The Music Scene with Malcolm X Abram

Sorry for the lateness, I just fished this one out of our system's email Quarentine.

Congrats MGK, it's been a hell of a year for you.

Los Angeles, CA – December 15, 2011 – EST 19XX/Bad Boy/Interscope Records signee Machine Gun Kelly, or MGK, is the winner of MTV's 2011 "Hottest Breakthrough MC" competition. The poll-based contest announced its winner on MTV's RapFix Live yesterday, December 14th. MGK bested fellow MC's A$AP Rocky, Future, Roscoe Dash, French Montana, Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Twist, Freddie Gibbs and Meek Mill. Last year's winner of the Hottest Breakthrough MC competition was Wiz Khalifa, who edged Nicki Minaj and went on to have one of the year's biggest impacts.

For full details and the latest information on Machine Gun Kelly and his upcoming "LACE UP" album, added Tour Dates, and Videos visit www.MGKlaceup.com and follow MGK on Twitter www.Twitter.com/MachineGunKelly

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N.E. Ohio stand up!!!

The Black Keys, Machine Gun Kelly, Kid Cudi (he's still making music, right?), Stalley are all N.E. Ohioans who have gained national profiles for their music and general Ohio-ness.

Well, it's beginning to look like proud Ohioans will soon be able to Cleveland Heights born and bred singer/songwriter Antoine Dunn to the list.

The singer has been working his debut single and video Can't Forget for a few months now and the old school flavored neo-soul jam's success has garnered the singer an opening spot on a national tour with Anthony Hamilton and the video was debuted on B.E.T's teen oriented video show 106th and Park this past Monday.

The lack of guns, cars or big ol' booties or a verse from Nicki Minaj in Can't Forget may make his run on the countdown short, but the song is pretty smooth.

Dunn, a former Minister of Music at the Cuyahoga Community Church's and a self taught multi-instrumentalist is currently recording his debut album for a first quarter 2012 release.

Here's the video.

If you dug that, check this out.

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But wait there's more!

As Pat Carney predicted, Michael Buble looks to nab the top spot with the Key not far behind.

From the desk of billboard.com

By KEITH CAULFIELD
Billboard.com
As we reported on Thursday, Michael Buble’s ”Christmas” album is on its way to a third straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, so say industry prognosticators. The album may sell well over 400,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, Dec. 11.

The latter should start with at least 150,000 sold, but will likely move even more – perhaps 170,000 to 180,000. Even if it sells only 150,000, that will easily notch the rock act’s best sales week yet. Their last album, ”Brothers,” set their previous best week, when it landed at No. 3 with 73,000 in May of 2010.

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The Black Keys aren't the only N.E. Ohio music makers on the rise.

Massillon born, bred and bearded emcee Stalley, who not too long ago signed with big-time rapper Rick Ross' Maybach Music crew and has appeared on B.E.T., MTV2 and other places has released another video from his strong debut album Lincoln Way Nights. It's for the song Go On, a get-up-get-out-and-get-something style anthem.

Catch it here, because the video has no big wiggling booties, fancy (rented) cars or a catchy hook from Tre Songz or Mindless Behavior. And, as no part of the video appears to have been filmed in a strip club, you probably won't see it on B.E.T.'s 106th & Park more than once.

Stalley's next album and first for Maybach Music, Savage Journey to the American Dream should be released in the first quarter of 2012.

Good luck, man….

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Blues legend, grammy winner and highly influential guitarist Hubert Sumlin died Sunday of heart failure.
Sumlin is best known as sideman for fellow blues legend Howlin' Wolf with whom Sumlin played from 1953 until The Wolf's death in 1976.
The clear, biting tone and furious spurts of notes that blues fans know well on classic Howlin' Wolf tracks such as "Spoonful," "Smokestack Lightning," "Wang Dang Doodle," "Back Door Man" and "I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)," was Sumlin's signature and a big influence on many of the blues rock/classic rock guitar gods of the 70s such as Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
The Greenwood, Mississipi native born in 1931, famously bought his first guitar for $6 and met Howlin Wolf as a teenager while playing outside of the club Wolf was playing. Later Wolf invited him up north to play second guitar, but Sumlin soon took over the lead spot.

After Howlin' Wolf's death, Sumlin continued to play with members of the band and began releasing solo records the most recent of which was the Grammy nominated (his fourth nomination) About Them Shoes from 2004 featuring Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, James Cotton and others.

Sumlin had one of his lungs removed in 2004 but kept touring up until his death.
Sumlin is a member of the Blues Hall of Fame and has one multiple blues awards but for some reason is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's reconfigured sideman category now called the "Award for Musical Excellence."'
That oversight will probably be corrected in the next few years.

Here's some Sumlin' in his spot beside Howlin' Wolf

and here's "Lil Hubert" with Sunnyland Slim and Willie Dixon on bass

Here's Hubert rockin' an awesomely flowery 1970's era shirt talking about life with Howlin' Wolf

A Star-studded geetar jam on Killing Floor

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From MTV

Tonight Chevy Sonic presents Live in NYC with the Black Keys. The Black Keys wasted no time recording the follow-up to 2010′s breakout smash rock record Brothers — they return on December 6 with El Camino (you can pre-order here). It’s a garage-y, glam-rock-influenced record that injects a bit more swagger into their sound. The pair are celebrating this momentous release with an intimate concert at New York’s Webster Hall and daily “Road to Release” videos at MTV2. This is a fan-club only event, but lucky for you, it’s also another Live in NYC event. Which means you’ll be able to stream all the dirty blues goodness right from the comforts of your own home. It’s a pretty special event, especially considering that the Keys just sold out two 10,000-capacity concerts in London — Webster Hall fits in just 1,400 fans. The concert starts at 9pm ET/6pm PT tonight, on MTVHive.com. We promise you’ll want to dance like this guy:

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Wow,

Well, I guess you can say the local boys have definitely made it..They got superstar rock photographer Danny Clinch (see below…that's effin' big time folks) doing their promo shots and now they're headlining their first full arena tour in the U.S.

Their debut arena tour includes a March 20 date at Quicken Loans Arena, the second to last date on the opening leg of the tour and Pat Carney told me a few days ago that they've rehearsed six songs from the new record and by the time they get to Cleveland they should be firing on all cylinders, so expect some groovy live-only variations on all the El Camino songs you'll have internalized by then.

Oh yeah, Dan and Pat were also nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the song "Dearest" from Rave On Buddy Holly.

Tickets go onsale on Friday December 9 at 10 a.m. and are $59.50, $44.50, and $34.50 and includes a $3.00 facility fee (I think that means you get to use the bathrooms).

EL Camino is a damn good record, by the way.

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From the desks of the folks at the All Good Festival

Thornville, OH (November 28, 2011) – After 9 consecutive years in West Virginia, the All Good Festival announces today that the 16th annual event will take place July 19-22, 2012 approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, Ohio at the historic Legend Valley.

Building from its humble beginnings fifteen years ago, the All Good Festival has hosted some of the world’s most talented live performers including Furthur, Primus, Ben Harper, Widespread Panic, The Flaming Lips, The String Cheese Incident, moe. & hundreds more. Additional information on the 2012 performer lineup, event news and All Good Festival announcements will be coming soon with the latest updates available at www.allgoodfestival.com.

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Good for you struggling actor, Derrick Tuggle.

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