P.I.C

Artist Information

Biography

Straight out of NYC's Lower East Side, P.I.C is a charismatic, soulful collective that plays an intelligent and robust blend of Hip Hop, Latin-tinged Funk and Ska, driven by a punk-rock do-it-yourself ethic.

OUT NOW!
El Nova Hustle, exclusive Japanese release of P.I.C's new material on Swamp Records. Released Feb. 13th 2008.

BRAND NEW MUSIC VIDEO "Keep Up"
Check out the second single from "EL NOVA HUSTLE." Featuring Iracel Rivero as Mrs. Smith, "Keep Up" throws the funk into neighborly envy. Directed by P.I.C's resident trumpeteer/mc, SULU.

TOKYO CALLING
Listeners far and wide caught on to P.I.C and in 2005, P.I.C's "Brooklyn Incident" was released exclusively for Japan and distributed by Swamp Records/Polystar.

FROM MIX TAPES TO NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
Their wildly successful debut album "Hiphopunkfunkmamboska!!!" (2000) was added to over 300 radio stations nationwide and reached #1 on CMJ charts from Canada to Hawaii. P.I.C's follow-up album "Sexy Picnic" (2003) surpassed their debut's success on college airwaves and gained national distribution by Select-O-Hits Records.

PREMIUM P.I.C ON TV
P.I.C was house band for Comedy Central's "Premium Blend", hosted by Wanda Sykes (2002-2003). P.I.C performed many of their original tunes, including HIPHOPUNKFUNKMAMBOSKA, which was adapted as the theme song for "Premium Blend".

Instrumentation

Horny Jeff - Saxophone
J-Bomb - MC
Mark Concerto - Guitar
Rice - Keyboards
Rick Fingers - Bass
Sulu - Trumpet/MC
Un-G - Turntables/MC

Discography

"El Nova Hustle" (2008, Swamp Records/Swamp USA) - Japan release

"El Nova Hustle" (2007, Riding Mower Records)

"Brooklyn Incident" (2005, Swamp Records/Swamp USA) - Japan release

"Sexy Picnic" (2003, Riding Mower Records)

"hiphopunkfunkmamboska!" (2000, Riding Mower Records)

Links

• P.I.C El Nova Hustle
• P.I.C's Official Website
• P.I.C on Facebook
• P.I.C on Myspace.com
• P.I.C on Bandcamp
• P.I.C on Bandcamp
• P.I.C on Bandcamp
• P.I.C on Bandcamp
• P.I.C on Bandcamp
• P.I.C on Bandcamp

Audio

• Fonzareli
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• Got Me Like
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• Timonium
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• Hambo
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• Hard Look Case
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• Erwin Lockdown
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• Sugar Plan
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• Talk
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• Sexy Picnic
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• Lactose
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• Jimbo Instrumental
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• Carmel Love Instrumental
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Lyrics

• Timonium
• Hambo
• Erwin Lockdown
• Sugar Plan
• Talk
• Sexy Picnic

Video

Fonzarelli - Music Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• El Nova Hustle [+ Show ]
  

  Continuing to resonate the sounds of Motown and '60s R&B and soul complete with a badass brass secti...Continuing to resonate the sounds of Motown and '60s R&B and soul complete with a badass brass section, tracks like the smooth "Carmel Love" and "Old Sole" kick out the jams righteous a la Tribe Called Quest meeting Herb Alpert, while the '70s funk groove spurred by "Keep Up" adds West Coast rap grooves to the laundry list of influences this septet employs. Keeping the mood mischievous on cuts like the mambo-inducing "Chimp Attack" and the innocuous "Lactose", P.I.C. retain their good-time band status by delivering yet another dose of devilishly danceable music whose eccentric musical mash-up and fearless flare for the unorthodox never interferes with the fun bouncing out your speakers.”
  -Mike SOS

• Diggin P.I.C [+ Show ]
  

  “Lately I've been seriously diggin' the cool sounds of El Nova Hustle, the third album from P.I.C. H...“Lately I've been seriously diggin' the cool sounds of El Nova Hustle, the third album from P.I.C. Hailing from the Lower East Side, the band is a unique genre-mashing hip hop jazz ensemble with a really fun, inventive sound. They've sort of got this party hip hop vibe, with sometimes silly lyrics ("I'll fight for your honor like Karate Kid 2" always sticks out for me), while riding a distinct blend of Motown, swing, jazz and soul. It's good stuff, all around. And I get the feeling that Steven Mallorca and Co. probably put on a great live show. “
  

• Get Down While You Chow Down [+ Show ]
  

  P.I.C started out unlike most other groups - as a mockumentary about a Philipino hip-hop group, a cr...P.I.C started out unlike most other groups - as a mockumentary about a Philipino hip-hop group, a cross between Public Enemy and Spinal Tap. Before long, they established their spontaneous and wild stage presence enough to convince audience members that they were an actual group, and ended up as the house band for Comedy Central's Premium Blend. So how does a group of fun-loving film students turn into a hip-hop group that's broadcast over national television on Friday nights?
  
  Perhaps it has to do with their hip, funky, cutting-edge sound. Perhaps it's the use of well-placed horns, guitar, bass, turntablism, and keyboard in their songs. Perhaps it's the MCs' flair for humorous lyrics such as "I can't call you sugar, sugar, sugar / Complex carbohydrates gonna migrate, and dehydrate." More than likely, it's all of the above combined with a fun-loving enthusiasm for funky hip-hop.
  
  After their breakout first album, Sexy Picnic picks up where Hiphopunkfunkmamboska left off. It is fun, friendly, and eclectic. It is in the Jurassic Five vein of hip-hop, with jazz and funk thrown into urban rhythms, accompanied by a chorus of MCs in "ya mamma" style. They break into salsa, punk, funk and rock with delightful results.
  
  The songs are sometimes repetitive, but never lackluster. The funky feeling permeates throughout, which while enjoyable also makes for an anti-climactic album flow. The vocals also tend to fall into the background, as the mixing feels fairly flat.
  
  Overall though, less-than-stellar mixing and a predictable rhythm can't hide P.I.C's talent for their particular genre. They take their own style of hiphopunkfunkmamboska to impressive heights, and keep up the pace well with Sexy Picnic.
  -Thea Cooke

• A review by Mike SOS [+ Show ]
  

  The PIC crew has returned, fresh off of its Comedy Central stint on PREMIUM BLEND, and drop another ...The PIC crew has returned, fresh off of its Comedy Central stint on PREMIUM BLEND, and drop another set of incredibly soulful and undeniably danceable tunes on SEXY PICNIC. The term hybrid is tossed around so much these days that it has probably lost some luster, but it's the best way to describe PIC. This collective, which goes seven deep, throw jazz, salsa, rock, and hip-hop into a big old gunnysack, and out come Latin flavored jazz hymns like "Ghoti" and Motown-inspired meets modern day R&B jams like "Nevermore Stories". SEXY PICNINC isn't just a cool album title; it also marks another 10 solid tracks in the pocket for the hiphoppunkfunkmamboska masters, whose infectious and intelligent tracks effortlessly make you smile the way Stevie Wonder, Tribe Called Quest, and most nudie bar slow jams only can.
  www.ridingmowerrecords.com
  -Mike SOS

• Praise for Sexy Picnic [+ Show ]
  

  Silly cleverness combined with actual awesome, innovative bizarre music. Imagine if Barenaked Ladies...Silly cleverness combined with actual awesome, innovative bizarre music. Imagine if Barenaked Ladies were actually funny and understood funk and had a DJ.
  

• Finger on the Pulse [+ Show ]
  

  P.I.C. likes to describe their sound as "hiphopunkfunkmamboska" which is a jumbled up description of...P.I.C. likes to describe their sound as "hiphopunkfunkmamboska" which is a jumbled up description of their musical influences. Pretty clever, but what else would you expect from a group that was formed from a group of NYU art students. P.I.C. originally started life as p.i., short for Pilipino Insurrecto, the imaginary rap group that a NYU film school mocumentary was based on. As part of shooting for the film the p.i. crew would play live shows around New York, and they quickly found that p.i. had a following of fans. p.i. changed their name to P.I.C and have been playing and touring ever since. If you think that the name P.I.C seems pretty familiar you may also be a Comedy Central fan. P.I.C was the house band for Comedy Central's 2002 stand-up comic variety show Premium Blend. With two albums, national T.V. exposure, and a claimed worldwide audience, P.I.C seems to have come a long way from being a joke rap group, or so you might think.
  
  P.I.C.'s latest album is Sexy Picnic. I have had this album in my player for a while now (it has been out for a year), and I am still finding it difficult to write a review. I have decided that this is not a fault of the reviewer, but it is the carefully crafted plot of the band. The band started off as a joke, and I really do not think that they have plans of changing course. For example just look at the band's own description of track five, "Ghoti"-"Vocals muse about George Bernard Shaw's alternative phonetics in true tongue twisting style, driven by a New Orleans dance hall beat and Latin counter rhythms. The band's bipolar nature jumps from big Tito Puente style mambo arrangements, to a suddenly scaled down acoustic guitar and Louis Armstrong-style muted trumpet duet, easily covering 50 years of popular music in the span of one song." My translation - "Intelligent, comedic, unpredictable NYC art students, gone awry on stage with musical instruments in an auditory explosion of intermingled, genre busting jocularity". That pretty much describes the whole attitude of the P.I.C crew and the album
  .
  Personally, this is not an album that I listen to very often, or have run out and had to show all of my friends. It is an album that I would put on in the background of a party. The songs, on a whole, were mildly interesting, the music will get your head bobbing, and I guess they were 'fun'. The lyrics at times, however, left me scratching my head wondering if it was I that was dumb, or if it was just the song that was dumb. If you are into music that is more about fun than it is about content, you like your comedy and your music in one easy to swallow pill, or you are really into this genre blending craze then this would be a great album for you to find. If, however, you are more the type the likes to keep your peas and mashed potatoes separate, find that "fun loving" bands make you see red, or are the type that thinks KRS-One when you hear the word hip-hop, then this is not going to be your cup of tea. As you may guess I am probably more the latter, so take that with a grain of salt when you consider this album. All this said I would probably still go see this band live, in a bar, and, if what I have read about their live shows was even half true, then I would recommend that you do, too.
  -JD Sipes

Setlist

Our set list - all originals - goes something like...

1. ALNOVA
2. HARD LOOK CASE
3. LACTOSE
4. OLD SOLE
5. CHIMP ATTACK (w/ bass solo)
6. JIMBO
7. CARMEL LOVE
8. GOT ME LIKE
9. FONZARELLI

P.I.C can finish in 45 minutes but can easily keep it up for 2 hours.

Basic Requirements

Calendar