The Witzard

"Get ready for some groovy rockin' and rollin' with large doses of spooky intrigue, steamy jealousy, ribald rivalry, back-stabbing betrayal, the perfect black leather jacket, sultry groupies, a strummin' specter, and even a miniature stripper, as lead guitarist of the Japanese Rock group, The Screamin' Telstars meets his doom in the form of a smokin' vintage amplifier. After crossing the Ghostroad , Tony discovers there is nowhere else to turn—and if you don't give The Devil his due, payback is a b*tch," legendary Rock "N" Roll groupie, author, journalist, and musician Pamela Des Barres exuberantly proclaims. Ghostroads: A Japanese Rock n Roll Ghost Story has been quite fittingly described as " A Hard Day's Night in Japan [with] a Faustian Twist ," which follows a struggling musician named Tony (AKA The Neatbeats frontman Mr. Pan ) and his Retro-Rock band, The Screamin' Telstars . As you can see within ROBOT 55 ...

" [Class Ring] EP is a fully independent production/release written and produced by myself and a handful of friends. I'm from the Los Angeles area, always made music, mostly was a drummer in bands and within the past couple years, have made the jump from making beats on my laptop to producing my own music and eventually, putting out this project. I definitely have plans to continue working and releasing music. Hopefully, some live shows, if I can book them and get some people that want to listen haha," Class Ring producer and multi-instrumentalist "Spencer" described within a recent emaile. Prior to his very recently released Class Ring EP , Spencer had only uploaded two projects to his newly-formed Soundcloud page: 13-minute Summer Mixtape and "Crafty," both quietly released within the last 1-2 months. Class Ring EP is fittingly tagged on Soundcloud as " Trip Hop , Ambient, Downtempo , Hip Hop, Chillwave , Beats, Sample , Drum & ...

"Hi people, my name is Cryptic One, a producer from Brooklyn, NY and I have been making beats since 1989. Yes, you read that correctly, I am THAT old. With that said, when asked to write about a few albums that had an influence on my production, I was initially overwhelmed with a seemingly infinite number of important works to mention. After long deliberation, I narrowed it down to these five; keep in mind that on any given day, I could easily pick five different picks that were just as important to me. So, with no further ado, here is my Beat-maker Bedrock:" I AM by IT I. Jungle Brothers - Straight Out The Jungle (1988) "This was the record that helped me understand how sample-based beats were made. The whole album was great and a big influence on me, but specifically, there is one song from the album that really set things off for me: "[Because] I Got It Like That." But first, a little background/history: In the 80's, Hip-Hop wasn't th...

BODY HEAT by TUFF TURF JE DOUBLE F is a self-proclaimed "Nihilist Punk-Rap" emcee and producer based out of Atlantic City, NJ . If you read his recent Beat-maker Bedrock #2 column published right here at The Witzard , JE DOUBLE F (AKA Jeff Richie ) you'll remember he's equally influenced by Gravediggaz 's 6 Feet Deep as he is by Glenn Danzig -fronted Samhaim 's Final Descent and Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine . "Fast, chaotic songs with no frills. Heavy touring schedule and DIY ethics; if Danzig met DOOM , you'd have JE DOUBLE F ," reads Jeff 's press release accompanying his latest album, HUMAN RITES . JE DOUBLE F has been making his own unique brand of Nihilist Punk-Rap since 2011, most of which has been released on his own Atlantic City -based music/film/book imprint, American Scream Records ; his discography includes, but is not limited to PAGANOMICS (demo sessions #1,) LOSE​/​LOSE split cassette, HALF-MAN , SONGS FO...

I honestly can't even remember how, but about 5-6 years ago now, I first discovered Pennsylvania -based by way of Ocean City, NJ —which just so happens to be my family's favorite "beach town"—awesomely-named Psych/Indie Rock trio Peanut Butter Lovesicle . PB Lovesicle consisted of blonde dread-locked drummer and frontman Timmy Miller and his two cousins (and brothers) guitarist Jake D'Arc and bassist Mike D'Arc . Between 2010-15, Timmy, Jake & Mike self-released a steady supply of Queens of The Stone Age & The Black Keys -influenced material, which included an array of Blues/Desert Rock -minded singles and EP's including, but not limited to: Heavy Daze Wildcat Craze EP , "Black Eyed Blues," Dirty Pride EP , "Complex," "Jealous Minds," and "Dragon Disease," as well as Timmy Miller & Jake D'Arc 's Hip-Hop -indebted Milky 22's EP from their side-band of the same name. Lest we forget, Pean...

Tiger Breaks (Vinyl / Producer Drum Kit) by Te'Amir Sweeney Los Angeles -based drummer and producer Te'Amir Sweeney has frequently toured and recorded with Stones Throw -affiliated Soul singer and Emanon emcee Aloe Blacc . Sweeney has additionally played with a wide array of musicians, mainly affiliated with LA 's burgeoning Hip-Hop , beat-making, Jazz , and Neo-Soul scenes including, but not limited to Sa-Ra Creative Partners , Mark de Clive-Lowe, Kamasi Washington , Kadhja Bonet, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson , YG, Wondem , and Ethic-Cali. Te'Amir Sweeney has recorded extensively with "LA All Day" musician and producer Jason McGuiness (AKA Analog Burners ) contributing drums to his Bandcamp-released collections: Masterpiece EP: A Whitfield​-​Strong Tribute , "We Could Be" with High Science Project/"Empyrean Tones" with Keyon Harrold, and ConSoul 's 2017 "I Need You"/"Ball of Confusion" 7-inch. The Ologist (@Olo...

"I landed in London on my way to meet up with the Madlib Medicine [Show] Tour and had one goal in mind upon de-planing: FIND IF Music! I had read about the proprietor, Jean-Claude Thompson, in a Wax Poetics article and heard from multiple sources that for my tastes, this was THE shop to hit. Upon arriving, I was surprised to find the dapper owner hanging out on the street, seemingly there to welcome me, since the shop [was] on the second floor. After watching me devour the stacks, the dapper owner said, "do you listen to new music?" "Yes, I do," [I replied]. His first recommendation was a new Jazz record from some young musicians in Poland. And that was how I discovered EABS the old-fashioned way, by a recommendation from one of the most knowledgeable selectors on the planet. A week later I opened Repetitions [Letters to Krzysztof Komeda] a beautiful double-album package with an in-depth insert and dropped Side 1 on the turntable. What I discovered ...