Jarv Dee- "I Just Wanna"

This dreary June Monday marked my first day of work for this summer. Hands are still covered in paint and I'm already feeling worn out. It's days like this that I'm thankful for our city's abundance of musical talent.
The Seattle artist that earns my song of the day selection is Jarv Dee. Featured in Nacho Picasso's Moor Gang, Jarv Dee caught my attention with his video for "I Just Wanna", off his latest album Dopamine.
For anyone that's ever had a bad day and just wants to say fuck it (As Jarv Dee does in the opening line), "I Just Wanna" is a perfect song to sooth the soul. The track features a hook that is completely perfect in it's own right. With the lyrics, "I just wanna smoke my weed and drink some of my fifth, they ask me why I am a dawg I say well life's a bitch" Jarv bluntly lays out his priorities (no pun intended), leading the listener to lean back and say "Word Jarv Dee, word".  Jarv Dee's Effortless flow goes hand in hand with the laid back beat, and advertises punchlines such as "I'm in love with Mary Jane, call me Peter Parker ", and "Call me Mr. DUI  yes I'm higher than the sky".
Regularly collaborating with Nacho Picasso, I hope to see Jarv Dee make an appearance at Nacho's block party set! 
Download Dopamine for free here.

Spotlight on the Alabama Shakes

With the emergence of the Black Keys and the lasting footprint left by the White Stripes, a significant interest in blues driven indie rock has been instilled in today's youth. As a result, the Alabama Shakes of Athens Alabama have picked an ideal time to debut their talents. Released in April, their most recent album Boys and Girls features their hit song "Hold On" which is getting some nationwide radio play. Like most casual fans of the Alabama Shakes, "Hold On" was the track that drew me into the group's music, but dig deeper into the record and you will find upbeat tracks, moving lyrics, and an unmatched amount of soul. 

"Hang Loose" starts out with a fast paced country feel, but as the song reaches the chorus the band changes key and adds some splashy drumming and drawn out guitar strums to give the track a moody jazz tone. An organ kicks in late and brings the song back home to the band's blues roots.  

On "Heartbraker", singer Brittany Howard takes the listener on soulful journey through the emotional intent of the song. With such variation in lyrical theme and musical style,  Boys and Girls is an album that deserves to be listened straight through.
Next to not picking Kentucky to win the NCAA tournament while filling out my bracket, one of my greatest regrets so far in 2012 was not seeing the Alabama Shakes at Sasquatch this year. However, I will be sure to catch a show next time their in town. 

Bring Em Back!

With the Oklahoma City Thunder currently playing for an NBA championship, Sonics fans are likely more bitter than ever before. However, with San Francisco hedge fund manager Chris Hansen displaying an interest in building a new basketball arena in Seattle, there also seems to be more energy surrounding the future of Sonics basketball than there has been since Clay Bennet shipped the team off to OKC.
  This afternoon Sonics fans congregated in Pioneer Square's Occidental Park to celebrate the possibility of getting new team, and to rally for a new NBA arena in Seattle. The event featured performances from Common Market, The Presidents of the United States of America, and the Blue Scholars. Speeches were also given by Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Nate Robinson, Down Constantine, Chris Hansen and former Sonics play by play announcer Kevin Colabro.

During his show following the rally, KJR talk show host Dave Softy Mahler described the event as a Sonics family reunion. Among the several thousand attendees I spotted Seattle's biggest sports fan "Big Lo", director of Sonicsgate Jason Reid, and several people dressed up in Sasquatch costumes. Seeing all the familiar faces gave me a weird feeling of dejavu, as if I was back in elementary school watching Gary Payton and company take on the competition from the upper level of Key Arena.
 After a solid performance from Common Market to start off the rally, The President's played a rousing set that featured their Seattle basketball anthem "Supersonics".

The highlight of the rally occurred during the Blue Scholars' headlining set. During their performance of "North by Northwest", Macklemore and Grynch ran out on the stage and proceeded to spit verses over the Sabzi beat. Despite the fact that the rally drew a more sports oriented audience, the Seattle MC's rocked an enthused crowd. "Maybe we should have ended with that one?" Sabzi joked after the song ended. The Scholars closed out their set with their song "Slick Watts", an ode to Sonics basketball and the man who made the headband famous. It was very cool given that Slick Watts was in attendance.

Hedge fund investor and Seattle basketball savior Chris Hansen capped of the rally with a humble address to the sea of gold and green. Hansen nervously laid out his plan to build a new arena and bring an NBA team to Seattle.  Putting his arm around the much smaller Hansen, former Sonics star Gary Payton chuckled into the microphone. "Our guy Chris is a little shy here but it's ok!" Chants of "Thank you Chris!, Thank you Chris" drowned out Hansen's attempts to thank the people who put the rally together. A proud day for Sonics fans to say the least. 

Fearce and Bean-"I Want It All"

New video from Dyme Def's "Fierce Villain". The video features Fierce rapping while biking around the city.  Discussing growing up and his journey towards reaching his ambitions, "I Want it All" is another intimate and heartfelt track from the Dyme Def front man.
"I want it all, is what I used to say when I was four feet tall"

Check out more music from Dyme Def at http://yuktheworld.com/

Spac3man!

Seattle MC Spac3man telling his story for a feature on Grammy.com. This guy is very entertaining to watch, and the interview definitely makes me want to go check out a show.
I was lucky enough to see Spac3man at this year's Sasquatch Festival over Memorial Day weekend. Proclaiming himself as Seattle's Waka Flocka, Spac3man rocked a small but energetic crowd. Spac3man's music is nothing new, but his infectious energy and intriguing personality help him stick out in the city' hip hop landscape.
Performing on the same day as Nacho Picasso, I look forward to seeing Spac3man's set at this year's Capitol Hill Block Party.

Holding Patterns (Porcelain) by Wolfy Bauer from Louis Weissman on Vimeo.

I stumbled upon this video while creeping on my old friend's Vimeo profile. I was extremely impressed. The combination  of some eerie film making combined with a chilling song results in a fine display of local talent. The song is depressing, yet extremely moving. Harmonies mix over soulful vocals to emphasize different parts of the track. A synthesizer kicks in halfway through the song and adds a haunting electronic feel.
 I was even more impressed when I looked in to some of the singer's other work. Wolfy keeps his songs simple, proving that moody lyrics, and eloquent guitar playing are all he needs. Check out more songs from Wolfy Bauer on his Soundcloud page:

Memphis May Fire-"Vices"

Another preview from Memphis May Fire's new album Challenger, set to release on June 26th. I know I already posted about the upcoming album, but released this morning, this might just be my favorite song from the band yet, and that says a lot. If you can't deal with the screaming fast forward to the chorus and outro where Matty Mullins displays some impressive range.