8Bit Cynics Featured in Oklahoma University paper...
Current mood: cold
Category: Music

Who? 8Bit Cynics
What? ..Stupid Like Us..
When? January
Where? Lawton
Word? Combining the live instrumentation of The Roots with the brute force of Brother Ali and the honesty of Slug, the Cynics succeed in representing Lawton with an attack of smooth beats and introspective lyrics. Laying down lines about everything from religion to personal insecurities, Dewey Binn..s narrative lyrics consistently command your attention between addictive head-bobbing choruses. Originally featuring Binns on the microphone and saevio.is.dead on the beats, this hip-hop duo recently expanded to welcome members JBM on production and DJ SL on the turntables. Some might call it ..emo rap..; saevio.is.dead prefers ..positive and truthful hip-hop... Either way, the Cynics.. soulful songs will carve a permanent place in your brain .. and your playlist. Get stupid at www.myspace.com/eightbitcynics.


read the entire article featureing The Neighborhood and Songs For Debutantes here:
http://hub.ou.edu/articles/article.php?article_id=1688511538&search_id=2073414529

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8Bit Cynics article Las Cruces Sun-News
Category: Music

It's a cynical world and 8Bit is providing the beat
By Lucas Peerman Pulse Editor
Las Cruces Sun-News

8Bit Cynics is an indie hip-hop duo that speaks to the common man. The duo is comprised of producer saevio.is.dead (born Will Watkins) and emcee Dewey Binns (born Jesse McDermott). Saevio is the instrumentalist of the group, putting beats and sounds to Binns' often hard-hitting lyrics about making it through the ups and downs of life. 8Bit Cynics is based out of Lawton, Okla., but routinely performs in Binns' hometown of Las Cruces. The group will perform here Sunday at the Pulse Tailgating Stage. Below are excerpts from an interview via e-mail between Pulse and 8Bit Cynics.

Pulse: Where did the name 8Bit Cynics come from?

8Bit Cynics: 8Bit is the type of computer processor that is/was in the original Nintendo systems .. it's basically referencing the era in which we grew up in and hints that we are more like the everyday Average Joe, than a stylized type of rap group ` we are just normal guys. The latter part refers to our views on world matters, politics, organized religion and even personal relationships to some extent. In a world as corrupt and perverted (in the literal sense, not the sexual connotation) as ours, it's hard NOT to be cynical.

How did emcee Dewey Binns (Jesse McDermott) and musician saevio.is.dead (Will Watkins) meet and how did you find out that your musical styles complemented each other?

I (saevio.is.dead.) was introduced to Dewey Binns through a friend that I worked with, Tony Drella. Tony and Jesse were roommates at the time. Both Jesse and I were doing our thing separatly .. and it wasn't really going anywhere. I burned some beats I had made to CD and had Tony take them over to Jess. We immediately realized that we had a good sound, and I feel that the juxtaposition of lyric and music has just gotten better over the past two years. I mold my music around an idea .. build an aural canvas for him to paint on ` and he never disappoints.

Instead of talking about gold chains hanging low, platinum grills and a 9mm stuffed in your pants, songs from 8Bit focus on topics like unrequited love, getting fired and other trials and tribulations of everyday life. Why not write songs that talk about the extravagance of a rapper's life?

(Dewey Binns, paraphrased) I don't write about a life of extravagance, because I don't know what that is like. If I rapped on my albums about rims and diamonds and huge bank rolls, I would be lying. We are real people, we have real jobs and work hard like everyone else. Our fans (for the most part) are college students and blue collar proletariats. If we were to talk about that nonsense you hear on the radio, we wouldn't connect with them as strongly as we do. I write about my life and my views .. and guns, rims and crack aren't part of my life.

What do fans most often cite as the reason they like 8Bit Cynics?

Our fans always tell Jesse that it's something that they actually relate to. They realize that our music and voice is coming from where they are from ` and Jesse is very good at taking these experiences and turning them into deep, thought-provoking poetry. Harvey Pekar had it dead-on when he wrote, "Ordinary Life Is Pretty Complex Stuff," and we are just building on that .. giving the people something they see in their own lives.

In the song "I Got Fired Today," Binns raps in detail about not being able to hold on to a job. Did any of the material from this song come from a specific experience in Las Cruces?

(Jesse, paraphrased) No, Not specifically. Most of our music has a serious tone .. discussing politics and other heavy topics. We just wanted to cut loose and have fun with this song. Some of it is a fictional character, but also references a friend of mine, and some of his antics. "I Got Fired Today" was a glimpse of another side of us ` we are very serious and concerned citizens, but we also like to have fun, and this song is proof.

8Bit puts a lot of instrumentation into its songs. Which instruments do you perform on stage?

When we play live, I have a CD that has my programming and all the instruments that I am not going to play live. I play a synthesizer, electric guitar, acoustic guitar and bass during our set. It keeps it enjoyable and challenging for myself and provides a lot to look at for the audience.

On your way to Las Cruces from Oklahoma, you come across an alien in Roswell. This alien has never heard of hip-hop, and asks you to enlighten him. Which five hip-hop songs do you put on your iPod for the alien to listen to?

Oh man ` that's a tough one. There are so many great artists and songs out there. These are in no particular order `

.. "No Regrets," by Aesop Rock

.. "Woman With The Tattooed Hands," by Atmosphere

.. "Theme," by Sole

.. "Grand Ol' Party Crash," by Cage

.. "5ves," by Heiruspecs

"The Livingroom EP" was released on June 19. A full-length album, "Stupid Like Us" is in the works. When do you plan to release that album and do you have any plans to tour for that album?

We are just about done with the album, originally planned for release in fall of 2006. We've decided to push it back to January 2007. We will definitly go on the road after "Stupid Like Us" is done, which is .. in part .. reason for the pushback. We don't want to interfere with Winter Break in college towns and stuff like that. Most likely, we will be touring the Southwest again, so be looking for us in New Mexico.

On your concert calendar, you have an upcoming show as the featured act at the North Texas Film Festival. Is 8Bit featured in one of the films showing at the festival? How did this gig come about?

A close friend of the band is a news anchor in Wichita Falls, Texas (where the festival is being held). She is pretty much responsible for us getting on the bill. Since then, we have been contacted to do two soundtracks for films being shown at IFFYNTX (the film festival).

8Bit Cynics is also scheduled to play at the Vatican on Christmas Day. Care to explain?

Yeah, I pulled some strings with Pope Benny ` he is a friend of the family.

If you go

Who: 8Bit Cynics at the Pulse Tailgating Stage

When: 4 p.m. Sunday (NMSU-Boise State game begins at 6 p.m.)

Where: Student tailgating lot, east of Aggie Memorial Stadium

How much: Free

Info: 541-5446

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8Bit Cynics in "The Cameron Collegian"
Category: Music

8Bit Cynics Express Views On Society With Lyrics
By: Melissa Laundre'

    The 8Bit Cynics, a local indie hip-hop group, came together in early 2005, and since then, has formed a sound and voice that almost every college student can relate to.
    Jesse McDermott, also known as Dewey Binns, is the emcee and lyricist of the group, McDermott was introduced to the producer, Will Watkins, known as saevio.is.dead., through a mutual friend. Both members were former students and have created a fan base here at Cameron.
    Built with originality, the 8Bit Cynics have a live set like no other group in the southwest. According to McDermott, their show consists of one emcee and one guy, Watkins, playing 4 different instruments, switching between each song.
    "Hip Hop is usually one emcee and one DJ, so we bring that different element to it," McDermott said. "It has made it easier for us to be accepted."
    According to the group's biography on Myspace, McDermott started writing and rapping as a teenager, using creative thought and poetry that made his audience step back and think.
    McDermott came to Cameron on a baseball scholarship and graduated in 2005 with a degree in English. McDermott said the English department is how he grew to be an artist, and enjoyed those who taught him.
    "The English department was a good deparntment," McDermott said. " I liked all the professors there."
    McDermott's lyrics are profound and honest, revealing lies and providing his view on the downfall of society and of the American government. Putting together a mixture of sounds and samples is Will Watkins' way of throwing his form of expression into the music. It also helps that both members feel the same way about most topics.
    Will can play up to six different instruments, althoug he only plays four on stage. According to McDermott, Watkins has been playing music since he was young and has been in many types of groups before 8Bit Cynics, which helped to create their eccentric sound.
    "There's everything," McDermott said. "Will's been in a Punk Band, he's been in a rock band and a christian band."
    With just two hands, Watkins' can only play one instrument while a CD is played to fill in the rest of the music. Watkins' said he can edit out the instrument he wants to play on a certain track.
    "Whatever I find to be the best part of a song, I take that part out and play it live with the CD," Watkins said. "So I would be switiching instruments every song."
    According to Watkins, students should listen. If they're tired of the superficial, it does not matter if they are a hip-hop fan or not.
    "We have elements from every genre," Watkins said. "No two songs sound the same."
    "We're different," McDermott said."This is my take on life and nobody in the world has that."
    If interested in upcoming shows or sampling some of their music, students can go online to, www.myspace.com/eightbitcynics. The group already has one album out "The Livingroom E.P.", and is working on a second album due out sometime this fall. According to their biography on myspace, the second release is a full length album "that will dive deeper into the mind behind the mouth that needs to be heard, and explore more the hands that never rest."

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Bio
Current mood: cynical
Category: Music

8bit Cynics is an eccentric indie Hip-Hop duo from the south-west. They came together in early 2005 when producer Saevio.Is.Dead (born Will Watkins; Lawton, Oklahoma) met up with emcee Dewey Binns (born Jesse McDermott; Las Cruces, New Mexico) through a mutual friend. Saevio had been making music as long as he could remember experimenting with many different styles and genres, compiling a staggering knowledge of musical instruments and techniques. Dewey Binns started writing and rapping as a teenager using creative thought and poetry that not only pleased the ears, but made his audience step back and think about the serious topics of the average individual's day. With a mixture of musical styles and a living room strewn with various instruments and recording equipment, the 8bit Cynics set out to lay the foundation for their first album. After various demo tapes and local shows, "The Livingroom E.P." was released June 19, 2006 on $trapped For Ca$h Records. It encompassed where the group was coming from as the free thinking youth of this country, unafraid to speak out against the evils of our world. The album also questions society's over use of technology as well as the decision making of the American government. Immediately following the release of "The Livingroom E.P." the 8bit Cynics hit the road on their first North American tour with Dialogue, DJ Element, and Jivin Scientists--aptly dubbed "The Truth With Your Whiskey Tour". The relationships built and the love that was shown on the road set in stone the arrival of this truly original Hip-Hop act. 8bit Cynics are currently in the studio working on their second release "Stupid Like Us", a full length album that will dive deeper into the mind behind a mouth that needs to be heard, and explore more the hands that never rest.

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