509 NORTHWOOD RD. WPB FL. 33407HAROLD’S

“We are all different, and some of us are romantic and sweet, and some of us have a splash of naughty in us- I love to create it all.”

Nothing makes you feel more like a doll as sexy lingerie does. The allure of no one knowing about the seductive undergarment that hides secretly underneath your every day wear is certainly an empowering one. Erica’s La Mela Rosa wants to bring that sexy appeal into every girl’s boudoir.

I sat down with the New York native and long time Miami resident to chat about her inspirations, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the design process for her debut line of Gatsby garters and handmade creations. Step into Le Mela Rosa’s vintage Hollywood-inspired world of romantic lace and elegantly feminine works...

Dopedoll: La Mela Rosa, sounds flirty & sexy. Tell me about the name?

La Mela Rosa, that name came to me out of the blue, I thought of the most sweetest delicate thing that made me think of us women and I thought The Pink Apple!

How did you get started with sewing and fashion design? Fashion and me, we go way back, we have had a thing going on forever. Living in Cartagena, Colombia S.A. during the summers was what sparked my love for sewing. My grandmother used to sew beauties for clients and friends; wedding dresses, dresses for special occasions. I would sit next to her and watch her create these beautiful pieces. She would teach me as she went along, like a little sponge.

Check Out Tropicult.com for full interview & more Dopedoll exclusives! ~Vanessa Haim

La Mela Rosa

Ain’t Your Mama’s Typical Craft Show Crafting is an art form as old as the existence of man. But much like those wretched plastic sofa slip covers of the 40’s and 50’s, the crafts of your grandmother’s era have faded into the past and given way to a new generation of handcrafters that challenge the needlepoint still-life staples of the old days and present this age-old art form in a new and awe inspiring way. Stitch Rock, South Florida’s largest indie craft fair and bazaar, gives the next generation of crafters an outlet for their bold and innovative products in an atmosphere alluring to a public hungry for indie design. With over 80 vendors of handmade goods, ranging from D.I.Y. fashion and funky home décor to natural bath and body toiletries and hot rod paintings, Stitch Rock is an artistic spectacle to behold!

Celebrating its 7th consecutive showing, this year’s Stitch Rock event will be held in The Vintage Gymnasium at Old School Square Cultural Arts Center in Delray Beach, FL. Built in 1926 and restored to its original glorious state in the 1990’s, The Vintage Gymnasium represents the importance of honoring the old in a modern era, making it the perfect backdrop for an event that brings an old tradition and exposes it to new light.

This year’s Stitch Rock will include: free goody bags for the first 100 people, food, sweets and drinks, delightful door prizes and a fashion show displaying D.I.Y. fashions from several of the event’s local vendors. Artist and founder of Stitch Rock, Amanda Linton says this of her event: “It’s like a world where your Etsy favorites and your Pinterest boards collide, a.k.a. Handmade Heaven!” making reference to the highly regarded vintage and handmade goods web store, Etsy.com and the immensely popular virtual cork board website, Pinterest.com. Premiering the event in 2007, Linton describes the drive behind creating Stitch Rock ’07 as a need to provide a venue where people could purchase local artists’ quality handmade goods, all conveniently under one roof. Whether you are a crafts junkie, a supporter of your local art scene or simply would like to meet some awesomely creative people and see their equally awesome creative works of art, come on down to Stitch Rock ‘13. Your treasure is waiting for you! ~Danielle E. DiSpigna A full list of vendors, and links to their art, may be viewed at www.rockthestitch.com. Saturday, October 5, 2013, Noon-6pm, $5 (Children under 12 free with adult admission)

Handmade Heaven

Amanda Linton

Portland-based STRFKR began life as a flippant little side project never meant for the success it has ultimately attained, hence the original name: Starfucker. But then came that Target commercial. For a moment the mastermind behind the quartet and key songwriter Josh Hodges even considered renaming the band. A semi-serious name change, with a-- God-forgive them-- fan-input contest led to them to re-Christen themselves Pyramid, then Pyramiddd, after music history revealed too many damn bands with the single-d version of the name. The band soon gave up and stopped all the fuckery and returned to Starfucker,

offering an alternate spelling of STRFKR to calm down the easily offended.

The name thing was never some middle finger to success, fame and money. It was actually designed as a sort of security blanket for Hodges’ creativity. The non-commercial name allowed the musician formerly known as the even lesser-known artist Sexton Blake, to create music on its own terms. Little did he know that Starfucker’s music, a mix of space rock, disco and new wave, would come out so irresistibly catchy.

A song named after a goofy friend named “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second” was picked up by Target for a TV ad and a hit was born without commercial airplay. The band signed a contract with Polyvinyl Records, which released its second full-length album, Reptilians, in 2011. Earlier this year, the Champaign-Urbana area-based label released Starfucker’s follow-up, Miracle Mile. The label even re-issued a limited edition vinyl version of the once hard-to-find second Sexton Blake album, Plays the Hits!, a collection of re-envisioned ‘70s and ‘80s hits by Hodges, originally released by Expunged Records in 2007.

A special element of much of Starfucker’s music includes samples of speeches by British philosopher Alan Watts, who brought eastern philosophy to westerners on easier-to-understand terms. Hodges himself has a rather deep appreciation of the co-mingling of life and death in his lyrics, so Watts fit well with the music of Starfucker. After two full-lengths and an EP peppered with Watts’s voice, the samples were bound to disappear. Miracle Mile embraces the band’s tendency for dancier music and lighter mood across 15 tracks.

When the band appears in Miami at Grand Central on Sept. 24, with Chrome Sparks supporting, one should expect a lively set. Last year when Starfucker visited Miami at Bardot they wore dresses and dove onto people sitting in the couch in front of them. Tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/286851~Hans Morgenstern | Independent Ethos

They Wore Dresses

STRFKR, Photo: Rachel Hubbard

DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner FtlArt Show feat. Ryan Spinelli @ Funky Buddha LoungeThursday, September 12Raggy Monster @ Respectable Street Steely Dan @ Mizner Park AmpWin Win & DJ Contra @ Blackbird OrdinaryPet Shop Boys @ Fillmore Miami BeachSpred The Dub @ PropagandaNext 2 the Tracks @ Funky Buddha LoungeCraft Bazaar, Gold Beneath the Highway @ DadaFriday, September 13The Doerfuls @ Bamboo RoomBrass Knuckles @ Revolution LiveKetchy Shuby, Astari Nite, Goddamn Hustle @ The VagabondBrendan O’Hara @ Blackbird OrdinaryThe Politix, Shark Anthony, Karma @ Funky BuddhaCraig McInnis Art Show Closing Party @ CoastarsJosh Hayden, The Bastard Suns @ Swampgrass WillysSaturday, September 14False Flags, Sharlyn Evertsz @ Respectable Street Maroon 5 @ Cruzan AmpKASKADE @ AmericanAirlines Arena“The Sugar High Club” Art Show @ Ink & Pistons TattooGallery Walk @ Historic Northwood Village Arts DistrictEagle Chief, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner FtlRaggy Monster @ Kill Your IdolWaterseed @ Funky Buddha LoungeMarcus Hofstrand of SoFlo, Speaking Volumes @ Swampgrass WillysBlack Finger, Have Gun Will Travel @ Bamboo RoomSmells Like Grunge, Nirvana Tribute @ American Rock BarJason Cardinal @ DadaSunday, September 15Depeche Mode @ BB&T CenterJahfe, Lance-O & J5 @ JazidElectric Sundaze @ Monty’sOutdoor Movies: Brazil, Toddland @ DadaMonday, September 16Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ PropagandaRythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’sDaniel Dratch @ DadaTuesday, September 17Death in June @ Respectable Street Turnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ PropagandaOpen Mic @ DadaWednesday, September 18Brownbird Rudy Relic @ DadaDJ Sweetswirl @ Kill Your IdolThursday, September 19The Band in Heaven CD Release, Gallimimus @ Respectable Street Funky Nuggets & Thundercookie @ PropagandaKulcha Latino @ The GooseOpen Mic @ ActivistArtistA

Friday, September 20Vagabond Anniversary: Millionyoung, Lil Daggers, The Band in Heaven, Suede Dudes, Sweet Bronco, Wake Up, Ex Norwegian, Deaf Poets @ The VagabondDJ Needlez: Rock the Mic @ PropagandaThomas Wynn & The Believers @ Bamboo RoomUnited Way’s “Rock United” @ Revolution LiveBrendan O’Hara @ Blackbird OrdinaryMandy Moon, Mylo Ranger @ Funky Buddha LoungePretty Girls @ DadaSouthern Misconduct, 1 Hit Left @ Swampgrass Willys

Sunday, September 1SUMMER JAM: Tarrus Riley & Dean Fraser, Blak Soil, Etana, Rootz Underground, Moska Project, SowFlo & Resinated, Bahamas Junkanoo Revue, DJs: Proper Dosage with the Reazin Rude Boy Craig and Higrade @ Meyer Amphitheatre 90′s Homecoming @ Respectable Street Dubstep w. Jon J @ PropagandaJahfe, Lance-O & House Arrest @ JazidMegan & Liz, Kalin & Miles @ Culture RoomOutdoor Movies: Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins @ DadaElectric Sundaze @ Monty’sMonday, September 2Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ PropagandaRythmation & Lance-O @ JazidTuesday, September 3Wintersun, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Arsis, Starkill @ Revolution LiveTurnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ PropagandaPoetry Slam @ DadaDJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner FtlWednesday, September 4Trek6, Lance-O @ History MiamiDJ Sweetswirl @ Kill Your IdolThursday, September 5Darling Sweets @ Respectable Street One Drop Rebellion @ PropagandaFriday, September 6Rancid, Tim Timebomb & Friends, The Interrupters @ Revolution LiveBen Prestage @ Bamboo RoomZedd @ Fillmore Miami BeachLavola, Astrea Corporation, Jelly @ The VagabondFunx @ DadaBrendan O’Hara @ Blackbird OrdinaryStop the Presses, Pretty Girls @ Funky Buddha LoungeThe Glorious Death @ PropagandaJahmen, Natty Remo & Bobby Hustle @ GuanabanasJaime Craig, Levon, Fireside Prophets @ Swampgrass WillysSaturday, September 7Black Flag, Good For You @ Grand CentralIron Mike Norton, Demian Band @ Bamboo RoomHunters of the Alps, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner FtlThe Dad Horse @ PropagandaThe Heavy Pets @ Culture RoomThe Hard Richards @ DadaThe Sawgrass Kin, The Mobile Homies, The Helmsmen @ Swampgrass WillysPocket of Lollipops, Montage @ Kill Your IdolMixed Culture @ Funky Buddha LoungeYouth Rock! @ CoastarsSunday, September 8Goodie Mob, Drop City Yacht Club @ Grand CentralJahfe, Inna Sense, Bobby Hustle, Natty Remo, Lance-O & War Bear @ JazidNatty Remo, Jahmen & Red-I @ Jamaika Me CrazyOutdoor Movies: Shadow of the Vampire, American Werewolf in London @ DadaElectric Sundaze @ Monty’sMonday, September 9Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ PropagandaRythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’sAustin Miller @ DadaTuesday, September 10Pepper, Grieves, RDGLDGRN @ Revolution LiveTurnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ PropagandaOpen Mic @ Dada

Saturday, September 21Anthony Gomes @ Bamboo RoomCasey Hopkins Duo @ Kill Your IdolMylo Ranger @ DadaKids, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner FtlTwo Way Tie @ Swampgrass WillysSunday, September 22Bohemïa AG Grand Opening Reception & Exhibition @ Bohemïa AGGramatik, Herobust, Exmag @ Grand CentralInna Sense, Lance-O, Shyne J & Exit Sounds @ JazidOutdoor Movies: Being John Malkovich, Adaptation @ DadaMonday, September 23ZZ Ward, Wild Feathers, James Bay @ Revolution LiveKaraoke w. Chris Martin @ PropagandaRythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’sTuesday, September 24STRFKR, Chrome Sparks @ Grand Central‘KEVIN GOFF’: one man show @ Howley’sTurnup Tuesday DJ Showcase @ PropagandaOpen Mic @ DadaWednesday, September 25Ra Ra Riot, Royal Bangs @ Grand CentralThursday, September 26Future Prez @ PropagandaArt Walk @ Boynton Beach Art DistrictLes Racquet @ Funky Buddha LoungeDada Drinking Spelling Bee @ DadaFriday, September 27The Georgia Satellites @ Bamboo RoomThe Pretty Reckless @ Revolution LiveNorthwood Village Art & Wine Promenade @ NW RoadDanka & The Rude Hecklers @ PropagandaCowboy Mouth @ Culture RoomSunbears! @ The VagabondFelicia Rose, Monty Warren, 3 Second Warning @ Swampgrass WillysBrendan O’Hara @ Blackbird OrdinarySouth Side Dub, Bungled & Botched @ Funky BuddhaSaturday, September 28Whole Wheat Bread, Project X @ Respectable Street The Weeknd @ James L Knight CenterGad Elmaleh @ Fillmore Miami BeachEverymen @ PropagandaAncient Sun @ Funky Buddha LoungeLocal Contraband, The Bad Notes, Sara Scully, Smells Like Grunge @ Swampgrass WillysUnity Rise @ Kill Your IdolRiot Act, DJ Mig, DJ Sweetswirl @ Dubliner FtlSunday, September 29Jahfe, Lance-O & DJ Miestro @ JazidOutdoor Movies: American Beauty, Road to Perdition @ DadaElectric Sundaze @ Monty’sMonday, September 30Karaoke w. Chris Martin @ PropagandaRythmation & Lance-O @ Boston’sThursday, October 3Lingo, The Mantras @ Funky BuddhaFriday, October 4So So Glos, Flashlights, TBA @ PropagandaThe Lee Boys @ Bamboo RoomJulieta Venegas @ Fillmore Miami BeachPaperPlane Revisited @ ActivistArtistASaturday, October 5

Stitch Rock 5 @ Old School Square BOMB @ Respectable StreetPLAN B BLOCK PARTY IN YBOR CITY: Sleepy Vikings, Nervous Turkey, Empire Cinema, Auto?Automatic??, Luxury Mane, Saskatchewan, Day Joy, Cats In The Basement, Send Offs, Sun Signs, Alien House, Feral Babies, y Los Dos Pistoles, Bellows, Alias Punch, Woolly Bushmen, The Band in Heaven, Sweet Bronco, Die Alps!, Raguckas, The Dewars, Radarmen, Florida Night Heat, Early Forms, Wolf-Face, Rocksteady@8, Alexander & the Grapes, Zillionaire, MRENC, King of Spain, Atlantic Oceans, Lauris Vidal, Andy Zipf, Sunbears!, Funny Bunny, Wholetones, Zulu Wave, Moon Jelly, Booker & Norton @ Ybor CitySarah Brightman @ BB&T CenterKeith Urban @ Cruzan AmpTim Reynolds & TR3 @ Bamboo Room DON’T STOP ST. PETERSBURG: Murder by Death, Black Taxi, Amerigo Gazaway, Polyenso, Sons of Hippies, Displace, Levek, Tides of Man, Sonic Graffiti, Kid Aids, Ex-Breathers, Young Egypt, Saint Popes, Archaic Interest, Slade and the Wasters, Memphibians, A Gentlemen Army, The Real Clash, Ajeva, Rebel, Article 47, Easter Island, Euglossine, Bodegas JSC, The Gun Hoes, Red Feather, The Cost!, Las Tias, Tidal Wave, Caleb Hyers Band @ St. Petersburg

Monday, October 7Yellowman @ Respectable Street Wednesday, October 9The Breeders @ Grand CentralPortugal the Man, Crystal Fighters @ Revolution LiveSigur Ros @ Bayfront ParkThursday, October 10Rusko, Roni Size, Dynamite MC @ Fillmore Miami BeachFriday, October 11Ms. Fitts @ Respectable Street Frightened Rabbit @ Culture RoomGolden Festival @ ActivistArtistASaturday, October 12Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Toasters, Left Alone, Dodge City Bandits @ Respectable Street No Te Va Gustar @ Grand CentralNikki Hill @ Bamboo RoomGolden Festival @ ActivistArtistAThe English Beat @ Culture RoomSunday, October 13India. Arie @ The Fillmore Miami BeachGolden Festival @ ActivistArtistAThursday, October 17Austin Mahone, Becky G, Midnight Red, W3 The Future @ Fillmore Miami BeachGreenhouse Lounge, Damn Right @ Funky BuddhaFriday, October 18Rocky Horror Picture Show @ Respectable Street Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin @ Culture RoomThe Atlanta Rhythm Section @ Bamboo RoomBassnectar, Pretty Lights @ Bayfront ParkSaturday, October 19Reckless Dames: All Things John Waters @ Respectable Street John McEuen @ Bamboo RoomBassnectar, Pretty Lights @ Bayfront ParkMonday, October 21Kung Fu, DJ Scotty Solomon @ Funky Biscuit Tuesday, October 22Peelander-Z, TBA @ Propaganda

In the few candid video interviews that Death in June’s Douglas Pearce has done, he appears surprisingly docile and soft-spoken. Bespectacled and introspective, with straight hair perfectly parted, he could be a Midwestern politician or the CEO of a financial firm, not at all like you’d expect one of the enfant terribles of the underground rock world to resemble. Despite his benign off-camera appearance, Douglas P., as he is known, is a lightning rod of controversy that has almost dwarfed Death in June’s enormous catalog of ominous funeral marches and brooding lyrical exorcisms. Numerous protests over the English musician’s 30-plus-year career have led to concert cancellations, banned albums

and censored lyrics, all tied to Pearce’s unusual obsession for esoteric Nazi and medieval symbology––including the notorious Totenkopf-6, a menacing cracked skull with roots to the Third Reich and Prussian genocide. At concerts, Pearce dons camouflage associated with German SS officers during World War II, his face often obscured in a moplike wig, while his fellow-musicians drum with military precision behind frightening white masks.

Because of his signature preoccupations with historical holocausts, Pearce, who is an openly gay supporter of Israel, has had to spend an inordinate amount of time explaining the difference between theatrically referencing a controversial topic and endorsing neo-Nazism. Perhaps it’s all a bit of attention-grabbing stagecraft, and if so, it’s worked wonders. A Death in June gig is an event, and an exceedingly rare one at that. This month’s performance at Respectable Street, part of a limited U.S. tour, marks the group’s first South Florida appearance since the late 1990s.

Having eschewed its early industrial sound for a neofolk approach, Death in June’s recent album Peaceful Snow is its most austere release yet: an entirely piano-driven exploration into the recesses of Pearce’s mind that balances, as the best Death in June albums do, on the tightrope between the beautiful and horrifying. The neo-classical musicianship makes for a lovely contrast to the mini narratives of bleak, suicidal hopelessness. Expect Douglas to play much of this intense album along with crowd requests and an exhaustively comprehensive selection from his archive. Recent Death in June set lists have lasted upwards of 35 songs, including such cult hits as “She Said Destroy,” “Heaven Street,” “But, What Ends When the Symbols Shatter?” and that family favorite, “Fields of Rape.”

It all goes down September 17 at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Tickets cost $28 in advance and $33 at the door. Visit respectablestreet.musictoday.com.~John Thomason

Behind the Mask

Imagine U2 without Bono. The Smiths without Morrissey. Jandek without the Jandek guy. The thought of Black Flag without its charismatic frontman, Henry Rollins, might sound just as blasphemous, until you remember that Black Flag existed for a good five years of admittedly penniless toil before Rollins jumped onstage at a Washington, DC gig in 1981 and catapulted the band’s trailblazing hardcore

formula.

And so it is now, with Rollins having long abandoned sweaty punk clubs for the curtained theaters of the spoken-word circuit, that Black Flag again exists without its short-shorted, angry-as-upset-hornets vocalist. In fact, the lineup has come somewhat full circle, with founding member and eclectic shredder Greg Ginn joining one of its original singers, Ron Reyes, on Black Flag’s 2013 reunion tour, picking up right where 1986 left off. At 59, Ginn still doesn’t miss a beat, and Reyes has proved perfectly capable of filling the intimidating shoes he once donned. Set lists have included new, as-yet-unreleased songs that fans dutifully tolerate, as well as more than a dozen fist-pumping, slam-dancing, blood-pressure-rising classics of three-chord fury and caustic satire. The band has even been reviving its rousing “Louie Louie” cover from the early years.

The demand has been high for this tour, and why shouldn’t it be? Punk might not be the cutting edge of youth music that it was in the early ‘80s, but the political context is ripe for its re-emergence. Many of the issues Black Flag’s populist music addressed in the Reagan Era – dissent, poverty, paranoia, police brutality and revolution – have become just as relevant under a “Democratic” president here in the Aughts. Might their comeback album have something to say about the Orwellian surveillance state in which we find ourselves ensnared? Times change, and so do frontmen, but punk remains the sonic pulse of protest. Come early for opening act Good For You, Ginn’s molten hardcore throwback with skateboarder/musician Mike Vallely. The frivolity begins at 8pm September 7 at Grand Central, 697 N. Miami Ave., Miami. Tickets cost $22. Call 305-377-2277 or visit grandcentralmiami.com.~John Thomason

Flag Day

Photo: Robert Kenney

Gonzo journo pub Vice once described Antiwarpt as a music festival where fans can “converge and witness the states finest talents,” and in the wake of the fest’s recent schism and virtual implosion, something new has emerged to continue Antiwarpt’s tradition of bringing the Sunshine State’s unheralded talent to the undivided attention of Floridian music fans looking for the best their state has to offer.

On October 5, Plan B Block Party – the

brainchild of Antiwarpt co-founders Brokenmold Entertainment – is set to take over eight venues in historic Ybor City, and for over nearly 12 hours, band’s as storied as blues hell bringers Nervous Turkey and promising as folk wunderkinds Alexander & The Grapes will present the music that is putting the state on the map.

Beloved southern shoegazers Sleepy Vikings will reunite and play their first show together in over a year, celebrated slowcore quartet Zillionaire are set to play what might be their only show of 2013 as they work on a long-awaited sophomore LP. Over 60 bands make up the bill, and there’s a significant South Florida influence thanks to the inclusion of Ketchy Shuby, The Band In Heaven, and Sweet Bronco.

“There’s so much great stuff in the Miami area,” Brokenmold’s Sean O’Brien told PureHoney, “just such a diversity of sounds in South Florida; like Ketchy Shuby’s funk and soul, The Jameses and Lil Daggers’ psych rock, and Radioboxer’s latin-dance feel – it’s impossible to not include the region in the conversation when it comes to great Florida music.”

For the second straight year, the PureHoney camp is launching our asses up I-75 to be in the Tampa Bay area to see bands like Woolly Bushman, The Dewars, Lauris Vidal, Sunbears!, Sleepy Vikings and Auto? Automatic?? and more! We’ve thrown a bunch of Plan B bands onto the mixtape, so give ‘em a spin and acquaint yourself before making the roadtrip yourself. ~Ray Roa | Suburban Apologist Saturday, October 5: Plan B Block Party @ Historic Ybor City (Various Venues) $10 advance/$TBD day of show More info: www.bmetampa.com

Plan B: Great Florida Music

The Band in Heaven, Photo: Abigail Marsicano

Less than a year after the deaths of Dan Hosker (Holy Terrors) and Bobby “Load” Johnston (Load), two of their former bandmates have started a raucous punk duo called Shark Valley Sisters.

The Shark Valley Sisters have reached the apex of their show. It’s the final Friday night before the Native Florida Tap Room & Music Hall in Hollywood closes its doors forever, and the Sisters – singer guitarist Rob Elba and drummer Fausto Figueredo – have launched into “The Prince & The Punk,” a mid-tempo, staccato, grinding punk ode to Dan Hosker and Bobby “Load” Johnston, two legendary South Florida musicians who died within a couple of months of each other last year. “What’s in a name when the ash hits the ground? What’s left behind if they don’t make a sound? Who’s going to carry the flag when we’re dead? The Prince and the Punk lay forgotten instead…”

The song cathartically lurches forward in stops and starts, while Elba fire-breathes the lyrics with his trademark scream-sing delivery. With every power chord and every bashing stick hit, there is a palpable release of emotion, as nearly a year of heartbreak is expressed in three minutes ofpunk fury.

“Telegraph tales of a wail and a roar, Passing down stories of what came before, Who’s going to carry the flame when we’re gone? The Prince and the Punk – born to burn all along, Born. To. Burn…”

The song builds to its climax and explodes into the final consideration of whether it is better to live a short, extraordinary life or a long, conventional one. It is one of many soul-searching questions that each man has asked himself during the past year.

“Such is life for ordinary men, Curse the years and rue the days, Such is not for the Prince and the Punk, Not to be forgotten.”

So, while the Tap Room’s run is ending, the members of the Sisters are experiencing personal and musical rebirths. Before delving any further into the raucous music of the recently established punk duo, the deaths of Hosker and Johnston must be addressed, because they are the only reasons that the Shark Valley Sisters exist. There’s no getting around it.

Please read the full story at www.PureHoneyMagazine.com or www.DigUnderRock.com~Adam Matza

Shark Valley Sisters

Photo: Tony Landa, DigUnderRock

A few nights ago I was getting ready to play a gig at one of my favorite spots, The Corner, in Downtown Miami. This wasn’t a Gold Dust Lounge gig. We’ve been taking some time off to finish our upcoming album, Lost Sunset, and run a Kickstarter to support its release. On this night, I was playing in a group led by Gold Dust Lounge (and The Tunnel) drummer, Arturo Garcia. We were about to play a set of tunes by noted Ethiopian jazz pianist & composer, Mulatu Astatke, one of my personal favorites. But it wasn’t even the particulars of the gig or the music that were already making the night so important to me personally. I can sum it up with my Facebook post from that night.

“So...Tonight you’ve got Shark Valley Sisters at Kenny Millions’ event at Churchill’s, The

Tremends at Blackbird Ordinary, and I’m standing here at The Corner ready to hit with a killer band about to lay down the music of Mulatu Astatke. It’s Tuesday night...Miami, you’ve come a long, LONG way!”

I grew up playing in some pretty good bands down here (Cynic & Quit). I also spent 15 years living out of state, mostly in the northeast. I played in bands in those places and experienced those scenes too. I moved back to Miami in 2007 and my first weekend out was the Saturday night of Art Basel. The entire evening was spent in Wynwood and we ended up at Moksha Family where I became delirious with the psychedelic world beat of Lanzallamas Monofonico. This new Miami was a revelation—and it has shaped my music in ways I never could have anticipated.

I grew up under the heavy influence of 60’s & 70’s pop culture, In Search Of, BigFoot, Spy-Fi, Six Million Dollar Man, Mod Squad, Emergency 51, and later skateboarding & punk. Now all of that is coming out in my music, and there’s room in the scene for it all.

The Miami I moved away from in 1994 was growing up and taking chances. Perhaps it was a brash teen heading towards late adolescence. Spirited. Irreverent. Pure. It seems different now--expansive and full of surprises--but maybe I’m different. I think it’s likely we both are. All I know is there was never a Tuesday like this back in 1990.

Maybe you can chalk Miami’s uniqueness up to a geographic isolation that even the internet can’t fully resolve. It’s bred a culture of creativity so strong it can’t help itself. For all the talk I hear about what’s lacking in our scene, to me it seems like the biggest thing missing is perspective.

A few years ago I discussed this very topic at length with Charlie Pickett at the end of the bar at Churchill’s. We both share the opinion that Miami has the most original, independent music scene of any city either of us ever encountered across the great expanse of our country. If you don’t believe me, come check it out. ~Russell Mofsky

Russell Mofsky is the founder of Gold Dust Lounge, a band with a rotating cast of musicians who’s sound is influenced by acid surf, spy-fi, punk, & exotica. On September 1st they launch a Kickstarter for their new album, Lost Sunset. Check it at www.golddustlounge.com

Missing Perspectives

Russell Mofsky of Gold Dust Lounge

Zedd Sep 6

Pet Shop Boys Sep 12

Gad Elmaleh Sep 28

RuskoRoni Size & Dynamite MC

Oct 10

India Arie Oct 13

Austin MahoneBecky G, Midnight Red & W3 The Future

Oct 17

Jake MillerAction Item & Air Dubai

Fri, Nov 1

John LegendTamar Braxton

Nov 3

KrewellaSeven Lions & Candyland

Nov 8

Janelle Monae Sat, Nov 23

Fresh Beat Band Dec 14

FillmoreMB.com

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SOLDOUT!

ON SALE AUGUST 23 AT 10AM!

TWO SHOWS!