Regional Acts that SHOULD be huge - Common Market

I am all on-board for Pacific Northwest Hip-Hop.

Honestly - growing up in the promised land (Bellingham, Washington) I new there was a good music scene in the area, but was unable to catch many live shows due to the utter paucity of all-age venues. How tragic! Death Cab for Cutie was playing some of their first shows while I was in town, but I never caught them live. Yes, I have strolled Railroad and Holly, and still do every time I go back, but I regret that I never caught them live during those nascent years.

Now that I am far removed from the NW, it appears that all age venues abound and the local/regional music scene is as strong as ever.

One group that I am particularly excited about is Common Market. Made up of the Kentucky-raised(fried?) MC "RA Scion" and Blue Scholars DJ Sabzi, they blew me (and many others - including KRS ONE) away with their self-titled debut album in 2006. RA Scion already had a couple of solo efforts under his belt and Sabzi had received critical acclaim with his Blue Scholars project with MC Geologic.

Both members of the Baha'i faith, RA Scion and Sabzi market a brand of socially and spiritually conscious hip-hop. Just wait - it gets better . . . . they have new releases coming out soon!

Right now you can purchase Black Patch War, an EP gearing us up for the September release of the full length EP Tobacco Road - both out on artist-run Massline Media.

So - go buy them, listen, enjoy. These guys are great. I hope they break it big.

Also - enjoy this sample track from Black Patch War

Common Market - His Eminence.mp3

Add them to your collection!




Also, consider their associated act Blue Scholars (same DJ, different MC)

Regional Acts that SHOULD be Huge #1 - Domo

Regional Acts that SHOULD be Huge #1
All across the country there are great bands that have received little exposure outside of their immediate local and regional scenes. Hopefully this MP3 series will help clue us all in on a few of these bands that should be on all of our iPods.

Domo


This Tempe, AZ 3-piece packs a mighty punch! Guitarist and main vocalist Captain Advantage - AKA Jason Sukut (previous keyboardist for fifteen minutes fast) has an unbelievable talent for consistently writing some of the most catchy hooks I have ever heard. Honestly - my wife and I will go weeks on end, unable to get a particular line or riff out of our heads!

Their 2006 self-released Sweet Creepy not only boasted one of my favorite album titles of the year, but was packed end-to-end with strong indie-pop-punk gems. Gems I tell you! Priceless Gems!!! Since my current location (NE) has prevented me from seeing them live and picking up a CD in person, Cpt. Advantage was even kind enough to mail me the LP. Needless to say, when I caught wind that they would be releasing another LP, this time on the nascent Dromedary Records (also in Tempe, AZ), I immediately put in my order. Again, Domo pushed all of my right buttons pleased me with another strong release.

Everyone (and their dog) should go to their webstore and purchase these two LPs and flood their email boxes with requests for a 3rd LP to come out ASAP.

Enjoy:
Domo - Be Still.MP3 [from Baby Mercury]

There are a few more MP3's available for free download at Domo's Myspace

The Player Piano - After the Fact

The Player Piano - After the Fact.MP3

This is a band that everyone in the world should know. The Player Piano. Before breaking up in 2003, they released on the most musically mature and complex albums of all time. This is an album that I have listened to hundreds of times, and never gotten sick. And, to top it all off, they keep it interesting with almost no vocals. Their demise, prompted by members going to Harvard Law and other such lofty pursuits, was one of the saddest days in the Provo, UT music scene. Honestly, I think people probably held candlelight vigils. And, if they didn't, they should have.3

But, good news folks - Friend of Mine Records, Inc., (a Japanese venture) will be re-releasing this album on Dec. 19th. Better yet, it will include 2 demos - Jazz Odyssey and Cottus Carolinae, which were not on the original Sunset Alliance release.

So here is what you do:

1. Download this sample MP3 from their original album
2. Listen to the other sample tracks available on The Player Piano's Myspace page
   
3. Flood their Myspace inbox with messages of eager anticipation
4. buy the Japanese release once it comes out. You can probably ask the boys via their myspace page on where and how it will be made available