2007 Year In Review

2007 Year In Review


2007 was a great year for the Vinyl life Crew. We took the studio to the stage and had our first 8 performances as a live electronic group. Congratulations to Ohzee - the kid is getting married. Keyboardist Richie Roxx had his Nite Club album released in Japan. Phaze Future produced and performed on more Smash Mechanics tracks than you can count. Butcha now is Technical Editor for Club Systems International Magazine as well as a columnist for DJ Times. Our first album is nearing completion and we can't wait for the world to hear it. Vinyl Life Studios got a makeover and we're up to our ears in synths, drum machines, and patch cables.

Vinyl Life would like to thank everyone who came to see us perform, all the DJs that supported our tracks, and our families & friends for believing in us. In 2008 we will be giving it all we got to finish our album and play every stage this side of the Little Neck Bay. We wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Merry Christmas y'all. Ya don't stop. Lorda mercy. Respect.





Our first show at CSV in NYC's LES:















VL live @ Amber in the Hamptons:






Crobar NYC in June:















Ohzee & Butcha with Martinez Bros @ Pacha: (Open your eyes, Butcha. This is a good photo op.)






Ohzee & Butcha with Murk @ Pacha:






Butcha's Pig Roast 07:















By da beach boyeee:




Asseteria @ Plumm:






Fright Night 2007 in Bermuda:













Vinyl Life Crew





Happy new year! See you in 2008!

John Tejada Live PA @ Sullivan Room

After the Blip Festival, I headed to Sullivan Room to check out DJ set by friends Samsara and live p.a. by LA minimal man John Tejada. His modest setup was an elektron machinedrum and an elektron monomachine run into a 16 channel Mackie board with a Korg KP3 on the Aux for effects. There was something else on the end that looked like one of those MFB synths. After they finally got the levels turned up past the point where people were talking to the guy during his set, he brought out his signature melodic deep techno. The sound in Sullivan Room is less than satisfactory but John's tunes sounded great and he really won over the crowd who at first didn't know what the hell was going on. Maybe not his ideal audience, but for those of us that came to hear him throw down, we got what we came for. I couldn't help but compare it to what I had just seen at Blip Fest. Of course, Tejada's music is much deeper and not for losing your mind like a raving sugar rushed ten-year old playing Atari with a mouth full of Pop Rocks. Deep melodies, satisfying low-end, and tasteful electronic percussion made this another inspiring set that I am grateful to have witnessed.

Check out John Tejada's label, Palette Recordings

Blip Festival 2007 - NYC

Artist collective 8bitpeoples and Manhattan art space The Tank put on an event known as the Blip Festival this week at eyebeam in Chelsea NYC this week from Thursday November 29 to Sunday December 2. The focus of this event was musicians/composers/performers who make music on 8 bit Nintendos, Game Boys, Ataris, Commodore 64s and the like.

I checked out Saturday night's line-up for a bit. I was surprised to see such a large crowd (probably 500+) but, more impressive, was the quality of the tunes and the enthusiasm of the audience. Not to mention that people knew the words to the tunes and the artists within the scene.

First I caught Tree Wave who was rocking a modified Atari cartridge with his set list projected and mixed with Atari gems like Combat. He was also on the mic and messing with samplers and people were digging it. Nothing like what was to come next, though.

Bit Shifter took the stage and explained through a raspy voice that he was sounding hoarse from shouting all week. I'm thinking, "these guys are this serious about this music?" Using a Game Boy, this guy rocked the place. Fast 140-150 bpm tracks (prob even faster) with those classic 8-bit timbres brought out the mosher in these geeks. Not since the Beastie Boys show have I seen people bug out to this degree, although in a safer nerdier fashion. Crowd surfing was going down and it was inspiring. To pull off this kind of enthusiasm with a fucking Game Boy really put a big hole in the way I see live electronic performance.

This is an event that is not to be missed next year. For more info: blipfestival.org