February 24, 2006

Justin Warfield's "Goth" Band

Seems like yesterday Justin Warfield was coming up to my show with his "Season of the Vic" 12 inch, and his handlers were telling me "please don't ask about the Q Tip thing." Which of course meant I could only think of the Q-Tip thing whenever I heard him from then on.. I should go back and give the album another shot though. Our other guest that night was Ghetto Communicator, anybody remember him? When he resurfaces with a new wave band i'll really be excited.

EDIT: In other comeback news, MC Hammer's blog is a damn good blog.

L.A. hip-hop dudes channel Joy Division

The debut from Los Angeles' She Wants Revenge is a sleek, haunted slice of New Wave revivalism with lyrics like "Take your hand, and smack me in the mouth, my love" and enough electro-rock intensity to send goth kids onto the dance floor -- not exactly what you'd expect from two thirtysomethings with hip-hop credentials. During the Nineties, frontman Justin Warfield, now thirty-two, was a rapper who recorded with Prince Paul; Warfield's partner, Adam Bravin, 36, was a producer and club DJ who rocked parties for NBA stars and P. Diddy. The duo convened in L.A. in 2003 to make hip-hop but wound up rekindling their teenage love for Prince and the Cure on a series of demos that landed them a deal with Fred Durst's label. Now they're generating big buzz thanks to "Tear You Apart," a darkly catchy single that's a massive hit on L.A.'s KROQ and taking off on MTV...

Posted by jsmooth995 at February 24, 2006 3:06 PM

Comments

Wow, it is a damn good blog!

Posted by: julien at February 24, 2006 5:29 PM

What exactly is that Q-Tip thing? I am a huge fan of "Field Trip to Plant 9" and have been wondering what happened to dude.

Posted by: Manuel at February 24, 2006 6:36 PM

The biggest impression he made on folks when he came out was with his vocal similarity to Q-Tip, and coming across as a Tip clone was probably the main thing that kept him from getting any further..

Posted by: Jay Smooth at February 24, 2006 6:53 PM

and coming across as a Tip clone was probably the main thing that kept him from getting any further . . .

Plus, he was a wack rapper. Sorry to burst your bubble there Jay.

Whoa! MC Hammer blogging. Now if he would only stop rapping.

Posted by: Trent at February 25, 2006 3:34 AM

Planet 9 is a nice album. Or maybe its just the Prince Paul production. Justin did have a nice song called Bug Powder Dust, the thing I liked about Justin is that he had a diffrent subject matter than most.

Posted by: Manuel at February 25, 2006 8:57 AM

yeah, it's just too bad that She Wants Revenge are the WORST SHIT IN THE WORLD right now.

Posted by: Matos W.K. at February 25, 2006 4:10 PM

this isn't anything new Justin warfield formed a 70's rock band in 1995 called the Justin warfield supernaut with a release on warner brothers and then did a mix of hip/hop indie rock when he formed one inch punch in later 90's. He has been switching from rap to rock for over 10 years now. Very dynamic

Posted by: bowser at May 4, 2006 11:52 PM

I was wondering about how I feel about one artist's drastic and dramatic musical changes. One the one hand it may seem that the person lacks a stable musical identity. However, I think it's cool that one artist can relate to many different musical styles and expresses himself in each of them. So, I actually see it as a diversity of talent rather than musical bi-polarity. And whoever dissed "She Wants Revenge", I feel bad for your inability to understand and appreciate this band. I think they're amazing, I haven't liked a band this much since I was a teenager.

Posted by: Z at May 8, 2006 3:10 PM

J.E.W was nothing like q-tip- he was his own entity. One of the most prolific emcee's of the 90's drop acid and rob a drug store yo!

Posted by: b boyz on acid at June 12, 2006 2:53 AM

I've never heard any of Justin Warfield's hip-hop stuff, but his music today is nothing short of phenomenol. I am a hip-hop listener and I am also a lover of the indie rock music. She Wants Revenge has brought a sense of subtle emotion into music. One can understand the feeling of every song through it's lyrics and truly appreciate the production with the combination of great lyrics and fabulous melodies.
I haven't heard many bands lately that are as talented as SWR, with the exception of the Killers and Interpol. It's so different. Adventurous artists such as SWR and Gnarls Barkley bring a new taste to good music.

Posted by: Nelson at June 20, 2006 6:04 PM

Don't use the word "wack" Trent, you nob, and if you can't see that Justin Warfield was a legend, please stop talking, and go and listen to whatever conformist crap drives you to use other people's language instead of your own.................. Sorry Trent - a little rant there! I just think Planet 9 was an amazing addition - akin to Diggable Planets, or three feet high and rising - well, maybe not three feet high and rising, but it was certainly up there - the man had some soul - kinda rare. Haven't heard any of the new stuff, but i'll go and check it out now.

Posted by: Tom at July 4, 2006 9:56 AM

I loved Justin Warfield's "field trip to Planet 9" and was doing alot of acid back then in 1992. It's a damn shame that SWR was so terrible at the Siren Music Festival here in Coney Island Bklyn.

Posted by: 2DK at July 21, 2006 2:02 PM