It was 1999, the height of the swing revival, and I was front row and center to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy playing the Paso Robles State Fair. The late afternoon was sweltering hot, as Paso can be in the summertime. Scotty and the boys, in their Fedoras and zoot suits, looked like they weren’t even breaking a sweat. They owned that stage with their hot music and cool moves, the horns wailing and Dirk spinning his double bass. BBVD (for those in the know) is a band that must be seen live!

The group was originally formed in 1989 in Ventura, CA, by leader Scotty Morris. Morris chose the name Big Bad Voodoo Daddy after meeting blues guitar great Albert Collins. “He signed my poster ‘To Scotty, the big bad voodoo daddy,’” Morris says. “I thought it was the coolest name I ever heard on one of the coolest musical nights I ever had. So when it came time to name this band, I didnt really have a choice. I felt like it was handed down to me.”

BBVD has a new album out! I remember reading that they perform up to 290 days out of the year, so it’s no wonder 5 years have passed since the last release. The album is How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway. You might be wondering why it’s necessary for BBVD to make an album of songs already done by the master, Cab Calloway? Well, if anyone could pull it off, it would be Voodoo Daddy. I believe they have succeeded beautifully. The album is true to the originals. Their strong horn section, Scotty’s voice, and their infectious love of swing make this album a joy to hear. It’s impossible for me to listen to BBVD and not feel cheered. What more can I ask?

I’ve made a BBVD playlist with songs from their new album and many of my old favorites, too. Check it out.

Kseniya Simonova is a 24 year old Ukrainian artist who uses a giant light box, music, and painting with sand to interpret Germany’s invasion and occupation of the Ukraine during WWII. She has just won Ukraine’s version of “America’s Got Talent.” Her work is powerful and moved more than one audience member to tears. I’ve never seen anything like this video.

For those who don’t know, Javawava is back as Echo Street Coffee here in Fresno. The coffee is rich and yummy, the food is tasty with very reasonable prices, and they offer free wifi!

They also have live music 3 times a week. Drop in tomorrow night to see who’s playing. Music on Friday nights starts at 7pm. It should be a blast. Check out their listings to the left for other Ongoing Events at Echo Street Coffee.

If you know San Luis Obispo, you probably know the SLO Farmer’s market on Thursday nights. It’s a huge, open air market that takes up all of Higuera Street with produce stalls (of course!), music, baubles and beads, colorful clothing, fattening food, political causes, and The Grim Fellow. The Grim Fellow is the name I’ve given to a dour-looking man who silently walks Higuera with an enormous, hand-lettered sign proclaiming the wages of sin. Or something like that; oddly, I’ve never stopped to read the sign carefully. But I digress.

What I really want to talk about is, naturally, music. SLO Farmer’s Market has always had at least one really great band playing each Thurs. Back in early 2000s, I discovered Incendio. They’re a mix of World Fusion Flamenco with strong Eastern and jazz influences. Incendio is composed of guitarist Liza Carbe, keyboardist/guitarist Jean-Pierre Durand, and composer/guitarist Jim Stubblefield. The band’s name means “fire” in Italian, a nod to Carbé’s Sicilian-American upbringing.

All three members worked on projects before starting Incendio. Durand and Carbe did music for T.V. (JAG, Sister Sister, Entertainment Tonight). Stubblefield worked with famed Kuwaiti singer Waleed Hamad during the early ’90s. Carbe has performed with such acclaimed artists as Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, Santana’s Leon Patillo, and folksinger Sara Hickman.

Incendio remains one of my all time favorite groups. The last few times I’ve been to Farmer’s Market, I haven’t seen them, so I wonder if they still play SLO. They are amazing live performers, so check out their website for tour dates, and catch a show if you can. For now, I want to share a Tune Bitez Incendio Playlist.

August is a month to remember Fela. On August 3, 1997, the world lost one of its most influential musicians. Fela Anikulapo Kuti was the inventor of Afrobeat Jazz. He was producer, musician, activist, and outlaw. He was also a showman, a megalomaniac, an outspoken believer in polygamy, and an irredeemable sexist.

This last is surprising, as his mother, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, has been described as “The Mother of Africa” due to her early and lifelong work for women’s rights. She was also an activist in the anti-colonial, anti-military, Nigerian home rule movement. Fela’s father, Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a minister and school principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers.

So, Fela grew up in a home suffused with political awareness. Fela, himself, was known for his radical political views (for the time). He was heavily influenced by the writings of Malcom X and Eldridge Cleaver (the Black Panthers), and his music called out for African self-rule and an end to colonialism. When asked if he considered himself a radical, Fela said, “A radical is he who has no sense…fights without reason…I have a reason. I am authentic. Yes, that’s what I am.”

Fela was a complex man who was almost more than one life can hold. He named his style of music Afrobeat, a fusion of African jazz and funk with West African Highlife. Other artists, such as The Chicago Afrobeat Project, have evolved the genre even further, including elements of modern jazz, post-rock, and big band Latin funk. Afrobeat’s influence has also spread to artists like Brian Eno and David Byrne who worked on Talking Heads’ 1980 album, Remain In Light. The album brought Afrobeat rhythms to Western music. Both men credit Fela Kuti as a major influence.

I want to remember Fela Anikulapo Kuti with a Tune Bitez Afrobeat Playlist. I’ve included songs by The Chicago Afrobeat Project, Antibalas, Femi Kuti (Fela’s son), and Tony Allen. Allen was drummer and unofficial music director of Fela’s band, Africa 70, from 1968 until 1979. And, of course, the playlist wouldn’t be complete without Fela’s own work. Check it out.

I just put up a new World Music Playlist featuring the flute. The music is ethereal, sometimes discordant, and absolutely beautiful. The playlist features music from North America, the Andes region of South America, Japan, India, and the Greater Middle East .

It’s interesting to me how many cultures around the world have embraced this instrument. The flute is ancient, likely because it was easily fashioned from available materials. The oldest example (depending on who you listen to) was found in Slovenia and dates to about 43,000 years ago. This early flute, if that’s what it was, was made by carving holes into the femur fragment of a juvenile cave bear. Well, that’s making good use of available resources.

Mankind has had a lot of years to master the flute, and this Tune Bitez Playlist is definitely worth a listen. If you love the music as much as I think you will, post a comment to tell me what you think.

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted, but the new calendar is finally up and running! If you have an event you want posted, email the details, or fill out the contact form. Let’s get this calendar filled!

I was listening to Hard Knock Radio, yesterday, and thinking about all the music I’ve found listening to the show. Hard Knock comes on at 4 pm on KFCF 88.1 fm in Fresno (and KPFA in Berkeley). It’s worth checking out for the commentary and definitely for the music. They give airplay to local artists (usually Bay Area) which is how I started listening to Jennifer Johns.

Jennifer Johns is from East Oakland. From ages 14-19, she sang in the Oakland Youth Choir which gave her the opportunity to work with talents like Roberta Flack, Peabo Bryson, Melissa Manchester, Goapele, Latoya London, and Nancy Wilson. She continued performing and recording as part of an a cappella group called Local Motion. In 2004, she released the full-length Heavy Electromagnetic Soularpoetic Junglehop. The album is a mix of styles and influences –Soul, R&B, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronica, and World — all of which form a vibe that works.

It’s been a couple of years since I heard her on the radio, and in that time, it’s become harder to find her music. You can still hear her debut album on Rhapsody, but that’s it unless you want to pay 30 bucks for the discontinued CD on Amazon.

The good news is, she has a newish single out, “Painting on Wax.” From reading her MySpace page, it looks like a full album will come out soon. For now, I’ve made a Tune Bitez Neo Soul Playlist with lots of Jennifer Johns to hear. Yeah, I know, it’s hard to put a label on her music, but I had to call the playlist something, right? I hope you enjoy it!

A few years ago, I read a book called “Exquisite Corpse” by Poppy Z. Brite. The book was…disturbing. It stayed with me long after I’d read it, like some bleak, toxic little cloud. So, naturally I had to share. I loaned the book out a couple of times. Both friends read it and were equally disturbed. They cursed me for ever mentioning the book and admitted they couldn’t put it down. Huh.

Fast forward to yesterday when I came across an album called “Exquisite Corpse” by Daedelus. I think it might be just as disturbing as the book. I wonder if he ever read it?

Daedelus was born in Santa Monica, CA. To give some background, he was formally trained on double bass and bass clarinet; he plays the guitar and accordion; and he studied jazz at USC.

Daedelus incorporates samples from the ’30s and ’40s into his IDM and left-field hip-hop. The random samples, feedback, odd noises, occasional anime, and distortions form an interesting tapestry of sound. I can’t say I necessarily enjoy it, but I do find the album interesting, and once again, I have to share. I’ve included a few of my favorite songs from the album in a Tune Bitez Daedelus Playlist.

Pink is finally back in the USA. That girl has been spending way too much time in Australia and ignoring all us crazy fans here in the US. We haven’t had a chance to see her since 2007! There are two dates here in CA: Thurs, Sept 17 in San Jose and Fri, Sept 18 in LA.

This is the Funhouse Tour, and it should be a blast! To quote Pink (from the Rolling Stone interview),

“I am so freaking excited to finally show my own damn country what I do,” she says. “Every tour I’m like, ‘OK, it has to be more dangerous, harder to get insurance, higher, faster, bigger, better.’ I’m hanging upside down, spinning around 40 feet in the air, singing. I would rather sound like shit than lip-sync. I can’t drink before the show, but I pretty damn well earn it after.”

How cool is that? To help us all get pumped for the concert next month, I’ll be putting up a Tune Bitez Best of Pink playlist today. Many of the songs are from her R&B years because those are my favorites. There won’t be too much from the 2003 “Try This” album because the growing punk influence just didn’t work for me (sorry Pink!). Though I miss her R&B groove, Funhouse is a great album with a strong Blues influence. It makes up the last part of the playlist. The very last song on the list isn’t…well…a “best of,” but it’s so weird I had to include it. You’ll see what I mean.