Spaced Invaders

Tom Brock - I Love You More and More

Today is more about a lesson than an album review. The dusty crate digging funk and soul lesson of today is you can almost judge a good album by its cover. To illustrate my point we’ll take this cover Tom Brock’s “I Love You More and More.” Now let’s take a minute and conjure up an image.

Let’s say that you were the smoothest cat at the bar and you actually picked up a beautiful young lady. (We all know that has never happened to you, but just make pretend for a moment that it has.) You are really attracted to this girl and you want to impress the panties off of her. Now you bring her back to your place, and you decide to get a little more comfortable and put on your pimp ass smoking jacket, and open up a fresh bottle of Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot. You pour the lady and yourself a glass and sit down and begin to tell her how you save kitties stuck in trees, cried at The Notebook, and how much you enjoy John Mayer’s music. Now you aren’t jumping the gun to get in her drawers because you are smooth like that and want to get her so wound up that one touch from you will send her into ecstasy. Got that image in your head? Okay good. What does it look like? Chances are it looks like this cover here. And chances are this is the closest that you and I will ever get to that situation.

Anyway, this is Tom Brock’s finest and only album. It’s filled with beautiful strings, driving bass lines and rhythmic beats, with funky up-tempo rhythms. Tom Brock’s vocals on this album are top notch. Then again, what would you expect from a protégé of the walrus of love himself, Barry White. Oh that was never mentioned? That’s right Tom Brock was mentored by White himself. In fact, Barry produced this album. I am actually very surprised that this album never went anywhere. With it being produced by Barry, and just the great soul that is on this album, I’m just truly surprised that this wasn’t an instant classic.

Now for the juicy details of this album. We all know Jay-Z, well “Girls, Girls, Girls” came from this album here. Also, nearly every track on this album has sample qualities. In fact, I’m producing music for a few artists and already four tracks of there album were sampled from this. If you are a crate digger you must find this album.

Tom Brock – I Love You More And More
Track listing:

1. Have A Nice Week End Baby

2. The Love We Share Is The Greatest Of Them All

3. there’s nothing in this world that can stop me from loving you

4. I love You more & more

5. Naked as the day I was born

6. That’s the Reason Why

7. Shake Me, Wake Me

8. If We Don’t Make it, Nobody Can

February 28, 2009
7PM-Close

The Daily Dose
1622 Highland Ave, Charleston, SC
James Island, SC 29412

Charleston’s acrobatic performance martial art group, Capoeira
Charleston, will be hosting their fifth Brazil Bash culture party.
Attendees are treated to the music, dance, and martial arts of Brazil in
an up close and personal environment, complete with traditional
Brazilian instruments, drumming, and song. As an added bonus, Capoeira
Charleston will be teaming up with Grupo Ribeiro, a Brazilian Samba
group visiting from New York City to celebrate Carnival right here in
the Low Country. The Brazil Bash culture party has already attracted
hundreds to the James Island indoor/outdoor venue, The Daily Dose, and
continues to be one of the leading cultural awareness parties in
Charleston.

For further information please go to www.capoeiracharleston.com or speak
with Capoeira instructor Jesse Colon at 845-206-2574

Suite Sole is dropping some new sneakers this weekend, and you know what that means, party up in the store! Seriously though, their parties are always a good time. On top of that you’ve got our boys Birdflu and Hunter dropping tracks both at the Suite Soul party as well as at Walter’s Birthday Party at the Recovery Room. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it to the Suite Soul party because of Capoeira Charleston’s Brazil Bash (which I’ll get to in a moment) but if you are in the downtown area you might want to stop by at both events.

I waited to drop this because of both Flatbroke’s and BirdFlu’s love themed casts and I didn’t want to switch the groove up to much. Anyway, here are some dirty, dirty funk breaks that I pulled together for everyone to get down to. Overall, I’m really feeling this podcast and had to dig through a lot of stuff to put it together. Leave some comments and let me know what you think.

DJ Sonar’s - Dirty Breaks
Tracklisting

1. Bloodstone - Traffic Cop
2. Duncan Lamont - Funky Express
3. The Soul Searchers - Funk to the Folks
4. Edwin Starr - I Just Want to do My Thing
5. Little Royal - Razor Blade
6. The Mighty Ryders - Evil Vibrations
7. Oliver Cheatham - Saturday Night
8. Jesse Graham Plus 3 - Shootin the Grease
9. James Brown - Superbad (parts 1 & 2)
10. Skull Snaps - I’m Your Pimp
11. Tickled Pink - Reach Out (And Give Me Your Hand)
12. Louise Freeman - I Can Do It
13. Curtis Mayfield - Radio Drop
14. Earl English & The Apaches - Trying to Make Ends Meet
15. The Undisputed Truth - What It Is
16. Donnie Brown - Funky Mind
17. Earth, Wind, & Fire - Happy Feelin’
18. Mongo Santamaria - I Can’t Get Next To You
19. Sir Guy & The Rocking Cavaliers - Funky Virginia

 

 Payday podcast - DJ Sonar - Dusty Breaks: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A good friend to the Spaced Invaders, DJ Birdflu has dropped an ill, slow-grooving mixtape that is making its way around the Charleston area. I was able to snag a copy of it from him and I asked him if I could make it available to the Stone Groove listeners. The artwork for the cover was done by Birdflu with scissors and tape, the old school way, and you can check the track listing below and see that the attention to details he used in the cover is also used in the collage of music he constructs. Speaking of old school, this DJ uses nothing but vinyl. No not Serato, time coded or anything like that. Strictly original vinyl. You’ll hear the warm analog sounds, and the crackles and pops of gently worn vinyl pressings. The transitions are on point and if you play both this mixtape with DJ Scrunchyface Flatbroke’s Valentine’s Day podcast your beddy-bye time will be set with that special someone.

Tracklisting:

DJ Birdflu – What I Put On When I’m Puttin it On Your Mom
Mos Def - The Panties

Notorious BIG - Big Poppa

D’Angelo - Brown Sugar Remix

Common - All Night Long

The Roots - Silent Treatment (Kelo Mix)

Erykah Badu - Sometimes

Slum Village - Fall-N-Love

Lauryn Hill - Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You

A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum

Bird Flu - Honey For the Two Of Us

Lovage - Pit Stop

Portishead - Lots More Sour Times

RjD2 - Rain

 

 DJ Birdflu - What I Put On When I'm Puttin It On Your Mom: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On Monday night I decided to explore a section of Charleston’s nightlife that I had no clue of its existence until the week before. So, I ventured to through the cold February night to make my way to the East Bay Meeting House for their Monday Night Poetry and Open Mic Night. This past Monday featured Marcus Amaker, who I just knew as the editor of the Preview section of the Post and Courier, and as I quickly found out from the other attendees, is one of the best spoken word-poets in Charleston, if not South Carolina.

I arrived roughly fifteen minutes prior to the 8:03pm start time that Marcus informed me of and it gave me enough time to explore my new surroundings and see if I could speak briefly to Marcus and thank him for putting the Stone Groove event on the very first inside page of a recent Preview magazine. It was no trouble finding him. After all, he was one of three people with dreadlocks but he was at the door greeting everyone who entered. He even was cool enough to chat with me briefly and even remembered my first name with no trouble. Which if any artist who deals with the press will tell you, it’s kind of a rarity. I left Marcus to meet and greet with others and for myself to search for any sort of seat. However, the place was packed and I ended up leaning against a wall that was closest to the front bar.

Marcus introduced his accompanying band, who after the show, I talked with a few members, and found out they were just a rag tag collective that the poet called out of the blue to perform with him. Marcus took the mic, and the place fell silent as he thanked everyone for coming out and explained how comfortable he was on the mic. Everyone’s attention turned towards the speaker. The poet began to flow over the boom bip rhythm of the drummer’s kick and snare hits. The poetry was a mixture of prose and rhythmic stanzas that worked harmoniously with the mild saxophone, droning keys, and every so often, the slight leads and chords strummed by his guitarist.

The musical aspect of the poetry performance just added to what were already great lines. Marcus’s poetry consisted of several topics that every person young and old could relate to. Basically, the topics were, Love, Sex, and Break Up. He did not use crazy, off the wall metaphors that some poets use and most listeners can’t follow. However, he did paint very colorful imagery using the words that he selected. It was refreshingly easy to follow and understand, while letting your head nod to the rhythm.

After Marcus was done with his set, the crowd was very supportive and tentative of the others during the open mic night and you will definitely find me hanging out on Monday’s at the East Bay Meeting House. Maybe I’ll open my rhyme book once again and get the courage to jump on the mic one time.

For more information on Marcus Amaker, or to check out his music go to http://www.marcusamaker.com/