Universal Mind is something to keep your eye, er, ear on. We say "something" because Universal Mind can't be limited to such simple classifications as a hip-hop duo featuring local emcees Kilgore Trout and The Mammal.
That's just the short if it. The full picture of Universal Mind paints an entire collective of artists, songwriters and "other creative people," says Trout, who is also the group's producer.
Universal Mind has flown under the radar for the past two years, but flying nonetheless. March 7 is a big day for the Milwaukee musicians. Not only is the duo opening for Minneapolis indie rap force Eyedea & Abilities of Rhymesayers fame at Stonefly Brewing Co., but it's also Universal Mind's record release party.
We caught up with Trout to talk about where the band has been, where it's going within Milwaukee's hip-hop community and how its first single, "Wisconsin Weather," couldn't be more relevant at a time like this.
OnMilwaukee.com: How long have you been doing Universal Mind?
Kilgore Trout: I coined the band name while I was a teenager. I have been doing recordings with lots of other MCs since 2002. Our current lineup has existed since 2006. We really started getting out and playing a lot of gigs last fall. Our first show was The Figureheads CD release party on Sept. 1, 2007.
(I produce) the music with help with instruments and programming from The Mammal, F. Fellini, Eganomic Sound and a whole slew of others. Live, we play with DJ PufNStuf backing us, but we are also working on assembling a live band with violins, bass, drums and organ.
OMC: "Wisconsin Weather" is getting a lot of attention right now. Is Mother Nature doing you a favor?
KT: I think that the song "Wisconsin Weather" has brought on the ice age that we are facing. In the midst of this cold we look like prophets sounding the alarm months earlier. Check the lyric, "I got my hands on dials trying to control the climate / Let it rain for 40 days and come back to see who survived it." Or snow, hail, sleet...
OMC: Congratulations on getting a gig with Eyedea & Abilities. Are you connected with that whole Twin Cities hip-hop community?
KT: They where looking to play a show in Milwaukee since they missed Milwaukee on their recent tour. So, F. Fellini put up the money to get them to come out and play in a small intimate space (Stonefly Brewery). We have been gaining more connections with the Twin Cities scene.
We just put on a show with Ill Chemistry -- a project of Eyedea & Abilities collaborator, Carnage -- and I know some other cats out there, so I am hoping there will be an exchange of Milwaukee and Twin Cities bands visiting each other.
OMC: When can we expect an official release?
KT: Our debut record, which has been in production for nearly three years, will be released on March 7 and given away for free at the Eyedea & Abilities show. We don't have the resources to put the album out "properly," so we will be putting out an un-mastered, handmade version, because we still believe it to be a strong work.
However, many of the guest emcees have since left and we have close to an album's worth of new material in the works. We have released three mixtapes: "No Magik Tricks," "How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Beat" and "American Mixtape."
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
