Live music preview: Deezie Brown headlines Mixtape Mashup at BLK Vinyl Thursday
Most South by Southwest (SXSW) unofficial parties during the first half of the festival are either gratuitous brand marketing ploys or at best an overcrowded underplay most fans cannot get access to because the show is a huge underplay (like Doc Martens booking The Black Angels at Container bar last year). Thursday’s Mixtape Mashup (Mar 16) presented by The Loyalty Firm and The Cosmic Clash featuring Deezie Brown are neither of those things. It’s a free event open to the public to support SIMS Foundation, a mental health organization for Austin music industry workers and their dependent families.
Brown, who was voted Best Hip-Hop act at the Austin Music Awards last month will be joined on stage by Cha’ Keeta B, Porcelain and my education. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. The show runs until 4 p.m. at a quintessential East Austin record shop, BLK Vinyl. Come ready to buy records because all purchases will be matched and donated to SIMS Foundation. Folks are encouraged to use ride share or public transportation to get to the show as street parking is limited.
For those who like free stuff with your free Sx show, Weird Water and Independence Brewing (Try their seasonal Twine Time brew) will be on hand to slake your thirst. Plus we’ll have the folks from SIMS Foundation and the popular, Drinking with Your Ex podcast on hand.
If you haven’t seen Deezie Brown perform, you’re in for a treat. Hailing from nearby Bastrop, the musician has quietly become one of the top hip-hop acts in Texas while working in an underexposed genre. The center of rap music in Texas is Houston, not Austin which means talented artists like Brown often get overlooked in a music market crowded with bands. Despite those challenges, Brown continues to thrive as an artist which says a lot about the music he’s making.
Check out this clip from Brown’s live performance at KUTX’s Studio 1A filmed last year. If this doesn’t get you into his work, then your musical soul is already dead and you should probably stop reading The Cosmic Clash.
The rest of the bill is worthy of music fans attention as well. The impetus for this roster of artists was to highlight the disparate genres of music being made by Austin acts. This show has hard rock, experimental post rock, and two amazing hip-hop artists performing.
Cha’ Keeta B is perhaps the most underrated artist we’ve heard in a while and that’s saying a lot in a music town chock full of under appreciated musicians. Her track, “Flex” is so damn good it made our Editor and his wife instant fans. We could go on gushing about how great “Your favorite Femcee” is or just show you this sick clip:
Porcelain is a band The Cosmic Clash discovered during Free Week. The four-piece led by Steve Pike was certainly the best band we’d never heard before at the annual post-holidays event that typically features up and coming local acts at downtown venues with no cover charge.
The band plainly describes themselves as a “four-piece rock band” but they’re much more than that sonically. Their raw sound evokes elements of ’90s Grunge and progressive rock . We’re not sure what you call that except fucking good. In any case, we booked Porcelain the first opportunity that presented itself. Check out their killer EP on Bandcamp below.
Austin post-rock veterans my education take progressive and experiment rock to the edges of what is considered rock music and turn it into impressive art. Formed in 1999, the five piece features a viola amid the five-piece making “cinematic and psychedelic compositions blending intense droning guitars with the aforementioned viola,” per their Wikipedia biography.
Catch my education at BLK Vinyl on Thursday before the band embarks on a national tour with LEVITATION festival veterans, Acid Mother’s Temple (Japan) this Spring in support of their latest release, EMKA.
Featured image designed by Velcrowolf
