10/23/07

First of all, congratulations to all our fine friends in New Orleans who survived last Saturday's 11:30pm - 3:30am onslaught of super-charged funk at the Maple Leaf.  The combination of old friends returning to the fold, an incredible all-star horn section and a rowdy crowd ensured that it was a gig for the ages.  Special kudos to Afroskull co-founder and bassist Bill Richards for delivering a massive bass performance on all fronts, including the challenging compositions from our NYC set. Stay tuned for some photos from the show!

These last two shows were truly fitting celebrations of our 10-year anniversary and we are grateful to everyone who helped to make it happen.

For you New Yorkers, we're back from the Big Easy and in the mood to throw down.  How lucky for you that we're at the Ace of Clubs on Great Jones St. in Manhattan this Thursday night?  We'll be joined by two other fantastic bands, the Van Davis Trio at 8pm, and GromKo at 9pm.  We're due on around 10pm and we have a nice set cooked up for ya.  We welcome back Jeff Pierce (trumpet) and Mark Nikirk (tenor sax) to the horn section, as well as Bearded Jon on the bass. 

AFROSKULL live at the Ace of Clubs
Thursday, 10/25/07, 10pm
with the Van Davis Trio (8pm) and GromKo (9pm)
9 Great Jones St. (corner of Lafayette and Great Jones)
NYC

www.afroskull.com
www.myspace.com/afroskull
www.aceofclubsnyc.com

10/5/07

Hello to all our fine friends. Believe it or not, this month we are celebrating Afroskull's 10th birthday with a show at the Parkside Lounge in NYC this Friday (10/12), and then on Saturday 10/20 at the Maple Leaf in New Orleans. The press release below has all the gory details. We hope you can join in the celebration!

AFROSKULL CELEBRATES TENTH ANNIVERSARY
Twin blowouts in New York and New Orleans to commemorate a decade of hair-raising funk

New York based funk/rockers Afroskull have announced a pair of shows to celebrate the band's 10th anniversary, on October 12th at New York's Parkside Lounge, and October 20th at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans.

Afroskull formed in New Orleans in the summer of 1997 around a core of well-schooled musicians who had first met in the suburbs of NYC years earlier. Using the music of Funkadelic, Frank Zappa, Charles Mingus and Black Sabbath as their guides, they developed a unique style that is equal parts funk, hard rock and jazz. A devoted local following quickly followed along with a reputation for unrelenting funk-drenched sets that lasted well into the wee hours. In 2002, after the release of the locally acclaimed CD "Monster For the Masses," several national tours and two legendary "Afroskull Does Black Sabbath" sets, the core of the band pulled up stakes and got back to their roots in New York City. In the years since, Afroskull has gained a whole new audience (along with several new band members) thanks to their red-hot live shows and is now becoming known among hard-core live music fans as one of the city's best-kept secrets. And now October 2007 brings a 10th anniversary party to each of the band's hometowns, featuring special guests from throughout Afroskull's history.

October 12, 2007 @ the Parkside Lounge
317 E. Houston St (corner of Attorney St.), New York City
8:30pm

The New York version of the 10th anniversary brings the band back to their long-time homebase on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and will feature Jason Marshall on bari sax (of Roy Hargrove's RH Factor), bassist Bearded Jon Stonbely, and a special appearance by NYC guitar mercenary The Wild Koba.

October 20, 2007 @ The Maple Leaf Bar
8316 Oak St., New Orleans
11pm

The New Orleans party will be an epic Afroskull marathon, a true melding of the NOLA and NYC lineups, featuring original bassist Funky Dollar Bill Richards (of I Tell You What fame), and the Horns of Doom: Chuck Arnold on trumpet, Rick Trolsen (of Bonerama) on trombone, and Jason Mingledorf (Papa Grows Funk) on tenor sax. Other scheduled guests include Big John Shaffer on vocals and the Madd Wikkid a.k.a. Earl Scioneaux on keyboards.

For more info and mp3s, visit:
www.afroskull.com
www.myspace.com/afroskull
www.archive.org/details/Afroskull

8/31/07

Once again we find ourselves about a week away from another Afroskull live extravaganza. We'll be back home at the Parkside Lounge next Friday, 9/7 and we want YOU to join us. The band has been sounding better then ever lately and we want all our friends and fans to come bask in the glory of the funk!

AFROSKULL live at the Parkside Lounge
Friday 9/7, 8pm
317 E. Houston St. (corner of Attorney St.)
NYC

And mark your calendars folks, because we are proud to announce the two-part Afroskull 10th Anniversary Party, coming to New Orleans and New York City in October! It was a strange October day in 1997 when a band called Afroskull took it to the stage for the first time. Naturally, we were shut down after playing only one song because the sound man thought he wasn't getting paid that night ... at any rate - New Yorkers can come party with us at the Parkside Lounge on 10/12. And New Orleanians, we're bringing the whole enchilada down to the Maple Leaf on 10/20, complete with special guest bassist (and Afroskull founding member) Funky Dollar Bill Richards! So come join us this October as we celebrate a full decade of super-heavy monster funk!

8/10/07

The next Afroskull show is less than a week away, and it's going to be a good one. We'll be at the Ace of Clubs next Wednesday, 8/15, at 9pm - this is our only show for the month of August, and we've got the whole night to ourselves. We're back to full strength with our main man Jeff Pierce returning on trumpet and Bearded John locking down the low end on bass. So it's gonna be all killer and no filler - we might even drop a couple of JBs covers on you, just to keep you on your toes. Aww, yeah.

AFROSKULL
Live at ACE OF CLUBS
9 Great Jones St. (corner of Lafayette), downstairs from the Acme
NYC
Wednesday, 8/15, 9pm

7/10/07

This Friday night Afroskull will funk up Two Boots Brooklyn in Park Slope at long last! Our first scheduled gig at Two Boots was snowed out over the winter, but we're pretty sure that won't be a problem this week. We'll be joined by a couple of special guests this time around. Bearded Jon has gone into seclusion to prepare for the bar exam, so we have recruited special guest bassist Brian Anderson, best known for his excellent work with Raisin Hill. We'll also be welcoming back Jason Marshall to the horn section. You might have heard and seen some of Jason's work on baritone sax with Roy Hargrove and the Mingus Big Band, among many others. Also, In case you don't already know, Two Boots has great Italian and Cajun food too. So come and join us this Friday for a loose funky set in Brooklyn!

AFROSKULL LIVE @ TWO BOOTS BROOKLYN
514 2nd St.- Park Slope - Brooklyn (between 7th and 8th Avenues)
Friday, July 13th - 10pm

3/27/07

AFROSKULL AT THE BOWERY POETRY CLUB THURSDAY NIGHT

Join your friendly neighborhood Afroskull for our debut at the Bowery Poetry Club!  Don't let the name fool you, this will not be a poetry slam (although if you ask politely perhaps we'll read a poem or two in between songs).  This WILL however, as you may be guessing, be a funk-rock slam - featuring master slammer (and bassist) Bearded Jon Stonbely.  We'll be hitting the stage at 10pm, and will be followed by our old friends Wounded Buffalo Theory, who will also kick out the jams proper.  That's this Thursday, March 29th, at 10pm. 

AFROSKULL LIVE AT BOWERY POETRY CLUB
Thursday, March 29th - 10pm
308 Bowery (across the street from CBGB)
www.bowerypoetry.com

3/12/07

Ladies and Gentlemen... we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to see Afroskull perform in the BK! That's right...we're taking it back to Brooklyn. It's been a while, but we're excited for you to join us for a cajun hang at Two Boots on 2nd St. in Park Slope, just off 7th ave. We'll be playing 2 full sets of the heavy funk madness you've come to know and love. Two Boots has some amazing food, as well as the best Cajun Martini this side of NOLA. See you Friday night!

AFROSKULL live at Two Boots Brooklyn
514 2nd St., Brooklyn
Friday 3/16, 10:00pm

2/15/07

This Friday, it's the third annual Afroskull Mardi Gras Throwdown at the Parkside Lounge. Join us for a nice long butchering of our original material and a couple of New Orleans classics. We'll warm you up real good after a cold week and get you launched into the best weekend of the year - Mardi Gras!

1/18/07

We're back to announce our first live gig of 2007! Join us for a solid hour of horn-laden funk and rock next Saturday (1/27) - 10pm at the Ace of Clubs in Manhattan. We'll have our old friend Bearded John Stonbely along for the ride as we stretch out for the first time in '07. Take a look at our calendar for other upcoming shows around NY!

10/11/06

Hello once again Afroskull fans. We are returning to the Parkside Lounge this Friday night, 10/13/06, at 8:30pm for another colossal set of the new super-heavy monster funk. After the show we will be locking ourselves in the studio until our new album is completely finished - making this the last Afroskull gig of the year. So come on down to the Parkside and get yourself one last fix of the 'Skull in 2006!

AFROSKULL LIVE AT THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE
Friday, 10/13/06, 8:30pm
317 E. Houston St. at Attorney St., NYC
(F or V train to 2nd Ave., then walk east to Attorney St.)

9/05/06

Now available for your listening enjoyment at myspace.com/afroskull - "Band Soup", the creepy prog-funk masterpiece composed by Bill Richards back in our New Orleans days. This was a studio demo we did one weekend in 2004. Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

We'll be bringing the wrecking crew back to the Parkside Lounge on September 15th, a Friday night as usual. And, as you may have heard, the production of our next CD is in progess. Help make the process go by faster by coming out to the show! We'll see you this Friday...

AFROSKULL live at the Parkside Lounge
Friday, September 15th, 2006 - 8pm
317 E. Houston St.
NYC

www.parksidelounge.com

7/24/06

The recording of the next Afroskull CD is finally underway. After a brief six-year delay, we have been hunkered down in the studio this month, laying down the foundation of our next serving of monster funk. Come celebrate this long-awaited development with us on Friday, July 28th, on our home turf: the fabulous Parkside Lounge.

AFROSKULL live at the Parkside Lounge
Friday, July 28, 2006 - 8pm
317 E. Houston St.
NYC

www.parksidelounge.com

6/8/06

Coming this Friday - it's the sequel to the all-time classic funk duel -
AFROSKULL VS. THE WILD KOBA II

The ultimate groove-rock ensemble, Afroskull, will gather together once more to do battle with the diabolical multi-instrumentalist prog-rock fiend, Dr. David Kobayashi, better known as THE WILD KOBA.  Our last meeting produced a no-holds-barred evening of scorched earth funk.  This time we are upping the ante with the WORLD PREMIERE of Bill Richards' tour de force composition "Band Soup," a lost classic from the Afroskull New Orleans era.  The indestructable funky force meets the immovable rockin' object:  Afroskull vs. the Wild Koba!

AFROSKULL VS. THE WILD KOBA II
Friday, June 9, 2006 - 8pm
@ the Parkside Lounge
317 E. Houston St. (corner of Attorney St.) New York City

5/31/06

Join us this Friday night at 1am for our first performance at Galapagos in Williamsburg. We'll be appearing with a couple of other great bands in the back room including The Thing In Itself .

AFROSKULL LIVE AT GALAPAGOS

FRIDAY, 6/2/06, 1AM

70 North 6th Street
between Kent and Wythe
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211

4/18/06

Need your monthly dosage of outrageously over-the-top headbangingbootyshakingfunkrock music? Join Afroskull on this Saturday, 4/22. That's our first gig at the Knitting Factory (in the Old Office space) and the night is part of the huge lineup for the Green Apple Music Festival. We will be pulling out all the stops, as usual. Please come out and help us make a good impression at our Knitting Factory debut!

Saturday 4/22/06
AFROSKULL live @ the Knitting Factory - Old Office
w/ Nomad, Mohawk Lightning, Urban Sun, Ten Mile Tide, Lack of Knowledge
Show starts at 8pm, our set is at 9pm

For more details and tickets, click here: http://www.knittingfactory.com/calendar.php?date=2006-04-22

3/30/06

We're back for our monthly stand at the Parkside Lounge! Join us for one giant set of super-heavy and progressive funk grooves, complete with 3-piece horn section and percussion wild-man Seth Moutal.

AFROSKULL - LIVE AT THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE
Friday, 3/31/06 - 8pm
317 E. Houston St.
New York City

2/23/06

It's Carnival Time, y'all. Afroskull returns to the Parkside Lounge tomorrow night, and we are primed to give you a Mardi Gras celebration that you won't soon forget. We'll rock out on some Meters covers and the usual dose of super funk/rock madness. Our three-piece horn section and percussionist Seth Moutal will be in the house as well.

AFROSKULL - LIVE AT THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE
Friday, 2/24/06 - 8pm
317 E. Houston St.
New York City

Joe and Jason (and half of our expected audience) are flying down to New Orleans the next day so you know the energy will be crazy for this show.

TO OUR FRIENDS IN NEW ORLEANS: Look for us at the Maple Leaf this Sunday night! We'll be checking out our old pals 'I Tell You What' along with Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, and maybe even sitting in for a song or two. Also, listen for Jason on WWOZ this weekend - it looks like he'll be spinning some old blues and funk records in the wee hours (exact times to be determined).

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
-Afroskull

1/17/06

Join us this Saturday as AFROSKULL makes a long-awaited return to Brooklyn. We'll be playing for the first time at BPM in Williamsburg. We're doing the late set following a couple of other hard-rockin' groups:

10:30....Kevin Shea
11:30....Transmission
12:30am....Afroskull

The lineup will again feature our three piece horn section and percussionist Seth Moutal.

BPM is at 237 Kent Ave., between Grand St. and N1St. in Brooklyn.....Train to the Bedford Ave. L stop, walk down to N1 St., take a right and keep going, don't get worried, you're entering the abyss, find Kent, hang a left to find #237 and enjoy.

1/11/06

FRIDAY THE 13TH & MORE: And back to the Parkside Lounge we go for another Friday night blowout. Come on down to get down with some spooky monster funk on Friday the 13th, with your favorite 8-piece funk orchestra (and yes, all eight will be there this week).

AFROSKULL
LIVE AT THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE
317 E. Houston St., NYC
FRIDAY 1/13/06 8pm

And then join us for the rarest of the rare: a second Afroskull gig within one calendar month! And not only that, but it'll be a Saturday night set for the late-night crowd -- and in Brooklyn no less! We'll be at BPM on Jan. 21, playing round about midnight following two other groups. And once again, we'll have all hands on deck - the full three piece horn section and percussionist Seth Moutal.

AFROSKULL (12AM)
LIVE AT BPM
237 Kent St. (at Grand St. in Williamsburg)
SATURDAY, 1/21/06

12/3/05

GIG ALERT: Afroskull goes live at the Parkside Lounge in New York City on Friday, December 9th, complete with bombastic horn section. We're cooking up a couple of new surprises for your listening pleasure.

AFROSKULL @ THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE, NYC
Friday, December 9th, 8pm
317 E. Houston St. (corner of Attorney St.)

AFROSKULL ROCKS THE ARCHIVE: (Afroskull's February Parkside Lounge Show named a staff pick): Some of you may be aware of a fabulous website called the Internet Archive, which contains among other things a tremendous stash of free live concert recordings. We put two shows up there a while back, and they've gotten some great reviews from users, and last week one of our shows was listed as the #2 pick by the Archive's staff! Rock! If you haven't checked it out yet, head over to http://www.archive.org/audio , search for Afroskull and download or stream one of our shows.

Our 2/4/2005 show has been downloaded 3311 times as of December! click here to check it out

JAMMED ONLINE INTERVIEW: The Skull is featured at the top of the webzine JammedOnline.com. Afroskull's intrepid composer and guitarist Joe Scatassa issues an earth-shaking declaration of Afroskull's plans for world domination / interview. Or something like that. Check it out at www.jammedonline.com/afroskull

TIS THE SEASON: Yup, it's time for shopping. With the holidays right around the corner, please let us suggest that you pick up some of our wonderful Afroskull merchandise for your loved ones. Head to the Afroskull.com merch store to peruse our inventory. There's the radioactive funk of our studio debut, Monster for the Masses, and the one and only live extravaganza, Afroskull Does Black Sabbath. And you know grandma will just love her Afroskull Flying Fists of Funk t-shirt.

10/17/05

Thanks to everyone who joined us at the Parkside Lounge last week.  We raised about $200 for the Red Cross - a veritable drop in the bucket, but still, every little bit helps.  

Please join us on 10/21 as we headline Rocking Liberally at the Tank in NYC ( 208 West 37th Street ).  The event is sort of an offshoot of "Drinking Liberally," which is a monthly bar party for those durned liberul elitists.  All proceeds are going towards the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, a great organization that helps out New Orleans musicians even in the best of times (including a few past and present Afroskull members).  They are continuing to do great work in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The night will begin around 8pm with Laughing Liberally (stand-up comedy), followed by Mike Blaxill of Gladshot at 9:30 and your favorite funk/rock orchestra, Afroskull at 11pm.  The event's sponsors include Drinking Liberally, Music for America, Democracy for NYC, Cosmopolity, Citizen Action NY, New Democratic Majority, ACT NY, Billionaires for Bush, and Greene Dragon. 

So it's gonna be a funky good time, y'all.  But if you can't make it and would still like to donate to the NOMC, here's some info:

Send donations to:
  NOMC Emergency Fund
  funds will be distributed by:
  SW LA Area Health Education Center Foundation, Inc.
  103 Independence Blvd.
  Lafayette, LA 70506
  desk: 337-989-0001
  fax: 337-989-1401
  email: finance@swlahec.com
http://www.swlahec.com

The New Orleans Musicians Clinic is determined to keep Louisiana Music Alive!  We want to relocate our New Orleans musicians into the Lafayette/ Acadiana community where they can remain a life force! But most of them have lost everything... we must help them rebuild their lives.  They can't access any of their NOMC accounts. They desperately need money to fund these efforts.

Again, thanks.  We'll see you at the Tank on 10/21. 

peace,

-Afroskull

9/28/05

This Friday we're back at the Parkside Lounge for a very special show. This will be a fundraiser for the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, and we might even bring a couple of old friends from New Orleans along for the ride. So come on down to the Parkside and help out New Orleans, with some real New Orleans funk (by way of NYC, of course) with your old friends, AFROSKULL.

Afroskull @ Parkside Lounge
Friday, 9/30, 8pm
317 E. Houston St. (corner of Attorney St.)

p.s. we'll be doing another fundraiser next month for the New Orleans Musicians Clinic - stay tuned for more details

9/1/05

7/11/05

6/1/05

5/4/05

A DOUBLE GIG ALERT:
Get psyched people - this weekend brings you two chances to get down with Afroskull.

Friday, May 6th, 8pm: The Parkside Lounge, 317 E. Houston St., NYC
First off, we're getting back into the groove for the first Friday of the month at the Parkside Lounge, located at the corner of E. Houston and Attorney Street on the Lower East Side.

Saturday, May 7th 9:30pm: Mexicali Blues, 1409 Queen Anne Rd, Teaneck, NJ
On Saturday, we take the Afroskull Taco Loco 2005 tour to Mexicali Blues in Teaneck, NJ, where we'll be opening for the Grateful Dead tribute band Wigjam (featuring Afroskull's Matt Iselin on keyboards). Mexicali Blues accepts dinner reservations if you wish to have a giant taco feast before our show. ¡ Llame para reservaciones de cena ! 201-833-0011

IN THE STUDIO:
What's this? That's right, we're finally heading into the studio at the end of the month to start our next recording project! Stay tuned for details.

AFROSKULL IN THE ARCHIVE:
Check out two of our recent Parkside Lounge shows at Archive.org! These shows have been getting great reviews from Archive users. Just point your browser to www.archive.org and search for Afroskull, then download till you can't take anymore.

3/29/05

The first of the month is just about here, and that means Afroskull is taking it to the stage on Friday night.

PLEASE NOTE: We'll be at the "Ace of Clubs" this month and NOT at the Parkside Lounge, which is our usual first of the month gig. The Parkside Lounge shows will resume next month.

The Ace of Clubs is located downstairs from the Acme restaurant at 9 Great Jones St. between Broadway and Lafayette. Our show starts at 9PM.

We'll have the full horn section in tow, plus a special surprise for April Fool's Day. Please join us for a solid set of super-heavy funk and twisted jazz/rock - just the way you like it.

Friday, April 1st - 9:00
Afroskull live at Ace of Clubs
9 Great Jones Street
between Broadway and Lafayette
www.aceofclubsnyc.com

AFROSKULL @ ACE OF CLUBS
THIS SATURDAY - MARCH 12TH @ 9:00PM
9 Great Jones Street
New York NY 10012
www.aceofclubsnyc.com

3/2/05

Another month draws to a close, and that means Afroskull is back at the Parkside Lounge on Friday night. The Parkside shows have been bangin' lately, and we're going to do our part to keep it going, and we'll have the full horn section along for the ride. Go down a little early for the Parkside's happy hour and then take in a set of super-charged Afroskull grooves.

AFROSKULL AT THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE
Friday, 3/4/05 - 8pm
317 E. Houston St. (corner of Attorney St.) - NYC
www.parksidelounge.com

2/17/05

Afroskull takes it to "the better borough" this weekend as we descend on Freddy's Bar in Park Slope on Friday, 2/18 at 10:30pm.

Freddy's is the coolest bar in Brooklyn and there's never a cover so come down and get down with AFROSKULL!

And don't forget to pick up your copy of Afroskull Does Black Sabbath at the show, or from the merch page.

AFROSKULL live at Freddy's
Friday, 2/18 - 10:30pm
corner of Dean St. and 6th Ave. in Brooklyn
http://www.freddysbackroom.com/

2/3/05

Your favorite funk/rock orchestra is back with two gigs this weekend.
The three-piece horn section will be in full effect as we return to the Parkside for our monthly gig, as well as our first sojourn into Rockland County:

Friday 2/4 - Parkside Lounge, E. Houston and Attorney St., NYC - 8pm - $5 Our last show at the Parkside was one of our best ever - and we were just getting warmed up! Check out the Parkside's happy hour till 8pm.

Saturday 2/5 - Casa Del Sol, 104 Main St., Nyack, NY - 10pm We're getting back to our New Orleans roots for a Mardi Gras party at Casa Del Sol. We'll be throwing in some special N'Awlins covers to celebrate the occasion. This is also the band's first gig in Rockland County, where the very earliest proto-Skull was spawned ...
Rocklanders, this is the show you've been waiting for!

And don't forget, our new CD, AFROSKULL DOES BLACK SABBATH, is available at the shows, and online in the Merch page.

PARKSIDE LOUNGE SHOWS RESUME

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the Parkside last weekend. It was one of the most fun shows we've done in a long time. We'll be back at the Parkside on the first Friday of every month, including February 4th at 8pm. And for everyone who has been asking us to play in Brooklyn again, we'll be back at Freddy's Bar and Backroom in Park Slope on Friday, February 18th.

New MP3's of the 1/7/05 Parkside show are now up on our Sounds page!
http://www.afroskull.com/sounds.htm

MONSTER FOR THE MASSES STILL GETTING PROPS

Our debut CD was #16 on Soul-Patrol.com's list of the top 25 CDs of 2004! We were also
#6 on the list of the ten best funk CDs of the year. We didn't have the heart to tell them it was released in 2000. Thank you Soul-Patrol.com!
http://www.soul-patrol.com/newsletter/2004/news21/best04.html

P.S. Buddy D - a New Orleans original - rest in peace

AFROSKULL
live at the Parkside Lounge
317 E. Houston St., NYC
Friday, 1/7/05 8pm

10/29/04

HALLOWEEN GIG ALERT

It's gonna be one whale of an Afroskull show on Sunday, October 31st. We will be joining our good friends WOUNDED BUFFALO THEORY at the Baggot Inn in the West Village. The Skull opens up at around 8:00, and the Buffalo brings out their own brand of "apocolypse rock" shortly thereafter. This is a special show for several reasons: Special guest keyboardist Scott Chasolen from Ulu! Also, Chester White of Chester White and his Orchestra will lend his vocal chords to some special Halloween covers. Oh, and let's not forget to mention that the HORNS are back!

Expect many jams, lots of alcohol, some very special songs, and many freaks from the nearby Halloween parade.
The cover is $5, making it the best deal in town, without a doubt.

The Baggot Inn is at 82 W. 3rd Street between Thompson and Sullivan.


OTHER AFROSKULL NEWS

-Our officially liscenced bootleg: AFROSKULL DOES BLACK SABBATH (with horns) live @ The Mermaid Lounge, will be available for purchase from our website very soon - so stay tuned.

-Afroskull has been selected for the Disc Makers' Independent Music World Series "Heavy Hitters" CD ROM Compilation. We made the cut as one of the top 16 out of more than 1,000 bands! It won't be commercially available, but ya gotta admit that this is pretty cool.

-The Afroskull FLYING FISTS OF FUNK t-shirts are now available from our Merch page. They look pretty slick, so please surf on in and pick one up.

The show begins at 9pm on Thursday night at the Backroom - 485 Dean St. (corner of Dean and 6th Avenue) in Park Slope, Brooklyn. If you need directions check out Freddysbackroom.com. There's no cover at the Backroom but we will be asking for a suggested donation of $10 for the scholarship fund. The scholarship is awarded yearly to a student at Paul's alma mater, Binghamton University.

If you want to know more about Paul, there is a great tribute page at www.pauljbattaglia.com. Please come down and join us as we harness the funk to pay tribute to one of the good guys. If you would like to contribute to the scholarship fund but can't make it to the show, mail your check to:

Binghamton University Foundation
PO Box 6005
Binghamton, NY 13902-6005
Attn: Account # 1064950

Please make sure that any contributions made in Paul's memory are acknowledged as such, so that they are directly deposited to the account set up in his memory.

As of this writing New York is swarming with Republicans and protestors. But on Friday we get our city back - so join AFROSKULL at the Parkside Lounge to celebrate! We're back in our monthly spot at the Parkside this Friday, 9/3. Show starts at 8pm; cover is $5. The Parkside Lounge is on the corner of E. Houston and Attorney on the Lower East Side.

Also, please join us next week at the Backroom in Park Slope, Brooklyn, for the second annual concert for the Paul Battaglia Memorial Scholarship Fund. It'll be next Thursday, 9/9. We'll send out another update next week with more details.

T-SHIRTS!!! GET YOUR AFROSKULL T-SHIRTS!!!
The brand new Afroskull "Flying Fists of Funk" t-shirts are now available on the Merch page. They're available in cactus green or heather grey for the ladies. Go get yours now and let the funk fly!

SUNDAY: AFROSKULL AT THE UNITY BALL
With the Republicans coming to town, venues all over New York are getting ready to pump up the volume with musical protests, and we're doing our part to rock the RNC! We'll be appearing at the UNITY BALL, a fundraiser for StillWeRise.org . It's happening at Downtime, 251 W. 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Ave). The event starts at 8pm; our set is at 9pm. The lineup of bands also includes The Song Corporation, Spielerfrau, and Kervin, plus spoken word, DJs, dozens of speakers including FUREE, ACTUpNYC, Billionaires for Bush and more. We are not quite sure what to expect from this gig - it's very close to Madison Square Garden, and there will almost certainly be protests all over the city throughout the day. So this could be a wild one.

Coming up soon:

Friday 9/3 - Parkside Lounge, NYC

Thursday 9/9 - The Backroom, Brooklyn (fundraiser for the Paul
Battaglia Memorial Scholarship Fund)

Friday 9/24 - Cafe 111, Brooklyn

And don't forget, the new Afroskull "Flying Fists of Funk" t-shirts and the official AFROSKULL DOES BLACK SABBATH bootleg are now available at all Afroskull shows. They'll be available from the website very soon, we promise!

8/12/04

GIG ALERT: LION'S DEN, FRIDAY 8/13
Afroskull is back in New York City and we are poised to rock the Lion's Den (214 Sullivan St. btwn. Bleeker & w.3rd)! We'll be there Friday night with two other excellent bands. Two bands preceding us at 8:30 pm will be Wounded Buffalo Theory (featuring Silent Jay from the Randi Rhodes Show on drums). Afroskull hits at 10:30 pm, followed by John Ginty (keyboardist from Robert Randolph and the Family Band) takes the stage (or whatever is left of it) at midnight. Oh and by the way, we're bringing a new horn section with us.

THANK YOU NEW ORLEANS!!!
To all who came out to see us last weekend at the Maple Leaf: thank you!!! It was one of the best shows we have ever played and hopefully we'll do it all over again pretty soon. Extra special thanks to bassist Bill Richards and the Horns of Doom for being such a bunch of bad mofos!

NEW OFFICIAL AFROSKULL BOOTLEG AND T-SHIRTS!
Yes, it's a new merch bonanza in Afroskullville these days. First of all, we have finally mixed and mastered the live recording of our tribute to Black Sabbath! AFROSKULL DOES BLACK SABBATH - LIVE AT THE MERMAID LOUNGE will be available only at shows for now, but trust us, it's worth coming down to one of the shows to pick one up. For now, they're only $5. Also, we've got some cool new T-shirts for you, with the "Flying Fists of Funk" logo. Again, only available at the shows for now. The CD and t-shirts will
be available through Afroskull.com very soon.

UPCOMING GIGS:
Saturday 8/28: Tazza Cafe, Providence RI (spread the word!)
Sunday 8/29: The Unity Ball - a Bands Against Bush event in NYC
Friday 9/3: The Parkside Lounge, NYC

Afroskull's first New Orleans gig in two years is this Saturday! BE THERE for multiple sets of Monster Funk Madness! The Horns of Doom - Nick "Johnny Fashion" Volz, Steve Miller da Killer and Jason "Blaster of Disaster" Yasinsky - return to the fold! "I Tell You What" opens the show at 10pm, followed by two giant sets of funk-induced carnage. We're hoping some old friends and special guests show up too. Plus it'll be the unofficial CD release party for the official Afroskull live bootleg, "AFROSKULL DOES BLACK SABBATH." Can it get any crazier? Will the whole band make it to New Orleans without the van breaking down? SHOW UP AND FIND OUT!

AFROSKULL AT THE MAPLE LEAF BAR
NEW ORLEANS, LA
SATURDAY 8/7/04

Friday 7/2: Parkside Lounge, 317 E. Houston St., 8pm
Saturday 7/3: Freddy's Bar and Backroom, corner of Dean St. and 6th Ave. in Brooklyn, 11pm.

RETURN OF THE SON OF AFROSKULL - IN NEW ORLEANS!
Afroskull returns to New Orleans on Saturday, August 7th, for two long and rockin' sets at the Maple Leaf. Former bassist and lead vocalist Bill Richards will be joining us, as well as two of our favorite horn players, Johnny Fashion (aka Nick Voltz from Johnny Sketch and the DirtyNotes) and Steve Miller Da Killer. We'll be laying some new songs on the New Orleans crowd for the first time, and some old and seldom heard favorites will be making a comeback. It's going to be a great night at the Maple Leaf.

AFROSKULL NOW THE OFFICIAL BAND OF THE RANDI RHODES SHOW
You might recall us mentioning that Air America's excellent radio goddess, Randi Rhodes, discovered Afroskull last month and was using our music on her show. Well, Randi proved that she is indeed a woman of the people by catching Afroskull live at the Parkside Lounge last month, and shortly thereafter we were named the OFFICIAL band of the Randi Rhodes Show. In a related development, the Randi Rhodes Show is now the official talk show of Afroskull! Check out some photos of the last Parkside gig on Randi's webpage, www.therandirhodesshow.com.

AFROSKULL FEATURED ON THE RHAPSODY MUSIC SERVICE
For a day or two last week, our CD "Monster for the Masses" was featured right at the top of the home page of Rhapsody. Rhapsody is a subscription music service run by RealNetworks. Subscribers can stream high-quality audio of just about any album out there. And last week, those subscribers were checking out Afroskull. Somebody at Rhapsody also wrote a great mini-review of the CD: "Monster For The Masses sounds like the urban spiritual ancestor to Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein." At first, Afroskull's Godzilla - inspired funk monster spreads terrorific carnage in the city, but soon the crowds are cheering on its destructive exploits. Listen to funk that searches out and destroys." Awesome!

AFROSKULL AT THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE - 6/4/04 - 8pm
That's this Friday night, folks! Come on down to the Parkside at the corner of Houston and Attorney in NYC and move to the groove. We're here the first Friday of every month, and every month gets a little better. The cover is only $5, and it's going to a good cause - the Afroskull RV Repair Fund - paying off unnecessary debts since 2001. :-)

AFROSKULL FEATURED ON THE RANDI RHODES SHOW
Randi Rhodes, the goddess of talk radio, is the afternoon drive host on the new Air America Radio network (www.airamericaradio.com), which just happens to be where Afroskull's drummer works. One thing led to another, and before we knew it Randi was gushing praise for Afroskull on the air while featuring "Kill Whitey" from our CD Monster for the Masses. For those who haven't heard, Air America is a new progressive talk radio network heard on eleven radio stations (including 1190AM in New York), XM and Sirius satellite radio, and is the number one provider of talk radio content on the internet.

In the hour after Randi mentioned us we got a big spike in website visits! Thanks Randi! Check out our Sounds page to hear a clip of what happened.

MONSTER FOR THE MASSES NOW AVAILABLE ON I-TUNES
Unfortunately you can't download individual tracks. But you can get MONSTER FOR THE MASSES in its entirety at Apple's I-Tunes music store, thanks to CD Baby.

NEW ORLEANS - BRACE YOURSELVES.
Afroskull returns to New Orleans - Saturday, August 7the at the Maple Leaf.
More details to come next month. Awww, yeah.

www.siberiany.com

The Parkside Lounge - 5/7/04 - 8pm
317 E. Houston St. (corner of Houston and Attorney)
New York City

www.parksidelounge.com

Don't forget that the 'Skull will shake the Lion's Den tonight at 11:30 pm.

It's an 18-and-up show. Also appearing:
The Pins - 10:30PM,
Hi8us - 9:30PM,
Ryan Montbleau - 8:30PM,
Jetlag - 7:30PM.

This is our first headlining set at the Lion's Den so please come on down and support the funk.

The Pourhouse - 790 Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn - Friday 3/19 Afroskull returns to Brooklyn for another night of slammin' funk/rock at one of Williamsburg's finest venues. Come on down, shoot some pool, play some video games and ROCK OUT with Afroskull.

NEW ORLEANS: COULD IT BE THE RETURN OF THE SON OF AFROSKULL?
Our fans in New Orleans have been asking us for months, "When are y'all coming back home to play in New Orleans?" Well, we're not going to confirm or deny anything at this point, but let's just say that rumors about a gig in New Orleans this summer are starting to circulate. Stay tuned to Afroskull.com for the latest.

In the mean time, for you New Orleans folk who need a taste of 'Skull in your life, check out Funky Dollar Bill's latest project. It's former 'Skull bassist, Bill Richards playing with:

I Tell You What at Le Bon Temps on Friday, March 19.

I Tell You What is a blues and soul project with a raucous attitude. You never know what you might hear because they never know what they might play.

The band is:
Adam Crochet - Guitar/Vocals/irregular body jerks,
Bill Richards - Bass/Vocals/ear-piercing electrical problems,
Quin Kirchner - Drums/Insanity/reckless backwards driving.
Possible mystery keyboard player - Hey, you never know. They've shown up before.

NEW REVIEW OF MONSTER FOR THE MASSES:
Our CD continues to impress. This latest review comes to us from the folks at Soul-Patrol.com, a website, internet radio station and newsletter devoted to old-school funk and soul music:

* Afroskull - 'Monster For The Masses
(Supa Dupa Monster Jazz/Funk/Rock/Soul)

Well, I am listening to it as we speak, and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is the very best album I have heard so far in 2004.

Impossible to place into a category, for Soul-Patrollers the reference point would be Victor Wooten - 'Live In America'. For the rest of you it's kinda like Passport, Weather Report, Band Of Gypsy's, P-Funk and the Meters all rolled into one. I predict that this CD will have trouble getting commercial airplay because of it's sheer diversity and high quality. It simply won't fit into ANY commercial radio format, that I am aware of. However I can also safely predict that we will PLAY THE HELL out of it on Soul-Patrol.Net Radio, because of it's sheer diversity and quality :) I know that Victor Wooten will be releasing a new CD soon and of course Prince has his new one on the way as well. All I can say is that they had betta BOTH come with some buttFUNK kickin stuff to beat this one! :)

AFROSKULL IN THE NEW YORK POST?!?!?
Too bad it wasn't about our music. Afroskull keyboard player Matt Iselin was quoted in a New York Post story about the Chapelle Show this week. Read it here: http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/20348.htm

AFROSKULL VS. THE WILD KOBA
Friday, March 5th – 8pm – The Parkside Lounge
(corner of E. Houston and Attorney)

Two primal forces of nature collide at the Parkside Lounge!!! Afroskull’s keyboardist Matt Iselin will be out of town for our return to the Parkside Lounge, so we have decided to overcompensate for that loss with a dose of classic over-the-top Afroskull excess. David Kobayashi (a.k.a. the Wild Koba), best known for his work with The Corporation and the St. Francis Prep Freshman Concert Band, will be joining us for a musical DUEL TO THE DEATH.

Our usual set of musical acrobatics will be augmented with some special cover tunes and a one-time only appearance by the new HORNS FROM HELL as we find out what the Wild Koba is made of. COULD THIS BE THE END FOR WILD KOBA? OR HAS AFROSKULL MET ITS MATCH? Find out at the Parkside Lounge.

AFROSKULL HEADLINES THE LION’S DEN
Friday, March 12th – 11:30pm – The Lion’s Den
(214 E. Sullivan St.)

The ultimate funk/rock orchestra takes it to the stage at the Lion’s Den!
Afroskull will be back at full strength for our first headlining set at the Lion’s Den. Join us for an extended set of funk/rock sludge starting at 11:30pm. This is an 18-and-up show so bring your little sister too. ;-)

And coming soon:
3/19 – The Pourhouse (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
4/2 – The Parkside Lounge

Mark your Calendars!

Thursday 2/5 - The Lion's Den - 214 Sullivan St. - NYC - 9pm

This is our first gig in about two months, and our first gig in two years without horns. Expect a stripped-down heavy sound as Afroskull is transformed into a lean, mean funk-rock machine! Also note that this is our first gig at the Lion's Den. We want to get everybody out to this one so we can show them that we mean business.

Wednesday 2/18 - Hogs N' Heffers - 1st Ave. and 96th St. - NYC - 10:00pm
Join Afroskull as we bring the noise to the upper east side for the first time.

Saturday 2/21 - The Red Zone - 79-56 Metropolitan Ave - Queens - 11:15pm
Afroskull's first gig ever in Queens, a borough that can always use some more funk...

Also, we'll be returning to our monthly Parkside Lounge shows in March. Stay tuned for more details.

NYC STREET TEAM
As usual, Uncle Afroskull wants you! We are still collecting emails for our NYC street team. We need some more folks who are willing to hand out and / or drop off fliers at certain select shows and venues in Manhattan. Naturally, we can hook you up with all sorts of Afroskull goodies in return. If you're interested, contact streetteam@afroskull.com . Thanks to those who have already responded, we will be contactng you soon!

JOIN THE AFROSKULL STREET TEAM
That's right, Uncle Afroskull wants you! We are now looking for a few good people to help us out with publicity for our shows starting with the New York City area. Basically, we need some folks who are willing to hang up posters (where legal...) and pass out fliers at certain select shows in Manhattan. Naturally, we can hook you up with all sorts of Afroskull goodies in return. If you're interested, contact streetteam@afroskull.com.

MEANWHILE, DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS …
For the New Orleans folks on this list, former Afroskull bassist Funky Dollar Bill wants you to know that he has joined I TELL YOU WHAT. The band is a mix of hard rock, funk, blues, and country with a heavy dose of balls-to-the-wall improvisation. The band is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Adam Crochet (formerly of Jonas Risin) and backed up by drummer Quin Kirchner. You can check out I TELL YOU WHAT every WEDNESDAY at 10:30 at the Banks Street Bar and Grill (4401 Banks Street in New Orleans). There is NEVER A COVER and the drinks are cheap.

JOIN THE AFROSKULL STREET TEAM!
That's right, Uncle Afroskull wants you! We are now looking for a few good people to help us out with publicity for our shows starting with the New York City area. Basically, we need some folks who are willing to hang up posters (where legal...) and pass out fliers at certain select shows in Manhattan. Naturally, we can hook you up with all sorts of Afroskull goodies in return. If you're interested, contact streetteam@afroskull.com

"THE CURSE" NEARS COMPLETION (SORT OF)
Well, it was completed. As you may remember, we have been tracking a demo of our new song "The Curse" at NYU as part of a class project. As it turns out some rocket scientist got into the studio and used our master tape to align the tape heads on another machine (or something to that effect)!! Unfortunately, this left numerous gaping holes in our recording and basically put twelve hours of session work in the crapper.

'Cursed' or not, we are still going to mix and patch up whatever is left of the recording. We'll post it to the website as soon as we get it -- although I would suggest listening at your own risk...

In the meantime, if you're itching for some new Afroskull music please check out the new live mp3 of "Zero Hour" on our SOUNDS page and let us know what you think.

JASON AND SETH IN DRUM MAGAZINE
Everyone knows Afroskull’s drummers make a lot of noise, but now they’re making noise among other drummers. Afroskull’s drummer Jason Isaac and percussionist Seth Moutaland their four sentences of collected drum wisdom are featured in the latest issue of DRUM Magazine! It’s DRUM’s special jamband issue with profiles of about 90 different drummers, including Seth and Jason.

MONSTER FOR THE MASSES DOES IT AGAIN
Three years after its release, our CD “Monster for the Masses” is still getting great reviews – the latest comes from the progressive rock site Sea of Tranquility (www.SeaOfTranquility.org). On a related note, we are finally going back into the studio. We’ll be the band for an NYU studio recording class this semester. We’re going to lay down our new favorite song, “The Curse.” It might magically appear on Afroskull.com in the near future – we’ll keep you posted.