It has been forty years since this adventure has begun. I was six years old when I received my first instrument for Christmas. My great grandmother bought me a Sear's Harmony guitar and a harmonica. I really wanted a drum set, but the adults were against me banging on stuff I guess. I played that guitar for seven years before I got to upgrade to a better guitar. For my 14th birthday, my mother invested in a new guitar for me and an amp. From there I started forming bands and playing out. At sixteen, I joined the Army so I could afford to buy some gear. I came back from reserves in the summer and bought my first keyboard from what I had saved in boot camp. After graduation, I moved to Austin Texas from Chicago in 1993 and started my first studio build. It was in a tiny house on the south side of Austin Tx, in a lazy little one bed room house on the side south Congress ave that Alamos Bassment began.
The idea was to have a place for local hip hop to live, thrive, and become embedded in local culture. I created a place for my friends and local artists to come and record and chill out. The OG Alamos Bassment was armed with a Tascam 688 cassette multi track , a pair of Technique 1200's, an Ensonique eps sampler, a cheap ass microphone and a few hundred records that I acquired for hella cheap from local book stores and dollar binds.
In that one bedroom home some serious hip hop was recorded!!
In 1999, I decided to move to Alaska and start over. Third Coast Records became Last Coast Records. Alamos Bassment was still my production idea. I began recruiting local artists and djing as soon as I hit the ground! I began Dirty Mics freestyle events at a local hemp friendly coffeehouse. Dirty Mics introduced me to my Alaska Crew! For five years we forged underground hip hop in Alaska. From weekly Dirty Mic Freestyle Battles, to performing at local venues and producing some killer music. In 2004 we all began to go separate ways. Everyone seemed to move about the same time. Some went to Portland, some went to LA, Vegas, New York. Today we are still doing big things independently. Wish those guys the best of luck. Talented dudes they are.
So the new chapter!!
In 2004, I left Alaska…I was accepted into a recording and engineering school that I wanted to attend in Arizona. So I packed my turntables, sampler and 1200's and I left The Last Coast. Before I got accepted into school I had met this girl, we were hanging kinda hard. She was finishing Law school in Moscow Idaho so, I thought I would hang out there for a bit. My time is Moscow was short! While there I got to work on some beats, I dj'd at the collage radio station and at a volunteer station for bit. Needless to say wasn't much cracking in Moscow Idaho!
A few months after I found myself stuck in a terrible relationship in Moscow, I got a call from The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences. Lady said that I was accepted to attend and they had a open seat in the next session that started in a few weeks! Boom! Perfect reason to pack my stuff and hit the road!
I ventured down to Mesa Arizona to settle in and get ready for pursing my dreams as a real engineer! There I got to woodshed and work with gear that I could never afford! I got to meet a lot of like minded individuals and work on really creating my sound. After I graduated, I moved back to Chicago to intern and be around family.
Little did I notice that the whole damn industry had changed! People were making Grammy records from home, studios were closing, film was getting bigger, and hip hop was changing. The reality of being a freelance engineer/producer in Chicago was going to be a poor and brutal road. Freelance checks were taking weeks to months to clear, I was living way on the south side. Murder Capitol! Wonderful Gary Indiana, home of the Jackson 5. I began a second intern at a post production house and realized that I could do film and commercials from home with just a few more toys. My focus of working in the studio changed and I started to focus more on stocking weapons of mass destruction for my personal studio. In 2006 I had an offer to relocate to Augusta Georgia ,the home of the God Father of Soul! James Mother fin Brown! Lord knows.. There must be some good musicians down there I thought. So I packed up everything and hit the road again.
My intentions were to open a project studio once I arrived in Augusta. After a few weeks of scouting out the scene, checking out record stores, and looking for a space I came to the conclusion that there wasn't much of anything happening and , once again, I was going to have to create something. I found a local venue and started dj'ing again hoping to bring some people out of the wood works to work with. After months of poor turn outs, rude crowds, and weak performers I decided to just go back to the lab and focus on my music.
Since 2007, I have been holed up in the basement working. Over the last few years I have built my dream studio full of all my favorite stuff to work with. I have turned from strictly sampling to a more creative approach. I produce organically now, still focus on my drums to get that classic boom bap sound, I play all the instruments, bass, guitar, and keys. I feel that the music that is being created has its own vibe, is kind of genre-less, multi dimensional, and full of positive vibes.
Well there has been alot going on since I posted this page. In late 2023, we got hit with a crazy hurricane that rocked Georgia and North Carolina. The devastation of this hurricane turned out to be a huge blessing. I was able to to get some work done on the house and start to plan the next phase of life. Due to some family things going on, we decided to sell our home and return back to the region. The smoged out , industrial hell of the mid west. South Side Chicago. Where the dream to be a musician was first cultured. Where I received my first guitar on Christmas Eve at grandmas house. Where I started my first band. Where I attended hundreds of shows, passed mix tapes between friends, discovered something new to listen to everyday it seemed.
Those early years were the foundation of the style I create with now a days. Hardcore skate Punk, Hip Hop, Soul, Industrial, House, Blues. The region was the place where music touched my soul. So many songs were inspired from my time in the undertow. So many memories, lost friends, music. It is interesting to be back in the Region and see how much things have changed. It is like it finally grew up as well. Not too many of the old crew around anymore. Kind of silent around the new place. Getting used to working in an apartment takes some getting used to. Curious to see what kind of new sound, style emerges from this seclusion back to the mid west. I have been listening to a lot of old blues, tribal music, progressive metal and sound bath kind of yoga music.
So, sorry there hasn't been an update or new music lately. Lot's has been going on in the Bassment and I can't wait to start uploading the new stuff.
Thank you for taking time out to stop by, look, listen, and vibe.
Welcome to Alamos Bassment!
8 Foot 1"