Aluzjun

Friday, February 13, 2004

'Showtime at the Apollo' gives 14 acts a shot at the big time

It's showtime!

With 14 acts scheduled to take the stage, Saturday night's "Showtime at the Apollo" promises to be an entertaining evening of local singers, dancers, musicians, spoken-word artists and comedians. At the end of this annual contest, one act will be chosen to appear at the Apollo Theater in New York City.

This year's contestants were auditioned in December at Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center. Among them are 19-year-old singer Danielle Meserve, the Hot Shot Tap Dancers, Phat Phunk Phamily, Roc Phella (an adult keyboardist), Jay Townsend (a singer from SeaTac who appeared last year) and Rainier Beach High School rap group Aluzjun (Young Swish, Lil' Ace, Kenenski and Big Keno).

Harlem's Apollo Theater has played an important role in African American music, helping launch the careers of such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, James Brown, the Supremes and Prince.

Among last year's contestants was Seattle singer Leah Vladowski, who is now competing on "American Idol." The teenager has appeared in "Black Nativity" and performed with the Total Experience Gospel Choir.

In an interview posted on Fox TV's "American Idol" Web site, Vladowski was asked what advice she had for other hopefuls.

"Just to never give up on your dreams," she said. "Work hard for what you want because it won't come to you without a fight. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it in to something positive."

"Showtime at the Apollo" begins at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St. Tickets are $15-$28 at Ticketmaster.

-- Gene Stout

- Seattle PI

Hip Hop, smoothed out, on a Northwest Tip
Advertisement



The Show Report weeks of May 19th through June 3rd
By: Josh Warren



The Show Report is a bi-weekly column about local hip-hop performances happening in
the Northwest.

If you missed the Northwest Urban Lifestyle conference last weekend, you missed
out on the best free fashion show ever to hit the Northwest. The conference was also a
chance for local artist, labels, designers, promoters and more to network within the urban,
hip-hop community. Of course, my agenda was to check out the show.
I arrived to the conference shortly into the start of the fashion show. At that time,
Jay-T, an unsigned artist who is produced by J-town productions was gracing the stage
with his presence. His smooth voice went hand in hand with the beautiful ladies at they
ripped the runway. He showed a lot of energy in his performance and it was a good jump
off to the show.
After his performance, DJ Kun Luv, kept the fashion show going mixing in the
music so smooth that by the time the next act went up, you didn't realize he switched the
beat up completely and a new person was on stage. Big ups go out to DJ Kun Luv on the
1's and 2's.


Next up, from Unexpected Arrival was Neema, doing his joint called "Stick and
Move" off his album My Life for Sale. The beat most def went with the title of this song,
because the bass would stick you and the beat just made you move. And in the
performance was a special appearance by Feeni Casino, who ripped the track. Neema did
his thing, as well as Feeni in this show.


After their performance, came the super duper, hyphy, hyphy, hyphy group, Aluzjun (pronounced allusion). The four members, Big Keno, Young Swish, Lil Ace and Kenenski came out with the most energy of the show. They picked up the pace of the show for the models, performing their song called "Shake Something".


Last, but not least was the group, Witherspoon. These four young ladies, hailing from Tacoma could blow. Tasha, Krista, Tamara and Erica, who are all sisters, did their thing performing two songs. The melodic group had a nice R&B sound and sung over smooth beats that were guaranteed to catch the ear of anybody listening.



- Seaspot

Young bands Sound Off! for stardom

By GENE STOUT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER POP MUSIC CRITIC

Marika, 15, and Miro, 13, of Seattle sister duo The Neons say they're "nervous in a good way" about playing at the fourth annual Sound Off! competition beginning tomorrow night at the Experience Music Project.


COMING UP
SOUND OFF!

WHAT: Battle of the bands competition

WHEN: Tomorrow night at 8, continues Feb. 12, 19 and 26

WHERE: Experience Music Project, 325 Fifth Ave. N.

TICKETS: $10 ($7 for students and teachers, $5 for EMP members); 206-770-2702


It'll be the alternative pop-rock duo's first public performance after weeks of practice.

"We're excited to do the show," Marika said this week. "We're going into the performance hoping to have fun and play a really good show. We're not going to feel bad if we don't win."

If you're curious about what young, developing musicians in the Northwest are up to, Sound Off! provides an enlightening showcase. Young musicians are resourceful, using home recordings and their own Web sites to promote their music.

The Neons will join eight other bands in the competition, which is open to musicians 21 and younger. Semifinals are tomorrow night and Feb. 12 and 19. The best three bands from the semifinals will compete in the finals Feb. 26. Each band will perform a 45-minute set.

The winning band will receive a bounty of prizes, including a featured performance at next summer's Bumbershoot festival, a professional-quality demo and guaranteed airplay on KNDD's "The Young & the Restless" show. They also will get a chance to open a concert for the Presidents of the United States of America.

"When kids ask what they can do to get better at playing music, I always tell them to perform as much as they can," said guitarist Dave Dederer of the Presidents. "You're not trying to learn how to practice in your basement by yourself. You're trying to learn how to communicate with other people. And the only way to do that is to perform in front of an audience."

Sound Off! has featured some notable bands in the past three years. Bellingham group Idiot Pilot, which performed in last year's competition, later signed with Reprise Records.

"It's really great to see something like that," Janine Logsdon, EMP's education program manager, said of Idiot Pilot. "Before they participated in Sound Off! they really weren't on anyone's radar. [Note: Logsdon's name was misspelled in the original version of this article.]

Schoolyard Heroes also has played in the competition. The group signed with The Control Group label months after performing at Sound Off! The band has since released its first album, "Funeral Sciences," which has had local airplay.

EMP started the competition four years ago to encourage the all-ages music community and provide a place to perform. Logsdon works with programs manager Danny Bland and other EMP staffers, as well as such competition sponsors as KNDD and KEXP and the Vera Project.

"It gives young artists an opportunity that they wouldn't otherwise be able to get," Logsdon said. "It's a venue for them to kick-start their music careers."

More than 100 bands applied for the 2005 competition, nearly twice the number of submissions for the first Sound Off! in 2002. Each band submits a 15-minute demo, a bio, information sheet and proof that band members are 21 or under.

"The selection process really starts after we receive all the tapes," Logsdon said.

Bands are rated in three categories: composition and arrangements, creativity and originality, and technical ability.

"From there, we select the bands based on the top nine scores," she said.

At the semifinals and finals, a fourth category is added to the judging criteria -- audience response.

Dylan Treleven of Tacoma band The Paramours, whose members met in high school, is hoping some of the group's original songs will click with the judges. The group's sound has been influenced by the Strokes, Weezer, Fountains of Wayne and the Velvet Underground.

"We've got one song called 'Viewmaster' and another one called 'Mean Cloud Themes' that I'm pretty psyched about," he said.

Unlike The Neons, The Paramours have played a number of shows, including a gig at Tacoma's atmospheric Java Jive that earned them $30.

But the Sound Off! performance may be the biggest show the group has ever played.

The Gruff Mummies of Bainbridge island combine rock, blues, punk and glam rock, taking inspiration from Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, T-Rex, Television, Roxy Music and other bands.

Singer Kirk Nordby met bassist Cameron Snyder in middle school.

"He'd play saxophone and I'd play tuba and we'd sort of jam and just make strange music together," Nordby said. "We used to play 'Iron Man' by Ozzy Osbourne on saxophone and tuba."

The five-piece band's newest member is keyboardist Geneva Pritchett, whom Nordby met while building houses in Mexico with a Lutheran church group - Seattle PI

What would happen if you brought four talented young rappers together from the streets of Seattle? It's only "common sen¢e" that you would come up with Seattle's latest rap group sensation Aluzjun. Joined as one to form hip hop's latest machine are Big Keno, Young Swish, Lil Ace and Kenenski, all representing the rainy city. Put together by Mike Daniels after competing and winning mc battles, these 4 young men immediately began grinding in common sen¢e studios, ready and willing to speak their minds.

The oldest member being 20 years old, Aluzjun speaks on issues that young hip hop heads constantly experience. Songs like "my life,"produced by Wingo and "you can't stop us," produced by Kutty showcase talent in the making. Banging out 17 songs varying from the all around hip hop lifestyle, gangsta livin, life as a teenager and dealing with relationships, Aluzjun has many a story to tell. Already in the studio working on their next album and performing at hip hop shows and clubs, there seems to be nothing holding them back from growing into a national sensation. Don't sleep on Aluzjun as they continue to be voices from the streets.
- Seaspot.com