“We played a show just so we could steal Uli,” spat Ozomatli’s Wil-Dog Abers out back this night at some shady sound studio somewhere in North Dallas, TX.  “Ozomatli’s always been… kind of a competitive band. Our roots go back to where Uli was in two bands.” Wil-Dog continues speaking now of the “solo Ozo” Ulises Bella. “He was in our band and the band that we were opening up for at Viper Room.  And our whole purpose was to steal Uli from this band he had this allegiance with… and we did.” And I believe it.

For I had just spent the last 15 minutes in an alley shooting this Grammy Award winning mash-up of all things Latin, Reggae, and Rock, as they bust ass to put the finishing touches to an only gently off time version of “Thriller”.  No, this Los Angeles based cornucopia of world music was not trying out for a new, “Group Dancing with the Stars”. They were prepping a secret weapon for battle against one Talib Kweli, who they would soon face-off against and ultimately fall to in Red Bull’s Sound Clash.

This year Ozomatli turns 15 and is planning a HUGE celebration on Saturday December 18th. Stay tuned for all the madness.

Words and images by Dustin Downing

A few years ago, Brooklyn native and Kanye West collaborator, Talib Kweli did a brief stint on tour in China. Accompanying him were an eclectic band of heathens who’s engraving on the plate of their 2 Grammys reads, “Ozomatli.”  As close quarters living oft goes, that mangle of musical madness sparked a friendship which has culminated into the battle of beats before me, better know as Red Bull’s Sound Clash.

“The event…,” as the official Red Bull Sound Clash PR statement reads, “…is an unparalleled live music conversation and performance between two musical acts with diverse sounds, styles and creativity.” Fitting sure, but for me this event was much more battle ala Thunder Dome -Two bands enter, one band leaves.

The Palladium Ballroom in Dallas was type cast as Barter Town for this revision of musical madness. The set consisted of two stages separated by 1,000+ lovers of all things Latin, Reggae, Hip-Hop, and World.  Also, it’s these minions who weld the power of the crowd vote to decide the winner.  Here’s what went down:

Step 1- The Cover

Each band is to do its own previously rehearsed version of Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”. Ozo dons some killer 80’s hair band wigs. Sold!

Step 2- The Takeover

Begin with each band starting one of its own respective songs and then stopping mid track and letting the other band finish said song.

Song 1- Ozo starts, “Saturday Night” and mid-track stops and has Talib carry his weight on the rest.

Song 2- Talib starts, “Listen” and Ozo finishes.

Song 3- Ozo starts, “Cumbia de Los Muertos” and Talib finishes.

Song 4- Talib starts, “Brown Skin Lady” and Ozo finishes.

The crowd as well as I was straight trippin’ on how Talib’s flow was further enhanced by the Latin influences injected by Ozomatli.

Step 3- The Clash

Each band is to take one of their own tunes and transform it into a different genre (i.e heavy metal, reggae, and little something spicy for that ass, Samba). One would figure Ozo would have had the edge here, but no.

Round 4- The Wildcard

This final round allows each band to bring a “surprise” guest on stage. Talib surprisingly one ups Ozomatli here. Ozo seemed to awaken the dead with their introduction of an MJ impersonator during their stunningly self-choreographed version of “Thriller.” But Talib knows his crowds and the name on the chain around his guest’s neck read: Bun-B.

The bands ended the night by having all participants join together on a single stage and jam the night away for an extended period of musical improv. I can’t exactly say what went down over the course of those 3 hours inside of the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, TX for the rest of the screaming crowd. But for a camera jockey like me, it was welcomed.

Words and Photos by Dustin Downing

More Soundclash Coverage:

L.A. Red Bull Soundclash: Kid Sister vs. Moving Units

Red Bull Soundclash Latino Flavor

Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids vs. Shiny Toy Guns

Red Bull Sound Clash returns to Dallas with incredible talent, greeted with much anticipation for a radical and innovative musical conversation.

WHAT: Red Bull Sound Clash is an unparalleled, live music conversation and performance between two musical acts with diverse sounds, styles and creativity. This musical battle unfolds as each band fights for the grace and cheers of the audience. Which band will better anticipate the other?   Which band will have the strength to keep playing?  We will find out and the audience will decide.

WHO:  Talib Kweli is a Brooklyn born, American emcee.  Kweli first gained recognition through Black Star for his collaboration with fellow emcee Mos Def.  Today, he is an undisputed leader in the alternative hip-hop scene, which takes a different approach than mainstream gangsta rap and pop rap with no references to bling and nines.   Kweli is a profound lyricist and perennial favorite among music critics worldwide. In fact, he is one of the most respected rappers of our time.  As Jay-Z once put it in his famous Black Album rhyme “If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli.”

Ozomatli is a Los Angeles-based, culture mashing, 10 piece band that has been together for more than 14 years.  They are hometown favorites and U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassadors.  It’s often said that if you rolled down your car window in East LA and collected pieces of music you heard blasting from passing cars, you could mix all that up and get the Ozomatli sound.  It’s a collision of urban Latino, hip-hop and rock, with influences from salsa, dancehall and cumbia, funk, meringue, New Orleans second line, Jamaican raga and Indian raga.  If you couldn’t possibly absorb all of that, here’s what you really need to know:  Listening to Ozomatli is like taking a trip around the world.

WHEN:  Thursday, October 28, 2010

8:00pm: Doors Open

10:00pm: Red Bull Sound Clash Begins

WHERE:  The Palladium Ballroom at Gilley’s Dallas, 1135 South Lamar Dallas, Texas

TICKETS:  $10 admission, tickets go on sale on Saturday, October 2 and will be available through www.thepalladiumballroom.com

*Red Bull Sound Clash Dallas is 18 +

The event will be hosted by Jake Crates also feature DJ Sober spinning on the 1′s and 2′s.

Check out ChinaShop’s coverage of previous Red Bull Sound Clash events below:

Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids vs. Shiny Toy Guns

Red Bull Soundclash Latino Flavor

L.A. Red Bull Soundclash: Kid Sister vs. Moving Units

DALLAS, TX – August 2, 2010 –This weekend, more than 25,000 people experienced the grand opening of the Red Bull Art of Can exhibition at Galleria Dallas.  Fifty unique pieces created from the iconic Red Bull cans or inspired by energy and the love of life are now on display.  The exhibition is free and open to the public through August 22.  So, what’s all the buzz about? It’s the inspiring collection. There’s a life size racing airplane made entirely from recycled cans, an old world style painting, a baby bull sculpture, a ball gown and much more.  Innovative artists – professional and amateur – spent countless hours creating pieces that express their personal point of view through pop art creations.  More than 200 hopefuls from around the country applied, but only 50 won an esteemed spot in the collection.  Who made the call?   The panel of judges included: sculptor Brad Oldham, winning producer/director Michael Cain, Dallas style editor, Jason Sheeler, fashion stylist Tammy Theis, ASK ME ABOUT ART Founder Gail Saschson and art professor Bob Wade.

Kicking off the festivities on Friday night, Dallas’ art patrons and guests gathered to celebrate the collection unveiling on the legendary ice rink at Galleria Dallas.  Guests were treated to the “first glimpse” while enjoying an array of hors d’oeuvres, Red Bull cocktails and champagne.

The talented artists mingled and shared insight about their pieces with guests.  Third place winner and Dallas native Hai Nguyen (web developer by day, artist by night) noted, “Red Bull Art of Can gives everyone, whether they are a full time artist or not, the opportunity to showcase their work to thousands of people and meet other artists and art lovers in their community.”

THE WINNING PIECE

The top three pieces, as determined by the panel of judges, walked away with more than the glory of it all. In third place was Hai Nguyen of Dallas, TX, with his cascade of migrating birds in flight, in second place was Craig McCudden of Columbus, Ohio, who managed to combine music and nature in a morph of wildlife and instruments, and grand prize went to Steve Potovsky of Miami Beach, FL, who earned an all-expense-paid trip to Art Basel in Switzerland with his pop-art inspired robot dog suspiciously eyeing a fire hydrant.

Now it’s your turn to chime in.  Contribute to the “People’s Choice Award” by casting votes via text at the exhibition or online at www.redbullartofcan.com

Today’s bloggin best…

- TRON trailers get remixed. Boing Boing

- Police could arrest Erykah Badu for nude video shoot. That certainly doesn’t prove a point. Hip Hop Wired

- Biggie Smalls times The xx equals The Notorious xx. Prefix

- Some people may have heard new Burial music late one night, maybe. LA Times

- LCD Soundsystem album gets a name and a face. Consequence of Sound

- Did Flat Eric just eat LSD with Pharrell? Asian Man Dan

- Crystal Castles release a 90-second song for Record Store Day. Pitchfork

Now hear this kiddos… I got a taste of its yummy goodness this weekend, and it makes me want to strip down to my knee socks and have sexual congress with the Kool-Aid Man.

INGREDIENTS

1 Unparalleled musical conversation performance.

4 rounds of audience-participated back-and-forth battle with the winner decided by audible vote.

10 parts Erykah Badu’s long-time secretive side project, The Cannabinoids.

4 parts Shiny Toy Guns, Grammy-nominated electronica/indie/rock band from Los Angeles.

1,000-ish screaming University of Texas fans.

1,000-ish University of Oklahoma rival fans.

100 cases of assorted Red Bull flavorings.

50 cases of assorted Boozery.

20 tons of lighting, cameras, and general concert accoutrement.

2 stages

Directions

Warm up the crowd numbering 2,000-ish of arguably the greatest collegiate rivals in town for one of the biggest games of the year, with a mini pep rally.

Now have each band come out onto their respective stages and perform 3 of their own songs.

Erykah Badu’s hip-hop, pop, funk, R&B and soul Cannabinoids, followed by Shiny Toy Guns’ rock, pop, synth, and vocal duo.

Step 1- The Cover

Each band is to do its own previously rehearsed version of the Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye’. Badu dons sparkly glove and grabs crotch. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Step 2- The Takeover

Begin with each band starting one of its own respective songs and then stopping mid track and letting the other band finish said song.

Badu slides in to “Tyrone’ and mid-track stops and has STG power its way through the rest.

STG launch’s into “Ghost Town’ and Badu’s Cannabinoids soothe their way on down the street.

A wee bit confusing at first, but the aural mix was enveloping. I got lost and think there might have been another song in there (or two– alas, I forgot to take my meds this day). Badu takes the point?

Step 3 – The Clash

Each band is to take one of their hardest driven/upbeat tunes and transform it into different genres– a mellow ballad, a dub, and my personal favorite, country. This last genre proved to be the most interesting: Badu stepped out held her own Texas roots with a yeehaw-laden “Soldier” followed by Petree donning a black cowboy hat and an old school country drawl for his acoustic duo rendition of “Chemistry of a Car Crash.”

The Okies have it. (By the way: Half of STG is from Shawnee, OK)

Step 4-The Wild Card

This final round requires each band to bring a “surprise” guest on stage.  STG went with spinner warrior DJ Billy Sexcrime wearing Fall’s loveliest line of old school football regalia.  Badu on the other hand brought out ex-Tripping Daisies and current Polyphonic Spree front man Tim Delaughter, who melted our faces off with what appeared to be an Etch-a-Sketch on acid.

All hands praise the Queen of R&B.

Step 5 – Serve and Enjoy While HOT!

The bands ended the night by having all 16+ members join together on a single stage and “Phish-ing” the night away for an extended period of musical improv. I can’t exactly say what went down over the course of those 3 hours in front of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX for the rest of the screaming crowd. But for a concert-purging person such as I, it’s nice to know that I left intoxicated by more than mere booze.

Words and Photos by Dustin Downing

It was deep in the heart of Oklahoma where I obtained evidence that the Japanese electronics company TDK secretly carried out mind control experiments on children– to rewire their brains from just a “lil’ bit country” into a “lil’ bit rock n’ roll”.

What’s the evidence? What’s the conspiracy theory? I will testify that two magic bullets (bassist and keyboardist Jeremy Dawson and vocalist and guitarist Chad Petree) were fired directly from these Shiny Toy Guns.

Ok, that intro might have sounded a bit contrived, but it’s perhaps the best way to relate to the 2008 Grammy-nominated Indie rock/Electro pop group now based in L.A. Aided by drummer Mikey Martin and smoking hotpants Sisely Treasure on vocals, this now sans-country duo have fixed up quite the low-calorie, Killers-meets-New Order main dish (with a side order of The Sounds). Their new remix album, Girls le Disko, is going to drop this holiday shopping season, complete with hard-to-find mash ups by The Teenagers, Ferry Corsten, Classixx, High Def, and Boyz Noise to name drop a few.

I had the opportunity this weekend to have a lengthy sit down interview with Jeremy for a quick shot 240 seconds while they were rehearsing for a performance with Erykah Badu at Red Bull’s Soundclash, in  Dallas, TX.

So, how’d the transfer from OK to LA get down?

Jeremy Dawson: In a Uhaul. 10 years ago I was a DJ writing dance music and we (Chad Petree) were like, what the hell are we going to do in Oklahoma? Nothing wrong with OK, but there was no Internet at the time and LA is where you went if you wanted to do something big. So we pawned a car and slept in a closet out there. Knew literally one person.

So from a closet to playing with Badu?

Jeremy Dawson: Well, we’ll be gold by Christmas and we’ve had a Grammy nomination.

Oh, I got that. That’s Wikipedia fodder. Let’s have a real interview.

Jeremy Dawson: (cell phone rings) Oh hey man, I’m in an interview. What’s up? Yeah, yeah, out past the porta-potties.

(Fucking Rock stars). What’s the future hold? What do you want to do when you grow up?

Jeremy Dawson: Chase storms. Half of us are 15yr veterans in it. We’ll park our armored up chase van at the airport and fly to Berlin to play a show. Ready to go when we get back.

Well, you know the old saying– ‘You can take the boys out of the country, but you can only take the country out of the boys with the aid of a giant Japanese electronics manufacturing plant down the street from where they grew up doing mind control experiments.’

Interview and Photos by Dustin Downing