overton berry - LITA 058

hey folks,
happy to report another key re-release from seattle-based light in the attic records. this time, the label focuses on some home-grown talent, pianist and composer overton berry. below is a promotional one-sheet i wrote for the label w/ a little more information (*soundclips available here). overton, was and still is, an amazing talent. i was lucky enough to share the stage w/ him a few years back w/ the sharpshooters and DJ spinna. what a night! pure goosebumps material. overton's definitely a class act...
sip

The Overton Berry Ensemble
T.O.B.E./At Seattle's Doubletree Inn
Light In The Attic
LITA 058

Have you ever heard of Tukwila? Well, it’s safe to say that if Light In The Attic wasn’t located in Seattle, Washington, we mightn’t have either. Just a short drive from the Emerald City it was once home to the now infamous Doubletree Inn. Despite its non-central location, the Doubletree was once the Pacific Northwest hotspot with line-ups around the block. The reason? The Overton Berry Trio, who ably filled the lounge with sounds of jazz, soul, and pop over clanking drinks and decadent dinners. While local music lovers, dedicated crate-diggers, and diehard funk heads will have heard of the classy pianist (often compared to his better-known peer, Ramsey Lewis), it’s finally time to let the world in on our little secret. At the dawn of the 1970s, Berry and company recorded 2 long player albums: The Overton Berry Trio At Seattle’s Doubletree Inn (1970) and T.O.B.E. (1972). Both take the listener to a time long forgotten, a place where music engaged, invited dialogue, and struck chords deep in one’s soul. In celebration of this still relevant sonic legacy, Light In The Attic Records will re-release the original At Seattle’s Doubletree Inn and T.O.B.E. (The Overton Berry Ensemble) albums in a lovingly packaged double vinyl-only reissue.

Prominently featured on both of Light In The Attic’s Wheedle’s Groove releases and director Jennifer Maas’ Wheedle’s Groove documentary, the Overton Berry Trio and their transcendental interpretation of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” (from At Seattle’s Doubletree Inn) is notorious amongst forward thinking DJ’s and record collectors the world-over. The T.O.B.E. album (especially the break-beat heavy “Jesus Christ Superstar”) has also piqued the radar of many a tastemaker and original copies are virtually extinct and prohibitively priced when available in record dealer’s crates or offered for sale on the web. Now with lovingly remastered audio, extensive liner notes, and unpublished photos, this double L.P. set gives you both of the aforementioned rarities and the best of Overton Berry – that is, if you haven’t had the good fortune of seeing the man play live. Still performing his trademark blend of standards, thoughtful interpretations, and original compositions weekly in-and-around Seattle, if you find yourself music hungry in the Pacific Northwest, you just might have a chance. Berry is still doing his thing with the utmost respect and dedication to his craft.

- Double release LP featuring 2 of Overton Berry’s highly sought after recordings
- Limited quantity vinly only (1,000 copies) reissue with fully re-mastered audio and tip-on gatefold hand-numbered jackets
- New liner notes about history behind these coveted titles, presented with never before seen artist photos
- Includes download card with 3 previously unreleased tracks.

supreme la rock (aka mr. supreme)

i've known seattle-based supreme la rock for a few years, but the hommie mr. supreme for even longer. for a short while i knew a crazy dude named pappi panama, but i can barely remember his trip. one time, i even read about a cat named born supreme in a pacific northwest hip hop zine, but hell, that was likely over 15 years ago... what do all these nutters have in common??? they are the cultural brainchildren of danny clavesilla.

for those who don't know, supreme is a true enigma (trust me, i'm not exaggerating an iota here) and one of the deepest musical maniacs rolling. his record collection (see videos below, part 1 and 2) is the stuff of much-ballyhooed legend, but i've witnessed it live and direct so any haters, wet mouths or non-believers out there can simply fall back. to add to the insanity, supreme was also 1/2 (along w/ super producer jake one) of legendary break beat tape dons, the conmen. it was their series of self-released cassettes—that probed deep into the murky depths of sample archaeology (soul, funk, jazz, library, EZ, world, and whatever your imagine could create... and beyond...)—that turned me on to a new reality and musical attack... i remember visiting sea-town w/ my DJ partner kamandi to link w/ preme for a record deal while he and jake were recording a conmen mix (veteranos???) many moons ago (*unfortunately, their last mix dropped 10 years ago).

needless to say, these were different times, and there was serious secrecy in the air. break beats were highly coveted, gold-like commodities then, a producers or disc jockeys secret weapon, and not to be shared w/ canadian strangers like us. jake was making sure that we couldn't see any of the album sleeves they were using for the project. pure comedy.  in retrospect, this competitive nature and one-upmanship helped elevate these artists to the highest levels in their respective games. supreme, once a talented rap producer w/ his conception records label and as part of the pioneering sharpshooters duo w/ deejay sureshot, has now turned his attention almost exclusively to world-wide DJ work. jake's production track record on the other hand is truly mind-blowing. but back to the DJ...

after forging a musically-minded friendship w/ supreme, kamandi and i even tried to bring the record guru north to our weekly soulcial party at the chameleon urban lounge. of course, this was a big deal for us and we not only had our mate jay gundzik design a spot on ad-like flyer for the occasion (see above), but also bought a beautiful bottle of X.O. hennessey as something of a rider. well, the night arrived and the club was more busy than usual, brimming w/ electricity, but no supreme. "sally got a one track mind," "ring the alarm," and dusty soul and funk 7"s filled the air as we waited for the headliner. though we had hung around the hotel patiently for hours beforehand and tried calling numerous times, it was safe to say that supreme was M.I.A..

eventually, we heard from the man. he had been detained at the border and denied entrance. DAMN!@#$%&?!!! perhaps the sight of a grand, tattooed man driving a mercedes benz filled w/ vinyl records made the guards a little suspicious. hard to say. anyways, our club patrons eventually found out that our guest of honour wasn't able to make it, and we finished the night a little deflated after such anticipation. c'est la vie i guess. but the night wasn't over yet. likely more than half cut at this point, we decided to crack supreme's henne and between a couple friends, proceeded to finish the WHOLE bottle at various locations across town. we ended the evening on the beach after making our 15th utterly obscene phone message to supreme's cellular, cursing him for not making the date. safe to say, if he still has these messages recorded somewhere deep in his archives (*i wouldn't be surprised, this man has EVERYTHING!!!), they could be potentially libelous in a court of law. oops...

regardless of our youthful hijinx, the point of this post is to say that supreme has been one of my biggest musical inspirations (teaching me to dig D-E-E-P-E-R... and always w/ a sense of humour), partially responsible for my rewarding link w/ light in the attic records (*BIG props to a man like shane as well!!!), and an all-around rad dude... it's our utmost honour to host supreme la rock for an all-vinyl set at this week's history of dance event at vancouver's waldorf hotel! thankfully, proper paper work for his journey has been taken care of this time. couldn't do it any other way. see you at the club folks! along w/ dancing bear of ladyhawk fame, jason lev, the magical rahaan from chi-town, and yours truly, prepare yourself for a bonkers evening...