Amoeblog

BERKELEY VIDEO & FILM FESTIVAL - DAN K HARVEST INTERVIEW

Local and global shorts featured in Berkeley festival

This weekend the Berkeley Video & Film Festival is happening at the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas with a concentration on short films/videos typically of about ten minutes in length. At opening night last night of the eighteen year old festival, Dan K Harvest was at the downtown Berkeley cinema and got to view a dozen of these shorts. "It was invigorating, with lots of dark, foreboding, futuristic doomsday themed films Dan K. Harvestand a lot of relationship commentary," he said. In addition to about 15 local productions, there are also many entries from around the US and overseas, including challenging new independent cinema from Italy, Cuba, Germany, Venezuela, and Great Britain.
 
"There was even a film by a 12 year old that was fascinating," said Harvest. Today, the second and final day of the fest, at 6:30pm, Dan K will be featured in the ten minute Escapin' From Oakland. Earlier this week, while still at the Interbike Convention in Las Vegas, I caught up with the longtime Oakland renaissance man, whose illustrious career has included being a rap recording artist, a BMX bike champ, and almost a reality TV star, among many other things (a few years back he was featured in an East Bay Express cover story), to ask him about the festival, the film, and himself. Never one stuck for words, Dan K responded in detail via his iPhone.


Amoeblog: What would you say is your greatest accomplishment in life?

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Posted by Billyjam on September 26, 2009 at 10:50am | Post a Comment

AMOEBA MUSIC HIP-HOP WEEKLY ROUND UP 09:25:09 (VIDEO VERSION)



Amoeba Music San Francisco Hip-Hop Weekly Top Ten c/o Luis: 09:25:09
brother ali

1) Brother Ali Us (Rhymesayers)

2) Andy Allo UnFresh (Allo Records)

3)  Peanut Butter Wolf 45 Live (Stones Throw)

4) John Forte StyleFREEThe EP (Theory 7)

5) V/A Definitive Jux Presents 4 (Def Jux)

6) Blue Scholars Bayani Redux (Duck Down)

7) Trick Daddy Finally Famous: Born a Thug, Still a Thug (Dunk Ryder Records)

8) Lil Boosie Superbad:lil boosie The Return of Boosie Bad Azz (Asylum Records)

9) Cage Movies for the Blind (High Times Records)

10) Beastie Boys Hello Nasty (Capitol)

Super special thanks to the ever knowledgable Luis @ the hip-hop department of Amoeba Music San Francisco for always being so down to supply the Amoeblog with up to the moment news on what's popping at the SF store, new music- wise. For the second week in a row Luis has provided us with a Top Ten due to the wealth of releases (both new and reissues) dropping recently. Above you can see the chart in video and text forms, while below are a series of videos by several of the artists in this latest Top Ten chart.

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Posted by Billyjam on September 25, 2009 at 07:01pm | Comments (2)

FREE GOLD WATCH'S MATT & DR. GOLDSTEIN'S AMOEBLOG INTERVIEW

                                  Free Gold Watch's Matt & Dr Goldstein's Amoeblog interview

If you attended this year's wonderful East Bay Express Best of the East Bay Party at the Oakland Museum of California last month and stopped by the series of Amoeba MusiFree Gold Watchc info & merch booths, you would have no doubt seen the crew from Free Gold Watch busy operating their manual hand-operated silkscreening press, making various Amoeba Music T-shirts right there on the spot. It was a cool set up and all the more impressive considering that it was the first time that the guys from the San Francisco clothing design company had ever taken the large machine out of their hand-operated press. Free Gold Watch custom make other folks' designs on T-shirts, sweatshirts, baby size outfits and more, in addition to creating their own designs.
 
I had heard a bit about Free Gold Watch here and there, including from the folks over at the Giant Peach, who distribute some of their designs but I really didn't know too much about this up-and-coming Bay Area company, so, impressed by their work and also by what cool, down-to-earth, genuinely nice people they are, I decided to follow up and find out a little bit more about this Free Gold Watch.

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Posted by Billyjam on September 23, 2009 at 05:45pm | Post a Comment

PRINCE PAUL'S 1999 PRINCE AMONG THIEVES IS A SLEPT-ON GEM


As with all projects he undertakes, the ever-creative Prince Paul did an amazing job on the above short movie which was "written, produced, arranged, scored & hustled" by the producer. He first came to fame prince paul a prince among thievesin the 80's / early 90's as a member of Stetsasonic, and a producer for both 3rd Bass' debut and most notably De La Soul's debut, plus their two subsequent albums. Since then he has collaborated with a myriad of artists, including Dan the Automator on the concept project The Handsome Boy Modeling School.

The film clip above was all part of the high concept album of the same name which tells the story of an aspiring young emcee named Tariq who has to get money to record his demo tape before a meeting with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. The tale unfolds as Tariq and his friend True (played by rapper Big Sha) hustle drugs and encounter a police ambush, incarceration, and a deadly showdown.

Prince Among Thieves (the artist's second solo record) didn't get nearly the level of attention it deserved when it came out ten years ago. It features Kool Keith, Del La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, Chubb Rock, Sadat X, Xzibit, Everlast, and others, and is well worth seeking out on CD, vinyl, VHS or DVD.
Posted by Billyjam on September 21, 2009 at 08:20am | Post a Comment

THE AGE OF STUPID TAKES US TO THE YEAR 2055...AND IT AIN'T PRETTY

Documentary-meets-Sci-Fi style film screening globally during UN Climate Week

The unique and compelling film The Age Of Stupid's warning message of the impending doom of the planet brought on by global warming is quite clear. The film, directed by Franny Armstrong, who spent four years making it, strikes a perfect balance between documentary and Sci-Fi film styles. Back in March of this year, The Age Of Stupid opened in select theaters, but tomorrow, Monday, September 21st, the film will experience its official global premiere when this docu-drama, in an unprecedented coordinated effort, will simultaneously open in 700 theaters in 62 different countries around the globe. TIcket/venue info here. This carefully coordinated global screening, which was sponsored in part by such organizations as Greenpeace and MoveOn.org, was planned for tomorrow to be concurrent with United Nations Climate Week during the week of the UN Secretary-General’s Summit on Climate Change, September 19th to 26th.

While more and more news on the very real impact  global warming has on our planet is published regularly, it seems like the average person doesn't  realize the seriousness of this issue. Many feel that The Age of Stupid, which takes viewers ahead to the year 2055 -- and it ain't pretty -- articulates in an entertaining (albeit darkly dramatic) way exactly what climate scientists have been warning us of for quite some time... time is running out for the human race and its planet. For more info click here.
Posted by Billyjam on September 20, 2009 at 09:57am | Post a Comment
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