Another year has come to an end, but not without one more Stranded in Stereo Club Night at our new home, Fontana’s. Make sure you bring all your friends together for some yuletide cheers, some good beers, and of course, these great bands that will send you off in 2009:
SIS Club Night – Wednesday December 17th – 9PM - $3 at Fontana's - 105 Eldridge Street - NYC B or D to Grand St; F, J, M, Z to Delancey
MOVIE SCENE [9:30 PM] Their name suggests it, but you wouldn't think that Movie Scene actually consists of two musicians so young--Jordan and Jamie, aged 16 and 14 respectively. Maybe their age gives them an advantage. Their energy in music is something you might think only comes with youth--it's headbanging and full of intense love for rock, but it's not the mess than can be produced in a parent's car garage. It's polished, and creative and whimsical.
THE LOW ANTHEM [10:15 PM] The Low Anthem is expressive, and to get that sound they rely on zithers, trumpets, World War II organs, Tibetan singing bowls, and hoarse but sultry vocals to accompany their poems. You might want to think that their lyrics are pretentious and pseudo-artsy, but it can't be helped--the lyrics are easy to relate to and yeah, they're pretty too. Their sound seems to move from whispers to howling passion, from acoustic simplicity to what seems like a foreign orchestra of subtle plucking, sharp percussion, and complete harmonic resonance.
THE LIBRARY [11:00] Grab a book, pour a cup of a tea, and have The Library play in the background. The Library is a moderately modest collaboration of instruments--no loud trumpets, no pretentious obscure soundboxes. It's a pure, acoustic sound. It's relaxing and soothing, music you'll stay up listening to at 3 AM staring at the ceiling with nostalgia or wishful thinking or wondering if you should be going to sleep. You won't want to though, because their music is worth staying up for. "Make beautiful music" is apparently their goa because they're achieving it with their resonating lyrics and soulful singing.
Providence, RI based three-piece The Low Anthem have been swimming in accolades lately, as the band was just named the "Best New Act" at the Boston Music Awards (odd since they have another album out, but good for them!), they're WXPN's Artist to Watch for this month, and they are currently doing a few dates with Rachel Yamagata (in Toronto tonight). Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, the band's new folk-pop masterpiece, is out now.
They go on at 1015 pm this Wednesday 12/17 at the SIS Club Night. Doors open at 9 pm at Fontana's, which at 103 Eldridge St. on New York's Lower East Side.
Starting in 2009, SIS Club Night is going to get bigger, better, faster, stronger. Kind of like Steve Austin, not so much like that Daft Punk that almost has the same improvement mantra. We'll be joining up with the fine folks at Future Sounds to bring you The Rumble every month. And it's not just going to be in New York City. Soon, people in Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and possible other additional cities will be able to participate in these fun exciting times.
To get you ready, The Rumble's monthly LA gig at the 3 Of Clubs is this Thursday, the 4th of December. Besides the Growlers (10PM) and The Ferocious Few (11PM), DJ Michael will be spinning tunes as well. $5 at the door will get you in, or you can click here to RSVP and get yourself in for the price of free ninety-nine.
November was once known for but one day: Thanksgiving. It's probably my favorite holiday; it's the first time I see my entire family together in several months and I get to watch the Dallas Cowboys typically win their Turkey Day pigskin match. But now this year, we add something else to be thankful for: Stranded in Stereo Club Night. This month, besides all the awesome bands that will be playing, we're ever so thankful to announce that we'll now be holding them at Fontana's down on Eldridge Street. Same price, same amount of fun, all things to be thankful for. Why do I keep seeing thankful so much? Oh well, continue reading on:
SIS Club Night – Wednesday November 19th – 9PM - $3 at Fontana's - 105 Eldridge Street - NYC B or D to Grand St; F, J, M, Z to Delancey
Boy Genius [9:30 PM] Boy Genius is an equation between strained but strong vocals, harmonica and horns, standard instruments, unique simplicity, two guys and two girls. While they draw comparisons to Pavement and REM, there's something so much more darling about their sound--and there's something about them that you have to listen to again. Boy Genius engages you before you even realize how much you like them. They're definitely catchy without being raucous, andthey're definitely warm without being fuzzy.
Cinema, Cinema [10:15 PM] Cinema, Cinema is inspired by the titular subject--cinema, and the motion and elements that contribute to it. The band takes this ideology into their music. Loud drums, driven riffs, and passionate vocals contribute to a punk, space-rock movement, scenery, and sound. Their first EP was born out of Headgear Studios, home to the likes of TV on the Radio and the Yeah YeahYeahs. Cinema, Cinema is not just music, but an art. Simplifires [11:00 PM] Using the internet, Simplifiers have spread their popularity from Mexico to all over the internet. But their popularity comes from a sound of juxtaposition between the vocals and pure musicianship that bring reminders of U2 and a groove unique to themselves. Their musical connections include Ratatat and a friendship amongst themselves that forces the band to create a synergy between themselves that contributes so much to their great sound.
So the lack of internet at my hotel has really put a damper on me getting to let you all in on what I've seen so far at this year's CMJ Festival.
Tuesday night had easily the highlight and low light between Passion Pit and Jens Lekman. The Pit were on top of their game, best performance yet, delighting the sold out crowd at the Music Hall of Williamsburg at the Brooklyn Vegan party. But afterwards, "Singing DJ" Jens Lekman came out and did the most bizarre DJ set, where he sang along to songs that were not his own. Sadly, I left unimpressed and marched out and on to the Stereogum party where I saw Gang Gang Dance and Ponytail for the third and second times, respectively.
Last night was Wednesday, and Hot Lava tore up a late night 1AM set at the Delancey, showcasing material from their recent Bar None debut, Lavalogy. Before that I was able to catch GBV guitarist Doug Gillard at the Alphabet Lounge, previewing material from his upcoming solo album, Call From Restricted.
Tonight there's Koufax, and there's also Janelle Monae (guilty pleasure? Yeah, sure.)
Oh, and were you at the SIS party last night? Do let us know if you were and if you took and pics or would care to give us an awesome quote or four for an upcoming blog post.
Man, where has the summer gone? I feel like just yesterday we announced our first SIS Club Night way back in February, and here it is the end of August. We’ve now reached our seventh club night, and after last month’s awesome surprise of Ambulance Ltd warming up for their gig at the Bowery, we’re in full back to school mode. This month, three bands who are going to break it big, and it’s still only $3 as always
SIS Club Night – Wednesday August 20th – 8PM - $3 at Rehab (formerly Club Midway) - 25 Avenue B - NYC F or V to 2nd; F, J, M, or Z to Delancey/Essex
Mirror Mirror (915) Brooklyn-based Mirror Mirror has earned a reputation for its curious blend of music and performance, as well as its polymorphous membership. Chief songwriters David Riley and Ryan Lucero met in 2003 and quickly recruited percussionist Matt Bagdanoff, guitarist Jill Kaufman, and a rotating cast of friends, performers and guest musicians. Their unpredictable live shows incorporate theater, visual art, video, design, and even food. MM has played sold-out shows at rock venues and clubs, as well as site-specific shows at galleries and art spaces, where they have been known to construct mazes, offer massages to strangers and lead their devoted followers in song.
The French Exit (1000) Recalling Chan Marshall's collaborations with The Dirty Three, The French Exit combines the bluesy, smoky songwriting of Chicago native Mia Wilson with the atmospheric and colorful palettes of guitarist Henri Harps and drummer Bryan Sargent (formerly of the math rock trio, Drill For Absentee). Together, the band writes and performs tunes with extreme dynamic shifts of sonic beauty. With a vast array of influences ranging from down home dirty blues to avant-garde jazz, The French Exit explores facets of many genres and brings them together for a sound uniquely their own.
nOISE cIRCUS (1045) nOISE cIRCUS started as a recording project in April 2007. In the short, but artistically fervent time since, they have miraculously honed a style their own, considering how many musical genres get used up along the way. Not similar to, but not so different from Beck, one would be hard pressed to describe their elusive sound. Electronic, New Wave, swing, folk, hip hop, punk, dance music- it's all of the above. It's on top of this template that singer/lyricist, Daniel Kelly, might recite some odd, free associations and alliterations or maybe he'll tell a linear story about the zombies inside his head. The point is it's always different, and always exciting and always, well, unique. And also familiar in that I swear I've heard this but never quite in this context kind of way. The truth is, you'll be singing along in no time to songs about ghosts, devils, and robots. Trust me- these tunes are quite infectious.
This has got to be the most exciting Stranded In Stereo Club Night of them all. Why do you ask – because we have a surprise for you! It is a shocker. It is a bomb dropper. You will go nuts when you see who we have playing this one. Who is it? Like I am going to tell you! To find out, just make sure you get there early. Our super special, New York-based guests will take the stage at 8:30 PM sharp. Don’t you dare be late!We also have some other great bands playing as well, yes!
SIS Club Night – Wednesday July 23rd – 8PM - $3 at Rehab (formerly Club Midway) - 25 Avenue B - NYC F or V to 2nd; F, J, M, or Z to Delancey/Essex
SUPER SECRET, SUPER SPECIAL GUEST! (830 PM) Again, I ain’t saying nothing!
Dan Torres (930 PM) What are people saying about Dan Torres that hasn’t already been said? He’s been called a razor sharp songwriter, one who is powerful and moving. He is a man with a powerful voice and intelligent lyrics, a new prophet for the hopeful who own a tear-stained copy of Grace. If you like your rock to be compelling, passionate and meaningful with both substance and style, then you’ll love the songs of Dan Torres.
Will Stratton (1015 PM) Will Stratton has produced something stirring and hyper-personal, yet universally beautiful on What The Night Said, his debut record. What really defines the music – and the album – is the lushness of Stratton’s vision, poetically and musically. So many accomplished artists have effectively set off after this precarious balance of levity and gravity; on this album Stratton ranks with the absolute best. Join us and Will for a special full band performance.
Anthem In (1100 PM) On September 15th of 2007, Allen Orr and Ashley Proffitt met in a rehearsal space in the Lower East Side, exactly seven years to the day after the two of them met for the first time in Atlanta. They bonded over a mutual love of Def Leppard’s Hysteria, and Anthem In was born. Ashley knew Keith Vogelsong in Atlanta, where he was fronting The Blue Hour. Keith moved to New York to relocate the record label he runs, Goodnight Records, and about five minutes after he got off the plane, Ashley nabbed him as Anthem In’s bassist. Drummer Paul Petitto was procured by theft from the band he was playing with at the time in New York, Russian Vogue, and Anthem In was complete.
It’s finally June. The weather is warming up, the days are even longer, meaning your nights can be even longer than that! With that being said, we look to capitalize on this annual occurrence known as the Summer Solstice by bringing you this month’s hot and sweaty edition of our Stranded In Stereo Club Night.
SIS Club Night – Wednesday June 18th – 9PM - $3 at Rehab (formerly Club Midway) - 25 Avenue B - NYC F or V to 2nd; F, J, M, or Z to Delancey/Essex
Featuring:
Emanuel And The Fear [9:30]Emanuel and the Fear is a ten piece rock band/orchestra consisting of members that have played/toured with Sufjan Stevens, Spoon, Mars Volta, and The National to name a few. The group is a brilliant new approach to the modern rock band consistently capturing the audience with beautifully, intricate scores laced with eloquent, quivering vocals.
The Naked Hearts [10:15]The Naked Hearts hail from New York, and are definitely out to make a name for themselves. While L Magazine says that the band "Makes sludgy guitar rock perfect for rainy days or the morning after something bad happens", CMJ.com claims that the trio's "Minimalist post-punk grooves and spooky male/female vocals land them somewhere in Joy Divison and Helium territory". Only way to find out for yourself is to catch them live.
Day For Night [11:00]It's a simple story: (three) people who like (a lot of different) music (a lot) got together and slowly found a sound that made them blissful. That's how every band should happen. Their self titled EP is a stunning debut; t's as though Day For Night emerged from the womb fully formed, taking up where a host of gloomy 4AD bands left off. Dream pop? Not a chance. This is ‘dream-rock.’
You know why May is my favorite month? Not just because it is my birthday (on the 30th - only 15 more shopping days left, people!) but because we have the best SIS Club Night in store for you yet! Here's what we got going on for you this month:
SIS Club Night – Wednesday May 28th – 9PM - $3 at Rehab (formerly Club Midway) - 25 Avenue B - NYC F or V to 2nd; F, J, M, or Z to Delancey/Essex
Featuring:
T.H. White (http://www.myspace.com/thwhitemusic) [9:30] T.H. White is more than a musician, known not just for his new record The Private Spotlight. Outside of making music and producing others, he’s written music for The Sopranos, and commercials for BMW, Reebok, Destination Hotels, and the Fox network. MTV even gave him the thumbs when they caught on of his sets at last year’s CMJ, saying that he was “all the rage.”
Cinema, Cinema [10:15] Broadening the scope of their musical movements with hook laden craftwork and infectious melodies, the Brooklyn based Cinema, Cinema stroke a new brush to indie rock. Riff mosaic monster play and crashing drums meet passion stained vocals and a drive for more, more, more. The duo consists of Ev Gold on vocals, scenery and guitar massacre and Paul Claro driving the drums and laying down the concrete. Call it Punk-Art, Indie-Outre', Space-Rock or just your favorite new thing.
Hello Tokyo [11:00] Who is Hello Tokyo and why have I heard them before? Hello Tokyo is a blend of sugar & spice and ALL that is nice. From Pop to Rock to a sprinkle of body pumping dance beats you can’t go wrong getting lost in one of their songs. So why have you heard them before? It might be because you caught them at a recent performance on the 2006 Vans Warped tour or you might have heard their music on MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules OR maybe you heard their hit “Radio” on an Animal Planet show called “Horse Power” which was the theme song for the entire show. Sound familiar?
They say that April showers bring May flowers. Well now you can come out rain or shine and say goodbye April, hello May with this month’s Stranded In Stereo Club Night at Rehab (formerly Club Midway) in NYC. Here’s the 411 on the where, the whom, and why you should show up:
SIS Club Night – Wednesday April 30th – 9PM - $3 at Rehab (formerly Club Midway) - 25 Avenue B - NYC F or V to 2nd; F, J, M, or Z to Delancey/Essex
Featuring:
Breaking Laces [9:30] Breaking Laces is a three-piece acoustic/electro indie rock band from Brooklyn that combines stellar songwriting, pure organic musicianship, and subtle electronic splashes to create a sound that is fresh, accessible and at times, mind-blowing. We dare you to peg them. Come on. Peg ’em. Others have tried - Weezer meets Elvis Costello, Squeeze meets Radiohead, even Martin Sexton meets James Blunt. Why so hard to peg: because they are original yet familiar. They’re real.
Holler, Wild Rose [10:15] Is it better to brave rough waters or abandon the ship in fear of sinking? For Backlight Records’ New Jersey-based Holler, Wild Rose!, they assume the title of captain going down with the ship. But Holler survives the storm, as their debut album Our Little Hymnal, is a testament to reaching for the transcendent beyond the struggle of life. Known for drawing in their live audience with their obvious collaborative enthusiasm, Holler was named after Hymnal’s opening (which has become a landmark crowd favorite at their concerts). The Teenage Prayers [11:00] It's a risky business to meet your musical heroes. They can shatter your illusions in a word. Or they can turn out to be the people you dream them to be. So far, the Teenage Prayers are two-for-two on the winning side of that equation. In 2005, Grammy-winning soul legend Solomon Burke offered to produce a final track for their first album, Ten Songs, flew the New York group to LA and did just that. In 2006, Steve Wynn -- founder of the Dream Syndicate and 30-year hero of the DIY rock world -- watched the Teenage Prayers open a gig for him. He, too, offered to produce them. The result: Everyone Thinks You’re the Best. Best is filled with raucous melodies, a truly dislocated sense of time and place and lyrics that explore the dark corners of manhood and mankind.
With a new month brings another one of our monthly Stranded In Stereo Club Night shindigs at Club Midway in NYC. Here’s the details for the first event you’ll feel inclined to show up to after your adventures to SXSW.
SIS Club Night – Wednesday March 19th – 9PM - $3 at Club Midway (25 Avenue B) NYC F or V to 2nd; F, J, M, or Z to Delancey/Essex
Featuring:
The GoStation Transporting listeners to a place where melody reigns, cultures clash and combine, and feedback fills the sky, The GoStation is a state of mind as much as a band. Hailing from New York City, this five-piece force is on a musical mission to restore rock to its rightful place — the hearts and minds of the people. Embracing the art of the anthem, The GoStation have willfully eschewed the structureless noise of many of their contemporaries.
Neimo The sound of the Parisian underground has reached our shores once again and is about to nestle it’s refined yet raw rock and roll self amongst our own indie scene. Neïmo offer their unique sonic sphere accompanying Bruno’s husky and melodic vocals, the guitar morphs under electronic impulses – and it’s impossible to not capture your attention. Catchy, effective pop and arrogant, sensual rock come together with a resolutely Anglo-Saxon benediction.
Saints And Lovers Born from the ashes of two of New York City’s most exciting bands, the Saints and Lovers story begins with the auspicious meeting of Dennis Cahlo, formerly of the Realistics, and V guitarist Scott Meola. Sharing a love of noise, minimalism, and a music-as-art aesthetic, the two musicians bonded immediately. Meola’s ghostly, layered guitar work was the perfect complement to Cahlo’s supernal voice.
Stranded In Stereo is having their first ever club night next week in NYC, maybe you should go and check it out. Here's a briefing on the bands that are playing:
SIS Club Night – Wednesday, February 13th at Club Midway (25 Avenue B) NYC F or V to 2nd; F, J, M, or Z to Delancey/Essex
Featuring:
The Red Romance Featuring former members of Ambulance LTD, this New York based five piece are getting ready to take over the world as they’ve gone on tour supporting The Killers, and been mentioned on Entertainment Weekly’s Pop Watch blog. The band will be at SXSW this March, previewing material from their debut full-length which will drop in June.
Apache Beat Apache Beat are a five-piece from NYC that play partly-cloudy pop, synth-wave style. This punk-ish band comes armed with a kind of melancholy edge, and it's powered by the ominous alto of singer Ilirjana Alushaj as she sets the tone for the Beat’s dark melodies, forlorn bass-thumps and murky keys.
Chairlift The trio had their beginnings at college in Boulder, CO, but they've since settled in Brooklyn where they've become part of an exciting circuit of new bands like Yeasayer and MGMT. At first I simply described the band as "weird shit," but realizing that wasn't very effective, I settled on something that made much more sense -- 25th century folktronica. These are the tunes that will get Buck Rogers on the dance floor.
Peasant Peasant, the musical alter ego of Damien DeRose, was created when the small town of Doylestown, PA provided him with the seemingly perfect series of experiences to create an entirely new breed of songwriting and musicianship. Having drawn comparisons to acts as diverse as Elliott Smith and Simon and Garfunkel, Peasant creates his own beautiful and unique style by finding comfort and satisfaction in the mostly dismal environment surrounding him.
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Another year has come to an end, but not without one more Stranded in Stereo Club Night at our new home, Fontana’s. Make sure you bring all your friends together for some yuletide cheers, some good beers, and of course, these great bands that will send you off in 2009:
