Bavu Blakes
c/o the 54 reality show dot com
I just left Austin, Texas. Yet I’m headed back again.
Nevertheless, “it went down”. (c) Matt
[ Grown and Soulful ]
Maya Azucena is all over the world, but is still as sweet as the name Azucena implies. She hosted the Thursday night joint at 11th Street Station. #Community
Speaking of community…
Continue reading “Eddie Long at South by Southwest”
This is me dapping up co-headliner Chucky Sly, not to be confused with Chuck Reece who captured these moments with his camera. Sly and I merged our sets by transitioning with “This Just In” (Special Edition). We also went straight to the studio from the show. He also lives less than an hour from me now, in Corona, California.
[ The Look of Love ]
The experience I had on this Dallas trip was basically the exact reason why I perform and record music. There were at least 200 people there, and they were noticeably from different segments of the community. I’d estimate that about five different “scenes” all came together to make this night go as well as it did.
[ In the Face of Adversity ]
Despite a nagging injury, I did my best. Two weeks prior, I had an abcess sliced open and stuffed with gauze to drain. Then I had to change the gauze several times per day. Now if I told you where the abcess was, or how when they shot the numbing agent through the needle into it, it felt like a blowtorch shooting up my — nevermind. Overall, I felt like my energy and focus were lacking at this show, but the audience wasn’t treating me that way.
So I played right along (dap)
Continue reading “7 Shots from Dallas, Texas”
[ image by charles edward photography ]
These guys are bad, though. It’s such an honor and educational experience to know them, hear them, talk to them and play with them. The above photo is from the Music Lab on Oltorf in Austin, TX, on Sunday, January 16, 2011.
A week prior, I caught them playing a jazz set in downtown Fort Worth with a mind-blowing organist named Bobby Sparks and the homie Philippe Vieux on flute.
All that to say, make sure you check in or subscribe in February.
Thanks in advance,
Bavu
[ photo coverage by The Fifth ]
I went to Austin for three days and three nights, during which I got a haircut from Delton on Pecan Street, checked on the house, played Matt‘s bday party (video below), caught up with D and Willette, reconnected with the Extra Plairs to rock the MLK Day Fest at Huston-Tillotson, and recorded a new project with producer Reggie Coby of the League of Extraordinary G’z. That’s a short list, but you get the idea…
Continue reading “How Are You Enduring?”
We, the innumerable staff at Bavu Blogs have seen some crappy cover art lately. We’ve even seen crappy cover art by some great artists lately. It even rubbed the captain of the mothership, FWMJ, the wrong way.
So rather than point out the less-than-fine art, let’s commend some artists who I’m going to check out on the strength of their covers alone. Well, technically, I was going to check out Homeboy Sandman already because he makes me wanna rap.
Three excellent covers appearing in 3… 2… 1…
This was my first time meeting him, but I was pleased to discover that we have plenty in common. We share our stories with you and we want your money!
Last Saturday afternoon I went to visit an old friend from back in Texas for the first time since I relocated to Long Beach. A-Op lives in Koreatown, right around Elmwood and Western. It was a good time to catch up in person and get reacquainted, plus I had an appointment in nearby Hollywood in a few.
It just so happened that my next stop was only two miles away. Left on Western, Right on Sunset… I hadn’t eaten since my breakfast – a mere bowl of Raisin Bran – so I drove a few blocks past the location to Subway for a flatbread tuna and a couple of cookies. From there I set out for the first episode of… Aloe’s Shadow!
[Stryke’s Building]
A few days earlier I learned L.A. Lesson #1 which goes, “Never let your gas tank go below half-full.” But here off of Sunset, I learned Lesson #2 which says, “Never give the authorities half a reason to write you a ticket, because they will do it!”
I thought I had a plair parking spot right out front, but that last three feet of my car that bled into the red part of the curb has now cost me $80. Red Carpet > Red Curb
[Stryke’s Living Room]
Once Aloe met me at the front door, we walked straight back to Stryke’s apartment. First, I noticed the spot was New York stuffy, I mean stuff everywhere. Second, I noticed an old blaxploitation movie, “Black Dynamite”, on the television.
Then I noticed that there were at least 10,000 records along the walls, and most of the stuff was gear. I thought to myself, “Somebody in this room is a DJ!”
The whole setup reminded me of DJ’s like Good Grief in Houston or Baby G in Austin. In fact, when I mentioned Baby G to Stryke that evening, he got quite excited.
[Cornbread Amidst Vinyl]
Cornbread from Kali Wild, a group whose original members include producer/mc Oh No, is the man of the hour.
[I’m sure some of you have never heard of Oh No, but just know that he, his brother Madlib and Aloe Blacc are producers/artists on the indie powerhouse Stones Throw label. For some reason, the name Stones Throw has come up 10 or so times since I moved to the West.]
We all got together at Stryke’s house to work on the video for Cornbread’s “Relaxin’” feat. Aloe Blacc and Maya Jupiter, produced by elevatedSOUL from nearby West Covina, CA.
Well, frankly, that’s the reason THEY all got together. I was there because Aloe thought it would be a good place to formally meet, and was kind enough to let me tag along. Shortly after my arrival, while BZ was setting up to shoot something in Stryke’s doorway, Aloe made a great point. We needed to get upstairs and do the rooftop shots while the sun was still out.
Scholar Emcee 