PUREHONEY 93

Neil Krug

TAME IMPALA AT FILLMORE MB Tame impala is your girlfriend’s favorite band. I don’t say that to be rude; they just have that smooth indie-rock charm that most ladies with good taste find sexy. And why wouldn’t they? These dudes from Australia can really weave a tune!

Indie-psych mélange is not a new development in rock, and it takes a lot to surprise us hardened music journalism professionals, but they are pretty good.

Like spiritual brother-in-arms Ariel Pink, Tame Impala is essentially one person with a revolving-door support cast. The offspring of multiinstrumentalist Kevin Parker, Tame Impala emerged in Perth around KEVIN PARKER OF TAME IMPALA 2007, conceived as a home recording project. The project debuted on Myspace music, and label offers began pouring in.

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Since then Parker et. al. have refined and altered the sound and lineup from “Innerspeaker” (2010) to “Lonerism” (2012) to “Currents” (2015), never sticking with one line-up or musical formula for too long. Yet they always sound like Tame Impala, a feat attributable to wide experimentation directed by one person.

The band is fresh off headlining that party in the desert for “influencers” — Coachella — and, really, where does one go from there? What beats playing for selfie curators who don’t care about music but can rock a native headdress in the most privileged, clueless way possible?

Anyhow, Parker has been promising a new album for two years and fans are getting eager as new songs trickle out online (“Patience”) and on television — the band premiered “Borderline” in their Saturday Night Live debut in March.

Much of this success puts a new sort of pressure on the band’s next release: If one has spent all their time introducing themselves to a wider audience, the next round of output must appeal to more people. A conundrum, granted, that most struggling bands would give their right arm to have. But if indie artists are supposed to pursue a vision, not win elections, is the vision dulled by widening the base? While mulling that, let’s pack a cooler and take a ride to the beach.

We’ll grab some sun, have some fun and listen to old Tame Impala. Your girlfriend will approve.

Tame Impala plays the Fillmore Miami Beach 8pm May 7 with Mdou Moctar. official.tameimpala.com ~ Tim Moffatt

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CHELSEA HANDLER Laugh or cry, sometimes those feel like the only two options. It’s a comedian’s job to bridge the gap, to move us from tragedy to comedy intact. Household name Chelsea Handler is a master at seeing one in the other, and both at once. Lucky us, this comedian, activist, author, philanthropist, television personality and noted 50 Cent friend with benefits is headed this way on her “Sit-Down Comedy Tour” to tell all.

An unfiltered public personality who consistently grows and evolves, Handler is a groundbreaking one-of-a-kind — unapologetically female and a demolisher of old ideas of what femininity is, especially in comedy. She has pushed open the door for women in late night television with her critically acclaimed talk show, “Chelsea Lately,” and its eponymous Netflix sequel. Over seven seasons on E! and two on Netflix she paired shock with pensive, thought-provoking insight through a lens of uncensored hilarity. That approach holds whether she’s in front of a camera or in intimate discussion with thousands of concert fans.

CHELSEA HANDLER

Handler is also promoting her newest book, “Life Will Be the Death of Me ... and you too!” It’s sort of a fuck-up’s self-help guide to becoming more human. It’s also fresh evidence of a growing seriousness of purpose from someone whose first books were titled “My Horizontal Life,” and “Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.” In 2014 she used her comedic and literary platform to call attention to war and poverty in Africa, but not without criticism for the flip title, “Uganda Be Kidding Me.” Although you can Google Handler’s sexual exploits and find an array of selfpublished photos of her boobs, before this tell-all she had been comparatively reserved about her inner life. Here, she writes about deaths in her family and her failures to live the lessons of therapy. “It’s ridiculous to try and get better at life when you’re constantly fucking up,” she said on the Howard Stern radio show in April.

But on the same promotional swing a beaming Handler told the co-hosts of “The View,” in a way you could almost buy apart from the edge in her voice, “I’m feeling optimistic about life.”

Chelsea Handler performs 8pm May 17 at the Fillmore Miami Beach.

ChelseaHandler.com ~ Freddie Zandt

Nicholas Moore

THE DRUMS AT REVLIVE Last time we checked in on The Drums, we flailed at making cheeky rhythm-related quips to open with, and truth be told this time around it’s not much different. However, a lot has changed and while we threw around “bombastic” and the idea of marching to a different … well, you get it; this time we’ll go with the anticlimactic sound the snare makes as the stick rips through it in the middle of a live set.

Generally, that’s a bad thing, but in Jonathan Pierce’s case, that’s probably the best thing that can Jonny Pierce of The Drums happen. As sole caretaker of the band’s moniker, and after enduring the pains and pressures of being lauded by the press and fans, Pierce can now take comfort in being the disrupter of his own destiny. He’s the stick ripping through the snare, he’s the awkward sound it makes and only he knows where it’s going next.

“Brutalism,” the fifth album as The Drums, is a departure from 2017’s “Abysmal Thoughts.” The pure pop of that venture followed the band’s evolutionary growth and was informed by depression, divorce and the exit of longtime collaborator Jacob Graham. While the album was surprisingly more upbeat than its title would suggest, it is in this record that Pierce sounds like he’s finally let it all go.

The music is more pop-driven yet succumbs to droning passages that he consciously refuses to rescue with infectious hooks. His vocals give the impression that he might actually be enjoying himself, even as fans might find the record jarring with its inclusion of cranked up Casio-tones and unedited lyrical content.

But the reality of this album is artistic, cathartic release. Pierce hasn’t gotten to five for shits and giggles or to satisfy a record label debt. No, this is more than likely a blueprint for the next one. Will his fans like it?

Who knows. Will it make for a memorable live experience? You bet. But only with a sixth album will we know how well Pierce has made use of this record and tour. Let’s not forget a snare’s head can be replaced and tuned quickly.

The Drums with Tanukichan play 7pm May 17 at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. thedrums.com ~ Abel Folgar

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ERIC BIDDINES AT VOLTAIRE Faint but visible in a sea of ignorant bliss as it tries to push its way back to hip-hop’s shore is lyricism — beautiful, luminous rap lyricism. Ocala-born, Palm Beach-based Eric Biddines is a bold, unapologetic voice building a beachhead for lyrical hip hop even here in the phallic peninsula.

As the stomping ground of everyone from Uncle Luke to Trina, South Florida will never be accused of representing ERIC BIDDINES hip hop’s poet-philosopher wing. Yet Biddines proves you can hit hard, be dirty, talk money, have fun and still make people think. His music is provocative, artistic, and above all it jams.

From his 2017 album, “The Local Cafe,” to his new single, “Minimalist,” his sound is original and distinct, and at the same time honors his influences.

Biddines weaves a tactful blend of the Southern slanguage of first generation Dungeon Family, the bop of classic Motown and the deep soul of Al Green.

The slippery rhymer of “Peeuurrnn” — as in the cartoon sound of a ricochet — is also the singer of the haunted verses and refrain of “Town’s First Storm.”

“As far as opportunities [as a lyricist] are concerned it can be frustrating feeling like you have to downgrade to ignorance in order to fit into formats,” Biddines tells PureHoney. “But once you get past that you understand there’s a much longer shelf life being thoughtful and more conscious.”

Biddines has always operated in a DIY, necessity-based spirit. At age 14, the aspiring rapper walked two miles from his home in Delray Beach to a newspaper stand to research listings for an accessible recording studio. “I then took the train from Delray to Fort Lauderdale to record and get my music on CD,” he says. “From day one I was focused and about my business and doing correct.”

Of his No Pulp Tour with fellow South Floridian (born in California) Malc Stewy, Biddines says, “It’s very grassroots and DIY. Truly unique in that sense because there was zero professionals involved. Just some rappers doing it and figuring it out as we go.”

Eric Biddines and Malc Stewy perform 8pm May 23 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach and 8:30pm. ericbiddines.bandcamp.com ~ Freddie Zandt

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1

FILLMORE MIAMI: Los Amigos Invisibles & Aterciopelados VOLTAIRE: Camilo KILL YOUR IDOL: Aceskully O’MALLEY’S: Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria DADA: Matt Brown

THURSDAY, MAY 2

REVOLUTION LIVE: Aly & AJ

FILLMORE MIAMI: Stop Making Sense - Rock on Film KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus CWS: Bonn E Maiy MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Almonte Solo

FRIDAY, MAY 10

VOLTAIRE: Boston Marriage, Whisperwind, Coral Canyons, Makoto DADA: Of One Mind

VOLTAIRE: Macula Dog, Symbols, Ghostflower, Reptile RESPECTABLE STREET: 69 Eyes, MXMS, The Chapel, Strangewaave Nocturnal Affair THE GROUND: Connan Mockasin HONEY: The Cover Girls CWS: Johan Danno FILLMORE MIAMI: Interpol FILLMORE MIAMI: Joe Budden Podcast w Rory & Mal KELSEY THEATER: Comedian Henry Cho KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Tairon & his LATINBEAT ARTS GARAGE: Poetry Open Mic Night

FRIDAY, MAY 3

VOLTAIRE: Disco, Earth Wind & Fire After Party FILLMORE MIAMI: Rob Zombie

BREWHOUSE GALLERY: The Brew Hoppers KILL YOUR IDOL: Vicewave REVOLUTION LIVE: Saved By The 90’s CWS: Periphyton MATHEWS BREWING CO.: B-Side Band ARTS GARAGE: Nicholas Bearde – A Salute to Lou Rawls

CWS: Bryce Allyn Band

SATURDAY, MAY 11

DADA: The State Of KILL YOUR IDOL: Bermuda Beach / No Wave KELSEY THEATER: Doors Alive Tribute BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Music Mash Workshop Jam ARTS GARAGE: Oh Yes We’re a Mess Art Exhibit Opening Reception, Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre – A Night of Acoustic Delights

CWS: Homegrown Sinners

RESPECTABLE STREET: Viva La Vox

SATURDAY, MAY 4

VOLTAIRE: LIT ft TechNeekz, Trevor Davis, De Aura RESPECTABLE STREET: Happy Fits, Early Eyes REVOLUTION LIVE: FKJ

FILLMORE MIAMI: Morat

CWS: Marcus Amaya DADA: Moon Kaboom HULLABALOO: The Ricca Project KILL YOUR IDOL: Immersed KELSEY THEATER: Riverside BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Music Mash Workshop Jam MATHEWS BREWING CO.: The Flyers ARTS GARAGE: Marlow Rosado CHURCHILLS PUB: Bargain Bin Heroes, Vibes Farm

SUNDAY, MAY 5

VOLTAIRE: Spred the Dub, Sons of a Tradesman, Reality Thief Magic, GOT Screening

CWS: Nyne2Five/ The Basement Presents Funk Brunch ARTS GARAGE: Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Game Of Thrones / Gameshow Sundays

MONDAY, MAY 6

VOLTAIRE: Yum Yum

DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

TUESDAY, MAY 7

FILLMORE MIAMI: Tame Impala, Mdou Moctar VOLTAIRE: SQUID 50% off drinks for musicians!

DADA: Spoken Word Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam O’MALLEY’S: Secrets, Awaken I Am

KELSEY THEATER: Brewhouse Five year Anniversary BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Brewhouse Five Year Anniversary VOLTAIRE: High Note Presents : May’s Diva Flowers

DADA: Humble Waters

FILLMORE MIAMI: Jose Luis Rodriquez El Puma HULLABALOO: Soul Particles KILL YOUR IDOL: Breaks Yo! MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Spred-the-Dub ARTS GARAGE: Jah Movement CHURCHILLS PUB: Wallflower Gallery Re-union

SUNDAY, MAY 12

VOLTAIRE: GOT Screening, Ray’s Downtown presents CWS: 432 Duo / The Basement Presents Funk Brunch DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays ARTS GARAGE: Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’ Blues

TUESDAY, MAY 14

VOLTAIRE: SQUID 50% off drinks for musicians!

ARTS GARAGE: All Arts Open Mic Night DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15

RESPECTABLE STREET: MC Lars, MC Frontalot, Megaran

REVOLUTION LIVE: Whitechapel with Spite, Uncured, Buried Above Ground, Dying Fetus, Revocation & Fallujah

VOLTAIRE: Dirty Laundry Comedy DADA: Adonis Guavatron O’MALLEY’S: Flotsam and Jetsam KILL YOUR IDOL: Haute Tension

THURSDAY, MAY 16

FILLMORE MIAMI: Labyrinth - Rock on Film CWS: Jonas Heard

RESPECTABLE STREET: Pinkfoot Goliath

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8

KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Summer Gill ARTS GARAGE: 3rd Thursday: Art Meets Music

DADA: Eric Ryan KILL YOUR IDOL: Pinkfoot Goliath

REVOLUTION LIVE: The Drums, Tanukichan

FILLMORE MIAMI: Kali & Jorja Tour

THURSDAY, MAY 9

RESPECTABLE STREET: Murphy’s Law

FRIDAY, MAY 17 CWS: Nyne2Five

RESPECTABLE STREET: Yvad & 1Tribeband Tribute to Bob Marley

DADA: We Are Monty

FILLMORE MIAMI: Chelsea Handler

KILL YOUR IDOL: American Grime’s Proper KELSEY THEATER: Get Winehoused “Amy Winehouse Tribute” BREWHOUSE GALLERY: SMG MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Bryce Allyn Band ARTS GARAGE: Kat Riggins CHURCHILLS PUB: Stroke Awareness Benefit Concert

SUNDAY, MAY 26

VOLTAIRE: Ray’s Downtown presents JM & the Sweets CWS: Bonn E Maiy / The Basement Presents Funk Brunch MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Rosario Craig Trio DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays ARTS GARAGE: Flavio Silva and Break Free

SATURDAY, MAY 18

TUESDAY, MAY 28

CWS: Spred The Dub

DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam ARTS GARAGE: Arts Garage Jam Session

VOLTAIRE: Savage Society Booth Life at Voltaire FILLMORE MIAMI: Oscar D’leon

DADA: The Treetops HULLABALOO: JR Apollon KILL YOUR IDOL: Keep It Deep STACHE: Ritz Glitz Revue’s Burlesque MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Crazy Fingers ARTS GARAGE: The Blues Beatles BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Acoustic Soul, Custom Bicycle Show

SUNDAY, MAY 19

VOLTAIRE: GOT Screening, Ray’s Downtown presents TARPON RIVER BREWING: Flamingo Flea w Dolly and the Boys, Jonah Danno CWS: Marcus Amaya / The Basement Presents Funk Brunch MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Indigo Dreamers DADA: Karaoke BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Nip & Tuck KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays ARTS GARAGE: Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs

MONDAY, MAY 20

DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

TUESDAY, MAY 21

VOLTAIRE: SQUID 50% off drinks for musicians!

DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22

DADA: Brown Bear & Fitch KILL YOUR IDOL: Sewerside Bombers

THURSDAY, MAY 23

VOLTAIRE: Eric Biddines Album Release, Malc Stewy CWS: Mitch Herrick KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus O’MALLEY’S: Felix Martin & Sarah Longfield KELSEY THEATER: Comedian Eric Myers MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Sierra Lane

FRIDAY, MAY 24

FILLMORE MIAMI: Pedro Capo

THE GROUND AT CLUB SPACE: Nitzer Ebb, Liebknecht

VOLTAIRE: The Dog Apollo CWS: Fusik

RESPECTABLE STREET: MASS

DADA: HVY CRM MATHEWS BREWING CO.: The People Upstairs ARTS GARAGE: The Motowners’ “Get Ready” Motown Tribute BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Sierra Lane and Abby Owens

SATURDAY, MAY 25

RESPECTABLE STREET: Groovenics, Ether, The Covenne CWS: Spider Cherry

VOLTAIRE: Dark Tropic

DADA: The Haunt HULLABALOO: The Cravens KILL YOUR IDOL: The Wire MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Franscene ARTS GARAGE: Yvette Norwood-Tiger

VOLTAIRE: SQUID 50% off drinks for musicians!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29 VOLTAIRE: RAW

DADA: Carlos Barbacci KILL YOUR IDOL: Mystix

THURSDAY, MAY 30

VOLTAIRE: Sweet Sweet 11 hosted by Summer Gill 7pm, Calentura 10pm RESPECTABLE STREET: Krayzie Bone 1306: Salt Cathedral, Millionyoung

FILLMORE MIAMI: Blackbear

CWS: Boris Simeonov KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus CHURCHILLS PUB: Remyz, The Hails, Cannibal Kids, Flipturn

FRIDAY, MAY 31

VOLTAIRE: Spirit and the Cosmic Heart, Canvas Kid, InMotion, Rose Dickeson RESPECTABLE STREET: American Sigh, Humble Waters, Creature Cage DADA: Citizen Badger

FILLMORE MIAMI: Americo

KILL YOUR IDOL: Shameless Burlesque REVOLUTION LIVE: She Wants Revenge CWS: Bobby Lee Rodgers MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Spider Cherry ARTS GARAGE: Tito Punete Jr. – Keeping the Legacy Alive CHURCHILLS PUB: We are the Punx Day 1 BREWHOUSE GALLERY: The Cravens

FRIDAY, JUNE 21

MAKE MUSIC MIAMI Enjoy FREE performances all over Miami/Dade County

69 EYES AT RSC Ville_Juurikkala

Any band that can stick around for 30 years playing rock ’n’ roll has, at the least, earned the respect of their peers. It’s a milestone almost nobody reaches without internal combustion and line-up changes.

69 EYES

It doesn’t hurt the very dedicated members of The 69 Eyes that they’re from Finland, a part of the world that does bad-ass rock ’n’ roll better than most. Add the fact that the band has only gotten darker and creepier with every passing year, and one could see how they still appeal to people who love both Motörhead and the Cramps.

The 69 Eyes started out in Helsinki embracing Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks and any other band that embodied what the band calls “goth n’ roll.” So, lots of tight black leather, long hair and, except for the umlauts, all the rest of the accoutrements.

Nicknamed “Helsinki Vampires,” the Eyes leaned progressively harder into the goth part of its equation over the course of 11 albums including “Bump ’n’ Grind,” (1992) “Paris Kills” (2002) and “X,” (2012) absorbing elements of the Misfits and the Damned — excellent choices, to be sure, if you’re going to be a serious goth rock ’n’ roll project. And the biker-greaser-vampire aesthetic fits with the trappings of a rock ’n’ roll band, since if they couldn’t shred they would be total cheeseballs.

Likewise, if these guys were American or British the schtick might be dismissed as sad, but the Finland connection is a boon. These bands from the Baltics and the North Sea area have a particular take that is all balls-to-the-walls riffs and unique tone. Turbonegro, the Hellacopters, HIM, the Hives and Refused embody what’s best about rock ’n’ roll’s best with style and unrivaled showmanship on record and in concert.

After the last 69Eyes album, 2016’s “Universal Monsters,” frontman Jyrki69 — a.k.a. Jyrki Linnankivi — spun off for a bit to sing on an album, “Black Parade,” by his compatriots, Finnish post-punk goth lords Musta Paraati. Now The 69Eyes are back on their game and bringing their goth-rock juggernaut to America.

The 69 Eyes play 8pm May 10 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach with MXMS and The Nocturnal Affair. 69eyes.com ~ Tim Moffatt

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CONNAN MOCKASIN Cottonmouths, or water moccasins as they’re commonly referred to, are aggressive snakes with hemotoxic venom that causes gangrene and death. But you’d have to really piss it off to get bit. You’d have to be a real dick, in fact, to make it feel like it must defend itself. Problem is most people don’t know that the water moccasin is happier slithering away than having to deal with some mouth-breathing biped.

It’s a misunderstood snake, if you will.

Connan Mockasin, the stage name of Connan Tant Hosford, is not quite that misunderstood. He can probably be fierce if cornered, though there’s greater reward in giving him leeway. You want CONNAN MOCKASIN to stay close enough, however, to check out this self-styled “Kiwi r&b surrealist” — per his Bandcamp page — who’s been a composer, singer, producer and instrumentalist for more than a decade.

A New Zealander who exudes the artsy lifestyle and looks like a cross between a young Björn Ulvaeus at his Abba peak and British actor Rupert Grint, Connan had been palling around in different iterations until he found his perfect skin with 2010’s self-released full-length, “Please Turn Me into the Snat.” This was followed by 2011’s “Forever Dolphin Love” and 2013’s “Caramel” on Brooklyn’s Mexican Summer label.

His sound is deliberate, almost a tongue-in-cheek throwback to late-’70s and early-’80s r&b, inflected with blue-eyed soul and California soft rock.

But it’s never fausse nostalgie even at its most saccharinely innocent. He has collaborated with MGMT, James Blake and most notably Charlotte Gainsbourg, among others. His aesthetic travels well, and he absorbs influence with ease. His latest album, last year’s “Jassbusters,” is a tranquil romp through hooks, minimal beats and the multilayered inflections of his sweet, childlike voice.

Might he ever fully uncoil for an all-out, viper-like attack? It’s tough to picture, honestly, because he sounds so content sunning himself on his dreamy popscapes. He’s no viper, he’s a pied piper! But follow Mockasin long enough, and maybe someday he’ll have reason to show his fangs, and then we’ll know just how misunderstood he was.

Connan Mockasin plays 8pm May 2 at The Ground at Space in Miami. con-nan. com ~ Abel Folgar

SPIRIT AND THE COSMIC HEART You read it here first: The Aleph conceived by Jorge Luis Borges where the cosmos and the soul intersect is in Lakeland, Florida.

Not necessarily in the shadow of Publix HQ but somewhere east of Tampa along I-4. It is easy to believe that something as grand as Spirit and the Cosmic Heart could not arise in Polk County, but the proof is in the music.

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“We say Lakeland, but the truth is, we’re from even smaller towns that most people haven’t heard of,” Spirit vocalist and guitarist SPIRIT AND THE COSMIC HEART Joshua tells PureHoney. “Growing up, people had this ‘escape plan’ to get out of here — and while most of us have broadened our horizons, I think it’s special that we are here now.”

Cofounded with his brother Daniel on bass, and fleshed out as a sextet with guitarist Dewey, multi-instrumentalist Dallas, their cousin Matt on drums and Melody on vocals and guitar, Spirit and the Cosmic Heart is deep shoegaze illuminated by alternative pop.

Think of Spirit as a lofty idea with pragmatic execution. If they were their hometown’s big employer, their feel-good commercial would show a company manager looking abstractly towards the evening sky, Spirit’s “In Heaven” playing ambiently. Their latest EP, “Dreams,” is a melodious nocturne in four movements.

Recorded at home and mixed by Ryan Haft, “Dreams” is an exploration of the subconscious self — and a springboard for the next EP, “Memories,” due at the end of this summer. On stage, Spirit excels at taking the recorded blueprints and gluing interludes throughout to create an aural live experience and to conduct jam session-prototyping for new tunes. It’s all part of a deliberate supply-chain process of a band in no rush to explode and jump to a music capital that flatters them more. They would rather get it right.

“Coming from a place that most people might consider uninspiring is kinda beautiful to me,” Joshua says. “That’s been a motivation in the back of my mind for some time now. It’s not necessarily about ‘where’ you’re living, but more about ’how’ you’re living; I kinda love it.”

Spirit and the Cosmic Heart plays 8pm May 31 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach with Canvas Kid, InMotion and Rose Dickeson. ~ Abel Folgar

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GROOVENICS AT RSC .

Look, the ’90s were a weird time. The same decade that birthed grunge and flannel ennui also gave us skidz pants and patent leather shoes with lace shoelaces and white-guy super flat tops. There’s just as many cringeworthy ’90s artifacts as there are reasons to raid your relatives’ CD collections.

One of the decade’s most prominent post-grunge movements was nu-metal — in many ways a viable alternative to alternative.

And Florida, possibly to no one’s surprise, became a big exporter of GROOVENICS music made with a beat box and a Marshall stack — rap-rock sort of lending itself to the bro-down party sensibility under which the Sunshine State labors.

From this hotbed came Groovenics, a strange amalgam of punk, metal and sideshow hip-hop. They along with fellow South Floridians Nonpoint and Darwin’s Waiting Room connected the regional uprising to nu-metal ports north — the Orlando of Gargamel! and the Jacksonville base of this splinter genre’s flagship band, Limp Bizkit.

Fairly or not, the whole scene was tarred with the crowd brutality as Limp Bizkitheadlined Woodstock ’99, and people started backing away. Groovenics signed to the headbanging indie Spitfire Records and lasted until 2001, the year of their self-titled national label debut. (Spitfire closed down in 2006.)

But the yen for making old things new persists. A 2011 reunion at Propaganda in Lake Worth proved they still had many admirers. In 2017 Groovenics selfreleased a new album, “Vacation Metal,” and booked a few shows in support.

More recently, the band reports a sold-out gig in Brooklyn, N.Y., and progress on new material to be released by early 2020.

Bandmates today live scattered across the country, a challenge for any comeback bid. But, hey, if they survived South Florida’s band-killing sprawl, a decade apart, line-up shuffles and the (seeming) death knell of nu metal, what’s a few miles between friends? Maybe the mainstream is finally ready for Groovenics, with their thumping, mix-and-match sound. Generation Z is supposedly the one to kill genre altogether. Time will tell if “Booty Barn” was a prophetic look at the future.

Groovenics with Ether, Off the Post and The Covenne play 8pm May 25 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach ~ Tim Moffatt

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