Five Finger Discount.

Practically-PDP producer Falside takes a break from fielding important phone calls from clients to announce his upcoming remix EP, Five Finger Discount, featuring original remixes of PDP's "Keep It Ova There" with Storm Davis & Reason on vocals (from the 2007 mixtape Nothing Stays Gold, and Reason's unreleased track "Dead T-Shirts", as well as a track from backyard neighbor Dirty Hank.

Here's the official announcement text:

Falside presents Five Finger Discount, a remix sampler. This will be available for FREE download Wednesday, October 28th 2009. Presented by Potholesinmyblog.com, Beatboxradioshow.blogsphttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifot.com, Leedz Edutainment, Swank Attire, Digsafe Records, and Zebraisfood.com. This is a 14 track compilation featuring original Falside remixes of Sean Price, Kev Brown, J-Live, B-Real (Cypress Hill), Ill Bill (La Coka Nostra), Reason, The High and Mighty and many more.

Check out the preview video from Falside:

Kickin' It With Us, While You're Begging For Your Scene Back.

Last week we let loose the news that Seez Mics and Educated Consumers had invited PDP's Reason and Storm Davis to collaborate on a track for their upcoming album, Hello Big Mama. Well, turns out, it isn't upcoming. It's here.

And its dope.

Very dope.

And you know what's also dope? We're going to let you hear Seez, Storm, and Reas get busy over T.E.C.K.'s beat right here, right now. Just press play.

Educated Consumers feat. Poorly Drawn People - "My Us"



...and it just gets better and better on the rest of the record.

We implore you to go cop this (currently only available as a digital) album either at educatedconsumers.com or via iTunes, or here at Strange Famous Records' digital store.

Tell 'em PDP sent you.

Tippen Sie auf die Flasche.

Time again for the monthly installment of PDP's old school hip hop night Tap The Bottle, a great place for you to come and talk about how awesome our set at the EL-P show was. Or at least, how short.

Here's Dox's words on this month's TTB:

"The second Saturday of the month means it's time for Tap the Bottle, the Dox & djSaveone hosted old school hip hop party in Local 121's Tap Room (that's upstairs for the ill-informed).

This month will also feature the born day celebration for Amedeo Sallese (better known to some of you as Lil' Justin). So even if you think Dox & Save suck (they don't), come through and share your love and WWII memories with birthday boy.

As always, no cover, no dress code, no cocaine. xoxo."

Saturday October 9 2009
Local 121
121 Washington St
Providence RI
21+ / 11pm-2am / NO COVER

I'll Fail When Ure Dead.

Le Poorly Drawn People open the show this Friday in Providence for Def Jux's EL-P and SFR homie B. Dolan. Also Yak Ballz.

We will be on sometime in the 9 o'clock hour, so come early and, if your night goes right, come often.

Friday October 9 2008

El-P (Def Jux)
Yak Ballz (Def Jux)
B. Dolan (SFR)
Poorly Drawn People (Parentheses)

Jerky's Music Hall
71 Richmond Street
Providence RI
www.myspace.com/jerkysbar
18+

you can buy tickets for the Providence gig here.

Also, peep the original flyer design below, posted for archival purposes, and the official DJX/SFR tour flyer done by PDP's own SD, in conjunction with some of your favorite rappers:

Permanent Press.

It's time we caught you up on the mentions of our last album, Motion Not Emotion, in print, since we were outrageously lax on letting you know who said what since its release.

We've managed to post up nearly all of the major ink that we've been given by the Providence Phoenix this year, and we can't give enough love to the local alternative weekly and especially to Homegrown Product writer Chris Conti, whose consistent support has been overwhelming. Having the biggest media outlet in the local arts community in your corner has been invaluable, and we do appreciate it.

--------

The always supportive Wake Your Daughter Up has hit us with so many accolades since the time the record dropped its hard to know where to begin. But praise from such a reputable outlet has helped keep us striving to impress them with the next one, so big ups to Trav and the whole WYDU staff.

On April 9, they gave us this endorsement upon the release of MNE:

"Those not familiar with PDP, the group is made up of five members, Storm Davis, Reason, Dox, Entity and Sterbyrock. I've been blasting their music since running across Storm Davis' solo album, Kegstand Poetry for The Recovering Alcoholic, back in '07. We started talking and he let me know of the rest of his crew. From there, their mixtape, Nothing Stays Gold, dropped in 2007 and last years Shoot For The Stars, Hit The Ceiling got major play on the iPod/car stereo, discman, computer and home stereo.

Well, they are graduating from the mixtape scene to.......well, I'm not sure what exactly this is, but it's got the flavor and cohesiveness of a full fledged album in the form of Motion Not Emotion. Coming in at twelve songs, you get the typical PDP tongue in cheek humor, John Friesz name drops (props to whoever knows that name), missed women (and it's fuckin' annoying....listen to the song) and sound drops from "Better Off Dead", the classic 80's movie. They take everything you liked (or will like) about their mixtapes and put it all on one project. If you have heard them in the past, this needs to be heard. If you haven't heard of Poorly Drawn People, then you needs to hear this."

On June 17, head writer Trav listed MNE in his top spins of the week, and wrote:

"In a way, I'm somewhat pissed that this album hasn't taken off as much as it should. This is one of the most cohesive and enjoyable hip hop albums I've heard in a long time. The beats are all on point and the lyrics are filled with battle raps, sense of humor and straight up rewinders (what we used to do to hear a dope line on a tape back in the day). Tracks like "Stress Filled Days", "Might Blow Up", "Ain't Hard To Make A Million Dollars", "Stealers Wheel" and "Sawbucks & Fins" is straight up hip hop with a nice musical ambience to the tracks. I don't know what to say other than go listen to this album and tell me you ain't at least feeling some of this EP."

On July 13, they ranked the top ten EPs of the year so far... and guess who landed the coveted #1 spot, beating out heavyweights such as Rhymesayers' Brother Ali and his Truth Is Here release?

"When PDP dropped Motion Not Emotion, I gave it a listen, and actually was planning on being harder on it than the average submission, just because I didn't want people to accuse me of favoritism (not that I give a rats ass what people think). After the first listen though, I knew that this was a good, nah it was a GREAT, release.

I hated to include this as an EP, although that's what the four man group of Storm Davis, Reason, Dox, and DJ Sterbyrock label it. The truth is, this is one of my favorite projects of any sorts this year."

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Here's one we reaaallllly should have made more of a big deal of: CDBaby, one of the largest independent music sellers in the world, gave us a front page feature this past June, as well as a FIVE STAR REVIEW. Yes, out of 5. Here's what they had to say:

"It's tough to pin this Rhode Island hip hop crew down, and that's exactly what makes this disc such an interesting listen. Each track (though handled by the same producer, the crafty Dox) sparks a new vibe, shoots off in a new direction, but never strays too far from the cut that preceded it. Fittingly, there's a stream of randomness in both the music and the lyrics, but an underlying focus shoots through and makes it all gel. "Celebrity Rehab" is both fun and bitter, with quick-fire verbals calling out the pseudo-famous with a sly nonchalance, while "Better off Dead" takes a darkly funny look at post-breakup emotions. The beats knock across the board, with slick percussion providing tight backgrounds for Reason and Storm Davis, the two gruff MCs who know how to play off one another. There's a little bit of everything on this one, but there's nothing not to like. Get with it."

You can cop the disc from CDBaby here.

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We seem to have just popped up on ToneGents.com's radar a couple of weeks ago, and they've declared MNE in the run for "rap album of the year":

"From one of the toughest hoods you can think of comes what may be the Hip-Hop record of the year... Poorly Drawn People - Motion Not Emotion. So far this year, there have been 3 new Hip-Hop records that have really stood out to me as being extremely not awful. Those three would be the P.O.S. record, the Tanya Morgan record, and this gem by Poorly Drawn People who are... white guys from Rhode Island. Whaaaaaaa? You heard me. Hey, Jay-Z's new record apparently sucks, so somebody's gotta pick up the slack. These guys got nice beats, clever samples and really good, funny rhymes. They are some regular Triple Threats, Debbie Allen! Hear for yourself..."

Peep it in its original context here.

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The Brown Daily Herald shined an extremely favorable light on PDP in a recent article that examined the local live music scene:

"Rap and hip-hop thrive in Providence, and many performers who develop their technique on Providence stages move on to national and even international recognition. For example, Sage Francis has already acquired a national reputation, and Poorly Drawn People — a Providence collective of emcees, DJs, and producers — is on the rise, earning support both across the country and online."

Check the full article here.

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RapReviews.com gave us the "don't have to go to summer school" grade of 7.5 out of 10, and we'll take it. Especially when it comes with commentary like:

"PDP as a whole make serious hip-hop without taking thesmselves too seriously."

and

"PDP may be an encryption key, they may be a group of rapping Rhode Islanders, but either way they unlock a part of your musical subconscious that knows hip-hop can keep it real and keep it fresh without always having to keep it too serious."

Check out the full RapReviews text here.

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75orless.com gave MNE a favorable review, stating:

"It's tough enough dealing with a stubborn music scene in the smallest state in the country, but Rhode Island can rest assured hip hop is covered with these cats."

The full review can be found here.

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Maryland homie SeezMics from Educated Consumers gives us the big up (pause) in this recent interview.

PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?
Cole: Dezmatic, Dood Computer, Cubbiebear, Head ResiNators, DJ cam-one, Food Chain Collective, Icon The Mic King, Poorly Drawn People, Lush Farm, and The Caverns to name more than a few.

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Falside shows that its not the worst thing in the world to show love to your hometown crew when the press comes callin', in this interview with AudibleHype.com:

"Much respect to Esh the Monolith. He is a producer/friend also from Providence with great production and mindset. Poorly Drawn People (Reason,Storm Davis, Dox) my main local squeeze have always had their shit together marketing wise."

Check out his full verbiage here and grab some free Falside music while you're at it.

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And finally, our favorite piece of recent press courtesy of the aforementioned Chris Conti and the Providence Phoenix, in their write-up of the ProTown Records 12" release party:

"The night was underscored by a tremendous show of local support: spotting Labeless Illtelligence wordsmiths Esh the Monolith and CasUno posting up in the Strange Famous gift shop, shooting the shit with Poorly Drawn People's Storm Davis."

Getting name-checked for just standing around. Page Six, here we come.

Thanks to all the writers, blogs, newspapers, and websites for the support.

Dead T-Shirts.

Remember long ago when we announced that producer Falside had remixed an unreleased Reason of PDP track for his upcoming remix project? Oh yeah, that was yesterday. Well, he leaked it. Here's the press release:

Falside, the acclaimed east coast beatsmith with production credits including C-Rayz Walz, Vast Aire (Cannibal Ox), El Da Sensei (The Artifacts), Pacewon (The Outsidaz), Reef the Lost Cauze (Army of the Pharoahs) and others has teamed up with one of Providence's premier wordsmith's, Reason. Reason, a member of the hip hop collective, Poorly Drawn People, has been a stand out and contributing element to new age independent hip hop crusade.

In anticipation of his newly announced remix sampler, "Five Finger Discount", Falside releases the first single from the free project. "Dead T-Shirts" featuring Reason is an Indy hip hop fusion blend that erases the line seperating preference of any genre. Download your free copy of the acclaimed single as well as the instrumental below. Falside's "Five Finger Discount" will be another addition to his free digital download series, and the release date will be announced soon. For more information please visit falsidethebeatsmith.blogspot.com or myspace.com/reason.

Download Link
http://www.divshare.com/download/8696816-36d

Thank you in advance for listening. Feel free to post and share. As you know, feedback is always appreciated.

PDP Update: On The Rob Lowe.

You've probably been wondering just where in heckfire PDP has been. Well, PDP has been busy. Busy as bees. Bees who drink their tiny faces off and are pathologically depressed despite being able to fly, throw ass darts (pause), and make honey out of shit that would cripple other motherfuckers. Bees who spend an inordinate amount of time wondering how much money Rob Lowe has spent on abortions in his lifetime.

Because we assume it is a substantial amount of money. Dude was unfathomably handsome and outrageously famous at like thirteen years old, right? So he must have been laying pipe long before Class or Youngblood or when he became the ultimate 80s badass in St. Elmo's Fire. Shit, there's even tapes of him tagging fifteen-year-olds or something. Not that we approve of that, per se, we're just citing the evidence. Even with that 'Buy 9 Get 1 Free' card that Planned Parenthood hands out, we're betting that there has been a serious investment made in the termination of pregnancies.

Why have we been thinking about this, you axe? Well, we think that if Rob, who has made much much more money than that over the course of his career(s), would just match that amount and hand it over to the staff of Poorly Drawn Parenthood, we could invest that sum and furnish you all with a hearty slate of new releases and paraphernalia.

Thus far, the messages we have left with his assistant have not been responded to.

So we move on. We hustlaz, after all. We hustlez.

Anyway, we've been doing other stuff too. We usually are loathe to announce anything until it is finished, pressed, packaged, and ready to be put into your hands, but its been 2 months since we drew back the curtain and let you peek in, so what the hell. Here it is, the new issue of Poorly Drawn Quarterly:



NEW SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Two new Providence shows that are bigger than your average.

First, we're opening for El-P (ex-Company Flow, producer of Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, and a million others, and head honcho of Definitive Jux Records). Also on the bill is our cohort from Strange Famous Records, B. Dolan, and Yak Ballz, who had a really awesome leather jacket on at the Cage show in Providence a couple of months ago.

Friday October 9 2009

El-P (Def Jux)
Yak Ballz (Def Jux)
B. Dolan (SFR)
Poorly Drawn People (Parentheses)

Jerky's Music Hall
71 Richmond Street
Providence RI
www.myspace.com/jerkysbar
18+

you can buy tickets for the Providence gig here.

----------

Also, the fine folks at the Great International Beer Festival have invited us to be the evening entertainment at this November's festival. That's right, the Kegstand Poet, the guy who wrote "Happy Drunk", the deejay whose prowess with a freezer rivals his skills on the tables, and Dox, who spends more time in bars than reciting bars, will be unleashed upon a sea of unlimited beer. And you can watch.

Saturday November 14 2009

Evening session is from 6:30 - 10:00 PM

PDP will be performing 2 one-hour sets backed by their full live band led by drummer Austin Andrews.

Tickets are $36.00. According to the festival's website, "your admission ticket will allow you UNLIMITED SAMPLING of more than 250 brews. Live MUSIC, FOOD and MUCH MORE!" Thats 2 hours of PDP plus 250 beers.

We understand if you don't come, though: it's Saturday night, and you could get 3 drinks at Tazza while experiencing Barry's Barry's Barry's Video Dance Party for the same price.

You can purchase tickets in advance here.

Here's the description of the event straight from the organizers:

We are again inviting you to participate in our forthcoming 16th Great International Beer Festival held again at the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence.

Our recent Spring Beer Festival, with over 4,200 attendees, was an overall success. Several new breweries were on hand and our music entertainment was 1st rate.

The November 14th Festival welcomes back the Great International Beer Competition, our 13th, under the direction of Judge Gregg Glaser. Last November there were over 200 beer competition entries, with well publicized results. Gregg also conducted our “Tutored Tasting” at the Show. To prevent overcrowding and long wait lines we increased our square footage to 70,000 from 40,000 a few years earlier, thereby easier to handle the estimated 7,000 attendees.

You can check out more info at their website here.

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NEW COLLABORATIONS

Had it with having to trek to shows to get your PDP fix? Need some new music from the fellas for the iPod? We've been working on that too:

One of our favorite underground hip hop groups on the scene right now is Educated Consumers (Seez Mics & T.E.C.K.) out of Maryland. Reason & Storm Davis just finished recording verses (more than one apiece! Ooooh) for the track "My Us" off the Educated Consumers' new album Hey Big Mama. Keep an eye on www.educatedconsumers.com for that release, and cop it when you can. You will not regret it.

PDP-affiliate and rising-like-the-sun producer Falside is finishing up a remix album called Five Finger Discount, and has included his takes on an unreleased Reason track called "Dead T-Shirts", as well as a fresh perspective on "Keep It Ova There", the Reason & Storm Davis track originally produced by Entity and available on PDP's 2007 mixtape Nothing Stays Gold. The compilation will also include Falside remixes from artists including Wale, Kev Brown, DITC, The High and Mighty, Sean Price, Dirty Hank, the Beatnuts, and more. Sponsored by Undergroundhiphop.com, Swank Attire, and Potholesinmyblog.com, a release date for this project will be announced soon.

Storm Davis and Reason will both be making vocal appearances on Providence rabble-rouser Dirty Hank's new EP, entitled Dirty Hank's Guide To Giving Up, which also features production by Dox and Falside. Release date TBA.



Reason is yay close to finishing work on his new solo album, Landlords & Lullabies, featuring production from Falside, Esh the Monolith (Labeless Illtelligence), Drumat!c (Formulatin' Fathers), longtime PDP merch-table-mercenary Justin Catoni, and Phillip Drummond, plus raps by Storm Davis and Dirty Hank. L&L will most likely be PDP's next release, and should hit your 8-track players before the end of the calendar year.

Sometime after the release of Landlords & Lullabies and the completion of Dirty Hank's Guide to Giving Up, the intoxicated neighbors will join forces to give you The Monty Brogan EP, a bunch of raps to make your girlfriend very, very angry, presented over a full slate of Falside production.



Storm is not quite as close to finishing Robot Rock & Necktie Blues, his sophomore album featuring wall-to-wall production from Dox. The Chinese Democracy-reminiscent juggernaut has become the victim of an Axl-esque bout of vapor lock and as a result is frozen in developmental hell. Which one would think would be warm. But whatever. Work on the record began in February 2005 and now contains absolutely none of the songs written in the first 2 years of the process, but is evidentally so hot that it melts SD's thoughtsicles whenever he considers the possibility of its existence. Yet not hot enough to melt the frozen hell of developemental... you know what? This dude is obviously full of crap. We give up. Allegedly, the album will arrive in stores.

In the meantime, SD has launched work on a full-length project with producer Entity, who is best remembered for doing everything he possibly could to stop Kegstand Poetry from being completed. The album is nearly halfway finished, which means someone involved in the project is due for a meltdown at any moment, and it has already run through an impressive selection of working titles, including Infallible Chocolate Jesus; A Fine Looking Spaniard; Triangle of Sexual Junkfood; and No Rest For The Wicked Awesome. A hearty amount of guest appearances pepper the record, including verses from Reason, Cas Uno & Esh of Labeless Illtelligence, Chachi, Emilio Lopez (Demigodz), Vorheez of the Problemaddicts, Dirty Hank, theGenetics, and more. Yes, more. Its a party ova hurr.



Dox has assembled a full slate of nightlife for you to enjoy, should you be in the Providence area. Here's the word straight from Ronnie James D.O.X. himself:

"Hey folks,

Few quick programming notes:
Poorly Drawn People producer/DJ/beatmaker Dox will be Local 121’s Tuesday night sound selector starting tonight, Sept. 29, through Oct. 20. Expect classic hip hop, funk, soul and some indie dance tossed in for good measure.

If that’s not enough to get you through the doors, drinks will be served by Miss Lara, reigning winner of the Providence Phoenix award for Best Bartender.

The Local 121 Tap Room has no dress code and no cover. Twenty-one plus with proper ID. Tip well.

The Tap Room at Local 121
121 Washington St.
Downtown Providence

Also at 121 (CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, WE DON'T OWN THIS BAR):
--BFF-of-PDP djSaveone will be holding down fort this Thursday. Save will be playing classic hip hop, breaks and funk 45s.
--Dox returns to 121 this Friday to fill in for Full Frequency, who is currently rehabbing from his accident last month. (Make sure to check out the Full Frequency benefit show at Jerky’s this Saturday, Oct. 3. Featured bands include: The Butcherings, Lolita Black, St Jude, Prayers For Atheists, Girl Haggard and What Cheer!. $7 donation at the door will help cover Dan’s living and medical expenses. 71 Richmond St., Providence. 3:30 p.m.)
--And on Sat., Oct. 10, Dox and Save team for Tap The Bottle, Providence's favorite monthly old school hip hop night. Tap The Bottle takes places the second Saturday of each month. This month, we use Tap The Bottle to celebrate the born day of PDP's resident WWII historian, Amedeo Sallese (better known to some of you as Lil' Justin).

That’s all for now, I believe.
Hope to see you soon, somewhere."



Sterby has been the man about town as of late, taking advantage of the PDP downtime by deejaying all over Providence and beyond, including popping up at Beat Box Studios to record a live mixtape with Chachi, Vertygo, and DJ Therion at the helm during the ProTown Records 12" Release Party in Pawtucket.

He can next be seen at Elevation, 401HipHop.com's new open mic night, this Friday, October 2. The event features a live set from Providence legend Swann Notty, as well as an emcee battle and producer showcase. Details can be found here.

After that, you're going to need to catch up with him on his Facebook, and remember to keep tuning in to his Warped Wax Wednesdays show on 90.3 WRIU.

Sterby has also been on his mixtape grind, recently pressing up uber-limited edition runs of Meltin' Platters of Wax 7 and 61 Minutes of Classics Vol 1. Only 50 copies exist, and he refuses to let us distribute them digitally, so you'd better get at him before they're gone.



...has joined a hockey league!

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BUY BUY BUY

And remember, RI residents: Motion Not Emotion is still available on CD at Queen of Hearts (Providence), Milk & Cookies Gallery (Pawtucket), Armageddon Shop (Providence), Newbury Comics (Providence / Warwick / Attleboro), Kangaroo's (North Providence), and if you're lucky enough to catch a copy that someone hated, in the used section of Time Capsule (Cranston).

The rest of the world can always grab it digitally at iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and all the major e-tailers, or physically at CDBaby. Or email us, we'll make it happen.

BUELLER BUELLER

Anyone left awake after that? God bless you. We'll talk atchoo soon. And thanks for sticking around.

Love always,
PDP

THREEPEAT.

Will you look at that? We did it again. Really, you did it again.

Thanks and love to all of you who took the time to vote in the 2009 Providence Phoenix Music Poll. Because of your support, Poorly Drawn People (Storm Davis / Reason / Dox / Entity / DJ Sterbyrock) have been named Best Hip-Hop Act!

Here's the verbiage from this week's issue:

Poorly Drawn People vocalist Storm Davis recommended I holler at Pat Riley about the “3-Peat” patent as Poorly Drawn People get thrice as nice, taking the Best Rap Act crown for the third consecutive year. It’s pretty damn hard to argue, especially since dropping their latest full-length release, Motion Not Emotion, the springtime follow-up to the hefty mixtape Shoot for the Stars, Hit the Ceiling, which included personal favorite “No Interruptions” (old-timers will appreciate the Grand Daddy I.U. sample). Dope Motion cuts “Celebrity Rehab,” “Might Blow Up, Might Go Pop,” and “Stress Filled Days” are proof-positive that PDP remains calibrated on the target. With Storm and Reason on the mic, DOX on the boards, and cuts from legendary ’RIU radio host DJ Sterbyrock, Poorly Drawn People is an undeniable force on a Rhode Island rap scene currently peppered with top-shelf talent.

Runners-up
2_Chachi
3_ Theo
4_Jon Hope

Click here to check out the article on the Providence Phoenix site.

While technically our 2007 win was for the Best Album category (for Kegstand Poetry), we're proud to have kept your attention long enough to rack up 3 victories in a row. This award is really yours, for keeping us in your lives and iPods and car stereos for nearly half a decade now (we're less than 10 months from our 5-year anniversary), and we're proud and humbled to be able to maintain relevance like that, especially in the disposable mixtape-a-week culture of today's music world. So, really and truly, thanks to each one of you.

Much respect due to Chachi, Theo, Jon Hope, Labeless Illtelligence, and Romen Rok, our hip hop brethren and friendly rivals in this year's poll. Every single one of them is worthy of your attention, and we hope you take time to check them out. Google dem shitz.

Right now we're trying to make some new sounds to try and earn some more of your love, but we'll be back in your ears and inboxes soon enough.

One more time: thanks.

SD | PDP

IndieArts Festival 2009.

Last year, SD&PDP rocked the inaugural IndieArts Fest at 1pm on the hottest day of the year. PDP Chief-of-Security Petey Wheatstraw had to drag an over-exuberant (and most likely homeless) dancin' fan from the stage, the fellas had a grand ol' time self-censoring in real time once they surveyed the crowd and saw that it was a family-friendly event, and SD refused the sale of PDP t-shirts to a family who wanted them solely so they could soak them, wear them as turbans, and toss them away. That ain't how we roll, I don't care how hot it is. Keep your $10.

We did, however, give away 'nuff merch, including a t-shirt to a down-on-his-luck fan who claimed, "I'm homeless now, but when I had a home, you know, before I lost it, I used to listen to PDP in it all the time."

A week later we saw used-to-have-a-house guy get into a fight outside one of our favorite local watering holes while wearing his Kegstand Poet t-shirt. It was torn to shreds.

Oh well, we tried.

So come make some more nearly-interesting anecdotes with us this Saturday at 5pm. It's outdoors and free, so skip Rock The Bells in Mansfield and go see the House Of Pain reunion at the tour stop in NY on Sunday. Cuz if you high tail it out of Providence, this is what you'll be missing:

The IndieArts Fest is a free arts & music festival located in Greater Kennedy Plaza, beginning at 12:30 PM and running throughout the day until 11:00 PM. IndieArts Fest features over 25 performers on 3 stages including live bands, DJ's, spoken word, and dance. The Red Bull Music Academy hosts one of the stages which features an eclectic mix of DJ’s. In addition to the stage, RBMA will also be running a workshop covering all aspects of music including production, DJ-ing, and the business
of music.

The IndieArts Fest is also home of The Arts Exchange, a bazaar featuring artists, crafters, music, posters, collectables, art objects, food, and beverage. We are proud to host our Indie Brew Beer Garden featuring independent and regional breweries.

Start growing your facial hair so you can compete for prizes in this year's General Burnside's Best Facial Hair Contest. Did you say cat fight?.. Well The Providence Roller Derby will be bringing a specially arranged bout to this year's festival. Before the Derby, test out your ability to skate in the Fountain of Youth Skate Park. After dusk, ACME Video, a local staple of Independent film, will be hosting a film showcase in Grant's Block.

Learn more about the excellent all-day-and night festival here: indieartsfest.com

Here's the write-up on PDP on the IndieArts website:

Poorly Drawn People at IndieArts Fest, July 18


Poorly Drawn People is a social club for gentlemen of leisure. Members include Storm Davis, Reason, Dox, Entity, and DJ Sterbyrock.

PDP are renowned for their capacity to enjoy outings, robust libations, the companionship of sharp-witted and randy ladyfriends, and a well-prepared eggplant dish.

PDP will, on occasion, craft a collection of rap songs possessing such musical significance that peers, professionals, and rivals are driven to eventually acknowledge its existence. Begrudgingly.

PDP have made award-winning albums, many, many mistakes, and a great impression on your mother that one time. Tell her we said hello.

PDP is furious, melodic 21st-century boom bap, and/or, party rap records for when the party is over.

IndieArts Fest attendees can catch Poorly Drawn People on the Fringe Stage at Burnside Park from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. In the meantime, they can find more about the band at their website and Myspace.

Click here to see it with pretty pictures.

The Providence Phoenix gives a plug to the festival and gives us a lil love at the same time:

SATURDAY's big news would be the 2nd annual INDIEARTS FEST invading Kennedy Plaza: three stages, two dozen artists, and 11 hours of free music starting around noon at Burnside Park, including top-shelf acts TRIANGLE FOREST, POORLY DRAWN PEOPLE, SENSITIVE HEARTS (formerly the Awesome Bros.), and CHINESE STARS, to name a few. RSVP at IndieArtsFest.com and receive a free MP3 bundle of IndieArts artists. And did we mention admission is FREE all day?

Evidence can be found here.

Invincible.

There's plenty of tribute out there for you to peruse, so I'll keep this as short as possible.

My first record was Michael Jackson's Thriller, a reward that was the result of a deal I'd struck with my devout-Catholic parents in grade ahemkoffkoff back in 1983. A quarter of straight A's for one slab of black-person disco. Because of their close-to-fanatical interpretation of the Church's teachings and, therefore, the absolute ban placed on any and all forms of rock n' roll (as all popular music was deemed), I get a late pass on this generation-defining album.

Up until then, I had gotten my Michael fix from sneaks of MTV whenever we could afford to have cable turned on, mostly in the form of the "Beat It" video, which is probably why the track remains one of my top 3 from his catalog to this day. I shoplifted a copy of "The Michael Jackson Story" by Nelson George from a Scholastic book fair at school, and read it cover to cover, over and over. I even dug it out of the archives to do a book report for an English class in 1986, years after the shine of Michael's ubiquity had faded.

Bad helped get me through a particularly bad semester when I was exiled to a local all-boys school, and by Dangerous, Michael had just become a standard, an old favorite that was a pop staple in a music collection that had grown to become almost exclusively stocked with hip hop and heavy metal. I did geek out a bit whenever he rocked with Slash from Guns N' Roses, and bumped the Fugees remix of "2Bad" (off of HIStory) with the John Forte rap verse. I discovered Off The Wall properly for the first time as I began DJing, but MJ had become someone to take for granted, no longer a must-check as the music world became bigger and bigger through college and the beginning of my own small career in da biz. I copped Invincible out of loyalty, for the same reason I still buy records by any number of acts from youth: They were there for me when I needed them, and if my ten bucks can do the same for them in a time when most of them have been abandoned by all my friends who "grew up," then I'm glad to do it.

I've already gone on too long.

I tuned out during most of the scandal, but sadly, it seems the great majority of it was for good reason. Specifics of guilt aside, he was a troubled man who came from troubled beginnings and lived a life whose pressures would have felled many of us much quicker. Some have no place for empathy or sympathy for such a figure; I'm not one of those people. He gave me too much, so even if I can't necessarily give him the benefit of the doubt, I can give him what he gave me: support. Michael Jackson was my gateway to music, and music became what has propped me up in some of the most difficult times of my life. Without question, I owe him one.

I only hope that wherever he is, he can find the one thing he could never seem to while he was here: peace. May he finally rest in it.

Click here to download the "2Bad (Refugee Camp Remix)" featuring John Forte

Vote Early, Vote Often

It's that time of year again... and there seems to be a little more time to vote, so here goes:

Our crew of rascally rap personalities have once again been nominated by the local arts paper-of-record as the most phenomenal rap act in the galaxy.

And we hope you agree with them.

If not, bribery can be arranged. But either way, we need your vote.

It's easy and quick. Here's the drill:

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Click here: http://thephoenix.com/BMP/Providence/vote/HipHopAct/

Click next to "Poorly Drawn People"

Click "Submit Vote" below the list of nominees

Click "Cast Your Ballot" (next to "You Have Successfully Voted") - unless you prefer to continue voting in other categories*

This will take you to a page where you can review your selections.

Fill in your name and email address (they don't spam you, we promise), and click "Cast Your Ballot"

DONE!

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(unless you have multiple email addresses you can use for voter fraud, that is).

If you plan to vote, please do so as soon as possible. Polls close soon.

And feel free to forward to everyone you know that we don't. They'll grow to love us in the future, we promise. But we'll take their votes now.

We very much appreciate your help with this. We would really like to be able to use the phrase "threepeat" with a straight face.

thanks&love
Storm Davis
PDP

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*If you're looking for suggestions for other acts to vote for, may we suggest these friends-of-PDP:

Best Blues/R&B Act: WHALEBONE JACKSON
Best DJ/Electronica: DJ STERBYROCK
Best Act: SIX STAR GENERAL
Best Breakthrough Act: SEXCOFFEE
Best Male Vocalist: JOHNNY CARLEVALE
Best Female Vocalist: LEAH CARLSON
Best Singer-Songwriter Act: MARY BEE
Best Album: SIX STAR GENERAL "Spaceship to Planet Cookie"
Best Song: THEO "Say It Right"

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Basement Flava.

Unless you were one of the throngs who paid extra wide cash to peep us at Lupo's on Cinco De Mayo, it's been two months since you were able to see us do our little song-and-dance in Providence. We apologize for neglecting you so long, we figured we could use a dose of anticipation-building 'round these parts.

But wait no longer.

SATURDAY JUNE 20
LOCAL 121 - SPEAKEASY (downstairs)
121 Washington St
Providence RI
$5 / 21+ / Doors 10pm

POORLY DRAWN PEOPLE
[Storm Davis / Reason / Dox]
DEZMATIC & SEEZMICS
DOOMFIST
hosted by CAS UNO & ESH of Labeless Illtelligence

Plus old school classics to nod ya head to (and such) provided by a rotating crew of deejays, all in the cozy confines of 121's underground Speakeasy area.

SeezMics is the homie from Educated Consumers (you may have seen him rock solo at Dox's Excursions night at Tazza a few months back, or caught them with us and Eyedea & Abilities last year at the late, great Living room). Dezmatic is Seez's homie from Albany NY, and Doomfist are Dez's peoples. You know Cas & Esh from all over the place, most recently from joining the party that is Motion Not Emotion. It's all rather Kevin Bacon-esque. And entertaining as fuck. Come have some fun with us.

tap tap tap.

Tap The Bottle is PDP's monthly celebration of long-ago classics, large bottled beers, and just how obnoxiously excellent we all think we are, held every 30 days at the recently-crowned 'Best Bar in Providence', Local 121. And it's time for the June edition.

Saturday June 13 2009
Dox of PDP & DJ Save 1 present
TAP THE BOTTLE
Local 121
121 Washington St
Providence RI
21+ / 11pm-2am / FREE

I don't even remember what happened at the May installment. But April? Well...


So in the wake of beating everyone in town about the head regarding the release of, and release show for, the new Poorly Drawn People CD Motion Not Emotion, we forgot to promote the April edition of Dox & DJ Save One's Tap The Bottle.

Anyway, we dropped the ball and forgot to tell people. Here's what happened:



CUZ THAS HOW WE LIVIN.

We've been living other ways, too. Pause. Up to bunches of other whatnot, hence the sparse nature of our online updates as of late. Such as? Such as:

We hit the road with Maryland's SeezMics of Educated Consumers and Dezmatic from Albany, enjoyed marquee status at the Lucky Dog in Worcester courtesy of our old friends RADIx, rocked for over 1000 of our closest friends in Providence with Mickey Avalon & Schwayze, making a new close friend in the process in Beardo (he's so easy to fall in love with it's just plain silly), got some nice press for Motion Not Emotion. At Tazza Caffe, Dox hosted the release party for the first ever disc out of Falside's Digsafe Records, the Dirty Hank Class Act mixtape; we threw a birthday bash for Gemini slangsters Reason & Storm Davis at the PDP Mansion North that was so successful that everyone has had to patch together a collective mosaic of memory to describe what actually happened that evening.

PDP once again has been nominated as Best Hip Hop Act in Providence by the Providence Pheonix in their yearly Best Music Poll (vote here), along with our brethren Labeless Illtelligence, Jon Hope, Chachi, and Romen Rok, while PDP DJ Sterbyrock looks to bring home the Best DJ prize. Oh yeah, and Reason has been working like a madman on his new album, Deconstructing Passive, while Storm & Dox meander towards the general vicinity of the finish line on the better-be-a-masterpiece Robot Rock & Necktie Blues, known in certain parts of the blogosphere as PDP's own lil Chinese Democracy.

But we'll try to catch you up with some details on all of this soon, and not be such strangers. But really, it doesn't get much stranger, does it? So no promises.

A Rap-Rock Night, Minus The Fred Durst.

Friends-of-PDP Furlong (featuring Bill Bell of the late, great Storm Davis & His Spectacular 777 live band experiment) invited us to perform alongside them and fellow rockers Hush, Darling at The Blackstone in Pawtucket.

So we said: Sure.

And when we ask you to come nod along, you should say the same.

Whiteboy rappers + pop/rock/alternative bands. It'll be just like sitting in your car listening to WBRU. Except with booze. So it'll be just like sitting in our car listening to WBRU.

Friday April 24 2009
FURLONG
POORLY DRAWN PEOPLE
HUSH, DARLING
with sounds provided by
DJ STERBYROCK

The Blackstone
1005 Main St
Pawtucket RI
www.blackstoneclub.com
$5 / doors 9pm / 21+

Excursions 2: Dox / Educated Consumers / Labeless.

The second installment of PDP producer/deejay Dox's Excursions at Tazza, wherein he spins the classics from the old school and underground alike. A special bonus this month: live performances from friends-of-PDP Educated Consumers, who trek all the way from Maryland to rock for you Providence types; and Labeless Illtelligence (Cas Uno & Esh The Monolith), just so you know you're in familiar territory.

Stop by and vibe out with us, and pick up your copy of Motion Not Emotion if you've somehow missed it.

Thank You. Really.

Huge thanks to all who came through the Motion Not Emotion CD Release Show this past Saturday in Providence. Your support at shows like these is what makes it possible for us to keep doing this, and it is appreciated beyond words.

Friends and appreciators from Washington, NJ, NY, CT, and Boston all made the trek to be part of an evening that was very important to us, as well as some members of the ever-faithful Providence contingent. Love to every single person that made it out and made what it was.

And to those who missed it...

Motion Not Emotion.

On Tuesday, March 31, 2009, Poorly Drawn People (Storm Davis / Reason / Dox / DJ Sterbyrock) will drop the new CD Motion Not Emotion... and celebrate it with a release party at Firehouse 13 in Providence on Saturday, April 4!

Check out all the details (and Pre-Order the CD!) at
www.myspace.com/motionnotemotion

and add the page to your friend list for updates.

PDP: The Animated Series.

The animated versions of Dox and Storm Davis chop it up about life, liberty, and the pursuit of the mysterious tennis balls that can be heard in the background. Spooky accurate in the personality department.

Smooth Assassins: the Providence Phoenix interviews SD & PDP.

The state's premier alternative weekly continues to support wholeheartedly, this time from the pen of new local music guru Chris Conti. From the February 10, 2009 issue, our first cover story:

Smooth Assassins
Poorly Drawn People are ready to slay in '09
By CHRIS CONTI | February 10, 2009

This could be a defining year for the revered Providence-based hip-hop collective Poorly Drawn People. Or not. Check out this post from lyrical frontman Storm Davis at poorlydrawnpeople.blogspot.com: "It's either going to be a beautiful year or a beautiful disaster. If nothing else it will certainly be a year to watch. We will either blow the roof off of 2009 or it will cave in upon us, and you can come visit the rubble and reminisce in the years to come." Poorly Drawn People were forced to cancel a New Year's Eve gig at Local 121 thanks to inclement weather, but bounced back a few weeks ago at a packed Jerky's, opening for veteran wordsmith Apathy. PDP closed out '08 with their second mixtape, Shoot For the Stars, Hit the Ceiling, the official follow-up to '07's Nothing Stays Gold. PDP resident emcees Dox, Reason, and Storm Davis bob and weave seamlessly atop beats provided by longtime 'RIU turntablist DJ Sterbyrock and in-house producer Entity. The result is 80 minutes of hip-hop sure to satisfy indie-hipster backpackers, aging suburbanite rap fans, and street-corner solicitors alike. Storm in particular sounds more feisty and hungrier than ever since his acclaimed 2006 solo debut Kegstand Poetry for the Recovering Alcoholic, with a vocal inflection somewhere between Everlast and Group Home's Lil Dap.

PDP will return to Local 121 on Valentine's Day in what Davis dubbed "The Billy Ray Valentine's Day Celebration," with family tree cohorts Labeless Illtelligence supporting. It's fun to shoot the shit with a fellow ol-skool fiend like Davis, and one track in particular on Shoot For the Stars, "No Interruptions," bombarded me with goose bumps. Those in-the-know may recognize the sample from "Somethin' New" by an obscure Golden Era emcee named Grand Daddy IU, a Hempstead, NY rapper with a molasses flow who released his debut album Smooth Assassin on Cold Chillin' Records, then home to Juice Crew heavyweights Kool G Rap G Rap, Master Ace, and Big Daddy Kane. I caught up with Storm and asked him what differentiates a Poorly Drawn People performance from the typical rap show.

"Energy — above all else," Davis said. "Our mission is to have a good time on stage, and we invite the people to join in. Plus, if you pack the place with enough ex-girlfriends, it creates a palpable tension that could develop into chaos at any moment.

"The Living Room was definitely our favorite spot in Providence, and right now we're still trying to find our footing in a world without it," Davis said. "We've done really well in Brooklyn and Baltimore, and the crowds are definitely more responsive on the road at this point. Providence is rightfully sick of us to a degree, and it seems they'd like us to go make a name for ourselves nationally or be done with our little charade."

I asked if the passion for hip-hop music remained a few decades after guys like Grand Daddy IU helped pave the way for underground rap music. "That passion for the music other people create has faded from that 'fanboy fever' that you feel when you first discover it, but not the passion for actually making the music," Davis said. "I feel like there comes a time when it's no longer your job to be inspired by albums, but to try and make the albums that inspire other people."

Storm confirmed a March release for the new Poorly Drawn People EP Motion Not Emotion, followed by a solo platter (produced by Dox) titled Robot Rock & Necktie Blues, and Reason's new solo album, Deconstructing Passive, should arrive this summer.

POORLY DRAWN PEOPLE | LABELESS ILLTELLIGENCE | AK SLAUGHTER | DIRTY DURDIE | Local 121, 121 Washington Street, Providence | February 14 at 10 pm | 21+ | $5

The Billy Ray Valentine's Day Celebration.

SD & PDP Live + APATHY, LABELESS, JON HOPE!

Wake Your Daughter Up. Again.

The geniuses over at the Wake Your Daughter Up blog (wydublog.com) have been establishing themselves as one of the premier braintrusts in online hip hop commentary for a few years now. Which makes us wonder why they've been so damn nice to us; that simply cannot be good for their reputation.

A team of tastemakers and professional appreciators of the highest caliber, they're led by the homie Trav, who got the back of your favorite Kegstand Poet early on in the first wave of positive-PDP-press. He continues to put his rep on the line by standing up and proclaiming that all within earshot should be checking for SD & PDP, and SD & PDP sure as hellfire appreciate it.

The latest evidence? The 2008 year end WYDU charts & rankings.

From WYDU's Top 175 Songs of 2008:

20. Poorly Drawn People feat Storm Davis, Ams Uno, and Prolyphic - Fat Back Burners (From: "Shoot For the Stars, Hit The Ceiling")

WYDU's favorite MC that is named after a 80's Major League pitcher is back at it again. Along with his boys, Reason, Dox, and Sterbyrock, he brought along friends in the form of Ams Uno and Prolyphic. I guess that even though I had a lot of mellow jams early on in the countdown, it's the adrenaline pumping jams that got the high marks, and "Fat Back Burners" is no exception. A fuzzy, thick bassline give the track a backbone, then they utilize one of my favorite instruments (only if done right), the electric guitar and a crazy horn loop over the the chorus and you have some shit that makes you want to jump up on the bar in a drunken haze and imagine you are Run of Run DMC, kickin' lyrics to the masses.

The Poorly Drawn People mixtape Shoot For The Stars, Hit The Ceiling also came in at #31 on Trav's Personal Top 40 Albums of 2008.

Big ups to Trav & the WYDU crew for keeping our name in virtual ink, and congratulations go to the friends of Poorly Drawn that also gained recognition from the venerable blogspot: Prolyphic & Reanimator, Educated Consumers, and Shawn Jackson.

New Year's Even.

So the cascade of crystal condensation that made New Year's Eve afternoon a white-out zone led to the premature cancellation of the PDP New Year's Eve Extravaganza. Way to start out 2009 for your favorite indie rap swashbucklahz.

The crew scattered and did the did, with SD & Dox hopping from Lily's to lilypad, only to find there was no frog-kissing that could turn the frozen tundra of Providence into a palace full of princesses. Sterbyrock headed to Fall River to DJ what apparently was the greatest warehouse party in the history of the planet. Reason did what Reason does, and we're certainly not going to tell you what that is. Entity had Chinese food with Jarobi.

We hope your NYE was far superior to ours. And that you and yours have a safe, happy, and spectacular 2009.

Which brings us to 2009 in PDP-Land.

As is our custom, we'll keep close to the vest the details of what's on the horizon. But for now, we can tell you this: it's either going to be a beautiful year, or a beautiful disaster. If nothing else, it will certainly be a year to watch. Because this is the big one, friends & friendettes: we will either blow the roof off of 2009, or it will cave in upon us, and you can come visit the rubble and reminisce in the years to come.

Welcome to the last charge of Wyatt Earp and his Immortals.

Talk to you soon.
SD | PDP