Purple Hatter's Ball Adds Dumpstaphunk, Zoogma, And More April 4, 2017 11:32

Photo by Staged Right

Purple Hat Productions has announced several artist additions for the tenth annual Purple Hatter’s Ball including New Orleans funk stalwarts Dumpstaphunk and live electronic four-piece Zoogma along with NickFRESH, POST.MODEM, Booty Boo, Jeff Randall, and Ion Zide.

Taking place at the beautiful Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP) in Live Oak, Florida June 2 -4, 2017, the three-day music festival benefits The Rachel Morningstar Foundation (a non-profit 501c3 organization) in honor of longtime SOSMP friend and music festival lover Rachel Morningstar Hoffman.

For guests that want to arrive early, PHB will host a Thursday Pre-Party on June 1 with Zach Deputy, Dubconscious, Bells and Robes, and Blackwater Grease. Tickets on sale now.

PHB 2017 will utilize three stages including the famed Amphitheater Stage, a Beach Stage located along the wild black water Suwannee River that is picturesque for daytime sets, and the Uncle Charles Porch Stage. The event also features live art, yoga, workshops and a silent auction, as well as a Charity Disc Golf Tournament hosted by Zach Deputy. Since Rachel was an aspiring chef, PHB will be adding a culinary component for 2017 featuring food from several top notch chefs that will be announced at a later date.

The most memorable moment of the weekend is when Rachel’s loving mother, Margie Weiss (aka Mama Margie), leads an emotional ceremony celebrating her daughter’s memory. Each year, they released 24 monarch butterflies – 23 to represent Rachel’s age when she was taken from this world and 1 for her spirit that lives on.

The Werks Announce Initial Lineup For The Werk Out Music & Arts Festival March 9, 2017 12:22

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Veteran jam band The Werks has revealed the initial lineup to the 8th annual The Werk Out Music & Arts Festival at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio on August 3rd-5th.  Quickly becoming one of the most anticipated festival of the summer, The Werk Out consistently features several established national headliners, along with many of the hottest up-and-coming bands from across the festival scene.  Host band The Werks is scheduled to headline all three nights, while additional performers include 

Gramatik, The Floozies, Emancipator, Dopapod (two nights), Dumpstaphunk (featuring Ivan Neville), Future Rock, Zoogma (two nights), Sunsquabi, Big Something, Spafford, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, Jahman Brahman, Joe Marcinek Band, CBDB, Brother's Gow, Subterranean, Electric Orange Peel, and many more to be announced. A collaborative TWERKAPOD: A Tribute to the 90s – Vol. 2 set was also announced following last year’s debut featuring members of The Werks, Dopapod and Twiddle. 

See below for highlights from last year's Werk Out 2016, and make sure to head over to the festival's official website for further details and ticket options.  Stay tuned for future updates and lineup additions!

The Werk Out Music & Arts Festival Initial 2017 Lineup

• The Werks
• Gramatik
• The Floozies
• Emancipator
• Dopapod
• Dumpstaphunk (featuring Ivan Neville)
• TWERKAPOD: A Tribute to the 90s – Vol. 2
• Future Rock,
• Zoogma
• Sunsquabi
• Big Something
• Spafford
• Jonathan Scales Fourchestra
• Jahman Brahman
• Joe Marcinek Band
• CBDB
• Brother’s Gow
• Subterranean
• Electric Orange Peel

Win Tickets To See Zoogma At Zydeco On Saturday Night (Dec. 3rd) November 28, 2016 21:32

Live & Listen is pleased to join forces with our friends at Zydeco in Birmingham once again for an evening of live music with Zoogma and special guest Chark on Saturday, December 3rd.  Doors open at 9:30 PM and the music will start soon thereafter.  As a sign of our excitement for Saturday night, we're giving away a pair of tickets to the show.  To enter the contest, simply share this post directly from our Facebook page and tag a friend who you would take to the show in the comments.  We will announce a winner at 12:00 PM on Friday afternoon.

Read our recent interview with Justin Hasting of Zoogma

Live electronic quartet Zoogma has been busy over the past year. While maintaining a busy tour schedule, the band has been steadily working on their new concept record, A Future in Blue. The new record combines their Mississippi/Memphis blues roots with their unique electronica sound to bring listeners their own refreshing brand of “Future-Blues”.

The first single, “What It Is”, mixes Leslie-driven guitar and classic 70’s-era horns, with catchy vintage-blues samples that mesh with the funky, futuristic electronic sound Zoogma delivers both live and in the studio. Listen to the new single, streaming below.

Zoogma is a live electronic band based in Nashville, TN. Since 2010, Zoogma has been blending genres into a musical experience that has been called "refreshingly original, yet steeped in dance music tradition".  The band is no stranger to the studio or touring either. With two full studio albums, a live compilation album, a slew of remixes, and the most recent release of their chart topping New Era EP, as well as a handful of national headline tours under their belt, Zoogma has carved out an incredibly loyal fanbase. The band's next record, A Future in Blue, is due out early 2017.

Chark began expressing his interest in music early on as a member of the Birmingham Boys Choir. In his early teens, he began to gravitate towards the punk and metal underground, which would quickly encourage him to break in his own musical chops in a series of hopeful high school garage bands, as a lead vocalist, trying to find his place in the music world. His first forays into electronic music came through classic house channels, like Justice and Crookers, but the first time he heard a dubstep track by Distance, he knew he wanted to recreate that weird, wompy feeling it gave him. Chark began DJing in 2011 at local venues, with an incredibly supportive response from the community, and has never looked back.

Watch Zoogma's Stranger Things Halloween Weekend Recap here:

Live & Listen's 'Bands You Should Know': Zoogma August 12, 2016 14:34

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Live & Listen is pleased to continue a brand new weekly feature known as Bands You Should Know.  This new concept will highlight a different band each Friday with an interview, general background information, current happenings, as well as videos and audio from each band.  After nearly two years of various interviews and artist spotlights, we feel that installing a consistent weekly feature is the perfect move as we progress forward.

For our sixth edition of Bands You Should Know, we sat down with Justin Hasting (guitar/synthesizer) of Zoogma, a Nashville-based live-electronic band like no other.  This is one band that we've been fortunate enough to witness the steady progression from college bars to national festivals.  Zoogma crosses into multiple genres on nearly every tune, bringing elements of electronic blues, rock, and even hip-hop to the table.  This band continues to push boundaries with each album, and they show no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen

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Let's start off by talking about the formation of Zoogma back in 2010.  Was there much experience amongst you guys playing together before things got officially rolling?

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Justin: Yeah.  We sort of jammed around town a bit in 2009 too, but even before that, my first band that I was ever a part of, which I joined about a month after getting to college, was with our drummer, Matt (Harris).  We found each other on Facebook.  It was a time when you were able to get Facebook when you became a freshman in college.  So I got Facebook, and I was just going through the music stuff.  I knew that I wanted to play music, and I saw an ad for a band looking for a guitar player.  

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I went and met up with them, and Matt was the drummer.  It was like a hill country blues band.  So we were playing North Mississippi Allstars and R.L. Burnside, and then other stuff like Grateful Dead and Phish.  We would go out and play bars around the area on the weekends.  So, that's sort of the new stuff we're working on now with Zoogma. It's kind of a 360 all the way back to that.  But yeah, me and Matt did that for a while and went to a couple of festivals and decided that there was some more stuff out there than the blues that we wanted to play.  It all sort of happened after that, and we met the right people.

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Photo by Zach Stone Photography

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Very cool.  And this all began in Oxford, Mississippi at Ole Miss, right?

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Justin: The band did start in Oxford. So, when we first started in early 2009, we were a five-piece, and every member of the band lived in Oxford.  Then after about a year a few of the guys moved and/or pursued family life. We knew Brock from Memphis and had him join after a few jam sessions, then we pulled in Ryan from his old band, Energy D, as a replacement on bass. Ryan had already heard half of the songs anyway, so he was an easy fit. That's more or less how it all kind of worked out.  

 

You guys blend a tremendous variety of genres together to create such a unique sound.  I know that the approach towards the live electronic aspect is different than a more traditional band.  How do you guys go about creating original music in such a unique way?

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Justin: Well, I think that the live electronic thing is such an interesting concept, you know?  If you're in a rock band, you're playing rock music.  If you're in a blues band, you're playing blues music.  If you're in a live electronic band, you're playing live electronic music, but what does that even mean?  I think that a lot of the diversity of our sound just comes from everyone's individual backgrounds.  We all sort of come from different places.  I think where we sort of agree is that we want the end result to be sort of newer sounding, which you can call that electronic, or whatever you want to call it.  There is always some type of sub genre going on with it, you know?  

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If you look at the music we've recorded over the years, at first it was a little more like this, then we did a little more of a rock thing.  We've done a bunch of remixes, and then this past one had a very funky, future kind of vibe.  The one we're about to put out is very much bluesy, in that element.  So, I think just figuring out ways to keep the electronic thing constant and evolving, but also figure out ways to make that also interesting.

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Watch Zoogma's music video for "Molasses" here":

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I'm glad that you said that, because I feel like so many people tend to shut themselves off from certain genres before they have ever given it a chance.  I think that goes for all genres.  It's just really easy for someone to decide they don't like something if they have never even given it a chance.

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Justin:  Well, I think with electronic music, and it's just because it's had a short lifespan so far, a lot of people don't necessarily understand whats happening, or even how the sounds are being created.  Especially with the technologies that we have available to us now.  Anybody can go in and make something that sounds cool.  You don't have to have a music degree or even a lot of musical knowledge.  So, it's sort of hard to determine the musicianship on the electronic side from the stuff that people might criticize.  

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I think every genre has it's critics.  The electronic genre is definitely evolving though, and in a good way, to me.  I feel like a lot more people are jumping on the live thing in recent years.  You see Pretty Lights, Gramatik, Big Gigantic, and GRiZ all doing it.  All of these acts that are now incorporating more and more live elements into the show, because that's what people are wanting.  I think everyone is agreeing that you can still have electronic music while incorporating good musicianship with it that makes it even better.

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I agree.  I think the live element is what ultimately leads a lot of people towards stepping outside of what they are accustomed to listening to.  

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Justin:  Right.  Especially older generations, or even people that are our age.  It was just so new for us that I feel like a lot of people don't really grasp what's happening or how the sounds are created.  They just think to get a trap song or something, you just plug into a program and move some audio files around and it's there, you know?  Sometimes it can be done like that, but it's different.  

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Photo by Live Edit Labs

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So, you mentioned the remix album that you guys released in June.  You guys collaborated with 12 different artists as a follow up to last year's New Era EP, right?  

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Justin: Yeah...so we put out New Era in late January, and we knew we wanted to do a remix thing.  So we started hitting people up, and we were really surprised that so many people were interested in doing it.  We thought we would get maybe 5 or 6 guys and maybe have two versions of each song, which would have been cool.  It turned out that we ended up getting like four of each track.  It was really cool, man.  You have a piece of music that you've written, and then you give all of the puzzle pieces to someone else and see how they put it all together and reinterpret everything.  It was pretty cool.

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I would imagine so.  You guys brought in Khris Royal, Modern Measure, Dynohunter...

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Justin: Yeah...Unlimited Aspect, Vibe Street, Turbo Suit, Dalton Richmond, DELTAnine...man there were so many people on there, and they are all our good friends, too, which makes it even more fun. Khris Royal was actually a part of the original track, High_5, but definitely had his sax twisted and scew'd by everyone on the remix side (laughs). What a player that guy is.

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You mentioned something earlier about the band taking a bit of 360 degree turn and getting back to some of those earlier roots.  Can you elaborate a little bit more on that?

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Justin: Sure.  I think it was probably two years ago that we did this bluesy remix.  We always like to do things that are tied to the Southeast and some of the music we grew up with, whether it be a Three Six Mafia remix, Outkast, or whatever.  We did a remix of R.L. Burnside's "Let My Baby Ride," but we remixed it with a Young Buck track and dubbed it "Let My Shorty Ride."  We went back and rerecorded all of the musical parts to it and then produced the track.  It was more like trill-country blues, you know?  It had an electronic hill-country sound with live guitars/drums/bass.  That is still the most listened to, downloaded, everything track that we've ever done.  We thought, "You know...maybe we hit something there with that combination of genres."  

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So when we finish any record, we always sit back and think, "Ok, what now?"  There is never time to just chill for a while and not be recording anything.  We released New Era and needed to decide what was next.  We sort of revisited the blues thing; jamming on those kind of ideas, and writing songs like that.  They were just so easy to write.  It was really fun, because once we decided we were going to do that, we would go to record stores and pick up a bunch of old blues records, and pick out what we really liked about them.  I think we started to take some of the old ideas and concepts of the songs that we really liked and turned them into something that sounds a little more current. 

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That's really been a lot of fun, and like I said, the songs are just kind of writing themselves.  We'll come up with one part, and it kind of all unfolds from there.  It's like I was saying earlier, with live electronic music, you never really know technically what genre you're playing.  You decide to play a drum and bass song, and as a guitarist, you're thinking, "Oh, well all I have to do is play drum and bass guitar."  What is that? (laughs).  It's whatever you want it to be.  If you're going for something specific, like blues-electronic, you know to play blues guitar over this.  It's just a little more directional. 

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It's nice to have a direction where you know you're going tonally or technically, just kind of keeping things going in a certain direction.  Not to say that the opposite is negative, we've done plenty of that (laughs), but you have to move in and out of direction, I think, in order for the undirected ideas to have some magic to them. But, these "future-blues" songs have been coming up really fast, and we're pretty stoked about it.  It's pretty groovin'.

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Listen to Zoogma's "Let My Shorty Ride" here:

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Will you guys be getting back into the studio in the near future?

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Justin: Oh yeah.  Most of it is pretty close to being finished.  We are waiting on a couple of the mixes to come back.  We will probably release our first single in the next few weeks.  I think for this one, we're going to try and release it all piece by piece, instead of waiting to record five or six songs and putting them out together.  We're going to keep releasing each track over the course of however long (laughs) and just see how that goes. 

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I guess that really falls in line with how you guys have done things in the past.  All of your music is available for free on your website.  The band even advertises that. It seems like that strategy really makes sense with how you guys have approached this new age of the digital music world.

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Justin: Exactly.  It's always changing.  There are no rules anymore.  We could put out a 10-track record and maybe release three tracks beforehand, and most people will hear those three songs.  Maybe they'll hear one or two other ones when the record comes out. Then, you have three or four songs on the back end that people might not even get to.  That makes it feel like kind of a waste.  I feel like attention spans all point towards "have it now."  It's just crazy how it all kind of works now, so we've moved towards not giving people a whole bundle of stuff, but rather one thing at a time.  Keep doing that over a course of time and see how it goes.  

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Photo by Arielle D'Ornellas

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You hear a lot of bands going in that direction, especially with the fact that album sales are essentially extinct.  I know that creates many disadvantages and forces you guys to get creative in order to support yourself and make a living as a professional musician.  There must be some advantages as well though, just in terms of being able to get your music in front of so many people.

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Justin: That is very true too.  It used to be that you put out a record and try to figure out how to get it online, because it wasn't a big social network thing when we first started.  It was all about word of mouth.  Passing out CDs at festivals, gigs, or wherever.  Just getting your music into people's hands.  That's how we did it at first, and of course you can still do that now, but there are definitely other ways to accomplish it in a more digital sort of format.  It's always changing.

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You're right.  Most new vehicles don't even come with CD players anymore.  Thankfully, they have bluetooth, and that's the direction things are moving in.  It's crazy how different things are today.  I know that's frustrating for the avid CD collectors out there, but you can't blame the bands for not wanting to invest so much money into CDs that might not sell.

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Justin: Absolutely.  We made hard copies of our record that we put out two years ago, and we still have leftovers.  People still bought them initially, but Spotify blew up right after we put out that album.  Soundcloud was exploding too, along with all of these other types of media.  Like you were saying, I mean I have a six disc CD changer, but the CDs that I have in there have probably been in there for three years, and I haven't listened to them.  It's crazy, but it's fun.  You have to embrace it, and like you said, it kind of kicks you in the ass every once in a while and makes you focus on keeping current and creative.  It keeps your mind rolling.

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Listen to Zoogma's "Molasses (Unlimited Aspect Remix)" here:

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Exactly...and it goes across the board far beyond the music industry.  It's just technology in general, you know?

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Justin: Oh yeah.  I've talked to a lot of journalists who have gone through the same thing, where they used to have great jobs as editors of magazines, and all that has disappeared, you know?  It's so many industries that reach people.  They have had to change their whole ideology and how they do things in order to accommodate to the new technology, and how it gets to everyone.

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So, kind of changing topics a little bit here, but I know that summertime is always super busy for you guys, with a steady mix of club dates as festival spots.  What have been a few of the highlights so far this year, and what are you guys most excited about moving forward?

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Justin:  It's been one crazy ass year in so many ways.  We did a tour earlier this spring with Turbo Suit, and those guys just recently broke up.  So, I would definitely say that a highlight for this year was really getting to know those guys before they called it quits.  They are some of my best friends now.  I'm really sad that they quit, but I'm also really excited that I was able to get to know those dudes really well.  We had some really amazing shows with them all over the country.  That was definitely a positive.

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Let's see.  In terms of festivals, getting to go back to Hangout Festival this year was amazing.  I got to see a lot of bands that I had been wanting to see for a long time, as well as bands that I've never taken the time to really listen to.  That's one thing I really like about that festival.  Most of the festivals that we play are pretty centric on jam and electronic music.  Most of them are about 75% of the same bands and DJs every time.  You get to festivals like Hangout, and 75% of the lineup is people you've either never heard of or never seen live.  So that was a real treat, just to walk around and hear a bunch of unfamiliar stuff.  It's always cool to hear what else is out there. 

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Where else did we play?  SweetWater 420 Fest in Atlanta was another highlight that we have always wanted to do.  Summer Camp was awesome again this year.  That was probably my favorite time we have ever had there honestly.  Where else did we play? I feel like I'm missing a couple, but I will say that I am looking forward to getting to Backwoods Festival in Oklahoma in September.  I haven't spent a lot of time there, but it sounds like it's going to be a really cool festival.  The lineup is massive.  

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I'm definitely excited about next weekend in Birmingham.  That last time we were in Birmingham...I think we had one of the biggest crowds we've had in years there, and it was raging.  We're stoked to get back there.  That's also the night before we do an official Umphrey's McGee afterparty in Nashville.  They're doing a symphony show at the amphitheater, and then we're doing the official afterparty.  Hopefully we can get some of those guys to come out.  We should have some other really fun special guest type things to do.  It's gonna be a fun night.  

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People at the Birmingham show will definitely get to hear a lot of this new stuff that we're getting to put out.  Also, we have our first headlining show coming up at The Ogden in Denver.  I'm really looking forward to that.  Denver has always sort of been a home away from home for us.  I think it is for a lot of people, just because the music scene thrives so much there.  That's one of those places where we've been able to keep growing at a consistent and steady pace.  The Ogden show is definitely something we've all been wanting to do for a long time now.

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Photo by Arielle D'Ornellas

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That's awesome.  That has to be a great feeling to work your way up to one of the premier venues in Denver after playing out there so many times over the years.  

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Justin: Definitely.  We've had people that said, "Yeah you guys won't play there anytime soon.  It's just not in the cards."  We wanted to at least try to do it though.  People said no, but those people aren't working with us anymore (laughs).  Now we're doing it, so it's a great feeling.  It's the little things when people say that you can't do something, and you prove to them that you can.  It happens a lot in this industry, honestly (laughs).

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Well, before we wrap this up, here's something on a little more of a fun note.  How do you guys typically like to spend your free time when you have a break from the studio and life on the road?

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Justin: It's kind of hard to stay away from music, you know?  Living in Nashville, or atleast three of us do, we definitely go see a lot of great music here.  This past week, I got a little turbo and went to see Boston, which was fucking awesome.  Then, I saw Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy the night after, which was also mind blowing.  We're all pretty big food people, and we all love whiskey.  We do a lot of cookouts, and we live in the same general vicinity.  We'll go to each others houses, have parties, drink good bourbon, and just enjoy each other's company.  

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Justin: Yeah, yeah...exactly.  We're just like everybody else.  We just want to go eat good food, have drinks, and see music...when we aren't the ones who have to play.  Seeing things that can inspire you or enjoying the company of your friends that you don't get to see all of the time.  

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It's gotta be nice to just be a fan every once in a while.  Did you have a chance to catch that Twerkapod set the other night at The Werk Out?

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Justin:  Oh yes...I was there.  That was so much fun.  It was funny too, because I was hanging out with those guys during the daytime, and that set was at like 3:00 AM.  I was talking to them earlier in the day, and those guys are always super professional, but I've never seen them all so focused and concentrated.  You look at the setlist and think, "Man...a 90's tribute.  That's hilarious."  Then, you think about the fact that you had three bands, with that many members.  They had to decide on a setlist.  Then you have to have different people on every song.  You have to learn an entire set of songs.  

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It's just a lot of work that goes into doing something like that, and they did it flawlessly.  It was just funny to see, because it's these three bands that play this awesome, progressive music, and they're all super focused and nervous about playing a 90's alt rock set (laughs).  That was awesome.  They killed it.  It was too much fun, and we were all kind of celebrating my birthday that night, so that was a great way to cap off the night.

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Official Website: Zoogma

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A Weekend In Review: The Werk Out Music & Arts Festival August 12, 2016 13:08

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Words by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen

Year in and year out, music fans can count on summertime presenting an overwhelming variety of options to satisfy their musical appetite.  The vast majority of national acts pack their schedules with gigs from coast to coast, and it seems as if there is a major music festival every weekend.  Last weekend was the quintessential example, as Ohio-based jam/rock band The Werks hosted it's annual "homecoming" weekend: The Werk Out Music & Arts Festival.   

The Werk Out began in 2010 at Zane Shawnee Caverns, an indian reservation with underground crystal caves in Bellefontaine, Ohio.  The festival quickly outgrew that area and relocated to Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio, where it has now been held for the past five years.  After hearing the rave reviews over the past few years and diving deep into The Werks' catalog, I knew that this was the year for a summer journey from Alabama and Ohio.  This ended up being easily one of my best decisions in recent memory.

From the moment we arrived on Thursday afternoon, the positive vibes were flowing from every angle.  An enthusiastic, welcoming staff directed our group to a prime camping spot, and we made at least 10 new friends before the campsite was even completed.  While there are numerous elements of The Werks that I have come to love, it's the positive culture that surrounds the band really seals the deal.  

Upon entering the festival grounds for the first time, Chris Houser (lead guitar - The Werks) was playing on the main stage with his very first band, Cheezcake, who set a perfect tone for the weekend.  Shortly after, we had the pleasure of catching several tunes from Sassafraz, a super talented group from Columbus which produced The Werks' newest band member, Jake Goldberg (bass).  Our first journey to the "Big Tent" led us to Mister F, who provided some serious funk prior to Dopapod taking the main stage.

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Dopapod has quickly become one of the jam/festival scenes hottest acts, and their success is justified with every performance.  Watching those guys perform, with a beautiful sunset in the distance, made for a very special moment early on.  We even got to sing "Happy Birthday" to the bands audio engineer/light designer Luke Stratton, as the band called him to the stage for a cake presentation.  Shortly after sunset, the crowd shifted just a matter of feet to the "Side Stage," where America's favorite power funk army Turkuaz ignited one of the biggest dance parties of the weekend.  It's truly amazing to witness the production and chemistry of this band in person.  They advertise "power funk," and they absolutely deliver "power funk."

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

The main stage was now set for the weekend's first set from The Werks, who took the stage fully participating in the evening's "track suit" theme.  The band came out firing with classics such as "For Today," "For You," and "Fire Eater," and even debuted a cover of Elton John's "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King.  A classic duel on the keys between Dan Shaw and special guest Todd Stoops occured during "G-Funk," before a massive "Hard to Find" > "Cloud Hopper" > "Hard to Find" would close out the set.  This was particularly satisfying, as my last Werks festival set was cut short when a nasty thunderstorm hit during "Cloud Hopper" at AURA earlier this year.  Another cover was debuted for the encore when the band busted out "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas.  Somehow or another, Lettuce was up next for a late night set in the big tent, and night one at The Werk Out couldn't have been much hotter.

Watch The Werks perform "G-Funk" with special guest Todd Stoops here:

Video by izeoftheworldphotos

Photos by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Day two at Legend Valley picked up right where Thursday left off, and the party was alive and well in The Big Tent by early afternoon.  The Big Damn Jam served as a touching tribute to Norman Dimitrouleas, the former keyboardist of The Werks who tragically passed away in January of this year.  Norman had always wanted the band to play The Beatles' Abbey Road in it's entirety, and his brother Dino, Todd Stoops, and many others performed the album in epic fashion.  Next up was an early afternoon dose of heavy funk courtesy of Kung Fu, a band that always brings the party and never disappoints.  

Anyone that has been to a music festival understands that you have to be strategic; often leaving one set earlier than you would like to in order to catch one of those "must see" bands.  This was the story of Friday afternoon, but that's definitely not a bad problem to have.  It was now time for CBDB to kick off a 60-minute set it in The Big Tent.  These guys never cease to amaze me.  This would be the band's first performance with bassist Mike Sinopole, and you would've thought he'd been with the band for years.  The highlight of the set came in the form of two debuts: a cover of the Grateful Dead's "Loose Lucy" followed by a brand new original, "She's Mobile."  I can't help but predict very big things to come for CBDB in the near future.

Photo by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen

We quickly made it back to the main stage as Twiddle kicked off their set with the classic "Jamflowman."  It had been way too long since I had seen these guys, and I was quickly reminded why they have really blown up recently.  Fortunately, they were scheduled for an additional set on Saturday, which allowed me to scoot back over to The Big Tent just in time for Backup Planet, one of the most promising young bands I have seen in years.  I was introduced to this band earlier this year at AURA Music & Arts Festival, when they delivered one of my favorite sets of the weekend.  These guys managed to exceed some very high expectations.  Backup Planet is the real deal, and they might have the best cover of "Whipping Post" that I've ever heard.

Photo by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen

Dopapod was now back on the main stage for another amazing sunset performance, only to be followed by a wildly energetic set on the side stage from live electronic act Zoogma.  I've had the pleasure of watching Zoogma work their way up from the college bar scene to the national festival scene, and I couldn't be happier for their success.  You get everything from electronic blues/rock to hip-hop with Zoogma, and how could you not get down to that?

The stage was now set for one of the weekend's biggest moments: two full sets of STS9.  There was a significant number of the Tribe faithful who came to The Werk Out specifically for this moment, and they were rewarded with a stellar festival performance.  The first set had two extremely unfortunate moments; the first of which involved a fan hopping on stage, climbing on drummer Zach Velmer's kit, and taking a trust fall onto the drummer mid-song.  Velmer handled the situation like the true professional that he is, and the band picked up right where they left off.  The set was then cut short due to technical/power issues, but the band returned for it's second set and gave Legend Valley an absolute gem.  The "Hubble" > "Orbital" > "Hubble" segue was as tight as anything I've heard from this band.  "World Go Round" made for an epic dance party to close out the set, and the "Breathe In" encore was simply perfect.  I couldn't have more respect for this band's response to a few unfortunate issues that were out of their control.

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

It was now time for The Werks to continue the party in the big tent, which some might have seen as a difficult task after two powerful sets of STS9.  The boys kicked things off with a bang as they worked through the powerful instrumental "Lights Out," followed by the first "Transformational" since November of 2015.  They even finished the "Cloudhopper" from Thursday night.  Dino Dimitrouleas returned to the stage for an extended jam on "Rollin," and two of my personal favorites, "Find Your Way" and "You're Not Alone," closed out the set in heavy fashion.  

You would think this had to be the end of the evening, but the most unique moment of the night was yet to come.  The stage was now set for Twerkapod, a one-time 90's tribute set featuring a rotating cast of members from The Werks, Dopapod, and Twiddle.  What proceeded after 2:30 AM was nothing short of beautiful, epic, and hilarious.  For a more detailed recap and video footage of the Twerkapod set, click here.

Watch Twerkapod perform Blues Traveler's "Run Around" here:

Video by Charles Izenstark: izeoftheworldphotos

As we entered the final day at Legend Valley, the positive energy was contagious, and we were faced with yet another killer lineup.  Broccoli Samurai kicked things off early on the main stage, and these guys blew my mind.  The Cleveland-based four-piece held down a ridiculously melodic groove from start to finish, and they have some of the best song titles I've ever heard of.  I'm really looking forward to following this band moving forward.  

Members of The Werks, Twiddle, and Greensky Bluegrass joined forces for the Matt Butler's Everyone Orchestra, which opened things up for some truly amazing improv jamming.  I had heard a lot about this project over the years, but this was my first time witnessing it in person.  The constantly rotating cast always brings something new to each stage, and watching this collection of musicians in this capacity was a definite highlight.  BIG Something proceeded to absolutely crush the side stage, while The Werks headed over to the VIP tent for a three-song acoustic set which included Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer," "Fall," and "Better Than Before."  This was my first time seeing these guys in an acoustic setting, and it only further affirmed how diverse this band can be.

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Greensky Bluegrass was next up on the main stage for one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend.  We took advantage of the grass hill back toward the vendors to enjoy the set full of all of the Greensky classics.  It had been quite some time since I'd had the pleasure of seeing these guys live, and damn...they were amazing.  They even brought out Mihali Savoulidis from Twiddle for "Last Winter in Copper County."  As soon as Greensky finished, Twiddle would take the side stage by storm for their second set of the weekend, which featured many of my favorites, such as "Be There," "Lost in the Cold," Syncopated Healing," and "Frankenfoote."  

Watch video footage of Greensky Bluegrass w/ Mihali Savoulidis of Twiddle here:

Video by Charles Izenstark: izeoftheworldphotos

The main stage was now set for what you could easily call the weekend's main event.  The Werks were slated for two sets, and they took the stage in full tuxedos.  "Alive" kicked off the set and bust outs of "Give or Take" and "Cruel Stone Blues" would follow.  The always powerful "OG" ultimately led into a cover of Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein" which closed out the first set in epic fashion.  "Drop" kicked off the second set, which has to be one of the most clever songs in recent history.  An extended "Werk Out Jam" moved into an "Immigrant Song Jam," and things truly took off from there.  

The sequence of "Finding Destiny" > "Galactic Passport" > "Finding Destiny" > "Galactic Passport" > "Finding Destiny" was on another level.  A raging rendition of "Onslaught" provided a classic Werks rager to close the second set.  The decision to encore with "Carry Me Back Home" came as no surprise, as the emotional tune had not been played since prior to the passing of Norman Dimitrouleas.  Dino returned to the stage for this one, which was an emotional, touching tribute to say the least.  Midway through the song, Rob Chafin addressed the audience and invited the entire Werk Out crew to the stage for the song's closing chorus. 

Watch The Werks' perform "Carry Me Back Home" here:

Videos by Charles Izenstark: izeoftheworldphotos

As many readers will understand, you're just never going to make it to every set that you plan for over the course of a weekend festival.  After three full days and two very late nights, I didn't have it in me to make it back over to The Big Tent for the two remaining sets from The Motet and Earphunk (Daft Phunk).  This was defintely my biggest regret of the weekend, but as the old saying goes, "You can't make 'em all."  There was a noticeable buzz amongst the campground surrounding both late night sets, and it sounds like Earphunk went above and beyond, with a set that went far beyond the time they were obligated to play until.  This came as no surprise, as that's the type of performance that those guys are known to give.  

As I wrap up what is easily one of the longest articles in the history of this website, I can't help but wonder if there is anyone who has actually continued reading to this point.  For anyone who has, thank you for reading through my memories of this amazing weekend.  There is no brief or concise way to justifiably recount this experience.  When thousands of fans come from every corner of the country to gather in the spirit of music and art, it is truly a beautiful thing.  The Werk Out was circled on my calendar for several months, and the anticipation which surrounded it was very real.  My expectations couldn't have been much higher, and they were exceeded each and every night.  I can't say enough about the job that Rob Chafin and the entire Werks crew has done in building and growing this festival into what it has become.  The Werk Out Music & Arts Festival was an experience that I will never forget, and I can't wait to return in 2017.

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Photo by Josh Timmermans: Noble Visions

Live & Listen Presents: Zoogma with Moglee at Zydeco - Friday 8/19 August 11, 2016 17:22

Live & Listen is pleased to announce that we are teaming up with our friends at Zydeco in Birmingham for another amazing night of music next week.  Join us on Friday, August 19th for an evening with Nashville-based, live electronic act Zoogma along with an opening set from local producer Moglee.  This marks the highly anticipated return to Birmingham for Zoogma, so mark your calendars and purchase your tickets today, as this is a show you will not want to miss.  Doors are scheduled to open at 9:30 PM on Friday, August 28th.  Moglee will perform an opening set, with Zoogma taking the stage shortly after.  Tickets are available now for $10 and can be purchased by clicking here. 

Zoogma is a live electronic band based in Nashville, TN. Since 2010, Zoogma has been blending genres into a musical experience that has been called "refreshingly original, yet steeped in dance music tradition".  The band is no stranger to the studio or touring either. With two full studio albums, a double jam cruise live album, a slew of patented live remixes, and the most recent release of their chart topping "New Era EP", as well as a handful of national headline tours under their belt, Zoogma has carved out an incredibly loyal fanbase.  You can get all of their music for free at www.zoogma.net

Watch Zoogma perform "Hotel Crunkifornia" at Cervantes in Denver, CO here:

Song Premiere: Listen To Two New Tracks From Modern Measure June 17, 2016 10:10

Photo by Taylor Wallace: iWally Photograpy 

Modern Measure, a hybrid electronic project based in Atlanta, has officially released two new studio tracks, and we're more than pleased to bring them to you today.  Both tracks come in the form of remixes: the first being "Wax VIP", one of the group's fan favorites, while the other appears on Zoogma's New Era Remix album due out on Friday (June 17th).  Other collaborators on the Zoogma remix album include Vibe Street, Luke the Knife (Luke Miller of Lotus), Turbo Suit, Dynohunter, amongst several other electronic acts.

After watching this group from a far for the past two years, we finally caught their live show at Jam In The Ham at Zydeco in Birmingham earlier this month.  Modern Measure stays true to art and music. Kyle Holly (drums/production) and Charlie Thornton (bass/saxophone/production) keep the party up at all times.

Taking inspiration from around the world, along with Electronica, Hip Hop, Rap, Funk, and Rock influences, it all blends meticulously.  Catch Modern Measure on this road this summer at New Mountain in Asheville, NC, OuterSpace Project at Terminal West in Atlanta, GA, and Camp Bisco in Scranton, PA.

Listen to Modern Measure's "Wax VIP" here:

Listen to Zoogma's "New Era (Modern Measure Remix)" here:

Infusing live organic instrumentation with artfully crafted music production is what sets them apart. Modern Measure was formed in the musical hotbed of Atlanta, GA in 2013. In just a short time, Modern Measure has shared the stage with friends and renowned artists such as STS9, Big Gigantic, The Disco Biscuits, Zoogma, Manic Focus, The Floozies, The New Deal, and Turbo Suit. With the help of their label, 1320Records, they continue to push the bar releasing original material, alongside remixes from very respected artists that continually inspire the band.

Modern Measure has performed at music festivals across the country such as Camp Bisco, Suwannee Hulaween, North Coast Music Festival, Summer Camp Music Festival, Summer Set Music Festival,Counterpoint Music Festival, and Euphoria Music Festival just to name a few. Get familiar, get comfortable, and lock yourselves in. Modern Measure is a name you will continue to see in music for years to come.

Watch Modern Measure's official recap from Jam In The Ham here:

Video by Sune Media