For those of you who have not seen the Newsarama article, I just wanted to post up a link that connected Shotgun to promote some more awareness for the art auction that will be raising money for the Obama/Biden campaign.
Here’s a link to their official site.
Here’s a link to their MySpace site.
They’re even on Facebook, folks–look them up.
It’s hard to call it these days, either our hip hop heroes are everything we expect them to be and still inspirational, or they’ve gotten a bit too big for their pedestals. During a brief stint at a day job this 
summer, I made sure to do my part and channel the public funds available to me to pull together Montreal’s biggest Honey Jam to date, featuring Lyrical Lounge favorite Eternia, and hometown heroines Nantali Indongo (don’t sleep on this Nomadic Massive-ly affiliated woman, officially the illest chick in the 514) and Meduza, with the groundbreaking headliner and subject of this interview, Michie Mee. She’s funny, she’s obliging, and she swears by Millie Jackson and Jamaican patties (no bias towards chicken or beef, but she loves home cooking and that of her traveling chef, best). I’m happy to deliver on a promise that I made when I first started giving my ten cents to this here e-zine.* - Angelica LeMinh
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Josh Dysart (BPRD: 1946, The Unknown Soldier) posted this gem on his blog over on MySpace.
Try to have an ignorance free weekend…it’s going to be hard, trust me.
Please to enjoy, Vince and Lucas’s conversation with Warren Ellis from within his hotel room at Wizard World Chicago. He talks FreakAngels, other Avatar work, his Internet presence, and how he feels about being back with the X-Men. Every time this man opens his mouth, gold spills out. Hit play and catch some for yourself!
What’s that you say? You missed Wizard World Chicago and wish beyond wishes that you could just experience a little bit of it? Well you’re in luck! We’ve got TONS of video content coming to you, being shown both here, and at Newsarama.com! First up is Peter David! Watch for his announcement, and enjoy a little reading as if Lucas is a little child. It’s awesome!
Chris Gore is a speaker and writer on the topic of independent film. He is also the main writer and founder of Film Threat, a project dedicated to covering independent and underground movies. He appears weekly on the G4 television program “Attack of the Show” in a segment entitled DVDuesday in which he reviews the newest DVD movies released that day. His books include The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made , The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, 3rd Edition, and The Complete DVD Book: Designing, Producing and Marketing Your Independent Film on DVD. Sidenote: he remembered me as the guy who loved “Amalgam Comics”.
Yep. I’m the second caller.I called him up recently so get an insight of the future of film and any other projects he has in the works and to see what lies in that spiky head of his.
The Sapiens are in their third year as a band. The dance rock band from Chicago has recently made several must-
hear lists, and was even chosen by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of the top ten bands to watch in 2008. With a show in Chicago tonight, Thursday April 3, at The Note (for more info visit www.thenotechicago.com), Shotgun Reviews had a conversation with the band’s lead guitarist, Charlie Nadler. Read on for a look at the band’s roots, plans, and dreams, then head over to their site to have a listen.
Shotgun Reviews: First thing’s first. How and when did The Sapiens become a band?
Charlie Nadler:The band formed in 2005 as a foursome of Columbia College grads who had left other various projects to start something new. I’d embellish this with an anecdote about our first show or something, but I didn’t join The Sapiens until about a year later. So I won’t.
SR: What does your band have to offer that the music industry doesn’t already have?
CN:I’d say that every band with a unique sound has something to offer that the music industry doesn’t already have. Or if not a unique sound, at least a sweet gimmick. We don’t really sound like anyone else right now, so the question is: Does anyone want what we have to offer? I think so. People are ready for something different. (more…)
by John Stvan AKA Halcylon
Edited by Vince Scalabrino
Much like the fabled unicorn, Achronos is elusive, majestic, and beautiful. Well, we assume he’s beautiful. Regardless, the Shot in the Dark crew managed to track down this mythical man and cornered him. He agreed to grant us three wishes. The first two were wasted on Lucas’s wish to have Spider Man’s super powers and Vince’s wish to have Codemaster’s “Overlord” become a reality. With Spider Lucas out the window and The Dark Lord Vince safely within his evil tower, the rest of the crew were left to have their final wish granted: that Achronos answer a battery of questions. The following is a relatively exact representation of what ensued.
By John Stvan
On February 20th, Shots in the Dark found, tied up, and guerrilla interrogated a current Forum Ninja (see: Moderator) from Bungie.net. Moderating a bunch of rabid Halo fans is no small feat, and he told us of the ups and downs of one of the largest gaming communities around. To protect his identity, we shall simply call him by his tag of Yoozel.
Shots in the Dark: Yoozel is an interesting name. Does it come from anywhere or anything?
Yoozel: It’s a mystery really… there is some truth out there about it… but all I’m willing to say is that it came from an artist I went to school with and she’ll get mad props always. Not to mention it was an inside joke back in the day….
SitD: Has that always been your gamer name?
Yoozel: Well… in the Bungie realm of things, yes. Over the years I have assumed countless identities to game under… but I was never really into competitive online play until Xbox Live came out.
SitD: Nice shameless Microsoft plug! Have to make the bucks somehow, right?
Yoozel: Will moderate for 401K and benefits!!
SitD: You’ve been a part of Bungie.net for how long?
Yoozel: I’ve been apart of Bungie.net for almost 5 years now. Still going strong and continually pissing a lot of people off. And despite public opinion it’s not over until my liver explodes or the Webmaster gives up!
SitD: Are you telling me that the fans, the forum community, cause you to drink?
Okay, so our dollar is getting stronger but our buying power has always been high. The Lyrical Lounge’s favorite Canadian recently found her way backstage on a snowy Monday night to interview both Classified and Shad after their sold-out show. And yeah, Tim Horton’s fans, the title is a shoutout to how we do our coffee (the closest compliment to the NYC deli coffees). -Angelica LeMinh
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Mr. J. Medeiros (of the Procussions) talks to your favorite Lyrical Lounge interview queen about “hurt(ing) this pride, murder(ing) this ego”. Here’s a look inside the mind of a (Super)man who ain’t too proud to eat humble pie, just hold the milk - Angelica LeMinh
ALM: Rappelles-moi ton histoire avec la langue francaise….
Mr J: I am still learning French. I know just enough to keep the show going and some extra phrases to get around town. France was the first place I toured (with The Procussions) outside of the U.S. and that was 4 years ago. We go twice almost every year, in fact, I’m here now, about to finish about a 7 week tour…of France.
Not too many rappers are Nikki Giovanni approved! Seriously. And when he’s not crushin’ his own mic (ya know feedin’ his hip-hop habit), you just might find Dumi Right contemplating the significance (and utter brilliance) of the handful of Tribe Called Quest albums out there. See, Dumi can spit verses from both the Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders albums forward and backwards–and he won’t forget a bar, I swear–but just don’t ask him to chose which one is better! - JB
What’s good? Its been a minute since we last spoke? (Circa the first PH Music compilation release) What have you been up to?
Staying busy. Since then I went on to release the O.U.O album, of unknown origin through pH MUSIC/Domination Recordings and through a coincidental conversation I had with DJ Fisher, I connected with some cats that were interested in putting out unreleased Zimbabwe Legit material in the form of the album Brothers from the Mother that never saw light of day when things fell apart back when we were still with Hollywood Complex. After putting out those 2 albums I’ve been working on this new project, The House of Stone and putting in some work with guest appearances on records by Cadence, The Good People and The Saint and a few overseas compilations.
How do you leverage your time between the fam and your music?
I mean its like there are really not enough hours in the day. I have a full time day job, then I have a family so want to make sure that is the main priority. Then there is this business of music. Basically I just have to prioritize, some social stuff that isn’t business related has to get deaded. I mean if some heads want to get together and just kick it I might have to pass so I can spend time with the fam and then jump out when I have a session, show or some business stuff happening. I also have to try to be ultra organized so I can maximize my available time. I have to make sure I stay sharp in all the arenas of my life but also remember that family is most important.
Angelica LeMinh goes into the locker room with one of the only 3-
time Shotgun Reviews’ champion interviewees, Eternia (Miz Green Eyes), who still holds one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios to date. Following the NBA’s groundbreaking lead, The Lyrical Lounge has annointed a Canadian MVP.
ALM: So, you’re DJing with Prince Paul and shit. What’s your libation of choice on and off the decks?
MIZ E: Aww man, everyone who knows me knows it’s Bacardi Gold rum and coke, though recently I been switching to Grey Goose. Not because I like Grey Goose more, because I don’t, but Jean Grae once told me personally that “dark liquor is a no no”. I agree, but then again, maybe all liquor is a no no.
ALM: I love that you haven’t forgotten your home (sweet Screwface) on your whole Underground From Canada journey. Did it take moving away to really feel it?
MIZ E: Yes. Anybody that claims that Canada doesn’t have an identity, that “Canadians” cannot be typified, is dead wrong. Or they just haven’t moved away. We most definitely have our own identity and it is uniquely ours. I miss Canada, especially Toronto, too much to fully express on any track.
It’s hard not to be noticed when you drop a video like “Y’all Should All Get Lynched”, but NYOIL is pleasantly humble and effervescently funny when he meets the little Lyrical Lounge Interview Queen that could, Angelica LeMinh, as she travels across international borders and domestic waters to chat with him on his side of the Staten Island ferry.
ALM: Is NYOIL an acronym?
NYOIL: It used to stand for “New York’s Original International Lover” but I had to retire that because it became too ridiculous (laughs). Now it’s NY Oil, oil is black gold, we’ve been at war for oil, the youth has been dying for oil. I think the youth is black gold, and that’s what I’m going to war for, the youth, this hip hop.
Angelica LeMinh has bragging rights for life that the one and only Ursula Rucker called her phone, talked to her for two hours, and commended her on her stalking techniques (she likened it to “the perfect amount of persistence”). Philly’s most poetic Supasista waxes lyrical (for the lounge) about politics, street credibility, and raising her babies.
ALM: You just finished playing the Sistahood Celebration in my hometown with one of my best girls (Amalia Townsend www.myspace.com/sekoya). You’ve also been through Montreal a few times. Tell me about the crowds and the difference between playing Canada and the United States.
Ursula: Vancouver was great this last time, but I never have a bad show in Canada, I’ve also played Toronto. Like Europe, the audiences tend to be more open and progressive about what they know, and their awareness of culture and art is more acute. I haven’t performed extensively in the States, but I don’t think the current climate is too encouraging. I still don’t have a booking agent, and women doing poetry are always going to be beneath the radar. I was excited last summer to perform in Atlanta, a city renowned for being musically progressive, but the crowd was so unresponsive that I was almost bored. I’ve played in Ohio and Chicago, and it was like performing on a space ship.
ALM: Can you talk a little more about the current political climate and the war that hasn’t ended?
Ursula: Well, it’s no secret, and people would do better if they refused to accept trying to keep it secret. I remember I was in Vienna on tour for Supa Sista, and I already had a fear of flying, but this was just after 9/11 so it was exacerbated. I was pregnant with my third child, had left the other two at home and when I saw that night vision shot, I just started crying and wanted to come home. When people heard us speaking English and knew that we were American, the reactions of how they perceived us were completely different. Now, it’s only getting worse and worse for peace. I’m not a punk, but I’m for peace. I realize that as a super power, a First World country (if we’re going to rank), we can’t just sit back and do nothing in the face of such an attack, but what we’re doing right now is not protecting our country, we’re trying to oppress and control another one to fully participate in capitalism. But I appreciate the opportunity to travel and get the truth, because our media here is totally skewed. I think that people have lost that instinctual feeling to see something and react as aware folks and question further. I want to throw something everytime I see our president on the television. There is nothing elegant or eloquent about anything that ever comes out of his mouth, and I am ashamed.
ALM: Are you going to vote for Senator Obama?
Ursula: I don’t know who I’m going to vote for. You’re never actually voting for anyone, it’s just the lesser of evils. It’s like the police officers, you can’t be that good of a person if you are a cop. At least not in Philly, with the corruption that’s involved.
