Facebook | Bandcamp | Website 

“Black Kite,” the debut album under Karate Body Records of Kentucky based band, Silver Tongues, was an ambitious project for the five piece outfit comprised of the Cronin brothers and friends. Including Silver Tongues, was a collaboration of friends and family who lent a hand or voice to make the debut a reality. But if you look closely, what is interesting was their choice of location for their recordings. The Church in St. Louisville and at The Funeral Home as the locals aren’t surprising as we’re introduced to the opening track, “Highways,” a slow, melancholy melody bordering on hymnal. Lead singer, David Cronin, explains the origin of “Black Kite” as a narrative about “serial killers that are on the run. While they are on the run, they are listening to the album “Nebraska.”” Whether that explanation explains the story is up to interpretation, but we can discern that it’s a response to the mourning and celebration of life stayed and life lost, exacerbated by the bitter realization that what we see, feel, hear and love can be taken from us in a blink of an eye. Just don’t blink for too long.

MB: You have the statement “Whatever works for the individual is for the betterment for the whole.” What is meant by that?   David Cronin: We are all very selfish, therefore we find that catering to everyone’s individual needs is cathartic and expressive.

MB: Congrats on your wedding by the way.   

David Cronin: Thanks!

MB: What is your recently released album, “Black Kite” about? As a matter of fact, what is “Black Kite”?   

David Cronin: It is about serial killers that are on the run. While they are on the run, they are listening to the album “Nebraska”. “Black Kite” is suspended inside the minds of the serial killers.

MB: The other day in the subway, I couldn’t help but notice this slender middle aged man, who looked a bit worse for wear. He was performing with what had to be several thousand dollars in equipment, just set up in the middle of the platform. He was obviously pursuing his dream, but to be performing in the middle of the day (I’ve seen him more than once) you have to conclude that he’s without a job whether or not by choice. If everyday responsibilities are calling, would you call someone a quitter for giving up their dreams?   David Cronin: Who is to say that the other parts of the guy’s life is suffering?  After all, he has thousands of dollars in equipment. Maybe he is just having fun.

MB: When do you know when to let go?   

David Cronin: When it gets too hot to handle, or too cold to hold.

MB: Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?   

David Cronin: Yes. Make time on Tuesdays to go to a record store and buy an album. Make the effort.

MB: If you’re releasing your album on October 25, why release the entire album on Bandcamp (even though we’re unable to download your tracks)? Is there a particular strategy that your label decided on?   

David Cronin: We thought that Bandcamp would be just another outlet for access. It allows people another avenue to listen to the music.

Facebook  | Twitter  | Blog  | Website

The parental pressures sanctimoniously wrapped up in a tidy black and white present, expanding at the seams, is all too familiar, full of disdain and chock full of teenage rebellion. Today, it’s brought to you retold revised and updated by Portland based Shadows on Stars’ newest single, “Punk Kids” circa 2011 (but in this decade, embodied by hipsters).

The single relives the embarrassment of our teenage inclinations. The transition from childhood to what we thought was maturity was delineated by a cig, dangling from the bum corner of our mouths and attempted to silence a cough at the first puff. But the “coolness” factor was (gum to shoe) in our minds. We ignored the distaste and convinced ourselves that we were badasses.

One day we’re standing at the corner with the oversized Ray Ban knockoffs and typified hipster clothing, jeering at hapless passersby and puffing cigs – made believable thanks to the help of Hellz Bellz’s and G.P.P.R’s clothing and styling. Next, we’re boasting about hustling dime bags of hash to the kids down the street. Some grow out of the fad, but some unfortunate others realize that they’ve fallen behind. From beginning to end, “Punk Kids” is unequivocally a multi genre-blended track of rock whose staccatoed drums and metallic twangs teeters on dissonance, but falls rhythmically into place as it gists with Brian’s lyrical hip hop influenced delivery. As a total package it’s a determined follow up to the more choral releases, “Now You’re Mine” and “Out of my Head.” Now we’re siting and waiting, wishing, waiting, wondering about an album.

Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp | Myspace | Blog

Little Anchor is undoubtedly personal for the Pacific Northwestern turned NYC songstress. It grew out of a weekend sojourn away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, and took Alexa Cabellon to the rural cabins sitting by the Columbia River Gorge. The product of her trip was her solo demo, “Sunland,” under her own name – the same project that brought together, with a bit of fortune, her bandmates, Kendrick Lo, Thomas White and Ian Chang, a group they later came to refer to as, Little Anchor.

As Little Anchor, “Yellow Lights,” is their debut EP, but also Alexa’s maturation of her singing voice and songwriting that she admits, breaks from dwelling on the pessimism of heart break with a renewed outlook, toting optimism. “The world needs more stories about hookups, right?” she would tell me. Despite your assumptions, “hookups” are an alliteration to happenstances that she retells with a resounding narrative, both lyrically and sonically.

The carefully constructed tempo and ambiance are fashioned around Alexa’s predetermined storyline that pulls you into the moment of the memory. Take “SEA/MA” for example. A quick tempo befitting of travel, is embodied in a reflection of her nine year old self looking out the windows during the two week drive, moving from Maryland to Seattle. It puts you into the car and recreates the mind of a naive child, living a rather dramatic change.

With great attention to detail to her life’s journeys, brought to fruition with both somber and elated melodic vocals, and the crescendo and respective decrescendo throughout “Yellow Lights,” you’re can’t help but to be taken onto Alexa’s boat, where beneath it roll the wave’s ebbs and flows, carrying the momentum of her Little Anchor.

Little Anchor will be performing during CMJ at The Rock Shop on October 22. The doors open at 7PM. Tickets can be purchased online for $5.

MB: Your music is rather “free flowing” and as your band’s name, Little Anchor, evidences, the ambiance of the music puts me in a mood perfect for an afternoon sojourn on a boat. Why does the sea come into play for your group? Is it from Alexa’s Northwest origins?

Alexa Cabellon: Little Anchor started out as my solo project, and for a little less than a year, we were going by my full name (Alexa Cabellon). Coincidentally, I started writing the songs that later became Little Anchor songs while I was back home in the Pacific Northwest for a weekend, staying at a friend’s cabin on the Columbia River Gorge. Perhaps subconsciously, that element of sea, or water, infiltrated our subconscious!

After rehearsing the first few demos I made with my friends, Kendrick Lo (guitarist), Thomas White (bassist), and Ian Chang (drummer), it became evident that the sound we were creating was a band sound, and that the songs I had originally written on my own started to take more shape and contained much more depth when the boys helped me arrange parts for a four-piece band.

We went back and forth on several band names for a few months; I originally was looking to the name the band, “Little Bird,” because I like the imagery that comes to mind when songwriters reference birds in their lyrics, but there was already a band in Texas who had that name, or one similar. Finally, Kendrick and I were going back and forth one day and he eventually came to Little Anchor. It just seemed fitting. As someone who’s always been among the smallest in a group of people, the idea of someone or something small, yet grounding, or perhaps even fierce, appealed to me. And then there is also the endless possibility of design with anchors…

MB: Your influences are The Beatles and The Beach Boys, but when listening to your albums, I wouldn’t have guessed it. What elements from The Beatles and The Beach Boys do you bring into the album?

Alexa Cabellon: My parents were huge Beatles fans, and I learned how to play the guitar by reading through chord charts over two volumes of Beatles sheet music my Dad had around. Both The Beatles and The Beach Boys clearly know how to write melodies, and that’s what I always put first – creating a resonant melody.

Going back to The Beatles, to me, is almost like comfort food. The melodies are so strong, yet the songs are so simple, and the melodies can almost always be sung over four chords. I’ve tried to incorporate that element of simplicity into my songwriting and arranging, while still keeping in mind what I’ve learned from my classical upbringing on piano and the boys’ jazz training. The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” is another album that’s like comfort food to me, with Brian Wilson’s amazing sense of harmony.

MB: How and where did your band, Alexa, Kendrick, Thomas, Ian meet and decide to form?

Alexa Cabellon: I met Kendrick and Thomas during our junior semester abroad in Prague. Aside from being musicians, we lived on the same floor and were in the same Czech language class together. I’m not sure we’ve retained much Czech since then, but we all became very close and even took our fall break to Cyprus, together.

It wasn’t until a couple of years later, though, when we graduated from NYU that I started honing in on my songwriting and voice. I recorded a couple of demos in the summer of 2009 after my trip home and shared those early demos with Kendrick and Thomas. Just as I was beginning to show those songs to them, their friend Ian Chang, who they knew through the jazz department at NYU, was looking for a new place to live, and ended up taking a room that was available in my house in Brooklyn. The three of them had played together several times in various projects, and they all expressed interest in playing the songs I had written, so we started doing acoustic rehearsals at my house in Brooklyn and took it from there!

MB: What went into the making of “Yellow Lights” EP in terms of inspiration? What about the album’s title?

Alexa Cabellon: “Yellow Lights” was written during a very reflective period of growth that I had experienced after being out of college for a year. Side B, especially, is almost a meditation on what I had learned, while trying to focus on the more positive aspects of life. Side A is more narrative based. The first song, “Don’t Be Scared to Move” was actually the last song I had written for the EP; I had only finished writing it a few days before we began tracking drums for the record. I distinctly made an effort to stop writing about breakups and told myself to start writing about hookups. The world needs more stories about hookups, right!? “Lady Tennessee” drew from an experience I had helping a woman out on the subway and grew into a story of its own. “SEA/ MD” is a reflection on my childhood and adolescence split between Maryland and Seattle.

MB: There’s one ethereal track that lulls me into another world where you, Alexa, are crooning, “Until Our Eyes Adjust,” but that track was carried over from your debut EP, “Sunland” to “Yellow Lights.” What went into that decision and what was the first EP intended for? Was it a feeler EP that you experimented with for “Yellow Lights”?

Alexa Cabellon:  I’m happy to hear you’ve listened to “Sunland” and noticed there are two versions of “Until Our Eyes Adjust!” “Sunland” was that collection of early demos that I shared with Kendrick, Thomas, and Ian, which I recorded with my voice teacher in Greenpoint. It wasn’t a feeler EP for Yellow Lights, so much as it was a feeler EP for me in trying to develop my singing voice and my songwriting voice in a very stripped down setting. Maybe it’ll be a Little Anchor collector’s item someday?

“Until Our Eyes Adjust” was my favorite song on “Sunland,” and in my opinion, the most well-written song on the record. I knew that it had more potential to be fleshed out with a full-band and wanted the song to be taken in an ambient, ethereal, haunting route.

In November of 2010, we went to Galuminum Foil Studios in Brooklyn to record a full-band version of “Until Our Eyes Adjust,” which our friend and engineer, Gary Atturio, produced. We also had our friends, Ian Davis and Gabriel Gall of the band, The Relatives, arrange string parts for us, and our friends Kristine Kruta and Josh Henderson, play the cello, violin, and viola parts on the recording.

Gary is a friend of mine through the band, Savoir Adore, and after having such a great experience working with him on “Until Our Eyes Adjust,” we decided to record the rest of what was to be “Yellow Lights” with him in the late Winter/Spring of 2011.

MB: How have you evolved from 2010 into 2011, and approaching 2012? Do you have any goals that you’ve set?

Alexa Cabellon: Being in the studio in 2011 and going through the whole recording process has been such a learning experience for us. It’s really made us tighter as a band, and definitely more than just an extension of my solo project. It’s also given us a clear idea of what sound we’re looking for in the newer songs (post-”Yellow Lights!”) that I’m beginning to write and arrange with the rest of the band.

Approaching 2012, we’re working towards writing a full length album and getting back into the studio to record that. We’d also like to do more weekend runs outside of New York City – we just got back on Sunday from doing three shows in Philadelphia, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Arlington, Virginia/D.C.! I think we’ll probably be back down in DC sooner than later, but hopefully we can make our way up north soon, as well. Now that we’re playing CMJ this year, I’d love to make it down to SXSW in Austin next year, but I know that’s going to take a lot of coordination that needs to be in the works already. If not 2012, definitely 2013.

MB: You’re playing at the CMJ showcase this weekend at The Rock Shop in NYC this Saturday. What should your fans expect and what type of ambiance do you intend to create for your audience?

Alexa Cabellon: We’re so excited to play our first CMJ this year! It’s been a busy month for us – we’ve played four dates this month out of state, which is way more than usual for us in one month. Since we only have half an hour, we’ll be running through “Yellow Lights,” and playing a new tune or two that hasn’t been recorded yet. We will definitely be taking people into that ethereal/ambient world, but there are a few rockers in our set – you’ve been warned!

MB: What’s your opinion on the “indie” pop or indie rock sounds that are creeping into mainstream music charts – for example, Foster the People – typically dominated by pure Pop, hip hop and electronic sounds these days? Where would you like to see your group one day?

Alexa Cabellon: I find it harder and harder to keep up with the “indie” pop / rock scene. I think it’s easy to get caught up in that chase, and it can be fun for a while, but it’s definitely started to wear on me in the past year. I now find myself digging back in time for “new” music. Light in the Attic Records consistently has put out amazing reissues from Serge Gainsbourg, Rodriguez, and Jim Sullivan that I’m really into. As far as more contemporary “indie” artists go, I’m really into St. Vincent, and it’s been fun as a fan to see her evolve in the past three years. Her newest record, “Strange Mercy,” is probably the most experimentally “realized” for her. I’ve listened to it three or four times already and still haven’t digested it fully. Listening to it back to back with her first album, “Marry Me,” proves for very different experiences, yet her voice somehow ties it all together.

Kendrick, Thomas, Ian, and I all listen to a wide variety of music, though. At heart, my interests tend to lie in folk or folk rock. Sometimes I feel pretty old-fashioned, but I like seeing what a band can create without a laptop. The boys are a little more interested in electronic music than me, and I think in the future, it could be interesting to experiment with more electronic sounds, in a tasteful way.

Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” is one of those songs that you can know almost entirely after hearing it once – it’s amazingly catchy. I think my main question with bands like Foster the People is how they will grow and what they will evolve to after their current release. What will their staying power be?

“Yellow Lights” is just the beginning for Little Anchor. There are a bunch of things I’ve learned about my voice and songwriting that I’d like to experiment with for our full-length album. I know my mom wants our record to be played on Seattle’s KISS 106.1 radio station, but I’d be happy to be able to hear our stuff on KEXP radio in the future!

MB: So on the topic of Foster the People, they had their single, “Pumped Up Kicks” on TV shows and commercials. The propelling power of TV as a medium for marketing music is evident. So if you had a choice between any company or TV show to have your music featured on, what track and TV/company would you choose that resonated best with your band?

Alexa Cabellon: I’d love to see “Don’t Be Scared to Move,” or at least the instrumental of that song placed on TV. I heard “Arrested Development” is coming back for a season, and I LOVE that show. “Don’t Be Scared to Move” could probably provide a humorous backdrop for those characters. Otherwise, as a band who truly appreciates food, I’d love to see the Food Network place some
of our music. Perhaps The Great Food Truck Race?

MB: It seems like you do your own screen printing and maybe even designing. Would you call yourselves self-sufficient?

Alexa Cabellon: We’ve been really lucky to have a great team of talented friends help with our design and merchandise, so no, we aren’t entirely self-sufficient. Barclay Douglas has been doing all of the art design for Little Anchor, and I met him through one of my good friends in the Steinhardt Music Business Department at NYU, from which I graduated. Barclay’s been doing design work for us since when we were still going under my full name, but when we made the switch over to Little Anchor, I let Barclay go to town, and the outcome is entirely his natural aesthetic. After developing our logo, he has gone on to do the album art for “Yellow Lights” as well as many of our show posters, which are all hand-drawn. Barclay also grew up in Rhode Island, where the nautical theme runs prevalent, so he really is the perfect fit for our band.

With Barclay’s logo, my roommate, Charlotte, my friend Mia, and I took an evening to screen print a short run of tote bags. Charlotte’s the pro when it comes to screen printing. We only have eight totes left, so I think we may be doing a second run pretty soon! There’s also been talk about making Little Anchor fanny packs!

MB: Is there anything you’re working on that you’d like to tell your fans about?

Alexa Cabellon: Well, right now, between shows, I’m working on writing new songs towards a full-length album. We’ve arranged two of them together as band and have started to play them out at shows. You’ll definitely hear them at CMJ!

Our friends in Philly with the blog, What’s Protocol?, have asked us to do a jock jams cover for a compilation they’re putting together in March. After listening to SiriusXM’s 90s on 9 station on the road, I think we might just have to give into that silliness.

MB: Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Alexa Cabellon: We’re still trying to navigate it ourselves, but as an independent artist, you have to step up and adapt to wearing a lot of hats – you’re the songwriter, the arranger, the performer, the producer, the manager, the booking agent, the record label, the publicist, the publisher, etc. It’s fun to see your dreams take shape, but it can be overwhelming, and it takes a lot of work! Sometimes you’re in artist mode when you’re asked to make “business” decisions, and sometimes you have to carve out time to write when you’re caught up in booking shows.

It’s important to be conscious of that balance between artist mode and business mode. Both sides are important, but at the end of the day, you’re working hard on all accounts, because what you’re creating is something you believe in and can stand behind, and is absolutely worth sharing with the rest of the world.

Dumbfoundead’s Interview with Musefy by Musefy

You can read the interview’s transcript after the jump:

Musebox: You’re such a heavy proponent for Asian Americans and you’re found on practically all the Asian blogs so I have to ask, because there are so few major Asian American artists that are topping the Billboard charts, what you’re really working toward in your career. Are you trying to exemplify the potential of Asian Americans in the entertainment industry or are you a guy who’s trying to make it in the music industry, that happens to be Asian?

Dumbfoundead: I’m definitely, you know, trying to make it in the American music industry. I just happen to be Asian. And as far as being featured on all the Asian blogs and things like that, it’s pretty much the few outlets we have for us for sure that we’ll get coverage on. You know what I mean? Like the other stuff, there hasn’t been many Asians getting coverage in the music scene in general in mainstream media so that’s something I would like to have. It’s just that I don’t yet on a regular basis. You know? So it’s definitely something I’m working toward and it’s something I feel like as far as, you know, me? I’m Asian. I already represent the community by default, you know what I mean, and I feel like I won’t be representing my people to the fullest potential until I really cross over and do that on the other side of things, you know, and so…

MB: How do you feel about the change in expectations from when you started out scribbling lyrics on notepads to ease away the stuff that went on in your life until today, where fans are really expecting you to finish projects and obviously you’re on a deadline, and they expect you to come out with new material on a daily basis.

Dumbfoundead: Oh yea, it’s definitely, it’s definitely a lot of pressure. I mean, it is crazy. I remember just being a kid who freestyles in parking lots, drinking a 40 ounce and just freestyling and have fun battling and things like that, and now, now that I have this fan base, and like you said, even in the Asian community, there’s a lot of pressure there where they feel like oh, they want you to really really succeed and kind of be their representative, and that’s a lot of pressure on a person, you know? And it can really fuck with you creatively as well. As far as the material you put out and what you say, you know. I never wanted to be the dude who’s careful about what I say, but you kind of have to have that a little bit as well, you know.

MB: Oh I see.

Dumbfoundead: And yea, it’s definitely a lot of pressure. It’s definitely a job now. It’s a career but it’s like the best job in the world really. You know, so.

MB: You’re doing what you love, pretty much. So what’s your philosophy on life? Do you prefer to live a short and fast life or visa versa?

Dumbfoundead: I mean money wise, I definitely, I feel like… I dunno, I’m definitely, I’m trying to make money and make, make a lot of money. I mean I have a really hippie mentality, like I’m… I’m already happy. I’m living my dream and I’m making money, I get to do music all day. The only reason my motivation to make more and more money is so I can kinda take my family on this journey with me. You know what I mean? So that like my main motivation to make a lot of money is to take care of the people around me. Because I’m taking care of myself and I’m definitely living the life where you have to travel and do what I love, but my family is still doing the same shit. My mom works 9-5, my sister works 9-5, my dad does too; everybody does, you know? So my main motivation is to just to take care of the people around me and that’s, that’s why I’m grinding, you know, really hard. I could have been the same dude, king of the parking lot, killing the freestyles, the battles and shit, so.

MB: And, kind of off topic, what was it like working with Jin, and do you have any more collaborations in the future?

Dumbfoundead: Yea, Jin was… it was dope working with Jin because we have the similar history, coming from the battle world, there hasn’t been many Asians who really made an impact in that community and I felt like, when I came along and started battling a lot of people compared me to Jin because Jin is like the original Asian battler you know. So that was pretty awesome actually. I gotta say, I don’t think people really really knew how much I was honored to do music with him because he definitely was a big, played a big role. I mean just watching that dude on TV and shit was like, “Oh shit,” like he was killing it on BET on all those battles and just watchin gthose was like, “Goddamn,” like you know he was really good, like undeniably good battling, you know so it was,  it was definitely an honor and meeting him was a trip. It kind of taught me a lot of things too, like just seeing his journey and learning from his… the right things he did and the wrong things he did. He was one of the few Asian rappers, I think, that actually had a, created a blueprint. There isn’t really a blueprint for us to follow, but he was one of the dudes who had something, and FM, so.

MB: On that note, Jin posted a Youtube video that I guess quote, unquote, “was dissing Asian Youtube stars,” and you were mentioned. He said, “Dumbfoundead, you insensitive prick, don’t think I’m scared of you, or your roundhouse kick.” And obviously, you know, that was just a joke.

Dumbfoundead: Yea, it’s cool. It’s cool that how Jin is kind of, you know, acknowledging the Asian presence on Youtube, and definitely trying to get involved with that community as well, which I mean, really you should because it’s, it’s really, Youtube is like Asian Hollywood, you know what I mean? It’s been one of the few places that Asians can really really shine and do their thing So I don’t blame Jin for really trying to get involved with that and trying to get attention on Youtube and stuff. Like, he needs to do that. You know what I’m saying? Like he, he was a dude in mainstream media, and kind of got involved in some fucked up deals and bad deals and stuff, and it didn’t really work out for him there so, and he has a good career now doing it, but he definitely, it will be a good time for him to get involved, because all these young Asian dudes have respect for Jin, you know, and are willing to help him out and build him up on the Internet presence, so. Yea, it was just fun. That was a fun thing, and Jin, you can tell just watching that, Jin is still a great writer, and storyteller, and freestyler and all that. He was just very entertaining from the beginning to the end, you know, so. That’s just like a testimony to somebody who’s very skilled and who’s been doing this, and mastering his craft for a long time, you know.

MB: Do you have anything quick that you’d like to throw back at him?

Dumbfoundead: [Laughs] Jin? Nah, I don’t think, yea, I mean, you know I’m sure mad people would love to see us battle each other but, nah, nah, I have nothing against Jin doing his thing. Jin, I can’t even attack Jin no more. I know he’s a born again Christian type dude now, and like, you know, and obviously that’s not really my religious views. I would say me and Jin are completely different people, where we’re at right now in our lives, our beliefs. That’s one thing, but we have respect for each other on a different level besides obviously, I don’t have the same spiritual beliefs as him and I don’t probably have the same moral beliefs as him, but you know, we respect each other on the level of what we do – our crafts, you know?

MB: So what should we be really looking forward to with your album, “DFD”?

Dumbfoundead: I would say, just uh, it’s a lot of, there’s some darkness to it; it’s weird. There’s like there’s no middle thing. It’s like it’s either or like hype and happy songs. And i think that has to do a lot with my personality. I’ve never been the middle dude. I either hate something or love something, so. And I’ve never been that like mutual middle ground type dude, so I would say there’s a lot of fun things like melodies, a lot of us – my friends – involved in it. It actually has a good amount of features of my friends singing and stuff on it, so, you can expect a lot of singing and just a little bit more definitely grown than my first album, and uh, yea I mean, I just… it’s a lot of stuff that I’ve been working on for a while now that I just put together and I just want out because I’ve been hearing, I’ve been listening to these songs for a long time, but the world hasn’t heard it so… it should be fun man. A lot of serious stuff from my videos too, like “Are We There Yet” is on there. Things like that, so.

MB: I imagine a lot of people are looking forward to it. Do you find that it’s better for the musician to have a larger volume of fans or more of a dedicated fan base?

Dumbfoundead: Oh definitely dedicated. I mean, that’s just like when I would go to concerts and I’d go to these huge festivals where like huge acts were playing, and you know, I can tell the performers didn’t put as much into it. You know sometimes when you go to the intimate shows, they put a lot more into it, and that’s because they know at the intimate shows that all their hardcore fans are there. You know? So. Yea, [laughs] I’m definitely into having more dedicated fans than a large number of fans. There’s a lot of bullshit ass fans that I’ve seen and I’ve talked to, and they’ve come at me like, like they know my music and stuff, but it was kind of like a front, they kind of just hopped on because everybody else was kind of hopping on. Yea, I think I can tell too online, and the people who reach out to me who are my dedicated fans and things they tell me compared to the general fans is a lot deeper, and there’s a lot deeper connection there so.

MB: And this is more about technology, but how do you feel about all the music discovery technology out there like Last.fm or, Pandora or even the Facebook and Spotify partnership? Do you actually use Facebook Music and listen to what your friends are listening to? Dumbfoundead: Oh I love the online music technology like Pandora, and all that. I mean it’s, definitely right now, it’s crazy because the music industry is completely changing and there is no blueprint at all. Like literally everybody is doing something different and with their little movement and camps. You know what I mean. Like my team is coming up with things that are probably way more advanced than a major label. You know what I’m say? And more forward thinking. And I would say, all these individuals on Youtube, and all these kids are more forward thinking than all these major labels, honestly. I mean, it’s incredible. I mean my career literally… I’ve been rapping for about ten years now since I was like 15 years old, and I did so many shows, and my career only started taking off like two years ago when I made a Youtube account. That was the defining factor in my career that changed my whole career. So I owe a lot to just the technology online and I love it. It’s all about thinking forward because you have people who many complain about music being bootlegged online and how sales have gone down, but you gotta keep, you gotta think of other ways to get your music, sell your music, and that’s by, that’s by… it’s become harder as a musician. You gotta work harder actually now, and you gotta give out more free music to sell those albums later on, so. You know, I think it’s actually a good thing. It makes musicians work a lot harder and you know put together a better product. So.

MB: Two more quick questions. On the topic of discovery, are there any unknown or undiscovered musicians that you’re listening to or liking at the moment?

Dumbfoundead: A lot of my undiscovered musicians are just like friends of mine. Breezy Lovejoy, he’s featured on my album, and people are going to know him after I drop my album because he’s an amazing singer. He’s also the drummer in my band. He’s amazing and people are going to get to know who he is. So I would say, tell people to look out for him. Wax is my friend. You already know, but Wax is now signed to Def Jam. A lot of mainstream America don’t know about him, but they will, because the stuff he’s putting together right now is amazing. I think there’s tons of undiscovered cats. The thing about it is is it’s not about… there’s so much talent you know. As far as my crew and just Los Angeles music alone, I know so many talented people. What sucks is that they don’t, they don’t really utilize the technology or they don’t care to, you know what I mean? And that’s the problem. So it goes beyond just being talented. There’s so much talent out there. You gotta want it at a different level, you know. So.

MB: And so I guess you’re kind of a model for what people should or might want to follow.

Dumbfoundead: Yea, I mean, you know it’s, it’s tough because a lot of my friends are still on the grind where they still sell their CDs for five dollars on Venice Beach trying to sell it to people walking by. A lot of their mentality is, you know, they hate on the online shit and because there’s so many whack people on there too. One thing about the dudes online too, like some of their work ethic is undeniable, you know. Their work ethic is amazing. These kids put out a video a week, or a bunch of free downloads all the time. Things like that. Some of the talented people, who are naturally talented, are some of the laziest, because they feel like, “Oh, I’m talented. It just comes to me instead of chasing it.”

MB: That’s an interesting perspective. So final question, do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Dumbfoundead: Oh yea, I definitely would say work on your craft and think about the business later you know? What I know now a days is like every kid and stuff have a manager now a days, which is important definitely, but I think you’re going to get caught up, even if you get buzz and all that stuff later on, you can be put on the spot with your skill and your talent, and you might just bomb. You gotta be prepared. I think by being prepared, you just gotta go through what everybody has been going through for years and years, which is just training and honing your craft. I think that is something that, you know, is still isn’t lost and you still have to do that. Even the biggest stars – Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, all of them – they have been honing their craft, you know. Justin Bieber has been doing it since like he was three years old. Lady Gaga has been doing it for years, songwriting. The reason they got to that level that they are, is because they had an opportunity, and when they did, they were prepared. A lot of the people who are one hit wonders, and just buzzing for a quick minute, their fifteen minutes runs out quicker because they’re not prepared. So it’s all about honing your craft. I still… I’m a firm believer in that so, if you’re a rapper, specifically, go through all the open mics, battles, freestyles, the songwriting in your home, recording – all that. And then when you’re ready, you know, do your thing, and then you’ll come out of the gates way faster and just kill it you know?

Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Spotify | Website

The increase in the number of unique visitors to Tumblr has been exponential.  According to Neilsen‘s Q3 report, from May 2010 to May 2011, Tumblr saw a 183% growth; from 4.2 million to 11.9 million unique visitors. In addition,  Tumblr averaged 21,280 messages and links published per day.If you’re curious about the demographic you’re catering your content to, you will find that women edge out men in visitors, 53.5% to 46.5%. By breaking the data down further, 12.9% of visitors were 2-17 years old, 44.4% of visitors were between 18 and 34 years and 25.2% were between 35 and 49.