Chief and TheDoomsdayDevice

  • Chief (a native of Austin, TX) has spent his entire life surrounded by music.  Early memories of trips to Sound Warehouse led to a career in DJing at the age of 15, with an MC career beginning shortly thereafter.  Early gigs at the Jump On It! Summer Concert series, popular weekly Hip Hop Humpday (The Mercury), and opening sets at the legendary shows of promoters Hip Hop Mecca led to a love of live performance.

    As an attendee of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Chief hosted a weekly hip-hop radio show (Underground Sounds).  The show served as a platform for Chief to become known in the San Marcos area, and it provided a bridge of creative expression between his early semesters in San Marcos and his summers in Austin working with DKC.

    The show led to meetings with future collaborators Rene Rodriguez and Omari Kamau.  The three became members of the wildly popular live band .::liquidstereoproject, a collaborative effort of seven individuals with inumerable musical influences and styles.  Truly a hybrid of jazz, electronic and hip-hop, .::liquidstereoproject married simple to cerebral, classical to street, and acoustic to electronic.  With seven musicians in the mix, textural layering and respect for the spaces between was essential.  .::liquidstereoproject brought these techniques to both written and improvised pieces.  On stage the band was focused on one goal: to have each and every person in the room aware of, if not fixated, on the groove.

    In the wake of the band break up, Kamau and Chief formed The Word Association hip-hop collective with several other fellow local artists.  Originally a meeting for the peers to bounce ideas off of one another and keep themselves sharp, The Word Association grew into a collective think-tank.  A completely in-house organization, they embraced the do-it-yourself ethic reminiscent of Sonic Youth or Heiro.  The Word Association became known for their vast and diverse melding of styles, views and opinions within their songs and albums.

    Fellow band member DJ Crown helped form Electric Mayhem, the weekly San Marcos hipster cornerstone that still runs to this day.  Originally at the now defunct Lucy’s Retired Surfer’s Bar in San Marcos, TX, Electric Mayhem was meant to pick up the pieces left by the recently finalized Hip-Hop Humpday series at The Mercury (Austin, TX).  It served as an homage to a time when the DJ meant something in the hip-hop cultural spectrum, and the series lasted the duration of the club’s existence, nearly 7 years.  DJ Crown has been replaced by sPYhOP, and Electric Mayhem continues at Triple Crown, every Monday Night.

    The Word Association led to an education in many aspects of the music business on both the creative and managerial side. Chief did much of the production on his albums (including The Weather Underground LP in its entirety). He also handled the artwork on both albums. Much of the promotion was done by Chief, including the booking of shows and the production of fliers. With the help of fellow collective member Jaysin, several national tours were booked. A chance meeting through MySpace between Chief and Experience bassist Francisco Esteves led to the formation of Binary Audio Misfits.

    Chief has toured 75% of the USA, as well as Canada and Europe. He is a veteran of multiple SXSW conventions, as well as other national and international music festivals. He has toured and played shows with countless artists of various genres.

    ARTISTS PLAYED WITH:
    De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, GZA/The Genius, RZA, Digital Underground, Phife Dawg, Common, Heiroglyphics, Saul Williams, Cool Calm Pete, Black Milk, 9th Wonder, Killah Priest, Cannibal Ox, Busdriver, Abstract Rude, Blueprint, Kenny Muhammad (The Human Orchestra),  Illogic, Qwel, Hangar 18, 2Mex, Insight, Sol.illaquists of Sound, DJ Drez, The Go Team, Japanther, Cerebral Ballzy, This Will Destroy You, Alejandro Escavedo, Grupo Fantasma, Suzanna Choffel, Bird Peterson, Table Manners Crew, Henry + The Invisibles and many more…

    FESTIVALS PLAYED:
    SXSW, Vans Warped Tour, Fun Fun Fun Fest!,  A3c, Canadian MusicFest, Rockomotives (France), Vendredi 30 (France),  SA IndieFest, Mr. Fest (KTSW-TX State), and more…

  • chiefisgreg@gmail.com
  • chiefandthedoomsdaydevice.com
  • unsigned