REVIEW COSBY SWEATER PARTY DAD e Indianapolis-based trio Cosby Sweater continues to impress with their latest EP release Party Dad. The live-electronica band comprised of David Embry (production/vocal), Nicholas Gerlach (tenor saxophone/EWI) and Richard “Sleepy” Floyd (drums) has constantly been stepping up the game with recent new releases and a thrilling live set. Party Dad is more of the same. A short but intricate 6-song EP that totals just over 30 minutes really showcases the multitude of different styles the group can produce, from sensual saxophone melodies to upbeat booty shaking anthems. The first three songs are fulllength mind-soothing masterpieces that can easily lull the listener into a trance. Relying heavily on saxophone, they’re perfect for a candlelit summer night under the stars.The trio revisits old classics “Open Mouth Kiss” and “Hole” by tweaking the originals just enough to keep the nostalgia element and adding enough freshness to merit a spot on the album. Cosby Sweater’s flexibility and willingness to test the waters is evident on “Clappin,” the shortest song on the album (and also the most energetic). An increased tempo and inclusion of some peculiar sound effects makes it the most intriguing song off the album. But, really, this is a band to experience live. Those looking to sample Party Dad can hear it at an album release party Saturday at The Vogue. Unfortunately, there is a bit of bad news to pass along as well. Cosby Sweater drummer Richard “Sleepy” Floyd will be leaving the group to focus on other aspects of his life. The electric on-stage personality features on the EP and will perform with the group for the last time at the release show on Saturday. — BRIAN WEISS Cosby Sweater EP Release with Shy Guy Says and Freddie Bunz and Friendz, Saturday, April 19, Vogue, 6259 N. College Ave., 9 p.m., $10, 21+
NUVO.NET/MUSIC Visit nuvo.net/music for complete event listings, reviews and more.
FEATURES More Record Store Day — by Katherine Coplen Excision at the Egyptian Room — by Brian Weiss 26 MUSIC // 04.16.14 - 04.23.14 // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // NUVO
MUSIC
THIS WEEK
VOICES
NEWS
ARTS
MUSIC
CLASSIFIEDS
BIG-TIME BROOKINZ
A Gateway, a comp, a showcase, a party
W
B Y K A TH ERI N E CO P L EN KC O P L E N @ N U V O . N E T
hen I showed up on the doorstep of Nate Karamanski’s house on Saturday night to witness a Gateway session in action, I didn’t see J. Brookinz right away. He was running around, making sure everything was in place to kick off the latest version of his epic album-in-aweekend hip-hop experiment. Gateway in its current incarnation is the ultimate local hip-hop sampler; over 48 hours – give or take – a who’s who of Indy’s hip-hop scene gets together to write, rhyme and record an album. It’s all helmed by Brookinz, who in three previous years has produced the entire thing himself. This year, he’s taking a more executive role; he picked five local producers (Mandog, Harry Otaku, DylanPrevails, KNAG$ and Philo T) to help realize his vision. He calls himself the “Geppetto” of Gateway5, pulling the strings behind the scenes to make it all happen. “[Gateway] is a window into the underground Naptown hip-hop scene,” Brookinz says, when I chat with him after the weekend is over. He plans to release the latest album this Friday; Gateway albums – packed with relentless weed references – are generally released very close to or on April 20. The Friday release of the newest Gateway isn’t the only thing Brookinz has going on this week – far from it, in fact. On Thursday, his birthday, he’ll release a greatest hits album, “a compilation of all my favorite tracks.” Friday, of course, is Gateway release day. Saturday, he’ll put on a producers showcase at Indy CD and Vinyl for Record Store Day, a one-of-akind tag-team battle that pairs producers and DJs. (“I don’t think that anybody’s ever done anything like this before.”) And Sunday, he’ll take part in a 4/20 Welcome Back Ghost Gun Summer event at Sabbatical (“We’ll give them a proper welcome home”). It’s frankly exhausting even hear him talk about everything he has going on this weekend. But it’s par for the course for Brookinz, who tends to take on ambitious projects and pull them off with nary a hitch.
LISTEN
THIS WEEK IN BROOKINZ
J. BROOKINZ GREATEST HITS WHEN: THURSDAY, APRIL 17 WHERE: THE WORLD WIDE WEB GATEWAY5 WHEN: FRIDAY, APRIL 18 WHERE: THE WORLD WIDE WEB PRODUCERS SHOWCASE WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 19 WHERE: INDY CD AND VINYL, 806 BROAD RIPPLE AVE 420 PARTY AND GHOST GUN SUMMER WELCOME BACK WHEN: SUNDAY, APRIL 20 WHERE: SABBATICAL, 921 BROAD RIPPLE AVE
Back to Gateway. Brookinz talked at length about the strengths of the producers he tapped to work on this year’s Gateway who he said he’s “rubbed elbows with a lot … these were the five guys I thought would be best for what we’re doing.” Of KNAG$, he says, “It’s total music to turn up to; his beats bang and they’re really hard.” Of Mandog: “ I marvel at what he does with his music. Where is he coming from when he makes these tracks? They’re spacey, they change, they build up. It’s almost like he’s conducting.” He calls Harry Otaku “probably one of the most soulful producers in Indianapolis.” And of DylanPrevails: “He’s one of the most underrated producers; he’s got placements with really, really big artists. A lot of people don’t know that. His style is so engrained in what’s going on in popular music right now and a lot of people outside the city have noticed that.” The project’s recording engineer, Matt Riefler, added production talents as well under the name Philo T. “He totally came with some huge tracks,” Brookinz says. So why step back now as a producer, three well-received albums in? “I knew going in that I didn’t want to do it on the producer aspect,” Brookinz says. “I didn’t want to make all the tracks and take care of all the business around putting an album out. I wanted other people to shine, and I would just create the project from an outside angle. I didn’t want to be the every-
J. Brookinz
PHOTO BY KRISTEN PUGH
thing man for this one.” And after being the “everything man” for three previous albums, Brookinz was ready to give ample creative control to the producers he tapped. “I didn’t tell anybody to do anything; I just was like, ‘Hey, I trust you to do what you do best, and I want you to do your best. And I’m going to give you this crazy scenario and not a lot of time to do it in.’ And they came through and killed it.” Brookinz isn’t totally sure how many people stopped by to witness and participate in this year’s Gateway (“30-plus” is his official guess; there were more than 15 there on Saturday night when I stopped in), which wrapped up Monday morning at 6 a.m. And there’s some more long nights ahead as he finalizes the project before Friday. But Brookinz isn’t worried. “When you first start off doing things, you’re always worried that it’s going to fail,” Brookinz says. “It’s not. It’s never failed; it’s always been great and better than the last time. I want it to be easy to create things and put things together now. I feel like I have a relationship now with the audience, that they can trust me.” n