Sunday, July 26, 2015

Listen to "No Feelings" from PARTYNEXTDOOR and Travi$ Scott



On the second installment of OVO Sound Radio on Apple Music, Drake let off three new songs, including a remix of D.R.A.M.'s "Cha Cha", and a Meek Mill diss track. These songs had the internet ablaze, but Drake also released a new cut from OVO member PARTYNEXTDOOR. "No Feelings" is a short but silky surprise release from the Canadian crooner. Over spacey piano chords, Party lays down vocals about women and drugs with an added verse from Travi$ Scott. The two are becoming a powerful duo, with each new track better than the last and the sound of the pairing is a great mix of each individuals' strengths. No word yet if this will be a part of Party's next project, but Scott stated that his debut album Rodeo will be released on September 4th.  

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Why I Haven't Been Writing In Awhile

I want to preface this by saying that while this is mostly a music blog, and I write mostly to inform and entertain others about music, this is also my blog. This post is not about music, and is about something very personal to me.

I wrote a recap of Forecastle Festival on Monday. That was my first post in three months. I feel a bit embarrassed to take such a long break, as I would normally post multiple times a week. At first, I slowed down because I was busy. Spring break and school ending soon left very little time for me to research music and write. But I told myself that once summer started I would write again.

The start of my summer was June 6. That was the day I graduated from high school. My sister, step dad, and mom all came out to watch me graduate, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life. I noticed that my dad wasn't there. My parents had been divorced since I was three, and my dad was often late to events, so I assumed he either forgot to show up, or just sat in the wrong area and I couldn't find him. So I left with my sister to go to his apartment, so that we could at least have lunch together.

When I opened the door, I saw my dad slumped over in his bed, not breathing. I called the paramedics and attempted to do CPR on him, but it was no avail. My father died of a heart attack the night before my graduation.

It was sudden, horrific, and something I would never wish on my worst enemy. I've been dogged by the images in my mind of how I found him, and the fact that the sweetest, most loving man in my life is gone forever. The first two weeks were odd. I was still in shock, and couldn't really feel anything. But after that grief set in, and an awful mix of nostalgia, depression, pain, and loneliness have been washing over me a lot since then.

It's been about six weeks now. I'm no where near over grieving, and I still feel pain each and every day, and I will for many days to come. This has been the hardest, most exhausting time of my life, but I am making it through this. The march is dark and heavy, but each day the light gets brighter and the weight gets lighter. I will still feel waves of grief for many years after this, probably for the rest of my life, but I know I will get through this, and I will be a stronger man because of it.

Without the love and support from my friends and family, I would be in a much different, much worse scenario. The outpouring of loving has been astonishing, and I was dumbfounded by the amount of people who came to my father's funeral. I would like to thank all of those who have supported me, especially my mother and my friends Alex and JohnRoss, who have been my rocks. And I couldn't be more proud of or more loving of my sister, who was with me when we found our dad. She has been stronger than I have and has comforted me when she was the one who needed comfort.

During this time of grief, one thing oddly stuck out to me: people kept asking about my blog. Family who I hadn't seen in 10 years and acquaintances I've only met a few times would ask me if i was still writing. And I told them no. I just couldn't handle all this writing while I was grieving so heavily.

But then I got a press pass to Forecastle. I applied for one many months ago, but had completely forgotten, and I honestly never thought I would actually get one. But I did, and had a great time. On the last night I sat in the back of the crowd and watched Widespread Panic play as the sun set. I realized that if things were different, I would have been sitting right next to my dad watching them play. It hit me then that I needed to start writing again. My dad loved this blog, and read every post even when he didn't understand any of them. So I've started writing again, for him and for me.


Dedicated to Nicholas Eastman  

Monday, July 20, 2015

Recap of Forecastle Fest 2015



On the weekend of July 17-19, tens of thousands of people from all over the country poured into Waterfront Park in Louisville, Kentucky to take part in the 2015 Forecastle Festival. For three days, fan gathered along the river to enjoy music, food, and good times. I arrived around 6 PM on Friday, to the sounds of St. Paul & The Broken Bones. I made my way over to the Ocean Stage to hear an electrifying performance from Kiesza. Evening in the brutal Kentucky heat, Kiesza danced and sang with passion, and it was a fantastic start to the weekend. I made my way over to the Mast Stage, where Cage the Elephant was performing, but kept my distance so I wouldn't be stuck in the crowd, so I could get good standings for Big K.R.I.T. The King Remembered in Time came out fifteen minutes early, but was still energetic and vibrant till the end of his set. His show was reminiscent of last year's OutKast performance. He even brought out Talib Kweli for a song, since Talib was performing at a late night show that evening. Afterwards was Sam Smith. This was his first show since a vocal chord surgery he had later in the year, and he sounded excellent. Unfortunately, his set was cut short as a huge storm came through and Forecastle had to be evacuated.

The next day started about two hours later than usual due to the storm the night before, but the day ran much smoother. I arrived in time to see Dr. Dundiff & Friends perform, which was basically a sampling of Louisville rap music from artists like Jack Harlow, Jalin Roze, and the 1200. The show came to a climax when all the artists came on stage for a freestyle accompanied by My Morning Jacket's lead singer Jim Jones. Next was ILoveMakonnen. I'm not a huge fan of Makonnen, and don't like the way he wavers his voice out of tune in his verses, but his show was incredible. He kept a more medium tone, and had the most explosive bass I have ever heard (or felt, rather). Every fiber of my being was vibrating during his performance, and I'm surprised my eardrums stayed intact. My night ended with the lively and vibrant performance of Cherub, as the duo laid down smooth track after smooth track.

The final day felt the hottest, and happened to be filled with the most electric music. First up was Lizzo, a female rapper I had never heard of before but turned me into a fan. Then came Robert DeLong, who was immensely talented. DeLong sang, played the keyboard, drums, and would make beats right on stage. Following Delong was RL Grime. While Grime didn't have the same stage presence as DeLong, he brought alone immense tracks that had the packed crowd bouncing around for the hour-long set. I was drenched in sweat and water, and was to exhausted to stay for Widespread Panic for very long.

Forecastle is a mostly indie-folk/rock band, and there was always enticing guitar chords and rustic vocals playing in the background. Big hip-hop names like last year's OutKast and Action Bronson were substituted for smaller, lesser known acts such as Fat Tony, Dr. Dundiff, Lizzo, and the People Under the Stairs. I barely knew any of the bands besides the big names, and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had. My only complaint was that many of the bands I wanted to see were playing at the same time, such as Big KRIT and Houndmouth, Sturgill Simpson and Cherub, and The Tallest Man On Earth and RL Grime. I would recommend Forecastle to anyone, especially any Louisvillian since it doubles as a social scene. If you're a fan of any type of music and fun, then Forecastle Fest should be your destination in late July 2016.