by Miguel Bravo | Jan 20, 2011 | Art, Local Business, Music
FTL Collective will be co-sponsoring an upcoming weekly indie dance party at The Green Room at Revolution Live called Digital Love. When the details are finalized, we’ll be sure to share the info. In the meantime, we’re looking for locals who want to contribute their talents to the Thursday event.
Local Artists:
We are looking for local artsy folk who would be willing to create art that we can use on our flyers. Possible ideas include a mini version of art you would create or already have (i.e. a print, photo, or painting). The perks would be free distribution of your design for up to 5,000 people, the opportunity to showcase your work at one of the parties, and prominent placement on this website. If you’re interested, email digitalloveparty@gmail.com
Local Musicians:
We want to book at least one local band for every party. At the moment, we’re looking for rock or electronic acts. If you’re interested in performing on an upcoming Thursday, email us at digitalloveparty@gmail.com with a link to your music.
Local Businesses:
Any business looking to promote their products, whatever it may be, at one of the events, email digitalloveparty@gmail.com with the name of your business and what you’d like to promote. We’re open to everything.
Overall, we want to collaborate with as many different creative types as possible for this event to not only cross promote, but to help support our burgeoning scene.
Stay tuned for the nitty gritty on the grand opening party in a few weeks.
by Strawberry Jam | Jan 17, 2011 | Music
By Strawberry Jam
By now, most people have heard a thing or two about chillwave. Its signature lo-fi sound and dreamy melodies has spawned many haters but equally as many lovers. The genre caught on like wildfire in 2009, igniting a plethora of do-it-yourself bands and fans all over the country, and is still around today. Artists fed off each other by sharing techniques, and even covering and remixing each other’s songs. For those who enjoyed it, the summery sound was the perfect background for hot days and the steamy, dark night.
On top of musicians already struggling to provide an entertaining show of a man and his laptop, critics complained that anyone could make music on a computer. These challenges prompted acts such as Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, and Coral Springs’ Millionyoung to make some changes. South Carolina’s Toro y Moi has since added members to his live performances, and now Millionyoung tours with a band. But why? Why the shift instead of pleasing your fans?
One of the hallmarks of the sound of chillwave is the sense of nostalgia it evokes. Despite the fact that it is (or was) entirely made digitally, its sound is very much analog. The feeling like you’re listening to something old and grainy takes you back and kind of away from reality. Throwing a band into the mix seems somewhat counterintuitive.
Though he’s had a couple dozen other songs and remixes, Millionyoung’s first full-length, Replicants, dropped last week. It features actually recorded instruments with a slightly different style, which seems to be less lyrics and less energy. Below are two songs, pre- and post- “band”. You be the judge: would you prefer your own personal shower of glittery nostalgia, or a full band with a more polished sound?
Millionyoung – Hammock (from The Sundreamm EP, 2010. Download for FREE on millionyoung.com)
Millionyoung – Gravity Feels (from Replicants, 2011)
by Miguel Bravo | Jun 30, 2010 | Funny, Music
If I learned anything from starting countless failed bands (see Rated Arg & The Gray Guns), it’s not always about musical talent; it’s also about hype — more specifically, the band promotional photos. When it comes to taking the picture, bands worry too much about their body language or which animal mask makes them look cooler. In my nonprofessional experience, a band promo photo should always start with the backdrop – train tracks, brick walls, and warehouses are excluded due to overuse and douchey-ness. Fortunately for Broward’s local talent, I have weeded out some of the best painted walls around greater Ft Lauderdale to take a quality band promo shot. Not only did I snap a few photos of these cement masterpieces, I even inserted some musicians into the pictures so you can see what I mean. Click the image for the location of the photo.
Hustlin Hustlin Hustlin…Don Baily Carpets (please don’t kill me Mr. Ross)
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by Mercedes J | Jun 1, 2010 | Music
If Tim Burton, Dean Koontz and the Cheshire Cat were to jointly plan a visit to Fort Lauderdale, they would most likely attend during a Viva le Vox show. An evening listening to the music of these four band mates makes one ponder if someone should be calling Mobile Crisis. Surely, these men with self injurious black eyes and bizarre dress have escaped a locked inpatient unit at Broward General.
On a whimsical stage set with Halloween-esque lights, candles and other ghoulish stage props, a very large band member who goes by the name Paultergeist made eye contact with me. His face contorted to a ghastly grimace as he unhurriedly mouthed the words, “stop staring at me.” Sure, I was a little nervous but as a local psychologist, I’ve certainly witnessed paranoid schizophrenia at its finest.
Viva le Vox’s music has a sort of sneak-up-behind you anxiety feel. With anarchic sounds resembling a medley of skiffle and ragtime on psychotropic meds. Early in the set, Viva le Vox’s frontman, Tony Bones, introduces a song by boldly asserting, “This song is about heroin.” Scarecrow Jenkins – a Jesus meets Lucifer type of gentleman – begins to sob and then rapidly cycles to a more elated mood which arouses him to thrash his tongue at a baffling speed. His red feather boa flares as he almost literally makes love to his stand-up bass. A devoted fan offers a dollar to one of the band members to which he responds,”only nine more of these and I can buy some crack.”
As the show went on, I became concerned for the safety of others when Paultergeist points to the crowd with a metal washboard tied around his neck and yells, “I’m going to kill you all.” Perhaps punitively, lead singer Tony hacks the largest collection of nasal mucous that I have ever seen directly into Paultergeist’s eye. These disturbing behaviors took place during the not-so uplifting lyrics of “better off dead” – which Tony explained is what his mother used to say to him when he was a child. Despite the suicidal and homicidal ideations, I found myself bopping to the rebellious beats of drummer Antoine Dukes as he visibly attended to stimuli that you and I could not see.
Viva le Vox raises the curious question: Are they really insane, or are they the pinnacle example of stage presence? Not knowing the answer to this uncertainty makes watching Viva le Vox even more captivating.
