Results tagged “band”

Small Black seemed to just pop up out of nowhere and slap the music corner of the internet in the face this year, after silently toiling away in attics and basements recording their EP. Josh Kolenik and Ryan Heyner make up the duo, creating what they describe as "minimal Casio noise pop," and are joined by Juan Pieczanski and Jeff Curtin for live shows. By the end of this week they'll have had seven more of those live shows under their collective belt, all for CMJ. Tonight they're playing ours (at 10 p.m.) — more details here.

According to a poster on the Brooklynian message board, around 7 a.m. today, "during the off leash dog hours, a music group was doing a photo shoot in the Long Meadow of Prospect Park. A golden retriever puppy, being naturally curious, wandered over and interrupted their photo shoot. One of the band members grabbed the puppy by its collar and kicked it." While there's no photographic evidence of the vague incident on the board, if this is true, it is our duty to find out who this band, and photographer, are. Anyone know anyone who wears vests and goes four buttons deep unbuttoning their shirt?

It was nearly three years ago that we booked Cincinnati band Bad Veins for one of our Movable Hype shows, after hearing just a few rough demos—and now, at long last, their much-anticipated debut full length is here! The duo, Benjamin Davis and Sebastien Schultz, just ended their first tour in support of the album, but they'll be heading back on the road shortly (you can catch them next month at the Bell House). Last week, prior to their Mercury Lounge show, they stopped by our offices to play a few songs (and drink some beer, of course)—enjoy the videos from that below, where Ben also tells us all about Gossip Girl, Irene and what it's like to finally have the album out there.

Fiasco's name seems to appear on every lineup we're interested in around town, so it's about time we got to know them a little better. Comprised of Jonathan Edelstein (guitar/vocals), Julian Bennett Holmes (drums), and Lucian Buscemi (electric bass/vocals/and yes you know his dad), the trio channels some noisy muses; OMR boils the backbone down to "Sonic Youth's feedback madness, Lightning Bolt's distorted bass messiness, and Shellac's scratchy rawness." They just finished recording a new full-length upstate, tomorrow night they'll play Williamsburg's Death by Audio, and recently they told us about their influences, alien encounters on the subway, and playing Pratt illegally.

When everyone from Brooklyn Vegan to the NY Post is talking about a band, you know it might be time to perk up those ears and give a listen. Motel Motel have been lauded by just about everyone out there, and with good reason. Their live shows will break through even the most disaffected and jaded music listeners with a brand of Americana that has been known to induce smiles, and maybe even a tapping foot. This Saturday they'll play at our Northside Festival show prior to heading out on tour.

Have you seen this costumed troupe of musicians playing '20s ragtime around town lately? The Xylopholks don furry animal gear during their unofficial gigs underground, their outfits range from Cookie Monster to a pink gorilla. This Friday catch them at Rockwood Music Hall, and if you're lucky you'll see them on your commute sometime as well—they just received a permit to (legally) play.

The director of the famed Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band stepped down last month after an investigation suggested that he may have had a sexual relationship with a teenage band member. A report [pdf] released yesterday alleges, among other things, that 31-year-old Tyrone Brown went shopping at Victoria's Secret with the 17-year-old female student (called "Student A" in the report); shared connecting hotel rooms with Student A during a band trip to Bermuda; was frequently seen with Student A "flirting, holding hands, and hugging"; and exchanged some 2,999 text messages with her in one month back in the summer of '08—with a cell phone he bought for her without her mother's knowledge.

Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim are known for their infectiously energetic shows and their contagious smiles. Providing an upbeat sound with just keys and catchy drum lines, they've won over just about everyone. Did we mention their "cuteness" appeal?

There's a lot of ink spilled about The Depreciation Guild's good looks and unofficial member: a Nintendo gaming system—but they're much more than all that. Live, their lush, textural sounds will make you gaze at your shoes, but their synth-pop side will leave you a bit more alert. See what way they sway you while catching the Brooklyn band tonight at Fontana's (and at Mercury Lounge on the 7th) before they head out on tour

     

The artsy technology geeks at Eyebeam really outdid themselves with last night's sold-out "MIXER Underground" by turning their warehouse-size Chelsea space into an elaborate labyrinth and rock club. The place was swarming with giddy artists who must have spent weeks building their massive DIY creation, and the enthusiasm was contagious, evoking the spirit of the old Rubulad parties when they started in pre-gentrified South Williamsburg. There was a robotic bartender hidden away behind a fake closet, and the maze itself was filled with video installations, living sculptures, human rats, and electronic insects. On a high stage at the far end of the room, Roxy Cottontail and Judi Chicago churned out frenetic dance music, and vendors roamed the crowd with coolers of cheap beer. What more could you ask for? (Actually, some hash brownies would have been nice.) The parties are thrown quarterly, so check their website again in the winter if you want in.

Department of Eagles, comprised of Fred Nicolaus and Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen, have been around for quite some time, yet are only just getting around to playing their first show. Prior to their highly-anticipated debut album release tomorrow, they'll be taking the Bell House stage tonight (and we hear Nat Baldwin will be joining the band for the set). Before checking them out tonight (or tomorrow night at Bookeaters), take a gander at their performance on Conan from last week.

Despite claiming to like New Order over Joy Division, it's difficult not to hear a little bit of Ian Curtis in the Crystal Stilts sound. The Brooklyn band has been winning over audiences lately with their muddled, moody, mumble-pop, and there's plenty of shows coming up in the area where you can check it out for yourself. This Sunday they're at Market Hotel, followed by a slew of shows in October for CMJ.

Lowry has entered the summer of '08 with a record deal under their belts, a new album in the can, and a booking at the All Points West festival this weekend--which has them sharing a bill with some heavy hitters. The Brooklyn band won't have to travel far to get to the big stage, but they've been down many roads to get to where they are now. If you are heading to the festival, be sure to get there early Friday to catch their set.

Not only are Staten Island and Belmar, NJ using their feud to fuel the publicity machine, but now bands are getting some ink over it as well! The Staten Island Advance reports that Joe Pecora, singer of the SI indie band Happy Anarchy, has invited the "guido-bashing Ken Pringle up from the Jersey Shore for a few drinks." Pecora wants the Belmar mayor to join in on a song or two with the band, as well -- though he's unsure if Pringle listens to rock or even plays an instrument. The written invitation he sent off to Pringle was wrapped in a t-shirt he made that reads: "I love Staten Island, So Go !@#$ Yourself!"

The highly idiosyncratic yet surprisingly catchy experimental rock band Deerhoof has been called "one of the most original rock bands to have come along in the last decade." And that's not coming from some dude's blog, that's the New York Times talking. Yet though they've been around since the early '90s, describing their music is still vexing, so we'll kindly refer you to their website, where YouTube clips abound. It's also in your best interest to attend their free performance this Friday night at the Prospect Park band shell, that is if you like your summer nights spiced up by unpredictable sounds.

Channeling Yoko Ono's yelps of yesteryear, Ponytail's Molly Siegel leads the band into a frenzied sonic psychedlia. In their glowing review of their album, Ice Cream Spiritual, Pitchfork noted: "It's hard to know how Siegel's approach might work if she were in another kind of band, but in Ponytail her voice fits perfectly." The band has thrived in the DIY scene in New York, but their roots lay in Baltimore. They took a few moments to answer our questions this week, prior to playing a few shows here (the next is today at The Yard). Give a listen and get their schedule here.

Since he began his fruitful collaboration with Walter Becker back at Bard College in 1968, Grammy award-winning musician Donald Fagen has steadily distinguished himself as one of the smartest and most imaginative contemporary songwriters. As Steely Dan, the innovative duo lays claim to an impressive catalog of hit singles that somehow manage to stay fresh despite their everlasting ubiquity on classic rock stations across America. For whatever reason, people still can't help cranking up the volume when My Old School comes on for the millionth time, to say nothing of indispensable classics like Caves of Altamira, Sign in Stranger, or the soulful Dr. Wu.

Since 2000, Anathallo has been traveling the world, delivering tunes to many a diverse audience. Band dynamics and direction have shifted over the course of their career, accurate since their name means to renew or bloom again, but their aesthetic has maintained a powerful balance of light and dark throughout. This time around they return with a new album under their belts, called Canopy Glow, and like good troubadours, they're back on the road (even before its release). Catch them this Friday and Saturday at Mercury Lounge and Union Hall, respectively, opening for Dosh.

All signs, and weathervanes, point towards the upcoming outdoor summer concert season, which is just around the corner. The River to River Festival is kicking things off with a nod to the past, featuring Wire at the Seaport Music Festival stage. Why should you care? Unlike other 70s bands that have been over-saturating the concert circuit, these guys haven't taken a stage in the U.S. in quite some time; their last show was in Spain in 2004.

Wire came to prominence in the late 70s during the cultural revolution of punk in the UK. Their art-school approach set them apart from brasher contemporaries, where they expanded the sonic boundaries of not just punk, but rock music in general. From R.E.M., the Cure and Guided by Voices to Minor Threat and Black Flag, from Blur and the birth of Britpop up until Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party, Wire’s influence has been one of most significant in the past 30 years.

Atlanta band The Black Lips better tell their street team the correct date of their upcoming Bowery Ballroom show. The above posters were spotted around the East Village (a clever guerrilla marketing campaign), but some of the dates are wrong!

One Ring Zero is an unusual Brooklyn band headed up by Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp, with a troupe of musicians and lyricists filling out their ever-morphing sonic tribe. Their lyrics have been written by some familiar names: Jonathan Lethem, Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster and Dave Eggers are amongst them. This year they enter their 10th year of making music, and this Friday they'll be at Joe's Pub celebrating on stage. Join in on the party, you can buy tickets here.

There’s usually not much mystery to a Be Your Own Pet show. You get about a half-hour of nonstop, rapid-fire post-adolescent punk, with lots of shouting and shimmying from Jemina Pearl. There are far worse ways to spend an early evening in February. This Wednesday, however, things went down a bit different. About halfway through the set, some older creep started talking back to the charismatic young front woman between songs. It seemed all in good fun, with the tiny singer (jokingly?) bragging about how she’s been kicked out of bars in Nashville for fisticuffs. The dude then gets up on stage, makes some sort of kissy move towards her, and promptly gets smacked across the face HARD as the rest of the band jumped in to take him down. So yea, it Got Awkward real fast. The band brushed themselves off, shook hands with the pervy perp to call a truce with the intruder, and continued on with the rest of their set. Interesting night, to say the least. (pic via Ryan Dombal's flickr)

Brooklyn-based quintet The National have spent the last nine years slowly and steadily evolving from bar-band hobby to indie rock royalty, a success built out of old fashioned techniques like laborious songwriting, tireless gigging and the organic cultivation of their own distinct sound: a bruised, moody elegance that swells and crashes under the dreamy baritone of front man Matt Berninger. Their fourth and most recent album, Boxer, was a usual suspect on critical top ten lists for 2007, and the acclaim snowballed into a spot on the bill touring with Modest Mouse and R.E.M. this June. On Friday and Saturday night they play two sold out shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music opera house.

Listening to Philadelphia duo Pattern is Movement for the first time can perhaps best be described as taking a ride through Disney's "It's a Small World After All", with each country representing a different period of music. It's a lot to take in, as sounds of the past are layered upon each other to create modern arrangements unlike anything you've heard before, while somehow remaining distantly familiar.

In 1965 The Beatles performed at Shea Stadium (video), beginning a tradition of rock on the ball field. Sadly, they won't be around to bookend the life of the stadium, which opened its doors on April 17th, 1964 and gets torn down after the 2008 season.

Blind item! What downtown venue was behind screwing over yet another band? We never did like blind items, so we'll just tell you through part of this letter we received from the disgruntled band behind the latest booking botch-up:

We had a really bad experience at the Annex, on Orchard St. last night. Basically we showed up for a 5:00 load in to find out that our show had been canceled. The two other bands on the bill faced the same problem. One of the bands had driven 5 hours through the rain from Boston just for this show, only to find out that it had been canceled. None of the bands had been called.

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