Jim Camacho & Band Play SMDCAC 7/11

Jim Camacho and His Band Debut at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center July 11

Neighborhood Nights Cabaret Series’ intimate space offers concert goers unique experience at Cutler Bay venue

MIAMI, FL – June 17, 2015 – The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center presents an upcoming show as part of the Neighborhood Nights Cabaret Series: Jim Camacho and His Band on Saturday, July 11 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets for are $25 in advance, $30 day of show and can be purchased online at SMDCAC.org or by calling 786.573.5300. The Center is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay, FL 33189.

With a sound similar to the likes of Ed Sheeran, Elvis Costello and Ryan Adams, Jim Camacho has a long and successful history in the music industry. Co-founder of the famed 1990s South Florida band The Goods, Jim has also enjoyed a profound touring career with national acts like Alicia Keys and John Legend. As a solo artist, Jim’s songwriting and performances continue to bring him critical acclaim. Celebrate the release of his latest single “Please Come Home” and the debut of his band at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center’s Neighborhood Nights at the intimate Cabaret space.

This summer the Center presents local artists for evenings dubbed Neighborhood Nights as part of the Center’s Cabaret Series. The intention of Neighborhood Nights is to highlight the artistic excellence of local artists, some established and others at the very beginning of their careers. The Cabaret Series takes place in the intimate Black Box Theater space which seats up to 130 people. The lounge setting has table seating, food, drinks and a relaxed atmosphere.

The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, designed by an internationally-acclaimed design team that includes Arquitectonica International, Inc. (architects), Fisher Dachs Associates, Inc. (theater design), Artec Consultants, Inc. (acoustics), and AMS Planning & Research Corp. (theater management), provides, for the first time, a state-of-the-art cultural venue and community gathering place in the southern part of Miami-Dade County. Located at 10950 SW 211th Street in Cutler Bay, the Center is an integral part of the economic and cultural development of the area, offering quality artistic programming and community accessibility. The Center features prominent works of art created by Miami artist Robert Chambers who was commissioned by Miami-Dade County’s Art in Public Places program to design a kinetic light wall and sculptures for the theater.

The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center is managed by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, with funding support from the Office of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. The Center is dedicated to presenting and supporting arts and culture and providing access to the arts to the entire Miami-Dade County community. More information about the Center and its programs can be found at www.smdcac.org.

It is the policy of Miami-Dade County to comply with all of the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The facility is accessible and assistive listening devices are available. To request materials in accessible format, and/or any accommodation to attend an event at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, please contact Stephanie Aponte, 786-573-5314, saponte@miamidade.gov, at least five days in advance to initiate your request, TYY users may also call 711 (Florida Relay Service).

For more information, visit www.JimCamacho.com.

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Media Contacts

Nicolle Ugarriza
South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center
nnu@miamidade.gov
office 786.573.5318
mobile 305.588.5453

Michael Mut
Jim Camacho Music
info@mutcomm.com
786.426.2277

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Happy birthday, Jazid!

For nearly two decades, the little club at 1342 Washington Ave in Miami Beach has been about “all about the music.” That’s not just some catchy tagline – Jazid has been a live music haven for countless local bands. Everyone has played or held a residency there: the Spam All Stars, Suenalo, Locos Por Juana, Xperimento, Electric Piquete, Jahfe, Inna Sense, Bachaco…the list goes on.

They are, in the words of owner Daniel Wohlstein, “Miami Beach live music survivors.” He contines: “We’ve seen lots of clubs come and go, Jazid is still around to offer the best live bands in town. I invite everyone to celebrate nineteen great years of music and good times with two of our favorites, Inna Sense and Xperimento.”

The venue is celebrating Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13. Cover is $10 and door time is 10 p.m. both nights. The Oski Foundation will be opening the night on Friday. The respect the club and this event are getting is evident in the coverage they received from the major news and entertainment publications this week:

The Miami Herald and Miami.com weekly column “Velvet Underground,” deftly curated and written by Lesley Abravanel, prominently featured the event.

Click on the image to read the online version:

Miami.com 06.08.15

Here’s what the print version looked like in the June 12, 2015 Herald Weekend section:

Herald Weekend 06.12.15

Here’s another mention later on in the section, this one a Miami.com Music listing:

Herald Weekend 06.12.15-2

Over at the Miami New Times, the weekly Crossfade blog feature “Ten Under $10 Weekly Party Guide,” put together by Laurie Charles, named the event one of its top attractions for the week. Click on the pic to jump to it:

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Here’s a little bit more about the featured acts:

Inna Sense is an explosive live reggae act that has been relentlessly touring the east coast of the United States, California and Hawaii recently, all in support of their 2012 release Everything Included. Their rootsy, heart-thumping groove is impossible not to dance to, and their members have worked with well-known artists like Julian Lennon, Kymani Marley, Blues Traveler, Inner Circle, Maxi Priest and others. For more information, visit innasense.com.

Xperimento recently celebrated five years together by releasing a live album called En Vivo. They tour the U.S. frequently, are getting ready to record new material over the summer, and will soon be re-embarking on a U.S. Armed Forces Entertainment tour later this year. Their members have toured and or recorded with Prince, Oscar D’Leon, Jose Feliciano, Ricky Martin, Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Wyclef Jean, Paulina Rubio, Mika and Alejandra Guzman. Click www.xperimento.com for more information.

Some of the club’s notable past honors include “Best Small Music Venue” and “Best Reggae Night” by the Miami New Times, “Best Live Music of South Florida” by AOL City Guide and “Mejor Musica en Vivo en La Playa” by Ocean Drive en Espaňol.

For more information, visit www.jazid.net or call 305.673.9372.

“Rising Sounds of a Sinking City” coming 6/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nag Champayons Release Rising Sounds of a Sinking City June 23, Celebrate at Bardot June 24

 Little Haiti-based group to issue concept album drawing on styles and cultures ranging from Africa to Miami, celebrate June 24 at Bardot

Miami, FL – June 9, 2015 – Self-described “Afrogalactic / tropidelic” locals the Nag Champayons have long set the standard for improvisational and multi-ethnic musical brilliance in Miami. Now the band is set to unleash a tidal wave of new music with Rising Sounds of a Sinking City, an eight-movement, 21-minute theme weaving together sonic textures from Africa to Colombia, then Stateside via Cuba, all converging into a frenzied psychedelic finale.

The release will be available for download on June 23, and as a physical disc on CD Baby or in-store at Sweat Records, Radioactive Records, or any of the three Mystic Water Kava Bar locations (Hollywood, Ithaca, San Diego). The CD will also be available at the band’s release party at Bardot (3456 N Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33127) the very next night, June 24; doors open at 10 p.m., there is no cover and 21 and over are welcome. The night will also feature sets by DJ Ackdaddy.

“Rising Sounds takes the listener on a heady musical trip following the dusty winds blown off the western coast of Africa, spiraling into a massive tropical storm crossing the Atlantic, picking up strength in the Caribbean, and finally surging on to the already-disappearing coastline of Miami, which is the Sinking City,” says group co-founder and keyboardist Ryan Cacolici. He also designed the album cover and art based on the photography of fellow co-founder / bassist Edwin Cardona. The songs themselves, track titles and visuals are metaphors for the progressive styles and cultures explored in the music and a commentary on the environmental crises of pollution and rising sea levels.

The Nags use the classic rock staples of electric six and 12-string guitars and Hammond organ contrasted with traditional African percussion instruments like Garifuna, balofone, shekers, djembe, wache and udu, and syncretize them with humid trumpets, synthesizers, electro bass drops, and masterful human beatboxing by vocalist Komakozie (also a member of Telekenetic Walrus). The recording additionally features a Yoruban call-and-response by Tomas Diaz (Spam Allstars) and Sonyasi Feldman, Spanglish lamentations of Colombian MC Ephniko and vocals by Juliet Maisha.

The band will tour in promotion of Rising Sounds this summer, travelling from Key West all the way up to the Trumansburg, NY version of GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance taking place next month.

For more information, visit www.NagChampayons.com or call 786.218.6854.

PART I      @ 00:00   INTRO > Ominous Currents  (Crossing the Atlantic)
PART II     @ 01:40   Tropical Storm Surge I  (Africa to Caribe)
PART III    @ 05:00   Canal Town  (Ciudad de Tilapia Tóxicas)
PART IV    @ 08:30   Tropical Storm Surge II  (Caribe to Miami)
PART V     @ 12:20   The Sharks Have All Surrounded Our Island Beds
PART VI    @ 15:10   Rising Sounds  (Music Creates Ascension)
PART VII   @ 16:18   High Tide Downtown  (The Bay Comes Crashing In)
PART VIII  @ 18:10   OUTRO > Last Transmission from New Atlantis

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ABOUT NAG CHAMPAYONS

It’s Frank Zappa and Serge Gainsbourg wrestling Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. It’s Sonic Youth’s plane crashing into Fela Kuti’s boat in the Everglades on the hottest day of summer. “Afro-Floyd,” said one listener. The group began in the early 2000s as an improvisational collective whose name came out of the burning of Nag Champa incense during early jams. They currently feature Ryan Cacolici on keyboards, EdwinCardona (bass), Jose Elias on guitar, Kenneth Metzker and Nestor Prieto (percussion) and Michael Komikaze Rodney on vocals.

The Nags won the Broward Palm Beach New Times‘ award for “Best Band Name” in 2004. Drawing from African, Caribbean, hip-hop, rock and jazz influences, they have consistently amazed crowds with their diversity, quickly rising to the top of Miami’s music and art scene. The group enjoys a monthly residence at the Hollywood, FLMystic Kava Bar, dubbing it “Psychedelic Jazz Practice.”

On the heels of their lauded single “James Brown’s A$$,” the band was invited by theBrooklyn Academy of Music to perform as part of two of their premiere productions, the Si Cuba Festival and the Dance Africa Festival. As part of the Moksha Family Visionary artist collective, the Nags have had the honor to collaborate on stage with notable live painters Alex Grey, Mark Henson and Alex Sastoque.

The Nag Champayons continue to challenge convention; first with their 2012 self-titled EP featuring the acclaimed single “183rd St. Flea Market,” which includes contributions from long-time Nag collaborators El Chino Dread Lion (Yerba Buena) and Itagui fromLocos Por Juana, and now with their new concept album Rising Sounds of a Sinking City.

For more, visit www.NagChampayons.com or call 786.218.6854.

MEDIA CONTACT
Michael Mut
Mut Communications
786.426.2277
info@mutcomm.com

 

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Jazid Celebrates 19th Anniversary 6/12 & 13

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jazid Celebrates 19th Anniversary June 12 and 13 with Inna Sense and Xperimento

Miami Beach’s longest tenured night club celebrates nearly two decades of live music

Miami, FL – May 26, 2015 – For almost 20 years, Jazid (1342 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139) has been “all about the music.” The award-winning nightclub is celebrating its anniversary with a special weekend of live music, featuring local reggae powerhouse Inna Sense on Friday, June 12 and Miami’s Latin reggae / urban soul meisters Xperimento on Saturday, June 13. The music both nights begins at 11 p.m., cover is $10 and 21 and over are welcome.

“We couldn’t be prouder to be Miami Beach live music survivors,” says owner DanielWohlstein. “While we’ve seen lots of clubs come and go, Jazid is still around to offer the best live bands in town. I invite everyone to celebrate nineteen great years of music and good times with two of our favorites, Inna Sense and Xperimento.”

Co-owner / operating partner Tony Alarcon offers: “Jazid has long been a South Beach institution and I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of it for almost as long as it’s been around, both as musician and employee. There really is something for everyone, whether you are into dance music, hip-hop, reggae or alt rock. Here’s to nineteen more great years.”

“The place really lives up to its reputation of being a multi-cultural mix of Latin and American jazz, funk, cumbia, reggae, rock, and more,” says booking agent OskiGonzalez, whose band the Oski Foundation is also set to appear June 12. “If you haven’t been here in a while you should definitely check it out.”

Inna Sense is an explosive live reggae act that has been relentlessly touring the east coast of the United States, California and Hawaii recently, all in support of their 2012 release Everything Included. Their rootsy, heart-thumping groove is impossible not to dance to, and their members have worked with well-known artists like JulianLennon, Kymani Marley, Blues Traveler, Inner Circle, Maxi Priest and others. For more information, visit innasense.com.

Xperimento recently celebrated five years together by releasing a live album calledEn Vivo. They tour the U.S. frequently, are getting ready to record new material over the summer, and will soon be re-embarking on a U.S. Armed Forces Entertainment tour later this year. Their members have toured and or recorded with Prince, OscarD’Leon, Jose Feliciano, Ricky Martin, Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Wyclef Jean, Paulina Rubio, Mika and Alejandra Guzman. Click www.xperimento.com for more information.

Some of the club’s notable past honors include “Best Small Music Venue” and “Best Reggae Night” by the Miami New Times, “Best Live Music of South Florida” by AOLCity Guide and “Mejor Musica en Vivo en La Playa” by Ocean Drive en Espaňol.

For more information, visit www.jazid.net or call 305.673.9372.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Michael Mut
Mut Communications
786.426.2277
info@mutcomm.com
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Majica & Mano Celebrate 10 Years on WDNA

The Baboons Celebrate 10 Years of “Global Gumbo” at WDNA Jazz Gallery June 6

Miami Latin funk band mark 10th anniversary of world music DJs Majica & Mano P. at WDNA on Sat., June 6th, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.

Miami’s 88.9FM WDNA will celebrate the 10th on-air anniversary of the station’s musically adventurous on-air personalities, Majica & Mano P., well-known to South Florida audiences as hosts of the station’s weekly world music radio program Global Gumbo with Majica & Mano P. and as founding members of veteran Latin funk band The Baboons. The station will commemorate the tag-team twosomes’ ten-year musical milestone with a concert by The Baboons on June 6th, 2015 at the WDNA Jazz Gallery, 2921 Coral Way, Miami. The DJ duo debuted as hosts of The Latin Jazz Quarter in 2005 and launched their world music show Global Gumbo in January 2012.

“We are thrilled that WDNA is providing us with the opportunity to perform our own music and offer some insight into the many international styles that inspire us as DJs, songwriters and musicians,” said lead vocalist Majica, who co-hosts Global Gumbo with Majica & Mano P with her husband and bandmate onSundays, 4-6pm. “The music that we play on the radio show and that we compose and perform with the band definitely feed each other.”

The Baboons will be showcasing songs from their upcoming recording, Spanglish, a musical portrait of modern Miami currently in production at Miami’s Red Door Studio. The opus-in-progress includes 15 all-original songs that blend an array of international influences into a danceable fusion that can only come from Miami. The recording features Majica on vocals and Mano P. on drums, with conguero Miguel Rega, guitarist Isaac Rodriguez, saxophonist Dominick Cama and bassist Michael Mut.

Colombian-born Miami artist Eva Ruiz, who will be exhibiting her artwork in the WDNA Jazz Gallery, will unveil an exuberant original painting commissioned by The Baboons as the CD cover for Spanglish.

The Baboons have been mashing up musical genres in South Florida’s live music scene for 22 years. Known for their danceable blend of Latin funk, world music, jazz and rock & roll, The Baboons have been featured on the Fusion network’s Fusion Live and on PBS’ Music Voyager. The collective has received many honors, including a Florida Jammy Award for Best Worldbeat Band in 1994. In 2000, the band’s debut release Evolution was honored as New Times Miami’s “Best Album of the Past Twelve Months” and in 2001, the band released the follow-up recording Global Gumbo.

Admission is $10 for WDNA members, $15 General Admission. For more info, please call 305.510.3003 or email thebaboons@bellsouth.net. Check out http://thebaboons.com and join our community of friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Link to web-sized band image: https://www.facebook.com/thebaboons.  
What the press has to say about The Baboons:

“The Baboons like to call their music ‘urban tribal Afro-Cuban funk-n-roll,’ but it should really be classified as ‘everything but the kitchen sink.’ From airy rockers worthy of Carlos Santana to percussive jams, their tunes incorporate a number of incongruous sounds that, under their direction and care, are collected into a harmonious whole. The Baboons make unabashedly happy music that is easy to enjoy and difficult to criticize. The quintet, led by singer Majica, has been around for a minute (its last album, Global Gumbo, was released in 2000), so it knows how to move a crowd.” – New Times Miami

“A gem of a band.” – The Miami Herald

“The Baboons are definitively Miami: rife with multiculturality, shirtless and shoeless sand-kicking fun, consistent unpredictability, cramped clutches of hyperactivity…What the tropically topical outfit has been doing for years is generating soul-stirring, ass-shaking music that only a birdbrain would try to pigeonhole.” – The Miami Herald

“Ultra-rhythmic, multicultural, eclectic… One of the city’s most promising acts.” – New Times Miami 

“Defies all categories…notorious…infectiously percussive” – City Link

“Diverse, stirring, and tropical as an August day on Virginia Key, Evolution is pure Miami and pure pleasure.” – New Times Miami, Best of Miami 1999, “Best Album of the Past Twelve Months”

“The ‘boons have released…two CDs, but despite the merits of the recordings, particularly the masterful new release Global Gumbo, it remains their live shows that cream collective musical jeans. All this gifting locals with mad party, half spectacle, half joyful orgy live performances has grown the ‘boons in size and exuberance…” – The Miami Herald

“Reviewers have struggled to classify the music of The Baboons ever since the band premiered a decade ago. ‘Spicy rhythmic gumbo!’ said one. ‘Afro-Cuban funk and roll!’ declared another. ‘Urban-tribal funk,’ one more dribbled. And so on. Would it help if we added, ‘The Baboons are what the Miami Sound Machine would sound like if the Miami Sound Machine didn’t suck?’ Whatever. Look, we all know that there are two forces at work today in American music — the Homogenizers, whose aim is to commodify and Britney-fy everything you listen to, and the Resistance, who, in the pursuit of something new and original, defy the convenience of labels. The Baboons are the percussive commando unit of the Resistance.” – New Times Broward Palm Beach

“They were originally into performance art and experimenting with percussive styles and spoken word poetry, but the Baboons have evolved into masters of reggae, blues, and Cuban funk; added a sexyvocalista; released two CDs; and forged a new genre-busting style of Floridian music.” – New Times Broward Palm Beach

MEDIA CONTACT
Mut Communications
Michael Mut
786.426.2277
info@mutcomm.com

 

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#HIALEAHNOW Arts District Unveiling is 5/17

Hialeah Kicks Ass VW Art Bus on Display at the #HIALEAHNOW Unveiling, Painted by Ernesto Maranje May 17, 4 p.m.

Hialeah’s Southeastern industrial corridor rose to prominence during the 1980s as one of the largest and busiest areas of production and manufacturing in Florida. As a result of modernization combined with the effects of outsourcing, the uses that were once prevalent in the area dissipated and this particular area was all but abandoned.

Since that time, a medley of different uses has been incorporated into the area including a heavy presence of some of Miami-Dade County’s most prolific thrift stores.

These thrift stores have been instrumental in introducing Hialeah to an entire generation of antique lovers and artists. The Hialeah Artist Live/Work Overlay District, also known as The Leah Arts District, enjoys a strategic proximity to the newly proposed Hialeah Market Station development project, Miami’s artistic hubs, and other destination areas within Miami-Dade County. Because of it’s location and highly affordable price per square footage, Hialeah’s new Artist Live / Work District is in a position to play a vital and important role in the artistic and cultural development of not only Hialeah, but the entire South Florida community.

JOIN US on SUNDAY, MAY 17th from 4 to 8 p.m. as we celebrate the City of Hialeah’s new artist live / work zoning spearheaded by Councilman Paul B. Hernandez. The area near Flamingo Plaza best known for it’s unique thrift shops is now The Leah Arts District.

1501 East 10th Avenue
Hialeah, FL 33010
(E. 15th Street will be closed off for the block party.)

PROGRAMMING
Food Trucks Curated by Burger Beast
Music by Milk Media Co., Feral Fraction, KLANGBOX Radio
Complimentary Heineken and Heineken Light from 4-5 p.m.
Live Painting Curated by Life Is Art
VW “Hialeah Art Bus” Painted Live by Ernesto Maranje – ALL proceeds from the sale of Hialeah Kicks Ass t-shirts & stickers will benefit Manos Internacional, a 501(c)(3) global youth enrichment organization

MURALS BY
Abstrk (Miami), Atomik (Miami), Derick G. (Hialeah), Diana Contreras (Miami), Don Rimx (PR / Miami), Ernesto Maranje (Hialeah), Junk Lainez (Hialeah), Kazilla (Miami), Mr. Dheo (Portugal), NM Salgar (Miami), Trek6 (Miami).

FOOD TRUCKS
Daddy’s Grill, Mr. Good Stuff, Taco Fresh,Velvet Creme Doughnuts, Zombie Ice

FOOD POP-UP
Pincho Factory

Follow @leahartsdistrict on Instagram for updates.

MEDIA CONTACT
Mut Communications
Michael Mut
786.426.2277
info@mutcomm.com

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Dunham-Bush to Expand U.S. Operations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HVAC/R International and manufacturing /distribution company to sign joint venture agreement May 19, open a new facility later in 2015 

Miami, FL – May 12, 2015 –  Dunham–Bush Bhd, a global leader in the heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration industry headquartered in Malaysia, has announced plans to significantly expand U.S. operations by partnering with HVAC/R International, master distributor for Dunham-Bush  products for  the Western Hemisphere located in Miami. The agreement will be signed and terms will be disclosed during a special ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at the Ritz Carlton South Beach (1 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139). Several local and state representatives are expected to be present for the signing. The event is open to the media and representatives from the company will be available for interviews.

“Dunham-Bush USA is excited to be able to announce this new initiative that will create 45-50 new manufacturing jobs for Floridians at the onset, and grow to 200 over a period of time,” says David Hogan, President of Cool Vent & HVAC/R International, Inc. “We truly believe that South Florida is the gateway between North and South Americas and with all of the PortMiami improvements and railway enhancements, this will make exporting our products much more feasible for the new company.”

Post-9/11 fears and the 2008 economic downturn helped continue the trend of outsourcing U.S. manufacturing jobs to foreign companies and territories. The new Dunham-Bush USA seeks to reverse this trend and use the many incentives provided by the State of Florida to enhance and build upon its century-plus history of providing highly specialized and high-performance cooling solutions. Their focus is primarily schools, hospitals, airports, factories and residences in the United States, the Asia-Pacific Region, the Middle East, Canada, Mexico, Central and South Americas, and Europe.

For more information, visit www.DBAmericas.com or call 305.883.0655.

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ABOUT DUNHAM-BUSH

 Dunham-Bush has long been committed to offering creative solutions for their customers’ needs during its 100+ year history in the heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) industry. Corporate headquarters are located in Kajang, Malaysia, with offices and operations around the globe. The group’s operations in Malaysia principally involve the manufacture, distribution and sale of a complete range of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment and associated products.

Combining technical expertise, integration and resource allocation, the C.A. Dunham Company (Est. 1894) and Bush Manufacturing Company (Est. 1906) merged into a new company in the 1950s to engage in the research development and production of high-standard products.

 As they evolved into a new company, Dunham-Bush’s technical integration, resource allocation, research, development and production of high standards established Dunham-Bush’s reputation as an industry pioneer. The United States’ early Dunham Company created and introduced flooding technology for its commercial flooded condenser tubes. This triggered a series of engineering innovations.

In the 1930s, Bush Manufacturing Company was the pioneer in manufacturing air-conditioning unit by using direct expansion evaporator, air-cooled condenser and evaporative condenser. The 1950s introduced water-cooled chillers into such application sectors as commerce and industry. The revolutionary rotary screw compressor technology developed in the 1960s.

 For more information, visit www.DBAmericas.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Mut Communications
Michael Mut
786.426.2277 | info@mutcomm.com

 

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Velvet Underground: Latin Funk You Up

 

This week’s “Velvet Underground” post on Miami.com by Lesley Abravanel features a mention of the May 8th Electric Piquete performance at Ball & Chain.

Latin Funk You Up

Ball & Chain, 1513 SW 8th Street may be an old jazz haunt, but it definitely doesn’t forget where it lives, paying homage to its Latin environs with bands such as Electric Piquete, which performs on the Pineapple Stage at 10 p.m. Friday, May 8. The party’s being hosted by award-winning director Joe Cardona, whose 2014 documentary “Miami Boheme” won an Aurora Best in Show award for its story of Miami’s Latin fusion music scene. Electric Piquete’s original “En La Playa Giron” is on the soundtrack and the band will play it, along with many others, in two sets. No cover. For more information, go to www.ballandchainmiami.com or electricpiquete.com.

Click here to read the full piece.


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MUSIC REVIEW: Shark Valley Sisters | Vera

By: Michael Mut

The Shark Valley Sisters released the follow up to last year’s Shabbos at The Shack EP called Vera on Tuesday, February 24, 2015. The tracks are streaming and available for purchase through their Bandcamp page in a special name-your-own price promotion. Those who were lucky enough to plunk down a $7 payment earlier this year received a limited edition cross-shaped USB flash drive, which was delivered in March.

The collection of tracks lyrically deals with the life of a nun of the same name who is undergoing a crisis of faith. Recorded at Dan Hosker Studios by Frank “Rat Bastard” Falestra, the set opens with a very apropos cover of the Tom Waits tune “Way Down in the Hole.” Drummer Fausto Figueredo suggested the cut, as the duo are continually looking for interesting and inspiring cover tunes, and this one happened to fit the theme perfectly.

Stop the Presses’ Ali Culotta guests on a trinity of tunes, the first being the rock hymnal “Sister’s Lament,” where singer / guitarist Rob Elba and Culotta intone “Now I’m old, and I’m dead inside, There’s no place for that little girl left to hide.” Elba previously recorded Culotta during the production of the Rat Opera and realized that she would be perfect for this project. “She came in one night and sang all her parts without ever hearing the songs before. She’s a real pro,” said Elba.

The third track “Special Place,” could easily be the group of songs’ catchiest number, is reminiscent of early Radiohead, but still carries much of the power and punch that the SVS have come to be known for. The track also features some subtle synthesizer parts played by Figueredo, which are hauntingly counter balanced by a trademark Elba “Don’t you wish you could die?!” over-the-top howl in the middle.

“Wait Forever” is another fully-realized SVS, post-L.O.A.D. and Holy Terrors alt-rocker. Here the Vera character seems to have found an affirmation of her belief system. At 1:50, it is deliciously short and to the point, an exercise no-frills songwriting.

By the next track “The Grift,” Vera is back on the slippery slope of uncertainty. The 3/4 time, nuclear blast of a waltz  comes off as a sort of Irish bar song, again short on heft, but long enough to deliver its message. Elba nicely harmonizes himself during the telling chorus: “Never again will I drink from his cup, Never again will I fall for his bluff, The gift is a con, and the grace is corrupt.”

The sixth and penultimate track (“Vera Inside / Inside Vera”) from the set is a menacing tune, layered with effected guitars and aggro vocal lines like “Selfless Handmaid, Bride of Christ, I’m pinned beneath his weight, Blinded by eternal light, My eyes, my eyes, can’t see the glory.” Culotta enters the mix again about three-quarters of the way through, bringing the song to a gentle climax where Vera implores the lord to “Kiss the girl that I once was, Let her blameless soul be free.” Another interesting cameo: Beatriz Monteavaro from locals Holly Hunt is the voice heard speaking Padre Nuestro at the beginning of the tune.

In song number seven (ironically, the holy number), “Castles,” the transformation of Vera is complete. Her faith totally exhausted, she realizes “I have waited my whole life to be delivered to his castle, Now I know I have been left behind.” The music behind this is like a dark, sonic apocalypse, a fitting end to a futile life of faith and servitude. Culotta appears again on this track, delivering the spoken word parts.

This release is a high-water mark for the band in terms of musical complexity and lyrical growth, and overall, in the evolution of the players as musicians. Elba sounds like he has broken out of his own straight Telecaster rhythm track work and moved toward using more ambient effects and voicings reminiscent of former bandmate Hosker’s work. Figueredo has proven to be if not an equal, a solid match to Elba when it comes to creativity and concept development. His drumming has never been better. Hell, he even broke out some keyboard parts.

Outside contributions from Culotta and the man behind Gold Dust Lounge Russell Mofsky, who contributed guitar parts to the project also set Vera apart from previous SVS works. Rob: “Fausto and I had planned on having him (Mofsky) play on just a couple of songs, but he’s so great he ended up on five songs and has become sort of an unofficial 3rd member of SVS.

“I definitely feel the spirit of Dan over my shoulder now whenever I make music, and it’s made me much more open to trying different things.” He also shared that listening to a lot of early Alice Cooper inspired a sense of the theatricality heard on Vera, and he’s been moved by the  last few Fucked Up records, “Sentinels of the Space Age” by Jellyfish Brothers, and Haochi Waves’ latest effort “Peggy.”

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Catch the Shark Valley Sisters live at the Poorhouse (110 SW 3rd Ave, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33312) Saturday, May 9, 2015, beginning at 10 p.m. with special guests The Gold Dust Lounge and the Haochi Waves. A special ceremony honoring the late Jeff Tucci will take place, as will a fundraising raffle of the original painting of the Vera cover art by Gregory McLaughlin, with all proceeds benefiting the Thomas Fekete Medical Fund. For more info, click here.

SVS at The Nest - Mindy Hertzon Vera-Cover-Finalbest SVS

Photo of the band by Mindy Hertzon.

Electric Piquete Live at Ball & Chain Miami May 8

Miami, FL – April 28, 2015 – Miami Latin funk septet Electric Piquete will again grace the Pineapple Stage at Ball & Chain (1513 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33135) Friday, May 8, 2015, during another Miami Boheme night hosted by award-winning director Joe Cardona. The documentarian’s 2014 work, winner of an Emmy, Aurora “Best in Show” and two Telly awards, tells the story of Miami’s Latin fusion music scene; Electric Piquete’s original “En La Playa Giron” is included in the soundtrack. The band will perform two sets beginning at 10 p.m. No cover; 21 and over welcome. For more information, visit www.ElectricPiquete.com or call 305.643.7820.

Formed in and by the gritty Miami suburb of Hialeah, Electric Piquete is driven by an explosive three-piece horn section featuring Rich Dixon on trumpet and flugelhorn, Guillermo Roig on tenor sax and Jose Miranda on trombone, a powerfully tight rhythm section including the Latin Grammy-winning pianist Pepe Montes, Ed Rosado (drums), Michael Mut (bass) and Chris Correoso (guitar) and percussionist Raymond Ayala.

The band’s flavorful sound and intense live performances twice earned them a spot as house band on the Fusion Live TV program, and the Miss Carnaval Miami pageant four times; they also secured slots at numerous area music festivals, including the 2015 Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival. In 2009, Miami.com featured them as a Band of the Hour and the Miami New Times named the group “Best Latin Band.” Miami New Times also recently said this about Electric Piquete: “The group’s commitment to the groove is a force to be reckoned with, and they are full of poetry and fuego.” The Miami Herald featured the band’s original “En La Playa Giron” in a special report about the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Electric Piquete released a new single called “De Cara al Sol,” March 13, for which there will also be a new accompanying concept video. It’s a blistering exercise in Latin jazz chops, inspired by Jose Marti and dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 1994 13 Marzo tugboat sinking in Havana Harbor. To listen, click here: bit.ly/EPDeCaraS. EP’s music is available for sale on iTunes and Amazon.com.

For more information about the band, including sound and video clips, live dates and more, visit the new www.ElectricPiquete.com.

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Media Contact:

Michael Mut

Mut Communications

Founder

info@mutcomm.com

786.426.2277

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