the hum / By Bob Doran

Elemental

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, Absynth Q’s Kevlar Mariachi Pants and a mini-Nerdapalooza

(Sept. 13, 2007)  For whatever reason, probably because I write about music, people tend to assume I am a musician. I’m not. Well, I did play in the marching band when I was younger, but gave that up when forced to parade in a Sgt. Pepper outfit during half-time at high school football games. For years people having been asking, “What instrument do you play?” and for a long time I had a pat answer: “I play the record player,” which sort of worked because I’m a longtime record collector. Then along came guys like DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash who established DJing and record manipulation as one of the famed “Four Elements of Hip Hop,” turning two turntables and a mixer into a musical instrument and in the process paving the way for later masters of the form like DJ Shadow (aka Josh Davis) and Cut Chemist (aka Lucas MacFadden), two turntablists whose collaborations border on the mythic.

The two friends both got into the art in the early ‘90s: DJ Shadow was an Aggie, a UC Davis college radio deejay, when he connected with Lyrics Born, Lateef and Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab of Blackalicious to form the Solesides crew and an associated record label that would eventually morph into Quannum Projects. Cut Chemist came up in Los Angeles, scratching with the Unity Committee, the Jurassic Five and taking time off to tour with Ozomatli.

DJ Shadow

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Like most DJs they both spend a fair amout of time searching through piles of dusty vinyl in thrift stores and record shops — crate-digging , as it’s called in the world of hip hop. Their first major collaboration came in 1999, a joint mix, Brainfreeze, based exclusively on super-rare soul and funk 45s (crate-digging treasures) and performed live in a run of legendary shows that basically lasted until the irreplaceable records wore out. A tour behind a second mix, Product Placement, followed in 2001.

Earlier this summer the duo reunited for a show titled The Hard Sell , on Cut Chemist’s home turf, if the Hollywood Bowl counts as such. This weekend they’re together again for the eclectic Treasure Island Music Festival in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, sharing Saturday’s bill with Thievery Corp. and Gotan Project , among others. That gig would have been a one-off except that AS Presents booked them for a Monday, Sept. 17, show at HSU’s Kate Buchanan Room that will surely go down in history.

In the meantime DJ Shadow is spinning records daily at Village Music in Mill Valley, a great record shop that’s closing at the end of the month after six decades in the business. Those who saw Pink Martini’s fine show on Sunday heard singer China Forbes lament the passing of that band’s favorite record store in Portland and note that Arcata is lucky to have two good record stores. Truth is we have three, and if you want them to survive you might consider buying an occasional record or CD from them now and then.

A second Treasure Island fest influenced show comes to the KBR Tuesday, Sept. 18, with Idaho’s melodic post-rockers Built to Spill sharing a bill with venerable Santa Cruz “surrealist absurdist folk” band Camper Van Beethoven and Boston punks The Delusions.

Jambalaya celebrates 34 years in business Friday with a show featuring “special secret performers.” Can you keep a secret? An invitation showed up via e-mail today from guitarist Ryan Roberts noting that, “After eight months of group therapy and lawyers bills, The Absynth Quintet has reunited and managed to release their 2nd CD, Kevlar Mariachi Pants . Come join the quintet for their CD release party combined with the Jambalaya’s 34th birthday on Friday, Sept. 14.”

I should mention that this was preceded by Ryan (who is in A.Q.) dropping off a copy of said CD for a preview. It’s playing as I type. It’s a live recording, live and lively with that Hot Club of Humboldt-style gypsy-grass sound you know and love, which is to say fast, clean-as-a-whistle pickin’ and lots of it — like fried ice cream: cool and hot at the same time. The eight songs include three each by Roberts and mandolinist Christopher “Bird” Jowaisis , one by banjo man Ian Davidson and a Coltrane cover. Drummer Mike “Tofu” Schwartz and upright citizen bassist Rudy Luera propel the excursions ever forward. Pick up a copy at your local independent record store. Other “special secret” birthday musicians? Dunno, but I’m hoping some of the Starliners show up.

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