The Start Fires Debut - Dedicate Your Growth To The World

As many who have been following the progress of my lyrical process are aware, I have been ripping up stages and inspiring dance parties as one half Start Fires for the past few years in Portland, OR. For those who don't know, we speak about personal empowerment in a world that seems hopeless though the dialect of hip hop and punk rock, accompanied by music rooted in classic electro and west coast g-funk.

We finally got a really solid recording of our work and have released the first 13 songs as a collection titled "Dedicate Your Growth to the World" - it features some of our most requested songs such as "is this living?", "things tend to happen", "internment", "i am the light", "genocide tactics", and our portland basement favorite "party at my house".

The entire album is available to listen to and download at startfires.bandcamp.com, or directly through the player above.

We have also had it professionally manufactured on CD and are releasing the discs in limited editions of 100, each hand packaged and with unique features to that edition. The first 300 copies also come with a full color 11x17 double sided poster featuring new collage art from both myself and shermstixx on either side.

You can get a copy of the CD here:
-----++++actually its now sold out(3/23/10)++++-----

or by sending me and email at DMLH-at-STARTFIRES-dot-COM.

DMLH Lyrics - Bring Back The Basics

A few weeks ago I did a solo set at Hush with Inkre:mentals in memory of our dear friend Sokhak who passed on last October. It was a really special night. Red-E and E-magyn, the two guys who make up the core of inkre:mentals, put together a memorium dvd with clips of Sokhak doing live poetry as well as many of his friends discussing his inspirational presence in their lives. The DVD was sold to raise money for to purchase bikes for Cambodian children, a cause that Sokhak had wanted to achieve in his life. They are working closely with his family here in the US as well as in Cambodia to make this happen. The room was filled with Sokhaks family, friends new and old, and new faces who heard there was something cool going on. I rocked what was probably my tightest solo set since last June, possibly just because of the extremely awesome energy i felt in the whole room. I had the first set and the room went from sitting and listening to poetry to dancing in ecstatic joy. I was stoked right there, but then I had the treat of seeing Inkre:mentals rock out their set. I first met these guys at an Aftermath open mic (which was hosted and promoted by Sokhak for a good 2 years)and we all hit it off. We spent a few months getting together on mondays to freestyle and connect about art. Since then Red-E and E-magyn have been recording and practicing and their set is TYT. They incorporate costume changes and general goofiness to keep the energy light, while rapping about more serious themes like societal hypocrisy, building for peace and interpersonal issues, and their spiritual connection. These guys rip it up, with passionate presentation that had the whole crowd bouncing. Their set led into an hours long jam session that went deep into the night, with freestyles, live drumming, tap dancing and more, just freewheeling creative energy flowing between everyone who decided to stay. Overall the night was also a success, raising a good amount of money for the cause and bringing people from diverse parts of Sokhaks life together to celebrate his inspirational life.

I was hoping to post video from the show, but i have yet to get the footage, so for now i will post the newest version of Bring Back The Basics, which i premiered at this show and really was feeling the response from the crowd. Check it out:



Lyrics:

bring back the basics
food and water
shelter that's proper
health so we prosper

give back a day spent
what can you offer?
skill sets we trade
barter wealth from the larder

my money's worth less than it was
when i first spent it on dubs
before i put songs on your ipod
and rented out clubs
now the treasury's rescuing banks from all the lent out funds
so when the economy really tanks they'll have more room for their guns
its got me wondering why i would want to get more of their paper money stacks
face it buddy, we chase the bunny for the false safety of running in packs
i'm looking for a place to create things, whos coming? who wants to relax?
cooking up plates where the taste sings true love and the body reacts!
you know - a decent spot to watch the prophecy blast
cracking and offering pabst
macking on apocalypse ass
after all its probably the last time we'll get to party and laugh
after the fall its going to be a lot more of the yard work and trash
no one picks up at the curb, you can't afford to waste the scraps
so fill the compost and turn it, help some food replace the grass!
after the blast we'll be learning all the lessons we left in the past
actually i hope concerned individuals will get together and act!

bring back the basics
food and water
shelter that's proper
health so we prosper

give back a day spent
what can you offer?
skill sets we trade
barter wealth from the larder
(2x)

is it time versus money? well, my money is on time
as an actual resource that i can use to get mine
i'll spend it stacking more resources, we use what we find
in the trash and free boxes, re-using all kinds
of scrap wood, hardware, fresh foods and yard care
i'm mad good at scoping when i'm rolling in a car share
i'm a fool for good fabrics in day-glos and rainbows
to make clothes that match all the light that my brain glows
nurturing my heart, i'm watered when i hydrate
to bloom into the part that i play as a primate
so why wait to find out if we're too late to climb out
of the hole they've been digging since they sold us a living?
i'll take time out to chase my fate and wind down
to play the role being written in my notebook descriptions
of a future laid out with a co-creative vision
where a few of us will get together to keep living
shape rhythms and words, paint images of worth
and feed each other with a feast that was collected from the earth!

bring back the basics
food and water
shelter that's proper
health so we prosper

give back a day spent
what can you offer?
skill sets we trade
barter wealth from the larder