The So So Glos Bringing it Back Where it Counts
While on their most recent tour, the So So Glos’ van broke down the night before the Presidential Inauguration. They were reenergized the next day and inspired to move forward with new hopes for the future. Also, on tour it was revealed that some band members got over zealous with matches and burnt their lashes while waiting for the bus in LA. The Brooklyn-based four-piece is made up of three brothers, Alex and Ryan Levine by blood, Zach Staggers by divorce and re-marriage and honorary brother/real guitarist Matt Elkin. “It’s intense being in a band with mostly brothers. Even if we’re not all brothers we pretty much act like it at this point. There’s that strange energy that’s kind of great but also frustrating simultaneously, ” comments bassist/singer, Alex Levine. Their family style dynamic certainly has proven effective in their musicianship as well as their live show. The energy is flying and their sound is consistently refreshing
with catchy riffs and poignant lyrics. Their newest album, Tourism/Terrrorism, was recorded in a week (it was released between a time while Bush was still President and a hopeful elect of Obama into the White House was what the future held). Reasons being, the title of the album and the cover art have much to do with the Country’s current state. While they feel maybe it could have been less rushed, the band is proud of what they created and excited to record a third, less frantic, but just as meaningful album. Alex Levine says, “We felt the urgency on the album and I hope it comes across. I’m proud of it and I think it’s a great moment in time. It represents where we’re at, where we’re about to go and where we’ve been.” Throughout the spastic percussion, melodic guitar and spitting lyrics, there is a political emphasis on the unfortunate importance of money, the economy, and the band’s views of
war. It’s exciting to think that there is still meaningful music being made, not just to the people writing it, but to youth everywhere and that it might actually reach them. Their music is a statement and a message that in the recent past has gotten lost in an image of what certain types of music should be. The So So Glos are bringing it back to reality, keeping it real with a bus that runs on vegetable oil, and of course, slightly singed eyelashes. www. myspace.com/sosoglos . - Lauren Piper
KIKOKLAUS A true genuine Brazilian artist from Pernambuco yet makes his home in Minas Gerais, Kiko Klaus is getting noticed as one of the most promising artists of the Brazilian musical scene. Klaus is the owner of a great voice and has a unique style that easily mixes Afro-Brazilian rhythms like Maracatu, Ciranda, Samba with percussive elements from Candomblé and Umbanda rituals. Too much for you? Still, you will find even more amazing ingredients in this delicious musical salad, such as Flamenco, Rock, Electronics and Folk music from Minas Gerais and the final result couldn´t be any better! Klaus has 10 years of a successful career under his belt and he is always marked by innovations. He also adds sound engineer and musical producer as well as singer and performer to his ever-growing resume. He has worked with some of the biggest names in Brazil, like Nana Vasconcelos, Lenine, Nação Zumbi and Mundo Livre S/A. Klaus has
also won awards for his soundtracks as he finds ways to continuously make his music more innovating. Sometimes, his work seems to take a walk through unknown roads, while adding new elements to his music as he comes across different paths on his journey. Another great characteristic this musician displays is the constant search for fruitful collaborations, which end up making his music bigger, larger than life, while adding a certain quality to his work and inputs. In 2005, he joined Carlos Jaramillo (Colombia) and launched the musical project Mesmalua. From this project came a cd with an auctorial repertoire that drank in the popular Brazilian Music form, but adding technology and synthesizers to the Samba, Bossa Nova, Baião, Afoxé and Maracatu. One could easily catch the Mesmalua concerts since they covered a lot of Brazilian cities, like Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Brasília. This group also traveled to European cities like Barcelona and Paris as well. In 2008. Klaus launched his latest work called, O Vivido e o Inventado. This collection of music seems to effortlessly consolidate Klaus’ lushful and successful career, bringing his multicultural experiences to create something of no borders. Klaus represents the diversity of the Brazilian musical universe and the force of his compositions can be measured when we define the presence of his friend and master, Nana Vasconcelos, whom he worked with in 2002 and brought the capacity to construct, “sonorous images,” from peculiar instruments. More info at www.myspace.com/kikoklaus3 – Jorge Leandro Rodrigues 23
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