The White Rabbits release their newest album on May 19th, 2009. It’s Frightening is the band’s second album after touring for the past two years. The album was recorded over the course of 4 weeks with Britt Daniel (Spoon) as producer and engineer Nicholas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Deerhunter) at Rare Book Room in Brooklyn, NY.
The drum filled first track, ”Percussion Gun” blasts open the album with heavy (big band)drums. It is apparent from the beginning that The White Rabbits “know which way to run.” Mysterious pianos, pounding bass, and low growling harmonies from the lead vocals of Greg Roberts and Steve Patterson fill It’s Frightening with a darker, and slightly more sophisticated sound. The White Rabbits are back in town on May 21st, 2009 at the Bowery Ballroom.
Hot Tracks: “Percussion Gun,” and “Midnight and I”
The woman known for bringing us some of the best “street photography” in the history of American Photography died last month at the age of 95. With breathtaking dexterity her photos of life on the streets in New York City captured a familiarity about the subject that made them feel like family.
Born and bread in Brooklyn, Levitt dropped out of highschool and taught herself photography. In 1943 Levitt’s first solo exhibition opened at The Museum of Modern Art entitled “Helen Levitt: Photographs of Children,” and continued to create inspired works until the 1990s when sciatica prevented her from being able to stand for long periods of time. The woman who claims her talent was purely luck has left a huge hand print on the world of photography.
There is no denying the satisfaction of free drinks, good DJs and live music. Last Saturday at Public Assembly (in the space that used to be Galapagos) Project Jenny Project Jan hit the stage two hours later than expected but made up for it in sick dance tunes. Jeremy Haines (vocals) and Sammy Rubin (master of electro beats, DJ) both hail from Brooklyn and are the duo that is Project Jenny Project Jan. Their “Colors EP,” set to be released April 14th, has a very eclectic sound. From reggae-tone to salsa, ”groovy” rap to 90′s pop the album can seem some what schizophrenic in its music genre but if you are one of those people that “likes all kinds of music” then Project Jenny Project Jan is your jam. The band closed down their set last saturday with “Brooklyn,” a show tune style track claiming “its always sunny in Brooklyn, without a cloud in the sky.”
Since its opening in November, Webster Hall’s Studio has become a hot joint. Friday nights at the Studio are filled with indie dancing fiends and February 20th was no exception. Operahouse, an indie-alt band from London, opened up the night setting the tone for Brooklyn’s own Tigercity. Fans were plenty and the band’s guitar-driven, electro-pop tunes were met with liveliness. ”Powerstripe”, “Fake Gold”, and (finally!) “Are You Sensation” were and are a sure guarantee that your “body keeps on moving”, whether it’s a full out dance off or an uncontrollable eye brow twitch.
The Tigercity tour stretches across the U.S. of A. and will end mid April, for their first European show, in Poland. Bill Gillim, the lead singer and the wearer of one intense beard (one that grows longer and fuller at every appearance), was kind enough to answer a few questions before the band hit the road.
How did you guys come up with the name Tigercity?
“The name comes from a dream that Andrew had about being held as a sex slave in a city run by gay cat people. “
What were you guys doing before Tigercity?
“Joel and I were living in western Massachusetts. I was playing in a band called Bears, Joel was in a band called The Debras. Andrew was in Chile eating hotdogs covered with guacamole and mayonnaise and playing in a metal band. And I think Aynsley was touring around Europe with his dad’s band Wishbone Ash.”
Hailing from Brooklyn, do you have a favorite hot spot?
“My favorite place to eat a hamburger is Roebling Tea Room.”
Do You have a favorite Venue to play in?
“I love playing Bowery or Williamsburg Music Hall. They sound awesome, and the people who work there are always really good to us. We played The Studio on the first night it was open, and it was great.”
Any noteable band routines before a show?
“Pretty much the only constant before a show is drinking whiskey. Though, I’ve cut way down on that ever since a show in Austin where I was too drunk and couldn’t remember the words or tune to the first song, and then ended up hiding behind my keyboard in shame. The other guys are a little better at handling the whiskey routine.”
How is the new album coming? Last time we saw you at The Studio you were taking suggestions from the crowd for a name, have you nailed one down?
“The new record is finished. We’re really happy with it. We’re still working on a title, but I can guarantee that it won’t be called “Sexual Dad” (no matter what our producer says).”
Should we expect the same vibe from Pretend Not to Love to be on the new album and when will it be out for the public?
“The new record is pretty different from Pretend Not To Love. I would say it’s darker and louder. It’s still got a lot of the same feel as the ep, but we worked with a different producer (Chuck Brody), who helped us expand our sound. You can still dance to most of it though.”
“Not sure exactly when it will come out. We’re still deciding whether we’re going to work with a label or release it on our own.”
TV on the Radio can be found under the sub genre of rock n roll known as “art rock.” Basically, TV on the Radio’s music is so avant garde, those that need to put a title to everything had to throw the band into this broad description of music. Isnt all music art? (Just sayin)
The Brooklyn based band is currently on tour promoting their newest album, Dear Science.
Combine The Police, Prince and Roxy Music and you have Tigercity. Formed in the Fall of 2004, Tigercity has quickly become a hot ticket. Their distinct sound has been known to “move even the spazziest of rock nerds to shake their booties(Rolling Stones).”
Bill Gillman, lead vocals, and Joel Ford, bassist, met during their college experience in Massachusetts in the fall. By winter of 2005 they had created their first demo. Pretend Not to Love was released in 2007 and is an incredible sensation of smooth electro synthesizer beats bringing back that 80s sound we all embrace.
On October 21st The Studio, in Webster Hall, opened up its first night with a free show from Tigercity. After several minutes of mic checks and equipment set up the band was ready and so were we. Squeezing in a handful of songs off the 2007 EP and two freshly recorded songs from their not yet named album, Tigercity filled up the small Studio underneath Webster Hall with music induced flailing, head knods, and lots of tapping feet. Great show, good band, my only complaint: no time for Tigercity to play “Are You Sensation?”
Malachy McCourt was born in Brooklyn, raised in Limerick, Ireland and returned to NYC in his early twenties (and who can blame him?). The memoir, A Monk Swimming, is full of amusing accounts of McCourt’s life. After a few years back in the great metropolis, Malachy McCourt had begun to make a name for himself with both appearances on common soap operas and gigs telling stories on late night TV. An Irish pub opened on 3rd avenue named purposely after Malachy. It was there that he became a celebrated bartender. He recalls the women who, in the 1950′s, had only recently been permitted to sit at the bar and how they consistently called him “cute”, this being a lingual adjustment, as “cute” means sly and cunning in Ireland.
It is said by the Irish that, “to eat is an accomplishment, to get drunk is a victory.” Malachy’s anecdotes reveal that he took this earthen proverb seriously and through his attachment to the mug a broken relationship between father and son is exposed.
I loved it. Malachy tells a story like none other. He is captivating in narrative, which makes it almost torturous to put down.
“Feel Good Lost” was released in 2001 as Broken Social Scene‘s debut album. The instrumental album suits its name perfectly as it does make you feel good getting lost in the tunes. There was one problem with this, when it came time to play it live it was difficult to create an interesting show with the instrumentals.
The band pulled together some of their Toronto friends from the Indie music scene to create a more bangin live performance. The collaberative line-up included Leslie Feist, Amy Milan, from the Stars, and James Shaw, from Metric(to name a few.) The creative group came back to work on Broken Social Scene‘s second album “You Forgot It In People”, adding lyrics to their already groovy sound.
Lesson: Sometimes it takes 14 people to get the sound you are looking for. Broken Social Scene is rockin out on tour this season and you can see them at The Brooklyn Masonic Temple on October 24th, 2008
Does You Inspire, released in November, 2008, is Chairlift‘s first album. The band began playing in 2006 in Colorado where they found themselves rocking a “new breed of pop” with their mystical, somewhat spooky tunes. Chairlift created a lot of buzz when their single “Bruises” was featured in a recent Ipod commercial.
Caroline Polachek, Aaron Pfenning and Patrick Wimberly, make up the Chairlift this awesome trio, and I suggest you check them out on October 18th @ Bowery Ballroom, or October 21st for the CMJ Music Marathon.
There is no denying the satisfaction of free drinks, good DJs and live music. Last Saturday at Public Assembly (in the space that used to be Galapagos) 
Since its opening in November, 
Lesson: Sometimes it takes 14 people to get the sound you are looking for. Broken Social Scene is rockin out on tour this season and you can see them at The 
