27
May 15 - May 27, 2013
Beatrhymers battle, at La MaMa Continued from page 26
the style into an art form in its own right. “People used beatrhyming as a trick, or a gimmick,” he says, “I saw it as something much more than that. I saw the possibilities to take the concept and push it beyond the boundaries of what anybody else is doing. That’s how you move from gimmick to art.” He’s also quick to point out that beatrhyming doesn’t necessarily mean rapping, but can include a number of vocal styles (such as singing and spoken word). When La MaMa approached Kid Lucky to curate the first beatboxing festival in 2010, he saw an opportunity to challenge traditional notions of beatboxing, and bring his innovations to a wider audience, many of whom still maintain rigid definitions of beatboxing as a human emulation of technology. While he recognizes the cultural roots of beatboxing as “man-imitating-machine,” Lucky sees beatrhyming as an opportunity to reintroduce the human element, or “soul,” back into the art. “Beatboxing, which began by imitating the Roland 808 drum machine, is more concerned with the electronic aspect,” he explains, “but as beatboxing moves further, it emphasizes the soul and the feeling as opposed to the technical aspect of it.” For Kid Lucky, the next step in the
advancement of beatrhyming is handing his skills down to a new generation of performers. He teaches weekly beatrhyming workshops at Midtown’s famous Funkadelic Studios, and plans to develop them into a school of what he calls “Mixed Vocal Arts” — an institution that will teach not only his signature style, but also an entire array of vocal techniques including humming, whistling, scatting, vocal sound effects, singing, spoken word, yodeling, rapping and Tuvan throat singing. The concept of the school was born of Lucky’s frustration with the limited number of styles represented in universities and professional training schools. Scat singing, for example, a uniquely American form of jazz vocalization popularized by Ella Fitzgerald in the 1950s, isn’t taught at most universities. “With scatting, Ella Fitzgerald became a whole entire instrument right there, and people went crazy,” Lucky said. “Why would you stop doing that? Why would you stop pushing that type of situation forward?” Those who wish to experience this “pushing forward” in person should check out the beatrhyming battle on May 24, where the performers will include D-Cross, Kid Lucky, Kaila, Graffiti, Richard, Esalaah, Kenny Urban, Mandibul, Menyu and Baba Israel. Saturday morning, bring your baby
Photo courtesy of the artist
Rabbi Darkside, one of the May 25 Vocal Wars warriors.
beatboxers to the Kids Beatbox Workshop, and then come back for the emcee/beatboxer team battles at 10pm. Sunday offerings include “Nos States” — a documentary about French beatboxer Princeps, followed by a tribute to the late Steve Ben Israel. It’ll be a unique celebration of music, beats, words and the art of human noise.
Tom Tenney is a performer, producer, sound artist and founder of the annual RE/Mixed Media Festival in Brooklyn, NY (remixnyc.com). He currently teaches media theory at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. Follow him on Twitter at @tomtenney, or follow his blog at inc.ongruo.us.
aSK for DaiLY SPeCiaLS
~ free Delivery ($7.00 Minimum) ~
Pizza Pies Neapolitan 17.50 Sicilian 12 slices 25.00 Chicago 16.75 Small Neapolitan 13.00 Mini Pie 7.50 LarGe SeLeCTioN of ToPPiNGS 3.75 each
Daily sPecialty Pies (call for price)
calzones 6.75 topping 1.75
salaDs
HomemaDe macaroni ravioli Baked Ziti Lasagna
Hot Hero sanDWicHes Chicken Parmigiana Chicken Cutlet Sausage & Peppers Potato & egg eggplant Parmigiana Meatball Parmigiana Veal Cutlet Parmigiana Grilled Marinated Chicken Chicken, Mozzarella & Lemon italian Philly Cheese Steak
5.75/6.75 12.00 10.75 7.00/8.75 7.00/8.75 7.00/8.75 8.75/12.00
selection of aPPetizers, souPs & siDes (see full menu) * Prices may vary
9.75 9.75 9.75 9.75 9.75 9.75 11.00 9.75 9.75 9.75
Hot Plates cHicken
eggplant Parmigiana Chicken Parmigiana Chicken Marsala Chicken francaise Chicken Sorrentino
14.75 13.75 14.75 14.75 14.75
Veal Milanese or Parmigiana Veal Marsala
15.75 15.75
Chicken rolatini
15.00
fried Calamari (appetizer 10.00) Shrimp Scampi Calamari & Linguini (red sauce) Grilled Salmon
15.75 15.75 15.75 15.75
Veal
House Salad Caesar Salad Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad Greek Salad Pasta Salad Caesar with Chicken
11.75 11.75 12.75
rolatini
seafooD
We Specialize in Catering
Let us cater your next party — Your place or ours
378 Greenwich St. • 212-732-5959 212-941-9163 Mon - Wed 11 am - 10 pm • Thur - Sun 12 pm - 12 am