NEWS

SLIM BONE HEAD VOLT: POETRY GONE INSANE

To steal unapologetically from Steinbeck: Slim Bone Head Volt is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. It is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps of an actor’s brain and a musician’s hands. Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, “whores, pimps, gamblers and sons of bitches,” by which he meant Vincent D’Onofrio. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, “Saints and angels and martyrs and holymen,” and he would have meant Dana Lyn. The duo was born when, during rehearsals for an off-Broadway play in which both D’Onofrio and Lyn were cast members, the actor invited his innermost thoughts into the unsuspecting minds of his contemporaries via that modern day messiah of connection: the text message. The transmissions were long, rambling, and raucous, and Lyn, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and composer, fell in love with them. In direct contradiction to the thumb-guided medium’s impermanence, she sought to give the messages new life by pairing them with her own original music and encouraged D’Onofrio to share more. So, how can we expect to comprehend all this madness? How, to tear a page from the man once again, can the poem and the stink and the grating noise—the quality of light, the tone, the habit and the dream—be set down alive? Perhaps to comprehend Slim Bone Head Volt, the product of two maniacal minds who shall not, under any circumstance, be moved, you must simply open your own mind and let the stories crawl in by themselves.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATES SISTER ROSETTA THARPE

To say that Blacks shaped the very being of the musical genres you know and love would be an understatement. Influences vary wildly and include legends such as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, B.B. King, and countless others. Another name that should be considered among those icons is Sister Rosetta Tharpe. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of everything rock and roll, then her name should instantly ring bells. But if you don’t know a whole lot about Sister Tharpe, then allow us to put you on game. Sister Rosetta Tharpe built quite the legacy for herself during her time spent in the music industry. She sang, wrote, and played guitar masterfully. And she did all that and more during her hot streak of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. Tharpe’s gospel tunes were like none other due to their revolutionary amalgamation of spiritual lyrics and rhythmic grooves. One of the most intriguing aspects of Tharpe’s career centered on her ability to deliver her brand of gospel music in the types of settings that would be considered unholy. Thanks to the songs “Rock Me” and “This Train,” Tharpe ended up building the very foundation for the pop-gospel genre. As one of the first major gospel-recording artists, Tharpe provided the prototype for rock and roll via her rhythm-and-blues approach to music. Tharpe’s most notable singles include “Strange Things Happening Every Day,” “Precious Memories,” “Up Above My Head, I Hear Music in the Air,” and “Silent Night (Christmas Hymn).” One of the biggest honors bestowed upon her came from the U.S. Library of Congress: the celebrated institution selected her rendition of “Down by the Riverside” for inclusion in the National Recording Registry in 2004. Tharpe’s claim to fame as “the Godmother of rock and roll” can be traced back to the song “Strange Things Happening Every Day.” That groundbreaking single earned the distinction of being the first gospel record to break out as a mainstream hit. Many cite that song as one of the earliest precursors to rock and roll as a whole and the first rock and roll record. Besides her career highs as a recording artist, Tharpe also changed the course of guitar playing. Tharpe is considered among the first group of artists to apply a heavy distortion technique to her electric guitar, which ended up paving the way for electric blues. Her playing style played a major part in shaping the British blues scene of the 1960s and influenced luminaries such as Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton. Tharpe’s rock and roll mastery arrived before it was even a coined term. And thanks to her monumental efforts, the world ended up being blessed by the many fruits that fell from her learning tree – names such as Little Richard, Chucky Berry, and Elvis Presley immediately come to mind. While Sister Tharpe didn’t receive a ton of notoriety at first, current-day music aficionados eventually afforded her the respect and accolades she deserved. Her life has been properly summarized in the BBC documentary The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She earned an induction into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2007, plus The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted her as an Early Influence back in 2017. Singer Frank Turner even honored her in the form of a song entitled “Sister Rosetta” that spoke to her unmatched greatness. The very concept of rock and roll simply wouldn’t be without Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s game changing musical stylings. The next time you find yourself jamming to a random Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, or Issac Hayes song, be sure to pay respects to the rock and roll originator herself.

FUNKFACE: BENEFIT FOR THERE OWN

Mere months before the craziness of the pandemic hit The mighty FUNKFACE put on a benefit concert to raise money for Luqman Brown heart surgery. Luqman Brown lead singer of FUNKFACE received $20 grand from the concert and a Go Fund Me campaign. The concert was held at Bowery Electric with a wide verity of performers performing songs buy FUNKFACE. The night started with the premier black rockers 24/7 SPYS. Who laced the place with pure joy in sonic form. Jimmy Hazel, Rick Skator, Tony Lewis and the great Ronny Drayton (R.I.P) gave there much appreciated time and a amazing concert. After them the FUNKFACE All Stars took the stage. Folks who have been in the band over 30 years. Jeff Usamanot, Frank Usamanot, Ramsey Jones, Jerome Jorden and Tim Grove. Then a slew of New York City’s finest performers got up and sang FUNKFACE’S amazingly rich and diverse catalog. The band was accompanied by Cory Glover of Living Color, Honeychild Coleman of The 1865, Creature of Reblematic, Shelly Nicole Jefferson of Blakbush, Lisa McQuade of Midtown Staxx, Maya Sokora of Mother Goddess, Tesfa Zawdie of Major Taylor, Morgan Liebman of Super villain. Doctor Burnz of Giant, and Oliver Ree of The Mighty Boilers. The night was amazing the love in the room was palpable and the music was just plain good, but dont take my word on this. You can watch it for yourself. BUDDHABUG RECORDS Would like to thank everyone involved