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International beats at TCS
OMAR SOULEYMAN
2014 TWILIGHT CONCERT SERIES SCHEDULE JUL 31 - SYRIAN ELECTRO STYLE: OMAR SOULEYMAN, W/DE LUX & THE SLIGHTLYS AUG 7 - AUSTRALIA ROCKS THE PIER: JAGWAR MA, HOSTED BY JASON BENTLEY, FASCINATOR OPENS AUG 14 - LATIN WAVES: LA SANTA CECILIA W/ SERGIO MENDOZA, HOSTED BY RAUL CAMPOS AUG 21 - THE ZOMBIES W/ MYSTIC BRAVES, HOSTED BY DAN WILCOX AUG 28 - DEEP REGGAE: LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY W/ MEXICO 68, HOSTED BY JEREMY SOLE SEPT 4 – OK GO & ALLAH-LAS SEP 11 - 100% SOUL: CHARLES BRADLEY W/ KING JAMES & THE SPECIAL MEN
T
he audience at this week's TCS performance will be joining community of international fans that have elevated Omar Souleyman, and his unique fusion of ancient and traditional music to, a global sensation. Born in 1966, Souleyman hails from the Syrian town of Ra's al'-Ayn. He was introduced to Syrian folk music in his hometown and his version, merging traditional musical styles with modern beats and equipment, quickly earned him a reputation as the next evolution of Syrian music. He utilizes electronic percussion and techno-beats to create a version of traditional music that is more flexible and therefore more applicable to more audiences. “The audience always responds very well and has a great energy,” he said of his shows. “There is lots of dancing all the time.” He sings in Arabic and Kurdish about a variety of topics and he said he wants his music to inspire his audience. “I always and only want my audience to have a good time and to dance for as long as their feet can carry them,” he said. Liz Garo, Spaceland Presents Senior Talent Buyer for TCS, said Souleyman's songs transcend language.
“Omar Souleyman is a good fit for Twilight Concert Series because even though he's singing folk songs in Arabic, and many of the songs are about love and loss, his music still transcends any barriers and plays as infectious, hypnotic dance music,” she said. “He's a symbol of someone being far from his culture but his music still reaching people.” Garo said music is a gateway to other cultures and it's important to bring diverse acts to the pier to give artists and audiences exposure. “Performing on the Santa Monica Pier, whether you are an international, national or local artist, is one of the most stunning venues in the country,” she said. “To perform on a stage where you get a view of the Pacific Ocean and a Ferris Wheel lit with neon lights is incredible. It's a unique, beautiful and comfortable setting.” Souleman said he had performed in America before and that audiences have always connected to his work. While he hasn't experienced Santa Monica, he is looking forward to it. “I have been to Los Angeles many times but always it is wonderful to go to a new place I have not been to and find my fans there and bring them a good time,” he said. “I have heard (Santa Monica) is a
beautiful place and I cannot wait to see how it is.” Souleyman's TCS performance follows the release of his first studio album. Previously, his work was available only in compilations and one live release and he said the professionally recorded work captures the spirit of his vibrant live performances. Garo said everyone benefits from the kind of shows that bring fans to acts they would not have otherwise been able to see. “The TCS audience is enthusiastic and supportive of all the artists that play on the series,” she said. “The audience gets to see / hear quality talent for free and it's a great experience for the artist.”
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Twilight Concerts insider’s guide TICKETS
BIKE & SKATEBOARD VALET PETS
No tickets necessary, this is pure free summer fun (remember that?) all thanks to our partners and sponsors who have brought us another season of awesome free concerts at the beach. Make sure to show them some love.
Park your wheels at the free bike and skateboard valet located next to the beach bike path just south of the Pier.
TIME 7 p.m. — 10 p.m., but those in the know stake out a good spot early.
PARKING Parking is available in the 1550 Pacific Coast Highway Lot next to the Santa Monica Pier on a first-come, first-served basis. Those wanting to avoid long waits should try one of the municipal lots around Second Street and Colorado Avenue or grab the ParkMe app for live data of parking availability and prices. Go technology!
FRIENDS & FAMILY Bring them, the more the merrier. You will not regret it. This is one epic summer tradition.
FIRST AID/LOST & FOUND If you need first aid or assistance, please visit the Pier Tent or flag down a security officer. If it is an emergency, please call 911.
SMOKING Don’t even think about it, it’s a 100year-old wooden Pier, and we really like it.
Friendly dogs are welcome on the Pier only and must be on a leash.
during the show. As a reminder, alcohol consumption is not permitted in public spaces, but there are several full-service bars in the area.
WEATHER & ATTIRE
THE CONCERT GARDEN
It never gets too cold, but sometimes it gets a little chilly once the sun goes down. So bring something or head up to the Pier Tent on the deck to grab this year’s limited-edition sweatshirt or T-shirt!
There is a 21-and-over Concert Garden featuring Michelob Ultra, Barefoot Wines, an assortment of cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Do not miss this view.
SEATING
E-MAIL LIST & SPECIAL OFFERS
Seating is not provided, so feel free to bring your own chairs, blankets, etc ...
Sign up at TwilightSeries.org for special announcements, offers and invites.
FOOD & DRINKS
TAXIS
There are plenty of great food and beverage options on the deck and at the various restaurants on the Pier. Most even have to-go options perfect for munching
Let someone else do the driving. Download the Taxi Magic app and use promo code TCS2014 for $10 off your first ride.
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Pacific Park transforms evening concert T
he Twilight Concert Series has long been a draw for music lovers of all ages but every parent knows, that sometimes, kids need a little extra entertainment. Fortunately, TCS families can also take advantage of the West Coast's only Pier amusement park. Pacific Park has been welcoming families to the beach since 1996 and while the rides, games, food and shopping have always been popular, officials have invested more than $500,000 in 2014 to keep the experience fresh. The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is now open following a $325,000 upgrade that includes a streamlined layout that creates a more efficient space for guests to enter, order and pick-up. The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is the only store on a Pier and over an ocean in the company's history. A local favorite, its first café opened in Brentwood, Calif., in 1963, they select only the top one percent of Arabica beans and finest hand-plucked, whole leaf teas. Pier Gear has also undergone changes with its $175,000 expansion that now provides increased retail space accentuated in a classic surf and seastyle shopping atmosphere. With new displays created by Pico Designs, top novelty jewelry includes infinity, anchor, and sideways cross bracelets; silver chain necklaces with rhinestone charms; shark tooth necklaces; and friendship bracelets. Guests can also purchase a variety of California cool souvenir magnets, T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps and more. And Santa Monica Pier and nearby beach goers will find sunscreen, towels, film and refreshments, among other seaside necessities. The park has 12 rides. Pacific Wheel, the $1.5 million Ferris wheel signature attraction was unveiled
in 2008 at Pacific Park and is the world's only solar-powered Ferris wheel. It soars nine stories high and lifts riders more than 130 feet above the Pacific Ocean. The wheel is the park's top attraction. The Pacific Wheel features 160,000 energy- efficient LED lights that present dynamic, custom, computergenerated lighting entertainment each evening. The eco-friendly, enhanced LED lighting provides 75 percent greater energy savings than most Ferris wheel's traditional incandescent bulbs. West Coaster, a steel roller coaster that races 55 feet above the ocean, providing unparalleled views of the Santa Monica Bay. Pacific Plunge, a 45-foot tall tower ride that propels seated-riders more than four stories into the air over the Pacific Ocean, and gives a sense of weightlessness. Sea Dragon, a swinging wooden ship ride with two lifelike dragon heads making passengers feel as if they're caught in the turbulent seas. The ship moves back and forth in a 180-degree arc. Inkie's Scrambler, a 12-car fast-paced swirling ride, takes adult guests on a series of roundabout moves and sidesplitting rotations of more than 11 revolutions per minute. SIG Alert EV, (electric vehicle) bumper cars that spin 360 degrees and feature a dual joy stick lever control allowing for full turns right, left, front and back for easy maneuvering. Inkie's Air Lift, families lift off for fun with the all-new Inkie's Air Lift featuring the combined movements of a Tea Cup ride and a hot-air Balloon race. Riders can rotate the car while the balloon rises up and down. Sea Planes, families will be flying high
together in the all-new Sea Planes as they control the height and speed of ascent of the plane while flying above the pier decking. Inkie's Pirate Ship, ahoy, this swashbuckling-themed, family-fun picaroon ride lifts mateys to-and-fro in a clockwise and counterclockwise motion for an all-out, sea-like adventure on this great, grand pirate ship! Inkie's Wave Jumper, catch a wave family-style on this pier-top surf ride that rotates in a clockwise motion while riders 'jump' up and down, and bounce around, just like riding a wave. Pier Patrol, a unique family-fun ride featuring eight themed trucks, which ride along a track through beach scenes complete with palm trees, sand, and a lifeguard chair. Frog Hopper, springs young riders straight up and down to heights of over 18 feet providing a feeling of weightlessness and excitement. Individual rides are just $6 and $4 along with daily Individual Ride Passes at $24.95 for 8 years and older, and $16.95 for 7 years and younger. Pacific Park's Annual Pass is priced right for the wallet at just $99 making it possible to have fun in the sun for as little as 27 cents a day. The Annual Pass is valid 365 days from the time of processing and guests will receive a complimentary Pacific Park branded lanyard. “Pacific Park is always looking at new and different ways to bring a mix of exciting rides, unique attractions, assorted retail or delicious restaurants so guests can enjoy the Park each time they visit throughout the year,” says Jeff Klocke, Vice President of Marketing and Administration at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. “The renovated outlets offer
a dining and shopping experience that can't be found at any other location simply being over the ocean creates an exceptional guest experience.” Pacific Park also offers 14 midway games including Top Glow spinning water competition, Wac-A- Mole mallet game, Tub Toss waffle ball challenge, Coastline Cat Rack baseball throw, Riptide Ring Toss bottle toss, Roller Derby ball rolling race, P.O.P. A Lot balloon dart challenge, Water Race target challenge, Beach Bash bean bag fling, Break A Plate baseball throw, Fire Ball skee ball, Balloon Pop Race water competition, Long Range Basketball traditional hoop shooting, and attractions featuring Gyro Loop and Beach Bounce. The two-acre park has grown into a beloved attraction despite a near-death experience. In the early 1970s, the Santa Monica City Council ordered the demolition of two local piers. In response to the Council's decision, Santa Monica residents joined together to fight for the survival of the piers. They developed a “Save Our Pier Forever” campaign that resulted in the City creating the Pier Restoration Corporation to provide Pier management and oversee restoration efforts. Improvements continued when in 1988, The Santa Monica City Council adopted the Santa Monica Pier Development Program, which ordered the building of a new concrete substructure to add strength and stability to the Pier. The program also added a variety of retail, dining and entertainment attractions as well as a police substation. For additional information and hours of operation, call (310) 260-8744, visit www.pacpark.com, follow on Twitter: @pacpark and Like at Facebook: facebook.com/pacificpark.
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2014 Twilight Concert Series bios WEEK 5
AUGUST 8
Jagwar Ma WITH
FASCINATOR
Jagwar Ma is a musical project, est. Nov 2011 by Jono Ma and Gabriel Winterfield. It all starts with the single “Come Save Me”. A celebration of love and loss, lifted by human harmonies only to be sliced apart by the sharp contemporary programming of the song acting as dagger to the tale. This juxtaposition of voice and electronics being a signature of Jagwar Ma. Their collaboration started in 2010 at a performance by FLRL, the Sydney based kraut-experiment that was “a band without members” and a stage of revolving musicians. Their musical history already well known to each other at the time, Jono from the band Lost Valentinos and Gabriel from Ghostwood. Those shared stages at FLRL shows gave way to studio jams and home recordings, radio frequency manipulation, TR808 patterns, MPCs loops, vintage amps and a treasured 7 inch collection. Jagwar found a soul in and amongst all that electricity. Described as sounding like J-Dilla playing Primal Scream covering the Beatles. In Australia “Come Save Me” has been embraced by Triple J who spun it to the #1 most played spot on the station. In the UK it was released through a new 7’s label started by two A&Rs from the legendary XL Records. In the US the song finds high rotation on airwaves of the lauded KCRW and the bands signs with the Windish Agency. Currently the band is ensconced in a castle in France bouncing beats through the dungeons, singing through its hallowed hallways and breathing life into their debut album for the summer of 2012. The first ever festival appearance in Australia for Jagwar Ma will be the 2013 Big Day Out!
JAGWAR MA
tion of The Beatles iconic “Strawberry Fields Forever”,plus the unforgettable new Mexican classic “Como Dios Manda”; as well as a fresh new radio-edit of their single “Monedita” and the full version of their moving, and militant “ICE - El Hielo.”
WEEK 7
AUGUST 21
The Zombies WEEK 6
AUGUST 14
La Santa Cecilia WITH
SERGIO MENDOZA Y LA ORKESTRA
La Santa Cecilia consists of accordionist and requintero Jose “Pepe” Carlos, bassist Alex Bendana, percussionist Miguel Ramirez, and lead vocalist La Marisoul, whose captivating voice sings about love, loss and heartbreak. Their influences range from Miles Davis to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin to Janis Joplin and Mercedes Sosa to Ramon Ayala. Their common love of music and openness to all genres led them to the concept of La Santa Cecilia in 2007 named after the patron saint of musicians. In 2013, the band released their major label debut Treinta Dias (30 Days), which featured a captivating collaboration with fan Elvis Costello on “Losing Game.” Now, just after their GRAMMY win for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album, the band presents their new album Someday New. The album features seven new tracks, which include a heartfelt Spanglish rendi-
WITH MYSTIC
BRAVES
The second UK group following the Beatles to score a #1 hit in America, The Zombies infiltrated the airwaves with the sophisticated melodies, breathy vocals, choral back-up harmonies and jazzy keyboard riffs of their 1960’s hit singles like “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No”. Ironically, the group broke-up in 1968 just prior to achieving their greatest success - the charttopping single “Time of the Season”, from their swan-song album “Odessey & Oracle” (recently ranked #100 in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”). In the intervening years, while lead singer Colin Blunstone went on to develop an acclaimed solo career, and keyboardist/songwriter Rod Argent rocked ‘70’s arenas with his eponymous band ARGENT, the legend of The Zombies took on a life of its own. Generations of new bands have cited The
Zombies’ work as pop touchstones, including such artists as Neko Case and Nick Cave (who have recorded “She’s Not There” for the popular HBO series True Blood), She & Him, Beck, Belle and Sebastian, The Black Angels, The Fleet Foxes, Beach House and The Beautiful South. Decades later, Blunstone and Argent have resurrected The Zombies, recruiting bassist Jim Rodford (formerly of ARGENT and The Kinks), Rodford’s son Steve on drums, and renowned session guitarist Tom Toomey. 2013 marked a major year for the band, with three U.S. tours (which included six SRO performances during the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, plus stops at NYC’s Central Park SummerStage, Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival and Milwaukee SummerFest) … the American release of their new album, “Breathe Out, Breathe In” the debut on RollingStone.com & VEVO of their firstever music video for “Any Other Way"… and the announcement of their nomination to the 2014 Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The ten songs that make up their new album, “Breathe Out, Breathe In”, are impeccably crafted; the harmonies are rich, the melodies full, the arrangements exquisite, the organ and piano fresh and the production intuitive. The Huffington Post’s David Wild called the album “inspired” and said “some songs recall the haunting melodic heights of the group’s 1968 masterpiece Odessey and Oracle.”
WEEK 8
AUGUST 28
Lee “Scratch” Perry WITH
MEXICO 68
The man who long ago named himself (and his record label and his band) The Upsetter knows whereof he speaks. As a producer, mixer and artist, Lee “Scratch” Perry has been overturning tradition and confounding conventional wisdom for more than five decades. In the process, the widely acknowledged father of dub reggae became a major player in Jamaican music and international pop. Born in Jamaica in 1936, Perry began in the music business in the late 1950s, working with the island’s mobile sound systems and such artists as Prince Buster, best known for the ska hit Ten Commandments. Subsequent work assisting famed producers Coxsone Dodd and Joe Gibbs prepped him for his professional coming-out. In 1968, he formed Upsetter Records and, throughout the early ‘70s, issued a profusion of recordings (under his own name and various pseudonyms), pioneering a radical form that utilized reggae rhythms and the loping instrumental “spaghetti Western” style of music featured in Sergio Leone’s neocowboy movies, on cuts like Clint Eastwood and The Return of Django. Concurrent with his own releases, SEE BIOS PAGE 12
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Perry produced numerous reggae artists, including, early on, Bob Marley and the Wailers (Duppy Conqueror, Small Axe). By the mid-’70s, the myth of Lee “Scratch” Perry was commanding as much attention as his innovative productions, as spats with artists, lost tapes and a mysterious fire that burned down his Black Ark studio occupied ardent scene-watchers. Still, Perry continued his onslaught of atmospheric dub releases, next capturing the attention of Britain’s punk movement; Perry even produced tracks for The Clash, who’d covered his production of Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves on their 1977 debut album. Numerous post-punk bands, most notably John Lydon’s Public Image, created music based on a template first fashioned by Perry. By the mid-’90s, his legacy had spread into rap and hip-hop; the Beastie Boys gave Perry a shout-out on their Ill Communication album and sparked yet another revival of interest in his work. Not slowing down after the turn of the century, Perry won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2003 with the album Jamaican E.T.. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Perry #100 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He teamed up with a group of Swiss musicians and performed under the name Lee Perry and the White Belly Rats, and toured the United States in 2006 and 2007 using the New York City-based group Dub Is A Weapon as his backing band. After meeting Andrew W.K. at SXSW in 2006, Perry invited him to co-produce his album Repentance. The 2008 album featured guest artists including Moby, Ari Up, producer Don Fleming, drummer Brian Chippendale, and bassist Josh Werner, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album on the Narnack Records label. In 2008, Perry reunited with Adrian Sherwood on The Mighty Upsetter. Between 2007 and 2010, Perry recorded three albums with British producer, Steve Marshall, at State of Emergency Limited in England. The albums featured performances by Keith Richards and George Clinton. Two of these albums, End Of An American Dream (2007) and Revelation (2010), received Grammy nominations for Best Reggae Album on the MEGAWAVE Records label. In 2009, Perry collaborated with Dubblestandart, on their Return from Planet Dub double album, revisiting some of his material from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as collaborating on new material, some of which also included Ari Up of the Slits. Dubstep collaborations with New York City’s Subatomic Sound System included Iron Devil, Blackboard Jungle Vols. 1 & 2 featuring dancehall vocalist Jahdan Blakkamoore, and Chrome Optimism featuring American filmmaker David Lynch. In 2011, Perry recorded Rise Again with bassist and producer Bill Laswell, with the album featuring contributions from Tunde Adebimpe, Sly Dunbar and Bernie Worrell, and released on Laswell’s M.O.D. Technologies label. In 2012, Perry teamed with The Orb to produce The Orbserver in the Star House. Perry remixed the Thor’s Stone single by UK producer Forest Swords in November 2013. Perry recorded an album with Daniel Boyle in London, due to be
LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY
released in April 2014 as Lee “Scratch” Perry – Back on the Controls. Currently, there are two films made about his life and work: Volker Schaner’s Vision Of Paradise and The Upsetter by American film-makers Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough and narrated by Benicio Del Toro. In 2010, Perry had his first ever solo art exhibition at Dem Passwords art gallery in Los Angeles, California. The show entitled Secret Education featured works on canvas, paper, and a video installation. Perry is featured as the DJ on the Dub and Reggae radio station Blue Ark in video game Grand Theft Auto V. The station includes a number of dubs by Perry and the Upsetters including Disco Devil and Grumblin’ Dub. In August 2012, it was announced that Perry would receive Jamaica’s sixth highest honour, the Order of Distinction, Commander class, and in October 2013, it was announced that he was to be awarded a Gold Musgrave Medal later that month by the Institute of Jamaica. Perry now lives in Switzerland, where he continues to create unique, categorydefying music. He remains one of the world’s most imaginative sonic architects.
WEEK 9
SEPTEMBER 4
OK Go WITH
ALLAH-LAS
Formed as a quartet in Chicago in 1998 and relocated to Los Angeles three years later, OK Go (Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, Andy Ross) have spent their career in a steady state of transformation. The four songs of the allnew Upside Out EP represent the first preview of Hungry Ghosts, due out in the fall on the band’s own Paracadute. This is the band’s fourth full-length and the newest addition to a curriculum vitae filled with experimentation in a variety of mediums.
The band worked with longtime producer and friend Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Weezer, MGMT), while also enlisting a new collaborator in Los Angeles, veteran Tony Hoffer, (Beck, Phoenix, Foster the People) to create their most comfortable and far-reaching songs yet. Building on (and deconstructing) 15 years of pop-rock smarts, musical friendship, and band-ofthe-future innovations the EP, Upside Out, offers a concise overview of forthcoming Hungry Ghosts’ melancholic fireworks (“The Writing’s on the Wall”), basement funk parties (“Turn Up The Radio”), IMAXsized choruses (“The One Moment”), and space-age dance floor bangers (“I Won’t Let You Down”). Drawn from the same marching orders issued to big-hearted happiness creators as Queen, T. Rex, The Cars or Cheap Trick, and a lifetime of mixed tapes exchanged by lifelong music fans, Upside Out is a reaffirmation of the sounds and ideas that brought the band together in the first place. The four songs provide an assured kick-off to a new sequence of interconnected performances, videos, dances, and wild, undreamt fun. “As the band has evolved over the last 15 years, the creative palette we work with has expanded in so many unexpected and gratifying directions,” says frontman Damian Kulash. “This record feels like it’s the musical manifestation of that — like we can speak in a clearer voice when we are playing in a bigger sandbox. Just as the band’s whole project became clearer to us as we learned to find more homes for our creativity — we triangulated it from more directions. And, I think the music itself has gotten more focused for similar reasons. We went in with fewer preconceptions of who we are or what our sound is, and came out with a record that sounds much more uniquely our own because of it.” Continuing a career that includes viral videos, New York Times op-eds, a major label split and the establishment of a DIY trans-media mini-empire, collaborations
with pioneering dance companies and tech giants, animators and Muppets, OK Go continue to fearlessly dream and build new worlds in a time when creative boundaries have all but dissolved.
WEEK 10
SEPTEMBER 11
Charles Bradley WITH
KING JAMES & THE SPECIAL MEN
If you’re looking for a story that best summarizes the last year in the life of Charles Bradley, you’d be hard pressed to find a better one than the night he and his band showed up in Utopia, Texas to play an outdoor show in the middle of a thunderstorm. “It was just raining, raining, raining,” Bradley recalls. “I walked out onstage, and there were about 800 people there - maybe more - all of them just standing out there in the rain and the mud.” The band settled in and fought their hardest against the elements, but - for a moment, anyway - it seemed that nature was too much for even the mighty Charles Bradley. About halfway through the show, the power went out, leaving both the band and the drenched fans in total darkness. At any other show, that would be understood as the meteorological signal for “Quittin’ Time,” but if there’s one thing the last year of tireless touring before enrapt audiences has proven, it’s that Charles Bradley does not put on typical shows. “I could hear them screaming, ‘Charles Bradley! Charles Bradley we love you,’” Bradley smiles. “And so when the lights came back on, I said, ‘If all of you can stand out there in the rain and get soaking wet because you want to see me perform - to see me do something that I love to do then you know what? I’m gonna get wet, too.’” And with that, Bradley jumped off the stage and into the crowd. “They went SEE BIOS PAGE 13
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completely crazy!” he laughs. “We were laughing. We were hugging. We were getting muddy. It was just love.” That’s his whole persona in a single tiny scene: Charles Bradley, victim of love. Other artists appreciate their audiences, just as many are grateful for them, but few artists love their fans as much and as sincerely as Charles Bradley. By now, his remarkable, against-all-odds rise has been well-documented - how he transcended a bleak life on the streets and struggled through a series of ill-fitting jobs - most famously as a James Brown impersonator at Brooklyn clubs - before finally being discovered by Daptone’s Gabriel Roth. The year following the release of his debut, No Time For Dreaming, was one triumph after another: a stunning performance at South By Southwest that earned unanimous raves; similarly-gripping appearances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival and Outside Lands (to name just a few); and spots on Year-End Best Lists from Rolling Stone, MOJO, GQ, Pasteand more. Victim of Love, Bradley’s second record, is a continuation of that story, moving past the ‘heartache and pain’ and closer to the promise of hope. “The first record taps into maybe two or three feelings,” explains Thomas Brenneck of Menahan Street Band, Bradley’s producer, bandleader and co-writer. “But the range of emotion on this record is huge. The last record was written by a man living in the Brooklyn projects for 20 years. This record is more than just a poor man’s cry from the ghetto. This time, he’s grateful.” Bradley agrees. “I was singing about all these hardships that I’ve been through. I wanted people to know my struggles first, but now I want them to know how much they have helped me grow.” Drop into any moment of Victim of Love at random and that message is immediately apparent. Where the last record opened with the apocalyptic “The World (is Going Up in Flames), Victim begins “Strictly Reserved For You,” a track that sees Bradley grabbing his girl, jumping in a car and hitting the highway for a romantic getaway. In “You Put The Flame on It,” Bradley sings “My life is gold - you put the flame on it,” backed by a horn chart that sounds like it was lifted from a lost Four Tops single. And on “Victim of Love,” the song that gives the album its
name, Bradley sings, “I woke up this morning, I felt your love beside me,” over the kind of gentle acoustic guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on a classic Neil Young album. Which brings up another point: with the new subject matter comes a broader musical scope. Where Dreaming hewed close to the rough-and-ready R&B sound Daptone has become known for, Victim is stylistically more restless, edging closer into the kind of psychedelic soul The Temptations explored in the early ‘70s. “I’ve been calling it ‘New Direction Daptone,’” enthuses Brenneck. “People are not going to expect this. There’s a lot of psych influences on this record, a lot of fuzz guitar. I’m pushing the band & the arrangements further out, which in turns has to make Charles go further out.” That new direction is most apparent in “Confusion.” Opening with the kind of echo-drenched vocal and charging rhythmic cadence that characterized Curtis Mayfield’s “(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go,” Bradley calls down fire on crooked businessmen and duplicitous leaders. “That song is about a lot of those big politicians who think they can make everybody’s decisions for them,” says Bradley. “The higher class think they can make up the rules for us. But a lot of those big wigs have never really been down to the harsh life. They don’t know how it feels. So I’m trying to talk to people who are going through those hardships.” As is typical of Bradley, the song comes off not as a roaring jeremiad, but as a deeply-felt note of sympathy for the oppressed and beaten-down. But if the album has a summary statement, it’s “Through the Storm.” Over a deep gospel groove, Bradley expresses his gratitude - to his fans, his friends and to God - for their support, their dedication and their devotion. “When the world gives you love,” he sings, “It frees your soul.” This is the new message of Charles Bradley, the Bradley who has emerged from the heartache stronger and more confident, overflowing with love to share. This is Charles Bradley, victim of love — gratefully returning the joy that has been given to him.
WATCHING THE SHOW from the beach tonight? Don't forget to recycle your glass bottles and aluminum cans.
2411 Delaware Avenue in Santa Monica
(310) 453-9677
MICHIGAN 24TH
Santa Monica Recycling Center
CLOVERFIELD
Aluminum Plastic Glass Bi-Metal Newspaper CardboardWhite/Color/Computer Paper Copper & Brass X DELAWARE AVE. 10 WEST
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Rockin' sunset DOUBLE-FEATURE PUMPS UP THE CROWD
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ast week's TCS co-headliners Papa and Cayucas doubled the fun with a pair of electrifying sets.
PAPA - Photo courtesy Steve Christianson
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CAYUCAS - Photo courtesy Steve Christianson
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