The 3rd Annual Return of the Boom Bap Festival
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Posted By:
Abstract Traxx™
Hosted By:
Abstract-Volume-iLLMagic-SpreadtheWord-BostonB-Boy
When:
Saturday,
Sep 29, 2007 2:00 PM
Where:
The Living Room
25 Rathborne Street
Providence
Rhode Island
02906
View Map
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Saturday September 29, 2007
Abstract Traxx, Volume Productions, BostonBboy.com, ILL Magic Productions and Spread the Word Productions present
The 3rd Annual
RETURN OF THE BOOM BAP
Arts and Music Festival
MAIN ROOM
GRANDWIZZARD THEODORE
****The Inventor of the Scratch****
(Bronx, NYC)
Theodore Livingston aka GrandWizzard Theodore is known worldwide for his role in the advancement of turntable manipulation having invented both the "scratch" and the "needle drop" techniques. Although Theodore is best known for creating the most essential technique in the Hip Hop DJ art form there is so much more to know about this legendary DJ.
Theodore learned to deejay from his older brother, Mean Gene, in the early 70's. GrandMaster Flash, who was in Mean Gene's crew, saw potential in young Theodore and had to sneak to teach Theodore different techniques and theories. In the summer of 1975, Theodore, at the age of 13, unintentionally invented the scratch. "I used to come home from school everyday and play records. This one particular day, my mother banged on the door yelling at me because the music was too loud. When she walked in, I still had my hand on the record that was playing and I kind of moved it back and forth. When she left, I was like 'Yo! That sounded kind of cool. I better experiment with that.'" His initiative to take this accident and recognize it as a means of making original music was pure creative innovation. "I always wanted to be different from other DJs. I kept perfecting my idea so that when I did it in front of an audience it would sound dope."
Theodore was a member of the L Brothers and the Fantastic Five. Fans might remember the legendary basketball match, from the cult classic movie "WildStyle," where Theodore, representing the Fantastic Five, squares off against DJ Charlie Chase of the Cold Crush Brothers. Theodore was also involved in making the soundtrack for WildStyle. Theodore and Flash were so skilled as DJs that other DJs had to team up to battle either of them solo (including Jazzy Jay and Afrika Islam). Theodore, like many of the DJs of the time, was also a b-boy.
The GrandWizzard continues to rock parties internationally, judge DJ battles and teach DJ master classes. He was inducted into the DMC Technics DJ Hall of Fame in 1998. Theodore has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from International Turntablist Federation (ITF) and is the 2001 recipient of The Source Magazine Pioneer Award. GrandWizzard served as an esteemed panelist at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Hip Hop Conference in 1999 and when the exhibit traveled to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, in 2000, he taught a phenomenal DJ Master Class, with DJ Perseus. GrandWizzard Theodore is featured in the DJ documentary "Scratch" which premiered, early in 2002, at independent movie theaters throughout the nation. He also headlined a sold out 13 city US tour to promote the movie.
Invention of the Scratch listed as 10 out of 150 of The Source's "Greatest MC, Albums and Moments" "In the summer of 1975, a young Theodore Livingston discovers a fresh sound in his earphones while trying to drown out his mother's complaints about his loud music. As she exits his room, he continues to fiddle with this technique, tweaks it, and gives birth to the scratch."
-- The Source: 150 of the Greatest MC, Albums and Moments (March 2002)
"His accidental invention became the cornerstone of Hip-Hop, and over a quarter of a century later, it's still the most evolving aspect of the DJing society. All this because GrandWizzard Theodore decided to push the limits on a simple mistake, leading to the development of the turntable technique known as the "scratch" without which there would be no Hip-Hop music as we know it today."
-- Doc Rice for Rap Pages (June 2000)
THE ORIGINAL
DJ TONY TONE
AKA TONY CRUSH
(of the Cold Crush Brothers)
(Bronx, NYC)
DJ VENOM
(volumeproductions.com, Providence, RI)
****Special Old School Hip Hop/Electro-Funk Set****
DJ Venom, real name David R. Schifino, has been playing the rave circuit since the early 90's, but he began his career as a part-time hip-hop radio disc jockey in 1989. In fact, it was a group of fellow DJs who coaxed him into his first techno/house event, which was so overwhelming he eventually left hip-hop behind.
Venom first purchased a pair of turntables and a mixer to lay down beats and scratches for all the aspiring MCs in his hometown of Providence. He then spent the next few years honing his skills, playing dozens of house parties and halls, mixing hip-hop, reggae, and house music. Meanwhile his addiction to vinyl worsened, causing milk crates to overflow with the likes of Boogie Down Productions, Ninjaman, and Todd Terry among others. Every dime made went towards the purchase of additional records and blank cassettes in order to produce more mix tapes.
Then in 1991, Michaelangelo came to Providence. It was the first rave in the area, and its impact on Venom's DJ career was huge. He had always loved house music, but the harder side of techno captured his attention, and instead of hip-hop, his next trip to the record store found him leaving with Jeff Mills, Praga Khan, and Prodigy.
Around the same time, Venom began working at the radio staion WXIN, 88.1 on the FM dial. Despite his lack of seniority, Venom's turntable talent earned him two radio shows: "Sounds of the Streets," a hip-hop/reggae show and "Utopia," a house and techno mix. He continued these shows for many years, promoting both scenes and cultures all the while gaining noteriety.
Over time, Venom focused his attention more on the rave scene, hooking up with fellow DJs Carnage and Jedi to start Force Productions. Together they began throwing illegal parties known as the Insomnia raves, as well as a club night, "Genesis." They also started a small publication entitled Force magazine. Venom's DJ style found a place with the hardcore breakbeat sounds of 2 Bad Mice, Acen, and SL2. In addition, he continued to play house at Club Babyhead, which became a local legend.
In 1994, Venom split from Force to start his own company, Volume Productions, quickly cementing itself in Providence's rave history. Their own magazine soon hit the masses, and Volume was quickly recognized as the biggest promotional crew from Rhode Island.
That year also marked Venom's first DJ competion. His set, consisting of scratching, body tricks, hip hop beats, and a blend of a brand new musical style called "jungle" earned him second place in the New England DJ Spin-off.
As both Volume Productions and Venom's popularity continued to grow, his mix tapes, whether happy hardcore, jungle or house, were selling off the shelves. Soon his name began appearing on tons of flyers, and the whole crew began a new weekly Tuesday night called "Energy" at the Living Room, which is still going on today with Venom as the resident DJ.
The DJ Battle circuit saw Venom take home awards in three more competions. In 1997, he took first place in the New England DJ Battle and placed second in both the 1998 and 1999 Winter Music Conference DJ Competions, losing only to DMC champ, Craze.
With over 80 underground mix tapes and CDs under his belt, Venom wanted to take thing a bit further with a licensed project. The Chicago-based Underground Construction label took notice of his coast-to-coast performances and liked the hard house sound of his recent CDs. They offered Venom a deal, which lead to a chain of succesful CD releases including Straight Bangin: 1&2 and House Blends 7&8, not to mention House Blends Classics.
Venom later pushed production to the forefront. Hard house releases on various labels as well as his own RetroTech label demonstrated his diversity and ability to produce new music with the oldschool breakbeat feel that first drew him to the rave scene.
Venom continues to play drum & bass under the guise of DJ Eddie Brock and his CD, I See Dead People was praised by many. His newest CD release, Raise the Volume is due out on Warlock records new techno offshoot Surge Recordings while his own productions are scheduled to be released on Vagabond records with five monthly releases starting in October. In addtition, his side project, record label Kerubim Entertainment, is a trip into the goth/industrial world.
If you think all that is enough to keep Venom busy, then you would be wrong. He also has two full-length CDs (one, a menacing mix of industrial and darkwave and the other, synthpop) coming out in January 2003 under the aliases The Archanjelz and Davee Jonz.
DL
(ill magic, atari safari, true crew, MA)
****Hip Hop/Breaks DJ Set****
MC TNOC & MC NAPALM
(abstracttraxx.com, CT)
****Live Original Hip Hop****
DJ UNIQUE
(abstracttraxx.com, gruv records, remixx rokkstarz, Bridgeport, CT)
****Latin Freestyle Set****
5AM****Live Hip Hop****
(CT)
DJ MO NIKLZ
(abstracttraxx.com, Danbury, CT)
****Hip Hop/Turntablism Set****
BACK ROOM
CEAZAR
(truecrew.com, digital domain, camouflage, NYC/MA)
****Old School Jungle /Jazzstep Set****
MDMA
(operation breakbeat, CT)
STEPPO
(volumeproductions.com, RI DnB, abstracttraxx.com, atari safari,
Providence, RI)
****Special Dubstep Set****
SKRILLA
(illmagic.com, skys the limit, coe park, CT)
DJ BTZ
(of Sneaker and the Dryer)
(abstracttraxx.com, headspinn, boston breaks, floorburnerz, MA)
LUNCHBOX
(volumeproductions, 1Luv, Providence, RI)
DJ BOOKUM
(enfekt productions, nocturnalvybz.net, NH)
PLEX
(abstracttraxx.com, CT)
****Special Old School Funk/Breaks Set****
ALSO FEATURING:
B-BOY BATTLE
$500 CASH PRIZE FOR 1ST PLACE WINNER!
DJ LEGACY ON THE 1'S AND 2'S
JUDGES: BAM (OF THE NEW YORK CITY BREAKERS)
KAMIKAZE, AND ABSTRACT
please contact Andrew: skrilla@illmagic.com for info
TURNTABLIST COMPETITION - $500 CASH PRIZE!
please contact Tony: DeMs@BostonBBoy.com for info
AND....
THE OUTSIDE PARKING LOT OF THE LIVING ROOM WILL BE BLOCKED OFF AND GRAFFITI ARTISTS WILL BE PERMITTED TO
PAINT WITHIN THESE BOUNDARIES ON CANVAS, PLYWOOD, OR SOME OTHER SURFACE YOU PROVIDE. ARTISTS PLEASE BRING ALL YOUR OWN SUPPLIES! MAKE SURE TO BRING CANVAS/WOOD, PAINT, MASKS, TIPS, ETC. THERE MAY BE A SMALL AMOUNT OF SUPPLIES AVAILABLE TO USE, BUT NOT ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE.
@ The Living Room
25 Rathborne Street
Providence, RI 02906
THIS IS AN ALL AGES EVENT
21 + w/ proper ID to drink.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007:
2PM-2AM
$15 IN ADVANCE BY PURCHASING TICKETS AT
WWW.GROOVETICKETS.COM
$20 @ THE DOOR
FOR MORE INFO OR TO SIGN UP FOR OUR MAILING LISTS:
WWW.ABSTRACTTRAXX.COM
WWW.VOLUMEPRODUCTIONS.COM
WWW.ILLMAGIC.COM
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SPREADTHEWORDPRODUCTIONS
www.bostonbboy.com
