BIG BOI
Big Boi is one half of the famous rap duo Outkast. He is also known as Daddy Fat Sacks, Chitlin’ Pig, and Hot Tub Tony.
His solo effort, “Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty,” is due for release in July, so we’ll likely be treated to plenty of fresh material. Beginning with ‘Royal Flush’ in March 2008, a handful of songs from his solo debut have been leaked or released. Five of them are streaming on his myspace page, the most recent of which, ‘Shutterbug,’ sounds like a mix of ‘I Can Transform Ya’ and ‘Grindin’.
If not for new material, show up for the classic Outkast jams like ‘The Way You Move’ and ‘Bombs Over Baghdad’. Think of it as Speakerboxxx/The Love Below minus The Love Below.
THE DIRTY PROJECTORS
The Dirty Projectors are a six-piece Indie rock band based in Brooklyn, NY, led by Dave Longstreth, with Nat Baldwin (bass), Amber Coffman (vocals, guitar), Angel Deradoorian (vocals, keyboard, samples, guitar, bass), Haley Dekle (vocals), and Brian McOmber (drums).
The band is the prodigious Longstreth’s brainchild, with debut album “The Glad Fact” being released in 2005 with the help of fellow Indie rocker Adam Forkner. The Dirty Projectors grew into a permanent band under Longstreth’s direction over the span of several projects. In their short career, The Dirty Projectors have worked on projects with the likes of David Byrne and Björk.
The music of this band is just what you’d expect—experimental, in that it is unlike most of what you’ve heard before. Longstreth’s musical vision is a complex amalgam of genres that toes the line between beautiful and confusing. After all, it can’t be easy to capture the attention of both Byrne and Björk.
BLACK LIPS
Black Lips are a four piece self-described ‘flower-punk’ band hailing from Hotlanta, featuring Cole Alexander (guitar), Jared Swiley (bass), Ian Saint Pé (guitar), and Joe Bradley (Drums).
Alexander and Swiley were kicked out of school their senior year on the heels of the Columbine shooting for being a ‘subculture danger.’ Their original guitarist, Ben Eberbaugh, was struck and killed by a drunk driver on the eve of a tour in 2002. The band frequently has run-ins with club and concert promoters for their ‘immoral’ behavior. Their unpolished, garage band style is a culmination of their dysfunctional history.
Get excited (or disgusted)! Black Lips are known for their stage antics, but not just prancing around or pouring beer on the crowd. Nudity, kissing, urination, a chicken, fireworks, flaming guitars, vomiting, and on a different note, R.C. car races, have colored their live shows in the past. Apparently, the vomiting isn’t on purpose. According to the band: “[Cole] doesn’t mean to puke. It’s a problem with his stomach. He can’t control it. It happens all the time even, off stage…But I guess it works okay with the stage show. Except when club owners get mad and kick us out, or beat us up.” ‘Nuff said.