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Hive-Mind Halloween 2010 Recap

Thanks to everyone who helped us make Hive-Mind Halloween another huge success this year!

Here's the wrap up:

* Photos and video from a dozen different photographers have been posted to the web site: http://www.hive-mind.com/halloween/2010/.
* We had about 1,400 people in attendance which is the biggest year yet
* We netted about $24,000 for Youngstown and Room to Read. Party for the kids!

So I wonder if there will be another Hive-Mind Halloween party next year. Have we truly RESURRECTED it???

Deepchild Live Set

Shameless Productions Showcase @ 2010 Decibel Festival featured Deepchild, Dan Bell & The Shameless Crew.

Deepchild's Live set recorded @ Chop Suey in Capital Hill is sure to bring back memories of an utterly shameless party! If you missed out...you can download & listen to all the fun WE HAD :)

Most of all Enjoy!

Deepchild Live @ Shameless Showcase 2010 Decibel Festival by Shameless Productions


Cheers
Shameless Productions

Photosynthesis Video Recap

Photosynthesis 2010 was a weekend to remember. We're all still reeling from such an amazing festival and will have more to share soon. In the meantime, enjoy this little video recap Cameron made.

Say..................................... What?!

I just found this short video clip taken from April's edition of Say What?! It's only been a couple of months and I'm already missing this extremely HOT, yet short lived monthly. Buffalo Madonna and Trent Moorman saved the day when the DJ was having technical difficulties by keeping the show going with an impromptu freestyle set. The video might be a bit dark, the sound might be a bit crappy, but it was a magical clubbing moment that even the 18+ kids go to enjoy.

Say What?! - May's Pics!

The Last Say What'? WHAT?!

Too cute. Too much good music. Too much fun... and too sad it may be the last show for now. After a fantastic, but short four month run, Say What may be on hold indefinitely. It's future uncertain. And yet, the pictures remind us of how important it can be to never miss an opportunity to dance. To always seize the moments we have while they are still in front of us. Shameless has it's plate full this summer and will continue to be very active in the local music scene. Unfortunately this is one of the reasons why we have to take a step back from Say What. We're incredibly grateful to so many of you that supported and believed in this night. We hope it will resurface again sometime soon. But in the meantime, there are always these great pictures for us to remember the night...

Thanks to Dave Matthews for coming down last minute to take these incredible photos.

Click here to view them all

May Day Taurus B-day Bash - Pictures

The Shameless crew represents the Taurus sign strong with multiple crew mates having their birthdays in May. The celebration this year took place house party style! It all started at 4pm with Luvshack deep frying a couple of turkeys in the backyard. From there Menami cooked up some fierce spiked lemonade and a bunch of people showed up with food, drinks, bubble machines, a giant blow up bunny rabbit (?!) and good cheer to share. Music kept going until 5:30 am! Thanks to all of the DJs, friends and family that helped make such a fun filled, warm and festive party at the YES! house go off so well.

(Click any of the pictures below to see more)

Do you know-o our friend Rolo???

I love music. I'd like to think that everyone else does too. Life itself has a beat; around the 22nd day of gestation, the human fetal heartbeat starts and an individual's own personal metronome begins it's lifelong and rhythmic pacing. When I am DJ'ing I often love to imagine that if I can connect well enough with the dancers on the floor before me, I may be lucky enough to beat match someone's heart to the music I'm playing. (It's totally possible - it's a game I play with myself with the heart rate monitor on the elliptical at the gym and the dance tracks on my MP3 player).

Speaking of heartbeats and music, I just finished listening to Rolo Tamasi's latest track, Automata. This song is the source of my heartbeat analogies today. There is something about this ethereal and grounded track that makes me think that if I could somehow go inside, Innerspace-style, and cruise around listening in on all of the sounds of my body, my blood moving, my organs working, my breath circulating it might sound something like this track. But maybe I'm wrong. The name of this track refers to self-operating machines, which sounds decidedly non-organic. Am I incorrect? Does this track sound mechanical? Is it devoid of the life-sounds I was imaging? Or am I just a romantic living in a digital world? Whatever the findings I really love this track, as just like some of his other compositions, such as Puget Sound and Fuckabees Dub. Check his stuff out. We love it around here.

7 minutes in Heaven? Record Bin Roulette

So it should come as no surprise that the KPLU show, "Record Bin Roulette" would appeal to music-loving and vinyl collectors like us, a collective of audiophiles, party-makers, and all-around music freaks.

KPLU (www.kplu.org) was founded in 1966 and is one of the most popular radio stations in our nation. Since the late sixities, KPLU has been bringing jazz, blues, and National Public Radio news to the Seattle area. By staying abreast of new and advancing technologies KPLU has found a national audience and ventures of theirs such as KPLU's full-time jazz webstream and HD radio channel Jazz24. Perhaps their own summary of themselves is best, "We look to provide more than broadcasting in the traditional sense, and are broadening the international content of KPLU to include all forms of listener-supported media." Rock on radio!

Back to the gem that is "Record Bin Roulette"! KPLU radio personalities John Kessler and John Maynard have created a 7 minute excavation into music's past, many selections are brought back into the light of day from obscurity and memory. Their gems are hard to find records, rare groove tunes, and forgotten melodies. These records are collected from flea markets and yard sales and showcases strange audio moments from records, television and movies. It's only seven minutes but it's great! Guaranteed to bring you bits you've never before heard anywhere.

“Record Bin Roulette” airs Thursdays at 5:35a, 7:35a & 4:45p, Fridays at 7:30p and Saturdays at 1:00p - Pacific time. Though I'm only a lowly digital immigrant, like a digital native I cannot abide by television or radio schedules. If you are like me and would like to catch "Record Bin Roulette" on your own time, KPLU provides a podcast of the delightful and very quirky show. Check out the podcast at www.kplu.org/record_bin.html. Enjoy!

How KEXP Failed the Wighnomy Brothers

How KEXP Failed the Wighnomy Brothers

By Rolo Tamasi

Recently, I volunteered for the Decibel Festival in Seattle. This was my first year as a volunteer and for me it was a bass blowing four day extravaganza that was literally mental. My responsibility was to pick up artists from the airport and get them to their hotel or whatever pit stops they needed. I shared so many amazing experiences with so many inspiring people it was almost too much to compute. From sharing cigarettes with N-Type to getting Tycho to sign a little airport sign for my roommate. There is just one story that stands out among the rest. That is how KEXP failed the Wighnomy Brothers… In all fairness I do enjoy KEXP from time to time. It's hit or miss mostly. Let me build up the story a tad.

After several trips to SeaTac, I was on my last run of the day to pick up Caspa and MC Rod Azlan. Now I'm not a big fan of dubstep. So I thought it was especially funny that I had to pick up most of the big dubstep artists. To be honest, I had never heard of either of them before this day. At SeaTac, I found them both in the baggage claim and before we even exchanged names Caspa needed a favor, "I need to hit up like a Walmart or Kmart for some cheap clothes." Really? Out of all the great clothing stores America has to offer you, you need Walmart? Is that what we're known for? I was like, "Listen man, we don't really have Walmarts' here in Seattle. I mean there's Target (same evil), but its pretty far away. SeaTac Mall is like right..." Cutting me off he says, "I'm not looking to spend a lot of cash. Target will work great if you don't mind…" I got the vibe I was just a "driver" to him. Rod on the other hand was a great fellow. We had a great conversation while waiting outside of Target about where drum and bass went. Rod then informs me that he is in need of the finer smoke. Being the gentlemen I am, I offered to help. It was that act of kindness that would later put me back in front of the hotel to meet the Wighnomy Brothers. Sometimes being a stoner has its perks.

After getting them to their hotel, I got a call from the boss saying they needed someone to pick up Holger Zilske aka Smash TV. How could I refuse, right? (I have to add that Holger was the most inspiring person I met during the Festival. Amazing musician and producer. It was an awesome detour). A second act of kindness that put me in front of the hotel to meet the Wighnomy Brothers. After getting Holger to the hotel, I raced to score that bag of fun for the MC.

Mission accomplished, the package was acquired and I even scored a parking spot right next to the hotel. After the back alley deal was made. I was walking back to my car when there in front of the hotel was Holger sitting with the Wighnomy Brothers. As I walked by I told Holger how nice it was to meet him. He then invited me to have a cigarette with him. Earlier in the day when I had dropped Holger at the hotel, I overheard the hotel clerk informing him of his sound check at 9:30pm. My acute attention to detail came in handy after I then noticed that it was close to 10:00pm. Both Holger and the Wighnomy Brothers had 9:30pm sound checks. I made a quick call to check on their driver's status and said, "I don't know where your ride is but I can get you guys to the venue." I pretty much had my car in front of the hotel before they could answer. It was unbelievable, the seriously huge vinyl crates of the Wighnomy Brothers were in my trunk. The bros themselves in my car. My only regret was that I had no music in my car, just the radio. So I flicked the dial to 90.3 and was bumping "Shake the Shack". They were into it.

The radio DJ came in and started listing off all the shows that were going down in the greater Seattle area for the night. I noticed right away that it was not Leon Berman but someone filling in for him. After 5 minutes or so the guest DJ finally gets to Neumos, where the Brothers were playing that night and proceeds to mention off the lineup for the night. "...Lowrez...Noah Pred...Rob Hood...Alex Under... and ah," then stops for a moment and says, "You're listening to 90.3 KEXP. Where the music matters..." Laughter ensues. I can only imagine what this guy would think if he knew the very DJ duo he failed to mention, practically headlining Decibel Festival, was tuning in. He probably would have thought, "Wow, I totally failed…"

Minutes later I delivered The Brothers to Neumos. There they killed the dance floor proper.

'Where the Wild Beats Are' Pictures

HUGE thanks to everyone that came out to the 'Wild Beats' show at Chop Suey Friday night. It was so much fun and so really weird all at once. I was both thrilled and shocked to not just see so many people out for essentially a breakcore show, but to see so many people get into the theme and the ridiculousness of it all. Lots of different scenes coming together for that one. Also, a lot of friends/fam kicked down their time and energy to make it happen.
-Recess

-----------------------------
Click any of the pictures below to see more. Thanks Dave Matthews!

Interview with the Flashbulb for "Where the Wild Beats Are"

Chicago’s Benn Jordan (AKA the Flashbulb, Flexe, Acidwolf, Human Action Network and numerous other monikers) ranks among the most versatile acts in the electronic music world. His production traverses spacey ambient, classic Chicago acid, melodic breakcore and everything in between. His largely improvisational live sets feature a guitar with MIDI pickups, extensive use of loop pedals and complete re-workings of his growing catalog. The end result is a gorgeous cacophony of sound leaving fans trying to decipher where he ends and the music begins. Shameless is very proud to have him co-headline October 16^th’s “Where the Wild Beats Are” at Chop Suey with Kid 606.

Benn represents everything we at Shameless love in a performer. His music is intelligent but danceable, gritty but melodic, and emotional but always a little tongue in cheek… and it’s always evolving. But Benn’s appeal extends way beyond our eccentric tastes. At only 31 years old, he already has over thirty major releases under a variety of monikers. He has remixed for artists such as Aphex Twin and toured with acts as diverse as Telefon Tel Aviv and the Dillinger Escape Plan. He is also owner of the nonprofit Alphabasic record label and an award-winning composer for advertising, television and film. In other words, his entire life revolves around making music.

I was recently able to interrupt Benn’s busy schedule for a brief interview. We spent a half hour discussing his personal musical evolution, his label as a “breakcore” artist and his views on pirating and digital music distribution. The highlights are included below. But the only way to truly appreciate Benn’s music is to catch a live Flashbulb set. We’ll see you at Chop Suey on October 16th. We promise it won’t disappoint.

ADLIB:

Between the Flashbulb, Flexe, Acidwolf and all your various other aliases, you’ve developed a pretty varied range in production spanning two decades. Just how big is your catalog to date?

FLASHBULB:

I’m not sure. It’s sometimes difficult because you have different versions of stuff. There was a vinyl version of Red Extensions of Me that came out in Europe that has all these extra tracks and is missing tracks from the US version. If you count all that stuff, it’s above forty. If you don’t, I would say it’s between twenty five and thirty releases.

ADLIB:

Out of all your work, which songs or albums are the most meaningful to you at this time?

FLASHBULB:

I think Reunion (as the Flashbulb) has been my favorite so far. It was done pretty fast so it felt really accomplished, and there weren’t many computers or much post-production used. It was very (live) performance based… I think it’s probably my most eclectic and original, where I have the most composition.

ADLIB:

You are considered a pioneer of the “breakcore” sound. Do you think this is an accurate description?

FLASHBULB:

It’s really hard to say. Some people would get angry if they heard someone say I was a pioneer of the breakcore sound. Others have told me that I’m a pioneer of the breakcore sound… When I think of breakcore, I think of really fast, evil, distorted sounding stuff. I’ve made a couple tracks like that, but for the most part I pay a lot of attention to melody and the form and function of the song, a lot more than just trying to make something as aggressive as possible. I’ve definitely made fast stuff but I’d call it more drum and bass mixed with metal or jazz.

ADLIB:

Your music has always struck me as much more melodic than a lot of the breakcore out there, although it’s often lumped into that category. You seem recently to have moved beyond that kind of sound into straight guitar work. What does it mean to be evolving past the stereotyped image as a breakcore producer to where you are now?

FLASHBULB:

It’s interesting how you get pigeonholed. I’ve always been a guitar player. It was the first thing I picked up and to this day it’s my number one instrument. Everything starts with writing on the guitar or performing on the guitar and using MIDI pickups to make synthlines… That moves into my live set, too. I’ve been working on a lot more on improvisation. It’s more of a challenge for me and it breathes a new life into touring. The more you rely on a laptop and the more you have a set that is foolproof and that you can’t mess up, the more boring it gets to perform live. So this one’s more nerve-wracking and less boring.

You can do things on a laptop that are pretty wild of course. But I’ve always strayed away from using your standard Ableton Live pre-made set where the only thing that can go wrong is your computer crashes or another technical problem. This is a little bit crazier. If I screw something up live, it’s screwed up in the loop pedal.

ADLIB:

It’s more of a challenge as an artist, then. So you’re pushing boundaries and forcing yourself to be a perfectionist.

FLASHBULB:

It also really comes down to sensing what an audience is feeling, too. That almost borrows from being a good DJ, being able to sense what the audience thinks. If you have an audience that seems really mellow, you’re gonna play more melodic, mellow stuff, but if you have an audience that’s really into dancing, you’re not gonna want to play something slow. It’s nice to be able to improvise and play whatever you think is the right energy.

ADLIB:

In the past, your live performances have incorporated a little bit from all your varied sounds. The last time you played for us (at Esthetic Evolution in Idaho), you played a lot of Acidwolf material and a lot of Flashbulb material with a lot of guitar work layered over your more traditional songs. Do you see your live sets continuing to draw from older material or going in a truly improvisational direction?

FLASHBULB:

I’ve been trying to do half-and-half. I’ve been going in and taking the stems from the original song sessions and incorporating them into the software and loop petals I use for live sets. That way I you pick and choose what you want to play and how long you want to play it for and add solos. You can mix the songs around or stay true to the original, depending on the vibe you get when you’re playing. I think it will mostly be half improvised stuff and half stuff on past albums.

ADLIB:

You’re playing with Kid 606 in Seattle. He plays pretty hard stuff. There will definitely be an interesting mixture of people there for his stuff and yours, but I imagine the whole crowd will want to rock out a bit. It will be an interesting experience for all parties, especially

FLASHBULB:

Yeah, his stuff is pretty heavy, from what I remember (chuckles). Definitely. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Miguel live. I’m really looking forward to it.

ADLIB:

You own your own independent label and also do production for the advertising industry. How do you divide your time between the label work, advertising and your own production?

FLASHBULB:

A lot of it’s prioritizing. If I’m releasing a new album (mine or someone elses) on Alphabasic, then that will take the reigns. If there’s a big campaign coming in for film, television or advertising, then I’ll prioritize that. There have definitely been a lot of sleepless nights and twenty-hour sessions. But the agency that I’m partnered with (Vapor) understands that I’m a recording artist. My contract with them is a freelance contract. If I want to tour or work on my own stuff for a week, I can tell them I’m not gonna work on anything. Of course, my bank account will reflect that (chuckles).

ADLIB:

What direction is Alpha Basic going here soon? What are some of your favorite releases on the label?

FLASHBULB:

We’re actually expanding it quite a lot recently with a couple different things. I have one release coming out called Dojo VS. Switch, which is gitchy, mellow stuff. I’m really happy to be releasing the next Phoenecia album. They were pretty big Schematic artists and I’m doing their next album. All before 2010… It’s a non-profit label. The only people who make a profit are the artists releasing on it. I don’t make anything… The money just carries over. It either goes to the artist or it funds the next release, which is nice.

ADLIB:

You and your label seem to be strong proponents of independent artistry and musicianship and anti corporate exploitation of artists. Just last year you released an album online and allowed fans to pay what they wanted. What motivated you to do this?

FLASHBULB:

I feel like the music industry in the 90s was just so greedy that hey didn’t give people what they wanted. They didn’t move along with the technology or progress. The first CD, I think it was Abba in 1978 or 79 or something, was really profitable. When your making hundreds of thousands, CDs cost around 50 cents each to make with the casing and the artwork. In the beginning, they were selling them for $25 each. You had a huge profit margin and artists were getting a small percentage. They eventually came down because of a class action lawsuit.

In the meantime, they (big labels) weren’t taking advantage of digital distribution and everybody else was. That’s when the whole Napster thing happened. You can’t blame people for pirating music. I don’t think there’s any malicious intent in it. Nobody feels like they’re stealing and nobody should feel like they are. It’s a much easier way to get music than there used to be.

Another way I look at it is if there are 100,000 people out there sharing my album, I’m really happy. This way, I get to play shows like the one next week. A lot of times, those downloaded albums end up in the hands of a producer or licenser for television, which pays more than if everybody brought the album.

I think you just have to open your mind. It’s just the way technology is and there’s nothing you can ever do to stop it. There’s no amount of lawsuits or copy protection schemes or yelling at people will ever stop it.

ADLIB:

It’s just the natural evolution of all art and music distribution.

FLASHBULB:

And it introduces this Darwinian concept to music promotion. The most successful artists are no longer just chosen by who has the record contract and the biggest promotion budget. Now an artist can be popular without a big label. Music is only going to get better that way because it’s a natural selection process with what people listen to.

You have artists that don’t have huge budgets or don’t know somebody but actually make good music and get rewarded for it. Whereas people like Brittney Spears don’t sell records any more. Nobody cares anymore because they can research a lot more music now and don’t have to be subjected to what they’re handed.

ADLIB:

And people could just go pirate it if they want.

FLASHBULB:

I think ultimately it’s a lot bigger than music sales. The music industry is where the focus is. It’s all about copyright. I hate speaking out against copyright because I make my living from it. If someone licenses my music or buys my CD it’s my copyright that creates that process. But copyright also prevents, for example, a kid in a poor family from watching CNN. It ends up being a cable channel where it costs $50 a month to watch CNN or Discovery or History. You end up with a situation where information is being sold and only the people who can afford to learn can buy it. The overall picture is a lot bigger than music. When information becomes free, it kind of levels the playing field. That’s hugely important for society.

I think it’s only a matter of time before everyone realizes socialized copyright is where we’re going. We’ll eventually have an internet tax like the UK’s TV tax… I think the government should setup a network like Napster and the tax gets divvied on what you download for free. It will be the fastest, most complete network. You won’t have to pirate anything and people will get paid for their share of what’s downloaded.

A bit of a tease...

Summer's not quite over but don't hold it against us that we're already thinking of October, costume parties, and Halloween. So in that vein, just wanted to post a rad animated video for Kid 606's track, The Illness. Just a little taste of what's in store for October 16th.

Hookerz & Blow

We know what you're thinking. SF has plenty of both, right? Not this time. Hookerz & Blow refers to the exciting live/dj hybrd duo of Mozaic & EPROM. Check them out at a party in SF last Christmas. We had them up here once before for the Libra Luvshack party and are thrilled to be hosting them again.



Oh and when it comes to Broken Disco this Friday you'll need to get there early. Not just because it's $10 before 10pm, but because the locals on this bill represent the underground strong. Plus you're not going to want to miss Deepchild. He's going to be Broken Disco's secret weapon. Live set with analog gear. Roland love. Check out his recent trip to Vancouver. We're lucky to have him in town performing at Broken Disco.



Click the Broken Disco dude below for all of the details.

D.I.M. - March 14th @ Chop Suey

Our homies over at Innerflight and Decibel invited Shameless to take over the back lounge at Chop Suey this Saturday. They are bringing in D.I.M. (Boys Noize) to headline. The main room will also be supported by Detroit influenced Jerry Abstract and Anglo Satellite. In the back lounge, resident Shameless DJs along with Pressha (Emerald City, Produkt) are holding it down. Make sure you get there early, because both rooms will be popping all night!


Click image below for more information...

Pictures from Balls Out! 4 America

Well, we finally wrapped up our 4 part Balls Out! series with "bombs bursting in air". This series of events have been a blast and we're incredibly grateful to our team of volunteers and participants that have helped make each month unique. Here's a little recap of the past 4 months...

• We hosted AC Slater (NYC) and presented Seattle's first (& probably only) 'dunk the hipster tank'.
  
• We also brought out A1 Bassline (UK) for his Seattle debut performance and smashed a disco ball pinata in celebration of all things ridiculous.
  
• Finally got to throw a Warriors themed costume party. Those that know Recess personally know that he's been wanting to do that for years.
  
• Studio 75 Exclusive and friends stopped by last month to present one hell of a sexy fashion show.
  
• A bunch of bad ass local street artists showed off their talents each month in a live capacity.

For last Friday's family style event we welcomed our good friends from the Innerflight crew to get down with us. Kinoko, Eli Heuer & special guest Fu represented on the live art front. Killing Frenzy killed it on live visuals and Luvshack's extra bass went boom. Thanks to everyone that came out!

Click on any of the pictures below to see more. Also we should have some video posted sometime soon so check back again.

Fuck Yeah! Balls Out! #4 w/ Shameless & Innerflight

Shameless Presents...

Balls Out! 4 America

Friday 11-14-08

Rebar Seattle






America. Fuck yeah!! This month's edition of Balls Out! will be a family affair as Team Shameless invites Innerflight over to our home at the Rebar. Luvshack is providing extra sound. Say it loud... BALLS!!



**CLICK ALL IMAGES BELOW FOR MORE INFO**
-----------------------------------------------------

The Players
-----------------------------------------------------


Recess and Kadeejah Streets
aka Sparks Fountain

(Shameless/Innerflight)






Levi Clark and J-Sun
(Shameless/Innerflight)





Manos
(Innerflight)



Menami
(Shameless)



Night Train
(Innerflight)



MC Anton Bomb
(Shameless)



----------------------------------------
Live Visual Art Crew
---------------------------------------

Kinoko




Eli Heuer



Plus Special Guest Artist...

Fu




Photos by Dave Matthews





Balls Out! 4 America

Friday 11-14-08
Rebar Seattle

Apple pie provided for your all-American clubbing experience.
Fuck yeah!!








See you November 14th!