Four Twenty

420 is not a band with a story of California glitz and glamour. 420 is not a band recounting brutal management dramas or record label feuds. 420 is not about image. According to vocalist Mike Kerry, 420 is about limitless musical boundaries, finding truth in life, and following a dream out of the Midwest into the great beyond.

Formed in early 1998, Mike Kerry, Tom Parrott, John Pond and Mike “Bunj” Bunjan have been causing quite a stir in their hometown of Rockford, Illinois.  In 1999, the group won the Rockford Area Music Industry’s Critic’s Choice for “Composer of the Year” for their debut EP “In Four Twenty”. Another RAMI followed the same year for the song “Hands or Time”. Although the band is fairly new to the music scene, Mike and Tom Parrott have been expressing their passion for innovation for over a decade.  “The thing about the members of the band”, Mike explains, “is that we all either own businesses or have huge responsibilities to them. We want to succeed, but we have lives too.”  This has kept 420 fairly localized for 3 years.

Soulfly

Out of the screaming vocals, grinding guitars and angry, emotionally churning beat of Soulfly emerges Max Cavalera . “Most people think our type of music is negative because it sounds negative. We’re trying to show it can be positive”.

Max Cavalera , former member of Brazilian metal band Sepultura, is keeping it amazingly positive. In less than a decade, he has left a band he was with for almost 15 years, buried his stepson and friend Dana, and suffered the loss of musical brothers such as Lynn Straight of Snot and Tunday from the underground Arizona rap band Cutthroat Logic. Yet in the face of despair and tragedy, Soulfly has released an incredible follow-up to their self-titled debut CD called “Primitive”, a polished, hard core effort with a message of spirituality and optimism.

Soulfly’s second project emphasizes Cavalera’s style of multiculturalism, partially attributed to recording “Primitive” near his home at Phoenix, Arizona’s Salt Mine Studios (not to mention his mother is a priestess of the Candomble religiona mix of Catholicism and African religions). Combining metal riffs with traditional Brazilian music and tribal rhythms, Cavalera pours passion for his heritage into every track. “I used the barumbau (a Brazilian instrument consisting of one string and a coconut) on the track “Catch-A-Spirit” off the “Straight Up” compilation (a multi-artist tribute CD to former Snot member Lynn Straight). It was a great experience. Mike (former member of Snot and current guitarist of Soulfly) did a great job putting it together, and it was like a presence was still here. A spirit.”

The Residents

The Residents have kept their identity secret for twenty-eight years.  They have no faces, no gender, no race and no personality.  This decision was reached because they wanted a separation between their personal and professional lives.  Anonymity was and is their only rule.  These faceless anti-stars have stood on the fringes of the music world happily releasing their often-disturbing music to critical acclaim.  They are supposedly originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, and one is the father of Siamese Twins.  Maybe one is a former Protestant Minister and another has one of the largest model railroad collections in the world. 

Regarded by many to be the original pioneers of the music video, The Residents produced their first video in 1972 (Vileness Fats), but really came into their own when they released Third Reich ‘n Roll in 1977.  In this video, the band is dressed entirely in newspapers, as well as the instruments and set.  There is crude stop action animation filmed in black and white color that makes the hair on your neck stand up.

Les Percussions De Guinee

A heavenly outpouring of throbbing jubilation, forceful uplifting beats and pounding enthusiasm, Les Percussions de Guinee’s djembe drumming is vibrant and hypnotic, a tumbling tapestry of blustery resonance and driving rhythms. International cultural ambassadors, this government sponsored ensemble takes the most talented players from their Les Ballet Africains and competing regional companies to showcase this rhythm nation’s complete complement of percussion instruments, including log drums, water drums, five headed drums and a xylophone predecessor called a balafon.  Playing with celebrities as diverse as Harry Belafonte, Elvin Jones, and the Police, this dancing, drumming storytelling troupe represented their country in the worldwide touring company of Africa Oye as well as Imax’s new production of global rhythms hosted by British performance artists Stomp.

Thunderous and uproarious, the fifteen-member troupe presents thousands of years of tradition with decades of experience. Their groundbreaking use of female drummers reinforces Mickey Hart’s belief that before man took over the drum for their military communications, the women were the principal performers, linked to various fertility rituals. Historical speculation aside, the current version of the Ensemble is one of the best. With three new members, bringing one of Guinee’s chief folklorist out of retirement, the addition of flute and the twenty-two stringed kora, Les Percussions de Guinee 2001 blends youth, wisdom and perspective, moving the group from a remarkable drum circle to a phenomenal panorama of a rich musical culture.

Mudvayne

An interview with sPaG of Mudvayne before the face paint came off.