On March 8th 2007, there was an evening of deejaying and a mix of live
hip-hop and reggae performances above Back 2 The Grind café
at a place called “The Studio Downtown.” A feature of the night was a performance by Rumour Rumour featuring Andrew Bees, formerly a lead vocalist of seminal reggae group Black Uhuru. Rumour Rumour is a group consisting of rotating members that play instrumental sounds that reflect an amalgam of styles primarily one would find in regions in the Carribean and along its U.S. coastline. On the night of March 8th, it was their reggae music that was playing throughout HMS studios downtown.

It was close to 1am when the featured music of Rumour Rumour featuring Andrew Bees began. Their set lasted for approximately 30 minutes and it was a mix of material, much of it apparently coming from Andrew Bees’ solo material Hardest of Andrew Beez, as songs such as “System” caught my attention while other remaining tunes were made up of a few classics like Black Uhuru’s “Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner.” The multimember band Rumour Rumour provided tight musicianship. There was a cross section of players/musicians: drummers (drum kit, djembes), rhythm guitarist, bassist, keyboardist (w/effects), saxophonist and vocalist (backup vocals). Andrew Bees’ voice was clear and strong on this night and was able to carry the surrounding music to a harmonious place. Andrew found himself dancing (mashing it up) on stage at moments when the band bridged or jammed intermittently on certain songs and it helped people also feel the music and move around a bit more as well. It was good for people to receive and give the energy.
In final, the set was solid and a good intro for new and local comers to reggae music.

Respect.

A list of players that were apparently in the band lineup on the evening of the March 8th show were: Andrew Bees (lead vocals), Cherith Neely (backup vocals), Json Hedge (drum kit), Juan Carrasquillo (keyboard), Mike Cazares (guitar), Chritopher Bryant (guitar, back up vocals), Tim Newkirk (bassist), Kevin Hooper (percussion, djembes), Joey Hernandez (Saxophone).

To listen to the KUCR field interview with members of Rumour Rumour and
Andrew Bees, click below.

 

[mp3]http://kucr.org/audio/kucrpodcastandrewbees.mp3[/mp3]To download the KUCR Podcast of this interview, click here.

For more information about the artists:
http://www.myspace.com/rumourrumour
http://www.myspace.com/officialandrewbees

So as most of you have probably noticed, KUCR pitched in with ASPB last quarter on putting on a few great shows at The Barn. Seriously though, is anyone really familiar with The Barn? You’ve probably eaten there and who knows, you may never have gone back. Listen though, we are giving you a reason to come back. I know you probably know where this is going, but NO! I will not give you a long and boring, or dreadfully boring, history lesson;

So here’s a short one:

In 1964 a “pirate” radio station operates out of the Aberdeen-Inverness residence halls and calls itself KRUD. In 1966, it becomes an officially licensed campus radio station, which you have learned to love, called KUCR. :)

So far so good…

On February 25th, 1964 Bob Dylan plays at The Barn. Whoa!

Really, who knew?

Currently, we have Bob Dylan albums here at the station! It’s very nostalgic, I know.

There! KUCR goes waaay back! The Barn goes waaay back! And though we can’t quite spill the beans just yet, be ready for some announcements on some amazing shows coming your way very soon. As amazing as KUCR is, we can’t do it all ourselves (thanks to Housing and the Barn staff), but you know that if we are behind it, it’s gonna be fun.

So tune in and stay tuned because good things are to come!

This is Armando here with exclusive some footage from the recent Aggrolites show at the Barn, shot by the one and only Dex.

watch?v=WQMm4C9S3zw

For those of you unfamiliar with the song, you really need to get out from under that rock you’ve been living under for the past couple of decades. I’ll let it slide this time and let you know, it’s the classic song, ” don’t let me down”, by none other than The Beatles. Looks pretty intimate doesn’t it? You could probably give Jesse a high five if you felt like it.

This is just a taste of what’s to come next quarter as we continue to bring you shows at the Barn. We’ve got some good things coming up that you definitely won’t want to miss. Can’t tell you too much about it now though, but expect some more info as we get closer to the start of the Spring Quarter Barn series, presented by KUCR and hosted at The Barn (thanks, Housing!). I can tell you this much however, next quarter’s barn series will kick off April 9th. Same day and time, Wednesdays from 6-9 for those of you just tuning in, so bring yourself and we’ll bring the music. To stay up to speed, look for us on facebook, or check out the unofficial KUCR myspace.

Good Luck on finals everyone!

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?