Category Archives: Chief News

News involving Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice, including music, shows, tours, and more.

The Word Association :: what was, is, and will be…

This post is an attempt to clarify some misconceptions about The Word Association.  There seems to be a belief that The Word Association is “broken up”, but that is not the case.

In order to understand the current state, one must understand the past of the collective.  The Word Association began as a weekly creative outlet/think-tank, consisting of former .::liquidstereoproject members Omari Kamau and myself, Compound Abstract members Adlib Hopkins and The Ill Mathematical, and fellow San Marcos MCs JP The Volcanic Emcee, Enique and occasional guest colloborator Sigma Prime.  The collective was formed as a way to pool the resources of fan base, recording equipment and social networking that all members had acquired in their respective experiences.

As the creative output grew, the need to perform live allowed The Word Association to step out of the realm of artistic collective and into the world of performance.  As the shows compiled, and the buzz grew, membership expanded.. Jaysin and Muggzy Flowz joined the collective as MCs, and DJ Crown held down DJ duties.  The group scored a monthly showcase at Triple Crown which was dubbed Spread The Word, and this allowed the collective to provide a performance platform for artists/bands/groups that provided the same in their respective cities.  This form of collaboration eventually led to the most succesful branch from the tree of The Word Association, an intercontinental collaboration known as Binary Audio Misfits.

As a DIY collective, certain realities are inevitable.  Members have come and gone, and the misleading notion to think of The Word Association as simply a rap group has lead to many rumours of break ups, disbanding, etc.  As a founding member, I am here to state that THE WORD ASSOCIATION CANNOT BREAK UP.  The Word Association was never meant to be a band, or a group.  It is simply a safe haven for those who want to create with others and reach a higher artistic ground.  ALL MEMBERS, FORMER-PRESENT-FUTURE, represent The Word Association in all projects that they do, unless they state otherwise.

As long as I live and breath, however, The Word Association collective will continue to create.  For all artists looking for like-minded, forward thinking individuals to create with, don’t hesitate to reach out.

-chief

Big Week of Shows :: See Chief!

This week is full of good shows, with lots of variety amongst them.  There will be four opportunities to see me perform this week, and believe me, they are all worth the time…

Monday : Electric Mayhem will be holding our final Monday installment, and it will feature live drums by Patrick Montgomery.  The show takes place at Triple Crown (206 N. Edward Gary), and after this one, it will be solo Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice sets with occasional guest DJs.

Tuesday : The following night will be the CD release party for “It/ll Be Better Tomorrow”, and it will feature the amazing stylings of Henry + The Invisibles.  For those who need a reminder:

This is definitely a DO NOT MISS show… and it’s a great chance to support two local giants on the music scene.  This show also takes place at Triple Crown.

Thursday : One door closes, another opens, they say… Monday marks the end of Electric Mayhem as a weekly entity, but you can still catch the duo every first Thursday at Tantra Coffee House.  This is the inaugural show, and you better believe there will be more to come…

Saturday : Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice return to Firehouse Lounge (Austin) for some exploratory sound sessions.  No cover, good tunes, and cheap drinks… what more can you ask for?

-chief

Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice make the San Marcos Daily Record

The San Marcos Daily Record recently interviewed yours truly, and the article was released in today’s paper (9-23-11).  The article covers my progression as a solo artists, talks about my impact on the local scene, and let’s folks know about “It/ll Be Better Tomorrow”.  You can read the article here.

Thank you to Jeff Walker, the San Marcos Daily Record, and to everyone in the Austin/San Antonio corridor that has supported me over the years.  We’ve only just begun to live!

-chief

Ten Years After

After many hours of work, the wait is finally over… It/ll Be Better Tomorrow, the third LP by Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice, will be available in digital format.  There is no set price for the album.  You can pay nothing, or you can donate as much as you like.  All proceeds from the album go towards printing CDs and merchandise.  The album will be available 9-11-11, but it is currently available for streaming if you would like to give it a listen.

-chief

Things We Lost In The Fire

from the digital desk of The White White Lights:

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The bad news: as you might have heard, our house was one of the many lost to the fires in Bastrop on Sunday. Jonas was able to grab most of his guitars and one amp, but we lost everything else in the studio (keyboards, pianos, bass rig, recording gear). Our family and friends helped us set up this account for any donations if anyone would like to help us on our way to rebuilding soon. 

The good news: Our show in San Marcos tomorrow night was rescheduled, but we’re still going to play at the Highball this Sunday, September 11 (we’ll borrow or find some gear somewhere). We also saved the hard drive containing the two EP’s that we’re releasing in the next month and a half or so (we wanted to get it printed in the next few weeks but have a lot to take care of).

Thank you all for your messages and support. This has been a crazy few days for so many of us.

Love, Jonas and Jenny of tWWL

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Jonas is an old friend of mine, and a super creative cat.  Please do anything you can, if you are able, in order to help this wonderful band get back on their feet.

-chief

My First Commission : Topdog/Underdog

I’ve been in The Epicenter the last month or two working on material for an upcoming production of the wonderful play Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks. Green Apple Collective out of El Paso, Texas is producing the play, and it will run every Friday and Saturday in July.

Seeing as this play was the Broadway debut for the mighty Mos Def, there was no way I could turn down an opportunity to score the piece. Two older compositions fit the bill for the story, but original compositions were made as character themes. Both of these pieces of music can be heard at the Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice page on BandCamp, which can be found here.

Enjoy!

-chief