Summer Hiatus & The Great Columbia Mixtape

Hey all,

If you haven't noticed we've gone into a kinda in suspended animation for the Summer here at The Beet. The radio program will be back in full force this coming Fall, so watch this space for further updates.
In the meantime, check out this great article written by WUSC's own Pat Wall (host of The Locals Show - Sat 12-3pm).

The Great Columbia Mixtape

Srsly? Records Showcase

Srsly? Records, a brand new Columbia collective, held a showcase of its varied and highly talented roster last Thursday night at New Brookland Tavern

The night kicked off with my new favorite local band, The Artichokes.

I first saw The Artichokes a few months back at the Sweet Vans CD release, which was held in a tiny basement in Five Points. The room was an acoustic coffin, so their set was too muddy for me to make out much, but I made a mental note to check them out as soon as possible.

The band performed an amazing acoustic set on The Columbia Beet two weeks ago. In their stripped-down form, the elegance of their songs, particularly the intelligent lyrics, was allowed to shine.

But plug these guys in to amps and those songs become something else entirely. And by something else entirely I mean totally fucking badass.

The Artichokes new self-titled EP is one of the best debuts I’ve ever heard, and has been on a permanent loop on my iTunes. Within its five songs, the band covers a range of moods and sounds, from reflective indie-pop to raucous punk.

And get this - three/fifths of the band is still in high school.

My favorite Artichokes song, “Black and White,” will probably be my top song of 2009, and it’s only March. I just can’t see how anyone is going to trump it. The song may sound Strokes-inspired upon first listen, what with the distorted vocals and jaunty rhythm guitar, but Emrys McMahon’s lyrics are infinitely better and more powerfully delivered than those of Julian Casablancas.

But check them out for yourself: download the Artichokes’ new EP for free at www.scenesc.com.

Their live performance was just as lively and entertaining as I imagined, as the songs translated very well to a live setting, and the band has an incredible amount of energy, which was highlighted when keyboardist Jay Ellis took over vocal duties on “Someone’s Hero,” and jumped into the crowd.

The band is still in its relative infancy, but if the songs they’ve written thus far are any indication, expect really great things from this band over the next few years.

Local rappers Sweet Vans were next on the bill, and the crowd (myself included) went berserk when they hit the stage.

The band released its amazing debut EP, Pens, Bitch, last year, and had a cult hit with the song “Treat Yo’self,” which never fails to win over new fans with each spin.

I hesitate to call them joke-rap, because that term has been used most often in a pejorative sense, and the material is much too intelligent to be diminished by the implication that it’s not serious. But the band would probably just tell me to lighten the hell up and enjoy myself.

But whatever you choose to call them, the duo has quickly made a name for itself with its hilarious and immensely clever rapping and inventive beats, all of which the band produces on a laptop computer, using the machine’s built-in microphone to record the vocals.

Sweet Vans’ live shows are a must-see, as MC B-Money and DJ Ginger Snap are incredibly precise, energetic and entertaining frontmen, hitting all of their marks, playing off of one another effortlessly, and passing their infectious energy on to the audience.

The third band on the bill was local popsters Hello Tomorrow, freshly reunited specifically for this show, although the band members hinted that it could be permanent this time.

Lucky for us.

Although the band amassed a respectable following during their all-too-brief career, they had to deal with comparisons to local indie-rockers The Heist and the Accomplice at every turn. Hello Tomorrow’s early music did owe a debt to The Heist, but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all, and better to be influenced by local heroes than by an inferior national band.

Hello Tomorrow’s return to the stage was a refreshing blast of breezy pop-rock, and the band has become quite a tight unit, and has written a batch of songs of impeccable craftsmanship, and show all the signs of carving out their own unique sound.

There was an underlying darkness to the angular guitar riffs in a few of the songs, so it will be interesting to see of the band will pursue this path, as it will make for an interesting dynamic when blended with their otherwise sunny pop.

Wherever they choose to go now that they have reformed, Hello Tomorrow will only continue to impress audiences with their music. Good to have you back, guys.

The night’s headliner was none other than Toro Y Moi, the solo project of Chaz Bundick, singer and guitarist for the aforementioned The Heist and the Accomplice.

Toro Y Moi began as a project to showcase the folkier songs of Mr. Bundick, but he has recently taken to recording immaculate and highly addictive dance music, showing that not only is he incredibly prolific, but that he can genre-hop with no loss in the high quality of material that his audience has come to expect from him. An incredibly admirable talent, and one of the many reasons Columbians should be happy he calls our city home.

Toro Y Moi’s set was an introspective batch of guitar and organ-driven folk songs, which was a bold move following three high-energy sets from the three previous bands, but the strength of the material still managed to captivate the audience.

So keep an eye on Srsly? Records. The collective is focusing on booking and promotions for now, but hopes to move into releasing and distributing records. With this roster, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if world-domination was their next step.

-Michael Jones

A Selection of Music Videos by local artists.

I've been wanting to post these for a while, but kept putting it off:


Toro y Moi - Take This


Toro y Moi - Master of None (Beach House Cover)


Death Becomes Even the Maiden - Frames


The Heist and the Accomplice - More Control