Emptry Chairs: Brooklyn Dream Pop Band Play Record Release Show at Pianos Tomorrow Night (11/1)

"This is the music dreamscapes are made of in outer space. For people who don’t like drugs this might be a good way to explain what tripping is like." (Review Stalker)

Colorado native Peter Spear started Empty Chairs as a solo project when he moved to Brooklyn in 2011. While playing live shows at venues around New York City and recording a self-titled EP, Spear picked up band mates Whitney Broadstreet (keys/vocals) and Matthew O’Koren (drums/vocals). Now the fully formed trio is set to unleash their “swirling, kaleidoscopic foray into prismatic, psychedelic pop” (Unholy Rhythms) on their debut full-length album, Caveat Emptor.

Empty Chairs is holding their record release show at Pianos tomorrow night (Nov. 1st) -- advance tickets are $10 and the band's set time is10PM.  There are a number of good bands sharing the bill which include: Boston, MA's Spirit Kid, local experimental pop act Pink Drink  and Night Panther. (Small Plates Records' owner Conner McGlynn describes Night Panther as "sex pop...[t]he vocals scream velvet and black lights, the bass lines are assless leather chaps, etc. That sounds utterly ridiculous and it would be if these guys didn't have the quality and musicianship to back it up".)



Links:
Empty Chairs

Empty Chairs: Brooklyn Dream Pop Band Release "GTMO" from Caveat Emptor (out 11/5) / Record Release Show at Pianos on Nov. 1st

STREAM: Empty Chairs - "GTMO" (from Caveat Emptor)

After forming Empty Chairs as a solo project in 2011, singer-guitarist Peter Spear was joined by bandmates Whitney Broadstreet on synth/vocals and percussionist Matthew O'Koren, following the release of "Empty Chairs" EP. Skewing trends, the band's sound continues to grow outward in all directions.While their  first full-length, Caveat Emptor isn't due out until Nov. 5th, Empty Chairs has been releasing a few advance tracks from this forthcoming release over the last few weeks along with a trippy video for the song "Akira" (below). A video for "GTMO" will be following shortly.

Empty Chairs is having their record release show at Pianos on Nov. 1st -- advance tickets are $10 and the band's set time is10PM.  There are a number of good bands sharing the bill which include: Boston, MA's Spirit Kid, local experimental pop act Pink Drink  and Night Panther. (Small Plates Records' owner Conner McGlynn describes Night Panther as "sex pop...[t]he vocals scream velvet and black lights, the bass lines are assless leather chaps, etc. That sounds utterly ridiculous and it would be if these guys didn't have the quality and musicianship to back it up".)



Links:
Empty Chairs

Khaled Dajani: Alt-Fusion Guitarist Plays Record Release Show at Pianos on Jan. 30th

Khaled is a groundbreaking artist originally from Saudi Arabia, whose unique brand of Alternative World Fusion music combines Hard Rock, Spanish style guitar and Middle Eastern music elements. Dajani moved to the U.S. over 10 years ago to pursue his dream of playing rock music and is completely self taught. Khaled is playing a record release show at Pianos on January 30 to celebrate the release of his fourth disc, Luci - a concept album that brings together art, poetry and bold musical combinations, including Middle Eastern and Spanish guitar, driving horns, rock guitar and percussion, and passionate strings.


The album opens with the brief ambient guitar intro “Hello”, then tosses the listener immediately into “A Mad World” that features driving electric guitar riffs, frantic trumpets, and foreboding vocals. The theme of temptation weaves throughout the songs (“Trouble”, “Motions of the Dancers” and “All Mine”) as well as the theme of seduction in “Lazy River” which fades into the lush atmospheric strings in “Timeless”. “Motions of the Dancer” and “Falling”, the two instrumental tracks on the album, consists of expressive acoustic guitar with percussion and varying tempos that build to a frenzy. The album comes to a passionate climax with “Luci”, a song about the confrontation with Lucifer, followed by a return to freedom with the final song “Yellow Bird”.





Tickets for the show at Pianos are $10 in advance and $12 DOS and Khaled goes on at 7PM.

======================================

Born in Saudi Arabia, Khaled Dajani moved to the US when he was 16 and, against his traditional upbringing, chose to pursue his musical passion with a vengeance. “I was always told, ‘Wise up and get a job and start a family!’ It only made me want to work harder on my craft, so I developed my voice, guitar technique, and unique composition style that I call alternative world fusion.”


Dajani performs regularly throughout New York City, Hoboken, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh. He has already released three albums independently and has toured the US extensively. He also plans to release a series of thematic music videos after Luci’s release. Calling Luci his most ambitious project to date, Dajani says about its creation, "I set out to record one of the most influential albums of all time." He describes, "It’s about being bold and honest and demanding more art, poetry and music. That's what I strive to achieve.”

Links:
Khaled Dajani

Everest Cale & Stone Cold Fox - Live Photos from Show at Pianos, Jan. 4, 2013

Last Friday, Brooklyn band Everest Cale premiered the video for their song "Beast" (title track from the band's latest EP) and followed this with a full live set. I reviewed "Beast" last year and compared the band's roots-rock sound to artists like Kevn Kinney and Connor Oberst but the band hits much harder when playing live. While Everest Cale haven't abandoned their core country-blues sound, their live interpretation is closer to Crazy Horse than either of the artists that I mentioned earlier. I was speaking to bassist Aaron Nystrup after the show and he said that the songs on "Beast" date back a number of years and the band is going into the studio early this year to record some of these harder-edged numbers.



My one regret of the evening is that I only brought a still camera and left my video camera at home but there will be other nights - Everest Cale is playing next at Tammany Hall (152 Orchard St) on Saturday, Jan. 19th.





Stone Cold Fox also has a fuller live sound than their new EP, "The Young", would suggest. When reviewing their disc, I compared them to Radiohead and The Walkmen - thinking their sound leaned toward Radiohead - but, live, Stone Cold Fox is closer in sound to The Walkmen and/or later period Replacements.



Check out the indie-pop side of Stone Cold Fox with this stripped-down studio performance of "Give Up The Kids".



Stone Cold Fox is playing next at The Paper Box (in East Williamsburg/Bushwick) on Sat., Jan. 19th. Also on the bill are Nightmare River Band, Watermelon, Rich Mahogany, D. Gookin and Aotearoa. Tickets are $10 and doors are at 7PM.

Links:
Everest Cale
Stone Cold Fox

Everest Cale & Stone Cold Fox Plays Pianos on January 4th

Brooklyn roots-root band Everest Cale is celebrating the release of their "Beast" video with a show at Pianos on January 4th. I reviewed the band's debut EP a few months back (link) and thought the band's sound was comparable to artists like Kevn Kinney and Connor Oberst.

“Beast,” the titular single from the band’s debut EP, is a dark love song with a cinematic video to match. Shot in and around lead singer Brett Treacy’s Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment, produced by Treetop Pictures, directed by Chris Sandas and starring NY-based actress Marisol Sacramento, the video paints a picture of deception and heartbreak matching the mood of the song.

On this note, the blog MusicUnderFire noted that the song’s opening lyric “‘Cut the apple from your eye before she takes a bite,’ is more than enough to assure that you’ve stumbled upon greatness. Love is brutal and Everest Cale is explicitly descriptive of the torture."



Also on the bill is the fabulous indie-rock band Stone Cold Fox (another local band whose sound brings to mind post Brit-Pop acts like Radiohead and Coldplay) who are also touring behind their debut EP, "The Young" (link to review).



Tickets are $10 and the full lineup for the night is Basement Batman (8PM), Everest Cale (9PM), Stone Cold Fox (10PM) and Moon Furies (12AM).

Links:
Everest Cale

Kestrels - "A Ghost History" CD Review / Live Photos From Pianos, NYC 8-10-12

A few years back, there seemed to be a number of UK bands (The View, Young Knives, The Pipettes, etc.) heading over to NYC who were hyped by the press as the “next big thing”. The View and The Pipettes didn’t come close to living up to their press hype and I don’t think any of these bands ever made it back to NYC after their first tour. The Kestrels aren’t from the UK (they are from Nova Scotia) but have a "UK sound" that crosses the Factory Records sound of Joy Division/New Order with the fuzzed-out noise of Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. With the release of the band’s second disc, A Ghost History (which came out June 5th on Sonic Unyon Records), Kestrels has all the melodic hooks and raw energy to be the “next big thing”.

Kestrels is the brainchild of singer/guitarist Chad Peck and the trio is rounded out by Peck’s brother, bassist Devin Peck, and drummer Paul Brown. Recording of the new disc has been in-progress since 2010 and, to shake off writer’s block, Peck recorded additional material for the album in an unlikely place, the Manhattan apartment of Tim Wheeler, front-man/guitarist for seminal 90’s Irish indie band Ash. Wheeler, whom Peck cites as a defining influence on him as a musician and friend, adds a guitar solo on the track “Dumb Angel.”

The Brian Wilson reference (“Dumb Angel”) is indicative of the band’s multi-layered sound, which is then coupled with the dynamic ebbs and flows in intensity both within and between the different songs. While the album thematically shifts from vivid to ambiguous imagery, A Ghost History’s music too diversifies from bombastic sounding to more subdued overtones throughout. “There was definitely a intent to make it dynamic without sort of doing a typical Nirvana ‘loud, quiet, loud’ type of thing,” Peck explains. “There’s a definite flow to the album that I feel warrants repeat listening. It may be hard in a ‘singles’ culture to have a patiently paced album but it was important to me and for all of us to have that flow.”

The disc starts out strong with “Drowning Girl” which combines Peter Hook style bass-lines with stiff-backed drumming and some pretty cool guitar leads and roaring histrionics. The band goes follows this first track with “Dumb Angel” which has a big J. Mascis style guitar-grunge sound which builds in waves around ringing leads, melodic hooks and big harmonic choruses. “There All the Time Without You” is one of the disc’s strongest tracks (and it is also the first single) due to its strong musical hooks and harmonies. These songs are pretty indicative of the sound of this disc and the disc closes with “The Past Rests” which sounds like an exuberant Brit-pop number with big guitars and even bigger melodies. As much as these songs hit hard – the band hits the songs ever harder in their live set. Photos from the band’s show at Piano’s earlier this month follow the video.





The disc’s lyrics are almost buried beneath the band’s wall of melodic sound but are pretty introspective upon a deeper listen. Peck, who by trade is an English teacher for secondary school, was inspired lyrically for this album by 20th Century French philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s essay "The Vital Illusion". “There’s a lot of reference to the past and memory in the lyrics of the new album. The ghost part in the album title isn’t really about ghosts like Casper or anything. It was just more about the phantoms in my memory. The people that I remember, are they actually how they were or have I created some new personality or new memory of them that wasn’t there to begin with?”

Kestrels are one of those bands that you should see soon as they will be quickly be on to playing bigger venues. In the interim, hopefully there will be another club tour in the Fall.

Links:
Kestrels

Wild Cub - "Youth" CD Review (Keegan DeWitt + Jeremy Bullock)

Film composer Keegan DeWitt radically changed his sound with the release of his 2010 7”, “Two Hearts” / “Reluctance”, as his songs moved from ‘singer/songwriter’ to driving, dance-inflected pop. Multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Bullock (Pico vs. Island Trees, Jessie Baylin, Madi Diaz) was part of DeWitt’s 2011 touring band and the pair of musicians have used the shimmery “new romantic” dance pop of “Two Hearts” as a jumping-off point to record a new 13-track full-length under the name Wild Cub. The band’s debut disc, Youth, was recorded last fall in Bullock’s home studio and drops on August 14th (Big Light Recordings).

Most of the songs on Youth remind me of the early 80’s “new romantic” Brit-pop (though Wild Cub doesn’t suffer from the excessive ‘over-production’ of this era). The music is atmospheric and hazy and the pulsing drums, polyrhythmic beats and a fluid (almost funk) bass line weave their way through the different songs. Keegan DeWitt’s vocals are (mostly) mixed at the same level as the music so his urgent vocals almost become one with instruments, guiding and pushing each of the songs. In keeping with the disc's continually changing soundscapes, DeWitt’s vocals are brought to the forefront on the big-sounding 80’s alt-rock number “Summer Fires / Hidden Spells” and the 50’s crooner “Drive”.

The production is warm and intimate which brings out both the exuberant (“Thunder Clatter”) and reflective/melancholy (“Streetlights”) sides of Wild Cub’s “late night driving songs", along with all points in-between. In an interview with MTVHive.com, DeWitt described the songs as capturing individual moments - as “if you picked up a still photograph and there was air running through it, like a GIF.”





Youth is a collection of captured moments like moving photographs: late night drives, the limitless feeling of falling in love, the freedom of finding a true friend and co-conspirator in an immense world, the cool ocean meeting your toes on a hot summer’s day. The disc’s lead-off track, “Shapeless”, sets the evocative and cinematic tone that permeates the album. The taut dreaminess of “Straight No Turns” and “Hidden In The Night” evolve into sensuous, dance floor-ready electro-pop, while “Jonti” – with its soaring, cathartic chorus “I see it now, it’s brighter when the lights are out” – and “Wild Light” – all quirky, staccato organ and lyrical guitar-led charm – are playful art pop sing-alongs. The rich, melancholic soundscape of “Drive” highlights Youth’s moody romantic atmosphere.

Links:
Wild Cub

Everest Cale: Brooklyn Roots-Rock Band Plays Pianos on July 24th / Debut EP Out Sept. 4th

I’m somewhat curious who, what or where Everest Cale is…

Getting back on point, Everest Cale are South Carolina-to-Brooklyn transplants who play roots rock in a similar vein to Kevn Kinney and Connor Oberst. The band’s debut EP "Beast" in due out September 4th and the band has a few summer shows booked in advance of the release of the CD. The first is at Pianos on July 24th and the second is August 22nd at Bryant Park, as part of the Park’s “After Work” concert series.

The music on new EP’s five tracks (22 minutes) has a foundation in classic-rock based “country rock” but it is interesting to note that a couple members of Everest Cale previously played with the barroom stompers The Bourbon Brothers as there are traces of “whiskey rock” and 50’s style guitar twang that creep into Everest Cale’s music. Adding to the music is vocalist Brett Treacy’s distinctive and emotive vocals. Similar to Kevin Kinney’s work with Drivin’ n’ Cryin’, Treacy’s vocals pulls the listener into the music without diluting the impact of the band’s carefully constructed aural textures and crossing over into singer/songwriter territory. Songs range from the somber reflections on past romantic hurts (“Beast”, “Goodbye”) to up-tempo roots-rock (“Soaked”) to the joyous tale of coming home (“Place We Know is Home”).

Links:
Everest Cale

Dead Fame - "Frontiers" CD EP Review / Shows at Lit Lounge & Pianos in March/April

Richmond post-punk band Dead Fame released their debut EP “Frontiers” early this year which shows the band’s sound firmly rooted in the darkly melodic melancholia of bands like Joy Division and The Chameleons. Dead Fame started in 2009 when synthesizer player Christopher DeNitto reunited with former band mate, guitarist KC Byrnes and duo slowly found additional players to give the group a “live band” sound. The group is fleshed out by bassist Sadie Powers, drummer Eric Klemen and singer/lyricist Michael Means. Given that Dead Fame is Eric and Michael’s first band, the group’s debut EP is strikingly mature.

The five songs on “Frontiers” all run about 4 minutes in length and the disc’s clean mix brings the band’s edgy drive quickly to the surface. The disc was produced by Cam DiNunzio [of Heks Orkest, Denali and others] at Black Iris Studios and he did a wonderful job of balancing all of the instrumentation. There isn’t one instrument that stands out over another but I was especially taken Eric Klemen’s innovative drumming and Michael Means’ world-weary, almost British-sounding vocals.

Adding to the music, Michael Means’ lyrics are detailed and interesting: “As far as lyrics go, it is usually several "pictures" or contexts that feed into the lyrics. It seems to be that several ideas always go spinning around, interacting with each other, leading to the lyrical fabric for each song, with the music helping to spark or trigger many of those ideas and pictures. So for instance, "Glass Jacket" isn't about one thing - it’s more contextual, with various themes working off the other to create an overall effect. ” (from Magazine33's 2011 interview with Dead Fame).

The disc starts out strong with the dark and raw sounding “Frontiers” which starts with prominent keyboards and a pulsing bassline before heading into a big chorus. This track is followed by the edgy Chameleons sounding “We Can Run”. The band changes pace on the slow burning “Glass Jacket” but keep the high-energy and drive consistent across the disc. What makes Dead Fame exciting is that they have been able to put their own personal imprint on a well-traveled genre.



Dead Fame is playing two local shows at the end of the month. The first is at Lit Lounge on March 31st and the second is at Pianos on April 1st. At the Lit Lounge show, Dead Fame is playing with Praha Depart (from Japan), Keeps (NYC), and Good Morning Valentine; Cover is $6. At the show at Pianos, Dead Fame is playing with Autodrone, Star Fawn, and Labirinto and cover is $8.

Links:
Dead Fame

Fort Frances - Chicago Alt-Country Trio Plays Pianos on Jan. 28th

Ghosts of California by Fort Frances

DOWNLOAD: Fort Frances - "Hard Earned Heart" (from the band's 2011 debut The Atlas)

"Wilco is an easy comparison to make here, and it’s an apt one; there are times during The Atlas when David McMillin sounds as if he’s channelled Jeff Tweedy." - - Tympanogram.com

What initially began as a solo project for singer/songwriter David McMillin gradually transformed into Fort Frances: a three-piece band whose debut album represents more than two years of drawing their own map for musical exploration. With an all-instruments-on-board approach to writing and recording, their heavily textured style introduces you to a band with a Beatles influence that shines through every note.

Produced by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Langhorne Slim), The Atlas was recorded in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere Maine. If you listen closely to the album, you will discover some of the hidden secrets of what it means to make a record: trumpets in the open New England air, lampshades substituted for drums, dog barks and a continuing directional thread that runs between each of its 10 songs.



Fort Frances are headlining a show at Pianos on January 28th (11PM set time) and cover is $10. Also on the bill is Camden Joy (10PM), Life in a Blender and Mark Donato.

Links:
Fort Frances

Deleted Scenes (D.C. Post-Punk) are Playing Brooklyn Bowl on Dec. 2nd and Pianos on Dec. 3rd

DOWNLOAD: Deleted Scenes - "Bedbedbedbedbed" (from Young People's Church of the Air)

D.C. post-punk band Deleted Scenes released their second disc, Young People's Church of the Air, in September on Sockets Records. Their newest collection of songs originated in frontman Daniel Scheuerman's basement and assumed a live identity over the course of 300 tour dates. Recorded at the Garden Center in Hockessin, DE, with Nick Krill (The Spinto Band) and Birdseed Shirt producer L. Skell, the album mixes themes of family, love, death, and joy incorporating studio sounds and home-recorded lo-fi noise. Young People's Church of the Air's title was fittingly taken from a 1930's radio-church hymnal Scheuerman found in an old piano bench at the Garden Center, and evokes the elusive and sometimes illusory nature of hope.

In an interview with Washingtonian, singer/guitarist Daniel Scheuerman was asked to describe the band's new album and he said: "This new album is our second, and we wrote it over the course of the last two or three years. Lyrically, it opens up a lot of new territory, so it moves away from a post-adolescence/early twenties negativity, and tries to come to terms with a post-cynical outlook. In your late twenties, you start to doubt the usefulness of negativity, and try to find truth in a world that doesn’t really offer it, so I think you try to create it yourself instead. It’s about getting over yourself, I guess...One of my favorite songs on the new album is called “Bedbedbedbedbed,” and that’s definitely inspired by getting engaged and appreciating the nice things about relationships, the ways in which they help you."



Deleted Scenes came through NYC over the summer and are now back on the road for a Fall tour. The band is playing two NYC shows with the first being at Brooklyn Bowl on Dec. 2nd with Jukebox the Ghost and The Spinto Band. Tickets for this show are $10 in advance and $12 (DOS) and doors are at 6PM. The second show is at Pianos on Dec. 3rd. Tickets for this show are also $10 and Deleted Scenes is playing with Mandala, Lesser Ghost and Backlights.

Links:
Deleted Scenes

PALEO: Iowa Indie-Folk Musician Plays Two Local Shows In Advance of June Album Release

DOWNLOAD: PALEO: "In the Movies" (from Fruit of the Spirit - out June 21st)

(photo: Cary Norton)
"Howling world-weariness and manic, bat-shit happiness, recalling both the magical weirdness of Neutral Milk Hotel and the disturbed genius of Elliott Smith.” – Flavorpill NYC

Living in a car for over five years, booking his own shows, producing all his own music, Paleo (aka David Strackany) has become something of a mantlepiece in the American house show circuit. His tour history is a database for kindred spirits: over 700 shows across the US, about 150 a year since 2005. And while his self-released first record, Misery, Missouri (2005) earned him high marks from a number of sources, Paleo gathered most of his notoriety through his songwriting mecca, The Song Diary. Easter Day 2006 to Tax Day 2007, he wrote and recorded 365 songs consecutively. Paste called it "a streetfight of freakish prolificacy" and Daytrotter's Sean Moeller playfully crowned him their "Poet Laureate."

Holing up in Davenport, Iowa, the twenty-something got taught the ropes of analogue recording from the original Daytrotter engineer, Patrick Stolley. Stolley's place is a minefield of old analogue gear, a phalanx of synths and amps insulate the walls, piles of grease-thirsty old tape machines, bells, whistles, six-strings, four-strings, twelve-strings, no strings. With this wonderland at his disposal, the young magi decided to try something which'd never occurred to him before: collaboration. Friends strode in from around the region – Chicago, Minneapolis, Iowa City, Rock Island, and Lawrence – and with next to no rehearsal and no lead sheets, they huddled for a three-day creative blitzkrieg. Electrofolk artist Cloud Dog lends samples and howls in the background, the bastard folkies from Minnesota add their sad, quirk-pop sensibility, and a revolving door of drummers and percussionists take turns on the kit. Strackany just let the tape roll, and together they bottled a mischievous, mercurial record sparking with imperfection. Fruit Of The Spirit will be available on June 21st in both CD and Digital formats through the Brooklyn imprint Partisan Records.

PALEO kicked off his 2011 Spring Tour last month at SXSW and is playing two local shows later this week.

Wed. April 27 - Pianos, NYC (w/ Grimis, Kenya Movie Screening and Basement Band). Cover is $8 and PALEO is playing at 11PM.

Fri. April 29 - Knitting Factory, Brooklyn (w/ LAKE, AgesandAges and April March & Julien Gasc). Tickets are $10 advance / $12 day of show.



Links:
PALEO

Hammer No More The Fingers: J. Robbins Produced Indie-Rock Band Plays 285 Kent and Pianos This Weekend

In 1993, Simple Machine record label (out of Washington, DC) started a "Working Holiday" monthly record club that featured bands which included Scrawl, Lungfish, Lois, Jawbox and Superchunk. Hammer No More The Fingers would have fit perfectly alongside this collection of 90's indie-rock bands as the band plays high-energy "college rock" which is tempered by a dark edge beneath the catchy hooks.

Hammer No More The Fingers wrote their second LP, Black Shark, while playing over two hundred dates over the past two years in support of their debut full-length, Looking For Bruce. Again working with acclaimed producer J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines) Hammer effortlessly mixes precise instrumental sparring with buoyant choruses and beautiful harmonies, rendering a more mature work that still retains the youthful quirks and charm that they’ve had since they were youngsters playing in the soil. Bryan Reed of the Columbia Free Times says Black Shark “boasts a smoother, more spacious and more arena-ready sound than its predecessors. It’s loaded with whip-smart hooks, the best melodic phrasings the band has yet put to tape.”



Hammer No More The Fingers are playing 285 Kent (right beside Glasslands) on Saturday, April 9th along with Spanish Prisoners, Red Wire Black Wire and Deleted Scenes. Tickets are $7 and the show is all ages.

On Sunday night (April 10th), Hammer No More the Fingers are playing Pianos along with Deleted Scenes and Manner. Manner kicks off the show at 9PM and tickets are $8.00.

Links:
Hammer No More The Fingers

J. Irvin Dally - Los Angeles Experimental Folk Artist Plays Two NYC Shows Next Weekend

Over the last few months, there has been a slow but steady buzz building up around J. Irvin Dally's music and live shows. There are a ton of favorable press quotes out on the 'net and one of them was from Pitchfork's Altered Zones who claim musician J. Irvin Dally is "an artist of abnormal brilliance, as garrulous and uncouth as the title of his EP, Despistado, would have you believe". In reading various press quotes, the funny thing is that most of the writers are looking for a single point of comparison for Dally's music, which has been likened to artists ranging from Devendra Banhart to Cat Power to Jeff Buckley. To my ears, the correct answer is "all of the above" and one could probably throw out another half-dozen comparisons that would be equally appropriate.

Dally is in town next weekend for shows at Googie's Lounge and Pianos.

Friday January 21, 2011
Googie's Lounge (Above The Living Room)
154 Ludlow Street
9:30PM / 21+
with Christopher Paul Stelling (check out his recent Daytrotter Session)

Saturday January 22, 2011
Piano's
158 Ludlow at Stanton
$10 / 21+ / 7PM
with Christopher Paul Stelling, Anni Rossi and Mercury Landing



Links:
J. Irvin Dally

HotChaCha Release New EP // Show at Pianos on Nov. 12th

DOWNLOAD: HOTCHACHA - "Naked Glass"

Cleveland art-punk band HotChaCha have a new EP, "Fantastic Static" (on Exit Stencil), which is already getting great reviews. The new five-track EP is the first to capture the power of the band's live set -- The Heard said "I can hear, see, smell and even taste the raw power on Fantastic Static."

On "Fantastic Static", the third release for HotChaCha on Exit Stencil Recordings, the energy of their riotous live show has been captured and recreated as close to perfectly as possible. Here you have the sound and feeling of a band that has been touring incessantly for the past three years---writing, living, and breathing together as one commanding unit---and winning over audiences and the media wherever and whenever they play.

Singer Jovana Batkovic continues to draw lyrical and linguistic inspiration from her multinational upbringing but more noticeable here is the confidence and tenor of her delivery---exuding a self-possession and presence on par with any of the Joan Jetts, Karen Os, and Chrissie Hyndes of the world.

The balance of the delicate and the forceful from multi-instrumentalist Mandy Aramouni continues to provide HotChaCha with their signature, reverb-soaked atmosphere (imagine the sound of the XX if they were the Runaways!) but here, the drive and immediacy is palpable and dramatic. The interplay of Heather Gmucs (bass) and Roseanna Safos (drums) provide the band with their heartbeat, dictate the mood, and seamlessly transition from pensive to explosive and then some.

The band is playing a show at Pianos on Friday, Nov. 12th along with Caveman, Beresford and Apollo Run. Tickets are $10 and HotChaCha plays at 9PM.

Links:
HotChaCha

Modern Rivals Play "We Listen for You" CMJ Windown Party at Pianos on Sunday // New EP Available as Free Download

I can't imagine going to an eleven hour show as a wind-down to CMJ Week but this does look like a good lineup of bands. NYC-based indie-rock band Modern Rivals, who could give Death Cab for Cutie a run for their money, are playing in the middle of the bill.

Modern Rivals released their debut EP earlier this year (as a free download - link above) and this is a disc that really needs to be heard. The EP's five tracks are tightly crafted pop gems that sparkle with energy and melodic hooks. This is the sort of music that rises above the noise and grabs you at first listen.



At Sunday's show, Modern Rivals play at 4PM and cover is $10.

Links:
Modern Rivals

The Jezabels Play Four Dates in NYC as Part of CMJ Music Marathon

DOWNLOAD - The Jezabels: "Mace Spray" (from "Dark Storm" EP)

Sydney, Australia's The Jezabels are set to play four dates in New York including a stop in Brooklyn on October 21st at Union Hall as part of the CMJ Music Marathon 2010. On the 21st, The Jezabels will share the stage with Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, Conversion Party, Radical Dads, Mussels, and Howlies. Without a CMJ Badge, tickets are $8 and doors are at 7:30PM. (Note: The Jezebels go on around 1AM)

The Jezabels are currently touring behind "Dark Storm" which is the third in a trilogy of EPs which began in 2009 with "The Man is Dead". After the New York dates, The Jezabels will head out on a national tour of Canada as the main support of Two Hours Traffic.

The newest EP represents the band's most confident outing to date--moody, mysterious, and epic, yet buzzing with the quartet’s ever-present knack for an irresistible pop hook. It's off to a great start as it has became the #1 album on Australian iTunes.

The Jezabels have tirelessly toured Australia since the release of their EP "She's So Hard" in November 2009. The band has supported artists like Tegan & Sara, Katie Noonan and Josh Pyke as well as selling out their own headlining shows. Additionally, the singles "Hurt Me" and "Easy to Love" from the EP "She's So Hard" received heavy rotation on radio in Australia and abroad.

Tour Dates:

CMJ Music Marathon
10.21.10 (8 pm) Bowery Ballroom (CMJ) New York, NY
10.21.10 (1 am) Union Hall (CMJ) Brooklyn, NY
10.22.10 Pianos (CMJ) New York, NY
10.23.10 Fat baby (CMJ) New York, NY

Tour with Two Hours Traffic
10.26.10 Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, ON
10.28.10 Republik - Calgary, AB
10.29.10 Barking Parrott - Penticton, BC
10.30.10 Pit Pub UBC - Vancouver, BC
11.02.10 The Slice - Lethbridge, AB
11.03.10 Starlight Room - Edmonton, AB
11.04.10 The Exchange - Regina, SA
11.05.10 Amigos - Saskatoon, SA
11.06.10 Royal Albert - Winnipeg, MB

Links:
The Jezabels

Oh My God: Bring Yourself Live + Pre-Show Interview, Pianos, NYC 9-8-10

Chicago's Oh My God kicked off their fall tour last Wednesday with a headlining at Pianos. The band's latest disc, The Night Undoes the Work of the Day, was released last year but the disc started taking on a second life with the recent release of videos for "My Own Adventure" and "Bring Yourself" (both from last year's CD).

I had the chance to talk with Oh My God before the show (if you see them on tour, don't ask about the "Jesus Juice") and the video ends with a live performance of "Bring Yourself".



The official video for "Bring Yourself" was directed by Adult Swim's Dan Bigelow.



Here are the band's upcoming tour dates:

Sep. 23, 2010 -- The Savoy, Ypsilanti, MI
Sep. 24, 2010 -- Mac's Bar, Lansing, Mi
Sep. 25, 2010 -- Midpoint Music Fest, Cincinnati, OH
Sep. 30, 2010 -- Mickey Finn's, Toledo, OH
Oct. 01, 2010 -- Brass Rail, Fort Wayne, IN
Oct. 02, 2010 -- Double Door, Chicago, IL
Oct. 07, 2010 -- Firebird, St. Louis, MO
Oct. 08, 2010 -- Crosstown Station, Kansas City, MO
Oct. 09, 2010 -- Maintenance Shop, Ames, IA
Oct. 14, 2010 -- Cowboy Monkey, Champaign, Illinois
Oct. 15, 2010 -- The House, Dekalb, IL
Oct. 16, 2010 -- Cactus Club, Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 21, 2010 -- Cabooze, Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 22, 2010 -- The Nestor, Fargo, ND
Oct. 23, 2010 -- Nutty's North, Sioux Falls, SD
Oct. 24, 2010 -- Duffy's, Lincoln, NE

Links:
Oh My God

Chicago's Oh My God Plays Piano's on Sept. 8th

"Oh My God knock out glam-rock anthems with a twist, Ig's organ propelling the way. Their concerts are sweat-inducing events, with drummer Bish hammering away as theatrical frontman/bassist Billy O'Neill works the crowd." — Chicago Tribune

DOWNLOAD: Oh My God - "But That's Just Me"
Chicago's Oh My God is kicking off their fall tour at Pianos in NYC on Wednesday, September 8th. The band is currently getting some attention for two very different video clips built around singles from last year's The Night Undoes the Work of the Day. The first clip was directed by Adult Swim's Dan Bigelow and has been featured on several international sites dedicated to animated videos. The second clip is a satirical look at sex and celebrity featuring Tila Tequila.





Links:
Oh My God

Geographer Play Pianos on July 3rd // New Disc Out August 17th

One of “Three Undiscovered Bands You Need to Hear Now”–SPIN

Geographer is an up-and-coming band out of San Francisco, featuring founder Michael Deni, Nathan Blaz of St. Vincent, and drummer Brian Ostreicher.

The band released their well-received debut Innocent Ghosts in 2008 and are following it up with Animal Shapes (out August 17th on Tricycle Records) which contains a crafty mix of electronic synth pop, chamber music and epic sweeping moods. The record merges Geographer's aptitude for crafting beautiful, haunting melodies with textural sounds and polyrhythmic energy, marking an evolution of their distinct style.

In the summer of 2005, after a series of deaths in the family, Michael Deni left his hometown in New Jersey for San Francisco. He spent the next several months with his guitar and a synthesizer he found on the street, turning the tragedy that drove him from home into songs rich with emotion and lush melodies. After the additions of cellist Nathan Blaz (previously in St. Vincent, on Sufjan Stevens’ Asthmatic Kitty label) and drummer Brian Ostreicher, Geographer spent the next year playing clubs around the Bay Area, crafting their songs into the driving, heart-pounding epics that make up Innocent Ghosts. Deni’s angelic vocals soar above thumping dance tunes with highs and lows that are simple and beautiful in their delivery.

Tickets for the show at Piano's are $10 and Geographer plays at 10PM. Also on the bill are Palenke Soultribe (12AM), Blip Blip Bleep (11PM), The Frail (9PM) and Deadly Organs (8PM).



Links:
Geographer