PUREHONEY 25

La Mela Rosa “We are all different, and some of us are romantic and sweet, and some of us have a splash of naughty in us- I love to create it all.”

Nothing makes you feel more like a doll as sexy lingerie does. The allure of no one knowing about the seductive undergarment that hides secretly underneath your every day wear is certainly an empowering one. Erica’s La Mela Rosa wants to bring that sexy appeal into every girl’s boudoir.

I sat down with the New York native and long time Miami resident to chat about her inspirations, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the design process for her debut line of Gatsby garters and handmade creations. Step into Le Mela Rosa’s vintage Hollywood-inspired world of romantic lace and elegantly feminine works...

Dopedoll: La Mela Rosa, sounds flirty & sexy. Tell me about the name?

La Mela Rosa, that name came to me out of the blue, I thought of the most sweetest delicate thing that made me think of us women and I thought The Pink Apple!

How did you get started with sewing and fashion design?

Fashion and me, we go way back, we have had a thing going on forever.

Living in Cartagena, Colombia S.A. during the summers was what sparked my love for sewing. My grandmother used to sew beauties for clients and friends; wedding dresses, dresses for special occasions. I would sit next to her and watch her create these beautiful pieces. She would teach me as she went along, like a little sponge.

Check Out Tropicult.com for full interview & more Dopedoll exclusives! ~Vanessa Haim

HAROLD’S

509 NORTHWOOD RD. WPB FL. 33407

Handmade Heaven Ain’t Your Mama’s Typical Craft Show Crafting is an art form as old as the existence of man. But much like those wretched plastic sofa slip covers of the 40’s and 50’s, the crafts of your grandmother’s era have faded into the past and given way to a new generation of handcrafters that challenge the needlepoint still-life staples of the old days and present this age-old art form in a new and awe inspiring way.

Amanda Linton

Stitch Rock, South Florida’s largest indie craft fair and bazaar, gives the next generation of crafters an outlet for their bold and innovative products in an atmosphere alluring to a public hungry for indie design. With over 80 vendors of handmade goods, ranging from D.I.Y. fashion and funky home décor to natural bath and body toiletries and hot rod paintings, Stitch Rock is an artistic spectacle to behold!

Celebrating its 7th consecutive showing, this year’s Stitch Rock event will be held in The Vintage Gymnasium at Old School Square Cultural Arts Center in Delray Beach, FL. Built in 1926 and restored to its original glorious state in the 1990’s, The Vintage Gymnasium represents the importance of honoring the old in a modern era, making it the perfect backdrop for an event that brings an old tradition and exposes it to new light.

This year’s Stitch Rock will include: free goody bags for the first 100 people, food, sweets and drinks, delightful door prizes and a fashion show displaying D.I.Y. fashions from several of the event’s local vendors. Artist and founder of Stitch Rock, Amanda Linton says this of her event: “It’s like a world where your Etsy favorites and your Pinterest boards collide, a.k.a. Handmade Heaven!” making reference to the highly regarded vintage and handmade goods web store, Etsy.com and the immensely popular virtual cork board website, Pinterest.com.

Premiering the event in 2007, Linton describes the drive behind creating Stitch Rock ’07 as a need to provide a venue where people could purchase local artists’ quality handmade goods, all conveniently under one roof.

Whether you are a crafts junkie, a supporter of your local art scene or simply would like to meet some awesomely creative people and see their equally awesome creative works of art, come on down to Stitch Rock ‘13. Your treasure is waiting for you! ~Danielle E. DiSpigna A full list of vendors, and links to their art, may be viewed at www.rockthestitch.com. Saturday, October 5, 2013, Noon-6pm, $5 (Children under 12 free with adult admission)

They Wore Dresses

STRFKR, Photo: Rachel Hubbard

Portland-based STRFKR began life as a flippant little side project never meant for the success it has ultimately attained, hence the original name: Starfucker. But then came that Target commercial. For a moment the mastermind behind the quartet and key songwriter Josh Hodges even considered renaming the band.

A semi-serious name change, with a-God-forgive them-- fan-input contest led to them to re-Christen themselves Pyramid, then Pyramiddd, after music history revealed too many damn bands with the single-d version of the name.

The band soon gave up and stopped all the fuckery and returned to Starfucker, offering an alternate spelling of STRFKR to calm down the easily offended.

The name thing was never some middle finger to success, fame and money.

It was actually designed as a sort of security blanket for Hodges’ creativity.

The non-commercial name allowed the musician formerly known as the even lesser-known artist Sexton Blake, to create music on its own terms.

Little did he know that Starfucker’s music, a mix of space rock, disco and new wave, would come out so irresistibly catchy.

A song named after a goofy friend named “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second” was picked up by Target for a TV ad and a hit was born without commercial airplay. The band signed a contract with Polyvinyl Records, which released its second full-length album, Reptilians, in 2011. Earlier this year, the Champaign-Urbana area-based label released Starfucker’s follow-up, Miracle Mile. The label even re-issued a limited edition vinyl version of the once hard-to-find second Sexton Blake album, Plays the Hits!, a collection of re-envisioned ‘70s and ‘80s hits by Hodges, originally released by Expunged Records in 2007.

A special element of much of Starfucker’s music includes samples of speeches by British philosopher Alan Watts, who brought eastern philosophy to westerners on easier-to-understand terms. Hodges himself has a rather deep appreciation of the co-mingling of life and death in his lyrics, so Watts fit well with the music of Starfucker. After two full-lengths and an EP peppered with Watts’s voice, the samples were bound to disappear.

Miracle Mile embraces the band’s tendency for dancier music and lighter mood across 15 tracks.

When the band appears in Miami at Grand Central on Sept. 24, with Chrome Sparks supporting, one should expect a lively set. Last year when Starfucker visited Miami at Bardot they wore dresses and dove onto people sitting in the couch in front of them. Tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/286851 ~Hans Morgenstern | Independent Ethos

Sunday, September 1 SUMMER JAM: Tarrus Riley & Dean Fraser, Blak Soil, Etana, Rootz Underground, Moska Project, SowFlo & Resinated, Bahamas Junkanoo Revue, DJs: Proper Dosage with the Reazin Rude Boy Craig and Higrade @ Meyer Amphitheatre 90′s Homecoming @ Respectable Street Dubstep w. Jon J @ Propaganda Jahfe, Lance-O & House Arrest @ Jazid Megan & Liz, Kalin & Miles @ Culture Room Outdoor Movies: Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins @ Dada Electric Sundaze @ Monty’s

Monday, September 2

Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ Propaganda Rythmation & Lance-O @ Jazid

Tuesday, September 3

Wintersun, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Arsis, Starkill @ Revolution Live Turnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ Propaganda Poetry Slam @ Dada DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner Ftl

Wednesday, September 4

Trek6, Lance-O @ History Miami DJ Sweetswirl @ Kill Your Idol

Thursday, September 5

Darling Sweets @ Respectable Street One Drop Rebellion @ Propaganda

Friday, September 6

Rancid, Tim Timebomb & Friends, The Interrupters @ Revolution Live Ben Prestage @ Bamboo Room Zedd @ Fillmore Miami Beach Lavola, Astrea Corporation, Jelly @ The Vagabond Funx @ Dada Brendan O’Hara @ Blackbird Ordinary Stop the Presses, Pretty Girls @ Funky Buddha Lounge The Glorious Death @ Propaganda Jahmen, Natty Remo & Bobby Hustle @ Guanabanas Jaime Craig, Levon, Fireside Prophets @ Swampgrass Willys

Saturday, September 7 Black Flag, Good For You @ Grand Central

Iron Mike Norton, Demian Band @ Bamboo Room Hunters of the Alps, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner Ftl The Dad Horse @ Propaganda The Heavy Pets @ Culture Room The Hard Richards @ Dada The Sawgrass Kin, The Mobile Homies, The Helmsmen @ Swampgrass Willys Pocket of Lollipops, Montage @ Kill Your Idol Mixed Culture @ Funky Buddha Lounge Youth Rock! @ Coastars

DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner Ftl Art Show feat. Ryan Spinelli @ Funky Buddha Lounge

Thursday, September 12

Raggy Monster @ Respectable Street Steely Dan @ Mizner Park Amp Win Win & DJ Contra @ Blackbird Ordinary

Pet Shop Boys @ Fillmore Miami Beach

Spred The Dub @ Propaganda Next 2 the Tracks @ Funky Buddha Lounge Craft Bazaar, Gold Beneath the Highway @ Dada

Friday, September 13

The Doerfuls @ Bamboo Room Brass Knuckles @ Revolution Live Ketchy Shuby, Astari Nite, Goddamn Hustle @ The Vagabond Brendan O’Hara @ Blackbird Ordinary The Politix, Shark Anthony, Karma @ Funky Buddha

Craig McInnis Art Show Closing Party @ Coastars

Josh Hayden, The Bastard Suns @ Swampgrass Willys

Saturday, September 14

False Flags, Sharlyn Evertsz @ Respectable Street Maroon 5 @ Cruzan Amp KASKADE @ AmericanAirlines Arena

“The Sugar High Club” Art Show @ Ink & Pistons Tattoo Gallery Walk @ Historic Northwood Village Arts District Eagle Chief, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner Ftl Raggy Monster @ Kill Your Idol Waterseed @ Funky Buddha Lounge Marcus Hofstrand of SoFlo, Speaking Volumes @ Swampgrass Willys

Black Finger, Have Gun Will Travel @ Bamboo Room

Smells Like Grunge, Nirvana Tribute @ American Rock Bar Jason Cardinal @ Dada

Sunday, September 15 Depeche Mode @ BB&T Center

Jahfe, Lance-O & J5 @ Jazid Electric Sundaze @ Monty’s Outdoor Movies: Brazil, Toddland @ Dada

Monday, September 16

Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ Propaganda Rythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’s Daniel Dratch @ Dada

Tuesday, September 17 Death in June @ Respectable Street

Turnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ Propaganda Open Mic @ Dada

Wednesday, September 18 Brownbird Rudy Relic @ Dada DJ Sweetswirl @ Kill Your Idol

Sunday, September 8

Thursday, September 19 The Band in Heaven CD Release, Gallimimus @ Respectable Street

Monday, September 9

Friday, September 20 Vagabond Anniversary: Millionyoung, Lil Daggers, The Band in Heaven, Suede Dudes, Sweet Bronco, Wake Up, Ex Norwegian, Deaf Poets @ The Vagabond

Goodie Mob, Drop City Yacht Club @ Grand Central Jahfe, Inna Sense, Bobby Hustle, Natty Remo, Lance-O & War Bear @ Jazid Natty Remo, Jahmen & Red-I @ Jamaika Me Crazy Outdoor Movies: Shadow of the Vampire, American Werewolf in London @ Dada Electric Sundaze @ Monty’s Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ Propaganda Rythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’s Austin Miller @ Dada

Tuesday, September 10

Pepper, Grieves, RDGLDGRN @ Revolution Live Turnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ Propaganda Open Mic @ Dada

Funky Nuggets & Thundercookie @ Propaganda Kulcha Latino @ The Goose Open Mic @ ActivistArtistA

DJ Needlez: Rock the Mic @ Propaganda Thomas Wynn & The Believers @ Bamboo Room United Way’s “Rock United” @ Revolution Live Brendan O’Hara @ Blackbird Ordinary Mandy Moon, Mylo Ranger @ Funky Buddha Lounge Pretty Girls @ Dada Southern Misconduct, 1 Hit Left @ Swampgrass Willys

Saturday, September 21

Stitch Rock 5 @ Old School Square

Anthony Gomes @ Bamboo Room Casey Hopkins Duo @ Kill Your Idol Mylo Ranger @ Dada Kids, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner Ftl Two Way Tie @ Swampgrass Willys

BOMB @ Respectable Street

ZZ Ward, Wild Feathers, James Bay @ Revolution Live Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ Propaganda Rythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’s

Sarah Brightman @ BB&T Center Keith Urban @ Cruzan Amp Tim Reynolds & TR3 @ Bamboo Room DON’T STOP ST. PETERSBURG: Murder by Death, Black Taxi, Amerigo Gazaway, Polyenso, Sons of Hippies, Displace, Levek, Tides of Man, Sonic Graffiti, Kid Aids, Ex-Breathers, Young Egypt, Saint Popes, Archaic Interest, Slade and the Wasters, Memphibians, A Gentlemen Army, The Real Clash, Ajeva, Rebel, Article 47, Easter Island, Euglossine, Bodegas JSC, The Gun Hoes, Red Feather, The Cost!, Las Tias, Tidal Wave, Caleb Hyers Band @ St. Petersburg

PLAN B BLOCK PARTY IN YBOR CITY: Sleepy Vikings, Nervous Turkey, Empire Cinema, Auto?Automatic??, Luxury Mane, Saskatchewan, Day Joy, Cats In The Basement, Send Offs, Sun Signs, Alien House, Feral Babies, y Los Dos Pistoles, Bellows, Alias Punch, Woolly Sunday, September 22 Bushmen, The Band in Heaven, Sweet Bronco, Die Bohemïa AG Grand Opening Reception & Exhibition Alps!, Raguckas, The Dewars, Radarmen, Florida @ Bohemïa AG Night Heat, Early Forms, Wolf-Face, Rocksteady@8, Gramatik, Herobust, Exmag @ Grand Central Alexander & the Grapes, Zillionaire, MRENC, King Inna Sense, Lance-O, Shyne J & Exit Sounds @ Jazid of Spain, Atlantic Oceans, Lauris Vidal, Andy Zipf, Outdoor Movies: Being John Malkovich, Adaptation @ Dada Sunbears!, Funny Bunny, Wholetones, Zulu Wave, Moon Jelly, Booker & Norton @ Ybor City Monday, September 23

Tuesday, September 24 STRFKR, Chrome Sparks @ Grand Central ‘KEVIN GOFF’: one man show @ Howley’s

Turnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ Propaganda Open Mic @ Dada

Wednesday, September 25

Ra Ra Riot, Royal Bangs @ Grand Central

Thursday, September 26

Future Prez @ Propaganda Art Walk @ Boynton Beach Art District Les Racquet @ Funky Buddha Lounge Dada Drinking Spelling Bee @ Dada

Friday, September 27

The Georgia Satellites @ Bamboo Room The Pretty Reckless @ Revolution Live Northwood Village Art & Wine Promenade @ NW Road Danka & The Rude Hecklers @ Propaganda Cowboy Mouth @ Culture Room

Sunbears! @ The Vagabond

Felicia Rose, Monty Warren, 3 Second Warning @ Swampgrass Willys Brendan O’Hara @ Blackbird Ordinary South Side Dub, Bungled & Botched @ Funky Buddha

Saturday, September 28

Whole Wheat Bread, Project X @ Respectable Street The Weeknd @ James L Knight Center Gad Elmaleh @ Fillmore Miami Beach Everymen @ Propaganda Ancient Sun @ Funky Buddha Lounge Local Contraband, The Bad Notes, Sara Scully, Smells Like Grunge @ Swampgrass Willys Unity Rise @ Kill Your Idol Riot Act, DJ Mig, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner Ftl

Sunday, September 29

Jahfe, Lance-O & DJ Miestro @ Jazid Outdoor Movies: American Beauty, Road to Perdition @ Dada Electric Sundaze @ Monty’s

Monday, October 7 Yellowman @ Respectable Street Wednesday, October 9

The Breeders @ Grand Central Portugal the Man, Crystal Fighters @ Revolution Live Sigur Ros @ Bayfront Park

Thursday, October 10

Rusko, Roni Size, Dynamite MC @ Fillmore Miami Beach

Friday, October 11

Ms. Fitts @ Respectable Street Frightened Rabbit @ Culture Room

Golden Festival @ ActivistArtistA Saturday, October 12 Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Toasters, Left Alone, Dodge City Bandits @ Respectable Street No Te Va Gustar @ Grand Central Nikki Hill @ Bamboo Room

Golden Festival @ ActivistArtistA The English Beat @ Culture Room

Sunday, October 13

India. Arie @ The Fillmore Miami Beach

Golden Festival @ ActivistArtistA Thursday, October 17

Austin Mahone, Becky G, Midnight Red, W3 The Future @ Fillmore Miami Beach Greenhouse Lounge, Damn Right @ Funky Buddha

Friday, October 18

Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ Propaganda Rythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’s

Rocky Horror Picture Show @ Respectable Street Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin @ Culture Room The Atlanta Rhythm Section @ Bamboo Room Bassnectar, Pretty Lights @ Bayfront Park

Thursday, October 3

Saturday, October 19

Monday, September 30

Lingo, The Mantras @ Funky Buddha

Friday, October 4 So So Glos, Flashlights, TBA @ Propaganda The Lee Boys @ Bamboo Room Julieta Venegas @ Fillmore Miami Beach PaperPlane Revisited @ ActivistArtistA

Saturday, October 5

Reckless Dames: All Things John Waters @ Respectable Street John McEuen @ Bamboo Room Bassnectar, Pretty Lights @ Bayfront Park

Monday, October 21

Kung Fu, DJ Scotty Solomon @ Funky Biscuit

Tuesday, October 22 Peelander-Z, TBA @ Propaganda

Behind the Mask In the few candid video interviews that Death in June’s Douglas Pearce has done, he appears surprisingly docile and softspoken. Bespectacled and introspective, with straight hair perfectly parted, he could be a Midwestern politician or the CEO of a financial firm, not at all like you’d expect one of the enfant terribles of the underground rock world to resemble. Despite his benign off-camera appearance, Douglas P., as he is known, is a lightning rod of controversy that has almost dwarfed Death in June’s enormous catalog of ominous funeral marches and brooding lyrical exorcisms.

Numerous protests over the English musician’s 30-plus-year career have led to concert cancellations, banned albums and censored lyrics, all tied to Pearce’s unusual obsession for esoteric Nazi and medieval symbology––including the notorious Totenkopf-6, a menacing cracked skull with roots to the Third Reich and Prussian genocide. At concerts, Pearce dons camouflage associated with German SS officers during World War II, his face often obscured in a moplike wig, while his fellow-musicians drum with military precision behind frightening white masks.

Because of his signature preoccupations with historical holocausts, Pearce, who is an openly gay supporter of Israel, has had to spend an inordinate amount of time explaining the difference between theatrically referencing a controversial topic and endorsing neo-Nazism. Perhaps it’s all a bit of attentiongrabbing stagecraft, and if so, it’s worked wonders. A Death in June gig is an event, and an exceedingly rare one at that. This month’s performance at Respectable Street, part of a limited U.S. tour, marks the group’s first South Florida appearance since the late 1990s.

Having eschewed its early industrial sound for a neofolk approach, Death in June’s recent album Peaceful Snow is its most austere release yet: an entirely piano-driven exploration into the recesses of Pearce’s mind that balances, as the best Death in June albums do, on the tightrope between the beautiful and horrifying. The neo-classical musicianship makes for a lovely contrast to the mini narratives of bleak, suicidal hopelessness. Expect Douglas to play much of this intense album along with crowd requests and an exhaustively comprehensive selection from his archive. Recent Death in June set lists have lasted upwards of 35 songs, including such cult hits as “She Said Destroy,” “Heaven Street,” “But, What Ends When the Symbols Shatter?” and that family favorite, “Fields of Rape.”

It all goes down September 17 at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Tickets cost $28 in advance and $33 at the door. Visit respectablestreet. musictoday.com. ~John Thomason

Flag Day

Photo: Robert Kenney

Imagine U2 without Bono. The Smiths without Morrissey.

Jandek without the Jandek guy. The thought of Black Flag without its charismatic frontman, Henry Rollins, might sound just as blasphemous, until you remember that Black Flag existed for a good five years of admittedly penniless toil before Rollins jumped onstage at a Washington, DC gig in 1981 and catapulted the band’s trailblazing hardcore formula.

And so it is now, with Rollins having long abandoned sweaty punk clubs for the curtained theaters of the spoken-word circuit, that Black Flag again exists without its short-shorted, angry-as-upset-hornets vocalist. In fact, the lineup has come somewhat full circle, with founding member and eclectic shredder Greg Ginn joining one of its original singers, Ron Reyes, on Black Flag’s 2013 reunion tour, picking up right where 1986 left off. At 59, Ginn still doesn’t miss a beat, and Reyes has proved perfectly capable of filling the intimidating shoes he once donned. Set lists have included new, as-yet-unreleased songs that fans dutifully tolerate, as well as more than a dozen fist-pumping, slam-dancing, blood-pressure-rising classics of three-chord fury and caustic satire. The band has even been reviving its rousing “Louie Louie” cover from the early years.

The demand has been high for this tour, and why shouldn’t it be? Punk might not be the cutting edge of youth music that it was in the early ‘80s, but the political context is ripe for its re-emergence. Many of the issues Black Flag’s populist music addressed in the Reagan Era – dissent, poverty, paranoia, police brutality and revolution – have become just as relevant under a “Democratic” president here in the Aughts. Might their comeback album have something to say about the Orwellian surveillance state in which we find ourselves ensnared? Times change, and so do frontmen, but punk remains the sonic pulse of protest. Come early for opening act Good For You, Ginn’s molten hardcore throwback with skateboarder/musician Mike Vallely. The frivolity begins at 8pm September 7 at Grand Central, 697 N. Miami Ave., Miami. Tickets cost $22. Call 305-377-2277 or visit grandcentralmiami.com. ~John Thomason

Plan B: Great Florida Music Gonzo journo pub Vice once described Antiwarpt as a music festival where fans can “converge and witness the states finest talents,” and in the wake of the fest’s recent schism and virtual implosion, something new has emerged to continue Antiwarpt’s tradition of bringing the Sunshine State’s unheralded talent to the undivided attention of Floridian music fans looking for the best their state has to offer.

On October 5, Plan B Block Party – the brainchild of Antiwarpt cofounders Brokenmold Entertainment – is set to take over eight venues in historic Ybor City, and for over nearly 12 hours, band’s as storied as blues hell bringers Nervous Turkey and promising as folk wunderkinds Alexander & The Grapes will present the music that is putting the state on the map.

The Band in Heaven, Photo: Abigail Marsicano

Beloved southern shoegazers Sleepy Vikings will reunite and play their first show together in over a year, celebrated slowcore quartet Zillionaire are set to play what might be their only show of 2013 as they work on a long-awaited sophomore LP. Over 60 bands make up the bill, and there’s a significant South Florida influence thanks to the inclusion of Ketchy Shuby, The Band In Heaven, and Sweet Bronco.

“There’s so much great stuff in the Miami area,” Brokenmold’s Sean O’Brien told PureHoney, “just such a diversity of sounds in South Florida; like Ketchy Shuby’s funk and soul, The Jameses and Lil Daggers’ psych rock, and Radioboxer’s latin-dance feel – it’s impossible to not include the region in the conversation when it comes to great Florida music.”

For the second straight year, the PureHoney camp is launching our asses up I-75 to be in the Tampa Bay area to see bands like Woolly Bushman, The Dewars, Lauris Vidal, Sunbears!, Sleepy Vikings and Auto? Automatic?? and more! We’ve thrown a bunch of Plan B bands onto the mixtape, so give ‘em a spin and acquaint yourself before making the roadtrip yourself. ~Ray Roa | Suburban Apologist Saturday, October 5: Plan B Block Party @ Historic Ybor City (Various Venues) $10 advance/$TBD day of show More info: www.bmetampa.com

Shark Valley Sisters Less than a year after the deaths of Dan Hosker (Holy Terrors) and Bobby “Load” Johnston (Load), two of their former bandmates have started a raucous punk duo called Shark Valley Sisters.

The Shark Valley Sisters have reached the apex of their show. It’s the final Friday night before the Native Florida Tap Room & Music Hall in Hollywood closes its doors forever, and the Sisters – singer guitarist Rob Elba and drummer Fausto Figueredo – have launched into “The Prince & The Punk,” a mid-tempo, staccato, grinding punk ode to Dan Hosker and Bobby “Load” Johnston, two legendary South Florida musicians who died within a couple of months of each other last year.

“What’s in a name when the ash hits the ground?

What’s left behind if they don’t make a sound?

Who’s going to carry the flag when we’re dead?

Photo: Tony Landa, DigUnderRock The Prince and the Punk lay forgotten instead…”

The song cathartically lurches forward in stops and starts, while Elba firebreathes the lyrics with his trademark scream-sing delivery. With every power chord and every bashing stick hit, there is a palpable release of emotion, as nearly a year of heartbreak is expressed in three minutes of punk fury.

“Telegraph tales of a wail and a roar, Passing down stories of what came before, Who’s going to carry the flame when we’re gone? The Prince and the Punk – born to burn all along, Born. To. Burn…”

The song builds to its climax and explodes into the final consideration of whether it is better to live a short, extraordinary life or a long, conventional one. It is one of many soul-searching questions that each man has asked himself during the past year.

“Such is life for ordinary men, Curse the years and rue the days, Such is not for the Prince and the Punk, Not to be forgotten.”

So, while the Tap Room’s run is ending, the members of the Sisters are experiencing personal and musical rebirths. Before delving any further into the raucous music of the recently established punk duo, the deaths of Hosker and Johnston must be addressed, because they are the only reasons that the Shark Valley Sisters exist. There’s no getting around it.

Please read the full story at www.PureHoneyMagazine.com or www.DigUnderRock.com ~Adam Matza

Zedd

Sep 6

Pet Shop Boys

Sep 12

Gad Elmaleh

Sep 28

Rusko

Oct 10

SOLD OUT!

Roni Size & Dynamite MC

Fri, Nov 1

John Legend

Nov 3

Krewella

Nov 8

Action Item & Air Dubai

India Arie

Oct 13

Austin Mahone

Oct 17

Becky G, Midnight Red & W3 The Future

Jake Miller

Tamar Braxton

Seven Lions & Candyland

ON SALE AUGUST 23 AT 10AM!

Janelle Monae Sat, Nov 23 TWO SHOWS!

Fresh Beat Band Dec 14 FillmoreMB.com

Next time you snap a photo at a show TAG IT with #FillmoreMB

Missing Perspectives A few nights ago I was getting ready to play a gig at one of my favorite spots, The Corner, in Downtown Miami. This wasn’t a Gold Dust Lounge gig. We’ve been taking some time off to finish our upcoming album, Lost Sunset, and run a Kickstarter to support its release. On this night, I was playing in a group led by Gold Dust Lounge (and The Tunnel) drummer, Arturo Garcia. We were about to play a set of tunes by noted Ethiopian jazz pianist & composer, Mulatu Astatke, one of my personal favorites.

But it wasn’t even the particulars of the gig or the music that were already making the night so important to me personally. I can sum it up with my Facebook post from that night.

Russell Mofsky of Gold Dust Lounge “So...Tonight you’ve got Shark Valley Sisters at Kenny Millions’ event at Churchill’s, The Tremends at Blackbird Ordinary, and I’m standing here at The Corner ready to hit with a killer band about to lay down the music of Mulatu Astatke. It’s Tuesday night...Miami, you’ve come a long, LONG way!”

I grew up playing in some pretty good bands down here (Cynic & Quit). I also spent 15 years living out of state, mostly in the northeast. I played in bands in those places and experienced those scenes too. I moved back to Miami in 2007 and my first weekend out was the Saturday night of Art Basel. The entire evening was spent in Wynwood and we ended up at Moksha Family where I became delirious with the psychedelic world beat of Lanzallamas Monofonico. This new Miami was a revelation—and it has shaped my music in ways I never could have anticipated.

I grew up under the heavy influence of 60’s & 70’s pop culture, In Search Of, BigFoot, Spy-Fi, Six Million Dollar Man, Mod Squad, Emergency 51, and later skateboarding & punk. Now all of that is coming out in my music, and there’s room in the scene for it all.

The Miami I moved away from in 1994 was growing up and taking chances. Perhaps it was a brash teen heading towards late adolescence. Spirited. Irreverent. Pure. It seems different now--expansive and full of surprises--but maybe I’m different. I think it’s likely we both are. All I know is there was never a Tuesday like this back in 1990.

Maybe you can chalk Miami’s uniqueness up to a geographic isolation that even the internet can’t fully resolve. It’s bred a culture of creativity so strong it can’t help itself. For all the talk I hear about what’s lacking in our scene, to me it seems like the biggest thing missing is perspective.

A few years ago I discussed this very topic at length with Charlie Pickett at the end of the bar at Churchill’s. We both share the opinion that Miami has the most original, independent music scene of any city either of us ever encountered across the great expanse of our country. If you don’t believe me, come check it out. ~Russell Mofsky Russell Mofsky is the founder of Gold Dust Lounge, a band with a rotating cast of musicians who’s sound is influenced by acid surf, spy-fi, punk, & exotica. On September 1st they launch a Kickstarter for their new album, Lost Sunset. Check it at www.golddustlounge.com