Punk Island 2011
June 28th, 2011 by chocko
Mongrel Bitch
This guy is a circle pit all-star
The Furiousity
On June 19, 2011 Governor’s Island became host to Punk Island, an annual event in NYC which features multiple stages and a ton of punk and hardcore bands. Admission was free and so was the ferry to and from Manhattan. Chocko and the Crew (Mr. C and Mary Tyler Whore) roamed the island while tourists pedaled on their rental bikes looking amused as punk rock bands let loose the fury in the hot afternoon sun. At the Wombat Stage, we checked out Skum City who got the mosh pit going in the grass and dirt. Mongrel Bitch, a female fronted band from the Lower East Side and Brooklyn were in the middle of their set playing “Born In The Garbage” Those hellbent crazy ladies with their raunchy lyrics rocked! We then headed out to the Independent Media Stage and Furiousity were playing. The Furiousity is a mostly girl punk band from the Boston area and sound like the Dead Kennedys with female vocals. They just released an EP which you can preview on their facebook page. Side.Effects rocked the Chicken Man Stage and got the pit moving non-stop until the generator conked out. They were awesome and reminded me of the Casualties and The Unseen. We stopped by the Manifesta Stage just in time to catch Cat Vet, a d.i.y. all-girl band played quirky stripped down (drums, a shaker and a guitar only) punk tunes until a drunk dude in a Bad Brains shirt kept bumrushing the stage. He followed us to The Homewreckers set at the Main Stage but his alcohol fueled antics were not tolerated. When he got too close to lead singer and guitarist, Cristy C. Road he got shoved away in a hurry. The Homewreckers are an energetic queer-core band that play catchy pop punk songs and I love the records they’ve put out so far. We ended the day by checking out Wombat in Combat who we heard in the distance…those crunching guitar chords and hardcore vocals lured us into the pit. Songs like “Get Loko” definitely set it off and got the kids spinning and high kicking in the circle pit. They are an excellent live band and worth checking out. By then, the sun had zapped us of what little energy we had and we headed to Chinatown for some grub. It was a short excursion but worth the trip. A big shoutout to the organizers that made the free event happen. See you next time on the Island!
Side.Effects
Cat Vet
The Homewreckers
Wombat in Combat
kids getting loco at the wombat stage
Here are some videos by loopyvids and pcimprezzive
Mongrel Bitch at the Main Stage
Cat Vet at the Manifesta Stage
The Homewreckers at the Main Stage
Side.Effects at Chicken Man Stage (video courtesy of pcimprezzive)
Tags: cat vet, cristy c. road, furiousity, governors island, hardcore punk, mongrel bitch, nyc, punk scene, side.effects, skum city, the homewreckers, wombat in combat
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The Great Chase (1975)
June 23rd, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Norifumi Suzuki
Actors: Etsuko Shihomi,Masashi Ishibashi
Genre: revenge, modern martials arts action
One of my favorite kickass chicks from the 1970’s, Etsuko Shihomi who is known for her roles with Sonny Chiba in the Sister Street fighter series, plays a champion race car driver who also doubles as a James Bond like undercover agent in The Great Chase! She is sent out on a mission by the Japanese government to unearth the smuggling of drugs with a personal caveat added to the spice rack. Her father was murdered by a drug lord syndicate because the dad had caught on to the fact that the smugglers were using his ship to transport dope. You can bet that Shihomi will see nothing but blood, guts, & rage in her quest to seek revenge! The Great Chase is most definitely filled with non-stop action led by the great Etsuko and her karate kicking self! The end fight of the movie demonstrates her excellent work on the nunchaku & her agile self to avoid explosions! You will see the whole gamut in this movie including a singing woman wrestler, a mob boss dressed as a bear to seduce his victims, a nun smuggling a corpse filled with cocaine, & a doped up, naked girl wrapped up in medieval armor being forced fed a banana!
It was definitely a blast watching the slender & powerful, Etsuko Shihomi “get busy y’all” on her road for revenge while disguised as a nun, an old lady, a school girl, & one ugly ass witch dressed in japanese folkwear! The Great Chase & The 13 steps of Maki are 2 of my favorite films starring Shihomi! If you like japanese style B-movies with 1970’s flare along with the no nonsense, rigid karate action, you will definitely dig this joint!
Trailer for The Great Chase via mrquotagus3@youtube
Nunchaku scene & end fight of Great Chase via leatherface1111@youtube
Tags: etsuko shihomi, norifumi suzuki, the great chase
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Quotes of the day!
June 23rd, 2011 by Mr. C
I was perusing through a few kung fu film blogs that I read on a daily basis and came across an interesting post by KUNG FU FRIDAYS via HKMDB Daily News & HK Magazine who provided a quote from the great Anthony Wong describing the city that he lives in! You can check out the excerpts here: http://hk.asia-city.com/city-living/article/hong-kong-first-hand
The quote by Jackie Chan also cut right to the chase.
“I used to love Hong Kong. I had hopes for it, and that’s why I was constantly critical. Now I just hate it. I look at the younger generation, young couples hugging teddy bears in the street—what hope do we have?” – Anthony Wong, actor.
“Hong Kong is like a hotel to most people, not a home. Everyone fled with their cash before 1997, came back again when Hong Kong looked fine and fled with their cash again when SARS broke out.”
–Jackie Chan, martial arts star.
Tags: anthony wong, jackie chan, quotes
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2011 Mermaid Parade at Coney Island U.S.A.
June 21st, 2011 by chocko
Last weekend marked the 29th Annual Mermaid Parade at Coney Island in Brooklyn. The parade on Surf Ave. and the Boardwalk is a tribute to the long forgotten Mardi Gras celebration which took place in Coney Island from 1903 to 1954. The parade of mermaids, pirates, freaks, antique cars and ocean creatures marks the beginning of summer and is an excellent excuse to get out of the cave and enjoy the boardwalk and the beach. The glittery floats, elaborately costumed scallywags, and scantily clad harlots always brings a smile to the most jaded beachgoers! The Cyclone, the NYC landmark wooden roller coaster which has been looming over the boardwalk since 1927 is a must and while you’re there, fill up your belly with the best hot dogs and fries in NYC at Nathan’s Famous, Paul’s Daughter or the many other places to eat. Have a fun and safe summer! Check out the photos by Chocko and the the photo slideshow by Mr. C.
SLIDE SHOW BY MR. C
Tags: beach, boardwalk, brooklyn, floats, mermaids, new york city, nyc, parades, pirates
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Eddie Vedder US Tour 2011 Night One: Providence, Rhode Island
June 16th, 2011 by chocko
Glen Hansard of The Frames and The Swell Season started last night’s show playing a thirty minute set of songs at the beautiful and majestic, Providence Performing Arts Center. Glen seemed very grateful to be playing for everyone and a told a touching story about how he received phone calls from Eddie Vedder following last year’s tragedy involving Hansard’s band, The Swell Season. The conversations they shared led to Glen being invited to sing on Vedder’s new album, “Ukulele Songs” and ultimately being asked to tour in support of the album. The heartbreaking rendition of “Leave” from the movie “Once” was definitely a highlight of Glen’s set.
Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder started playing around 8:30 p.m. and got right down to business with 6 songs from his new album which features him on the tiny Hawaiian instrument, the ukulele. The rest of the night featured Vedder mixing it up and also using guitars…playing Pearl Jam songs and material from the “Into The Wild” soundtrack. As soon as the chords of “Sometimes” were strummed, the crowd came to life, clapping, stomping and singing. Vedder dedicated “Better Man” to the E-Street Band’s saxophone player, Clarence Clemons who recently suffered a stroke. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Big Man. We wish you a speedy recovery.
Throughout the night, a member of the stage crew in a monster mask and lab coat held up a sign to update the crowd on the night’s big hockey game. It was the night of game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and many in the crowd had the game and their beloved Bruins on their minds. Vedder was a good sport and dedicated “Rise” to the “Black and Gold.” The capacity crowd chanted “Let’s Go Bruins!” which quickly morphed into an “Eddie-Vedder!” chant. Eddie followed that up with a performance of “Arc” which features looped a capella chants and haunting harmonies.
The first encore included 3 covers: “Throw Your Arms Around Me” by Hunters & Collectors, “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” by The Beatles and “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan. Glen Hansard came back to join Eddie for “Sleepless Nights” and “Society.” For those keeping score, “Porch” was the one lone track performed from the Pearl Jam debut album, “Ten.”
The final encore featured Eddie, Glen and special guest singers in lab coats with a blue sky backdrop and smoke machines that created a tranquil beach-like atmosphere. The concert rivaled any Pearl Jam concert I’ve ever been to. It felt special to be in the audience that night. The songs brought many tears, happy and sad and some songs got me so pumped up I could’ve tore down a brick wall with my bare hands. The show lasted about 2 hours. It was a beautiful night of music and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. I would have had some videos from the night of the show, but sadly, Pearl Jam’s Ten Club slammed my youtube account and yanked the footage off the internet. That wasn’t cool, Ten Club!
SET LIST
sleeping by myself
without you
broken heart
you’re true
light today
cant keep
sometimes
just breathe
i am mine
better man
no ceiling
far behind
guaranteed
rise
unthought known
the end
arc
ENCORE
you’ve got to hide your love away
throw your arms around me
elderly woman behind the counter in a small town
sleepless nights
society
forever young
porch
SECOND ENCORE
hard sun
Eddie Vedder and Ben Harper Berlin 2010
Tags: concert, eddie vedder, glen hasnard, june, live, pearl jam, ppac, review, show, solo show, the frames, the swell season
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Blood and Bone screening/Q&A at the Museum of the Moving Image
June 13th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Ben Ramsey
Actor: Michael Jai White, Dante Basco, Julian Sands, and Eamonn Walker
Genre: Martial arts, action
Trailer of film courtesy of mmabigfan@youtube
The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens plays host to an ongoing martial arts movie program called Fist and Sword. Last week they screened BLOOD AND BONE with the director, Ben Ramsey & actor, Michael Jai White in attendance for a Q & A session with Warrington Hudlin acting as the moderator! If martial arts action is your thing then you MUST hit up this movie! No wirework, no sped up camera shots, nor any CGI special effects on this caboose of an action film! It’s just pure old school martial art throwdowns with a hint of mixed martial art lockdowns! Michael Jai White is the sole reason why this film works because of his prowess in martial arts & his charisma on the screen! This dude is built like a freight train and can even move faster than THE LAST DRAGON! Some of you might know Jai White as Black Dynamite from the 2009 movie paying homage to the Blaxploitation films of the past! White has been around the movie & TV scene for quite a while now. I think the 1st time I’ve seen him in a major role was in TYSON (1995) playing the character of Mike Tyson in the made for TV movie.
Blood and Bone was a pure adrenaline rush full of fight scenes starting right from the get go of the film when Kimbo Slice decides to test out Mr. Bone (Michael Jai White) in prison! The story will progress further onto the streets of L.A. as underground fight clubs, a local mob boss, deceit, & a woman get in the mix of things! Bone will go on a personal vendetta to take care of an old prison matter as the story will unfold to the viewer after a slight twist and turn in the plot! With the likes of real life mixed martial art fighters such as Kimbo slice, Bob Sapp, Maurice Smith, and martial art extraordinaire, Matt Mullins in the movie, you can see why no special effects were needed! White laughs and describes Bob Sapp as a computer generated, cock diesel type of big dude in real life! Oh, did I mention that Bob Wall who played the character of O’hara in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon also makes a cameo in this film playing O’hara, a bodyguard for the villain! Michael Jai White will display some of his heavy handed techniques along with some cobra like kicks as his foes drop like sacks of sweet potatoes! Jai White also demonstrates some killer jujitsu & submission holds that would make Gene Lebell proud! The jive talking character of Pinball played by Dante Basco adds a bit of comedic relief in between bones breaking! Eamonn Walker who plays the villain is very convincing in his urban evil role! Blood and Bones is very entertaining from a martial arts perspective, but there are a few flaws in my opinion. There definitely could of been more character development & background story to the protagonist/antagonist. Could it be that they wanted to leave out the origins of the characters in lieu of a sequel to this movie? Who knows, Ben Ramsey & Michael Jai White left that avenue open for a sequel to the Bones character!
The Q&A portion of this event with Ben Ramsey, the director of the film and Michael Jai White was just as entertaining! Ramsey’s mission statement about the making of Blood and Bones was to focus less on video editing & fancy camera work & let the action speak for itself! This holds true especially when you have talented martial artists like Michael Jai White and his stunt team working on your side! There is no need to mess with technology when you have highly skilled technicians performing these fight sequences! This is exactly my sentiment with HK modern fight films of today! There’s too much messing with software & effects with less emphasis on the pure action itself! Ramsey & Jai White also stated that NO injuries besides bruises happened on the fight set during filming which is amazing if you saw the film! It took 21 days to shoot the film with 3-4 fight scenes per day! As a contrast, Jai White said that it took 1 day for 1 fight scene when he filmed Universal Soldier with Jean Cleade Van Damm and there was only 1 technique executed per day! Definitely, nothing as intricate as Blood and Bones! Ben Ramsey & Michael Jai White also stated that Blood and Bones was heavily bootlegged in the domestic & international market! They said that at an international screening of this movie the theatre used a bootleg version of the film for the viewing!
As for Michael Jai White, he states that he still loves the mechanics, the sparring, & the chess match in the fight game! White’s biggest problem in fight choreography is finding a big, muscular guy to do fight scenes with him because really large guys don’t have the technique & martial art skills to make things look good behind the camera! UFC & mixed martial artists are tough guys & might be able to withstand punches, but the bigger guys rarely have the proper technique. It is always problematic to find someone as big or bigger than him in size to fight him on the screen because he usually moves too gracefully for his opponent which is not good for filming! On many occasions, his adversary in the fight scenes is a member of his stunt team such as Matt Mullins in Blood and Bone!
As a finale to this event, Michael Jai White showed a clip of his new movie coming out in the fall called “The Beatdown”. As a joke or maybe not?, Jai White dubbed the scene he showed as “Rodney’s Revenge” (reference to Rodney King). This movie promises to be another action packed treat! White also mentioned that he is working on Black Dynamite, the animated series! I can’t wait for this to materialize on the cartoon network! In the meantime, you can check out a few minutes of the Q&A session to get a taste of the energy that these two exude!
“I am the punishment of God…If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” – GHENGHIS KHAN
Tags: ben ramsey, black dynamite, blood and bones, michael jai white, musuem moving image
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11th annual Egg Roll and Egg Cream Festival on the lower east side
June 13th, 2011 by Mr. C
The 11th annual egg roll and egg cream festival kicked off last sunday at the Eldridge Street Synagogue (Museum at Eldridge street) of lower manhattan! This is a special day set aside to celebrate Chinese & Jewish cultures as both ethnicities have lived, worked, & enjoyed each others company in this area where lower east side jews meet chinatown! A whole host of events including performances, folk art demos, food demos, arts & craft making, & language lessons in chinese and yiddish where on hand. Some of these events included performances from a Klezmer band, a Chinese folk orchestra, & a playact from a peking opera troupe. Some really neat folk art demos included jewish papercutting, yarmulke making, mah jong lessons and play, chinese brush painting, chinese paper folding & knot tying, & tzitzit tying. Food demos like challah making, dumpling making, & a chinese tea ceremony were on the schedule as well. The kids really looked liked they had fun making their own yarmulke, designing paper fans, & paper dragons! And don’t forget the egg rolls & egg creams that were on sale! I cheated and didn’t have the egg rolls but I could not pass up on the egg cream! If it wasn’t for me inhaling that lamb burger from Xian Famous foods just around the corner, I would of devoured me an egg roll or two in a chinatown new york minute! I couldn’t stay for the entire event but I did document a few festivities on hand underneath the tents on eldridge street! If you haven’t visited the Eldridge Street Synagogue (Museum at Eldridge Street) then you really should make your way down there whether you’re jewish or not! It’s a beautiful & historic religious structure built in 1887! It offers a slice of lower manhattan that you must see in order to understand the history of NYC! Here’s the Museum’s mission statement:
The mission of the Museum at Eldridge Street is to strengthen, support, protect and promote the 1887 landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue as a dynamic cultural and educational center that tells the story of Jewish immigrant life at the turn of the last century, explores architecture and historic preservation, inspires reflection and cultural continuity, and fosters inter-group exchange.
You should also visit the Museum of Chinese in America as well if you are in lower manhattan!
Making an egg cream (Chocolate Syrup, Milk, then seltzer water)
Yarmulke Making!
Jewish Papercutting!
Mahjong!
Chinatown Senior Center Folk orchestra!
making paper dragons!
Frank London’s All Star Brass Klezmer band!
Tags: egg roll egg cream festival, eldridge street museum, eldridge street synagogue
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Big Apple BBQ Block Party at Madison Square Park!
June 12th, 2011 by Mr. C
The BBQ fiend team at Planet Chocko descended on the 9th annual Big Apple BBQ block party this past weekend! Top pitmasters from 18 restaurants brought their smoke, spice, & everything nice including their respective OINK’s, MOO’s, & CLUCK’s! We tried 6 different bbq plates out of the 18 in the lineup which included Ed Mitchell’s (Whole Hog sandwich), Pappy’s (St. Louis style baby back ribs), Big Bob Gibson’s (pulled pork shoulder sandwich), Blue Smoke’s (Texas salt & pepper beef ribs), Jim ‘n Nicks (smoked sausage), & Salt Lick BBQ’s (Beef brisket & sausage)! We had Rack & Soul in our GPS line of sight, but the line was a tad bit longer than our patience!
The BBQ fiend team agreed that Ed Mitchell’s whole hog sandwich was one of our top two favorites of the day! The finely chopped whole hog meat was real tender, all lightly tossed in a vinegar based sauce! We only wished that pork skin/cracklings were part of the sandwich party! Our other top favorite was Big Bob Gibson’s pulled pork shoulder sandwich! The meat wasn’t as tender as Ed Mitchell’s, but we really liked the charred up, hand pulled shoulder meat which included some burnt ends mixed in! The slightly spicy sauce paired up real nice with the pulled shoulder meat! The layers of bliss with the tender, charred, & then crispy texture of Big Bob Gibson’s pulled pork meat when my tooth met sandwich was divine as a swine can get! I really dug the tangy-spicy slaw as well!
Big Bob Gibson’s pulled pork shoulder sandwich served with a tangy-spicy slaw!
Ed Mitchell’s whole hog sandwich served with slaw!
Ed Mitchell & his team getting ready for pork-topia!
Ed Mitchell smoked turkey, too! 
Our next victim was the deliciously smoked sausage from Jim ‘n Nicks! It was served with a rich & creamy pimento cheese tainted with some jalepenos! A Ménage à trois of crackers was served as a companion! The sausage had a snap, crackle, & pop effect when my fangs bit into it!
Pappy’s Smoke House provided us with some sweet & delicately smoked st. louis style ribs! I loved the fact that it wasn’t swimming in sauce so you can taste the superiorly smoked flavor! I loved that their assembly line included a rib master with a torch to creme brulee the rack of ribs to seal in the flavor!
Hi Pappy! Thank you for the tasty ribs!
Having too much fun with the torch! 
Salt Lick BBQ from Texas provided a nice snappy sausage with a sweet smokey flavor parked alongside a tender beef brisket sitting on top of a happy piece of white bread waiting to get sopped up by the juices! Is it too much to ask Yankee stadium to carry these Salt Lick sausage delights? Wishful thinking!
Last, but not least was Blue Smoke’s Texas style salt and peppered beef ribs! The beef rib was chopped up in three inch squared chunks & sort of reminded me of oxtail pieces. The meat was real tender, encrusted with a layer of pepper and salt which gave it an initial coating of crunch when my molars attacked it! Look at that smoke red! Attack mode, y’all!
More pics from the Big Apple BBQ festival below!
An emergency whole hog run to Martin’s BBQ joint!
The staff at Blackjack BBQ pulling shoulder meat to greet the 11am customers!
Pitmaster Mike Mills of 17th St. Bar & Grill mingling with a fan!
Dinosaur BBQ with their pork shoulder meat!
Baker’s Ribs with their St. Louis style Ribs!
All in all, it was a great weekend to be had at the Big Apple BBQ Block party! The organizers of this event should be thanked & thanked again for a job well done! And of course, the 18 pitmasters and their unsung BBQ team, local and from afar should be given a standing ovation especially with the lightweight bout with mother nature on saturday! Cheers, y’all to a blissful weekend of porky heaven at madison square park with many more future pork-topia BBQ Block parties to come!
Tags: 2011, big apple bbq, bob gibson, ed mitchell, jim nicks, pappy
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The Melvins were at Cotton Candy Machine
June 8th, 2011 by chocko
The Melvins were all present yesterday at Tara McPherson’s art boutique, Cotton Candy Machine. Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – Cotton Candy Machine quickly got packed with eager fans of the O.G.’s of Grunge looking to get stuff signed and to meet the band. The new Melvins poster designed by McPherson might have been another reason to show up but there was also free beer. There was a photobooth setup where fans were encouraged to pose with the band for photos and bring your own props but there were plenty light sabers, toy guitars and pom poms on hand if you forgot to bring something. The Melvins are a band that have been around since 1983…King Buzzo and Dale Crover are the original members and Jared Warren and Coady Willis have been in the band since 2006. I got Buzz and Dale to sign my “lysol” album from 1992…damn that album is so heavy and dense sounding. It rules. There’s 6 tracks on it but if you have it on CD…it plays like one continuous track. I recommend that album which they’ve retitled to “Melvins” for copyright reasons and every other album the band ever released. Their latest releases are the 2010 “The Bride Screamed Murder” album and the newly released live album titled “Sugar Daddy Live” which are both on Ipecac Recordings. Tara McPherson who was also in the building had a brand new Melvins shirt for sale too. She does amazing art work and you should check her out when you get a chance. A lot of Tara’s work can be seen online but if you happen to be in Brooklyn, definitely check out the store…super friendly people work there and there’s always something going on at Cotton Candy Machine!
Store hours are Tuesday through Sunday from Noon to 8pm.
235 South 1st Street (between Roebling and Havemeyer)
Brooklyn, NYC 11211
718.387.3844
They are just blocks off the Bedford & Lorimer L, Metropolitan G, and Marcy JMZ Subway stops.
the new melvins shirt by cotton candy machine
rock it to me! a group rock poster show…on display until july 3
tara was in da house!
Tags: art, band, dale crover, gallery, grunge, ipecac recordings, king buzzo, records, signing, tara mcpherson
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Dennis Coffey performed at the Bell House on 6/4!
June 6th, 2011 by Mr. C
The planet chocko martians had the privilege to stroll into the Bell House in brooklyn looking like Fred & Lamont Sanford from the show, Sanford & Son to witness guitarist, DENNIS COFFEY bring the funk just like he did in the 1970’s! He was one of the original members of the Funk Brothers studio band who recorded endless hits for Motown records! Dennis Coffey’s signature sound, his wah-wah guitar wail was distinctive as a mutherfrakker’! You would swear that Coffey’s guitar was talking back ‘atcha in some kind of funky soul brother language! And not for nothing, but his guitar was talking something dirty! This 70 year old american legend from Detroit still makes playing look so easy as he goes up & down the frets like nobodies business holding down some funk’ed up chords that made my fingers cramp up by just looking at it! Like Mr. Han Man said to Bruce Lee in ‘Enter the Dragon’, “Your/his skills are extraordinary!”. Speaking of Enter the Dragon, Coffey did a real funk’tified rendition of the theme song to that movie that was eons better than the original! The Temptations, The Isley Brothers, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, & George Clinton are just a few appetizing names that he has recorded with. Dennis Coffey’s old school guitar tunes have been sampled time and time again by many a hip hop artist! His “Scorpio” guitar riffs for example has surfaced in numerous hip hop tracks like The Score(Fugees), Jinglin’ Baby(LL Cool J), Renegades of Funk(Rage Against the machine), & Night of the Living Baseheads(Public Enemy) to just name a few.
The Stepkids from Stones Throw Records opened up the night at the Bell House with their experimental, soul-funk sound! The Stepkids consisted of 3 white dudes dressed in all white wear with matching white shoes(vans) to match! They had white cloths draped over all the speakers, amplifiers, & bass drum as they projected psychedelic images on their clothing & background while they played. At first glance, I was thinking who are these ‘Jamiroquai’ looking (not sounding) clones attempting the funk rhythm, but as the thumping sound waves of the 70’s like soul melodies erupted in my ear, I was like, dyno-mite!
Dennis Coffey with his bad ass magician self, equipped with a guitar as his wand and backed by the Dirtbombs from Detroit took the baton from the Stepkids and proceeded to lay down some super-fly funky instrumentals like he was still at that Soul Train performance from January 1972! The addition of the conga drums to the performance that night provided a nice rhythmic contrast to the heavy “Hell up in Harlem” baselines! Coffey was dressed like a blues brother from another mother and proceeded to drop down the hammer of funk!
Kendra Morris lent a helping hand to the set by providing some of her soulful vocals to a few songs on Coffey’s latest self entitled album which included ‘Don’t Knock my love’, ‘I bet you’, & ‘All your Goodies are gone’! She definitely added another raspy dimension to an already great cast that night! My favorite Dennis Coffey guitar shredding wah-wah tunes from his set included black belt jones, easin it, iceberg’s thang, it’s your thing, & Scorpio, of course! If you like funk, soul, blues, jazz, & hip hop, you should most definitely check out Dennis Coffey live! After listening to Coffey, you’ll begin to realize that funk was the inspiration to all those boombastic’ hip hop & b-boy break beats! I’m still trying to stop myself with that ‘J.J. Evans from Good Times’ inspired walk & swagger that I developed after leaving the Bell House that night from a Dennis Coffey high because it was all too, DYNO-MITE! We want the funk! Give up the funk! We need the funk! We gotta’ have that funk!
Set List
Miss Millie
Iceberg’s Thang
Ride Sally Ride
Don’t Knock my Love
I Bet You
All your Goodies are gone
Black Belt Jones theme
Getting it on
It’s your thing
Easin it (Edwin Starr) – “Hell up in Harlem”
the Sagittarian
Scorpio
Tags: bell house, black belt jones, dennis coffey, dirtbombs, funk, kendra morris, ride sally ride, scorpio, stepkids
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NAS performed at Gansevoort Plaza
June 3rd, 2011 by chocko
Queensbridge Hip Hop Artist, Nas performed a short set yesterday at Gansevoort Plaza in New York City. DJ Envy was on the turntables and hyped up the afternoon crowd in the fancy meatpacking district. Bacardi organized the “Like It Live, Like It Together” Kick-Off Event which included juggling bartenders behind makeshift bars on top of a stage in the shape of a giant skateboard. I’m not kidding. There was free pizza from Jiannetto’s Pizza truck which was delicious…not so much cheese and a crunchy crust! Playboy Playmates and a wise-cracking robot kept people entertained as the crowd waited for Nas. The Illmatic MC showed up a little bit before 1:00 pm and told the crowd he just got off a plane, lost his luggage and was ready to go shopping. Before bouncing to the nearby boutiques, Nasty Nas ripped through a short set that included the classic “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” off the 1994 ILLMATIC album, “Made You Look” from the 2002 album God’s Son and “One Mic” from Stillmatic. Damn…Illmatic came out 17 years ago? That album is a straight up and down hip hop classic. If you don’t have that album and you consider yourself a hip hop fan…you need to check yourself. Nas announced that a new album was in the works and the title will be “Life Is Good.”
Playboy Bunnies – Shannon James, Miss May 2007, Mei-Ling Lam, Miss June 2011; Alison Waite, Miss May 2006 and Kayla Collins, Miss August 2008
look at this robot!
the stage is really a giant skateboard!
Tags: bacardi, free show, hip hop, new york city, nyc, queens, queensbridge
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The Street Stops Here (2010 sports documentary)
June 3rd, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Kevin Shaw
Genre: sports documentary (high school basketball)
Long before New Jersey was being outfitted with a guinea tee & gold chain as prescribed by mainstream pop tv with some of those outrageous reality shows like the Jersey shore, Jerseylicious, Cake Boss, The Housewives of NJ, & other EYE-talian american mafioso digs such as the Sopranos(fuggetaboutit), and well before Kevin Smith’s low budget, indie sleeper CLERKS…New Jersey’s grit, grime, tough & resilient attitude can be better characterized by Jersey City’s own, Bobby Hurley Senior! This inspiring documentary called “The Street Stops Here” chronicles Bobby Hurley as the basketball coach of St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, NJ since 1972! Hurley is a dying breed of an old school regime offering no nonsense sentiments encapsulated in a pit bull stance!
Make no qualms about it, Hurley is a rough & tumble, motherload’ of a coach who pushes his kids to the limit bordering on verbal abuse sometimes. He enforces discipline with a militiary state of mind and rules with a mental ironbound’ hand to make sure his students are going in the right direction. Hurley states that in these dangerous streets of Jersey City amongst the drugs, crime, guns, unemployment, gangs, & other temptations, his tough love method of discipline for his kids & his community are much needed. He provides basketball as a tool for his students to rise out of the ashes of jersey city to meet their next quest of higher learning. If his kids can get out of JC and make it to college, he has done his job. Where does Hurley get his savviness for dealing with these kids you ask? Answer: he has been a probation officer for 21 years in Jersey City. Since 1972, Hurley has 900 wins, 22 state championships, 2 national titles, & nursed 150+ division 1 players in his stint as coach for the St. Anthony Friars! The Friars are recognized as having the most dominant high school basketball program in the nation! His 2 sons Bobby and Danny have gone through St. Anthony’s as well. Bobby Hurley jr. went on to a great career at Duke capturing 2 national titles with Duke University under the helm of Mike Krzyzewski. Besides coaching at St. Anthony’s, Hurley Sr. also is the director of recreation for Jersey City. He helps reform convicts even though 4/5 repeat offenders will still end up being incarcerated in the end. If he can help 1 out of 5 people change their lives, he feels it’s worth it.
This documentary tells the tale of his 2008 team at St. Anthony’s and their quest to regain their state title with an all senior team. No all senior team under Hurley has ever NOT won a state championship! Talk about pressure! This film would also reveal the struggles of St. Anthony’s as a school trying to stay afloat. Tuition at St. Anthony’s is $4000 per student and every year they struggle financially to raise 1.5 million to keep their doors open. For those that think St. Anthony’s operate under posh conditions just because they are a private catholic school then think again. The school has 3 classes conducted in a trailer, 12 regular classrooms, and the weight room, cafeteria, locker room, & auditorium double as classrooms. They don’t even have a gymnasium of their own to practice in. The Friars rented an old bingo hall for 28 years called the white eagle, but now they rent court time in a local recreation center. St. Anthony’s has students from all over the tri-state area including brooklyn & queens. Some kids even have an hour or more commute to school one way. The 2008 senior class that this documentary followed were: Jio Fontan, Mike Rosario, Alberto Eastwick(Brooklyn),AJ Rogers(Queens),Travon Woodhall, & Tyshawn Taylor. It’s also a Hurley family affair as his wife Chris has been the scorekeeper for the past 22 years and the daughter is still in the stands rooting for the friars just like she did when she was a cheerleader. I’m not going to rehash the whole story of THE STREET STOPS HERE but a few key points of the film include a tribute to Sister Mary Alan, one of the schools saviors; St. Anthony’s harrowing financial troubles; & some important games with St. Patrick’s from Elizabeth, Lincoln from Brooklyn, & Trenton State. In March 2008 during a practice session, Hurley preached what he called the “fear of the lord” to his players which was a psychological ploy to keep his kids operating as one unit in preparation for the playoff/championship run. You’ll have to watch the film to see if the senior class of 2008 for St. Anthony’s would gain a 23rd state championship or not! The seniors would go on to bigger & better things on the horizon! Travon Woodall would attend the University of Pittsburgh, Jio Fontan – University of Southern california, AJ Rogers – St Joseph’s University, Alberto Estwick – Fordham University, Tyshawn Taylor – University of Kansas, Dominic Cheek – Villanova University, & Mike Rosario – Rutgers University.
Bobby Hurley still continues to coach at St. Anthony’s despite getting numerous offers from the NBA, College, & player scouts to work his magic at their respective organization. Hurley has since retired from his day job of Director of Recreation in Jersey City. Coach Hurley really cares about the kids at St. Anthony’s. His only mission is to educate & arm his students with discipline so that they can depart the inner city for better & safer pastures. Some legendary basketball coaches like Roy Williams, Morgan Wootten, & Mike Krzyzewski had nothing but great praise for Bobby Hurley & his passion for his community. Some players that he coached includes :
David Rivers – Notre Dame 1988) & NBA, John Valentin(Seton Hall) mlb veteran, Terry Dehere(Seton Hall 1993) & NBA, (Son) Bobby Hurley(Duke University 1993) & NBA, (Son) Danny Hurley (Seton Hall 1996)HS teacher/basketball coach, Rashon Burno (Depaul University 2002) financial advisor/teacher, Jerry Walker (Seton Hall 1993) community organizer, Roshown Mcleod – (Duke University 1998) & NBA, Anthony Perry (Georgetown University 2001) social worker, Rodrick Rhodes (USC 1997) & NBA, Willie Banks (MLB veteran).
I’ll leave you with a few quotes from the documentary:
“no one is bigger than the program.”
“sports is like life. If you have obstacles, you have to find your away around them to make yourself stronger.”
“To stay in the belly of the beast says a lot about the man.” – quote from one of his players.
Tags: basketball documentary, bobby hurley, friars, jersey city, kevin shaw, st anthonys, the street stops here
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