BREAD & BEATS

The name Bread & Beats came from the work that the duo began long ago, that has evolved into a music career. Bread & Beats Music is made up of Brandon "b.side" Anthony, and James "DJ Havcutz" Wright Jr. These two have worked together in a variety of ways over the past twenty years, but it was really their connection in the Christian church that brought them together as a DJ duo and production team. You might ask, "How in the world did church inspire these guys to play and produce electronic beats?"

These two connected as resident DJ's for the Hollywood-version of the world-famous Club Chemistry. Havcutz rocked the Hip Hop floor, while b.side lit up the House Music floor. Hearing each other play different music genres with differing styles, really challenged each of them to grow in their respective craft. They noticed that each one made the other one better. So, they kept connecting. Around that time, b.side was opening up his studio, and the two began working together producing and remixing various Hip Hop and R&B artist, local to the Los Angeles area. At that time, b.side was doing most of the production, and Havcutz complimenting the work with his scratches, but then also doing a lot of the artist and studio marketing. Over the years, things changed dramatically.

Circumstances of life have a funny way of changing perspective. Both Brandon and James had to endure some pretty compelling life-situations after they began working together in music. Times got dark. The studio shut down. DJ'ing wasn't a part of the thought process. Their faith in Jesus Christ took them through that season. Both guys made it their priority to focus on the Bible, serving in ministry through the church, rebuilding their families, and basic things like that. They tried to separate from music, but music wouldn't let them go too far.

Through their church and ministry experience, people found out that they came from DJ backgrounds, and that excited them. James and Brandon were called for various street outreaches, and things like that. They were the Christian DJ novelty that made kids excited about doing something "religious" or "spiritual." The guys had fun, but in the end, it all seemed kind of fake and insincere. Brandon and James appreciated the attempt to reach out, but the attitudes about the style of music they played, and criticisms that took place behind closed doors in the church, really forced the guys to take a hard look at how they would approach music and ministry.

After several years of trying to figure this out, they came to the realization that, if they were going to do music, they would have to do it their way, and deviate from some uptight church traditions. They would have to work with music they liked to play: The jazzy, funky, soulful groovy stuff that made people dance and sing with joy. Being motivated by their Christian faith, they knew that there was some music and environments, that were simply off-limits. But that didn't mean all music was evil. They knew that both the secular and Christian artists were doing "sinful" things. So, from a DJ perspective, they concluded that, if they could just focus on the beats, life with music could be simpler, more inspiring, and spiritually productive.

Today, they're working on instrumental music that crosses various genres like house music, drum n' bass, hip hop, downtempo, acid jazz, mushroom jazz, lo-fi, and so forth. They're also working on bringing those musical influences to the traditional "worship music" genre, remixing some of those classics, to see if the Christian community wouldn't mind praising the LORD to a different tempo, with some different sounds, that might make peeps dance, and not just sway…