Wednesday, March 31, 2010
New MGMT Video and Album
MGMT now has a video for the first single, “Flash Delirium” off their upcoming album Congratulations out April 13. You can listen to the whole album on MGMT’s site. They’ve definitely changed their sound a lot so check it out, “Someone’s Missing” is a personal fave.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Some Springtime Savage Cuts
It’s officially spring; you know what that means… Our typical activities of taking butterscotch brewflakes to the face, spooking women and children and kicking people in the teeth have been moved outside. Everywhere from rooftops to alleyways to underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. So here’s a list of some songs to help you enjoy your time in the sun:
-Bear Hands – What a drag
-Lo-Fi-Fnk – Marchin’ In
-White Hinterland – Icarus
-Too $hort – Lil Shorty That’s right, he’s baaaaack!
-jj - Let Go
-Happy Birthday – Subliminal Messages
-*SUNGLASSES – Referee
-Cults – Most Wanted
-Stornoway – Zorbing
-Michoacan - In the Dark of Night
-Free Energy- Dream City
-Small Black – Despicable Dog
-Morning Benders – Excuses
-Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned the Hard Way (Listen to the entire album on NPR)
-Surfer Blood – Twin Peaks
-Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill
-Futurebirds – Megachills
-The Sandwitches – Back to the sea
*We got in touch with Sunglasses yesterday while they were headed up to play in MD, the interview will be posted soon!
-Bear Hands – What a drag
-Lo-Fi-Fnk – Marchin’ In
-White Hinterland – Icarus
-Too $hort – Lil Shorty That’s right, he’s baaaaack!
-jj - Let Go
-Happy Birthday – Subliminal Messages
-*SUNGLASSES – Referee
-Cults – Most Wanted
-Stornoway – Zorbing
-Michoacan - In the Dark of Night
-Free Energy- Dream City
-Small Black – Despicable Dog
-Morning Benders – Excuses
-Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned the Hard Way (Listen to the entire album on NPR)
-Surfer Blood – Twin Peaks
-Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill
-Futurebirds – Megachills
-The Sandwitches – Back to the sea
*We got in touch with Sunglasses yesterday while they were headed up to play in MD, the interview will be posted soon!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
There's a Savage Sneaker Head in all of us
On his recent trip to DC, D Rod sat down with Dom Adams, the GM of Major, a SAVAGE sneaker boutique in Georgetown to talk about everything from their Savage store opening in the middle of the night to what kicks celebrities like LeBron James are picking up at their store. If you’re a sneaker head or just like a good pair of dunks, this shit will blow your mind.
1426 Wisconsin Ave NW
MDS: Tell me about the store opening
Dom: Before we opened there was a little sticker on the outside of the door and there was paper up… so the kids had decided that they were going to come in the morning that the store was gonna be open… It all started on the forums, The Freshness… Nike Top, etc... The kids pretty much figured out that the next day the store was going to be completed. So they were waiting outside... about half a block long there was a line of kids. So when the paper got torn off the window there was literally a crowd already standing outside. This was like 12:30 or damn near 1 in the morning and the kids all came in.
MDS: Y’all are in the heart of the Georgetown district, it’s a cool spot but it’s a predominately white upper middle class neighborhood. There is a lot of suits and corpos here, how do you get your clientele?
Dom: For us, we are unique in a way that Georgetown’s legendary shopping resides on M Street. We are on Wisconsin Ave… in a spot where you have a lot of Arab business shop owners. Back in the early 80s this little strip here was a lot of what I like to call hood rich money… The legend of Rayful Edmund and Alpo and those guys, the big drug lords… they would come on this strip and drop like $5,000-$6,000 in a day in the shop… so this little strip here was always that way. How we were able to come back, being all the way up here by these flagship stores… because what you have up here is very unique… Our primary owner is a legendary music exec so he has close ties to the music industry… For us we are top tier count as far as Nikes, Adidas and Reeboks go, but the flipside is, because he has such deep roots in the entertainment industry, whenever stars come to town, like Nas and LeBron, when they are in town they come here.
Because we are a little bit off of the main strip they feel comfortable parking on a side street and coming in. We are able to give them the private shopping experience but we can still cater to the sneakerheads. We get a mix… We literally get every type of customer within a half hour range – the soccer moms, the white kids from Capitol Hill, the hood guys from Southeast all coming through this door constantly…
MDS: What’s your biggest seller right now?
Dom: Hard to say, sometimes we have days where we will sell a gang of generic surplus, other days we will only sell Jordans and the next day we’ll sell pumps. It’s never the same thing. Right now as far as per square inch we are probably number one shop wise
MDS: Yeah, there is boxes everywhere…
Dom: We are pretty much the only store that gets deliveries every day except for Saturdays and Sundays...What I can’t stress enough is that we have the most versatile staff in the world. Our kids live, sleep, eat and breath this shit. Everybody here rides BMX bikes, skateboards, long boards. We got two black guys that long board, you never see that! These are all kids that were our best customers that they all do cool shit. They are all artists, photographers… They really live this. For us to be where we are and to have as much stock as we have we can call out something that is not even on the floor and we just know where it is and what size it is. Right now we are actually showing about 3,000 footwear pieces on the floor each day… We got about 2,500 more shoes that we actually aren’t showing right now because we just can’t fit it all.
MDS: Yeah y’all could fill out a damn warehouse and you’ve got it packed into a dive bar.
Dom: Yeah, Georgetown is probably damn near just as expensive as you New York is right now rent wise... The beautiful part is the history of DC, at one point Georgetown was its own city within the city… These buildings haven’t changed in about 150 years... By law we can’t even change this…
MDS: What are your dream sneaks?
Dom: Right now I’m rockin some beat up Gucci Jordan Ones… but uh… best shoes ever, I gotta say Concord Jordan 11’s. Straight up. It’s classy, its clean, its every kid in my generation’s wet dream. That’s the best shoe in the world to me, it always will be.
MDS: Do you drink PBR?
Dom: I actually do… haha… have you ever heard of the brand Durkl?
MDS: yeah, I have.
Dom: A couple of the guys that are deeply involved in Durkl are former employees from here… when they have good parties, PBR is definitely getting passed around.
MDS: What is the easiest/hardest part of managing one of the illest shoe boutiques on the east coast? Would you say your top five on the east coast?
Dom: Honestly, I would say…we’ve traveled around, we are definitely top 5 in the world. Where we come from, we were the kids that would get on the Greyhound to go to New York to go shopping. I would say the toughest thing here is getting people to understand what it is we do. We bought this to DC so it is still a teaching method here. We still have to teach people that we were selected as one of the top 27 sneaker spots in the world to do a shoe with Adidas. That means something.
MDS: Give me the top celebs that have come in here.
Dom: Okay, top celebs that ever came through, I’d say: DJ Clark Kent, Nas, LeBron…
MDS: What did LeBron get?
Dom: LeBron, believe it or not, got some black Foamposites… size 15…
MDS: Who else?
Dom: Kevin Durant, damn I mean everybody… The whole Roots team, that’s crazy.
Major
Washington, DC 20007
MDS: Tell me about the store opening
MDS: Y’all are in the heart of the Georgetown district, it’s a cool spot but it’s a predominately white upper middle class neighborhood. There is a lot of suits and corpos here, how do you get your clientele?
Dom: For us, we are unique in a way that Georgetown’s legendary shopping resides on M Street. We are on Wisconsin Ave… in a spot where you have a lot of Arab business shop owners. Back in the early 80s this little strip here was a lot of what I like to call hood rich money… The legend of Rayful Edmund and Alpo and those guys, the big drug lords… they would come on this strip and drop like $5,000-$6,000 in a day in the shop… so this little strip here was always that way. How we were able to come back, being all the way up here by these flagship stores… because what you have up here is very unique… Our primary owner is a legendary music exec so he has close ties to the music industry… For us we are top tier count as far as Nikes, Adidas and Reeboks go, but the flipside is, because he has such deep roots in the entertainment industry, whenever stars come to town, like Nas and LeBron, when they are in town they come here.
Because we are a little bit off of the main strip they feel comfortable parking on a side street and coming in. We are able to give them the private shopping experience but we can still cater to the sneakerheads. We get a mix… We literally get every type of customer within a half hour range – the soccer moms, the white kids from Capitol Hill, the hood guys from Southeast all coming through this door constantly…MDS: What’s your biggest seller right now?
MDS: Yeah, there is boxes everywhere…
Dom: We are pretty much the only store that gets deliveries every day except for Saturdays and Sundays...What I can’t stress enough is that we have the most versatile staff in the world. Our kids live, sleep, eat and breath this shit. Everybody here rides BMX bikes, skateboards, long boards. We got two black guys that long board, you never see that! These are all kids that were our best customers that they all do cool shit. They are all artists, photographers… They really live this. For us to be where we are and to have as much stock as we have we can call out something that is not even on the floor and we just know where it is and what size it is. Right now we are actually showing about 3,000 footwear pieces on the floor each day… We got about 2,500 more shoes that we actually aren’t showing right now because we just can’t fit it all.
MDS: Yeah y’all could fill out a damn warehouse and you’ve got it packed into a dive bar.
Dom: Yeah, Georgetown is probably damn near just as expensive as you New York is right now rent wise... The beautiful part is the history of DC, at one point Georgetown was its own city within the city… These buildings haven’t changed in about 150 years... By law we can’t even change this…
MDS: What are your dream sneaks?
Dom: Right now I’m rockin some beat up Gucci Jordan Ones… but uh… best shoes ever, I gotta say Concord Jordan 11’s. Straight up. It’s classy, its clean, its every kid in my generation’s wet dream. That’s the best shoe in the world to me, it always will be.
MDS: Do you drink PBR?
Dom: I actually do… haha… have you ever heard of the brand Durkl?
MDS: yeah, I have.
MDS: What is the easiest/hardest part of managing one of the illest shoe boutiques on the east coast? Would you say your top five on the east coast?
Dom: Honestly, I would say…we’ve traveled around, we are definitely top 5 in the world. Where we come from, we were the kids that would get on the Greyhound to go to New York to go shopping. I would say the toughest thing here is getting people to understand what it is we do. We bought this to DC so it is still a teaching method here. We still have to teach people that we were selected as one of the top 27 sneaker spots in the world to do a shoe with Adidas. That means something.
MDS: Give me the top celebs that have come in here.
Dom: Okay, top celebs that ever came through, I’d say: DJ Clark Kent, Nas, LeBron…
MDS: What did LeBron get?
Dom: LeBron, believe it or not, got some black Foamposites… size 15…
MDS: Who else?
Dom: Kevin Durant, damn I mean everybody… The whole Roots team, that’s crazy.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Happy Hump Day
Oh Peaches, you never fail to surprise us... Savage Oz looks legit, especially the crotch grabbing scarecrow.
New Video Peaches - "Billionare"
YACHT's Mantra for this song : You do not go to death, death comes to you... Savage
New Video YACHT- " The Afterlife"
Just wait for the hospital gown wearing, lazer/fire shooting sorcerer of sorts... confusingly Sci-fi
Hot Chip - I Feel BetterHot Chip | MySpace Music Videos
Happy Hump Day everyone... do something crazy.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
How to Make it (Savage) in America
Our good friend from North Carolina, Sugar C, recently hit us up with some knowledge on that new HBO show that everyone is watching, “How to Make it in America.” Marinate on it.
Verdict isn't out yet if "How to Make it in America", Closest to the Hole Production's new HBO series, is actually savage. Its existence alone makes it more savage than Closest to the Hole's "Entourage", which never strayed beyond the stagnant plot; minor problem, party and spend money, Vince fucks some girls, problem resolves itself, Turtle/Drama/Eric acts like a douche, shuffle and repeat. The soundtrack for "How to Make it in America" however is actually as savage as a god damn lion rocking flannel and taking down PBR tallboys over a barrel fire underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, which to be fair is not a far cry from the music of "Entourage".
A few choice cuts for your ear buds
Missing Persons- Destination Unknown, truly savage. I picture a thick scene of caked up original hipsters back in 1983, a bunch of guys rockin' androgynous bitch jeans and savage little hipster chicks in all types of leggings and neon, deep on PBR smoking cigs up in Mike's first NY apartment and blastin this track late night.
White Denim- Shake Shake Shake, savage in a greasy gritty uncut type of way (the video shows it all). Skip the shower and crank "Shake, Shake, Shake", set a fucking mattress on fire in the yard, bash out a few windshields, tell your spooked neighbors to go fuck themselves and down an ice cold brick, it's Spring god damnit
Bronski Beat- Smalltown, confusingly savage. Its the synthesizers; you love it, I love it and we need it. Bronski Beat's style is at the roots of the current 'tron/synthed diet we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner today, plus the video reminds me of Miami Horror.
A Tribe Called Quest- Can I Kick it. Tribe's savageness was established in 1990 when their first album dropped and this is just one well recognized example of why ATCQ was one of the best hip hop groups ever.
Holy Ghost!- Hold On, modern disco pop. It's been out awhile but still a good sound and a savage cut for the lower-key late night party.
Edward Savage & the Magnetic Zero's- I Come in Please, throw this in the donk and hit the road. From the same people who brought you Home, Ed and the 0's blend a range of sounds guided by an upbeat horn creating a savage melody that speaks to open highway and sun in the hair.
Tenor Saw- Ring the Alarm, like we said it's spring, throw some reggae on the fucking speakers, spliff out and bob your head in the sun to this savage reggae standard.
Other equally savage picks from the show you should check out: Schoolly D- Gucci Time, Ducksauce- aNYtime, Lee Fields and The Expressions- Money I$ King, Sharon Jones and Dap Kings- This Land is Your Land
Verdict isn't out yet if "How to Make it in America", Closest to the Hole Production's new HBO series, is actually savage. Its existence alone makes it more savage than Closest to the Hole's "Entourage", which never strayed beyond the stagnant plot; minor problem, party and spend money, Vince fucks some girls, problem resolves itself, Turtle/Drama/Eric acts like a douche, shuffle and repeat. The soundtrack for "How to Make it in America" however is actually as savage as a god damn lion rocking flannel and taking down PBR tallboys over a barrel fire underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, which to be fair is not a far cry from the music of "Entourage".
A few choice cuts for your ear buds
Missing Persons- Destination Unknown, truly savage. I picture a thick scene of caked up original hipsters back in 1983, a bunch of guys rockin' androgynous bitch jeans and savage little hipster chicks in all types of leggings and neon, deep on PBR smoking cigs up in Mike's first NY apartment and blastin this track late night.
White Denim- Shake Shake Shake, savage in a greasy gritty uncut type of way (the video shows it all). Skip the shower and crank "Shake, Shake, Shake", set a fucking mattress on fire in the yard, bash out a few windshields, tell your spooked neighbors to go fuck themselves and down an ice cold brick, it's Spring god damnit
Bronski Beat- Smalltown, confusingly savage. Its the synthesizers; you love it, I love it and we need it. Bronski Beat's style is at the roots of the current 'tron/synthed diet we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner today, plus the video reminds me of Miami Horror.
A Tribe Called Quest- Can I Kick it. Tribe's savageness was established in 1990 when their first album dropped and this is just one well recognized example of why ATCQ was one of the best hip hop groups ever.
Holy Ghost!- Hold On, modern disco pop. It's been out awhile but still a good sound and a savage cut for the lower-key late night party.
Edward Savage & the Magnetic Zero's- I Come in Please, throw this in the donk and hit the road. From the same people who brought you Home, Ed and the 0's blend a range of sounds guided by an upbeat horn creating a savage melody that speaks to open highway and sun in the hair.
Tenor Saw- Ring the Alarm, like we said it's spring, throw some reggae on the fucking speakers, spliff out and bob your head in the sun to this savage reggae standard.
Other equally savage picks from the show you should check out: Schoolly D- Gucci Time, Ducksauce- aNYtime, Lee Fields and The Expressions- Money I$ King, Sharon Jones and Dap Kings- This Land is Your Land
Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Bands to check out at SXSW
SXSW is going on this week, and if you are Savage enough to be down there then you’ve got a lot of decisions music wise, the options are literally endless. Here are just a few bands we think you should check out while you're there:
-Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Classic soul with an edge, straight outta Bk, you gotta check her out.
-The Futurebirds
These guys hail from good old Ath, GA and have been melting faces alongside The Whigs and other Athens greats for quite some time now. Definitely worth seeing.
-here we go magic
Categorized as everything from freak folk to dream pop, they’ve got a unique sound for sure.
-War Paint
I’ve been obsessed with their video for Stars for awhile now, its creepy cool.
-Morning Benders
These Bk rockers have been getting mad internet love lately.
-Miike Snow
If you haven’t been listening to Miike Snow yet, you need to get with it. This was one of our go-to summer ’09 albums
-Surfer Blood
There’s a reason these guys have blown up recently, I can only imagine how they are live.
-Toro y Moi
Chillwave electro that will have you in a carefree trance in no time.
-Dãm-Funk
80’s nostalgic boogie funk, can’t really go wrong with that.
-Local Natives
These guys gained a ton of attention after playing SXSW last year… sounds promising.
-Free Energy
Actually saw them last week, their outfits were sweet and their music was even better.
-Happy Birthday
Listen to Subliminal Message and try not to go see them.
-Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Classic soul with an edge, straight outta Bk, you gotta check her out.
-The Futurebirds
These guys hail from good old Ath, GA and have been melting faces alongside The Whigs and other Athens greats for quite some time now. Definitely worth seeing.
-here we go magic
Categorized as everything from freak folk to dream pop, they’ve got a unique sound for sure.
-War Paint
I’ve been obsessed with their video for Stars for awhile now, its creepy cool.
-Morning Benders
These Bk rockers have been getting mad internet love lately.
-Miike Snow
If you haven’t been listening to Miike Snow yet, you need to get with it. This was one of our go-to summer ’09 albums
-Surfer Blood
There’s a reason these guys have blown up recently, I can only imagine how they are live.
-Toro y Moi
Chillwave electro that will have you in a carefree trance in no time.
-Dãm-Funk
80’s nostalgic boogie funk, can’t really go wrong with that.
-Local Natives
These guys gained a ton of attention after playing SXSW last year… sounds promising.
-Free Energy
Actually saw them last week, their outfits were sweet and their music was even better.
-Happy Birthday
Listen to Subliminal Message and try not to go see them.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Hype Machine is Savage
Recently a friend of ours turned us on to the site Hype Machine. It is literally a remix and mashup wet dream. We always get excited about new music and new twists on music we already liked. So there ya go kids, go get your mashup and remix on! Be sure to go to the popular section and listen to the most popular/played song:
Clockwork -Office Musik (Dwight K Shrute vs. Weezy F Baby)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Washed Out Interview with Ernest Greene
This past week Washed Out aka Ernest Greene and Small Black made a trip to the City Proper to do a show at a little spot called DC9. Washed Out has been killing it with his lo-fi bedroom pop on tracks like "Feel it All Around" and "Belong," and Small Black sure knows how to jam it out on stage. These guys are no strangers to Savageness and seeing them rock out together on this collaborative tour was a night to remember.
We got in touch with that Southern Savage, Ernest, and were able to chat with him briefly before the show to find out just why he is so Savage.
MDS: Since getting all this exposure this year you've been playing shows and doing interviews a lot… How has this changed your life?
ERNEST: I guess I’m generally just a little better at doing interviews and playing live shows. I’m a pretty shy person. Six months ago I would’ve been freaked out by the idea of even doing something like this, then factor in playing… like I just did two sold out shows in New York. If someone had told me six months ago that this would happen, I would’ve been totally freaked out. I’ve kind of kind of just figured out that the less I think about things the better it will turn out. … We’ve done six nights on tour now... you kind of get in the groove after you play the same sets over and over. You figure out what works and what doesn’t. It’s exciting, it’s a huge learning experience. This is the first tour I’ve done. I’ve done a lot of little one-off shows.
MDS: So, you're touring with Small Black right now, how did you end up getting set up with them?
ERNEST: They actually sent me an email out of the blue, pretty early this summer... saying they were fans of my song. They asked if I wanted to remake one of their songs and I really don’t seek out that kind of stuff unless it’s a really good song. I’m not really into doing remixes but I heard the song and it was really great. It’s called Despicable Dog, it’s really good. I did that remix… They play a lot of shows around New York but they haven’t been on tour. We ended up signing with the same booking agency so it kind of made sense. We both are learning the whole process… just do it together… I flew up not this past Monday but the Monday before… to Brooklyn and met up with them for a few days before our first show… It was a weird thing… I had no idea what kind of people they were… what kind of musicians they were. It was a little hectic at first but they’re great guys and we’ve gotten along well. It’s kind of like one big family now.
MDS: Since you are from the South, are you stoked to see a lot of good new indie and electro pop bands coming out of there?
ERNEST: Oh yeah... I’m good friends with Chaz from Toro y Moi… We talk about this a lot and our thing is whenever we do interviews and people ask… we try to back each other up… Im all about the South for sure.
MDS: If you could go to any concert ever from the past or present, what concert would you choose?
ERNEST: Hmm that’s tough… My taste is all over the place… I went to UGA, I definitely like the 40 watt… the Georgia Theatre… especially now that the Georgia Theatre is kind of not there… I don’t know if they are going to rebuild it or what… Well, I grew up in Perry, GA which is kind of close to Macon, GA… that’s where the Allman Brothers came out of. I think it would be really cool to see the Allman Brother’s back in the day
MDS: What are the top three go-to songs on your I-pod right now?
ERNEST… Pantha Du Prince - Stick To My Side… It’s got Panda Bear on it. I got some CDs from the band we played with last night… Moss of Aura
MDS: No, never heard of them.
ERNEST: Oh man, well there is this viral video of this band called Final Placement… you've got to check it out… It's 4 teenagers in a little garage band… they are from Texas I think. They did this really elaborate music video to go along with it… I guess the right people saw it because it is all over the internet now… I can't really describe the song… you have to hear it… its like ridiculously bad but somehow it works… it gets stuck in your head… The guys in the band have I-phones and we will just stream Youtube videos… Of course everyone in the band has their favorite videos… that was one I happened to see and we’ve been playing it everyday because its so funny… Final Placement, the song is called Shine…
MDS: What is the most savage thing you’ve ever done?
ERNEST: Savage… ahh I feel like we’ve been pretty Savage so far on tour… we did two or three shows up front… college shows… they were kinda small warm-ups for the bigger ones in New York… it is a pretty ruckus crowd… one was in Wesleyan College in Connecticut and the other was... a college in Maine… I don’t think they get very many bands coming through so they were super crazy and into the music. So of course after the shows they have after parties… everybody wants to smoke you out… ya know they just want to hang out and I guess make a connection...
MDS: Has being on tour changed your southern gentlemanly manners, or have you always been a savage partier?
ERNEST: I feel like I’ve been pretty good. I definitely have a good time, I've been under control… I'm 27… all of us are around the same age and most of the kids that are in college and coming to these shows are around 18 and 19 so it's like we can't hang with these kids anymore… I definitely had a good time back in the day… My wife is on tour with us… one of our friends from Georgia is here too and he is definitely the gentleman of the group.
MDS: Where were you and what were you doing when you wrote "Feel it All Around"? That song makes me feel like I am floating in the ocean.
ERNEST: Yea it’s definitely a crowd favorite… I was back in Perry where I grew up, in the house I grew up in. I just have this little set up in my bedroom. It was the middle of summer so it was definitely good vibes going around that time. I wasn’t working so I had a lot of free time… It's definitely a weird place because I was kind of up in the air about a lot of things so the songs were kind of a release from all that… Most of the basic idea was to write songs that were happy and positive to help me be happy and positive.
MDS: Money aside, would you rather play huge well known venues to sold out crowds or smaller dive venues?
ERNEST: Definitely the smaller ones… but it is a trade off. The bigger shows normally have better sound systems and better lighting… I would say the best experiences I’ve had have been house shows, you know at someone’s house, you can’t hear what’s going on but the energy there is usually pretty great…
MDS: Do you enjoy PBR?
ERNEST: Oh yea of course…I'm not even going to admit how many PBRs I’ve had on this trip, it's pretty ridiculous… definitely liking PBR.
http://www.myspace.com/thebabeinthewoods
http://ernestgreene.blogspot.com/
We got in touch with that Southern Savage, Ernest, and were able to chat with him briefly before the show to find out just why he is so Savage.
MDS: Since getting all this exposure this year you've been playing shows and doing interviews a lot… How has this changed your life?
ERNEST: I guess I’m generally just a little better at doing interviews and playing live shows. I’m a pretty shy person. Six months ago I would’ve been freaked out by the idea of even doing something like this, then factor in playing… like I just did two sold out shows in New York. If someone had told me six months ago that this would happen, I would’ve been totally freaked out. I’ve kind of kind of just figured out that the less I think about things the better it will turn out. … We’ve done six nights on tour now... you kind of get in the groove after you play the same sets over and over. You figure out what works and what doesn’t. It’s exciting, it’s a huge learning experience. This is the first tour I’ve done. I’ve done a lot of little one-off shows.
MDS: So, you're touring with Small Black right now, how did you end up getting set up with them?
ERNEST: They actually sent me an email out of the blue, pretty early this summer... saying they were fans of my song. They asked if I wanted to remake one of their songs and I really don’t seek out that kind of stuff unless it’s a really good song. I’m not really into doing remixes but I heard the song and it was really great. It’s called Despicable Dog, it’s really good. I did that remix… They play a lot of shows around New York but they haven’t been on tour. We ended up signing with the same booking agency so it kind of made sense. We both are learning the whole process… just do it together… I flew up not this past Monday but the Monday before… to Brooklyn and met up with them for a few days before our first show… It was a weird thing… I had no idea what kind of people they were… what kind of musicians they were. It was a little hectic at first but they’re great guys and we’ve gotten along well. It’s kind of like one big family now.
MDS: Since you are from the South, are you stoked to see a lot of good new indie and electro pop bands coming out of there?
ERNEST: Oh yeah... I’m good friends with Chaz from Toro y Moi… We talk about this a lot and our thing is whenever we do interviews and people ask… we try to back each other up… Im all about the South for sure.
MDS: If you could go to any concert ever from the past or present, what concert would you choose?ERNEST: Hmm that’s tough… My taste is all over the place… I went to UGA, I definitely like the 40 watt… the Georgia Theatre… especially now that the Georgia Theatre is kind of not there… I don’t know if they are going to rebuild it or what… Well, I grew up in Perry, GA which is kind of close to Macon, GA… that’s where the Allman Brothers came out of. I think it would be really cool to see the Allman Brother’s back in the day
MDS: What are the top three go-to songs on your I-pod right now?
ERNEST… Pantha Du Prince - Stick To My Side… It’s got Panda Bear on it. I got some CDs from the band we played with last night… Moss of Aura
Have you seen the Final Placement video?
MDS: No, never heard of them.
ERNEST: Oh man, well there is this viral video of this band called Final Placement… you've got to check it out… It's 4 teenagers in a little garage band… they are from Texas I think. They did this really elaborate music video to go along with it… I guess the right people saw it because it is all over the internet now… I can't really describe the song… you have to hear it… its like ridiculously bad but somehow it works… it gets stuck in your head… The guys in the band have I-phones and we will just stream Youtube videos… Of course everyone in the band has their favorite videos… that was one I happened to see and we’ve been playing it everyday because its so funny… Final Placement, the song is called Shine…
MDS: What is the most savage thing you’ve ever done?
ERNEST: Savage… ahh I feel like we’ve been pretty Savage so far on tour… we did two or three shows up front… college shows… they were kinda small warm-ups for the bigger ones in New York… it is a pretty ruckus crowd… one was in Wesleyan College in Connecticut and the other was... a college in Maine… I don’t think they get very many bands coming through so they were super crazy and into the music. So of course after the shows they have after parties… everybody wants to smoke you out… ya know they just want to hang out and I guess make a connection...
MDS: Has being on tour changed your southern gentlemanly manners, or have you always been a savage partier?
ERNEST: I feel like I’ve been pretty good. I definitely have a good time, I've been under control… I'm 27… all of us are around the same age and most of the kids that are in college and coming to these shows are around 18 and 19 so it's like we can't hang with these kids anymore… I definitely had a good time back in the day… My wife is on tour with us… one of our friends from Georgia is here too and he is definitely the gentleman of the group.
MDS: Where were you and what were you doing when you wrote "Feel it All Around"? That song makes me feel like I am floating in the ocean.
ERNEST: Yea it’s definitely a crowd favorite… I was back in Perry where I grew up, in the house I grew up in. I just have this little set up in my bedroom. It was the middle of summer so it was definitely good vibes going around that time. I wasn’t working so I had a lot of free time… It's definitely a weird place because I was kind of up in the air about a lot of things so the songs were kind of a release from all that… Most of the basic idea was to write songs that were happy and positive to help me be happy and positive.
MDS: Money aside, would you rather play huge well known venues to sold out crowds or smaller dive venues?
ERNEST: Definitely the smaller ones… but it is a trade off. The bigger shows normally have better sound systems and better lighting… I would say the best experiences I’ve had have been house shows, you know at someone’s house, you can’t hear what’s going on but the energy there is usually pretty great…
MDS: Do you enjoy PBR?
ERNEST: Oh yea of course…I'm not even going to admit how many PBRs I’ve had on this trip, it's pretty ridiculous… definitely liking PBR.
http://www.myspace.com/thebabeinthewoods
http://ernestgreene.blogspot.com/
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Bar Review - A Hybrid DC spot
Since most Savages spend a good majority of their time drinking (we consider it a hobby/healthy interest) we decided we'd do something to help all you Savages out there find legit post up spots to drink at. Hence we have started our bar reviews. Since D Rod made a special trip up to DC for the week, we decided to get crackin so we can help you Savages find the best dive bars out there and avoid the shitty ones. So here goes, D Rod's review of a local DC joint, The Passenger:
So, after a long, great day of touring DC and seeing art at the Phillips Collection, I made my way back to the Georgetown district where I’m currently squatting with Tenderfoot for the week. We get a call from a good friend, James, with a dinner invitation. My buddy James is an oxymoron – Corpo by day/Savage as fuck by night, pretty good hybrid if you ask me. Our homeboy lives in the Corpo downtown district, so Tenderfoot and I had to step out of our crunchy/savage safe zone.
After some amazing cheese and dinner, Tenderfoot and I, fueled by Jameson and PBR, decided to hit up The Passenger, a “great dive bar” suggested to me earlier by a writer for the NY Times. Here’s my little review of the spot:
-The actual bar was nothing special, pretty standard in my opinion, but it did have a lot of stainless steel and a kind of modern feel. No vintage decor on the walls, it was all pretty open. Think of a loft apartment. I’ve read a few reviews of this place calling it a “hipster bar,” the people who wrote those must be single soccer moms who drive mini vans. If anything it is more on the corpo side, but then again it IS me and Tender foot, the two most Savage fucks in the world reviewing this bar. Our version of a dive bar would be cannibal themed with whiskey and PBR pouring from the fire sprinklers.
-After a few drinks we had the pleasure of talking to two of the bartenders:
Alex Bookless – head bartender- Alex was a beautiful woman who was very sweet and is apparently very well known in the DC area for her vodka concoctions. This woman is a surgeon with vodka. I’m positive she could make you a shot that tastes like the best filet mignon you’ve ever had. Me and Tenderfoot wouldn’t know though, because we were drinking Steel Reserve out of a can
-What’s your favorite spot to go drink in DC?
Cork has great wine and cheese, also I like going to Saint-ex
-What’s your favorite drink?
A Martinez (old top gin, carpano, antica sweet, vermouth, luxardo maraschino liquer, orange bitters)
Eamon, the other bartender, was a neck-tattoo sporting, gauged-ear hipster.
-Being in the Corpo district of DC do you like the clientele?
Egghhhh. The office crowd tips good on the weekdays
-Do you get to pick the music that gets played here? If not, what would you play?
Fuck no, I would blast Queens of the Stoneage, LCD Sound System and Bad Brains
-What’s the most common drink ordered here?
Any vodka concoction made by Alex, the most ordered wine would have to be the Tenunta Mazzolino Pinot Nero Pavia IT08
-Do you drink PBR?
Yea, why not?
All in all, it was a fun bar. Not too savage, pretty mellow and cool bartenders!
I give it 3 out of 5 stars
High Points: Steel Reserve and High Life in cans
Low Points: Alex, the amazing vodka surgeon didn’t know what grandma (Grand Marnier) meant when I ordered shots. Supposedly they call it G.M. up here in Corpo Bogan DC land. White Trash
So, after a long, great day of touring DC and seeing art at the Phillips Collection, I made my way back to the Georgetown district where I’m currently squatting with Tenderfoot for the week. We get a call from a good friend, James, with a dinner invitation. My buddy James is an oxymoron – Corpo by day/Savage as fuck by night, pretty good hybrid if you ask me. Our homeboy lives in the Corpo downtown district, so Tenderfoot and I had to step out of our crunchy/savage safe zone.
After some amazing cheese and dinner, Tenderfoot and I, fueled by Jameson and PBR, decided to hit up The Passenger, a “great dive bar” suggested to me earlier by a writer for the NY Times. Here’s my little review of the spot:
The Passenger
1021 7th St NW
Washington DC
-Being a Wednesday night in Corpo Bogan territory the bar was not packed at all. Maybe 30 or so people. So we just pulled up some stools at the bar, no problem. If there was one word to sum up this bar it would be HYBRID... so hard to put into words. For my Charleston people think Chais mixed with Rec Room. I know, weird and a bit scary. I mean half of the people were in bow ties and the other half looked Savage or homeless.-The actual bar was nothing special, pretty standard in my opinion, but it did have a lot of stainless steel and a kind of modern feel. No vintage decor on the walls, it was all pretty open. Think of a loft apartment. I’ve read a few reviews of this place calling it a “hipster bar,” the people who wrote those must be single soccer moms who drive mini vans. If anything it is more on the corpo side, but then again it IS me and Tender foot, the two most Savage fucks in the world reviewing this bar. Our version of a dive bar would be cannibal themed with whiskey and PBR pouring from the fire sprinklers.
-After a few drinks we had the pleasure of talking to two of the bartenders:
Alex Bookless – head bartender- Alex was a beautiful woman who was very sweet and is apparently very well known in the DC area for her vodka concoctions. This woman is a surgeon with vodka. I’m positive she could make you a shot that tastes like the best filet mignon you’ve ever had. Me and Tenderfoot wouldn’t know though, because we were drinking Steel Reserve out of a can
-What’s your favorite spot to go drink in DC?Cork has great wine and cheese, also I like going to Saint-ex
-What’s your favorite drink?
A Martinez (old top gin, carpano, antica sweet, vermouth, luxardo maraschino liquer, orange bitters)
Eamon, the other bartender, was a neck-tattoo sporting, gauged-ear hipster.
-Being in the Corpo district of DC do you like the clientele?
Egghhhh. The office crowd tips good on the weekdays-Do you get to pick the music that gets played here? If not, what would you play?
Fuck no, I would blast Queens of the Stoneage, LCD Sound System and Bad Brains
-What’s the most common drink ordered here?
Any vodka concoction made by Alex, the most ordered wine would have to be the Tenunta Mazzolino Pinot Nero Pavia IT08
-Do you drink PBR?
Yea, why not?
All in all, it was a fun bar. Not too savage, pretty mellow and cool bartenders!
I give it 3 out of 5 stars
High Points: Steel Reserve and High Life in cans
Low Points: Alex, the amazing vodka surgeon didn’t know what grandma (Grand Marnier) meant when I ordered shots. Supposedly they call it G.M. up here in Corpo Bogan DC land. White Trash
-D Rod
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Cask of Amontillado and other Savage Things
But we think the most savage of the three is definitely the Waldmeier’s Fasshotel. We can’t read their website because they don’t speak Savage but according to the Wine Enthusiast this Barrel & Breakfast “features three huge 15,000-liter wine barrels that sleep six people each.” Six people… inside a wine barrel… I think the only way to make this more savage would be if someone made a metal barrel the size of a hotel, put a gigantic bed in the middle, surrounded it by tiny fires and got a homeless giant to stand over it; you’d literally be sleeping in a barrel fire... Savage.
While you’re creeping around in your barrel bedroom you should watch this tight new video for Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” with MGMT and Ratatat. There was already a video out for this song before but they made another one. Probably because the song is so savage. This video is legit. It’s got Kid Cudi rollin around in plaid and smoke on a couch, partying with people wearing creepy props.
And finally, we all know that Of Montreal are straight Savages because anyone who can ride a horse onto stage during a live concert (Kevin Barnes actually did this) is about as Savage as you can get without actually moving to a desert island and wearing a loin cloth. Anyways, Of Montreal performed on Yo Gabba Gabba! yesterday and if you have children and they don’t watch this show then you are officially not a Savage. While we agree that kids are not a very Savage thing to have going on in your life, they are kind of inevitable in some cases. So, you might as well make your kid as Savage as you can so he grows up to be like Rufio in Hook. We wish they had a Savage kid show like Yo Gabba Gabba! around when we were little. They’ve featured guests like Shiny Toy Guns, The Shins, Biz Markie, The Roots, The Ting Tings, MGMT and many more in their music segment plus that furry green monster and the red spiky thing look like they know how to get Savage.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Weekly Savage Music Update
MGMT released a song to be on their new album, Congratulations (the one with the bad 90’s cartoon artwork). You can listen to the song Flash Delirium on Pitchfork
It’s definitely got an eclectic sampling of different music in it, but to be honest we aren't sure if it is living up to MGMT’s former Savage potential. Oracular Spectacular was chock full of electro-Savage jams that have since been overplayed into non Savagedom, but this new jam is a bit more rock n roll. It’s too early to tell what the rest of the album will be like, but we hope they keep at least some of it Savage.
On that note, we’ve come across a new sound from a super Savage group straight outta the southland from good ol’ Savannah, GA. SUNGLASSES is their alias and their jam WHIPLASH has been blastin in my headphones on repeat. It’s a feel good summertime hit for sure and the video is nothing short of awesomely Savage. That outfit and mustache, surrounded by ladies mean muggin in their stunnas… doesn’t get much more Savage than that. I hope to hear more from these Jorja boys very soon!
And finally, Yeasayer’s been working on a video for ONE, which is one of the more Savage songs on their recent album. The video is SAVAGE. We won’t give it all away, you can watch the clip at PopJustice. But we will say this… aliens, barrel fires, warehouse parties, cages, neon lighted instruments, MC Hammer pants = THE MOST SAVAGE PARTY EVER. If we could have a Modern Day Savage themed party, it would be exactly like this, we wouldn’t change one thing. I want to live in this video it’s so Savage.
It’s definitely got an eclectic sampling of different music in it, but to be honest we aren't sure if it is living up to MGMT’s former Savage potential. Oracular Spectacular was chock full of electro-Savage jams that have since been overplayed into non Savagedom, but this new jam is a bit more rock n roll. It’s too early to tell what the rest of the album will be like, but we hope they keep at least some of it Savage.
On that note, we’ve come across a new sound from a super Savage group straight outta the southland from good ol’ Savannah, GA. SUNGLASSES is their alias and their jam WHIPLASH has been blastin in my headphones on repeat. It’s a feel good summertime hit for sure and the video is nothing short of awesomely Savage. That outfit and mustache, surrounded by ladies mean muggin in their stunnas… doesn’t get much more Savage than that. I hope to hear more from these Jorja boys very soon!
And finally, Yeasayer’s been working on a video for ONE, which is one of the more Savage songs on their recent album. The video is SAVAGE. We won’t give it all away, you can watch the clip at PopJustice. But we will say this… aliens, barrel fires, warehouse parties, cages, neon lighted instruments, MC Hammer pants = THE MOST SAVAGE PARTY EVER. If we could have a Modern Day Savage themed party, it would be exactly like this, we wouldn’t change one thing. I want to live in this video it’s so Savage.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Savage Music Update
We've been super busy lately and totally neglected everything music wise, which is very unsavage of us. So we thought we would give you a very brief update on a few things going on in the music world, more to come soon. And hopefully we will get a March Savage playlist soon too. Anyways, here goes:
PITCHFORK reported this morning that THE BLACK KEYS will be releasing a new album, due out May 18th. We love these guys, they really know how to rock and make it sexual. Savage.
LIL WAYNE goes to jail today
GORILLAZ premiered the video for their song "Stylo", to be on their new album, Plastic Beach, that’s going to be released March 8th. It’s alright, I don’t think Bruce Willis is all that Savage but Gorrillaz are legit. You can watch it HERE.
PRINCE has been androgynously Savage since the beginning of time, and apparently he’s got a new song out now, “Cause and Effect.” Minnesota radio station 89.3 The Current debuted his song the other day and is streaming it on their website now. It kind of sounds like a montage of Prince music styles from over the years and might be a little much for one song, but anyone who can rock a blouse and Jeri curls like Prince will remain Savage.
VAMPIRE WEEKEND also premiered the video for their song "Giving Up the Gun" (about 2 weeks ago actually) from their new album, Contra. The video features cameos from Jake Gyllenhall, Lil’ John, RZA from Wu-Tang and a Jonas Brother all in some sort of tennis match. We love Contra and have been playing it on repeat since it came out. As for tennis matches and Joe Jonas… not so Savage, but we’ll give Vamp Weekend a break because we love them.
More to come soon, enjoy your Won Ton Tuesday Savages!
PITCHFORK reported this morning that THE BLACK KEYS will be releasing a new album, due out May 18th. We love these guys, they really know how to rock and make it sexual. Savage.
LIL WAYNE goes to jail today
GORILLAZ premiered the video for their song "Stylo", to be on their new album, Plastic Beach, that’s going to be released March 8th. It’s alright, I don’t think Bruce Willis is all that Savage but Gorrillaz are legit. You can watch it HERE.
PRINCE has been androgynously Savage since the beginning of time, and apparently he’s got a new song out now, “Cause and Effect.” Minnesota radio station 89.3 The Current debuted his song the other day and is streaming it on their website now. It kind of sounds like a montage of Prince music styles from over the years and might be a little much for one song, but anyone who can rock a blouse and Jeri curls like Prince will remain Savage.
VAMPIRE WEEKEND also premiered the video for their song "Giving Up the Gun" (about 2 weeks ago actually) from their new album, Contra. The video features cameos from Jake Gyllenhall, Lil’ John, RZA from Wu-Tang and a Jonas Brother all in some sort of tennis match. We love Contra and have been playing it on repeat since it came out. As for tennis matches and Joe Jonas… not so Savage, but we’ll give Vamp Weekend a break because we love them.
More to come soon, enjoy your Won Ton Tuesday Savages!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Where Savages Party
So according to GAWKER the new hot spot to late night at in New York City is some guy named Mike's apartment. In the past couple of weeks a plethora of celebrities have been rumored to have been seen there, smoking cigs and cramming as many as 150 people into old buddy's spot into the wee hours of the morning. Supposedly "Mike" is some restaurant wookie that's been around town for awhile and has come to know quite a good bit of people in the area, leading to all this hooplah about his studio apartment that celebs like to chill at.
Well, it sounds to us like these people finally got it right. What's more savage then smoking cigs inside, not being bothered by any obnoxious door guys or cover charges, BYOB, partying till sunrise and getting to sneak some of Mike's expensive whiskey from his collection for free? This sounds like a typical savage Saturday night for us, celebs need to get with it. All this buzz about Mike's apartment got us thinking about the most savage places we like to party... Because remember its all about being in your element when you are a savage. So here's what we came up with:
WAREHOUSES - It's dark, it's creepy, you can't see anyone and if you are at a savage party then you can't hear anyone either because the music is too loud. Warehouses are our go-to spots. They are the destination for savages because you can find a deserted one in almost any city, pack as many of your friends in there and most likely find a band to play for everyone if you are savage enough. We have spent countless memorable nights getting fucked up in warehouses listening to great bands and making out with some randar in the corner. Plus have you ever noticed how a lot of the great music venues out there kind of resemble old warehouses?... feels like home. Always a great time.
BEACH HOUSES - What is not to like about a beach house? Have you seen Weekend at Bernie's??? Everyone loves beach houses. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to stay completely clothed at a beach house. Its so hot outside you just HAVE to keep chugging that butterscotch brewflake in your hand to stay hydrated. Bonus points for beach houses with hot tubs. Leave a couple of savages at a beach house for an hour and you are guaranteed to have a rager on your hands.
AN ISLAND - Same idea as a beach house, just a little more secluded and primitive which can equal a lot more wild sometimes. If we were stuck on the Island of the Blue Dolphins, that place would be like spring break everyday. Savage.
UNDER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE - Don't ask us why we are so obsessed with the Brooklyn Bridge we just are. If we were homeless we would most definitely be posted up as close to the Brooklyn Bridge that we could get, chillin around our barrel fire.
FIELDS - Fields are one of the most legit places for savages to party, because we are in our homelands. The grass is soft enough to take a nap on and you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want to. Drive as many cars up in that thing as you want to, listen to your music as loud as you want to, hell get naked and have a rain dance. Get out your loin cloths and set up a couple of teepees in there and you've got yourself one savage party.
YACHTS - And the creme de la creme of all savage hot spots to party on... a boat. There is something about the open ocean and the wind in your hair. Puts us savages right in our element. The combination of water, wind and sun is not just something that causes greatness on Captain Planet. You cannot have a bad time if you are partying on a boat... unless your sea sick, then you're on your own.
And this YACHT WEEK we've been hearing about sounds like one long euro-trash savage fest of a trip... see you biddies there!
Well, it sounds to us like these people finally got it right. What's more savage then smoking cigs inside, not being bothered by any obnoxious door guys or cover charges, BYOB, partying till sunrise and getting to sneak some of Mike's expensive whiskey from his collection for free? This sounds like a typical savage Saturday night for us, celebs need to get with it. All this buzz about Mike's apartment got us thinking about the most savage places we like to party... Because remember its all about being in your element when you are a savage. So here's what we came up with:
WAREHOUSES - It's dark, it's creepy, you can't see anyone and if you are at a savage party then you can't hear anyone either because the music is too loud. Warehouses are our go-to spots. They are the destination for savages because you can find a deserted one in almost any city, pack as many of your friends in there and most likely find a band to play for everyone if you are savage enough. We have spent countless memorable nights getting fucked up in warehouses listening to great bands and making out with some randar in the corner. Plus have you ever noticed how a lot of the great music venues out there kind of resemble old warehouses?... feels like home. Always a great time.
BEACH HOUSES - What is not to like about a beach house? Have you seen Weekend at Bernie's??? Everyone loves beach houses. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to stay completely clothed at a beach house. Its so hot outside you just HAVE to keep chugging that butterscotch brewflake in your hand to stay hydrated. Bonus points for beach houses with hot tubs. Leave a couple of savages at a beach house for an hour and you are guaranteed to have a rager on your hands.
AN ISLAND - Same idea as a beach house, just a little more secluded and primitive which can equal a lot more wild sometimes. If we were stuck on the Island of the Blue Dolphins, that place would be like spring break everyday. Savage.
UNDER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE - Don't ask us why we are so obsessed with the Brooklyn Bridge we just are. If we were homeless we would most definitely be posted up as close to the Brooklyn Bridge that we could get, chillin around our barrel fire.
FIELDS - Fields are one of the most legit places for savages to party, because we are in our homelands. The grass is soft enough to take a nap on and you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want to. Drive as many cars up in that thing as you want to, listen to your music as loud as you want to, hell get naked and have a rain dance. Get out your loin cloths and set up a couple of teepees in there and you've got yourself one savage party.
YACHTS - And the creme de la creme of all savage hot spots to party on... a boat. There is something about the open ocean and the wind in your hair. Puts us savages right in our element. The combination of water, wind and sun is not just something that causes greatness on Captain Planet. You cannot have a bad time if you are partying on a boat... unless your sea sick, then you're on your own.
And this YACHT WEEK we've been hearing about sounds like one long euro-trash savage fest of a trip... see you biddies there!
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