The Witzard

FATFUK are a New Jersey-based Fastcore/Power Violence/Glizzy Violence(?) band consisting of members from Jersey greats GEL, SICK SH*T, and School Drugs. It's Bobko/Bobby (@cloud_god_1) from GEL, SICK SH*T, and School Drugs on drums, Anthony/Tony (@drydog_) from GEL on guitar/vocals/bass, and Edgar (@thicc_an_tiredd) from School Drugs providing vocal effects. Zach Miller at NOISE WAR SOUND —who's, also, in GEL, SICK SH*T, and Brackish—recorded, mixed, and mastered FATFUK's debut release, ALL YOU CAN EAT, at Landmine Studios in Ewing, NJ. ALL YOU CAN EAT by FATFUK We, actually, first heard about FATFUK when our friend and artist @simpsonsXcore posted about them in their Instagram Story, gushing, "Holy sh*t this rules. Fastcore/powerviolence from members of @schooldrugsnj, @gelhc, etc." along with the ALL YOU CAN EAT cover. Late last night, we got a chance to speak with Bobko himself, who shared a bit of information about FATFUK, via Instagram Messenger: ...

Free is a New Jersey-based singer-songwriter that releases music under the name "4:44." He writes, records, and plays all of the instruments across his rapidly-released albums. July 25th, 2019 will mark 2 years since the initial release of his critically-acclaimed EP. 4:44 has put out a staggering 7 albums since 2015; each album encompasses a completely different genre. Since JAY-Z EP, Free has self-released 4 separate full-length albums as 4:44 - PARALLELEMENT, RECKONING, CREATURE, and DREAM-WAKE. The JAY-Z EP featured members of 4:44's live band (bassist Greg Mele, Jr. & drummer Zach Gormley) playing on the songs. 4:44's JAY-Z EP has been featured on the pages of Rolling Stone Brazil, Pigeons & Planes, The Daily Dot, and Philly's own The Key, who published the initial 2017 feature. 4:44's latest album is an Experimental Semi-dream Pop album called DREAM-WAKE. You can listen to it on Bandcamp & Soundcloud. You can still listen to the JAY-Z EP on ...

Foster & The Pranksters are a "Garage Rap" —essentially, Garage Rock + Hip-Hop —band hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey . Foster & The Pranksters consists of frontman Foster The Prankster , guitarist Mike "The Irate Genius" Chowanec , bassist Steve Padelski , and newest member, drummer Chris Stadler . The Pranksters are equally influenced by sharp-spitters, such as Yasiin Bey FKA Mos Def , Kanye West, The Roots , Wu-Tang Clan, and Lauryn Hil l, as well and Classic/Alt. Rock icons like The Strokes , Jimi Hendrix, The White Stripes , Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Black Keys . Since their 2016 debut single as a group, "Think Me a Fool," Foster & The Pranksters have garnered a sizable buzz, based on their signature blend of Blues , Hip-Hop, and Rock "N" Roll . Recorded in a marathon 12-hour "one-take" session, Foster & The Pranksters' latest EP, La Honda , is a collection of studio recordings, singles, and B...

"Peace! I appreciate you reaching out... I was familiar with TCOR 's production, prior to the joint with [Flashius Clayton] , but that song's the first that I've rhymed on one of his beats. We linked from there and he started sending me stuff. "B.I.E." is the first of many [collaborations] between us," Nebraska sharp-spitter @SleepSinatra told me within a recent Twitter Direct Message. Sleep Sinatra and the aforementioned producer TCOR AKA The Custodian of Records first worked together on "Achorman Fight Scene" from Flashius Clayton 's recent WOLF MOON EP , alongside Chicago emcee Vic Spencer . "You're gonna see me with these good brothers frequently, in the future; might as well get used to it. Talented-a$$ muthaf***as, man. Salute each of them," @FlashiusClayton enthusiastically Tweeted. On "B.I.E." The Custodian of Records creates a refreshing Jazz -laden, beat-inflected soundscape for Sleep Sinatra t...

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it," as 1980's silver screen teen Ferris Bueller would say. Anthony Friedlander , frontman of New Jersey -based Indie/Alternative/Prog-Rock band 4:44 , gets it and really seized the day on July 9th when on a whim, around 3AM, he uploaded 4-track JAY-Z EP to their Bandcamp page. Friedlander and his 4:44 bandmates—bassist Greg Mele, Jr. and drummer Zach Gormley —readily admit that "THIS IS A SHAMELESS MARKETING TECHNIQUE," as JAY-Z 's latest album was seemingly "named after" their band; just imagine a stylistic mix between alt-j , Indie Rock innovators Radiohead, and the frantic, frenzied vocal delivery of Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock . "We're actually huge fans of JAY-Z . Before this whole thing even happened, I had "we are the Mike Jordans of recording" in our Bandcamp Bio ; that is one of his lyrics and this was before h...

While tough-as-nails emcees Guilty Simpson & Danny Brown don't seemingly have much in common (aside from mutual collaborator Black Milk ), the two like-minded lyrical wordsmiths are surprisingly cut from the same battle-worn "cloth." Simpson & Brown both just so happen to have unleashed newly-minted material yesterday, August 3rd: "Animal" produced by Quakers beatsmith Katalyst and "Worth It" produced by Lil B affiliate, Clams Casino , respectively. Late Monday afternoon, I curiously Tweeted @guiltysimpson , whom I recently had the opportunity to interview for this very site , inquiring if he and Mr. Brown had ever worked together; to which he quickly replied with a video still of Elzhi 's "Fire" Remix featuring Black Milk , GUILTY SIMPSON, Fatt Father , DANNY BROWN, and Fat Ray . Lest we forget, Guilty & Danny additionally teamed up way back in 2010 on Quelle -produced Detroit State of Mind 4 mixtape cut, "Mu...

"I love Rock 'N' Roll — just regular LP's give me a lot of pleasure. I have another, equally strong love for pieces of art that have different standards in place for, like, what makes them excellent, you know? I wanted to work on a macro level and a micro level. You can enjoy [this album] for three minutes and it's just a good time... or you can invest 93 minutes and hopefully, you'll get something else out of it," Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles recently lamented to Grantland concerning their just-announced Punk-Rock Opera, The Most Lamentable Tragedy (TMLT) . It was initially announced in a since long-dated September 2013 interview, wherein Stickles summarized it as the story of a "young man, his doppelgänger, and a superhuman race [that] has this curse upon it;" Grantland additionally mentions that in its early gestative phases, was to consist of 30 tracks and would be accompanied by a companion film upon its planned November ...

It's pretty safe to say that New Jersey Punks Titus Andronicus are having the most uncharacteristically blog-worthy week of their 8-year career; After unleashing "Still Life with Hot Deuce and Silver Platter"' s gritty performance video Monday afternoon, frontman Patrick Stickles opened his own singing telegram service... he'll personally travel to your house and sing anything you want, besides "Theme from Cheers" for $50, if you live in either New York City , New Jersey, or Long Island . Then Titus Andonicus uploaded an 8-minute "stone cold sober version recorded at one in the afternoon" of Icona Pop 's sugary sweet mega-hit, "I Love It." It was recently recorded at Brooklyn 's own D.I.Y. Punk club and the band's unofficial headquarters, Shea Stadium . I guess you could day Stickles went ahead and took a little bit of liberty with Icona Pop & Charli XCX 's lyrics: "Fighting with the cops (I love ...

"Many years ago, a young and naive Nine Inch Nails were asked what TV shows they'd be interested in appearing on. As a joke (and likely drunk), they thought of the most absurd choice they could come up with at the time. They were then informed their bluff had been called and were actually booked on said show... They hopped in their Honda Civic touring vehicle and traveled many miles to (I think) NJ for the big show. They had a laugh making fun of the people, their fashion choices and hairstyles. Life was good. Years later, The Internet is discovered... There's a moral in there somewhere. Come to think of it, Skrillex may indeed owe me some publishing on that hairdo." - Trent Reznor

While I love Hip-Hop and almost anything mildly "Punk Rock," I can honestly say that I've never really heard tell of a Hardcore band releasing a mixtape... and the sheer notion of it DOES sound pretty sketchy on paper. But I digress - Let's use the term "mixtape" loosely here and think of Titus Andronicus LLC Mixtape, Vol. 1 as more of a Who Odds & Sods-esque mix CD or hand-dubbed cassette; Rather than an arrogant DJ drop-filled collection of unclear-able sampled Boom-Bap beats and rhythms. Roger that? Titus Andronicus sold 200 copies of a hand-made CD-R rarities collection @ SXSW this past weekend. Due to a wider response than expected, Titus Andronicus LLC Mixtape, Vol. 1 was liberated on the band's Tumblr come Monday morning. It's essentially a 23-track collection of live cuts, covers, demos, out-takes, rehearsal sessions, and miscellaneous "odds & sods" spanning 2005-12. While the quality obviously varies from t...

In the wake of R&B/Pop songstress, Whitney Houston 's untimely death this past weekend, an a cappella version of "How Will I Know?" from her self-titled debut (1985) seems to have emerged. Now a batch of aspiring young Dance producers have already started transforming Houston's vocal into their own unique, buzz-worthy edits for 2012. The particular remix featured here @ "The Witzard" is in fact a mash-up from The Hood Internet; In addition, STV SLV also made good use of Chromeo 's infectious single, "When The Night Falls" [instrumental] from their 2010 Electro-Funk revival record, Business Casual . The Hood Internet 's not so cleverly dubbed bi-product, "When The Night Knows," which quite fittingly, now has an underlying air of "Ghetto Fabulous" -ness. Whitney Houston 's sudden death really is a shame because not only did she make great long-lasting Pop music, she was somebody's mother, ex-wife, ...