BurnDown All-Stars

"The BurnDown party, which includes the BurnDown All-Stars, is a musical team set on producing some of the finest hip hop since Philadelphia’s The Roots. Think that’s an overstatement? Maybe, but these acts are definitely on the road to becoming some of the most innovative hip-hop acts around.

The All-Stars are 14 musicians and emcees who burn down each track to its fundamental roots and allow organic instrumentation to float over each one. This is uncommon in the hip-hop community, since sequenced melody and electronic beats have dominated the market. It’s refreshing to hear the BurnDown All-Stars spit, although 18 tracks might be a little too much. (Key tracks: Gold Mine, Philly Music.)" - Pusle Weekly

excerpts taken from Origivation Volume 3 Issue 11 October 2003
The Record: "BurnDown Presents, Vol.1: The Outside Connect Jawn," is a searing, spirited, lyric-layden and at times "shit was just funny"amalagamation that held true to one basic tenet: people have to play with musicans outside of their circle.

The Show: The formula of bringing people from different cliques together on one stage has really begun to get the airship off the strip. Live shows are building like energy in a kid off his meds. Such was the case September 10th at Grape Street Philadelphia. The band took the stage shortly after midnight as Kuf greeted the crowd and spread the BurnDown message of positivity and unity. With that the onslaught of taut lyrical lashings began. - Origivation

Bodog Music's $1 Million Battle of the Bands has narrowed the field to 17 survivors culled from more than 7,000 entrants who signed up on the www.bodogbattleofthebands.com web site and participated in over 300 live battle concerts. Starting January 23, the 17 who remain will say "Cleveland Rocks" as the competition takes it on the road to the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where the final elimination tour and shooting of the Bodog Music Battle of the Bands reality show begins. The tour manager for the Bodog Music Battle of the Bands will be noted KROQ DJ and Loveline host Stryker. Judges for the battles include legendary Sex Pistol John Lydon and Canadian Superstar Bif Naked. They will be joined on the road by an array of music notables who will test the competitors with challenges. The notables include: Bowling for Soup, members of Slipknot, the Exies, Avril Lavigne, the Barenaked Ladies, Steve Vai, Maxim model Julie Hinton and more. Play poker, blackjack and bet on the Super Bowl at Bodog.com and receive instant cash bonuses!As they visit six rocking cities - Cleveland, Memphis, New Orleans, Austin, Las Vegas, Los Angeles - on five plush Bodog tour buses, the bands will face a variety of ordeals and battles to finally decide which one is the best unsigned band in America and who wins the coveted million-dollar contract. The 17 bands who will assemble in Cleveland range across all genres. Here are their names and the city from which each hails: The Mood (Atlanta), Ahimsa Sunrise (Washington, D.C.), Fall From Grace (Seattle), Fear Nuttin Band (Boston), Left 4 Dead (Chicago), Subversa (Houston), Ashmore (Dallas), The Desciples (Denver), Silverspork (Detroit), Blaxmyth (Los Angeles), Big Bang Radio (Miami), Leroy Smokes (Minneapolis), Idle Red (Phoenix), Strifer (San Francisco), BurnDown All Stars (Philadelphia), MuRdok (Tampa) and Live Society (New York). - Bodog Entertainment

Philly’s own Burndown All-Stars are taking there battle of the bands resume to the national level in the Bodog Music’s $1 Million dollar contest & tour. The tour is being filmed for a reality show as bands get knocked off, with our Philly crew burning down the competition! check out more info and leave some comments for MC Jawnzap7 as he keeps us in the loop about the tour,loose women, contest, and reality show.. - 215HipHop.com

"There is definitely a message in the music, but it's not on a political vibe. For real, though: I'm not trying to change the world," says Carlito Attack of the Philadelphia-based Burndown All-Stars.

"We're just trying to tell you what it's like living in it," adds Rok Bottom, another of the band's seven MCs.

Some would be quick to classify the Burndown All-Stars as "conscious hip-hop," because they don't incorporate the battle element or violence in their sound. It's not that they hate on that type of hip-hop, it's just not what they're trying to represent.

We sit in the basement of a warehouse down the block from a series of abandoned row homes and haunted buildings in Germantown. Guitarist and lead singer Dave Quicks has turned this into the band's home base. The studio is adorned with comfy furniture, proper equipment and a graffiti-tagged wall bearing the word "Burndown."

With a dozen members, the Burndown experience is like a pot of thick musical gumbo. The ingredients include the Dialects (Syne and Arcane), Carlito, Kuf Knotz, Rok, JawnZap7, Lord Bizerk — and that's just the MC lineup. The musicians are Quicks, bassist Rico Joseph, drummer Tom Walling, guitarist Tom Copson and DJ Cramske.

by Deesha Dyer
Published: Jan 16, 2007 - Philadelphia's City Paper

written by Gil Kaufman

You know the deal: Bodog Music is on a countrywide search to find America’s best unsigned indie band. The chosen one will receive a $1-million contract with Bodog, including international distribution, touring, promotion and marketing services. Without further ado, the fifth in a series of profiles of bands in the Bodog's $1-million Battle of the Bands.

Point of origin: "We got together about three years ago and it was all about taking advantage of the moment," said band leader Dave Quicks about how the All-Stars formed into one of Philly's premier hip-hop collectives. "There were a lot of bands and artists around Philly that we knew, but who weren't necessarily getting paid for what they were doing." Not long after splitting with his former group, the Princes of Babylon, Quicks and some other local musicians got their hands on a portable digital studio. After learning how to use it, they invited some friends over to their rented warehouse space and just started to tape their jam sessions. "It was more of a vibe thing any anything else," he said of the initial sessions. "We just got together as many good artists as we know in the Philly area and recorded it all." The results ended up on 2003's "BurnDown All-Stars Volume 1", which showcased 44 different artists, from musicians to rappers, singers, DJs and whoever else Quicks could rope into the studio.

Takin' it to the stage: The first gig the All-Stars played looked like one of those chaotic George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars shows, with more than 25 musicians on stage, which was a blessing and a curse. "You can imagine the logistics of it all," Quicks said. "Drummers and bassists switching out and changing up equipment. People jumping up and down off stage. It was cool to have that environment and all those people contributing, but in terms of putting on a show, it was not logistically the way to go. It just looked disorganized." Following those shows, Quicks set out to solidify a core group of All-Stars to represent the group on the stage, which now numbers between 12 and 13 live musicians and MCs.

What's up with the name?: Quicks came up with the name, which, despite its seemingly illicit connotation, was actually inspired by some pretty geeky music gear terminology. "When we first started recording things," he explained, "we had a Roland all-in-one digital studio and everything it does it puts out on a CD, either a data back-up of the session or a burn of the music. So I would write 'back up' or 'burndown' on all the discs and when it came time to go public with a name we went through a bunch and I had written BurnDown so many times that when I suggested it everyone was down with it." Okay, so there's absolutely no other explanation for it, right? "Well, to be honest, the name wouldn't have stuck if it didn't have multi-layered definitions," Quicks said slyly, refusing to elaborate.

The sound: As a producer, Quicks said he has tried to be hands off, just utilizing the talent he has harnessed under the BurnDown banner, which ranges from rock and reggae, to R&B and hip-hop. "I was trying to make an overall aesthetic that was organic as opposed to overly processed," Quicks explained. "I didn't want to make the regular hip-hop you hear on the radio with all the overproduced beats that are all synthesized." Because the group uses live musicians, Quicks said songs like "Philly Music" and "Travelin'" are invested with a "spirit and humanity" that give them a funky, organic vibe.

The Roots of the group: Not surprisingly, a big influence on the All-Stars is long-running Philly hip-hop legends The Roots, another sprawling collective known for their live band configuration. And, like the Roots, the live band you see at All-Stars shows is not the whole story. There are plenty more people who work behind the scenes to create the group's sound besides the baker's dozen performers on stage. "That idea really appealed to us," Quicks said. "We had these jam sessions all over town that brought the whole thing into focus. My old band would play at these jam sessions hosted at a local a bar by G. Love's label, Philadelphonic, and once all of us started playing together and got comfortable it became obvious that we should start recording some of it."

The live show: "Have you seen Dave Chappelle's 'Block Party' movie?" Quicks asks. "That's what our live show feels like. We've got drums, bass, two guitars, a DJ and four to eight MCs, so we keep it flowing with that review feel. We might switch up MCs for each song and we keep metamorphosing and introducing new things to keep it fresh in front of you."

Bonding with the Bonnaroo crowd:

Because of their size, the All-Stars haven't been able to tour very much, but they just played a couple of sets at the All Good Festival in West Virginia and they seriously won over the crunchy granola audience. "That's our audience, the jam audience," Quicks said. "Not because we're a jam ba - Bodog Nation

Philly Local wants to give a huge "CONGRATS" to The BurnDown All-Stars who took 1st place at the BoDog Battle of the Bands competition the other night!


Playing to a packed room at the Trocadero, band members Dave Quicks, Kuf Knotts, Rok Bottom, Jawnzap7, Carlito Attack, Syne, Mc Nutt, Lord Bizerk, Rico Joseph, Tom Walling, Tom Copson, and Cramske won a trip out to LA and will represent the city of Philadelphia in the final Battle of the Bands Showdown where they could win a $1,000,000 recording contract with Bodog Entertainment, including international distribution, touring, promotion, and marketing services!!!!!!

We learned about this amazing achievement in an email from The BurnDown's very own Kuf Knotts and want to share it with you:

"Just wanted You to be the first to know our good news - BurnDown All Stars WON the BODOG BATTLE OF THE BANDS Last night at the Trocadero which was filled to the max. We won first Place and will fly out th L.A to represent the City of Philadelphia!! They Started filming it
Last night and are making a reality show out of the competion they will be following us around taping for two days starting last night. Wish us luck!

Thank You
PeacE KUF" - WXPN Blog by Helen Leight

Here's what you'll find on the CD and at the party

This week’s Thursday Night Rock Show has been pre-empted by a special event. This is absolutely terrible news, right? Think again! The special event that has replaced the Rock Show for this week is none other than the CD release party for Jaxon’s Local Shots Vol. III, a compilation of the areas best local music.

WMMR’s Jaxon is the man behind the mix; he puts his name behind every one of the bands on the CD, along with the bands that play the Thursday Night Rock Show. Jaxon even chose the groups who made the CD personally.

“Nine out of ten times, it’s going to be someone who’s playing the Thursday Night Rock Show,” Jaxon says.

Local Shots is actually two positive forces rolled into one; not only does it help in promoting Philadelphia’s energetic local music scene, but all proceeds from the show and the CD sales go to charity. This year, that charity is the Southern Comfort-sponsored Hurrican Katrina Musicians Relief Fund.

“They do a lot of work in trying to bring back the local music to New Orleans. They’ll replace any kind of equipment that was lost — instruments, things like that,” Jaxon says of the charity.

New Orleans is famous for its local music, and Jaxon of all people knows how important a music scene can be for a city. “We used to do work with the Grammy Music Cares charity, but we felt like the Musicians Relief Fund was just a great cause,” he explains.

The CD is a $9.33, and will be sold at the release party on Thursday. If you can’t make it out for the event, it will also be sold on WMMR’s website and at Sam Ash music stores.

As for Jaxon’s favorite band on the bill, he politely declines to name one. “These bands are like my children. It would be like asking a parent to pick a favorite child,” he says, laughing. All he’ll say is that attendees to the event can expect a “cool, eclectic mix of music where almost everyone will be able to find something they like.”

Dave Quicks
Goldmine
After making a rather large name for himself in the Philly music scene by fronting the hip-hop juggernaut The BurnDown All-Stars, Dave Quicks has finally come out with a collection of his own solo original work. With Dave Quicks’ Brainchild, the name for his solo project, Quicks has indulged in his softer side. More Jack Johnson than The Roots, Quicks’ solo work is characterized by upbeat melodies and funk influenced instrumentation. The heavily reggae influenced tunes are a perfect break from the frosty weather; they cause a listener to involuntarily imagine they are lounging on a beach somewhere sipping pina coladas. Though this may be Quick’s solo project, he is joined by two accomplished musicians that help to round out the music — Tom Walling on drums and Rico Joseph on bass.

Goldmine not only is perfect for summer, but also will most likely get people out on the dance floor when Quicks performs it this Thursday. The song is catchy and more original than much of the reggae-rock that one usually hears, with funky organ keyboards and a horn section. The song almost sounds like the theme to a ’70s TV show, in the best possible way. Quicks’ experience as a producer for the BurnDown All-Stars is very evident on this track; its strongest point is probably the arrangement of all the musical parts into a mix that truly flows. He plans to tour in support of his new solo project, so be on the lookout for him at area venues.

- Play Magazine

BurnDown All-Stars http://burndownmusic.com
Quick description: Folk-infused hip-hop collective
PW says: “The approach would be risky if it weren’t so damn organic, and the BurnDown All-Stars switch gears so smoothly and often that any bumps in the road quickly vanish in the rearview.”
Big moment: Won the 2006 Independent Music World Series (IMWS) Northeast showcase presented by Diskmakers in conjunction with Billboard magazine
Latest release: BurnDown Presents ... Volume 2
Myspace: http://myspace.com/burndownallstars
YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tZPumyy7CY4&
- Philadelphia Weekly

Hip-hop at the Khyber? Yeah, it happens sometimes. At the top of this sterling all-local bill is a loose-limbed collective that pairs folk-informed players like Fractals leader Kevin Hanson and Mutlu with a handful of sharp MCs. The approach would be risky if it weren't so damn organic, and the BurnDown All-Stars switch gears so smoothly and often that any bumps in the road quickly vanish in the rearview. It'll make sense to fans of early Roots records or Slo-Mo's folk-hop work with Mic Wrecka, while newcomers will follow suit once they realize how many far-flung sounds are mingling in this spirited experiment. As always, a barrage of horns helps. (D.W.)
- Philadelphia Weekly