It’s been five years since LL Cool J has released an album – an eternity in the hip-hop world, where keeping a steady stream of music coming has been an important way to maintain career momentum. Between their own albums, singles and guest appearances on albums by other hip-hop artists, maintaining a chart presence is a priority in the crowded hip-hop field.

But not only has LL Cool J had an extended absence from music – although his co-starring role on the hit television series “NCIS: Los Angeles” has kept him very much in the public eye – he has returned with what he considers an unconventional album, Authentic.

“The first rule I broke is, most of the time when veteran rap artists make a new album, the first thing they do is go and grab whatever new current rap artist is out and put them on the album in order to kind of secure their fan base kind of moving forward,” LL Cool J (real name James Todd Smith) said in a recent phone interview. “You know, like, I bucked the trend.”

The make-up of the guest artists on Authentic – only one song, “Bath Salt” lacks a guest artist – also makes it a different kind of hip-hop album,” LL Cool J said.

“While most rap artists will delve into R&B a bit, a lot of them are afraid to go really beyond that and go get the Seals of the world and the Eddie Van Halens of the world and the Brad Paisleys of the world, those other artists,” he said. “Then another thing I did that was bucking the trends is I went and got acts that are actually even generations before me, like Earth Wind & Fire and Charlie Wilson, which most of the time hip-hop artists … there is a lot of ageism in hip-hop. So most people, in hip-hop, people are always trying to figure out how they can still be a teenager.”

LL Cool J let out a chuckle at that remark.

“I think that I bucked a lot of trends and did something I think that was really innovative,” he said.

The choices of guest stars, LL Cool J said, wasn’t for the sake of novelty or star power. It was all about enhancing the songs, and the music on Authentic, for the most part, supports that idea. The album remains very much rooted in the mix of pure hip-hop and R&B-laced romantic balladry that has been LL Cool J’s signature sound. But for the most part, the guests bring exactly what one would expect. Wilson (lead singer from the Gap Band) smoothly croons the soulful melody that plays off of LL Cool J’s percolating rap segment, while Van Halen adds a touch of rock edge with a stinging guitar solo. Soul/R&B star Seal’s famously grainy voice is the centerpiece of the melodic ballad “Give Me Love” (with an unusually vulnerable lyric for hip-hop from LL Cool J). “Something About You” takes on a distinctly Earth Wind & Fire sound with that group’s bold horns and its R&B refrain. “Whaddup,” which features Chuck D of Public Enemy and guitarist Tom Morello, very much has a rock/rap edge that will be familiar to fans of Morello’s band, Rage Against The Machine.

LL Cool J, who has now released 13 studio albums in a career that began with his 1985 debut, Radio, is taking his music on the road this summer, headlining a tour that features three other legendary acts from the first wave of hip-hop – Ice Cube, Public Enemy and De La Soul.

“I just wanted to do a tour that spoke to people who grew up with my music and you know, grew up with my fans,” LL Cool J said. “To me, these three acts represent people that I think are great partners for me on a tour. We have a similar fan base. We came up together. We’re all different. I mean, Cube, obviously, has all kinds of music, a little more gangster. Public Enemy has its music, Chuck D and those guys [are] a little more social/political. And De La Soul is really like more forward and cutting edge in terms of their creativity. So all of us on the tour, I felt like it had diversity, but we had a commonality from a generational standpoint.”

Once the tour is over, LL Cool J will have a thriving acting career waiting for him. He’ll return to filming the next season of “NCIS: Los Angeles,” the CBS series in which he stars alongside Chris O’Donnell as senior field agent Sam Hanna.

Doing the role of Hanna, a hard-nosed investigator with a sensitive side and a good sense of humor, has been a good challenge for him as an actor, LL Cool J said.

“It’s stretched me in amazing ways,” he said. “My chops are much sharper now, and I think people will be able to tell how I’ve grown as an actor moreso when I get to do a film when I have much more time to rehearse and kind of dig into a role. Then you’ll be able to see that I’ve grown. But it definitely has been amazing.”

LL Cool J will perform on the “Kings of the Mic Tour” on Thursday, June 27 at Riverbend Music Center, 6295 Kellogg Ave. in Cincinnati. Also on the bill are Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, De La Soul and DJ Chuck Chillout. Gates open at 5 p.m. For more information, visit riverbend.org. 

Reach DCP freelance writer Alan Sculley at AlanSculley@DaytonCityPaper.com.

This Is Thunder grew out of a transatlantic bond and concrete desire to create together in spite of geographical boundaries. It takes a certain unity of vision to make a project work with so much space in between and little to no time spent in one another’s presence. Jen Schande and Nopse (aka Marc Navoizat) were fortunate enough to hash out demos in Nopse’s apartment in France and build the foundation that ultimately culminated in their eager, oft-ominous debut EP.

Jen Schande cut her teeth with San Francisco band Boyskout as well as ‘90s indie act Shove, whose second album was recorded by James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and who toured with beloved Dayton act Swearing at Motorists. France-based Nopse created a noisy, experimental electronic project in 2000 and went on to release a solo EP on his SP1 label in 2004, followed by a remix EP with Los Angeles trio Meho Plaza in 2010 on Better Looking Records.

Dayton City Paper caught up with the duo to discuss This Is Thunder’s EP – which was self-released on May 28 – and the collaboration that combines the sum of their parts. This is what they said about their roots, the joys of making music together and Schande’s time in Dayton …

Did you actually live in Dayton for a while?

I graduated college in January 1998 and spent February traveling around the country visiting friends and just exploring places I had never been to before. I stopped by Dayton to see some friends and I honestly really missed it. The amazing benefit of the Shove-Dayton love affair was getting to meet, know and make friends with people from the handful of times we played there, so hanging out in Dayton was almost like a homecoming of sorts.

During the time I lived there, I was still writing songs with my Shove bandmate Jay Howell with a band called Bead Arithmetic (which would feature Dayton locals PJ Paslosky of The Motel Beds and Jennifer Bockrath). Jay was still living in California at the time but he came out to visit for a couple of weeks and Kim Deal recorded our demos, which was really fun and really nice of her. Unfortunately, nothing was to become of the demos. -Jen Schande

How did This Is Thunder meet and what was it about your relationship that inspired this project together?

A few years ago, I fell in love with Schande’s song “Penultimate Panache” (it was on Myspace). I really wanted to make a remix of that song. Jen said yes, so I did a remix and it was really new to me to work with that kind of sound. Living with an ocean in the middle of us created an orientation to the project where big spaces, “geographic reflections,” were inspiring factors to the sound the songs and their composition. -Nopse

How difficult was this project to undertake since it was a trans-Atlantic collaboration?

Starting the project was easy, conceptually, as we were both really excited to create together and see what/how the music would sound like. But the distance definitely was a handicap. In particular, I think the main difficulty we faced then, and still do, is how to be prolific with this specific project when we are not in each other’s day to day life, let alone each other’s country. How do we stay in the same creative space with each other and maintain the connection? -JS

Under what circumstances was the effort written and recorded?

When Marc and I were actually able to be in the same room together, we played each other songs we thought would work together. Once we both figured out exactly how both of our parts would go, Marc would record us laying down our basic parts – guitars, vocals, etc. After the initial layers were recorded, Marc would spend a lot of time adding in extra parts and production, then send them to me for input. So basically, bottom line, we would both present blueprints of songs and help the other build it into something solid. -JS

It was always hard on my side, I was always trying to know if Jen would see what I was trying to do on a song. But, she was always able to see it so … recording was good. It was a special experience to record in a real studio the songs that you decided were in their final form the day before. -N

What is next for This Is Thunder? Was this a one-off or are more releases on the horizon?

We are currently writing new songs and fine-tuning our live show. Ideally, we’ll have a new release next year or even more ideally sooner, but that might be a bit ambitious. Regardless, this isn’t a one-off and you will be hearing from us again! -JS

For more information on This Is Thunder, visit facebook.com/ThisIsThunder.

Reach DCP freelance writer Tim Anderl at TimAnderl@daytoncitypaper.com.

After cutting her teeth with Boston college rock icons Pixies in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Dayton’s Kim Deal returned home to rekindle her other band, The Breeders, with twin sister Kelley, bassist Josephine Wiggs and newly-recruited drummer Jim MacPherson. In 1992, the band set to work on what would become one of the most successful albums of the first wave of alt rock, Last Splash (released August 31, 1993), due in large part to the omnipresence of the single “Cannonball.”

As the album reached its 20th anniversary this year, The Breeders and their label 4AD compiled a boxed set for Last Splash, complete with reimagined packaging, out-of-print singles, a live set from that era and an extensively curated booklet. The results are stunning, an impeccable reissue of one of the era’s finest albums. In support of the reissue, the Last Splash-era lineup has reformed, along with violinist/keyboardist Carrie Bradley, touring throughout the U.S. this spring, with additional dates in Europe, the U.S. and Australia planned throughout the remainder of the year. The Dayton City Paper spoke with Kelley Deal about the reissue, the resulting tour and what lies ahead for this reunion.

How did the reissue come together? Did 4AD approach you or was it something you were thinking about? 

Kim and I were sitting on the couch, and as she remembers it, and I’ll take credit, I said, “You know, next year is gonna be the twentieth anniversary of Last Splash.” And she said, “Oh, really?” And then we started talking about what we could or may do about that. I think they were talking about it. Then we were working with somebody and they said, “Let me call 4AD and see if they want to do anything about it and see if they’d be interested in reissuing it or putting something out.” And they did. -Kelley Deal

When you first approached 4AD about reissuing Last Splash, how did all the bonus materials come in?

They’re a really cool label. We basically made out a wish list; we said, “Here’s what we want.” Every step of the way – the artwork, should the different discs retain their original artwork, to the copy writing of the booklet, to collecting the photos, to placing the photos – we’ve been working hard on it. We’ve been working very closely with Chris Glass; he did the booklet for us as far as laying it out. So, we just kinda gave them a wish list and they told us “no” on, like, two things and other than that it’s been pretty amazing. -KD

How did the tour come about? 

That’s what we really wanted to do was tour. We wanted to do the album from start to finish. And we wanted to do any kind of B-sides that might make sense in terms of that. So, we thought about it and we talked to Jim and Josephine to see if they would be interested, first of all. The responses we got back from them were, “Absolutely!” At that point, we started making schedules about having people fly in or drive in. So we just started getting together and everybody worked really hard beforehand and relearned some parts. … I think we’d done every song live except for “Mad Lucas.” The thing we wanted to do was when we got together was working and building and re-creating a song. -KD

Twenty years later, what is your impression of Last Splash?

I think it’s a perfect album, you know what I mean? As far as dropping a needle on it and letting the songs go. The path that it takes you on, the journey that you go on, you’re never sonically bored. There’s always something sonically intriguing or odd or creative that you don’t hear. I think it’s crazy that it can run the gamut of the sugar-pop of “Divine Hammer” to the absolute dirge that is “Mad Lucas.” And that’s all on one record? And seamlessly. It’s not like it’s jolting, it’s lovely. It all makes sense, and I think that’s amazing. I think that was just dumb luck. You can’t make that happen. -KD

You did the pre-tour show at Southgate House. How did you feel about that?

I felt great about it. We wanted to get out of Kim’s basement so we could understand certain things. For instance, Joe hasn’t played in a loud rock band for years. Jim’s a player, he always plays. Carrie was doing new things. She was having pedals she was incorporating. It was important for her to get a feel for what the gear would sound like on stage. It’s always good to have a dress rehearsal. Southgate House was a wonderful place to do that, and they were so nice and generous with what they were doing that we decided the next time we did this and worked with them, let’s just do a show. … It’s coming up on a year from when we first thought about this, so we’ve got a remarkable amount of stuff done. -KD

For more information on the Last Splash boxed set and The Breeders’ tour itinerary, visit thebreederslsxx.com.

Edwin Congreave says the Foals’ recently released third album, Holy Fire was easily the least stressful and smoothest album the group has made.

“This album, we made it in London. We were living kind of at home,” Congreave, the band’s keyboardist, said in a mid-April phone interview. “We were much more in our element. For that reason, I think we were a lot more laid back, a lot more experienced. We were able to work much more productively and positively.”

Such a description would not have at all fit the band’s 2008 debut album, Antidotes. After finishing the album with producer Dave Sitek (of the band TV On The Radio), the group members received the finished album only to find they disliked the mix – enough so that they remixed the album before it was released.

“There was an enormous amount of stress because there was a very short space of time (for recording),” Congreave said, putting the project in perspective. “The record label had the release date scheduled. At least in the UK, there was a lot of hype surrounding the release. We basically thought we had f***ed it up. So, there was a long period of time right before that came out where we kind of thought we had ruined everything.”

Fortunately, fans and the music press didn’t agree. Antidotes was a hit in the United Kingdom, debuting at number three on the album chart, while the album was well received in the United States as Foals quickly became touted as a band to watch on the alternative rock scene.

The second album, 2010’s Total Life Forever, came with different kinds of issues.

“We went to quite a dark place in Sweden in the winter, and we had a residential studio,” Congreave said. “And basically I think we spent a bit too long there and we all sort of lost the plot a little bit. We did feel like we were working very hard, but also sometimes not working to win. I think we felt like we were losing a little bit.”

The second album marked a significant shift musically for Foals, moving away from the angular rock of Antidotes to a more spacious, ambient sound. Congreave said it’s his favorite Foals album, but he is well aware that Total Life Forever confused its share of fans, some of whom, Congreave said, seemed to have since warmed to the second album.

Holy Fire, while it has its own identity musically, has elements of the first two albums. Songs like “Everytime,” “Late Night” and “Milk & Black Spiders,” have some of the spacious feel of Total Life Forever (but enough rhythmic tension to keep the songs grounded), while the new album gets a harder edge from songs like “Inhaler,” which mixes glammy rock and Depeche Mode-ish synth-rock, and “Providence,” a propulsive rocker that builds in intensity as it reaches a sweeping finish.

As Congreave noted, the making of the latest album came without much of the difficulty that characterized the first two Foals albums.

The keyboardist said producers of Holy Fire – Flood and Alan Moulder – deserve a lot of the credit for keeping the recording process on track and moving forward smoothly for the band. Flood (real name Mark Ellis) and Moulder are among the top names in producing, thanks to their work on acclaimed albums by the likes of U2, the Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and the Killers.

Flood and Moulder helped get Holy Fire off to a proper start by helping the band get its new songs in shape during pre-production.

“They (Flood and Moulder) spent about a week going through all of the music that we had and sort of, essentially telling us how it was going to be, like ‘You can’t do this.’ ‘This isn’t working.’ ‘I don’t’ know what this is,’” Congreave said. “We didn’t lose valuable studio time. We didn’t waste money. We didn’t get to that difficult point in the studio, like four months into an album recording, when suddenly everyone realizes that they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Instead, the band – Congreave, singer/guitarist and chief songwriter Yannis Phillippakis, guitarist Jimmy Smith, bassist Walter Gervers and drummer Jack Bevan – came out with the band’s most accomplished album in Holy Fire. Now, Foals is getting to tour behind the new album and the band figures to put on a dynamic show, so long as it settles on what songs to play each night.

“It makes for an interesting conversation every night as we argue. I don’t think we’ve actually come to any kind of agreement yet about how we should be balancing the set,” Congreave said. “There are definitely more new songs than old songs, but that’s mainly because we want to play the songs we feel proudest of and we feel we can pull off the best, which happens to be the new songs. Our heads are still within that space, but we mix it up. I think we play roughly half new songs and the other half is made up of (earlier) songs.”

Foals will perform Tuesday, May 14 at Bogart’s in Cincinnati and Wednesday, May 15 at Newport Music Hall in Columbus. Both shows will also feature Surfer Blood and Blondfire. For more information, visit foals.co.uk.

Reach DCP freelance writer Alan Sculley at AlanSculley@DaytonCityPaper.com.

The hardest thing for any band is maintaining a balance between finding a sound and not getting pigeonholed within that realm. Dear Fawn succeeds in doing just that, and on their debut EP I Played the Queen, they provide a variety of influences while sounding distinctly Dear Fawn-ish in the process. The band will celebrate the release with a show at Jimmie’s Ladder 11 on Saturday, April 13, and you can expect nothing but pure rock n’ roll goodness from this loosely tight-knit machine.

I Played the Queen comes after a progressive time for the band. Although only a year old, Dear Fawn sounds like a band that’s been playing together for much longer than that. Maybe because it’s partially true. Three-fourths of the band – guitarist/keyboardist Tyler Bellingar, bassist/guitarist (and Dayton City Paper Editor) Kyle Melton and drummer Andy Smith – have a history in another local group, King Elk. However, Dear Fawn isn’t some offshoot side project, instead forming nearly by chance with Melton and singer/keyboardist Tifani Tanaka.

“Tifani and I were just hanging out one night and she asked if she could try singing into the PA at my house,” said Melton. “I was blown away. A few weeks later she wanted to try recording, and the two of us worked for like six weeks and came up with sketches for a few songs. I played the demos to Andy and Tyler and they offered their services, and it was obvious that it clicked.”

With everyone onboard, Dear Fawn started cranking out songs at a rapid pace. The experience of playing together in the past made this somewhat easier, although Melton points out that it comes from a completely different place than before. “I’ve never been in a keyboard-driven band, so that’s a huge part of the appeal to me.”

Pretty soon, the band had some tunes on their hands. “Initially, Kyle helped translate Tifani’s ideas,” said Bellingar. “She would sing and Kyle would figure out the rest. When Andy and I joined, things quickly became more organic.”

“Sometimes the music comes first from screwing around at band practice,” said Tanaka, “and other times the lyrics do. I write all the lyrics, mostly about the saddest shit you can imagine.”

The group has gained a reputation around Dayton as a solid live act, and it was on stage that the band perfected their early ideas and also started developing new ones. They’re known for swapping instruments, which came more out of necessity than entertainment. “It wasn’t really an idea we had,” explained Tanaka. “We all just started fighting over who got to play what. In an attempt to make everyone happy, we started playing musical chairs.” Whatever the reason, Dear Fawn fills each show with enough energy to explode at a moment’s notice, and that extra pep in their step pays off well for both band and audience.

All the songs on I Played the Queen display alternate sides of the group, and their influences are wide-ranging to say the least. “We all have different musical connections with each other,” said Bellingar. “Kyle and Andy geek on GBV (Guided by Voices) together. Andy and I listen to Curtis Mayfield and The Smiths in the dark and cry a lot. We all dug the newest Beach House and Tame Impala records. But I think the most obvious and tangible influence on our style is easily the theme song to ‘Charles in Charge.’ Magnificent.”

Opening song, “The Bad Seed,” sails like a desert storm. The guitar grapples the melody and it’s hard to tell whether it’s choking or making sweet, vicious love to it. Either way, the record begins with a velocity that carries throughout all seven songs. “Bandwagon” is an acid-laced stomp guided by a bunch of merry pranksters who assure that, “Everybody’s welcome in my band,” and the song is so entrancing it’s hard to resist hopping on the bus. “You’re a Noose” finds Dear Fawn at their poppiest, with the keyboard driving the song through various twists and turns. The EP’s closer, “White Russian,” sounds like a manic all-nighter with the Dude himself.

“We went in with John Lakes and knocked out the basic tracks in an afternoon,” said Melton. “We’d just come off a month-long residency at South Park Tavern, so we were pretty tuned into the material at that point.”

The band’s hard work isn’t going unnoticed. In addition to their hometown appeal, they’re also making waves across the pond. Recently, UK indie blog Independent Music News included Dear Fawn in their list of the Top 50 Independent/Unsigned Rock/Alternative Acts for the year. Touché, my friends. Touché!

“Of all the bands I’ve been in, this one has progressed so fast and so far,” said Melton. “To think back to Tifani trying to show me how a drum beat should go or trying to figure out if a song would work by playing a cowbell and a bass together, to where we are now is kind of mind-blowing.”

Dear Fawn will be celebrating the release of their I Played the Queen EP on Saturday, April 13th at Jimmie’s Ladder 11, 936 Brown St. Also on the bill is Pharoahs. Show starts at 10 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit facebook.com/dearfawns.

Reach DCP freelance writer Zach Rogers at ZachRogers@DaytonCityPaper.com

Established in 2004 in the city of residence for Ohio’s most notorious party school – Ohio University – the annual #Fest (or Number Fest) has grown to become the biggest and best collegiate music festivals in the United States. It has also helped to launch some of today’s brightest music stars to new heights. With this year’s lineup featuring co-headliners whose popularity is nearly unrivaled in their respective genres and a BYOB format, 15,000-20,000 music fans are anticipating an experience that offers big returns on fun and talent for a modest investment.

Dayton City Paper discussed the forthcoming event with organizer Dominic Petrozzi, who had this to say about it …

Scoring Kendrick Lamar, who is having a huge year, and Steve Aoki, who is world renowned for electronic music, is huge. Are you expecting that the response this year in terms of attendance will respond in kind?

Kendrick Lamar has obviously had a mind-numbing year in regards to notoriety and success. We are beyond excited to have the opportunity to bring him on as #Fest – 11th Edition’s co-headliner alongside Steve Aoki. With Steve’s world renowned style behind the CDJ’s and Kendrick’s recent explosion onto the popular culture scene, we expect the attendance numbers for this year’s festival to increase more so than in years past. With the way online ticket sales have been going – already over 3,000 – and hard ticket sales topping 2,700 this week, we are seeing a trend of early and often buying patterns. All signs are pointing to record breaking attendance numbers. –Dominic Petrozzi

What is it about their approach to music that made Lamar and Aoki a natural fit for this event?

#Fest has a reputation for being a crazy good time. We are now pushing for it to be considered one of the best-billed festivals out there, on top of one of the craziest experiences around. Lamar and Aoki have helped provide us with that credibility. Their presence in and around the college music scene is very strong. Their particular approach to music wasn’t necessarily the driving force behind booking them, rather, their connection with the students and attendees that we focus our event towards. Kendrick is on top of the hip-hop world. Steve Aoki is a veteran of the electronic dance music scene. What makes them a natural fit is the demand of the attendees. We want to provide something for everyone. -DP

While Lamar has garnered major commercial success as of late, including an appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” his flow and approach doesn’t sound particularly mainstream to me. Is not sounding too commercial part of his appeal?

Kendrick Lamar has resonated with the masses as well as the true underground heads because it’s natural. Nothing about his music is fabricated. He came from LA. He’s seen the trials and tribulations of the ‘80s and ‘90s on the West Coast. Sometimes, an artist’s success is predicated on luck … and luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Kendrick Lamar’s music sounds good and the results are in line with his talent and his luck. When it all shakes out, I see Lamar being a mainstay in the hip-hop game for a long time. To many, he’s changed the game, bringing hip-hop back to life. Every other major rap artist realized they better step up or they are going to get lapped by the likes of Lamar. The ringtone, corny rap won’t cut it anymore. Consumers are over the not-so-decent music that has been presented in recent years. Hopefully, we see a resurgence of originality and mindful, heartfelt hip-hop music. -DP

Who else is performing at the event and what do they bring to the table?

The #Fest – 11th Edition lineup is far and away the biggest and most recognizable to date. Watch the Duck (Atlanta) and Bad Rabbits (Boston). Both acts have made major headway in the mainstream music scene. We also have some local talent that has made the jump into the big leagues as of recent with Fly Union out of Columbus. Huey Mack is also on the bill this year. He has a solid following in the region and hundreds of thousands of video views via Youtube. Philadelphia-based EDM DJ 5 & A Dime is also on board this year. His tracks have regularly topped the charts on Hype Machine and Next Big Sound. 

Rounding out this year’s lineup is international touring DJ from Ohio and Warner Brothers Artist, Brooklyn Earick. Outside of his Vegas residencies, Brooklyn also performed at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. Forest and The Evergreens is providing our lineup with an indie twist. Cincinnati-based hip-hop mainstay Santino Corleon will also be performing. Lastly, Ohio University student and local DJ, DJ Loco will be rounding out the bill. -DP

What do you hope those who attend the event take away from it at the end of the day?

Our goal this year – as it is every year – is to provide the attendees with the most well-valued music festival in the industry. -DP

The 11th annual #Fest takes place Saturday, April 13 on West Union Street in Athens, Ohio. Tickets are $30 for general admission, $50 for VIP.  For more information, visit thenumberfest.com.

Reach DCP freelance writer Tim Anderl at TimAnderl@daytoncitypaper.com