Karen Rockower (Bugs in the Dark) is Playing a Rare Acoustic Show Tomorrow Night

DOWNLOAD: Karen Rockower - "Dog" (MP3)

Bugs in the Dark guitarist/vocalist Karen Rockower is playing a rare solo acoustic set tomorrow night at Luca Lounge in Alphabet City (Avenue B btwn. 13 - 14th Street). The show is free at starts at 8PM.

Karen will be playing a 30 minute set which will include tunes from her forthcoming solo album (due out later this year) which she is recording with producer (and occasional Bugs' bassist) Mark Turrigiano.

Links:
Karen Rockower's MySpace Profile
Bugs in the Dark's MySpace Profile

Bugs In The Dark Host Video Screening Party Tonight at Floyd NY (Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn)

Bugs In The Dark are hosting a video screening party tonight at Floyd NY (131 Atlantic Avenue) for their latest video "Paranoia".

"Paranoia" comes off of Bugs In The Dark's Grand Avenue CD which was released earlier this year and the video was directed by Alex Terrazas. There is no cover charge tonight and cheap drink specials. The video is showing every hour on the hour, from 9PM to 2AM.

Links:
Bugs In The Dark's Website

Bugs in the Dark - Grand Avenue CD Review (Next show at Lit Lounge on Nov. 7th)

"Having a little fun is the secret to life" - Karen Rockower (Bugs in the Dark)

Brooklyn's Bugs in the Dark released their first full-length, Grand Avenue, earlier this year and I'm completely convinced that the band is going to break big next year.

Grand Avenue is a major step forward for the band as their songwriting has evolved from the Pylon/Hole-ish punk of their debut EP (Shake Shake) to something closer to X meets Sonic Youth.

The band clearly haven't given up their punk roots but there is more of a sense of melody and structure across this disc's six tracks. This time around, Karen Rockower sings of the four cuts and Zach Glass sings two. Karen's strong vocal performance ranges from the punky "Paranoia" to the Sleater-Kinneyish "Aaron". Zach's singing is a real treat as his voice sounds almost like a gothic John Doe (from X). Drummer, Julia Lomax keeps things moving with some great percussion work. Julia's drumming gives songs like "Gasoline" an almost tribal/Cramps-like feel and she mixes things up across the disc with shakers, tamborines, etc.

The new disc is available through the band's MySpace page (link below) and Bugs in the Dark are playing Lit Lounge on November 7th and The Delancey on December 13th.

Links:
Bugs in the Dark's MySpace Profile

Bugs In the Dark Are Playing Lit Lounge Next Thursday, Sept. 25th

Brooklyn's Bugs In The Dark are playing the Lit Lounge next Thursday (Sept. 25th) night.

There are a couple bands from the area that I expect to break big next year and Bugs In The Dark are on the top of this list. The band released their fabulous debut full-length disc earlier this year, Grand Avenue, and their live shows continue to get great reviews (link, link).

For anyone who hasn't heard the band...Bugs In the Dark have a sound that is sort of an amalgamation of Pylon, Sonic Youth and Hole. Check out "Gasoline", which is the first video from the new CD.



Next Thursday, Bugs In the Dark are playing at 10:30PM and tickets are $6.00.

Links:
Bugs In the Dark's MySpace Profile

Bugs in the Dark Play Luna Lounge in Brooklyn on March 1st

Bugs in the Dark have been playing some shows around town these last few weeks while they are finishing recording their first full-length CD. The band puts on a phenomenal live show and their next show is at Luna Lounge in Williamsburg on March 1st. The Sad Little Stars and Bell Hollow (who are also opening for New Model Army at Southpaw on March 20th) are also on the bill and tickets are only $8.00.

Bugs In The Dark - Southpaw, Brooklyn 1-24-08

I caught up with the band at their show at Southpaw last month and here is a link to a video interview and some live footage of the band.

FiddleWhileYouBurn.Com describes Bugs in the Dark as "a band making some SERIOUS noise with obvious potential. Brooklyn's Bugs in the Dark's have no time for sleepy-eyed, middle of the road, groan along, pseudo-rock anthems - they're too busy delivering ferocious, sweaty punk, fueled by sledgehammer drums and mean dueling guitars . . . Bugs in the Dark are Highly Recommended for fans of classic power-punk trios such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sleater Kinney."

Karen Rockower/Bugs In The Dark - Southpaw, Brooklyn 1-24-08


Karen Rockower posted an update on the recording sessions for the new CD to the band's MySpace page and here is an excerpt:

This cd is going to be a real step up from our first EP. With "Shake Shake" we were rushing to get something out as quickly as possible. We love it but it's very raw and simple. With this upcoming cd, we were able to take the time to get creative, add layers, use things like keyboards, shakers, trashcans and more. We even got Julia to sing on "Attention". We tried to get Ozzy to sing, but he mostly just snored in the love seat while we recorded.

Bugs In the Dark Return to Southpaw This Thursday (Jan. 24th)

I've been wanting a chance to see Bugs In The Dark play live having missed their shows at Luna Lounge and Southpaw at the end of last year.

The band is coming back to Southpaw this Thursday with Kid Beyond & Mike B. Bugs In The Dark's EP is streaming on their MySpace page and the band will be playing two new songs during their set which will be on a new CD coming out in April.

If you need more details, check out the band's MySpace page or the writeup that I posted on the band late last year (see previous post). I am expecting this to be a great show.

Tickets are $8.00 (I received an email from the band that said "other bands are charging $10--make sure to tell them you're there for Bugs!") and the band goes on at 8:30PM.

Links:
Bugs In the Dark MySpace Page

White Trash Reunite for Show at Don Hill's

Does anyone remember these guys? They tore up MTV in the early 90's for about a year or so and seemed to drop completely out of sight after that. For anyone now saying "who?"...White Trash were one of the better funk-metal bands that was touring in the early 90's and the original lineup had a full horn section (pre-dating a number of the ska bands that followed). "Apple Pie" was a big MTV video and "The Crawl" was used as the theme for the Jon Stewart show.

The show is August 30th and tickets are only $10.

Here is where I date myself -- I saw White Trash in '91 or '92 at Hammerjack's (in Baltimore). The band was joined on stage by Gene from Lucy Brown (DC funk band, signed to Atlantic) and the show was simply a lot of fun.

I haven't found much information on the show at Don Hill's but it looks like the original band has reunited. As the band is (was?) from Long Island and always were a strong draw in the Mid-Atlantic, I wouldn't wait to get tickets.

For anyone who needs further convincing, here is the MTV video for "Apple Pie".


Links:
White Trash's MySpace Page
Metal Sludge Interview with Guitarist Ethan Collins