This week at the barn it’s time to dress up and come on down as we here at KUCR and housing services bring you the official dance party KUCR style. Spinning throughout the night we will have Guns N Bombs and Dj Chachiwho. Guns N Bombs are well known in the LA area club scene and are bringing their intense beats and mixing skills here to Riverside to give the Inland Empire a taste of the LA sound. Guns N Bombs is made up of Ima Robot bassist Filip Turbotito and Dj Johnny Love, so you can expect to hear a quality set. Here is a video to show the kind of performance these guys bring.

GNB REMIX OF TEENAGERS LIVE @ WOMB TOKYO

Also spinning will be Dj Chachiwho, a Riverside local slowly climbing the ranks in the club scene and making a name for himself both at home and abroad. His set will not disappoint as he brings his “A” game no matter where he goes and wouldn’t dream of giving anything less to the city he calls home.

Then headlining for the night we have a live set from electro dance act Funeral Party. Funeral Party is another act that hails from the LA area and plans on helping the people of Riverside have a night of fun they won’t soon forget. The band has had the pleasure of playing alongside established acts such as Crystal Castles and Health Not to mention they’ve been featured on Indie 103.1’s popular show, Neon Noise, known for bringing the best of the electro scene to the radio airwaves.

As always doors open at 6 and music should start soon after. The show is free, all ages and open to the public. Happy hour menu and drink specials, for those old enough, will be available throughout the night. So definitely come by and share a dance or two with us here at KUCR.

This week at the Barn, we’ve got a show with a lot of spicy latin influence that will be sure to satisfy your musical tastebuds. Opening up the show we have MULA who will bringing their “mexi-ska” blend down to the barn, so bring your dancing shoes and get ready to skank the night away as these guys take the stage.

Headlining for the night we have Boogaloo Assassins, a band whose sound can only be described as Spanish harlem meets 60’s and 70’s funk. The Boogaloo Assassins’ roster includes members of bands from the LA area such as See Spot, The Expanders, and the Chris Murray Combo. Some have labeled the Assassins as LA’s answer to the Latin Soul question and we here at KUCR couldn’t think of a better answer

Speaking of questions, someone recently brought us here at KUCR a question about whether or not they could bring their 3 year old son to tomorrow’s show. To answer this question, all shows that go on at the Barn are all ages and open to the public unless stated otherwise. So if you want to bring the family, go on ahead. Order some buffalo wings, enjoy some awesome music, and call it an evening.Who knew family bonding could be so fun.

Remember, doors at 6 and the first band is on at 7. Not to mention lots of delicious food and drinks for sale throughout the night.

So how about that show last Wednesday? it was pretty exciting if you ask me. The bands had almost as much energy if not more than the crowd, which is pretty hard to find in a band today.

Look at the sick air that Paul is getting with his keytar! The skeletones did not disappoint that night and brought ska back to the barn in style. You will definitely see shows like this in the future as well as many other awesome line ups with a little something for everybody.

Of course you can’t forget Mike Park and his awesome set. Some great songs and that video at the beginning of his set, powerful if I say so myself. Defintiely check him out people.

David Wong started things off right even with a little technical difficulties in the beginning. That didn’t stop him from bringing his music to the crowd. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get any pictures of Wong in action, but know he did an amazing job last Wednesday.

Speaking of pictures, all of the pictures used in this blog are used with permission from Sara Zitney and she thanks KUCR for bringing an awesome line up for free.

If you haven’t been to the barn lately, you should definitely change that people. Especially with the show we have coming up this Wednesday. Coming this week is Health headlining and local Riverside act Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound opening things up. Not to mention KUCR dj’s spinning music throughout the night.

The opening band for the show this week is Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound. The band’s sound has been described as a transdimensional, psychadelic, melt in your face while gently drowning you in relentless ways of cosmic pleasure sonic experience that you’ll have come down to hear and see for yourself.

JMTSS Seattle

Then we have headliners Health from Los Angeles. Health is known for having played with bands such as Crystal Crystal Castles and Dan Deacon. Health was kind enough to play this show before they embark on a trip to Europe shortly so the show is something you will definitely want to check out.

HEALTH - HEAVEN (NYC)

As always, doors open at 6 and there will be plenty of cheap food and refreshments to satisfy your hunger and thirst respectively. Also for those of you who are on a very tight budget, there is unlimited free chips and salsa so you should definitely take advantage of that while you rock out to the sounds of Health and Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound this Wednesday at the Barn here in Riverside.

First off, I’d like to thank everyone who came out to the Pacific Division show last night. We couldn’t have done it without you. Now on to next weeks show!

First act on the bill is David Wong From Alhambra. Wong is both an outspoken political activist as well as an acoustic musical troubadour.

In the middle slot we have San Jose’s Mike Park. Mike Park is a veteran in the ska-punk scene having played in bands such as Skankin’ Pickle, The Chinkees, and The Bruce Lee Band. Mike is also known as the owner of the staunchly independent and diy, asian man records, known for putting out releases by bands such as Less Than Jake, Alkaline Trio, and The Lawrence Arms. Not to mention Mike is also the head of the Plea For Peace Foundation, an organization dedicated towards promoting the ideals of peace to the youth of America, which will be opening its own youth center in San Jose within the coming months. This will be Mike’s only southern California appearnace for quite awhile so that is all the more incentive to make it out to the show.

Finally, our headliners for the night will be Riverside locals, The Skeletones. The Skeletones have been bringing their take on Ska to Riverside and abroad for over 20 years and we’re happy to have them come down and be a part of our Spring Concert Series at the Barn. The skeletones, during their 2 decade span as a band have had the pleasure of playing shows with bands such as No Doubt, Sublime, and Fishbone. The band’s sound takes ska, rock, reggae, and several other genres, and meshes them all together to create a sound that is fresh and all their own. So support your local ska band and make it out to the show to skank your butt off. As always, the show is free and doors open at 6.

Hey there people of UCR. We have a big event coming up this Wednesday at the Barn. This week we kick off the spring quarter concert series at the Barn with a very special show featuring the one and only Pacific Division. Anyone who isn’t familiar with Pacific Division needs to get out of the house more. So why not start with this FREE show at the Barn. I know all the F.A.T. boys are going to be at this show, so if at this point you are still out of the loop with what’s going down Wednesday, here is a video to help you out.

Not only will Pacific Division be performing, but to start things off right the Mighty Absurd will also be at Wednesday’s show. Spinning music throughout the night will UCR’s hip hop congress. Now I dare you to find me a group of people at UCR who know more about hip hop than hip hop congress. First person to accomplish that will get an order of buffalo wings on me. and who doesn’t love free buffalo wings.

Speaking of buffalo wings. food and drinks will also be served at the Barn, real cheap too. So get on the cheap and awesome food as well as the awesome performers that will be there.Remember, doors open at 6 and the show will go on until about 9:30 and as always, the show is FREE thanks to housing services. Also if you’re not busy in the afternoon, check out U-N-I who will be performing at noon at the belltower as part of the NOONER series. Here is another video for those of you who need to get out more often

Next week we’ll have another great show featuring Mike Park and the Skeletones, but more on that and the rest of the quarter’s line up Thursday.

For those of you who got locked out* of the party in The Barn on 20th February: things was bananas in there. Watch:

This, of course, was from the smash success Zion I / Mistah FAB concert put on by ASPB. Dude may have shown up over an hour late, and I don’t know about those yellow bus sneakers, but the young man did put on a show. Of course, there’s some Zion I footage up in here somewhere that I have to dig up as well. Feel free to post this all over your corner of the internets.

And as the video intimates, big things coming in 2008. Watch this space.

*seriously, kids, The Barn is only so big. When we say get there early, we mean it.

KUCR and ASPB are proud to announce, fresh off tour with 311 and the debut of their new record, “Reggae Hit L.A.”: The Aggrolites, performing live at the UCR Barn with special guests Starpool - this Wednesday, 5th March at 7PM, for free. This is the last blowout show for ASPB’s now-infamous Winter Concert series, so do not miss this one!

Blame it on No Doubt or blame it on Sublime, but by the middle of the 1990s, very little of the pop music that was described as ska had anything to do with Jamaican dance music of the early ’60s. Too many bands whose sole connection to the musical style had been a few singles by the Specials or The English Beat got it all exactly backward, with the punk influences drowning out what little Jamaican influence remained: the result was basically Green Day with horns, and it wasn’t any good for anyone. If The Aggrolites (formed in 2002) have a stated mission, it’s to remind modern audiences what proper ska sounded like, whether in Kingston in 1963 or in London in 1979 [amg].

And, hell, to have some fun.

The Aggrolites - Free Time

This concert is the final blowout of the Winter season, and it will fill up, without question. If you consider yourself a punk, reggae, or ska fan - do yourself a favor, and get there early. We can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to fit everyone (remember what happened at the Mistah Fab / Zion I show?) - so don’t say we didn’t warn you. Doors open at 6.

Did we mention that this is free?

Cover of The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down”, filmed in Gameboy-vision, for some reason

Okay, if you really need more convincing, here’s The Aggrolites on Yo Gabba Gabba. Undeniably awesome.

The Aggrolites on Nick Jr’s Yo Gabba Gabba - Banana

The Show:
Location - at the UC Riverside Barn
Date - Wednesday, 5th March
Time - 7PM, but doors open at 6:00. Get there early, or get locked out. Really.
Price - Free, but you’re on your own for parking.

I’m going to stand up front and demand that they play the banana song. Who’s with me?

I mean, you were there, right?

Daedelus @ UCR - Fairweather Friends at 0′49

Daedelus came in and absolutely tore the house down. I think everyone at KUCR is a pretty big Daedelus fan (which is why we decided to bring him through, courtesy of ASPB funding), but I don’t think any of us saw what was coming:

Daedelus @ UCR - snippets of “My Boo”

As glad as we are to have any video of this event (hats off to dj geo), the one thing you unfortunately miss is that the crowd by this point was going absolutely bananas.

And really, Daedelus even said himself that he was a little surprised that a university would bring out crazy people like himself and opener Nosaj Thing (UCR at the cutting edge - who’da thunk?). The packed crowd at the Barn took full advantage, though - I never thought I’d be dancing to Daedelus, but there I was. And as iffy as the acoustics may seem at the Barn, there’s something to be said for having a free show on a stage so low and close that the audience can (and often does) reach out to shake the performers’ hands.

Seriously, kids - anything we recommend on this blog, it’s for good reason. Trust us. We know things.

Moral of the story? When we throw a show - come.

As an aside, if you were wondering what that weird glowy thing was that Daedelus was toying about with, it’s called a monome. I’ll let you do your own research on that if you’re interested. Or you can be all 2008 and just watch this video for ten seconds until something else distracts your attention:

David Phipps of STS9 on the Monome

Oh, bonus - there are a few more videos in the Daedelus at UCR series - check them out here. And if for some reason you missed this show - if you ever get a chance to see Daedelus, do so.

And now that I think of it, I think we recorded this show. Make sure to stay tuned in to KUCR 88.3 FM (tune in now on your computer!)- you never know when you’ll hear our archive of the concert!

Seriously, I don’t even know why I’m bothering to write about this. If you haven’t heard about this, you have been stone dead sleeping, my friend, and you probably deserve to miss this show.

But hell, I’ve already started writing this, so let’s go: KUCR is geeked to announce Mistah FAB and Zion I in concert at the Barn, free, this Wednesday 20th Feb at 6:00 PM as part of ASPB’s Homecoming lineup. This is for students only - so bring your ID card.

First, Mistah FAB, one of the young guns in the Hyphy Movement - which, by the way, is here to stay. He’s probably best known by non-Baydestrians as the rapper who was infamously banned from MTV for his controversial “Ghost Ride The Whip” video:

Mistah Fab - Ghost Ride the Whip (wait a bit, it gets awesome)

Then, we’ve got Zion I, who are absolute underground rap legends, known and respected for their social commentary and conscious lyrics - and a bit of infamy for Zion I member AmpLive’s Radiohead In Rainbows remix album (with Thom’s stamp of approval). Dig the next video:

Zion I - Soo Tall.

This, ladies, and gentlemen, is going to go, hard, on citas. Yadididig?. Strap into that cheeseburger*, get down to the Barn, get hella hyphy but keep all other flamboastulatin to a minimum, last thing we need’s the po-pos encroachulatin on the scene, ya play what I’m sprayin?

Speaking of the Barn, it’s only so big. Thus, let me echo a warning issued by ASPB themselves: only about 400 people can fit into the barn. Thus, a lot of people are going to be turned away. If you don’t want to be left out shivering into the cold and pressing your ear up to the outside walls to capture some small fraction of the hyphiness - show up early. Details follow:

The Show:
Location - at the UC Riverside Barn
Date - Wednesday, 20th February
Time - Act at 6:30, but doors open at 5:30. Get there early, or get locked out. Really.
Price - Free, but admittance is offered to students only (due to aforementioned capacity issues).

* Bay-challenged readers interested in deciphering hyphy terminology may be interested in E-40’s Dictionary Book of Slang, Vol. 1.

Attention all true reggae fans - KUCR is proud to announce what is quite possibly the best reggae event to hit Riverside in years - The Expanders feat DJs Red Beef and Juice in concert this Wednesday, 13th February at 6 pm the Barn, for free, in partnership with ASPB and ASP.

I realize that right now any true reggae purist and fan in the area is probably not reading anymore, and is very likely readying their camping supplies to ensure a good spot up front. But for unconverted out there, I’ll break it down.

The Expanders are the most respected reggae group in the Los Angeles scene. As such, when reggae legends come out from the island and need a band to play with for their (sold out) concerts - they ring up The Expanders. Some past collabs: headlining the Sierra Nevada reggae Festival with The Maytones, Michigan and Smiley, Leonard Dillon (The Ethiopians), backing the king of Lovers Rock Alton Ellis, and our good friend Jah Faith:

The Expanders with Jah Faith - Bun A One (Live at the Dub Club) (takes a second to get in, but the track is lovely)

But don’t get it twisted, the Expanders more than hold their own as a self-contained act.

And dear me, I’m forgetting about Redbeef and Juice. These dudes hold down the reggae angle on More Fire Mondays ($10 entry, but highly recommended) at Sevillas and various other spots in the area. Not that Beef or Juice are limited to reggae (try hip-hop, electro, funk, damn near anything I like come to think of it) - but they certainly excel in it. They’ll be digging in the bins and serving up the jawns from 6 PM onwards and keeping the irie vibes flowing before and after The Expanders smash the Barn.

Sistren, Brethren - If you come away from this event anything less than blown away - then you, my friend, you do not like reggae.

Also you have no soul.

I’ll see you on Wednesday at 6:00 PM sharp.

What, you want more? Okay - bonus video:

Michigan Smiley with The Expanders at Dub Club (takes a while to get into it).