We love funk music, there is nothing quite as much fun as boogying hard to a really groovy funk track – especially when the whole audience is jamming and singing along too. Mr Fantasy is one of those tracks, it also happens to be the first funk track we ever wrote. Not only did we want to capture that atmosphere with this track, but we also wanted it to have a strong message about how some of the fantasies that are offered by media and what we see and hear, can be detrimental to one’s life. “There’s nothing but sex on the radio, next in the videos, naked underagers with their necks in the merry-go-round…” Don’t buy into the hype.
Artists we referenced here include Jamiroquai, K-OS, Gorillaz, Moloko, Santana, Level 42, The Neptunes, The Roots, Taylor Swift, Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, Nile Rogers (Chic/Daft Punk), Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park), The Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Sugarhill Gang, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, EJ von Lyrik and 340ml
Brother & Brother‘s drummer David Dos Santos also happens to be a multi-instrumentalist who just released his first music video called Truth off his debut The Five Elements EP. David pretty much single handedly wrote, composed and played in all the instruments himself. The project was mixed by our guitarist Adrian with the video being compiled by Johan Coetzee of Friction Design. Checkit:
I’ve done some stock taking on life since 2013 has now come to an end and listed the total number of gigs/performances I did in the year. In total it amounted to 172 shows – the best tally for shows I’ve had ever! Even though 2013 was a rough year, I didn’t realise how many performances I’d done – much less how much experience I was raking up. Here’s a break down of all the shows I did this year (in brackets is the total number of shows I did with each platform):
The Caveman Calamity
The Caveman Calamity/Mom & Me (133)
For two months I did three shows a day with HDI‘s industrial theatre roadshow all over the Western Cape. I played the character Codythe Caveman who somehow ends up in the real world and learns the importance of a healthy diet. In addition to being loads of fun, it was great knowing that doing my part as an actor was in some small way enriching the lives of many young children. I hope to do this show this year again.
Soapbox Jazz Jam Session & Open Mic (11)
Between 15th September and 1st December 2013, I curated the weekly Soapbox Jam Session & Open Mic at Cafe Art in Stellenbosch. It featured the resident music skills of Keenan Stevens and Thielman Janse van Vuuren and featured a range of different instrumentalists, singers, rappers and poets. It was a boiling pot of different artistic mediums meshed into one exciting happening.
Video footage courtesy of Sam Petersen.
Brother & Brother
Brother & Brother (9)
My band Brother & Brother had 9 shows in total:
– Recruit’s Birthday Jam at His People Church, N1 City (with Recruit, DJ Eazy, Jerome Rex and DJ Hearin’ Aid)
– Hidden Cellar (with Irvine, Ends & the Ocean and Big in Japan)
– Sunday Night Live at Kaleidoscope Cafe (with Jenny Ah-Chong, DJ Eazy, Recruit, Jerome Rex and DJ Hearin’ Aid)
– Aandklas (with Dave Ferguson, Slagyster and Die Skynmaagde)
– Armchair Theatre (with Elevated Motion and Ends & the Ocean)
– R.O.A.R. (with Loveglove Pyrotechnics and Herman Kleinhans)
– Elevated Motion’s EP Launch at Cafe Art (with Elevated Motion and Ends & the Ocean)
– Wine Farm (with Elevated Motion and Ends & the Ocean)
– Ragazzi (with Carri Wolfe)
The best one of all was probably at Elevated Motion’s EP Launch. You can never go wrong with good sound and a full house.
Skalie Skinnerstories Tref Stoffontein (7)
This show was a musical comedy about the dangers of hydraulic fracking in the Karoo and had 5 shows at KKNK, one at the Barnyard Theatre in Franschoek and one full house at Kabaretmania. It also had an insert on KykNet‘s popular magazine show Dekat. It will be continuing in 2014 with a smaller cast.
Brightly Clothed Boy (4)
I started performing as a solo artist in 2013 under the name Brightly Clothed Boy. My very first gig was at Rhenish Girls’ High School to something like 600-900 screaming girls. I performed only covers by Katy Perry, Bob Marley, Jason Mraz and Louis Armstrong and they totally loved it. My second gig was by invite at Jerome Rex’s Kuila Expression Session hosted by well known poet/rapper NamaXam. I only played two of my own songs, but the reception was great. My third gig was by invite also at the Future Sound Reality Sessions at Tapastry Lounge, where I shared the stage with covers band Take Cover and alt. rockers PSYREN. I played mostly my own tunes – a good start to my solo project. Everyone enjoyed it, so much so that PSYREN invited me to open for them at a gig of theirs the following week at Carnival Court. With so many of the same audience members from the Tapastry Lounge gig in attendance, the one at Carnival Court was even better. I was surprised that a large chunk of the audience were singing along to my tunes. It was a blessed night indeed.
I hope to do a whole lot more gigs as Brightly Clothed Boy this year, as soon as my debut EP is released.
Cape Town Gospel Choir
Cape Town Gospel Choir (2)
I did two shows on bass for this initiative over the Christmas period – one at the V&A Waterfront Amphitheatre and the other at Meadowridge Baptist Church.
Trio Royale (2)
Trio Royale is my new three piece jazz outfit. We did two private gigs – one at a 60th birthday party in Monte Vista and the other a New Years’ Eve party in Constantia.
Gemengde Oorspong: Hemel in Aardse Kruike at Aan de Braak Theatre, Woordfees(1)
My friend Raynie and I put together a spoken word show, my first festival performance of my own material about the human condition. We had a full house and a standing ovation. Due to work obligations, Raynie could not go further with the show but I hope to do it in future when the time is right. Keenan Stevens played guitar and David Dos Santos played drums. Video footage courtesy of Adrian Rogowski:
Barakat at Die Boeketent, Woordfees (1)
This was Adrian Different‘s spoken word show. It was an exploration of coloured identity.
InZync Poetry Session (1)
Raynie and I did a once off at SlipNet‘s InZync Poetry Session at AmaZink Eatery in Kayamandi. It was a lovely full house and a good vibe.
Brother & Brother – RAMfest 2014
Mixed Ability Band at Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival (1)
Every year I attend the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival as a student, and year after year I play in a mixed ability band which is required to do a performance for the festival’s other students.
In total I did 172 shows, more than what I’ve ever done in all the years I’ve been involved in the arts. I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to top that in 2014, but so far it’s looking fairly bright with two shows at Woordfees 2014 lined up, one with Brother & Brother at RAMfest and a role in a brand new sci-fi rock musical happening in August – I’m pretty stoked. Let’s see how it goes!
While most people are beginning to slow down over the festive season, not much has been slowing down my side. Last night was one of those awry times when I realised how much my lack of personal transport adds to the exhaustion I experience when commuting, or alternatively; planning my transportation itinerary. For the last 3 months I have been a daily commuter with South Africa’s only train service Metrorail (or MetroFAIL as it’s known to most), which due to its unreliable services has caused me to arrive late at my destination on many occasions, has cancelled services with no valid excuse and has left a bitter taste in my mouth more often than not. Add to that, the infrequency of said services to and from Stellenbosch where I reside and you get a huge sour apple in your face (in addition to the odor of human defecation on any given MetroFAIL platform). The duration of the trip is longer than an hour too! In fact, I will be making use of this service this afternoon again as I venture to Cape Town for a gig with the Cape Town Gospel Choir (my first time as bassist with them) at the V & A Waterfront. This method will probably repeated for the gig at Meadowridge Baptist Church on Sunday as well. Sigh.
Brother & Brother
As mentioned above, the lack of transportation on my end has led to various precarious situations considering the need for adequate transport, especially as a performing artist. Early yesterday evening, I was in Meadowridge for the choir’s rehearsal ’til roughly before 9pm. The problem was that I needed to be in Cape Town CBD straight after rehearsal for a soundcheck with my band Brother & Brother (we played with Carey Wolfe at Ragazzi in Loop Street). I was wheel-less. I managed to score a lift with Brother & Brother’s drummer Dave to Meadowridge from Stellenbosch, but he then had to take the keyboard and bass amp to Ragazzi for soundcheck without me. Fortunately Gemayel (drummer for the choir and also of CueCumber Jazz band) volunteered to give me a lift to Ragazzi after our rehearsal ended. I was saved!
Upon arrival at Ragazzi, I found out that I had no way of getting back home. Dave was not going back to Stellenbosch and neither were any of the other guys! At the end of the night I managed to score a lift in a hired vehicle with a sweet German girl named Marisa. I’ll have you know that I am trying to save up for a car!
The gig at Ragazzi was cool, albeit empty as hell – story of my life! The only audience there apart from the staff was the other band! We treated the event like a rehearsal and decided to do something completely new: tear our setlist into small pieces, throw it in a hat and call out the names of the songs randomly as drawn out of the hat. What transpired was awesome, our set actually sounded hipper than usual! I also decided to do a rap on one of the songs, just for the heck of it – and it worked. The band has decided to include more of this rap vibe into our future songs.
Well, I’ve got to go get ready for my train trip! Let’s hope MetroFAIL doesn’t pull another trick!
I’d like to introduce you to the title single off my band Brother & Brother‘s debut EP. This track was actually composed off the cuff about two years ago while Adrian (our guitarist) and myself were over at the Conservatory looking for new ideas for songs. The main piano riff of the song would have been lost had Adrian not recorded it on his phone. Not long after that session, Adrian came back to Dave and I with a fleshed out version of the riff – which he’d developed into a full song, drum programming and all. Dave and I thought it was great.
The new Brother & Brother track Mr Fantasy is here!
Fruit Vendor 