Fozzy didn’t play the Garden Grove Amphitheater on May 6th. No, play is far too soft and squishy of a word.
Fozzy stormed the GGA and essentially invaded Orange County. Maybe it was because they just came off a night at the legendary, but cramped and confining Whisky a Go Go, but this show felt like Fozzy unleashed. Fozzy unchained. Fozzy unstoppable.
Fozzy is fronted by lead singer Chris Jericho. He’s a pro wrestling superstar, so Jericho knows how to play to a crowd. His presence is undeniable and his voice is powerful and perfect for the heavy metal that Fozzy puts out. When he commandeered the smoke machine, he turned it into a smoke machine gun and it was a mash-up of heavy metal and WWE in the absolute best way imaginable.
The founder of Fozzy is lead guitarist, Rich Ward. Besides having an obvious mastery of his Les Paul, Ward without a doubt holds his own performing with Jericho. The guitar slinger never stops moving. Spins, jumps, twirls. All done with passion augmented by a gigantic smile that fills the entire amphitheater. (Can’t imagine moving like that on the Whisky stage.) As an aside, he’s also a gentle and humble guy, sticking around to talk to the crowd, specifically taking time to interact with the younger members of the audience.
Rounding out the five-piece band is guitarist Billy Grey, bassist PJ Farley and drummer Grant Brooks. Grey and Farley provide backing vocals giving Fozzy a full metal blanket of harmony or to paraphrase Jericho, "Fozzy is the bastard child of Metallica and Journey".
Fozzy is on the road for their Saving The World 2022 Tour in support of the Boombox album. Much of the set came from the new album and 2017’s monster Judas. (Of course, a Fozzy-ized version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax” has to been seen as well as heard.)
Fozzy is out to save the world through heavy metal. And while that is a huge goal, they just might have saved the city of Garden Grove in Orange County, California for at least one more night.
Setlist
Yo, that was a JAM packed Hunnypot Live.
Guest host Attique Iqbal bridged being a songwriter with working with songwriters in sports television.
Lisa Danaë made her live debut in Los Angels with dark, wry, pop pics.
The Schmoke Assembly were organized jam band chaos
Dagnasterpus returned with that crazy funk, blues, jazz, pop, swing, thing and some hot guest musicians.
Attique Iqbal grew up in California’s Central Valley (Fresno/Reedley) and has had an equal passion for sports and music as far back as he can remember. He got his first taste of the sports broadcast and entertainment realm in 2002 as a runner for CBS Sports and FOX Sports. This is a passion which he's maintained to this day, as Attique continues to work for CBS and FOX regularly as a game day statistician and in production support.
In 2006, Attique began what would evolve into a long career with NFL Media. He got his toes wet first as a production assistant, then took on roles as a graphics coordinator and highlight producer, also working on features, season previews, and show opens. In 2012, NFL Network created the 'Music Coordinator' role and Los Angeles music department for Attique to take on and further develop. In this post, Attique has overseen music reporting for nearly all NFL Media Platforms, curating and selecting music for various NFL Media shows and content and developing strong, long-lasting relationships with labels, artists and publishers.
Recently, Attique has also emerged on the scene as a songwriter. He released his first Songwriter/Artist Project titled 'The Attique Iqbal Project' on November 1, 2021, with the single "North Star", which was followed by the release of "Next Life" on January 9, 2022 and his most recently release “One Night” came out on April 11, 2022.
Some of Attique’ s most memorable career highlights are working several Super Bowls, Final Fours, and meeting his childhood hero, Muhammad Ali, and finding his “North Star”.
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Hailing from California, Filipino-American artist Lisa Danaë has long been a powerhouse vocalist in the music industry. Lisa’s journey began as a young girl when she found solace in pop industry powerhouses Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. As she grew as an artist, Lisa’s goal became to spread her story of growth and empowerment through the same powerful pop hooks and unfeigned, timeless lyrics that she grew up listening to. Her ability to pay tribute to the late 90’s/Y2K pop movement while still honoring her musical tenor in R&B birthed her transition and curation of “dark pop” where she takes deep sound to balance and challenge the uplifting lyricism and vocal tenor to create and addictive genre blend.
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DAGNASTERPUS is a jammin’ groove powerhouse that fell out of the mind of road warrior/composer, Tree Adams, former frontman of the New York City jam band, THE HATTERS. Tree is known for his award-winning work scoring film and tv projects such as The 100, Californication, Belushi, Legends, and NCIS: New Orleans, as well as producing songs for Grammy Award-winning artists like New Orleans legend, Cyril Neville, blues musician Taj Mahal and rapper YG.
DAGNASTERPUS features nimble horns, grimy beats and gritty vocals. Tree’s lyrics are imaginative and evocative with a hint of voodoo imagery welcoming listeners into an immersive and, at times, cinematic world of merriment and mirth. The DAGNASTERPUS is a benevolent mythical creature: part Poseidon, part Octopus and part Buddha. The band's self-titled debut album DAGNASTERPUS was released by Six Degrees Records on June 25, 2021.
DAGNASTERPUS is based primarily in Los Angeles and New Orleans.
November 17, 2021 was one of the darkest days in hip hop. This was the day rapper and record label executive Young Dolph was gunned down in his hometown of Memphis. The autopsy report found that 22 shots went through him that day in a premeditated attack. The hip hop world was devastated. Not only was Young Dolph a revered and respected artist but he was also leader of the Paper Route Empire label and a role model to all of his artists on PRE. At one point, he even turned down a $22 million dollar deal so his artists could maintain ownership over their masters. Dolph’s younger cousin and most successful protégé, Markeyvius Cathey (aka Key Glock) pledged to continue the mission he started with the PRE team. Thus was beginning of Key Glock’s ascent to the title of the new King of Memphis.
After a brief hiatus to process Young Dolph’s passing and contemplate next moves, Key Glock released the song and an accompanying video for “Proud” on January 17, 2022: a dedication to Young Dolph and a promise to carry the torch for PRE. Kenny Muney, another artist on PRE, similarly released his own dedication to Dolph, “Role Model” on January 20, 2022. Both songs can be found on PRE’s compilation album “Long Live Dolph”. A month later, Key Glock announced the Yellow Tape Tour: a 33-date tour spanning the nation, with Kenny Muney also on the bill. When I saw that they were making a few stops in Southern California, I knew I had to see one of them. On May 4, 2022, I caught the sold-out show at The Observatory OC in Santa Ana, CA.
First up was Kenny Muney. The 24-year-old rapper took the stage in a commanding fashion. While I wasn’t too familiar with his music, the fans in the building definitely were. He pumped up the crowd with bangers like “Low Key”, “Role Model”, and “Narcos”. At one point, he even jumped into the photo pit and sent all the photographers including myself scattering like little mice. He got the crowd loose and ready for the main act. As Kenny Muney wrapped up his set, the lights in the venue went dark as anticipation grew for Key Glock.
After a short wait, Key Glock made his appearance. To thunderous songs like “Gang Shit No Lame Shit”, “Ambitions For Cash”, “Dough”, and “Pain Killers”, Key Glock took the fans on a roller coaster ride of emotions. He covered every base: high energy mosh pits, celebratory dancing, and a very emotional stretch dedicated to Young Dolph. He played songs off of his “Dum & Dummer” and “Dum & Dummer 2” collaboration projects with Dolph. The DJ spun Dolph’s verses as the crowd rapped along word-for-word. Dolph’s presence was very much felt in the venue; it became abundantly clear that none of this would have ever been possible if it weren’t for Dolph.
The Yellow Tape Tour is not just another run to promote the Yellow Tape 2 album. It’s much more than that. It represents the passing of the torch from Young Dolph to Key Glock. And Key Glock has risen to the occasion. He’s no stranger to overcoming adversity; he grew up with an absentee father, lost a mother to the prison system for 15 years, and has now lost his mentor to gun violence in the streets. Despite it all, he has channeled his energy into his music and into building PRE. You can’t help but root for him. He’s soon to be the new King of Memphis and heir to Paper Route Entertainment. It doesn’t seem like anything can stop him. Check him out if he’s in a city near you. You won’t regret it.
Hunnypot Live #461, the May flowers of podcasts.
Moons of Mercury had us orbiting their haunting melodies.
Doc Samson may or may not be retiring after his live performance.
BATFARM blasted back with hard popera music.
L-Boogie birthday bashed us with his hip hop creations.
Listen to the Podcast Audio here:
Recap/Photos: J. Gray
Long time Hot Tubber Larken Phillips aka L-Boogie will celebrate his birthday with a special Live performance.
Ancient Sumerian texts tell of a man with boogie so pimpaliciously slick, that the world could not withstand the weight of his almighty funkification. He was born in a maelstrom of smoke and fire, schooled by the legends of Shaolin, and set upon this world to seek that mighty groove, tweak it till it’s smooth, straight up freak and bust a move.
This legend of boogie was deemed too powerful by the elder gods of groove, and so it was decided to seal his spirit away. For thousands of years the spirit of this titan of twerk lay dormant only to be awoken for a single night each year, for if his boogie lasted any longer the cosmos could be torn apart by his vociferous vibrations.
Lo and behold: the great L-Boogie hath arisen from his slumber! Payeth him tribute with dope-ass dance moves & belligerent bong rips, lest ye soul be cast into darkness until he riseth once more.
Johnathan Ruiz, better known as Doc Samson, is an American rapper, multi- instrumentalist, and record producer from Bakersfield, California.
Samson’s music is primarily rooted in alternative rap and hip-hop with albums like Prelude: The Tale of Doc Samson (2015), Son of Sam (2018), Samuel L. (2019) and DEATHDOG (2019).
Doc’s style of production has progressed immensely from dark and grimy to more of an inspirational based genre originating from sounds of the past. His new record, DEATHDOG II, via Blossöm Records marvelously showcases his take on the many memorable eras before him. “Heads will roll” he says.
Comprised of Alexx Calise, an introspective lyricist and “harmony machine”, and Morehouse, a masterful arranger and sound manipulator, Batfarm is a two-piece alternative rock band whose sound can be best described as “darkedelic”. The multi-instrumentalists keep it small not only for efficiency’s sake, but also to keep creating the music they want without added personalities. Combining Alexx’s grunge and blues influences with rich, choral soundscapes and Dennis’s love of industrial, funk, and psychedelic music, Batfarm creates a sound that is like everything and nothing at once.
While the music itself is serious, they don’t take themselves too seriously, and it is their hope that the darkness of some of their own personal experiences will help others to find their own light.
On Saturday night, the smooth funky sounds of the Polyrythmics poured out the front door of The Wonder Bar and spilled into the streets of Asbury Park. These guys brought their stylistic blend of funk, soul, progressive jazz, R&B, afrobeat, and psychedelic rock to the Jersey shore and the crowd ate every note up with a spoon. All in attendance couldn't stop dancing to their upbeat funky grooves.
Founded in Seattle in 2010, The Polyrhythmics was formed by guitarist Ben Bloom and drummer Grant Schroff. Soon after they started putting together a band with some of the most talented musicians in the northwest including Art Brown on the Saxophone, Jason Gray on Bass, Scott Morning on Trumpet, Nathan Spicer on Keys, Elijah Clark on Trombone, and Karl Olsen on Percussion (who was not playing with the band on Saturday). Each member of the band brings their own unique style which combines into the bands horn-driven aggressive funk afrobeat sound.
Polyrhythm is defined as the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another. Polyrhythms can be distinguished from irrational rhythms, polyrhythms require at least two rhythms to be played concurrently, one of which is typically an irrational rhythm. With that being said, I think that the band lives up to their name and the definition of the term to a tee. Their exploration of the different rhythms and blending of the styles of all their different influences all come together for an extraordinary live music experience.
The band had been working on their upcoming album, Man from the Future, and companion EP Fondue Party during the pandemic. They actually got snowed in at the ranch in Washington they were recording at and put that time to good use, laying down the tracks in 72 hours. Talk about putting in the work! Now emerging from the pandemic, they are getting back on the road and blowing the minds of their audiences around the country. These guys are no joke and aren't messing around.
The Polyrythmics came to Asbury and I was thoroughly impressed seeing them live for the first time. This octet explores so many different vibes of the music and mixes all the ingredients together for an epic live music experience that can't be missed. Watch out for these guys coming your way this spring and summer. If you got your dancing shoes and are ready to get down, I highly recommend you check them out! Here is the link to their website polyrhythmics.com for all the info you need to find out about the band and their tour to support their latest album. Trust me when I say you won't be disappointed these guys are on fire!
Tampa's Glove are special. They very much look and feel as if they come from another time, but maybe it's because they're from the future? Their style is reminiscent of bands such as Joy Division or Echo & The Bunnymen. Stylish and cool "Behaviour" comes off of Glove's brilliant debut album Boom Nights. This Live performance piece will have to hold us until an official video is released, catch them on tour.
Hot Tub Johnnie & Hunnypot Approved!
The Grind Time era was the introduction to battle rap for so many of us. Burgeoning around 2008, the league spanned from coast to coast with divisions in all major hip hop markets. Due to the league’s rapid growth, oversaturation, lack of quality control, and infighting among owners, Grind Time Now declined, and ultimately disbanded around 2012. Seeing a vacuum in the space, a couple of the other big leagues recruited talent from the then-somewhat-defunct brand and gave these battlers new respective platforms. For 10 years, these battlers rapped on other leagues without a true home-base. While this had been a great temporary solution, the time has come to bring it back home.
Drect, Lush One, and Dizaster – all of whom were directly involved in the original Grind Time, banded back together 10 years later to form GTX Battles. They debuted this new league with a heavy first card, The Prelude, at the Los Angeles Skate Club.
The Prelude had three main events on the card: Aye Verb vs. Pass, Kitchen Qleen vs. Geechi Gotti, and Aczino vs. Dizaster. Aye Verb vs. Pass was an ode to the heyday of Grind Time. Both have battled so many times on Grind Time that I was convinced the two had battled before (they haven’t). Seeing Plex Rock and Lush One stand between these two gentlemen was a nostalgic scene itself. Next up, Kitchen Qleen vs. Geechi Gotti was the street battle of the night. Not many battlers can match Geechi’s element of street talk and Kitchen Qleen did exactly that. I gotta credit Geechi Gotti as he’s the rapper on the card who really leaned into Mexican/Spanish content that resonated with the audience (more on this later). He really had his finger on the audience that night and it showed with the reactions he elicited.
This leads me to the main event of the night: Dizaster vs. Aczino. I had never heard of Aczino until this card was announced. Battle rap is such a niche scene that each “universe” is quite isolated from each other, from country to country and language to language. Apparently Aczino is in contention to be one of the most viewed battle rappers in the entire world; he’s a big deal in Mexico. More than half of the fans in the building were there specifically to see him. There were Mexican flags being waved proudly and thunderous “Aczino! Aczino! Aczino!” chants leading up to battle. It felt like a boxing match. Another mind-blowing fact is Aczino barely knows English; he learned English specifically for this battle. The first round was entirely in English, second entirely in Spanish, and the third was a free for all – Spanglish, if you will. Security may have lost a little bit of control leading up to the main event as the crowd eagerly encroached on the ring to get a better view of the action. I was lucky enough to be right behind the Ruin Your Day folks filming the battle but despite being that close, I still had to fight for my space. While mildly inconvenient, it was a raw and authentic experience.
The GTX Team really nailed this event. The battles were on point. The venue was packed. The battles went off without a hitch. And this was only The Prelude. Rumor is their next event is called The Next Episode, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us. If you still want to catch this event, you can cop the VOD at https://www.rapgrid.com/theprelude
When Tech N9ne, the top independent rapper of all time, brings his live show to San Diego you make sure and check that s*** out! Tech N9ne (Aaron Dontez Yates) co-founded the independent hip hop record label Strange Music with Travis O’Guin in 2000 and has been unstoppable ever since. The rapper from Kansas City has sold over 2 million albums and is also known to frequently collaborate with A-list artists of various genres: Lil Wayne, Eminem, Gary Clark, Jr., Kendrick Lamar, Machine Gun Kelly, System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, and Slipknot’s Cory Taylor. Tech N9ne has been on an incredible run of creative output, releasing full length albums almost every year like a machine; his 20th album Planet was released March 2018, followed by N9na in 2019, Enterfear in 2020, and last October Asin9ne marked Tech N9ne’s twenty-third studio album. Impressively, Tech N9ne was also listed 10th on the list of hip hop’s highest paid acts of 2021.
A talented four act hip hop bill awaited me at SOMA, the best all ages live music venue in San Diego. Strange Music artist Joey Cool got the night started as hip hops fans ages 8 to 58 arrived at the venue surprisingly early to check him out. Joey exuded confidence and swagger hitting the crowd with amazing rap technique over some truly mesmerizing and catchy tracks. Joey paced back and forth on the stage creating a genuine connection with the crowd. If you need an introductory tune for Joey Cool, check out “Man on Fire” (feat. Tech N9ne and Y2) – especially the recently released video which is pure fire.
Next up was another Strange Music signee, the energetic ¡Mayday! out of the Miami, Florida hip hop scene. The group includes rappers Bernardo Garcia (Bernz) and Ben Miller (a.k.a. Wrekonize) along with producer, and percussionist Andrews Mujica (a.k.a. NonMS). Bernz and Wrekonize were jumping and rapping all over the place! Great energy! Live percussion performed by NonMS offered a fresh Latin flavor to their music – the sonic accents of live snare and congas cut through the recorded musical playback adding an extra rhythmic energy I truly enjoyed. Check out ¡Mayday!’s impressive new album, Minute to Midnight, just released in March. It’s a polished collection of tracks featuring a wide variety of musical moods and styles to keep your attention.
For the third act, fans were greeted to a lone cross on a dark stage. Donning prisoner threads, X-Raided (Anerae Brown) is escorted on stage and strapped onto the cross. Unable to move with hands outstretched and strapped down, X-Raided delivers an impassioned performance of “F.Y.E. (For Your Entertainment)”. There’s a damn good reason X-Raided’s lyrics about prison life and street violence are genuine, full of expletives and intense – it’s autobiographical. He served 26 years in prison for murder and was paroled in 2018. It was inspiring to hear X-Raided proclaim positive messages about being a positive influence on your community and encouraging people to make positive changes in their life.
Now it was for the main attraction. When Tech N9ne hit the stage, the crowd went wild and immediately started shouting out the lyrics and callbacks in line with their rap hero. I was simply blown away at Tech N9ne’s vocal abilities. What came to mind was how rap is very similar to percussion – rap just uses vocals instead of drum strikes over a beat. My favorite part of Tech N9ne’s performance were the crazy speed raps – not that different from a mind-blowing Neil Peart drum solo – just that the rhythm is a tornado of words not a blur of fills across a drum kit. Tech N9ne’s pronunciation technique was faster than my brain could even comprehend. This fast-paced rapping style originated in the Midwest and is commonly called “Chopper” – and Tech N9ne is one of the most successful hip hop artists using this style. Check out the tune “Face Off”, from Asin9ne, it also features Joey Cool, King Iso, and Dwayne Johnson. The track already has almost 105 million streams on Spotify.
San Diego was the 8th stop on Tech N9ne’s ambitious 57-date run of performances that end with a triumphant hometown show in Kansas City, MO on June 11th. With three outstanding supporting acts and Tech N9ne in prime form, hip hop fans should be circling their calendars to check out this show when it comes to town.
Be well and keep rockin’!
Hey everyone, this is Matty B and I'm here with the newest single from Fozzy. This song is called "I Still Burn" and it is absolute fire in its purest sense. If you're looking for something that will get your adrenaline pumping and your juices flowing, then this is the song for you. So make sure to check the video and let me know what you think. And get ready for the release of Fozzy's latest album, Boombox, to be released on May 6th. It picks up where 2017's Judas left off and takes the sheer genius of Chris Jericho and Fozzy to a whole new level. It's an "11" on a "10" scale and then some!
- Matthew Belter
What can I say, I knew I was in for a great night knowing The Band Camino was coming to Dallas. Being a band that I have been listening to for a few years now, there isn’t a song by them that I didn’t like. The whole way to The Factory in Deep Ellum, I was giddy with anticipation because I couldn’t wait to sing their songs live. They were joined by the bands flor and Hastings. Everyone in the room was pumped with anticipation, about to have the time of their lives. Let’s dive into the show.
Starting off the show was Hastings. Right out of the gate, they ran into some technical difficulties that delayed their performance. It seemed as if their computer wasn’t wanting to connect to the sound system, so once fixed, they only had enough time for three songs. I could see how this might disappoint some fans, but it wasn't their fault and didn’t get us down. The moment they figured it out, it was game time, and they really brought the energy to the stage. The three songs they chose included “Blank Me”, “Chapstick”, and “Take Mine”, and all were fantastic. This was my first time seeing them and when they come back through, I will be there.
Next up was flor and boy did they come in hot. They really gave off that exciting 80s vibe with their stage appearance. The lead singer, Zach Grace, was such a great front man to watch while shooting from the photo pit. Being a band that I also had never heard prior to the show, I was again catching myself really enjoying their vibe and music. The Band Camino really did a great job picking the bands they brought on this tour and all complimented them in amazing ways. Some of the songs I really enjoyed from them were “hold on”, “dancing around”, and “back again”. I really can’t wait to see them again.
Finally it was time for the main attraction, The Band Camino. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a headliner in a long time. This being the largest show they have ever played (with estimated attendance of nearly 4500 people), I had a sneaky suspicion this performance was going to amazing and possibly one of the best I’ve ever seen. Given the number of songs that are 100% hits, the crowd would surely be singing the entire time and they did not disappoint during the epic 20-song setlist. Jeffery Jordan, one of their lead singers, gave us all of his energy on stage as was running around and jumping constantly. What was super neat about them was having two lead singers, and that was something I didn’t realize before. Spencer Stewart really did a great job complimenting Jeffery’s voice on stage. They went on to play some of my favorite songs like “2/14”, “Who Do You Think You Are?”, “See Through”, and even gave Dallas an exclusive performance of “Crying Over You” that hasn’t been played on any other date. Closing out the show with one of their biggest songs, “Daphne Blue”, The Band Camino made everyone’s evening a night to remember.
The Band Camino’s Thursday night performance performance was electric and had the Dallas crowd going wild. All of the opening bands were incredible and brought an amazing amount of energy to the night. If you get a chance, make sure to catch this tour – it’s just that good. And be sure to follow the Hunnypot Live for all the latest concert news – we’ll keep you in the loop with more incredible coverage and killer photos that will make your heart sing!
