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The Force of BEDLAM By Michele Martin As one of the driving local & statewide forces in Rap Music today, Bedlam portends many emotions upon first encounter. Preparing for "scary" guys to walk into our office, I was met by very cordial young men ranging in age from their mid-twenties to 30, eager to promote their new endeavor, Chemical Imbalancez, Vol. II. The follow-up CD to their first outing, Bedlam will be performing at Wicked Stock, Apr. 13, 7pm-midnight, at Harpo's in Detroit. This 'all ages' show will also feature Project Born, Bag of Hammers, V-Sinister, Toxic & more. Tickets will be available at Records & Tapes, Sam Goody & Compact Discounts, Saginaw, as well as on their web site at www.hothitssinc.com. Also, if you would like to pick up Chemical Imbalancez Vol. I, GOOD LUCK....I called many record stores & found out that even though they fully stocked the CD, all had sold out. As for Chemical Imbalancez Vol. II, produced by Underground Beats, a division of Underground Records with V. Sinister, & Frank. Bedlam promises that this CD will be even MORE WICKED than the last project, which surprised me, insofar as Vol. I was wicked enough! But with Vol. II, the group promises to push the envelope to the extreme. Since Bedlam was in the interview mode, I decided to ask who some of their influences were and why Rap is viewed as either a "love it" or a BIG "hate it" type of music. Consisting of Madness, Prozak & Stapilz, Bedlam quickly points out that the WWF has been an influence and that much of what they are about is 'Theater Rock.' "We opened for Suzanne Vega at Lillith Fair, which was a real trip," notes Stapilz. "We started out playing covers, but came to the conclusion our own music was much more relevant to the masses." The band readily admits that their music is not for everyone. Do they REALLY live this life, or is it just a matter of 'posture' and a marketing ploy? All members stated, out of respect for not graphically going into names or relationships, that "This life is lived. Whatever shocking topics we address are outside of our front doors every day. It's on the news every day. Our music is only a reflection of the chaos that just plain old happens." Perhaps we all know that, but is Rap getting the "bad rap"? Bedlam views the controversy surrounding their music as an outgrowth of the evolution of their young lives. As their lives evolved, so did the news of the world - the Jeffrey Dahmers, serial killers, and highschool shoot-outs. "Our music reflects our attitude towards the world," states Prozac. "Bad things happen daily and we are only reflecting the times we live in. Take it or leave it, hate it or love it." When Nirvana first hit the scene, it was also loved & hated at the same time. Alice Cooper was hated by the parents of my generation. And we didn't think that anything could come close to Marilyn Manson or NIN. And for those that dismiss Rap as something 'evil, if we look back to the elder-statesman of the over-40 generation that holds Iggy Pop as an icon, lets just say I don't see any of the Rap bands crashing mic stands into their mouths or pulling out their private parts for all to see. "We're coming from the Vietnam era," states Madness. "Where our parents grew up with the gross violence." I also had my friend Bill Sykle, who is 19, sit in for the interview. My question was would this music make you go out and eat dead bodies, kill people, or torch buildings. His answer was that "everyday life is much more violent & confusing to me that Bedlam's music. Their music is more cathartic to me, so I can take my frustrations out by listening to their music." As I say, people either love or hate Bedlam. But regardless of your preference, they are a very honest band with difficult issues to tackle and for that reason should not be ignored. Bedlam is like swallowing razor blades. And as far as I'm concerned, bands such as N'Sync, Backstreet Boys and such are fare more obscene with their pre-packaging, Pepsi ads, and 'product' than the boyz of Bedlam.
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