Marcus now appearing @ Mishka, and other notes!

I am extremely proud to announce that starting today, my work will be appearing on Brooklyn clothier Mishka’s online music and culture blog, the Mishka Bloglin. Possibly by now, or later, my debut piece will have been posted. Do not fear, True Genius Requires Insanity readers, there will be very little difference to my content here on the site. However, pieces for Mishka will be accompanied by that lovely logo above, and will be linked solely to the Mishka website. The Mishka brand, much like TGRI’s brand has always been about being a completely unique and standout product in an underground market saturated by those who believe that their product are unique and standout as well, but end up being variations on a theme. For Mishka, there will be the long form musical commentaries you’re used to here at TGRI, as well as a slate of really interesting interviews I have lined up that I think will on one level be the same content you’re already used to, and on another level extend the definitions of music journalism in some curious directions.

I would like to publicly thank everyone that has ever believed in this site, and more importantly, believed in my writing. The list of people who have been most helpful increases exponentially day by day, and I am truly grateful for that. As well, I’d like to thank my co-editor in chief Chris Kelly, who really is one of the best and most criminally underrated music journalists in the blogosphere and is really doing some massively important work as of late. He, as well as our in house graphic designer, Carrie Epps, are the glue that hold the site together sometimes, and I’m really thankful for that. As well, the rest of the “hustlers of culture” are really mimicking the day to day heartbeat of music. Here at TGRIOnline.com, we try to cover music at the exact same pace it expands and contracts, and we examine it scientifically, like an organism, and are quick to figure where it’s going, and how it’s headed there. It’s difficult work, and I’m proud of our success in making that happen.

Stay tuned, as we have more content, more parties, more mixes, EPs, mixtapes and yes, a RELAUNCH WITH A BEAUTIFUL NEW DESIGN planned for the future.

Enjoy, and thanks to everyone.

All respect all,
Marcus Dowling
Editor-in-Chief, True Genius Requires Insanity

TGRIOnline.com presents TRUE THURSDAY @ WONDERLAND BALLROOM

Hello!

The “Hustlers of Culture” of True Genius Requires Insanity are proud to announce that starting with June 10, 2010’s FRIENDS party, we have entered into an agreement to provide quality dance entertainment at the Wonderland Ballroom on the second Thursday night of every month. As of press time, this deal is indefinite. On June 10th, our own DJ Cold Case teams with fantastic local rave, pop and hip hop DJ, DJ TMY to present the ultimate teen pop explosion now known as FRIENDS, which will celebrate fifty dynamic and crowd friendly years of teen pop music. This will be a quarterly occurrence, with the next FRIENDS not scheduled until October, which yes, will absolutely have a Halloween theme based around dressing like your favorite teen pop icon.

The months not occupied by FRIENDS have something just as exciting in store. If a follower of the site, you are aware of our desire to preserve and protect the legacy of easily the most bass heavy and party rocking sound in dance music history, Baltimore club music. We have paired those sounds with hip hop and top 40 to present WORLD CHAMPS, a party with a resident DJ now known merely as the “World Champion of Club Music,” our own STAMPED DJ, James Nasty, with special guest DJ Cam Jus. Not since the days of Dave Nada and Jesse Tittsworth throwing the CRUNK parties has there been such a stable home for Baltimore club music within the DC Metropolitan area. On July 8th, be prepared for fireworks when Nasty and Cam get behind the decks!

True Genius Requires Insanity is now fully committed to the development and curation of top quality and high level social events. As with everything about the site, be aware that we demand excellence, and that content as well as style are equal goals in concert with each other. The Guerilla Gorilla Movement is upon DC! More to come!

Sincerely,

Marcus K. Dowling
Co-Editor in Chief, True Genius Requires Insanity

SEAL OF APPROVAL: Welcome to the Jungle! Marcus Dowling’s 32nd Birthday Party! – Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar – 4/24/10

Yes, I’m giving my own birthday party a seal of approval. No, I’m not being a sanctimonious, self-promoting jerk, either. On Saturday night, I celebrate my recently passed 32nd birthday. Trevor Martin is spinning. The dude is criminally slept on and always knows how to spin a dope party. Hip hop, electro, rock, R & B, Top 40, Trevor’s your guy. Want girls dancing on bars? This is your guy for that, too. It’s a documented fact.

http://www.youtube.com/v/o1tj2zJ2Wvg&hl=en_US&fs=1&

What I’m doing here is merely stating that this party begins audacious times here at True Genius Requires Insanity. See, on Friday, we at TGRIOnline.com are going to kill the insular, reduced to a high school popularity contest, misguided, worthless beast known as “hipster culture.” In doing so, we’re starting a culture of embracing yourself, and embracing what you love, and feeling no angst or pressure in doing so. To that end, we’re bringing back our quarterly excellence in rock decadence “Over the Edge,” and introducing a new quarterly party, “Friends,” a party that will celebrate, yes, TEEN POP MUSIC. It’s time to get back to basics, it’s time to back away from the Pitchfork, back away from the remixes, back away from the hottest blawggg hausse, and remember what life was like before we even knew how or what being cool, trying to be cool, or what even defined all of that. Sure, we’ll return back to that, as it’s still going to be there, and will still be evolving at an entirely too quick rate of speed, but let’s remember what got us there, and hopefully reclaim a bit of ourselves. The world keeps spinning faster and faster. I’m going to back away and relax for a second. Do come and join me…

http://www.youtube.com/v/81u6fMRM1IE&hl=en_US&fs=1&

VISIT FACEBOOK INVITATION

Want to be a "Hustler of Culture" and round out TGRIOnline.com’s staff…keep reading…

Hi! Marcus Dowling here, co-editor in chief of TGRIOnline.com. I’m putting out an open call to you, our readers, looking for our tenth and final staff member. Yes, we will be a ten person staff. Why ten? Well, it’s a round number, and, it allows the site to meet its fullest potential as the ultimate home of quality opinions of recorded sound. On any given day, you’re probably going to see on the front page some of the most dynamic and intriguing opinions about music. All music. We don’t discriminate here. The True Genius Requires Insanity umbrella covers not just electronic dance music, or indie rock, or hip hop, or R & B, but everything. Actually, we prefer our writers to be equally as comfortable sweating away for six hours to deep house music, going knee deep into a most pit and willingly throw some bows as able to recite Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story” from memory. Alongside that, is the writing. We have a goal of attempting to be the greatest collection of musical thought that the internet has ever seen. We think we’re almost there, but we want you!

You?

Have the ability to donate one column per week. Note what we do here on the site, and can find a niche we’re not covering. Preferably not from the DC/Baltimore area (a lot of this is all about being inclusive of our rapidly increasing readership), but, we love our Natty Boh drinking, Wu-Tanging friends and those who rep the three stars and two bars as well. Have a personality that comes through in your writing. We are nine very obvious and very diverse personalities here. If you have a clear and distinct voice, we’d love to hear it!

What must you provide if interested?

– a writing sample of 800 words or less, either covering an event that has happened recently, or, something music related (even tangentially) that you have written.
– a statement of 100 words or less of why you are an ideal HUSTLER OF CULTURE
– What were three of your favorite musical nights out of the past twelve months and why?
– if you hear the term “all respect all,” what does that mean to you?

Benefits

This is an unpaid position, but, in choosing to accept it, there’s always the possibility of listed entry into shows, swag/gear/merchandise, etc., and the very likely chance that you are in a very real way, raising interest in music and/or affecting, even in the smallest of ways, the musical landscape.

This will be a rolling submission process, but do get those entries in soon. Chris and I are looking to fill this writer slot as soon as possible!

Email entries to dowling dot marcus dot k AT gmail.com and to mrkelly AT gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!

All respect all,

Marcus Dowling
Co Editor-in-Chief, True Genius Requires Insanity

TGRIOnline.com NEWS IN BRIEF – Introduction for New Readers and Co-Editor in Chief Named!

Welcome to TGRIOnline.com. True Genius Requires Insanity. For the last 20 months, we’ve been here attempting to live up to the name of this site, and have adequately done so. It started off as just me, but we’re now eight writers deep, with two in satellite locations outside of DC. We’ve been a few different places with the aid of you, our readers, from SXSW in Austin, to the Electric Zoo, HARD concerts and Flashing Lights in NYC, to South Beach Miami, My Crew be Unruly in Batimore, we’ve experienced dubstep at Fabric in London. We’ve covered literally every major occurrence in music in the last two years, and would like to thank all of you, our readership, for taking time out of your day to learn about, read about and experience the finest in sonic experiences.

We also have endeavored to provide you with the best opinion and commentary about music and music related issues anywhere on the internet. It’s just not enough for us to drop MP3s and show pretty pictures. We want to engage your mind with opinions, to make you think about what you like, to not just “Check Your Head” like a Diplo track, but to “feed your head” like Grace Slick advises in Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” To that end, we’ve really attempted to have an opinion on just about anything worth having an opinion on in music, and as music evolves, our opinions will evolve as well, and we’ll continue to keep your brain active as your feet groove to the never ending beat.

We’ve also interviewed those who make the music as well. It all started with a sit down with the legendary Teena Marie, and has traversed across the musical universe, with stops with club music legends like Blaqstarr, DJ Sega and Jonny Blaze, electronic icons like Darude and rising ones like Hercules and Love Affair’s Andy Butler, along with Gina Turner and Dave Nada, and hip hop names of note like Warren G and Wiz Khalifa. There have been numerous other stops in between, as we’ve conducted over 20 interviews in 20 months, so rest assured, the fun is just beginning.

Speaking of fun, you’ve supported our two party ventures, All Killer, No Filler and Over the Edge, and as 2010 gets rolling, do expect more ribald adventures down that avenue, some coming extremely soon.

—–

I am proud today to introduce Chris “Lenins Tomb” Kelly as Co-Editor in Chief of TGRIOnline.com. Kelly, a Florida native has been with the site for six months, and in this time has begun to distinguish himself as an intellect and author of note in the DC area as well as nationwide and internationally with his astute analysis on the site. His economic and impact filled writing style is always dead on point and entertaining, and worthy of praise. Chris will be a point person for all site related activities and also a public face of the site as well, also taking on the responsibility of weekly columns, check his regular weekly “The Verge,” now in week two on the site.

There will be a plethora of new coverage coming to the site as well, as we attempt to broaden our scope across all musical styles. By the end of next month, we will be a team of ten writers, with interests as vast as old school hip hop to hardcore and metal, with no short shrift being given to those interested in pop, dance, mainstream radio and from all of us, a true appreciation for the voluminous and entertaining history of music.

Do keep reading, and much thanks for your support.

All respect all,
Marcus Dowling

Co-Editor in Chief, True Genius Requires Insanity

BIG PARTY COMING SOON…TGRIOnline.com presents…FRIIIENDS!

http://www.youtube.com/v/GiAiE-cw170&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01

Springtime will be upon us soon, a time for reneweal, a time for rejuvenation, a time for good times, beauty, positive attitudes, happiness, and yes, those that we celebrate all those feelings with, friends. Soon, TGRIOnline.com will become your friend, with “FRIIIENDS,” revelry inspired by that time in life when we first recognize what friendship means, our youth. The party is also buoyed by our interest in the British sitcom “The Inbetweeners,” which is a comic celebration of the precocious hope and heartbreak of that time in our lives, and provides the perfect themes upon which to build a hilariously good time.

“FRIIIENDS” will bring the joy into your life, and will be the night where the pain, stress, and angst of adulthood will melt away with the aid of heaping spoonfuls of Brit pop, Teen pop, Bubblegum pop, and the most exuberant and youthful sounds in dance and club music. Keep your eyes peeled for more, as soon, you will all know that “WE ARE YOUR FRIIIENDS!”

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x1ifng
Justice vs. Simian – We Are Your Friends
Uploaded by rooroo. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

PRESS RELEASE: THE JOINT CHIEFS present the ALL KILLER NO FILLER Party @ LIV!

#For Immediate Release

September 23, 2009

Washington DC’s Debuting JOINT CHIEFS present the inaugural “ALL KILLER NO FILLER” Event at LIV Nightclub on October 1st

Washington, DC is widely considered by the entertainment universe as being “up next.” In an attempt to be forward thinking and proactive in presenting DC in it’s best light to the eyes that gaze upon the city, three disparate yet related entities have joined forces to create the JOINT CHIEFS, a strongly organized event planning, event covering, and event coordinating unit. Consisting of Winston Ford of The Couch Sessions (thecouchsessions.com), Sonya Collins of The Glass House (theglasshousedc.com) and freelance journalist Marcus Dowling of True Genius Requires Insanity (tgrionline.com) and a plethora of networked sites, the Joint Chiefs are a production, journalism, marketing and promotional team extraordinaire, combining the nation’s leading urban alternative website (The Couch Sessions), alongside Washington, DC’s newest and well respected urban culture repository (The Glass House), and the nation’s newest and fastest rising music journalist (Dowling). On October 1st, the Joint Chiefs unify for the first of many times for “ALL KILLER NO FILLER.”

“ALL KILLER NO FILLER” is being presented as the ULTIMATE monthly party. An immediate destination event by the reputation of the guest artists alone. The inaugural event on October 1st is a prime example of what we intend to bring to DC’s burgeoning party scene. “ALL KILLER NO FILLER” is a monthly event curated for the purpose of uniting the urban and alternative dance and social communities, in the face of shifting musical tastes that allow for there to be significant stylistic similarities and crossovers between the individuals in both areas.

The lineup for the initial event is not just an obvious invitation to have a good time, it is indicative of the thematic goal of the event, the cultural and musical blend of style, beauty and substance we look to create.

—–

RA the MC (Strange Music)

Dope emcee. Fashion Icon. Photographer. One of the brightest new stars from the rising to the top DC area, RA the MC is a talent not to be missed. Recently a nominated finalist for the MTV VMA’s best DC Breakout Artist, Ra is a confident, charismatic and uber talented artist whose talents more than speaks for itself. Our performing headliner at the inaugural “ALL KILLER NO FILLER,” it’s oh so important to get in on the ground floor with the Judah produced rapper who has collaborated with the likes of Mick Boogie on mixtapes, and who releases her “Trending Topic” Twitter mixtape on October 6th!

—–

NACEY AND STARKS (Nouveau Riche)

Nacey and Steve Starks are the truth. Whether holding it down at the Nouveau Riche monthly at DC9 on the 4th Saturday of the month with Gavin Holland, or throwing down scintillating mixes at Bmore’s legendary My Crew Be Unruly party this July, Nacey and Starks make dancefloor magic happen.

Nacey’s the ultra smooth, southern hip hop and Bmore club lover with one of the broader selective tastes in the city. Nationally, and internationally, his tracks were most recently dropped Girl Talk, and he’s a winner of a remix contest for Diplo’s (producer of MIA’s Paper Planes) Mad Decent Records. Into the internet? He’s favored by Discobelle, Sheena Beaston and the most noted of tastemakers.

Steve Starks is presently Dave Nada’s favorite DJ. Not enough to convince you? Well, Starks’ bass heavy and deep club explorations are phenomenal and have gained international favor. He’s a DJ’s DJ, a man with a populist flair and a phenomenal ear for booty shaking jams.

—–

TREVOR MARTIN (Sneakers in the Club/Real Talk)

One of the most underrated yet seasoned selectors in the city, Trevor Martin’s musical mirth making abilities know no bounds. Equally as equipped to rock Top 40 to mainstream hip hop, old school, Philly Club, Miami Bass, and even sometimes harkening back to his hardcore roots, Trevor Martin, as his mixtapes always state is “Rock’n Bamaz”…hard.

—–

CAM JUS

DJ Cam Jus is one of DC’s more inventive selectors. Always forward thinking, he creates the remixes and blends that you knew would make sense, but didn’t realize could ever be done.

VERY IMPORTANT MUST READ SITE UPDATE

Hello!

If you’ve looked around TGRIOnline.com as of late, you’ve likely noticed a few changes. That’s because by October 1st at the earliest, the site will be networked, along with many of the other sites my writing is seen at, into the interface at what will tentatively be known as the “marcusdowlingdotnet” project. TGRI has opened so many doors and made so much possible for me in the past year that I’m going to incorporate it into a larger actual website, which will have constant updates as to ALL content that I write, be it here, or for Winston Ford’s The Couch Sessions (thecouchsessions.com), Brightest Young Things (brightestyoungthings.com), Kendrick Daye’s soon to be print (congrats!) Art Nouveau Magazine (an-mag.com), or Cream Team.TV, it will ALL be available for view, with a constant RSS feed update to reflect the growing nature of my one man textual crime spree. DO yourself a favor and follow me on Twitter, add me on Facebook, or join my Facebook Group at http://tinyurl.com/l7ljpe. I get into the party promotion game on October 1st with the inaugural All Killer, No Filler monthly at DC’s LIV nightclub, copromoted with WInston from Couch Sessions and The Glass House’s (glasshousedc.com) Sonya Collins, where genres will happily smash together when local favorite Ra the MC will do a live rap concert with local rising stars Nacey, Steve Starks, Trevor Martin and Cam Jus providing their talents as DJs on the bill as well. Joining the Facebook group gets you free entry if you RSVP on the page!

All that being said, TGRI is going to become a lot more fun in the near future as a boutique project of the “marcusdowlingdotnet” experience, and will proudly be welcoming aboard new writers and photographers within the next few weeks. Atlanta’s Kari “swiper bootz” Elam started yesterday, and is enamored with the “Unforgettable” project, which will be looking back to albums, mixes and mixtapes that have come to define the current alternative experience, and in the deluge of music we now see daily, are lost in the undertow. University of Maryland sophomore Alexa Grey starts soon as well, providing a unique view of underground rock, unusual ambient dance sounds, and whatever strikes her fancy. She’s an English major, so I’m excited to have a cultivating wordsmith on board. Photographer Gili Perl will be adding her flavor as well, as the youthful socialite is pretty wicked with the camera, developing a style, and I’m more than happy to provide her with a platform to develop her talents as well.

If you would like to join this “insane” online family, do email me at dowling (dot) marcus (dot) k @ gmail (dot) com. We’d love to have you.

Thanks for the continued support,
Marcus

BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS COLUMNS INFORMATION!

As of late, I’ve been really putting in some work at Brightest Young Things covering electronic and dance music with my “Humpday Hysteria” column, as well as Blisspop and My Crew be Unruly reviews. As you may have seen, the Humpday Hysteria column did also appear here for a week, but, frankly, the column itself is so image and multimedia intensive, I’ll no longer feature it here in full, but, instead, provide the link to the piece. For the uninitiated, it focuses on the top electronic and dance events coming to the DMV, as well as any major news or new tracks of worth that have been dropped internationally, and soon in the future will feature interviews with DJs and producers as well. Do yourself a favor and check the link below for everything great that’s been happening over at BYT!

MARCUS’ BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS PORTFOLIO!

TGRI ON BYT AND MORE!!!!

Yes, it’s true. As of Wednesday, July 1st, I am now a contributor for DC mega blog Brightest Young Things (www.brightestyoungthings.com), providing comprehensive dance and electronic music coverage for the website. “Humpday Hysteria,” hitting the site every Wednesday (and copied here as well,) will not be the deep and thorough musical exposition you find over here, but, a far more mainstreamed take on dance and electronic music, tailored toward the ordinary average partygoer who doesn’t usually care about the difference between Rusko and AC Slater, but just wants to have a great time. As well, there will be extensive reviews and interviews of the local party scene (starting with tonight’s massive Blisspop), much again, like what can be found here, but just being seen by 65,000 more potential eyes a week. Thanks to everyone for the constant support, as it is duly appreciated and I hope to be able to continue to provide you, the reader, with phenomenal content in the weeks, months and years to come.

Thanks again,
Marcus