DJ Tarsis in Second Life

Bouncing To Baiao

Our ongoing series on important artists and styles that have come to "define" the Brazilian sound continues this week with a primer on baiao, as Brazilian Groove celebrates the "Festas Junina" season in Northeast Brazil TONIGHT. You can hear great baiao, along with other Brazilian sounds at the high in Second Life (6-8pm SL).

Popularized across Brazil by the legendary Luiz Gonzaga starting in the 1940s, the baiao is a Northeast Brazilian rhythm that originated with native people in the area but incorporates elements of indigenous, mestizo, African and European music. It has formed the basis for a wide range of musical styles in the region today, including forro, coco and embolada.

The main baiao instrument is called the zabumba (pictured), a flat, double-headed bass drum played with a mallet in one hand and stick in the other, each striking the opposite head of the drum. Other instruments used include flutes and wooden shakers. While the African influence in baiao is seen in the use of the drum and overlapping call and response singing, the European influence includes the sound of polka, mazurka, schottische and quadrille.

Baiao is most associated with the Brazilian state of Pernambuco (where your DJ's mom is from :) ). Despite the relatively small area that confines the music's popularity, many of Brazil's biggest musical acts have and continue to record songs that incorporate this rhythm. In fact, although samba and bossa nova are largely considered the most "national" musics in Brazil, the influence of baiao continues to grow (in part, thanks to a new generation of DJ's that incorporate the sound) and is popular as far south as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The following clip featuring David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) and NYC-based Forro In The Dark nicely captures the sound of baiao today (and in English AND Portuguese too!). The song "Asa Branca" (first performed by Luiz Gonzaga in the 1940s) is widely considered the most popular and influential baiao song ever recorded.

Back from Vacay, Spinning This Week

Hey Gang -

Back from a much needed RL vacay, hrefreshed and ready to spin great tunage at Brazilian Groove this Wednesday night at the high (6-8pm) and at Alternative Classix LIVE this Friday at the Harmony Cafe (7-9pm). See you there!

DJ Tarsis

Groovin' with Gilberto Gil

This week, we continue our occasional series on important artists and styles that have come to "define" the Brazilian sound with Gilberto Gil. You can hear Gil's music, along with other great tunage from his homeland, at Brazilian Groove TOMORROW NIGHT at the high in Second Life.

A fixture at Brazilian Groove, Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira -  better known as Gilberto Gil - is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter who is known both for his musical innovation and his longstanding political commitment. Since 2003, he has served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Born in 1942, Gil began playing music at a very early age joining his first band, The Desafinados, in the mid-1950s. After hearing the legendary Joao Gilberto on the radio in the late 1950s, he bought a guitar and learned to play and sing bossa nova, a style he incorporated into songs and jingles for the next several years. By the late 1960s, his songs began to reflect a new focus on politcal awareness and social activism and he soon became a key figure in the Tropicalismo artistic movement alongside artists such as longtime collaborator Caetano Veloso.

The Brazilian military regime who took power in 1964 saw Gil and Veloso's music as a threat, and the two were imprisoned in solitary confinement for a time before they were exiled to England in early 1970s. By 1972, however, Gil was back in Brazil working as an advocate for environmental issues and recording an eclectic range of Brazilian and other genres of music including samba, forro, reggae and rock.

Gil continued to record albums through the 1980s and 1990s, winning several prestigious awards including the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Music Album. In 1987, he entered politics, becoming the secretary of culture in his home state of Bahia.

Today, Gilberto Gil continues to record and tour while serving his current post in the Brazilian Government. The following is a video clip of Gil's 1992 single, "Madalena."

Happy Birthday, Moz!

Yesterday, the singer who has been called alternative rock's "most influential artist ever" turned 49. If you're a fan of Alternative Classix LIVE or the podcast, chances are you either love his work with The Smiths, his solo stuff or both. You've also probably lost count of the times Steven Patrick Morrissey's music - or Morrissey, as we all know him - provided the soundtrack for a date, a dance, a breakup, a road trip or all of the above.

Indeed, for the better part of 25 years, Morrissey's sardonic, literate lyrics, baritone - and occasionally - high falsetto voice, slinky onstage moves and sometimes controversial politics have made us smile, made us cry and, sometimes, made us angry. But we can all agree he's been nothing short of fascinating and continues to surprise with every new album or interview.

Tonight, we'll celebrate Morrissey's contributions to the genre we love with a selection of some of his greatest hits with The Smiths and as a solo artist at Alternative Classix LIVE (7-9pm SL or PST, Harmony Cafe, Cetus Gallery District). I'll also spin your alternative favorites from the '80s and early '90s, do a retro '80s pop quiz (with your chance to win $500L!!), and promise you one of the best crowds in SL. Hope to see you there!

DJ Tarsis

Moving boxes and some cooooool tunes

I caught Tarsis yesterday at Mystical Nights, packing up his DJ stuff. This task took some time given the demos through which he had to sort. Being the sweet, dedicated friend that I am, I helped him out, mostly by holding up the trash bag. It wasn't long before we picked up his gear, took one last look around, let out a sigh of many happy memories gone by and TPed over to the highin Skiddaw. The high is known for its "chillaxin" parties on Tuesdays with Nexeus Fatale. Many AC fans will remember the lounge from our 2007 Road Tour.

At that point, Tarsis unpacked. This consisted mostly of him placing his earphones on the bar. He also placed his longtime host Geda Hax's nametag on the entourage stand so she felt at home too.

You've never seen a thing in this world until you see Tarsis jump in the air, click his heels together and let out a whhhhoooooooopppp(!) of joy. We're just that excited to be here.

Special thanks to Nexeus Fatale for the hospitality. It's good to be "home" again.

Join us Wednesday evenings for Brazilian Groove. Wear your samba or salsa shoes. We've got the caipirinhas covered. And don't forget to bring your friends to share a little Brazilian love. IM me in-world for a limo. You'll probably find me sitting at the pool table. :)

Ribbons Whitfield
Manager, DJ Tarsis

It's My Life

As many of you who listen to the podcast or have been to Alternative Classix LIVE in SL know, few bands from the 1980s have such a profound affect on me as Talk Talk.

While most people (in the United States) will remember the band for exactly two hits - 1982's "Talk Talk" and 1984's "It's My Life" (later covered by No Doubt) - Talk Talk actually released a series of varied and beautiful albums over a 10 year period that formed one of the most unique musical transformations in rock history. It's a legacy that many progressive artists today acknowledge as a major source of inspiration.

Talk Talk began in 1981 as a quartet consisting of Mark Hollis (vocals), Simon Brenner (keyboards), Lee Harris (drums) and Paul Webb (bass). Initially associated with the new wave movement (thanks in part to EMI label mates Duran Duran), the band released its self-titled debut album The Party's Over in 1982 with the singles "Talk Talk" and "Today".

In 1983, Brenner left the band and Talk Talk added an unofficial fourth member Tim Friese-Greene, who became Talk Talk's keyboard player and producer. The following year, the band released the album It's My Life, spawning the title track hit and an accompanying single, "Such a Shame".

It was during the period between 1984 and 1986 that Talk Talk's sound moved significantly away from new wave synth into a style now referred to as "post rock" -  a mix of rock and ambient soundscapes. The beautiful Colour of Spring released in 1986 was an early taste of this shift and featured the top 40 single "Life's What Your Make It."  By 1991, the band had gone from post rock to a style that could only be described as minimalist free form jazz, as reflected on their final album Laughing Stock.

To me, there has always been something powerful about the way Talk Talk dramatically changed through that decade. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing their craft mature or admiration for how the band did what they thought was right regardless of record company pressures.

Come to think of it, it's that maverick approach that guides how I program Alternative Classix LIVE (7-9pm SL or PST, Harmony Cafe, Cetus Gallery District). Join me TONIGHT, where we'll feature Talk Talk along with the rest of your alternative favorites from the '80s and early '90s, a retro '80s pop quiz (with your chance to win $500L!!), a great scene and some surprises. Hope to see you there!

DJ Tarsis

Brazilian Groove Takes a Pause This Week...

....as your DJ will be busy in the RL (taking in a ballgame...ahem). I'll be back next Wednesday with another installment of our series on legendary Brazilian musicians and from 6-8pm PST at Mystical Nights with a set of all new music. Don't miss it!!

The New Waves

In the past four years or so, there's been a steady drumbeat of coverage in the music press about the so-called "re-popularizing" of '80s new wave music by a number of indie rock and major label rock bands. As far as I can tell, this post-punk revival has had varying success, with Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, The Bravery, theSTART, Epoxies and others leading the pack.

Whoa.Time out. So, what's new wave you ask? I defer to Wikipedia:

"New Wave was a music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s. It emerged from punk rock as a reaction against the popular music of the 1970s. New Wave incorporated various influences such as the rock n' roll styles of the pre-hippie era, ska, reggae, power pop the mod subculture, electronic music, disco, funk, etc." (New wave fashions were a reaction to the hippie styles of the 1960s, which spilled over into the mainstream by the late 1970s. The flashier side of these styles were worn by musicians/fans of a sub-genre of new wave called "new romantic.")

In general, I give revival bands credit for taking a shot (whether it's intended or not) at updating the sound of a sometimes maligned subgenre and bringing renewed attention to bands who deserve credit for their contributions to rock history - even though they sometimes miss the mark when trying to dress the part of new romantics (um, less Marylin Manson, more Adam Ant people! - pictured -). Alas, I can't blame them. Some of these guys were probably still fetuses when the likes of Visage, Duran Duran, Talk Talk, Flock of Seagulls, Soft Cell, Ultravox and others were riding high on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

And that brings me to tonight's edition of Alternative Classix LIVE (7-9pm SL or PST, Harmony Cafe, Cetus Gallery District). Whether your an old hat to new wave, you dress like a New Romantic (in RL and SL, and don't quite know why) or are just beginning to explore the origins of sounds you've come to appreciate in certain music today -- you'll want to park your avatars right here.

We've got lots of new wave in store TONIGHT, along with the rest of your alternative favorites from the '80s and early '90s, a retro '80s pop quiz (with your chance to win $500L!!), a great scene and some surprises. Hope to see you there!

DJ Tarsis

Meanderings on Jorge Ben Jor

I often receive questions from clubgoers at Brazilian Groove (Wednesdays, 6-8pm (Pacific Standard Time), Mystical Nights) about the artists I play  - who they are, what's their "sound", etc. The reality is Brazilian music is so deep and varied (thanks to multiple European/African influences), it can be near impossible to understand how - both stylistically and geographically - the music fits together if you don't have the proper grounding.

That's why today, I'm happy to announce a weekly series that highlights the important artists and styles that have come to "define" the Brazilian sound and have influenced a generation of artists -- many of whom you can hear me play at Brazilian Groove TONIGHT on Second Life.

*********************** 

Among the most requested artists at Brazilian Groove, Jorge Ben Jor is a well-loved and resilient musician and composer of Brazilian popular music (Musica Popular Brasileira - MPB) who has been recording and touring for nearly five decades. His characteristic style fuses samba, funk and rock into a style known as "Samba rock", with lyrics that blend humor and satire with sometimes esoteric subject matter.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1940, Ben took up bossa nova guitar playing after hearing the legendary Joao Gilberto but found the style too complex to play. Instead, he developed his own approach to bossa nova that focused on playing the guitar as one would a bass guitar - his early recordings are in fact bass-less. His first big hit as a singer/songwriter came at the age of 23 with "Mas Que Nada." The song's subtle bossa nova groove proved so seductive that it was quickly covered by a number of Brazilian artists (most recently by Sergio Mendes and the Black Eyed Peas, which was a worldwide hit in 2006).

During the military dictatorship's cultural crackdown in Brazil the late 1960s, Ben, whose music wasn't scrutinized as rigorously as that of his contemporaries like Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, was able to perform with little resistance into the early '70s. Still, he felt the long arm of Brazilian censorship when a 1971 performance was stopped in midsong because censors felt as though Ben's backup singers were dancing too suggestively.

Over the next ten to 15 years Ben expanded his reach, with varying success, to Europe and America. In 1989, he released the album BenJor, simultaneously announcing that he was changing his last name to Benjor. During that same time period, Ben also realized his dream of working with prominent African musicians when he collaborated with Nigeria's King Sunny Ade. He was also represented on an anthology of Brazilian music compiled by former Talking Head, David Byrne.

In addition to "Mas Que Nada", Ben's most well known songs include "Taj Mahal" (which was legally recognized in a plagiarism lawsuit against Rod Stewart as the source of the melody in the song "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"), "Ponta De Lanca Africano", "Fio Maravilha", "Pais Tropical", "Chove Chuva" and "Oba, La Vem Ela."

Ben continues to record and tour, most recently headlining the Brazilian leg of the 2007 Live Earth concert in Rio.   

Brazilian Music: A Solution For World Peace?

Ok, so maybe I'm simplifying things. But, I have yet to meet anyone - SL or RL - who can deny keeping still and having a HUGE smile come across their face every time they hear it. And is it any wonder when that hypnotic beat and those heavenly vocals automatically transport you to a beach in Rio? (pictured)

The aural ecstasy continues TONIGHT with Brazilian Groove from 6-8 pm SL at Mystical Nights. If you haven't been to the gig in a while, come see what you've been missing -- I think you'll be very surprised. As word has spread about the gig both in the world music and Brazilian communities across SL, our audience has exploded into one of the most international and exciting social communities in the virtual world.

Hope to see you there!

DJ Tarsis