Jaw Gems |
• As Mainers find the unfolding story about the Kennebunk prostitution ring to be socially complex and all kinds of unfortunate, CAM GROVES sees the whole thing pretty simply. The Wells rapper released a video this week for a brand-new song titled "I Wish I Knew," a tongue-in-cheek R&B track in which he, uh, romanticizes the fitness instructor at the center of the ring ("Should I write this song? I might as well/If I had known I would've been your biggest clientele") and embarks on a fruitless quest to find her. Groves's tracks typically dial up the raunch; that he tackles the topic at all isn't a surprise, but his funniest, most effective lines here channel more than just his own libido, ranging from the pragmatic ("people mad as hell calling you a ho/I don't care what you do for work as long as you a pro") to the cheekily entrepreneurial ("from one small business owner to another/I mean, I got nothing but love for your hustle"). No doubt there'll be some who'll find this sort of thing tasteless — and Groves himself might agree — but the relief it offers from the conventional media coverage, with its moral bombast and general squeamishness about all matters sexual, is pretty refreshing. See the video at youtube.com/camgroves.
• The BULL MOOSE MUSIC Halloween contest awards a $250 gift card to the best visual reproduction of a famous album cover; judging by the few entries posted on their Tumblr (bullmoose.tumblr.com), the bar isn't exactly set that high. Be apprised: You'll have to fashion your entry at one of their stores to qualify (the forthcoming store in Mill Creek, SoPo doesn't count) and subject yourself to a fair amount of Facebook soliciting to win, but in the post-download era, $250 worth of music is pretty valuable indeed. Contest ends October 29; visit bullmoose.com for official rules.
• Bowdoin-trained jazz pianist AHMAD HASSAN MUHAMMAD leaves Portland for Atlanta next week, creating a pretty sizable hole in the city's progressive jazz circuit. His departure won't terminate the status of JAW GEMS, the popular, genre-busting group he played Wurlitzer for (download the tasty new mixtape EP Cuts & Scrapes on their bandcamp for the vanguard in Portland experimental hip hop) but it's a loss all the same. Jaw Gems have amassed an enormous cult following, during which Hassan developed a reputation for being one of the most warmhearted, inspiring, and sonically impressive musicians in town.
Related:
Whipped into shape, The What and the Why, Summer’s freeze, More 
- Whipped into shape
We feel pretty amped about Supercharged , the debut EP by the hardcore rock and roll band WHIP HANDS .
- The What and the Why
A brand-new record from the thoughtful indie-folk trio IF & IT dropped a couple weeks ago, courtesy of Ron Harrity's Peapod Recordings.
- Summer’s freeze
Among the newsiest of the chord changes in Maine music this fall, the oddball proprietors at ETERNAL OTTER RECORDS are launching a new monthly series at Zero Station, the finest forgotten little cubbyhole in Bayside.
- Who's Cam Groves?
Back in the day, Preposterously Dank, the hip-hop label/collective created by Spose and featuring Cam Groves, Dr. Astronaut, and Educated Advocates, would have hit the popular consciousness with a collective album first.
- Making mouths happy
Good holy God is this JAW GEMS EP decent.
- Stars in limbo
One of our favorite new groups, THE COALSACK IN CRUX , just slapped some primal tuneage up on the web.
- The Audacity of Ryan Peters
Spose hears all of it. Aren't you and Seacrest supposed be sharing chicks by now? Where's your Escalade, dude? Or, as he puts it on "Gee Willikers," off his brand-new full-length The Audacity! , "Fuck that shit/I bet he doesn't know any black kids . . . I know I hated Spose from the get go."
- Everything must go
You may or may not be aware of Spose's current Kickstarter campaign.
- Waxing nostalgic
It was a good year for weird music — or was it a weird year for good music? — and here are some of the standouts.
- From the mouth of the poet
There's a debate raging in the Wax Tablet offices about which is more colorful: the sunshine-and-lollipops imagery of inaugural poet Richard Blanco's "One Today," or the sparkling new video for JAW GEMS' "Star Visor."
- Boo-ya!
Maybe it’s because dressing up as the economy would be kind of lame, but I’m haven’t heard Jack O’Shit in the way of truly scary costume ideas this year.
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Topics:
New England Music News
, Ahmad Hassan Muhammad, Ahmad Hassan Muhammad, Bull Moose Music, More
, Ahmad Hassan Muhammad, Ahmad Hassan Muhammad, Bull Moose Music, Cam Groves, Cam Groves, Jaw Gems, Less
