M.I.A. is known for having a keen ear for talent, so it’s no surprise she’s picked up Chicago expat and Pit Er Pat drummer Butchy Fuego to the man the kit for recent live dates. Fuego, who moved to LA in 2009, has also recently done time with the Boredoms.
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The Numero Group‘s exploration of underheralded local soul will continue this fall with an exhaustive Syl Johnson box, slated for release on October 19. Complete Mythology, a four-disc/six-LP set, will contain 28 singles that originally appeared on local labels Twinight, Federal, Cha-Cha, TMP-Ting, and Special Agent, as well as ten previously unreleased tracks and the entire Is It Because I’m Black and Dresses Too Short albums. “Syl is one of the most important singers in soul’s middle class,” Numero’s Ken Shipley told Gossip Wolf. “That his catalog has been treated with such carelessness is, as a record buyer, heartbreaking and depressing.” If you’re not a regular V103 listener, you probably know Johnson best for “Different Strokes,” one of the most widely sampled songs in hip-hop, making appearances in everything from Public Enemy’s “Miuzi Weighs a Ton” to EPMD’s “It’s My Thing” to De La Soul’s “The Magic Number.”
On July 15, the Adler Planetarium’s Adler After Dark series features two sets from ex-Polyphonic Spree-r Louis Schwadron‘s band, Sky White Tiger, which sounds like a tripped-out Coldplay and is apparently heavily inspired by astrology. Dropping your five bucks in advance gets you guaranteed good sightlines for the “constellation-based imagery,” though Gossip Wolf imagines everyone will do just fine with what’s dancing on the back of his own eyelids. More details at adlerplanetarium.org
