Category: Live Footage

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Cypress Hill Perform “Insane in the Brain” and “I Ain’t Goin’ Out LIke That” on Vevo, Celebrate 30th Anniversary of “Black Sunday”

Pioneering South Gate, CA-based hip-hop outfit Cypress Hill — B. Real, Sen Dog, DJ Muggs and Eric Bobo — have been instrumental in boldly pushing the genre in new directions both sonically and linguistically while shifting the overall culture: The members of Cypress Hill championed cannabis and cannabis culture — before it was fashionable. They were instrumental in pushing the sonic boundaries of the genre — on multiple occasions: Along with acts like Public Enemy, Run DMC, Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E, De La Soul, Onyx, Ice-T and a lengthy list of others, Cypress Hill collaborated with metal and rock acts — on record and live, helping to usher in rap metal.

When hip-hop acts were having a difficult time getting booked for live gigs both nationally and internationally, Cypress Hill played thousands of shows both nationally and globally. And they helped pave the way for rappers to use Spanish — or spit rhymes entirely in Spanish.

Throughout their 30-plus year history, their accomplishments place them as among one of the most successful hip-hop acts ever:

  • 1991’s self-titled full-length debut sold over two-million copies

  • 1993’s Black Sunday, which featured two of their most commercially successful hits “Insane in the Brain” and “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That” sold over three-million copies.

  • Overall, they’ve sold over nine-million units — globally.

  • They’ve received three Grammy Award nominations.

  • They’ve released ten albums, including their self-titled debut, 1993’s Black Sunday and last year’s Back in Black.

  • And they have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

So if you were a child of the late 70s and early 80s, as I was, I have to mention something that will make you feel old: Cypress Hill’s sophomore album Black Sunday celebrates the 30th anniversary of its release today –that’s right 30 years ago, today — with the release of a deluxe edition of the album.

And to celebrate the occasion, Vevo invited the pioneering hip-hop act to perform “Insane in the Brain” and “I Ain’t Going Out Like That.” We may be all getting older and a bit more gray, but the live footage is a reminder that in every way, those two songs still hold up — and are still hard.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Reno’s The Sextones Perform Slow-burning Quiet Storm-like “Beck & Call” at Washoe County Downtown Library

Reno-based soul outfit The Sextones — siblings Mark Sexton (vocals, guitar) and Christopher Sexton (piano), with Alexander Korostinsky (bass), and Daniel Weiss are all childhood friends, and as a result their musical chemistry is effortless and forms the foundation of the band’s longevity and creative process. 

Over the years, the band’s members have also been able to channel their creativity into other acclaimed projects — Mark Sexton and Korostinsky collaborate together in the cinematic soul project Whatitdo Archive Group, which released their critically applauded full-length debut The Black Stone Affair through Italian purveyors of funk Record Kicks back in 2021. Weiss has played with soul jazz outfit Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio. These forays into other projects has not only allowed the members to flex their creative muscle individually but it has also strengthened their collective songwriting chops. 

The Reno-based soul quartet signed to Record Kicks, who will release their Kelly Finnigan-produced sophomore album Love Can’t Be Borrowed on September 29, 2023. The album reportedly is a new chapter in the band’s story and sees the band attempting to scale new heights and plumb deeper emotional depths. Drawing from their upbringing steeped in the classic soul sound, the band’s Mark Sexton and Alexander Korostinsky knew they wanted the album to highlight their old-school bonafides while leaving room for innovations. The pair and their bandmates found that balance during marathon recording sessions at Finnigan’s San Rafael, CA-based Transistor Sound Studio. 

Late last month, I wrote about Love Can’t Be Borrowed‘s second single, “Without You,” an uptempo, two-step inducing jam built around playful call-and-response vocals, twinkling keys, reverb-soaked funk guitar and a locked-in propulsive rhythm section paired with an incredibly catchy hook. While “Without You” sees the Reno-based soul outfit deftly balancing an old-school attention to craft, it’s a sweet, declaration of love, devotion and profound gratitude that’s simultaneously a contented sigh and an acknowledgement that love — much like anything else in our lives — takes hard work.

Love Can’t Be Borrowed‘s third and latest single “Beck & Call” is a slow-burning, classic Quiet Storm-inspired ballad built around a lush, glistening arrangement, Mark Sexton’s achingly tender falsetto paired with the band’s unerring, deliberate attention to old-school craftsmanship and musicianship. Much like its immediate predecessor, the song is a sweet and earnest declaration of love, devotion and vulnerability that you rarely hear these days.

The live footage was recorded at the historic Washoe County Downtown Library in the band’s hometown in Reno, and it captures the band’s seemingly effortless craft and musicianship.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: The Sextones Perform Soulful “Without You”

Reno-based soul outfit The Sextones — Mark Sexton (vocals, guitar), Christopher Sexton (piano), Alexander Korostinsky (bass), and Daniel Weiss are childhood friends, and as a result their musical chemistry is effortless and forms the foundation of the band’s longevity and creative process. 

Over the years, the band’s members have also been able to channel their creativity into other acclaimed projects — Mark Sexton and Korostinsky collaborate together in the cinematic soul project Whatitdo Archive Group, which released their critically applauded full-length debut The Black Stone Affair through Italian purveyors of funk Record Kicks back in 2021. Weiss has played with soul jazz outfit Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio. These forays into other projects has not only allowed the members to flex their creative muscle individually but it has also strengthened their collective songwriting chops. 

The Reno-based soul quartet signed to Record Kicks, who will release their forthcoming Kelly Finnigan-produced sophomore album Love Can’t Be Borrowed on September 29, 2023. The album reportedly is a new chapter in the band’s story and sees the band attempting to scale new heights and plumb deeper emotional depths. Drawing from their upbringing steeped in the classic soul sound, the band’s Mark Sexton and Alexander Korostinsky knew they wanted the album to highlight their old-school bonafides while leaving room for innovations. The pair and their bandmates found that balance during marathon recording sessions at Finnigan’s San Rafael, CA-based Transistor Sound Studio. 

“Without You,” the second single off Love Can’t Be Borrowed is an uptempo, two-step inducing jam built around playful call-and-response vocals, twinkling keys, glistening xylophone, reverb-soaked funk guitar, and a locked-in, propulsive rhythm section paired with an incredibly catchy hook. The song sees the band deftly balancing old school attention to craft with earnest, lived in lyricism. But, at it’s core, “Without You” is a sweet, old-timey declaration of love, devotion and profound gratitude that’s a both contented sigh and an acknowledgment that love — much like anything in life — takes hard work. 

The accompanying video features the Reno-based soul outfit performing the song in what looks like a public library — or a hotel lobby. But it captures the seemingly effortless craft at the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Lanterns on the Lake Perform “Rich Girls”

Acclaimed Newcastle-based outfit Lanterns on the Lake‘s recently released nine-song album Versions of Us is an existential meditation examining life’s possibilities; facing the hand we’ve been dealt and the question of whether we can change our individual and collective destinies. Ultimately, the album’s material may be the most hopeful of their growing catalog to date.

It shouldn’t be surprising that for the band’s frontperson Hazel Wilde, that motherhood has fundamentally shifted her perspective. “Writing songs requires a certain level of self-indulgence, and songwriters can be prone to dwelling on themselves,” Wilde says. “Motherhood made me aware of having a different stake in the world. I’ve got to believe that there’s a better way and an alternative future to the one we’ve been hurtling towards. I’ve also got to believe that I could be better as a person, too.”

Given some of the album’s themes, there’s a biting irony to the album’s creative process: An entire previous version of the album was scrapped. Mental health struggles and personal problems within the band impacted how the initial version of the album took shape. “Despite trying everything we could to make it work, we reached the point where we just had to stop,” Wilde explains. Ol Ketteringham (drums) left the band, something that Wilde says was “heartbreakingly difficult as we were and still are extremely close.”

The band scrapped nearly a year’s worth of work, regressing to song demos with just Wilde performing with a single instrument, as they began again with Radiohead‘s Philip Selway joining the album sessions on drums and percussion. “Philip brought an energy to the songs that reignited our belief in them,” Wilde says. “Within a few weeks we had a whole other version of the album and things felt very different,” the Lanterns on the Lake frontperson continues. “We had changed the destiny of the record.”

Version of Us‘ latest single “Rich Girls” is a big, heart-worn-on-sleeve anthem built around a relentlessly propulsive rhythm section, shoegazer-like guitar textures, buzzing synths, soaring violin passages paired with Wilde’s plaintive delivery and the band’s unerring knack for rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses. But underneath the brooding atmospherics is a narrator struggling to get past the unwieldy weight of life’s difficulties, and who expresses the desire to occasionally fake being happy, being sane or feeling competent and on on — if only for a few minutes.

The live footage of “Rich Girls” was recorded at the Old Church in Northumberland.