Who: The Glitch Mob w/Daddy Kev
When: Thursday, July 30, 9 p.m.
Where: Tommy Africa's
Cost: $15 in advance at Tommy's, The Mix by Ric's & The Hub
With a name like The Glitch Mob, it just makes sense that brotherhood is part of the package for members of this musical group.
In fact, first and foremost, Josh "Ooah" Mayer, Justin "The Iceman" Boreta, and Edward "edIT" Ma - the men behind the music of The Glitch Mob - are good friends, which means that the artistic side of things usually comes pretty easy to them; touring isn't stressful, and collaboration is a natural and dynamic process.
"We became really good friends and that's pretty important for us to be able to do this, because it just makes it really easy and fun," Mayer said.
The group is playing a few shows in California before heading up to Vancouver and Whistler on their West Coast tour.
"We have a good time and we're pretty upbeat guys so we know how to make the best of situations."
The three musicians were actually vinyl DJs and into drum 'n' bass and hip hop before they began playing together, casually, back in 2006.
"We were all kinda booked separately, like solo DJ gigs, and then we ended up being at a lot of the same shows and festivals and things like that," Mayer recalled.
Soon, he and Boreta tried a dual set using their computers, then edIT jumped in on another gig. This somewhat loose affiliation eventually stuck.
Kraddy, a fourth member of their group, just left the group earlier this summer.
"We love Kraddy and we support him," Mayer said. "Me and Ed and Boreta kind of had a vision and Kraddy wasn't necessarily on the same page."
The amicable split doesn't seem to have fazed the trio. They're carrying on, business as usual, with this tour, and are hard at work on their next full-length album, which they plan to release in early 2010. In fact, they're already nine tracks in on that project.
"We have some very large visions, now, and we really, like, see what we want and we're going for it - there's no bumps in the road."
Borrowing aspects from hip hop, rock and experimental electronic genres, the Mob has managed to create an entirely new form of futuristic dance music, featuring some serious bass, drums and melodies, all while flying by the seat of their pants.
"We're all pretty open-minded as far as music goes - I mean, we love everything! We listen to so much music," Mayer said.
They've effectively reinvented the traditional laptop DJ setup, creating a truly original digital beast by layering chords, vocal bits and drum beats, and rejecting traditional instrumentation in favour of robotic and mechanical sounds (think bleeps, clicks and scratches), all integrated with bass and the occasional rap lyric. They use three computers, some new Lemur screens and drum pads, coupled with the occasional turntable, in any given show. The ensuing sound is bound to get any crowd whipped into a frenzy on the dance floor. And that's what these guys do best.
While the group has been spending a fair share of their time in the studio on projects, both on their next album and lending their talents to the STS9 Peaceblaster remix project, which raises money for rebuilding post-Katrina New Orleans, it's clear that these musicians put their heart and soul into their live shows.
They've discovered that the secret of blowing up any dance floor is to simply engage with the audience and show that you're having fun.
"That's one of the best parts - being able to write music and go out and play it and be able to watch the crowd interact," Mayer said.
