'Sex & Co.' Released

We're finally finished. The EP is out. You can cop it @ www.fuzzhugger.com/thewinethieves. Please be kind to us struggling artists & make a little donation. We need some cash for shows & day to day living, just like you. So, support local hip hop!

Special thanks goes out to Gumshu for engineering the sessions. You're the man, brother. Once we get some cash from this venture, some money is coming your way. I'm looking forward to the day that I can pay you for your services. And it will come!

Here's the final track list:

1. The Official Countdown

2. Shitty Fox

3. Powerlines

4. Back in Service (Interlude)

5. Do Drugs

6. Ode to Milosz

7. Off the Hook (Outro)

That's it. And, hey, believe it or not, Hype & I are already @ work on the next project. It's to be a 4 part series. We have a working title, but that's for another time. More on that as it develops. But, for now, enjoy a little 'Sex & Co.'

Peace, Party of the Thieves

The Other Side ...

Two blogs, same day. Aren't you lucky, Mr. Reader. (read Hype's below; English major style)

I must applaud Hype on his well written blog about the Jackson death & affect (or lack of) on the Wine Thieves rehearsal. It was an enjoyable read. And like he said, the news of the untimely death of Mr. Doesn't Matter If You're Black or White did not influence the practice whatsoever. In fact, I was so unfazed by the news that I started to question my character. Am I a heartless piece of shit? No. I'm just a guy who realizes that people die. You, me, the bum on the street begging for booze change, and yes, Michael Jackson, too. So, in my mind, it was merely, 'Oh, that's too bad. But I have shows to prep for'.

It didn't help, however, that on my 3 hour drive up to Hype's place I big time dented the back of my trunk when some bitch forcefully made me back up in a panic & ram into a huge metal thing (for lack of a better term). She of course fled, coward fucker, so I'm left with the dent. I refused to let it sway my mindset & the practice. My focus could not be penetrated that day ... nothing was going to fuck it up ... dents or deaths.

Things started looking up from there on out however. I called in to WNBT 104.5 The Buzz & did an on air introduction of our song 'The Official Countdown', which DJ Stretch played immediately following. It was cool hearing the track over the airwaves. It made the drive, with all its shitty mishaps, so much more enjoyable.


Now, with some radio play & the help of a Dilla mixtape, I made it to Hype's calm, cool & collected for rehearsal. We did the shit shootin' & the weed puffin' & magical finger boarding & then made our way to The Commune to pick up the speakers & wires & pedals & all that shit you need to bump some raw music.

When we got back, we set up, smoked some more bats & got to getting. The rehearsal went well. The beats were bumpin', baby. They have some muscle to them thumpin' outta those speakers. It made it easy to just pace & rock to that shit.

Obviously, some work needs to be done. I mean, it was our first REAL practice so you can't expect the world. But, I was extremely impressed with how well we did given the circumstance. Some lyrics were forgotten (by us both, especially me) & some keyboard riff attempts fell flat, but these are all kinks that can be knocked out. And they will be.

Shortly after rehearsal we hit another blunt & bumped the now finished 'Sex & Co.' EP thru the system. It sounded so dope I rocked a semi, ha. It felt like our own little personal listening party. I'm looking forward to the Monday release (read below in Hype's blog).

Next week is another rehearsal, & I'll bet the $2 to my name that it goes phenomenally. Until then I'm gonna do some pre-gaming & brush up on some backing vocals & keyboard riffs. I'll also be heading back up to Gumshu's to mix the live instrumentals so the beats can blow the bricks off the walls @ whatever venues will be brave enough to let us into their house. Booom!

Til next time,

Party

the king of pop is dead.

as party and i started our first, full-fledged, 800-watts-induced practice, we were greeted with the news that michael jackson was dead. it didn't ruin our day. in fact, there wasn't much of a response from either of us. but the elephant in the room was almost unavoidable. michael jackson is dead. sure, you can take some cheap shots at him. but i'm not going to. yes, he was a freak. but before that, he was a star. he grew up with the ever-spawning and growing papparazzi. shit, he practically invented the stalked and hunted celebrity that we know so well from grocery market magazine stands and crappy cable television shows. before there was E! there was michael jackson. before pepsi threwback, it was a choice of a new generation... that pepsi ad, the one where jackson emerges on-stage from the flames and fireworks, is one of my earliest childhood memories. i specifically remember seeing that commercial during a station break of a david copperfield primetime special: escape from alcatraz. copperfield invented big illusion, like jackson invented the moon walk. it was the time. pre-berlin wall 1980s type shit. ronald reagan and soviets and cold wars... it all goes hand-in-hand in my memory.

i've already reminised longer than i had intended. i didn't cry when jackson died. i didn't even pause. i mean, seriously, if michael jackson wasn't at the top of your celebrity death pool, then you either weren't paying attention or you didn't have a celebrity death pool. it's sick, i know. all of it. not just the death pool, no! the sickest part of all is that good old m.j... the other m.j. from the 80s (not michael jordan)... invented super-celebrity. he invented the moon walk. he invented the white, ghoulish, pieces-falling-off-my-face freak that we all grew to love to hate... and why? he did it for YOU. he made music... for you. he performed... for you. he dyed his skin (or didn't) for you! he shrunk his nose into a dissolving face-drop face-lift for you. he dwelt in a compound that looked like a make-shift disney world, a fantasy world... for you? because of you? you made him a god. and we love to watch our gods die. what is more interesting than a mega-celebrity? answer: a mega-celebrity's death. we build our gods to die for our sins. then we ask, what the hell happened to that guy?! what a freak! what a jerk, molestor, weirdo... insert your favorite jackson diss. he disfigured himself... tried to invent a plastically enhanced fountain of youth... for you. isn't it beautiful?! isn't it amazing!? what he did... what he made... isn't it beautiful?

when brittney commits suicide, or winehouse overdoses... (and this is all "god-forbid" material) ...when lohan goes nuts (if she hasn't already)... and o.j. kills (or finds the real murderers from his new prison cell) ...it will simply be another celebrity who did it all for you. you want to watch... they want you to watch... we build our gods to die. so don't ridicule them. they did it all for you! it was ALL FOR YOU.

...so now that i've completely ranted on the whole michael jackson death, let me reitterate: it did not affect the wine thieves' rehearsal at all. we had an amazing rehearsal. pulled out the stops, broke out in freestyles, and generally lived it up in the basement. ..oh, if those cynder blocks could talk!? (those cynder blocks would rock.) ..they saw us thru countless jersey bound trunk crew rehearsals, a short comedy we made called, billy tony... thru fake sword fights with real swords, real jams with fake drums... from party's old sleeping quarters to gum's fake death on the exhaust-pipe of my since-sold motorcycle... those walls have held in the must and musk, mold and cold... some of my best memories were born out of that basment.

sex & co. (our new ep) will be out monday, the 29th of june. three days away. that gives us a month until our first show... and in the interim period you will be able to download the sex & co. ep. we will be prepping and rehearsing, promoting and selling discs...

..and if our music ever draws us into any sort of spotlight, no matter how dim or how light a shade of lime... i'm going to burn it to the ground. before the demons infest me (i have plenty, thanks). before the papparazzi shoots me, i'm shooting first. before i fight the natural order of things...

don't stop til you get enough.
god bless saint michael.

- hype o

post-prophylactics and good times

...sipping at the dunkin coffee before me, i wonder how the hell they get that dunkin taste... you already know, if you're a coffee fanatic like i am, that you can not replicate the taste of dunkin coffee in your own coffee maker. not even with their beans. there's something--something, probably terrible for your body--that swirls with the chemical compounds of styrofoam coffee cups and hormone-enhanced creamers (and one scoop of bleached, unnatural sugar) that makes me grin. yum yum.

talked to our boy jean-baptiste today... he was skating (skateboarding, not rollerskating... altho now that i mention it, remember when rollerskating was dope?! ...neither do i). actually, he wasn't skateboarding like you just pictured it. jean-baptiste is a pro fingerboarder! no joke here. he actually designs and sells his own custom, hand-made, wooden decks. today, however, he was skating a techy.. like the ones you can buy at wallyworld. a slick little number, logo-tatted with a plan-b graphic. the girls were oohed-and-ahhed by his skills... but they were laughing at his plan-b deck... i didn't get it. turns out plan-b is an oh-shit pill... like ru486... like the day-after pill, ya heard? and a skate company. post-prophylactics and good times taken by all.

so what does this all have to do with the wine thieves? well, i'm powered by ill-flavored coffee, for one. for two, party used to be sick on 8 wheels. i'm talking about a rollerskating-ballet like it was saturday night, 1979. for threed, jean-baptiste's sick fingerkickflips will be highlighted in an upcoming wine thieves music video. this cat can shred, i assure you. with his fingers. and fingerboards. and he shall do so to the tempos of party.picasso and the cadence of yours trues... more on that later, tho...

also, must shout thanks to gumshu! and party for that matter. those two tore up the final touches on the sex & co. ep. seriously--for a moment--imagine finishing a record in a bathroom... a record that was started in a multi-million-dollar studio... finally, wrapped in a room with toilet paper. thanks gum! that's how we roll, rolled for years. closets. coat racks. campers. communes. i thot you knew?!

in other, unrelated updating, i'm throwing down an afternoon of gaming with tom de la commune tomorrow. doritos and dews, bro & brews... you know. co-op style. (jean-baptiste hollers, 3.6.0.2.4.7.-inna-5.7.0. you know!!!)

stay tuned.

peaces,

hype o.

Burning Dandys with Bumble Bees

We've completed to record. Well, 99.9%. Some last millisecond touch ups are being done to the final tracks. But, within about a week it should be out for all to hear.

I went to Gumshu's this past Monday up in Leonia around 11am. It was the first time I'd ever gone to his new place to record. I added some vocals to the tracks, completely raw. No mic stand. No pop filter. Just Gum @ the station & me pacing by the bathroom door. It was a cool environment. We finished up in about seven hours with 2 or 3 car tests before we called it a day.

After a few days of listening over, Hype & I want to make only 2 changes, which Gum is doing in the next couple of days. Then, we can finally put out 'Sex & Co.' I feel like I've been talking about it forever, and now we'll be able to sell the record & play some shows.

Be back soon.

Peace,

Party of the Thieves

Sloppy Seconds

Who wants seconds? The 'Sex & Co.' series is in a way coming to an end with a very special Vol. 2.

This volume will consist of a few tracks from the 'Ghetto Whispers' demo, but remastered & a revamped instrumentally. Plus, there will be previously unreleased tracks from the 'Sex & Co.' sessions.

Hype & I are out-of-this-world excited about this. I've been waiting for this moment for a long, long time & I can't believe it's finally here. Oh, and by the way, this demo is entitled 'Sex and Company: The Sloppy 2nd Sessions'.

On that note, I'm heading up to Bennett Studios around 12ish PM this coming Monday to meet up with Gumshu. We're gonna put the finally touches on the tracks deemed worthy to be on this first REAL demo. Then, once it's done ... it's show time & new music can start flowin'.

More on the recording process this Tuesday after the final session is complete. So, please stay tuned & keep reading!

Party

'Sex and Company: The Sloppy 2nd Sessions' track list:

1. Off the Hook (Intro)

2. Powerlines

3. The Official Countdown

4. Shitty Fox

5. Do Drugs

6. Back in Service (Interlude)

7. Ode to Milosz

The Weekend Adventure

It all started on Saturday, June 6th. I woke up tired as hell from a late night extravaganza. So, at this point I was already cranky & light years beyond pissed. Not for any particular reason, I was just in that fucked up kind of mood ... sometimes they can't be stopped, no matter how hard you try to cheer yourself up.

Anyway, I also had to get ready for my Big Apple trip in New York City. Now, I've been there a good, I'd say, trillion times, but each time I go I get extremely excited, but @ the same time have no interest in doing the planning that goes along with it. And on this occasion, I just wasn't feeling the journey. I preferred working on some new beats now that 'Ghetto Whispers' is out & I have some work to do on little variations of the record we're gonna be releasing. So, for once, going to NYC was a burden. BUT, I promised my girl, Fabiana, that I would take her since she loves the city's culture. And I love going there with her when we do take the trip, but this record has been on my mind for SO long. So, I had to get to Covington some how.

However, in a short-changing kinda way, I sucked it up. The two of us got ready & headed to Weehawken where we took The Waterway Ferry into mid-town Manhattan, I think. The weather was nice & I did start to enjoy myself, but I just couldn't get the music out of my head. So, after a brief visit to the City, I convinced Fabiana to leave with me back home. (We did hit up this great Italian restaurant before we left, which was spectacular baby! All I had was bread, but it was awesome! And Fabiana's food looked really good).

After we, well, she ate, we took the ferry back into New Jersey & drove the long drive all the way back to Pennsylvania. I don't live deep in PA, like Hype does, in fact I'm 3 minutes from the PA/NJ border. The traffic made it a little unbearable, but shit happens.

As soon as we got to the apartment I packed up EVERYTHING I needed; my MPC, computer, way too many T-shirts, guitar picks, CDs, etc. etc. You know the deal.

At this time there was nothing left to do but take the 3 hour drive to Covington so that Hype & I can start practicing our set & get these shows going. We know we have a good thing going for us & the chemistry is there ... so the shows are gonna be tight. Plus, it's not like we haven't performed together in the past.

The drive wasn't half bad. I bumped some Madlib instrumentals from his newest Beat Konducta series & smoked a shitload of cigarettes. I had the windows down & I was taking in the scenery. I love that part about driving to Hype's. Great view. Time flew by & I didn't even think to make any stops ... maybe once to piss, can't remember though.

Before I knew it, I made it to Covington. It really is a nice town ... jack shit to do there, but it's beautiful & a great excuse to make some bangin' hip hop. After a few mile's, I pulled up to Hype's house. We did our usual greeting, pounds, a few jokes & a slew of cigarettes. I love the initial bullshitting & joking with Hype, especially after a long drive up north. After some goofing off, we started planning out the weekend's practice routine.

We decided that Saturday night was gonna be the chill night. I had gotten there late because of the trip to the City earlier that day. So, we kicked back & puffed a bit. Such good weed! Got me high off the famous rocker we all seem to own. We reminisced a lot, which is nothing new, and started going over our set list for our summer shows. We took a trip down to WNBT 104.5 The Buzz for a quick radio interview with DJ Stretch. It was fun times. Then, we bounced. The night went on ...we did a little of this, a little of that, a little more weed ... like I said, just kicked it. Then, we passed out ... hard.

For 2 musicians that went to bed mad late, we woke up relatively early Sunday morning. Must of been the excitement for the practice. We tossed on some threads, shuffled our greasy hair, sipped some joe (at least Hype did, he loves them beans), & sucked down a few good morning cancer sticks out on the front porch.

Hype's brother, Tom (who happens to run The Commune & is our 'manager' of sorts), stopped by shortly after. He was on his way out to some event he was attending, so we only shot the shit for a few. He did, however, drop off the keys to his house so Hype & I could practice our set in his new recording studio/practice space. It's still in production, but it's looking great & will be the official headquarters of The Commune ... as well as the studio.

Long story long, we set everything up ghetto style; Casio keyboards, my MPC, some microphones & our great speakers run thru a piece of shit mixing board which kind of watered down the sound we could have achieved ... but, you gotta work with what you got. Plus, for a first REAL practice, things went pretty damn good. I'm convinced that once we get everything in perfect order, our shows are gonna be something you're gonna wanna be a part of. Speaker-funk-punk-hop ma'fuggas!

After practicing throughout the afternoon, it was time for me to head back Southeast ... 3 hours, here I come. Hype & I packed up the equipment & headed back to his place. I threw all my shit in the trunk & was all set. Except, for one very important thing ... the farewell blunt. So, that's what we did. It was a great way to end a weekend of beats, blunts, tomfoolery & mics.

I left Covington @ around 7ish PM. Nothing crazy happened on the ride home. I did meet some interesting characters @ some gas stations, but other than that I just smoked my cigs & bumped J Dilla's 'The Shining'.

Once I arrived home, the depression that had temporary passed had slightly returned. But, I was happy that we got things done & things are finally moving for the Wine Thieves.

Be easy, Party

(Side note: Hype & I are compiling another 'Sex & Co.' demo, sorta like a Volume 2. But, a little different. More details to come in the next blog, but it's gonna be tight ... so stay tuned.)

Fuck robots.

Chatham Shoot

Run.Live.Love circa 2006ish?

3 Hours & Covington Kings

I'm heading up to Covington next week to chill with Hype. We're gonna celebrate the release of the 'Sex & Co.' demo with some smoke & freestyle. I'm looking forward to it. I'm even looking forward to the 3 hour drive it takes to get there. I get to roll down 80 West for a long while, then Amishville (represented in top photo), pass thru Williamsport, climb up a curvy hill & finally hit Blossburg (where I once lived for a short time).

On the way up I'm gonna be bumpin' Madlib's 'Beat Konducta, Vol. 5-6: Dil Cosby & Dil Withers Suite' to keep the trip rolling. I'm in love with this record. I'm a huge fan of Madlib & the Beat Konducta series, but this one is my personal favorite. It pays tribute to the late J Dilla & I feel Madlib captures the essence of Dilla beautifully. The time will fly by. So will a lot of cigarettes.

I hope to make a lot of bud salads once I arrive @ Hype's. We gotta reach new levels. It'll be a chill state of mind to be in while we discuss a set list, which we'll post sometime next week. I'm very excited to have some shows set up. I think that's gonna be the core of the Wine Thieves. Whenever Hype & I have performed in our past projects we seem to bring out a new element to the music on stage, which is extremely fun. In fact, I think I'm gonna bring my MPC & my ghetto Casio with me so we can practice over some instrumentals; Hype's got killer speakers.

Anyway, more about that later. Like I said before, I'll be posting some shows up @ the end of the next week after the trip. I'll put up some photos, too. Blogs are such a great excuse to take pictures, especially on a road trip to Hype's town.

Til next time,

Party

'Ghetto' Demo Vol. 1

We've changed a few things. 'Sex & Co.' will be delayed for a short while. Things are gonna take a little longer due to some set backs. However, we will be releasing the album in three separate parts until all the tracks are out. It will be at this point that we will release the album as a whole. The album will be known as 'Sex & Co.', obviously.

All other demos before the 'Sex & Co.' release will be known as different Volumes of the Sex & Company series. The first in this series is 'Ghetto Whispers: The Sex and Company Demo'. You will be able to download the demo @ The Commune in the next 2 days. Go to www.fuzzhugger.com/thecommune to do so or pick a copy up @ one of our shows.

The rest of the demos will be released over the summer, which will lead to the August/September area when the whole album is released as 'Sex & Co."

Speaking of summer, we are booking a summer tour like said before. Some of the line-up will be posted shortly, both on this blog & our myspace pages. You won't have to wait for this for long.

Also, for more of the Wine Thieves, check out 'the Wine Thieves present: Paid For By The People To Elect Hype'. It's not from the 'Sex & Co.' series, but its a tasty dish.

Peace, Party