At this weekend's anticipated 2019 DMC World DJ Championship battle in London, where the new world champion of the prestigious DJ battle will be decided, DJ Throdown will be proudly representing the USA. [Also representing the US, but in the separate Supremacy Battle, will be DJ As-One.] This follows Throdown's impressive win in Denver earlier this month at the 2019 US DMC Finals. That memorably entertaining evening, that acted as both DJ battle and celebration of hip-hop and life, had a bittersweet edge to it since it became an informal heartfelt tribute to beloved hometown DMC champion DJ B*Money whose tragic death had occurred two weeks earlier and whose funeral took place just two days before the September 8th battle at Temple in Denver.

The 2019 DMC World DJ Championship takes place tomorrow, Saturday September 28th at London’s Islington Assembly Hall (tix/info) and will be live streamed via Facebook between 3pm and 11pm (GWT = 5/8 hours ahead of Eestern/Pacific). There among the non battle entertainment will be showcase sets by legendary 5 x DMC World DJ Champion DJ Craze and  3 x DMC UK Champion JFB. Meanwhile national DJ champions will fly in from all over the globe to compete in three different global DJ battles; The DMC World DJ Final, The Battle For World Supremacy and The DMC World DJ Championship - The Eliminations. 

We were very excited to have Mikael Åkerfeldt of Swedish Progressive metal band Opeth do some shopping at Amoeba Hollywood and share some of his favorite albums and artists, including Belgian prog band Univers Zero. "I don't know how to describe this music, it's insane," he told us, calling them, "highly skilled musicians." Though the challenging, dark prog group are largely obscure in most places, Åkerfeldt, pointed out that in Belgium finding a Univers Zero records is like finding an ABBA record in Sweden. "Definitely worth a listen if you're tired of the regular radio FM rock," he stated, continuing, "you're gonna die, pretty much."

Swedish progressive metal band Opeth was founded in 1989 by guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt and original frontman David Isberg with the intention of creating the "most evil band in the world." The band has gone through several lineup changes over the course of its three plus decades of existence, with& Åkerfeldt becoming Opeth's lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist after Isberg's departure in 1992. Opeth released their debut LP, Orchid, in 1995. Two years later, the group headed back to the studio to record a follow up, Morningrise. In support of the LP, Opeth embarked on a UK tour as well as a lengthy Scandinavian tour alongside Cradle of Filth. The success of the album won the attention of Century Media Records; the band signed to the label and Century Media released their records for the first time in the US.

This week the pioneering Bay Area all female Peaches Crew, comprised of multi-talented DJs Umami, Deeandroid, Lady Ryan, Lady Fingaz, ThatGirl and Pony P, will celebrate their ten year anniversary with a party/concert on Friday, September 27th at 7th West in Oakland. At the celebratory event, that will be hosted by Aima the Dreamer, the groundbreaking multi-talented six woman turntablist collective promise performances spinning “open format sets with an emphasis on true school hip-hop and #realdjing: deejaying with skills encompassing turntablism and trick-mixing.”

Peaches was founded back in 2009 by then-bartender Masaye "Mama Peach" who initially formed the crew as a part of a weekly DJ party at the Mission District Skylark Bar where they still hold down Thursdays. Crediting “sisterhood” for their inner crew harmony and decade of longevity, the DJs of Peaches Crew are a true representative cross section of women in today's diverse progressive society. As noted by founding member Masaye, the Peaches Crew’s rich diverse membership incorporates, “mothers, business owners, working women, wives, singles, producers, singers; they are Middle Eastern, Asian, Black, White, Muslim; Straight and LGBTQ. Their parties and mixes celebrate music that unites with a homage to the roots of hip-hop and hip-hop DJ’ing.” 

The Desert Daze Music & Arts Festival is returning for another magical weekend of music under the desert stars! The stellar lineup includes Flaming Lips, Ween, Wu-Tang Clan, Devo, Stereolab, Khruangbin and many, many more. The festival takes at Moreno Beach in Lake Perris, CA Thursday, October 10th through Sunday, October 13th.

This is the eighth year for the festival, which is put on by the good people at Moon Block, and the second at Moreno Beach. There are several ticket options available online including single day tickets, weekend passes, camping passes, and car camping vehicle passes. Or, if you prefer to save some money on fees, you can get the following tickets in-store at Amoeba Hollywood:

Camping Pass	$99	Grants admission for one person to the campgrounds Thursday - Sunday Everyone camping must also have Weekend GA, Azurite or Obsidian festival passes.
3-Day Weeeknd General Admission Continue reading...