It is always a pleasure when we here at Def Jux get exposed to YOUR talents every once in while. At last Wednesday's Chin Chin show we had the opportunity to get to see photographer and music writer Damien Neva in action. His photos were so great that we wanted to share them with all of you.  (To contact Damien, to see more of his Work)

New York, NY, Oct. 22, 2008 -- Having seen El-P live a handful of times in the last year and a half I was fairly confident that I had come to know most everything not only about the man's stage show, but also his supporting band.  Kareem Bunton was of course dominant on bass as was Mr Dibbs on the 1's and 2's, and the Mighty Quin never failed to hype his man or the crowd.  Oh, and there's that sometimes floppy haired keyboardist Wilder Zoby Schwartz, who seemed to come alive behind his keys when backing El Producto.  When I learned that Schwartz fronted his own funk band called Chin Chin I have to admit I was a touch skeptical, I mean, keyboardist...funk band...Def Jux recording artists?

I came to Chin Chin as an admirer of El-P and as such was open to anything his band members were doing.  Having first seen Chin Chin live at McCarren Pool for the Aesop Rock show in late August and then most recently last week at the cozy Max Fish I have come to recognize Wilder Schwartz and his bundle of concentrated energy as a heretofore hidden dimension of the I'll Sleep When You're Dead live band.  Tucked and folded in on itself you might never realize the power and dynamism that Schwartz truly possesses if you've only ever seen him supporting El-P.  Schwartz gets live on stage at an El-P show, yes, fronting Chin Chin, however is entirely another story.

At Max Fish Wednesday night people packed into this Def Jukie haunt on the Lower East Side.  Familiar faces from El-P, Mighty Quin, Yak Ballz, and Hangar 18's Alaska dotted the crowd for a show that did not disappoint.  With Schwartz on keys, brother Torbitt on drums, birthday boy Tada Hirano on guitar, David Smith on trombone, Yusuke Yamamoto on hand drums, and Jeremy Wilms on bass Chin Chin kicked out the jams for a little under an hour way at the back of Max Fish.  The sound bounced off the tall ceilings and of the otherwise constricted space to create a cauldron of funk.  People were even dancing, which for jaded New York audiences is no mean feat.  Schwartz certainly encouraged all manner of crowd movement in leading by example from behind the keys.  His body swayed from side to side, his arms waved through the air, and his shouts implored the Wednesday night crowd to dance and get live.

Give them a stage or in the case of Max Fish some cramped space at the back of the club and Chin Chin will tear the roof off and have you screaming "Def Jux, motherfucker!" like you did the first time you "Deep Space 9mm."  Keep an eye out for a new Chin Chin album in early 2009 and in the mean time their latest new track for free download here.