Ribo Flavin'

he amount of music being released by local artists unfortunately is in small numbers, but let's learn from local El Paso band Ribo Flavin'- a multi-instrumental experimental hip-hop machine that took matters into their own hands and funded the making of their new album Full Circle.
There's a lot happening on this album, but the balance is just right, and never overspills with too many ingredients. The album opener "Full Circle" gets things started at a mellow groove, the band holding back just a little, not trying to go so hard at first, just enough--erupts into a lyrical attack complimented by the mix of horns and finishes off with a storming guitar solo. With all the songs over four minutes long and the longest clocking in over seven, there is good room for heavy jamming, plenty of funky horns, female hooks, hip-hop breaks. Everyone gets plenty of room to shine.Ribo Flavin has no fear in looking outside the box and experimenting with different influences, mashing them together, redefining labels and coming out successful. It's like the first time i had fried pickles--I thought it would never work, but once i had them, I couldn't get enough. Here's the Fusion interview, the band decided to answer collectively. (see online article for more) - Fusion Magazine

About 2,500 turned out to enjoy bands, art, drinks and pizza at the fourth-annual Sunset Heights Block Party on Saturday, Oct. 22. - What's Up Magazine

The Irish are apparently an absurdly absent demographic here in El Paso, but our willingness to embrace their culture by celebrating St. Patty's Day is vibrant and thriving for the majority of us wandering the Borderland, sharing the same affinity for a holiday that highly promotes beer. So the Hoppy Monk has decided to help aid the continuity of that interest by giving El Paso the true St. Patty's Day experience. The Pub, as owner Joseph Valenzuela describes it, will be throwing a large festival style party at their location on Saturday March 17. The event is an ode to the festivities which once tool place at Bennigan's some years back. However, they are adding a twist to the celebrations by heavily localizing the event giving the attendees that festival type vibe noticeably absent from El Paso. The Pub will be closing off their large parking lot and taking the festivities outdoors, providing a larger field for attendees to carry our their lucid St. Patty's Day celebrations.
The night will also showcase sets from five local bands selected by the Hoppy Monk themselves. The Hypocrite Orchestra, Hillside Gamblers, Sound on Sound, Bumpstreet Fonanza, and Ribo Flavin will all provide the crowd with some rather enjoyable music to along with the St, Patty's Day festivities. The bands were chosen on the basis of their large size and the high energy they employ during their sets. Ribo Flavin, a band consisting of over 10 members including a horn section, will be pulling out all the stops during their sets to ensure creating the festival type atmosphere The Hoppy Monk is trying to envoke.
"We'll definitely be changing it up a bit because of the night's theme," said Eddie Provencio, the groups drummer. The Band fully intends "to play very loud and energized" and "to cover tunes that are St' Patty's Day-esque while playing a few new songs as well. The band had some past experience with commemorating the holiday with one of their eclectic and playful live shows. They've played, "Every St. Patty's Day" for the past couple of years. Their live show is sure ti appeal to the masses because of the highly diverse musical styles they explore while on stage. Ranging from hip hop and jazz funk to 90's party music, Ribo Flavin is a band that simply "likes to jam." Their familiarity with the venue, and having played shows with a large backing band there before, will undoubtedly benefit both the band and the crowd.
Lastly he adds "We're very excited and enthused to be a part of this event." Their set, among the other bands on the bill, will certainly provide those festival vibes The Hoppy Monk is aiming to spread about the Sun City. Along with live music, the event will host many St. Patty's Day themed amenities, such as girls dressed in the fitting green St. Patrick's attire that we all love so much to enforce, and plenty of palatable festival style foods.
The event is an extension of Joseph Valenzuela's aspiration to create a place with the same atmosphere as a European pub; a place for artists and locals to meet and exchange ideas and stories, a sort of crossroads for the very prevalent creative flow here in the Sun City. The idea's conception came about through Valenzuela's European travels and his own experiences at pubs he visited while abroad. He recalls visiting a "public house" while in Brussels, Belgium and meeting locals there who reached out to one another by sharing a few stories and beers." Adding, "it was just this place for the whole community to meet up. We want to provide El Paso with the same service." A goal the borderland is more than happy to oblige with. Valenzuela also hopes for the event to continue on an annual basis. As to not steer away from the area of concentration, which is beer, The Hoppy Monk will have 70 different beers on tap along with a vast selection of 150 different types of bottled beer. The pub will also be making a couple of additions to the menu in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
"we have a couple of new arrivals" say Valenzuela, including the imported Rouge Irish Lager. Surely if you are not enticed by the theme, the extensive beer list will draw you in, "The focus is always beer." Much like a larger scale festival, St. Patrick's Day at The Hoppy Monk will be an all day event. The festivities start at 1 pm and continue on till 2 am. There will be a $10 cover charge and the first five hundred people to arrive will receive a commemorative Hoppy Monk St. Patrick's Day style shot glass. - FUSION MAGAZINE

The Sunset Heights Block Party is on.
The fourth-annual event, a day of music and art in a residential block near Downtown El Paso, got the go-ahead from City Council and will take place Saturday, Oct. 22, on Prospect (between Corto and Upson).
As in past years, the free-admission block party will feature a day of live music - mostly by rising and established local bands - at two main performance spots.
Here's the lineup:
Sunset Stage (Corto and Prospect)
1 p.m. My Friend the Mountain
2 p.m Heart Chemist
3 p.m. The Halfbreed Lovers
4 p.m. SoundOnSound
5 p.m. The D.A.
6 p.m. Eureka & The Butcher
7 p.m. The Kilohertz
8 p.m. Bird Sounds
9 p.m. DJs System A, Raydub and Rob Bass
Palmore Stage (on Prospect in front of 519 Prospect)
1 p.m. Animal Spirits
2 p.m. The Musicianers
3 p.m. The Lusitania
4 p.m. Mexicans at Night
5 p.m. Ribo Flavin
6 p.m. Desi & The Way
7 p.m. Kontra Golpe Noise Manifesto
8 p.m. A ROM
Live art from local creative collectives such as MAINTAIN, the Mad Visual Poetz and Boo Yah will fleck canvas. A/V Collective will provide dance performances and other manner of stimuli.
The free-spirited atmosphere of yesteryear's block parties still goes - "dress like a loon" is on the permanent list of righteous do's - but be aware of a few key changes.
The party is fenced in now, and it's no longer BYOB. Event partner El Paso Sun City Pride is helping to provide the mandated fencing and alcoholic drink vendors.
Organizers are encouraging partiers to park downtown, not in the neighborhood. Other stuff you should leave at home: grills, chairs, coolers and glass containers.
On the other hand, the autumn date does behoove you to bring a light sweater instead of the G-string thong you wore as a sweater at last June's block party, you loon, you.
Stats: Saturday, Oct. 22, noon-10 p.m., free, 512 Prospect (between Corto and Upson).
Anika / Peanut Butter Wolf
Following in the venerable tradition of aloof European chanteuses is Anika, a political journalist-turned-singer from Wales who got her unlikely start getting discovered by Portishead producer Geoff Barrow.
Her self-titled debut on Stones Throw Records shows off a DIY sound riddled with reverb and sparse beats, set to a blasé vocal delivery reminiscent of Nico.
Anika will headline a show at Lowbrow Palace on Sunday, Oct. 23. Sharing the stage that night will be hip-hop DJ and Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf, who DJ'ed in El Paso nearly exactly a year ago.
It's another indie-cool show by Late Nite Social Club, the local team that brought us The Rapture and the weekly Soundwaves night at Lowbrow.
Show stats: Sunday, Oct. 23, doors open at 8 p.m., $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door, ($3 surchage at the door for 18-21), pre-sale tickets available at Hommework and Ticketbully.com. - Whats Up Magazine

The Sunset Heights Block Party is on.
The fourth-annual event, a day of music and art in a residential block near Downtown El Paso, got the go-ahead from City Council and will take place Saturday, Oct. 22, on Prospect (between Corto and Upson).
As in past years, the free-admission block party will feature a day of live music - mostly by rising and established local bands - at two main performance spots.
Here's the lineup:
Sunset Stage (Corto and Prospect)
1 p.m. My Friend the Mountain
2 p.m Heart Chemist
3 p.m. The Halfbreed Lovers
4 p.m. SoundOnSound
5 p.m. The D.A.
6 p.m. Eureka & The Butcher
7 p.m. The Kilohertz
8 p.m. Bird Sounds
9 p.m. DJs System A, Raydub and Rob Bass
Palmore Stage (on Prospect in front of 519 Prospect)
1 p.m. Animal Spirits
2 p.m. The Musicianers
3 p.m. The Lusitania
4 p.m. Mexicans at Night
5 p.m. Ribo Flavin
6 p.m. Desi & The Way
7 p.m. Kontra Golpe Noise Manifesto
8 p.m. A ROM
Live art from local creative collectives such as MAINTAIN, the Mad Visual Poetz and Boo Yah will fleck canvas. A/V Collective will provide dance performances and other manner of stimuli.
The free-spirited atmosphere of yesteryear's block parties still goes - "dress like a loon" is on the permanent list of righteous do's - but be aware of a few key changes.
The party is fenced in now, and it's no longer BYOB. Event partner El Paso Sun City Pride is helping to provide the mandated fencing and alcoholic drink vendors.
Organizers are encouraging partiers to park downtown, not in the neighborhood. Other stuff you should leave at home: grills, chairs, coolers and glass containers.
On the other hand, the autumn date does behoove you to bring a light sweater instead of the G-string thong you wore as a sweater at last June's block party, you loon, you.
Stats: Saturday, Oct. 22, noon-10 p.m., free, 512 Prospect (between Corto and Upson).
Anika / Peanut Butter Wolf
Following in the venerable tradition of aloof European chanteuses is Anika, a political journalist-turned-singer from Wales who got her unlikely start getting discovered by Portishead producer Geoff Barrow.
Her self-titled debut on Stones Throw Records shows off a DIY sound riddled with reverb and sparse beats, set to a blasé vocal delivery reminiscent of Nico.
Anika will headline a show at Lowbrow Palace on Sunday, Oct. 23. Sharing the stage that night will be hip-hop DJ and Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf, who DJ'ed in El Paso nearly exactly a year ago.
It's another indie-cool show by Late Nite Social Club, the local team that brought us The Rapture and the weekly Soundwaves night at Lowbrow.
Show stats: Sunday, Oct. 23, doors open at 8 p.m., $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door, ($3 surchage at the door for 18-21), pre-sale tickets available at Hommework and Ticketbully.com. - Whats Up Magazine

By Shane Weller | 0 comments
The Hoppy Monk will be all the rage this St. Patty’s Day as they host a party with live music, local art and of course, great beer. One of the highlights of the evening will be Ribo Flavin’, a local band garnering quite a following with their intoxicating mix of Latin, reggae and funk sounds. We caught up with drummer Eddie Provencio and the band’s DJ, Eddie Quiroga, a.k.a. One Man Jazz.
Q. What does your name mean, and where did it come from?
Provencio: The name came from one of our older members, DJ System Addict. He brought it up during a conversation trying to figure out a name. He would always see the nutritional pack on the cereal or whatever; you see “riboflavin” all the time in the ingredients. So it started like that and just stuck ever since then.
Q. Give me a little bit of background on your band.
Provencio: We started three years ago. It started with me, Bruno on bass, and we kept building, and we added more people. We’ve had so many other local artists put in their two cents. It’s pretty much local artists; everyone has their own side project, too. This band is a collaboration of many local artists.
Q. The tongue-in-cheek bio on your website mentions conspiracies, armed robberies and jail time. Tell us a little bit about that.
Provencio: (Laughs) We were just sitting around my room one day coming up with quirky ideas for a bio. It’s really nothing at all. One of my friends was reading a graphic novel that he was real serious about, and we just took things from that. I get a laugh every time I read it.
Q. I hear you’re getting a lot of fans at your shows. Can you describe your live performances?
Quiroga: Our performance is an energy shift. The music is so versatile. We get a great crowd response. I see people kind of intrigued with how intricate the music is.

Details:
St. Patrick’s Day Outdoor Festival
Live music by Ribo Flavin’, SoundOnSound, The Hypocrite Orchestra, Hillside Gamblers and Bumpstreet Bonanza
The Hoppy Monk, 4141 N. Mesa
Saturday, March 17, 1 p.m.-2 a.m.
$10, 21+, free parking at Mesa Inn - What's Up Magazine