Slop Musket

GRADE :: A-
IN A WORD OR TWO :: bold, forward thinking, infinite potential, raw

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THE GOOD :: Slop Musket was already a solid project when MCs anom and Joey Alpha were the lone members, but the addition of a band gives a sonic match to the sense of urgency from the complimentary styles of the two. The rhythm section is on the same page throughout, and the guitar playing may as well be the third MC of the group, if not a Spliff Star or Freaky Tah style hype man. The song Drips and Drops is definitely single material.

THE BAD :: The letter E instead of the letter L in the designation of what the project is. Although this is just a toe in the water of the possibilities that lie before the feet of Slop Musket, it would have been nice to see them expand to a short, 8 song album. With recent appearances on Van’s Warped Tour under their belt, the timing would be perfect to catch as much energy in the studio as possible.

THE UGLY :: Sometimes, our baby pictures get public. We all have to start somewhere, and for what it’s worth, for a first recording on a new project, there are moments of solid execution. Early on, the EP sounds like experiments realized during studio time, but by the second half of the album, the songs sound road tested and more assured. I’m sure when it’s LP time, none of that will be an issue.

THE FINAL WORD :: Slop Musket as a hip-hop outfit was like Mario… possibly even Mario after he’s taken the mushroom. Slop Musket as a band is like Mario with the fire flower, or one of the many awesome incarnations he takes on in the many sequels. It’s nice to see a band evolve so quickly into such a strong direction, and I’m sure that many good things await them.

-chief - Chief And TheDoomsdayDevice.com

Slop Musket started with Joey Alpha and Patrick Smith. Meeting through a mutual friend, they started writing songs together in September of 2012. Both had been involved with hip-hop most of their adult lives, performing as solo acts and in different groups. After releasing their first album, Filthy by Association in April 2013, they both played multiple shows throughout Austin and began working on their second album, Fall, in August of 2013. Meanwhile, enter Marc Martell, Chris Paulos, and Jake Rabin. Chris Paulos is younger brother to Joey Alpha and has been a bassist in bands since the age of 14. Jake Rabin is a drummer in another band with Chris and Marc and has been playing drums in bands since high school. Marc Martell has been in a band with Chris for close to 5 years and had done production for earlier Joey Alpha and Slop Musket projects. All the guys in the band are friends and hang out, so they just decided one day in October of 2013 that they could combine efforts and make Slop Musket with a live band. They started jamming together, having instant chemistry and energy, and the rest you can say is just about 5 five guys who love creating and playing music.

"Some of my proudest moments in music have been the opportunity to share the stage with my little brother, Chris. He has always been a huge inspiration to me and bringing this band together have been a dream come true for many of us."

popVLTR: You've been making moves in Austin, how'd you get into music? Slop Musket: Joey ALpha: All five of us in the band have very different reasons for getting in to music. Myself (Joey Alpha) and the other MC in the band, Patrick Smith, aka ANOM, have our roots in hip-hop. Both of us have been writing and crafting songs on many different projects for almost two decades. The band has been jamming since high school. Chris Paulos (bassist) is my little brother. Our father is a musician and has been a heavy influence on both of us. Marc Martell, an El Paso, TX native along with me and Chris, grew up jamming in high school bands and actually was in another project with Chris and our drummer Jake Rabin. Jake is from Allen, TX and has been drumming in many different projects and connected with Marc upon moving to Austin. We all just mesh really well together.

popVLTR: Congrats on releasing 'Stray Shots', who are some of your influences? SM: Stray Shots was a collection of songs that me and Patrick were working on until we decided to play with a full band. Anom was doing most of the production when it was just me and him before the band. We loved a lot of the songs and wanted to have a final release of what we had been working on, and that's the "Stray Shots" from Slop Musket. We all have unique musical influences, but common inspirations in all of us would be Eyedea & Abilities, Deftones, , Incubus, Muze, Mike Patton, Astronautilis, Buck 65, and the two dark horses.....Insane Clown Posse and Eminem. If you combined all those bands in a blender, hit shred...Slop Musket is the sound the blender would start making!

popVLTR: What are some of your proudest moments in music? SM: Some of my proudest moments in music have been the opportunity to share the stage with my little brother, Chris. He has always been a huge inspiration to me and bringing this band together have been a dream come true for many of us. We have been recently nominated for two awards at the Austin Hip-Hop Awards (Group of the Year & Next Big Thing) . We just played 6 shows at the annual SXSW in Austin, TX, which is a huge accomplishment to us. We released our video for our first single off our upcoming album, Fall, entitled "Drips & Drops", and have received excellent attention and feedback for it. We have gotten in to rotation at a local station here in Austin, and should remain in their top 10 countdown. Our biggest accomplishment is the progression we have made in just the 6 months we've been jamming as a band. We were not all rookies by a long shot, but I do not think anyone believed, including us, that we could accomplish so much in a short period of time.

popVLTR: What cool stuff is on the horizon for Slop Musket? SM: There are tons of stuff on the horizon for Slop Musket. We have just spoke with Crushkill Recordings, the label of the Legendary Micheal "Eyedea" Larsen of Eyedea & Abilities, and they have agreed to carry our new EP, Fall, on their website and help with the promotion of the new music. That still feels so awesome to say!!! We our releasing the album at our release show here in Austin, TX on 5/16/14 at "Slop Musket's Excellent Release Show", which will be a Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure themed show that will see Slop Musket performing as "The Wyld Stallyns" and the guest are encouraged to come dressed as historical figures. We are in the running to play X-Games Austin 2014, which requires votes, so VOTE FOR US!!! We are also playing Warped Tour in Dallas on June 15th, and will be touring this summer through TX, NM, & CO. That's just a preview of more awesome stuff on the horizon!! - PopVulture Entertainment Network

First up, the Bring it Back Cypher where all the artists take a turn freestyling over instrumentals. Not to dis any of the other performers, but when Kilo Artifact gets on the mic to spit, he shames most MCs. This was no different, he stuck out as a top performer. Vel the Wonder took the mic with DJ Lala from California. This short, cute, hispanic chick with stretched lobes probably surprised a lot of concert goers, including myself. She was witty, precise, able to paint pictures with her lyrics, and far more than just a “cute girl” on the mic. Her DJ (also a female) did a great job backing her, even scratching a bit. Got to love a female duo. Then Slop Musket got on, a three piece band with two MCs. They put on a highly energetic and animated performance. Their band teetered the line of punk rock and hard rock with some amazing guitar riffs and a 6 string bass guitar. Totally great performance. Last but not least, the Slop Musket band joined The Lie Show for another on point performance. One thing I love about the Yo! Bring It Back Tour is a lot of these guys don’t look like your typical Hip Hop MC. Lots of surprises. - Callie Dee Presents

New Slop Musket tunes, and this time around, the guys are shooting for bigger and better things. They just recently returned from a successful stint at the Gathering of the Juggalos, and God only knows what the future holds for this talented bunch of guys. Check out the video for the first single off of Land, a collaborative effort with DVZN Media called FIX. - Chief