February 2012

Interview with Ketchy Shuby’s lead singer, Jason

How did the crazy combination of cats we know as Ketchy Shuby come together back in the day? "Some of us are childhood and high school friends, but for the most part we all met through playing music with other groups and decided to play together. " You say you met playing with other groups; do any of the bandmembers still play with anyone else? "We are all full-time Shubys for the most part but Chip (keys) and Danny (percussion) also play in this great band called Fusik"

Virginia Key GrassRoots Music Festival: Y’all come back real soon now ya hear?

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of being involved with the Virginia Key GrassRoots Music Festival. Like most things lately, my involvement came about haphazardly and the end results exceeded what few expectations I had. The festival first popped up on my radar after some local bands started talking about their participation on Facebook, (Raffa and Rainer, Juke, ArtOfficial, etc) and I figured it would be an opportunity to hang out in the great outdoors and listen to all my favorite hometown acts in one place without having to trek across state lines. Of course, I ended up thinking of inquiring about press access requirements literally the minute after I buy my 4 day pass. Luckily though, I was able to get in touch with the organizers down here in Miami and help them out by bringing some Miami flavor to the festival in the form of live-painting artists (Kazilla, Remote, Torek, Brian Butler, GG, and Eva Ruiz).

Interview with ArtOfficial’s AO Logics

How did you guys initially meet up/how did the band come together? "ArtOfficial came together when a group me and Newsense were in, called Soulwhat?, was on the rocks. We weren't really doing much at the time, music-wise. Around that same time, our bass player, keys player, and saxophonist's band broke up. We had common connections because the Miami music scene is tiny. We hooked up, wrote a couple songs, started gigging and that was the beginning right there. "

The Day I Learned How Beer is Made

After the natural splendor of Bok Tower my girlfriend and I hit the road to Tampa. Why Tampa you ask? Three words: Cigar City Brewing. While I can't claim to be any kind of expert or even amateur beer connoisseur, ever since I started going to the DRB regularly and associating with my beer savant of a friend, I've been slowly but surely refining my brew palate. A few months ago I had the opportunity to attend a Cigar City sponsored event where there was an incredible selection, including everything from Puppy's Breath Porter to Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale (Caramel Graham Cracker). Since then, the Florida brewery has had a spot on my radar, with their Maduro Brown ale in particular as one of my favorites.