Category Archives: Music
Q&A w/ Far Rock Blues Guitarist Bert Elliot
Blues musician Bert Elliot first moved to Rockaway when he was about 10-yearsold. There, he attended P.S. 114 for about three years, before moving from his uncle’s house on Beach 140th Street in Belle Harbor to the Ocean Bay Housing projects at Beach 57th Street and Beach Channel Drive in Edgemere.
Elliot first developed a passion for music after picking up the drums in fourth grade. He went on to graduate from Far Rockaway High School, before attending Queens College, where he worked toward honing his craft.
Check out the full story at Rockawave.com
In 1978, he graduated with a degree in music composition, and just a few years later, wound up getting a publishing deal, to write background/theme music for network television.
“That kept me staying busy for a while during the 80s and up through the 90s,” Elliot said.
While composing music for MTV, Maury and Jerry Springer, he continued touring with his good friend and fellow musician, Gary Toms.
Q&A w/ NYC Party Animal Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K. is so much more than just a rock and roll party animal. He is also a classically trained singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, actor, motivational speaker, columnist and radio personality.
Check out Salute Magazine for the full interview and more.
Short for Wilkes-Krier, W.K. first rose to fame in 2001 with his major-label debut album I Get Wet from Island/Def Jam Records, which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers charts. The album also drummed up controversy overseas for its cover art, which many felt depicted an image of cocaine abuse.
Salute Magazine caught up with Andrew W.K. last December, to discuss parties, politics, sports anthems, his advice column, “Ask Andrew W.K.” and his annual performance at Revolution Bar and Music Hall in Amityville, N.Y.
Q&A w/ Flesh-N-Bone
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their GRAMMY Award winning song, “Tha Crossroads,” Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are headed across the country for a series of live concerts and meet-and-greet events—including upcoming performances at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square, Manhattan on Feb. 24 and The Emporium in Patchogue, Long Island on Feb. 25.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony formed in 1991, but didn’t hit it big until 1993, when “the Godfather of West Coast gangsta rap” and N.W.A. co-founder Eric “Eazy-E” Wright signed five rappers from Cleveland, Ohio—”Krayzie,””Layzie,” “Bizzy,” “Wish” and “Flesh”—to his label, Ruthless Records.
According to Stanley Howse, a.k.a. Flesh-n-Bone, “Crossroads” was originally written in dedication of Wallace “Wally” Laird III—a departed friend of the group—but after Wright died, in March 1995, they decided to go back and re-record “Tha Crossroads” for their second studio album E. 1999 Eternal.
“The record was pushed back around the time Eazy-E started to fall sick,” Howse said. “So, right now, there are about three or four different versions out there.”
For more, check out the full story at Salute Magazine.
David Banner’s ‘God Box’ Is The Album You Will Need in 2017
Mississippi-born rapper/producer David Banner is on fire right now, and it has got us here at AWM pumped for his forthcoming studio album, The God Box, available May 19, from A Banner Vision.
Last year, Banner gave listeners an exclusive sneak peek at his creative process, with the release of his “Before The Box” mixtape. It’s an extremely satisfying glimpse at Banner’s creative process and shows the significant progress he made to shape a different kind of sound than we are used to hearing from the artist who brought us The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Although Banner’s seventh full-length studio album was originally expected to be released in 2016, delays in the production process led him to hold back the date until May 2017.
Q&A With Brendon Small
Back in 2007, I was given the opportunity to speak with Brendon Small, the creator of such hilarious late night cartoons as Metalocalypse and Home Movies.
Recently Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s late night counterpart, has announced that the cartoon band Dethklok from Metalocalypse will be doing a tour across the nation at many large venues with Solient Green and Chimaira.
For those who have never watched the show, Dethklok is cartoon band consisting of Nathan Explosion (lead vocals), Skwisgaar Skwigelf (lead guitar), Toki Wartooth (guitar), William Murderface (lead bassist) and Pickles the Drummer (he plays the drums). Of the five, Brendon voices three — Nathan, Pickles and Skwisgaar.
Before traveling across the country, on his live stage show, Dethtour, The Viking News met up with Small about the rising popularity of the show and how he plans to bring the show, from the TV to the stage.
Still Kickin’ After All These Years
Alive N’ Kickin’ couldn’t be a more appropriate name for this classic rock cover band, which has continued to perform hit music for more than 40 years.
Writer’s Roundtable: One Island, One Album
Brought up in discussions this past week, we phased ourselves with the question: If you were stuck on a deserted island, what would be the one album you would take with you?
Easier asked than answered was the revelation found by AWM, but after much thought, four brave writers have voiced their opinions on the one album they would want to have with them if they were deserted on an island.
Q&A With Lewis Del Mar
The allure of living in Rockaway has beckoned a great many musicians, from punk rock poet laureate Patti Smith to slacker rock artist Mac Demarco. Whether it’s because of the distance to the beach or the simple fact it’s just a short train ride into Manhattan, Rockaway Beach oozes musical talent.
Source: Q&A With Lewis Del Mar
Rockaway Riot Squad Co-Founder Speaks Out
The Rockaway Riot Squad was created in the early 2000’s, when four up-and-coming young rappers from the same neighborhood in Far Rockaway— Bynoe, Chinx Drugz, Cau2G$ and Stack Bundles — joined forces to create a hip-hop “supergroup.”
Chinx Drops Second Posthumous Album
Tragically, in May 2015, Chinx was unexpectedly shot and killed on Queens Boulevard in Ridgewood. He never made it to see the success of his debut album, Welcome To JFK, which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard.com’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop album charts.
In an interview with Salute Magazine, last year, the slain rapper’s Executive Producer/Manager Douglas “Biggs” Ellison indicated that Chinx left behind several unreleased demos, which were used to construct the rapper’s second posthumous release, aptly named Legends Never Die.
So, on the first anniversary of the slain rapper’s death, Ellison and 4 Kings Management honored his memory by announcing the release of his sophomore album.
