the years, and the bottom line is he's good at what he does, and it shows by who he has worked with throughout his career.

Dawgisht and his wife, Nell, just celebrated their new born baby girl, Mya Rose Rantala. Mya, you've got yourself a talented Daddy.

Booooo!

2006-04-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Note: to all who tried reading one of my latest messages entitled "Summer of '97", it was hacked- so I have deleted the posting. It was a story that illustrated when and why I decided to pursue music as a career. Hopefully, after the smoke disappears I will re-write it for you all to read. Keep checkin' back for more posts!!! Thanks

New Pics!

2006-04-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

I still need to update my photo section on my site but in the mean time here's a couple of pictures taken last month...

28th Year

2005-12-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

I turn 28 years old tomorrow, and I'm lovin' it! I have a lot of plans in store for 2006, but this past year has been a rollercoaster ride of great times. I keep mentioning my band, The Get Down, in my blog but for good cause... I'm stoked to be playin' shows with these guys. And, for those of you who haven't seen us, yet, ya better hope you see us before we get too big and start tourin' the world (hahaha). Of course, it hasn't been all gravy. We've definitely done a lot of dirty work, and I could probably write some pretty good Soprano episodes due to some of my relationships with booking agents and other music representatives. We've taken advantage of most of the opportunities that have come our way, and it seems to create a snowball effect for getting more shows added to the calendar, and for creating a larger fan base. As I've mentioned in earlier blog entries, The Get Down is recording our debut EP and we're aiming to release it in the next few months- hopefully by late February or the beginning of March.

Here's two photo's of me rockin' it at the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco, CA with The Get Down (back in February, 2005). Ouch! The groove is so good, it hurts!

Sagittarius' rule the Earth!

A Day of Gratitude

2005-11-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving, and I'd like to show gratitude toward my band, The Get Down. We've been playin' together for 18 months and have successfully rocked the crowd at more than 28 shows. 28 shows is an incredible amount of gigs for a band that has only been together for a year and a half. We've not only rocked over-capacity crowds, but we've played over 3 hour long shows, headlined at some of San Francisco's hippest venues, and shared the stage with some of the Bay Area's best independent acts. We've created a strong repertoire of songs that gyrate fans to the dance floor. An unforgettable mesh of Soulful, Jazzy harmonies and Funky, Rock rhythm's that create a universal sound. Every show is the expression and celebration of music, life, and love. People of all ages, colors, and walks of life coming together for the Soulful Funk... THE GET DOWN Funk. Much love to all my family and friends and I hope everyone's havin' a happy Thanksgiving. Here's another picture of The Get Down puttin' thangs together...

Child of the Revolution

2005-11-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

OK, y'all, I know it's been a minute since I posted any kind of message- I'm still alive. Hopefully, I'll be around a lil' bit more often now that I own a computer. Yes, it's true. I'm now a child of the revolution. Don't panic... I'll always be a child of the FUNK. Hahaaaa! With my new lil' zippy computer (12" Powerbook G4- it pretty much fits in my back pocket), my goal is to get my art out to you.... yes, Yoooouuuu. Keep checkin' back for more blog entries. I'll update the Zblog when I add new music (oh man, you need to hear something I've done in the last few years... really!), pictures, tour dates, and news. Honestly, I have been sayin' this for more than a year now but my compilation album is on the way. The list of songs has been narrowed down recently, and will include a solid revue of my last three years of Funky, laid-back, Hip Hop grooves. I'll get some samples up soon... trust me :oP

Meanwhile, The Get Down has been off the hizzzzz-ooooookk! We just got done playin' a couple of parties, and last month we had our first gig outside of the immediate Bay Area at the G ST. PUB in Davis, CA. Everything has been successful to this point, so expect more and bigger things to come. We're workin' hard to put out our debut EP which is expected to be released in early 2006. Just got word that we'll be opening up for one of the Bay Area's favorites, Vinyl, at the Shattuck Down Low on Friday, December 2nd. This gem of a nightclub is a classy live venue located in the heart of Berkeley's throbbing downtown, and just blocks off the campus of UC Berkeley. I'm looking forward to this show fo' sures. Should be funky! See www.vinylgroove.com for more on Vinyl. See shattuckdownlow.com for club details.

Here's a recent photo of The Get Down going places...

Holla at ya boy- Peace.

A Snippet of What's to Come

2005-06-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Y'all been askin' when my album will be comin' out.... well, I still can't predict, but you can hear a snippet of a song that will be on the album. Check out my boy's website: www.piseas.com. The song you will hear when loggin' into his site is called FIREFIGHTER and is produced by myself, and the keyboard and bass tracks where played by me. The drum tracks were sequenced by Dawgisht- you can check his site, here. Piseas will be the featured rapper on my upcomin' album (Dawgisht is the beat maker). Piseas is currently promoting his work with the BASH BROTHERS, but he is plannin' on releasing a solo album in the near future called FIREFIGHTER.

THE GET DOWN is pimpin' big these days. We just had a full page ad in the SF WEEKLY's Best of the Bay, 2005 issue- the ad was a Pabst Blue Ribbon local band of the week.... three cheers for Pabst and SF Weekly for their support! Let me know what you think of Firefighter.... holla!

Improvising Education?

2005-05-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

Read this short article by John Chell (the drummer from THE GET DOWN) about local San Francisco open jazz jams. He currently is on staff with the San Francisco State University campus paper, the GOLDEN GATE XPRESS. The article talks about the importance of improvising. Read the full article on-line, here...

Currently diggin'...

2005-05-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a small list of bands/performers to check out:

MARCELO D2 (if your into Black Eyed Peas and the Roots you'll dig this brotha from Brazil.... combines Samba beats and grooves with Hip Hop roots- you can't beat it. Website:www.marcelod2.com.br)

ROBERT RANDOLPH & THE FAMILY BAND (these guys rock- period! Robert makes playin' steel pedal guitars look easy and funky, too. Website:www.robertrandolph.net)

LITTLE HERCULES (A lil' underground on the West Coast still, but one of my favorite Funk groups out there right now, they've got their own funky sound... from Colorado. Website:www.littlehercules.net)

ZAP MAMA (This live and unique group of women will rock the show no matter what.... right now I can't get enough of the video, "Bandy Bandy" featuring Erykah Badu. Website:www.zapmama.be)

THE PHARCYDE (These guys are a staple of mine, but I'm really diggin' their latest single, "Knew U"... the video cracks me up, too, these guys are so theatrical- see the video on their website:www.thepharcyde.com)

SILA (Hopefully soon I will get to share the stage with this super afrofunk band, but they are killin' crowds with their sold-out shows.... you deffinately need to see these guys play! Website:www.victorsila.com)

40 WATT HYPE (Live Hip Hop group from Fresno, CA that has everyone in Northern Cali buzzin' about their "hooky" songs. Website:www.40watthype.com)

Check out these groups and support their art, for these are "real" badasses that need to be supported. Yeah, and if there's a band or two you know about- Please, let me know, I'm always interested in knowin' what people are listenin' too.)

If You Want In, Get Out

2005-04-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

There are all sorts of perspectives and ways of being a professional musician. For the common man, many times playin' an instrument has been a lifetime hobby and making money playin' your hobby makes the most sense for many artists. However, artists like myself, being a professional musician means more than just makin' money playin' my keyboards [Note: musicians don't really make money O:)]. I see myself as a devoted professional musician with long-term career expectations and objectives. My specific expectations and objectives may change over time, but the one thing that remains the same is that I'm a musician for life..... With the timeline of life involved in my career equation, every music project I do and all the energy that I put towards working on my music is considered a build-up/set-up for my music career. Music is a constant perpetual cycle of emotion, rhythm, technique, and soul, much like LIFE in general. In regards to making bigger "splashes" in my musical career, I see the musicians that are successful financially and artistically are the artists that play, play, play! There are no excuses to this rule. If you wanna be seen, heard, or understood, then you literally have to do exactly that.... get seen, be heard, and be known. The more an artist plays shows, the more likely people will know about them. The more types of clubs, bars, parties, neighborhoods, cities, countries, festivals, and events that you are seen playin' your instrument, the better chances you will have to get more work opportunities or projects. In fact, if you can't get booked on a stage or be seen on the sidewalk or coffee house, at least get out and mingle. Mingling in the scene is a fantastic way to become more aware of the bands that are out there, more familiar with how your specific music scene works, more likely to meet new artists to work with, and in general, more likely that you'll meet someone that could help your career.... or at the very least, buy one of your albums or show up to one of your shows.

Think small with your job task, and then apply it to your long-term goals. Many of the artists that are common house-hold names have done the work before you had heard of them- more than likely that's why you know who they are now. There's the argument that some musicians have label contracts that help orchestrate their sound, look, and overall market value, but it would be rare to see musicians signed on labels that haven't done a lot of work in order to be signed (check out what can happen to many major label signee's in my previous zblog entry). However, the artists that are signed to record contracts are usually on tour most of the year, doing studio work, promotional work, and basically doing whatever they can to motivate, spark, or re-boot their careers. In the end, the simple solution is to be involved as much as possible: play, play, play- the more the better.

Let's Not Make A Deal

2005-04-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Getting a record deal or signing a contract with a record company can be an exciting ordeal, but for most artists it leads to years of headaches. What many musicians don't know is what they're getting for signing a record deal. If we break down the music label industry you will see that is characterizes that of other large capital markets- much of the industry is controlled by financial ceilings and processes that routinize the markets trends and ebb flows. In the music industry, you will often hear people make references to the "big five" (Universal, EMI, BMG, Warner and Sony). These "big five" are the largest labels that usually produce the biggest sales and manage the more notable artists in the industry. In order to be recognized or signed by one of the "big five" companies (who also hold full ownership or partial ownership of many "Indie" labels) you will have to represent a product that could be sold successfully through mass production. It's never easy to determine the market ability of an artists album and their potential sales of the album, especially when much of it's success is determined by the amount of time and money spent on promotion and publicity. Rather than illustrate the "big five" perspective on what artist(s) they sign and why, I will tell you what happens to those who do sign with one of the "big five".

According to Moses Avalon, a musician activist who has worked for several of the "big five" labels as an engineer/producer/etc., articulates that the "big five" labels look to produce around 55 new bands in a fiscal year. The first trick to point out, is that the "big five" really only has the budget to fund about 5 new bands a year. These 5 bands are marketed with distribution, manufacturing, booking, promotion, publishing, and managing contracts that help sell the album. The other 50 bands that signed label contracts are dropped from the priority list of marketing their albums and all their expenses and loans are due back to the label. Even though the 50 bands may have signed a contract, received loans, hired producers, musicians, writers, engineers, managers, booking agents to help build their project, they are left with huge financial debts. Plus, if any of those 50 bands recorded albums, they are placed in a vault by the "big five" and will never be produced or manufactured. The artist involved with the 50 bands that are dropped from the label are often left where they started off, but in a big hole of financial mess. The musicians of the 5 bands that are carried by the labels have albums, tours, working relationships with connected musicians, producers, and other industry workers as proof that signing a contract with a record label is a credible way to accomplish career expectations. The connection between the 5 signed bands and the 50 dropped from the label bands is that they all start off in debt, and most end up in debt (even many notable musicians, too). Every penny that is spent on an artist is charged to the artist. In Moses Avalons book, Confessions of a Record Producer: How to Survive the Scams and Shams of the Music Business, he explains that signing with a label is often like accepting a credit card with an interest of 66%. The basic point to understand is signing a record contract may not be the most advantageous career path for most artists in the industry.

My solution to the problem (and what many others have decided) is to leave the label out of the picture, and do the work yourself. Bands that are making albums, touring, promoting, and having success will eventually get noticed and attention from the "big five" if they are making money. If a record deal is what you're lookin' for then you'll have the power to pick-and-choose what deal you want because you have created the success of the band on your own. Bands that don't make money and aren't capable of completing albums, booking shows, and promoting their project will not get noticed and most likely won't get signed- if they don't make money on their own they shouldn't journey through the woods of getting big loans with high interest rates. Why dream of a record contract when you can own everything you do, have total control of your band, music, working relationships, and financial decisions? Most of the time the artist is better off and closer to their career goals if they independently work on their career without label assistance.

There is always exception to the norm, but it is important to be educated on the reality of the music industry. The music industry has so many intricate levels and niches, making it difficult to simply summarize the overall picture of the industry logistics in a couple of paragraphs- so please understand that I left out many points of interest that are important to consider. However, my stance is similar to a political activist, in which I promote the minority or under priviledged view point. Be independent. Support independent artists, and "do your thang!"

The Man Behind the Worm

2005-03-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

Doin' my own thang, surfin' the web, I saw the past connect to the present. I found a link to one of Funk's all time greatest... Junie Morrison. In case you're in the dark, Junie has worked with hundreds of musicians and probably his greatest gigs were writin', producin', and playin' the keys with THE OHIO PLAYERS and then later with FUNKADELIC. This man should be a household name for all the Funk work he has done. Much of his Funk style key licks and lines have been sampled over and over again from old school to new school rappers. In my opinion, I would classify Junie as one of the best Funksters of our time. Of course the Funk genre hasn't been killed, only evolved or splintered, and Junie was there at the forefront with so many hits. It is amazin' to me to see a site devoted to Junie Morrison- it's about time. Check out the man's bio, discography, and life stories at his website: www.juniemorrison.com. You can even sample mix some of his songs. I do have to note, maybe only by personal criticism, that his work in the 60's, 70's, and 80's is his peak years- the newer stuff is of a different realm. Check out the earlier Ohio Players stuff as well as Funkadelic's big cuts- he wrote or co-wrote many of the hits (ex: "Funky Worm", "Pain", and "One Nation Under A Groove"). By the way, I found his site through the one and only Rickey Vincent, the professor of Funk. You can visit Rickey's site at www.rickeyvincent.com. Have a Funky good day!

Jimmy Smith Will Be Missed...

2005-02-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Smith was literally "the man" on the Hammond B3 organ. Below are some excerpts takin' from an article that was posted on www.worldbeatplanet.com:

Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 8, 1925, Smith ruled the Hammond B-3 in the 1950s and 1960s and blended jazz, blues, R&B, bebop and even gospel into an exciting stew that became known as "soul jazz" -- an idiom that produced many imitators, followers and fans.

"Anyone who plays the organ is a direct descendant of Jimmy Smith. It's like Adam and Eve -- you always remind someone of Jimmy Smith," jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco said in an interview with Reuters last year.

"He was the big pioneer, not only of the organ but musically. He was doing things that (John) Coltrane did in the '60s, but he did them back in '56 and '57," he added.

Paired with jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery in the 1960s, Smith first made his mark as a soloist on Blue Note Records where, as one critic noted, he turned the Hammond B-3 organ "into a down and dirty orchestra."

Among his best known albums on Blue Note were "The Sermon!" "Back at the Chicken Shack," "Midnight Special," "Home Cookin'," and "Prayer Meetin'."
--------
It's been a sad year for keyboardist fans.... after loosing Jimmy Smith, and Ray Charles in June of 2004, things look kind of down. The good thang is that both of these guys have extensive archives and recordings of their work- they will never be forgotten.

First Of The Year Update

2005-01-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

Got Dawgisht? If you don't, you need to get yourself a copy of my homeboy's debut solo album called 8.bitz.o.luv://dump.or.die.vol.05. Dawgisht has been producin' beats for a while now and has been featured on numerous Bay Area scratch DJ compilation albums, as well as the web master for legendary Hip Hop activist/jockey/columnist Billy Jam's website www.hiphopslam.com. It's long overdue that Dawgisht has pressed a collection of his loose, but tight, street worthy funky soul beats. Dawgisht captures fresh sounds of classic funk break beats with "let's get it on" type hooks and "I feel good" type grooves. You can order the CD from www.hiphopslam.com.

People, my next show with THE GET DOWN will feature an opening performance by my boy, PISEAS. Piseas, who started his career with the Bay Area rap group New Moon, will be exhibiting his words and rhymes on the mic at Last Day Saloon January 28th, 2005 (see lastdaysaloon.com for more details). Don't miss a great show of live Hip Hop and Funk... support independent art!

Today's gossip: According to my street affiliates there's word that Alex Veley may be coming to the Bay Area.... watch for details regarding the Veley Brothers keyboard project (imagine two Veley brothers both playing a Fender Rhodes, Organ, and Clavinet- double the trouble.) "Shoot... we'll blow your mind into another world."

Production note: Due to gettin' off with THE GET DOWN I've pushed back the production on my side studio project that I'm working on with Piseas, Dawgisht, and Timm Walker. It is still in the works so stay tuned for more on the release of this Funk/Hip Hop album.

Yo, two thousand five is gonna be live, peace- Z

THE GET DOWN...

2004-10-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

That's right people, THE GET DOWN has been rockin' shows of late and I'm proud to announce our new web site. Check it out at www.thegetdownonline.com. There's a few songs you can hear, pictures to giggle about, a list of upcomin' shows, a history of how life began for THE GET DOWN, and some individual bios. If you get a chance, come out and support our independent art.... and GET DOWN!

Ooooobbaaaaa!

2004-07-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ee Aa Ee Mo!

I gotta say, Brazil is the superduper bomb (todu boam!).... they really know how to live life down there. I fell in love with Rio De Janeiro, man! If you ever get the chance, you gotta go to Brazil. I wish we could get some acerola drinks or acai, and maybe even some of those pastels with cheese in them in the States- that's some good stuff. Oh yes, the Brazilian women are bootylicious... Yeah, the women in Brazil are super sexy and beautiful, my neck is still a lil' sore from the constant whip-lash :O)

I can't say enough about how special of a place Brazil is and all the unbelievably cool people I met. I want to thank my brother and Fabio ("I'm not a Hip Hop guy, but sometimes I like to try...") for hosting me and showin' me a good time. If you're down in Brazil, you've gotta go see Nando Reis and the Hells do their thang-I wanna give a shout out to Nando, the band, and all the members helpin' them out, thanks for introducing me to your country and hookin' me up wit the superflenks... Oooooobbaaa!

After traveling for a few weeks it's hard to come back to reality, but I'm gettin' support from a couple Brazilian CD's that I picked up along the way. If you don't already know about him, you need to go get yourself hip to Tim Maia (has been labeled Brazil's Godfather of Soul).... I just bought the new GOLD album- which is a greatest hits compilation. Right now I'm groovin' to his tunes called "O descobridor dos sete mares", "Reu confesso", and "Eu amo voce".... this guy has some major soul, man.

Also, I picked up Marcelo D2's debut solo album that went triple platinum in Brazil. The album is called A Procura Da Batida Perfeita.... he may be underground in the states, but he is a household name in Brazil for good reason- a great album all around.

Get hip with the Brazilian tip.... when times are bad, it's nothin' a day at the beach can't fix, right? Hope all is good. Beleza!

Looking forward to Brazil

2004-05-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah man, I'm going to Brazil! I'll be visiting my brother (Alex) who is currently playin' keys with the Brazilian pop artist, Nando Reis, who formerly played with the group, Titas. I can't wait to see my brother play... I haven't seen him play in a long while, and it'll be cool to see him perform in a different environment. All I hear is that Brazil knows how to party and have a good time, so I should be in good hands. I wish you all could join me, but I guess I'll just have to show ya the pictures when I get back....

When I get back from Brazil you should be ready to get down with THE GET DOWN. We are going to start bookin' shows throughout the Bay Area and there has been talk of some mini tours to Southern California and up to Oregon and Washington. Also, if you would like to be put on the THE GET DOWN e-mail list about shows and news then shoot me an e-mail or you can directly e-mail the band at thegetdown@mail.com. Hope all is good!

Source of Labor no longer performing :o(

2004-05-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sad to announce that one of my favorite groups will no longer be performing... Source of Labor. Source of Labor started back in the late 80's by a rapper named Wordsayer and a beatmaker named Negus I. Together they brained the family and culture of what is known as Jasiri Media Group. Based in Seattle, I had the pleasure of meeting Wordsayer and all of the Jasiri family back in the mid 90's. Wordsayer made huge impacts in the Hip Hop underground world. His work created opportunities for Hip Hop groups across the world to be noticed as a validated art form. Wordsayer has illustrated how Hip Hop is an art and culture that provides young kids and adults with a positive outlet. Before his time it was extremely hard for Hip Hop to be noticed in Seattle. Most of the time venues wouldn't book his shows, and newspapers and radio stations didn't want to spend their time and money reviewing his work. After all these years of activist Hip Hop work, Wordsayer, Source of Labor, and the collective of the Jasiri Media Group family can be thanked for their pioneering work, "off the hook" shows, and their love for the community.

Z's Top Ten Most Impressionable Shows

2004-04-16T14:44:00.003-07:00

This is another hard list to pick..... man, there's been some good shows. These are the shows that gave me the goose bumps 'cause the the bands rocked, the crowd was bumpin', and I picked up lots of musical insight. If you have recommendations of a good show, let me know.... and maybe I'll add it to the list.

1) GROVER WASHINGTON JR./J.J. JOHNSON- Mt. Hood Jazz Festival: Gresham, OR (1986)
2) WAR/OHIO PLAYERS- Bumbershoot Festival: Seattle, WA (1993)
3) OUTKAST/BLACK EYED PEAS- Roseland Theatre: Portland, OR (1999)
4) CHICAGO ART ENSEMBLE/CAB CALLOWAY- Bumbershoot Festival: Seattle, WA (1993)
5) MACEO PARKER/MAKTUB- Crystal Ballroom: Portland, OR (1999)
6) THE FUNKY METERS- Bumbershoot Festival: Seattle, WA (1999)
7) PRINCE PAUL- Wow Hall: Eugene, OR (2000)
8) TOWER OF POWER/ISAAC HAYES- Bumbershoot Festival: Seattle, WA (1999)
9) EARTH, WIND, & FIRE- Oregon State Fair: Salem, OR (1996)
10) CROWN CITY ROCKERS- Blake's on Telegraph: Berkeley, CA (2003)

Z's Top Ten Most Impressionable Music Books

2004-04-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

If your lookin' to get an edge in the music industry or you're just curious to read about musicians and their life, then I recommend checking these out...

1) AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MILES DAVIS- Miles Davis
2) CONFESSIONS OF A RECORD PRODUCER: HOW TO SURVIVE THE SCAMS AND SHAMS OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS- Moses Avalon
3) Q: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF QUINCY JONES- Quincy Jones
4) KIND OF BLUE- THE MAKING OF THE MILES DAVIS MASTERPIECE- Ashley Kahn and Jimmy Cobb
5) THELONIOUS MONK- Louis Joos
6) BUPPIES, B-BOYS, BAPS AND BOHOS: NOTES ON POST SOUL BLACK CULTURE- Nelson George
7) FUNK: THE MUSIC, THE PEOPLE, AND THE RHYTHM OF THE ONE- Rickey Vincent
8) PUBLIC ENEMY- Chuck D
9) THE THELONIOUS MONK READER- Rob Van Der Bliek
10) RUMINATIONS- KRS-One