Skratch ‘N Sniff Radio closed out August with two packed shows over the weekend of August 29, pairing new alternative and rock releases with the remixes, mashups and left-field combinations that have defined the program for years.
Across Alternative Mix #713 and Rock Mix #1229, listeners heard everything from Fontaines D.C., Royal Blood and honestav to Breaking Benjamin, Pantera and Papa Roach, alongside reworked classics from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, MGMT, System of a Down and more.
At the center of the Alternative Mix was this week’s ThePier.org Song of the Week, Jesse James Pariah’s “Problem Child” featuring DENM, a collaboration connecting Southern California alternative, reggae and surf culture with two members of the growing Slum Beach Posse collective.
Alternative Mix #713
Alternative Mix #713 opened with the Riot Remix of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Can’t Stop,” immediately setting up the mix of recognizable songs and new interpretations that would run throughout the show.
The Maine followed with The Knocks’ remix of “Sticky” before the show shifted toward newer material with Fontaines D.C.’s “Marianne.” Balu Brigada’s “So Cold” received a Slater Frey remix, while Story of the Year closed the opening segment with “Disconnected.”
Segment 2 moved from Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream” through a Waves remix into Strange Case’s “Waiting For The Weekend.” Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire” was reworked by Arcando, M83’s “Midnight City” got an Artino remix and honestav teamed with mgk for “Crash First.”
The third hour kept that cross-generational approach going. Modest Mouse’s “Float On” appeared in remixed form alongside James Bruner’s “OMG,” Beck’s “Up All Night,” Phoenix’s “1901” and Slightly Stoopid with G. Love on “Back Seat Drivin’.”
Then came the weekend’s featured track.
The Pier Song of the Week: Jesse James Pariah feat. DENM, “Problem Child”
Jesse James Pariah’s “Problem Child” featuring DENM landed in Segment 4 as this week’s ThePier.org Song of the Week, arriving during a major stretch of momentum for both Pariah and the Slum Beach Posse.
The song comes shortly after Pariah and DENM joined forces with their fellow Slum Beach Posse members for the collective’s first-ever live performance, opening for Slightly Stoopid at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
“Problem Child” also brings Pariah and DENM back to the beginning of their creative relationship.
According to Pariah, the beat was one of the first DENM gave him when the two initially began working together. An early version of the song was eventually shelved, but DENM pulled the instrumental back out years later and suggested they start again. Pariah rewrote his verses, DENM produced the finished track and added a guest verse of his own.
The result is personal without losing the loose energy that has surrounded much of their work together.
Pariah uses “Problem Child” to look at how he handles the unpredictable highs and lows of his life, describing music as a form of therapy and an outlet that has become essential since he first began songwriting in his mid-20s.
That history with DENM eventually helped lead to Slum Beach Posse, the collective featuring DENM, Pariah, Landon McNamara and Benny Ranks. The project grew from recording sessions on Hawaii’s North Shore and later produced Slum Beach Posse Vol. 1, with music connected to the collective now accounting for more than 35 million streams.
For Pariah, the collaboration is also another step in a rapidly developing solo career.
Born and raised on Kauai and deeply connected to surf culture, Pariah has been building a sound that pulls from reggae, alternative rock, hip-hop and SoCal punk rather than settling into a single lane. He signed with SVN/BVRNT Records, the independent label founded by Jakob Nowell and Zane Vandevort in partnership with Regime Music Group, and has since released tracks including “Horns Under Halo” and “Pariah.”
He has also shared stages with Sublime and Slightly Stoopid, appeared at festivals including Mission Bayfest and BeachLife, and received radio support from KROQ and Skratch ‘N Sniff.
“Problem Child” now offers another preview of Pariah’s forthcoming debut solo album.
On Alternative Mix #713, the song was surrounded by a particularly strong Segment 4 lineup. Cage The Elephant’s “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” received the Schematic remix treatment before Pariah and DENM took over, followed by a Phrygian remix of Dominic Fike’s “Babydoll,” Rodney Hazard’s take on Tame Impala’s “Loser” and Royal Blood’s “Ten Over Ten.”
The final two segments kept the pace up with Oliver’s remix of Big Data’s “Dangerous,” DallasK’s take on MGMT’s “Electric Feel,” LEAP’s “Exit Signs,” In Color’s “Headlights” remixed by Harry Sherwood and Young the Giant’s “Evergreen.”
The closing segment reached back for Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom,” reworked by Shades, before moving through almost monday’s “broken people,” a Monster House remix of Paramore’s “This Is Why” and Sandibuns’ remix of Panic! At The Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.”
Dead Poet Society’s “Cold” brought Alternative Mix #713 to an end.
Rock Mix #1229 Turns Up the Heavy Side
Rock Mix #1229 took the same remix-driven philosophy into much heavier territory.
Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” opened the show through a Kill The Noise remix before a Skillet and Three Days Grace “Monster/I Have Become” mashup led into Breaking Benjamin’s “Something Wicked.” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” received a Y2K Musik remix, with Royal Blood’s “Ten Over Ten” closing Segment 1.
AC/DC, Creed and Mötley Crüe anchored the next stretch of classic-rock reworks, while Ryan Perdz’s “Blood On My Love” and Letdown.’s “Do It For The Love” brought newer music into the mix.
Things got heavier in Segment 3 with a Lowderz & Deep Delic remix of System of a Down’s “Toxicity,” followed by Wake Me’s “Wolves,” Jeris Johnson’s “Teen Spirit,” a remix of Falling in Reverse’s “Zombified” and Fozzy’s “I Know Evil.”
Pantera’s “Walk” kicked off Segment 4 with a SYN remix before Nightshift Special’s “Psycho.” One of the weekend’s more chaotic mashups followed as Disturbed’s “Down With the Sickness” collided with Ludacris’ “Get Back,” before Kid Rock and From Ashes To New’s “Die For You” rounded out the segment.
Metallica, Alice in Chains and Deftones all received electronic reinterpretations in Segment 5, surrounded by Ninth Key’s “Happy Feels Like” and Autumn Kings’ “Gone, Gone, Gone.”
The final segment brought Five Finger Death Punch’s “Wash It All Away” through a Joe Hahn remix before Dead Poet Society’s “Cold” made its second appearance of the weekend, crossing over from the Alternative Mix into the Rock Mix.
Dexter and the Moonrocks’ “Freakin Out” followed in remixed form, Linkin Park’s “In the End” received a Sonik and Gon Haziri overhaul and Papa Roach closed the weekend with “See You In Hell” featuring HUNNYKIND.
Royal Blood’s “Ten Over Ten” and Dead Poet Society’s “Cold” were among the songs bridging both sides of the weekend, fitting neatly into the space Skratch ‘N Sniff occupies between alternative and active rock.
But this week’s standout spotlight belonged to Jesse James Pariah and DENM. With “Problem Child,” the two Slum Beach Posse collaborators turned an idea from the earliest days of their friendship into a track that now finds Pariah pushing further into his own identity as a solo artist.
Alternative Mix #713 and Rock Mix #1229 aired over the weekend of August 29. Head to SNSMix.com for more from Skratch ‘N Sniff and keep an eye on the SNS SoundCloud for the archived shows.
