2012: Most of the Year In Review, Part 3

December 19
ITM Performs at the Halftime Show for the Boston Celtics
As some of you may know, Sunspot's original R&B crooner, Runna, is the Director of the In The Mak'n (ITM) Step Squad and Dance Team. ITM has been relentlessly practicing and rehearsing their performance for weeks. I, G. Jonz, had the honor of putting this mix together. I've done this many times in the past for countless ITM shows, but I could see the fire in these young dancers eyes. For many of them, this was the first time they'd perform in front of an audience -- an audience of 18,000+! The young lions had something to prove. The veterans of the team knew what to expect and gave it 110%, like they do every time they step foot on a stage. Everyone did an amazing job! Here are a few pictures from that night. (Also, as an added bonus to the night, the Celtics won this game against the Cavaliers and this is also the game where Paul Pierce scored 40 points!)

December 24
DJ Seth Chaos Releases Volume 1 of his Certified Mixtape Series
This was actually a nice Christmas surprise to us on the Sunspot team. Seth Chaos, who has worked with us on a number of different projects, has taken songs from many Sunspot releases and mixed them into a unique experience. Chaos has also included the very first S.O.U.L. Music/Sunspot collaborative track as a bonus. You can take a listen below.

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.com

December 28
Last Friday with Sunspot

Yep, this isn't happening until tomorrow night, but it's been mentioned it in the other two parts of the Year in Review, not to mention Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, texts, LynnHappens.com, smoke signals and Morse Code. It will truly be a night to remember and a great way to kick off the last weekend of 2012. Thanks for reading this series. To close out, I'd like to paraphrase a quote by Shawn Michaels:

"We will give you a show like you have never, ever seen before. Why? Because we can."

Year In Review, Part 1
Year In Review, Part 2

2012: Most of the Year In Review, Part 2

Mid-July
Boston Community Showcase

Female MC Ladii Goddiva invited us to perform at an event she was hosting in Boston. We got in contact with Goddiva thru Ξәƞῼβλα, who is shown here with G. Jonz performing I Dare You.

Runna lighting up the stage with Sunspot's remix version of Turn It Up

This event is actually the first time that Runna and Balán Braxton (Ξәƞῼβλα) met each other. They recorded their song Thinking About You at different times and never spoke to each other before until this day. This picture shows them performing a snippet of it together with G. Jonz for the first time.

September
Not Sure Community College

Pretty self-explanatory, but I'll go ahead and explain it anyway. G. Jonz and C.Luk are in a band and no, Sunspot has NOT disbanded. (Disbanded... punny.) This is the first of many videos showcasing what the band can do. Be sure to Like the band on Facebook: Not Sure Community College
If you're on Twitter, so are we: @notsureband


HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON!

Year In Review, Part 1

2012: Most of the Year In Review

This is the time of year where everyone takes time to reflect on the past calendar year. What was good? What wasn't so good? How many epic fails did I commit? How many Facebook pictures did I like/share because if I "ignored" them it showed that I didn't care? (That one's for you, Thai.)

I figured I'd take the time to give my opinion on some of the things Sunspot has been a part of in the last year. I should have time to bang this out before this week's show.

February 21 - July 31
The Photo Shoot and Making of "Check The Recipe 2" This is actually could've been two different sections. "The Making of" started in February while "The Photo Shoot" started in the last week of July... but they're intertwined. So there you go.

If you've Liked my Facebook page (and if you haven't, you're really missing out on some (high?) quality quips), you noticed a series of photographs featuring the Sunspot crew and other musicians that promoted my second mixtape. The photo shoot was a lot of fun. It's one thing to put in work to promote your work, but when you're surrounded by friends and family, it really doesn't seem like work at the end of the day. It was also a bonus that I knew the photographer from my previous job and the graphic designer from high school. I can't thank them enough for all their hard work, especially when they had to race against the clock!
If you need photography or videography, hit up KKS Photography.
For graphic design of any kind, Wendy Carmona-Florencio - Illustration & Design.

As far as the making of the actual mixtape, I couldn't possibly fit every detail in one entry, which is why I started this. However, I will say that Check The Recipe 2 was more successful than I ever thought. To everyone who was involved in the making of it: artists, producers, writers, loved ones, fans, affiliates, associates and anyone else that doesn't fit into one of those categories, I say THANK YOU.

August 22
KAYA Lynn Out Loud Talent Show (or as I call it, The LAWL Show) Sunspot staples G. Jonz and The Right Hook assisted KAYA behind the scenes in putting together this 2nd annual showcase. Runna also helped in making the show a huge success as ITM's Step Squad and Dance Team both performed that night. The entire process was something I wouldn't trade. The youth involved were so inspiring and incredibly gifted. During practices, they supported each other and gave helpful tips. The other advisers, Lynda and Lyna, offered great insights to the performers. The pressure was on for many reasons, but once the music hit and the lights were on bright, it was showtime and positive energy overpowered everyone in attendance. New friendships were definitely made that night. KAYA Crew, if you're reading this, thank you for the opportunity. I can not WAIT to do it again!

The good people at LynnHappens.com has the entire show on video. Here's the link: http://lynnhappens.com/?p=5932

I looked at my list at what I wanted to write about. I realized that, while I didn't plan to make this a mini-series of blogs, that's ultimately what this will become. All 3 parts will be done before the new year. And possibly before Sunspot's show this Friday.

Highlights of CTR2, Part 1: Walnut & Mara Bettencourt

Check The Recipe 2 is my latest mixtape which features 18 musical talents from the 781 area and beyond. I'll be giving some background info on two of the people involved in CTR2 in this entry. Sit back and take in some insight on the Recipe.

From left to right: Walnut, G. Jonz and Blak C admiring the beauty of Mara Bettencourt.

Walnut is a veteran in hip-hop culture. For over 20 years, Da Lyrical Geni has solidified in his name in the Boston area as one of the most diverse and conscious lyricists to ever hold a mic. CTR2 isn't the first time that Walnut and Sunspot have crossed paths. Walnut made an appearance in C.Luk's Extradimensional album as well as the critcally-acclaimed short film, "Captain Asian America." G. Jonz and C.Luk also lent a hand in producing two songs ("Next On the Mic" and "You Need to Stop") from Walnut's 2011 release - "Love Is In Your Face." C.Luk performs on "Next On the Mic" along with Big Brotha Sadi and Zullo Crew.

During the calendar year, Walnut hosts a series of Community Building parties where artists of all genres come together and promote positivity, have jam sessions, and generally have a good time. This is how G. Jonz met the vocalist/musican/songwriter Mara Bettencourt.

The Chef brought up the idea of making a second mixtape and explained that he wanted to expand his skills as a producer and delve into pop. Bettencourt agreed to help with this and stated that she wanted a sound that would be reminiscent of a "celestial" dance pop sound. About a week later, the beat was brought to Mara and the aural artist of Azores went to work on creating the lyrics. Soon, Love At First Sight was created and was instrumental (ha.) in leading the pop sound on CTR2. Mara's newest CD is scheduled for release sometime in January 2013.

You can listen to Walnut and Mara and get free downloads right now! Keep checking for updates as I highlight the remaining 16 voices of Check The Recipe 2!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, this happened:

July 16, 2011 - A Night Out With Sunspot:

Since then, we released The Morning After and now, we're getting ready for the next evolution in G. Jonz production. A new mixtape compilation: Check The Recipe 2.

We're bringing hip-hop. We're bringing R&B. We're bringing pop. We're bringing new material from artists like The Right Hook, Runna, P.O.E.S. and The In$idaz. We're bringing artists that are working with Sunspot for the first time such as Balán Braxton and Mara Bettencourt.
Also, we got surprises... PLENTY OF SURPRISES!!

Tuesday, July 31st is the date - GET READY FOR A HOTTER SUMMER!!

When No One's Looking, I Be Doin Some Thangs...

...like this. GoAnimate.com: CTR2+promo1 by GJonz


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

For more singles from Check The Recipe 2, click below or click this link and press play! Free downloads too! Tell the WORLD!

Some Music Insight and Reflection

As I prep the finishing touches to Check The Recipe 2, I was listening to songs from the Morning After album. It's always a fun challenge producing songs. This is especially the case with R&B and pop. The artists, writers and producers must pay attention to differing cadences, levels for all singers, finding the right keys for harmonies and layers... It's a lot to juggle.

Let me be clear, this is NOT me complaining about the song-creation process. As challenging as it is to make all the elements work in a song, it's also one of the best parts. When deciding what to add/not to add to a song, certain thoughts float around:

"Will the audience understand the point I'm making when they hear this line?"

"Ooh! I can't wait until they get to THIS point of the song! They're gonna be ROCKIN to that!"

"When [insert a specific person in your audience] hears this, she's never gonna think about Oreos the same way! Ha!"

Creative juices are pumping from the moment the first kick drum is inserted into a project file to make a beat, to the writing, to the recording, all the way to the final listen of the song. It's an adrenaline rush!

Check The Recipe 2 is going to be amazing. I promise you that! A promo vid will be up shortly, but for now, listen to the song that inspired me to write this blog: "Milky Way" from 2011's The Morning After by Runna & Right Hook.

Dear OOMF

... I know WAY too much about your life. You're an idiot to complain about people getting all in your business right after you finished airing out your dirty laundry.

... Stop complaining about your baby mama/baby daddy drama. Nothin you say on Twitter is gonna help your situation. Keep your mouth and your legs closed. Kthxbye.

... You have like 3 inches of clothes on in your Twitcon. You do NOT have 5000 followers because they care about your thoughts on the latest #KKTNY episode... But they'll care as soon as you post a new pic.

... What did you do before you shook your head as often as you do now?

... Is it really that much of an emergency if you have time to tweet/post about it before the issue is resolved?

YOOO!!!! I ALMOST DIED JUST NOW! --Let me post this on FB real quick, though.

...And to the millions AND MILLIONS of you deep-thinkers who post quotes every 5 minutes...

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

...Finally, I probably lost a few Twitter followers and FB fans/friends from this post. If you haven't stormed off to find that pic that says "This is my profile and I can post what I want," then I say thanks for reading. And thanks for not taking this too seriously. Obviously, I realize you can say what you want, like I just did.

Sneak Peek Beat 2

Sneak Peek Beats are exclusive clips of music that I will occasionally "leak" just because I find something unique about them. They could be beats, they could be incomplete songs. Check the backstory to find out what they're all about... Also, the music that's posted will be up for a limiited amount of time. The post will remain on the blog, however.

The backstory:
I've always wanted to sample, but I'm not very good at it (yet). At the same time, I LOVE the Resident Evil video game series, RE2 in particular. No, I don't own every iteration of the series, but I do think RE2 is a classic.

The music, in particular, has a unique way of adding to the story. The Save Room theme, especially, had an uncommon quality about it where it would be calming because you knew your character was safe. At the same time, the dark piano chords would be played in such a way that it reminded the player that, eventually, you'd have to leave the safety of that room, and go back out into the nightmarish world of Raccoon City.

The Save Room Theme
In order to sample this theme, I asked Seth Chaos for help. It wasn't long before I got a cool loop of the song. I added drums to complete the beat... After we listened to it a few times, Chaos got the wild idea to add the acapella from a Craig David song... Yes, THAT Craig David... As in "7 Days" Craig David.

Ladies and gentlemen, take some time and listen to the Resident Evil remix of "Fill Me In," produced by Seth Chaos and G. Jonz!

Hold up. Hold up. Whoa dere... What happened to Sneak Peek Beat 1?
The first Sneak Peek Beat was released exclusively on the G. Jonz Facebook Page. Like it and be a part of the fun and see sexy pictures... of me. LAWL.