This video pick comes at you from Swedish DJ and music producer Christian, known here as Chris Tall. This project is a disco-infused take on modern pop music. We’ve selected the track “Roller Skater” as our video pick. The track already has 150,000 plays on Spotify!
Angel Olsen is not who you think she is. In her latest album My Woman, she exhilarated and totally shook off the harsh label of her “country-folk sad-sack lost in a forest,” incorporating punchier pop tunes.
Fearless and gritty, the folk rock star is sassily flirty roller-skating in her lime green jacket and silver glitter wig. Opening with the line “I ain’t hanging up this time / I ain’t giving up this time,” she swoons us with the raw affectionate punch of her determination. She sways around in a bar, glides around a roller skating rink, working the food counter -- all she wants is your undivided attention, so she can “end all this pain right here” right now.
Olsen was born and raised in Saint Louis, adopted as the youngest of eight kids. Her fantasy about her parents growing up in the ’30s and ’50s reflects in the video that echo American glamour and rock and roll in the 50s: the bad girls of rock reminding you about the obsolete gender roles of “Woman.”
With America’s divided views now, perhaps a taste of Olsen’s raw touch on female’s charms will get you back on track.
This video pick is off The Orwells’s upcoming album Terrible Human Beings: “They Put a Body in the Bayou.” It is their second single off the album so far, and their third official studio album. “They Put a Body in the Bayou” is a video that may appeal to those keeping in touch with the current political climate. It deals with the realities of modern politics and even the hypocrisy of it. Lead singer Mario Cuomo takes the place of the loud, angry politician, getting the supporters literally frothing at the mouth.
Hailing from Elmhurst, Illinois, The Orwells are cousins Mario Cuomo and Dominic Corso, twin brothers Grant and Henry Brinner, and Matt O’Keefe. Friends for years, the band formed in 2009 and was signed to Autumn Tone records. They have since toured with Arctic Monkeys, performed on Late Show with David Letterman, have had their song “Who Needs You” featured in a commercial for Apple and on the popular video game “Grand Theft Auto,” and other notable features and performances since their early graduation from high school in 2013. Their upcoming album will be released on February 17th, 2017 by Atlantic Records.
The Orwells are currently on tour on the West coast this month, with dates culminating the month in the UK.
Hunnypot Live! has always been a safe space for the eclectic music music lover and this past show provided sanctuary from the left and right punches of real life.
Hot Tub Johnnie proceeded in to the night with burst bombs of musical revolutions in the air. Michelle Johnson took brought us an emotional musical response to how she's feeling these days, Katie Burden marched us through her indie/psychedelic rock pummeling, Alice Underground brought independent spirit with a ragtime rock & dance extravaganza, LIINKS was the progressive bringing future urban sounds, Daddy Issues "distorted" the truth and it sounded great and Conn Raney gave us hope for the future with his positive song messages. 11-14-16
-J. Gray
Michelle Johnson was born and raised in Southeast Texas. Descendent of farmers, she was the black sheep of the family and moved to New York City in 1987. She has a strong background as a musician and performed in various alt-country bands throughout the ‘90s; touring the vast NYC circuit as a guitarist and a vocalist.
In the late 90’s she started DJ-ing. She describes her set as “very eclectic” – ranging in genres from World, Dance, and Classic Disco to Indie Rock and Pop. Custom tailoring each set while she effectively reads the room. Her DJ performances include spinning at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for three years and Google events at their Venice location, as well as being hired for a range of industry parties, magazine launches, and private events.
Since she was a kid, the most important thing to her has been music, film, and television. Michelle started music supervising independent films after moving to Los Angeles in 2004. She worked on several features including The Custom Mary, Five Star Day, For The Love of Dolly, and Hooters! After being recommended to Thomas by a mutual friend, and realizing they coincidentally lived three houses apart, Michelle went on to join the SMV team. Coming in during Season 4 of AMC’s critically acclaimed Breaking Bad, Season 2 of the crazy popular AMC television adaptation of The Walking Dead, and the eccentric documentary Felix Austria!, Michelle added her creative insight to expand the team into new and exciting ways. She was also heavily involved in season one and two of AMC’s The Killing, the pilot of Good Christian Bitches on ABC, and all of SMV’s projects moving forward.
Michelle is a LGBT activist and is regularly involved in event planning and community programs. She also created a pseudo documentary in 2007 called Triple X Selects: The Best of Lezsploitation that hit the festival circuit and won several audience awards all around the world.
The dark and moody undercurrents of the new material called for Burden to dig deeper into her emotional well, something that she struggled with when performing the songs. “I have a hard time feeling emotions sometimes” the songwriter notes. “Art makes me less afraid to feel and also less alone.”
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Alice Underground is a time traveling caravan to an anachronistic era set in a locale that’s both familiar and fantastical. For the five members of the LA-based group, however, this has been a journey by happenstance. What was a one-off show now has the quintet chasing mythical characters and architecting a swamp cabaret aesthetic.
Five years after its fateful first show, the LA-based quintet now issues a stunning debut, Cambria Sessions. An album bathed in the blue hues of broken dreams, noir romance, and Golden Age Of Hollywood opulence.
Alice Underground whisks listeners and concertgoers away to an elegant underbelly teeming with deviant jazz, punk rock vigor, vaudevillian theatrics, and sensual emotionality. The group’s oeuvre varies between originals that feel like they were plucked from an American Songbook from a Tim Burton-themed time capsule, and jazz standards reimagined to showcase Alice Underground’s gift for conjuring longing and lasciviousness. The group counts as influences David Bowie, Ella Fitzgerald, Trent Reznor, and Billie Holiday. Fittingly, Alice Underground has been described as “gypsy jazz with a proto-punk edge.”
The quintet’s dark seductiveness, gothic glamour, and mythological imagery of the character Alice as a conceptual muse have endeared it to fanatics of steampunk, fantasy, and cosplay. Live highlights for the band include appearing at Los Angeles County Museum Of Art’s New Year’s event Golden Stag, hosted at the famous Los Angeles Park Plaza Hotel, and performing at the closing ceremonies for the Anime Expo in Los Angeles. There the group played originals, and backed cult artist Yoko Takahashi, singer of the theme song for the popular animated Japanese television series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Alice Underground is Tash Cox vocals, bass, piano; Sasha Travis, vocals; Scott Landes, guitar, piano; Gordon Bash, standup bass, piano, guitar, vocals; and Steve Kefalas, drums, percussion. The band members boast eclectic and impressive resumes. Lead vocalist Tash Cox formerly sang with The Beta Machine, which included members of A Perfect Circle and Eagles of Death Metal. Tash has also sung in many operas, Neely Bruce’s, “Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides” being her favorite. Scott Landes has played with Collide, Android Lust, I, Parasite, and ¡BASH!, among others. Steve Kefalas has also been a member of Android Lust, I, Parasite, and ¡BASH!. Gordon Bash is an active jazz and rock musician, that has appeared on America’s Got Talent playing with William Close. He heads up the punk/rockabilly band ¡BASH!, and is also the bassist for the popular ska band Save Ferris. Sasha Travis is a singer, producer, director, and all-around artist. She has directed and produced for the Labyrinth Masquerade Ball, and Golden Stag events, written and directed for the Astra Dance Theater, and been a long time co-collaborator at Sypher Arts Studio.
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The first song LIINKS ever wrote (prior to actually calling themselves LIINKS) was stolen from them and became a #1 radio hit in South Korea. The duo had decided to post one of their first demos, a song called We’ll Never Know (later re named Swing) to an online streaming service. A few months later they received an email from a Korean law firm letting them know their song had been stolen by a big name Korean producer, was released by mega K Pop star Hyori Li and had reached #1 on their Top 40 radio stations across the county. The duo settled out of court and the Korean producer ended up in jail. What seemed at the time to be really upsetting is actually what inspired the duo to create their partnership and eventually become LIINKS.
LIINKS is a Canadian born collaboration between singer/songwriter Georgia and producer DWhiz. Georgia's haunting vocals project a delicate image of soul music smattered with the eerie sensibility of classic trip-hop. Backed by cinematic beat-scapes created by DWhiz, the LIINKS sound is electronic pop with an organic quality. The independent duo launched on April 1st, 2014 with their first single The Break. A radio programmer in Victoria, BC played The Break on 107.3 Kool Fm and by April 8th The Break was the most added track to Canadian radio and went on to peak at #35 on CHR Billboard and #18 on the Emerging Artist Billboard charts in Canada. The success of The Break grabbed the attention of legendary producer Bob Ezrin who helped the duo land a publishing deal with Universal in Los Angeles where LIINKS currently resides.
Recently LIINKS was featured on several high profile electronic viral hits with artists Datsik, Mord Fustang and Ephwurd which combined have had over 3 million plays online. Their most recent collaboration was with Datsik and Blink 182’s Travis Barker on the song Dark Star which LIINKS co wrote and features Georgia on vocals. LIINKS is currently writing and recording in LA and working on their debut EP set for release in late 2016.
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Often hailed as “the B-52’s on steroids,” Daddy Issues is a high-energy band from Southern California that entertains audiences with fun, sexy shows and loud guitars to match. The band is the brainchild of singer/songwriter, Angela Alvarez, and bassist, Julia “Jules” Whelpton, and is known for its catchy tunes and on-stage antics. From fall 2013 to present day, Daddy Issues has played sold out shows in Southern California, Arizona, and Las Vegas at legendary venues such as House of Blues, Belly Up Tavern, the Casbah, and Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles.
The band began in San Diego when lead singer, Angela was in search of an original rock band after moving from Scottsdale, AZ. Using Craigslist, she found a band called The Justice Fire, where Jules played bass. Within a couple of months, the pair decided to split off and create a high-energy rock band that mashed other forms of popular music together. They tested the name Daddy Issues at a local acoustic show in November 2013 to positive reception, and then decided to pursue the full-band setting.
Their career was further boosted by local radio play, eventually the band got the attention of local rock legend, Roni Lee. Lee recently signed Daddy Issues to her label, Play Like a Girl Records.
Taking cues from No Doubt, Green Day, Arctic Monkeys and The Foo Fighters, the band's music is a blend of 90’s and modern tropes.
The songs contain catchy riffs and singalong choruses, an incorporate various musical styles such as reggae, punk and latin. Their wide variety of influences include The Beatles, Aerosmith, Queens of the Stone Age and Halestorm to name a few. Recording with Jim Wirt of Crushtone Records in Cleveland, OH, Daddy Issues released its first full-length album, Handle It, in September of 2016.
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Conn Raney is a recording artist born in Modesto, California. When Conn was in the 2nd grade his family moved from Modesto, California to Portland Oregon, so that Connor's dad could attend Multnomah Bible College. It was also in Portland, Oregon that Connor heard his first Rap song - 'Gangsta's Paradise' by legendary rapper Coolio. Once hearing this song, it completely changed his perspective on music and life. He eventually began writing and performing songs at his school! However, those close to Conn never viewed music as a legitimate career choice. Instead, he was always pushed to play sports and go to college, but never to continue creating music and pursue a career.
He earned the title of NCAA All American Kicker for Division 3 after his senior year at California Lutheran University and found himself trying out for professional teams ranging from Arena Football to the NFL - all the while creating music purely out of passion. During this time, some soul searching happened and Conn made some interesting and controversial decisions. He was offered a contract to play football for the San Jose Sabercats of Arena Football...and guess what...he turned it down. He had made the decision that he was not going to let anyone else's opinion of his career path influence him any longer. His focus was now on building a career in music. Since then he has been fortunate enough to write and produce theme songs for several high school football teams and one professional soccer team (Chivas USA) – all of which was achieved while maintaining a full time job working with kids and families in need. Having grown up struggling financially and being raised with a strong moral background he has always had a passion for helping those less fortunate and he plans on continuing doing so through his music. Stay in touch with Conn and join him on his journey to leave a mark on the world!
Still feeling the post-election malaise? Watch this music video by Tech N9ne, released last month. “Erbody But Me” features Bizzy and labelmate Krizz Kaliko, and is the first single from Tech N9ne’s upcoming album, The Storm. Tech says the song is “very narcissistic,” which is plain to hear in the catchy hook. The song is an unapologetic celebration of himself, and the hook can be applied to anyone anywhere who needs a little boost to their self-confidence. Because, why not? The video itself takes place in a skating rink filled with individuals hanging out, skating, and partying. The infectious atmosphere mirrors the track, encouraging a positive vibe, despite the narcissism. There seems to be a lot of it going on lately, but at least this track is can help you greet the day with a positive, even excited, outlook.
This next video pick is Auditorium’s “Mt. Moriah.” Directed by Ben Barnes, this black and white video follows two children trick or treating. The young girl, receiving no answer from the doorbell and seeing a light from a window, curiously stumbles upon a scene she does not understand. The framing of this scene, cut together with clips of the children in the car, demonstrates her innocence though she knows she should not have seen what she did.
Ex-opera singer Spencer Berger is Auditorium, a unique project of genre-bending indie-folk-pop deliciousness blended up together with his impeccable voice. Berger sings all the vocal parts and plays all instruments on his songs. “Mt. Moriah” is a track from his upcoming album, The First Music. This album is the followup to full length Be Brave in 2011 and Nights Worth Living EP in 2012. Though he’s been somewhat quiet in the past few years, Berger has been prolific with song ideas, which he revealed to have been narrowed down to 15 tracks for the new album.
Move to Mars, shall we?
BBC Radio has described "Life on Mars?" as having "one of the strangest lyrics ever" consisting of a "slew of surreal images" like a Salvador Dalí painting when the song first came out. “It's the freakiest show… He's in the best selling show.... Is there life on Mars?” Who knew the lyrics would be so relevant now?
Most of the Americans we know have had thoughts like “shall we move to somewhere else?” striked in their minds over the past day, this past week, or the past month.
"If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity" - John F. Kennedy
“It's on America's tortured brow.” Let’s stay together America. Or move to Mars. Perhaps we will find Bowie there too.
Hunnypot favorite Kiiara was first played on our radio show back in August of 2015. Today, she is on her “low kii n savage af tour” playing mostly sold out venues! She released a new video on Halloween, just a few days ago for her song “Feels” from the low kii savage EP. The video features Kiiara following the dissolving of a house’s walls and ceiling, until objects start to float into the sky. She ventures outside, where the pattern continues until the world around her explodes into debris. Eventually, the fog dissipates into her body and the damage to the world, and the original house, reverses. Packed with hard-hitting lyrics and soul-baring emotion, the magical-realism quality of the video matches the lyrics and music.
Originally from Illinois, Kiiara has come up fast from her first release in 2013. She was signed to Atlantic Records in June of 2015 and has since released low kii savage earlier this year. “Feels” is her second music video, following her first for her song “Gold.” As of press time, Kiiara will be performing tonight and tomorrow night in Los Angeles, sold out shows at both the Echo and the Troubadour, respectively.
Imagine this. In America, people are just “Fat Pigs,” who “SPEAK ENGLISH ONLY,” and there are “no Muslims,” “no Mexicans”. “No small breasts are allowed.” Is that what you want your world to look like? “What do you want it to be?”
Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot just released a politically-charged video “Make America Great Again,” including footages of “burning and stigmatization” of labels like “OUTSIDER,” “PERVERT” and “FAT PIG” burned into Nadya’s body with a hot poker. She wants to warn people that “words do hurt physically,” and show that “Trump’s words are not just words,” she says. “Those words lead to violence.”
Main focus on the video is Pussy Riot’s view on the dangers of Trump becoming the U.S. President. Picturing America under Trump’s rule, “outsiders” are abused, raped and tortured, and shot dead. It is as dangerous as America can get.
Watch from link above and let Pussy Riot tell the story.
This video pick comes from electropop artist and producer Andrew Kirk, better known by his stage name RUNAGROUND. Originally from Tennessee, RUNAGROUND made his own success with a video and a YouTube channel. His covers and original music have garnered a whopping 800k+ listeners via YouTube and Google Plus. In early 2016, he joined the Robbins Entertainment family and he has since released this track and its accompanying video earlier this year.
“Chase You Down” is a song about the chase, in the all-too-familiar romantic sense. The lyrics portray a highly-sought after lover, a unique person that is too intimidating to approach without a little “liquid courage.” The video forays into the literal, with Kirk jogging down a quiet street. Interspersed with clips of a clearly troubled man, he eventually acquires a motorbike and day turns to dusky evening. In the end, RUNAGROUND is left staring into the nighttime vista. If you’ve ever encountered an elusive honey, you can relate to RUNAGROUND’s track and its video!