The HomeSkillet Records Blog

Common Market

So this year we lost Sabzi to Blue Scholars stardom, and it hurt, but what made up for it was the tight nucleus that is Ra Scion’s family. Mariangela and Maddy were able to accompany Ra on his second annual Alaskan adventure and it was so great not only to get to know them, but get to know Ra better as well. Again, the same feeling as Jake LaBotz, these guys coming up here for the second year makes them feel like family and as they grow, we grow.Ra did a sound check around 3pm and was ready to roll. With the energy and endurance he brings to the table, the last night of HomeSkillet Fest could have started then and there. However, unnecessary. He disappeared and I didn’t see him until a bit before Ab Creole’s set.Mariangela gave me the lowdown on how to make my booth that much better, “You guys got a tarp.” And that was all she needed to say. She was perfectly fine selling all the Ab Creole and Common Market merch and watching the show from afar. A word comes to mind with all these cats from Massline; genuine.Maddy, Mariangela, Ra, and my very own sister at the merchandise booth.And then the show began. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, and then I noticed it was true: Ra Scion was rocking an extra pair of xtra-tuffs on stage before, during, and after his set. For some reason I always had this pre-conceived notion that artists were finicky about mud, water, dirty clothes, and cold weather. Ra just rolled with it. The fans, the majority of which were also sporting xtra-tuffs, loved him that much more for it.Last year when Common Market rolled through town, they gained the adoration of many local fans. The crowd was biggest during the Common Market set and WB40 was able to fill in on the turn tables for Sabzi. The crowd went nuts and at one point I saw somebody jump up on stage and assist Ra with a little back up dancing. Only in Sitka, only in Sitka.We had expected Josh Boots from Anchorage to arrive before Common Market’s set and play then, but some sort of mix up changed all that. He ended up arriving after his set, which meant Ra continued to go for an extra twenty minutes after his set was supposed to end, and then came the freestyle from everyone: Ra, Ab Creole, Phonetic, Konsept, and Micelph. For a minute there, Ra just hopped on the drums (who knew he could play drums?).All in all, Ra Scion was up there with WD40 for about a ninety minute set before Josh Boots finally arrived. This was way more than he agreed to before the festival but we didn’t even have to ask. That’s the kind of guy he is. They even let us buy some Common Market merchandise and distribute it to all of the crowd, who were going crazy by the end.It was a fun show, and as usual, Common Market made it happen.Check out the Common Market MySpace page, Common Market site, and the Massline Media label.

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