The Library, a college hangout nestled within the AMC theatre plaza in the wholesome town of Amherst, is where we meet. I spot Ryan “Arehouse” Howze walking towards the bar, so I follow behind him. I make my way through a bunch of heavy metal hooligans sporting pink hair and acid-washed jeans and biker bros with mohawks scattered about outside. There seems to be some sort of punk rock show going on next door at The Forvm. I get to the entrance of the bar. “I probably should have just waited in there instead of scoping you out like a creep,” I blurt out. Doh. Why did I just say that? But he’s as much of a nerd as I, so my awkward comment rolls off him as he shrugs. We make our way to the back of the bar to a cozy nook with shelves of novels. The lighting is dim and there’s nobody around.

We settle in and get to it. When Ryan begins speaking about what he loves, you can’t really stop him. It’s all esoteric-sounding to me as he throws out terms about syncopation and rhythm, and I just nod like I know what he’s talking about. I let him continue to talk while I gaze at his stunning visage, bathe in his pensiveness, and get lost in his deep-brown eyes as rose petals fall from the sky and tiny bubbles float in a sea of mist. I wet my pants. Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” plays and I’m mesmerized. Wait, DJs are totally full of themselves. Snap out of it. Okay so that didn't really happen, but I've had my heart broken by a few musicians. What girl hasn't? Oh yeah, smart girls. But anyway, I digress. Ryan's one of Buffalo's more likeable DJ types. He's not the guido-esque Chip Strip DJ that people are probably use to. He's a music nerd, and an actual nerd. Not the social butterfly you'd expect someone working within the Buffalo bar scene to be. Ryan's modest about his craft, always keeping in mind that there's someone ten steps ahead of him. He immerses himself fully in music, holding down a job at Guitar Center where he “doesn‘t make shit" but he gets to fiddle with instruments all day, so it's cool. He claims he‘s not fashionable, although he did show up to our interview in a very clean cut-looking varsity sweater jacket from JC Penney (tag still on, by the way. Totally nerdy. Also, wearing clothes your mom gets you from JC Penney. Totally nerdy.) I'm done ragging. Really though, Ryan's got his shit together. And I was honored to chat with him about his latest moves.

Jessica Brant: I want to know how you got into the DJ thing. Do you come from a musical family? Did that influence you?
Ryan Howze: Well I always played instruments. I played in bands and stuff when I was in high school. My brother was a DJ at the time (DJ Greg "Twist".) So he introduced me to DJing and showed me how to DJ. But I never had any equipment or anything like that. So a few years later, when I graduated high school, like my first year in college, I met a couple guys at the radio station (at Buffalo State College, 91.3 WBNY), and they were all DJs, and I wanted to get into production. I really didn’t want to start out DJing. I didn’t like it. But I want to produce music, and once I started producing music I wanted to find a way to perform my music. So I figured I’ll just do it because it’ll be easier. And that’s how I fell into it. I just met different people and started playing out.

JB: Were you a theatre geek in high school?
RH: Yeah, I was a band geek and a drama nerd.

JB: What was your favorite play?
RH: I mean we didn’t really do anything that I particularly liked. We did “Bye Bye Birdie.” I was Hugo Peabody. I was a nerdy, self-loathing character. I had to play him and it was really interesting.

JB: So it wasn’t a departure for you?
RH: (Laughs) yeah, yeah…

JB: Do you remember your first set? What was that like?
RH: My first performance was at Merlins (now Blue Monk). I played a local showcase with Frosty Tone. They were guys that did Dubstep and drum and bass shows and I got forty minutes to play. And I was so excited and so nervous at the same time. And…I played my little short set and everybody liked it. I played some of my own music and music that I liked. It was really cool to see people react to what I was playing and people were dancing and having a good time and I was the one that was doing it.

JB: How do you describe your sound? I didn’t think you were really big on Dubstep. At the time, was it the thing to be into?
RH: When I first started playing…Dubstep was not the thing to be into. There was a select group of people who really knew what it was…there was only really one or two parties who played Dubstep, but people didn’t like it…but I fell into a group of people who loved it, Mario Bee and the Frosty Tone crew. I got to see a lot of different UK acts come in and different acts around the country come in and come to buffalo and play and dubstep started to get bigger and bigger. I would even challenge different parties. I played the Communist Party, which was all electro house. I would consider myself, to answer your question, a multi-genre DJ…I like to play all kinds of different genres of music. That’s just how I am. But I did start off only exclusively playing Dubstep…I remember playing with DJ Medison at Tigersapien. We opened for them at Pure Nightclub. Medison and I were going back to back and…we played Dubstep that night and it was kind of a bigger deal that we did it for such a long time and nobody thought it was going to go over well but we didn’t care at that point and it actually went over pretty well.

JB: What the Faaaaaaaaa…Sorry my recorder turned off I think…
Potty Break. Okay back to it…

JB: Who are some of your favorite Buffalo DJs?
RH: Mario Bee, Medison, Brotherbear, of course, Buzz Trillington, Criminal Sounds, who helps me a lot with some of my productions. Universally, Heartbreak and Munchi, those guys really help me out with my Moombahton stuff, my slower stuff.

JB: What’s up with Queen City Cartel (Production company he was a partner in)? Are you still a part of that?
RH: They disbanded. We all just sort of went our own separate ways…it was a fun ride. There’s no hard feelings…

JB: What did you do there?
RH: We would book acts and bring them to buffalo, arrange parties. We had a monthly party that did really well called FRICTION. It was at DBGBs. Honestly, We owe them a ton for what they helped us out with when we were first getting started.

JB: Nice, nice. ::gives weird stare:: You still have the tag on your jacket…
RH: Where?
JB: It’s underneath your armpit.
RH: Aw sick ::Blushes and looks at armpit::

JB: So how do I know when I’m at an Arehouse show? What is unique to you?
RH: I always liked higher energy music, even when I played Dubstep…I love syncopation and polyrhythms and a lot of percussive music, that‘s why I‘m a music nerd. A lot of tribal, kind of ethnic sounds, Latin-influenced stuff.

JB: Okay so tell me more about the Halloween costume idea.
RH: Well since I cut my hair (He rocks a frohawk, fro + mohawk)), there's been this joke that I'm going to be the DJ Green Velvet for Halloween and I think I'm actually going to do it. Green Velvet is this DJ that has a neon green mohawk. Black guy with a mohawk and he wears glasses. He's been to Buffalo twice within the past few years.

JB: Sounds like a male stripper name
RH: People have male stripper names. Basha? That's a male stripper name. (laughs)

JB: What are you working on right now?
RH: There’s a night my brother and I started called “Music Love” and that’s going to be at The Bend (on Allen) every Sat night. People have been asking us for years to play together, and we’ve never played together at the exact same time, back to back or anything, mostly because we use different formats. He plays on CDs or records and I always used a computer…but now we’ve kind of found a secret weapon, a way to mix together, and it works out well. I also host an open mic at the Gypsy Parlor on Grant Street every Tuesday night. I’ve always been a songwriter, try to be a singer…I just kind of wanted to add to what Buffalo already has as far as giving people a place where you can go and just walk in with a guitar and just go play. I just want to help out the music scene and help build that up.

And as the night wrapped up, we said our goodbyes, had a few laughs, and I whipped out his headshot. I wanted him to sign it, so and seal it with a kiss, so I would forever remember this day.

Day Two of Allentown is always a special day, especially at the more loosey goosey Allentown West Festival, the rebel festival as it were. Part hipster Diagon Alley, part Shakedown Street, Allentown West is it's own thing, and it's pretty damn wonderful, particularly in the final hours of the festival when the countdown begins to next year's revelry. The music happening throughout the FUN end of Allen however runs into the night, with music at Nietzsche's, DBGB's, and The Bend. Before, during, and after completing your art and buy local missions, prolong the good Allentown and Allentown West vibes at these fine spots.


Nietzsche's:

Mainstage (45 minute sets):
2:00 PM - Diane Meldrum
3:00 PM Shaky Stage
4:00 PM - The Corrections
5:00 PM - McCarthyism
6:00 PM - Fibs
7:00 PM - Groove Force
8:00 PM - Erie Lackawanna Railroad

Front Stage (15 minute sets)
Katherine Koch 2:45 3:45 4:45
Anne Phillipone 5:45 6:45 7:45


Duke's Bohemian Groove Bar:

2:00 PM - DJ BearSkinRug
6:00 PM - Neville Francis & Riddim Posse
9:00 PM - FROSTY TONE presents J ROBINSON (UK/12 Tribe) with Big Basha & Demi God MC, Technoddo, Rola!, Dudecks, John Patrick


The Bend:

4:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Michael Hund & Alison Janet of Widowmaker


                                                                                            Video by Artvoice


 

Wednesday nights are usually boring and have a tendency to drag. I mean, it's mid-week. You're tired. That TGIF light at the end of the tunnel is a bit out of sight.

But why should that stop you from having a good time? And good times are a-happenin' at the Bend tonight. Two of the area's best local Americana bands, Pine Fever and Folk Faces, are doing a set. If your thing is blues, jazz, ragtime or good ol' fashioned roots rock'n'roll make the trek to Allentown.

Space Cubs is the one woman moniker of Suzanne Bonifacio, a rising electronic music artist now based in Buffalo. Bonifacio is formerly a member of Chromakid, a trio who notably opened up for Twin Shadow in 2010, though they have since dismantled, each of the previous members are still actively pursuing musical endeavors.

Bonifacio first began working on the solo content that would become Space Cubs during her early years of college but it was not until her move to Brooklyn that the project would be officially conceived of. During her time there, she worked on the material in a cramped apartment in between running around the city and taking on multiple jobs. The end product of such labor turned out to be  glistening combinations of vocals and synths that draw inspiration from names such as Bjork, Boards of Canada, Junior Boys, and Aphex Twin. And luckily for us, she moved back to Buffalo last April to grace the local music scene with her presence-

Since the wake of her arrival in Buffalo, she has played at a variety of venues including The Bend, The Vault, and Mohawk Place, accompanying locally established electronic acts such as Jeff Repeater, Love Scenes, and Ay Fast. Attending a Space Cubs set proves itself to be quite an all encompassing experience that leans neither towards the kick thumping end of the electronic music spectrum nor the territory of hazy sound-scapes. The aggregate mood of her tracks flutter somewhere right in between, pronouncing itself with distinct vocal melodies that serve as the skeleton of the instrumentals while giving them something like a roof. To understand what I'm talking about, you're going to have to catch her yourself. We'll help you out by keeping you updated on opportunities to see her but in the mean time, check out her facebook page and soundcloud.

Slight tension could be felt as a group gathered around a stack of colorful boxes. A man walked around, strategically observing for the box of his choosing. The wheels of skateboards rolling and being kicked up could be heard along with the soon tumbling of the cardboard boxes during the life-size game of Jenga provided by vitaminwater, a participating sponsor. Maybe it brought the memory of simple joy; visiting grandparents, playing with the little wooden bricks sitting around the table waiting patiently for the home cooked meat sauce to be served.

Youthful reincarnation occurred on Saturday, May 26th. It was a day to be free from the stresses of the daily grind and the minuscule problems that add up - leaving you walking through your front door only to throw your keys on the table with a sigh. It was a relief to play childhood games and greet smiling friends as the sun seered the black pavement of Allen Street in Buffalo, New York.

The day began with an air of excitement. Field day: a progressive event for Buffalo. An all day festival on Allen where three participating bars were occupied by local talent and the street was closed off for activities, vendors and meandering festival goers to soak in the summer sun.

The Buffalo collective of artists and thinkers, Toats Orig, had their infamous bright pink banner with white lettering hanging beneath a tent. DJs rotated turns, providing music for the people outside; Miosi and DJ Mario Bee followed by half of the HXLY duo, Kyle Tatum, with a set that ended oddly abruptly.  A wooden board was propped where paint markers of pink, blue and black were tied by strings and with encouragement from the crew, drawings and tags compiled throughout the event. Krudmart, a street wear boutique, had a table next to them lined with original designs on their fitted hats and shirts. A couple guys, including Toats Orig's Mic Excel, free styled for the girls playing hopscotch and the early birds in sunglasses who were posted on the patios.

The beginning, although slow, began to fill up when the streets reopened and performances were limited to the participating venues: the Bend, Sample and Dukes Bohemian Grove Bar.

The VIP area, held in Hardware, was limited for the select bunch.  DJ Owski and SunGlasses Mike took turns playing house music for the room, their equipment propped up on a table tagged with the iconic Red Bull label.  Saranac bottles chilled in a bucket of ice, beckoning the thirsty intimate group while the representative of the sponsor was sure to go around to each person in the room recommending flavors of beer.  "Try the Blueberry Blonde Ale," he said to me while motioning to the table that was also scattered with stacked Red Bull cans.  Rainbow colored lights were projected onto a traditional looking area rug, although hardly visible from the beaming sunlight that was shining in from Allen Street.  


Sines played at The Bend while Pickster One and Melo performed at Dukes. Sines set was hood bass and although the sound system at The Bend wasn't perfect, it still had me leaning hard as the female voice of his drop moaned through the bar, "oh my god...Sines."  Orgasmic calls subliminally seeped and had the tight crowd that surrounded his set moving their hips just a little more freely.

Jon Kwest played an incredible moombahton set at Duke's, never faltering in concentration.  The bass was an immaculate strength of heavy, vibrating through the floor and firing everyone to move.  Across the bar I heard the high-pitched vocals cry out "you can't have my love," and ecstatically ran to the floor.  His remix of Treasure Fingers' "It's Love" was an obsession of mine for months so getting to hear him play it out live was exhilarating.  When David Heartbreak took over, the floor was already decently packed and steadily filled during his set.  Some usual Allentown dwellers that weren't aware of the event piled in as well, pleasantly surprised at the hustle and bustle of the bar.

Heartbreak's set was strong and no one left the floor even with many sweaty bodies squeezing through and shuffling as close to the specially crafted stage as possible.  As he finished up his set, the major headlining artist on the bill was preparing to go on.  Munchi: Netherlands native, moombahton master and DJ turned up the already hazy and humid room.  The lucky bunch that got to stand close to the subwoofers could feel small cooling gusts of air on their legs and regardless of the heat, no one stopped vibing out.  Steve Rittner, head honcho of Queen City Cartel and master-planner for the event, gave a special thank you to Munchi when his set concluded then opened the stage for Cobra Krames.  My ears perked up for his opening track, his own remix of "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy.  The rest of his set was ideal for booty clapping with Diplo's "Express Yourself" and his original song "Bend Your Back."

After stepping out of my cab with the sun coming up just over the horizon, I walked into my room, collapsed onto my bed and muttered to myself "...field day."  Sore legs from dancing, a little bit of a tan and some great memories made, Field Day 2012 was most definitely a success.  The Queen City Cartel did it big.     

          

Today is the day!  Grab your bubbles, chalk, sunglasses and hula hoops and get ready for the perfect kick-off event for Buffalo summer 2012.  It's Field Day - the celebration of community, friends, good weather and music.  

Missed any of our artist spotlights for tonight's headliners?
Check em' out here then head over to Allen.

Pickster One & Melo
Sines
Cobra Krames
Jon Kwest
David Heartbreak
Munchi

In addition the huge names that will be gracing our presence, today is a perfect opprotunity to get out and celebrate local musicians.  Come support local friends as they perform all day leading up to the headlining shows.  DJs include...
3PO • Asid • AreHouse • Bace:Face • Bear Skin Rug • Bigski • Brother Bear • Business Casual • Cutler • D.Cal • Derf • Emjay Biggz • Esbie • Gross National Product • Jarvis • LoPro • Loki • Looney Tunes • MicSee • Mike Parker • Miosi • Mixmaster Bates • Nique • Optimus Prime • Owski • Papi Chulo • Rufus Gibson • SGM • Skanntron • Stuntman • SwaggleRock • TrakBenders • Universal

To remind you, blocks will be closed off between College Street and Wadsworth Street until 8pm, then shows will be limited to the venues Duke's, The Bend, and Sample.

Let's crack open a cold one and kick back in the sunshine. Cheers!

Here's the Facebook event page for further information.
@QueenCityCartel 
#FieldDay

10p-330a
$20/All Ages
TOWN BALLROOM
681 main st. Buffalo, NY
Legend is such an over used word, but don’t let the term pass over RONI SIZE. When my friend and I started listening to DnB music in middle school, Roni Size was discovery that he shared with me. That was back in 1998. Which is roughly about 11 years after Roni Size began to make a name for himself as a DJ/Producer. That’s just to give you an idea as to how long this guy’s been around, this music’s been around. Saturday will be his first show in the United States, making a brief stop over here to hit up Movement (DEMF) in Detroit and a couple other America; we’re just kinda lucky enough to get him for Friday night to kick off the weekend’s festivities. The Ballroom has once again agreed to go later than their usual stopping time. And the event will feature Drum and Bass in the Main room, and Old-School vinyl breaks in the front room. Performances on the night from: RONI SIZE, HOOGS, D.A. DOGG, LOKI, PERCEPTOR, 3PO, and MCNASTY.




saturday 5/26
2p-4a
FREE Outdoors/$20 pre-sale all access bars
ALLENTOWN: DBGB’S/SAMPLE/THE BEND
allen st. near wadsworth st.
This is what we’ve all been waiting for. The outdoor portion of the concert is open to all ages and is free of charge. To see selected performances in the bars you will have to be 21+ and purchase either tickets a la carte, or an all access pass. The schedule will be released today, but the lineup consists of 6 headliners and over 30 regional DJs eventually moving inside and playing into the wee hours of the morning. Fellow BuffaBLOGGER Alicia Greco has been previewing each of the headliners each day this past week which can easily be found by typing in the tag “field day” into the search bar at the top of this page. Read up on these headliners, because they are all very talented. And on a personal note, the main guy, the big cheese on the bill, MUNCHI, just happens to be my favorite DJ/Producer right now, and he really kinda has been since I first heard of Moombahton a little over a year and a half ago now. As I hinted at previously, I hope everyone can look at this event as a monument of achievements for the Buffalo dance music scene. Cheers to all the hard work from the performers and promoters, and to the dedication of the fans.

sunday 5/27

On Saturday May 26th, the Queen City Cartel with New Era and vitaminwater present to Buffalo, Field Day.  Allen Street will be closed off and Duke's, The Bend, and Sample will be participating in the day-to-night festivities.  There will be six headlining performances with support from over 30 of our local artists.  2pm-4am this is most definitely not an event to miss.  Keep up with our coverage, we'll be featuring a spotlight each day per headliner.

For more information check out buffalofieldday.com and the Facebook event page.



His inspiration for his career in music began the moment he picked up LL Cool J's album Radio and eventually came full circle when his moombahton/hip-hop remix of "NFL Horns" was chosen by LL Cool J to produce "Super Baller." Arizona based DJ and producer Pickster One, otherwise known as Dusty Hickman, began his career in 1998, establishing support from artists Diplo, Nadastrom and fellow Field Day performers Munchi and Heartbreak. 

In addition to earning his degree in the culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Arizona, he's been inducted into the Furious Styles Crew (FSC), he's performed at a number of major festivals, and has created some very successful side projects.  He helped develop the first turntable band when he created Morse Code and in 2007, he began a side project called Crusher Sound System. Perhaps you've been downtown to see Roboroc at Noir Ultra Lounge? Although progressive for Buffalo, a DJ incorporating live instruments into a set has been around for a while and is exactly what Pickster One was doing with CSS.  Resident DJ at the longest running Arizona hip-hop club night and 20 full length mixes later, Pickster one will perform in Buffalo with Melo, a DJ he's done a fair amount of collaborative work with.

Melo (Jorge Melo) is an award winning DJ and a member of the Muzik Junkies Remix Squad.  A veteran to the Phoenix club scene, he has had such an impact in the moombahton movement that he helped land two Arizona clubs, Jackson's on 3rd and Karma Nightclub, with the "Best of" title in the Phoenix New Times.  Being chosen by Dave Nada, the originator of moombahton, shows his standing in the scene, he was among the selected artists for "Blow Your Head - Dave Nada presents Moombahton," a compilation mini-mix that's released by Mad Decent. 

Pickster One on Twitter
DJ Melo on Twitter

The Vinyl Retentives are fast on their way to becoming the kings of the Buffalo vinyl scene. Most known for their Freeform Friday events, FREE all-vinyl showcases featuring every style of music under the sun, the three DJ's (King Eider, Needles Numark and Fjordan Turlingua) have been winning over Buffalonians with choice wax cuts and great live events. I was at Merge last week and nothing made me happier than to hear the Sugarcubes "Birthday". Tonight, the boys are holed up at the Bend. You'll be on Allen anyways so check it out. It's free.