Tim, Steven and Matt backstage at the Orange Peel after a recent show where they opened up for Stockholm Syndrome. I look at this photo and can’t help but smile every time. Life is way to short to take yourself too seriously … so, have fun. Have lots and lots of fun every chance you get!
They have an acoustic set at Pulp in Asheville tonight starting at 9pm, cover is only $5 … if you’re in town you should come. If you’re wondering what kind of music they play … well, so are they. They’re open and experimenting and loving all of it … some recent fun terms I’ve heard is Graffitti Rock and Soul Punk.
for music and more info check em out on their totally awesome site that I built <- such a shameless plug right LOL >>> TheEnemyLovers.com <<<
The WHOLE Album – listen, enjoy! I’ve seriously played through this entire album just about every day for about two months now. Sometimes twice a day … it’s that good. So, get good speakers or head phones … hit play and enjoy! Then, after you’ve decided you love them check out the Band of Skulls tour dates and by their album!
If there was ever a video performance worth buying of an artist this is it! I watched this concert from the artist den on pbs and danced around my entire house for the ENTIRE thing. Raphael Sadiiq has this genuine infectious groove that I fuckin LOVE! The performance didn’t quit and just got better through the show … which you’ll see if you watch the 3 videos below. By the end of the show I was worn out too and exhilirated and felt like I was there. He has an off the hook style from the heart that just makes you want to take a bite out of life. So, watch it! Watch it with good speakers! Watch it full screen! Watch it and DANCE! Then since it won’t be enough buy the dvd here for $16.98 then go and check out his site and see if he’s touring near you cause OMG you want to go to that show!
Here’s a blip from the New Orleans VOODOO Experience – festival (10/29-31, 2010) that sums it up far better then I! Oh and he’ll be there … and so might I!
He is a standard bearer for what folks call ‘old school’ music, a contemporary artist continuing a time-honored tradition that goes back to the ’60s and ’70s. From his early days as a member of the groundbreaking ’80s group Tony! Toni! Tone! through his work as an award-winning producer of such artists as Joss Stone, The Roots, Snoop Dogg, John Legend among many others and his own solo albums, the multi-talented Raphael Saadiq has kept the faith. “Every record I’ve ever made has had those influences…The Temptations, Al Green, The Four Tops and so on,” Raphael explains from the L.A. studio where he recorded his latest illustrious work. This album is the culmination of a lifetime of experiences informed by the music I grew up on.” Listening to his newest release, 3-time Grammy-nominated The Way I See It, it’s immediately obvious that it could have been recorded thirty years ago. Musically cohesive in the same way that soul music albums were recorded back in the day, Raphael’s third solo album and first for Sony BMG is not merely a throwback: it is as close to the kind of record made in Detroit, Chicago, Memphis, Miami or New York by any number of super R&B hit makers to anything recorded since. While other contemporary artists may attempt to emulate the sound and flavor of ’70s soul music, Raphael Saadiq brings real emotion, real feeling and production values that are simply (to borrow a popular phrase from said decade), right on.
Recently a friend who owns a wine shop described her wines as, “This is my God!” It wasn’t the statement that struck me but the fact that I knew down to my core exactly what she meant. All the wines she chooses to carry are non-corporate and sustainable. She honors the earth by passionately carrying the family brands that love and respect our land. The un-snooty joy of flavor and craft bubbles up every time she speaks. She loves her wines, her choices, her contribution to having a high environmental standard and most of all – sharing it all with you! Without a doubt it is her passion and calling, the expression of her true self is lived and shared through her careful selections. Her life, her love, her god.
My god is dance. I’ve danced since I was 2 years old but it wasn’t until I was almost 17 that my place of dance became my church. When I’m dancing and the right beat drops and switches my mind off and soul on – it’s the deepest, purest release of feeling and bliss that I know. It feels like my feet no longer touch the ground and I’m in a swirling vortex of energy. So light, I feel like a bubble floating and softly bouncing down on the beat. I can’t help but smile, it feels like my chest is cracked open and a screaming release of ”A hhhhhhh hh” energy breaks free. (for a visual think Care Bear ‘heart power’ lol) Surrounding those moments the rest of the dance is like therapy. Some people can talk about their feelings, I’m not so good at that … but you can watch me dance til I cry. So, what happens when I stop dancing for too long? Well, that’s simple – I’m miserable! I start feeling confused, disconnected and wonder why nothing is touching my spirit so deep as I need it to in order to justify daily life.
So, then there’s the last two nights. Let’s just say miserable had crept in and the search for ‘why’ has been underway. Here’s the thing when you’re miserable it’s kinda hard to want to do or see anything or anyone. I’m sorta anti-social as is so it’s got to be something pretty damn special to get me out. Two nights ago the Asheville Twestival was going on from 5pm-11pm. Well, at 5pm I wasn’t going … I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone and the thought of local jam or bluegrass music did not sound appetizing. With the complete look of ‘No fucking way, I’m not going’ on my face -
… he plays the first two acts online, yeah – still a no for me … he plays the third group … 5 seconds in -
me: “I’ll go do my hair”!
Babe knows my ultimate weakness is music, I will hurdle high mountains to hear great break-beats that me me dance and if I have the opportunity to hear truly great music I can not say no! No matter how truly miserable I am.
Q. What is great music? A. The Enemy Lovers!
They’re local and I’d be willing to bet you ain’t never heard them. If you had you would have been there with us the last two nights! When I listened at home for 5 seconds it had the southern smooth soulful bluesy sound of Amos Lee. After their first song on stage Babe turns to me and says, “Fuck, they’re better then U2!” Yes, they’re better then anyone I’ve ever heard. Every single song they sing sounds like it could already be at the top of the charts, but there’s a problem with this feeling. Yah see Babe and I are watching this amazing show with less then 40 people, half of whom didn’t seem phased by the truly extraordinary talent on stage. Babe and I on the other hand needed all the self restraint possible to keep our jaws off the ground. My vocabulary was stunned after every song, my comments were limited to: ‘Oh MY God’, ‘Jeez’, ‘Wow.’ At the end of the show they announce they are ‘playing again tomorrow at Stella Blue’.
Babe and I: ”Huh, we should go to that”
…. which is a strange thought since neither one of us has ever seen the same act two nights in a row. We’re perfectionist when it comes to sound though, and the system at Twestival was def sub-par. We both wanted to hear it again at it’s best.
Last night we fully expected Stella Blues to be packed and took the light twestival crowd for the Enemy Lovers as a fluke. there was a bigger crowd at Stella’s but not packed, a Friday night and maybe at max 200 people. We’re both in complete shock and dis-belief that – I don’t know, everyone in Asheville isn’t there with us! Sound and crowd does make a difference. The first night was amazing, last night was one of the best shows … nope, wait I’m lying … last night was the best show I’ve ever seen. It moves above Tool and Kings of Leon to my ‘BEST’ because I have never seen someone sing so honestly with such, what I can only describe as raw emotion … and boat loads of talent!
When I saw Kings of Leon it’s hard not to take into account the family ‘connect’ that can do a spooky fantastic thing with artist. The Enemy Lovers is 2 brothers, a cousin and a friend … it’s that same ‘connect’ on stage that is brilliant to watch. There was this song towards the end of the set where it looked and felt like the brothers we’re flying. Where a note had struck lift off and the wave of time carried you away. A moment that you feel and know and witness and don’t want to end. Except it has too, cause if your like me you might forget to breathe when you’re carried away. Just the act of witnessing someone fly will clear the fog from your eyes, the weight from your mind and let your spirit lift and your heart skip a beat.
They’re so sick I can’t even contain myself. The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers are my heros! To see them on the TED stage which I so greatly adore, well it’s just a truly awesome moment!
…more on LXD from a post I did Dec. 2nd 2009 on my ‘Short Blog’
What do I love more then anything? DANCE and my generation of dancers .. Meet LXD (League of Extraordinary Dancers)
LXD dance crew announced a partnership with Agility Studios to create an original narrative web series dubbed The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD). John Chu (the director of Step Up 2) will direct the online series which is scheduled to launch in 2010.
The show will chronicle the formation of “the most elite dance crew in the world,” tracing the origins of the seven schools of dance that make up the famed crew. Chu blends comic-book style characters with a fictional cinematic narrative. The story begins with the modern day regrouping of a 1930’s era dance troupe birthed out of the traveling circus circuit.
LXD TRAILER
An Epic Online Dance Adventure…Get ready. For the past six months, some of the most talented people in the business have been locked in a room secretly building a project that combines music, dance, story telling, sport and interactive media. We call this project the LXD. You’ve seen us on Ellen, YouTube Live but the LXD is part of an idea that is much bigger than that and always has been but we had to get a lot of pieces together to fulfill the vision. An now, with our partners, Agility …
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Paramount Digital Entertainment and Agility Studios announced today that that they have struck a deal to launch the “The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD),” a multi-platform property from writer/director Jon M. Chu (STEP UP 2: THE STREETS) and Agility Studios. Beginning early 2010, The LXD will debut on select online video destinations.
“The LXD allows us to evolve how we tell stories using dance while creating a platform for the best dancers in the world to do what they do best,” states Jon M. Chu, Creator of The LXD. “PDE’s commitment and passion for the LXD has been amazing and together with Agility and my creative team, producing partner Hieu Ho and choreographers Harry Shum and Chris Scott, we hope reshape the future of dance and storytelling.”
The LXD launches with a scripted online series about heroes and villains with amazing powers of dance, that band together in rival factions, with an epic back-story and mythology woven around how the various dance styles in the hip-hop world came to be. The LXD employs the hugely popular and visually stunning culture of dance battles, intertwined with a cinematic narrative. The series will be complemented by live performances, instructional videos, and a web community where fans can learn and perfect their own dance moves, and even become part of the story.
“We are thrilled to be involved with Jon Chu and Agility. The LXD is an exciting property that fits our strategy: it’s a highly commercial project from a proven filmmaker that has feature-quality production values,” said Thomas Lesinski, President of Paramount Digital Entertainment.
Agility Studios, a boutique studio, develops, finances and manages content franchises that engage audiences across multiple media platforms including digital and traditional distribution platforms, including, videogames, live tours, film, television, broadband and more. Descending from industry elites including LivePlanet (Project Greenlight), Newscorp, AOL, NBC and REAL Networks, the founders bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and legacy to their investments and projects.
“The LXD has been one of those projects we believed in from the first meeting with Jon. His passion, vision and track record in the dance space is unparalleled and The LXD provides a platform for synthesizing dance and storytelling in a way that takes the genre to places no one has been before,” said, Scott Ehrlich, CEO of Agility Studios. “Our priority in finding a company to launch The LXD’s first set of products was finding a team that not only believed in the property but had the muscle and experience to help us make it big. We are excited to be in business with PDE given their industry leading track record and history of innovation in digital media,” adds Larry Tanz, President of Agility.
“The LEGION OF EXTRAORDINARY DANCERS” is the next generation of Chu’s successful run of dance projects; beginning with “STEP UP 2: THE STREETS,” the worldwide film sensation that grossed $148 Million at the box office, followed by “THE BIGGEST ONLINE DANCE BATTLE,” an internet phenomenon that has had over 20 million views on a series of dance videos with celebrity cameos including Adam Sandler, Diana Ross and Miley Cyrus. His upcoming project “STEP UP 3D” will be released in the summer of 2010.
About Paramount Digital Entertainment:
Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE) is a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation. PDE develops and distributes filmed entertainment across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices, videogames, virtual worlds and emerging technologies.
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company’s labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Worldwide Television Distribution.
About Agility Studios:
Agility Studios is a boutique studio committed to transforming digital media properties into viable businesses by supporting content creators with services that include creative development, financing, distribution, sponsorship and advertising sales, production infrastructure, business affairs and back office support. Founded by Scott Ehrlich and Larry Tanz, the company combines five decades of experience in new media and traditional media production and distribution as well as brand and advertiser sponsorship and integration.
About Jon M. Chu:
Jon M. Chu is the director of the wildly successful movie, “STEP UP 2: THE STREETS” which grossed over 150 million dollars worldwide in 2008. The film won Best Picture Drama at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards and the Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards. He is currently in post production on the next installment of the Touchstone/Summit franchise, “STEP UP 3D”, which will be released in the summer of 2010.
While I was up on the farm in Minnesota I had the opportunity to go see White Lies and Kings of Leon in concert. One of the best concerts I’ve ever been too [besides Tool and Hybrid]! It really feels like KOL and White Lies have both ‘come into their own’ this past year with sounds that could knock any ones socks off. If you have the chance – SEE them in concert. Both their cd’s are amazing, but concert will blow your face off!
White Lies has that clean and classic UK vocal sound with that yummy UK drum and bass that can carry you away and make your body move whether you wish to or not. They could clearly be their own headlining act and rock out an entire arena. The drummer Jack Lawrence Brown is nothing short of inspirational to watch on stage and really feels like the heartbeat of the band.
Kings of Leon are my very favorite band. Not since Nirvana have I felt such joy over hearing a sound. KOL gives me the clean, full and dance musical feeling of Coldplay mixed with the soul, grunge and rock out sound of Nirvana … just dreamy! Kings of Leon had more success overseas before the US caught on, even though they are from Tennessee. The night of the concert their song ‘Use Somebody’ went to the top of the US charts … the first time they have topped charts in the US. When they announced it on stage they seemed both happy and pleasantly amused that it was ‘Use Somebody’.
