music shorts
Ed Forman
For Revolutionaries Only
By day, MC Apostle spreads the
hip hop gospel in the classroom; by
night, he does it onstage, both as part
of Heavyweight Dub Champion and on
his own. “I’m a revolutionary, I’m not a
rapper,” Apostle says on “Destroy The
Industry,” a track from his new, self-
released solo album, Lyrical Activism.
Apostle, whose real name is Jeff
Campbell, hails from Denver, where he
founded and ran the Colorado Hip Hop
Coalition, a nonprofi t organization that
provided workshops and classes to
at-risk middle school and high school
students throughout the state. In
2006, after more than seven years of
running the CHHC, Campbell stepped
down from his post and moved to
San Francisco to join the rest of the
Heavyweight Dub Champion and to
write Lyrical Activism, his fourth solo
effort.
The album is the fi rst solo record
Campbell has released in a while, but it’s
worth the wait. On “For Revolutionaries
Only,” Apostle spits statistics about
global poverty like the gunshot
sounds that fi nish out the track. But
infectious, tightly constructed tracks
like “For Revolutionaries Only” aren’t
Apostle’s work alone; Stero Lion of
Heavyweight Dub Champion, vocalist
Viveca Hawkins and turntable master
DJ Quest, who accompanies Apostle
on this tour, also make several
appearances on the record.
While all of the
artists
involved
make indispensable
contributions to the
quality of the music,
DJ Quest’s beats fi t
Apostle’s rhymes like
a tailored suit. His
futuristic beats draw
on heavy metal and
industrial techno, but
some tastefully applied
scratching keeps the
music squarely in the
hip hop realm. With
the tense, climactic
nature of the beats
to back up Apostle’s
call to arms, Lyrical
Activism has the ability to inspire
physical movement just as well as any
revolutionary moment. Apostle and
DJ Quest perform at 9 pm Thursday,
March 13 at Sam Bond’s Garage. 21+
show. $5. — Sara Brickner
In Bed With Ed
Secretly wish the ’70s weren’t over
so you could watch wacky late night talk
shows in the vein of Johnny Carson?
Portland comedian Aaron Ross brings
to life motivational speaker turned
’70s-style talk show host Ed Forman
in his show “The Ed
Forman Show, with ME!
ED FORMAN!” The show
radiates with the essence
of an improv talk show
complete with monologue,
house band, sidekick and
guest performers. “The
Ed Forman Show” ties
together high-concept ideas
with lowbrow humor and
tailor-makes a musical and
comedic experience unique
to each audience.
Ever envy those people on
“Whose Line is it Anyway?”
who volunteer to publicly
embarrass themselves by
being dragged on stage to
participate in the spectacle? A major
part of “The Ed Forman Show” relies
on audience participation, whether
audience members can handle being
the butt of his jokes or not. Bits may
include “QuEDstions,” “In bED with ED”
and “A Match Made in ED.” “The Ed
Forman Show” brings to Eugene house
musician Adam Crossley; Bobby Mickey,
comedian/faithful sidekick/brother of
Ed; musical guests The Taste; stand-up
comics Ron Funches and Chris Castles;
and local celebrity guests, who haven’t
yet been announced.
Ross himself has a strong
background in stand-up comedy, having
recently performed at the American
Marketing Association’s awards gala
in Portland and done improv all over
the country. Ross may best be known
from his critically acclaimed one-man
show “Al Gore Memorial High School.”
Check out “The Ed Forman Show,
with ME! ED FORMAN!” at 9 pm
Sunday, March 16, at Black Forest. 21+
event. Free. — Anne Pick
Apostle
32 MARCH 13, 2008 EUGENE WEEKLY
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