February 27th, 2009

Interview: Dres of Black Sheep

Part of NYC’s late ’80s/early ’90s Native Tongues hip-hop movement that also spawned De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep — the duo of rappers Dres and Mista Lawnge — hit the scene in a huge way in 1991 with their debut LP A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, which spawned one of hip-hop’s all time greatest anthems: “The Choice is Yours.” These days, Dres is carrying the Black Sheep flag by himself, and he’s bringing the classics and some new material (from his forthcoming album From the Black Pool of Genius) to the Khyber on Saturday night. We caught up with him today over the phone from his home in New York:

What’s up man?
Hey, how’s it goin’, bro?

A lot of people I talk to are really amped up about this show Saturday night.
Yeah? That’s really cool. It’s kinda overwhelming on a certain level, and it’s like, it’s been so many years since initially coming out that at this point it’s kinda humbling that people still check out some of the sounds, even though the music’s changed drastically. It’s cool that people are still into it, it means a lot.

You still love getting on a stage and performing live?
Totally love it, love it. I love performing. I love writing as well, but to be able to take the writing to the point where you’re introducing it live and people are receptive to it, that’s pretty gratifying.

Do you remember the first Black Sheep shows you played in Philly?
Yeah, I don’t remember the venues but I definitely remember the first few Philly shows, to be honest with you. Philly to me was always one of the cities where … it’s kinda like New York — Philly was always one of those places where you had to bring your A-game without question because it was damn near bein’ on the block in New York. Kids in Philly knew what was up and if you’re not on point … [laughs]. But I mean, I grew up in New York, I’m a Queens kid, and it really worked for me just to be myself. And that’s another thing I really wanna stress – the real way to win is to just be yourself. So many cats are trying to be something that they’re not, and for us, coming through initially, one of the things I learned really early was to just be yourself and everything else will just take its own route. Cats are so caught up in being pretentious and being hard, and money and this, that, and the other, and you know what, at the end of the day we all have our ups and downs and embracing it is what it’s about. if you’re down you won’t stay down, and if you’re up you better believe you won’t stay up either. You know what, I have a really, really cool story that came out of Philly. I was in Detroit, right, I was in a hotel out there, really nice, and I’m chillin’ in the bar, and who comes in but Freeway. He walks in, and I like Freeway but I’d never met him, at least as far as I knew. And he’s introduced to me and we started talking and he’s like, “You know what, Dres, I gottta tell you somethin’ — you probably won’t remember, it was probably one of your first Philly shows, I was a kid, I was a really young kid and I got into the show … and your set was, I was just totally engrossed by your set, and after your set you came off the stage and you walked around the crowd and you saw me, and you saw I was a kid, and you grabbed me, went to the bar, bought me some soda, and me and you sat on a speaker and watched the rest of the show.” And I was like, “You’re lyin’!” and he’s like, “Yo, I’m dead serious, and that meant so much to me.” And I was like, “Wooowww, you really just blew me away, man.” So that’s a really cool thing that came out of Philly.

February 27th, 2009

Photos: Jason Isbell At World Cafe Live (XPN Free At Noon)

[Click twice on any photo below for full view.]

Fri., February 27. World Cafe Live. All photos by Michael Alan Goldberg.

February 27th, 2009

Leonard Cohen Tickets On Sale Monday

Just got off the phone with a very nice lady at the Academy of Music, who provided us with ticket information for the Leonard Cohen show scheduled for Tuesday, May 12th. Tickets go on sale this coming Monday morning, March 2nd, at 10am, and they’re gonna go quick. And what will they cost you? $89, $129, or $179. Considering the guy hasn’t played these parts in something like 15 years, and may never come back again (not to mention how great Cohen’s music is and how fantastic a performer he is), it’s probably worth it.

February 27th, 2009

Photos: Arc In Round At Johnny Brenda’s

[Click twice on any photo below for full view.]

Thurs., February 26. Johnny Brenda’s. All photos by Michael Alan Goldberg.

February 27th, 2009

This Weekend In Shows

Tonight:

Singer-guitarist Ben Kweller, who’s been making indie-rock and indie-pop since he was 13 (he’s 27 now) brings his new country/roots-rock sound to the TLA tonight. Check out our “Review the Reviews” with Kweller in this week’s PW. He’s joined by opener the Watson Twins — Jenny Lewis’s one-time backup singers who’ve embarked on their own country/folk/pop career with 2008’s Fire Songs. The Twins were excellent the last time they came around these parts, opening for Billy Bragg at the Keswick Theatre, so consider getting there early. Also on the bill is Jones Street Station. Show starts at 9pm; tickets are $23. Meanwhile, former Drive-By Truckers singer-guitarist Jason Isbell comes to World Cafe Live with his backing band, 400 Unit. They’re in town in support of their new album, the aptly if boringly titled Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Their soulful alt-country should be anything but boring, however. Get there early because the much-buzzed-and-blogged-about indie-country rockers Deer Tick opens. Show’s at 7:30pm and tickets run $19-24.

Saturday:

Bang on a Can All-Stars + Glenn Kotche
Sat., Feb. 28, 7:30pm. $19-$32. Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St. 215.893.1999. www.kimmelcenter.org
Bang on a Can strives to push classical music into a modern, interdisciplinary arena, where genre distinctions matter little. The Bang on a Can All-Stars is a subunit, like a shuttle craft, touching off encounters with guest musicians of all types, including jazzers Don Byron and Daniel Kelly. This week they unite with Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, whose solo projects (including 2006’s Mobile) have an abstract, hypnotic, percussive quality reminiscent of Steve Reich. It’s not the first such ambitious undertaking for Kotche, whose “Anomaly,” commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, premiered in 2007. Like fellow Wilco-ite Nels Cline, he’s a rocker and a seeker, with one foot deep in the avant-garde. (David R. Adler)

February 27th, 2009

BEAUCOUP BLUE (CD release party)

February 27th, 2009

JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNITS with Deer Tick