The Phenomenal Handclap Band Played Santos

Kenya stopped by The Phenomenal Handclap Band show at Santos last week.
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The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Record Release @ Santos Party House
6/25/09

Cluster fuck at the door over RSVP reduce priced admission vs. actual free comps aside - added to the one hour delay on the door opening - getting in was worth the wait. First time at Santos. But when I saw the Greek columns, neon lighting and heard the techno beat thumping out of the sound system, I thought I'd walked into the wrong place. It was interesting. I half expected people to be handing out glow sticks and blowing bubbles. But the place was filled with preppies and hipster kids. Sort of good-naturedly bumping their heads along in time and tapping their Chuck-clad feet.

We all knew by then, of course that this was the day a legend died and I was half expecting an all night MJ tribute via mixed and mashed Jackson classics. What I got was an eclectic combination of dance beat boogie I'd never heard mixed in such a way I didn't quite know how to respond to. Featured DJs Tim Sweeney, Mike Simonetti, Tim Love Lee, Smallchange, and Amir were responsible for this. One of them spun "The Way You Make Me Feel" and that got the crowd jumping and singing.

Well, after what seemed like five hours to me, TPHB finally emerged from behind a black curtain engulfed in a modest cloud of smoke. Dressed to the nines in hippie-hipster garb complete with tambourines, long hair and bell bottoms - they got right down to it. The set was phenomenal, yeah. The sound was fantastic. Santos has wonderful acoustics in that place. Keyboard, bass, guitar, drums - put through the paces. Solos out of this world like you couldn't believe. How cliche and silly would it be for me to say I wanted it to be Woodstock in there? They were the perfect blend of dance rock, funk, soul and disco. Some slow, some earth-shatteringly fast paced, they plowed through jams like "Testimony" "Baby" and "15 to 20".

The band called for a moment of silence for Michael, which would have been a complete respectful success if some asshat hadn't shouted "Fuck Michael Jackson" into it. The offender was hissed into submission and the show went on.

The actual complete make-up of TPHB is something like 20+ with contributions on the album being made by members of rock ensembles the likes of TV On The Radio, Mooney Suzuki, and The Dap Kings, to name a few. The self titled debut album is chock full of funk meets psychedelic rock cuts like "You'll Disappear" and "All of the Above". The band is currently on tour in the UK, which include a number of popular festivals such as Wireless, O2 and Latitude. The Brits will probably eat it up because they love anything different (read: refreshing) from that post punk brit rock they're used to over there.

Cheers and good luck to The Phenomenal Handclap Band.

Tonight: Overbored Fundraiser w/ Team Robes, Ninjasonik, Boogie Boarder, & More

I'm moving today so you'll have to hit this one without me. Nonetheless this is certain to be one hell of a party. A bunch of good bands plus food, booze, and ice cream.

Tonight: Wild Yaks; Radio America & Dynasty Electric Loft Party

The original plan for tonight was another installment on The Non-Worker Party. But then that went to shit and we had to cancel. Then I heard that So So Glos and Wild Yaks were playing at The Jungle so that made me less bummed about having to cancel our party because those are pretty much my two favorite Brooklyn bands. Then I got word that, while that party is still happening, So So Glos and Wild Yaks won't be playing. FUCK! Then Tom tells me the loft party Radio America was supposed to play last Friday got moved to this Friday. So cool, there's a party tonight! It's at the Dynasty Electric loft.

So here's the plan tonight. First I'm heading to the Wild Yaks show on Hope. I hear that The Goddamn Rattlesnake might be playing too. Then I'm heading over to the Newsonic Loft for Radio America and Dynasty Electric. Also notable tonight is show at Shea Stadium that my homeboy Fanelli from The Shapes put together. There's going to be a NinjaSonik show at Europa and a Bikes In The Kitchen party at The Jungle (that's the one Yaks and Glos were supposed to play).

RIP: Michael, Ed, & Farrah

What a bummer these last few days have been. First Ed McMahon takes the bus and then Farrah. Just when you think it can't get any worse Michael Jackson suddenly drops dead. WTF? All deaths are tragic but at least these three made the most of their time here and will be remembered for a long time.

Anyone else kinda creeped out by the fact that Farrah, a 70's TV star, died just before one of the all-time legendary musicians, Michael Jackson? Sound familiar? Ritter/Cash - 70's TV star, legendary musician. Creepy.

RIP

Free Virgin Fest This Year

Last year I got some free passes to Virgin Fest so I took the bus down to Baltimore and checked it out. Despite my general disdain for festivals I have to say that Virgin was pretty fun. Great bands, excellent and varied food choices, big beers, and the best part was it was relatively cheap - aside from the ticket. Well this year that all changes because they're letting everyone in for free. You still need to grab a no fee ticket from TicketMaster on July 26th, 10AM.

The ticketing page is pretty confusing and I'm not sure why anyone would spend $30 on a free ticket and a shitty Virgin Fest t-shirt, but it's an option. My guess is they dedicated a bunch of tickets to each tier so when the free tickets run out you'll be forced to buy a dumb t-shirt package to get in. Still though, $30 ain't too bad for a festival.

On that note, the bands playing are not nearly as good as last time (NIN, STP, Kanye, Stooges). The free show features Blink-182, Weezer, Franz Ferdinand, Public Enemy, Jet, The Bravery, etc. Lots of bands people used to give a shit about but not so much these days. But I guess we can't complain about free, huh? There are noticeably less bands listed this year so I'm guessing they nixed the second stage, unless they're still adding to the bill.

Link:
Virgin Mobile FreeFest

Burger King Wants To Fuck Your Mouth With Seven Inches Of Meat

Burger King is apparently letting 15-year old stoners run their ad campaigns these days. I wonder if they'll be running these ads in Kansas?

Link:
Gawker

MP3:
Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth - Dead Boys (via TopekaDIY)

**Update: Be sure to check out BestWeekEver for their 10 slogans less dirty then "It'll Blow Your Mind Away", including "100% Pure Dickmeat".

Fun with PhotoShop

New Releases: Alexisonfire, Deer Tick, Mars Volta

Well, today is a pretty good day for music. Usually I don't even pay attention to what new albums come out but there's actually more then one worth getting this time.

I'm most excited to hear the new Alexisonfire album although the new songs on MySpace are a bit disappointing. For some reason George now sounds like Wade, which isn't really a good thing. Luckily, Dallas still has the best voice in music and more or less saves any songs that are otherwise boring. Again though, I don't have the album yet, nor have I heard it, so I'm not judging just yet.

Deer Tick is also releasing a new album. Honestly I thought this album came out months ago. The press releases for it started flowing in back in like March so I just assumed it was out. Either way Deer Tick is fucking awesome so pick it up.

Last but - well maybe, least is Mars Volta. All the talk about an At The Drive-In reunion has kinda made people forget that Mars Volta has a new album. Well, this one I have heard and it's good, not great, but worth getting for sure. It's nothing out of the ordinary for MV but it's a bit more mellow which frankly I'm happy about, I can do without all the proggy guitar shit.

The Last Rated-X Ever

On Saturday I hosted the last Rated-X ever. I used to be a regular in the Scenic days in the East Village. When it moved to Luke & Leroy and then Don Hill's I stopped going as often but when I did I always had a great time. The last Rated-X was one of the best in recent memory. I saw a whole bunch of people who I haven't seen in awhile. It was great to catch up and see familiar faces. To say Rated-X went out with a bang would be an understatement.

Word is that there will still be an occasional Rated-X but I'm not sure where, hopefully it moves back to the East side. Anyway, I'll stop right here because Igor from Driven By Boredom posted some pics and a great little write up about the night.

Link:
DBB, Rated-X

Theo & Michael T

Tonight: I'm Hosting The Last Rated-X Ever; Wild Yaks @ Union Pool

I start the night at Union Pool for a Wild Yaks show. They're headlining so go and show some support for our favorite Brooklyn band. After that we jump on the L and head over to Don Hill's for the last Rated-X/Panty Party ever. Somehow I ended up as one of the hosts, which is pretty cool. So there it is, Saturday is good - fuck the rain.

If you want to save a few bucks RSVP on Going for reduced admission for Rated-X

Link:
RSVP for Rated-X

Tonight: The Beets, No Bunny, & More; Bushwick Kegger

I still have not made it out to Bruar Falls yet but they've been putting some solid shows together, which ain't easy. Tonight The Beets, No Bunny, Hunx & His Punx, German Measles, and Baby Shakes are playing. Elsewhere in Brooklyn, there's some kegger at some random residence with some random bands. Now it doesn't sound so hot but those parties usually end up being the best.

The Low Anthem Played Bowery Ballroom

BSC contributor Kenya stopped by Bowery Ballroom the other day to check out The Low Anthem on Monday.
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After garnering much praise on their handmade independent release, The Low Anthem released their Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, with new track listing and remastering by Bob Ludwig. The Rhode Island trio met at Brown and play a multitude of unusual instruments. Among the 27 on the record (recorded on Block Island) are zither, pump organ, Tibetan singing bowl, and an oil drum. They've been on tour with Ray Lamontagne, Elvis Perkins, and Josh Ritter, performed at Bonnaroo and will be at the Austin City Limits festival, among others this summer.

They started the set out by playing "Cage the Songbird". Well, they started out by offering members of the audience some left over steamed dumplings after admitting a fear of seeing empty space in front of them when they took the stage. But they came on to raucous applause and the pleasant surprise of seeing the place nearly packed. The ballroom was full of people who were obviously very comfortable with standing still, as this particular brand of gospel tinged folk encouraged swaying in place.

Low Anthem just got back from Bonnaroo. They hardly seemed fussed. Instead, they were relaxed and unhurried. In fine form, they breezed through their set of old familiar tunes, collaborations and covers at shows end with ease. It was a fantastic way to kick off the re-release of their album. Its very possible that while singing, the soul crawling out of Ben Miller's vocal chords forced my eyeballs to pop out of my head. If they've heard it, they've heard it a few times. They must be tired of the comparison. Bob. Fucking. Dylan. I feel like Bob Dylan has an academy somewhere and these are his graduates.

On stage, they were surrounded by the many tools they used to invoke Darwin and bring it to life. Each band member playing musical chairs throughout the set. They rarely made use of the drums but didn't need to. Ben Miller and Jeff Prystowsky, both classical composers, shaped and molded each tune in such a way that allowed for immense diversity in the way they recorded and performed them. Which makes for an album that is distinctive and never boring.

The show made me feel like I was at home in Arkansas drinking lemonade in the back yard and listening to the crickets and watching the fireflies dance around. The Bowery was so quiet at times during the set (save for the band's harmonies), if you closed your eyes you'd literally be somewhere else. One could see why this band was the perfect fit for Tennessee-based Bonnaroo festival. Imagine being in a tent and letting "To Ohio" wash over you.

Timid, down-to-earth, talented and gracious, the members of Low Anthem deserve their critical acclaim. They showed the audience - mostly veteran fans who'd been with the band since the first imaginings of some of Darwin's tracks - their appreciation.

Tonight: Free Show, Team Robespierre & Cerebral Ballzy @ The Charleston

Holy fuck nuts! Yeah, that was completely necessary. You see Team Robespierre and Cerebral Ballzy are playing a free show tonight at The Charleston on Bedford. There are a few factors that will make this one for the books.

1) Team Robes & Ballzy! I mean, they're two of the craziest live bands in Brooklyn.
2) The Charleston is one of the last bastions of punk rock in Williamsburg. All the old crazies still frequent this joint. Add two high energy bands to that and you have a party.
3) It starts LATE, like 11 or midnight. For a Wednesday show that's pretty crazy. This means that by the time Ballzy goes on everyone is going to be shit faced and out of control. This is good!

Team Robespierre
w/ Cerebral Ballzy
@ The Charleston (Right by the Bedford L)
11PM
FREE

New Mars Volta Album, Octahedron, Streaming On MySpace

You can listen to the new Mars Volta album in its entirety on MySpace. It's called Octahedron and it comes out on June 23rd. I'm listening to it right now and it's pretty much what you would expect from Mars Volta. Which is to say it's really good but a little more proggy then it needs to be or anyone really wants to hear. I'll try and get one of the other Ski Clubbers to review the whole thing. Until then you can listen and form your own opinions.

Link:
Mars Volta MySpace

via Buzzgrinder

Williamsburg: "Left-wing, Lunatic Hippies"

Conservative radio talk show host, Jay Mundy, visited Williamsburg for the first time. Of course, as a conservative, he was shocked and horrified. The results are a hilarious rant about hipsters, hippies, left-wingers, tattoos, drugs, etc. The funny thing is this is about the Bedford area now, imagine what this guy would have thought 5 years ago before all the yuppies showed up and the condos went up. He would have shit his britches. Enjoy:

Link:
Brownstoner

My favorite part is him discussing how people in Williamsburg don't use toilet paper because it's bad for the environment. Haha!

Wild Yaks Played Matchless (Northside Fest) Pics

Saturday night I met up with Tom and the gang at Matchless for the 2nd of three Wild Yaks show this past weekend. The place was crazy packed and from the chatter I think a lot of people were seeing the band for the first time.

The first song was a bit off due to the monitors being too low. Otherwise it went pretty well aside from Rob's tuner conking out, but that seems to happen at every Yaks show, which just adds to the charm. The crowd seemed really into it, which is cool. The Wild Yaks make great music, and they're good dudes all around, so if there's any band that deserves some new fans it's them. If you haven't seen them yet then you're missing the most fun you can have at a show in Brooklyn.

And if you haven't checked out the Brooklyn Ski Club interview with Wild Yaks then you should, it's pretty interesting.

Link:
BSC Interviews Wild Yaks

Link:
More Pics on BSC Flickr

MP3's:
Wish I Had A Whip - Wild Yaks
River May Come - Wild Yaks

O'Death Played Music Hall (Northside Fest) Pics

Jen from The Music Slut had an extra ticket to the O'Death day show at Williamsburg Music Hall on Saturday. Being that O'Death is one of my favorite Brooklyn bands I gladly tagged along. The Hall was pretty empty but I guess that makes sense considering it was only 3PM. Nonetheless, O'Death put on one hell of a show. As I've noticed in other similar situations it seems that bands play better with smaller crowds. Maybe it's because they know everyone there is really a true fan, or something. Overall, I'd say Saturday ranks #2 on my awesome O'Death shows list behind only this one.

Link:
More on BSC Flickr

Tonight: LES Metal Show (Cerebral Ballzy Secret Guest); Wild Yaks @ Matchless

I just got back from seeing O'Death at Music Hall. As always they were fucking awesome! Meryl Streep was hanging out next door at Public Assembly.

Anyway, I'm resting up at home, gonna chow down on some chicken corn chowder and then head out. There are a million things to do tonight, where I'll end up I have no idea but it will likely be one of these.

Wild Yaks
@ Matchless
11:30PM
Cover?

Vice & Colt 45 Present:
White Mice, Orpans, Acid Tiger
Secret Guest = Cerebral Ballzy
Free Colt 45

Wild Yaks, The Brooklyn Ski Club Interview

As you may have noticed Wild Yaks have quickly become one of Brooklyn Ski Club's favorite bands. In fact, they might be the only band we can all agree on. Tom sat down with boys from Wild Yaks the other day at their practice space, keep reading for that and make sure you check Wild Yaks out tonight at Matchless and tomorrow at Public Assembly.
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Prologue...

It’s 7.15 and I’m waiting outside Wild Yaks rehearsal space on Meserole and its starting to rain. I’ve been here since 7 o’clock and I am really wishing, right about now, that it will not really start coming down. Rob (singer, frontman) has assured me that he’s due to arrive any moment and that he is very sorry for the wait. I have taken him at his word.

Now it’s 7.20

Now it’s 7.25

I’m just about to call Rob again – I’ve got the phone in hand and every call I make is precious to me right now because I’ve got virtually no battery life left until I make it to a wall socket – when the man himself, on his bike, miraculously materializes on the horizon like a streaking gazelle. In short, he is fucking flying.

“Sorry man,” he says. “work was crazy…”

“What’s work?” I ask. I have no good idea what I am asking at this moment.

Apparently for Rob, work* as it were, concerns something that – for the sake of prudence – I am not going to plainly state. Let’s just put it this way, there was a delivery involved, and he was the delivery man. And he had to make a presentation of sorts. And today, this took, em, a little longer than expected today. And he is sorry it took a little longer, but it couldn’t be helped. And no, if you catch my drift, he doesn’t ride around Brooklyn on a fixed-gear delivering and installing Verizon Fios.

We’re riding up to the space and the interview, whether I like it or not, has already begun. I don’t have a pen in hand, but I have a captive and animated subject – to say the least. Upon entering the door to the space we find Dan (bass player extraordinaire) tuning up his instrument between bites of an organic salad bowl. He’s alone apart from an obnoxious alarm bleep that goes off at regular interviews every two minutes or so.

“Hey Dan. This is Tom from GQ Magazine,” Rob says introducing me, “he’s here to interview us today.”

Dan politely introduces himself. We shake hands.

“Wow! You’re eating a salad!” Rob says, and immediately picks up the bowl and takes a bite. “You gonna eat this egg…”

“Nah,” Dan says, “It’s cool, I already…”

“Thanks man,” Rob says, devouring a hard-boiled egg.

Suddenly, Rob appears pensive. “Wait,” he says to Dan, “you didn’t get this at Hanna Foods did you?”

“No, why?”

“I didn’t tell, you? I had an altercation with those guys.”

“No, what happened?”

Evidently, Rob had wondered in late one night with his backpack on and disturbed a bottle of maple syrup. The maple syrup then seized its opportunity to plunge to the floor and explode. This irked the late-night Hanna Foods crew, who became determined to charge a “tense, weird, [and] stoned” Rob for what they described as a “15-fucking-dollar bottle of maple syrup.” It didn’t help that Rob was carrying a backpack full of, ahem, work samples. Fortunately things were resolved by Rob “going [fucking] bananas” and giving flight. “It was ok,” he explains, “they were all smaller than me.

“A $15 bottle of maple syrup,” he concludes. “Those guys are just fucking war profiteers. War profiteers. Who [in this neighborhood] can afford that?”

Things quiet down and I situate myself with my note pads. Rob becomes occupied with rolling a spliff (tobacco and pot, for those unfamiliar with the term) and searching for an “A” string for his guitar. He does not have one. We all hope that Zach (lead guitar player) will have an extra string when he arrives. Dan wants to know who else I’ve interviewed. I mention a few acts that I’ve met with.

“Ah, the Muslims, that’s cool.”

“Yeah,” I say, “that was even back (early last summer) when they still had a cool name.”

What?” Dan is surprised.

“Yeah,” Rob chimes back in. “They changed their name to ‘The Soft Pack.’”

“That’s lame.” Dan says. We all agree that this is very lame. In fact, I go one step further and intimate that money, specifically other peoples’ money invested in them – they appear to have a lot of PR behind them and that ain’t cheap – had something to do with it.

“Yeah,” explains Rob, “We played with them last summer at Union Pool. They bumped us from our slot. It was our show. We were suppose to headline….” Rob goes on to relay yet another anecdote that I don’t have the space to recount ensues regarding this particular show. “I don’t know. I don’t mean to slam them [The Muslims, er, that is, The Soft Pack]. I’m tremendously supportive of anyone playing live music, anyone writing songs. But it [The Muslims, er, that is, The Soft Pack] just seemed Packaged.

“But as long as you mean it,” Dan chimes in.

“The name was awesome,” Rob concludes. “You dare to call yourselves that [The Muslims]…and then the change [of the name]…well that was the last…I dunno, I never believed it. I saw them, and I was like, ‘I don’t believe this.’”

INTERVIEW...

Brooklyn Ski Club – Your songs are almost all presented as anthems of sorts, is that something you strive for?

Rob – Yeah. Well actually, I went to military academy at Valley Forge, actually. And I discovered marching music there. We’d march and sing cadences…[he starts singing] “she wore a yellow ribbon!!!” The company next to us for years, which would march with us, they were called “Field Music.” They did like, trumpet and percussion. We would march with them and they would hit the bass and the snare. And the songs were spiritual, you know? Like a communication to the GOD. And we’d sing songs in church [too]. [Starts singing, again] “ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS, MARCHING AS TO WAR!!!” I loved that shit!

Dan: I was an altar boy. We didn’t sing.

BSC – Would you hold up a particular Wild Yaks song as THE anthem. THE song that represents that ideal?

Rob – Well, “River May Come”…that’s one of the core ideas of my life. It’s a celebration of life and also, of death. It’s really about a fascination of death; and a celebration of it as well. It’s about spending time with meditating upon mortality and the fragility of life! You know, the moments of our life are NOW. And there’s no tomorrow. Typical rock shit! You know…

BSC – What’s the songwriting process like? How are songs developed?

Rob: I’m trying to write hits, man. I was talking to Quinn from Suckers recently, and they have this song that goes in the chorus “it gets your body moving!” And that was a real influence for [Wild Yaks tune] “Angel Eyes.” (Editors Note: The chorus of “Angel Eyes” goes “She’s my real locomotion”). So it’s like, man, let’s write some hits and get our of this grimy misery! I’m over it! Let’s get to the beaches of Paris!

BSC – How much collaboration is involved in the process of creating the tunes?

Rob – I played guitar by myself for ten years. But [pointing at Dan and Martin, Wild Yaks’ resident drummer] the three of us learned to play together. And now, with the lineup, for me, it’s like Iggy said about the Stooges, when they would play together. I just go nuts. And, when Zach gets going, it raises the bar for all of us! He can shred. But yeah, anyways, the band fleshes [things] out. It gives the feeling, it brings the mayhem.

BSC – Well, what’s the brief history then, of the current group here?

Zach – well, I’m the longest standing!

Dan – about 8 months

Rob – about 6-7 months, starting in December/January. Look, there are so many dramas and stories that led to the four of us being in this room. Ultimately, it’s about commitment. [All four guys here] are going to be doing this regardless…

BSC – Could Wild Yaks exist outside of New York City? Would this group even come together?

Rob – you know what? I’ve been thinking a lot about Nirvana a lot lately – and the Minutemen – and those groups had…well, Nirvana the three of them would get together every day of the week. And I read that for the first hour of practice they just jammed. They just jammed the first hour of every practice! That’s so hard to do in New York City.

Martin – yeah, so maybe [being in a group] might be easier elsewhere.

Rob – well, it might be easier when we were, that is, if we were younger. But, I didn’t get anything done in my 20s…it might have been easier [then]. But I was just…hanging out.

Martin – but, then again, it couldn’t have happened any other way.

Rob – yeah. Much of our sound comes from us being older.

BSC - Actually Matt [Ski Club founder/editor] and I were just talking the other day about the current NYC/Brooklyn music scene. Our opinion is that something special is happening at the moment, the likes of which neither of us have seen before since we’ve been in the city. So as kind of a follow up to the last question, what do you make of the current music scene/climate and where do you see things heading from here?

Rob - things are really exciting at the moment in New York. Or really, in Brooklyn. But at the same time, no one’s broken yet.

Martin – still, everyone’s [in it] for themselves. It’s not really a…

Rob —but! Team Robespierre, and NinjaSonik…they love us and the come to our shows so there’s support. But yeah, [as far as the scene goes] the world at large doesn’t know yet. There are a lot of things I am curious to see happen. Team Robespierre is a big part of why I wanted to be in a band. Suckers, the band I mentioned before, they have a new record and Pitchfork is behind it. And Shilpa Ray, I curious to see if what she’s doing has any legs on it…and other kids are coming. They are going to come here like me. So yeah, I’m curious about the next crop of bands.

BSC – on the other hand, do you think Manhattan is dead – for all intents and purposes – in terms of being a center for music?

Rob – I don’t really give a shit about Manhattan. I mean, I like the way it looks and I like the pretty girls, but…well, I like seeing shows at Cake Shop and Lit and Mercury Lounge. But, I don’t think…I don’t think that they’ve produced any kind innovation out of Manhattan in a while. Even the restaurants that I am interested in going to! Most of them are in Brooklyn. And as far as artists and stuff. Well, when weirdos come to town, they have to go elsewhere. They don’t go to Manhattan.

BSC – Well, that said, do you see any correlation between the tanking economy and the vibrant artistic scene that is coming into being? Do you feel like, because of the shift, that a band like yours might have a better opportunity to reach people it wouldn’t ordinarily be able to get an audience with?

Rob – actually, I think if there was more money changing hands we’d be on a record label. If this was ten years ago, we’d be on a label. For example: a label, a few weeks ago, told us they were interested but that “all of our budget for 2009 is spent.” They said if we would make a record and hand it to them, they’d consider it for 2010…but yeah, the economy! Well, I wonder how, well, that is, if things will get kind of like the 80s. In the movies and shit people were fighting cops and authority and stuff. Class consciousness was a big part of popular art then. That would be cool if that came back. Now that the economy is what it is, shouldn’t the “alternative” be cool again?

BSC – Lester Bangs once said something along the lines of – and I believe this is when he was slating Blondie in a live review – that people go see music performed to see pure emotion. And he compared Blondie’s performance with that of Van Morrison (who I am personally, not crazy about). Is that something that you guys can identify with?

Rob – I LOVE Van Morrison!!! He was in a band early on called “Them.” Ever heard them? Them was FEROCIOUS! It was ferocious white boy blues. And he, he was, is, a deeply soulful dude.

BSC – So I gather you identify?

Rob: Well, it’s not surprising that Lester didn’t like Blondie. Blondie was fashion. Me, I’d like to be a punk rock Jarvis Cocker!

BSC – Jarvis Cocker? He’s pretty fashionable, man.

Rob: No-no-no! I’m sorry, I mean Joe Cocker. That’s what I want to be. But I do like Jarvis though (laughs)!

BSC – So it’s not about fashion. Well, and this is something I ask every group I speak with: given the economy and the relationship between music and technology, and the death of the labels and all, can you imagine ever being able to make a buck off of music?

Zach – well, maybe a buck. That is, maybe we can make dinner. A meal.

Martin – yeah, dinner…maybe you can find a girl who’ll take you home and feed you!

Rob – I don’t know man. You know what I say? WRITE A HIT SONG! Something that resonates! If you write a song, that song, maybe it’ll get used in a movie or whatever. Maybe that’s corny. But I’ll take the money and go to Amsterdam for a week.

THE END

MP3's:
Wish I Had A Whip - Wild Yaks
River May Come - Wild Yaks

Some pics from Wild Yaks playing the BSC show at Red Star!

Tonight: Tom Is DJing @ Hugs

Michael T is having a party at Hugs on North 6th tonight. I don't know what the party is called since I can't find it listed anywhere but it is happening. Since you'll be in the hood anyway for Northside you might as well stop in and drink, there's no cover.

BSC contributor, Tom (Radio America), will be DJing. I'm off to see The Albertans play na acoustic set on the street in front of Cameo.

At The Drive-In Reunion Might Happen!

According to Cedric Bixler-Zavala there is a chance that At The Drive-In might get back together. In the world of music there are few things I wish for more then an ATDI reunion. I had the misfortune of discovering them right before they broke up and therefore never had a chance to see their legendary live show. In my opinion At The Drive-In is simply one of the greatest bands ever and I've probably listened to more hours of ATDI then any other band these past 8 years or so.

So dudes, please do it. I don't care why you do it - money, music, fame, etc. - just make it happen. I told some friends the other day (before I even heard about this) that I would gladly pay $100 to see At The Drive-In just once and well, looks like I might have a chance. Hopefully it's a little less then $100 though. Now, the reality is it was a lone comment in one interview so who knows if this will come to be. But for the sake of fuck please, please at least go on one US tour... and bring a reunited Refused and Bear Vs. Shark with you!

Link:
Buzzgrinder

I will be spending the remainder of the day listening to the entire ATDI discography on repeat.

Saved By The Bell Fever Hits NYC

First it was the ever excellent appearance by Mark Paul Gosselaar, as Zach Morris, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Bravo Jimmy, you've done 1 thing right so far - way to go buddy.

And then the other day I got an email that said Mr. Belding in the subject line. Now I thought it was just another hipster DJ with a shitty pop culture name. Today I actually opened that email and fuck-me-sideways, it's actually about Mr. B! Dennis Haskins, better known as Mr. Belding, will be hosting on June 19th at frat boy central, Porky's NYC.

Now I'm in no way endorsing that joint but well, how often do you get a chance to drink with the principal? Bonus: Maybe an aging Sigma Chi will give you swirly when go to take a piss - just like old times, aye?

Northside Festival Starts Today

I gotta be honest, when I first heard about Northside Festival I thought it would just be the same old Brooklyn bands that play every other night. And sure, plenty of those bands are involved but there's a whole lot more going on too. I was just checking out the shows and they're fucking awesome for the most part. Plus there's free beer every night and you can ride your bike from show to show. That's awesome.

You have one more hour to get a badge for $45, which ain't bad at all. Or you can just try getting into shows the old fashioned way... asking PR people to put you on the list. On that note, if someone would be so kind as to donate a badge to Brooklyn Ski Club I would be happy to cover some shows. Normally, I'd cough up the $45 but I just moved and my bank account is a few thousand dollars smaller now.

The Last RATED-X Ever! (I'm Hosting)

A few years ago I moved to Brooklyn and found a world of awesome parties and shows. From the people I met in BK I started finding out about other awesome shit going down in the Village that I wasn't keen to before hand. So I started going to as many parties as I could, especially the ones with free booze.

Two of those parties stood out and became favorites of mine - Trash and Rated-X. Those parties had such an amazing mix of outcasts in attendance. Plus the music was always awesome - Michael T, Theo, Jess, Antonio, Alex, and all the guest DJs kept the dance party going with punk, glam, soul, rockabilly, whatever. Those were fucking great times.

Back then I used to wait in line for 25 minutes, or more, in all weather to get in every weekend. One day I thought it would be cool to write about the adventures we had at parties like Rated-X and Brooklyn Ski Club was born. It used to be a party blog first and foremost, the focus on music came later when I got old and stopped going out every night.

Well, after 6 years of parties Michael T and Theo are closing the doors on Rated-X. It will go down as one of the legendary downtown parties for sure. I'm happy to say that I'll be hosting the last Rated-X ever! Not sure how that happened. I mean, like I said, it was only a few years ago I was standing in line like every other schmuck and now I'm hosting the grand finale. Wild shit.

I'll have a list so if you want on email me ASAP and make sure the subject line is RATED-X List

Link:
More details Going.com/ratedx666

NO FRIENDS (Municipal Waste Side Project) Album Streaming

A bunch of dudes from a bunch of bands joined forces to form No Friends. One of those rad dudes is Tony Foresta, singer of Municipal Waste. Brooklyn Ski Club fucking loves Municipal Waste so check this shit out immediately.

I'm listening to it right now and it is exactly what it claims to be - old school hardcore punk! Very much in the style of Gorilla Biscuits and later Minor Threat. There's a wee bit of the late 80's punk style (Bad Religion, NOFX) thrown in there too. Anyway, the shit is awesome and this might be my favorite style of music so I'm super fucking happy and can't wait for these punks to roll through town.

The album is streaming on PunkNews so go give it a spin before they take it down.

Link:
No Friends Streaming

Tony Foresta (singer of Municipal Waste) has joined on for vocal duties in a new hardcore super union featuring members of the now defunct New Mexican Disaster Squad. Calling themselves NO FRIENDS, they play 80's style hardcore in the vein of Dag Nasty, Descendents, and Gorilla Biscuits.

The band just wrapped up recording their self-titled album at Crescendo Sound Studios and is shooting for a July release date on No Idea Records.

Oh, and if No Friends ever reads this get in touch, let's put together a rager in Brooklyn!

Free Show: White Mice, Orphans, & Acid Tiger (Free Booze Too)

Children, maybe we can thank the doom and gloom of modern times (recession, war, climate change, etc.) for the sudden resurgence of metal. Well, metal never really went anywhere but recently the hipster kids have been getting in on the action.

You see, despite all the shit talking over the years the fact is most Brooklyn hipster kids are secret metal heads. In high school they were totally pumping fists to Pantera - don't even try to deny it.

Nowadays bands like Mastodon, Converge, The Sword, Early Man, etc. have been dubbed hipster friendly (which still freaks me out a bit - I mean why Mastodon but not Lamb Of God?). To take advantage of this trend Vice and Colt 45 are giving us metal heads some free beer and three bands to make our ears bleed. Oh and bring your girlfriend, there will likely be a shortage of females - don't worry, you won't be able to hear her complain anyway.

Get drunk & head bang!

AOL Twitter Request Radio Station

AOL Radio will be launching a Twitter based radio station tomorrow. Starting today you can send a tweet tagged #aolradiorequest along with the song name and then hear it on the station. Apparently they're going to have celebrity Twitter-ers (?) sending in requests. They mention @BarackObama and @Oprah, amongst others - we'll see how that goes.

Want to contribute to AOL Radio's first all-Twitter-request radio station?! AOL Radio is creating a radio station programmed entirely by Twitter users, and we invite all Twitter users to participate!

Today (Wed. June 10th) from 12 pm ET until midnight ET, announce your request by tweeting the artist/band name, song title and hashtagging it with #aolradiorequest

An all request station programmed by snarky Twitter kids? Expect a ton of power ballads and 80's pop - the more ironic the better.

While it's unlikely I would listen to this channel, people have shit taste in music, I think it's a rather interesting use of Twitter.

While we're on the topic, if the Twitter channel isn't your thing you should check out the AOL Radio Classic Punk station. I've been listening to that station for years now and it's pretty much the only radio station I bother with. The song selections are top notch - Ramones, Stranglers, Sham 69, Dead Boys, The Damned, New York Dolls, etc.

Warlocks Announce Summer Tour Dates

The Warlocks, who are fucking awesome, have just announced some tour dates for the summer. They have an NYC show at Bowery Ballroom and they're also playing Maxwell's in Hoboken.

UK Tour
Jul 10 2009 La Maroquinerie Paris
Jul 14 2009 The Other Rooms Newcastle, Wales
Jul 15 2009 Fibbers York, Northeast
Jul 16 2009 Roadhouse Manchester
Jul 17 2009 Monochrome Liverpool
Jul 18 2009 The Bodega Nottingham
Jul 19 2009 The Rainbow Rooms Birmingham, Midlands
Jul 20 2009 Barfly Cardiff, Wales
Jul 21 2009 Thekla Bristol, Southwest
Jul 22 2009 Southend Railway Hotel Essex, East
Jul 23 2009 Hoxton Square Bar &Kitchen London, London and South East
Jul 24 2009 Audio Brighton, South
Jul 25 2009 Joiners Southampton, London and South East

US headlining tour!
July 30 Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
Aug 1 Chop Suey Seattle, WA
Aug 2 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR
Aug 5 7th St Entry Minneapolis, MN
Aug 6 Empty Bottle Chicago, IL
Aug 7 Empty Bottle Chicago, IL
Aug 8 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH
Aug 11 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, PA
Aug 12 Great Scott Allston, MA
Aug 14 Bowery Ballroom, NYC
Aug 15 Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ
Aug 17 Local 506 Carrboro, NC
Aug 18 The Earl Atlanta, GA
Aug 19 The Bottletree Birmingham, AL
Aug 20 One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, LA

Anvil Opening For AC/DC

Have you seen the Anvil movie yet? Well, if you haven't then you need to get off your ass and head to the theater. The ultimate underdogs perseverance has been paying off lately and the good news keeps on coming. The Anvil boys are opening for the legendary AC/DC! The dates are July 28th in Boston and July 31st in New Jersey.

Link:
Buy AC/DC tix

Make Your Own Italian Water Ice!

There's nothing more refreshing on a hot day then a freezing cold Italian Water Ice. A few weeks ago I accidentally stumbled upon a recipe and I was shocked by how incredibly friggin easy it is to make. I'm hesitant to share because I want to be the awesome dude at the BBQ that brought homemade Water Ice but fuck it - this is too good to keep to myself. No bullshit, it's the best I've ever had... and I grew up on the Jersey Shore.

So the process is super simple. Bring water and sugar almost to a boiling point, add juice, then freeze. Seriously, that's it. So here's an example so you can get the proportions right.

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

Again, just heat up the water and sugar until it blends and then kill the heat and add the juice. Use fresh juice whenever possible and feel free to get creative. The next batch I'm making will be a citrus punch - orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, and tangerine.

So that's it, have fun, get creative and stay cool my babies!

***Lemon and lime work best. Grapefruit is tasty but the extra sugar means you'll need to tweak the recipe a bit. Just keep mixing and matching, it will all taste good.

New Chairlift Video

Take a gander at the new Chairlift video for "Bruises".

Fitz & The Tantrums - Songs For A Break-Up

Gabe took a listen to the Fitz & The Tantrums album, here's what he had to say.
----------------------

Are there any blue-eyed soul groups that aren’t at least 40 years old? I guess Hall & Oates did it in the 70s. Bowie sometimes delved in, but that was a long time ago, too. I read one blogger describe Fitz and the Tantrums thusly, and I can’t think of a better or easier description, so I’m gonna plagiarize it: Imagine Amy Winehouse, if she was white, male, and sane.

It’s got a sound that is so familiar and stirring, it surprises you that there aren’t more people doing it. But it’s easy to confuse resurrection of forgotten styles with originality. Or maybe, in a world of rock and roll where seemingly everything has been done, resurrection, or reinvention, is the new originality.

Apparently, the inspiration for the entire concept of the band came from a church organ virtually falling into Fitz’s lap. His neighbor was moving out, and they had the dusty old thing sitting in the basement, unused. He bought it for 50 bucks. He also claims that the entire album was recorded in his living room, using “one crappy old mic.” Quite a story. Sounds something like destiny, and I hope its true.

Whatever. This sounds good. And I like it. The recording sounds like an old 60s soul LP spinning away on top of your cool uncle’s turntable. And the songwriting itself also matches the era.

But, this is where my only real criticism of the band emerges. If they can find their own sort of voice and deliver it with this sound, I think they could be truly original. As they are now, with lyrics about love and heartbreak, classically delivered, it walks a little too close to the “musical tourism” line for me. I hear him singing about the darkness, but I don’t really feel it.

I have in mind the Amy Winehouse song, “Back to Black,” or whatever it’s called. You don’t have to know her sordid history to feel the dark place those lyrics squirm out of.

Take into account the fact that I’m writing this about an unsigned band. Although this probably won’t last long, it’s still surprising.

Fitz & The Tantrums Performing LIVE! that's right LIVE!!! "Breakin' the Chains of Love" from Fitz&theTantrums on Vimeo.

Crest Fest '09 (Crest Hardware & Macri Park)

10 DJ's, 6 Bands, and 100+ artists, the Fest will take place in both the Hardware store and in Macri Park!

It all starts at 12PM on June 13th.

We hope to see you there!

(All Proceeds will benefit the the refurbishment of Macri Park.)

So So Glos Summer Tour Dates

So So Glos

June 6 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
June 8 - T.T. the Bear's - Cambridge, MA
June 9 - Kung Fu Necktie - Philadelphia, PA
June 11 - Black Cat - Washington, DC
June 18 - Sneaky Dee's - Toronto, ONT
June 18 - Rancho Relaxo - Toronto, ONT
June 18 - Bovine Sex Club - Toronto, ONT
July 10 - Southpaw - Brooklyn, NY

Hornitos & JellyNYC Party, June 9th

Jelly parties are always a good time so RSVP and go have some fun kids.

Link:
RSVP JellyNYC

June 9th - The Hudson Terrace - 621 W.46th St
Mischieve Presents "In The Garden of Agave"
with
Cat Millar
Paul Devro
Blaqstarr
Maluca
The Golden Filter

New Alexisonfire Track & Album (June 23rd)!

There are very few bands that I actually get super fucking excited about. One of those bands is Alexisonfire from Canada. In my opinion they have the best singer in rock (Dallas Green who made a splash on the indie/hipster blogs with his solo project City & Colour) and play heavy melodic punk-ish music that somehow doesn't fall into the screamo or metalcore catagory. If you read this blog then you already know I love this band.

I hadn't heard anything regarding AOF in awhile so I checked out thier MySpace and was very pleased to find a new song, video, and a release date for the new album - Old Crows/Young Cardinals (out June 23rd).

If you haven't heard of Alexisonfire yet you should give them a listen. They are pretty much the biggest rock band in Canada (besides Anvil of course) and are huge in the UK as well. Oh and they're fucking amazing live, I've seen them about 4 or 5 times now. Go see them on Warped Tour this summer.

Link:
MySpace New Song - "Young Cardinals"

Alexisonfire - Young Cardinals

Bruno Teabags Eminem

Pure gold...

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