Dear White People star Tessa Thompson released a new music video with her band, Caught A Ghost entitled “Sleeping At Night (Dear White People Remix),” which is featured on the Dear White People (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), out now on iTunes. Appearing on screen with Thompson is bandmate Jesse Nolan. Watch their cool new video and catch Director Justin Simien’s critically-acclaimed film, Dear White People, opening nationwide on October 24.
Download The Album!
Dear White People (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack): iTunes | Pre-order CD (avail. 11/17)
Lakeshore Records recording artist John Velghe has embarked on the highway, traveling over 3000 miles by motorcycle and performing live music in support of a great cause. We asked him to send us updates on his tour. Here is his first update from the New Hearts Motorcycle Club Roadshow.
So here I am on a motorcycle, stopping for fuel twice as often compared to a van, and de-helmetting every hour or so just to get that weight off my head. Add a half-day of rain and a time zone change and I find myself barely making gigs in time. Traveling by motorcycle really magnifies one of the things I find most tedious about the touring band: the state of perpetual rock band tardiness!
I had a great night in Louisville playing at Open Gallery with a great local songwriter, Jacob Douglas and Kim Webber.
One of the things that occurred to me while listening to Jacob and Kim is how interesting it is that we still have regional songwriting dialects and lexicon in America. You wouldn’t know it by just listening to the radio and it’s hard to hear in that Great Homogenizer we call Modern Recording Technology; but with live music, regional upbringing really comes across. Not just dialect, but word choices and the stories that are told – not to mention the characters that populate those stories.
If you move around the country and play with people from different areas, you’ll notice this. It’s one of the things bigger acts miss when they choose to tour with the same act show after show. Songwriters who are comfortable in their own skin will show you their home in their songs. This is the thing Levon Helm brought to The Band. It’s the thing Steven Van Zandt and Springsteen discovered when they toured.
After just a couple of shows, this exposure to regionalism has been one of the best gifts of my tour. I’m looking forward to hearing more.
Lakeshore Records recently caught up with DJ David Rolas of LA 96.3 FM. He’s a fixture on the airwaves who established himself early on in music producing and spinning for some of the hottest clubs in Los Angeles. And, that’s not all. From acting in Jason Statham movies (Crank and Crank: High Voltage) to cultivating talent, DJ Rolas’ passion for music is apparent. His music can be found on the Lakeshore Records releases, Crank (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and the new Walk of Shame (More Music From The Motion Picture) soundtrack. Mr. Rolas spoke more in-depth about why music plays such a major role in his life.
Tell us about your involvement in “Walk of Shame” and the “Crank” movies.
While working at Latino 96.3 FM in L.A., one of my co-worker’s (Ignacio “Nachin” Sandoval) approached me about an email he received about working on a film already in production. I did the song “Adrenalina” as an original production for Crank, produced by Beat Machines (Jimi Barrz, Lester Mendoza, and I). I invited the rap duo 10 West (Big Rob & Young Cash), to join me on the record. We ended up shooting a video for “Adrenalina” out in the desert, at a Joshua Tree farm, directed by none other than Mark Nevaldine and Brian Taylor, the directors of the film. It was incredible. Aside from “Adrenalina,” two more recordings: “La Fiesta ft. J-Roc” and “It Don’t Stop (No Me Pueden Parar)” also made it onto the film. A couple of years later, I was asked to appear in Crank 2: High Voltage and record another song, this time around a Norteño music record called “La Noche.”
For Walk of Shame, I got a chance to really work with my new production team Fi-Ya House Music (Edward “Choko” Cortez, Robert “Klyd” Ortiz & Joe “El Conguerro” Castello) featuring a New Colombian artist by the name of Colombia (David “Colombia” Alfonso) to test ourselves on making a record that was catchy yet live. And that was fun.
Download The Album!
Walk of Shame (More Music From The Motion Picture): iTunes
You’re a great advocate for new music artists. Tell us about your connection to OG Bachata.
Oscar Guillen a.k.a. OG Bachata is the first artist that I’ve ever decided to help manage fully as an artist. Oscar is one of the newest Bachata sensations out right now doing incredible things. Aside from being one of the few Mexican American Bachata singers in the business, he has one of the most incredible voices and bands that I’ve ever seen perform live. He puts his heart and soul into what he does and so does his band. You have to listen to his Bachata rendition of “My Girl” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles; it’s incredible. Also, his interpretation of “No Podras” by Christian Castro. But OG is still an artist in his own nature. He works very closely with Bobby Verduzco, son of Roberto Verduzco of “Industria Del Amor”; and with a team of independent musicians that still have that spark for creating new music.
How has Latino radio changed over the years?
The fans of Latin Urban Music are all still there; Latin Urban Radio isn’t. However, because of all the new technology available now, you can make your own radio station on your cell phone. And that’s a great thing. Remember though, that there is still a generation of people out there that value AM/FM radio. Some of the biggest records out now are still getting broken on college and local radio stations. Latino radio needs a face-lift. It’s about the voice of the people, the sound of the streets, no matter what style of music it might be.
What is popular right now in Latino music?
Urban Bachata, Latin Reggae, Moombahton, Island Music, Boleros Urbanos, Latin Hip Hop, Dub Step, TRAP, and maybe a few more fusions like Cumbia Reggae, Tropical Urban music (like Merengue Electronico, Reggaetton Callejero, and Salsa Urbana). Anything with sabor!
What are you working on?
I’m actually in the process of working on my next album [with my producers] which would be number seven. We are still looking for that great album: the one that makes the world smile when they’re down.; the one that makes us dance when we don’t want to; the one that makes us feel good when we don’t; and, that one that says everything that I wanted to say when nothing else could.
Have you checked out the new Perfect Sisters soundtrack? If you haven’t, then maybe you didn’t know that the album features music by AWOLNATION, Carmen Rizzo, Kate Havnevik, Gemma Hayes, Hypercrush, Johnzo West, Matt & Kim, St. Vincent, Washed Out, and Abigail Breslinand Cassidy Reiff. Pretty rad, right? So, in case you haven’t had a chance to have a listen (by the way, watch the movie on iTunes!) treat yourself to a series of Vines which pay tribute to the music of Carmen Rizzo, two-time Grammy-nominated composer and music producer extraordinaire! Debuted under the Vine project, SPACES BETWEEN, watch these seven six-second Vine videos from the Perfect Sisters soundtrack:
Tracks featured: Running Out
Surveillance
All Is Forgiven (Feat. Kate Havnevik)
The Space Left Behind
About the Viners: @precenphix – precenphix is the moniker of musician-composer Ben Rabenold. Find him on Soundcloud.
@pxlwrx – pxlwrx is the audio+video social media sketchbook of a Toronto-based interactive art director. Find him on Instagram.
@katwalla – katwalla is the experimental account of Kathy Ng, a Los Angeles-based writer who serves on the social media team at Lakeshore Records. Find her on Twitter.
@John Bergin – John Bergin is an artist, musician and filmmaker who also serves as Art Director at Lakeshore Records. Find him on Twitter: @JBXX.
Like the videos? Follow Lakeshore Records on Vine: vine.co/LakeshoreRecords to view Vines featuring Gemma Hayes, Johnzo West and more!
