The Breakestra & Cut Chemist Live! DNA Lounge SF December 16, 2005

fresco, massive selector, and on the corner are bringing a heavy dose of that live hip-hop sound and flavor to heat up the Bay Area this winter. HIT THE FLOOR! THE OFFICIAL BREAKESTRA ALBUM RELEASE PARTY is goin? down at the DNA LOUNGE (375 11th St. SF) on Friday, December 16, 2005 featuring an unbelievable live performance by the 10 piece band everyone knows and loves, THE BREAKESTRA. HIT THE FLOOR! is THE BREAKESTRA's latest album on Ubiquity Records and joining the celebration will be a rare performance by hip-hop heavyweight, CUT CHEMIST and up-and-coming dj/producer OHMEGA WATTS to lay it down for this all-star showcase... FRESH COAST style!

friday, december 16, 2005
fresco, massive selector, and on the corner present
HIT THE FLOOR! THE OFFICIAL BREAKESTRA ALBUM RELEASE PARTY
@ DNA LOUNGE, 375 11th St. SF
$20 cover, 21+
LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2902

starring
THE BREAKESTRA (LIVE)
CUT CHEMIST
OHMEGA WATTS

ABOUT THE BREAKESTRA
Break. As in "breakbeat." That ten second slice of percussive magic in the middle of a funk song that, when looped together by progressive South Bronx DJs in the 1970s, became the basis of the hip-hop movement. Arkestra. Out-there jazzer Sun Ra's funkafied concept of the stuffy classical orchestra. Flip the script and you wind up with a unique definition of the 10 piece, Los Angeles based ensemble known as The Breakestra. The Breakestra was born as the result of a vision by bassist/guitarist/upright cellist/producer Miles Tackett. In 1996, Tackett more actively embraced his role as cultural preservationist. As part of the original crew that produced LA's weekly coffeehouse series The Breaks, Tackett spun records by The Meters, Kool & The Gang and The JB's. But he was a musician before he was a DJ. Why not assemble a band to rock the breaks he loved? A band that could interpolate and interpret that glorious funk for the hip-hop generation?

Led by Tackett, the band that became The Breakestra came together: Josh "Wallet" Cohen on drums, Geoff "Double G" Gallegos on sax and flute, Todd Simon and Paul Vargas on trumpet, Dan Osterman on trombone, Carlos Guaico on keys, Davy Chegwidden on percussion, Dan Ubick on guitar, Soulsister Demya and Mixmaster Wolf on vocals and Tackett himself on bass, upright cello and vocals. The world got a taste of The Breakestra flavor when the band dropped their debut "Getcho Soul Togetha" on Stones Throw Records in the summer of 1999. Deep funk DJs like England's Keb Darge and Ian Wright and NYC's heavy-duty soulster Kenny Dope quickly picked up on the accessible slab of JB tinged excitement - on which the multitalented Tackett plays drums, bass and guitar! And The Breakestra has earned the respect of the funk artists whose music inspires them. They've played with The Arkestra. At a recent show in Nashville, Tennessee they played alongside legends Galt MacDermot, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and Wilbur "Bad" Bascomb. MacDermot, composer of the musical HAIR, gushes "These guys do have it together... they're solid." And Weldon Irvine, the seminal soul jazz pianist sampled by ATCQ and KRS-One amongst others, proclaimed "The Breakestra is really my kind of vibe." No doubt!

ABOUT CUT CHEMIST
As well as being one of the ablest solo turntablists on the globe, Cut Chemist is also a member of two highly rated crews: underground rap kings Jurassic 5 and the Latin-funk band Ozomatli. He came up with the L.A. rap group Unity Committee, and debuted on wax with the B-side of UC's 1993 single "Unified Rebelution." The track, "Lesson 4: The Radio," was a tribute to and continuation of Double D and Steinski's seminal hip-hop collage masterpieces "Lessons 1-3,"and included nods to Indeep, Bob James, Spoonie Gee, and Dan Ackroyd.

Soon after the record's release, Unity Committee came together with another group, Rebels of Rhythm, to form Jurassic 5. Cut Chemist kept quite busy with the group, contributing "Lesson 6" to the group's eponymous EP and producing the entire record. He also delved into remixing (DJ Shadow, Liquid Liquid) and outside work (scratching for Less Than Jake; appearing with another Los Angeles group, Ozomatli). In mid-1997, Cut Chemist recorded his album debut, Live at the Future Primitive Sound Session, with Shortkut of Invisibl Skratch Piklz. His tracks have also appeared on two seminal turntablist compilations, Return of the DJ, Vol. 1 and Deep Concentration. - John Bush

ABOUT OHMEGA WATTS
Born and Raised in Brooklyn, NY, Ohmega Watts grew up around Reggae, Calypso, Soca, 80's pop and Hiphop, but never grabbed hold of listening or paying attention to any kind of music until he was around 11 years old. He gravitated towards hiphop, and came up on cats like Run DMC, LL Cool J, Big Daddy Cane, Dana Dane, BDP, Eric B and Rakim, Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, and Gangstar to name a few... but really grasped the sound and style of A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Black Sheep, the whole (at that time) Native Tongue family.

By 1993, Ohmega ended up in Orlando, FL where he began his own MCing skills. He was also a pretty critical beat enthusiast, and loved beats by the likes of Pete Rock, Primo, Large Pro aka the Extra P aka Large Professor, and even the RZA for his rugged unorthodoxed production style at the time. In 1997 Ohmega began getting pieces of equipment and started to produce, then in '98 upgraded himself to his now trusty MPC 2000. He began learning about diggin' in the crates for breaks, and samples, and finding out who were some key musicians back in the Jazz, Rock, Soul and funk era's.

From that point on to present day, Watts has been diggin in the crates and producing tracks for his unit Lightheaded members, and close family of cats he's come to build relationships with. He is now working on numerous projects, including a solo album for Ubiquity Records slated for a FALL 2005 release titled 'The Find' and is producing a majority of Lightheaded's Sophmore LP titled 'Wrong Way' along with Stro of the Procussions contributing 3 tracks, Tony Stone with One, and Muneshine (known for producing the entire 'Pure Thoughts' LP the groups Freshman album) produced the title album joint 'Wrong Way'.

for tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2902

for more info
http://www.massiveselector.com
http://www.fresco-style.com
http://www.ubiquityrecords.com
http://www.cutchemist.com