Jonny Leather’s Next Wave Concert Compilation
Royal Forest
I've got a total of 4 concerts scheduled for the upcoming months. I'm slowly rolling them all out with full details. Each of the 4 shows is loaded with bands that sit on the verge of breakthrough. They're potentially the next wave of great bands. To celebrate the abundance of shows and promote these amazing bands, I've put together a compilation of all of the bands performing (except Lagoon, who do not have mastered recordings ready at this time).
Download Full Compilation
April 21 @ Union Hall / Neighbors, Lagoon, My Gold Mask, Sunglasses
rsvp on facebook here
April 24 @ The Charleston / Sally Head, Hot Protestants, This is Versailles
(details soon)
Sally Head - "Man With Small Hands"
Hot Protestants - "Sad About An Ice Age"
This Is Versailles - "Gold Pills"
May 3 @ Glasslands / Brick + Mortar, Royals Chains, Royal Forest, Ghastly City Sleeps
rsvp on facebook here
Royal Chains - "Lucy Takes A Dare"
Royal Forest - "Save The Ghost"
Ghastly City Sleep - "Seven (33 Leagues)"
June 18 @ Union Hall / Pacific Theater, Peter Wolf Crier, Judson Claiborne
(details soon)
Peter Wolf Crier - "Crutch & Crane"
Concert: Sunglasses, My Gold Mask, Lagoon, Neighbors @ Union Hall // 4.21.10
Jonny Leather Presents:
Your New Favorite Band - April Edition Concert
SUNGLASSES
MY GOLD MASK
LAGOON
NEIGHBORS
Doors at 7:30
21+
$8
Sunglasses - "Whiplash"
My Gold Mask - "Violet Eyes"
Neighbors - "Hooligans"
SUNGLASSES
Sunglasses - "Whiplash"
With a debut EP scheduled for a June release on Lefse Records (home of Neon Indian), Sunglasses is potentially the next big thing. Their fresh, funky electronic jams sound like fun summer night in Brooklyn.
"a psychedelic, belly-dancing journey through the universe, complete with awful spandex, awkward hipster chicks dancing, and primitive green screen production, making for a completely awesome music video that you’ll want to share with your friends, and you, yourself, will keep watching because the pairing of the song and the visuals is just so good." —forthebeat
MY GOLD MASK
My Gold Mask - "Violet Eyes"
Guitar and drums duo My Gold Mask are quickly becoming one of Chicago's hottest young bands. Singer Gretta Rochelle pounds steady tribal rhythms that react perfectly to her banshee vocals and Jack Armondo's slick lead guitar which varies from surf to art rock, always with excellent tone. Their songs have an exceptional intensity and fullness that is hard for a duo to capture.
"Circle Mass is a furious frolic of everything we love most about My Gold Mask...intense rises and passionate vocalizings." —Sheena Beaston
LAGOON
Lagoon combines the vast talents of 3 very young Brooklyn musicians who stray far away from the watered down indie pop scene. A haunting new sound emerges as Steven Vega loops patterns creeping math guitar riffs while Mason Remel provides complex beats and extraordinary singer Alex Drewchin lets loose soaring vocals. Lagoon is like a young phenom athlete only steps away from the major leagues. They have the talent and enough adventurousness to have an enormous impact on the music world.
NEIGHBORS
Neighbors - "Hooligans"
Claiming Agent Dale Cooper as their influence on their myspace page, Neighbors have the right sort of dreamy tone that would fit within the soundtrack of Twin Peaks. I stumbled upon the band recently due to a recommendation by a friend and I was immediately blown away. Strong songwriting, catchy songs and enough variation to move you from swaying to dancing, Neighbors seems like a surefire indie hitmaker with a bright future in the Brooklyn scene.
"Noah Stitelman’s world-weary lyrics (“Suck it up kid, life’s a mixed, mixed bag at best”) and deadpan delivery (Doug Martsch comes to mind) leads you to think he’s pretty much over it, whatever “it” may be, but the backing instrumentation implies otherwise. Primarily a solo project, even Neighbors’ slower tracks are alive and full-sounding, with layers crashing and tumbling all over each other like a psychedelic Arcade Fire. Stitelman spends the majority of his time playing guitar for NY-based Jacksonknife, but we’re salivating for some solo shows." - L Magazine
While You’ve Been at SXSW: Jonny Leather’s Non-SXSW Wrap Up
I was jaded, ready to throw in the towel. That's what this industry can do to you. A rat race with very little prize to be had, the joy of being a piece of the music industry pie had become less and less bearable. Following industry insiders, critics, photogs on twitter was like an up to the second reminder that much of my beliefs and tastes clash with theirs. Namedropping, the hype cycle, the never-ending circle jerk and the overall bore that is much of the industry was beating the life out of me, and yet I remained part of it.
Off to SXSW they went, but with the magic of twitter, I could live their every moment. Through the horror that is 4-square (the farmville of twitter), I was constantly updated of their whereabouts. Bands that blogs have already hyped to the brink of irritability played sets all over Austin, as bloggers/critics fought for claim of discovery of the "next big thing."
While my peers drank loads of beer, saw too many bands to remember, and ate loads of Tex Mex in preparation of a week full of post SXSW wrapups, I also did stuff.
Since you've been busy live tweeting from Austin informing me about your every move, and have plans to overload me with plenty more info about your past week's exploits, please allow me to give you a run down of what I've been up to while you've been at SXSW...
- My cat puked in my bathroom. I cleaned it up.
- It was really nice out on Tuesday, so I went to the Highline, then got a few drinks and eventually ended up at Sweet Revenge
- After reading a constant barrage of your 4SQ whereabouts at SXSW, I decided to quit Twitter.
- Then Flavorwire named me one of the 10 most followable music critics on Twitter
- Went to The Delancey on Wednesday night to see Grub Animal, and ended up seeing a terrible frat band cover Vanilla Ice
- Was published on Artinfo.com
- Saw Jon Natchez and Soft Landings at Zebulon. Shared a Jim Beam Milkshake with a great girl at Relish in between bands
- Randomly became obsessed with Supertramp
- Listened to Big Star's "Thirteen" 200 times
- Earned a considerable paycheck from a company whose office feels like a morgue
- Slept in a comfortable bed
- Put on a show at The Bell House that rivals anything that happened at SXSW. Ghastly City Sleep and Lagoon were particularly mesmerizing.
- Beat everyone except Mike Tyson in Punchou
- Saw Alice in Wondland 3D. There was a 3D Friskies commercial before it. I love Burton, but the movie was blaspheme, taking far too many liberties with Lewis Carrol's classic novel
- Hung out with cool people less concerned with being hip than being themselves
- Didn't have to travel to see a load of bands I've already seen a million times before in NYC just so I could hype them as next big thing.
- Enjoyed a peaceful weekend in the perfect weather in Brooklyn rather than risking my safety at MtyMx to see every band that ever plays at Market Hotel
- Randomly became obsessed with Eddie Grant
- Went to the Bronx Zoo on one of the most perfect days of the year and made friends with sea lions, lemurs, giraffes and other furry creature
- Drank Sangria on the roof of Alma, while my peers were stuck waiting for a bus to Mexico thanks to some terrible planning.
- Befriended incredible Brooklyn band, Sad Red
Sad Red - "Just Like An Orange"
- Revived my passion for music thanks to a bunch of great bands that may still exist far under the radar but need to be heard
To all my friends in amazing bands who played at SXSW (The Silent League, Royal Forest, Bear in Heaven, ARMS, Drink Up Buttercup...etc), you're still awesome. Don't mind my rant.
Despite Not Going, I know that all of these bands ruled at SXSW
- Bear in Heaven
- Royal Forest
- The Silent League
- Oh No Ono
- Drink Up Buttercup
- Deleted Scenes
- ARMS
- Spoon
- Besnard Lakes
- Broken Social Scene
- Liars
- Capybara
- Big Star
NYC Live Pick for 03.19.10 // Lagoon
Fri 3/19 • 7:30 PM • The Bell House • 21+ • $5
w/ Kordan, deVries, Ghastly City Sleep
Concert: SXSW-BK / Kordan, DeVries, Lagoon, Ghastly City Sleep @ Bell House // 3.19.10
You don't need to go to Austin for SXSW to discover the next great band... Like many others, I'm not able to make it to the annual music festival of industry schmoozing so rather than setting up a showcase down there, I've decided to host a special showcase of excellent up and coming Brooklyn bands here at home for all the rest of you who can't manage to make it down south for the endless party and tex mex.
Next year these will be the bands that everyone talks about at SXSW. see them now instead and stay ahead of the curve.
Jonny Leather Presents: SXSW-BK
Kordan
DeVries
Lagoon
Ghastly City Sleep
Friday March 19, 2010
@ The Bell House
Doors at 7:30. Bands at 8pm
Tickets only $5
Kordan
Kordan - "Hologram"
"Undiscovered Band of the Month / Kordan recently finished recording their debut full-length album The Longing. Taking cues from their earlier release, The Longing depicts a story of love in a hazy metropolis circa the year 2036, where the sky is tuned to a dead channel, the city glimmers with neon dreams, and holograms of lovers drift away."— Filter Magazine, February 2010
"Fantasy Nation is one of the most pleasurable releases from a Brooklyn act this year, on or off the dance floor."—Jezebel Music, B+ Review of Fantasy Nation EP
DeVries
DeVries - "Darkest Summer"
"...lushly melodic, Britpop-accented album" —Dave Segal, The Stranger
"Death to God is possibly the greatest Manchester album never to have been made in Manchester. a beautiful piece of work. Yes it sounds like it was recorded under a rain cloud but it’ll entertain you from start to finish. Simple. Precise. Haunting. Special. Death to God is a must have for all of those who spend more time looking at their shoes than should be considered healthy. Don’t miss it." —Damian Leslie, Incendiary Magazine
Lagoon
Lagoon's singer Alex Drewchin may be young, but take notice because she very well possess the most powerful set of pipes in New York's saturated indie scene and also has guitar chops. To greater compliment her gift, she's put together a really talented band willing to explore in ways many bands don't dare and couldn't even if they tried.
Ghastly City Sleep
Ghastly City Sleep - "Ice Creaks"
"It isn't often new music surfaces that is so deeply intense, just hearing it may induce instant nostalgia; the ancient sensations you get when the seasons change, a vivid dream involving the first person you ever loved. In the same way that select few can simultaneously achieve dark and uplifting songs, the Brooklyn-based quartet known as GHASTLY CITY SLEEP hone in on some immensely powerful elements to deliver a commanding, breathtaking first offering. On the GHASTLY CITY SLEEP debut, four tracks span thirty minutes... and when it's done, you actually feel different. While two pieces nearly reach the six-minute mark and the other two eclipse nine, the whole offering flows with a smooth liquidity, creating one solidified, captivating body of work. The four young men involved in GHASTLY CITY SLEEP don't stick to one instrument long, as the entire collective can be found playing everything from guitars, keys, various percussion and just about everything in between. The multitude of layers involved here are accompanied by a warm yet haunting array of vocals, all helping to produce this simply epic debut."—Amazon
Benefit Concert for Gillian Scanlon & Safe Horizon
Good people do good things. On Wednesday January 13th, Glasslands will be jampacked with some of the best up-and-coming musicians this city has to offer to raise money for Safe Horizon. Safe Horizon is a shelter in the NYC area that aids victims of domestic violence, and their loved ones—a very personal cause for show organizer Spencer Keasey Scanlon who's sister the show is dedicated in memory of.
No Place, Outernational, Christopher Paul Stelling, Inlets, Controlled Storms, and Lagoon haven't yet cracked the indie blogosphere, but don't be fooled. These bands are all definitely worth a listen.
The very new No Place is more than ready to start winning over fans with their solid 90s indie rock guitar sound.
Ecclectic political rockers Outernational already has the approval of Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who produced their debut record.
mp3: Outernational - "Eyes on Fire"
Christopher Paul Stelling's rapid finger-picked acoustic tales evoke the genius of Tallest Man on Earth. And much like Tallest Man on Earth, Stelling knows how to engage a crowd.
mp3: Christopher Paul Stelling - "How Long"
Often enlisting help from some well known local musicians, Inlets is the brilliant work of Sebastian Krueger. The songs are delicate and precise with lovely harmonies that should please fans of Bon Iver.
Hailing from Philadelphia, Controlled Storms creates big spacey post rock along the lines of Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai.
mp3: Controlled Storms - "Ode to Long Hikes"
And out of everyone, the most intriguing of the bands may be Lagoon. Young singer Alex Drewchin has an enormous voice that she lets soar over a dark, drifting psychedelia.
Wed. 1/13 at Glasslands, 289 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, 8pm, $10
