February 26 2003

THE GRAMMYS MAY have tried to clamp down on antiwar statements, but that shouldn't stop you from getting the word out. You gotta rock? Do it March 1, between 1 and 2 p.m., and you'll "Rock Out Against War." The latest incarnation of "Rock Out S.F.," the simultaneous, somewhat impromptu outdoor action, invites all local musicians and artists to perform wherever they might be – rooftops, street corners, or parks – to protest the impending war against Iraq. Performers can get a downloadable PDF file-pamphlet to explain its mission and a list of antiwar groups, at www.rockoutsf.org.

Meanwhile, down in Oaktown, Shingo Annen, DJ with the Freelancers crew, artist, and Vestex-sampler developer, has dreamed up another antiwar effort. Operation Peace Crane, subtitled "In the Age of Hawk vs. Dove, the Crane Rises," is his move to spread the traditional Japanese symbol of peace via an origami camouflage bird.

After putting up a Web site, www.e22.com/peacecrane/, on the concept on Valentine's Day, he took the paper birdies to the San Francisco peace rally Feb. 16, distributed some, and was gratified to see others folding their own cranes.

After borrowing the concept from a friend who was making a documentary on the Japanese and Japanese American internment, Shingo decided to go further with the idea, inspired by other origami crane projects in Japan. "I just wanted to be open source about it. I made a template and researched and explained the history so people can find out about it on their own; I thought it could be more than just a custom, something cool that could appeal to a younger generation," he said on the phone from the East Bay. "It's like making an album – you sample textures and do research, and it all ties in. At first it was weird: the combination. It's peace, but it's war at the same time, like turning a military pattern into a symbol of peace. It's kind of like an action, turning weapons into art."

All shortkuts

The tacos weren't the draw at the Border Cantina on Feb. 8. The line winding around the corner at 1:30 a.m. was a tribute to Triple Threat, the latest reassemblage of Invisibl Skratch Piklz vets Apollo and Shortkut, along with old cohort Vinroc. The hordes were assembled simply to hear the DJs' newly released 12-inch, "Hit Em Off." The response even amazed the turntablist-producers themselves, Triple Threat-er, Beat Junkies member, and champeen beat juggler Shortkut said last week, after doing his share of live-action juggling. He was finally settling down after talking while flying in from a San Diego show, chatting while flagging down a cab at the Oakland Airport, and then blabbing while loading his record crates into the taxi.

"That was a good crowd. That showed us who's really down with it – there's still a devoted crowd out there," he said, at rest at last in his Oakland home. "The promoter said it was the first time the club was packed like that. We just wanted to see how the song would do in a club. I just looked at Vinroc and said isn't it a trip to see people dance to something you just made. It gave me the chills, like, 'Whoa.' It was really dope."

It's a good thing. With a release party scheduled at Milk on March 1 and shows lined up March 15 at the Agenda Lounge in San Jose and March 29 at the Shattuck Downlow in Berkeley, Triple Threat's first album, Many Styles (Fat Beats), was two years in the making, said Shortkut, otherwise known as Jonathan Cruz. The album is the culmination of the Bay Area crew's philosophy – "tapping into all parts of DJing, as far as being a producer, a record selector, a scratcher, and trying to tap into all the different types of music that we like and play" – and includes contributions by Talib Kweli, Goapele, and Rob Swift and Roc Raida of the X-ecutioners.

The impressively rangy album's title came from the sessions begun by Apollo seven years ago, downstairs at the Tenderloin's Deco, now Jezebel's Joint. "Apollo wanted a forum for turntablists, to do whatever you wanted to do," Shortkut explained. The pair, along with QBert, were the original DJs, and when Apollo went on tour with Branford Marsalis in 1997, he turned the night over to Shortkut, who renamed it Beat Lounge. It eventually moved to Storyville in '99. But Shortkut still has a soft spot for the basement years.

"We used to call that room at Deco the Dungeon," he confessed. "I definitely wish I had a club again, but it's just hard. Venues are really scarce right now. It's the vibe too – 2003 compared to 1996, compared to a whole scene up and running. The Bay Area underground hip-hop scene is back to being really underground, compared to '96."

Nowadays, when the Daly City native DJs, he finds himself looking back to the fundamentals of hip-hop and his dancehall 45s. "Out of the whole crew, I dabble more into that because a lot of hip-hop on radio, I'm not really feeling as much as others," Shortkut said. "To me, dancehall music is more progressive. There's different music literally coming out every week."

Blasted hopes?

Back west, Blasthaus's Will Linn is optimistic that Realspace, the long-awaited Tenderloin exhibition space and lounge owned by himself, Gregory Cowley, and Monica Bernstein, is coming a little closer to fruition. After a year of battling and then working with the San Francisco Police Department and convincing neighbors of the worthwhile nature of the gallery and the need for a beer and wine license, Linn said they had a license, crafted with the help of the vice department, with 14 conditions (the exclusion of dancing, for instance) attached to it, which passed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' subcommittee, the full board, and the Mayor's Office before going on to the state's Alcohol and Beverage Control office.

That's where they've hit interference, Linn said: after ABC sent out a generic form letter to residents that distorted Blasthaus' intentions and mistakenly described Realspace as a "tavern," five letters of protest have been filed against the future Realspace. Now Linn hopes he can personally explain the inaccuracies in the letter to those who oppose the space. He's optimistic because Blasthaus has already managed to get the neighborhood, which includes Exit Theatre and the Luggage Store Gallery, on its side.

"If we were there, we would definitely brighten the whole block," he said, adding that the former kickboxing studio will present discussions, screenings, and art informed by DJ culture, without the volume. Linn still plans to curate the Transcinema Festival with Cowley and produce performances such as the Feb. 26 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art reception with the pulse-programming collective and an upcoming 111 Minna Gallery event with Thievery Corporation.

Easy, cheesy

Stuffing our game face: the new "Universal Artist" Rap Snacks ("the snacks with the rappers on them," just in case we couldn't tell by looking). Check out www.rapsnacks.com/merchant2/merchant/mv. Lil' Romeo's so cute you can now eat him up in the form of Lil' Romeo Bar-B-Quing with My Honey chips. Too bad Warren G Cheezie Nacho and Master P Platinum Bar-B-Que num-nums aren't exactly setting our palates on fire. Can I swipe a phrase from that "cheezie" TV show Am I Hot? "Please exit the stage. You are not hot enough to continue."