Whatevski Records

Review: Sammy Kay and the East Los 3 – “Love Letters”

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Sammy Kay and the East Los 3 | Love Letters

Sammy Kay and the East Los 3 | Love LettersSammy Kay and the East Los 3
“Love Letters”
2013, Big Tunes / Panic State Records / Whatevski Records
RIYL: Westbound Train, The Slackers, JR Thomas, Tom Waits

The title “Love Letters” conjures  up images and ideas of a romantic time and space. When was the last time you put pen to paper to express your love, going through through six drafts before you got the words just right? Sure those moments being lovestruck were exhausting in their own right, but they were inherently fun. There’s a special kind of perseverant energy that goes into that kind of love. The kind we need because we’re all so jaded. That’s the aesthetic of this record, the first full length from solo artist Sammy Kay released October 29, 2013.

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Pre-Order New Deal’s Gone Bad Record “Heartbreaks And Shadows”

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Chicago’s Deal’s Gone Bad has completed the recording of their latest record, “Heartbreaks And Shadows,” a follow up to their 2007 record “The Ramblers.” This will be the second of their records featuring the distinctive voice of Todd Hembrook. The band’s next step is pressing and distribution of the record and they’re looking to their fans, friends, and the good people at Big Tunes to fund the record.

For those not familiar, Big Tunes is a crowdfunding platform akin to Kickstarter, but it’s geared specifically to music projects which means both the artist and the fans come out ahead. It’s also run by the same good people that run Whatevski Records, so you know they really get ska, rocksteady, and reggae music.

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Documentary Captures Brooklyn Rocksteady Scene

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brooklyn rocksteady logoThis is an excerpt of a post I originally published on my personal blog. While it’s got nothing to do with the Boston Ska scene, the Brooklyn Rocksteady documentary covers the scene I was a part of before I moved to Boston. No scene lives in a vacuum. I’m also incredibly proud to have been a part of it and wanted to share it.

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Spend 420 with Sammy Kay & the Fast Four and Brunt of It in Jamaica Plain

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sammy kay 2013 spring tour

sammy kay 2013 spring tourImagine my surprise when I found out my old pal Sammy Kay was passing through Boston. I met Sammy Kay in New York City when he was playing with The Forthrights and I was playing with The Hard Times and we were playing gigs together every two minutes. Well around the time I was getting ready to move to Boston, he had put a new band together, called Sammy Kay and the Fast Four. They played a few gigs before Sammy took off for the west coast where he plays with the East Los 3.

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