Introduced to hip-hop at an early age and subsequently christened into the game by the legendary Kool G Rap, Dr. Butcher’s twenty-plus years in hip-hop has found him not only rubbing elbows with fan favorites, but also wearing a variety of hats behind the scenes. Be it as an executive producer, a deejay or even spittin’ his best 16-bar salvo, Dr. Butcher not only has an envious hip-hop resume–he’s got longevity in his back pocket!

How’d you come by being called Dr. Butcher? I know hip-hop tends to take a no-prisoners attitude., but “Butcher” almost seems too graphic.

I inherited the name from Kool G Rap who took the name from an old 70’s horror flick. G-Rap was looking for a turntablist to offset DJ Polo and initially chose a well respected deejay from our neighborhood but the dude backed out of the situation for personal reasons. When he received word that I was pretty nice on the turns he stopped by to audition me. I showed him some stuff and he jokingly told me to hang up the microphone and to pick up the headphones because my new name would be Dr. Butcher…ha!l. Yeah, I was a rapper at the time.

So its safe to assume you’re certainly not a vegetarian (right?)

Never assume…ha! ha!. Seriously, I’m not a strict vegetarian but my meat intake is limited to fish, turkey and chicken.

Deejaying and producing records. How do the two talents/disciplines differ? How do they complement one another.

I don’t think there is a difference. They both require disciplined ears. Producers hear melodies and deejays hear scratches/mixes. Basically, they are one in the same.

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Now this is an intriguing/freaking hilarious idea. Take a music video and take the music, but redub the lyrics so that there is a narration of what is happening IN the video. Above is Meat Loaf’s retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” in his epic ballad and karaoke favorite “Anything for love…”.

Comedy in every sense of the word. Apparently, this is a big deal, too. One of the biggest viral sensations since “Chocolate Rain”, having already appeared on Entertainment Weekly’s website, as well as the New Yorker’s. (more…)

Now what in the name of Lion is this? I, for one, am not amused.

www.definitivejux.net – $$(½)

Given the current unbuzzworthy climate in the indie-rap scene, a musical marriage between Quannum Projects and Def Jux is seemingly a match made in heaven…on paper.  With both collectives being veritable bonanzas of colorfully creative thought, art and spoken-word– any end-resulting merger should not only grab its fare share of headlines, but also churn out some equally novel music.

However, what sounds good “on paper” doesn’t necessarily carry-over to what sounds good comin’ out the speakers. The super-group that represents The Mighty Underdogs is a wildly imaginative bunch consisting of Quannum’s Lateef The Truth Speaker, Gift of Gab and Headnodic of The Crown City Rockers. And what should have been a superb spectacle of the meeting of the mines (with an obligatory Def Jux co-sign) turns out to be nothing more than a bloated, uneven display that is more second-rate than glorious.

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Creed has returned.

Yes, long-time favorite target of Shotgun mockery Creed are back. This article in People (People?!) addresses their reunion with a classic Stapp-ism.

“We never felt like we weren’t together,” says frontman Scott Stapp. “We’re not looking at this as a reunion. It’s more of a rebirth.”

That sounds awesomely like, “You are witnessing the new birth of Spinal Tap Mark II.”

One wonders if they will be touring in support of Puppet Show.

Album Cover

All-American Rejects released an album right around Christmas time that I didn’t get to until now. Their previous effort, Move Along, was a good album in itself. It was fun, mostly light hearted, but primarily it was pop fluff. The new album, When the World Comes Down still sounds like All-American Rejects, but adds something new: incredible musical dexterity and some really amazing variation in tones, harmonies, and styles. In short, this is a killer album.

The first single from the album, “Gives You Hell,” is by far the closest to their previous sound. It’s a great, fun, catchy tune, but doesn’t really cover any new ground. When you peak into the rest of the album, though, there’s something special there. There’s something for all fans of poprock: “Real World” would fit on any road trip mix with it’s rollicking rhythm, “Mona Lisa” shows the softer side of the band with an acoustically driven melody that flirts with country western and hosting the album title as lyrics, “Sunshine” is a hidden track worth waiting for, with a real happiness to it that earns the name of the song.

The real standout from the album is a song featuring girl rocker duo The Pierces, called “Another Heart Calls.” The song has an orchestral background, incredible melodies and harmonies from both male and female vocals, and even though it’s a clearly group effort, everyone involved still individually shines as well. This is everything you can ask for out of a pop song, and shows that the band has truly evolved into something new, comfortable enough with their core sound to try something new. There are other tracks on the album that show this new ability off, but this is the crown jewel, for certain.

Old fans will find the band they recognize in When the World Comes Down, and listeners who may have dismissed All-American Rejects before would do well to give them another shot here. You can purchase it from iTunes here for $7.99.

www.duckdown.com – $$$

Known more for his vociferous odes to the “sticky-icky” and his signature adenoidal flow, B-Real ‘s first official solo album, Smoke N Mirrors finds the Cypress Hill vocal leader expanding his anthology.

Continuing to build on established Cypress Hill-esque themes—B-Real makes Smoke N Mirrors an even more dexterousness affair by simultaneously pandering to his own personal taste and influences–yet at the same thinking out of his proverbial “hot-box.”

Tales of domestic uprising, cultural pride, and gang-life mentality still play-out in most of B-Real’s lyrical content. And true to his alt-rap roots, B-Real still manages to give the expected on trippy-acid drop feeling tracks like “Psycho Realm Revolution” and as well on the utterly bombastic West-coast appealing records like “Gangssta Music” without being too cliché.

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www.bonzirecords.com – $$$

J.Wells’ Digital Master sequel propels the Likwit/Dogg Pound affiliate as a producer worth noticing. Though his beat-constructs can hardly be decreed as ‘whiz-kid official’ or ‘ground-breaking‘, J.Wells creatively cultivates with such an eclectic line-up of artist, that his shortcomings as an emcee (subject matter that atypically doesn’t strand too far away from: floss, flashy and fast cash) are overlooked.

Offering up somewhat of a sound clash, J.Wells’ equally diverse production hand roller coast between crunk, g-funk and soulfully loopy. The intermingling of styles doesn’t come-off too harshly on the ears–as the Estelle lead, “You Don’t Love Me” teeters the median between old-school soul and contemporary R&B effortlessly, while one could swear J was channeling Warren G circa 1994 on the Snoop Dogg assisted “All My Bitches.” However its moments such as the Da Brat & Mister collaboration “Already Famous” where his clever mimics backfire.

Still, Digital Master Vol. 2 offers more success than duds. Even with the sound scape treading predictable waters with tracks like “Gotta Have That“ that are literally begging for radio play, what listeners will come to ultimately like about this album is its unpolished mixture of enthusiastic lyricism, equally keen production techniques and so-so hooks.

Harmonix, EA and MTVGames today announced what will be in the extremely long-winded “The Beatles: Rockband Limited Edition Premium Bundle.” The full band game featuring the ubiquitous rock band will have the standard compliment of instruments, but this time with a bass instead of a guitar, and all The Beatles branded; from the press release:

• The Beatles: Rock Band software
• Höfner Bass controller: Large scale replica of the Bass famously used by Sir Paul McCartney
• Beatles-inspired and Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drums with classic pearl finish and vintage replica Beatles kick drum head
• Microphone
• Microphone Stand
• Additional special content

OK, the Bass, the Drums, and the Mic Stand are some awesome bonuses. It’s anyone’s guess as to what “Additional special content” is; maybe a jar of McCartney’s spit or a lock of Ringo’s hair.

The kit will run $249.99 in the US, €199.00 in the Continental Europe, and £179.00 in the UK, and will be released on the extremely easy to remember 09/09/09. Get it? Number nine, number nine, number nine…

Looks like I’m going to have ANOTHER set of fake plastic instruments in the apartment. I wonder how many I can have before the wife starts freaking out… No confirmation yet on the rumored two microphone harmonies, but I’m holding out hope.

Eminem’s latest video just dropped, and it’s reminiscent of the parody-filled clips that he’s done in the past. However, one’s gotta wonder if some of the targets are played out or just . . . not funny. Watch it below and give us your take.

From the “Giants of Rock and Roll” program, you’ve got Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Dave Edmunds, and many others in evidence on stage TOGETHER. They just JAM. And it is electric. Enjoy.

Everyone has, at one time in their lives, been given the opportunity to get in on something—a business deal, an investment, or an experience—that is brand spankin’ new or on the ground floor; well, I was given one of those opportunities this past weekend when I went out with my friends to Mulligans in Valdosta, Georgia and listened to the band, Calling All Stars.

Granted, small local venues are not the greatest locations for “appreciating” or really studying a band’s performance on a technical level—but I found myself drawn into their original selections (and a couple of choice covers) and I knew that I wanted more after our first little shared intimate experience in front of this crowded little bar.

Well, I got a hold of one of their CD’s, a release from 2006, White Fields, and I was thoroughly taken aback by an offering, a grand opportunity—a melodic experience—to appreciate a group of young, talented musicians who are no doubt on the rise to bigger and better things. White Fields is the modern Alt-Rock equivalent of Dave Matthews Band’s 1993 release Remember Two Things—it’s a sample of things to come; an auspicious revelation that there is creative life beyond the synthetically soulless, post-modern doldrums of what fares for popular music in the mid-to-late “oughts”. Calling All Stars rocks with a vintage rock sound that is timeless and accessible.

Simply put, White Fields, as a whole, is very enjoyable from start to finish and allows for multiple listens. Vocalist Jamal Hafza provides a memorable, clean cadence; a melodic alloy that’s one part Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and one part Zac Maloy of The Nixons. His heartfelt belting really brings the pang home to the listener’s front door on tracks like “Drown”, “Sway”, and “A Hollywood Ending”. Hafza’s clear vocals are countered by the band’s frenetically stylish guitarist, Cason Neill, and technically brilliant drummer, Mick Wade; both play with a tenacity that strengthens heavy-hitting favorites like the title track to White Fields, as well as “Angel Eyes” and “Drown” (that’s twice I’ve mentioned this song, folks—it’s that good).

All that said, I have to go back to my original idea: these guys are still developing and there is a slight amount of room for growth within the selections on White Fields. I found the lyrical message of “Saved” to be a little too heavy-handed for my secular tastes. Also, I want to pretend to be Bruce Dickinson for a second and demand that future songs have more cow bell; and by “cow bell”, I mean keyboards. Some of the strongest tracks on White Fields all seem to have this underlying power that’s brought out via this understated instrument in the band’s potent arsenal.

Together this trio (with the addition of band members, Wesley Flowers, and ‘The General’ since the recording of White Fields) provide a tour-de-force of sound and several of the aforementioned songs bare a solid, potentially anthem-like quality that confronts the listener—and says, “Hey, we feel what you feel.” The accessibility of this music absolutely forbids you from NOT liking this band. I thoroughly enjoyed both opportunities to experience the band performing live sets this past weekend. If you like emotive, hard-hitting Alt-Rock with an abundance of Pop sensibility then you’ll really dig Calling All Stars.

Update: After I finished listening to White Fields, I started scouring the internet for current tracks from their upcoming album release and I found two new songs—“Sonar” and “Lost Vegas”. Go and listen for yourself; these songs provide proof that this band is coming into their own. Calling All Stars is a musical opportunity worth taking; the sky is nowhere near the limit for this stellar band.

http://www.myspace.com/callingallstars
http://www.malimarrecords.com

By now you may have heard that seminal rockumentary series Behind the Music will return to VH1. I was a huge fan of this show in its time, and I’m frankly delighted that there will be more. I hope that they don’t mess with the format; it’s basically perfect.

However, the return recalls two classic bits that we did here at Shotgun years ago:

Our Top Ten Behind the Music Suggestions

Top Ten Behind the Music Segment Segues

So . . . what are some of your suggestions for new episodes?

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