Jermaine Quiz of Jealous Monk New SOLO CD

Jermaine Quiz of New Orleans Favorite Hip Hop Band is a busy man.. He just released a new Jealous Monk Album, is on the brink of releasing his first solo album and is about to start a bi weekly Mashup party(1st and 3rd Saturdays at the Bridge Lounge).

His solo album entitled "Feel the Times" is not a strict hip hop album. Including elements of hip hop, retro soul, funk as well as a heavy Motown influence, Jermaine Quiz has created a timeless piece of music that transcends New Orleans while pushing it to a national and international audiences. Reminiscent of groups such as Toots and the Maytals, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime and Beck, "Feel the times" is the quintessential New Orleans Album but Palatable to the main stream Market. Quiz Says " New Orleans is my home, I want to see its influence spread."

Get the Preview Of the album here:http://jermainequiz.bandcamp.com/
The album is set to release on March 23, 2010. Quiz's 23rd Birthday

The music of Jermaine Quiz is one that undoubtedly remains with you hours after listening to the funk and hip hop laden beats of the album. In addition to performing with his band "Jealous Monk" all over the city, Jermaine Quiz shines as the producer of his first solo album. The sky is the limit for this young talented musician and all- over-musical chameleon who wears many hats on and off the stage as a vocalist, DJ, MC, writer and producer. His many creative attributes are made evident through the creation of this solo album as well as his past recordings with Jealous Monk on their debut album "From Sun Up to Sun Down" and his own"Jermaine Quiz Instrumentals"

The dominant tone of this album is the versatility of the same as Quiz merges classic New Orleans genres such as Funk, Jazz, brass band beats and soul with Hip Hop and DJ beats; indeed "Feeling the Times" as the name of the album suggests. Jermain Quiz is on the right track as this style seems to be the next level of New Orleans music simply because it IS a collaboration of so many appreciated and loved styles widening its appeal to include young and old alike.

Jermaine Quiz has had many musical influences in his life which have led to his musical diversity such as growing up listening to a variety of Latin artists due to his Latino heritage and living in New Jersey where the main attraction was hip hop and beat box style of music. The introduction to New Orleans music began when Quiz was attending Loyola University and began frequenting the myriad of Live music venues the city has to offer. His music speaks volumes of all these influences as he successfully blends all these genres into a funky-fresh, intelligent album.

From the funk heavy first track to the all Instrumental last track the album proves that older genres can be mashed up with modern ones to create a sound that runs a line through 1920-30's Jazz to 1970's Funk beats and ends with modern day hip hop/rap beats. The first track on "Feel the Times" titled "Fine Lil Thing" instantly sets the tone for the album providing danceable beats and featuring an amazing guitar solo towards the end of the song by collaborator Pete Murano ,which along with catchy refrain, set the entire album as the funk-oriented, dance, soulful recording that it is.

Another highlight is the song "Ballad to you" which is just that, a hip hop ballad showcasing the lyrical stylings of Quiz and collaborator MC Intelligence playing tribute to friendship through lyrics like "This is my ballad to you my friend,
ill be by your side til my life ends, you know that i got you back,
and if haters mess with you i'll take a bat then crack."
The last song of the album titled "New Orleans Night" with its looped keys and a mixture of alternating beats as well as distinct Sax parts behind it immediately evokes images of taking a cool relaxed stroll through New Orleans after a night of fun and entertainment.


All the songs on the album provide a fresh and seemingly young,unabashed version of what New Orleans music has to offer now in 2010 all the while celebrating New Orleans more traditional staples such as Jazz and Funk. Jermaine Quiz plays regularly with his band Jealous Monk and can be seen freestyling all over the city whenever he is invited on stage by NOLA legends such as George Porter, Johnny Vidacovich and Kirk Joseph bringing the Hip-hop funk to the masses and invigorating the crowds with his lyrical talent. The name Jermain Quiz will ,without a doubt, grace the cover and stages of National magazines and concerts in the very near future. This will just be yet another tribute to the pool of musical geniuses cultured in our lil funky city!



Jermaine Quiz can also be contacted on the following sites
1.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jealous-Monk/37225893543/Jealous-Monk/37225893543#!/nicholaspino,
2.http://www.jealousmonkmusic.com/,
3.http://www.twitter.com/jealousmonknola

Indie Rock and Alternative Music this weekend at the Foburg Music Festival

"Rock is so much fun. That's what it's all about -- filling up the chest cavities and empty kneecaps and elbows". -- Jim Hendrix

This weekend, March 12-14 2010, NOIR (New Orleans Indie Rock Collective) will inaugurate the Foburg Music Festival. This indie rock festival aims to showcase indie rock and alternative rock artists who otherwise do not have their own gathering of this kind in a city who is not too well known for its independent rock scene. Although this genre is an ever growing and thriving presence in the city, it is often placed behind more popular New Orleans genres such as jazz and funk. The festival will take place at various locations on Frenchmen Street and features over 70 artists. The admission cost is well worth the number of bands performing all weekend at $25 presale prices and $30 at the festival
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The concept behind the festival was to give artists a chance to play in New Orleans before heading to the notable SXSW Festival taking place in Austin, TX the following week. Festival organizers and promoters are interested in showing Frenchmen Street and surrounding venues that this progressive rock sound can be profitable if showcased and promoted correctly. The festival includes a myriad of New Orleans based acts as well as national touring bands.

The Frenchmen Street venues hosting this festival will be The Maison; both upstairs and downstairs, Dragon's Den; upstairs and downstairs, Blue Nile: upstairs and downstairs as well, D.B.A., R Bar and Checkpoint Charlie's. With so many acts performing back to back and simultaneously, this festival will surely be full of positive music energy. It is also a great time to host a festival of this sort with spring festival season just upon us. Let's spring towards a unique and incomparable festival season as only New Orleans can!

In weeks past when I first saw the name of the festival in print "Foburg: A Music Festival" I wondered why the word "Foubourg" was spelled incorrectly and I figured it was part of some clever marketing/advertising idea. The webpage for the festival states that they were indeed doing this by playing with the word "Foubourg" in reference to the Foubourg Marigny neighborhood in which the event takes place. "As you know, most indie festivals have silly, but memorable names (IE – Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza) We wanted Foburg to do the same – but with some sort of New Orleans relevance."

Jazz, blues and funk thrill me deeply albeit the idea of listening to different sounds and beats excites me just as much. In speaking about music, I believe change is good and music must mutate and evolve in order to keep audiences interested. Furthermore, New Orleans has historically played a huge roll in rock and roll and it is all but fitting to hold a festival promoting some of the new players in this forever growing genre.

Some of the talented bands showcased in the festival include Rotary Downs, Giant Cloud, Silent Cinema, Big Rock Candy Mountain, MyNameisJohnMichael, Glasgow, Los Po-Boycitos, Mia Borders and Big Blue Marble all from New Orleans. The festival will also feature national acts such as A Million Years and Davey Mooney from New York, BrassBed from Lafayette-LA, Savoir Adoire from Brooklyn, Signals from LA and Hope For Agoldensummer from Athens, GA just to name a few. Just typing all these names makes me more anxious to support this festival with such a huge roster of musicians bringing the rock and alternative scene to Frenchmen Street.

The Frenchmen Street area along with Dragon's Den on Esplanade and R Bar on Royal Street will be saturated with savvy music listeners enjoying the eclectic sounds of indie Rock and alternative music all weekend. Don't miss this first ever Foburg Music Festival beginning this Friday, March 12, to Sunday, March 14. The music will be worth it and might offer some inspiration.

A list of Artist below:

A Living Soundtrack
The Show is the Rainbow
Giant Cloud
The Blue Party
Hope For Agoldensummer
Silent Cinema
Hurray for the Riff Raff
The Bears of Blue River
The Pharmacy
Pumpkin
Caddywhompus
Dr. Manhattan
Big Rock Candy Mountain
Sun Hotel
Givers
The Revivalists
MyNameIsJohnMichael
Signals
Peelander-Z
Savoir Adore
Brass Red
One Man Machine
Dirty Bourbon River Show
Vox and the Hound
Flow Tribe
Smiley with a Knife
Mon Khmer
Yardwork
Chris Rehm
Booty Trove
Luke Winslow-King
The Bellys
Chaz Knapp & The Craft Brothers
High in One Eye
Davy Mooney
Consortium of Genius
Megafauna
A Million Years
Loren Murrell
Alexis Marceaux
We Landed on the Moon
Dinosaur Feathers
Helen Gillet
Rotary Downs
Andrew Duhon
The Happy Talk Band
The Frontier Brothers
Ben Labat and the Happy Devil
Savoy
Big Blue Marble
Wazozo
Mia Borders
Black Taxi
DJ Bees Knees
Wativ
The Other Planets
Drumcart
DJ Pasta
Big Fat & Delicious
The Gills
Jean - Eric
DJ Lefty Parker
The Burroughs
Dummy Dumpster
Sings
Gamma Ringo
Hightide Blues
Steve Eck and the Midnight Stills
Jeff the Brotherhood
Glasgow
Ray Bong
Reno Bo
Mark Weliky Trio
Meg Roussel
Ratty Scurvics Ensemble
Meschiya Lake
New Grass Country Club
Natalie Mae
Hugo
Los Po-Boy-Citos
DJ Alison Fensterstock
Local Skank
King Rey
Zorch
Love Hog
Gris Gris


"You can't stay the same. If you're a musician and a singer, you have to change, that's the way it works."--Van Morrison