Category Archives: Music

Unified Queens

Hi folks, hope you’ve been having a nice summer. Just wanted to let you know about a new shop I opened up last week called Unified Queens. It sells Queens-inspired t-shirts and I think it’s pretty rad. Give it a spin even if you can’t find Queens on a map.

An International Anthology of Wes Flexner’s Greatest Misses On Donewaiting

So this is it. Please visit me at www.swingstateofmind.org or www.wesflexner.tumblr if you want. My email address is wflexner@gmail.com.

zzflexner

Below is a collection of links that kinda represent what I did on here from 2007-2013. If you want insight on how I feel about donewaiting’s digital death please click here.

Rap

Me,Yaves Ellis & Kweli Talk To Kids
OJ Da Juiceman
Waka Flocka Flame 
The Catalyst
RJD2
Stalley
Me In a Lone Catalyst Video
Blueprint
Envelope

Black Keys

Michael Carney Post-Grammy Interview
Patrick Carney Interview
Blakroc

Ohio Punk
Screaming Urge
Columbus Discount Records
Times New Viking
Gaunt
Deathly Fighter
Killed In Action
Vile Gash
Weedsteeler

Daymon Day

2007
Daymon Day 2011 Memorial Wall
Bitch You Don’t Know Shit
Photos and Video from 2009 Daymon Day

Random Political ish

Take Back The Night
Sean Bell
Obama

Diplo

Dear Diplo
I Ran Up on Diplo and He was Cool As Fuck

Making People Mad

Marcon
Juggalos
Hell House

Show Reviews:

DMX
Odd Future
Cam’ron
Gucci Mane Show Review

Graffiti

Graffiti isn’t Art
Columbus Graffiti Salutes Golden Girls
I was quoted in Rammellzee’s Obit
PBJ Paints a Flying Saucer

Ohio’s Ian Kaplan is arguably one of the greatest drummers in the nation

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Photo Credit: Brooke Medlin

While the list of drumming styles goes on ad infinitum (Jazz, R&B, Folk/Country, Soul, Blues, et cetera), Motel Beds’ Ian Kaplan is arguably one of the greatest Rock & Roll drummers in the country. Obviously, music is inherently subjective and there is really no standard by which to fully measure this claim. Nonetheless, after repeatedly touring the nation over and witnessing a myriad of drummers, I really do feel it’s a fair assessment to make.

To watch Ian Kaplan play drums is a true joy. The Dayton, Ohio native possesses the perfect combination of playing to the song and laying low, while exploding in the most appropriate and skilled and entertaining ways. In a lot of bands, the limelight is understandably placed on the frontman. Nonetheless, while chords and melody and lyrics are requisite, Kaplan is a testament to the fact that a phenomenal drummer is vital to a phenomenal band. This can be heard when he plays with Motel Beds, Goodbye/Crusher, Lab Partners, or any of the many bands he’s added to over the years. When you match up pure skill, Kaplan is the cream of the crop.

Natural talent is clearly at play, however, Kaplan’s prowess is namely the result of an intense dedication to his craft. To this day, it seems few work harder at honing their skills and continuing to grow as a musician. I had the opportunity to speak with Kaplan before Donewaiting goes print-only this weekend. Thanks for making Dayton and Ohio proud, Ian.

Donewaiting: When did you start playing drums?

Ian Kaplan: I have been playing drums since age 5.

DW: What was the name of your first band?

IK: “Naked Henry,” in Augsburg, Germany.

DW: What drummers have had the biggest influence on your style?

IK: Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Steve Gadd, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Aynsley Dunbar, Buddy Rich, Tony Williams, Joe Morello, Jim Keltner, Ringo Starr, Levon Helm, Malcolm Catto.

DW: Who is your favorite drummer of all-time?

IK: My favorite? Man, that’s tough. I guess I’d have to say Max Roach. He’s the king. Listen to anything on “Saxophone Colossus” or the “Freedom Now Suite” and try to reconcile what he’s playing against the time signature – then realize he’s playing quarter notes on the hi-hat while he plays these incredibly, beautiful, intricate phrases. If there’s a God and God is a drummer, He lived inside of Max Roach for a time.

DW: Has living in the Midwest and growing up in Dayton impacted your drumming style at all? I remember speaking with you about Brainiac drummer Tyler Trent and his influence on you at an early age. Are there any other regional drummers that influenced your approach to the instrument?

IK: Definitely has. Before I moved here, I hadn’t been involved in any sort of music “scene,” as it were. I was young and, even though, in Germany the drinking-age and, therefore, entry age to shows was low (16), there was little to no opportunity for kids my age, be they Americans or Germans, to really throw shows or have bands. Here, it was a completely different story. Everything I’d read about a city with a  community of like-minded musicians actually happened here and continues to happen. The first time I got to see some of Dayton’s bands, I was completely blown away. Tyler Trent definitely had a huge impact on my playing. I couldn’t believe how controlled and precise he is, but simultaneously seems as if he is having an out-of-body experience when he plays. The power and the visceral emotion he put into every beat really had an effect on me and I think it’s still reflected in my playing today. Over the years I met many other drummers in town, namely Matt Espy, who I briefly took over for in MiNK when he moved to Chicago, Matt Schulz who I replaced in Lab Partners, Jim MacPherson… the list goes on. All have become good friends of mine and I still think they are the greatest drummers in the world, no matter what. Seeing someone play and seeing how they do things vs. just hearing them is a completely different experience. When I heard what Tyler played on Bonsai Superstar, for instance, and then went to see Brainiac and watch Tyler reproduce what he recorded live really was life-changing. Tyler, if you’re reading this, thank you, again and again and again.

DW: What are your plans for the future?

IK: I guess, limiting this answer only to my musical life, I’d like to see Motel Beds blow-up and play festivals and make a go at playing music full-time. I still haven’t given up on that dream. If that doesn’t pan out, I guess balloon in size and become the world’s largest mammal. Or maybe both.

Motel Beds, Connections, Kyle Sowashes caravan to Dayton and Columbus tonight and tomorrow

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Motel Beds, Connections, and The Kyle Sowashes will embark on a caravan to Dayton’s Canal St. Tavern and Columbus’ Café Bourbon St. this weekend. The lineup could very well be one of the best of the year, so do make it out to a show if you’re in the area.

Here is a link to the PopMatters video premiere of Motel Beds’ “Smoke Your Homework” via Dumb Gold (November, 2012). Both Connections and The Kyle Sowashes have recent records on the long-loved Columbus imprint Anyway Records (GBV, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, etc).

While Motel Beds are the only current Dayton natives, all three bands have ties to the Gem City. Kyle Sowash grew up in Englewood and Connections brothers Kevin Elliot (84 Nash) and Adam Elliot (Times New Viking) hail from Troy, Ohio. Here is an interview with Connections guitarist Andy Hampel in this week’s Dayton City Paper

Motel Beds, Connections, The Kyle Sowashes
Friday, February 8 • Canal St. Tavern • Dayton, OH
Saturday, February 9 • Café Bourbon St. • Columbus, OH

SKATERS Sign To Warner Bros.

NYC-based buzz band Skaters have signed to Warner Bros. Listen to “I Wanna Dance(But I Don’t Know How)” below. This song will be available on 7 inch on April 9th.

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Behind the Artwork: Zach Jaeger & Fela Kuti

Yesterday, Knitting Factory Records released Fela Kuti’s the Best of Black President Pt. 2 which is an extensive collection of the legendary Afrobeat pioneer’s music ranging from 1971’s “Black Man’s Cry” to 1992’s “Underground System”.  This release is part of Knitting Factory’s ongoing commitment to make Fela Kuti’s music available to the public.

The above artwork for “Best of Black President Pt 2” was revived by a Columbus ex-pat  Zach Jaeger . Mr. Jaeger  has worked on several of Knitting Factory’s Fela efforts including  Fela: Live In Detroit 1986, and the Ginger Baker compiled Fela: Vinyl Box Set 2 . I talked to Zach about how one goes from taking photos for Columbus Metal Band Teeth of the Hydra to working on important Fela Kuti releases and more.

How long have you been working on the Fela Kuti reissues?

It’s been a little over 4 years now. The beginning phases were a little slow as far as compiling art, information, and data so I don’t really think it jumped off until 2010. It’s been non-stop since then.

For “Live in Detroit 1986” you used actual tickets from the show, and posters? What approach did you take when utilizing those objects?

We weren’t sure what we were going to do with that once we got it (art wise). We were working on having a TDK master cassette tape that the concert was recorded on being cleaned up (including blending the split where the engineer had to physically flip the cassette mid concert to continue recording). I was starting to concept the art when we received the poster and ticket stub from the actual show. It made perfect sense to make the poster the cover and re-appropriate the ticket to be the back of the record. When I found out that a TDK-SA90 cassette tape was used to record the show I went through a huge box of cassettes I had and found one. I brought it in and scanned it and adjusted everything to fit the liner notes. Where all the info about the cassette would be I changed to reflect all the technical info about the 1986 recording. I wanted to do something only analog audio nerds could really respect, I am one. The packaging even had to be approved by TDK, they loved it.

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Listen: Action Bronson – “Strictly 4 My Jeeps” (Produced By Harry Fraud)

Slow down baby!!

Ladies love cool Action Bronson so him and Harry Fraud  go on an EPMD –style rampage with “Strictly 4 My Jeeps”. DJ Enuff premiered this today on Hot 97’s Heavy Hitters Show and now you get to listen to it.

(noisey)

 

Coachella 2013: The Stone Roses, Blur, Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers

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Friday, April 12 & 19
Blur, The Stone Roses, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, Lou Reed, Jurassic 5, Grinderman, Bassnectar, Dog Blood, How to Destroy Angels, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, Band of Horses, Beach House, Metric, Local Natives, Of Monsters and Men, Infected Mushroom, Japandroids, Divine Fits, Stars, Johnny Marr, Luciano, Wolfgang Gartner, Nicky Romero, Modestep, Tommy Trash, Thomas Gold, the Shouting Matches, Dillon Francis, Four Tet, Aesop Rock, Alt-J, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, TNGHT, Jake Bugg, Earl Sweatshirt, Polica, Sparks, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Purity Ring, Lee Scratch Perry, Dam-Funk, DJ Harvey, Jamie xx, Seth Troxler, Youth Lagoon, Deathfix, C2C, Beardyman, Lord Huron, Palma Violets, IO Echo, Skinny Lister, the Neighbourhood, Sam XL Pure Filth Sound

Saturday, April 13 and 20
Phoenix, the XX, the Postal Service, Sigur Ros, New Order, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, Knife Party, Benny Benassi, Two Door Cinema Club, Moby, Descendents, Yeasayer, Franz Ferdinand, Violent Femmes, Simian Mobile Disco, Spiritualized, Puscifer, Cafe Tacuba, Portugal, the Man, the Make-Up, Bat for Lashes, Richie Hawtin, Major Lazer, Fedde Le Grand, Dropkick Murphys, FOALS, Ben Howard, 2 Chainz, Janelle Monae, Danny Brown, Wild Nothing, Booka Shade, Bingo Players, Allen Stone, El-P, the Selecter, Pusha T, Kill the Noise, the Evens, Biffy Clyro, Theophilus London, Baauer, Zane Lowe, Trash Talk, Birdy Nam Nam, Action Bronson, Jason Bentley, the Wombats, Guards, Mona, Savages, Shovels & Rope, Huoratron, Kurt Vile, Reignwolf, Cassy, 3Ball MTY, Kids These Days, the 2 Bears, the Colourist, Vintage Trouble

Sunday, April 14 and 21
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Vampire Weekend, Social Distortion, Wu-Tang Clan, Pretty Lights, Eric Prydz, Tame Impala, the Lumineers, Dead Can Dance, La Roux, James Blake, Excision Grimes, the Gaslight Anthem, the Faint, Hardwell, Paul Oakenfold, Dinosaur Jr., Raider Klan, OMD, Roni Size, the Airborne Toxic Event, Father John Misty, Tanlines, Rodriguez, Alex Clare, Paul Kalkbrenner, Jessie Ware, Loco Dice, Jamie Jones, the Three O’Clock, Disclosure, Mimosa, Cloud Nothings, Parov Stelar Band, Julio Bashmore, Thee Oh Sees, Dub Fx, Maya Jane Coles, JEFF the Brotherhood, Smith Westerns, Dirtyphonics, Joris Voorn, Hanni El Khatib, Danny Avila, Ghost, DIIV, Little Green Cars, Mord Fustang, James McCartney, Unicorn Kid, Robert DeLong, White Arrows, Deep Vally, Wild Belle, Adrian Lux, Ladies Night

2013 OSU Hip Hop Literacies Conference Feb 15-16

Hip Hop Conference Flyer front-1

The Third Annual  OSU Hip Hop Literacies Conferenceis upon us. The 2013 theme is Pedagogies for Social Change.  Keynote speakers for the Feb 15 portion at the OSU Union include NYU Professor Martha Diaz, and Dr. Christopher Edmin. (Dr. Edmin was recently in the New York Times with the GZA because the two are developing ways to utilize Hip Hop’s oratory methods in science education.)

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And yes, that is Yo-Yo scheduled to perform at the Kings Arts Complex along with J.Rawls, MC Toni Blackmon and more on Feb 16th.

Handbill with more info on the 2/15 installment after the jump

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Henry Rollins Narrated a Movie About DC Graffiti Legend Cool “Disco” Dan?!!

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(danteross)

Ugh. This looks so sick. It’s from an upcoming documentary narrated by Henry Rollins about DC graffiti legend Cool “Disco” Dan. It is tight because it shows how Disco Dan’s contribution to local culture helped lighten the mood in our Nation’s Capital during the onslaught of the crack epidemic in the 80’s.