Bill Goffrier, self-portrait

Bill Goffrier is playing The Rock Shop tonight, August 26th, with Doug Gillard and The Norfolk Downs. Bill Goffrier is the singer of Big Dipper, who split up in 1992, two years after the release of their fourth full length album Slam. He also played guitar in The Embarrassment prior to forming Big Dipper. Big Dipper reformed in 2008 and signed to Merge Records who compiled a 3-disc anthology of their work titled Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology and released it the same year. Since that release, Big Dipper recorded a new song titled Princess Warrior and posted it on their myspace in April 2009.

This past April (2010), Goffrier played a solo show in Lawrence, KS performing a mix of old Big Dipper and The Embarrassment songs, plus some new material. He told Lawrence Journal-World, "I've been writing a lot of songs for Big Dipper because we're working on a new CD. But we have three pretty prolific songwriters, so there's a lot of material to pick and choose from. Sometimes I'll say about a song I've got, 'This would be good for Big Dipper, but this one, clearly not.'" He also claims to have an existing offer to release a solo album. Videos from the Lawrence, KS show are below.

Tonight's show at The Rock Shop also features Doug Gillard and The Norfolk Downs. Doug Gillard, as we've pointed out numerous times, was a guitarist in Guided By Voices but is not part of the currently reunited "classic lineup." He also played in Death of Samantha, Gem, Cobra Verde, and various other bands. The Norfolk Downs are an acoustic duo featuring Dave Derby of Dambuilders, Brilliantine, and Gramercy Arms, and Kendall Meade of Mascott, Juicy, and Gramercy Arms.

Bill doesn't have any other shows scheduled that we know of. Those videos below..

Continue reading "Bill Goffrier played Kansas (videos), playing Brooklyn w/ Gillard & Derby (tonight) --- Big Dipper working on new album"

Mary Timony is a D.C. Rock legend. She was in the bands Autoclave (Dischord Records) and Helium (Matador Records) before embarking on a solo career that has seen her put out albums on Lookout! Records and Kill Rock Stars. In addition, she has been involved in Stephen Merritt's side project 'the 6ths' and had another side project with Carrie Brownstein of Sleater Kinney called the Spells. Her newest band is called Soft Power, formed with her boyfriend, Jonah Takagi (Benjy Ferree) and friend Winston H. Yu (These United States). [Brightest Young Things

Soft Power (formerly called Pow Wow) played what may have been their first show in DC in June. This weekend they're playing three more shows. That short tour includes an August 1st date at Cake Shop in NYC with Gramercy Arms who also play with them again the next day at T.T. the Bear's in Cambridge. Hot Lava and Hologram also play the Cake Shop gig.

Check out two Soft Power songs, "La La La" and "Izabella," on their MySpace. All dates below...

Continue reading "Mary Timony's new band Soft Power is playing shows (dates)"

Indie rock nostalgia continues this summer at South Street Seaport. The band Versus have been added to the free show schedule that already includes Polvo and Superchunk (who Versus are opening for on July 17th). Superchunk and Versus are also playing the XX Merge Festival in July. And...

"Versus still continued to tour occasionally but began a recording hiatus in 2001 after it broke up for a short period and Richard Baluyut relocated to San Francisco. The members afterwards moved on to other bands - James Baluyut and Patrick Ramos formed +/-, Fontaine Toups formed The Fontaine Toups and Richard Baluyut converted his solo acoustic project Whysall Lane into a full band. [Wikipedia]

...Plus/Minus are playing Mercury Lounge on June 18th. Versus are opening for them! Mascott and Gramercy Arms, who Mascott also plays with, are both also on the bill. Tickets are on sale.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Versus playing Seaport & Mercury Lounge with Plus/Minus"

Doug Gillard playing with Yo La Tengo (more by Natasha Ryan)

Doug Gillard kicks off his previously-announced, month-long residency at Pianos in NYC tonight (1/7). Here's who else is on the bills:

Jan 7 - Regal Standard (Jason Narducy & Larry Schroeder acoustic) & Graham Smith (Kleenex Girl Wonder)
Jan 14 - Gramercy Arms & Abigail Warchild
Jan 21 - Unsacred Hearts & Arrows (Russ Fink)
Jan 28 - Mascott (Kendall Meade) & The Octagon

This is not the first time recently that Gramercy Arms & Mascott shared a post.

Graham Smith's band Gates of Heaven are playing Cake Shop on January 9th, Glasslands on January 27th, and Monkeytown on April 28th with Bowerbirds.

Doug Gillard's only other upcoming show is February 8th when he and band open for The Black Keys at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ.

More pictures of Doug playing a recent Hanukkah show with YLT, HERE.

photos by Kurt Christensen

The Delta Spirit / Nada Surf tour hit Bowery Ballroom in NYC on Saturday night (12/6). Nada Surf's friends Gramercy Arms also joined the bill as first-of-third opener for that night of the tour only. Gramercy Arms was in turn joined on stage by Mascott, was sang her/their part on the new Christmas song she/they contributed to, and Renée Lobue of Elk City, who sang for three songs.

"ray ketchem from elk city was also there, and was nearly thrown out on the cold street by a rogue security dude for attempting to film us with his flip camera. being the smart man that he is, ray got off clean" [mascott]

Nada Surf's Matthew Caws made his presence known throughout the whole night, joining both Delta Spirit and Gramercy Arms on stage. For Gramercy Arms, Matthew sang his part of "Nothing I Can Do", the song he contributes to on their new album. No Sarah Silverman though. More about Gramercy Arms, MP3s included, HERE.

Martin Wenk of Calexico was also in the house and played with Delta Spirit and Nada Surf. Of Nada's set, Talia says...

The show was not as long as the last one I attended in Williamsburg, but bassist Daniel Lorca gave his usual mind boggling performance of chain smoking while playing flawless bass and singing backup vocals! Lead singer, Matthew Caws sweated clear through his shirt by the second song, and proved to us all that the band was indeed glad to be back home in NY to end their tour.

I didn't keep track of the setlist, nor was I able to find one online but I do recall the following songs being played (in no particular order):

Always Love, Blonde on Blonde, Do it Again, Your Legs Grow, See These Bones, Whose Authority, Beautiful Beat, I like What You Say, Ice on the Wing, Inside of Love, Fruit Fly, Neither Heaven Nor Space, Blankest Year

Delta and Nada also played Webster hall on Sunday. More Bowery Ballroom pictures below..

Continue reading "Nada Surf, Delta Spirit & Gramercy Arms @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics"

DOWNLOAD: Gramercy Arms & Mascott - This Christmastime (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gramercy Arms - Looking at the Sun (w/ Sarah Silverman) (MP3)

Gramercy Arms is an ever (r)evolving collective band project of New York-based artists.

On [their new self-titled] record, Gramercy Arms comprises members of Guided By Voices, Luna, Joan as Police Woman, Dead Air and The Dambuilders, along with comic Sarah Silverman, [The] album is a summery blast of gorgeous power pop, heartfelt tales of love and loss and the city they call their home...

You can ownload the track Sarah Silverman contributed to, "Looking at the Sun", above along with a new Christmas song Gramercy Arms recorded with Mascott (which you may have heard on on the TV show Grey's Anatomy).

Gramercy Arms open for Nada Surf and Delta Spirit at tonight/Friday's sold out show at Bowery Ballroom. They also have a couple of shows scheduled in February with Marykate O'Neil, who is opening for Nada Surf this Monday at Maxwell's (also sold out). All dates below...

Continue reading "Gramercy Arms = NY Supergroup (Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Joan Wasser, SARAH SILVERMAN?...) - shows & MP3s"