Getting Personal With: Judson Claiborne
Judson Claiborne - "A Song or Dreaming"
Barefoot on a stage, Christopher Salveter sings with a soulful southern drawl. It's the type of soul that only a southerner can seemingly possess. Slow, steady, filled with pain but also optimism—it's a voice that can shake rooms, bring tears and also bring light to the most melancholy oh folk. This is the quality that made legends out of Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, and Johnny Cash, and it's what lacks most severely from manufactured corporate pop music.
Salveter established himself in the early 2000s in the Chicago music scene with the heavily overlooked Low Skies. Salveter provided the unique electrified post-rock-like sounds of the band with a unique voice relatively unfamiliar to such music. Upon first listen, songs like "Margaret" and "Sad Hymn" struck me as deep as anything I had ever heard. These songs were passionate, emotive, and modern, during a time when modern music equipment seemed to be stripping away the raw, emotive elements that make songs so relatable.
From Low Skies, Salveter moved on to Judson Claiborne—a more personal project where the electric guitars have been stripped away and the percussion beats more softly. On his website, he explains "Judson Claiborne is the reclamation of a name given to me by my father. On a personal level, it means rebirth into a greater consciousness." With Judson Claiborne, Salveter's voice never has to battle for position with guitars. Because this, his words are more meaningful, and his emotions are better understood.
Heavily moved by his music, I spoke to him about where this passionate music stems from, and the voices that do for him what his do for me...
The song that hit's me hardest on Time And Temperature is "My How We Change." Every time I hear it your vocals sweep in and my eyes immediately become misty. It's undeniable that you have a highly emotive quality to your voice. Has it always been that way?
I suppose, the voices that inspire me are those that transcend our crazy complicated experience as humans. There's something in Sam Cooke's or Roy Orbison's voice that i picked up as a kid early on that I feel is the best example of this. It has a reverence for life and is light and beautiful, but the kind of love and laughter you reach after you've been through some hard times, which IS the human experience. Constant death & rebirth, reflected in the voice, it's a communal thing.
When actors want to cry they often dig deep into their subconscious to past memories. Is there a place you go in your mind when singing those sadder parts?
To extrapolate on the answer to my last question, I want to connect with a room of people. I recognize that we all come from different traditions and trajectories and experience art in different ways, but at the same time, I want to find that the things we all share. we all have varying degrees of sadness at any given time, so when a song is sad, this is where I go.
What's your first memory of yourself singing with emotional resonance?
In the bathtub, maybe fifteen years ago, singing for an hour or so, wandering around the internal wilderness with my voice as my lantern, something unfamiliar but trustworthy guiding me through.
How did people react?
I was alone in the tub that time but people have told me all sorts of things after watching me perform. I've made folks peaceful, turned on, pissed off, bored, happy, sad, etc.
Are there any singers who can bring you to tears?
oh yes. most recently, Percy Sledge & Lisa Gerrard of dead can dance
Are there any recurring themes in your lyrics that came subconsciously to reveal things about you that you weren't completely aware of?
This sort of thing happens all the time. One of my favorites is the ol' "no matter where you go, there you are" situation. You take all your baggage wherever you go, even when you think you donated it all to the salvation army.
What types of music were you most directly experiencing while growing up?
I grew up in Missouri on a steady diet of Elvis & REM
Do you agree with the theory that artists need to suffer a bit to create?
I do, because the reality is that a good deal of life is suffering. I think in order to be humans we have to be okay with this and sometimes make art or do some creative thing to better understand and deal with it.
Judson Claiborne will be playing The Rock Shop in Park Slope tonight with Jeremy Messersmith.
Twi Spi (2009) from jodie mack on Vimeo.
Getting Personal With: Jason Russo (Common Prayer/Hopewell)
Many of the most interesting, creative people I've gotten to know over the years grew up without a television. Maybe creative development really is stifled by being spoonfed entertainment that leaves no room for an imagination. This is not to say those who grew up with television can not be creative, but one has to wonder exactly how much it hinders the development of the imagination.
Jason Russo grew up in a religious household with 2 brothers, a sister and no tv. The son of a psychiatrist spent the better time of his youth in graveyards, woods and strip malls in upstate New York before music consumed much of his life. At the young age of 19, Russo found himself touring alongside his brother Justin as guitarist for critically acclaimed Mercury Rev during their peak, before focusing entirely on his own eclectic psychedelic rock band Hopewell.
With six releases since 1998, Hopewell has developed a reputation as a wonderful live band while gaining a legion of devoted followers while touring with such legends as My Bloody Valentine, Mike Watt, and Brian Jonestown Massacre.
During spring 2009, the talented Russo teamed up with Alexandra Marvar to begin work on a new musical project by the name of Common Prayer. Leaning more towards a ramshackle folk than the dark psychedelics of Hopewell, Common Prayer's first record There is a Mountain has been a breathe of fresh air in 2010, garnering praise from many critics.
Having just wrapped up a trip to Europe that included shows with the legendary Neil Halstead (Slowdive, Mojave 3), Jason and Alexandra are back to New York with shows lined up at The Rock Shop (8/13), Union Pool (9/3), Glasslands (9/16).
Growing up listening to Mercury Rev and then following his path to Hopewell and Common Prayer, it was an honor to be given the opportunity to ask Jason Russo a few questions about his path towards music.
From what I remember, you have a pretty religious upbringing. Can you elaborate on how that may have guided your musical direction at an early age?
Good memory! How has it guided me? Hmm. A religious upbringing meant that I was not exposed to popular culture as much as most kids. We didn’t have TV for example. Perhaps that prompted me to dive head long into the r&r lifestyle as a teenager? More importantly I think it gave me a perspective on common human drama. I learned early on that all love songs were metaphors for a larger human need.
Though we didn't know each other, we grew up in close proximity in the suburbs of upstate New York. Did you have any favorite hangout spots?
A lot of my hanging out was in parking lots, strip malls, train tracks, graveyards etc. Or the woods. I spent a lot of time in what was left of the woods back then. Do you remember the Rhinecliff Hotel? That was a favorite of mine. They let us drink waaaaay before we were legal.
Were there any local bands that you were into that may have helped you push harder into your own musical career?
Yes! Agitpop. They were from Poughkeepsie (the big town next to my hometown Hopewell Jct.) and they were on 120 Minutes (!?) They toured with Soul Asylum and the Replacements. I eventually lived with the singer and he sort of introduced me to the business of music, for better or worse.
What was the first instrument that you played?
Guitar. It’s also the last instrument I will play.
I know your brother Justin is very musical, but how about the rest of your family?
Non musical. My Mom sang a lot in church but my Dad is tone deaf. My other brother is a boxer and my younger sister is, among other things, a mechanic. Apparently, way back we had a great uncle who nearly toured with Tex Ritter, but my great grandfather wouldn’t let him go. There was a sculptor in that generation as well.
What do you think draws you most into psychedelic music?
It’s open ended-ness. Psychedelic music is speculative music. I need a fair amount of wonder and unpredictability to not get bored.
If you could put together your dream band, who would be in it?
Hmmmm, not sure about individuals. My dream band would definitely involve an entire marching band though. At my beck and call.
You've been playing in and around New York for a long time. Who's the best band that never made it?
Grand Mal. Hands down.
In the last year you've played all around, with both Common Prayer and Hopewell including a couple outdoor festivals. Where's your favorite place to perform?
Well Common Prayer likes ramshackle type places. We just played in a converted coach house in Brighton, UK. The stage area was full of partially functioning music equipment and toys – we had a field day. Hopewell just played at Governors Island, that was fun as hell. In a different kind of way.
What have you been able to accomplish with Common Prayer that you couldn't musically with Hopewell?
As Hopewell progresses it’s gotten more accomplished in it’s abilities – we can make any kind of music we want now – Common Prayer is more spontaneous – like a splatter painting. Its more impulsive. It has become a place where my catchier little songs have found a home, Hopewell is on a longer darker mission...like Star Trek...Hopewell may never come home and Common Prayer never leaves the house. Capiche?
You've shared the stage with icons like Neil Halstead and Flaming Lips. Who's the most exciting person you've been able to meet in your life?
Hmm, in my life? I have hung out with a lot of Trappist monks in my time. They are totally surreal and usually really really old. It’s exciting in a slow way. Otherwise, yes, Wayne Coyne is entertaining and thoughtful, Anton BJM is seriously engaging and Neil H. is very cool—he took Alex and I surfing and then out to high tea in Cornwall. He’s a stand up guy.
How has Alexandra influenced your songwriting methods?
[laughs] Well, she keeps an eye on me to make sure I am not getting ahead of myself. It’s a hard thing, when you write songs, to stay away from being cheesy. Alex has a good perspective on that sort of thing and I trust her taste. She adds an element of chaos too...a good foil in other words.
Common Prayer - "Us vs Them"
Hopewell - "Stranger"
Getting Personal With: Deleted Scenes
Deleted Scenes - "Fake IDs"
For me, music has always been a deeply personal emotional experience. For every goofy mindless song I've thrown on repeat, there's a song like Radiohead's "How to Disappear Completely" that shakes my entire existence and leaves me trembling in fear and sadness. From Ian Curtis to Elliot Smith to Scott Walker to Jason "Spaceman" Pierce, the most genuinely engaging emotional music has always had a depth beyond the melodies and words. For many of the greats, music has acted as a therapeutic release. A lot of bands will try to copy Ian Curtis and Joy Division's sound, but without Curtis' haunted soul giving the music pure emotional resonance they will fall flat.
Everyone is different. Everyone has a different story. What I would like to do with my new series of interviews, titled "Getting Personal With," is to help uncover who these bands really are beyond their songs, why they make music, and why it sounds like it does.
My first interview is with Dan Scheuerman of DC-based Deleted Scenes. Dan is the songwriter and plays guitar in Deleted Scenes. The band's debut album was rich with lyrical storytelling that often focused on his rather religious upbringing. Musically, they've embraced variety. While a majority of the songs are characterized by smooth bouncy basslines, angular riffs and Scheuerman's urgent vocals (as though pleading for help), they're often delightfully unpredictable.
With a new record on the horizon, a tour of the east coast underway, I asked Deleted Scenes Dan Scheuerman a few personal questions to gain a more thorough understanding of music he writes, and he willfully agreed to share some of the personal aspects of his character.
Where are you from originally, and what kind of childhood did you have?
I'm from Gaithersburg, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC. I am the third of six boys. We were your typical large Roman Catholic family, and we are very close to this day. My parents are very devout Catholics, beyond the simple church-on-Sunday requirements, and so religion was a huge part of my upbringing. Every Saturday we used to sit together as a family and sing worship songs and read the Bible together. Both of my parents played guitar, and all my brothers sing, so it was really like a legit choir with multi-part harmonies. That was my first experience with music, and really my only experience with music for most of my childhood. We weren't allowed to listen to any secular music growing up, and there was no radio in the house. The only music we had was the music we made.
(Appropriately, the first radio song I remember hearing was "Losing My Religion." I remember it made me feel really creepy and completely exposed. I was at a water park in Maryland called "Wild World," and they played it about every third song. It definitely brought a serious burden on the day.)
I have a very complicated relationship to religion in my music, and I couldn't try to explain it without a lot of self-conscious doublespeak, so I won't. But I will say that it's important, and it greatly informs the way I look at the world. One summer when I was in about fourth or fifth grade my dad challenged me and my two older brothers to memorize Matthew 5, 6, and 7. I only got through about half of Matthew 5, but I think that experience pretty much cemented my sense of morality. I think my dad's whole goal in life was to provide a firm moral foundation for his kids, and I think he did that quite well. If you read Matthew 5, you'll find a lot of Jesus's most universally appreciated ideas--the importance of humility, the unimportance of material possessions, the supremacy of conscience. A lot of this stuff I'm really grateful for, and I know I'll have it forever. Any new ideas I come across ultimately have to square with that foundation. I used to struggle with that, but I think I've come to a separate peace with it.
Do you remember the first song you wrote? What was it called, and what was it about?
The real first song was in about sixth grade, and it was called "Waiting For the Shatter." All the neighborhood kids used to play baseball in the green space at the end of our court, and there were a lot of cars and houses around. At one point someone decided we should use a real baseball instead of a tennis ball, and so every major hit was followed by a period of waiting for the shatter. I remember someone used that phrase, and I said it sounded like a song. I went ahead and wrote it, but it was a love song about asking a girl out and waiting for her to say no. I think the only form of asking girls out at the time was through passinng notes. Actual talking hadn't evolved yet, so there was a real period of waiting if you wanted to find out if someone liked you.
How do you support your music career financially?
I am a literacy tutor in Washington, DC. Deleted Scenes doesn't yet pay the bills.
You've admitted to having been pushed out of New York in "City That Never Wakes Up". Is there anything about New York that you miss? What was the driving force that led you to DC?
That song is a mess of images, so I don't want to say that it's only NYC. Although the skyline of burnt out cigarettes is from NYC. I don't really miss much about NYC. I felt very lonely and became kind of self-absorbed and vain during my time there. Reading L Mag is disruptive to my soul. Anyway, the chief driving force in me leaving NYC would have to be the bed bugs. I moved into this place in Greenpoint, a single room with a shared bathroom and no kitchen that I called the Hotplate Inn because it came with a hotplate. It was furnished with a bed and mini fridge. Anyway, the bed was infested with bed bugs, and so all my stuff became infested with bed bugs. It's really a wretched existence. They hide all day in the corners and cracks, and under the fake wood paneling, and in your clock radio, and in the power sockets, and under the radiator, and in the closet, and in your computer, and in gear, and in the creases of your clothing (so you can't visit anyone without exposing them). After you notice the red spots, you start sleeping with the lights on, so you can catch them in the act, which is just gross. When they scuttle away from your body, they leave a streak of your own blood. Then you get all gung-ho, and you have to buy all this powder to pour all over the cracks and seams of your room, so you're basically living in a cloud of poisonous chalk. And in the end the chemicals don't work because the real bed bug killing chemical has been illegal since the 70s, which is why bed bugs are back anyway. And so ultimately you have to move out, and leave behind all your precious musical gear, all your books, all your non-washable-on-hot clothes, and all the little things that you've collected that might somewhere hide a tiny microscopic white egg that will travel with you and begin the process again. I think that feeling became my allegory for New York. A feeling of having all your shit rendered useless. I left all my stuff there, and ended up sleeping in a borrowed children-size sleeping bag on a wood floor in Bed Stuy. Then my girlfriend got robbed, and I moved back to DC as soon as I could after that.
Unlike many bands, your songs vary greatly stylistically. From my perspective this is a great thing, but do you ever worry about lack of cohesion?
No. It will all even out. Journalists often like to be told what something is so they can categorize it and then move on to the next manila envelope or spam email. We'll keep experimenting with style. As long as we don't fall into rote genre exercising, we'll be fine. A lot of my favorite bands are musically restless, and I don't really see a problem with it as long as the songs hit you in an honest way.
Is music therapeutic for you? and do you ever worry that the political nature of music scenes and recording industry will destroy the therapeutic nature of your art?
Performing is therapeutic. Writing is more delicate and involves too many levels of self-consciousness to be therapeutic. As far as industry stuff, I try not to think about it too much. It's all so ephemeral, even the great stuff like Motown. I just concentrate on saying something true. As long as it's true, and I continue questioning the quality, I think I'm doing my best.
I'll end this with a less personally intrusive question. If you could convey any one message in your songs, what would it be?
Oh jeez, if I could answer that I would quit making music.
Deleted Scenes are currently on tour:
Jul 12 2010 • 8:00P • Mercy Lounge • Nashville, TN
Jul 14 2010 • 9:00P • GO Bar • Athens, GA
Jul 15 2010 • 8:00P • New World Brewery • Tampa, Fl
Jul 16 2010 • 8:00P • Will's Pub • Orlando, Florida
Jul 17 2010 • 8:00P • Jack Rabbits (w/Black Kids!) • Jacksonville, FL
Jul 18 2010 • 5:00P • Snug Harbor • Charlotte, NC
Jul 20 2010 • 9:00P • Tipsy• Greenville, NC
Jul 21 2010 • 8:00P • Pinhook w/Medications • Durham, NC
Jul 22 2010 • 7:00P • U Street Music Hall w/Medications and Hume • WASHINGTON, DC
Jul 23 2010 • 8:00P • Littlefield w/Medications • Brooklyn, NY
Jul 24 2010 • 8:00P • O'Brien's w/Medications • Allston, MA
Jul 25 2010• 8:00P • Le Divan Orange w/Medications • Montréal, QC, CANADA
Jul 26 2010 • 8:00P • Teranga w/Medications • Toronto, ON, CANADA
Jul 27 2010 • 8:00P • Majestic Cafe w/Medications • Detroit, MI
Jul 28 2010 • 8:00P • the Cave w/Medications • Chicago, IL
Interview: Miracles of Modern Science
Miracles of Modern Science - "I Found Space"
In the last decade it's become quite common for rock bands to utilize string players to expand their sound, but not for rock bands to structure their sounds around these instruments the way Miracles of Modern Science have done. Since Arcade Fire's Funeral was embraced by music lovers in 2004, what has been described as chamber pop has taken a big place in the modern rock spectrum. The rock formula of guitar, bass and drums has been given additional flourishes with cello, mandolin, or violin. It's not entirely new to rock, but it's the most prominent classical instrumentation has even been in rock.
Sure, in the 90s Primus often showcased upright bass and mandolin, and since the days of The Beatles string accompaniment has been in rock music, but Brooklyn's Miracles of Modern Science have taken it one step further and structured a pop rock band around the classical instrumentation (cello, violin, mandolin, double bass, and drums). The resulting sound is what cellist Geoff McDonald describes as a "Civil War string band shot into outer space on a disco ball spaceship." Miracles of Modern Science is not gimmick driven band. They are not Yellowcard. They are a band taking a much needed different approach to a tired form of music with the type of enthusiasm necessary to make it work.
Like any good band with something new and interesting to say, the list of influences that is are injected into their songwriting is eclectic, from Stravinksy and Mahler to Van Halen and Pavement. Formal classical and jazz training gives them an understanding of their tools that won't be found in a garage rock band, while also providing them with a different approach to songwriting than most rock bands.
They no longer wear silver spacesuits on stage as they did in their earlier days, but their performances are still thoroughly engaging and not to be missed.
With a 3 week residency beginning this Thursday (June 10) at Cake Shop, the members of MOMS answered a few of my questions about their histories as musicians and their approach to music:
What's the biggest challenge in performing at rock clubs with classic instrumentation?
Josh Hirshfeld (mandolin): Strings sound the best unplugged. We play rock music, but we always go for that natural sound. We're not putting the strings through distortion pedals to make it sound like that metal violinist who plays in Union Square (as bad-ass as he is). But problems arise when we try to bring that natural acoustic sound up to rock club volumes. If we're on a small stage and the bass amp is pumping right into the hollow body of the cello, there can just be crazy amounts of feedback. But if our songwriting approach is partly about the strings being played in ways they aren't traditionally played, it makes sense that live we'd have to take them to places you don't traditionally hear them.
Kieran Ledwidge (violin): Despite the fact that there's often a question of balancing our unusual instrumentation (particularly at clubs built around accommodating bands anchored by guitars or synths), our biggest challenge has been being able to hear ourselves clearly. Listening to the sound you're currently creating informs every mechanical action and adjustment you make. Since we have no frets (mandolin aside), visual feedback isn't accurate enough. Bowed instruments are also inherently dynamic in their volume - and if you can't hear yourself, there's a temptation to play louder with the bow until you can... but in the context of a rock show, that can easily lead to overplaying the instrument. The sound of an overplayed amplified string instrument is one of the more horrible sounds in this world - trying to drown out the sound of a cat being strangled by drawing a rusty nail across a blackboard would probably paint the sonic picture.
How long have each of you been playing your instrument of choice?
Kieran: I've been playing violin for 19 years.
Geoff McDonald (cello): 15 years
Evan Younger (bass, vocals): My path to the double bass was gradual – I jumped from piano (17 years) to guitar (14 years) to electric bass (11 years) to upright (9ish). I didn't start singing seriously until college, when I came under the tutelage of Geoff McDonald.
Tyler Pines (drums): I've been playing piano for 16 years and drums for 12.
Josh: I've played guitar for the last 19 years, but I picked up mandolin 9 years ago, and really began to focus on it as my main instrument when we started the band about 6 years ago.
You've clearly studied a wide range of the music spectrum. Who are are your favorite musicians/biggest influences?
Geoff: My biggest influences are Stravinsky, Mahler, and Younger.
Kieran: Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Bowie.
Josh: Pavement did the most to make me want to be in a band.
Evan: Van Halen are a huge inspiration for us. I like to fantasize that someday we'll do for "rock strings" what VH did for rock guitar. And of course David Lee Roth is the greatest frontman of all time.
How do your classical and jazz backgrounds influence your songwriting process?
Geoff: My answer to this question is tempered by the fact that a lot of my musical contribution to the band might be described as "editing/arranging"...but as far as those things are concerned, I definitely think in terms of texture a lot, and I would say I sometimes draw on training in classical orchestration for that. That doesn't mean I'm trying to recreate sounds from classical music, but the principles are still there: voicing, dynamics, balance, contrast, which instrument would be best to carry a particular hook or figure. To that end I think it's interesting that often one of us will write something that is comfortable or idiomatic for our own instrument, but then that same snippet sounds cool and different thrown to another instrument...for instance the way the mandolin takes the melody from the cello in the first verse of "I Found Space."
Kieran: My compositional background before MOMS was almost completely classical - mostly for string ensembles of various configurations. Despite the difference in style, that experience has been surprisingly helpful when we're writing songs - in terms of general songwriting elements and specifically with the string parts. Being familiar with the capabilities of the instruments has been a definite help in working out parts that better complement each other and sound more natural for them, and also helps in broadening our textural range (by making use of the various tone colours created by different techniques). I'll take any opportunity to re-purpose my classical training.
Josh: I don't think we've ever said "How can we make this part sound classical?" or "How can we fit this classical technique into this song?" It's more about how we all come from such different backgrounds (Kieran and Geoff from classical, Evan and Tyler from jazz, me from rock) and bring such different things to the table. I don't know nearly as much about the range of all the cello or violin's sounds compared to someone who has been learning all of it's crazy secrets for years. Our string players aren't a passive string section, set off to the side with sheet music. We're all part of the process. So once an idea is on the table, it goes through this gauntlet of people with very different backgrounds and tastes -- it'll either be expanded, chopped down, or even scrapped, but once we've all had a piece of it, it has probably turned into something that sounds very MOMSy.
Where does the science/space theme come from?
Evan: Josh came up with our name – I think we just liked the sound of it, and all the science and space imagery followed from there. From our first show in 2005 until last summer, we wore silver spacesuits on stage, but nowadays we like to be more subtle about it. The futuristic imagery juxtaposed with our "antiquated" instrumentation makes for a nice visual contrast that sort of works as a metaphor for our music.
Josh: In terms of that theme going into our music -- when we started MOMS our freshman year of college, I was coming off of a few years of playing with my high school instrumental space rock band. So in the early stages of MOMS, my mind was on twinkly lines that eventually explode (in the sky). I think we retain some of that sound (we still like build-ups with big pay-offs), but we don't tell ourselves that we have to make a song spacey as we write it.
How do you describe the sound of MOMS to someone who's never heard you
Geoff: "Civil War string band shot into outer space on a disco ball spaceship" is still pretty damn on the money. But I always tailor my answer to that question to my audience. I play up the "disco" part to the young folk, the "spaceship" part to the scientists, and the "Civil War" part to U.S. History buffs. Those three categories are basically the demographic breakdown for "When I'm Asked What MOMS Sounds Like"...
Thursday, June 10 at Cake Shop
4th: Miracles of Modern Science
3rd: The Albertans (http://myspace.com/thealbertans)
2nd: The Royal Chains (http://myspace.com/theroyalchains)
1st: Quiet Loudly (http://myspace.com/quietloudly)
Presented by Jonny Leather
6 Caronas, Chips with Salsa, and a Casual Interview w/ Noel Heroux of Hooray For Earth
Hooray For Earth - "Surrounded By Your Friends (Adrienne Drake remix)"
Hooray For Earth frontman Noel Heroux is nothing at all like Sid Vicious, but the first time I saw him play he smashed his beloved Flying V during the band's grand finale at a Bushwick loft space. Unlike the legendary punk rocker, Heroux's destruction was hardly the product of a of rage, but rather the result of an emotional peak. It was one of those moments where an artist is so filled with excitement that in the heat of the moment they can act without sight of consequence. For Noel, this meant for an energetic finale to a fantastic show, but also to the final notes played on the guitar that felt as much as a connection to as any of his body parts. As the guitar smashed to the ground after being thrown into the air, Heroux's smile hinted towards the type of disappointment seen in a child when his favorite stuffed animal loses an eye during play.
I saw a lot in the personality of Noel Heroux the first time I saw Hooray For Earth play. As typical with loft shows, the sound was pretty terrible, but the band played with the type of passionate joy that makes up for it. For Noel and the rest of Hooray For Earth that particular show was important because that'd be the last time drummer Seth Kasper would perform as part of the band (leaving to join Wild Light).
A month or so later, Hooray For Earth joined a fantastic lineup with Depreciatation Guild, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers and KiNo at the Bell House as part of a benefit concert organized by yours truly. Another performance leaving a lasting impression, it'd be the start of a blossoming relationship.
Over the course of 2009 and first half of 2010, I have found myself at nearly every Hooray For Earth show to take place in New York. It all began with me as another fan. Upbeat songs like "Heartbeat" and "Take Care" from their debut record were constantly on repeat on my iPod. Something about the combination of the melodic songwriting and drop d tuning made Hooray For Earth truly unique. Live, the songs were even stronger and more passionate during a time when our overload of indie rock is played with an obnoxious feeling of disinterest.
After putting on multiple concerts with Hooray For Earth, I found myself more and more connected to the band. No longer just a fan, a friendship had grown. Noel, Chris, Gary and Joe are a humble group of guys who happen to play music that I love, that keeps getting better and better.
When I started following them as a journalist and fan, I often felt alone in that regard. Everyone else seemed be talking about much "hipper acts" from Brooklyn's lo-fi scene, but now HFE seems to finally getting their chance to shine, with an upcoming tour with Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Surfer Blood, as well as tonight's concert with The Futureheads.
Last Thursday I met up with Noel for an interview. It's a weird thing to interview a friend whose art you admire, and we kept it casual. Over the past month or so I've felt disconnected from music journalism, and I felt that if anyone could revive that passion in me, it's Noel.
As the Caronas kept coming to the table, we talked in a format that was more friendly conversation than interview about Hooray For Earth's upcoming tour. As much as Heroux looks forward to his first tour in which he can safely assume people will turn out for, he doesn't look forward to being apart from his beautiful fiancee Jessica Zambri. The most interesting stop on the tour may come at Jack Rabbits in Jacksonville, where Hooray For Earth stopped on their last tour to play in front of an empty room, matched with a punk band who had created a bonfire behind the venue prior to the show.
Since the first time I saw Hooray For Earth live, most of the songs that were part of their sets back then have been ousted by newer material from their recent ep MOMO. Songs like "Comfortable/Comparable" and "Scaling" have shown the band growing as a band and expanding their boundaries, but at times the fan me and others have a desire to hear the older songs that we have a certain nostalgia for. While Heroux told me that many of the older songs stick out like a sore thumb, "Take Care" could find its way back into setlists, as it did in a recent show in Boston where fans requested it. It is not uncommon for an artist to want to throw away their older material for the new as they develop their style. It is undeniable that Hooray For Earth's best work is still ahead of them as they continue to grow and take chances, but "Surrounded By Your Friends" will always be a great, as will "Take Care."
Knowing Noel Heroux the man I've grown to appreciate Noel Heroux the musician on an even higher level. Tonight's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg opening for Dovecote labelmates The Futureheads will be another glimpse into the bright bright future of Hooray For Earth. Just don't expect a cover of any songs by Kiss (a band Heroux admittedly can't stand).
On Hooray For Earth's most well known track to date, Heroux sings the words "in the end you're surrounded by your friends." It could sound cheesy, but instead contains a feeling of warmth and honesty, which is yet another reason it makes me happy to say in the end when I'm surrounded by my friends, Noel and Hooray For Earth will be there playing a song.
Iceland’s Latest Treasure: Seabear
Seabear - "Lion Face Boy"
There's just something special about the music coming out of Iceland. What began with Björk and her group the Sugarcubes has blossomed into something special with the emergence of Sigor Ros, Múm, Amiina, and now Seabear, who will be making their NYC debut thursday night at Mercury Lounge. Appropriately compared to Sufjan Stevens by Clash Magazine, Seabear's Sindri Már Sigfússon writes delicate indie-folk that is often filled out with a lush orchestration by his bandmates. Seabear sets themselves apart from Stevens with a bit more pop energy fused into their songs.
The band was well received when they made their US debut at last week's SXSW festival in Austin. Despite playing a room full of critics, bloggers and industry insiders, Sigfússon says he wasn't worried at all, stating " rarely think about that kind of stuff when we're playing. My main goal is always to have fun and be open and that's what we did."
The only other time Sigfússon has been to NYC, he was playing a solo show under his Sin Fang Bous moniker, so he's excited to go to Brooklyn, saying "our sound man is from there so he's going to show us some good spots to get pizza and sushi. We also have one day off so we'll do something fun."
On Thursday night Seabear will be at Mercury Lounge, and on Friday night they'll be at Southpaw in Brooklyn. Both show s are with the also wonderful Via Tania.
Aside from being a terrific songwriter, Sigfússon is also an exhibiting artist in Iceland—and like his music, his artwork combines technical skill with a playful youthful approach.
Modern Painters Music Issue: Featuring David Byrne
Not many people realize this, but by day one of the many magazines I help produce is Modern Painters. This month's issue of Modern Painters is devoted to the more artistic side of the music community, featuring artists and musicians such as Marina Abramovic, David Byrne, Jeremy Deller, Slater Bradley, Kurt Cobain and Fenn O’Berg all blurring the dividing line between art and sound.
Music fans will particularly enjoy the interview of David Byrne by well-known conceptual artist Jeremy Deller...
It took about two weeks to reach the artist-musician David Byrne, who was touring with his book Bicycle Diaries. But when we finally got hold of him and explained our "Meeting of Minds" column (expanded for this issue), which would involve his speaking with another artist of his choice, the former Talking Heads front man didn’t miss a beat. Within moments, he had replied on e-mail: "I want to talk to Jeremy Deller" — the Conceptual, video, and installation artist who won the 2004 Turner Prize. The connections between the two were evident: Both are avid cyclists, Byrne in New York and Deller in London; both believe strongly in art being accessible; both often explore the creative process in performative approaches; both are influenced by politics, pop culture, and music; and both participate enthusiastically in socioanthropological studies of cultural landscapes, particularly of quirky-meets-cerebral subjects like parades, nursing homes, and dilapidated buildings. Although for scheduling reasons the two remained on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Google Docs enabled this real-time conversation to take place online.
Jeremy Deller: First, I’d like to talk about your love of cycling. I cycle in London every day, more or less. A few simple questions: Do you jump red lights? Do you wear a helmet? These aren’t trick questions. I’m just interested. I’m a no to both, by the way.
David Byrne: I cycle here in New York as a way of getting around, not as a racer or for sport. It’s getting easier here. There are more secure lanes, and drivers are more used to seeing cyclists than in the past. Do I jump red lights? I used to do it more, but now, as there are more cyclists, I feel we have to obey the rules of the road if we expect to be taken seriously — and we are, a bit. Sometimes I feel pretty foolish standing there waiting for the light to change while other cyclists whiz by, but then last week I watched as someone ignored a red light only to be completely knocked over by a car. I thought for a minute I might mention to this poor idiot lying on the ground (but not seriously injured) that he’d run a red light, but it didn’t seem like the right time for scolding.
Do I wear a helmet? Ugh. I do when I’m riding through a precarious part of town, meaning midtown traffic. But when I’m riding on secure protected lanes or on the paths that run along the Hudson or through Central Park — no, I don’t wear the dreaded helmet then. I’ve noticed that in places where cycling is accepted and common — Berlin, Copenhagen, and so on — most folks don’t wear helmets. I haven’t had a serious accident, so maybe I’m naive. Cycling is a joy and faster than many other modes of transport, depending on the time of day. It clears the head.
Modern Painters: Redirecting the conversation to art, not that cycling isn’t an interesting topic: You were both involved in the exhibition "Shhh . . . Sounds in Spaces" at the Victoria & Albert Museum, in London in 2004. Can you talk a bit about your roles in the show and what the experience was like? How did you explore the idea of sound in space? Was that your first meeting, if you in fact did meet? Or if it wasn’t, when and where did you first meet?
DB: I’m pretty sure we didn’t meet, though we have mutual friends, most notably Michael Morris, of Artangel, who worked with Jeremy on the Battle of Orgreave [2001] reenactment. Jeremy also did a short film that beautifully used the Talking Heads song "Heaven." It was of old folks dancing — senior citizens, we call them here [in the United States]. It’s both hilarious and very touching.
The V&A "Shhh . . . Sounds in Spaces" seemed so obvious. I wonder why more museums haven’t messed around more with their Acoustiguides. Very few have. As far as I know, they usually stick with the "Let some expert explain it all for you" approach. The V&A instead invited a group of artists and musicians to "do something" for their Acoustiguides. It wasn’t for a specific show, so in a sense it was a show. The technology used was invisible infrared sensors to activate audio files in the players that visitors wore. Because these players were private, only the person wearing the headphones could hear the pieces — there was no cacophony in the galleries — so sometimes a voice would begin talking as you entered a specific room or gallery, sometimes a sound would begin playing for no reason, and sometimes one would hear music when one entered a space. All the participants picked different spaces, so there wasn’t audio chaos. I decided to concentrate on the nonspaces in the V&A — the hallways between galleries, the cafeteria ramp, the lovely old stairways, and the pristine bathrooms. I did one for the ceramics gallery that began with footsteps and heavy breathing, as if someone were following a little too close; another, for the Cast Court ramp, began with a cell phone ringing and ringing (I hoped that folks would turn around to see which obnoxious person was not picking up their phone), and then it turned into a little chaotic musical mixture of various cell-phone rings.
Continue reading at Artinfo.com
Cheeseburger - "Saturday Night"
Your New Favorite Band: Zambri
Zambri
From: New York, NY
RIFYL: MGMT, !!!, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Zambri - "W/Somebody (The Model Remix)"
If Kevin Shields produced a pop album with dueling female vocals, it'd probably sound like Zambri. For the past couple of years, the New York quintet has been creating a sound that combines equal parts funky dance pop and dark, cavernous shoegaze rock. This sounds like a musical oxymoron. Coming from complete opposite sides of the spectrum, shoegaze is defined by its dark mood and often confrontational soundscapes, while the purest pop is energetic, fun, and easy to swallow.
The mood of Zambri's music walks a fine line, usually further on the dark side than light. This is one of the conflicting elements that makes this music dynamic and original. There's no denying that the swirling vocals of Zambri sisters (Jessica and Cristi Jo) are the defining element of the band. The way their vocals weave together is a creation that only sisters who've been performing together for years could pull off. Weaving is the only way to describe the way their vocals combine—it's not as simple as the standard call-and-response style most bands with multiple singers pull off. Blessed with good looks, strong voices and the namesake for which the band is named after, Jessica and Cristi Jo are will be seen as the faces of the band, and will be presented the spotlight in all press coverage and photos. It's an undeniable fact, but the trio of musicians behind them deserve a lot of recognition for the powerful sound being created. Andrew Bianchi (drums) and Carrie Ingber (bass) provide a really dynamic rhythmic core, while Chris Coombs' expansive guitar playing is the essential mood defining element, along with the keyboards (provided also by the Zambri sisters).
With a brand new EP, Bang for Changes, and a schedule that has seen them playing live all over town recently (including multiple shows during CMJ), Zambri will be seeing a lot of attention in the near future.
Younger sister, Cristi Jo recently spoke to New York Press about her record collection, future touring plans and the joy of sharing the stage with her sister.
Despite an atmospheric backdrop that takes from a noisier/edgier rock underbelly, Zambri is a pop group. Who are the biggest influences over your sound?
Edward Scissorhands and Puccini's 'Nessun' Dorma' is a constant for me. Do you hear that?
What's the most embarrassing record in your collection?
Probably my own with Jess as a child/adolescent. We used to do spot on impressions of Ronnie Spector, Mariah, Whitney, Bjork, Thom Yorke, etc. Anyone that we were asked to do, we did. Monica, Brandy...it's all in there. I guess. I'm not embarrassed, just glad we stopped taking requests (and thankful to anyone who would burn their copies).
Sharing the spotlight with a sibling can be difficult. Is there any rivalry between you in your music writing/singing?
No. We're lovey dovey. There's a lot to handle/figure out/make happen because we both write a lot, and we get excited and eager to document and play all the songs. Trying to bring two separate visions to light can be a challenge, but when they come together, it's pretty special. No competition. We trust and inspire one another a lot.
How long have you been performing together?
We did a few solo stints, and our first performance together was when I was in third grade and, she, in fifth. We've played the five of us (Chris, Carrie, Andy), as a whole, for a couple years. This was our first recording as a complete band. We have some history. We'll get into that another time.
New Yorkers are notorious for being the most motionless crowds, and your music is really danceable. Are there venues where your crowds are more likely to bust a move?
People seem to let loose more when it's DIY style, I suppose. No matter where you are though, when the whole night is planned out and it's not just filling slots, there is a definite energy difference. Sometimes dancing just depends on your mood though. If Samuel Barber's, Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings), was playing the same time as a Basement Jaxx track, in perfect rhythm with one another, I'm might dance or I might just listen. Sometimes that's the energy I feel with us.
Who would you rather open for Madonna or Radiohead? And from which crowd would you expect a better response?
For me, Radiohead, though I would say yes, enthusiastically, to Madonna. A Radiohead tour, show, or even just an afternoon tea would be a very awesome thing. Radiohead is a band that I think every member of our band is a big, big fan of. As far as audience response goes, I'd be into experimenting to find out. Madonna? Radiohead?
Having recently released a new EP, which songs are you most excited about playing live? And why?
The whole band loves playing live. We're pretty pumped the whole time. I definitely feel something pretty powerful when we play the song "Bang For Changes". We just added a new song "To Keep Back" to the set. We're all excited to play that one.
Will you be taking your act on the road to the rest of the world anytime soon? Are there any cities you'd most like to play?
Just trying to figure out the perfect time to quit our jobs & live off of peanut butter. I'm trying to convince Bonnaroo and Coachella to have us. We've been talking about going to Bali and Bangladesh. The UK and Japan come up a lot too. I guess you can tell this band is all into touring.
Upcoming tour dates:
November 5, Sputnik, 262 Taaffe Pl, Brooklyn, 9pm, 21 , $7
November 13, Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette St, New York, 8pm, 21
2009 Music Survey
Noel Heroux, Hooray For Earth
Best Unknown NYC Band: Zambri, who is not by any means unknown, but not known enough
Best Live NYC Band: Battles
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? I'm not sure myself but a friend of mine was devistated for Apes & Androids
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Paul & The Patients To The Lions EP
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Glasslands
Most Missed Local Venue: Alphabeta in Greenpoint
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 2
Best Post Show Hangout: Maujer Dreams
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Guitar stolen and returned week later by admitted thief
Dylan Rau of Bear Hands
Best NYC Band: Grizzly Bear
Best Unknown NYC Band: Bottle Up and Go
Best Live NYC Band: Das Racist
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Everyone I know is still alive
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: "Veckatimest" Grizzly Bear
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: Mccarren Pool
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Ebay
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 40
Best Post Show Hangout: Clem's
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Mayor Bloomberg came
Chris Pacifico, Solid PR
Best NYC Band: The Giraffes
Best Unknown NYC Band: Stats
Best Live NYC Band: The Giraffes
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? It Lives
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Hopewell "Good Good Desperation:
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: Knitting Factory
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Anywhere in the Lower East Side
How Many Bands Do You Play in: None
Best Post Show Hangout: Iggy's
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Too lewd for me to describe.
David Dargahi, The Postelles
Best NYC Band: Your Nature
Best Unknown NYC Band: Movement
Best Live NYC Band: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Velvet Underground
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band:Harlem Shakes "Technicolor Health"
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Most Missed Local Venue: Sin-e
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: 30th St. Guitars
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: Dublin
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Previous bands smoke machines caused firemen to show up
Coyle Girelli, Your Vegas
Best NYC Band: Well, why Your Vegas of course… and Jupiter One is great as well.
Best Live NYC Band: Semi-Precious Weapons simply for the all out, balls out glam
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Fellow Brits The Primms
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Paul & Patients had a great debut!
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: CBGB's - even though it was shit hole. Sad to lose such history though at least it became a very cool Varvatos store and not a Starbucks. John’s heart is in the right place and Im glad he still has bands play there.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag Music, Williamsburg
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: Cabin
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? A mid set argument from the stage with Anton from The Brianjonestown Massacre about the correct pronunciation of the word 'aluminium'
Justin Russo, The Silent League
Best NYC Band: StarsLikeFleas
Best Unknown NYC Band: Grand Mal
Best Live NYC Band: Bear in Heaven
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? - dunno, did anyone I know break up in 09?
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Hopewell - Good Good Desperation
Favorite Local Venue to Play: The new Knit!!
Most Missed Local Venue: Brownies
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: not in New York....
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 3
Best Post Show Hangout: Taco Chulo, Williamsburg
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? - a coke dealer came up to the stage mid set and attempted to sell his wares. didn't really seem to bother him that we were singing songs to a bunch of people.
Mark Allen, Fugitive Souls
Best NYC Band: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Best Unknown NYC Band: Fugitive Souls 
Best Live NYC Band: LCD Soundsystem
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Dirty on Purpose
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Plushgun, "Pins and Panzers"
Favorite Local Venue to Play: The Studio at Webster Hall
Most Missed Local Venue: Original Luna Lounge
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag Music
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 2
Best Post Show Hangout: Alligator Lounge
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Robbed in the parking lot before our Bell House Show
Brad Bennett, Intermissions/Bling Kong/Red Impact
Best NYC Band: The National
Best Unknown NYC Band: Parts & Labor
Best Live NYC Band: These Are Powers
Saddest NYC Band Breakup?
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band:
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Mercury Lounge
Most Missed Local Venue:
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: the internet
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 3 (Intermissions, Bling Kong, Red Impact)
Best Post Show Hangout: My House
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? I was told once by a young, married couple that their 8-year old kid really loved our music. They specifically mentioned one song that hand frequent references to one's "cock". I asked what their child thought of the sexual references and the couple easily explained that they told their kid that the song was about chickens.
Steven Matrick, Kepler Events
Best NYC Band: A Place to Bury Strangers
Best Unknown NYC Band: Overlord
Best Live NYC Band: Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers
Saddest NYC Band Breakup?
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Exploding Head by A Place to Bury Strangers
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Cakeshop
Most Missed Local Venue:
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 0
Best Post Show Hangout: Motor City
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows?
Dylan Von Wagner, Linfinity
Best NYC Band: The National
Best Unknown NYC Band: Torpedo
Best Live NYC Band: Beastie Boys......
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? simon and garfunkel
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: The Subjects
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Mercury Lounge
Most Missed Local Venue: Brownies
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: 30th st Guitars
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: By Robert James
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Lots of people showed up
Shilpa Ray, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers
Best NYC Band: I know it says band and not bands. I have trouble with rules. Here goes: Heavy Trash, The Harlem Shakes, Psychic Ills, A Place to Bury Strangers, TV on the Radio
Best Unknown NYC Band: The Wild Yaks, Soft Black, Creaky Boards, Werewolves, Daniel Bernstein and the Everybody Knows, Forest Fire, The Soundscapes
Best Live NYC Band: Ching Chong Song, Heavy Trash, Sharon Van Etten
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? The New York Howl
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Earth is Black- Soft Black. Technicolor Health- The Harlem Shakes. Because I Was In Love - Sharon Van Etten
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Loft Parties
Most Missed Local Venue: Vanishing Point where I freaked out on a moon age daydream. Oh yeah.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Keshav Music Imports. 67 E 4th St. You can buy yourself a magical sitar and become Brian Jones playing George Harrison playing Ravi Shankar playing a bad father.
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: Stoned in my room, Car service with Strictly Dickly. She makes load outs loads of fun.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? People dancing Ring Around the Rosie style and throwing money at us. I'm tawkin 5s and 10s, not cheapie 1s. Our audiences are posh.
Brian Betancourt, Hospitality/Frances/White Rabbits
Best NYC Band: The Subjects
Best Unknown NYC Band: Glass Ghost
Best Live NYC Band: Dirty Projectors
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Dymaxion
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Glass Ghost Idol Omen
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Union Hall
Most Missed Local Venue: I can't think of one
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 3 right now
Best Post Show Hangout: bar at the Bell House
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Me kicking a beach ball into a sea of 7,000 hippies at Bonnaroo.
Jonathan, Fiasco
Best NYC Band: for me at the moment it's Boogie Boarder (myspace.com/boogieboardertheband) or Zs (myspace.com/zstheband)
Best Unknown NYC Band: Snuffy (myspace.com/snuffynewyork)
Best Live NYC Band: No One and the Somebodies (myspace.com/nooneandthesomebodies)
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? No idea, but speaking of broken up bands, Pavement just reunited!!!!!!
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: so far it's Turbosleaze (myspace.com/turbosleaze)'s "Balls Balls Balls Vagina", but I'm highly anticipating "Mangia!" by Snuffy and an EP by Museyroom (myspace.com/museyroomband).
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Death by Audio or Market Hotel
Most Missed Local Venue: The bodega at 1089 Broadway was pretty cool..
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 5
Best Post Show Hangout: My bed
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? One time this drunk woman started shouting and hitting Julian's cymbals during the middle of a song. We thought she was just being silly and would eventually stop; however she kept it up for about 2 songs or so. We asked her nicely to stop which didn't work. At the end of the show we saw her passed out under some bleachers, hopefully everything turned out all right for her...
Paul Schalda, Pablo
Best NYC Band: sonic youth
Best Unknown NYC Band: pablo
Best Live NYC Band: sonic youth
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? ?
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: cymbals eat guitars
Favorite Local Venue to Play: no where on staten island
Most Missed Local Venue: the joint
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: mandolin brothers
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: the 45
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? we sucked
Alex Tween, The Forms
Best NYC Band: The National
Best Unknown NYC Band: Limbs
Best Live NYC Band: These Are Powers
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Usaisamonster
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bell House
Most Missed Local Venue: Northsix
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1.5
Best Post Show Hangout: Larry Lawrence
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows?: Onstage intraband strangling
Oliver, A Place To Bury Strangers
Best NYC Band: Sisters
Best Unknown NYC Band: Killer Snatch
Best Live NYC Band: Dead Combo
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Dirty On Purpose
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Grooms Rejoicer
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Death By Audio
Most Missed Local Venue: Asterisk*
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag Music
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: Under the Williamsburg Bridge
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? We played.
Sam Tyndall, ArpLine
Best NYC Band: ArpLine
Best Unknown NYC Band: Square Wave Punch
Best Live NYC Band: Gang Gang Dance
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: St Vincent 'Actor'
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Mercury Lounge
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Craigslist
Most missed venue is Acme Underground
Lucian, Fiasco
Best NYC Band: perhaps Krallice or Boogie Boarder
Best Unknown NYC Band: Snuffy or Museyroom
Best Live NYC Band: No One and the Somebodies, Banzai (Jonathan's band) or TURBOSLEAZE
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? When Biggie died.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Balls Balls Balls Vagina by TURBOSLEAZE
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Death by Audio, Market Hotel or Silent Barn
Most Missed Local Venue: STFO or Bodega
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag Music
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 2, but maybe 3? I'm in a lot of good ideas for bands, but they never get formed.
Best Post Show Hangout: THA LPD! That's not in the city though.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Once we played @ Bodega and two teenage girls made out during our set
Liz Schroeter, Diehard/Bling Kong
Best NYC Band: Ida
Best Unknown NYC Band: Can I say my own? Diehard
Best Live NYC Band: The Hold Steady, but only when I'm drunk
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Oxford Collapse
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: ARMS
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Union Hall
Most Missed Local Venue: i guess I sort of will miss the old Knitting Factory
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag, Brooklyn
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1, or 2 if you are getting Bling Kong reunions together
Best Post Show Hangout: the bar at the venue where you are hopefully drinking for free, duh
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Someone puked in the front row
Americans
Best NYC Band: TV on the Radio
Best Unknown NYC Band: Americans, of course...
Best Live NYC Band: The Giraffes
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Oxford Collapse
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Dirty Projectors...bitte orce? hmmm
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Mercury Lounge
Most Missed Local Venue: Northsix
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment:
How Many Bands Do You Play in: two
Shannon Fields, Stars Like Fleas/The Silent League/Helado Negro/Miho Hatori's New Still Life...etc
Best NYC Band: These Are Powers
Best Unknown NYC Band: Well, nobody in this town is "unknown", but...Light Asylum is my new favorite. Also, Glass Ghost.
Best Live NYC Band: These Are Powers.
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? It's never sad when bands breakup. There are too many bands. If a band is around for too long they lose their charm. Break up your band, preserve your charm (and dignity). Do something useful with your life/ambition/energy/cash. I mean it. Become mythical, hurry up... (...except did Lansing-Dreiden cease to be active? Because I could *definitely* use some more of that...)
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: "Awe Owe" by Helado Negro (I play in this live band but only played a few things on the record and didn't hear it until it was released, so I honestly dont see this as self-promotion--the record is Roberto's baby and I joined after the record was made and it's honestly my favorite record of the past many months by a local band)
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Union Pool
Most Missed Local Venue: Tonic. Jesus christ do I really miss Tonic...
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Craig's List for small towns in upstate New York
How Many Bands Do You Play in: Most actively, right now...Stars Like Fleas, The Silent League, Helado Negro, Miho Hatori's New Still Life. Also two new projects of mine that I haven't given names to.
Best Post Show Hangout: home
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows?: I'm pretty bored by weird things so i tend not to notice them if they happen. Or how about this...It's weird when people listen in this town, right? And I mean with their ears, eh?
Julian, Fiasco
Best NYC Band: These Are Powers or Pterodactyl or (not a band, but) Jay-Z
Best Unknown NYC Band: Turbosleaze
Best Live NYC Band: Aa (Big A little a)
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Does High Places moving to LA count?
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Balls Balls Balls Vagina by Turbosleaze
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Dead Herring, Death By Audio, Silent Barn, or Market Hotel
Most Missed Local Venue: Bodega or STFO
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: a bunch
Best Post Show Hangout: going home
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Pratt senior art project getting destroyed
Asher Lack, Ravens & Chimes
Best NYC Band: I'm partial to Ravens and Chimes
Best Unknown NYC Band: Ravens and Chimes, The Secret Life Of Sofia (now called Milagres), The Subjects
Best Live NYC Band:I was recently blown away by a show we did with White Rabbits
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? I'd like to hear another Clap Your Hands record.....not sure when that'll be.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: You And Me by The Walkmen (late 2008 but...) Also Vecatimest by Grizzly Bear and It's Frightening by White Rabbits
Favorite Local Venue to Play: It always feels special at The Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: We used to go to Tramps and Coney Island High in high school.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Matt Umanov and Rivington for shops but there are lots of iBankers selling good gear on craigslist these days.
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1, typical monogamist.
Best Post Show Hangout: Enids! also, Matchless, Bue and Gold, Black and White etc......
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Someone stole my underwear out of my bag backstage while we were playing.
Michael Jurin, stellastarr*
Best NYC Band: The National
Best Unknown NYC Band: Wakey! Wakey!
Best Live NYC Band: The Kiss Off/ArpLine
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? The Velvet Underground
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: ‘Hush’ by Asobi Seksu
Favorite Local Venue to Play: The Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: The Luna Lounge (in LES) –free shows of upcoming bands
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: two
Best Post Show Hangout: Bowery Electric
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? A girl jumped on stage & mimicked kissing our singers ass.
Paul Holmes, Paul & The Patients
Best NYC Band:
Best Unknown NYC Band:
Best Live NYC Band:
Saddest NYC Band Breakup?
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band:
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Glasslands
Most Missed Local Venue:
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: South Side Guitars
How Many Bands Do You Play in: two, if you count my solo thing
Best Post Show Hangout: a practice space
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? everyone listened
Emma Firth, Team Genius
Best NYC Band: Pearl and the Beard
Best Unknown NYC Band: Ryan Lone Wolf Sawyer, in any of his past, present and future reincarnations
Best Live NYC Band: Grizzly Bear
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? I don't want to know.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: But You've Always Been the Caretaker: The Silent League
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Monkeytown
Most Missed Local Venue: I don't live in Williamsburg - I can't keep up with this question!
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Pawn Shops in Random Cities
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: My bed.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? We dressed up as the Nativity Scene for Christmas last year. I was Mary. Drew was Joseph. Our keyboardist, Erin, was a male shepherd. We had angels and wise men too. Benefits of having 8 people in the band. It was pretty funny watching Drew trying to sing though his false beard.
Elizabeth & The Catapult
Best NYC Band: Elysian Fields
Best Unknown NYC Band: Lakewhales
Best Live NYC Band: The Prigs
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Superiority Complex
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Christina Courtin S/T
Music Hall of Williamsburg/The Bellhouse
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Tonic
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: Two
Best Post Show Hangout: Battery Park on the water
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Depeche Mode had impromptu show down the street and some of the audience left to go enjoy.
Drew, Team Genius
Best NYC Band:THE HOLDSTEADY
Best Unknown NYC Band: PEARL AND THE BEARD
Best Live NYC Band: MOTEL MOTEL
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH?
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: CYMBALS EAT GUITARS - WHY THERE ARE MOUNTAINS
Favorite Local Venue to Play: MONKEYTOWN
Most Missed Local Venue: DON'T HAVE ONE
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: THE INTERNET
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: ROSEMARY'S GREENPOINT TAVERN
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? NATIVITY SHOW
Josh, New Numbers
Best NYC Band: MGMT
Best Unknown NYC Band: New Numbers
Best Live NYC Band: Amazing Baby
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? The Jealous Girlfriends
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Rewild - Amazing Baby
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: North Six
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Craigslist...duh!! or Maindrag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: just one for me please
Best Post Show Hangout: my bedroom
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? i remembered all the words
Erik Gundel, Motel Motel
Best NYC Band: Dirty Projectors
Best Unknown NYC Band: Glass Ghost
Best Live NYC Band: Dirty Projectors
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Hmm...Does Oasis count? Not so 
I guess.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Because I Was in Love by Sharon Van Etten
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Union Hall- Great food, endless bocce fun.
Most Missed Local Venue: Old Sound Fix bar
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag, definitely
How Many Bands Do You Play in: Only time for one, recorded with Grooms though
Best Post Show Hangout: probably a quiet couch somewhere
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Playing music in Egypt was, in itself, weird. But we played for about 1,000 people at a group wedding for 20 couples, whirling dervishes, two guys dressed like a horse, right next to the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. Unforgettable.
Mike Fadem, New Numbers
Best NYC Band: The Walkmen
Best Unknown NYC Band: Ludlow Lions
Best Live NYC Band: The Walkmen
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Sam Champion...wait, are they broken up???
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: YYY'S "It's Blitz"
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Most Missed Local Venue: Northsix
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Drummer's World
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 3
Best Post Show Hangout: The bar at The Bell House
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? It was weird after a show in Austin, TX to go back stage and find Derek Jeter, just hanging out with his girlfriend.
Miracles of Modern Science
Best NYC Band: Dirty Projectors
Best Unknown NYC Band: Buke & Gass <3<3<3
Best Live NYC Band: The Homosexuals
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Still mourning Steely Dan.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Bitte Orca
Favorite Local Venue to Play: (le) Poisson Rouge! So classy… so air-conditioned.
Most Missed Local Venue: We only recently immigrated from Australia, so we haven't yet experienced the demise of a favourite venue.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag Music in Williamsburg… conveniently located next door to our practice space!
How Many Bands Do You Play in: We moonlight as a Vampire Weekend tribute band.
Best Post Show Hangout: Nothing beats a good post-show band sauna session.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? We blew up a PA at Rooftop Films. It actually caught on fire while we were playing. Straight out of Back to the Future.
Zachary, Freshkills
Best NYC Band:Dark Vibe
Best Unknown NYC Band:Violent Bullshit
Best Live NYC Band:None. They all play too long.
Saddest NYC Band Breakup?Panthers
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band:Hamsoken-"Foul Harvest"
Favorite Local Venue to Play:Cake Shop. Because it's very close to Motor City.
Most Missed Local Venue:CBGBs. Just kidding. Grow up.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment:Main Drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in:1. If that.
Best Post Show Hangout:Mars Bar. In theory.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Band stories are boring. I'd sooner stab myself in the fucking tonsils than listen to some bearded fuckwit talk about the "crazy shit" that happened at one of their shows. Weird things happen on UFOs and in the course of a 30 year marriage. Weird things involve cowboys,ignored children travelling back in time to earn their dismissive father's love, and/or dinosaurs. Weird things do not happen at rock and roll shows. If you think that girl taking a shit on the dancefloor, or you breaking your collerbone 'cuz you were 'tripping balls" is weird, than you're frame of reference is that of, well, your average dude in a band. I like stories about pandas,celebrity chefs taking time out to help out the less fortunate, and ROM The Space Knight.
Sohrab, Obits
Best NYC Band: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Best Unknown NYC Band: Ambergris
Best Live NYC Band: Lycaon Pictus
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Dirty Projectors
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Rated O by Oneida
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bell House
Most Missed Local Venue: Brownies
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Probably from a friend.
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: If not the location of the show itself, then
the next closest place.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Due to flight delays, I arrived at the venue in Calgary at 2:45am, just in time to join the rest of the band for the last 3 songs of our set.
Project Jenny, Project Jan
Best NYC Band: Beastie Boys! Jay-Z, Run DMC, KISS
Best Unknown NYC Band: The Bloodsugars?
Best Live NYC Band: Action Painters
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? The Boggs
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Department of Eagles
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: Sin-e. We had some good times there.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Craigslist.
How Many Bands Do You Play in: One,
Best Post Show Hangout: The roof at 127 Grand St.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows?
The crowd taking props (gigantic letters) from the previous band and dancing with them during the song "Brooklyn"
Lyndon Roeller, Hopewell
Best NYC Band: dirty projectors or grizzly bear.. what, were you expecting some obscure band nobody knows?? that's the next one
Best Unknown NYC Band: electric tickle machine. seriously.
Best Live NYC Band: these are powers, a place to bury strangers, depending on what you're in the mood for
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? I kinda wish the double or the occasion still played, but actually a few more bands could break up and it wouldn't make me sad at all
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: blew it again by electric tickle machine
Favorite Local Venue to Play: glasslands wins for like the 3rd year. although cameo was fun the other night
Most Missed Local Venue: I don't miss any... there's a new one every 5 minutes. I can't even remember the old ones
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: williamsburg craigslist... so many rich hipsters unloading their gear for cheap
How Many Bands Do You Play in: two. hopewell + gay for johnny depp
Best Post Show Hangout: I feel cheesy answering this question
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? see above
Body Language
Best Live NYC Band: Grizzly Bear
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Theophilus London + Machinedrum. of course we'd like to see them prove us wrong some day
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Favorite Local Venue to Play: McKibbins Lofts' Rooftop
Most Missed Local Venue: the old Luna Lounge
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Craigslist, but also check out EARS Nyc in manhattan who restores vintage synths and organs
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1 at the moment
Best Post Show Hangout: Brooklyn Bowl w/ DJ Aarnio
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows?
I dropped a shaker on my sampler, and it triggered a completely different backing track to another song, we just kept playing over top of it to see what would happen. It was little weird and we were kind of just flying by the seat of our pants. then the chorus hit and had to have been the most bizarre clash of key signatures one could conceive. It was too much - We stopped the track and had to tell the audience about it. i think even the tone-deaf folks knew something was up.
Thomas Laplaige, Electric Tickle Machine
Best NYC Band: yeah yeah yeahs
Best Unknown NYC Band: light asylum!!!!
Best Live NYC Band: golden triangle shows are fun
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? no sad, i go straight from angry to valium
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: patrick cleandenim's new one.
Favorite Local Venue to Play: coco66 even thought they're cheapskates
Most Missed Local Venue:
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: main drag's stellar
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: someone's apartment
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? we had the power shut off on us at a party in the soon to be bushwick art mall. the hasids actually locked us and a bunch of kids in the soon-to-be store where we were playing and a near riot ensued. caged animal fire hazard, yikes.
Tim Williams
Best NYC Band: Nada Surf
Best Unknown NYC Band: Barghest (members of castanets and phosphorescent)
Best Live NYC Band: Annie & The Beekeepers
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? USAISAMONSTER
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Langhorne Slim - Be Set Free
Favorite Local Venue to Play: The Bell House
Most Missed Local Venue: Rothko
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag Music
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 2 (Tim Williams, Depression State Troopers)
Best Post Show Hangout: 2A
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Mark Eitzel taking notes on a napkin at The Bottom Of The Hill in SF. Really intimidating!
Jed Smith, My Teenage Stride
Best NYC Band: Crystal Stilts
Best Unknown NYC Band: The Gutsies, I'm Turning Into, Tanks Amigo
Best Live NYC Band: Crystal Stilts, The Beets
Saddest NYC Band Breakup?- Cause Co-motion????????
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Revenger by Knight School
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Cakeshop, Bruar Falls, Silent Barn, Dead Herring
Most Missed Local Venue: Dead Herring, cause they only have shows like once a month
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: rural Pennsylvania or western Massachusetts
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 4 or so
Best Post Show Hangout: Daddy's, or someone's house
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows?- we sold all our merch. Other than that, there was one time a hippie girl tried to molest me onstage. This was a few years ago, when I was still cute.
Matthew Clark, White Rabbits
Best NYC Band: The Subjects
Best Unknown NYC Band: Glass Ghost
Best Live NYC Band: Dirty Projectors
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? There nothing sad about a band breaking up. They broke up because they were in it for the wrong reasons or thought things were going to be different and they couldn't deal with the reality of being in a band. Or they decided to work with people that didn't share the same goals and work ethic. I personally think more bands need to break up.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Glass Ghost's Idol Omen on Western Vinyl
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Bowery Ballroom
Most Missed Local Venue: I have some fond memories of the Knitting Factory. I hope the new one works out.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: 30th Street Guitars
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1. But I'm open-minded.
Best Post Show Hangout:Where the grass is greenest
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? I tend to get severe nose bleeds from time to time,which makes a mess until a break in song. Then there is the challenge of finding something to wrap around my face before the next song starts. Most of the time people don't even notice,they just think I decided to wrap something around my face like a costume. We definitely aren't a "costume band".
Blank Dogs
Best NYC Band: crystal stilts
Best Unknown NYC Band: German measles
Best Live NYC Band: woods
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Cause co-motion
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: songs of shame by woods
Favorite Local Venue to Play: bell house
Most Missed Local Venue: none!
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main drag
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 3!
Best Post Show Hangout: daddy's
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Fights
Cassie, Vivian Girls
Best NYC Band: Woods.
Best Unknown NYC Band: Stupid Party.
Best Live NYC Band: Cause Co-Motion!
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? Hunchback.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: The Beets - Spit in the Face of People Who Don't Want to be Cool.
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Death By Audio.
Most Missed Local Venue: North Six.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag.
How Many Bands Do You Play in: Two - Vivian Girls and the Babies.
Best Post Show Hangout: Daddy's.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? We played a house show last November and Blake Schwartzenbach's new band played first. That was a crazy experience. The room was packed. It was really awesome to be on a bill with one of our punk heroes, and in our friends' living room!
Autry Fulbright, Midnight Masses
Best NYC Band: Callers. The ghost of Billie Holiday haunts lead singer Sara Lucas' voice. They combine the pastoral scenes of the gallant Old South with the most unique guitar/drums combo since the year nineteen-whenever. A torch has been passed.
Best Unknown NYC Band: Sleigh Bells. Heartbreakin' beats and sass that lasts pass the summer. Today, your house party. Tomorrow - the world!
Best Live NYC Band: TV On The Radio.
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? I don't get sad when bands break up. I get relieved.
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Veckatimest by Grizz B. (aka Grizzly Bear)
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Union Pool is always fun.
Most Missed Local Venue: Black Betty.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Main Drag.
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 2.5. Midnight Masses, Holy Land, Holy See, choir-izing for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead.
Best Post Show Hangout: Marlow & Sons.
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? One time at this show none of us fucked up once while we were playing. It was crazy and it's never happened again.
Eric Zeiler, Xylos
Best NYC Band: Simon and Garfunkel
Best Unknown NYC Band: Hank and Cupcakes
Best Live NYC Band: the Velvet Underground
Saddest NYC Band Breakup? the Strokes (or are they still together? Hard to tell these days...)
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: Bitte Orca
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Music Hall of Williamsburg... best sound system ANYWHERE
Most Missed Local Venue: Wetlands
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: Craigslist
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 1
Best Post Show Hangout: At the venue, after a headlining show, when there's no rush to load out and we get to talk to girls (and boys)
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows? Crowd of 18-year-old ravers on ecstasy overtook the crowd at a show in Baltimore. We most likely ruined 50 kids' evenings.
Kyle Wilson, Milagres
Best NYC Band: Its way too hard to choose anyone for such a title.
Best Unknown NYC Band: No Eye Contact, Ifwhen, Ravens and Chimes
Best Live NYC Band: Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear
Saddest NYC Band Breakup?: Its always for the best!
Best Album of 2009 by Local Band: No Eye Contact "You and Me and Other Fables." This album is amazing and beautiful. If you don't have it, get it.
Favorite Local Venue to Play: Union Hall / Bell House. Skippy is the best.
Most Missed Local Venue: Tonic.
Best Place to Buy Music Equipment: I wouldn't know, I can't afford any!
How Many Bands Do You Play in: 2, unless you count bands that never actually play.
Best Post Show Hangout: On the couch with my cat, Magnus!
Weirdest Thing To Happen At One Of Your Shows?: Once I was looking at Oliver from A Place To Bury Stranger's pedals, because he makes them himself and I was curious. Suddenly, a full pint of beer was thrown in my face! One of his biggest fans, who shall remain nameless, is apparently very protective and somehow felt that I was violating his space or something. Anyways, I talked to him afterwards and he was totally cool with it. But actually the whole thing turned into a fiasco for me because my girlfriend was really suspicious as to why some strange girl would be throwing a beer in my face and we ended up arguing until late that night.
Restoring the Good Name of Emo
When searching for a way to describe local band The Stationary Set, I can't help but think of the word emo, but thanks to terrible whiny bands in eyeliner, the term emo—once associated with a melodic breed of bands whose song structure often shifted from soft and delicate to loud and epic, and whose lyrics took an intelligently emotional approach—may now forever be tainted.
The quintet's sound is heavily influenced by Sunny Day Real Estate and Mineral, the bands who laid the groundwork for the genre long before Dashboard Confessional and others came along to give the genre a bad name, but to tag them as emo could now be considered insulting. The Stationary Set are reviving the lost characteristics of the genre at a time when you have to be a little fearless to do so, because music trends in NYC's scene are as far removed from those music philosophies as they've been in a long long time. Then again, the plates do seem to be shifting a bit of late with the recent success of Cymbals Eat Guitars' throwback to early '90s guitar-focused indie rock and The Drums' refreshing pop sensibilities. With the right combination of those 2 bands, you might find The Stationary Set's blend of pop songs written with an emotional core by a group of talented musicians with a full grasp of their instruments.
The best recorded example of their potential comes on their EP closer "This is Our Nature," which slowly builds in an epic direction, with a series of shifts back and forth between simple, delicate melodies to much bigger, dynamic U2-influenced guitar theatrics. But having seen the band a few times in the past few months, it's safe to say this is only a hint at the more epic sound awaits.
NY Press recently asked Andrew Lutes (vocals/acoustic guitar/piano) and Josh Hoisington (guitar/kyes/backvocals) about finding their place in the New York City music scene and the stigma surrounding the term emo.
The Stationary Set doesn't really fit directly within any particular movement or scene in NYC/Brooklyn. How does that effect the band's approach towards booking and generating buzz?
We think The Stationary Set's approach to playing out and promoting shows actually works well in Brooklyn and NYC. We've been able to play some really diverse shows by not hopping on some scene-wagon for the sake of a built in crowd or blanket press opportunities. For example, playing with RZA of Wu-Tang, a Morrissey 50th Birthday Party with Kaki King, a Park Slope Street Fair, an acoustic set at Rockwood, headlining some packed shows at Mercury Lounge, and curating our own nights and band line-ups all within a year is pretty satisfying for us.
You could be classified as emo, which these days is a bad word in indie music, but Sunny Day Real Estate is back. Could this be a sign that people are ready to once again embrace and correct the image of the genre that has brought us Sunny Day Real Estate, Rites of Spring and The Promise Ring?
This is a tough one, but i think as far as melody goes in our songwriting I would drop what I was listening to at that time, namely Mineral, then later the Gloria Record and an amazing band called Elliott. I hadn't even heard the term Emo until Dashboard Confessional came out which I believe to be one of the first bastardizations, for me, of the term that originated, I guess, as post-punk. I would love to see what would transpire if Mineral got back together. Bands like them and Sunny Day are still more than viable right now. Listen to Elliott's False Cathedrals, and if you can draw a line between them and The Stationary Set, I'd personally be proud of the emo tag.
You've opened for such diverse acts as All American Rejects, The RZA and We Are Scientists. Who's fans gave you the best response? Who is the band you'd most like to open for?
Ha, I'd love to tell you that 1,200 Wu-Tang fans went completely insane for us, and although the response was good, I'm gonna have to say for certain that the We Are Scientist supporters have an easier time getting down with us. We'd love to open for Crystal [you fill in the blank], the 1989 Chicago Bulls and J.D. Salinger. But seriously, Oasis, the Police, Frightened Rabbit, R.E.M all came up in the band poll.
The next record is on its way. What can fans expect?
We are so excited for this record. Expect a Stationary Set that wants to dance, that knows what it wants to say and how to say it, and who does so with the epic-like-nature of bands like Muse or Radiohead while sub-sectioning like Bloc Party or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
When I listen to Stationary set, I hear an intelligent balance of both hush melodies and big towering buildups. What do you guys think are the main characteristics that define The Stationary Set?
Our focus has always been on the nuclear level of songwriting. We think that a strong spine as far as melody and structure allow one to flourish verses and refrains without a limit on creativity. It's a great place to be when no matter how weird, poppy, heavy, soft, electronic or organic you try to get, it is impossible to alienate yourself from your own sound because of simple elements that are always there in the songs.
Not only is The Stationary Set is hard at work in the studio with TV on the Radio's Gerard Smith finishing up their first full length record, they've also got a busy week ahead of them during CMJ with 4 shows scheduled.
October 21 at Rockwood Music Hall, Free Acoustic Show, 8pm
October 23 at Arlene's Grocery, No Pulp Blog Event, midnight
October 24 at Fontana's, Flea Marketing Showcase Day Party, 3pm
October 25 at The Bell House, Black Market Media Showcase, 8pm
Havin fun.
Photo by Elizabeth Weinberg
Interview featured on NY Press.com
Opening with a dramatic violin, fun’s debut record, Aim & Ignite, gives a hint of a sadder side of Nate Ruess, but before long opener “Be Calm” explodes with the type of fanfare that acts as a reminder of former singer of The Format’s gift for shedding a bright light over a cloudy day. From that moment on, Aim & Ignite is a summer record, filled with a refreshingly charming pop sensibility that draws from the ’60s with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink aesthetic and killer harmonies. (And check out a video below!)
It’s not that the lead singer of fun. hasn’t tried, but try as he might, an uplifting energy always comes through no matter what the subject. He’ll have to leave the songs of sorrow to Mark Kozelek and Morrissey, but that’s not at all a bad thing. When he wrote The Format’s highly underrated sophomore record Dog Problems, Ruess was dealing with a hard breakup and yet managed to transform that into one of the poppiest, most joyful sounding breakup records ever.
Formed only as long ago as last fall fun. features Ruess, along with Anthallo’s Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train. And it hasn’t taken them long to find their footing. With their debut album Aim & Ignite fresh out of the womb and ready to explode, fun. is on the road in support of their record, and tomorrow night the band headlines a sold-out gig at Mercury Lounge—a surefire sign of a promising future ahead. Jonny Leather caught up with Ruess to find out more.
Who is fun? How'd you guys end up forming?
Fun is Andrew Paul Dost, Jack Somethingorother Antonoff, and myself Nate Ruess. Jack and I had always talked about starting a band and once my schedule freed up quite a bit, I put in a call to him and Andrew. Since then we've been chugging along.
How'd you decide on the name?
After a day of demoing in New Jersey we'd decided to take a trip into NYC for dinner with some friends. One of our friends kept pressing us about a name and so we decided to dedicate the dinner to finding a name. At one point someone suggested 'ice cream', which I thought was terrible, but I liked the emotion it conjured up. So jack said 'fun.’ and it almost seemed too perfect. So we sat on it for six months until we were pressed to have a name and that was the only one on the list.
What makes fun. different than your other bands? And more importantly, what makes fun. fun?
1. Different band name
2. Different band members
3. Different songs
Those are pretty big. And I think what makes us ourselves is the same thing that makes fun. fun. We are enjoying it very much. There are few serious moments when not in the studio or something else that requires special attention.
What is your general approach to songwriting? What does each band member bring to the band in order to create the cohesive sound of fun.?
My general approach is to take only the best songs in my head and try to make sense of them so that everyone else can have a listen. It's a bit tedious but I think it's easier than playing an instrument. The other guys, when not writing themselves, help me out by listening to my idea of the song that is in my head and trying to help bring it out and to life. Jack, although talented at everything, is particularly good at supplying a raw energy and helping with the general rhythm of the song. Andrew is much more intricate and can be responsible for a large fraction of the 'sparkle.' These are just some example of their talents though. I truly believe the sky is the limit with those two.
Nate, I loved the The Format, because you had a knack for creating uplifting pop songs out of situations of despair. And with your debut Aim & Ignite, you haven't lost that touch. How do you do it?
Thank you. I always want to write depressing stuff but somehow it never works that way. I'm serious. Just once I'd like to make a record for the winter, or putting your windows up.
Is Sgt. Pepper your favorite Beatles record? Moments like the chorus of "Be Calm" scream Sgt. Pepper, while the record also hints at the theatrical sounds of vintage Queen.
Obviously I love Sgt Pepper, but it's #3 or 4 on my top Beatles list. My favorite is probably Abbey road. Those records, Queen, ELO, Beach Boys, Van Morrison, the list of ’60s and ’70s is endless. The real challenge is to find the modern influence. Believe it or not, there is a lot.
How does it feel to be able to sell out the Mercury Lounge in advance before your debut record was even officially released?
It was special. We were and are nervous about all that type of stuff. And NYC is my new home so I really felt the pressure. Fortunately it happened quick so I didn't have to sweat that one too long. It was exciting.
Are there any songs that you would call your favorites to play live?
Maybe “barlights.” Right now I'm enjoying all of them because it's been so wonderful playing with the band and the amazing crowds.
What do you guys do for fun in New York?
Hmmm. We spend all of our money on dinners. It's really crazy. We are just all about being with our close friends and ordering too much food.
Who makes you excited about being part of the local music scene?
The same thing that gets me excited about living in NY. You really don't know the next thing you're gonna see/hear. Anything is possible and the energy that surrounds that feeling is incredible.
Bigger and Bolder Bells
Benjamin Curtis discusses the future of School of Seven Bells
“The School of the Seven Bells is a legendary, possibly apocryphal, and deliciously plausible school, said to be based in Colombia. Pickpocketing is largely a skilled combination of timing, and distraction, but South American pickpockets are particularly notorious.
There is, of course, an exam. Thieves-to-be are faced with a mannequin (or even a teacher) in a man’s suit, strewn with pockets, and rigged up with seven strategically placed bells. They must pick the mark clean, without ringing a single bell.”
—CoolThingsinRandomPlaces.com
There is a certain mystical element to the origins and existence of such a school, so it’s appropriate that the band, which has taken this name to represent its musical product, creates a mystical sea of sound.
A pickpocket, however, must operate in stealth, whereas within seconds of a School of Seven Bells concert beginning, fans are completely engulfed by the wall of sound created by guitarist Benjamin Curtis and twin sisters Ally and Claudia Deheza. It’s incredible how full the trio can sound, but then again, Curtis was building sound sculptures the size of the Grand Canyon with Secret Machines before leaving to pursue SVIIB.
Having been on the road for the bulk of 2009, SVIIB finally returns home for a headlining gig at Bowery Ballroom on Friday night with hometown bands Violens and Apache Beat.
New York Press talked to Benjamin Curtis about touring, possible collaborations, and what to expect the band’s sophomore record to sound like.
I have read that the name School of Seven Bells is derived from the name of a notorious Columbian pickpocket academy. Have any of you been victimized by a pickpocket?
Benjamin Curtis: I don’t think so, but who knows. I personally am really bad about misplacing things, so I usually blame myself before I jump to any conclusions.
What is the biggest challenge in taking the sounds of your record to the live setting with only three members? Have you considered adding a live drummer/extending your lineup?
We've actually been on a long process of shrinking our lineup. When we started we had five people playing live, but something just wasn't right. We soon realized that the chemistry of the people performing is probably 90% of what makes a band great, and at the moment, the harmony of the three of us on stage playing our music is really special. We make a surprising amount of noise between the three of us as well, which was a great discovery. For the future, I can't make any promises. We've got a million ideas, and a million plans. As soon as we have the means, we'd love to experiment with all types of instrumentation while playing with musicians we love, but I don't think the typical rock band formula will be a possibility any time soon.
Some bands prefer to always be on the road, others prefer the studio. Where are you at your happiest?
It depends on what day you ask, really. Some days we wake up in such incredible places, and feel so lucky to be doing what we're doing. On the other hand, traveling can be really draining. We've been working out of our home studio in Brooklyn, so after playing 70 shows on this past tour, home seems like a really great place to be at the moment. I love NYC.
I've seen you play venues as varied in size as Mercury Lounge, Webster Hall and Terminal 5. How big of a difference is it to play in front of 500 people or 100 people? When are you at your most comfortable?
Smaller venues tend to be more stressful, believe it or not! Something about somebody standing 5 feet away from you, watching your every move, is more intimidating than 1,000 people who seem miles away. There's also something so satisfying about hearing our music coming out of a massive speaker system, and that can only really happen in a bigger place.
You formed as a band as a result of touring together when you were in the bands On! Air! Library! and Secret Machines. Are there any musicians you've toured with as members of SVIIB that you'd like to collaborate with?
Sarah Jones, who was drumming with Bat For Lashes, is one of the most amazing drummers we've ever seen. If we were ever going to play with one, it would have to be her. We were lucky enough to have Simone Pace from Blonde Redhead play on our record, which was cool. Niki Randa from Blank Blue also sang on “Prince of Peace,” so we definitely have a history of post-tour collaborations.
What has been the most interesting thing to happen to you on this current long stretch of touring?
Getting our van stuck in a dirt road on the top of the Alps was exciting, for sure. Everyday is bizarre in it's own way, I can assure you.
You're currently working on your follow up to Alpinisms. What should fans expect musically?
I think a bigger and bolder record is on the way. We're so much better at doing what we do after playing live so much this year. When we made our record we never really considered how it would be interpreted live, and things have gotten heavier and louder and, in my opinion, more beautiful all around, so I'm ready for people to hear more of that side of us.
What's presently inspiring you creatively?
Sleep, travel, each other, and playing live. There's always plenty to be inspired by.
Dynamite Blows Up
Catching up with Right on Dynamite
When I first saw Right On Dynamite a few years ago, it was just another Brooklyn band struggling to find its sound and place in a very tough scene to crack. This is a band that’s not had the overnight success of MGMT or Vampire Weekend.
Right On Dynamite has played gig after gig in front of small crowds at pretty much every venue in town. Many bands can fall to the crippling nature of elusive success after putting in so much work, but overnight success would have done it no good. The struggle has made the band humble, and most importantly it's allowed it to really develop its sound. All of a sudden, Right on Dynamite has quietly become one of New York’s best bands, harnessing poppy '60s melodies and combining them post-pavement guitar-driven indie rock.
In 2008, people finally started to take notice when Right On Dynamite was selected to play opening dates for Frightened Rabbit, but that's only the tip of the iceberg because the band will soon have the honor of opening for four nights of the upcoming Hold Steady tour in June, after Friday's concert at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Love Is All. Such an opportunity will most certainly help the band reach a load of new fans.
Recently, Right On Dynamite has been very busy, recording a Daytrotter session during a trip to SXSW, helping celebrate the conclusion of 100 bands in 100 nights, and most recently spending a Sunday afternoon at Living to play a Kidrockers show, but I was able to get them to talk a little about kids, the past and, most importantly, the music.
Kids ask the darndest things, and at your recent Kidrockers show you fielded some questions from the tots. What are some of the questions the kids asked you guys, and can you answer them for us?
Dan: They asked us a bunch of different ways how we became a band. It was almost like a deposition or something, each kid has his own way of phrasing the question.
Nick: Yeah, I really like kids asking us questions. They were quite interesting. One very little one mustered up the courage to ask us when we would break up! Ha, I think I just laughed, stated that it was a very good question, and kicked a balloon.
Did you go to any cool shows when you were kids? Who's the first band you ever saw live?
D: Na, my childhood sucked for music, I was a late bloomer, probably the first show I saw was Ringo with Nicky when we were like 13.
N: And what a show it was! Jack Bruce on bass... yes, yes wonderful.
When and where was the first show you played as a band? Who else played?
R.o.D.: We played our first show in the basement of this Italian restaurant called L'asso on the Lower East Side. We played with Americans and Aloke. I remember the pizza was delicious.
How excited are you to be playing show with The Hold Steady?
R.o.D.: So fucking excited—they are such a great band, and one that we have really dug for a long time now.
You recently recorded a Daytrotter session with a bunch of new songs. Will we be seeing any more new recordings from you anytime soon?
D: Yes, the plan is we are going to record in the fall—a full album this time.
N: With 14 bonus tracks
How would you describe your sound? Who are your biggest influences?
D: I'd like it to be more jammy, experimental indie pop, it's getting there, it's what we do live and in practice, but we haven't got it down on a record just yet. My influences are probably Beatles, Kinks, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, The Clash, Led Zeppelin. I like punk and indie but I like guitars—a lot.
N: Daniel pretty much nailed the first part of the question for me, as far as influences go, us three Dynamites are influences by nothing but the most brilliant shit out there.
>Right on Dynamite
June 5, with Love is All, Real Estate, Sean Bones; Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North Six Street, Brooklyn; 8pm, $13a/15d
June 8, with The Hold Steady; Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, New York; 8pm, $20
To Linfinity & Beyond
Catching Up with Linfinity's Dylan Von Wagner
During the month of May, two incredible local bands will have residencies at Pianos. Wednesdays will belong to the critically praised Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers. Sharing a common bass player (Nick Hundley), Linfinity will own Tuesday nights.
Linfinity is still relatively unknown, but that shouldn’t last long. With an eclectic mix of influences brewing in its pot, Linfinity has developed a huge sound most easily comparable to Arcade Fire, Echo & The Bunnymen and DeVotchka. For the last couple months the band has been in the studio recording what will be its debut record, and the finished product is bound to be an indie hit.
Defined by sweeping arrangements, and vocalist Dylan Von Wagner’s thunderous voice, the songs carry a powerful emotion wallop. One listen to “Molly Mar of Rome” and you’ll be hooked. Von Wagner took some time to answer a few questions.
How long has Linfinity been a band/how did you form?
Well I made a record in summer 2007 to demonstrate what I was going for. Around then I started to asking around through friends, scored Nick, our bass player, he then found our guitarist Josh, who then knew our drummer Russ. Then Russ knew a violinist [Megan] and keys player [Omer]. It was kind of gradual over a few months, then we played our first show in October 2007.
Besides the solo Live at Marcata record I had done, I did a full band record. We started to play songs from that. We actually had one more guitarist. After about five months of that, we ended up not being able to hold onto one extra guitarist, so we had to rethink and kind of re shape the band as a six piece. So around march 2008 we made our first EP, Songs of the Weeping Willow. I would say that was our true formation as a group, then we took some of songs I had done myself and reworked them—wanted to make that point that we adjusted to a different sound.
How did you develop your big theatrical sound? Who are your biggest influences?
Our big sound was playing in my head, I wanted to do big band stuff with a bang, I think when I bring the songs in, the band arranges well around it and are really articulate in trying to find space and development. As in all bands there's tension, I assume that has something to do with our sound, we all come from different backgrounds and I think all the spices seem to lead to a soundtrack thing around melody. Arcade Fire is a good example of taking pop songs and adding huge arrangements to them, giving them scale and depth. We probably would be a little wilder, but a bunch of our songs were recorded around my father’s death, so things we're chilled out. Influences are the usual Zeppelin, Beatles, Doors, Beastie Boys, Tom Waits [and] even Pearl Jam—they're surprisingly eclectic. I like bands that can do anything and aren't pigeon holed.
Where does your name come from?
Told from an old timer: in World War I in the trenches a general would walk around to his soldiers who were shell shocked and give them a word to calm them, he would tell them to say ‘Linfinity’ over and over to themselves, to relax them. Fucking scary stuff if you heard it from the old man, he said there's not one day he doesn't picture those trenches.
Can you tell me a little about the lyrical imagery of your songs?
Everything from a Martian's DNA, an escape from a prison in Uzbekistan, to a Roman princess who saves the world by giving great head.
What's the biggest difficulty in making a name for yourself in a music scene like New York?
Well there's lots of great bands, I think the key is making a polished recording, than begin playing shows, have a good set of songs and try and get good shows. I think the bands that do well, some blow up quick, some take a few years, basically you do it until it sticks, try everything and just when you think it's too hard, it gets harder. My motto is do what the other guy won't. Although on a simple level, it's not brain surgery, you have to have good songs, play good shows, promote, make friends and it'll happen eventually. Sure connections help, but there's still no excuse. I will say though, if you work your balls off, someone will try and help you, whether it's a manager or a label. I have friends in the film biz, they want you to mop their floors before they give you a chance, so mop some floors!
Your sound seems more fitting for Montreal than New York, how does that effect the booking, and finding bands who are a good fit to play with?
I don't know, Jay at mercury has been nice to us and paired us with some bands that aren't our sound, but a good mix, it's like a festival, 7pm can be Basement Jaxx, 8pm will be Wilco, 9pm Yeah Yeah Yeah's.
What do you all do to make a living?
I've been doing arms dealing....
If you could go on tour with any other band, who would it be?
Well right now we're open to anything. I like The Subjects a lot, they would be fun. Wilco, TV on the Radio, The Walkmen. I'd like to watch Arcade Fire for a month, Jens Lekman, M Ward, and arena show with Pearl Jam. Any which way, we’re looking forward to playing the shows at pianos—lots of good bands. First we gotta find a home for our record and than get on the road.
MP3: "Molly Mar of Rome"
>Linfinity
May 19, with Hopewell, Electric Tickle Machine, You scream I scream, Monument, Pianos, 158 Ludlow St. (betw. Stanton & Rivington Sts.); 9, $8.
May 26, with Starling Crush and Contronmano, Pianos, 158 Ludlow St. (betw. Stanton & Rivington Sts.); 9, $8.
Pony’s Tale
Baltimore's Ponytail talks sugar, Halloween costumes and vocal technique
Started as a class project while studying at the Maryland Institute for Contemporary Art, Baltimore quartet Ponytail has quickly gathered a devoted following and media praise for their unique and energetic rock, sounding something like a hyperactive Don Caballero fronted by a scat-singing Ari Up. In front of a feeding-frenzy of guitar interplay and bursting drums, tiny lead singer Molly Siegel stands tall by bringing an extra intensity to her live performance.
In the live setting is where they shine brightest. At a sold-out performance at Brooklyn’s Bell House earlier this year, with Molly decked out in a Ray Lewis jersey and eye black, I witnessed first hand just how strong their performances can be. From start to finish, Ponytail exploded with a jolt of electricity that surged through the entire audience, resulting in one huge party.
On Saturday, Ponytail returns to Brooklyn for a headline gig at Music Hall of Williamsburg, where the band is sure to continue building their ongoing reputation as one of the most exciting young bands in music.
Vocalist Molly Seigel and drummer Jeremy Hyman took the time to answer a few questions.
New York Press: Molly, how did you begin singing in this scat-like non-lyrical style? And are you ever tempted to sing in a more conventional manner?
Molly Siegel: When we started I mentioned I might be interested in singing but I was pretty nervous. Dustin took me aside and suggested we meet alone and jam. We did and I started doing some crazy vocalizing—kind of operatic—and we both thought it could work. I started doing it at practice. It took me awhile to get comfortable for sure. I always knew I didn't like what a lot of vocalists were doing and wanted to do something less traditional. It also just fit the music to me. I do want to do more traditional singing and I feel like I am already doing more on Ice Cream Spiritual.
Ponytail has quickly become known for the energy of the live performances. What is the biggest challenge in capturing that energy in the studio?
MS: I think the studio by definition is a more sterile environment and just knowing you can do it again puts you in a calmer and more critical space. I mean, just not having an audience to play off of is huge too. We tried to do as much of the recording as possible live playing together in the studio. I had to be in an isobooth though which was weird but kind of amazing. It was a really reflective and meditative space, which felt really different than being in front of people. It wasn't reflective because of them it was because I was actually alone.
Jeremy Hyman: The last record was recorded live for the most part. I was set up in a big room with two smaller adjoining rooms in one of those rooms were Dustin and Ken’s amps, they were in my room with their cables snaked under the door, so we could look at each other. Molly’s room had a glass door but we kept it open so she could here the drums a bit more naturally. That along with J. Robbins pretty much made it pretty easy.
You've played a great many shows in New York over the last few years, which has been the most memorable, and why?
MS: Hmmmm hard one. I think our first show, at the Cakeshop, is really memorable because it was the first—we were all pretty nervous. The Halloween show at Danbro Studios was really memorable too, I mean even if I hadn’t have played and I had dressed up as the Kool-Aid Man anyway, it would be pretty memorable for me.
JH: Halloween at Danbro Studios was a big one for me—Molly was the Kool-Aid Man, I was George Washington, Dustin was a soccer ball and Ken was Jerry Seinfeld. We made this big wall out of paper and set it up at the front of the stage before we played, and a minute into the first song Molly busted through. It was our blockbuster moment.
Are you naturally as energetic people in everyday life as you are when performing?
MS: Yeah, but we gotta save our energies ya know? Tour sluggin’.
JH: Dustin once said something like, ‘If people acted the way they do on stage in real life that would be fucked up.’ We are all positive people, but there isn't sweat bursting out of my face every second, or Molly just spazzing down the street. That would be really funny though.
What do you do in order to prepare to play a concert? Lots of sugar? And which band member is the first to wear down?
MS: Oh man I actually used to eat sugar on stage back when I went more crazy. I play Tony Hawk and smoke tons of weed. . . No not really. I just do vocal warm ups and stretch and boring stuff like that. We all just mill around drinking beer or caffeine.
JH: I like to stretch and maybe have a little coffee in the hour before we play, but I think most of the getting psyched happens mentally. I probably get worn down pretty fast too.
Who are the bands who have been most inspiring to your music approach both live and on record?
MS: For me I have to say the Pixies first because I actually thought about their vocals a bunch while recording. I know the guys would say Lightning Bolt, The Who and The Boredoms. Also The Slits, big time.
JH: Talking Heads, Metallica, Devo, Beach Boys, the Pixies, Can, Donna Summers, Fleetwood Mac, Squarepusher.
What's your favorite "on the road" meal?
MS: In the U.S. it’s breakfast. In Europe, everything except breakfast.
JH: We really love food. I try to eat healthy but I can't resist a big Mexican-style breakfast.
What can fans expect next from Ponytail?
MS: Dark slide all the way. . .
JH: I have no idea!
NY Press: My Teenage Stride
Stride’s Right
Meet My Teenage Stride, the most prolific band in town
By Amre Klimchak
Jedediah Smith is a feverish musical creator who hardly seems able to keep up with his own breakneck songwriting pace.The gregarious leader of My Teenage Stride, one of Brooklyn’s finest indie pop bands, slides effortlessly between bouncy guitar-driven jangles, British-Invasion influenced melodies and shoegazey distortion sprees that usually clock in under three minutes. His copious output has become an oft-cited distinguishing feature of and point of pride for the band and sparked the idea for My Teenage Pride’s latest project...
Asobi Seksu Writes The Soundtrack For Great Casual Sex
Not every good record is made to sit as a background setting for great sex. Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart are too weird, and too oddly paced. Torche’s Neanderthal is too heavy, with not enough buildup. I can’t imagine anyone being able to get off while hearing Craig Finn’s (The Hold Steady) nasally voice speak-sing about hoodrats. Nine Inch Nails and Big Black are far too sadistic. Music Tapes just seems too innocent, and I can’t even begin to explain how wrong it’d be to have a Care Bears on Fire track blasting while engaging in intercourse.
On the other hand, from the early chimes of bells on opener “Layers” onward, Asobi Seksu’s new record Hush is drenched in a dreamlike sensuality that can be described as a perfect stimulant for helping achieve orgasm. The four minutes of foreplay that is the lovely “Layers” is followed by the more energetic romp of “Familiar Light” which essentially sets the pace for the rest of the record, filled with huge ethereal climaxes. The soft pop beauty of “Sing Tomorrow’s Praise” and “Gliss” feel like a gentle caress before climaxing again with the outstanding shower of guitars on the finale of “Sunshower.” “Risky and Pretty” provides a short breather before another romp on the keyboard heavy “in The Sky” where singer Yuki Chikudate’s airy vocals are as orgasmic as ever. Things settle down a bit with the more celestial “Mehnomae,” on which Chikudate’s Japanese tongue surfaces. The bending rhythms and equally orgasmic vocals “Glacially” provide another high point before the luscious “I Can’t See” which features the rare male lead vocals, which lie in sync beautifully with Chikudate’s hushed harmonies. The band’s first single, “Me & Mary,” acts as the final energetic burst, before coming down to rest with the soothing closer “Blind Little Rain.”
Shoegaze in general is a very sensual music, especially some like the Cocteau Twins who’s music Asobi Seksu shares a great debt. Like the classic work of Cocteau Twins, the songs of Hush shimmer and are far more pop than they are rock. While the sensual nature of the record may rely most heavily on Yuki Chikudate’s seductive voice, the steady but creative drumming often acts as the stabilizing force that drives it along.
After listening to Hush a few times, I can’t help but think that Asobi Seksu, which in Japanese slang translates to “casual sex,” is quite possibly the most perfectly named band. So often band names lack a meaningful connection with the sounds that they create, but Asobi Seksu creates a beautiful soundtrack for the act that they’re named after.
As much as you may love them, just be careful who you’re around when joyfully claiming your love for Asobi Seksu, or you’re likely to have your fair share of horny hangers-on, who are oblivious to the music
Out of interest in seeing what type of reponse I would get, I recently posted an ad under the Casual Encounters section of Craigslist, asking for volunteers to help me research just how perfect a soundtrack Hush is for a night of casual sex.
Asobi Seksu recently released a beautiful shoegaze pop record by the name of Hush.
I am a music writer currently working on a story about how this particular record is a perfect soundtrack to great cosmically orgasmic sex, and am seeking a few fine ladies to help me in my research of the subject.
Though I’ve gotten a handful of responses, the results were far less interesting that I hoped for. The best inquiry I received was…
“Brilliant. I will be only the most helpful assistant to your experiment. How many minutes of bliss will this album bring to us?”
And to answer the question you’re dying to ask, no I did not, and will not follow through and sleep with this one or any of these women.
Asobi Seksu headlines Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night. Try not to let your hormones get the better of you.
NY Press: Harlem Shakes Feature
Get The Shakes
Harlem Shakes comes into its own on new album
Two and a half years ago, I thought Harlem Shakes was nothing more than a decent local indie-pop band. It was young and passionate but seemed to lack that special something to stand out in NYC’s vibrant music scene.
Now, with the release of the band’s debut full-length Technicolor Health and its recent return to playing live shows after a year’s hiatus, my tune has changed. On the addictive lead single “Strictly Game,” singer Lexy Benaim tells us, “This will be a better year,” and he just might be right: 2009 may be for Harlem Shakes what 2008 was for its pals Vampire Weekend. After obsessively listening to the record and watching the band play the three electrifying performances in the last month, it’d be hard to imagine a group more deserving for a breakout.
With a string of dates opening for Tokyo Police Club and performances at this year’s SXSW, Benaim took some time to answer a few questions about the return to the stage and one band member’s odd sleeping habits.
New York Press: After such a long break from performing, were you nervous about playing shows again?
Lexy Benaim: There was a bit of rust but a show or two on the road wore it away. Familiar faces can be tough to sing to.
When you were last playing shows, Tokyo Police Club and Vampire Weekend were your peers, now Vampire Weekend is huge, and you’re on tour opening for TPC. What has it been like watching them get so big, and is 2009 Harlem Shakes’ year?
It was a pleasure to watch those bands become popular.They deserved it. I hope we find some new fans this year, but that stuff picks you, don´t pick it.
There´s a tone of positivity and change to Technicolor Health that especially shows through on “Nothing But Change pt. 2” and “Strictly Game.” What change are you referring to? I can´t help but feel these songs perfectly coincide with the beginning of the Obama era.
Well, I don´t think all the change in “Nothing But Change” is necessarily positive. It’s a Taoist saying I got from the singer of the band The Octagon who sings that very hook in an excellent tune of his own. I couldn´t admire his music much more. I think the song is inflected with Obama vibes, inevitably, but he ain’t the only change going on right now. He’s just the handsomest. But before the Hold Steady usurped us, we were prepared to call the album Stay Positive.
What is the biggest difference between the band that wrote “Burning Birthday” and the band that created Technicolor Health?
It’s a huge difference. First of all, we made “Burning Birthday” after rehearsing together for only a few months.We were just more engaged mentally and emotionally making Technicolor Health. It was truly a labor of love.
Do you feel like you’ve been able to bring new life to the older songs? I definitely think the road has breathed new life into those old tunes.We also play them differently—as a jam band might.We try to surprise ourselves onstage too, especially when we’re as comfortable playing a tune as we are with “Carpetbaggers.”
How different is it for you to be playing a large room filled with kids mainly there to see to see the headliner, such as opening for Tokyo Police Club, rather than a local show where you headline?
They each have their advantages. Playing for the home crowd is a sort of triumphal experience whereas there’s something exciting and energizing about playing to potential converts.
When you’re on the road together, it’s kind of like being married. Who in the band has the craziest habits? And aside from performing, what are you looking forward to the most about being on tour?
Who has the craziest habits? I’d say Kendrick. He does karate in his sleep and sleeps naked from the waist down. I’m looking forward to dining establishments like Waffle House.We lack those in the North.
Article About Me on NYPress.com
Helping Mama Africa: Good Samaritans in Brooklyn
By: Andy Seccombe
Even when times are tough, you’ve got to remember that some folks have it a hell of a lot tougher. That’s the perspective of promoter (and former Press staffer) Jonny Leather whose second charity concert (featuring performances by local songsters The Silent League, Christy & Emily and Essie Jain) takes place Dec. 8 at Brooklyn’s Union Hall, with all the proceeds going to an orphanage in Nairobi. “It’s bad how nasty Nairobi is and how poor,” Leather explains. “It puts you in your place; we’re in a recession right now but we’re nowhere near what these people go through.” Leather also points out the recession will make it a lot harder for charities and causes in Africa who ultimately need help much more than we do.
“They’re not going to be able to get that as much from America because everyone’s tightening up their budgets,” he says. And let’s face it: for the price of a few lagers, people can see a great show as well as help put a Nairobi teenager through high school. The evening will also feature clips from an upcoming documentary about the orphanage, the Good Samaritan Children’s Home by filmmaker Randy Bell. After Leather had contacted Justin Russo of The Silent League about a benefit concert, Russo suggested Bell and his work with the home and was also able to get the other bands involved. Russo says that his work as a musician has always been bigger than the music itself and is committed to any aid an event like this can foster. “Music has never been something just for the sake of making it,” he says. “I always figured that I would do music because it’s the one thing I knew [that could] have the greatest chance of having a positive impact on the world.” The Silent League frontman says he has his doubts about whether the band’s tunes have been heard in Nairobi but mentions it might just be a possibility through the collective effort of the benefit concert. “We would love that,” he says. “Randy Bell is our inside man. Maybe when we’re done we can all throw a few cds into the pot and get him to send it over.”
http://www.nypress.com/blog-3017-helping-mama-africa-good-samaritans-in-brooklyn.html
NY Press Music Survey
We asked dozens of bands 10 questions each about the local music scene.
New York City has always been a Mecca for great music. We've had Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, the Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth. No matter how many great bands are being produced in Montreal, Atlanta, Chicago or any other second-rate burg, NYC has always produced a higher quantity of quality bands with a huge range of styles. In recent years we've seen a variety of great bands come up and shake the music world; From The Strokes to LCD Soundsystem to TV on the Radio, New York is still producing great music in the 21st century. Many of our best bands become insanely popular, and at times it’s been easy to forget that there's still a slew of untapped talent playing bars and backrooms all over town. No one knows this better than the bands, which is why we asked dozens of them 10 questions each about the local music scene. We’re surprised and thrilled by the volume and variety of the answers, and we hope you are, too.—Jonny Leather
Bus A Move
The Walkmen Survive Daily Travels On The Chinatown Bus To Create The Year’s Best Album
The Walkmen
Aug. 18 & 19, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. (betw. Bowery & Chrystie St.), 212-533-2111; 8, $20.
The adventure of the Fung Wah Bus usually begins when you reach the bus stop, but it hardly ever ends there. On busy days, a ticket in hand never guarantees a seat, and the sight of fisticuffs near the entrance is commonplace. Any pushovers lacking the will to fight will indeed be appropriately pushed over. And once you’re on the bus, the ride can be frightening, unpredictable and generally unpleasant. Still, cheap prices attract adventurous passengers willing to take chances on a line with a known reputation for breakdowns, foul odors and inconsistent scheduling.
Five of these adventurous passengers are members of indie-rock band The Walkmen, who have grown quite familiar with the bus over the years. With band members and practice spaces in New York and Philadelphia, nearly every day of the week required half of the band to make the trip while recording the new record, You & Me.
Perplexed as to how an album chock full of enchanting nostalgia could surface under these bizarre circumstances, we asked lead singer Hamilton Leithauser to shed some light on the situation.
NY Press: How did you guys end up spending so much time on the bus?
Hamilton Leithauser: I live in Manhattan, Pete and Walt live in Brooklyn, and Matt and Paul live in Philadelphia. We were doing the trip two days a week and they were coming up once or twice as well— sometimes neither camp wanted to make the trip. It was actually probably a good thing for writing, because it put a certain pressure on the times the five of us were together. Our practice space in Chelsea was an on-again-off-again illegal nightclub, so some Mondays we'd come in and the place would be absolutely disgusting—poorly cleaned up vomit on the stage and bottles everywhere. The toilets, which were on the second floor, leaked and dripped down through the ceiling, so occasionally it would hit you on the head. In Philadelphia, we rented a space from our friends for $75 a month...If it's moderately cold outside, it's 20 degrees colder inside, and vice versa if it's hot.
It seems that there are more reliable bus lines that travel between the two cities at the same price, so why take the Chinatown bus?
HL: It's cheaper. Although now that Bolt Bus can be $1 for a trip to DC. Now that is an undeniable deal. Amtrak is frighteningly expensive, and it seems like Greyhound is obsolete.
Anyone who’s ever ridden this bus line has a story to go along with it. What are yours?
HL: I've been broken down on the side of the rode several times. There are a surprising amount of those weird, unexplained stop-offs at rest stops, where some guy will be standing in the middle of a dark parking lot, and the bus will drive up to him and he will exchange some brief words in Chinese with the driver.
A few weeks ago, we were stuck in awful traffic getting out of Manhattan. They were showing "Message in a Bottle" starring Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn, and the traffic was so bad that the credits were rolling by the time we got into the tunnel. We finally got onto the Jersey Turnpike like 2 hours after we'd left, and the driver pulled off to the first rest area and some woman in the front row yelled just "Motherfucker!" The driver was so visibly scared of her that he slowly turned the bus back onto the Turnpike and we never stopped.
You & Me has been said to be the product of your obsession with rock & roll legends like Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. What draws you most towards these classic sounds and production techniques?
HL: They're just the kings of rock so it would be impossible to not be influenced by them. We love the classic "whole-band-in-the-room" sound that those guys and countless others were doing. All of these people have a pervading optimism that is so likable—it's something we admire and wanted to try to incorporate into our stuff.
Some critics are calling You & Me a return to the sound of your firrst two records. Do you feel pressure to return to earlier sounds?
HL: We recorded some of this record in the same room as Bows and Arrows, so maybe that has to do with the sound. The pacing on this record took honestly 30 or 40 hours of discussion. I guess some people are still always asking about “The Rat.” I don't know why. Maybe we will redo it for our next record. Or just put out an EP of six or seven live performances. Or we could ruin it forever by doing a reggae or dance hall version.
In 2006, you released a record of Harry Nilsson covers, and you recently recorded four Neil Hagerty songs. What’s next on the cover song agenda?
HL: I'd like to do Dr. John, or maybe Van the Man.
What are you most looking forward to about your upcoming show at the Bowery Ballroom?
HL: Gin and tonics.
