The Productionists
Bellingham, Washington, United States
Music
Press
For full press review, please follow this link:
http://www.whatsup-magazine.com/index.php?navarea=Archives&storyid=1138
April 11, Oakland, California veterans Zion I brought the love Bellingham has been waiting for to the stage of the Nightlight. Straight out of the Bay Area, Zumbi (lyrics) and Amplive (beats) bring an eclectic style of hip hop, combining underground music with a universal feel. Zumbi, criticized and praised for his ever-changing style says it best in the duo's second track on the new album, The Takeover. "They call me starvin' to grimy, conscious to Cosby, hyphy to hip-hop. I'm happy, I'm sorry!"
The evening started out with sets by hip hop acts, Sol, Alexipharmic, and Scribes. Following closely was Bellingham locals The Productionists. If you've never been to a Productionists show, then you haven't witnessed the soul of the group, Mr. Bags. This man brings the passion and life in his voice one would expect from someone half his age. Bags always leaves the stage with a smile and perspiration, which is evidence that he loves what he does.
- What's Up! Magazine.
For full press review, please follow this link:
http://www.whatsup-magazine.com/index.php?navarea=Archives&storyid=1138
April 11, Oakland, California veterans Zion I brought the love Bellingham has been waiting for to the stage of the Nightlight. Straight out of the Bay Area, Zumbi (lyrics) and Amplive (beats) bring an eclectic style of hip hop, combining underground music with a universal feel. Zumbi, criticized and praised for his ever-changing style says it best in the duo's second track on the new album, The Takeover. "They call me starvin' to grimy, conscious to Cosby, hyphy to hip-hop. I'm happy, I'm sorry!"
The evening started out with sets by hip hop acts, Sol, Alexipharmic, and Scribes. Following closely was Bellingham locals The Productionists. If you've never been to a Productionists show, then you haven't witnessed the soul of the group, Mr. Bags. This man brings the passion and life in his voice one would expect from someone half his age. Bags always leaves the stage with a smile and perspiration, which is evidence that he loves what he does.
- What's Up! Magazine.
From What's Up! Magazine, April 2007 (Le Beat).
Another new band to watch out for (but in a completely different vein) is The Productionists. It's hip hop minus the bling bling and other crap but with some good jazz and funk fused in for good measure. That's another thing this town needs even more of is good hip hop with funk and jazz. There's some good hip hop, but for as popular a style of music (hip hop artists regularly sell out at the Nightlight), there should be more hip hop bands. - What's Up! Magazine.
From What's Up! Magazine, April 2007 (Le Beat).
Another new band to watch out for (but in a completely different vein) is The Productionists. It's hip hop minus the bling bling and other crap but with some good jazz and funk fused in for good measure. That's another thing this town needs even more of is good hip hop with funk and jazz. There's some good hip hop, but for as popular a style of music (hip hop artists regularly sell out at the Nightlight), there should be more hip hop bands. - What's Up! Magazine.
Full Review:
http://www.whatsup-magazine.com/index.php?navarea=Archives&storyid=749
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
January 2008 Issue
The Productionists: Rappin' about reality.
By: Nate Stephens
-The Productionists-
There is something happening in the Northwest. Have you noticed? Hip-hop music appears, on the surface, to be in steep decline. Most of its visible stars, the ones on T.V. and mainstream radio, seem to be assimilating into one giant, blinged out parody of themselves, with endless repeats of similar themes and less and less innovation being exhibited. Nas famously said “Hip-hop is dead,” and it appeared damn near so. But there is hope. Something different is happening to hip-hop music and culture in the Great Northwest. And Bellingham has homegrown talent here who are, in that classic hip-hop journalism saying “Making noise”—one of them being The Productionists.
When considering The Productionists’ music, one must understand what is happening regionally to understand where these guys are coming from. Northwest acts are original, they actually make you think (always more than mere eye candy), giving you more than the whole We in Da Club, It’s Goin’ Down, I Got My Drank and I’m Ready to Fight stuff that have been thrust at us so thoughtlessly and relentlessly by MTV and BET for, what, 10 years now?
Portland and Seattle are leading the way with these independent, original acts. Top group Blue Scholars (coming to Bellingham this month), a fantastic Seattle duo, is signing with major labels and producing big, fancy music videos that are pretty cool, and, here’s that word again: original.
Here in Bellingham we have The Productionists. Their lyrics say things like, “People, we got it locked, it’s the hip-hop culture,” and frequently reference their love for and allegiance to the Northwest.
Clint Westwood, who MCs (raps) and DJs and is one of four group members, looks the part of a front man. He sports colorfully tattooed arms and rock star sunglasses and wears white t-shirts baring hip-hop slogans or artwork.
Bags, who sings, is considerably older than the others but adds an awesome layer to their sound by soulfully crooning hooks and providing a funky atmosphere. They are a lot of fun to see live, and their music pretty much guarantees dancing will ensue.
“We’re trying to encourage more cooperation amongst local artists, because there’s a lot of good stuff happening,” Westwood said. “There’s a whole new element Northwest artists can bring to hip-hop.”
These boys play with purpose and for a reason they believe firmly in, which translates well to their recorded material. They released a disc called Weapons of Mass Production in 2006 and are working on new material for a summer release. Check out the track “Pride” for examples of this. They don’t appear artificial or phony either. As Mikex2 said, “We’re family men. We rap about our reality, not drugs and guns and stuff. We bring our reality, just four hard workin’ guys, really.”
Eric Snyder, a.k.a. Mr. Snyder, plays guitar and keyboard for the group. “Being in this band allows me to represent myself musically,” he said. As is apparent in their music, his background is more rock music than rap. Their sound is filled with spacey, trippy guitar licks and driving drums that force you to nod your head to the beat.
As this Northwest hip-hop music continues to thrive, Bellingham is right in the middle of it, proving that this is no flash in the pan.
- What's Up! Magazine.
Full Review:
http://www.whatsup-magazine.com/index.php?navarea=Archives&storyid=749
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
January 2008 Issue
The Productionists: Rappin' about reality.
By: Nate Stephens
-The Productionists-
There is something happening in the Northwest. Have you noticed? Hip-hop music appears, on the surface, to be in steep decline. Most of its visible stars, the ones on T.V. and mainstream radio, seem to be assimilating into one giant, blinged out parody of themselves, with endless repeats of similar themes and less and less innovation being exhibited. Nas famously said “Hip-hop is dead,” and it appeared damn near so. But there is hope. Something different is happening to hip-hop music and culture in the Great Northwest. And Bellingham has homegrown talent here who are, in that classic hip-hop journalism saying “Making noise”—one of them being The Productionists.
When considering The Productionists’ music, one must understand what is happening regionally to understand where these guys are coming from. Northwest acts are original, they actually make you think (always more than mere eye candy), giving you more than the whole We in Da Club, It’s Goin’ Down, I Got My Drank and I’m Ready to Fight stuff that have been thrust at us so thoughtlessly and relentlessly by MTV and BET for, what, 10 years now?
Portland and Seattle are leading the way with these independent, original acts. Top group Blue Scholars (coming to Bellingham this month), a fantastic Seattle duo, is signing with major labels and producing big, fancy music videos that are pretty cool, and, here’s that word again: original.
Here in Bellingham we have The Productionists. Their lyrics say things like, “People, we got it locked, it’s the hip-hop culture,” and frequently reference their love for and allegiance to the Northwest.
Clint Westwood, who MCs (raps) and DJs and is one of four group members, looks the part of a front man. He sports colorfully tattooed arms and rock star sunglasses and wears white t-shirts baring hip-hop slogans or artwork.
Bags, who sings, is considerably older than the others but adds an awesome layer to their sound by soulfully crooning hooks and providing a funky atmosphere. They are a lot of fun to see live, and their music pretty much guarantees dancing will ensue.
“We’re trying to encourage more cooperation amongst local artists, because there’s a lot of good stuff happening,” Westwood said. “There’s a whole new element Northwest artists can bring to hip-hop.”
These boys play with purpose and for a reason they believe firmly in, which translates well to their recorded material. They released a disc called Weapons of Mass Production in 2006 and are working on new material for a summer release. Check out the track “Pride” for examples of this. They don’t appear artificial or phony either. As Mikex2 said, “We’re family men. We rap about our reality, not drugs and guns and stuff. We bring our reality, just four hard workin’ guys, really.”
Eric Snyder, a.k.a. Mr. Snyder, plays guitar and keyboard for the group. “Being in this band allows me to represent myself musically,” he said. As is apparent in their music, his background is more rock music than rap. Their sound is filled with spacey, trippy guitar licks and driving drums that force you to nod your head to the beat.
As this Northwest hip-hop music continues to thrive, Bellingham is right in the middle of it, proving that this is no flash in the pan.
- What's Up! Magazine.
Discography
WEAPONS OF MASS PRODUCTION released in September, 2006. Self-Titled album released September 2010.
Photos
Bio
2001-2002: Clint, a member of the hip-hop-Rock group Dolemite, and Erik a member of the Rock-Funk-experimental group I.V., discover common interests in Funk, R & B, Jazz, and Hip-hop over the course of playing several shows together with their groups.
2002-2004: Different projects, same results. Clint and Erik found themselves at the end of the tenure of their bands and again discovered their common interests. . During a jam session at a local jam space Clint asked Erik if he would like to do some recording sometime. It was also during this period that Clint invited Erik to his weekly DJ gig at THE FACTORY, a local club downtown. Erik accepted both offers and recording/performances began. Audiences at the shows immediately responded with
smiles, praise, and above all, dancing. During these onstage jam sessions the two created the foundation of sound that their group would eventually build upon. Their set consisted heavily of funk, jazz, blues, and hip-hop, which became the main pillars of their sound (although several other styles have crept in along the way). In addition, Clint had been working with Mike, who had his own studio, and the three began experimenting with new musical ideas. A name was chosen for the group:
THE PRODUCTIONISTS.
2005-2006: Clint, Mike, and Erik begin collaboration as a 3-piece, each bringing his own style and influence to the music. A laundry list of beats and songs began to emerge from their collective wisdom and artistic vision. The three continued to forge their sound, style, and ethic until the group got offered a show at an acquaintances’ personal indoor skate-park on Steven’s pass for a snowboard video premier. Mr. Bags was brought in to fulfill the singing requirements and was added to the line-up. The 4-piece was now set. THE PRODUCTIONSTS released their first album, Weapons of Mass Production, in September of 2006 with positive reviews…
http://whatsup-magazine.com/2007/04/01/the-productionists/
A steady schedule of gigging then followed.
2007-2008:
http://whatsup-magazine.com/2008/01/01/the-productionists-rappin-about-reality/
Each of their shows continued to be better than the previous ones. Gathering a steady stream of new fans the group pushed forward into bigger and better venues, music, and acclaim while distributing over 1000 copies of their album. It was at the end of 2008 that they decided to work on another album with a unique approach: more music (fewer vocals, more musical movements within songs), more singing (less rapping), and more relevance (writing about things OTHER THAN jewelry, cars, guns, loose women, etc). Although it has become cliché in the music industry for its constituents to discuss personal dissatisfaction with music’s current state of affairs it is through these types of
discussions that breakthroughs are made. THE PRODUCTIONISTS, after numerous in-depth conversations amongst themselves, began work on their next album.
During this period the group also began working with Brian Hillman, another local musician and one of the founding members of the group SPACEBAND. Brian ran sound for THE PRODUCTIONISTS at a few of their shows and was then commissioned to use his vocal talent on some of the group’s songs. From this humble beginning Brian’s participation grew into live performances and his appearance on many of the tracks on
their 2nd album. His work is especially prominent on the songs Pop Life and Trouble & Strife.
2009: The group continued work on their upcoming, self-titled release. The decision was made to do all instrumental recording at their own studio while doing all vocal recording, mixing, and mastering at Undercaste studio in Seattle.
http://www.undercaste.com/home.htm
This bolstered the group’s sound and put the group in the public eye. They continued their steady stream of gigging and promoting (see attached sheet) as well. Their website was launched in late 2009 with the help of Matt McDonald and Austin Santiago.
http://productionists.com/.
Craig Jewel, a local club owner/musician, was asked to lend his vocal talent to the making of the album as well, being the featured lead-vocalist on the song Mindbodysoul. Craig gladly accepted and is now part of the group’s live show working with Brian and
Bags to create smooth, rich, and harmonic background vocals.
THE PRODUCTIONISTS were the recipient of the What’s Up! Magazine’s award for Best Beats and Rhymes, an award for which they won again in 2010. A list of the groups that THE PRODUCTIONISTS performed with to date is as follows
(in no particular order):
Tech N9ne, D Black, Zion I, Murz, E-40, Devin the Dude, Spaceman, Grieves, Grynch, Maclemore, Rise n’ Shine, Spaceband,The Pack, Mad Rad, Cancer Rising, Animal
Nation, Fresh Espresso, Gran Rapids, The Staxx Brothers, The Perceptionists, Heirespects, Rudy & the Rhetoric, C Ray Walz, One B Lo, Grayskul, Sandpeople, Sunny
Bonoho, The Physics, Kublakai, Project Lionheart, Kore Ionz, DJ Marc Sense, Tulsi, Dj S
Links
