Saturday, December 9th, 2006

Boots Riley on Their Tour Bus Crash

The Coup and Mr. Lif’s tour was suddenly ended last Saturday morning when their tour bus plunged 30 feet over a cliff and exploded.

They lost everything in the crash and some sustained serious injuries.

If you were planning to see them on the road or if the artists have ever given you enjoyment, please consider making a Paypal donation to support the hospital costs and recovery of the band members. A Paypal button is here, below “About The Coup”.

Here is Boots’ own account of what happened:

The Crash

So, we got on the bus after doing a show at The House of Blues San Diego as part of The Coup/Mr. Lif tour. As the bus took off, I thought that I would go lay in my bunk, listen to my Ipod, and write. But then Zhara, Mr. Lif’s friend and the tour’s merchandise seller, announced that she had “Anchorman” on DVD. Oh Shit. Will Ferrell or writing? Hot 16s would have to wait tonight…Good Night San Diego! So I stayed up in the front lounge of the bus and, even though I’ve seen this movie twice, commenced to laugh my ass off. Almost literally, because of what happened next.

Shortly after the acapella singing of “Afternoon Delight” by Ferrell et al., a big bump, then another, then plummeting down as we tipped over to the left. I was sitting in the diner-like booth that many of these buses have in the front. I held on to the table with one hand and tried to guard my head with the other, all the while thinking that I was probably about to die. I don’t remember seeing everyone flying and flipping around me as it was happening, but Carter’s (the road manager) and Wiz’s face were covered in blood, and everybody seemed to be laying around hurt. The bus was on it’s side, with the entrance door up.

I called for people to say there names so we could get a head count of who was conscious or not. Silk E, Q (drums), Riccol (bass), and Metro (Lif’s hype man) were trapped in the back lounge because the doors connecting the front and back lounges to the bunks were electrically powered and didn’t move with no power on. They ended up ripping and squeezing their way out of a tiny little window and jumped down off the bus as the rest of us got out the front. I was the third person to jump off the front of the bus, as I hung down to make the jump shorter, I saw that the front of the bus was on fire.

I yelled to everyone, saying to get off the bus immediately because the bus was on fire and it could blow up. We all did. No one was killed. The bus was totally engulfed in flames. For a while no one stopped to help, supposedly because they thought we were “illegal aliens” crossing the border. Eventually some great folks stopped and helped.

Silk E has two broken ribs and a punctured lung. Wiz has a broken nose, two deep lacerations to the head, and a shattered knee. Zhara has injuries to her hand and had to undergo surgery. Carter had to get stitches to his head and lip. The driver, Glenn, has a broken jaw. All the first three will be in need of follow-up treatments. We all have aching backs, legs, heads etc. Many of us are on pain killers.

We lost everything in that crash and fire.

We were packed to live and do shows on that bus for a month. Most of us had every stitch of clothing we owned on there. We lost clothes, computers, recording equipment, cameras, IDs, phones, keys to cars and homes. We lost cash.We lost all our damn instruments and equipment to perform with. We were and are happy to walk away with our lives. But now we’re home.

Most of the band touring with The Coup has kids, rent that won’t quit, bills, and holiday expenses coming. We need money, because like I said the band doesn’t have the tools that they make a living with. Not only did we lose cash and material things on the bus, but we also were depending on this tour for money to make it through. It may take a year for us to see any money from the insurance company.

I have set up a Paypal account so people can make donations for The Coup. The money will be split between Me (Boots Riley), Silk E, Q, Steve Wyreman (guitar), and Riccol. Mr. Lif is setting one up on his site and when I have that info, we’ll let you know.

There should be a button right below this that allows you to donate even without a paypal account.

If you have an account, ours is thecoupbuscrash@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance to anyone who does this, this is a really crazy situation. I never thought I would would be doing something like this. I also never thought that we would almost die like like that.

We’re grateful for anything you can do.

Thank you,
Boots Riley

P.S. Thank you for the messages of love and warmth we’ve been receiving. It makes a difference.

There’s a Pay Pal button to make a donation at The Coup’s MySpace page (under: ‘About The Coup’). Every cent will go towards the recovery of the band.

posted by @ 5:18 am | 0 Comments

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

Critics Rate The Critics


U can dance if u want 2, all the critics luv u in New York…
(Photo ganked from the Gawker profile of above star)

Today’s Time Out NY critiques the critics. If you just want the music list, go here.

I largely agree with assessments of Sasha, K, and Jody. But they’re out to lunch on Xgau and Pareles–which I think reflects upon how limited pop critics consider their landscape to be…both Xgau and Pareles have been leading lights in taking African and non-English-language pop seriously. (Although the day someone begins to take non-Japanese-girl Asian pop seriously in a New York paper on an ongoing basis is the day I catch religion.)

A serious question: Why, amidst one of the greatest ongoing immigration waves in history, a wave that overwhelmingly trends young, is “world music” still considered old music for old people? Have at that one, friends, please.

Also: Ben Ratliff, highly underrated. Is there a bias also against critics who know chops? Then again, I’ve just outlined the top 6 so maybe I complain too much. (Not a serious question: Can a critic complain too much?)

Finally, I wish the TONYites had gone deeper than the dailies and weeklies. Perhaps there’s a way to develop a rate-a-critic website, in the same way folks rate professors or whether you’re hot or not. That might be the ultimate slapback of the bloggers against the terrestrial establishment.

But hey, why can’t we continue that discussion here? How would you rate the music critics you read?

posted by @ 7:33 pm | 1 Comment

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

Give Thanks


Changing the game ’til the Hall of Fame.

The Clash w/ Mikey Dread :: One More Anti-War Dub (Zentronix Edit)

An exclusive one-night mix just to give thanks.

Much respect to Mala, Digital Mystikz, Skream, and the dubstep massive for inspiration.

One.

posted by @ 11:03 pm | 1 Comment

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

My Man Danny Hoch On Seinfeld and Kramer

From Jails, Hospitals, and Hip-Hop, my man Danny Hoch and the back story on “Seinfeld”, Seinfeld, Kramer and race–with a diversion into Tarantinoland.

KARMA LIKE A MUH…

posted by @ 10:56 am | 6 Comments

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Back Like A High-Top Fade


Hey! Retro Kids love the eighties.

This past weekend a friend about to have her first child started making plans with her girlfriends to have one last wild dance night at a ridiculously popular club that specializes in playing 80s music–big hair, big t-shirts with big slogans, big snare drums, big color, big drinks. Woke up the next day to see the picture above. But like those great philosophers once said, I still can’t stand fluorescent socks.

Now you can take me back to this and this and this and this and this and OK now I’m getting carried away, this and yes even, this!

But for the most part, man, the 80s were one long decade.

To be fair, they ended perfectly well. The last three years were especially HOT. Even better, they became the 90s. But I’ll probably have to wait a few years for my own sons to start asking me if they can have those old flannels and canvas Carharts in the closet.

posted by @ 9:50 am | 2 Comments

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Time Magazine’s Top 100 Albums

Have at it, all you music geeks.

posted by @ 7:39 pm | 2 Comments

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Upski On Dems and The Youth Vote

A brilliant, must-read essay from William Upski Wimsatt on the importance of the youth vote:

The secret weapon in last Tuesday’s historic election was a constituency Democrats barely bothered to recognize: young people.

Continuing a trend begun in 2004, this year’s election may have produced the highest youth mid-term turnout ever. Early estimates suggest that 10 million voters under the age of 30 made up 13% of the electorate. They helped Democrats in close elections sweep into office in 25 states.

We know because our organization, the League of Young Voters, turned out 150,000 young voters who made the difference in races in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and Florida. We were just one of dozens of independent, under-the-radar, youth-led efforts to inspire and turn out young voters.

Young people are progressive on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and immigration. Most think the country is on the wrong track, and oppose the war. They vote Democratic by a 2 to 1 margin. So why are young people overlooked by political campaigners and pundits? The answer is what we call the myth of youth apathy.

posted by @ 8:09 am | 2 Comments

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Clear Channel Downsizes, Goes Private

From Paul Porter at Industry Ears comes the news that Clear Channel is going private for a $27 billion buyout from investors Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Even more interesting is the announcement that they are selling off more than 400 radio stations.

Is this the beginning of a reversal in terrestrial monopoly radio? Has the logjam been broken?

UPDATE: Apparently Mass governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a principal in Bain Capital. Political speculation is running rampant.

posted by @ 8:04 am | 3 Comments

Monday, November 13th, 2006

Monday Eye Burn


E is for Egads! Reka wrecks.

Apologies for disappearing on you. Returned from Oz to find vapors in the bank account. So I’ve been back on the grind.

Here are things I’ve been meaning to show for a long time. Melbourne’s brilliant Koan and Kano arranged for the amazing art at the Red Bull Music Academy. I missed their Letterheads exhibition, but now you don’t have to. Check the rest of the Nice Produce site for Ozzy’s illest streetwear.


Wake up in the morning, what do I see? (Photo by Peter Dean Rickards)

Jamrock’s illest eyes belong to Afflicted, and he’s preparing a photobook to drop early next year. Here’s a preview of some of his soulful shots from Harlem. I don’t need to tell you about the Afflicted Yard, do I?

posted by @ 10:10 am | 5 Comments

Monday, November 13th, 2006

Me And Josh Davis Down By The 45 Bin

Here’s an excerpt of some hang-out type talk with me and the DJ known as Shadow in the latest ish of The Believer.

A fine issue, worthy of trooping down to the mag stand to get for your very own, if only to possess a hilarious caricature of me that looks vaguely Chicano that you can shove in my face any time I get full of myself.

Here’s Shaddy Shad with some wisdom:

I would say, “Right off the bat, I’m not the Hyphy spokesperson. I don’t go to shows—I hardly even go to clubs—I’m a good ten years older than most of the people in the scene, if not more.” But what I do tell them is, “Look, in the same way that you can be over here and listen to and understand bounce music but it really helps to go to New Orleans, and you can have all your Chopped and Screwed CDs but it really helps to go to Houston to understand, it’s the same with Hyphy.” From Sly Stone to Digital Underground to now, Hyphy is a witty, quirky take on things. And you have to be in the Bay and know the diversity of the Bay and its weird geographic shape, with its pockets of extreme poverty right next to pockets of extreme wealth, and all that weird interplay that creates the Bay as a whole. Even the weather—the weird way all the clouds butt up against the coast—it’s like everything’s cruising along and then all of a sudden you get to the coast and everything’s turbulent. And it’s always there, that energy in the air—it’s always turbulent, never still. And all that factors into Hyphy.

posted by @ 8:14 am | 0 Comments



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