Hide ya kids, Hide ya wife!

Posted in Comedy, News, Videos on August 4th, 2010 by Hyphen

Original is funny enough, but awwwwww snap, let’s keep the party going.  Reeeeeeeemix:

Though to be fair, it’s not topping the OG:

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Foundation Crossfit Grand Opening on Sunday!

Posted in News, Random Ish, Sports on January 30th, 2010 by Hyphen

Those of you who know me in real life have probably heard me talk (at length) about a style of working out called crossfit.  Ever since the homey Dru introduced it to me, I’ve been a fan.  In short, it focuses on simple movements performed at a high level for short periods of time.  It’s way more efficient and challenging than simply lifting weights and I would recommend everyone check it out, regardless of your level of fitness.

Seattle people should come check it out tomorrow at the grand opening for Dru’s new space.  Foundation Crossfit has been around for a few years, but come check out the new spot and find out about these workouts that will change your life.  Tomorrow’s schedule is as follows:

Foundation CrossFit
1422 11th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
(Down the driveway underneath the rear entrance of Pac Supply Company. Look for the orange building.)

Sunday, January 31, 2010

11:00 – 12:00 Meet & Greet / Social Hour
12:00 – 12:30 Introduction to CrossFit
12:30 – 13:00 Workout Demos, Q&A
13:00 – 14:00 Group Workout
14:00 – 16:00 Open House

See you there.

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Emily Pilloton interview on the Colbert Report

Posted in Comedy, News, Other Peoples' Interviews, Videos on January 19th, 2010 by Hyphen
The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Emily Pilloton
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

My nerd crush on Ms. Pilloton aside (smart women FTW), this is awesome.

In short, she graduated from Berkeley trained as an architect, but after working a few years in “the real world” making conventional goods, she realized she wanted to do more.  At 26, she founded Project H Design, a non-profit created to put design innovation to better use.  Rather than focus on making money, Project H seeks “the triple bottom line: planet, people, & profit.”

As a post grad that’s been disillusioned with the rat race from time to time myself, I love that she took a chance and put her ideals first.  It’s actually not that different from our mindset with Sound Session…well, in terms of doing work you believe in, rather than “selling out” if you well.  Kudos to Emily and if you’d like to read more or become involved, check out their site.

Here’s a great presentation of hers from last year that explains things a little further:

Seattle people: it looks like they have a chapter here in the 206, so if you’re looking for some direction in life and have extra time on your hands, you know what to do.

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Haiti Benefit at Nectar – Monday, January 18th

Posted in News on January 15th, 2010 by Hyphen

Seattle’s music scene is brimming with creative, hard-working artists who care about helping those in need—and who know how to party. In that tradition, on Monday, January 18, a handful of the city’s favorite DJ’s will descend upon Nectar Lounge’s well-equipped sound system to provide the jams for a benefit party with proceeds going towards relief efforts in Haiti.

The impoverished Caribbean island, shaken to its core by a magnitude 7 earthquake earlier this week, needs every cent it can get to fund the efforts of those already elbows-deep in the challenging tasks of picking through the rubble and rebuilding their nation. Here at home, Nectar and its partners offer you the opportunity to gather in celebration & reflection to contribute what you can financially to the cause. We’ll see you on Monday!

Be there and support a good cause.

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Before The Music Dies (documentary)

Posted in Art, Movies, News, Politics, Radio, Videos on January 13th, 2010 by Hyphen

Warning: too much truth.

If you have the time, I highly recommend you check out this documentary.  As a music lover and a former media studies major, this really does a great job of summing up all our fears about media consolidation.  Shout to Marcus for passing this through in the comments.

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Jenesis Magazine – January 2010 issue featuring…me!

Posted in News, Sound Session on January 11th, 2010 by Hyphen

I never thought I’d ever utter the words, “I’m on the cover of a magazine,” but thanks to Thomas and the good folks over at Jenesis, I can cross that off the bucket list!  If you aren’t familiar with Jenesis, it’s a really dope online mag that everyone who frequents this site should enjoy.  They routinely profile great artists and show love to pretty much everyone that we support via TAOD and Sound Session.  Be sure to download this month’s article to check out the feature on yours truly, along with some dope pieces that round out the “DJ’s vs. Bloggers Issue.”

Download hereJanuary 2010 Jenesis Magazine

Much like the article in the Seattle P.I. highlighting J. Moore, SNSS, and myself, I’m flattered and very appreciative of the support Jenesis is giving with this piece.  Many thanks to the owner Thomas Agnew and the writer Mike Wilson.  Thanks fellas!

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Sound Session: The Best Radio Show You’ve Never Heard

Posted in News, Other Peoples' Interviews, Sound Session on January 8th, 2010 by Hyphen

As I mentioned in this week’s show archive, Sunday Night Sound Session was recently featured in the Seattle P.I. thanks to one of their writers, Elliott Smith (thanks Elliott!).  Now I know you’re all quite familiar with SNSS if you’ve found your way here to TAOD, but for those that weren’t aware, this article has proven to be a great look.  We’ve had a TON of folks reach out to express their gratitude and really, we’ll kick it right back to y’all.  While we take great pride in how much work we put into the show and we fully recognize the responsibility we have, the bottom line is that without you, we don’t exist.  Without people who actually love and live this music and culture, SNSS falls on deaf ears.

As music lovers, we’re a dying breed.  Sure, more people consume music than ever before, but how many really love and appreciate it?  For those that do, SNSS represents a rare opportunity to broadcast genuine music with substance over a 100,000-watt Clear Channel signal.

Hov admitted he dumbed down the flow to double his dollars.  We’ll never do that.  We don’t exist for any other reason than to play music we believe in…music from the soul.  We need artists to continue making it and we need YOU, the real music lover, to continue supporting it.  We’ll do our part as the conduit, believe that.

‘Sunday Night Sound Session’: The best radio show you’ve never heard

By ELLIOTT SMITH
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

The caller, voice dripping with gratitude, has one more thing to add before he hangs up.

“Thank you guys for playing so much good music,” he says.

Sounds like the provenance of satellite radio, no? Or perhaps even Seattle’s beloved KEXP?

On this night, at this hour, however, the station in question is KUBE-93. That’s right, the same KUBE that is widely seen as a corporate behemoth with a playlist as deep as a puddle is actually home to the best radio show you’ve probably never heard: “Sunday Night Sound Session.”

From 10:45 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. each Sunday, hosts DJ Hyphen and J. Moore play the latest and greatest in hip hop from both a national and local perspective — 90 minutes that are unlike any other in the KUBE lineup.

“Our show almost operates in opposition with KUBE,” said DJ Hyphen, aka Dorian Bunker-Pardo. “But all we’re focused on is good music. It’s deeper than just playing a record. It’s about something you can appreciate, something you can feel.”

You won’t hear the latest from 50 Cent here; instead Hyphen and Moore focus on artists that generally aren’t part of the everyday KUBE lineup.

The genesis of “Sunday Night Sound Session” came out of the rubble of a similar show, “Future Flavors,” which ran on KUBE for many years. But when it came to revamping the show, KUBE wanted to go in a different direction.

“We wanted to take a different approach to what Seattle hip hop fans were asking for,” KUBE Program Director Eric Powers said. “They’re both great shows but for different reasons. We wanted to talk to more of a hip-hop audience because of the music that was coming out locally and nationally.”

Finding credible hosts for the show was critical. With a background in college radio and a job working at KUBE, Hyphen became an obvious candidate.

“They were like, ‘Wow, this guy is a hip-hop nerd,’ ” Hyphen said.

To provide a local voice, Powers and Co. turned to the person that anyone who has ever been to a rap show in Seattle is familiar with.

J. Moore is an artist, hypeman, producer, booking agent, manager, ambassador, community leader — if it’s hip hop in Seattle, he’s probably got his hand in it. Radio host wasn’t exactly something he had thought about when the opportunity was presented to him.

“It sounded interesting, but I had to think about it so it wasn’t like I was putting myself in a position to perpetuate tokenism,” Moore said. “I was like, as long as we have control over programming — our own playlist — that was the main thing, just making sure we have the ability to be autonomous and establish our own identity. A brand within the brand. And that’s what ‘Sunday Night Sound Session’ is.”

The DJ Hyphen-J. Moore pairing was received well within the Seattle hip-hop scene, and four-plus years later, the show is still going strong.

“Being at the station that they are at, with the long history of alienation from Seattle hip hop that it’s had, their credibility is quite vital,” said Larry Mizell Jr., another important fixture in the Seattle hip-hop scene as an artist (Cancer Rising), media critic (Stranger columnist) and fellow radio host (KEXP’s “Street Sounds”).

“J. Moore is a fixture of Seattle hip hop — if you ask anybody in the scene about ‘the mayor,’ they’ll know who you mean, and it ain’t Mike McGinn — and very few could hope to match his years of contribution and sacrifice to this scene,” Mizell said.

“Hyphen is a consummate pro, sharp as hell and always looking for new stuff. Their taste is great and varied, and they’re able to put together a high-quality, entertaining and enlightening program every week that in my opinion few in Seattle, let alone anyone at KUBE-93, could pull off.”

At this point, SNSS isn’t just spinning records in a vacuum. It is breaking artists on both a local and national level, and have some of hip hop’s biggest luminaries stopping by the studio to talk shop.

“We’re definitely doing something right when fans around the city like it, people around the world like it, the artists like it, the labels like it — we haven’t had too many complaints,” Hyphen said. “The more support we get, it makes KUBE look better.

“We’re really appreciative of KUBE giving us this framework and letting us do what we want with it. It’s insanely rare. At 10:45 KUBE hands over the keys, and the kids get to drive and go wherever we want. As long as we bring it back in one piece at 12:15, KUBE’s excited about it.”

One of the results of the show’s success is the thought that anyone with a mic and some rhymes can make it on the radio. The show receives hundreds of submissions from aspiring artists, most of which aren’t radio ready. The show’s local slots are highly coveted, and often leave Seattle-area up-and-comers wondering why they aren’t getting airplay.

“We’re active participants in the life and the scene, so we’re going to hear from producers, engineers — people who are involved — about what the buzz is.” Moore said.

“We’re not passively waiting for people to send us music so we can sit back like a panel judging music.

“There’s a complete lack of understanding of the rite of passage that is necessary. It’s about development. That would be like me saying, I’m going to be a professional basketball player because I like basketball.”

Powers says that the show does draw decent ratings, but “what’s more important is that we allow other music to be heard, discovered and exposed from a local and national level.”

So what’s next for Hyphen and Moore and their little Sunday night show that could?

“It would be nice if we could expand the show on (Sundays),” Moore said. “And it would be nice if we could add an additional day or move to another day. That’s just for radio land. But something that (Hyphen) and I have always talked about it is being creative about utilizing this platform to create something for this brand that can exist beyond the radio and beyond Sunday night.”

Wherever SNSS goes in the future, right now, the pair enjoys being able to broadcast what they love to an appreciative audience.

“It’s a platform to express your ideas and opinions, but whatever we say just has 100,000 watts behind it,” Hyphen said. “So we play the same music that we’d play if we were choppin’ it up or hanging out or driving to the club. Now we get to blast it out — it’s our 100,000-watt iPod.

“We’re really thankful that we have this opportunity. We’re stand-up dudes who love the music, and that’s how we got the show.”

And with that, Moore and Hyphen pack up their gear and flip the switch back to the station’s automatic overnight programming, where they are greeted by the latest 50 Cent song.

They laugh and turn out the lights.

Elliott Smith is free-lance writer who can be reached at ejsteeler@hotmail.com.

Source -  http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/413726_kube.html

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Bumbershoot!

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, News on September 4th, 2009 by Hyphen

(Thurzday, me, & Y-O at last year’s DunkXChange)

Yes y’all, Bumbershoot Festival is finally here and it’s all set up to be a big weekend at the Seattle Center.  Come through the Fisher Green Stage (the big one right in the middle near the fountain) at 5:45pm on Saturday to see U-N-I, featuring yours truly on the 1’s and 2’s, though I’d recommend getting there early at 4pm to see Mayer Hawthorne too.  De La Soul will be on that same stage at 9:30pm as well.

I’ll also be helping introduce the homies the Knux and the Black Eyed Peas on the main stage Monday, but to check out the full line up, click here.

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I’m elite…and an elitist…and you should be too

Posted in Comedy, News, Politics on August 20th, 2009 by Hyphen

Thank you Barney.

Bill Maher echoed much of what I’ve been saying for years in a recent blog for the Huffington Post.  Shout to DJ Nphared for sending this over, great stuff.

New Rule: Smart President ≠ Smart Country

New Rule: Just because a country elects a smart president doesn’t make it a smart country. A few weeks ago I was asked by Wolf Blitzer if I thought Sarah Palin could get elected president, and I said I hope not, but I wouldn’t put anything past this stupid country. It was amazing – in the minute or so between my calling America stupid and the end of the Cialis commercial, CNN was flooded with furious emails and the twits hit the fan. And you could tell that these people were really mad because they wrote entirely in CAPITAL LETTERS!!! It’s how they get the blood circulating when the Cialis wears off. Worst of all, Bill O’Reilly refuted my contention that this is a stupid country by calling me a pinhead, which A) proves my point, and B) is really funny coming from a doody-face like him.

Now, the hate mail all seemed to have a running theme: that I may live in a stupid country, but they lived in the greatest country on earth, and that perhaps I should move to another country, like Somalia. Well, the joke’s on them because I happen to have a summer home in Somalia… and no I can’t show you an original copy of my birth certificate because Woody Harrelson spilled bong water on it.

And before I go about demonstrating how, sadly, easy it is to prove the dumbness dragging down our country, let me just say that ignorance has life and death consequences. On the eve of the Iraq War, 69% of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was personally involved in 9/11. Four years later, 34% still did. Or take the health care debate we’re presently having: members of Congress have recessed now so they can go home and “listen to their constituents.” An urge they should resist because their constituents don’t know anything. At a recent town-hall meeting in South Carolina, a man stood up and told his Congressman to “keep your government hands off my Medicare,” which is kind of like driving cross country to protest highways.

I’m the bad guy for saying it’s a stupid country, yet polls show that a majority of Americans cannot name a single branch of government, or explain what the Bill of Rights is. 24% could not name the country America fought in the Revolutionary War. More than two-thirds of Americans don’t know what’s in Roe v. Wade. Two-thirds don’t know what the Food and Drug Administration does. Some of this stuff you should be able to pick up simply by being alive. You know, like the way the Slumdog kid knew about cricket.

Not here. Nearly half of Americans don’t know that states have two senators and more than half can’t name their congressman. And among Republican governors, only 30% got their wife’s name right on the first try.

Sarah Palin says she would never apologize for America. Even though a Gallup poll says 18% of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth. No, they’re not stupid. They’re interplanetary mavericks. A third of Republicans believe Obama is not a citizen, and a third of Democrats believe that George Bush had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, which is an absurd sentence because it contains the words “Bush” and “knowledge.”

People bitch and moan about taxes and spending, but they have no idea what their government spends money on. The average voter thinks foreign aid consumes 24% of our federal budget. It’s actually less than 1%. And don’t even ask about cabinet members: seven in ten think Napolitano is a kind of three-flavored ice cream. And last election, a full one-third of voters forgot why they were in the booth, handed out their pants, and asked, “Do you have these in a relaxed-fit?”

And I haven’t even brought up America’s religious beliefs. But here’s one fun fact you can take away: did you know only about half of Americans are aware that Judaism is an older religion than Christianity? That’s right, half of America looks at books called the Old Testament and the New Testament and cannot figure out which one came first.

And these are the idiots we want to weigh in on the minutia of health care policy? Please, this country is like a college chick after two Long Island Iced Teas: we can be talked into anything, like wars, and we can be talked out of anything, like health care. We should forget town halls, and replace them with study halls. There’s a lot of populist anger directed towards Washington, but you know who concerned citizens should be most angry at? Their fellow citizens. “Inside the beltway” thinking may be wrong, but at least it’s thinking, which is more than you can say for what’s going on outside the beltway.

And if you want to call me an elitist for this, I say thank you. Yes, I want decisions made by an elite group of people who know what they’re talking about. That means Obama budget director Peter Orszag, not Sarah Palin.

Which is the way our founding fathers wanted it. James Madison wrote that “pure democracy” doesn’t work because “there is nothing to check… an obnoxious individual.” Then, in the margins, he doodled a picture of Joe the Plumber.

Until we admit there are things we don’t know, we can’t even start asking the questions to find out. Until we admit that America can make a mistake, we can’t stop the next one. A smart guy named Chesterton once said: “My country, right or wrong is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying… It is like saying ‘My mother, drunk or sober.'” To which most Americans would respond: “Are you calling my mother a drunk?”

If you don’t strive to be elite and hold others to the same standard, I’d prefer not to interact with you.  Sorry.  Peep the definition of “elitism” per Wikipedia:

Elitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the elite—a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes—are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most weight or those who view their own views as so; whose views and/or actions are most likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities or wisdom render them especially fit to govern.

Annnnnnnd, this is a bad thing?  Harder, better, faster, stronger.  Get right or get left.

The #1 problem in this country is our educational system and it’s downright criminal that we let so many people fall through the cracks.  These morons not only hinder our progression in every aspect of society, but they also send me their rap music on a daily basis.  Shots fired.  Just playin…kinda.

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Hip-Hop Summit @ Highline – Today & Tomorrow!

Posted in Live Performances, News on February 26th, 2009 by Hyphen

To all my Seattle/Tacoma folks, I highly recommend you check out this year’s Hip-Hop Summit at Highline Community College today and tomorrow.  It’s going to be full of great conversations and great performances, including a panel appearance by yours truly later today at noon in the student union.  For the performance, you get to peep some of the best talent here in the northwest (Parker Brothaz, Common Market, Gabriel Teodros, and more) for only a few bucks.  Here are all the details:

Thursday, February 26th

The History & Evolution of Hip-Hop
with King Khazm(founder of Zulu Nation-Seattle Chapter, Hip Hop emcee & activist)
9-9:50am, Student Union-Mt. Constance Room

Hip Hop Politics
with Dr. Tricia Rose of Brown University
10-11:30am, Student Union-Mt. Constance Room

Panel Discussion: Misconceptions of Hip-Hop
with DJ Hyphen, Kitty Wu, King Khazm, and more
12-1:30pm, Student Union-Mt. Constance Room

Friday, February 27th

Art Showcase
Evolution of Art Club
10am, Mt. Constance Room

Poetry Lounge and Open Mic
11am, Mt. Constance Room

Night Show
Doors Open at 6pm
Highline Student Union, Mt. Townsend Room Stage
2 v. 2 Break Battle
With Performances by:
So HyDef, Nam, Khingz, Gabriel Teodros, The Parker Brothers and Common Market
Highline Students $5, General Admission $10

For more information contact: Tony Innouvong at tinnouvong@highline.edu, (206)878-3710 x3904

Come through:  2400 S. 240th St., Des Moines, WA 98198

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