Psyphy Machine / The Name Game

Today I Learned

SELECT elements in IE6 do not support the z-index property. Fuck IE.

Gotta Plug

Psyphy Machine is my #1 internet radio source for electronic music these days; well actually, for music in general. Just open up iTunes, and click on Radio > Electronic > Psyphy Machine. It has turned me on to more artists like Lazer Sword and The Glitch Mob, and many more artists who aren't.

The Name Game

I always have trouble describing this new music that I've come to love to other people. I often find myself saying, "it's what hip hop sounds like in the future." Artist genres on MySpace like "GhettoTech, Strip-Hop, Psyphy, Crunkstep, IDM, and Muffincore" fail to really indicate what you might expect to hear, and usually the genre listing isn't very consistent from artist to artist. Although 'Psyphy' seems like the most accurate term, I feel as if it is too localized. I guess that's the magic of this new sound; its so fresh and new that there really hasn't been a word formed for it.

Who knows how words are formed? - Michael Scott

Fortunately, I stumbled across this mini-documentary by Mary Anne Hobbs, who is apparently the queen of Dubstep in the UK. (I happened to catch her spinning at Low End Theory and has thus converted me into a Dubstep fan). In it, the camera man uses the phrase, the "West Coast Rocks" sound... which i thought had a nice ring to it. Localized, yes, but it seems to encompass the entire region in which this music is growing. Let's just hope soon that the West Coast Rocks sound will loosen its belt and sag a bit, so that it also includes San Diego.

Harold Cabalic
Interactivate, Inc -|- www.interactivate.com
San Diego, CA -|- From Online to Everywhere

LAZER SWORD / January Report Card

Today I Learned

CD Replication is process of molding exact copies of the master CD, while CD Duplication refers to merely burning copies of the master.

Gotta Plug

LAZER SWORD. It was not until my trip to Low End Theory in LA that I found out that there are people who can rock it just as hard as The Glitch Mob. LAZER SWORD is of this exact mold. By blending today's popular, rugged tunes with heavy, face-twisting production, LL and Lando Kal live up to the absurdity and electricity of their name. Click here to download their Blap to the Future MEGAMIX, currently on my iPod rotation. You'll need to sign up for an account that you can probably quickly forget about, but trust me, this mix is worth every bit of junk/spam mail.

January Report Card

So it's Feb 4, and according to my "Become a DJ in Four Months" schedule, I should have most of my songs selected and be well into the midsection of my debut mix.

Not exactly the case.

I've got only about 10-15 min of material that I want to use, but because of my diligence, I continue to morph my mix into something better each day, something that rocks harder than the day before. Of course I've been sifting through music like never before, a task that I had never enjoyed.

Not to mention, I've since adopted this new project to spread/share my love for this music with the rest of the San Diego community. Right now I'm just brainstorming for the perfect name and formulating my mission statement; for as we all know, Rome did not trade in their lutes for guitars in a day. I feel like the Barack Obama of music.

Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the great city of San Diego.

Harold Cabalic
Interactivate, Inc -|- www.interactivate.com
San Diego, CA -|- From Online to Everywhere

Low End Theory / What's Next?

Today I Learned

I LOVE music.

Gotta Plug

Last night, Low End Theory saved my life. In order to make up for my tardiness/poor planning of last week's The Glitch Mob show, I thought it would be fitting to make an additional trip to LA to the mecca of electronic music. After all, it would be The Glitch Mob's first performance together as a group at the venue, and seeing how they've been touring a lot, I figured this would be my best opportunity to see them in the next few months, or God knows how long.

I didn't really expect a lot out of this experience. I thought I would get there, and attempt to conceal my yawns listening to 'underground' / 'golden era' hip hop or whatever you want to call it, then be blown away by The Glitch Mob and call it a night.

Wow.

Boy, was I wrong. DJ Nobody and D-styles have made it to my MySpace list of friends.

The Mother Fucking Gaslamp Killer absolutely KILLED it. Why don't we let him play that shit in SD? Mary Anne Hobbs by way of the UK? Oh lord.

And last but not least:

Happy 30th Birthday edIT! Note to self: Trim nose hairs regularly.

What's Next?

I don't know how I'm gonna do it. I know it's gonna take a lot of work. And I know I can't do it alone. Psyphy is coming to SD.

Harold Cabalic
Interactivate, Inc -|- www.interactivate.com
San Diego, CA -|- From Online to Everywhere

You Tell Concerts / Music

Today I Learned

This whole time I had mistaken Don King as the guy who was a victim of police brutality in Los Angeles in 1991.

Gotta Plug

YOUTELLCONCERTS.COM. Waiting in line for The Glitch Mob show, I overhear a few folks looking for tickets, and since I had three tickets that I wanted to get rid of, I thought, what the hell. Yes, $75 down the drain, but I made some new friends in the end. They happened to be members of this concert video review site, containing interviews from people leaving the venue. Um... Lorn, Abby and Bryan, and dude from Houston were there names (I think), and were there to see Sound Tribe Sector 9. While I'm not a humongous fan, it was incredible to see the reaction of the packed crowd... it was really different. Imagine electronic hippie jam music, and 99% of the hundreds of people on "hardcore street drugs."

Remember Lorn, you have to come to SD to review my first performance. Watch the ENTIRE video:

Music

So The Glitch Mob is everything I had imagined, but the experience was not. I got to The Wiltern right when the show started (9pm) and was already dreading the lines outside. Basically, the first 20 mins were spent figuring out which line went to Will Call. Where do you think Will Call would be? The ticket line, yes? If not, the booth adjacent, yes? No. The Will Call booth was inside the venue, past security, no signs. STUPID. So adamant was I to see the Glitch Mob that I stormed my way in past the entire crowd, even past the security blocking the floor area in which you needed an additional wristband to enter.

I only got to see them play two songs. While this trip may have seemed a waste of money to many, I'm glad I made the effort I did to see them and make some new friends along the way.

Time to make some music, and melt some faces.

Harold Cabalic
Interactivate, Inc -|- www.interactivate.com
San Diego, CA -|- From Online to Everywhere