FRENZY: Officially Caused.

Massive thanks to all attendees, supporters, the community Orgs, to the killer road crew, and to PK SOUND SYSTEM, LUMATECH, and DJ VADIM & HEAVYWEIGHT DUB CHAMPION.

MASSIVE!!!!!

While raging the tour front, the digital album wobbled its way up the iTunes charts. Thanks to everyone that supported, listened and shared!!!

As of today, the HARDCOPY CD’s are available in stores, or you can grab it from our lil’ shop at the Bassnectar Labs. Includes a free poster and lots of random notes and thoughts i wrote about my music and more. (mad thanks to all you hardcores who pre-ordered!!!! nutso!!)

And in addition to keeping up with a tour blog as we wandered through some of the most internet inaccessible areas of the country, got a slew of video clips coming through the pipes…. some absolutely ragin crowd shots, a little bit of backstage nonsense, and the first batch of what we hope to be many Cozza Connection videos - which highlight some of the organizations that we are working with in D.C. an Detroit. (BIG UPS CauseCast.org & Ms Holland for CRUSHING IT)

We will be posting these over the next few days, so visit http://www.youtube.com/bassnectarlabs and subscribe to the video channel.

Next Up! Halloween weekend with a quick addition to the tour schedule….
FEAR & LOATHING IN ORANGE COUNTY!!!! HAHAHAAHA

Who’d a guessed it: Halos N’ Horns fest with Korn (when i was in High School we thought Korn was *so* weak, haha! Now i’m getting raised eyebrows cuz people think they’re so hardcore! How times change!)

So it’s kind of a metalhead DJ’s ironic foray into ridiculum…a chance to right propper SWAT THA BAJEEEZUSS out of a sea of heavy metal freaks with all sorts of SMASHERS AND MASHERS!!! Custom cut this week: a whole new slew of insane remixes of Sepultura, Metallica, Pantera, Rage Against The Machine…even got som Jimi Hendrix acapellas and some sicko loops, and of course bigbang dubstep and drum&bass noiiiiiisezzzz. this will be COZZA HEADBANG, and it may never happen again. Click here to get tickets

And for Halloween night, we are off to Denver to slay a SOLD OUT Fillmore. BIG BEAR HUGS, SMOOCHES, HI-5s and TOTALLY BUGGED EYED GRATITUDE to all that grabbed tickets in advance and rammed this place out. If you weren’t able to get yours in time, no worries! We’ve added a second set to close out Halloween night at Casselman’s (remember its Daylight Savings!!). Fillmore show is THE FREAKER’S BALL MEGADOSE OF BIG BANGERS & ULTRAMAJICK. Afterparty music will be much more about just giving you a nice warm bass soup to swim in… Click here for the info.

After that… ramping up for the second leg of the tour with Nosaj Thing on board (LOVE TO DJ VADIM, HEAVYWEIGHT DUB CHAMPION & RJD2 for support as well!). Subscribe to the tour blog to keep up with the freakshow as we make our way through the Eastern, Midwest, and Northern US, as well as stops throughout those happy lands of the North, Oh Canada.

LASTLY, AND FROM THE HEART: Always remember that there are finite resources on this planet. If everything was divided up equally amongst humans, the world would look very different. Instead, 1% of humans in this country control 95% of the WEALTH of this country (That’s what happens when a Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing like Obama, or Our Congress, or of course Bu$h, allows a few wealthy bankers to steal 700 BILLION DOLLARS from US CITIZENS!)

That said, remember that it has ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS: The few rich cronies, cold hearted enough to propagate a multi-generational Control Mafia over the world’s resources (be they Kings, Emperors, Lords, Popes, or Bankers) stop at nothing to keep ALL the wealth in their few hands, while the majority of humans on earth live as some for of serf or slave or maybe a joker/jester/knight (Rove, Limbaugh, O’Reilly) or a favored baron (Rich, middleclass whitecollar conservatives)…but none the less, when something like THE INTERNET comes around that lets the serfs talk amongst themselves, and share TRUTH, not LIEs (like our corporately manufactured media) it presents a potential threat to the control of The Wealthy.

That is why Net Neutrality is so important. And that is why you have to be SOOOooooo careful with Republicans*. Because they pass an act like ‘CLEAR SKIES’ which was misleading, and was actually written to END the environmental protection program called “THE CLEAN AIR ACT”. So when John Fucking McCain recently announced that he wants to pass the “INTERNET FREEDOM” act, You Should Be Wary! The INTERNET FREEDOM act is misleading and dangerously deceptive, because it is actually designed to prevent “NET NEUTRALITY”…

As you should know, Net Neutrality is a GOOD THING. It is intended to protect equal access to the internet, and to prevent unfair corporate control of the internet. So THE INTERNET FREEDOM ACT IS BULLSHIT, because it is intended to GIVE FREEDOM TO VERIZON AND COMCAST and that’s about it.

it’s like making an act called “Happy Babies” that allows people to kill babies. It is literally that fuckin absurd.

COZZA FRENZY!

VIVA NET NEUTRALITY!!!!!!!!

-L

*[EDITOR's NOTE] Obviously Officials of both parties - Republicans & Democrats - are not to be trusted. Republicans just play the bad cop, so they are low-hanging fruit… just wanted to be clear, cuz The Democrats role as ‘Good Cop’ often lets them escape blame and they deserve a lot of it.

We are neck deep in the labs, with bass-elves bustling about tending to all last minute details before we set sail. We are putting the finishing touches on the SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROADSHOW TOURBUS which will tote our dapper crew, and lug our wicked PK SOUND SYSTEM which is so kindly provided by the now infamous WOBBLE FACTORY, plus ram-loads of lights and video (thank you LUMATECH!) and many little tricks which are currently up The Proverbial Sleeve. I’m literally basking in the glow of 5 computer screens as i prepare nearly 5 hours of new insane content for the upcoming CANNONBALL RUN through these Stolen Lands of America. It’s been a nonstop gongshow of cutting loops, warping audio, collecting and sorting new crazy records, kung fu-ing new remixes (Pink Floyd, Ministry, Pixies, Sex Pistols, Globetrotters, Imogen Heap, Bjork, Massive Attack, Primus to name a very few) and getting everything straight to be on the ROAD until mid-December!

NEW STUDIO ALBUM - COZZA FRENZY - OUT NOW!

After more than three years of producing-on-the-go, a collection of songs has emerged that captures my daydreams as they are conceived through relentless touring, reclusive studio submersion, and GOBS of influence from all the bassfreaks, collaborators, and supporters encountered along the way. The 15-track collection features remixes & collaborations with artists such as Fever Ray, Seasunz, Zumbi of Zion I, Mr. Projectile, Capital J, ill.Gates, Queen Deelah, I Am A Laser, Azeem, and Cates & DPL and is officially OUT NOW!

Earlier i was saying how there are essentially 7 bangers, and 7 sissy-ass tracks, cuz i love both musical directions, but really its a pretty eclectic selection of deep throbbing dirty bass music, and leftfield down-tempo old-school jams, with a few inside jokes, asides and references in there for the close-attention-payers. Some cuts are over 7 minutes long, and there will be extended versions, as well as HEAPS AND HEAPS of remixes and alternate endings released soon (plus DJ TOOLS packs, with remix samples and special-features-and-other-random-mutatations-and-versions). VIVA LA HYPHENS!

Visit http://music.bassnectar.net to listen and grab your copy. Leave a comment or a tweet and let me know what you think. The album is also available through all major online retailers or you can click here to pre-order the hard copy CD before it hits store shelves on October 27th (includes FREE POSTER). If you don’t feel like waiting, special advanced CD’s will be available at every show starting Oct 1st while supplies last.

And if you haven’t swung by yet, visit the homepage and download the album’s title track for free.

FALL TOUR KICK-OFF

We will be coming at you live pretty much solid Fall and Winter, alongside Nosaj Thing, Heavyweight Dub Champion, DJ Vadim and others (**RJD2 on Halloween! Woot!). The PK Sound System from the Wobble Factory will be bringing larger-than-life audio to augment every single venue; focusing on providing you the warmest, thickest, deepest sonic bath of bass possible…because we think of sound in terms of “WEIGHT” not “VOLUME” and we like it heavy. As always, we provide earplugs, but get used to bringing your own, and bring some to share!

Visit the tour schedule for the full event calendar and feel free to hop on board the merry roadshow as we travel far and wide, stirring up a ruckus and causing a frenzy. It all starts this Thursday in Dallas with weekend shows in Austin for the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

You can also keep up the the latest from the crew as we embark on the 2009 Cozzy Frenzy tour through the new Tour Blog section of the site. All posts are authored by various members of the Bassnectar team and updated while on the move. Subscribe to the feed to get the updates as they are posted, or link up to the Bassnectar YouTube channel for the latest clips from the road. If you have an iPhone, click here to download the app.

COZZA COMMUNITY PROJECT

Get active! The Cozza Community project is teaming up with various local nonprofit organizations, local artists, and volunteer filmmakers to deliver community showcases at select cities along the tour route. $1 of tickets sales will go to the support the development of programs specific to each community. Detroit and DC organizations have already been announced. Visit http://community.bassnectar.net to learn more, or email getactive::at::Bassnectar.net to get involved in your local city’s Cozza community.

THANKS FOR TUNING IN!

L

Quick notes of the week:

1. Lions remix is up for sale @ our online store, grabbit here and go “rrrrrrawwwwrrrr”

2. Cozza Frenzy DJ TOOLS PACK is also available at the shop. AAAAAuutomatic!

3. REQUEST LINE: You got specific tracks you want to hear remixed this fall? Send them over. You have tunes you think we will like? You make tunes you want to hear in Bassnectar rotation? BRING THE NOISE!!!! We love input.

4. PRESALES ARE UP!!!!
The fall is ram-packed with tour dates, and our wild roadshow is sweeping through towns and villiages bringing semi-illegal doses of bass magic and causing a FRENZY!!!! Last fall nearly every single show sold out and we want to make sure the hardcore bass-heads get IN. More info on the tour next week, but hit up the presales at bassnectar.net now, to avoid higher ticketing fees elsewhere. WOOOOOT!

5. THIS WEEKEND, we have 2 broadcasts:

Friday, September 18 in Santa Barbara is the WEST BEACH FESTIVAL, headliners that night are Steel Pulse and Ozomatli, and we are on @ 8:45 outdoors under the open sky.

Saturday, September 19 near Yosemite, is the SYMBIOSIS MUSIC FESTIVAL!
perhaps the most epic lineup of any festival of 2009….YOU DO NOT WANNA MISS THIS.

The crew who develops this special event is made up of incredibly sweet people who have put loads of love and energy into this creative gathering. You can scope it all here

We play Saturday night @ 11:30, after Les Claypool and before Adam Freeland.

Also, just added: an afternoon with West Coast Lo-Fi, daydream knockers for the cabeza pets, part deuce. aka leftfield downtempo hyp hop in the sun at 4:30 pm on SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

Double Your pleasure!!!!!!!

Airbaaaa!

Next week i’ll have a nice detailing of the album and upcoming tour, so excited about Nosaj Thing, DJ Vadim, RJD2, Heavyweight Dub Champion…killer support this fall, and so much coming together through Lia and the community organizations, WE ARE HYYYYYYPED!

L

After the mind-frollick that was my 12th year at Burning Man, i felt literally reborn as i returned home. This had less to do with the desert, and more to do with the fact that the day i left to go off-grid, i was able to turn in the final master of the brand new CD: 15 wicked tracks i have been polishing, re-polishing, re-mixing, re-mastering, re-assessing, re-sampling, re-ree-ing, and re-loving over and over for about 3 years, plus a few brand new spur-of-the-moment last minute additions and left turns. Woot!

Not only does it feel so good to be DONE, to have finished, and released this huge churning pulse of creative ideas, but i must say i reallly realllllly love this music! I am so excited to share it with anyone who may enjoy it, and as far as i can tell it will be released digitally (iTunes, beatport, all the digital retailers, and also direct at bassnectar.net where we will have loads of bonus versions, special features, and Optional Endings) on September 29th, with the CD following a few weeks later. [released as a split between by label AMORPHOUS MUSIC, and SF's brand new CHILD's PLAY RECORDS]

Special CDs will be available at the shows, which kick off October 1st and run pretty much solid into mid December (but i will have more information on that in a dedicated blast of words, maybe next week).

First, of course we have 2 killer shows, both in California (West Beach Music Fest, and the Symbiosis Gathering) which i will also make a dedicated post for.

This is really just a letter to say hi, kind of a written HUG, to everyone out there who has shared so much this year (and years past of course!). I really feel like i just gave birth to a child, and i am immensely glad it is over, i am totally glowing, and excited and feeling free to re-invent myself another time.

SO ….some quick little items:

1. Just found a nifty little interview my good buddy (and wicked UK producer “I.D.”) did for his blog, Bass Music:

Producer Q&A - Bassnectar
2. One of the siiiiiickest cuts of the year is out this week, literally EVERY time i drop it i fear i might wet my pants. Bassnectar & iLL Gates remix of “LIONS” by Malente & Dex (that is a mouthful, i know, but worth every luscious little letter) is out worldwide at any retailer you like, and i’m pretty sure we will have it at The Shoppe soon as well: bassnectar.net

3. SUPER HYPED to be giving away a free copy of Cozza Frenzy (the original mix) on our website for a limited time. You can also buy the mega-bass remix and the Z-Trip remix there, or just give it a listen. The original is kind of a smash-up of dubstep, electro, and hyp hop, and overall i think it is a really fun track and a baaaaaanger in “the clubb”
hahahaha “the clubb”

gotta love that place.

Equally as exciting is the super-exclusive DJ TOOLS bonus material (includes beats, bass, synth loop, and aaccaappellaa) for anyone looking to sink their sonic fangs a couple inches deeper.

CHEGGGGGGIT OUT!

anyhow, lots more soon
Keep in touch, can’t wait to catch you out there on the wild road show

ZOOOOOOOM!

L

this is a short note to say hi. hi! i am buried so damn deep in this studio box i can barely believe it… this is how i used to spend ALL my time month after month…back in “the day”.

Now total studio submersion is a luxury, so as excruciating as this is, i am LOVVVING it. In the meantime, a few quick things!!!!

1. Upcoming shows: PLEASE JOIN US this Saturday in Atlanta. The lineup is rammed, the air is filled with heat, we are going to go bananas in the dirty south. We play at 9pm, after Ghostland Observatory, and before Sound Tribe Sector Nine. Bring diapers!!!! We are sooo mega stoaked to test out some of the new creations!
Tickets

2. Street Scene!!!!! Going apeshit once again in the streets??? this time in san diego? WE’LL BE THERE!!!! WOOT! Street Scene is off the hook every year and we close out our stage starting at 10pm…come get NUTTY and see how much wobble we can squeeze into the streets…
Tickets

3. Symbiosis: probably the illest lineup of the year! Coco Rosie?! Amon tobin? Caspa? Yard Dogs? all at the same fest!?!!? plus they go over the top in every direction. Right now is the last chance to buy the earlybird discount tickets. you should come from far and wide for this one. heck! you should probably SKIP BURNINGMAN and go to Symbiosis, mark my words… WAY BETTER!!!!!!
Tickets

4. That said…if you ARE going to burningman, i will be out there doing as the freaks do. I am excited to be out there for my 12th year! Soooooo many good friends are heading out and there are millllions of dope camps and installations in the works. i;ll be camping with EL CIRCO & THE DO LAB, and that zone will be out of control.
Since the organizers of burningman are very wierd, and charge people hundreds of dollars to go, but then do not fund any of the musical craziness that everyone who is attending EXPECTS, the sound systems need to fund themselves. Often 20-50,000$ …its bezerk. So if you are coming out, toss some coin at my buddies, they work hard and have been doing so since 2000AD:
http://elcirco.thedolab.com/

And here is my schedule:

Thursday 9/3/09 or technically friday morning
Roots Society
TEN & Esplanade
1:15a-2:30a

Friday   9/4/09 or technically saturday morning
BassCamp
TWO & Biology
12:00am-1:00am

Also on Friday   9/4/09 or technically saturday morning
Nexxus
TEN & Extinct
2:30am-3:30am

Saturday 9/5/09 or could be said as sunday morning
EL CIRCO DOME
TEN & Biology
1:30am-2:45am

Sunday Morining Set 9/6/09
OUTSIDE @ THE DO LAB & EL CIRCO
TEN & Biology
6:30am-8:00am

food for thought:

Privileged people have high potential for spending the excess that constitutes their privilege on themselves. that means: they have an easier time having more fun.

But they also have high potential for spending their excess doing OTHER things.

that means: as privileged people we have an easier time helping others and “giving back”

Festivals are fun. And a downright festival of art/culture/pleasure like Burningman is also fun.

We ask that if you enjoy Bassnectar out in the wide open of burningman, you consider donating equal amounts of time back home giving back to your community. However you choose to. If you need some suggestions, we have some for you!

If you don’t like me saying this, just remember it is a humble request/suggestion.. not a self righteous mandate.

If you are reading this i would wager 99% likelihood that you are privileged and have the potential of a battery cell to put a little bit more oomf towards giving back.

i hope you do!

MUCH LOVE

I can easily and immediately admit that i am in love with the internet. Along with sunshine, water, music, family, sleep, dreams, mystery, challenge, learning, all things that make life humanistically PRECIOUS, i am proud to say the Internet is up there with electricity, science, medicine and other modern luxuries turned necessity. At least, necessary to maintain life as we know it.

Anyhow, this is a plea to Prove Your Love. If you love the internet more than Michael Jackson, show some support, make some noise, and prove your love: it is under attack by the same dipshits that want to make medicine&healthcare into a fiasco of corporate profit and crappy service, the same sinister saps who have the audacity to flavor tap water and sell it back to you at the airport for 2.49$, the same assholes who want to sell you anything they can even if it’s possible for you to have it and share it for free, the same coldhearted Lords who were probably in the same Boy Scouts troupe as Dick Cheney back when they beat off to pictures of Richard Nixon, and who most likely would sell you clean air if they could.

Go HERE:

http://tinyurl.com/mf47ef

Every other topic we address as compassionate people depends largely on our ability to exchange information openly and efficiently.

http://tinyurl.com/mf47ef

Do not be afraid to sign that petition.

http://tinyurl.com/mf47ef

Read & Research, share the information, and make some noise.

When Michael Jackson passed away, people crashed twitter by exchanging information. I cannot fathom how the King of Pop deserves more attention than the Internet.

Click here to tweet some noise.

I know its easy to find an urgent call to action kind of “preachy” maybe even not “cool” or something…. like all we should talk about is how dope music is and how cool sneakers are, and how many lines Kanye West shaved into the side of his hair, and who is dating who, and what the best movie to go see this weekend is, but  PLEASE have a look at the link, and give it 10 minutes.

Consider it more of an ORANGE ALERT than the Grandma in line @ the Airport who has nail clippers in her purse. This is a real ALERT:

Your freedom is under attack.

If they take your right to healthcare, medicine, water, news, honesty and democracy, you better bet the farm they will SNATCH your pesky right to function freely on the internet.

They do not want Democracy (they would rather US citizens be managed like the citizens of China) they want Corporate Monopoly, and they call it Democracy.

HEADS UP!!!!!!!
L

PS… more information @ Freetheinternet.com
I respect Obama for pushing this. MEGA inspiring.

Visit the tour schedule for the full event calendar, and feel free to hop on board the merry roadshow as we travel far and wide, stirring up a ruckus and causing a frenzy.

The tour launches on October 1st and features custom-built PK-Sound System enhancements for larger-than-life audio courtesy of The Wobbly Factory. On the cultural end, we are also working with a community of activists to generate involvement in local issues that pertain to each city along the tour route. (email basscorsair(at)bassnectar.net to get involved or check out the community page online!). Also, limited presale discount tickets are available at bassnectar.net so hop to it, bassfreaks!

Stay tuned for the release of Bassnectar’s debut single (3 versions of Cozza Frenzy out August 4th on iTunes) from the forthcoming album (a dozen new tracks and heaps of remixes due out on all formats October 2009) in partnership between Amorphous Music and Child’s Play Records. The original version is a head-banging body-rocking anthem, where dubstep and electro collide beneath a chopped and screwed vocal courtesy of Oakland mc/vocalist Seasunz. Z-Trip’s ‘Hellrazor Remix’ takes the original and flips it into a scratch track with loads of cuts and edits. Scratch djs and turntablists will eat this alive. Finally, Bassnectar give us his own ‘mega-bass’ remix - a straightforward dubstep version perfect for ripping any dance floor into complete frenzy. Hence the name…

Check out a sample:

More tracks and remix packages of all styles and genres to follow in the coming weeks, so stay tuned…

Also, tune into the podcast through the Summer for more singles and bootlegs to drop.

Visit the tour schedule for the full event info!

For Any folks local to the San Francisco area, Lorin’s Burningman Camp (El Circo & The Do Lab) are doing their annual fundraiser, to bring you pounds and pounds of art and bass to the desert this summer. Please come support!

El Circo & The Do Lab
Burning Man Camp SF Fundraiser
Friday July 31st 2009
103 Harriet Street SF

For Info and to Donate: http://elcirco.thedolab.com

(Note: if you can’t make it to the fundraiser, but you know you are gonna be raging with us out in the desert, you can donate via the paypal link on the website. THANKS!)

ok. this barely feels real, but i think that i am nearing the final hours of over 3 years of work on the next album (unless something very unexpected pops up).

I have nearly 50 songs to choose from, none of them are done (as i’ve said before no song EVER feels done…its just an orgiastic ceremony of distraction and obsession and progress, frozen in time, perhaps not ever fully developed) but i am nearing a deadline (July 30th) and at that point i have to have AT LEAST 10 finished tracks.

Finishing a track isn’t so hard, except that:

a) i obssessssss on the details, so each one has at least an entire month spent combing through micro seconds of sonic occurance

b) i don’t think occurance is a word.

c) in finishing a track i am directly choosing NOT to do a million possible things, and that is tough to decide

d) choosing the track for an album directs the flow of all other tracks.

So if i wind up with a really beastial grinder then i NEED to find something more melodic and dreamy (or emotive) to balance it out…if something is super tinkly, then i need to find something subby to balance it out.

If a song takes itself too seriously, then i need to find a lighter song to balance it out.

And even after i choose 10 songs, what to do with the other 40? Some of these have been left around since Mesmerizing the Ultra, and just never selected, …in fact i have nearly 100 of these songs which have been Live-Show-Only… so maybe i can steal the beat out of one of my forsaken sound…or that SUPER COOL “bloop bloop” sound i made back in 1996 splicing tape, or that wierd laughter loop from 2003, or some certain vocal loop that’s never been effected (chrizzt! as i say all this, im thinking about even more and more unfinished projects…there might be closer to 200 actually!)

i want to free the music!!!!!

SO… i am reaching out to you…i need to do some research.

Can you please come to bassnectar.net (maybe you are already here, or maybe you are reading this on some 3rd party site) and chime in…

Please tell me:

1. What do you want

2. What do you not want

3. What are your favorite Bassnectar songs *OFF MY PREVIOUS ALBUMS* (not mashups, remixes, DJ mixes, etc… but actual Bassnectar originals and Bassnectar remixes off of albums)
And WHY?

4. What are your least favorite Bassnectar songs, and why? (please do not hate, i am looking for constructive criticism. Believe it or not, all humans are vulnerable, nobody likes to be hated on… just be constructive)

5. Do you understand the difference between genres? (dubstep, drum n bass, hip hop, mid tempo, glitch hop, downtempo, breaks, etc)?
If so, which do you prefer and why?

6. what do you like about music?

7. TECHNICAL FORMAT: how do you listen to it? iTunes? mp3? CD? Do you buy music? download it, trade it with friends? Do you want to support an artist? (BE HONEST!) or would you rather just save the ten dollars, and let the scurrrvy artist fend fo’ they dammmm selves?

8. Social Format: Do you want music to rage to? House party style? In the car? while you chill at home? in headphones out “in the real world”? Do you prefer dancing to dance music (out at an event) and listening to listening music (more laid back music) when you are not at an event?

9. thank you…all your responses and opinions are FASCINATING to me…i am SO thirsty to study you like a mad scientist…all i have seen for the past year is rooms full of people FREAKING tha FECK out, but i want to get a deeper understanding of what you wish for, what you like, and why.

10. No expectations, k? The next Bassnectar record might just be 10 random sketches i feel like calling songs… you might feel so ripped off, disillusioned, and betrayed that you never want to hear my music again. Or it might be EXACTLY what you need. Maybe it will grow on you slowly, or maybe you will only like one song.

This has all changed for me, as the “game” has become so much about the live show, i have just been creating music as almost components or parts of personality to engage with live during a show.

it is SO fun to do this…watch all these different personalities play with each other.

Throw other ingredients into the mix

its like a cooking show.

but now i wanna make 10 little hot cakes, so help me out and let me know what you think

THANK YOU!!!!!!

(PS… this is public forum time, PLEASE SPEAK YOUR MIND and be detailed)

(PPS…. i will have another one of these about remixes, and mashups, and requests for live show content at another time, so please keep this one on topic in regards to OFFICIAL RELEASES OF ORIGINAL CONTENT)

THANKS!!!!!

lorin

underground….

to me underground refers to an essence of attitude and perspective, a spirit of dissent mixed with inspiration, a do-it-yourself approach that bypasses traditional systems for more communal (hence more authentic) ones. And so much more. It means fearless, smart, real, true, and many other things. It can mean raw and cutting edge, even secret, even illegal. It can mean unpopular, or it can simply mean non-mainstream.

Can something underground permeate the mainstream? Can it enter it? Change it? incorporate it? Participate with it?

I think so.

Robin Hood robbed from the rich to feed the poor. He believed in a vision, an underground one, and i’m sure he often looked like he was compromising when in the end he was following his heart and serving community.

Since i began really having my own thoughts and identity as a person, i have always relished in the underground…in freaky things. In styles/genres/pheonomenon that were under the radar, sometimes frightening or obscene, sometimes violent, sometimes extreeeeeemely NON-mainstream, even anti-mainstream.

But, even with that underground spirit, i have also never looked at the world with cut and dry eyes.

There always seems to be a million different sides to a coin, multiple doorways at any pass. I do not think of myself or anything i do as mainstream. Yet i will happily enter the mainstream, just as one might enter the Matrix, on a specific mission. Somethings can’t be helped (i pay a Verizon bill, god damn them, every month. Or i pump my car full of bloody oil, or i - simply by living here - contribute to the vast monolith of the American Military Industrial Complex, with pretty much any dollar i earn or spend…) but the attitude that pervades all things can…and i stay true to that. Not because i choose that, but because i am that.

I trust myself. And a lot of the “work” i am doing on my mission is so much more complex than it appears…although it may be totally fruitless, goofy, trite, or easy to tease, i BELIEVE IN SOMETHING, and i am following my heart on that path.

That alleviates me from any stupid misperceptions someone might have about me or my motives and empowers me to flow more freely on my path. That stuff is useless.

The details of these visions and intentions are too vast to sum up quickly, but it centers on a commitment to humanistic connectedness, compassion, creativity, inspiration, the pursuit of truth, the critique of reality; and reaching harder than i thought possible for the light at the end of the tunnel, and RAAAAAAAAGING against the dying of that light.

So if i end up paying Verizon each month, know 3 things:

1. I am aware of the paradox
2. I dislike it
3. I make the educated, thoughtful decision to take the lesser of two evils

And if Bassnectar does something that seems like it wasn’t something you expected, HAVE A LITTLE FAITH. If we play a “mainstream” venue…its probably because we are on an outreach mission and want to tap in to an audience we couldn’t otherwise reach.

I heard a lot of people complain about the show we did tonight in Colorado. It was definitely a mainstream show, and here are some of the reasons i am so happy we did it:

1. We played to a whole new audience tonight. MASSIVE!
2. We enjoyed widespread radio play, including messages about Dick Cheney ON THE AIR that i highly doubt have ever been aired before. A personal pet project of mine.
3. We connected with new people, and new crew, and more importantly, we made connections that will open doorways for bigger, crazier things like this in the future.

And is that where i see Bassnectar going? Only big, sell-out mainstream corporate bullshit shows? FUCK OFF>..no Way.

No Way.

We will still play small shows, we will still do insane 3 month road tours, we will still kill it at festivals, and rage underground venues, but we also might do some wierd wedding, or a high school graduation, or a fucking street festival, or the Gay Pride Parade, or a live Jazz set at a conference for Elvis Impersonators, or the back of a truck at a protest, or the middle of nowhere with the bass knob on 11.

But it’s not all about the music for me. It’s about the community, and what feels like a movement. As cheesy as that might sound, that is genuinely how i look at it. This isn’t a music career, this is a social experiment. And it will end at some point. And before it vanishes, it will bend and change and morph and in the meantime, TRUST ME…

Im not a wanker, i am not a sell out, i am fucking CONVICTED and i’m on the warpath. If i do something you think sounds suspicious give me the benefit of the doubt, assume i am up to some shenanigans. not just some super-simple schmuck who has no self awareness or integrity.

Earlier this year i was offered 250,000$ to play 10 shows, sponsored by an alcohol company, on a kind of corporate tour.

I didn’t really even balk at the obvious objection (”oh its sponsored. by Alcohol! Oh that’s so bad”) because EVERYTHING is fucking sponsored. Our entire country is a cheap whore bought out to the last straw by anyone with enough money. We are so inverted and cheaply betrayed, it is an ILLUSION that you can function and make waves without navigating through these messy waters. Running off to nonstop cults of escapism won’t save you…and living “off the grid” does nothing for anyone else.

Anyhow, back to my story. So i was offered all this loot, and i thought, WHAT IF, we take it, and spend the typical 5,000-10,000$ on the production of each show, and after another 30% goes to management, and the crew is paid, etc, let’s say there is still 10,000$ per show. Leaving, as all you mathematicians out there know: $100,000 minimum.

So we could have kind of a community-sponsored contest of where and how to spend that money in areas that we think are important, kind of a give back mentality. Plus i bet we could have made the shows FAR MORE SAVAGE and off the hook than the corporate minds would have ever imagined.

But they passed on it, because they thought that would get too much press, and they were (UNDERSTANDABLY) doing this for promotion, not charity.

So it was bagged. But i held true to my heart.

And as for this show tonight in colorado, at a “mainstream” venue:

before this show, I had NEVER HEARD OF any of the bands playing (All American Rejects, Goldfinger, etc) …i am just not watching TV or listening to Radio, or tapped in enough to be exposed. And so when a lot of people were bitching about the lineup, i was like “huh? whats the problem”
At the end of the day, it was a wierd gig…i watched maybe 4000 people walk out in a flood when the last band played their last song. But i expected that. What i didn’t expect was the 4,000 who stayed, some who were hardcore BN fans (some who drove from Chicago JUST for that set, one of whom i believe i got to quit smoking cigarettes tonight! kung-FU!), some who were like 14 or 15 year olds and had NEVER heard anything like that before, and some who were just totally caught off guard. It felt great to connect, and we had a blast.

thanks for tuning in.

So much more to come, in all shapes and all sizes

See you all in the fuuuuuuture

Take a ride on the tempo slide, into a kiddie-pool of utterly hard-core tearout basslines. Bassnectar & Jantsen have given the grinding swampmonster treatment to Product 01’s dancefloor bombdrop: “Ready 2 Rage.” It starts of with super stretchy freakshow dubstep, and dips down into that pelvic 90 bpm range with nintendo blips and squishy synths, then soars back up to a double time 70 bpm, we call it 140. Or you can throw away your calculators and just let your face melt…. mmmmm… face melts are fun. Get your face melted now in high quality:

We will be giving out a new bootleg in the next few days, as well as dropping a new release this weekend, then heading off to the Rocky Mountains for Sonic Bloom…

I remember the first Sonic Bloom, i felt sooooo carefree at the Mishawaka… such perfect weather, such GORGEOUS river waterfall lushness. Such epic sounds and wobble, and then the next thing i knew i had drank waaayyyyyy too much tequila, and was pee-ing on Kyrian’s leg, dressed like a character out of some bad fairy tale, ranting about nonsense, begging my friend Travis not to let me puke. It was good good gooooooood times. Thank god that all went down after my set. Can’t very well be pee-ing unabashedly on Kyrian’s leg while im playing a set, now can i?

So this weekend i shall return for another round of antics, perhaps sans the grotesque amount of the Devil’s Drink. Or perhaps not. There is really no telling, and since none of us here are mind readers, let’s change the subject and turn now to our gear section for a review!

IN THE GEAR CORNER WITH BASSNECTAR’s OWN LEVONNE YOLANDO JONES.
Levonne?

“Yes, hi. Levonne here, reporting and reviewing on all the latest gedgetry to hit the streets.

This month’s device is called the Akai APC40. We Ableton users have all been waiting desperately for the orgy of bright buttons and knobs and faders, and it has arrived to much fanfare, hub-ub, and excitement.

And after all the waiting:

The new Akai APC40 = meh.

meh.

its the perfect word for our ungrateful generation. and i will now use that word to describe this much anticipated, highly unimpressive piece of gadgetry. One day soon i will likely eat my words, as i so often do, and you will see me flagrantly noodling away on one, but for now, my review is an unequivocal “MEH”

a resounding, unforgiving “meh.”

I got about as far as realizing that this will not fit in any backpack or travel case (in part due to its POINTLESSLY diagonal sides) and its knobs that turn infinitely and are maybe useful to someone who isn’t a TOTAL KNOB JUNKIE WHO IS BLINDED BY THEIR OWN HAIR, but when you are in the thick of it, you need to be able to TOUCH A KNOB, know exactly where its at, and cuurrrrve that parameter with total precision in accordance with your god-given will…

this device does not allow the accuracy needed to execute the perfect sweep, it does not fit into any carry on luggage, and so, for now, it’s pretty little lights and faders will moonwalk their way back to Guitar Center from whence they came.

I’m Levonne Yolando Jones, reporting live for Bassnectar Lab’s IN THE GEAR CORNER.”

Onward and upward.

Not expecting a sponsorship from Akai anytime soon but….

Check back this weekend for some new musica.

Flipping the script now with an unabashed nod to real, genuine struggle - aside from playful and materialistic distraction ceremonies, lots of REAL TIME SHIT is going down in the Middle East. A simple 5 minutes a day of checking in on the situation, discussing it with friends, and keeping the story fresh in people’s minds is important because it goes a long way. Even when our press stops reporting on it, these things can go on for a long time, often getting worse, but over here it is out of sight, out of mind. Finding solidarity with those in the struggle is a great way to support them.

If you haven’t already seen the horrible video of that girl Neda get shot and die before her father’s eyes, i recommend doing so. It is so unpleasant and disturbing, but it confronts your mind with real live serious shit going on RIGHT NOW. It is important to confront those kinds of things that we have the luxury to AVOID seeing…solidarity with those who do not have that same luxury helps empower us to avoid those things in our own lives and ideally it empowers us to share our blessings and share energy, time, and life force with those who are less fortunate.

I just spoke with a friend of mine whose very own cousin was TAKEN AWAY ONLY YESTERDAY!!! This is seriously tyrannical stuff. I know Michael Jackson just passed away, and that is super touching/nostalgic/newsworthy but it should not eclipse my friend’s 20 year old cousin being STRAIGHT HIJACKED AND THROWN IN PRISON for protesting. Again, not trying to rant here, just saying i would like to cast my vote for balance: 1/2 parts goofy/fun/artistic/loving/appreciative and 1/2 parts defiant/raw/serious/powerful/unstoppable because we can choose what we allow to happen, and if we party party all the time, we allow lame shit like this to go down. And if we work all the time Jack becomes a dull boy and that’s never a good thing either…

Not to sound self righteous, i just feel bad letting Levonne rant away about plastic gadgets when people are neck-deep in such intense struggles for the privileges that we take for granted over here, so i wanted to balance it out with some awareness of the other end of the very real spectrum.

Much love!
L

I remember 7+ years ago, i used to enjoy these incredible stints of WEEKS AT A TIME buried in the studio…banging out TUNES AND TUNES like Goo Trees Produce Goo, and like Freak-bugs procreate in the heat of spring…

So this past week has been a throwback to that…

Finished up the final touches on the next Bassnectar single “Cozza Frenzy”…made lots of progress on “Boombox”, finished (and potentially cleared the sample for) the remix of Mute Record’s ‘Fever Ray’ and then in one shiny day started and finished a remix for Malente & Dex alongside my buddy iLL Gates…its called “Lions” and it literally ROARS..so dope!

Just finishing up a session with the one called Zumbi, from Zion i, and about to dive into preparations for this weekends festival of oooooomf in Flagstaff, AZ. there is a WHOLE LOTTA HIP HOP on right before the nectardrop, including Aceyalone and Crown City Rockers… KA-BLOOOOOOOie!!!!

(just made me remember to say HOLY EFFFFFFFFF!!!! THANKS TO THE ATLANTA HEADS…we sold out the Masquerade! RAMMMM OUT! THANK YOU! And then the next night, Starscape was downright amazing…REALLY GOOD TIMES!)

But yeah, as usual, i digress. THE POINT OF THIS little blogarooski is about THE BIG BOUNCE FESTIVAL in Belden, CA: YOU DO NOT WANNA MISS THIS!

Are you an old school head who is always griping about how parties aren’t the same any more? You miss the freaks out in the woods? The full moon type of parties? …but maybe you wanna sleep in a cabin by day and rage at night?
Or maybe you dont wanna sleep, you just wanna day dream all weekend as you run wild in the forest?

Are you a bass freak who wants all tempos mashed together, and not in the mood to be dubstepped at for 14 hours straight, or anything-ed for 14 hours straight, but you DEFINITELY want to rock all tempos and styles?

Does the idea of renting out an entire mining town, Saloons and all, strike you as a ridiculously fun idea?

We got El Circo sound system AND the Wobble Factory, combined together for TOTAL FECKING OOOOMFDOM, 2 stages, the beach stage included (you know love playing in the river, you crazy kid!) aaaaaaaaand….

i’m doing 2 sets…potentially (if my geeezer ass lets me stay up) the second one will be sunrise sunday morning…super old school style…all the old dreamtempo favorites…all the sonic cream.

MMMMMMM

like musical acai.

i’ll be ramping up the week in Lake Tahoe working on beats at the BEACH, and getting all GIDDDDDDY!!!!

There are different grades of tickets, and you can go to the ticketing site and use the code “nectar” …in fact. HECK, i just got off the phone with Champain & Baycahn and they say lets do a give-a-way:

if you are even still reading this:

THE TENTH PERSON TO EMAIL: guestlist@bassnectar.net right now with “BIGBOUNCE” in the subject, you win a free pair of weekend passes…so Go Go Go!!!!!

Lotsa Love…much more madness coming up this summer…keep in touch!

-Lorin

Holy Hot Dammm, we just stormed through the Midwest like a tornado, and i want to recap. THANKS FOR SUCH AWESOME TURNOUTS EVERY NIGHT!

First off, Thursday night in St Louis…all ages. I start getting heads up from my tour managers that it is FULL ON blast to the past Rave-Days, and when i showed up there were literally hundreds of kids with glowing regalia, glow sticks, it was bananas. I got there as Mochipet went on, in his purple dinosaur costume, and it reminded me of when i used to work as Barney, The Purple Dinosaur, at little kids’ birthday parties in San Jose, back when i was in college. I always wanted to play a set in it, but it was sooooo hot inside that thing…there was no way.

So Mochipet is THE MAN, and his beats were off the chain. Then Dylan cranked up the Wobble Factory, we had the stage RAMMED with speakers and my eyeballs started to shake and my mouse stopped working cuz of the vibrations… kids went bonkers and it was an epic night.

Click here to view the embedded video.

BWAMP!!!!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Onward to Lincoln, mu-fuckn Nebraskaaaa. First night kicking off their new venue, the Bourbon Theatre…it was sold out to the gills, just ramm ramm rammmmed and i was covered in sweat before i even started playing. My man Jesse Jackson was in the house and we got all crunk before the show, and after the show, and during the show, and i looked up and there was like a row of girls, 2 deep, along the front of the stage all humping the Wobble Factory Subs…i thought they were gonna get ejected, but the crowd kind of just merged from the dancefloor to the subs and we went with it. Super smooth and super fun!

Then Saturday i woke up in Minnesota, at the Bella Madre Festival… lots of hippies. It looked like a grateful dead lot… i was immediately nervous like what are we doing here, our sound is going to crush them! should i throw together some jam band remixes? i dont even like jam band music! But sure enough, these kids were off the hook… it was AWESOME!!!!! a good 4000 nutters all rammed up to the stage for the first song, and they throbbed along like pro-FESH-unnalzz! (it is a testament to how hard my kru raged both in lincoln and bella, cuz we got ZERO footage!)

We were about an hour and a quarter deep into the set when all of a sudden my leg hair stopped moving and i was like “Some Body Dun TURNED OFF THE SUBS!!!!” Next thing i know, Elliott comez up and sez “The Cops are here dood. They’re pissed.” Then i find out its the farmers surrounding the property and they WERE NOT HAVING IT.
So We were too loud for the crowd…but that crowd was off the hook, and WE WILL BE BACK!!!!! As soon as possible (heartfelt thanks for your open minds, can’t wait to get round 2 with you all!)

So we kept our fingers crossed that we would get out of there without getting pulled over on our way out, and sure enough we got through hassle free. I fell asleep and woke up outside Chicago at SUMMER CAMP.

Holy moly, that place was HOT, and packed.

We had to play this goofy stage sponsored by “Jaegermeister” which wouldnt have been that bad if they just put up a stage, but they LITTERED every freaking INCH of it with “Jeagermeister” banners…

i was thinking “Guys! Dont be so DESPERATE! you gotta tease us a little! One Banner is enough! you do not need 87!”
But sure enough there were 8 billion massive Jagermesiter signs….enough for every starving child in Ethiopia to turn into a blanket, but anyways, as we started playing the place just PACKED OUT, and i got super inspired…i had expected kind of a low turnout cuz it was the day time, but sure enough it was freaks as far as my little eyes could see.

At one point i felt like paying homage to the ever sarcastically ironic Stephen Colbert, and kind of endorsing Jaegermesiter….

AS IF THEY NEEDED NINE MILLION BANNERS…i mean we GOT THE POINT from the big overhead Jaegermesiter sign, guys! we dont need you to put up anymore.

So i kind of took the piss out of the whole thing on the mic

now i do not beleive in religious gods…or spirits, or anything phony like that. But i think the gods of jager crept into the stage to avenge themselves, because moments after i said that, i was bouncing around like a freakin hyena on the stage loosing my mind and WHAM!!!!

My whole table crashes to the floor, sound shuts of, computer smashes to the ground.

Of course, as always i had a CDJ there for back up, and i threw on a tune and laughed with the crowd, and we got everything back up and running and it was DANDY! kind of cute even.

Lasted us through the mega hot late night as well, and i thought we were home free.

Then Detroit. Monday night, closing out the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, MOVEMENT 2009, and my VERY FIRST SONG, the computer crashes.

i was just about to hit those folks with the WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE…oh LAWD i wanted to CRUSH DEMMMM!!!!!

What followed was one of the most voracious technical nightmares of my life, 2 laptops, a hardrive, 3 sound cards, literally FORTY FIVE MINUTES of pure insanity, blood racing, like WHAT! THE! F*CK! AM! I! GOING! TO! DO!>!>!?!

Nothing was loading, it was all just dead dead dead, and of course meanwhile, i have half the world’s photographers ALL over the stage, straight photo shooting me in COMPLETE scramble mode…

i dug into my bag, for a zip lock baggie of scratched up CDs i had not used since Burningman 2008… they were all mislabeled, out of order, just NONSENSE, and i start beatmatching away, which is a simple task really, but not where you are COMPLETELY FOCUSED on basically being LIVE TECHNICAL SUPPORT!

So as i mixed into tracks on the CD turntables, we hammered away, giving LIVE TECHNICAL SUPPORT STAGE SHOW 2009 to DEMF and i was literally at the end of my rope when POOF!

Click here to view the embedded video.

It all switched on,  fixed up, the gods of Jager released my fromt heir punishing jaws and we proceeded to straight

SLLLLAYYYYY MICHIGAN’S FAAAAAACE

Oh Lord, that was so effing HOT!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I want to thank each and every creature and body for coming out, bouncing, jumping, screaming, surfing, diving, crashing, dancing, swatting, and completely soaking up the sound waves this past week

tomorrow night is Los Angeles, and then its basically 1 or more festivals a week until Fall.

LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!!!!

God Bless The Machines.

L

Hey all

So after SOOOOOOOOO MUCH uproar about Rothbury, and SO MANY questions, i figured i would send out a note, as to why Bassnectar is not at Rothbury this year.

I don’t think anybody in upper management (which is where most of these things are handled…while the artists either go bezerk in the studio or melt themselves down into throbbing human mush on the road) understood what i, and the Bassnectar crew, tried to explain: that there was an EXTRA ORDINARY demand for BN musica at Rothbury. I think they thought it was just another rad festival, and like most festivals, you play a year, you take one off, you play again the next year, etc.

I knew from the second the music started last year, with the Not In Our Name intro, that Rothbury was something REALLY special.

All throughout the fall, so many wonderful people spoke from the heart about their connections to Bassnectar through Rothbury, and i not only wanted to PLAY again in 2009, i wanted to set up a full on Bassnectar Zone, and bring all my favorite artists from around the world to throw down in one place.

I presented this idea last summer, and several times since, and i probably asked over 100 times to play at Rothbury ‘09.

But when all was said and done, for MANY reasons (none of which are underhanded whatsoever!) it was decided (without me) that Bassnectar would sit out a year and CARUSHHH it in 2010 if it happened. We rammed up the Midwest with awesome dates (like Bella Madre, Summer Camp, Detroit Electronic Music Fesitval, and perhaps one of the most exciting events of the year for me: LOLLAPALOOZA!) and basically decided that although we had REALLLLLLLLLY (and i mean REALLLLLLLLY) begged to be there, it was not in the cards for ‘09.

After the initial disappointment, i really genuinely let go: we have an absolute CRUSHING list of tour dates…almost every show is SLAMMED shoulder to shoulder with wonderful people, the fall plans are INSANE!!!! (more on that later) and  at this point there are only 2 weekends off the entire summer, that i am trying super hard to KEEP OFF so i can have MUCH NEEDED studio time (even though i would have LOVED to have been able to say yes to Bisco!) before the Wildness of Fall comes slamming in, and before we know it will be New Years 2010!!!!!

So to everyone, all the bass-heads, fans, friends, and good people wondering “WHY ARENT YOU AT ROTHBURY!!!?” that is why.

And again, although we REALLLLLLY fuckin wanted to be there, there is SO much in life to be thankful for, and we are grateful and focused on the mega-intense future as it rides towards us on an inevitable wave of enthusiasm!!!!

MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT TO ALL!!
L

First off, thanks a lot to all of Ye who came through Bassnectar.net and checked out the new features, grabbed the music, etc.

I just got 5 new Bassnectar joints back from mastering today!!!! WOO HOO!!! Honestly i had to exercise some serious discipline to not just huck them right up onto the site as soon as i got them back! WHY WAIT!!!! I’m going to enjoy playing them over the next months tour first…give them the road test…

Speaking of road tests, the custom created PK Sound has crossed the border and is heading down to Wobble Factory headquarters… thats right our friends Ari, Jer, Jon and the whole squad of Canadians have merged with Dylan, Big Tony, and the California team to build a custom sound system, and we will be bringing it out on tour in 2009 like a pack of MAD PEOPLE!!!!!

So the point of this little post is i just came across a video that was developed in promotion of an event we will be at this weekend, alongside Pinback and Matisyahu, that benefits HOMELESS YOUTH IN SAN DIEGO.

Elemental Experience
Saturday May 2, 2009
Please check it out, or click here if you can’t see the video below:

the line up is pretty courageously eclectic, and i am honored to be pumping out thick musical frequencies at sunset outdoors this saturday…

Last time we were in San Diego was a right proper bassbath @ The Belly Up, and we thought is would be fun to come throw down at a kind of free form community event… Check out that video and if you feel like throwing down for a good cause, we’d love to see you out there.

After that its offfff tooo thaaaa raaaaces and we are on road tour for many nights, i’ll keep in touch online when possible.

And if i can get it past the “censors” i will drop some new bass flesh on the site for your hungry ear drums.

MUCH LOVE!

L

The plot was to focus on networking; to create a kind of hub for this sound i was hearing in my head.

My friend Volo & i geeked out endlessly with very crude html concepts, lots of free music. Back then i was experimenting with:

• slowing down drum & bass, or half-timing it into some kind of wierd hip hop.
• making downtempo feel heavier and more extreme
• using pschedelic bass noises in bizzare ways, almost like the vocals in death metal
• trying to take trance/techno records and make them sound less robotic.
• adding more live drummer feel to programmed beats
• adding more electronic music creativity to “rave music” (tape splicing, tweaking big old school patch bays and vintage modular synths..lots of physical manipulation of recording equipment)
• verbing lots of genres, basically. then re-verbing them again and again.

There was a really cool crossover scene in California at the time, for some reason i didn’t have a proper outlet for releasing music, so i kind of just gave it away, and focused on community: creating events, overseeing sound systems, just trying to bring the noise in a positive way, merging the punk rock DIY mindset with pretty much any sub-sect of counter culture that came along.

Anyhow, the website went through lots of transitions, and thanks to Jon Buril @ idiom lab, got a major update right around the time i released ‘Underground Communication’ on OM… the plan was to get way way way more political, and develop Bassnetwork as a kind of live discussion forum and news exchange. Other plans existed as well, but touring got so completely hectic and nonstop that 2 years flashed by and very little music got released, very little noise got made on the site, and only little bits of progress were made on bassnetwork, or any kind of multi-dimensional blog thing.

Meanwhile Myspace picked up and i ended up posting things there, but am always so weary of Rupert Murdoch, and just any kind of 3rd party machine…so Daysha came along, and with the help of several dozen bassnectar-ers (thanks directly to Elliott, Lia, Dave, Kalani and Ralf!) the reigns were basically handed over to rebuild a very expandable, automatable creature with vast potential in outreach, intra-webular development, and so forth. [daysha sez: majority of the site is open source, so uses technology that is free for all :]

So we are kind of launching this BETA test…it has a lovely new face, and minor updates and adjustments here and there, but really this is just kind of the nest, or the laboratory itself. Most of the features we have planned out are yet to be added and applied, but expect a LOT more activity both online and on the road, with this pulsing website as the central processing station.

I could go twitter about this, or facebook about it, or myspace about it, or email about it, but eventually it can all stream through here with loads of exclusive, direct music launches, multimedia packages, forum discussions, and real-time information exchanges.

It’s about to get hectic again with tour kicking off in May, and we will be not only pushing the new releases on Amorphous Music, but also getting a gang-load of follow ups through various channels set to spike, so as always stay tuned, and feel free to get in touch.

MUCH LOVE!

L

Full bassnectar update coming soon i promise! so much cookin in this oven, but i wanna take some time to put into the next update, and for now, this is a small note about WHAT TO DO NOW?

in terms of ….obama is elected, bush is “gone” and the economy is TANKING.

I can’t imagine anything easier after such a push over the past few years to just relax now that “our guy” is in the Whitehouse.

In fact, a politically-themed email seems almost exhausting to read, doesn’t it?

Well anyhow, when i got this latest MoveOn.org email i found myself feeling disinterested…just kind of like “ug! havent i thought about this stuff enough already???!” but sure enough, the answer is no.

NOW MORE THAN EVER is our time to buck-the-fuck-up and get our hands dirty… i think it is finally a time when our voices will be louder, and more necessary than ever. The financial crisis is extremely serious…and in large part is due to policies (and people) of the past, whose residue is still thick.

have a gander at this, i think it is UBER crucial to insist on sme transparency and ACCOUNTABILITY for ANYONE in a place of power/money/media.

this is important in my opinion:

“Congress must place enforceable, common-sense limits on salaries at all the banks that have taken taxpayer dollars.”

Sign the petition

Dear MoveOn member,

Last Friday, Sen. Claire McCaskill took to the Senate floor and said what I imagine a lot of us have been thinking about Wall Street lately:

“They don’t get it. These people are idiots. You can’t use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses…What planet are these people on?”1

Sen. McCaskill was reacting to the $18.4 billion in bonuses that Wall Street bankers took home in 2008. $18.4 billion going to the people who crippled our economy with their recklessness and greed and then took $700 billion of our money.2
Yesterday, President Obama took an important first step, limiting pay at companies taking bailouts going forward.3 But Congress is considering going even further, applying the limits retroactively and even taking back some of the most extravagant bonuses at firms that took taxpayer money.4

A huge public outcry will give them momentum and push them to real action. Can you sign this petition to Congress, urging them to act now to rein in Wall Street greed? Clicking here will add your name.

The petition says: “Congress must place enforceable, common-sense limits on salaries at all the banks that have taken taxpayer dollars.”

Wall Street’s defenders make all kinds of excuses about why the bonuses were justified.  They say that bonuses are an accepted part of compensation packages on Wall Street, that those receiving bonuses weren’t the ones who lost their firms billions of dollars, and that they need to pay bonuses to retain top talent.5

Those arguments are outrageous.

If automatic bonuses are a part of Wall Street culture, that culture has to change—a firm that’s still afloat only because of huge taxpayer bailouts shouldn’t be paying bonuses. And while tens of thousands of Wall Street employees are losing their jobs, it’s hard to believe that those still employed will go looking for new positions because they didn’t get a bonus.
Sen. McCaskill showed courage standing up to the status quo. We’ve got to show the rest of Congress that this is the kind of leadership we need to get us out of this crisis and make the economy work for all Americans. Limiting pay at companies taking bailouts won’t fix our financial system—that will take a lot more hard work—but it’s an important first step.

Can you tell Congress to rein in Wall Street’s excesses now and then pass this petition on to your friends? Clicking here will add your name.

Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel, Peter, Justin, Marika and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “McCaskill Proposes Compensation Cap For Private Companies Getting Federal Dollars,” Senate Newsroom, January 30, 2009
http://mccaskill.senate.gov/newsroom/vid_013009.cfm

2. “What Red Ink? Wall St. Paid Fat Bonuses,” The New York Times, January 28, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/business/29bonus.html

3. “Obama Outlines Limits on Executive Pay,” The Washington Post, February 5, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51145&id=15503-6839695-.fzcGrx&t=5

4. “Despite Treasury’s New Rule, Senators Aren’t Giving Up Their Push to Cap CEO Pay,” TPMDC, February 4, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51146&id=15503-6839695-.fzcGrx&t=6

5. “‘Meet the Press’ transcript for Feb. 1, 2009,” MSNBC.com, February 1, 2009
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28964188/page/5/

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way.

….

that was the sound of me trying to release the pressure by doing the macarena all over my bedroom and ripping down the curtains, turning them into a ceremonial robe and running down the street as my elderly neighbor tries to subdue me with a broom.

i’m not sure if i spelled it right but THAT was indeed the sound of it.

OK, so moving right along. 2 dope parties in Austin for SXSW, neither can be announced, and are closed to only sxsw pass holders, which is hard to deal with, but it is what it is (and its never what its not) so if yu got passes, get yer asssesz in please! (IF NOT, we got some biiiiiGGGGG plans for Texas this year, and will announce this summer and it will be all access…remain tuned, oh my droogies and bass-addicts)

The good news, is that, round 2 with Euphonic Conceptions (more like round 547) is set to DETONATE in mega-fine Athens, GEORGIA, after STS9 this SATURDAY NIGHT< March 21.

The music matters massive (known in underground gear circles as M3) is transforming the Athens Arena into  vibrating bassline fun-house to acheive MELTDOWN after the 3rd and final set of the sound tribe boyz @ their sold out theatre runnnn.

MMMM HMMMMMMMM…i think we drop zem bomz around 2 or 2:30am and:

THATS RIGHT, WE GOT 10 FREE PASSES TO GIVE AWAY!

so the first 5 people to email guestlist@bassnectar.net with:

in the subject line: HAAAAAH!  SSSTTTT!  ATHENS!
in the body of the email: Your FULL NAME as it appears on your ID

will recieve a pair of free passes and will join the ranks of the brave and the foolish, the obsessed and the succulent, the never-ending and the over-the-topping….

i could go on, but you probably stopped reading long ago

I AM THE ANTI-TWITTER!!!

or maybe im just afraid of 140 characters or less.

UGGGG!!!
how will i ever squeeze it all down to that?

i can’t say it’s on my list of things to do.

but enough about me, moving on to you

SEE YOU SOON

L