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POD presents
 
UGLY DUCKLING 
 
Third Eye Surfers 
Tu Ki 
 
 
Live@POD 
Sun 18th Feb 2001. 
Doors 7:30pm 
Tickets £10.00 (+booking fee) from Ticketmaster, Big Brother, Freebird and 
usual outlets 
 
 
If forthcoming debut album proper 'Journey to Anywhere'  achieves all its 
expected to, this is likely to be Irish punters last chance to see quirky LA 
hiphop trio Ugly Duckling in such a small venue.  2001 is set to be the year 
that the humourous Californian jazz-rappers Ugly Duckling find	their way 
onto every stereo in the Western world.  Active since the mid-90s, These 
Long Beach natives' melodic old school approach to hiphop intially found few 
listeners as the cliched gangsta-rap sounds of their neighbours prevailed. 
Like Fun Lovin' Criminals or Jurassic 5, their quirkiness and sponstanteity 
mark them out.	Their debut album proper is entitled 'Journey to Anywhere', 
and will be relased in Europe by ultrahip XL Recordings (The Prodigy, Badly 
Drawn Boy) in March. 
"We want to make this artform fun again because it has become so mean and 
nasty", explains Ugly Duckling's Andy Ryan Cooper.  "It's not even about the 
music anymore, it's about trying to shock people into buying a CD, and we'd 
like to change that." 
Support on the night comes Third Eye Surfers (led by former DMC champ Glen 
Brady and MC Poetic) and one of Dublin's most talented young scratch DJs, Tu 
Ki 
 
 
 
 
UGLY DUCKLING 
 
What can anyone write about Andy, Dizzy and Young Einstein that hasn't 
already been read? To those who've come to see Ugly Duckling as the new 
millennium's hip hop prototype, to expect multi-platinum album after hit 
movie after smash television appearance... well, nothing. 
 
But for those of us who dwell in a less utopian reality than those 20 or 
30,000 devotees, Ugly Duckling's Journey to Anywhere is simply a fine debut 
full length due out very soon on 1500 Records. And worthy though it may be 
of such accolades and expectations, it's likely to take the slow and steady 
route to world domination. Seriously, we're talking months, possibly even a 
year. 
Fewer still are familiar with the Ducks' humble beginnings. Ugly Duckling 
had the questionable fortune of forming in late 1993, at the height of the 
"G-Funk" era. As the gangsta stylings bred in UD's native Long Beach 
conquered the country, Andy, Dizzy and Young Einstein set off a battle of a 
distinctly different sort: a four-year struggle to get anyone to listen to 
their music. (It was also during this period that Einstein hit the crates 
with Long Beach beat-digging collective the Drum Majors, Andy toiled in a 
bookstore and Dizzy made some money, shall we say, "off the books.") In 
1997, they released the independent 12" single "Fresh Mode," which actually 
put the Duckling on the underground hip hop map (and funded the purchase of 
young Einstein's 'dookie' gold rope). 
 
Fresh Mode" also landed Ugly Duckling a deal with 1500 Records one year 
later. The group's debut EP, also called Fresh Mode, followed in 1999, 
eeting with voluminous critical acclaim. But a sheaf of good reviews and a 
quarter won't get you a cup of coffee, if you know what I'm sayin'... 
Undaunted, the group did no less than three UK/Euro tours and two in the 
U.S., building a loyal cult following (especially in the UK, where Wall Of 
Sound's Bad Magic imprint issued Fresh Mode to a particularly enthusiastic 
response). 
 
Ugly Duckling fans responded to the trio's positive and melodic old-school 
approach to hip-hop. Those who had given up on this music--or who had never 
been interested or aware of it in the first place--connected with UD's 
accessibility to anyone willing to listen, regardless of background... or 
rep. The Ducks met many of these soon-to-be fans on the road in the early 
days, sharing stages with the Roots, Kool Keith, Black Eyed Peas, Del The 
Funky Homosapien and Jurassic 5, to name a few. It was during this period of 
traveling and playing that Ugly Duckling gained not only new fans, but 
experience, exposure and determination. 
 
Journey to Anywhere is Ugly Duckling's first full-length album release, its 
songs reflecting the "Journey" that preceded its creation. "I Did it Like 
That" and "Friday Night" recount years of paying dues and learning about 
hip-hop music ("When my brother laughed and my dad said it was a fad/I went 
into my room with a pen and a pad"), while "Introduckling" and "Rock On Top" 
address their international travels ("I heard they bootleg our record in the 
UK/That's okay, we rock on top like a toupee"). 
 
However, Journey to Anywhere is not by any means strictly autobiographical. 
The title track alone features cameos from Hong Kong Phooey, the Groovy 
Ghoulies and Pippi Longstocking, while "Pick-Up Lines" lambastes any number 
of stereotypical would-be ladies' men to hilarious effect. And then there's 
"A Little Samba," one of the most amusing send-ups of hip hop braggadocio on 
record. 
 
"We want to make this artform fun again because it has become so mean and 
nasty," Andy explains. "It's not even about the music anymore. It's about 
trying to shock listeners into buying a CD and we'd like to change that." 
Perhaps he's on to something Journey to Anywhere could well be a touchstone 
along the route to a new era of hip-hop, one which is currently nurturing 
the emergence of interesting and creative new forces--not to mention the 
resurgence of classic artists and styles from rap's early days. If so, thank 
you Ugly Duckling... or at least good luck. 
 
More info: www.freshmode.com 
 
Declan Forde Ph. 01 476 1038. Fax: 01 4780210. 
E: declan@pod.ie 
 
*************************************** 
 
 
POD/Mean Fiddler presents 
 
THE PHARCYDE 
The Swamis 
Creative Control 
DJ Sneakee 
 
Thursday 1st March 2001. Doors 7:30pm 
RED BOX 
Tickets £13.50 (+ booking fee) from Ticketmaster, Big Brother and usual 
outlets. 
 
Seminal US hiphop legends drop into the Red Box for a long-awaited debut 
Irish show on Thursday 1st March.  One of the most influential hiphop acts 
of the last decade, The Pharcyde continue their mission of bringing hip-hop 
back to it¹s fundamental party roots with the release of their third album 
Plain Rap and a world tour.   Support on this show comes from UK hiprock 
outfit The Swamis and Dublin's own Creative Control who have already given 
Mark B & Blade a run for their money while supporting them.  The Swamis' DJ 
Sneakee also mans the decks for the evening. 
 
 
 
The Pharcyde 
 
In 1992 a rather less than conventional album by a substantially less than 
conventional group hit the hip-hop scene. Bizarre Ride II: The Pharcyde 
introduced the world to four animated rappers known as the Pharcyde. At a 
time when hip-hop was all about drive-bys and gangsters, Tre, Imani, Booty 
Brown and Fatlip brought a sound that was a million miles from this 
posturing gun-toting seriousness.  Instead, piano breaks, cartoon characters 
and a general party vibe were let loose in what was simply just fun hip-hop. 
 
LabCabinCalifornia appeared three years later and was a different beast to 
the inanities of the first album.  Although, the amount of illegal 
substances that had been ingested was clearly no less than on the first 
album, the overall sound was a more mature, relaxed sort of madness as 
tracks like ³Runnin² (the one with that backwards video) and ³Drop² 
testified. 
 
Despite losing Fat Lip to the allure of a solo career, the Pharcyde have 
continued with their mission of bringing hip-hop back to it¹s fundamental 
party roots with the release of their third album, Plain Rap. Although a 
little more conventional than previous recordings, it re-established the 
group in the minds of those who thought the reduction in personnel meant 
impending death. 
 
Now almost ten years in this hip-hop business, The Pharcyde are still having 
fun and entertaining audiences wherever they go. If you¹d like to lose 
yourself in a bit of musical insanity that comes with beats, scratches and 
rhymes then make sure you¹re present and correct when this crew hit Dublin. 
 
³I fix my funk like Thelonious Monk 
Stayin' true to the game 'cause I ain't no punk² 
 
Bizarre Ride II: The Pharcyde 
www.thepharcyde.com 
 
 
For interviews/photos/information contact : 
Declan Forde @ POD. 
P: 01 476 1038. 
F: 01 478 02130. 
E: declan@pod.ie