Filed under: Features, XCLUS!VES | Tags: Freestyle, interview, Juice Jam, The Cool Kids
The Cool Kids decided to freestyle for 20 Watts
DOWNLOAD: The Exclusive 20 Watts Freestyle Rap by The Cool Kids
Minutes before they took the Skytop stage at Syracuse University’s Juice Jam 2009, alternative hip-hop duo The Cool Kids invited 20 Watts into their tour bus for a quick interview. They talked a bit about the golden age of hip-hop, when we can expect their next album, and the current state of the music scene. They didn’t really get excited, however, until we asked them to freestyle an exclusive rap for 20 Watts.
– Irina Dvalidze
Filed under: Features | Tags: Girl Talk, The Cool Kids, Jack's Mannequin, Juice Jam, Skytop Field, south campus
A day's worth of fun and music in a few short minutes!
DOWNLOAD: 20 Watts JUICE JAM PODCAST MP3
Every September, Syracuse University students venture to South Campus’ remote Skytop Field for a day of good music, bad hot dogs, and really sick spray-painted hats. But this year, something was different — 20 Watts’ Irina Dvalidze was also on the scene to bring you the best of Juice Jam in podcast form.
With onsite crowd and fan interviews, extensive commentary and only the best selections from The Cool Kids, Jack’s Mannequin and Girl Talk’s sets, 20 Watts is proud to offer you a true sip of this year’s Juice.
– Irina Dvalidze
Filed under: Features | Tags: central new york, concert photos, emo, Freestyle, Girl Talk, hip-hop, interview, Jack's Mannequin, Juice Jam, Juice Jam 2009, mash-up, podcast, Slide Show, Something Corporate, Syracuse, Syracuse University, The Cool Kids
Filed under: Features | Tags: Andrew McMahon, central new york, concert photos, emo, Freestyle, Girl Talk, Gregg Gillis, hip-hop, interview, Jack's Mannequin, Juice Jam, Juice Jam 2009, mash-up, Oasis, podcast, Slide Show, Something Corporate, Syracuse, Syracuse University, The Cool Kids, Tom Petty
Not even the rain could stop the insanity on South Campus
Not even the threat of impending rain could keep Syracuse University music-lovers away from South Campus on Sunday. Muggy, overcast and miserable as it was, several thousand students converged on Skytop for Juice Jam 2009, and no amount of drizzle or line-up cynicism could stop them from psyching up and getting down.
Although the show got off to an admittedly slow start — a problem that has plagued the annual concert in the past — Juice Jam succeeded on the strength of its headliner, Girl Talk, who stirred up over an hour of neon, confetti-filled mayhem on Sunday afternoon.
Chicago based hip-hop group The Cool Kids were the first to take the stage, though a great number of concert attendees seemed not to have noticed. The crowd gathered in front of the stage was a relatively small group of loyal fans, which unfortunately can’t even be attributed to their early set time, as the line for a lame airbrushed hat was still a mile long.
Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish were still the ultimate flirts, emphasizing the number of pretty girls in the audience more than once before transitioning into “Bassment Party,” instructing, “if you ugly keep your hands by your side.” This attitude stayed true after the performance, when Mikey and Chuck embraced adoring female fans.
Cool as they might have been, however, the hip-hop duo failed to attract the enthusiasm that greeted piano pop mainstay Jack’s Mannequin. Seeing Jack’s perform was like a trip down memory lane — and judging by the crowd that gravitated towards the stage, others felt that way, too. Friends likely reminisced about high school as they danced in groups to Andrew McMahon’s piano melodies during “Holiday from Real.” The band played much of Everything in Transit, including “The Mixed Tape,” “Dark Blue” and “La La Lie.” Bassist Jonathan Sullivan helped to keep the high school theme alive with his arm warmers and emo-licious haircut.
After closing with Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” Andrew McMahon climbed atop his piano and stomped on the keys. Although this move was relatively badass at the time, in comparison to the imminent mayhem, McMahon’s momentary awesomeness was as P.G. as it gets.
The transformation to said mayhem started gradually enough. Sorority girls clad in neon, eager to be Gregg Gillis’ one true love/grinding partner, searched for a way to get on stage. The masses followed suit. Hints of marijuana filled the air. Antsy people anticipating the ultimate dance party muttered their frustration as Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” blasting through the speakers to pass the time.
But the sunshine finally started to peek through the hazy sky and our host, Gregg “I’m Not a DJ” Gillis, stormed the stage to start the party. Cue toilet paper. Balloons. Balls. Confetti. Gillis plays pop music for people with short attention spans and long memories: in his sets, pop music from the last 30 years resurfaces as a hook, a line or a beat, mixed into something entirely new.
Filed under: Interviews | Tags: central new york, Entourage, Freestyle, hip-hop, interview, Juice Jam, Juice Jam 2009, Syracuse, Syracuse University, The Cool Kids
20 Watts talks old school hip-hop and SU frat parties with the Cool Kids
The Cool Kids have “cool beats, cool raps” — and if you don’t love them already, they sure think that you will soon. The alternative hip-hop duo, comprised of Chicago native Antoine “Mikey Rocks” Reed and Detroit native Evan “Chuck Inglish” Ingersoll, opened Juice Jam 2009 at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. 20 Watts’ Caitlin Dewey sat down for a quick interview with The Cool Kids just before they hit the stage.
20 Watts: A lot of our readers might not have heard Cool Kids before, so can you tell me who you guys are, what you’re all about, and what kind of music you’re putting out?
Mikey: I’m Michael Rocks…
Chuck: That’s a hard question, it’s usually other people’s opinions, ’cause we don’t know what we’re doing. But I’m C, we’re the Cool Kids. We rap about cool shit.
20W: That would make sense.
M: We have cool beats, cool raps. You’d like it. If you don’t know us you’d probably like it once you heard it. So, just check some of our stuff out.
20W: You guys met in a pretty weird way, could you tell me about that?
C: It’s kind of weird, but it’s not… We knew the same people, so it wasn’t like a chance finding while I was in Detroit and he was in Chicago. We were both in Chicago and we were both trying to do the same thing, and some people were like “yo.” They told him to hit me up cause I had beats that people were checking out on Myspace. So around [then] everyone got to talking, ’cause that was when Myspace was brand new and people were still freaking out about it. Like nobody had a page, it was like a couple of people on there.
M: Myspace was not even poppin’ yet.
C: [Laughs] It really wasn’t.
Filed under: Features, XCLUS!VES | Tags: Cool Kids, Girl Talk, Jack's Mannequin, Juice Jam, mash-up, playlist, podcast, Syracuse University, Video
Filed under: Features, Juice Jam Preview, XCLUS!VES | Tags: Cool Kids, Girl Talk, Jack's Mannequin, Juice Jam, SU, Syracuse, Syracuse University, Video
20 Watts’ Eric Vilas-Boas and Aaron Freeder spent four hours on a cross-campus road trip, asking every student in sight to share their thoughts on this year’s Juice Jam line-up. Over 60 students stopped to jam out and psych up for tomorrow’s start-of-term show, featuring Girl Talk, Jack’s Mannequin and the Cool Kids. In elevators, dining halls and South Campus busses, they showed us their dance moves, their enthusiasm, and — occasionally — their total obliviousness to on-campus life.
ARE YOU IN THIS VIDEO? Stop by 20 Watts’ Juice Jam table tomorrow — we want to shake your hand.
Check back after the show for interviews, photos and all sorts of one-of-a-kind coverage, only on 20 Watts.
Filed under: Features, Juice Jam Preview | Tags: Feed the Animals, Girl Talk, Juice Jam, live, Night Ripper
Dispel any doubts you may have held of seeing Girl Talk live
PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Girl Talk’s Live Performance at Yale
Yeah, Girl Talk mashes pre-recorded music live at every show. A lot of people might be turned off by that. Fair enough; with no live instrumentation and no live singing, it’s perfectly valid to be wary. But there’s a reason for Girl Talk’s reputation, and there’s a reason that the vast majority of his concerts have been wildly successful.
True, Gregg Gillis kicks off most of his shows the same way — slowly warping electronic beats into the words “Girl Talk” may be a mainstay at almost every show that he’s done. But apart from that intro and the toilet paper blowers, the similarities end there. Gillis mixes a different set of tracks for every show, and while those may include skeletal versions of Feed the Animals, Night Ripper, or other albums he’s released in the past, the timing is consistently varied and the selections are never exactly the same.
Plus, at any given point in a Girl Talk show you’re guaranteed to be moving. You will be involved in a great communal hoedown. You will be vying for the recognition of hitting an inflatable beach ball (or whatever else might be going through the air) in your half-square-foot of maneuverability. Say what you will about the quality of the songs — nothing beats the live concert experience.
Don’t believe me? Just listen to the recording that 20 Watts obtained from Girl Talk’s May 30 show at Yale University. Fun is pretty much mandatory.
– Eric Vilas-Boas
Filed under: Features, Juice Jam Preview, Stories from Past Girl Talk Shows | Tags: Girl Talk, Gregg Gillis, Juice Jam, YouTube
You never know what to expect at a Girl Talk show -- and the infamous DJ plays Syracuse University's Juice Jam on Sunday.
MORE EXCLUSIVE JUICE JAM COVERAGE ON 20 WATTS
WATCH: Girl Talk LIVE Under the Jump
As countless YouTube cell phone videos can attest, Girl Talk shows hold the infamous distinction of being entirely unpredictable. It’s the perfect music to get drunk and dance to, so the gigs themselves can turn into madness on both sides of the stage.
For SU grad student Alex Palmer, such extreme debauchery led to a personal gig in his fraternity’s basement.
When Palmer was an undergrad at St. Louis’ Washington University two years ago, he attended a Girl Talk gig where a student got so drunk that he took his clothes off and had to be restrained by security. The student was tasered, and event staff pulled the plug on the show with half an hour left to go.
Gregg Gillis, the infamous mash-up artist otherwise known by the stage name Girl Talk, then announced that the gig was cancelled, but asked the audience if there was anywhere he could take the show.
Immediately, Palmer and his fraternity brothers in Sigma Alpha Mu yelled, “SAMMY!” (more…)
Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: Girl Talk, Jack's Mannequin, Juice Jam, Syracuse University, The Cool Kids
Girl Talk played Cornell's Barton Hall last spring, and will headline Syracuse University's Juice Jam on September 13
PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD GIRL TALK’S FEED THE ANIMALS ON ILLEGAL ART
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Girl Talk at Cornell, Girl Talk at Cornell II, 20 Watts’ Girl Talk Podcast, UU Concerts’ Ridiculous Survey
Juice Jam rumors have been flying fast since UU Concerts dropped its impressive concert survey early this summer, but the Daily Orange has finally confirmed: Girl Talk will be headlining this year’s start-of-term concert, with Jack’s Mannequin and the Cool Kids opening.
It’s an exciting announcement for many SU students, who have seen these same acts narrowly pass our campus oh-so-many times before. You’ll recall that Girl Talk, a.k.a. mash-up artist Gregg Gillis, made an appearance at Cornell last March, stirring the entire student body into a sweaty neon frenzy. And Jack’s Mannequin, the piano-drenched power-pop outfit of former Something Corporate frontman Andrew McMahon, played a show at LeMoyne last year.
Now, students will have a chance to catch McMahon’s West Coast ballads and Gillis’ chaotic pop culture collages all in one convenient place! Add the ’80s nonchalance of alt hip-hop duo the Cool Kids — who 20 Watts named an artist to watch last spring — and you have one hell of a kick-off show.
20 Watts will have extensive preview coverage in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. In the meantime, put on Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals, check out the footage from Girl Talk’s Cornell show below the jump, and start practicing your dance moves — Juice Jam really will jam this year.
