Music Review – 29th St – The Stone Lounge EP

September 24, 2008 Joey Pinkney 1 Comment

From the opening synthesizer and bass line on the song Movin’, you know you’re going to be on a ride that can last for hours. Their MySpace page brands their music as “Down-tempo/Experimental”, but the music grop known as 29^th St. sounds like a modern-day funk/jazz band that has been grooving together for decades.

Their debut release, entitled The Stone Lounge EP, is a four-song offering shows a lot of promise for future releases. Keyboardist Andrew and bass player Rai have been getting radio play on the Santa Monica’s 89.9 KCRW, but this EP has a global appeal. The live hip hop drums on Indentation serve as the appropriate foundation for Andrew and Rai ride. They weave together a jam that can easily stay on repeat and not agitate the listener.

Flavour starts with Gabriel Rodriguez Botsford playing the flute with the raspy soul of a West African griot telling the story of the history of music. Andrew comes in with a keyboard melody that’s equally powerful. He and the flute player trade back and forth as naturally as a conversation between two respectful musicians finding a common ground on the aural landscape of syncopated drums and plucked bass licks.

The dreamy Monkeywrist quickly turns into a weird nightmare of spoken word poetry/rap. One of the inner panels has the lyrics of Monkeywrist written out. The lyrics are just as powerful when listened to as they are when read. Although only four songs and a little under ten and a half minutes long, The Stone Lounge EP will prove to be a great addition to the collection of music lovers of all kinds.

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Offer:

5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, amazon.com, interview

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With LJ Miller, author of This Game Has NO Loyalty

September 22, 2008 Joey Pinkney

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Questions, 5 Minutes With…
L. Miller, author of This Game Has NO Loyalty
(Pilot Publishing Group)

(click on the pictures to see this book on Amazon.com)

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write This Game Has NO Loyalty?

L.J. Miller: The idea to write This Game Has NO Loyalty came to me when my first daughter was born. I was in the game deep before her birth. At the time I was reckless because I was only responsible for one life…my own. While she was in the womb, I had a revelation. I decided I didn’t want my seed to see me as a hustler, visit me in jail, or look at my remains in a casket… I’d seen too many of my comrades go through that.

My inspiration to write This Game Has NO Loyalty came from the brutal murder of one of my closest friends. I was making my exit out of the game and was turning my life around in hopes of becoming successful legally. I planned on bringing my true homeboys into the fold. During this time I received a phone call that he was missing. Once they found his body, I heard so many different stories about how and why he was murdered that I knew I couldn’t trust anyone around me… There was so much disloyalty. I knew throughout my days of hustling that loyalty was hard to come by and usually camouflaged as friendship. I realized it more through the death of my homie.

JP: What sets This Game Has NO Loyalty apart from other urban fiction novels where a drug dealer gets caught up in the game?

LM: I think what initially sets my story apart from the typical â€˜drug dealer getting caught up’ story is that my story is real. The characters are not invented they are real people that you identify with if you are from this environment (or know people who are). This story takes you into when the crack epidemic came into full swing. This is when every young black male found out they could make large sums of money if they sold the product. You don’t get the glorification of selling drugs in this book. You actually learn subliminally as you’re being entertained and kept glued to the pages by the continuous action and nonstop drama.

The story even stays consistent with the old school hustle mentality, lingo, gadgets, and apparel. If you are a reader who remembers these times, the story takes you down memory lane. If you are not from this era and don’t remember, it is written so vividly you will be drawn into that era. For instance, in the late 80’s everyone didn’t have cell phones. Beepers were how you were contacted. You had to use a pay phone to return calls.

The fact that the characters are not inflated with delusions of grandeur is another important factor that separates this book from other urban stories. The people in my novel are making money but not Bentley money. They aren’t flying off to exotic islands in their G4 where a passport and ID is required to gain access into the country. Finally, this novel also weaves in characters that are directly related to the main character and show how and why they are relevant and important in the story. It will definitely leave you wanting more.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to This Game Has NO Loyalty getting out to the public?

LM: As an author, my keys to the success of This Game Has NO Loyalty is to get the respect of the streets by making the book available to all street vendors nationwide. This book is written about the streets with unadulterated truth. It’s only fitting that it receives the thumbs up from the fans from the streets.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish This Game Has NO Loyalty?

LM: To be honest, I started this book years ago but never finished it. When I picked it back up it took me about 6 – 8 months to have it publishing ready.

JP: What’s next for L.J. Miller?

LM: I have the sequel to This Game Has NO Loyalty finished. It should be released by the end of the year or beginning of next year. Right behind that, I have another story that should show my maturity as a writer-a novel that is very different but also real in its content. Then the final part of This Game Has NO Loyalty will be dropped the following year. During the release of the sequel and the third novel, I will be promoting literacy by having educational seminars in different cities for the youth. I will offer creative writing classes so the youth can learn to utilize their brain power for something other than reaching the next level on a video game.

www.myspace.com/blackandwrite

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html

P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, hip hop, interview

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With M.G. Hardie, author of EveryDay Life

September 20, 2008 Joey Pinkney

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
M.G. Hardie, author of EveryDay Life
(Lumina Press)

(click on the pictures to see this book on Amazon)

Within this Rhythm and Blues world, L is a young African-American man living in a one bedroom apartment in one of the many long forgotten ghettos of America. He struggles with drug use, gang violence and the usual bitchassness of his friends. During bouts of persistent assholeism, no subject from spankings to war is off limits for these four friends.

At a moment’s notice, these friends delve into a convoluted, yet endearing game of The Dozens. L was once a promising athlete that is now relegated to the ghetto after being unjustly prosecuted. He is no longer satisfied with his lot in life and decides to makes some life-altering changes after much soul-searching, unwarranted police stops and the shiftless nature of his urban comrades.

Follow L and his friends as they expound on their views of life, love and society in a Hip-Hop nation. You know the sort of things that happen in EveryDay Life. Prepare for a book so Hip-Hop you can almost hear the bass thump!

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write EveryDay Life?

M.G. Hardie: It can’t be denied that African-American Literature has drawn more people into reading than the Reading Is Fundamental program. I just wanted readers to be able to see real experiences through my words. I wanted people to see beyond my made up adjectives and coined words. My goal was to convey powerful messages, not by the end of the book, but throughout the book by words and phrases. My whole life has been about making it through the night to get to brighter days. We all have had those dark moments in life, and they are not even remotely funny. However, years later when you look back on those events they become very funny such is EveryDay Life.

JP: What sets EveryDay Life apart from other urban fiction novels?

MH: My book EveryDay Life itself is a contradiction. I asked myself why does a Stage Play have to be fiction? Am I expected to do what everyone else is doing? It is hard to stay true to that game when you are breaking age-old literary conventions. When you do something new there will always be resistance. But like Kanye West said in Finer Things “I’m inspired when people don’t like me.” It is a historic time in America. It is truly a time for change, a time to do something new. Some people just won’t get it, while most others will. I think that is a testament to the duality I placed on each page. I could have written a Fiction book, but that would have been too easy. What I came up with in EveryDay Life, aside from the shear non-sense, is humor with thought-provoking side effects.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to EveryDay Life getting out to the public?

MH: Enjoy what you do so it won’t seem like a job. For me, Diligence and Faith worked for me. I have children, so I had to try and work out a regular schedule to sit down and write. I wrote EveryDay Life not expecting anything really, so EveryDay Life has already exceeded expectations. Actually I was speaking to a youth about the process of writing my book and how I had to change to get out of the gloomy times in my life. Afterwards his mother came up to me. She really thanked me for talking to him. Needless to say I was deeply moved.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process?

MH: Writing for me simply began as the result of a bad memory. In 2006 after I graduated from college, I just began writing. I wrote every day. I wrote feelings, thoughts, and conversations from certain times in my life. After about 12,000 words, I let someone who didn’t like me read it. When they couldn’t stop laughing, my mind was made up on getting it published.

JP: How long did it take for you to start and finish EveryDay Life?

MH: A lifetime. It took me about three months to finish. It underwent about ten revisions until it was in the publisher’s hands.

JP: What’s next for M.G. Hardie?

MH: Right now I am looking at record and stage production companies that want something new and never done before like this Hip-Hop Stage Play. I am also looking forward with EveryDay Life to appear on screens small and large. I am already exploring a possible follow-up to EveryDay Life.

www.myspace.com/mghardie

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html

P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

your favorite book reviewer's favorite book reviewer… period!