For those of you that aren’t familiar, I’d like to introduce you to Evan Roman. Some of you might know her from “Love Song” and “Contradiction” off my first album “The Language of my World.” She was an imperative and instrumental piece in my creative process while making the album, and sparked many of the concepts behind the best songs from the LP. She is an incredible singer who I’ve been blessed to work with, and only hope that we do many more songs in the future (next album?).

Her voice makes you feel. Not many musicians have that ability, and Evan is able to channel it in a way that has always impressed and inspired me. There is a genuine authenticity that comes through in her records, and the music that she’s making is only getting stronger. She has a new group called “Plum” and they just released a really fresh EP a couple weeks ago. I highly suggest that you go to itunes and pick it up. This is one of my favorite songs called “Salud.” If you enjoy it, please support and spread the word. She deserves it.

LISTEN: Salud

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/plum/id404706979

Ladies and Gentleman,

As the 2010 year comes to an end, it’s time to look back, do a little reflecting, count our blessings and acknowledge the people that have made this year so damn filthy. And yep, that’s you people. From performing at the dusty Oregon Country Fair grounds, to selling out The Bowery Ballroom with The Blue Scholars in New York City, to rocking Irish Celebration for a chanting crowd in Boston, to numerous sweat induced nights of stage diving debauchery in our hometown of Seattle, this year has has had been filled with the type of moments I’ve always dreamed of as a musician. To travel around this country, playing the songs that we created in my parents basement (yep, moved back into the homestead for the making of VS.) and have people in other states sing those songs with you, is what I’ve always wanted to do with my life. To slowly watch that come to fruition in these last 12 months, has been one of the most remarkable, humbling and exciting transformations I’ve ever experienced in my time on this here planet.

To end the year off you supported, spread the word and then watched with us as the VS. Redux climbed it’s way up to #7 on the itunes Hip-Hop charts, next to Eminem and Kid Cudi. We had no idea that was even possible. And again, that was all because of you folks.


So, I got this idea the other day. You guys are always giving to us, right? Whether it’s coming out to the shows, hitting us up on Facebook/Twitter, buying something at the merch table, or telling others about our music, you are constantly helping us expand and grow. Seeing as how it’s the perfect time of year for giving, I figured we would show our fans the appreciation they deserve and end this year with a party. Check this out…

On December 29th we’re gonna have a Pizza Party for our fans. The people that have made our career what it is. And it’s gonna be awesome. Now, unfortunately as some of you might know, I’m not Oprah. We can’t invite everyone to the party. So, in the spirit of the holiday season, we’re gonna have a contest. We want you to make a video of yourself performing a Macklemore song. The quality of the video doesn’t matter. It can be shot with anything. All you gotta do is: Sing a song (doesn’t have to be the whole song, but at least a verse) film it, upload it to youtube and send it to macklemoreteam@gmail.com by December 22nd. It can be accapella, lip sync, you playing the song/singing it etc. Anything you want, but the MORE CREATIVE THE BETTER! If you can do it by yourself or up to 3 people. The top 15 submissions that we pick will get an invitation for themselves and one friend to hang out with Ryan Lewis and myself, eat some pizza, bump some cuts and just kick it. You people have made this year amazing beyond words, and now we want you to come help us celebrate.

Happy Holidays,


Ben

As many of you know, I’ve been sober for the last 2 years and some change now. And yes, sober from even weed. On the reg I have a familiar conversation around my sobriety that goes something like “That’s awesome that you’re sober! But you still smoke weed right”….”No. I’m old school sober. From everything. But thank you for the free nugs, I will give them to my trumpet player”.

Now, I love a good energy drink. Being sober and constantly tired before/after shows I’ve come to appreciate a little boost when I’m feeling boo boo. And when I was drinking back in my hay day, there was nothing like that insta headache, “I don’t give a fuck about shit right now!” scrap with your homie, accidently hit him in the nose, make him bleed, piss in public and get that “I don’t give a fuck that I pissed on my jeans!” vibe that malt liquor gave me. It was the best. Until I almost got expelled from Garfield and was an alcoholic by the age of 15. But that’s a different story. I digress.

So it hit me the other day. I’ll NEVER get to know what it’s like to get drunk off a 4Loko. Everyone’s gonna be reminiscing in 10 years with their decrepit taurine and malt liquor induced livers, and I’m going to on the outside. Alone. I’m gonna be that one guy in the room whose mom never let him buy a Nintendo, silently regretting his childhood in a corner while everybody is reliving “The Legend of Zelda”. But that’s OK. Right? I’m better off without it, correct? Sure. In my lifetime I’ve gotten to experience some pretty horrible malt liqour Drinks. Here’s a couple of the worst.

211? Might hold the crown for the nastiest in the game. I look at the label and immediately get the old taste of death and neglected homework assignments in my mouth.

This fortified “devil’s piss” was so bad that half way through the bottle you’d be swearing that you were never gonna drink again. Alllllmost undrinkable to the human species…Almost.

Ahhhh, YEA! Welcome to Death row. Snoop and Pac? Come on! St. Ides had the coldest marketing scheme post prohibition. Their “reach the kids” campaign absolutely shat on 4Loko’s bright camo “nostalgic crayon color” shindig. And to top it off St. Ides even had mixtapes!

Sure, it was only 6.0% alcohol and wasn’t made with liquid energy, but still. The “Special Brew” will go down in history as the quintesential “remember when we thought we were 2pac” drink, that was the perfect accompaniment to many a dysfunctional weekend back in the late 90’s. Sure, I might not ever have the equivalent to 4 beers and 3 cups of coffee in 1 can. That’s fine. I’ll take 2 Special Brews, a drunken fist fight in a wife beater, a mild throw up in my mouth after hitting a black and mild too hard type of memory, any day over a 4loko.

Wu-Tang is for the children.

Whenever I go to New York, one of the first places I hit is Canal Street. Ever since a youth, I’ve been rocking fake gold. It was part of my generation. If you grew up listening to Wu-Tang and couldn’t afford real fronts, you were putting gum rappers in your mouth. By the time I was 14 I was buying fake rolex’s from street corner bootleggers, devastated when my pale wrists would turn green days later. I got my first grill maybe 5 years ago. It said “Mack” in the teef and was made by some super shady dude on Canal street who was toothless. Should have seen the omen. It was hardcore man. Felt like it was made of straight Pittsburgh steel. Probably a good thing that I lost that. RIP Mack grill.

I got the grill that you see in this picture off Mr. Mouthpiece from Seattle. I’ve mourned the loss of it probably 5 different times, and each occasion it turns up in some random spot that I put it, after the last time I thought I lost it. I try it on, and immediately a distinct lisp makes it’s way into my mouth. My teeth start hurting about 2 minutes after, and that’s usually when I put it in a desolate drawer, forget about it, think that I lost it, then 2 months later find it again. The cycle repeats.

Anyway, last time I was in New York back in September I bought a bunch of gold. I was in the zone, spending scrill like a true ignorant ass rapper. In fact, I was getting so dumb that Sabzi juuuust barely talked me out of buying an $1,100 diamond ring. Best advice he’s ever given me. Nothing like a wad of rapper money to trick you into thinking you can drop a stack on a 14K princess cut diamond ring like it’s nothing. Thank god I had the homie with me to stop the long range impulse trigger finger, or I would have lost all my “conscious” rap fans.

Instead I came back to Seattle and bought a Volvo. Peace to the gods and earths. Sage Francis!

Owuor played this gem on our Colorado run during his “90’s set” and had all 5 of us in the van screaming “what’s going on!” driving through the mountains.  Perfect Colorado music.  And pretty damn epic.  Which then lead me to a couple questions.  How do I even know this song? Who is this?  Why do I know every word?  How old was I when MTV programmed the lyrics into my mind forever?  And why is it so fucking good?

I need to flip this.  Might be Aberdeen’s next hit.  We’ll see.  But it deserves some 808 hi-hats and raps.

I bet she has a really hairy vagina. Which there is absolutely nothing wrong with! It’s awesome! Just an educated guess. Embrace it!

I had a good long solo snow walk last night and was finally able to zone out on the new Kanye Album. Pretty awesome scenery as an accompaniment to the music. I’m not sure it’s as incredible as everyone is saying it is, but I do think they’re some truly great songs. “Blame game” is a remarkable record. Probably my favorite on the album. “All of the lights” is one of the hardest/spastic beats in recent memory. The perfect combination of chaos and double time horn stabs. “Ruaway” is a cinematic moment capturing a stillness that I rarely hear in Hip-Hop records. Or maybe it’s just that really still weirded out looking deer in the preview of the short film that conjures up the isolation vibe. Either-way, it’s a provocative song. “Power” is just that shit. And there’s more.

Every time Ye drops an album, the samples he used on the project pop up on youtube (props to whoever finds these). And every album, I’m always surprised by how much he’s still flipping records. I just assume he’s playing the keys on songs like “Blame Game.” Or conducting a choir on “Dark Fantasy.” But nope. He (or someone else) is still digging. And in the essence of the origin, you gotta respect that.

And on another note, this is the most fascinating piece I’ve ever read on Kanye. An in-depth look at the creative process. The part of the art that rarely gets documented, examined and scrutinized. As a fan and a musician these are the types of articles that intrigue and inspire me. Not just who they’re beefing with or how much weed they smoke.

The regurgitated blog/journalist/media world has such a limited scope on how to document the human experience. The current model of generic content pumped onto our browsers has successfully blurred the lines of authenticity to the general public. However, when you read the truth you quickly remember how sweet it is. And Noah Callahan-Bever nailed it. One of the more refreshing things I’ve read this year, because I actually felt like a human wrote it! Not an elitist “tastemaker” with an inferiority complex, but actually a real dude. And believe it or not, writing as a vulnerable, real person is still a commendable and endearing trait in 2010. Well done sir.

http://www.complex.com/CELEBRITIES/Cover-Story/kanye-west-project-runaway/

Today is a Snow Day. These days make me want to drink and give me a weird feeling. Not sure what to do with myself.

As many of you know, my friend Budo was my main comrade on the production end of “The Language of my World.” But not only did he produce the majority of the the songs off the album, he was also my sounding board for everything that popped into my mind during that year of creating the record. From selling CD’s hand to hand at Bumbershoot, to riding the popularity wave of the Myspace song, we were a team. His range varied from not only making beats but answering my advanced technical questions such as “how do you turn a Wav. into an Mp3?” On top of that he helped me to nit pick, dissect and analyze every verse and over dub that went with it. He was that dude. The guy behind the scenes that should have been at the forefront of the project. It was really both of ours.

A lot of time has passed since 05′. Budo is now a successful professional musician who has gone through an immense amount of growth. He has been on the road with another good friend of mine, Grieves for the past couple years and is an integral part of that performance. I’ve watched him go from a shy trumpet player, who looked as though being on stage was inflicting physical pain to his body, to a charismatic, confident, renaissance man of music, owning every instrument his jewish fingers touch on stage (and there’s a lot).

Budo is competing in the Big Tune Beat Battle Championships tonight in Chicago. I’ve been loosing my voice screaming for this guy for at least the last 4+ years now, and it’s awesome to see him in a place that he deserves to be: amongst the champions. It was incredible to watch him climb his way to the top of the pack at SXSW where he won the event and I’m sure he’s out to beast on some dudes tonight in Chicago. So here’s a toast to one of my favorite people in this world. Everything that you have attained is more then deserved my friend. The city is proud of you. Much love.

I bought a Polaroid camera this summer at the cyber swamp meet know as Ebay. Best call I’ve made in a while. I’ve grown to love the bulky, at one point white piece of plastic, and have been lugging it around the country with me the past couple months. There’s something beautifully perfect about the instant gratification of a Polaroid. Sure, it’s really expensive and roughly 45% of your pictures either don’t look fresh, or just don’t turn out. But still. There’s an unrivaled greatness of pulling the undeveloped film from the camera as it pushes out a visual mystery in the form of a blank image…Or something like that. I’ll start posting the pictures I’ve been taking.

Chris in front of his apartment

Boy wheeling dog around in Fort Collins Colorado

Gunrange w/ Grieves and that boy Bin Laden

Tricia making fried pancakes at Goose Praire

Greetings, Ryan Lewis here…

Lately something has been on our hearts here at the Macklemore camp that is long overdue for a Bengal Yucky post. You may or may not know me as Macklemore’s producer. Throughout this past year and a half my job has ranged from composing, recording and producing Macklemore records, helping to develop our visual aesthetic through photography/design, and performing at live shows as the DJ. But our camp goes far beyond just the two of us. Unfortunately when that little ‘Produced by Ryan Lewis’ stamp is slapped on a Macklemore song, the story is left untold. Several key names are left out of the mix. When a project like the VS. Redux or Fake Empire debuts, it’s easy to think one or two people made it. In my experience that’s rarely the truth with any project, and for good reason. Great art comes from collaboration; different artists gifted in far reaching ways, choosing to build together. I have learned many different things working beside Macklemore throughout the past year, but at the forefront of it all I’ve learned the power of relationship. The value of being on a team with a group of people whether shit goes well or not, building that bond and hoping everyone is getting something valuable at the end of it all.

Macklemore and I are extremely blessed to be part of such a team. ‘Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ isn’t just Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. We are surrounded by some of the most talented musicians, vocalists, photographers and filmmakers in this city, who were contributing to our art before we had listeners.

In particular we owe much gratitude to Andrew Joslyn (violin), Owuor Arunga (trumpet) and Zach Fleury (guitar, bass, drums, vocals). These three gentlemen have been here since the jump, writing and recording to instrumentals and often performing at live shows. From a producers stand point, having musicians like this, willing to sit down with you and build on a song until it comes to fruition, completely changes the creative process. It helped transform me from being a beat maker to being a producer, and the sound we are crafting for our upcoming LP simply would not be possible without these minds.

Last week with the leak of the Otherside Remix, we simply fucked up leaving out Zach Fleury’s name with its debut. It was a discredit to him and the work he put in helping to make the record. Studio musicians can be involved in both large and small capacities helping beat makers create good songs, and in the case of Otherside, Zach was extremely involved.

Otherside was the last track to be recreated for the Redux. It happened just a couple weeks before the final CD got sent into pressing. Zach and I had a really random studio session without a particular agenda. We had been exploring different songs for a few hours when we felt pretty burnt out; coffee dying down, 2 AM, ready to call it a night. I opened up the Otherside session and convinced Zach to just jam on it for a second. After a while of scanning through different feels he hit a chord that struck home. I sat there (probably annoyingly) pointing and blabbing trying to get a full chord progression. A task like this really isn’t hard for Zach… the dude just goes and goes. By the end of the session at 6 AM, Zach had laid down guitar, bass, drums and one of the key elements of the song – the background vocals. I laughed really hard when I read on a blog that I had gotten a ‘background choir.’ What a testament to the dude’s range, ha! In reality Zach was piecing together a 3-part vocal harmony in his head, which would match the phrase of his guitar.

A valuable skill that I’m definitely still working on is having the patience to let someone else fully try out there ideas. You will never be the only person capable of great ideas, sitting in a room full of bright minds. Zach, Andrew and Owuor are all extremely gifted. These guys have significantly contributed to our music as instrumentalists, visionaries and composers. The Otherside Remix was not just a collaboration between Fences, Macklemore and I, it was a collaboration with Zach Fleury as well. The greatest challenge in this industry is undoubtedly trying to get your name out. For the quality of the art these individuals are making, it’s worth knowing their names.

Sincerely,

Ryan Lewis

–

Zach Fleury (Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals) –Facebook, Hot Bodies In Motion (Band)

Feat. on Otherside Remix, Fake Empire, Life Is Cinema and unreleased tracks.

Andrew Joslyn (Violin) — JoslynStrings.com (Official), Handful of Luvin, Facebook

Feat. on Otherside Original and Remix, Irish Celebration, The End, Nikes and unreleased tracks.

Owuor Arunga (Trumpet) — YouTube Channel

Feat. on Otherside, Irish Celebration, The End, Nikes and unreleased tracks.

Jason Koenig (Photographer) — JkoePhoto.com (Official)

Shot TONS of photography for Fake Empire, original VS. EP cover image, captured Showbox/Paramount Blue Scholars, and Otherside music video.

Johnny Valenica (Photographer) — MazagranPhoto.com

Shot for Fake Empire, live shows, and Otherside music video.

Hollis Wear (Vocalist, Writer) — Canary Sing (Band)

Been and enormous leader in the Macklemore camp, coordinating/writing for Nike’s production

Zia Mohajerjasbi (Filmmaker) — Love And Shoe Strings (Blog)

Shot “The Town” video and will be shooting Nike’s

Ray Dalton (Vocal, Choir) — Facebook

Sang on Nike’s and unreleased tracks.

Camila Kaune (Vocal, Choir) — Facebook

Sang on Nike’s and unreleased tracks.

Lerin Herzer (Vocals) — Facebook

Sang on Otherside Remix with Fences, as well as on unreleased material.

Stephan Gray (Filmmaker) –Facebook

A huge filmmaker in the community, working with the Out For Stardom camp, capturing live shows and working with us toward future videos.

Many more people that have helped us, thank you.