Middle East Downstairs

The Foreign Exchange
Consisting of rapper/singer/songwriter Phonte and producer Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange came together via the online hip-hop community Okayplayer.com in 2002. After trading files through Instant Messenger for over a year, Nicolay (living in his native Holland at the time) and Phonte (a Raleigh, NC resident) completed their debut album before they ever met each other in person....

Zo!
A keyboardist first, and also a bassist, guitarist, drummer, and producer, Lorenzo “Zo!” Ferguson balanced his love for music and baseball throughout his childhood. The native Detroiter was drafted as an outfielder by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, rounds ahead of then-future MLB all-stars Orlando Hudson, Juan Pierre, and Barry Zito....

The Real McKenzies
The Real McKenzies have been bringing out their hybrid of aggressive punk and traditional Scottish folk songs since their formation in 1992. After several lineup changes, this Vancouver-based sextet eventually settled with Paul McKenzie (vocals), the Bone (guitar/vocals), Kurt "Dirty" Robertson (guitar), Matt MacNasty (bagpipes), Brad Attitude (drums), and Jamie Fawkes (bass)....

Matt Skiba
Born Matthew Thomas Skiba, Matt Skiba was originally born in Chicago but relocated to a suburb at the age of three. Playing drums at an early age, Skiba's first concert was Public Image Ltd.; shows by Social Distortion also heavily influenced the musician....

Joe Purdy
Joe Purdy, a singer/songwriter from Arkansas, put in his time working at a loading dock and as a counselor at a private high school before his song "Wash Away" became synonymous with the 2004 season of ABC's Lost....