Drewski (Interview)

 Well gang, the Maryland native is at it again. Drewski is spreadin' his fiery lyrics and droppin' an album real soon. I had the privilege to speak with him and read below to see how John Lennon and a possible dubstep demo came into the mix. Enjoy guys and props to ya brotha!

1. Now before we jump into any deep questions, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm really just a fun loving person that would rather make songs about the good times, then to just talk about them like distant memories. Doing my thing loving what I do.

2. Is there any particular group or singer that inspired you?

I'd have to say I've always admired John Lennon for is message of love, and the notorious bigs struggle and perseverance.

3. How did you jump start onto your musical career?

I really just started making beats for people on a keyboard for others and always freestyled for fun, and one day I just said, I wanna shot at the mic, and its snowballed from there.

4. With anything now a days, you must face some obstacles and over come those challenges. Were there any in the industry?

Yea I'm still going through getting the word out about the music, I wanna spread the love but its hard to get people to take the minute nowadays.

5. Now on the flip side, what were your most memorable moments while singing?

At the moment, it would have to be making the chorus for when its over with my producer Kyle Melton, it actually originally had more singing from me but I chose to remove them which I think made the song to real become what it is.

6. On your days off from the studio what do you do to pass the time?

On my days off I'm from the studio I'm usually working to fund spreading the music, sleepless nights, go out and have fun on the weekends same old, still a kid trying to enjoy life while I can.

7. You have a great vibe and express that musical energy in all your tracks. What can we expect from you in the future? 

Many things, a lot of collabs with many different people, I'm working on maybe doing a small original dubstep demo, for a lot of my friends djing the scene or enjoy the music like I do, always wanna keep innovating the music, we can only grow with time.

Belligerence (Interview)

1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you got pulled into the electronic scene.
I started playing guitar when I was 15 and right from the start melodic metal like Children of Bodom and old Avenged Sevenfold drew my attention. The first time i heard some nasty dubstep I immediately fell in love because it's the metal of electronic music. Borgore on the night of my birthday was probably the sickest show I've ever been to for that reason. But after a while of hearing all dubstep, it started to get a little repetitive. Until Smash Gordon released Smash Your F**king Face Volume 2 with Take Over Control by Afrojack. Since then it's been house, house, and more house.

2. Were there any particular artists, friends or bands that influenced you to jump start your Dj producing career?
As far as first starting production, Nick 'Nixsin' Anthony really started making me want to produce my own stuff. He gave some insight into programs and plug ins and all that nonsense. All of my close friends have really motivated me, especially my good friends Marcus and Steve Who are always either thinking of ways I can make something better or jumping around to a mix or song I've made, and of course my girlfriend, Chelsey, who always wants to hear what I've been working on. Sidney Samson, Chuckie, Afrojack, Rolvario and Mike Traxx have all developed sick sounds that constantly inspire me to search for new sounds.

3. What is the hardest part to generate such a jam packed blistering track?
The absolute hardest part of making a new track is coming up with a new sound so you don't sound repetitive. It's cool to have your own signature sound, but I personally don't want to hear the same sound on 20 tracks so I constantly mess around in Massive looking for something new. And it can get pretty frustrating sometimes haha. But the end product is well worth the time so it doesn't bother me too much.

4. Were there any hard challenges you had to face in the industry?

I have had to do anything yet, hell, I'm putting out free tracks and doing it simply for fun right now and probably will be for a while. The most I've had to do is help set up for shows and had my equipment fucked up. Actually there are some really douchey promoters and bouncers that will treat you like you're their little bitch. There are always the people out there who just want to make a quick buck off of someone else. Bouncers and sound guys at some venues have been complete assholes when it comes down to setting up and breaking down but there isn't too much you can do when these guys are on a power trip.

5. I am aware Baltimore is now exploding with more dance and electronic bar/ club filled venues. Now what has been your favorite place to DJ in you career?
Honestly I've played a lot more house parties than venues. But the best sound system and coolest stage I've played on before it closed was The Black Hole. It was a raised booth on a stage with go go dancer platforms on it behind some pretty damn big speaker stacks. It was tight. They had a good crew and good vibes with lighting already built in. I'm trying to book more public shows now actually with a good friend of mine thats been drumming with me, Devin Barone from Sue Grove. Hopefully we'll be able to invite the ezbangherz crew and everyone else out so some more venues soon.

6. Seems like you are a music guru and DJ master, but what do you do in your spare time?
Drink burr and make music, thats it. Just kidding I do a little more than that. Winter is definitely snowboard season and I'm hoping to make it out a lot more than last year. I'm also hoping we have another blizzard this year so we can all sit back and relax. And of course getting belligerent at local shows with the crew. But as I figure out more and more sounds I find myself spending a ton of time nerding out in front of logic on my computer. And I just started messing around with photoshop for the first time earlier in the week I could definitely see some fun stuff coming out of that.

7. What can we expect from you in the future?
Moombahton! Moombahton is picking up more and more. 108 bpm just hits the perfect groove. Of course a lot more house music with some new sounds I'm working on right now. Also expect a mix from my drummer and I when we can get some studio time in later in the month and watch out for us playing around here. Devin is absolutely incredible on drums and adds so much to the mix so keep your ears open.

8. What do you think of Ezbangherz.com?

I love it. I've gotten plenty of tracks that I use when I mix off of here. Also, its not just good for one genre of music, but for what five? Usually to find different music you need to search and search for multiple blogs. The multi-genre idea is great and I can't believe more people aren't using it. Also you're support for local artists is awesome. I recently posted a picture on my facebook saying, "Support local music, because most of those bands are just as good as the ones you listen to on mainstream radio. But if you don't go to a show and give them a chance, you'll never know!" True shit! Well, I know I hardly ever read articles this long so I hope someone's interested enough to read this. Big ups ezbangherz.com!

Special thanx to Belligerence and keep up those stellar drops brah. Don't forget folks to check him out around the Mid-Atlantic region and snag some of his tunes that he has enabled us to grab for FREE only at Ezbangherz.

Outlaw Nation

     I had the privilege to speak to this radical band, Outlaw Nation. Make sure to check out their newest edition with their album "Back In Babylon" that dropped October 18th. These guys certainly deliver those wicked vibes and focus on a wide variety of reggae structural slides to spread their musical talent. In addition to the interview, take a look at the album review and the featured song, "Baseline".

1. Were you guys influenced by reggae through the community or a particular musician/ group? We were definitley influenced by some of the legendary groups like Steel Pulse, Israel Vibrations, and even on to the bands that did not define themselves as Reggae bands like: Fishbone, SUBLIME, RANCID, etc.

 

2. How did you all meet and what hardships did you encounter to rise up as an influential reggae band? With us not being from the West Coast we have had it hard to try and push what we do but with each tour comes more and more awareness about what we do.

 

3. Why did you decide on the stellar band name, Outlaw Nation? It just fit. We wanted to leave it as such and it just fits our vibe. We wanted it to be about trying to change the music game with a outlaw mentality!

 

4. How does it feel to be on the same record label as Slightly Stoopid? AMAZING!! Those guys have been super cool to us and we thank them for being a sounding board for ideas and what not.

 

5. On your days off from the studio and touring what do you all do on the side? I am a BIGFOOT NERD. I love all things BIGFOOT call me crazy!! LOL!!

 

6. You guys have an awesome vibe. Anything in the future for possible Outlaw Nation apparel? Also I am aware of the steady tour dates on the West Coast, props to you all for that. Any thoughts on coming out the East Coast? Clothing wise nah we just want to keep it MUSIC, besides the merch we have like T-Shirts, and what not. As far as touring goes we are here to play for the people as much as we can. So wherever the journey takes us we are going and we wont be stopped!

Special thanx to Outlaw Nation!!!! Check out their albums and we can't wait to hear more from them in the future.