phocas.net

Flyers for events photographed in July 2004 appear below. A link to the associated photo album appears beneath that. 07.02.2004 Frisky Acid Series Show 2 featuring Hector Moralez & Pat Nice Kabal Restaurant & Nightclub Kansas City, MO 07.02.2004 Fridays are Back featuring Steve Thorell & Bill Pile The Point Kansas City, MO 07.02.2004 House Party Independence featuring 4Star, Dan Palmer, & others A House Independence, MO photos by joe 07.03.2004 Kansas City Air Show - USAF Thunderbirds Charles Wheeler Airport Kansas City, MO 07.05.2004 Evolution featuing B*U*S*H and resident Replikant Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club Kansas City, MO 07.09.2004 ESSENCE featuring  Heather Hart, Lunatik, Xan Lucero & Atom Bryce, Kid Charlemane, Dan Palmer, and DJ Shelley.  In the second room, Traci_Dub, Game, Spinstylez, cQuence, MC Scenario, Milo vs Blue, and 4Star The...

by Brent Crampton ~ "The Charts" is a monthly column that let's you know what regional, national and internationl dj's are playing currently. They pick out there top ten records and let you know why those tracks are buzzin' through their head. Check out what tunes are currently hot - what's about to be hot - and what records never leave a dj's bag. Sona Photo by Tabitha Russell Proving that the real estate slogan of “location, location, location” is true to its calling, Sona has been immersed in what some DJs are calling the current mecca of house music, Texas. Having DJ'd for only three years, Sona has held down countless residencies in the booming nightlife in the state and has recently dug into the production side. His style is designed to move dat ass with chunky percussion, jazzy riffs and of course that oh-so-boompty-boomp sound. Sona took out some time to lay down his top ten tracks at the moment. Check out what the Texas breeding ground ...

intro to sampling~ by J. Phoenix ~ In this month's issue of The Bench, I will define what sampling is, introduce you to some of the history behind sampling, touch on how it has changed the way we make music, and outline future articles on sampling. I am primarily a sample-based artist; it is my favorite form of working with music. I am obsessed with the manipulation of recorded sound, and it will be a pleasure to share some of my knowledge on this with you. Sampling is the recording and playing back of small digitally recorded pieces of sound. Samples can be made out of any sound that can be recorded or created. Samples can be short brief stabs of recorded sound (like a drum); they can be repeating loops of sound creating a rhythm or repeated melody; they can be the sound of a human voice speaking or singing; a sample can be a single note which will be pitched up and down to imitate a specific instrument. Sampling has utilized digital technology from its very beginning. The fir...

Interview & Photos by Joe Hensen ~ Wizzo is a name quickly becoming known throughout Kansas City. Hailing out of Omaha, Nebraska, Wizzo has quickly become a Kansas City favorite. Being able to move a room is quickly becoming his specialty. I'm sure there a lot of people who want to know who Wizzo is, so I decided to ask him. Are you originally from the Kansas City Area? No. I grew up in Atlantic, Iowa. It's a small town of about 9 or 10 thousand. Then I lived in Omaha for a couple years and then in KC for 9 nine months. I moved back to Omaha for 4 or so years and then in February,, I moved back to KC. I've been around. Do you feel that you are thriving in Kansas City or do you think that you'll move on to different cities? Right now, I'm honestly not sure. KC seems alright, but I feel that I need the hustle and bustle of a bigger city. Plus I would like some more diversity. Not just in music but in all around culture as well. Wizzo's an unusual nam...

Interview & Photos by todd ~ Steve Thorell has been a name that has been well known in Kansas City for quite a while. Many people consider him one of the few Rave originals to survive the '90s and emerge reasonably successful and relatively unscathed in the new millennium. Steve has always captured my attention and imagination, playing various styles and tracks that always seem to be what the crowd wanted to hear at that particular moment. He is definitely one of my most favorite DJs in Kansas City and if there's no other party going on, you can usually find me where-ever he happens to be playing. His followers are like that too. They are loyal and like me, they know that if anyone can make them dance their cares away, he is the man to do it. It was recently, that I noticed that Steve Thorell was nominated for the Pitch Music Showcase Awards. I had also heard that all of the places he plays at regularly chipped in to help him out this year. I decided that I could thr...

Interview by Phelyne ~ Artwork by Spaed. Top right by Spaed, Danny, Jasen, Bacdafukkup!  ~ Representing Pittsburgh, PA - Spaed is one of the most ambitious and dedicated up-and-comers I have had the pleasure of recently meeting. This guy has been a major player for quite sometime in his hometown and nationally, holding it down in several areas of the underground scene since around the time a lot of it was started. Not only does he have strong roots in graffiti, being one the pioneers of NSF (a nationally acclaimed graffiti crew), but he is also skilled at skateboarding, turntablism, and producing hiphop and jungle beats. He is on his way to becoming the next great internationally acclaimed producer from Pennsylvania in both jungle and HipHop. This man is on his way around the globe, but had some time to sit down and talk with me. How long have you been in the game? I have been collecting records since I was an early teen. I started buying jungle & drum and bass records ar...

Interview by Brent Crampton ~ Photos by Kent Frost ~ Ben Armstrong is a Fayetteville, Arkansas native who’s altruistic efforts are bringing him to great lengths in the house music industry. He has been getting booked all over the States and has a few tracks in the works to be released on some major labels. Ben is a bright individual who throws free events in the beautiful parks of Fayetteville, AR. While getting some local dj’s together and a BBQ pit are nothing special in itself, Ben takes it a step further and flys in national names in house music just to play at his events. Where is all the money coming from to do this? That’s a good question - see what he has to say about it. Tell me what your free events are? Well, basically they're just a good reason for good friends to get together and have a good time listening to good music. What kind of music/atmosphere/etc? Since I play and produce house music, the events are definitely geared towards house. But I also try to...

Story by Brent Crampton ~ Photo by Vitally ~ The DJs in Lincoln and Omaha are starting to break out the scratch records, juggling techniques and the two-minute-mix-transitions and it’s not because a new fad of turntablism is taking over. It’s the annual Bricktop DJ Contest! And this year promises to be just as off-the-hook as the 2003 contest. With the grand prize being 2 Technics or $1,000, there was a line of djs set to play when the June 28th entry deadline came around. The contest begins on July 10th and will continue until the last DJ is standing. A host of panel judges, amongst them are rumored to be Zak C, Garrick Michael and Lunatik will be judging on crowd response, stage presence, creativity and technicality. Last year the final dual came down to Mix Masta Meza and Zak C and ended in an infamously controversially win by Zak C. Most cheered, and some booed at the results from the judges. Nonetheless, the contest proved to be memorable and expect nothing short for this ye...

by Brent Crampton  ~ Artwork by Betsy Borchardt ~ photos by Unknown “Together is an idea, a dream, a life, that includes all. Together is for you and me and lives through us all. We freely give so that we may freely receive, we give what we have to give and share what is given.” - Together2K4.com This is the eloquently stated mission of the annual event, Together based in Iowa. Together began last summer with the simple idea of bringing together all djs, groups of people and promotion groups on a fare and unbiased level. It’s a free 3-day camping event celebrating music and art on August 13-15th, location T.B.A. While most scenes move into clubs and become focused on making the coveted dollar, Iowa is fighting for it’s true appeal to a rave culture, and Together is just the reflection of the bigger picture of unity amongst the ravers throughout Iowa. In my experience with the followers of electronic music in Iowa, there is a sense of purity and unity in the scene that has ...

story & photos by todd ~ Monday. What a horrible day to do anything. After surviving a weekend full of some of the hardest partying you have done in months (for some of us, years), now one of your best friends is on the phone and wants you to come out and party some more. You're first thought is, "Are you Crazy? I just turned my world upside down this past weekend. I slept 18 of the 24 hours that they call Sunday, woke up late this morning, was going to be on time for work until some idiot rolled their car over in the middle of the interstate and my boss bitched at me for an hour because I was 5 minutes late, and You want Me to do What?" On the other end of the phone, your friend tells you, in their best 'pretty please' voice, "Oh, Come on. It'll be fun. We'll just go down to the Club and have a cocktail and listen to some music maybe find some boys / girls. Who knows? There's a DJ that's been playing off and on down there on differ...