The Key » Chill Moody

Listen: Chill Moody X A Tribe Called Quest, “A Tribe Called Nicethings”

Bruce Warren — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:40:34 +0000

We honestly can’t say what the best thing is about this new Chill Moody song, premiered over at Ashley Outrageous; Chill’s always dexterous flow or Joe Logic’s incredible job at stitching together some of A Tribe Called Quest’s classic jams for this song, “A Tribe Called Nicethings.” So we’ll say both. In fact, we just did. Jam on it.

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Murchant at Puck, Les Professionnels with Telequanta at MilkBoy, Lockets with Turning Violet Violet at Safety Meeting, Sara Watkins with Field Report at the New Hope Winery, Chill Moody at Hard Rock Cafe

Julie Miller — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:40:33 +0000

Annachristie Sadler brings her new project Murchant to Puck Live in Doylestown tonight. Formerly one third of local folk collaborators Sisters 3, Sadler’s musical history includes backing up Hoots & Hellmouth and Hezekiah Jones, as well as recording a handful of full-lengths with her sibling bandmates. With Murchant, though, Sadler takes a turn from the three-part indie pop/folk harmonies of Sisters 3 and instead lends her soaring vocals to more mystical, acoustic arrangements. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Reverend TJ McGlinchey can be found here. Watch Murchant perform in the NYC metro below.

Murchant – AnnaChristie Sadler from Luciana Botelho on Vimeo.

Les Professionnels bring their sonic space journey to terra firma tonight for Indian Summer: An Acid Western Experience at MilkBoy. With accompanying visuals by Brooks Bell, Indian Summer is “a psychedelic journey through time and space exploring the inner psyche through sound and vision.” The recent Philly Local Show guest hosts have worked with Passion Pit, Philly rapper Gliss and had some big names (Lushlife, Eliot Lipp) remix tracks for last year’s Move! EP. Tonight’s opening set will be performed by Philly electronic artist Telequanta. Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here. Below, stream and download the original mix of “Move.”

Local bands Lockets and Turning Violet Violet team up for a house show at Safety Meeting in West Philly tonight. Lockets pairs acoustic / pop singer-songwriter Dani Mari with former punk rocker Todd Mendelsohn in a collaboration that stretches outside the boundaries of both performers’ previous work. The trance-y, drifting compositions of their 2012 debut Camera Shy LP are gauzy and elusive, with just enough synth structure to keep from floating apart. Chamber pop / rock outfit Turning Violet Violet released their debut full-length Double Cure last year as well. More information for tonight’s house show at 51st and Willows Ave with Castellan can be found here. Below, watch Lockets’ video for “Bitter Teeth.”

Singer-songwriter / fiddler Sara Watkins plays the New Hope Winery tonight with Field Report. Previously a member of bluegrass trio Nickel Creek along with her brother Sean and mandolin player Chris Thile, Watkins has since launched a solo career that presented her self-titled debut in 2009 and the critically acclaimed follow-up Sun Mindnight Sun in 2012. Tour mates and XPO Fest alums Field Report also released a stunning self-titled record last year, with their single “I Am Not Waiting Anymore” jsut breaking into XPN’s Year in Review list. Tickets and information for the show in New Hope can be found here. Below, watch Watkins’s video for “When It Pleases You.”

Local rapper Chill Moody headlines Hard Rock Cafe for Welcome to Talent Island tonight. Hosted by Hank McCoy and Ashley Coleman, the event will showcase the roster of Talent Island with performances by Beano, Suzann Christine, Teff and Tye James. Moody, still riding high from the release of his recent RFM LP and a nod from MTVU, shared a brand new video for the title track to RFM earlier this week in which he takes on the roles of both the wise man and the bartender. Tickets and information for tonight’s 18+ show can be found here. Watch the video for “RFM” below.

Watch Chill Moody’s new music video for “One Shot” (playing Hard Rock Cafe on 3/22)

John Vettese — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:43:17 +0000

It kind of makes you wonder if Philly rapper Chill Moody is like this during his “guest bartending” sessions at Mikey’s American Grill & Sports Bar. The sage, all-knowing character dispensing wisdom to the brokenhearted with towel over his shoulder, bottle at his hand. In the new music video for this track from Chill’s RFM, that’s what we get – hook-master Beano arrives at an unidentified pub, proclaiming to our man serving drinks that “Today has been the worst day of my life.” He then goes on to drown his sorrows in Jameson while Chill provides him with some much-needed perspective. Check it out below; on Friday, Chill will be at Hard Rock Cafe in his performing (not serving) capacity. Tickets and information on the show can be found here.

Introducing: The Hot Philly 15

Bruce Warren — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:30:24 +0000

Photo of Kate Crutchfield of Waxahatchee by Rachel Del Sordo

The Hot Philly 15 is a completely subjective list of Philly-made and Philly Local music happenings we love this week. It’s somewhat informed by what we’re playing on the radio, what we’re blogging about and what you’re talking about.

1 – Waxahatchee: With an excellent new album, Cerulean Salt, a fantastic Key Studio Session, a high profile upcoming gig at SXSW with NPR Music, and Best New Music on Pitchfork, we’re in love. You should be too.

2 – The Delfonics – Who would have thought 45 years after the release of “La La Means I Love You,” William Hart would still be kickin’ it? Listen to Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics here. Download the new song, “Enemies” here.

3 – Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel: Philly Bands heading to SXSW include: DRGN KNG, Blayer Pointdujour and The Rockers Galore, Creepoid, Lantern, Bleeding Rainbow, Norwegian Arms, A Life Once Lost, Dangerous Ponies, The Fleeting Ends, Lushlife, The Kalob Griffin Band, Katie Frank & The Pheromones, Nothing, Cold Fronts, Free Energy, Thee Idea Men. If we forgot you, sorry. We never got your press release.

4 – Chill Moody: We want him to be the mtvU Freshmen Video of the Week. Vote for him here.

The Lawsuits | Photos by Matthew Smith | Montage by Bryan Schreck

5 – The Lawsuits Key Studio Session – listen to it here.

6 – Heavy Rotation: The Fleeting Ends release their poptastical new album, Our Eyes Are Peeled, on March 22nd. It’s getting lots of advance play in the office here.

7 – The Hotbox Studio (video) Sessions recently kicked back into action with Cheers Elephant and Grandchildren

8 – Tayyib Ali dropped his new mixtape, Keystone State Of Mind 2. Download it here.

9 – Tara Murtha’s Philly Weekly cover story on the closing of Fluid. Read it here.

10 – Stereogum premiered a new jam from our friends Free Energy. Download it here.

11 – Questlove and D’Angelo get down at the Brooklyn Bowl here. Okay, so the Brooklyn Bowl isn’t Philly. Neither is D’Angelo. But Quest is.

12 – Mike Slo-Mo Brenner gets all world music on our asses with a new collection of Indian slide guitar music he recorded in Calcutta.

13 – Duet of the moment: Juston Stens and Jessica Lea Mayfield, “Strange Love.” Download it here.

14 – Entertainment Weekly debuted the new Purling Hiss video for the song “Mercury Retrograde” here. It’s psychedelic, baby.

15 – Work Drugs: The Philly smooth-fi music machine drops yet another new single, “Sunset On High Street.” Download it here and don’t miss them tomorrow night with Night Panther at Kung Fu Necktie.

Black Thought, Chill Moody performing at the Lets Move It Philly! benefit tonight at Sigma Sound

Dan Brightcliffe — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 20:30:35 +0000

Tonight the legendary Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia will play host to the third annual Lets Move It Philly! benefit concert emceed by Black Thought of The Roots Crew and featuring performances by Marsha Ambroisus, Chill Moody, Malene Younglao, and Money Making Jam Boys’ Dice Raw, Truck North, and STS. The event’s goal is to raise funds and awareness for the GrassROOTS Community Foundation and its programs.

GrassROOTS was formed by sociologist Dr. Janice Johnson Dias back in 2010 with long time friend, Black Thought from The Roots to bring health awareness to African American and low-income communities. Based on some alarming statistics, Dr. Johnson Dias and her colleagues at GrassROOTS decided to that the best way to make a difference was to work directly within the community.

“We decided to focus on women and girls because the overwhelming majority of health risks and problems are among this community of individuals,” explained Dr. Johnson Dias. “Women and girls give back the significant majority of their earnings to family. In black, brown and poor communities, women and girls govern and guide their communities, particularly as our men are being heavily incarcerated.”

The concert is just one step in a 10 city initiative by GrassROOTS to spread awareness to childhood obesity and health inequality in low income neighborhoods; other cities involved are Augusta, Ga.; Memphis, Los Angeles and New Orleans.

In addition to raising funds and awareness for GrassROOTS, the concert will directly benefit C.H.I.C.K.S. (Creating Healthy Informed Confident Knowledgeable Selves), an after-school health program for girls at Harding Middle School located in the Frankford area of Philadelphia. The program is ran by Carson Valley Children’s Aid Society (CVCA) under the leadership of Joan Todd and provides workshops on nutrition, fitness, sexual health and health literacy.

“I benefited from programs like the ones we fund,” said Black Thought. “I went to after school arts programs all during my youth. These programs saved my life and kept me from the streets.”

“This is going to sound super cliche, but the children are our future. It’s real,” added West Philadelphia native and fellow performer, Chill Moody. “Whether it be for health issues, behavioral issues, whatever, it all needs to be addressed and programs like GrassROOTS and C.H.I.C.K.S show that they understand the importance of our youth with focus on our next generation of mothers and care takers of Philadelphia.”

In addition to the C.H.I.C.K.S program, GrassROOTS has three programs in Newark, N.J. , a summer day camp, an after school wellness program for homeless and residentially insecure families and an after school program for girls.

“We mostly fund after school programs because we know we can reach kids, their parents and the community,” added Black Thought.

For more information on the GrassROOTS Community Foundation and to purchase tickets for tonight’s event visit www.letsmoveitphilly.eventbrite.com.

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Chill Moody at The Blockley, Pissed Jeans at Underground Arts, Goodnight Texas at Kung Fu Necktie

Julie Miller — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:46:57 +0000

Photo by Ricky Codio | rickycodio.com

After celebrating the release of his RFM LP with a sold-out crowd at The TLA a couple of months ago, local hip hop artist Chill Moody comes to The Blockley for another celebration – this time a celebration of love. Moody will team up once again with Beano and Hank McCoy to perform the last installment in their Valentine’s Day mixtape Who Do You Love? in its entirety. Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here. Below, watch them perform a track from the mixtape live in Love Park.

Local hardcore punk buddies Pissed Jeans celebrate the release of their third LP Honeys tonight at Underground Arts. The Key featured the Sub Pop band in this week’s Studio Session and it is quite the nihilistic rager (though the bandmates are extremely friendly people in real life). With all four Pissed Jeans members holding down full-time jobs and families, Honeys comes four years after their last effort; read more about what went on during those years here. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Leather and Lantern can be found here. Watch the video for “Bathroom Laughter” below and check out their Key Studio Session here.

Goodnight, Texas play Kung Fu Necktie tonight for The Swollen Fox‘s showcase. Described as a “transcontinental garage Appalachian collaboration,” Goodnight, Texas combines the musical talents of Patrick Dyer Wolf and Avi Vincour (The Stone Foxes). The two met in San Francisco and started a long distance musical partnership that is geographically marked in the center by a town called Goodnight in Texas. The band’s sound crosses the vast expanse of the country as well, blending dusty western ballads with southern folk instrumentation. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Toy Soldiers and August John Lutz II (The Levee Drivers) can be found here. Watch Goodnight, Texas perform “I’m Going to Work on Maggie’s Farm Forever” below and get a free download of “Jesse Got Trapped in a Coal Mine.”

Also happening:
Pop-rappers Moosh & Twist make up for a cut-short First Unitarian show by headlining Union Transfer. XPN Welcomes singer-songwriter Mike Doughty The Abbey in Harrisburg, as well as other events during the Millennium Music Conference. And XPN Welcomes the Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival at The Fire.

On the Horizon: Chill Moody celebrating on year of Who Do You Love? at The Blockley this Friday

John Vettese — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:29:31 +0000

Photo by Ricky Codio | rickycodio.com

This might be the first year in a while without a Chill Moody x Hank McCoy Valentine’s Day mixtape, but that’s okay. The frequent collaborators in the Philly hiphop scene have had their hands full with other things – namely RFM, the full-length commercial debut Chill released to a sold-out crowd at The TLA this winter. Lest the romantic holiday go by unobserved, Chill and the gang will be performing the last in the V-Day series – the Who Do You Love? mixtape – in its entirety at The Blockley in West Philadelphia this Friday, February 15th. Tickets and more information on the show can be found at the WXPN Concert Calendar. This isn’t the first time the crew played WDYL in its entirety, either – you might call it an encore from their Love Park show back in September. Watch a video of that free outdoor concert below.

The Week So Far: 12 must-read stories on The Key (incl. Nightlands, Catnaps and Thao)

John Vettese — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:15:34 +0000

Nightlands | Photo by Matthew Davis

Prairie Empire stops by to record a Folkadelphia session [link]

Philly’s Nightlands celebrates the release of Oak Island at Kung Fu Necktie [link]

My Morning Jacket’s Jim James streams his new album, announces a Union Transfer show [link]

Philly rockers Free Energy get interviewed by a couple sixth graders [link]

Remembering versatile guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, who passed away at age 54 this week [link]

Indiepop five-piece Catnaps releases a new EP for free downloading [link]

Shoegazers Nothing will make the First Friday crowd wish they packed earplugs [link]

Lancaster folk trio The Stray Birds records a Key Studio Session, comes to World Cafe Live [link]

Philly rapper Chill Moody releases a mini-documentary of his December TLA show [link]

Thao Nguyen plays “We The Common” on a banjo, through a microphone, at a rally [link]

All week the Unlocked series features Almost Endless, the new LP from The National Rifle [link]

Watch a mini-documentary of Chill Moody’s sold-out TLA show (playing The Blockley on 2/15)

John Vettese — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:46:36 +0000

For Philly rapper Chill Moody, headlining the Theater of Living Arts on one of the last days in December was a high point of a tremendous year. In this seven-minute mini-documentary, we get a nice overview of the show. There’s the announcement to the cast and crew that the concert was sold out. There’s Chill’s very showman-like entrance from the lobby of the venue to the strains of “Bombs” from Freshman Take Cover. There’s backstage chats with Jakk Frost and others. Watch the documentary below, and catch Chill’s next local appearance – February 15 at The Blockley with his frequent R&B collaborator Beano. Tickets and more information can be found at the WXPN Concert Calendar.

The Week So Far: 14 must-read stories on The Key

John Vettese — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:00:16 +0000

Download B.C. Camplight‘s BBC Radio 6 session featuring two new songs [link]

Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang bring rock and soul to their Key Session [link]

Listen to Free Energy‘s new album Love Sign at Consequence of Sound [link]

Thrash out with a new Surgeon track; they play Kung Fu Necktie next month [link]

The collaboration between Ground Up and The Lawsuits continues in a HotBox session [link]

David Bowie releases a new single for his birthday [link]

Chill Moody releases his latest album, RFM [link]

Get psyched for Zilla Rocca‘s Tuesday Tune-Out with his new Wrecking Crew video [link]

Download The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 6, our new 17-song compilation [link]

Stream the new album from The Lone Bellow, a Georgia-bred close harmony trio [link]

Stream a new EP from Philly’s Acres of Diamonds, who play PhilaMOCA next week [link]

Plow United announces the details of their all-ages album-release show at The Barbary [link]

Download Anais Mitchell‘s Folkadelphia session [link]

The WXPN Philly Local Show expands to three hours [link]

It’s here: download the new Chill Moody album, RFM

Bruce Warren — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 03:38:05 +0000

The wait is over. Chill Moody has released his new album, RFM. Download it here for free.

The Week’s Best MP3 Downloads, incl. Chill Moody, BOY, Matt Pond

Julie Miller — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:00:50 +0000

Local rapper Chill Moody teamed up with Freeway for the grooving new track “Change Coming.” The song is included on Moody’s latest RFM album, which he previewed at his sold-out headlining gig at The TLA this past week. Stream and download the Joe Logic-produced song below, and check out Moody’s plans for 2013 in our interview with him here.

International duo BOY is one of 2013′s buzziest bands, and XPN will be welcoming them to World Cafe Live on Wednesday, March 27th. The German/Swiss pair have their debut album Mutual Friends coming out in the states next month but you can get a sneak preview via Noisetrade, who shared a sampler featuring the YouTube hit “Little Numbers.” Stream and download the sampler below; tickets and information for BOY’s Philly show can be found here.

This week’s Key Studio Session featured punk rockers Glocca Morra, a wild bunch that put forth two releases in 2012 on top of touring extensively. 2013 sees the Philly quartet opening for hometown favorites Everyone Everywhere at The Barbary on January 19th; tickets and information can be found here. Below, download “Deep Pocket” from Glocca Morra and revisit the rest of their session here.

Deep Pocketby Glocca Morra from The Key Studio Sessions Download

Indie-pop musician Matt Pond released a free acoustic EP called The Natural Lines this week via Noisetrade. The one-time Philadelphia resident will be releasing The Lives Inside The Lines In Your Hand in just over a month and has a date set opening for Jukebox the Ghost at Union Transfer on March 15th. Stream and download The Natural Lines below; tickets and information for the Union Transfer show can be found here.

One of the latest exports from the Motor City are Jamaican Queens, a glam-pop/rock trio with hints of a harder-edged Foster the People. Jamaican Queens have a debut album coming out in March and have kicked-off a tour that brings them through Philadelphia on January 15th for a show at Kung Fu Necktie. Tickets and information can be found here. Below, stream and download the synth-y “Kids Get Away.”

Kids Get Away by Jamaican Queens

Free Download: “Change Coming” by Chill Moody featuring Freeway

John Vettese — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:32:03 +0000

Photo by Bob Giardini | bobg-media.com

When we talked to Chill Moody in advance of his sold-out headlining show at the TLA last week, he let us in on some details about one of the tracks on his new album RFM (out digitally next week). “Change Coming” features a collaboration with legendary Philly rapper Freeway, who has served as something of a mentor to the emerging Philly rapper in recent years. Says Chill:

We’re always in the same venues; every time I’ve had a show for past year and a half, somebody else has always brought him on as a guest spot. So we got to talking, and he’s dropping jewels on me, telling me things about the industry. It’s very big brother / little brother.

The track has a nice bounce and a soulful refrain; stream it and download it below.

The Week So Far: Eight must-read stories on The Key

John Vettese — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 21:57:58 +0000

The War On Drugs | Photo by John Vettese

The War on Drugs ring in the new year with streamers, space jams and jello shots [link]

Philly folk project Bad Braids premiers a new song called “Ships” [link]

Local punks Glocca Morra kick off 2013 with a bang and a Key Studio Session [link]

Read The Key’s most-viewed stories of 2012 [link]

Dr. Dog rocks a Captain Beefheart cover with Magic Band guitarist Denny Walley [link]

Heyward Howkins releases an iPhone-recorded new song and it sounds great [link]

Watch the trailer for Chill Moody‘s new album RFM [link]

Free Energy releases a music video of montaged scenes from Can’t Hardly Wait [link]

Watch Chill Moody’s new short film trailer for his forthcoming album, RFM

Bruce Warren — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 02:17:43 +0000

Photos of Chill Moody from TLA 12/28/12 from www.jumpphilly.com

Chill Moody premiered the video below at his headlining, sold out show at the TLA last Friday night, December 28th. It’s a trailer for his upcoming new album, RFM, out on January 7th. #nicethings are happening for Chill. Read John Vettese’s interview with Chill here.

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Modern Inventors at Johnny Brenda’s, Homesick Elephant at The Fire, Chill Moody at The TLA, The Hold Steady at Musikfest Cafe

John Vettese — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:19:07 +0000

Modern Inventors | Photo by Alicia Brown

Philly rock-and-soul outfit Modern Inventors have a fine new full-length album, Trains and Aeroplanes, and a release party tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. Joining them are Philly folk favorites Hezekiah Jones and retro-pop rockers Shark Tape, kind of reflecting both ends of the Inventors’ musical spectrum. The show begins at 9 p.m., more information is available here. Below, stream “Goodbye Northbrook Drive” from the album

Goodbye Northbrook Drive by Modern Inventors

Los Angeles indie-folk duo Homesick Elephant returns to the city of its birth tonight to play a set at The Fire. The duo of Sara FitzSimmons and Kevin Kelley got started by playing the venue’s open mic nights before they moved out west, and since they’ve been away they’ve recorded a handful of EPs and a great full length (2011′s The Pilgrim and the Pen). More information about the show is available at the WXPN concert calendar (powered by The Swollen Fox). Below, listen to “Quiet As A Mouse” from The Pilgrim and the Pen.

Quiet as a Mouse by Homesick Elephant

Philly rapper Chill Moody caps off a tremendous year tonight by headlining The TLA on South Street. He’s also celebrating the release of his latest album, RFM. Tickets to the show are $16 at the door, more information is available here. Below, listen to Chill’s homage to A Tribe Called Quest, “A Tribe Called Nice Things,” and read our interview with him from yesterday here.

XPN Welcomes The Hold Steady to the Musikfest Cafe in Bethlehem tonight. The ever-evolving rockers are on a round of dates to wrap up 2012, and also play Union Transfer tomorrow. Tickets and more information can be found here.

Interview: Chill Moody on wrapping up a great year by headlining The TLA

John Vettese — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:00:17 +0000

When he played the Roots Picnic this summer, Chill Moody caught the eyes and ears of the folks at Billboard Magazine, who highlighted his set in their rundown of the festival. For Chill, this was an unexpected honor- the magazine tracks the music business, and so far, he’s never actually sold his music. It was also one highlight in a string of highlights for the Philly rapper: he released the tremendous Freshman Take Cover mixtape this summer, he threw a concert in Love Park in September, he became the first rapper to perform at City Hall in October, performing alongside poet Sonia Sanchez. Tomorrow night, he brings the year to a close on a high note, headlining The TLA on South Street. We caught up with Chill via phone last week to recap his breakout year, get a preview of the TLA show – and the new album, RFM, that comes with it – and to hear what’s in store for 2013.

The Key: What does it mean to you to be playing the TLA?

Chill Moody: It’s everything. It’s a great way to end this year. It’s a been a great year for my career. We had word we’d get this show around June when it first got in talks, and I found out for sure in October. But I figured I should keep rolling throughout the year, and use it to put on a big show at end of year. It’s good to be looked at as the main attraction in your own city, and people who’ve been following me and my career know this is huge for me. They’re proud of me.

TK: Seems like it’s going to be a big lineup – Mic Stew, Jade Alston – I heard The Astronauts are involved. Did you hand pick the artists who are with you?

CM: Yeah, it was a mixture of people who I’m fans of their music and also fans of them as performers. They’re people where their music transcends to their live performance. It’s not like people coming to this show will come just to see me. If you get there on time, you’ll get a good show front to back, and be excited that whole time up until I get on stage. When I found out I got this show, I said the first thing I needed to do was get Mic Stew and from there everything else fell into place.

TK: You’re releasing a new project with the show, RFM. First of all, dumb question – what’s that an abbreviation for?

CM: I haven’t told anyone, and I probably won’t. Nobody will find out until the show. It’s something me and my cousin Hank McCoy came up with. We needed a cool name for this project, something that encapsulates where I’m at in my career, the trials and tribulations I’ve experienced, where I’m at in my life today. So we put RFM out there, and just left it at that – since we felt like adding some type of mystique to the project. We had a Twitter contest to guess what RFM means, and it’s to the point where people who are actually on album don’t know what it means. It’s fun for me watching them squirm and guess things that are good guesses but are things I’d never call the project. [laughs]

TK: I feel like I’ve seen you and some others talk about this project in terms of being an “album” versus a “mixtape.” Is this a next-step thing for you?

CM: Yes, definitely. I’ve always called my projects albums anyway, because it’s all original beats. I don’t rap over industry beats, I don’t rap over whatever the hot single is. They’re cohesive, and I put themes to them a lot, whether it’s about girls [Who Do You Love? and the ongoing Valentine's Day series] or being a rapper [Freshman Take Cover]. That said, this isn’t going to be a free download like the others – I’m going to put it on iTunes and it’s going to be my first official album-album, and hopefully my introduction to national hip-hop scene. I’m thinking about doing some bigger things too – like printing 1000 hard copies, a collectors’ edition. And the iTunes version will be a deluxe edition, so even if you have hard copy, iTunes is going to have extra stuff. Plus, there will be liner notes – I’m a big geek for that. When I get a new album, I can’t wait to pull it out, read who they thank, who produced what tracks, who the guests were.

TK: I saw some Instagrams of you in the studio with Freeway. Is he doing a spot on the album?

CM: Yeah, Free is my only guest. I joked and said RFM is my most selfish album of all time. I have no other rap features except Freeway. And that came about because we’re always in the same venues; every time I’ve had a show for past year and a half, somebody else has always brought him on as a guest spot. So we got to talking, and he’s dropping jewels on me, telling me things about the industry. It’s very big brother / little brother. So the song he’s on is called “Change Coming,” it’s produced by Joe Logic, and we’ll probably shoot a video for it soon.

TK: What are your hopes for 2013?

CM: Hopefully everything I’ve done this year, next year will take that to a national level. If this show goes right and we sell it out, somebody will take notice. Hopefully we’ll get a tour going, get a lot of things happening outside of Philly, and bring it back home again at the end of next year.

Chill Moody plays The TLA, 334 South Street, on Friday, December 28 at 10 p.m. Tickets to the all-ages show are $16 and available here. RFM will be released worldwide on iTunes on Tuesday, January 7.

Chill Moody announces headlining show at The TLA on 12/28

John Vettese — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 19:54:52 +0000

Always good to see #NiceThings happen to good people. Philly rapper Chill Moody, for a few weeks now, has been talking up “big news” and “dreams comes true” that he was getting ready to share with the Twitter and Instagram universes (to the point where dude was making announcements of announcements of announcements). This afternoon spilled the beans in a #chillmoodypressconference on Twitter. On December 28, he is headlining a show at The Theater of Living Arts – the release party for his new album #RFM (he loves hashtags, in case you couldn’t tell) – featuring Mic Stew, Jade Alston, Mont Brown and more surprise guests. Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 16 via Ticketmaster.com. Needless to say, we’re stoked for the show. Below, check out Chill and his band in action in the Key Studio Session they recorded for us at MilkBoy Studio back in March.

TheKey Studio Sessions – Chill Moody from WXPN FM on Vimeo.

Chill Moody and Dice Raw to perform at Roots mural painting session tomorrow

Skye Leppo — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:00:57 +0000

The Roots have opened up another chance for Philadelphians to grab a paintbrush and help put their mark on the cityscape. This Saturday from 1 PM to 3 PM, the ongoing Roots MuralArts project at the World Communications Charter School (512 S. Broad Street) will be unveiled for the first time for the public to view. The mural, which is expected to be completed and dedicated sometime in 2013, has been called MuralArts’ “most ambitious” endeavor yet, so it’s an exciting opportunity for city-dwellers to become part of one of the city’s three thousand murals. As an added bonus, participants will be treated to performances from Chill Moody and Dice Raw; ?uestlove and Black Thought will also make appearances at the unveiling. Don’t miss this chance to let your color-by-number skills become part of Philadelphia’s history!

Watch Gang, Chill Moody and Joe Logic rock out to a cover of Kanye West’s “Mercy”

John Vettese — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:44:23 +0000

It should come as no surprise that poppy Philly art-punks Gang and hip-hop luminary Chill Moody are tight. They share a drummer in the versatile Tim Sonnefeld, they both record at MilkBoy Studio. But seeing that camaraderie in action is another thing altogether. Check out this video of Gang and Chill, with Joe Logic on the beats, rocking to a cover of Kanye West’s “Mercy”, shot at the MilkBoy one-year anniversary concert this summer.

“MERCY” – Gang feat. Chill Moody from Skout Media on Vimeo.

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Minus the Bear at Electric Factory, Mark Kozelek at First Unitarian Church Sanctuary, Chill Moody at Love Park, BITBY One Year Anniversary at Johnny Brenda’s, John Lee Hooker, Jr. at Warmdaddy’s

Skye Leppo — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:46:21 +0000

XPN Welcomes Seattle indie rockers Minus the Bear to the Electric Factory tonight. In August the band released its fifth studio album, Infinity Overhead, to praise from critics who have said it has been “not so much transforming their sound as transcending it” (The Village Voice). Minus the Bear will be playing tonight with Cursive and Caspian. The all-ages show begins at 8:30 and more information about the show can be found here. Watch Minus the Bear’s new video for “Steel and Blood” below.

Singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek will be playing the First Unitarian Church Sanctuary this evening. Kozelek, formerly of Red House Painters, released his fifth full-length album in May, Among the Leaves, under his performing alias, Sun Kil Moon. Tickets start at just $16. Doors open for the all-ages show at 8 PM; more details can be found here.

West Philly hip-hop artist Chill Moody and fellow member of The Coalition, Beano, and Hank McCoy, will be performing the entirety of their album WhoDoYouLove during a free show at Love Park today at noon . The three performers will be accompanied by Band for Higher. Moody has enjoyed local success since the release of his 2010 mixtape wESTchilly. WhoDoYouLove, which was released on August 28, can be downloaded below.

Bands in the Backyard (BITBY), the Philly music scene’s video experts, are celebrating their one-year anniversary tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. Bands including Turning Violet Violet and Heyward Howkins as well as others will be performing. This 21+ celebration is $10 and doors open at 8. More information can be found here. Below, watch BITBY’s video spotlighting Turning Violet Violet.

Blues singer John Lee Hooker, Jr., son of late legendary blues artist John Lee Hooker, will be performing tonight at Warmdaddy’s.Hooker is currently on tour supporting the recent release of his new album, All Hooked Up. Tickets for the 7:45 PM show start at $20; more information can be found here . Below, watch the video for “Blues Ain’t Nothing But a Pimp” from Hooker’s last album, All Odds Against Me.

Chill Moody to perform Who Do You Love? live in its entirety at Love Park Sept. 28

John Vettese — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:16:50 +0000

West Philly rapper Chill Moody announced today that he and his crew of collaborators – singer Beano, production guru Hank McCoy – would perform their entire Who Do You Love? collaboration in its entirety (and backed by a live band, Band for Higher) at Love Park in Philadelphia on Friday Sept. 28 at noon. “Think MTV Unplugged meets VH1 storytellers meets #nicethingsTV,” wrote Chill in a blog post today.

yesterday we went uptown for the first rehearsal. this is the first time any of us has heard this band play any of these songs. we weren’t like nervous, cuz we are familiar with Band For Higher they play for like everybody, but we were def anxious to see how things would turn out. needless to say we were pleased.

the show is going to be amazing. figuring out all the transitions is going to be the most difficult part, but i think we got it.

Check out footage from the rehearsal below. The show on Sept. 28 is free, open to the public, and will be followed by a 1 p.m. set.

Check out Chill Moody at MilkBoy and in New York on #nicethingsTV

Laura Jane Brubaker — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:45:30 +0000

In the latest episode from Chill Moody’s #nicethingsTV, the Philly hip-hop star takes us on tour to play a show at NYC’s SOBS. The video also features footage from the MilkBoy 1-year anniversary show. Watch the video below, and don’t miss Chill Moody performing this Saturday at the Hybrid Festival at Black Diamond Skatepark, from noon to 7p.m. (more information is available here), and later at the NAACP’s This Is My Vote Unity Music Fest, which takes place ~~Saturday~~ at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on September 29.

Tonight’s Concert Picks: My Morning Jacket w/ Band of Horses at the Mann, Ape School LP release show at Johnny Brenda’s, MilkBoy Anniversary w/ GANG and Chill Moody at Milkboy, and Algeron Cadwallader w/ Kite Party at First Unitarian

Lauren Thomas — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:30:04 +0000

Tonight XPN welcomes My Morning Jacket with special guests Band of Horses to the Mann Center for a rockin’ all-ages event. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $29.50 to $48.50 and can be purchased here.

Philly musician Michael Johnson’s solo project, Ape School, is celebrating the release of their new LP, Junior Violence, tonight with a show at Johnny Brenda’s. The 21+ event features performance by Norwegian Arms, Jeff Zeigler & Mary Lattimore, Laser Background, and Adam & Dave of The War on Drugs will be DJing throughout the night. Doors for the 21+ show open at 8PM and the show starts at 9:15 p.m. Tickets are available here for $10.

Looking to hear some free music tonight? Head on over to MilkBoy for their One-Year Anniversary Show featuring GANG, Johnny Showcase, The Lawsuits and Chill Moody. Doors for the 21+ show open at 8:30PM and the show starts at 9:30 p.m. Watch the video for GANG’s song “Why Can’t You Just Be” below.

Algernon Cadwallader are playing First Unitarian Church tonight with Joyce Manor, Tigers Jaw, and Kite Party for a night of sweaty pop-punk. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here for $10. Below, check out Algernon Cadwallader’s song “Springing Leaks” from the album Parrot Flies.

Springing Leaks by Algernon Cadwallader

Three days of celebration at MilkBoy Philly begin tonight

Rachel Barrish — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:30:12 +0000

In 1999, a partnership began between Jamie Lokoff and Tommy Joyner, and the result was the MilkBoy empire we know today. Starting out above Zapf’s Music off of Roosevelt Bouelvard, the two joined forces to take Joyner’s MilkBoy Recording Studio to the next level. After two years at the North Philadelphia location, Lokoff and Joyner chose to move the studio to a space in Ardmore, where it resided for just over ten years until moving to its current location – 7th and Callowhill, the same building as the Electric Factory. Before the studio was even moved, they chose to expand their brand, create something more out of MilkBoy, something that everyone could enjoy. I got to chat with Tommy and Jamie about how they went from just a recording to studio to a full out bar, venue, coffee shop combo and their upcoming MilkBoy Philly anniversary shows.

Photo by Tony Wood

The Key: How did you go about expanding the recording studio to become a venue and a coffee shop?

Tommy Joyner: We were approached by people in the town and became very involved in Ardmore. I was on the Board of the Ardmore Business Association, and Jamie on the Board of Ardmore Initiative. The coffee shop/music venue was opened in February 2006 followed by the Bryn Mawr location in 2007, which no longer exists. Then just over a year ago, the folks who owned the property in Center City contacted us. We were looking to get into Philly so it was really perfect timing.

TK: What is the difference between MilkBoy Coffee and MilkBoy Philly?

TJ: MilkBoy Philly is a bar and a rock club. It’s larger, and we’re able to do louder shows because the PA is robust, to say the least. The stage is bigger, and you’re more likely to see a national act perform at MilkBoy Philly. We have to be choosy about doing all-ages shows there, whereas MilkBoy Coffee is smaller, more for acoustic-oriented acts, and always all-ages and BYOB. They are both booked really well to showcase the best talent, but they feel really different from each other.

TK: How did you choose the bands you wanted to play at the anniversary show?

Jamie Lokoff: All of the acts have some sort of connection/relationship with MilkBoy; whether they are friends who have played at the locations previously, been in the studio, personal friends of ours, or recorded under MilkBoy. We reached out to all of them to see if they would perform and they graciously accepted.

TK: Why three days?

JL: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are the prime days for shows. So why not do all three?

How do you feel MilkBoy Philly has progressed over the past year?

JL: We love that place, we’re very proud of it. I like to go there and hang out, I think it’s such a great environment. I don’t go to other bars, I just go there and hang out. I’m so happy with how it’s been received, I love the way the room sounds upstairs. For our first year it’s been a tremendous success. I think some people still don’t know about it, but it has been steadily growing month by month. It’s a place built for where The Black Keys were six years ago, it’s the bands you don’t know about that are just starting to percolate. We’ve had some great bands you may or may not have heard of, that will grow and become huge. And that’s the beauty of a place like this, seeing a band before everyone knows about them. Some bigger acts that played include Spacehog, Youth Lagoon, and a 1 a.m. after-party with Skrillex.

TK: What has been one event that stands out in your mind as particularly awesome?

JL: One was one of our favorite bands called “Le Butcherettes”, a female-fronted band. She came out in an apron with blood all over it totally in character. It was sexy, it was rock. Other favorite shows include Leslie & the Ly’s, Craig Finn from The Hold Steady did two sold out shows, and Lisa Hannigan.

TK: How do you see yourself standing out among the other Philadelphia venues?

JL: We just try to do what we do. There’s nothing like MilkBoy in Center City. We’re just who we are, organically, because we started as a studio so we have the music in our blood. We moved to coffee, so we’re open at 7 in the morning and then we added the bar element and the venue, so we’re very unique. You come to our place at 8 a.m and you’ll see shifters from Jefferson Hospital because they just got off work. In terms of the bookings that we do, we’re all trying to pull from different artists out there, just trying to put on good shows. You know MilkBoy, you know that we booked it, so it will be a good show.

TK: What would you like to change or see happen as time goes by?

JL: Continue to do what we’re doing but just get better at it, we’re always tweaking and trying to get better and improve what we do; and just maximize the place to the best of our abilities.

The MilkBoy Philly anniversary shows will be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. All shows are completely free for folks 21+, doors open at 8:30 p.m., shows kick off at 9:30.

Thursday night features: Pete Donnelly, Kalob Griffin Band, and Up the Chain

Friday night features: Gang, Johnny Showcase, The Lawsuits, and Chill Moody

Saturday night features: Sharon Little, Aiden James, The Bailey Hounds, and The Fleeting Ends

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Childish Gambino and Chill Moody at Great Plaza, Sebadoh at Union Transfer, The Internet at the Barbary, and Carbon Leaf at Musikfest

Lauren Thomas — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:30:13 +0000

Childish Gambino, the stage name of multi-talented rapper/actor/writer/comedian Donald Glover, will be making a stop in Philly on his Camp Tour tonight. The show, which takes place at 7:30PM at Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, features a performance by Philly hip-hop artist Chill Moody. Tickets are available for $47.35 here. Watch Childish Gambino’s VMA-nominated music video “Bonfire” in the player below.

Sebadoh, one of the early pioneers of lo-fi indie rock who formed back in 1986, are coming to Union Transfer tonight. After going on hiatus, the band reunited in 2007 and have since been touring and released Secret EP on their Bandcamp page. The EP is available for digital download and physical copies are only available at shows on current tour. Opening up the show will be Sebadoh/Dinosaur Jr.‘s Lou Barlow performing a solo set and two-piece bass and drums duo from members of Sebadoh and the Fiery Furnaces, Circle of Buzzards. Doors open at 8PM and the show starts at 9PM. Tickets are available here for $16. Listen to Sebadoh’s Secret EP in the player below and, if you like what you hear, make sure to snatch up a limited edition physical copy at the show tonight.

secret EP by sebadoh

The Internet is an electro hip-hop duo consisting of DJ/singer/producer Syd tha Kyd and producer Matt Martians of OFWGKTA. The show tonight with Kilo Kish was originally scheduled to take place at Johnny Brenda’s, but was recently relocated to The Barbary. The show is now all ages and tickets purchased through Johnny Brenda’s will be honored. Doors open at 7PM and the show starts at 7:30PM. Tickets can be purchased for $13 here.

Finally, indie rock band Carbon Leaf is playing a free show at Musikfest’s The Morning Call Plaza Tropical at Main and Spring Streets in Bethlehem, PA tonight at 6:30PM. For more info on the show, visit the Musikfest event page here. Watch the band’s music video for “Life Less Ordinary” in the player below.

Download “A Tribe Called Nice Things,” a new track from Chill Moody (opening for Childish Gambino next week)

John Vettese — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 19:10:55 +0000

Chill Moody | Photo by Kate Bracaglia

We’re big enthusiasts of A Tribe Called Quest here at The Key, so as you can imagine, we’re all kinds of geeking out over Chill Moody‘s latest single, “A Tribe Called Nice Things.” Premiered earlier today on hip-hop blog Ashley Outrageous, the song grabs an opening loop from “Scenario,” the middle section pulls from “Can I Kick It” (which, in its own brilliant way, pulled from Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”) then we’re into a bit of “Award Tour,” closing out on “Electric Relaxation.” There might even be more that I’m not hearing off the top – producer JoeLogic has a lot going on, in the best way – the track is rich, awesome and enjoyable. If you’re hearing Tribe samples that we’re not, let us know in the comments – and catch Chill Moody in concert when he opens for Childish Gambino at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing next Tuesday, Aug. 7.

Chill Moody and Hank McCoy release new mixtape; We Can’t Read Cursive (The Best of Hank & Chill)

Bruce Warren — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:04:02 +0000

Chill Moody and Hank McCoy have released a new mixtape, We Can’t Read Cursive (The Best of Hank & Chill) that you can download for free here.

Chill explains:

Me and Hank were having an instagram battle the other day posting old “embarrassing” childhood photos of eachother (we’re 1st cousins), then my little cousin Toni (Hank’s sister) sent the picture with us two together and we instantly thought “album cover”. This is a collection of songs we’ve done together that date back to like 2006. Most songs were recorded in my basement, all produced by Hank McCoy. Enjoy
ps. we really can’t read cursive… long story

Tonight’s concert picks: Bonnie Raitt, Chill Moody, Keane, Toy Soldiers, Birdie Busch

Bruce Warren — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 13:53:14 +0000

Tonight’s concert picks include:

WXPN Welcomes Bonnie Raitt to the Academy Of Music with special guest Mavis Staples. 8PM; tickets are $45.50-$85.50

WXPN Welcomes Keane to the Merriam Theatre with special guests Mystery Jets. 8PM; tickets are $35-$45.00

Birdie Busch with Adam & Dave’s Bloodline at Morgan’s Pier. 5PM; the show is free but you must be 21+.

Goodnight Lights with The Quelle Source and The Bailey Hounds at Johnny Brenda’s. Doors at 8PM; Show at 9PM; tickets to the 21+ show are $10.

Chill Moody at The Fire. 9PM; tickets to the 21+ show are $10

Toy Soldiers at World Cafe Live. Doors at 7PM; Show at 8PM. Advance tickets are $10 + processing fee in advance; $15 + processing fee at the door.

Our weekend (Saturday and Sunday) concert picks

Rachel Barrish — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:09:42 +0000

SATURDAY June 16th

WXPN Welcomes Bonnie Raitt to the Academy Of Music with special guest Mavis Staples. 8PM; tickets are $45.50-$85.50

WXPN Welcomes Keane to the Merriam Theatre with special guests Mystery Jets. 8PM; tickets are $35-$45.00

Birdie Busch with Adam & Dave’s Bloodline at with The Quelle Source and The Bailey Hounds. Doors at 8PM; Show at 9PM; tickets to the 21+ show are $10.

Chill Moody at The Fire. 9PM; tickets to the 21+ show are $10

Toy Soldiers at World Cafe Live. Doors at 7PM; Show at 8PM. Advance tickets are $10 + processing fee in advance; $15 + processing fee at the door.

SUNDAY June 17th

Destroyer at Union Transfer with Sandro Perri. Doors at 8PM; Show at 8:30PM. Tickets are $16-$18

WXPN Welcomes Grace Potter and The Nocturnals to World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Delaware. Tickets are $31 (including processing fee).