Mouse Powell. An epic player in the valley's underground hip hop scene, as the host of Thursdays Blunt Club held at the Yucca Tap Room, he has made a name for himself. His latest project, These Are The Good Times, has national and local celebs adding their creative juices for one XL power drink.
I was honored when Mouse emailed me, giving me full access to his latest project on soundcloud, I had heard about him here and there, and speaking to JDV a while back, was excited to see JDV and Mouse collaborating on a song. I think after this review, a follow up interview will be necessary. What do you think Mouse, will you let me crack open your brain to see your ideas and words?
These Are The Good Times has several MUST LISTEN tracks.
#3 Dancing In The Rain - Featuring the Veragrooves own Andres Rodriguez and Karly C.
#4 Brass Monkey - because who doesn't like a brass monkey every so often!
#6 Cliff Clavin
#7 DGTW - Featuring Kristina Moore
#8 Good Times - Featuring Jason Devore
If you have been following my blogs and reviews you know I write about how the music makes me feel, how it moves me and I always try to stay away from production values, sound and beats. But not this time. This time the production sound is fan-fucking-tastic, the beats dropped and lyrics are like no other. We all know that one song that we can sing to, the one we enjoy and yes I know you do, sing in the shower, well Mouse gives us that chance with Brass Monkey, DGTW, and Dancing in The Rain. Production on this project was spot on, kudos to The Ref for sampling, mixing and producing a quality set of songs. The overall LP was not overproduced and it didn't interfere with the lyrics and vocals.
There were some trumpet samples, sending chills down my spine and giving me turkey skin. An amazing mix of harmonious vocals, trumpets and fresh ta def beats make These Are The Good Times one of the valleys top 5 LP releases. It's a close 3 to Fayucas Barrio Sideshow.
Want more info on this project?
"These Are The Good Times" is the result of a year long collaboration with Tempe producer The Ref. Our project which was made possible by over 70 backers on kickstarter.com is a unique blend of some of the Valley's best talent. We really wanted to step over genre boundaries and create something special while staying true to our Hip Hop backgrounds. We were able to accomplish this by bringing in musicians from different bands throughout Phoenix, and allowing them to add their flavor to our music. The project features and collaborations can be found along with the track listing in the description of the private soundcloud playlist. "These Are The Good Times" will be available for free on November 12th, 2013 at MousePowell.com.
Check out Mouse Powell on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/mousepowell
Like Him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MightyMousePowell
And you can catch him most Thursdays at Blunt Club @ Yucca Tap Room. I have to say Mouse is another one of the valleys best kept secrets, but hopefully no more. Its time to rise Phoenix, from the ashes of our nearly deceased underground music scene and show that once more we rise and will stay on top.
I hope you support the project 100% and get it once it drops, I know I will.
I want to thank Mouse Powell for allowing me to review this project before release, I am deeply honored.
Not many people can say that they've had the chance to hang with Jason DeVore and his wonderful family. I am lucky enough to be a part of this whole family. Today, March 19th, 2013 at 2 pm I sat down with Jason and talked about life, motivation, and how his songs make him feel.
I have been able to to see JDV a handful of times, and each time it's a new experience, nothing in the world could compare to each show. No matter how many times you hear his songs, sprinkled with some A0 songs and some Bollox songs, JDV brings a certain vibe to the room. With his followers young and old, we all sit and watch in utter amazement as he belts out song after song, hardly taking breaks. Where does he get the strength? Where does this powerful amazing voice come from? This is all a secret I suppose, but where ever it comes from it has emotion, soul. It has a vibrato all its own and makes you want to be on stage with him.
A few devoted JDV fans (you shall remain nameless chris ;-) DAMN! ) like to hop up on tables, show their love and dedication to this amazing story teller, this bard of sorts.
With Tipping Point soon to be released on April 2nd, the East European tour that he leaves for on April 4th Jason took the time to sit with me and my nervousness and answer some questions about life, his music and his wife. I was joined by his best friend of 19 years, Saddy Combs owner of LaDep Custom Cruisers and probably one of Authority Zero and JDV's biggest fans.
Growing up he was inspired by his mom, she knew all the words to the songs on the radio, and he was in awe at how she could do this. Coming from a musical family, J would travel to Mesa, AZ to visit his dad during the summer, and eventually one thing led to the other and they were playing the Nile Basement in MTAZ. This is the wonderful start to Authority Zero. Arizona's original punk band. While many other bands had come before A0, little did these skater punk kids know that they would make something out of virtually nothing.
JDV wanted to be a professional Skater/Snowboarder and along with that career comes the music. We all know that good tunes on the street or slopes motivates us to shred that triple black diamond or master that rail slide.
He writes the songs that relate to us, he sings the songs we want to hear and he loves his fans and family. At one of the very first JDV shows I met a young man, who explained that One More Minute was what kept his head in the game in Afghanistan. Deployed as a naval Corpsman and stationed in the middle east, this was the song that reminded him of coming home safe. When I am at a JDV show, I watch people; I watch their reaction to how J sings, moves and the how he pumps the crowd up. To be a witness to the A0 mosh pit is exciting, invigorating.
Talking to J today, I was able to see a different side of him. I was able to see the gleam in his eye, the passion in his voice and his nervousness as he preps for another tour. I can see that he is mentally prepping himself for whatever may come and you can see that, while a seasoned musician he gets on stage every night and plays as though its his first show. This is not a bout of nervousness, this is the feeling of adrenaline, the amped feeling you get when your faced with such an overwhelming task, but you complete it and at the end of the show, the end of the day your shaking, because it was one helluva ride.
I can't wait to see what JDV and Authority Zero have in store. All I know is that after almost 16 years of being a fan and hearing their music I will always and forever remain a loyal and faithful A0 fan.
Wanna hear the interview? Check it out here!
https://soundcloud.com/ladepcustomcruisers/jason-devore
http://youtu.be/3aqi23-BBLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tonovKKYyxY&feature=share&list=AL94UKMTqg-9BEjg7PGgsk59GIZdxERswI
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorityZero?fref=ts
