Foxxjazell and Why You Never Hear From Me

Hey everyone, apologies for the lack of new play list and blog updates. I started this station and blog at the same time that I started school, planning a tour, a CD release, and my very own transy-gay wedding. It's not just my wedding alone, of course; it also belongs to my femme lesbian lovah, who happens to be the queen of wedding crafting. So far she's made her veil, the cake topper, the tie pins, the boutineers, the programs, her bouquet, and her wedding jewelry (I know I'm missing something). I'm working on putting the music together (of course), and a couple other things that seem to take up much of my time. I know this blog is supposed to be about queer and trans music, and we'll get there, I promise. In the meantime, I feel the need to let readers know that I'm having a transy hot flash. I'm not drunk blogging, I swear. I just want to have some connection to Bad Flower Radio readers and I feel closer to you already. Let's get even closer: please comment on both the blog and the station. Let me know who you want to hear and who you'd like me to interview. Even if they are big - time, I'll accept the challenge, and politely hunt them down in an attempt to get an interview or Q&A.

Before I forget, I'd like to give a SHOUT OUT to DEADLEE for giving me an alternative to the word 'tranny.'

Now back to the matter at hand. Because of all this wedding planning and traveling, I'll continue to be sparse in my posts and play list changes over the next few months. While the planning stages are almost done, the executions are about to begin.

In the meantime, I have something for you. Check out Bad Flower Radio's latest broadcast featuring artists such as Hanifah Walidah, Farrad, and Elias Krell. Today's featured artist is the fierce trans hip hop artist, Foxxjazell.

Foxxjazell is one of the first transgender music artists to achieve success in the mainstream market. She has opened for queer icon, RuPaul, and been featured in mainstream media such as XXL Magazine and TMZ.

I caught up with Ms. Foxxjazell at a quaint little Frence cafe in Beverly Hills. Ok, really, I just sent her some questions in an email and she was fabulous enough to answer them.

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Q&A with Foxxjazell


BFR: Could you briefly describe your process of writing a song?

Foxxjazell: Songs come 2 me randomly. 95% of the time I will be doing sumthin
unrelated 2 music & an idea 4 a song will randomly pop-up.

BFR: Your bio says that your parents wanted you to become a nurse or a
teacher. Are they supportive of your music, now that they see that you’re
doing what you love?

Foxxjazell: They tolerate me cuz they know Foxxjazell is gonna do what
Foxxjazell wants to do.

BFR: Which artists have influenced you? Both old school, and current?

Foxxjazell: Madonna, Prince, M.J., Salt & Pepa, Lefteye, Tupac, T.I. & Basement
Jaxx. That's just 2 name a few.

BFR: What is your ultimate goal with music… if someone handed you
$100,000, and a $50,000 technology suite (Project Runway Style) and said
“make your dreams come true,” what would you do with the goods?

Foxxjazell: I would expand my record company FKJ Records & invest the
money in2 stocks & bonds.

BFR: Do you feel you have a responsibility as an artist and a public figure to any
particular community or demographic?

Foxxjazell: Of course. That's main reason I ventured in2 the music industry cuz I have something to say & express 2 the public in a artistic format.

BFR: I noticed that you got in with Hip Hop Magazine. How have you been treated in mainstream hip hop?

Foxxjazell: They tolerate me at best.

BFR: According to an article in XXL, you took a hiatus after being dropped by a label for being trans. What inspired you to come back and start performing again?

Foxxjazell: Seeing the birth & progress of the homohop genre & wanting to be part of it.

BFR: Are you signed to a label now?

Foxxjazell: Yes FKJ Records not a major but a indie label that kicks a$$!!!

BFR: What has been a major highlight in your career?

Foxxjazell: Actually I can't just say 1. Having "Split Enz" debut on the Billboard Hot Single Sales chart. Having my music videos rotated on MTV, Logo, VH1 & various other networks outside the states. Also getting rotation on the radio has been a highlight 4 me.

BFR: Do you have any new projects coming up.

Foxxjazell: Yes my new album "Boy,girl,whateva" is in stores online world wide & my current single I'm promoting now is "Hookup" (Off the hook remix) featuring trans electro pop star Ashley Breathe.
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Foxxjazell's "Hookup" can be heard on the latest Bad Flower Radio broadcast.

Check out her website: http://www.foxxjazellmusic.com/

Annette Aguilar and STRINGBEANS in the Bay Area This Weekend

This Friday Annette A Aguilar and STRINGBEANS Latin Jazz Brazilian at La Peña Cultural Center followed by performances in San Jose and San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday.


(details below).


Annette Aguilar has been a celebrated performing and touring percussionist for over 20 years. She has shared the stage and performed with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sheila Escovedo (Sheila E.), Tito Puente, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Toshi Reagon. She has also played on Broadway; and her music has been featured in the L-Word. (WHAT!)

My first exposure to this dreamy and extremely talented musician was seeing her perform with Casselberry-Dupree at WIMINFEST in Albuquerque, NM back in the late 80's. I was a stage-hand (with a fooiiine mullet), and had the thrill of standing just off stage from where Annette played. It was the best seat in the house... hands down! (get it?)

You can currently hear her on Bad Flower Radio on the Casselberry-Dupree tracks. I will feature Annette Aguilar and STRINGBEANS on upcoming Bad Flower playlists. For now, you can hear them here: http://www.aguilarstringbeans.com/live/ ...and live this weekend!

Check out this great interview with Annette in The Latin Jazz Corner.

ANNETTE AGUILAR & STRINGBEANS

WHEN: Friday 8/13/10
WHERE: La Peña Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA
TIME: 8:00 p.m.
TICKETS: $15 in advance; $20 at door

WHEN: Saturday 8/14/10
WHERE: The Salsa Stage at the San Jose Jazz Fest
San Fernando Street @ Almaden Avenue
San Jose, CA
TIME: 8:00 p.m.
TICKETS: $15

WHEN: Sunday 8/15/10
WHERE: CODA
1710 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
TICKETS: $10

The Deep and Nasty Hip Hop of DEADLEE

The Deep and Nasty Hip Hop of DEADLEE

A year ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and sharing the stage with down and dirty rap / hip hop artist Deadlee. We both performed at the Fresh Meat Festival in San Francisco, which lasted 4 nights, with the same lineup every night. That meant I got to see Deadlee do his thing 4 nights in a row. This never got tired.

The man knows how to work a crowd. While most rappers aren’t afraid to be explicit about sex in their lyrics, and show their torsos and sexy dancers on stage, Deadlee embodies hardcore man on man sex in his performance. This sexy vato gets up there busts moves and lyrics that guarantee the viewer/listener will not leave without having some understanding of just how macho and hot the act of taking it up the ass can be.

Deadlee’s songs celebrate and mourn what it means to be queer and what it means to be brown in the U.S. In his song “Carnival In My Mind,” Deadlee turns police brutality and harassment into a sex fantasy “in order not to go mad” says Deadlee, reflecting on the numerous amount of times he has been stopped by the cops. The song is not just about fantasy, however, he goes on to say that some of the song was based on Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant, who in 1997 was beaten and sodomized with a broomstick by cops in Brooklyn after one of the cops mistook him for a man who punched him at a bar. http://nyti.ms/9G1ZUS

Another song that celebrates and mourns is “Day Of the Dead,” one of my personal favorites. With a low and gritty voice he starts off eerily rapping about the imagery of the big skeletons that can be seen dancing and bobbing their heads in the streets on el dia de los muertos, the Mexican holiday that celebrates and honors the dead. From there he sings about the realities of being queer in the “wrong place [at the] wrong time.” Deadlee is joined by guest artist Drastiko from the hip hop group SALVIMEX. I asked Deadlee if he could talk a bit about the song. “I am picking up the mic for all the gay people who have lost their lives because they were gay, trans, etc. I am picking up the mic for them and taking revenge. The Spanish lyrics are a description of the famed celebration of the Day of the Dead; we are celebrating the lives of the LGBT who have died.”

Deadlee’s lyrics are real and current. He delves deep into harsh and complex subjects and lightens it up on occasion with songs like “Nasty,” an anthem to the diversity in LGBT communities-- not only diversity in the people, but the diversity in the ways we like to get nasty. “Nasty” will be featured on the Bad Flower 3 playlist, which will be launched within the week.

Check out Deadlee’s blog/web page at http://anotherdeadleeblog.typepad.com/ and go to iTunes or CD Baby and buy his album Assault With a Deadlee Weapon.

DEADLEE, yo, y Shawna Virago at

Fresh Meat 2009

Bad Flower Radio Multi-genre music by trans and queer artists of today and days past.

Hey everyone, welcome to Bad Flower Radio and Blog!

The mission of Bad Flower Radio is simple: it is to scratch the surface and then dig into the eclectic mix of talented trans and queer musicians, and create bridges among genres and within community.

Trans and queer music artists, all have at least one thing in common: We are poorly represented in both mainstream and indie music. Thankfully, there are a handful of music lovers out there working to get exposure to queer musicians. Out Radio, TransFM, Trans-Genre, and the Queer Radical Radio Blog are some great projects that come to mind. It is my hope that Bad Flower Radio will help contribute to the great work these sites are doing.

Bad Flower Radio will stream trans and queer artists who are both new and established, mostly indie, and occasional mainstream acts for nostalgia and guilty pleasures. J

Although not exclusively, Bad Flower aims to feature artists of color and mixed race heritage, both on the radio and in the blog. The blog will include interviews, reviews, articles, videos, and occasional guest writers. I admit, there is not solid plan. I’m just following my passion and instincts. We’ll see where Bad Flower Radio takes us, and where the listeners take Bad Flower Radio.

I welcome suggestions and comments about the site and station, but because of time and bandwidth, I may not be able to address them all.

Please, feel free to suggest artists and to submit your own work either to my email address: storm@stormflorez.com

Or to

Bad Flower Radio
740-A 14th Street #147
San Francisco, CA 94114

One final thing: In order to pay artist royalties and stay in business, Live365 has two options for listeners: You can listen for free, but you will hear advertisements, OR you can become a VIP member, which I am considering doing. With a VIP membership, you can listen without advertisements, and you can listen to stations who have reached their listener limit. Also, a portion of your VIP membership will go to your favorite broadcasters, which helps us keep up our sites.

Check here for their VIP deals: http://www.live365.com/web/index.live?cont=hom

I hope you enjoy the music!

xoStormMiguel