bandwagon magazine -april 2016 - luniz

BandWagon Magazine northern colorado arts & entertainment APRIL 2016

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEFJED MURPHY

ART DIRECTORJACK “JACK” JORDAN

PhotographyBEN STIVERS

TALIA LEZAMA

CONTRIBUTORSKYLE EUSTICE

ZACH SHEPHERDMOLLIE KENDRICK

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802 9th St. Greeley, CO 80631BANDWAGMAG.COM

Rabanes pg 12

luniz PG 20tv girl PG 5

grace kuch pg 6

Montoneros pg 6

ARTIST PROFILESThe bastard suns PG 12

masta ace PG 14

UNC JAZZ FESTIVAL PG 17

songs you need to hear this month PG 9

album reviews

3

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BandWagon Magazine northern colorado arts & entertainment APRIL 2016 BandWagon Magazine northern colorado arts & entertainment APRIL 2016

Who Really Cares is the second studio album from Los Angeles based band, TV Girl. Formerly com-prised of Brad Petering and Trung Ngo, Petering finds himself alone on this album but still continues to deliver fresh beats. What makes TV Girl stick out instantly from their peers is their heavy use of samples, honed in on after several releases spanning six years on Bandcamp. Combining the aesthetic of ‘90s hip hop with modern psychedelic pop, Who Really Cares offers a glimpse into the psyche of a love scorned twenty-something.

Upon first listen, the lush layers, hushed vocals, and bedroom style production put you into a dream-like haze that makes you want to dance your way down to the beach on a summer afternoon. Petering’s soft spoken vocals perfectly com-pliment his production, and can be compared to the likes of Toro y Moi, The Books, or Washed Out. The extensive use of vocal samples alongside the lyrics add a fun touch to the record and blurs the line be-tween instruments and voice.

While the album may be cen-tered mostly around the music and production, the lyricism is just as good. According to their Bandcamp profile, Who Really Cares is: “An al-bum about sex, or lack thereof, and the consequence, or lack thereof.” and Petering delivers. His lyrics are genuine and can be brutally honest at times. Recounting what are as-sumed to be real events and emo-tions pertaining to past loves and flings, Petering makes this an album that is easy to relate to.

Who Really Cares effortlessly com-bines dreamy production with relat-able lyrics into one cohesive album. If you’re a fan of everything from hip-hop to chillwave, you need to pick yourself up a copy.

TV GIRLWho Really Cares

5

Noel BillupsBandWagon Magazine

BANDWAGON MAGAZINEOR [email protected]

WANT US TO REVIEW YOURALBUM? SEND SUBMISSIONS TO:

802 9TH ST. GREELEY, CO 80631


Blues Jam, making her the young-est performer at the annual event. She has also attended various music camps and blues festivals in places ranging from the Catskills to Las Vegas, and her time on the road, rubbing elbows with other artists, shows in her self titled debut.

It’s a four-track EP consisting of covers of Etta James’ “Blues is my Business,” Elmore James’ ”It hurts me too,” Don Nix’s “Going Down” and Booker T and The MGs’ “Green Onions.” Those that have seen The Sandlot will remember that “Green Onions” is an instrumental piece, so Kuch’s cover of it shows off her skills as a guitarist. Backing her up on bass and organ are Mer Sal and Jasco from The Symbols, respectively, with Ika Peleko on the drums.

Kuch is incredibly talented for her age, and possesses her own dis-tinctive style. Her cover of “Green Onions” is not the more minimalist organ-and-guitar style the original is known for – she employs Peleko, Jasco, and Sal on the track in their respective bits – but it is still recog-nizable as Booker T’s classic. The rest of her covers are good, though

Yet the studio recording session flew by–we went in and knocked it out. Part of that was working with Chris. He kept us on task and helped us be more efficient.”

The unique qualities displayed in Heat Horse make Leone’s words hard to dispute; each song is comprised of well calculated parts from each of the band members. The gentle yet concise guitar melodies at times seem to float atmospherically over the rhythm sec-tion, while maintaining a refined and clean tone. Balanced yet sporadic, they twist together and complement each other consistently through the EP. The bass leaves just the right amount of fullness while often times leaving intervals of hollowing space under the tracks. This accented the driving drums in Heat Horse well, displaying a groove throughout the EP which makes it almost impossible to listen through and not start head-bobbing.

”We are stoked to say that we have teamed up with a Boulder-based DIY label called First Base Tapes to release our new EP on cassette this April,” adds Leone. “This summer, we will be playing some festivals, both in Colo-rado and out-of-state. We are plan-ning a tour for the late summer. And if all goes well, we will release more new music before the end of the year.” 2016 is shaping up to be quite the year for Montoneros. What this year holds for this indie-rock outfit is as invig-orating as the recent release of Heat

Horse, and leaves the band’s future wide open.

GRACE KUCHSelf-Titled

MONTONEROSHeat Horse

While BandWagon covers any and all music thrown our way, we have never heard any work from a child artist up until now. So when Grace Kuch, a 12-year-old blues singer from Fort Collins, approached me during a Symbols concert last month with her debut album, I had to give it a go.

According to her website, Kuch has been playing original music at various blues festivals across Colo-rado since 2015, including Greeley’s

The latest offering from Monton-eros, Heat Horse, is an exciting release which goes on a journey through many different and incredible musi-cal elements. Recorded in Black and Bluhm Studios with Chris Fogel, the group was astonishingly able to record the entire EP in a single day. Don’t let this fast paced studio ven-ture fool you; this EP is well thought out and the musicianship in these songs is undeniable.

“We spent around 10 weeks last fall recording home demos of the songs before heading to the studio. It helped us get a better sense of dynam-ics, tone, tempo and structure of the songs,” says frontman Gaston Leone. “The contrast between the demo ex-perience and studio experience was stark; the demos process dragged, took a lot of time, effort, and thought.

Jay WallaceBandWagon Magazine

Zach ShepherdBandWagon Magazine

her youth shows on “Blues is my Business;” her pronunciation of “Blues” sounds like “Booze” at first, which gave me pause at first until I remembered the name of the song on the CD case.

Kuch is definitely a rising talent

within Colorado’s local blues scene; I do hope she plays at this year’s Blues Jam. For those that want to track down her album or learn more about her, visit www.gracekuchmusic.com.

BandWagon Magazine northern colorado arts & entertainment APRIL 2016 BandWagon Magazine northern colorado arts & entertainment APRIL 2016 7


Join the FUN!

UNC/Greeley

Jazz Festival

April 21-23 • Hours Vary

Union Colony Civic Center

Northern Colorado

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

May 7th

Island Grove

Regional Park


Moon Taxi – “All Day All Night”There’s a good reason this song gives you a hankering for an Egg Mc-Muffin: McDonald’s chose the Nash-ville-based indie-progressive rock band’s musically delicious tune “All Day All Night” as their All Day Break-fast theme song. We chose to play it on 94.3 The X because, hell, we love Egg McMuffins. Oh, and the song is great, too.

Joywave – “Destruction”Imagine if Nine Inch Nails and Justin Timberlake collaborated on a track – not only would that be oddly amaz-ing, but they’d probably come up with a song like “Destruction,” Joywave’s grittier, angrier, but super-enjoyable follow-up single to upbeat “Tongues” and Big Data’s “Dangerous” (on which Joywave was featured).

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nights-weats – “I Need Never Get Old” After “S.O.B.” went viral across the U.S. and Canada and climbed 18 dif-ferent Billboard charts including the Billboard 200, Cannadian Hot 100, and Next Big Sound, Rateliff returns to his non-commercial sound and song structure that Coloradans grew to know and love in his follow-up sin-gle, “I Need Never Get Old.”

The Lumineers – “Ophelia” With a pretty name like “Ophelia,” you’d assume this is a song about some chick a band member is hung up on – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lumineers co-founder Wesley Schultz explained the record is a “vague reference to people falling in love with fame.”

TRANSVIOLET – “New Bohemia” They don’t yet have 10,000 Facebook “Likes” and TRANSVIOLET is taking the world by storm with their super catchy, bigtime dreamin’ Halsey-esque tune, “New Bohemia.” And with lyrics like “tryna get love, not tryna get rich,” this song could totally pass as Bernie Sanders’ unofficial campaign theme song for millennials.

New Beat Fund – Sikka Takin’ The Hard Way We really dig this super catchy tune – which essentially means this self-proclaimed G-punk (but really alt-pop) Los Angeles-based band is just the kind of flavor us ladies here at 94.3 The X deem worthy of dragging into the Pour Brothers photo booth to make fun mistakes with.

Get more new music news at TheXFrontRange.com and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr!

Mollie Kendrick | On Air Mon.-Fri. 6am-10am

New on 94.3 The x: Songs you need tohear this month...

Moon Taxi

The Lumineers

Joywave

New Beat Fund

TRANSVIOLETTRANSVIOLET Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats


Irma Sandoval | BandWagon Magazine

“Grabar este disco en vivo sin hacerlo desde un estudio ni efec-tos, es mostrar nuestra esencia y alegría que se mantiene intacta desde que comenzamos hasta hoy, una muestra al desnudo tal y como somos” dice Emilio Regueira. La banda famosa por su fusión de rock y ska, Los Ra-banes viajará en su gira compar-tiendo su noveno álbum en más de 35 ciudades. Con reputación internacional, en su gran gira “EnDirecto” pararán en La Rum-ba en Denver este 4 de abril. En sus más de veinte años tocando juntos, el grupo de la ciudad de Chitré, Panamá comenzó en en-ero en Costa Rica y hasta finales de junio transcurrirán los Esta-dos Unidos. Esta colaboración de músicos

incluye a Emilio Regueira Pérez, vocalista y guitarrista, Christian “Pipón” Torres, vocalista y ba-jista, Javier Saavedra sonando la batería, y Randy “Salsa” Cuevas en los teclados. Entre sus ocho discos grabados han producido independientemente al igual que c o l a b o - raciones por Cen-

troamérica, y hasta con los estu-dios Crescent Moon de Emilio Estefan para Crescent Moon Records y Sony Music. No es sorprendente que han logrado ser elegidos como Mejor álbum de rock en 2000 y de Rock Al-ternativo en 2007 en los Latin Grammy’s. Aun con tanto recon-ocimiento y experiencia dicen: “Seguimos siendo los mismos jóvenes que disfrutamos como el primer día cada uno de nuestros conciertos y la cercanía con la gente”.Continúan a declarar sus per-

spectivas de los temas que ven importantes, problemas sociales y económicos que existen en to-das partes del mundo. Hacen su música con fuerza y motivación para expresar a través de su tra-bajo, “la alegría de vivir, compar-tir, algunas veces usamos el hu-mor, cosas cotidianas, historias que nos han ocurrido, historias que hemos vivido y qué mejor que convertirlas en canciones”. ¡No te pierdas la oportunidad de mirar Los Rabanes en vivo este 4 de abril en La Rumba en Denver!

“Recording this album live with-out effects or a studio, is showing our essence and happiness that remains intact since we started up until today, it displays our naked selves just as we are,” says Emilio Regueira. The band fa-mous for its fusion of rock and ska, Los Rabanes will be touring and sharing their ninth album in over 35 cities. With a reputation known internationally they great tour “EnDirecto” tour will make a stop at La Rumba in Denver, April 4. Having played together for over twenty years, this group from Chitre, Panama began their tour in January in Costa Rica and by the ends of June they will have traveled across the United States.This collaboration of musicians

includes Emilio Regueira Perez, singer and guitarist, Christian “Pipón” Torres, vocalist and bassist, Javier Saavedra playing drums, and Randy “Salsa” Cue-vas on keyboards. Among the eight recorded discs they have independently pro- duced and c o l l a b o r a t e d

throughout Central America, and even with Crescent Moon Stu-dios Emilio Estefan for Crescent Moon Records and Sony Music. Not surprisingly, they have man-aged to be chosen as Best Rock Album in 2000 and Alternative Rock in 2007 at the Latin Gram-my’s. Even with their recogni-tions and experiences the band says: “We’re the same young guys enjoying each of our concerts and closeness to the people since day one.”They continue to declare their

perspectives of the issues they deem important, similar social and economic problems that ex-ist everywhere in the world. They create their music with strength and motivation to express through their work, “the joy of living, sharing, sometimes we use humor, ordinary things, stories that have happened to us, stories we’ve lived and what better way than to turn them into songs.” Don’t miss the chance to watch Los Rabanes live this April 4th at La Rumba in Denver!

en español


Featuring

THURSDAYAPRIL 14th

Join us at SpokesBUZZ for a local music meet-and-greet, and our monthly Magnolia Sessions music video series. This month’s session features Experimental Rock Group Wire Faces, who will be in the house for the video viewing, followed by a casual Q&A and complimentary New Belgium beverages.

and

present

WIRE FACES


The Bastard Suns’ vocalist Clay Hiers fell in love with early skateboard graphics at a young age. Like most kids growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, he was passionate about skateboarding and music, particularly punk rock. Living in Atlanta, however, didn’t offer too many options in terms of rock music. After all, the “Dirty Dirty” is renowned for its hip-hop/rap scene. That didn’t stop the ambitious art student. In 2006, he met the members of what would become Bastard Suns.

Currently, the lineup consists of Hiers, guitarist Wes Driscoll, bassist Manny Munoz, drummer Tonka Green and vocalist Whitney Carite, adding a female element to the previously all-boys club. As Hiers describes, “Our current sound is a product of years of refining and reproducing the things we all truly loved about music.”

Bastard Suns are hitting the road partly in support of legendary ska band The English Beat and will make a solo stop in Greeley Tuesday, April

19th. Hiers took some time in between soundchecks to talk Powell Peralta, comparisons to Sublime and why he’s a “bastard sun.”

By Kyle Eustice | BandWagon Magazine

IN CONCERT@ Moxi Theater

in greeley onapril 19th

2016

TIP:

:


BandWagon Magazine: Who came up with the name Bastard Suns?

Clay Hiers: There are two answers to that question: the PC version is that we are the “Bastard Suns of rock and reggae.” But the actual phrase comes from my younger, wild-er days. We lived in a beautiful place near the beach, but we were partying so hard that the sunlight and a beautiful day was no longer welcome, and the “Bastard Sun” became a euphemism for staying up all night. I named the band that to remind myself of what’s tru-ly important in life, and also what isn’t.

I understand Powell Peralta was a big influence on your graphic design style. What do you like about old skateboard graphics?

One of my first revelations was seeing the Powell Vallely elephant graphic at 12-years-old and thinking, “That’s what I want to do. I want to make art for cool people and their equipment.” That led me to art school in At-lanta, which subsequently led to the forma-tion of the band. I owe a lot to old school skateboard art. Plus, there’s the punk rock aspect. I heard Descendants for the first time on a Christian Hosoi video. The work ethic and attitude was great back then. Athletes, artists and bands were trying to do new things, not just trying to accumulate money and Facebook likes.

Do you still do graphic design?

I do a lot of freelance work, as well as all of the design for the Bastards. It’s a hell of a lot of work, but it allows me to have a great deal of control over my band’s aesthetic and the quality of the product.

Atlanta is known for its rap scene. What was it like being a rock band down south?

Most of us live on the East Coast of Florida now, but coming up in Atlanta was a great experience. There was very little interest in rock music at all, which drove us to work ex-tra hard. We built up a pretty great follow-ing—something rare for a punk-ish band in the Dirty Dirty.

I love The English Beat. How excited are you to be opening for them?

I’m incredibly excited about this. They’ve been a favorite of the band since we opened for them and 311 back in 2007. Oddly enough, our booking manager and close friend was their guitarist for quite a while, and we prob-ably have him to thank more than anyone. Re-ally stoked though, we’ve never managed to play San Francisco either, so double-bonus.

Have you always had a female ele-ment to the band? How has that changed the dynamic of the group?

We’ve always had special guest appear-ances by female vocalists, but it wasn’t until we lost our bassist/backup singer that I had to go looking for someone to sing my harmo-nies. We asked my fiancée Whitney Carite if she could fill in for a show or two and the re-action was so great, we decided to make her an official member. It’s been one of the best decisions we’ve made and it’s also fun for me to write for a second female vocal.

Do you get comparisons to Sublime and other bands of that nature? How do you feel about those comparisons?

We do and I’m fine with it. Sublime showed me that it was ok to like most music and that it was ok to play a lot of different genres. I think most of today’s new age reggae bands are influenced heavily by Sublime. But they only got half of the message. The punk and hip-hop influences were what struck me and I owe that band a debt of gratitude for that.

What do you look forward to most about being on the road?

Freedom. We don’t make much, but then again we don’t cost much. Who else gets to see the whole nation and party with every-one, and then gets paid for it? I also look for-ward to seeing all of our good friends across the country and rocking their collective socks off. And I look forward to making great music with our amazing band.


IN CONCERT@ HODI’s HALF NOTE

IN Fort CollinsON APRIL 15Th

2016

TIP:


In 1987, Masta Ace (real name

Duval Clear) was back in his

hometown of Brownsville,

Brooklyn for Christmas break.

He had been studying at the Uni-

versity of Rhode Island, where

he was pursuing a degree in mar-

keting. During that time, he got

a phone call that would change

the trajectory of his entire life.

He didn’t know it at the time, but

his decision to head down to the

United Skate of America skating

rink for a talent show was a piv-

otal one.

“A friend of mine was going to

be in the contest and he reached

out to me, asking if I wanted to

roll with him,” Ace explains. “I

was with my family so I didn’t

think it was cool to break out on

Christmas to go hang out so I told

him no. We hung up the phone

and right after we hung up, my

mother, who had overheard the

conversa-

tion, she said I should go.”

Ace called him back, but he

had already left. He asked his sis-

ter to go track him down. Lucki-

ly, she agreed and could be heard

shouting for her brother to get

back on the phone. The two met

up at the train and the rest is his-

tory.

“I was practicing my lines on

the train the whole way and I

kept making mistakes,” he re-

calls. “I was just nervous. It was

my first time on stage alone do-

ing a rap performance. When

my time came, it was almost like

a light went on and I just became

super focused. It was effortless

the way I was able to get through

the rhyme without making

a mistake or even stumbling.

Something about that moment

was magical, I guess. I got up

there and hit every punchline”

Ace made it into the finals

and was asked to perform again

the following week. He won

the grand prize, which was

six hours of studio time

with famed producer

Marley Marl. He

may have won,

but collecting

his prize proved

to be another

story. A whole

year would

pass before

he could even

make contact

with the elusive

Marley.

“I had to go

back to college,”

he says. “That

summer, they

gave me his phone

number and I

called him relent-

lessly for the entire

summer. I couldn’t

reach him. His sister

would answer and say

the same time every time: ‘He’s

not here, he’s not here.’ It wasn’t

until I graduated in May ’88, I

called his sister and she was like,

‘Look he don’t live here. Here’s

his real number.’ He didn’t give

the rink the right number.”

Finally, he got Marley on the

phone and he agreed to meet Ace

at his studio. He and his friend

got there an hour early, waiting

for nearly six hours for him to

surface. At this point, Ace was

tired of getting the runaround.

“He was paid for the studio

time a year earlier and I was try-

ing to cash in on this victory,” he

says. “Eventually, he comes roll-

ing in and we lay down our first

little demo. I was there three

hours the first day and then we

came back. He apparently liked

what I did on that demo. He was

more on point the second time. I

laid down another song and he

liked it. It was shortly after that

he kept asking me to come back.

We recorded two songs that

ended up being on his compila-

tion. That’s how my career got

started.”

Marley Marl ended up produc-

ing Ace’s first album, 1990’s Take A

Look Around, a record that proved

the ambitious emcee’s untouch-

able storytelling skills. Slaughta-

House followed in 1993 and Sittin’

On Chrome surfaced two years

later. Soon, however, Ace became

fed up with the way mainstream

rap was heading so he vowed to

take a step back.

“I had a 15-song album that just

got shelved by Atlantic Records,”

he explains. “They really just

decided, ‘We understand you’ve

been working on the album for

over a year, but we’re just not

going to put it out.’ It was that

easy for them to make that de-

cision. In their eyes, it wasn’t

commercially viable. This was a

time when P. Diddy and Bad Boy

were killing the game with very

danceable, fun hip-hop. This re-

cord wasn’t any of that. They felt

this record wasn’t going to stand

up against what’s selling. At first,

I got frustrated and angry, said I

was quitting.”

Ace didn’t even think about

rapping for six months. A tour in

Europe, however, changed eve-

rything and he quickly realized

there were still people out there

who cared about what he had to

say. Upon return to the States, he

got back to the studio, locked the

door and created 2001’s critically

acclaimed masterpiece, Disposable

Arts.

“I came back from the tour

with a renewed energy to be

an artist,” he says. “I was finally

ready to do another record. I just

wanted to go in and make a true

and honest record that felt true

to me and who I was. I felt like

it was going to be my last record

so I said what I wanted to say and

could go out on my own terms.”

Despite his success and vet-

eran status, he says he still feels

like he has to prove himself. He’s

often referred to as “underrated”

and left off Top 50 Emcees lists.

With the release of his twelfth

studio album, The Falling Season,

right around the corner, Ace is

still crafting powerful and vivid

storylines, proof of his unrelent-

ing staying power.

“If they’re going to put out a

top 50 and I’m not going be one

that list, I want to feel like the

50 people up there I can say are

honestly better than me,” he

says. “They may have more re-

cord sales—and sometimes I feel

that’s what these lists are based

on, which kind of annoys me. I

can’t sit back on my laurels. The

way you make the best music is

to continually feel like you have

something to show people.”

Kyle Eustice | BandWagon Magazine

One Bar at a Time

Rise To Veteran Rapper Status

BandWagon Magazine northern colorado arts & entertainment APRIL 2016 17

The UNC Greeley Jazz Festival is shaking things up once again this April. The 46th annual will be held April 21st-23rd, 2016. This event, according to the UNC festival website, “brings together internationally recognized artists, jazz lovers, award-winning clinicians, and over 250 college, high school, and middle school big bands, combos, and jazz vocal groups from across the country.” Some of the featured artists include New York Voices, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Joey DeFrancesco.

On Thursday, April 21st is the critically acclaimed vocal group New York Voices. This group made up of Kim Nazarian, Peter Eldridge, Lauren Kinhan and Darmon Meader, have been together for over 25 years. They are known for close-knit voicings, inspired arrangements and unparalleled vocal blends. They are able to seamlessly move from different genres like jazz, Brazilian, R&B, classical, and pop. Ever since their first performance in 1988 and following the release of several albums, they have received high recognition in the jazz world. Over the years, there has been some changes in the lineup but they still never miss a beat. In 2012, Nazarian was

recognized as one of the top 50 most influential Armenian artists. Eldridge is the founding member of the group and has recorded eight albums. Kinhan has three solo albums that created genre-merging music. Meader is a highly respected vocalist, arranger, and saxophonist. Don’t miss out on this phenomenal group.

Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra can be found on Friday April 22nd. This Grammy Award-winning big band was formed in 1986 by John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton and Jeff Clayton. John and Jeff Hamilton both played with Monty Alexander before going their separate ways. They reunited in Los Angeles to found their current band with Jeff Clayton, the brother. Jeff had been living and working in Los Angeles and wanted to help put the band together. John explains on the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra website, “He knew all the best players in the city and how compatible they were musically and personality-wise.”

Saturday April 23rd, legendary Jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco will be performing. When he became popular in the 1980s, some say that it was an onset of a musical renaissance. He brought back the sound of

vintage Hammond organ and Leslie tone cabinets, which were pushed to the sidelines before he hit the scene. Joey DeFrancesco was actually considered a child prodigy, playing tunes as early as the age of four with his father. Almost his whole life DeFrancesco has manifested extraordinary keyboard skills that border on organ wizardry. This will be a truly amazing show to see.

In addition to New York Voices, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Joey DeFrancesco, there is going to be UNC’s premier Vocal Jazz ensemble, Vocal Lab, the Ellis Marsalis Trio featuring NEA Jazz Master Ellis Marsalis, UNC’s Downbeat Award-winning Jazz Lab Band, and Houston Person. You can find more information and specific playing times at arts.unco.edu/music/

By Natalie Allen | BandWagon Magazine

By Kyle Eustice | BandWagon Magazine

There’s not a stoner alive who doesn’t know the song “I Got Five On It” by the Oakland-based duo, Luniz. Released in 1995 on their seminal album, Operation Stakola, it took Yukmouth and Numskull from every day street hustlers to platinum selling artists seemingly overnight. The duo met as junior high students at Westlake Junior High in Oakland. Numskull was already rapping in a group called Brothers With Potential (BWP) while Yukmouth was the hustler of the school.

“I was a young teenager, just in the streets,” Yukmouth recalls. “I had a lot of money as a young dude. I would come to school fresh dressed with all the latest shit and I knew how to draw. BWP wanted to hang with me because I was fly and had money.”

BWP asked Yukmouth to do their logo and shortly after, he was made an official member of the crew. By 8th grade, however, BWP had split up, but Num and Yuk were still tight.

“We doin’ street shit and I’m in and out of juvenile hall,” he admits. “I finally go to jail for a year. That year, I realized I’m tired of selling drugs and going back and forth to jail. I wanted to do something different. I started focusing on lyrics. I came up with the Luniz name, drew the logo and came up with our first song “Ice Cream

Man.” When I got out, I needed to hook up with a dope rapper and the dopest rapper I knew was Numskull.”

The two quickly got to work, but old habits died hard. They were still on the streets of Oakland selling drugs and living a lifestyle that would have eventually destroyed them. As fate would have it, Oakland was experiencing a cocaine drought in the early ‘90s, but they were still trying to buy drugs from a trap house. It just so happened legendary Bay Area emcee, Too Short, was in that house.

“We were like, ‘Fuck this coke deal,’” he says. “I bust ‘Ice Cream Man’ and killed it. Next day, we were in the studio with Too Short. He threw us on Dru Down’s album and “Ice Cream

Man” was a local hit. We made the video and we had an ice cream truck with the triple gold daytons. Long story short,

video was classic. Basically, from there the hype led to the Luniz getting their own solo album. We did our own little EP. Our first song we ever worked on was ‘I Got Five On It.’ That was the first song we did.”

That song became the unofficial weed anthem and took Yukmouth and Numskull to unchartered-territory. They were traveling around the world

while being thrust into the limelight, something the then 20-somethings weren’t used to, but they were just happy they were able to escape the street life.

“We turned a negative into a positive,” he says. “You can even say that about jail—I took a negative situation and turned it into a positive

situation by creating the whole Luniz in jail. Then when I got out, the drought and cocaine deal led us to our record deal—again, turned a

negative into a positive. The arts saved my life; me knowing how to draw and being into music growing up. I was into music before hip-hop became popular. It saved my life. Shout out to my father because he was the first one that made me want to do music.”

The road to glory wasn’t always paved with gold. Numskull admittedly struggled with alcoholism and there was a rift between the two for quite awhile. It wasn’t until Num went to jail—facing multiple felony charges—they were able to repair the damage done during those early years.

“Right before he went to jail he put out a solo album,” he explains. “That’s when I was beefing with everybody. I was beefing with The Game, G-Unit—so beef was going on. I seen Num looking for a way to sell his albums. So he was like, ‘Let me diss this nigga

since I know him and that’s how I will make my album sell.’ In return, it didn’t do nothing. Nobody gave a fuck about the diss so I dissed him back. Right after that, he went to jail.

“So it was like, ‘Ok, you in jail for ‘X’ amount of years,” he continues. “Am I supposed to be your homie when you were shitting on me right before you went to jail?’ We weren’t talking at all. I think a year before he got out, I was asking his buddies for his writing information because I wanted to be the bigger person, and I forgave him for it. I hoped when he got out he’d be on let’s get some money shit. He responded and called me back, saying I was absolutely right and it was bullshit, told me I was his brother.”

Subsequently, Luniz is back in action. In 2015, they released the High Timez mixtape, which has been streamed over 200,000 times. They’re

currently working on Operation Stackola 2 and celebrating the 20th anniversary of “I Got Five On It.” Needless

to say, they’ve come a long way. “When we blew up, Num and I

were the best of friends. Nobody could separate us. Then when the fame came, all kind of friends started popping up. Where were they when we were broke? You get dumb asses. I don’t do side dudes now. I’m my own boss. Num does his own thing, too. I think we’re good.”

“We Turned a negative into a

positive”

“The arts saved my life”“i was a young

teenager, just in the streets”

*BANDWAGON TIP: Catch Luniz at the Moxi Theater in Downtown Greeley, CO on 4/20/16.

SHOT OF THE MONTHPHOTO BY BEN STIVERS

THE PANORAMIC | MOXI THEATER «2.26.16

THE PANORAMIC | MOXI THEATER «2.26.16


CONCERT CALENDARFriday April 1stBen Stivers Senior Gallery@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 5pm

Guilty Pleasures @ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pm

Warren Haynes and the Ashes & Dust Band@ Ogden, Denver — 8pmw/ Jonathan Tyler

Dopapod@ Bluebird, Denver — 9pmW/ The Mallah

The Band of Heathens@ Hodi’s, Half Note, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Chicago Farmer

Album Release: Skydyed@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Yamn, Mikey Thunder, Two Scoops

Bane@ Marquis Theatre, Denver — 7pm w/ TWITCHING TONGUES, Axis, Bankrobber

Robots Among Humans @Gothic Theatre, Englewood – 8pmw/ LaRissa Vienna & the Strange, Dear Me

Saturday April 2ndFunkiphino@ Moxi Theater, Greeley– 8pmColorado’s Funk Sensation

Ivory Circle@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pmw/ Morning Bear, Evinair

Dopapod @ Bluebird, Denver — 9pmw/ The Juantee

.

Euforquestra featuring Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band)@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Analog Sun, the Beatserver

Citizen & Turnover@ Marquis Theatre, Denver — 7pmw/ Sorority Noise, Milk Teeth

The Contortionist@ Gothic Theatre, Englewood – 8pmw/ Monuments, Entheos, sleep-makeswaves

Sunday April 3rdFallujah@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pmw/ The Panoramic, The Caveat, Skinned

The 2nd Annual Staging Youth Showcase@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 4pm

We the Kings@ Marquis Theatre, Denver — 6pmw/AJR, She is We, Elana Coats, Brother James

Monday April 4th Stand-Up Comedy @ 7pmFunk Jam @ 10pm@ Hodi’s, Half Note, Fort Collins

Charlie Parr@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pmw/ Reverend Deadeye’s Broken Spir-its, Kiel Grove

Rad Rad Riot @ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 8pmw/ And The Kids, PWR BTTM

Slaves@ Marquis Theatre, Denver — 6pmw/ Capture the Crown, Myka Relo-cate, Outline in Color, Conquer Divide

Tuesday April 5th Jared & The Mill@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pmw/ Silver and Smoke, Peoria, Elise Wunder

Kyle @ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 8pmw/ Splyt, Ronald Mac, songsbyh

Carnifex@ Marquis Theatre, Denver — 6:30pmw/ Phinehas, Enterprise Earth, Doomsday for the Destroyer

Lissie@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 8pmw/ Skrizzly Adams

Abbath@ Gothic Theatre, Englewood – 6:45 pm

26

FallujahSunday April 3rd @ Moxi Theater in Greeley


Wednesday April 6th Open Mic@ Patrick’s Irish Pub Greeley — 10pm

Unearth@ Marquis Theatre, Denver — 6pmw/ Ringworm, REFLECTIONS, Culture Killer, Hollow Earth, Of Man & Ma-chine

Atlas Genius@ Bluebird Theater, Denver – 7pm w/ Skylar Grey, Secret Weapons

Rita Wilson @ Gothic Theatre, Englewood– 8pm

Thursday April 7thDynamo@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 8pm

Slaine @The Pit, Greeley – 7pm

Irish Session @ Patrick’s Irish Pub Greeley — 10pm

The Shivas@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pmw/ Haybaby, Dead Palms

Kitchen Dwellers@ Bluebird Theater, Denver— 8pmw/ Chain Station, Pickin’ On Ween

Friday April 8thRacing on the Sun, Silver & Gold, EM-PRA, Gabe Kubanda, P O P F I L T E R@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pm

Ubre Brown And The Dream Train, Native Station, and This Side of Paradise@ The Pit, Greeley – 7pmResidual Kid@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pmw/ Bud Bronson + the Good Timers, Slow Caves

Dj Nodj (ft. members of This Must Be the Band)@ Hodi’s Half Note, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Tnertle, Kinetik Groove

Vibe Street@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 9pmw/ Congo Sanchez, Diamond Cuts, TKettle

Random Rab @ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Lapa (Ilya from Emancipator) & Moon Frog

Saturday April 9thThe Burroughs@Moxi Theater, Greeley – 8pmw/ Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal

Laura Stevenson@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pmw/ Crying, Chris Farren

Manic Focus@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pm w/ Late Night Radio, Lucid Vision, ILL.BanksJazz is Phish@ Hodi’s Half Note, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Special Guests

Pegboard Nerds@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 9pmw/ Grabbitz

Sunday April 10th Dabin@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 8pmw/ Decadon

Freddie Gibbs@ Bluebird, Denver — 9pmw/ Chaz French


Deer Tick@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 8pmw/ Ryley Walker

Racing on the sunFriday April 8th @ Moxi Theater in Greeley

28


Tuesday April 12th ORGONE@Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pm

Lucinda Williams@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 8pmw/ Buick 6

Wednesday April 13th Open Mic@ Patrick’s Irish Pub Greeley — 10pm Lucinda Williams@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 8pmw/ Buick 6

Thursday April 14th Free Rock show Featuring Hot Sisters@ The Pit, Greeley – 7pm

Aaron Watson@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Kimberly Dunn


Wolf Alice@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — pmw/ Slaves

Friday April 15th Rumours: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute, Jocko Homo@Moxi Theater, Greeley – 8pm

Absu@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pmw/ Spectral Voice, Rotstrotter

The Burroughs@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 8pmw/ Guerilla Fanfare, Polaris House-band

Bombino@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 9pmw/ Last Good Tooth

Masta Ace@ Hodi’s Half Note, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Jerney, Vibes One, Marble Cake, Kind Dub

Saturday April 16thHuey Mack@Moxi Theater, Greeley - 8pmw/ Special Guests

Ivory Circle@ Downtown Artery, Ft. Collins – 7pmw/ Silver & Gold

Album Release: High Plains Honky@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pmw/ Ned Garthe Explosion, Casey

James Prestwood and the Burning Angels, Colfax Speed Queen, DJ Cowboy Shane

Cloud Cult @ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 9pm

Collie Buddz@ Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins — 9pm w/ Mindstate, Rawtune

Sunday April 17thRaw Beef Sloan Live@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pm

New Years Day@ Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins — 9pm

Monday April 18th

Stand-Up Comedy @ 7pmFunk Jam @ 10pm@ Hodi’s, Half Note, Fort Collins

Tuesday April 19th The Bastard Suns@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pm

420 Eve on the Rocks: Method Man & Redman ft. Ghostface Killah & Raekwon (Live Band)@ Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Mor-rison — 4:15pmw/ Collie Buddz, Joey Bada$$, Dizzy Wright, Stick Figure, the Under-achievers, Jarren Benton, Special Guests

Wednesday April 20th Luniz@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pmw/ Michelob, THC, Kujo Tha God, Crhyme, ESP, Lil’ Young

Afroman@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Eq, Soul Men, Diviine

Ivory CircleSaturday April 16th @ Downtown Artery in Fort Collins


Open Mic@ Patrick’s Irish Pub Greeley — 10pm

Thursday April 21stUNC Jazz Festival After Hours@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 9pm

The Awakening Tour@ The Pit, Greeley – 6pm


Randy & Mr. Lahey Live (of the Trailer Park Boys) @ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 6:30pm [Early Show]w/ Special Guests


Highly Suspect @ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 8pm

The Travelin’ Mccoury’s Bluegrass Ball feat. Billy Nershi of String Cheese Incident & Anders Beck of Greensky Bluegrass@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9:15pm [Late Show]w/ Special Guests

Friday April 22ndUNC Jazz Festival After Hours@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 9pm

Soulfax on Broadway @ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9pm

The Patti Fiasco & Kerry Pastine & the Crime Scene @ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 5:30pmw/ DJ Matt Keys, Maxwell Mud, Pan-das & People, Malai Llama, Rumors (Fleetwood Mac Tribute)

Saturday April 23rdUNC Jazz Festival After Hours@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 9pm

Burgos@ The Pit, Greeley – 8pm

Mount Moriah@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9:30pmw/ Margaret Glaspy, Blake Brown & The American Dust Choir

Dubskin & Musketeer Gripweed@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 5:30pmw/ DJ Wadada, Punch Drunk Munky Funk, Izcalli, Qbala, Wasteland Hop, Write Minded

Sunday April 24thHowie Day@ Moxi Theater, Greeley – 7pmw/ Ben Pu

Thy Art is Murder @ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 6:30pm w/ Rings of Saturn, Fit For an Autopsy, Dark Sermon, Genocide Method

William Elliott Whitmore@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 8pmw/ Josiah


Wednesday April 27th

Open Mic@ Patrick’s Irish Pub Greeley — 10pm

Thursday April 28thPhutureprimitive@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Pumpkin, Whitebear, Miss Jaedha, Techno Shaman


Kvelertak@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 9pmw/ Torche, Wild Thorne

The John Kadlecik Band feat. John Kadlecik of Furthur, Dark Star Oches-tra, and Golden Gate Wingmen@ Hodi’s Half Note, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Special Guests

Friday April 29th See Through Dresses@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9:30pmw/ Male Blonding, Bleak Plaza

Illenium @ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pmw/ Said the Sky

The Congress@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 9pmw/ Megan Burtt

Saturday April 30thThe Heavy Eyes@ Hi-Dive, Denver — 9:30pmw/ Cloud Catcher, Poison Rites

Wild Nothing@ Bluebird Theater, Denver — 9pmw/ Inner Oceans, Flaural

Sunsquabi@ Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins — 9pm w/ Maddy O’Neal, the Beatserver

Howie DaySunday April 24th at Moxi Theater in Greeley


GAMESCROSSWORDS

Sudoku

Coachella 2016

and STR8TS

37

4-30-16

4-30-16

Expires 4/30/16

2116 35th Ave. Suite BGreeley • 970.304.1315

2 36 5 4

98

3 8 12

4 8 59 3 5

6

7

6 24

31

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

7 68 2 9 7

4 51 3 6 7

2 3 14 1 2 5

1 39 6 5 2

6 1

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

4 8 5 3 1 7 6 2 92 7 6 4 9 8 1 5 33 1 9 5 6 2 8 4 71 6 3 8 7 5 2 9 45 4 8 6 2 9 3 7 17 9 2 1 3 4 5 8 66 2 4 7 8 1 9 3 59 3 7 2 5 6 4 1 88 5 1 9 4 3 7 6 2

STR8TSNo. 790 Easy

7 9 8 2 15 6 8 9 7 1 3 24 3 7 5 6 2 13 2 6 7 8 9

1 3 2 8 7 6 94 2 3 1 5 7 8

8 9 4 3 6 57 8 1 2 5 4 6

5 6 4 3 8 7

64

5

7

9

How to beat Str8ts – Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

Previous solution - Tough

SUDOKU

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org

If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.The solutions will be published here in the next issue.You can find more help, tips and hints at www.str8ts.com

No. 790 Tough Previous solution - Medium

36

4 22 13 51 3 6 8

93

7 6 9

48

79

1

2

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

6 8 2 42 5 1

1 6 22 9

3 1 8 26 5

9 3 67 1 66 5 4 9

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

4 5 7 3 1 8 6 9 23 8 2 6 9 5 4 1 76 9 1 4 2 7 3 8 55 1 3 2 8 6 7 4 92 7 9 5 3 4 8 6 18 6 4 1 7 9 2 5 31 2 5 8 4 3 9 7 69 3 8 7 6 1 5 2 47 4 6 9 5 2 1 3 8

STR8TSNo. 791 Medium

2 3 5 62 1 6 5 4 7 8 93 4 5 6 9 8

5 6 3 4 8 73 5 4 8 9 1

5 6 7 8 9 3 24 7 8 9 5 6

9 8 7 6 3 4 58 9 7 4 5 6

7

6 24

31


Previous solution - Easy

SUDOKU




No. 791 Very Hard Previous solution - Tough

36

4 22 13 51 3 6 8

93

7 6 9

48

79

1

2

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

6 8 2 42 5 1

1 6 22 9

3 1 8 26 5

9 3 67 1 66 5 4 9

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

4 5 7 3 1 8 6 9 23 8 2 6 9 5 4 1 76 9 1 4 2 7 3 8 55 1 3 2 8 6 7 4 92 7 9 5 3 4 8 6 18 6 4 1 7 9 2 5 31 2 5 8 4 3 9 7 69 3 8 7 6 1 5 2 47 4 6 9 5 2 1 3 8


2 3 5 62 1 6 5 4 7 8 93 4 5 6 9 8

5 6 3 4 8 73 5 4 8 9 1

5 6 7 8 9 3 24 7 8 9 5 6

9 8 7 6 3 4 58 9 7 4 5 6

7

6 24

31



SUDOKU




No. 791 Very Hard Previous solution - Tough

1

8 74 6

9

4 9

6

12

5

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

2 7 53

5 2 1 61 72 9 1 8 4

38 9 7

26 4 9

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

1 7 6 8 9 2 5 3 42 9 3 4 5 7 6 8 15 8 4 1 6 3 2 7 94 2 7 6 8 5 1 9 33 5 1 7 4 9 8 6 29 6 8 3 2 1 4 5 78 1 9 2 3 6 7 4 57 4 5 9 1 8 3 2 66 3 2 5 7 4 9 1 8

STR8TSNo. 792 Tough

8 6 7 9 2 36 7 5 2 3 1 45 6 4 3 1 2

2 1 5 3 4 61 3 2 4 5 6 74 2 1 3 6 7 83 4 6 7 5 8 92 3 4 8 6 7 5

7 5 6 8 9

48

79

1

2


Previous solution - Medium

SUDOKU




No. 792 Medium Previous solution - Very Hard

36

4 22 13 51 3 6 8

93

7 6 9

48

79

1

2

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

6 8 2 42 5 1

1 6 22 9

3 1 8 26 5

9 3 67 1 66 5 4 9

© 2

016

Syn

dica

ted

Puz

zles

4 5 7 3 1 8 6 9 23 8 2 6 9 5 4 1 76 9 1 4 2 7 3 8 55 1 3 2 8 6 7 4 92 7 9 5 3 4 8 6 18 6 4 1 7 9 2 5 31 2 5 8 4 3 9 7 69 3 8 7 6 1 5 2 47 4 6 9 5 2 1 3 8


2 3 5 62 1 6 5 4 7 8 93 4 5 6 9 8

5 6 3 4 8 73 5 4 8 9 1

5 6 7 8 9 3 24 7 8 9 5 6

9 8 7 6 3 4 58 9 7 4 5 6

7

6 24

31



SUDOKU




No. 791 Very Hard Previous solution - ToughHow To Beat Str8ts Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are di-vided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an op-tion in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.



#BANDWAGPIX

PHOTO BY BEN STIVERS, Talia Lezama

bandwagon magazine -april 2016 - luniz

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