Starr Hill presents a diverse and interesting night of music this week. On Thursday, June 1, The Beetnix have put together their first Underground and Independent Hip Hop Festival. “Under-ground by nature, independent by choice,” the crew want to expose Charlottesville to some of the best up-and-coming hip-hop acts on the East Coast. From Raleigh, North Carolina, Kaze has moved over 10,000 units of his two albums, Enemy of the State and Spirit of 94, and has performed with Nas and Jurassic 5. Also performing will be emcees from Buffalo, New York’s top independent hip-hop label Deep Thinka. Beetnix’s Damani Harrison says, “Everyone who is coming is sort of king of their scene, and we are hoping they will be embraced here as well.” Also on the bill from Charlottesville is 16-year-old “sensation” Ghetti Get, a Char-lottesville High School sophomore and active member of the Music Resource Center who is finishing his first full-length CD. The Beetnix will headline.
The first 10 people inside the show will receive a free copy of The Beetnix’s third and last EP of their Professional Thieves series “The Final Heist.” Harrison says that the two previous EPs “have been selling like hotcakes at our shows.” The Profes-sional Thieves series consists of original tunes that lift an element (lyrically or musically) from other, sometimes well-known tunes. Fans should have a good time trying to identify the sources. One standout track on the new EP that Harrison describes as “killer” is a collaboration between The Beetnix and Ezra Hamilton.
The band and Ezra ended up taking the collaboration into the studio, and The Hamiltons (Ezra’s band) are in the process of recording their new CD in The Beetnix’s Audio State Studio. Harrison describes the project as “a very involved effort, with many harmonies, multitracking, and quite a few guest artists, Andy Waldeck for one.” Look for The Hamiltons’ disc out in the near future.
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Breaking club news: Long time sound man Terry Martin has bought the Outback Lodge and will be back at the board June 1. With many new ideas for renovation and music scheduling, Martin is hosting a big open house event on Sunday, June 4. Look for many positive changes at the Outback.
After 10 years of putting heart and soul into every Sunday evening at Escafé for very little money, The Hogwaller Ramblers just played their last night there, and are moving the party up the street to Fellini’s No. 9. The new ownership at Escafé seems to never have understood what The Ramblers brought to the restaurant. Anyone out on a Sunday evening should take it up to Fellini’s. Support a place that supports music.