D.I.Y. BIRMINGHAM

The 2nd Annual (post 1901) Birmingham Mardi Gras Parade is...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:04:28 -0600

The 2nd Annual (post 1901) Birmingham Mardi Gras Parade is tonight at 8 pm! If you want to be in the parade register now. The parade starts in 5 Points South Close To Mellow Mushroom. »RSVP

Hawks/Granddaddy Ghostlegs/Black Hole Kids »RSVP

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:38:00 -0600

Hawks/Granddaddy Ghostlegs/Black Hole Kids »RSVP

New Vinyl From The Fourth Estate

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:29:28 -0600

Local favorites looking to make good, The Fourth Estate have a new vinyl EP (released late last year on CD by Spring Street Records) out now on Fat Sandwich Records. You can pick up a copy here or at the Day Trader show.

&lt;a href=”http://thefourthestate.bandcamp.com/album/the-fourth-estate-ep” _mce_href=”http://thefourthestate.bandcamp.com/album/the-fourth-estate-ep”&gt;The Fourth Estate EP by The Fourth Estate&lt;/a&gt;

The Fourth Estate deliver passionate hardcore punk that falls somewhere between Hostage Calm and Last Lights. With a pummeling rhythm section backing melodic guitar lines and politically charged lyrics, The Fourth Estate should have a healthy future in store. Keep an eye on them.

Blow It All Up and Start Over: New Jersey Rapper GDP Mixes Hip-Hop and DIY

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:13:00 -0600

This interview is also available in issue four of The Forge. Pick up a copy at the release show.

Five years after dropping his debut EP GDP continues to gain momentum and recognition as a dedicated performer and unique voice in underground music. A founding member of the New Jersey based hip-hop collective Slangcorp, GDP approaches his creative efforts with DIY/punk approach.

The eccentric MC released his sophomore LP Useless Eaters last year which finds him covering familiar topics (personal struggles, social commentary, misanthropy, arguments for and against drug use, romance, nihilism, camaraderie, etc) while embracing a darker tone that’s not readily apparent in his earlier work.

Recently we traded emails

DIY Birmingham: As I’ve gotten to know over the past couple years, either in person our through correspondence, one thing that I noticed is that you seem to have several contradictory perspectives about the world around you. This can be noted especially in your music. You cover a lot of territory that a casual listener might have trouble finding threads of continuity in. In “Children Posing” you attack MCs who take on fictitious personas. While I’m not insinuating that you put up a bogus front(s), is there any part of that song where you’re addressing yourself since a lot of your songs have antithetical personalities?

GDP: The whole song is attacking myself or the artist persona in general. I have a strange obsession with playing devil’s advocate with my own beliefs. I am an emotionally inconsistent person and my music reflects it. It’s also an attempt to give listeners both sides of the looking glass. The surgeon generals warning in the fine print of an advertisement.

DIY: Last year when you played in Birmingham at Speakeasy you prefaced “Succumb” by saying something like ‘I regret writing this one.’ Is that true or was that just some stage banter you were throwing around? Is there any material you regret releasing?

G: Regret is a harsh word. “Succumb” gained me a fair amount of attention so I can’t be mad at that but it is by no means the song or video I want to be distinguished for. I don’t think a show goes by where I don’t get asked how we shot the video and if I am going to play that song and it gets to be a tad bit irritating, especially on tour. While I appreciate the consideration, I’ve released a lot of material since then and I’d prefer to discuss that. On a side note, if I could take Involvement back I would, that record sucks.

DIY: Since you started putting out records the tone of your music has grown steadily darker. Involvement had some pretty upbeat songs on it while your most recent release Useless Eaters is for the most part very grim. Is this an intentional conceptual change or are you just growing more pessimistic as you get older?

G: I’ve become more comfortable with my opinions and my ability to convey them. Magic Bullet is rather upbeat in comparison to my other work and I’m working on an EP with Aoi now that will be a lot more sanguine than Useless Eaters. There was a point when I thought I was growing more pessimistic but I think that is just depression – [being] perpetually unfulfilled.

DIY: In “Don’t Worry About The Government” you choose to ‘see the humor in growing tumors’. Is that a necessity or a cynicism that comes naturally?

G: [It’s] a necessity if you are unnerved by our modern way of life. Cancer is the new healthy. While Useless Eaters and that song in particular might appear cryptic and pessimistic to some, for me it is cathartic - a declaration of freedom from many of the troubles that once plagued my mind.

Photo by wess at Magic City Wholesale - 10/22/09

DIY: Let’s say there’s a rip in the space-time continuum and you’re thrown into an alternate dimension where the apocalypse has been averted, all corrupt politicians have been executed, social strife as been eliminated and there are no drugs. What would you do with your life?

G: Great question. [I’d] probably just run for mayor and skateboard a whole lot.

DIY: How has your involvement in DIY and punk culture shaped your approach as an MC?

G: Punk rock has been a dominant source of inspiration for me - a secret weapon of sorts. My ties to the culture have gained me a following well outside of the traditional hip-hop realm and the punk/DIY ethic has served as a great framework for pushing forward in the age of independent artists. A lot of rappers are still stuck waiting around for their big break to come where as I’m releasing music and playing shows all over the damn place.

DIY: Do you find a more receptive audience in the hip-hop scene or the punk rock scene?

G: Probably punk rock because it’s a much more supportive community to begin with. The underground hip-hop movement is a shell of what it was 10 or 12 years ago but there is much less of distinction between listeners nowadays. People listen to all kinds of music and in many cases hip-hop and punk rock attract similar audiences.

DIY: Why do you think hip-hop and punk rock attract similar audiences?

G: They both share similar ideals that just extend to slightly different communities, or used to. To me, punk and hip-hop represent the voice of the underdogs and the disillusioned - young people from different walks of life all trying to make some sense out of it all.

DIY: Do you have a specific audience in mind when you make music? Are you ever concerned with reaching out to a broader crowd or are you satisfied with only making music for the like minded?

G: Definitely no specific audience in mind. I once heard an adage that ‘people make songs for about five people’ and I agree. I don’t really consider my music to be overly specific or remote but perhaps some people do. I have been juggling a few different projects that will appeal to some folks that may not have endorsed my previous works. Stay tuned for early 2k12.

DIY: Do you still play drums in the hardcore/black metal act Fleshtemple?

G: Nope. But I wish them the best.

DIY: Do you ever find yourself wishing you had more time to devote to punk rock projects or are you satisfied with solely working within a hip-hop framework?

G: I miss playing in bands, I was kind of over it for a while. Me and my friend Pete started a new band called Condombreaker. We’ll record soon.

DIY: Rashido of Birmingham’s hip-hop crew Lobotomix told me that DJing is growing more difficult recently since MCs are releasing less vinyl. As far as I know, you’re the only member of Slangcorp that’s cut anything to wax (The Dirty Money split and Useless Eaters). What are your thoughts on the lack of vinyl crippling modern hip-hop versus what is often times the necessity of releasing music digitally?

G: I could go on a rant about how important vinyl is to hip-hop and music in general but honestly, the proof is in the numbers. Labels aren’t pressing vinyl for a reason. If wax is not selling like it used to then record labels have to adapt accordingly or else the effect on hip-hop will be much more crippling than just a lack of vinyl releases.

DIY: How crucial would you say performing live is to the creative process?

G: If you are planning on performing a song live then it is imperative to the creative process. I have made songs that I have no intention of ever performing live and others which are much more conducive to a live setting. Then there are always songs people request that you never expected or intended to play, [that’s] the wild card factor.

DIY: Has your mom come to any of your shows?

G: Nope

DIY: Last year Kids With Candy did a piece with members of Slangcrop that was pretty interesting. In the interview your label-mate and frequent collaborator Pistol described West Orange as “A boiling hot melting pot of everything good and bad in the world”. Do you have anything to add to that statement concerning your hometown’s influence on your music?

G: You’ve got some of the wealthiest and poorest, most dangerous places in the country bordering a town that is 12 square miles. A melting pot is about as effective description as anyone could give.

Photo by Rashido at Speakeasy - 11/06/10

DIY: Your cohorts G.R.I.E.F.78 and TMFSE recently released a collaborative album together. Do you and Pistol have plans to do anything similar since you’re already on so much of each other’s records?

G: Hopefully soon. We have talked about it a lot with mixed results. Some collaborative songs are in the works however.

DIY: In “Carbon Footprint” you address how the human race is aggressively destroying the planet. Do you have a fix for the problems you present in that song?

G: As my grandfather Rick said, “blow it all up and start over”.

DIY: Throughout your discography you make a lot of intelligent observations about the plights facing society but the only solution you offer is a healthy regiment of escapism via copious drug use. Do you recommend this to everyone? Have you ever considered a different approach to the problems you indentify in the world?

G: Perhaps I ‘offer’ in an expository sense but it is not to be confused with a recommendation. The cynicism within my drug referendum is often overlooked and misinterpreted. There is as much, if not more forewarning than there is celebration. Don’t do drugs kids. Stay in school and don’t become an artist it only leads to disappointment and loneliness. There, I said it.

DIY: Do you have in any good acid trip stories?

G: Hmmm… one time I ate some on a whim and went to a Seasick show. I’m not much for social interactions when I’m in that frame of mind so seeing a bunch of people I knew threw me for a loop. I paid $10, left without seeing a single band and went around the corner of the venue and threw up the whole time. Cops came and I was bloodless pale with a shirt covered in puke. I walked home only to find a house full of people partying after the show. Locked myself in my room and listened to Earth. To tie this all in a nice bow, Gore from Seasick now plays drums in Fleshtemple.

DIY: In the Kids With Candy interview mentioned earlier your label-mate Shape says that “Drugs are as much a part of my music as the turntable or the microphone are.” Do you agree?

G: I wish drugs weren’t as much a part of Slangcorp’s music because there would probably be a whole lot more music.

DIY: Is there a smart way to go about hard drug use?

G: I guess not getting addicted would be pretty smart but there is no glory in any of that shit. I assure you.

DIY: Do circumstances like your friend Shah/Sultan’s stint in the hospital or the events described in “Oxypolycontin” ever make you rethink your lifestyle and drug intake?

G: Yes. Very much so. I am about as sober as I’ve been in years.

DIY: “Little Boxes” threads together a series of events concerning sad desperate people. Are the stories in true? If so, how far removed are you from them? If not, how did you go about conceptualizing the song?

G: One of the characters is rather specific but I won’t get into it. The song is fictitious for the most part. I was listening to a lot of Pete Seeger at the time and had just watched a documentary about FEMA camps it all just kind of painted the picture in my mind.

DIY: What do you think of Steve Albini’s response to his brief encounter with Odd Future?

G: Pretty awesome. Live the dream. If you want to tell somebody “fuck you” then do it. If you want to smoke a joint in an airport shuttle then do it. Bring the danger and the unpredictability back to music.

DIY: When are you going to issue a formal invitation to Odd Future to battle with Slangcorp?

G: Haha that would be pretty good but I think Custodian of Records would send them home with their brains on life support. No one’s fucking with that dude on the battle tip. Or production tip for that matter.

DIY: How does Birmingham compare to other towns you’ve played in? Is it just another stop on the way to the next spot or does it have anything that sets it apart from other cities? Depending on your response I might strike this question from the interview.

G: I love Birmingham, and the south in general. I’ll be back soon enough I just need to straighten a few things out. We always have pretty good shows in B-ham and we’ve made some pals there by now so it’s always a good time. Last time we were through we did two shows in a night and Pistol took the prize for best tour story of the whole trip. You’ll have to ask him for details.

DIY: When are you coming back down south?

G: ASAP dawg lets set something up.