Femi Kuti (born June 16, 1962) is the stage name of Nigerian Afrobeat and jazz musician Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti. Born the eldest son of Afrobeat figurehead Fela Kuti, the musician has collaborated with the likes of Common and Mos Def and hails from Lagos, Nigeria.
REX THEATER JULY 28
NEW SHIRTS ARE IN! CLICK THE SHIRT TO PURCHASE at our store on Commonwealth Press website.
THE RETURN OF PITTONKATONK HEADLINERS and one of the baddest bands around WHAT CHEER BRIGADE!!!
plus TranSaharan Ensemble from North Africa
10 bucks FRIDAY AUGUST 5 @ BRILLOBOX
Here is a great documentary on contemporary gypsy music posted by the BBC. Its definitely worth looking into.
Summer is unfortunately coming to a close but that means I’m ramping up for a great series of shows in the fall and winter. We are quickly approaching the 10 Year Anniversary of Pandemic. This is the first in a series of events leading up.
Friday Sept 4th Pandemic is squaring off again w/ Juan Diego for a night of Cumbia, Tropical Bass, International Flavors, Coastal Vibes, Manele, Chalga, Bhangra, Bollywood, and more. Juan Diego and Pandemic Pete have been teaming up and destroying dance floors for the past 3 years. You may have caught them at the Cosmopolitan Pgh event back in July or at the La Misa Negra show at Bayardstown Social Club.
By the time Tal National reached international acclaim with 2013’s ‘Kaani’, the band’s first release outside of Niger, they had spent a decade crisscrossing dirt pathways through the Sahara, playing epic five-hour sets, seven days a week and selling their CDs on street corners. In the process, they became Niger’s most popular band, with songs blasted on national TV and cell phones. Following FatCat Records’ release of ‘Kaani’, Western audiences and critics embraced the band’s finely-honed sound. NPR were hit by “the band’s tightness and fiery energy”; The Guardian praised “their full-tilt approach, and hypnotic intensity”; while Songlines wrote of “a rich, hybrid sound that draws on familiar West African elements to create something rewardingly fresh and different”. FatCat released their dazzling follow-up, ‘Zoy Zoy’ in April 2015, which Pitchfork called “colorful and bright and dizzying, [recalling the] wall-of-sound quality of Konono No. 1, except more frenzied and texturally varied.”
Niger borders Nigeria, Mali and Ghana, and is also the home of well-known musicians Bombino and Etran Finatawa. Collected within this former French colony can be found Songhai, Fulani, Hausa, and Tuareg populations, all of whom are represented in the membership of Tal National. The nation is no stranger to highlife, kora and afrobeat musics, while giving the world Tuareg Blues and a unique brand of hip-hop. In Tal National’s music can be heard the rolling 12/8 rhythms in the Hausa’s fuji percussion, the pensive aridity of the Tuareg’s assouf and the exquisite griot guitar of Mali’s Songhai, all delivered with virtuoso precision and unrelenting energy. After listing ‘Kaani’ in its top 10 albums of 2013, The New York Times wrote that “the music keeps leaping ahead with one surprise after another: guitar parts that align and diverge and reconfigure, drumming that pounces on offbeats. The patterns are crisp, complex and tireless.”
This concert is co-sponsored with The Consortium, Pandemic and Calliope.
ALSO HELPING OUT W/ ROOTS: A ROOTS REGGAE FESTIVAL
The Detroit Party Marching Band is a guerrilla band based in Detroit, Michigan. The band appears at events unexpectedly.[1] The band has played at events such as Mardi Gras (2012), Theatre Bizarre, Noel Night, Blowout!, the Nain Rouge parade,[2] the Hamtramck Labor Day Parade, 2010 Detroit Free Press Marathon,[3] and HONK![4] in Somerville, MA, as well as at many bars and parties throughout the Detroit area, both scheduled and unexpectedly. It has supported acts such as Band of Horses, Rebirth Brass Band, and What Cheer? Brigade. It was founded by Rachel Harkai and John and Molly Notarianni,[5] who felt inspired by the second-line bands they saw in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and also after a trip to HONK! in late 2009. Its repertoire is a mix of Balkan and Balkan-inspired songs, and modern pop and R&B rearranged for brass, usually by the members themselves. They have also toured the Netherlands in Europe as part of the Cross Linx festival. They enjoy the admiration of their mothers, each other, and various drunks in and around Detroit.
Hip hop music has always been unafraid to push boundaries. Perhaps because it simultaneously came from nothing yet came from everything, the genre stands alone in how creatively outside influences can be incorporated into its musical mix.
PitchBlak Brass Band uses the epic sounds of tubas, trombones, saxophones and other typically non-hip hop instruments in the spirit of The Roots and some of rap’s iconic live bands, to deliver an energy that samples, loops and breakbeats can’t always capture. Their blend of soundscapes and lyrical exuberance creates a grand adventure in listening, one that can hold the attention of music fans from across a fairly wide spectrum.
-Manny Faces, Birthplace Magazine
THE PEOPLE”S CHAMPS
eople’s Champs combines the hottest dance rhythms from West Africa and South America with retro-futurist synth tones, crafting them into indie songs with Stevie Wonder-esque lyrics.
With their “crazy ass genre mash ups” (Blakbook), People’s Champs’ truly original sound is equal parts Sharon Jones, tUnE-yArDs, Os Mutantes, William Onyeabor, and Prince. Critics are calling People’s Champs a “New York supergroup!” (Lucid Culture) and “Well on their way to becoming NYC’s de facto Funk and Afrobeat experience” (Deli Magazine).
Pandemic is a dance party featuring music from around the globe. Every first friday and third saturday brillobox transforms into a transglobal dance party. There are no boarders, no pretense, no bottle service.Prepare yourself for a night of Bhangra, Balkan Brass, Cumbia, Chalga, Funk Carioca, Russian Ska and more.
w/ Resident Pandemic Pete & guest Juan Diego (and guest?)
May Day and Cinco De Mayo all in one.
Pandemic is a dance party featuring global dancehall. Every first friday and third saturday brillobox transforms into a transglobal dance party. There are no boarders, no pretense, no bottle service.Prepare yourself for a night of Bhangra, Balkan Brass, Cumbia, Chalga, Funk Carioca, Russian Ska and more. While the term Global bass isn’t a term i enjoy it’s probably the best way to describe it.
So happy and relieved to announce that we have officially CONFIRMED THE LOCATION AND DATE FOR PITTONKATONK!!!!
It’s gonna be…
SATURDAY MAY 2nd 2015
at
THE VIETNAM VETERANS PAVILION
SCHENLEY PARK
(same great space)
WHO?
Full Lineup will be announced soon.
so far we have
WhAT CHEER BRIGADE
Pitchblack Brass Band Black Bear Combo
Detroit Party Marching Band
May Day Marching Band
Beauty Slap
Colonel Eagleburgers Goodtime Highstep Marching Band
This event is FREE but WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. Please contribute to our indiegogo campaign and tell your friends to also contribute.
WHAT is Pittonkatonk?
Pittonkatonk is a community celebration in the form of Brass BBQ. When was the last time you danced until you hurt? When you saw a band play in a public space where there wasn’t a stage or even a need for a stage? Everyone is treated as a VIP because there are no ticket prices, no vending, nothing holding you back from engaging. Pittonkatonk 2014 was a success because we made a direct call to the community and they answered. In Pittonkatonk’s first year we welcomed over 750 spectators and almost 100 performing musicians. Together we went from dancing the kolo to a moshpit. Pittonkatonk made a lasting impression in the community because it blurred the lines between music festival and a family reunion. Our festival is a success when YOU, the community participates. When EVERYONE can celebrate together regardless of age, race, class. We want YOU to bring what you can, whether its making a dish of food, donating $25-$500, volunteering, helping to clean up, or just spectating.
Community Support..
Council Person Corey O’Connor’s office
Oakland Planning and Development Corp
Hazelwood Initiative
Pgh Children’s Museum
Center for Creative Reuse
and more.
Got a lot on the plate coming into 2014. I’ll be updating the page regularly over the next couple weeks so come back for more info, new mixes, etc….
PANDEMIC RETURNS WITH SOME NEW YEAR NEW BASS…. I’ll be djin all night playing BALKAN BEATs, CUMBIAs, DANCEHALL, TROPICAL BASS, GLOBAL GLITCH, CHALGA, FAVELA FUNK, AFROBEATS and more….
First things first. I am djin 2 events on NYE.. My last set of 2013 will be a benefit at FREE RIDE
Celebrate the new year in style at Free Ride…Plus help us raise funds for a good cause!
Featuring 6 Dj’s, tons of music from here and around the world, and our very own food truck serving you delicious mexican inspired cuisine!
December 6, 2013 PANDEMIC will turn 8years old. There will be celebrations!!!! yes celebrationS! plural. Ive decided to use multiple venues. I’m pretty damn excited. Details below…. Also I am going thru my old mix tapes. Every year I release a new mixtape for the anniversary party. This year I’m working on a new one, but also going to be releasing them as a download on Soundcloud….
The celebration for Pandemic 8 year celebration comes in 3 parts. We are going to utilize multiple venues during the Penn Ave “Unblurred” event including Most Wanted Fine Art, Assemble, and the Brillobox.
“MATRYOSHKA” The Art Show
@ MOST WANTED FINE ART
This event will include 20 local artists painting hand cast “Matryoshka” Dolls or Russian Nesting Dolls. Artists include…
Mike Budai
Tommy Budjanec
Thommy Conroy
Gabe Felice
Kati Zmetkowski
Nathan Mould
Jen Cooney
Masha Mousebones Vereshenko
Lou Ickis
Tommy Bones
Jacob White
Britta Walker
Holland Williams
Mark Barill
Terry Barill
Daniel Minskey
Nix Muse
Jennifer Howison
Ashley Brickman
Sandy Spynda (pandemic’s mom)
and more.
These will be sold via silent art auction that will open and close during the “Unblurred” event on Dec 6. Proceeds from the sales will go to European Roma Rights Centre.
Also on sale will be posters from the past 8 years of Pandemic…
Also on display and for sale will be posters from the last 8 years of parties. They will be sold for $10 a piece and proceeds will benefit the ERRC as well.
@ Assemble
extra cast nesting dolls will be available to paint as a make and take project during the unblurred event.
Why you should go: Where can you paint your own Russian nesting doll, bid on local art and dance your heart out all on one street? Pandemic, one of Pittsburgh’s top dance parties, is marking eight years of music, sweat and vodka with a triple-header birthday bash on Friday, December 6th.
Spearheaded by Pittsburgh-based DJ, musician and event producer Pete Spynda, Pandemic turns the energy up a notch on its monthly dance party with celebration events spanning three East End venues. Coinciding with the holiday edition of Unblurred, the popular first Friday gallery crawl along the Penn Avenue arts district, Pandemic is hosting a benefit art auction, matryoshka doll painting activities and an anniversary dance party.
Kick off Friday’s festivities at Most Wanted Fine Art, where Pandemic is presenting an exhibition and benefit auction featuring Russian nesting dolls (matryoshka) and limited-edition posters. Featured will be nesting dolls painted by 20-plus local artists, including Mike Budai, Thommy Conroy, Gabe Felice, Jen Cooney, Masha Mousebones Vereshenko, Ashley Brickman, Jennifer J Howison and more. Dolls will be sold during a silent auction from 5 to 9 p.m.
Also on display and for sale for $5 to $10 will be eye-catching archival posters from Pandemic’s eight-year legacy in the Burgh. The free event will also feature music by University of Pittsburgh’s Carpathian Ensemble. Proceeds will support the European Roma Rights Centre, based in Budapest. Next pop into nearby Assemble to paint your own matryoshka using materials provided by the community-based art and tech space.
When you’re ready to move, head further down Penn Ave. to Brillobox for the night’s culminating dance party, as Pandemic ushers in the next eight years of electric music from around the planet. Expect five hours (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.) of Pandemic’s signature mix of everything from gypsy brass and reggaeton, to chalga and Turkish psych, along with special guests DJ Juan Diego VII and the Mayday Marching Band.
Also
Wed Nov 20, 2013RAYA BRASS BAND
LUNGS FACE FEET
PANDEMIC@ BRILLOBOX
4104 Penn Ave
bloomfield
15224$10here is a link of RAYA PLAYING A POOL PARTY.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWOqOeRF7Vo
“This Brooklyn collective gleefully upends traditional wedding music of the Balkans and Greece, undercutting regional reeds and brass with decidedly American funk pulse.”—New York Times
“Watch as five people conjure a massive party around them. Then see if you can resist the temptation to get up and start dancing. It’s pretty unlikely.”—Pop Matters
“The wild … stylings of this band invoked such a frenzy that several people questioned their own existence after their own souls leapt from their body and danced right out in front of them.”—What Weekly, Baltimore
“A wild ride of genre blending that doesn’t call it a night just because the sun is coming up.”Midwest Record
“Unhinged energy and dizzying skill.”—New York Daily News
You might catch them wailing mid-span on the Brooklyn Bridge under a full moon. Or making partiers on a Bushwick rooftop dance so hard that the roof bounces. Raya Brass Band bursts with a frenetic joie de vivre that powers the high-energy party. Digging into black-market compilations, Eastern European carnival traditions and their own eclectic musical pasts (New Orleans brass, punk, out jazz), Raya Brass Band has the chops to match their irrational exuberance.
On a side note…. I’m also putting together a festival of Brass… Similar to the likes of this video… Indie GoGo campaign about to be dropped on ya. Feel free to kick in a few shekels.
The celebration for Pandemic 8 year celebration comes in 3 parts. We are going to utilize multiple venues during the Penn Ave “Unblurred” event including Most Wanted Fine Art, Assemble, and the Brillobox.
“MATRYOSHKA” The Art Show
@ MOST WANTED FINE ART
This event will include 20 local artists painting hand cast “Matryoshka” Dolls or Russian Nesting Dolls. Artists include…
Mike Budai
Tommy Budjanec
Thommy Conroy
Gabe Felice
Kati Zmetkowski
Nathan Mould
Jen Cooney
Masha Mousebones Vereshenko
Lou Ickis
Tommy Bones
Jacob White
Britta Walker
Holland Williams
Mark Barill
Terry Barill
Daniel Minskey
Nix Muse
Jennifer Howison
Ashley Brickman
Sandy Spynda (pandemic’s mom)
and more.
These will be sold via silent art auction that will open and close during the “Unblurred” event on Dec 6. Proceeds from the sales will go to European Roma Rights Centre.
Also on display and for sale will be posters from the last 8 years of parties. They will be sold for $10 a piece and proceeds will benefit the ERRC as well.
@ Assemble
extra cast nesting dolls will be available to paint as a make and take project during the unblurred event.
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER OR FACEBOOK AND RSVP TO THE PARTY by clickin above link
BAM!!! BOOM!!!! BAP!!!!!
Just like that Black Bear Combo is back in town on their way to HONK! Festival in Providence. So i asked them to swing by and do a set at my resident night at BRILLOBOX following Penn Ave UNBLURRED EVENT.So in addition to the norma DRINKING DANCING STOMPING AND YELLING to Global Glitch, Balkan Beats, Cumbia, Gypsy Brass, Bhangra, Afrobeats, Azonto, Kuduro, Soca, Dancehall, Bulgarian Chalga, Kuchek, and more… We will have a live brass band BLACK BEAR COMBO…and a special set by my favorite pittsburgh brass heads.. LUNGS FACE FEET!!!I know, you thought PANDEMIC was insane well things just got a little more insane!!!!BLACK BEAR COMBO LUNGS FACE FEET at PANDEMIC
WHAT A CRAZY MONTH OF BRASSTOBER we are about to embark on….$10
9:30pm
THEN ON OCT 19 PANDEMIC PETE”S BDAY BASH / JEMEENA’s BDAY BASH at a little party we call
Ladies and Gents we have an amazing lineup of shows and danceparties coming up in the next few weeks. ..
first we have a new concert series we are producing called WEATHER PERMITTING. It’s every sunday @ the SHADYSIDE NURSERY in Shadyside. Food Trucks, BANDS, BREWS, Kids stuff…
THATS HAPPENING and RSVP HERE ON SAT JUNE 29…. with PANDEMIC and LUNGS FACE FEET
then on JULY 13 we have FANFARE CIOCARLIA @ THE REX (Tix avail online HERE) or get physical tickets at Calaban Books, The Exchange (sq. hill or downtown), Daves Music Mine, or Acoustic Music Works of from ME- PANDEMIC.
ALL AGES FOR FANFARE.. DANCEFLOOR OPEN FOR EVERYBODY…
THE LINEUP INCLUDES PANDEMIC, HOT METAL MUSES, and LUNGS FACE FEET. WOW!!!
Ok so in midst of school workshop and setting up a few more parties. First we have CHALGA PARTY PART 2 on March 22. Enjoy this teaser…
Then we are sooooo excited to announce FRIDAY APRIL 5 we are copresenting Emir Kusturica‘s film BLACK CAT WHITE CAT at the HOLLYWOOD THEATER in DORMONT with ZOMBO and The Dreaming Ant. Can’t wait to see that on the big screen! Also APRIL 5 PANDEMIC will be the official AFTERPARTY!!!!
FIRST NEW T SHIRTS!!!! THIS IS THE LOGO (thanks daniel minskey) Here is the Facebook Link . Its a great organization CRY PITTSBURGH At CRY America, we believe in creating peoples’ movements to make a lasting difference to underprivileged children. We believe that each of us, as individuals and organizations, can contribute. All it takes is the belief that “Change is possible, because I’ll make it possible”. CRY America’s strength therefore lies in its supporters the volunteers, donors and partners who have come together to change the situation of the underprivileged child. new mixtape coming soon.
VIDEO FROM LAST MONTHS PARTY
IMAGES FROM LAST MONTHS PARTY!!! THANKS JUAN DIEGO VII
