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KEVIN DOAN

MATING RITUAL

by Tim Moffatt

As indie rock duos go, Mating Ritual hit all the required marks. The brothers from Los Angeles have been making music together for years, previously as Pacific Air. Siblings Ryan Marshall Lawhon and MATING RITUAL Taylor Lawhon had to come apart and go their separate ways, with Taylor going back to school, in order to miss the process and come back together for Mating Ritual.

Formed in 2017 as a mixture of post punk and whatever outside influences creep into their intrepid brains, Mating Ritual have harnessed everything from bossa nova to disco in search of the perfect beat. Their debut album, “How You Gonna Stop It?,” was a testament to the brothers’ love of creating together. The 2018 followup, “Light Myself On Fire,” had the Lawhons leaning into their post-punk roots to critical acclaim.

They then vowed to release five records in five years — and are meeting expectations, whether they were kidding or not, with the release of “Hot Content” in 2019 followed by “The Bungalow” in 2020 and this year’s “Songs for the Morning and Evening Times.” The current record was recorded just before Covid lockdown but has a fatalism that feels timely. The first track, “Old Disco,” opens with a synthetic whoosh and a churning bass line and gets itself going with cheery couplets like these:

“Yeah, it’s a fucked-up time/You know, I think I’ll soon be gone/I say this with a smile on my face/because we’ll never leave this place, baby/Before the lights go out/remember what we look like now … Cause we’re the last ones left/at the old disco/and it’s burning down/Burn-burning down”

These aren’t controversial statements in our not-quite-post-Covid reality. The 2010s ended with wildfires scorching California and Australia; the next decade — well, no need to renarrate the events of the last 21 months here. They’re reason enough to shake your tail as you live through the strangest of all timelines.

Mating Ritual and Low Hum perform 7pm Sunday January 30 at Respectable Street in downtown West Palm Beach. matingritualsounds.com

PEak: AT THE KRAVIS Ronald_Davis_Digital_Design

by Sean Piccoli

NOBUNTU A local home of what culture aficionados call the lively arts, the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach first opened its doors in 1992 with stages named for donors and a seasonal calendar aimed at well-heeled snowbirds and year-rounders. Touring musicals, classical concerts and stars of popular song are still among the center’s biggest draws. But over time — and as much out of necessity as curiosity — the Kravis and its local counterparts (the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale and the Arsht Center in Miami) have looked for ways to stretch out.

The launch in 2012 of a Kravis series called PEAK signaled a willingness to take chances with programming in search of new audiences. Short for “Provocative Entertainment at Kravis,” the inaugural PEAK series presented dance, hip-hop and edgy ethnic comedy in the person of Margaret Cho as a kind of counterpart to the familiar pops concerts, Broadway hits and songbook interpreters.

Nine Kravis seasons later, PEAK has fifteen events on tap compared to eight in the original 20122013 campaign. The series opens on Dec. 10 at the main 2,195-seat Dreyfoos Hall with a variation on a holiday favorite: “The Hip-Hop Nutcracker,” a streetwise mashup of the Tchaikovsky ballet with breakdancers, DJs and rapping, plus an opening set by hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow.

Kravis spokeswoman Linda Birdsey tells PureHoney that PEAK began as an effort to engage with a portion of the Kravis audience that wanted more contemporary and provocative fare — “something where it’s artistic, it’s innovative and it’s diverse,” Birdsey says. It was also a bid to grow that audience from the outside, she says.

Two PEAK series performers of note coming in early 2022 are Nobuntu, an all-female a cappella quintet from Zimbabwe (February 2, 3 at Rinker) and New York guitarist and composer Kaki King (February 27 at Rinker).

Sham_Hinchey_and_Marzia_Messina

It continues into 2022 at Dreyfoos and at 305-seat Rinker Playhouse with a mix of modern dance, theater, song recitals, music from across the globe and a documentary film festival. It wraps on May 14 with “Fela! The Concert,” a show-stopping distillation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical about Nigerian bandleader and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

Formed in 2011, the women of Nobuntu represent a singing style called “imbube” that South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo introduced to worldwide KAKI KING audiences beginning in the 1960s. The songs can be conversational, folkloric, jazzy, breezy or exalted and even mysterious. Where the chords and melodies of “Cula” convey an air of reverence, there’s also a dash of outright glee. The multiphonic “Uthixo” is ethereal, and almost hypnotic in its ability to compel humming along. Nobuntu work in unison, harmony and a variety of other voicings, sometimes with discreet backing from instruments and percussion, their collaborative powers honed over three albums and years of international touring. They sing in three of their home country’s languages, and in English that is employed to beautiful effect on “Amazing Grace.”

She started out as a young guitar prodigy with staggering technique, but Atlanta-raised, Brooklyn-based Kaki King has evolved into much more than the sum of the comparisons she draws to virtuosos such as Michael Hedges and Stanley Jordan. King is a visionary composer making albums and scoring films, and occasionally turning up on screen herself, guitar in hand.

The live show in support of her latest album, “Modern Yesterdays,” is a dreamscape of projectionmapped visuals and guitar-based sound painting.

The PEAK series runs December 10-May 14 at the Kravis Center in downtown West Palm Beach.

See BACK COVER for additional performances. Tickets, more shows and info at kravis.org

ERASURE

by Olivia Feldman

In a culture that is cycling frantically through its past for something, anything, to love again, here come Erasure to take us all back to the synth pop era of their founding. Frontman Andy Bell and instrumentalist Vince Clarke, bandmates on and off since 1985, are touring in support of a new album, “The Neon,” that puts 21st Century production thump into their heart-piercing ’80s sound.

It was awhile back that Bell first teamed up with producer, keyboardist and songwriter Clarke, who by then had already passed through some of the greatest synth bands of any age: Depeche Mode, The Assembly, Yaz(oo). Bell ERASURE and Clarke wasted no time putting their own mark on the moment, notching dance-floor and crossover hits with high-strung confessionals like “A Little Respect” and “Chains of Love.”

On stage, the band members were perfect foils: Bell the antic, flamboyant embodiment of emergent gay ’80s life; Clarke the stoic keyboard sentry, expressionless and almost motionless at his console except for his surgical hands.

When a band or artist has helped to change the sound of music, what happens next? Erasure haven’t broken much new ground since then, but they retain the affections of many who came of age in the ‘80s. Their infectious singles and dualist personas have also charmed later generations of listeners.

“The Neon,” released in August of 2020, followed 2017’s “World Be Gone” and a retreat into solo projects. Over Clarke’s taut riffs, there’s an older but still supple-voiced Bell imparting life lessons. On the single, “Hey Now (Think I Got a Feeling),” he sings, “There’s a sweetness in your eyes / You’d better take my good advice / You’d better keep away from them.” On “Kid You’re Not Alone,” Bell sounds a note of optimism that could be apt to the times: “And as sure as day becomes the night / We come around and find our way through darkness / Guided by the stars.”

Erasure with special guest Bag Raiders performs 8pm Friday, January 14 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, $55-$75. erasureinfo.com

JITNEY

BOOKS

by Abel Folgar

Every kid learns how to operate a yo-yo, right?

Some well enough to pull those super-sick “walk the dog” tricks or buzz a buddy’s nose before retracting the string with much flair. Or has a nation of screenagers with apps and Twitch accounts dropped the yo-yo in the discarded toy box? Not Miami author (and PureHoney contributor) David Rolland. His new novel, “Yo-Yo,” puts the classic child’s DAVID ROLLAND plaything at the center of the action and, in the process, joins the expanding catalog of a homegrown Miami publisher, Jitney Books.

Flash back 20 years: Bunking in his childhood home after graduating from college, unsure of his future, Rolland whiled away hours with an old yo-yo he’d found — and triggered a memory from his fifth-grade year at Key Biscayne Elementary School. “My class was herded into the cafeteria for a ‘Say No to Drugs’ assembly and a 22-year-old yo-yoer stood on the stage doing tricks with an anti-drug message,” Rolland tells PureHoney. “At the end of the assembly all the kids were given out yo-yos that said ‘Key Biscayne Bank says no to drugs’ on them. I started wondering who was that guy and what became of him? And I let my imagination run wild.”

“That guy” has become one Benny James, a broken-hearted yo-yo performer adored by thousands across the world who fills a hole in his soul with ill-advised after-hours vigilantism. Benny follows in the tradition of Rolland’s other protagonists: A margaritadrunk Miami private investigator and scuba enthusiast, Frank Bengling, from 2012’s “Deadbeat”; and a listless California-to-Florida road tripper, Matt Traxler, from 2018’s “The End of the Century.”

“I suppose a writer can’t help but to put a bit of themselves in every character they create,” Rolland says. “With the protagonist that probably comes out exponentially so, since that’s who I spent the most time with. Rolland says his central characters sometimes function as reader proxies, providing “contrast for all these crazy scenarios and characters that surround them.”

As noted by his readers, Rolland’s main characters tend to hover on a “spectrum” diagnosis. This makes sense, Rolland notes, “since you would need to be almost supernaturally focused to be as good with a yo-yo as he is.”

“Yo-Yo!” arrives on an upswing for his publisher, Jitney Books founder J.J. Colagrande. A novelist and full-time professor at Miami Dade College, Colagrande has multiple titles from Miami writers to his credit as well as a daily blog — which Rolland edits — covering arts, culture, politics and all things Miami. Jitney also published Joey Maya’s wellreceived punk rock memoir, “The Drummer of Miami Beach.”

The new Jitney release slate includes “The True Tales of Bad Benny Taggart,” a fractured coming-of-age story by Miami Beach-based Timothy Schmand; and Colagrande’s revised and expanded “Headz the Trilogy,” a novel combining literary analysis and celebration of music festival culture. Colagrande self-published “Headz” in 2011 and learned to sling it like merch, selling copies to fellow festivalgoers and continuing character stories online.

“Jitney Books’ new catalog is a perfect balance of Miami: weird, funny, sexy, entertaining, even seedy at times, but quality writing all around,” Colagrande tells PureHoney. “And Rolland’s book is the best I’ve read from him yet. It’s a great book that we’re very proud of and a fun read.”

Young Benny kapows his way through a künstlerroman of fame and fortune in a hero’s journey of sorts, traipsing through life, making mistakes, falling hopelessly in love and surviving reckless adventures with his trusty yo-yo always at hand. Rolland might not spark an old-toy revival but he’s made this one a literary instrument of possibilities and the object of an entertaining yarn.

“With ‘Yo-Yo’ I had certain scenarios I wanted my character in, certain actions I wanted him to take on,” Rolland says. “But part of the fun, maybe the only fun, in writing a book is the book going places you didn’t expect when you started.”

“Yo-Yo” is available at jitneybooks.com

OAKLAND WEEKENDER

by David Rolland

PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE After a pandemic-induced hiatus, music festivals are back. Crowds filled a lakefront park in Chicago this summer for Lollapalooza, where a disinvited rapper made more news than Covid. III Points in October restarted Miami’s outdoor EDM calendar with Ultra to follow in May. Coachella in California and Bonnaroo in Tennessee have scheduled triumphant returns for April and June, respectively, barring new pandemic complications.

Smaller multi-artist music festivals are also making a comeback. PureHoney’s own Bumblefest returned to downtown West Palm Beach after two years. And scanning the map for indie pop worth the trip, we’re excited about Oakland Weekender, which debuts on January 6-8 in California as a three-night, 18-act extravaganza featuring the artists of two acclaimed indie labels, Slumberland and Emotional Response.

“The idea first started circulating around late 2020 in a discussion about a possible Boyracer, Kids On A Crime Spree and Artsick tour, as all three bands share members and had forthcoming records,” an event organizer, Christina Riley, who also plays in Boyracer and Artsick, tells PureHoney. ”As the discussion went on, we thought about how cool it would be to have a little festival in Oakland to celebrate both labels and the amazing indie bands they support. The Bay Area music scene is really booming lately, so it made a lot of sense to choose that location for the Weekender.”

The Weekender braintrust of Riley, Crime Spree’s Mario Hernandez, Michael Schulman of Slumberland and Stewart Anderson of Emotional Response also rejects the standard festival hierarchy of headliners and support. “We don’t want people to look at the first bands as any less important,” Riley said. “Honestly every band and each DJ is a must see as they are all different and equally as great. It’s important the concertgoers get there when doors open to not miss the DJ’s and first bands. You miss out for sure if you show up late.”

A quick history: Slumberland Records started way back in 1989 as a collective of the Washington, D.C.-area bands Velocity Girl, Big Jesus Trash Can/Whorl, Black Tambourine and Powderburns. Within a few years Schulman took over and moved operations to Berkeley, California. Across the decades, Slumberland has released recordS by wonderful bands including Stereolab, Lilys and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.

Emotional Response Records arrived in 2013 as an outlet for Boyracer’s Anderson, who had resumed making music after several years away. The label name was for his autistic daughter, as he told Precision Record Pressing: “The term Emotional Response (ER) is used in the Autism community, referring to uncontrolled reactions, both good and bad. It THE REDS, PINKS & PURPLES seemed quite fitting at that point in my life.” Scores of albums have followed by the likes of Sleaford Mods, Tape Waves and of course Boyracer.

Oakland Weekender practically traces its origins to Boyracer, started by Anderson in 1990 and signed by Slumberland in time to release 1994’s charmingly titled “More Songs About Frustration and Self-Hate.” Boyracer’s recent revival, with Riley joining the band, also kicked off a prolific run of recordings culminating in this year’s boisterously fun LP, “Assuaged,” and followup EP, “Bulletproof.”

“I think the closeness of our community will make it extra special and the fact that we are celebrating two amazing record labels that have kept the scene going for many, many years by supporting great artists,” Riley says about standing out from the glut of music fests that will hopefully reenter our lives. And if community is not enough, there’s also swag: Bundle passes come with a “super limited Buzzcocks cover cassette with tracks from all of the Oakland Weekender bands, along with t-shirt designed by Galine Tumasova,” says Riley.

What will the festival sound like? Tape Waves, a duo out of South Carolina, specialize in dreamy pop with danceable rhythms. Kids on a Crime Spree, from California, have that fun and dangerous energy when garage rock meets bubblegum. And then there’s Mick Trouble, who does his best to emulate early ’80’s post-punk. It’s a diverse lineup! Listen to thirty tracks on the Oakland Weekender playlist via Spotify! @OaklandWeekender runs January 6-8 at the Golden Bull in downtown Oakland, California.

1+19: MATCHSTICK JOHNNY 2: ORDINARY BOYS 3: 500 BLK 4: PUSH BUTTON PRESS 5: TAYLOR DAVIS 6+20: THE HAUNT 7: THE DREAMBOWS 8+15: ROXX REVOLT & THE VELVETS 9: AFROBETA 10: VIOLET SILHOUETTE 11: HIJAS DE LA MUERTE 12+14: VAGRANT SON 13: YARDIJ 16: 33 LIONS 17: MASON PACE 18: AUDIO CRISIS 21: NERVOUS MONKS

EXPLODING LENS AND SPINSTYLE David Ortiz

by Amanda Moore

BADILLO & FACIANA Rewind to 2017, pre-pandemic, when South Florida’s local music scene reverberated from Miami to Port St. Lucie, and venues up and down the coast hosted shows nearly nightly. “In that year there was/ an intense visitation/ of energy,” to borrow a piece of Jim Morrison’s epic poem, “The Anatomy of a Rock,” and here near the shore (“I left school & went down/ to the beach to live”) the “electric wildness” Morrison once detected was present again, shared by fans and bands alike. For the first time in a while, South Florida seemed to be cultivating a steady local music scene — and two photographers took notice. Then strangers, long-time music lovers Robert Badillo (@SpinStyle) and Matt Faciana (@ ExplodingLens) noticed the budding revival and dove in.

Paging through concert photos in Rolling Stone, Creem and Circus had given Badillo an appreciation for live-action photography.

“Seeing the great shots seeps into your DNA,” he tells PureHoney. Making a living still took precedence, but an invitation from a friend to photograph bands at Propaganda in Lake Worth put him on the path to documenting the local scene. Badillo shot All The V Words, Beat Obsolete, and Some Kind of Nightmare, and music photography quickly became his second profession.

Badillo hopes to work in this space full-time providing bands with content to help them prosper — a goal he’s partially achieved.

This year he has teamed up with South Florida’s We’re Wolves for a shoot featured in Outburn magazine, and toured with Fort

Lauderdale’s Modern Mimes to produce a mini documentary and dozens of electric images.

Recognizable by their organic, raw style and emotional candor, Badillo’s snaps can be found and viewed all across South Florida. Badillo, ever the music fan, encourages people to not stop there. “Look at the picture, but stop and check out the band,” he says.

“Most of the bands are really talented.

It’s all about the music.”

Faciana was photographing bands in the 1980s during that decade’s rock/punk explosion. Raised on iconic magazines including Rolling Stone and Maximum Rocknroll, Faciana also photographed touring bands before they ended up on the radio. He captured the legendary Nirvana on their last club tour before stardom and everything else.

But he set aside his dark nights in dive bars for a day job. More recently, he began turning up at Beer Punx in Fort Lauderdale with a camera. After a few shows in the small venue filled to the edges with fervent fans, Faciana’s fuse for band photography was re-lit.

As with Badillo, Faciana’s passion for music and photography go hand in hand. “I want to capture a moment, it could be a fleeting moment, where the artist is surprised by the photo.

I want to capture an artist lost in the music, in a raw, vulnerable state, but still in a beautiful photograph,” Faciana tells PureHoney. That elusive mix spontaneity and composition is the through line in a portfolio of striking images of bands including The Haunt, Hellfire Hooch and Palomino Blond.

Somewhere, most likely in a bar along the coast, Badillo and Faciana crossed paths and bonded over melodies.

(Some of their shared favorite bands in common are No Coffin, Solar Reef and The Boas.) Eventually, the two hatched a plan to celebrate the maturing local music scene. Punx N Pix was the result.

A collaborative gallery exhibit featuring bands and photographers. Initially designed to be held once a year, Punx N Pix’s instant success encouraged the duo to host the event every six months, if not more frequently.

The pandemic placed the gatherings, and most of the music scene, on hold.

Encouraged by the recent resurgence of shows and events, Badillo and Faciana look forward to bringing back more Punx N Pix’s in 2022. In the meantime, they’ll continue to capture South Florida musicians in all their glory.

Robert Badillo and Matt Faciana can be found documenting bands from Las Rosas to Poor House to Respectables.

To book them for shows or other work, contacting them on Instagram at @spinstyle (Robert Badillo) and @explodinglens (Matt Faciana).

Photo Key in spine.

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