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Hunnypot Live ghosted so many sweet pumpkins last night. Hot Tub Johnnie dropped a bat out of hell playlist. Dan Wilcox brought new tricks and musical treats for his return to the hot tub. Binx went door to door with costumed pop. Bonavega rose from the dead with a brand new live show. Dirty Lovely Creatures spooked us with haunting harmonies. Munii Mu & J. Character carved up spicy raps and we closed the night with scary good dance party tunes.

10/28/2019

Dan Wilcox 

DAN WILCOX (MUSIC SUPERVISOR, KCRW, GUEST INTERVIEW/DJ SET)

It was evident at an early age that Dan Wilcox had a passion for music - he learned how to use his parent's turntable before he could tie his shoes. Growing up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, interesting music was in short supply and Dan would frequent the college record store, comb garage sales, scan fanzines and make out-of-town trips just to satisfy his craving for intriguing and exotic tunes, both new and old.  This experience serves him well to this day as both a radio DJ and music supervisor.
 
For years, Dan was Music Director at Ten Music, a Venice-based ad music house, where he music supervised and licensed songs for a variety of national campaigns including Apple, Toyota, GM, Nike, Target, Nissan, and many others.  In 2008, he began working as a freelance music supervisor, where he not only continued working on ad campaigns but also branched out into supervising various projects, including films such as ‘Ruby Sparks, ‘The Edge of Seventeen’, ’No Escape’, ‘The Lovers’, ‘Gerald’s Game’ & ‘Beirut’, as well as television series like ‘Waco’, ‘Imposters’, HBO’s ’Doll & Em’ & ’2 Dope Queens’ and the popular Netflix show ‘Street Food’.  In addition to his music supervision work, Dan also serves as a radio DJ, hosting a long-time weekly music program on the influential Santa Monica station KCRW.

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BINX

BINX

Meet BINX, South Africa's beautiful "African Bee" with a sting ready to swell up pop music.

The New Yorker quotes "with a voice like Gaga's, she's partial to yellow-and-black clothes and arena choruses."  This Avant-Garde pop musician/model is based in Los Angeles where she has performed at the US Open, The New York Marathon (two years in a row) Webster Hall, Soho House (NY) and The South African Traditional Music Awards. She has had a No.1 song in South Africa and is helping to save the bees with her latest album, "Buzzed."

BINX recently performed at the NAMM Grand Finale and Grammy Showcase Party 2018 in Los Angeles.

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BONAVEGA ripped

BONAVEGA

Extracting inspiration from Queen, Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Reggie Watts, and The Screaming Headless Torsos, BONAVEGA established himself in 2015 as THE new look and sound of performance based, theatrical pop music. Focusing on entertainment he builds his sounds and songs themes, at his home studio, around ideas and subject matter that are very relatable but then tells the stories in a way that are dramatic and unorthodox in order to captivate the audience.

Underneath his gaudy, ostentatious shell however, BONAVEGA has a deeper, fully aware intention for his seemingly trite "song and dance.” Zeroing in on corruption in the church and mocking bigotry with his sensual, homo-erotic, dance moves, the high society music industry and religious advocates protest his cheeky songs and taunting stage antics. Both sides of the coin feel he doesn’t squeeze into their box and fear his almost flippant disregard for fitting in or following suit. Poised and outspoken, he defends himself as a result of, rather than a cause of, a stifling religious upbringing and a “square” objectifying society.

BONAVEGA, completely aware of the ever changing musical climate, has released genre defying EP's and singles that individually hold their own weight and almost completely disregard one another in a way that continues to push his overly-confident out of the box way of thinking about music and life. The only thing left is the future. BONAVEGA has plans for touring/festivals/and premiers. He asks his followers to keep their ears and eyes wide open for whats to come and to also, as always “Take it off your mind… and take it to the floor."

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DIRTYLOVELYCREATURES

DIRTY LOVELY CREATURES

DIRTY LOVELY CREATURES is an odd mix of sounds. It’s influences range from Germany’s Boozoo Bajou to SoCal’s own Fu Manchu. Chris Brann’s Ananda Project and Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra are also heavy inspiration’s for this unusual act. The lyrics center around human secrets, and “the things that people do, when they think no one is watching...” The majority of the songs are written by the group’s frontman, Boogiewhip, aka; lead singer of the Cabaret Rock n’ Roll Show, HOT SAUCE HOLIDAY. And they (mostly) chronicle the thoughts and opinions he carries towards the situations (and people) he witnessed during his “cult” upbringing in Northern California, circa, the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

Cynical and sexy, vulgar and articulate, DLC is a one-of-a-kind music experience you’ve got to hear AND see to believe.

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munii mu

MUNII MU

Munii Mu is a Los Angeles based Rapper born in Baltimore, MD and was raised interchangeably between DC and Maryland. After growing up in an environment that did not match up to his vision for the future, Mu decided to move to California at the age of 16 with a new found purpose of chasing his dream to become a  globally known artist.

It was there where he met his greatest obstacle yet, prison. The DC raised rapper acknowledges this to be the most crucial time in his life as he used this unfortunate situation to zero in on his dream. Shortly after being released in 2016 he had ignited a burning desire for music and to become the biggest act in Hip-Hop.

Mu began releasing music and performing on the local scene shortly thereafter, his music is a juxtaposition of his past and present. "It was all about telling my story through music to encourage and uplift others,'' recollects Munii Mu as he crafted his music around trappy beats and melodic hooks punctuated with lyrics defining his unique sound.
 
Mu released his first single from the mixtape NXTNLINE2BLOW titled No Timeout which alludes to his drive, "After being locked up for six years I feel like I can't take no time out, no break, no relaxing moment” says the DC raised artist. In the song, Mu states "This is about more than a couple m’s, want every word that I speak to shake every bone and move every spirit, far away but I'm so close as seconds pass I get near…”. On Oct 15, All Dis Cheeze was released with the message that extreme hard work pays off, accompanied by visuals for his first official video from the project. With NXTINLINE2BLOW , Mu teases his mastery of storytelling and determination with every song but especially on “Can’t Beat Me”, allude to the mixtape release whose contributors include his Producer Tor, and Mixing Engineer Gregg Rominiecki (Big Sean, Jhene Aiko, Kanye West, John Legend).

On august 11 2019 Munii Mu released a music video called "got em mad" where he speeds up his delivery and showcases his speedly lyrics. This song is also based on his hunger after being incarcerated. In recent months Munii Mu has been locked in the studio working on his upcoming mixtape which is currently untitled. It will showcase his immense vocal range and focus more on the feel good aspects of his music. His next project will definitely be a huge move into the Hip-Hop scene.

 

J. CHARACTER 

J. CHARACTER

Jordan Character a/k/a J. Character a global jet-setter, has traveled from the USA to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul Korea, Chengdu and other Asian cities. Mashing up all of his cultural and diverse relationships and experiences which comes through his music, Character has created his own lane as a Bilingual Artist, while majoring in International Studies/Chinese at Norwich Military Academy and graduating Magna Cum Laude with an excellence in Chinese language proficiency

At the age of 3 months, Jordan Character’s ears were being developed as he accompanied his mother, a singer, who carried him alongside her to band rehearsals, theater productions and creative writing classes.  Character by the age of 8, was reading treble and bass clef together, while playing upright bass and trumpet.  

Born in the colorful City of New Orleans, LA, Character was accustomed to seeing Marching Bands, hearing Gospel, Jazz, Hip-Hop and seeing Second-line Bands, which passed in front of his home before Hurricane Katrina whisked his family away to. 

His songs, “Part To (Butter Up), Insides, and Charlie Sheen" are inspired through his travels as he seldom resides in Los Angeles, CA, a place he finds full of inspiration. Inspired by Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, LL Cool J and A$AP Rock, J. Character represents the new age Rapper and Songwriter bringing forth the Culture of New Orleans and a history of musicians who are home grown from the South.

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Published in Hunnypot Live

Ah, The 80’s… What an interesting decade. The skinny ties, big hair, pagers, Walkman radios, and of course MTV (when they actually played music videos). The 80’s generated some of the most classic and iconic music of all time.  Somewhere nestled in between Duran Duran and Metallica was a band called Loverboy.  If you were alive during that time, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard their most famous song, “Working for the Weekend”.  Some would agree this song could easily be considered a soundtrack for the decade and truly one of the catchiest songs you’ll ever hear.

Loverboy, along with many bands from that era are enjoying a resurgence of sorts; getting back on the road reacquainting themselves with their fans from their heyday.  Having never seen them live before (I have no idea why), I was eager to finally see what this Canadian hit-maker could do live.  Let’s face it, onstage is where a band really shines. 

Last Thursday night at The City National Grove of Anaheim,  I finally got my chance.  As I walked into the theater, I noticed it was a touch quieter than I would have expected leading up to an anticipated concert but alas, this was a dinner show.  The room was filled with restaurant noise as fans were enjoying wine with their Herb Roasted half chickens and Red Wine Braised short ribs.  I tried not to stare as It looked profoundly better than the torpedo sandwich I had finished earlier.

Almost on queue as the last of the dinnerware was removed, the fans made their way in to fill the theater up quite nicely.  By now, many in the upbeat crowd were sporting their Mike Reno signature headbands and itching to get this show started.  It was here where that telltale feeling was in the air signaling the show was close.  Everyone (and I mean everyone) was wide-eyed and smiling and as this show was just about ready to get underway.

When the lights finally dropped, the crowd immediately focused their attention on Doug Johnson (keyboards, harmonica) as he began the set with that unmistakable intro to “Notorious”.  With Matt Frenette (drums) keeping time in his unmistakably animated style until the song’s first guitar chord by Paul Dean (guitars) ripped through the theater, it was clear they were on. The sound was clean, full, and crunchy enough to keep even this stubborn head-banger happy.  Mike Reno (vocals) walked out with arms outstretched which summoned another roar from the crowd, providing that final burst of energy as the song is now in full stride.  Before the song even hits it’s midpoint, people were starting to dance in the aisles.  Good thing the plates were already gone as this night was already shaping up to be some kind of party.

Loverboy proceeded to expertly roll through their catalog of hits, including “The Kid is Hot Tonight”, “Queen of Broken Hearts”, and fan favorite “Hot Girls in Love”.  With each passing song, I was taken back how good these songs still sound today, and especially Mike Reno’s singing.  This was especially true during “Take me to the Top”,  where it's here that it's memorable bass-line meanders behind Reno’s singing and showcases well what he can still do.  Most Impressive. 

Reno paused to interact a bit with the crowd and expressed some concern about his ability to even play this show!  You see, currently in Southern California we’re smack-dab in the middle of our wildfire season, and he mentioned he couldn’t even talk the day before!  With our single-digit humidity and smoke in the air, Reno likened the weather here in SoCal to that of a “Popcorn fart”!  After giving the crowd a quick chuckle, Reno continued on with the set sounding just as well as he did years ago; showing no ill-effects from Southern California's abrasive air quality.

Reno and the boys plodded on and finished strong with the aforementioned “Working for the Weekend” which had kept everyone up, singing and dancing. The night ended with rousing applause and satisfaction all around. What a show!

Loverboy didn’t overwhelm with extravagant stage and lighting, but after seeing them it’s clear that didn’t have to.  The well-fed crowd was treated to an upbeat and flat-out fun show that failed to disappoint.  If you’re in the mood for a show that’ll take you back a few decades, get you off your seat and dancing in the aisles, then Loverboy is definitely the ticket!  Keep your eyes open and check them out on their next pass-through.  You’ll surely be “Loving Every Minute of It”!

Published in Hunnypot Does

How can I convey information and feelings about the music video for "Spotlight" by Communicant? It's a newer music video from the band.  It's full of big sounds. The rich compressed percussion, thick guitar tones, right reverbs and hooks; It's got great hooks. This song can get you to dance. This video might make you want to roller-skate or make out with a synthesizer, maybe? 

Dig the song as much as we do? Catch Communicant live on November 25th at Hunnypot Live

 

-J. Gray 

 

Published in Video Picks

It’s been almost a decade since the first time I saw Jesse Keeler & Al-P, the Canadian duo known as MSTRKRFT (pronounced “Master-Craft”). Nearly 10 years after they played at Los Angeles’ last Electric Daisy Carnival in 2010, they were back in LA. Academy LA was hosting MSTRKRFT’s EP debut Release Party and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity see these two guys throw down a live set.  

After a bit of a hiatus, MSTRKRFT teamed up with Deadmau5’s mau5trap label to drop a 4 song EP entitled, Sunshine Of My Life. This dropped on October 18th, 2019, right in the beginning of their tour with Deadmau5. As they make their way from the southwest up to the northeast, both opening sets for Deadmau5 and headlining shows along the way, MSTRKRFT unveiled this new EP as a draw to their act. They used this specific show on October 19th, 2019 in Los Angeles as a night to showcase this EP (amongst other material) in live format.  

I made my way to the venue excited for MSTRKRFT, but I’ll admit I didn’t know who the opening act was. Once I got through security and entered the main room, I was greeted by the dark eerie beats of local Los Angeles DJ, Joey Zander. There’s a feeling you get when you walk into some of these venues. Joey Zander’s use of haunting samples and creepily soothing synths coupled with beat driven LED visuals on the ceiling of Academy LA’s main floor sent a chill or two down my spine. We were in for one of those nights.

One thing I noticed from Joey Zander is he never picked up the microphone to speak to the crowd. The entire time I was in there, he let the beats do the talking. As we neared midnight, Zander teased the crowd by lowering his BPM, only to raise it again. The lights in the venue even went white bright for a few split seconds to signify the end of the set, but the bass lines kept rolling. He played with the crowd’s emotions as the anticipation for MSTRKRFT grew. I turned away from the DJ booth for a moment, and when I turned back, there were two different men in the DJ booth. Again, without saying a word to the crowd, Jesse Keeler & Al-P opted to communicate with the room with nothing but beats.

I had listened to Sunshine Of My Life on my way to the venue a few times. It’s only 4 tracks and totals 26 minutes and 37 seconds. I gave it a couple of spins on my drive into the city. I knew MSTRKRFT gave the electro-house and dance-punk a bit of a break and returned to some old school techno influences. But you can never fully grasp what a live set is going to sound like just by hearing the EP. Once they mixed those tracks in with some of their older material, I saw a whole different side to MSTRKRFT. They maintained their same classic MSTRKRFT ambiance, but they committed to a darker dance vibe than I was expecting. They delivered a no-bullshit two-hour set of a combination of hard repetitive techno kick drums, screeching synths, and never-ending deep basslines. When they gave you a break from their haunting samples, they delivered an onslaught of hi-hats to keep your body moving into the wee hours of the night.

Shout out to MSTRKRFT for an amazing EP release party. It was great to see them in action after so long. It was also great to see them push limits and expand as artists while regressing to some of the origins of EDM, paying homage to some old school elements of techno. Kudos to the venue too. The show would not have been what it was if it wasn’t for that massive monstrosity of an LED panel hanging from the ceiling from the DJ booth all the way to the back of the main room. The venue was a match made in heaven for a duo like MSTRKRFT to deliver a night that Los Angeles won't soon forget. I sincerely hope these guys make another run down here soon. Their show was simply awesome!

Published in Hunnypot Does

The Songery just released a music video for the song "The Dark". It's dancetastic, it's a little edgy and it's fun.  Shine a light on "The Dark" and boogie down the block.  

Published in Video Picks

The Hunnypot Live community at The Mint has been an absolutely warm, fun, creative and uplifting biweekly that I have had the honor to be apart of. As a music supervisor networking event, each night is carefully curated to have musicians/bands/artists that are on the cutting edge of music showcase their talents.


What the Hunnypot crew has done is create a place for artists, music-lovers and any curious onlookers to come and congregate and celebrate music and artistic expression. There is a mingling of the occasional label and manager that artists come by, but in its purest form, all have come to hear organized and unorganized notes that make bodies move and hearts thump.


All genres of music can be heard at Hunnypot Live. So many great bands and artists have been discovered by new fans. It is a platform that has brought together music enthusiasts to their highest place. It's importance lies in live performance which has been utterly replaced by YouTube and online videos. It brings a community that cares about music together to listen to and discover music together.

-Alicia Yang

Published in Press

The year is 2000, and Hunnypot launches the last of America's deep music probes. In a freak mishap, its pilot, Hot Tub Johnnie, puts the party music trajectory into an orbit which unleashes hot dance music and moves, to Earth, 427 shows later. Last night Hunnypot Live got us all ready for the future. Hot Tub perfectly landed a ship full of hot trax. Michael Frick came by to tell us about his international music supervision career and history and brought a great party set of music. Hunnypot veterans, Velvet Starlings, came back to rock the nations, WYO showed up with Rocky Mountain rock music. Mystical Joyride got us dancing and vibing on the trip. Roet is a one person pop music factory and Hot Tub cleaned up with another historical dance music party.  10/14/2019

Michael Frick

MICHAEL FRICK (GUEST INTERVIEW/DJ SET)

No Friction’s Michael Frick is an executive producer, music supervisor & music strategist for film makers, agencies & brands. Over his career Frick has helped brands develop music driven strategies & experiences, provided artist-direct original music for his partners and assisted numerous global brands, agencies, networks and TV/Film producers with music supervision and licensing. 
 
“On his most recent “project for good,” Runaway Train 25  Frick helped the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children & Agency M/H - VCCP reimagine Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train” for a dynamic music video campaign that uses geolocation technology to find Missing Kids.”  Michael is a proud member of The Guild of Music Supervisors

Website (No Friction)  Facebook  Linkedin  Instagram  Twitter  


Velvet Starlings2019

Velvet Starlings

Christian Gisborne is an independent singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and founder and lead singer, guitarist and keyboardist of Velvet Starlings. Gisborne is known for a powerful 60s era Eric Burdon influenced vocal style and a commanding and dynamic stage presence inviting media & industry insider comparisons to Jack White and Ty Segall. Early musical influences include artists such as The Beatles, The Who & The Doors.

Gisborne’s debut self-titled EP, Velvet Starlings was a collaboration with British producer/writer Roger Gisborne (leader of 90s Brit Rock band,Plastiscene) for Sound x 3 / Rock N Rolla Records which was released in late 2018 and supported by dates at the Live At Heart Music Festival and SXSW ME in Sweden, where Gisborne’s performances resulted in performance opportunities at Summerfest, Canadian Music Week, The Great Escape and other international festivals.

The single, "Sold Down The River” showcases Dylan-esque lyrics, a soulful Hammond B3 organ, gritty guitars and raw blues inspired vocals. The track caught the attention of KROQ and reached #1 (twice) on Kat Corbett’s “Locals Only” show. The official video released in May, 2019 features the mural work of Shepard Fairey, world-renowned American contemporary street artist, activist and founder of Obey.

2019 kicked off with a sold-out show supporting Barns Courtney in Los Angeles.  In May, 2019 Sound x 3 / Rock N Rolla Records released the much anticipated follow up mini-album, “Love Everything, Love Everyone” produced and written by Christian Gisborne and Roger Gisborne in Los Angeles, with engineering and mixing by Josiah Mazzaschi (Smashing Pumpkins, The Kills, Jesus & Mary Chain and Deep Valley) and mastering by Brian Lucy (Cage The Elephant, Black Keys, Beck, Arctic Monkeys) who also mastered the self-titled EP.

The mini-album adopts a slightly heavier sound, mirroring the dynamic live performance and is lyrically and sonically the next step in the evolution of the Velvet Starlings’ sound. The first single “Kids in Droves” released in Summer, 2019 speaks to an era where “everyone spends all of their time on devices ‘liking’ and ‘loving’ everything says, Christian Gisborne. “Kids in Droves” also received favorable reviews and airplay in the USA (including influential stations such as KROQ, Sirius XM, 91x and KCSN) as well as BBC Radio in the UK. Legendary BBC Scotland DJ Billy Sloan has been a massive supporter of Gisborne. Other supporters include Shepard Fairey, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Kevin Bronson (KCSN DJ, BuzzbandsLA & former LA Times Music Editor) and legendary tastemakers, DJ Rodney Bingenheimer and DJ/curator Tim Pyles. Both releases charted on FMQB reaching #5 on the Album Chart and #8 on the Singles Chart.

In support of the 2nd release, Velvet Starlings toured across the pond twice with its first full UK tour in May, 2019 followed by a US tour sponsored by Acura/Honda, anchored by an emerging artist slot on Summerfest (where Velvet Starlings won best emerging artist competition $5,000 worth of gear) and PBS’s Woodsongs in Lexington Kentucky, along with dates in Nashville at The Basement and the Cubby Bear in Chicago.

Velvet Starlings returned to Europe a second time for a very successful Scandinavian tour, which included many sold out dates and key performances at the Live At Heart Music Festival, along with a headline slot at King Tut’s in Glasgow and several dates in England, which included a live radio performance at the BBC and shows at The Dublin Castle and Camden Assembly, where new songs off of Velvet Starling’s third record was debuted.

Velvet Starlings was also invited to showcase at Indie Week in Toronto and will be performing select dates in Brooklyn and New Jersey in November, 2019. In 2020, Velvet Starlings will perform at The Great Escape festival and conference in Brighton for Impressive PR’s stage at the request of Mel Brown (Cold Play, Muse). Velvet Starlings will soon be releasing two videos for “Bitter Pill” and “Karmic Lemonade” produced by French director Joseph Calhoun (Lauren Ruth Ward) in support of the mini-album. Christian Gisborne has plans to record his third work in early 2020.

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WYO 1 MonikaSed

WYO

Los Angeles' WYO makes cinematic music inspired by frontman Andy Sorge's home state of Jackson, Wyoming. Taking inspiration from the imposing landscapes and majestic mountains he grew up around, singer-songwriter Andy Sorge utilizes an organic instrument palette to create the soundscape that is WYO.

After attending film school in New York, Andy met multi-instrumentalist, Scott McKay Gibson, and the two retreated to Wyoming and began delving into Andy’s original songs that would soon become their debut album, Untamed. Released in early 2018, WYO teamed up with veteran Los Angeles-based producer, Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Pete Yorn, Ben Lee), to provide a fresh ear to finalize the LP.

After a successful debut release, WYO released their sophomore album Changes on May 31, 2019, which further explores their panoramic sound. A sound that has led to sharing the stage with Robert Earl Keen, Avi Buffalo, The Fruit Bats, and WhiteHorse, headlining School Night, and playing venues like The Belly Up, Peppermint Club, House of Blues, Viper Room, State fairs in San Diego and Wyoming, as well as SXSW in Austin and Genius Loci Festival in Mexico.

In addition to performing as WYO, Andy and Scott frequently compose music for documentaries, commercials, and short films together. Perhaps this explains the reason that WYO’s music has a way of evoking such striking visuals that stir the imagination. WYO embodies the search for a place that’s alive and wild. It’s an endeavor that deals with love, loss, and constant exploration. It’s a tale of reconciling city life with the unyielding need to retreat to nature’s gravitational pull.   

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MYSTICAL JOYRIDE

MYSTICAL JOYRIDE

Mystical Joyride is an LA based hubby and wifey "cosmic duo", Leah (the existentially inspired vocal nymph) and Joel (the multi-instrumental wizard) making Psychedelic World Pop music to shake your hips and ride the mystery to. With eclectic beats and a unique style, their name could not be more fitting for their musical journey.

Fresh off of performing at California Worldfest and their debut full-length album "Conducto" release, Mystical Joyride is ready for high vibes and dancefloors.

Website  Facebook  Twitter  Soundcloud  Instagram  Spotify


Roet

ROET

Zach Alwin, creatively known as Roet continues to deliver striking music to the forefront of emerging alternative electronic talent. Drawing influence from a tapestry of musicians by the likes of Van Morrison, Death Cab for Cutie, Jeremy Zucker, and Porter Robinson, Roet’s signature sound is a righteous blend of mellow dance music and indie vocals. A full circle creator, Roet is the mastermind behind his entire catalog, producing his own beats and tracking his crystal cool vocals to parallel. His unique approach to songwriting stands as one of the most vital pillars of his craft. His initial writing approach begins with classical instrumentation and flow of consciousness, only later translated into the electronic gems that fans hear today.

Outside of Roet, Alwin is a songwriter for various musicians across the nation with anywhere from 500k to 1M streams, and has even composed for commercial advertisements. Despite being a relatively new face to the electronic music industry, Roet produces luxurious sounds that are far from novice. His distinct voice led him to ink a deal singing backup vocals for MAX and Gnash’s orchestral version of “Lights Down Low.“ With 100,000 streams on “F*ckin Love” and support from tastemakers like Cloudkid, it comes as no surprise that EP 1 will come to fruition as a teeming a triumph. “Love You/Love Me” is the lead single to the forthcoming project. This breezy composition is a an indie-electro triumph with an introspective thesis. “Love You/Love Me” explores self-love, self-admiration, and self-embrace through lush soundscapes and extraordinary lyricism. 

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Published in Hunnypot Live

New band, new video, who's this?  It's Crisis Couture with "Take Back The Power".  Hunnypot Alumni, Brendan McKian (Young Beautiful in a Hurry), fronts a new exciting hard rock band.  It's progressive, it's funky, it's heavy, it's often dance-able and it's loud. 

Check out the video for "Take Back The Power" and head bob to the winks and nods. 

Published in Video Picks

We all knew what we were in for as the line started to grow outside the historic Hawthorne Theatre in SouthEast Portland. References to Nakatomi Plaza and Nintendo blended in seamlessly with the dragons on the shirts of the audience eagerly awaiting for the doors to open. Tonight, being a self-described geek would be a strength.

Everyone's favorite, over-the-top, guitar-driven, nostalgic trip through memory lane, Dragonforce were amidst a tour to promote their latest album, Extreme Power Metal. Along for the 90's flashback; Horror-themed, Dark Synthwave masters, Dance with the Dead were also out promoting their latest release, Loved to Death as well as the brutal Chicago-based, Metal amalgamation, Starkill currently touring their latest album, Gravity, as well.

Starkill, a band who were a brutal concoction formed of equal parts Melodic Death, Symphonic, and Power Metal didn't waste any time making a name for themselves to their fans in the audience. The quintet was certainly not one to skip on the thematic either; adorning themselves in black paint and music just as merciless as a fight to the death in the Thunderdome. Founding member and guitarist/vocalist, Parker Jameson and the newest inclusion to the band, Sarah Lynn Collier played off each other's vocals with an equal amount of intensity and raw power perfectly complimenting the force of their instrumental counterparts.

By the look on the confused faces around the venue, who were primed for a night of fret wizardry and 90's nostalgia, no one was expecting the next act who, based on their early albums lived somewhere between synth-infused Electronica and a neon-lit, industrial dance party. Dance with the Dead, one of the prominent leaders of the newly established, Electronic-based genre, Synthwave had arrived and were here to make a bold statement.

Two guitar-wielding silhouettes appeared out of the neon smoke. Justin Pointer and Tony Kim stood on opposite sides of the stage with two ominous towering stacks of electronic audio equipment behind them. A pounding drum beat had the walls reverberating inside the sold out venue. Pointer and Kim smashed riffs on their guitars and violently banged their heads along with the intensity of the music that played behind them, creating a far more abrasive sound than any of their studio albums led us to believe. Dance with the Dead have grown more aggressive on their most recent albums and played tracks off of their latest release, Loved to Death; their iconic 90's horror-influenced, masterpiece, The Shape and even a few of their more ferocious, Industrial tracks off their B-Sides: Vol. 1. Toward the second half of their set they set their guitars to the side and manned the keyboards, thrashing uncontrollably to the violent dance music they performed live. Dance with the Dead drilled a hole straight through the skulls of the stunned audience sending even the most hardened metal fan into a frenzied madness.

The lights dimmed and suddenly I was 10 years old all over again; walking into an arcade with a pocket full of loose change and only the flickering of neon lights and the beeps of a wall of arcade games to comfort me. An orchestrated laser light show began to dance in unison to the intro of "Highway to Oblivion" the first track off of Dragonforce's latest album, Extreme Power Metal and we knew it was time to go full-geek. Marc Hudson, the aviator-wearing, frontman let out a soaring scream channeling the greats of Operatic Metal that came before him. Herman Li and Sam Totman, the band's founders, led a otherworldly, twin guitar attack and after seven studio albums, haven't lost any of their gusto or precision since the last time seeing them perform over a decade ago. Hudson asked with a show of hands, who were fans of RPG's (role playing Fantasy games), specifically Skyrim die-hards, before introducing the song, "The Last Dragonborn" off of their latest release.

During the break before their encore, guitarist Herman Li, ever the performer, snuck into the audience behind me until the spotlight was on the two of us. Li told the remaining band on the stage, "I wanted to join the party!" He shook my hand, grabbed his Ibanez, and climbed onto Starkill's merch table and hopped across each table, shredding a cover of Celine Dion's Titanic-hit, "My Heart Will Go On." They ended the night with a laugh, announcing their encore as "that damn song that won't die from a game that shall remain nameless." Confetti exploded in front of the audience and Dragonforce pounded through their most celebrated hit, "Through the Fire and Flames", off the album, Inhuman Rampage.

Grab your Powerglove, pull that battered copy of Nintendo Power out of storage and get yourself on board to experience a night of Extreme Power Metal with Dragonforce, Dance with the Dead and Starkill before you miss your chance to merge your childhood with the proud Metal geek you've become today.

Published in Hunnypot Does

Tove Lo performs her new single, "Sweettalk my Heart", live and stripped down (instrumentally).  It's a Hunnypot do! 

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