Sammy of The Mooney Suzuki at Stones Fest 2012 (more by Stephen Yang)

Stones Fest, a tribute to the Rolling Stones, is returning to NYC this year on May 22 to 23 at Bowery Ballroom. As usual, the show is hosted by The Cabin Down Below Band and it features many of the usual guests like Norah Jones, Patrick Carney (of The Black Keys), Jason Isbell, Butch Walker, Delta Spirit, Cory Chisel & Adriel Denae, Johnny T, Adam Green, Jesse Malin, Ruby Amanfu, Petter Ericson Stakee (of Alberta Cross), Nicole Atkins, Justin Long, Jack Dishel (of Only Son), Seth Herzog, Sammy James Jr. (of The Mooney Suzuki), Danny Clinch & The Tangiers Blues Band, Steve Schiltz (of Hurricane Bells), Har Mar Superstar, Josh Lattanzi (of The Candles), The Uptown Horns, Jamie Burke & Mikki James, and many more. Tickets for both nights go on sale Friday (4/26) at noon and proceeds will benefit Sweet Relief and The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

Meanwhile, the actual Rolling Stones will be on their own tour (Mick Taylor included) around that same time. A number of North American dates have been announced but still none in NYC. Also, their kickoff show in LA has been pushed back a day due to NBA playoffs. Updated Stones dates are listed below.

Har Mar Superstar - 'Bye Bye 17'

In other related news, Har Mar Superstar, who plays Stones Fest, is on tour now and plays his own NYC show a week earlier at Le Poisson Rouge on May 15 with The Young Things and Nightbox. He then returns the following month to play Grand Victory on June 14 with The Boxing Lesson, Purple Spires, Supercute!, and NVUS as part of Northside Festival. Tickets for the LPR show are on sale now. No advance tix for the Grand Victory show, but admission is $12 at the door and you can also try to get in with your Northside badge.

Har Mar's new album, Bye Bye 17 just came out this week (4/23). You can stream it in full over at The Current and the track "Lady, You Shot Me" is also streaming below. Har Mar also just interviewed Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas. You can stream/download the entire 52 minute conversation over at Earwolf.

All Har Mar Superstar and Rolling Stones dates are listed, along with the song stream and Stones Fest 2013 flyer below...

Continue reading "Stones Fest returning to NYC in 2013; Har Mar Superstar on tour, released an LP, interviewed Julian Casablancas"

White Fence

As mentioned, White Fence's new album, Cyclops Reap, is out this week on John Dwyer's Castle Face label. Tim Presley doesn't seem to be running out of songs and this is another quality batch of paisley-scented psychedelia. You can stream "To The Boy I Jumped In The Hemlock Alley" below and hear the whole record over at Pitchfork.

White Fence will be in Brooklyn for the Northside Festival in June, playing two shows: the Panache showcase at Brooklyn Bowl on June 13 and then a late show at Knitting Factory on June 14. Tickets to the Knitting Factory show are on sale now; no word on Brooklyn Bowl tickets just yet.

The whole Panache showcase line-up is still forthcoming but we do know its being headlined by Mac DeMarco and we have updated dates for him below as well.

These are just a couple of the additions to the 2013 Northside line-up that includes that free Walkmen show in McCarren Park. Other new additions, Kylesa, Torche, Sonny & the Sunsets, Nü Sensae, Kisses, The Luyas and more. Northside line-up as it stands now is below.

Continue reading "White Fence streaming new LP, added to Northside Fest line-up (Mac DeMarco, Nu Sensae, Kylesa, Torche & more too)"

Ramesh at Mercury Lounge in 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Former Voxtrot frontman Ramesh released a great EP a while back and he's finally wrapping up work on his debut solo album. He hasn't revealed anything from that album yet, but maybe we'll get to hear some new tracks when he plays a solo show in NYC on March 1 at Union Hall with Good Field and Matt Bauer. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Neo-soul/jazz singer Jose James released his new album, No Beginning, No End (which features instrumentation from Robert Glasper and D'Angelo/Erykah Badu bassist Pino Palldino), and is going on a tour in support of hit which hits NYC on March 27 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Taylor McFerrin. Tickets for that show are on sale now. All tour dates are listed below.

Tickets for the newly-added Kendrick Lamar show at Roseland Ballroom go on "Internet Presale" today at 10 AM. Password is "dazzle."

Tickets for the newly-added Beyonce show at Barclays Center go on MasterCard presale today at 10 AM.

Ben Howard, who opened for Mumford & Sons at Barclays Center last night (2/12), is playing Central Park Summerstage on July 29 with Michael Kiwanuka. Tickets for that show go on AmEx/Summerstage presale today at noon with a general on-sale starting Friday (2/15) at noon.

Colin Hay is playing Town Hall on October 12. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general on-sale starting Friday (2/15) at noon.

Tickets for the Kurt Vile and the Violators' show at Bowery Ballroom with Angel Olsen and Steve Gunn go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Aimee Mann at Webster Hall go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Youth Lagoon show at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the TNGHT show at Webster Hall go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Foals show at Terminal 5 with Surfer Blood and Blondfire go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Mudhoney shows at Bowery Ballroom and MHOW go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Shabazz Palaces and THEEsatisfaction at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the !!! show at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Generationals at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Webster Hall tweeted that they've "added a couple hundred more online discount tickets" for the Baauer and Just Blaze show at that venue.

The Virgins and Har Mar Superstar are playing Bowery Ballroom on April 1 and tickets to this show go on AmEx presale today at noon with the regular on-sale happening Friday (2/15) at noon.

Continue reading "tix on sale: Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Kurt Vile, Foals, Youth Lagoon, TNGHT, Baauer, Ramesh, Jose James + more"

photos by Maryanne Ventrice

Caveman / Har Mar Superstar @ Kidrockers, 1/27/2013

As mentioned, Caveman have a new album on the way via Fat Possum on April 2. What better audience to test out some new tracks than a bunch of half-pints? That's just what they did when Caveman played Kidrockers at Brooklyn Bowl on January 27, an afternoon show that also included a set from Har Mar Superstar along with hosts Craig Baldo and Jordan Carlos. Pictures are in this post.

Adults can next catch Caveman in NYC at Webster Hall, and at other places around the country.

Kidrockers', whose show before this was with DIIV and Widowspeak, next event is this Sunday (2/10) at Brooklyn Bowl with Hospitality and Ex Cops. Tickets are on sale now.

More pictures of Caveman and Har Mar Superstar are below.

Continue reading "Caveman and Har Mar Superstar played Kidrockers @ Brooklyn Bowl (pics)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Sleigh Bells/Grizzly Bear/The Antlers @ T5, 12/14/2012

Sleigh Bells with Grizzly Bear (who played Bowery earlier in the week), The Antlers and Cults played 4 Artists 1 Cause, a Hurricane Sandy benefit on Friday (2/14) at Terminal 5. According to reports from the Har Mar Superstar-hosted show, they raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $300k towards Sandy relief efforts. Pictures from that show are in this post below.

Richie Follin of Cults spent the next night (12/15) at Knitting Factory as part of Guards. Meanwhile, The Antlers are offering up an early holiday gift to fans in the form of a cello-driven cover of their song "No Windows" by their friend Brent Arnold. You stream that below, along with more pics from T5...

Continue reading "Sleigh Bells, Grizzly Bear, The Antlers and Cults raised $300k for Sandy relief at Terminal 5 (pics)"

by Klaus Kinski

Aziz Ansari & Chris Rock @ Whiplash @ UCB last week

UCB Theater Chelsea's Monday night staple comedy jam session Whiplash still happens every Monday night at 11:00pm. Sadly, for old man Kinski, 11pm is just a tooouuucccchhhhh too late to be out and about galavanting with some of comedy's greatest talents these days. Which is sad, because you never know who will show up to perform, and those who do show up will usually blow your mind. For example, the Monday November 19th installment featured Chris Rock, Aziz Ansari, Simon Amstell and Anthony Jeselnik. Holy.

Chris Rock (pictured above with Aziz at Whiplash), good pals with Louis CK, also recently made a surprise appearance for Louis at his Staten Island Sandy Benefit Shows on November 17th.

But before the next Whiplash, the UCB Theater in Chelsea will be playing host to an awesome Sandy Benefit show on Sunday November 25th at 9:30pm. The line-up is festooned with so many Klaus favorites. $15 not only gets you piece of mind knowing you are helping out people whose lives were turned upside-down by hurricane Sandy, but you get performances by Arden Myrin, W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell on FX), Seth Herzog, Dave Hill, Jamie Kilstein, Janine Brito, Kevin Avery, Sara Benincasa, C.F. Lederer, and Chris Gethard (who by the way has a small part in the very last episode of Bored to Death) (I just watched it the other day and was reminded of that important fact). The show will be hosted by Nato Green.

Dave Hill & Tig Notaro

And speaking of Dave Hill and the UCB Theater in Chelsea, prepare yourselves for another fantastic installment of The Dave Hill Explosion which will take place on Thursday November 29th at 9:30pm. Dave's special guest will be Tig Notaro (who recently released a CD via Louis CK) and more. We all know Dave Hill is one of NYC's best comedians, guitar players, and show reviewers, but the Explosion is always a truly epic experience where Dave REALLY shines. The Dave Hill Explosion is a long-running live talk show hosted by Dave Hill. He doesn't do it that often but when he does it's awesome. One of the greatest shows I've ever seen was the Explosion that featured Rufus Wainwright and Dick Cavett. Holy.

Meanwhile you can find Dave Hill TONIGHT (11/24) at UCB East as part of "If You Build It", and check out Dave Hill's latest podcast featuring Chris Elliott. And don't forget that you can catch Chris Elliott at the Bell House on December 7th as part of Ted Leo and Tom Scharpling's epic and now totally sold out Sandy Benefit. You can also see him at the Pit with his daughters Abby and Bridey Elliott on Thursday December 6th at Running Late with Scott Rogowsky.

Hoity-Toity gastro-comedy joint The Stand will be hosting a rather impressive Sandy benefit called MTV Presents Stand up for Sandy on Tuesday November 27th. The line-up features Jim Gaffigan, Wyatt Cenac, Nikki Glaser, Sara Schaefer and Sean Patton. The tickets are a super reasonably priced $20 and are currently on sale. And for those keeping score, Sean Patton and Sarah Schaefer are two of my favorite and definitely underrated comedians in the biz. This might be THE show that gets your man Klaus out of his comfort zone and into The Stand.

Jim Gaffigan also has other bigger area shows coming up.

Wyatt Cenac (who also performs in the sold out Sandy Benefit show at the Bell House this Sunday November 25th) continues his new Monday night residency at Littlefield on Monday November 26th and every Monday. As a matter of fact, Har Mar Superstar is musical guest this Monday November 26th.

And speaking of Littlefield, celebrate Christmas Eve there with Wyatt Cenac because it looks like it will be a special night with guests Janeane Garofalo, Michael Che (who also plays the sold out show at Bell House this Sunday), and more already announced. But before that, on Sunday December 9th Littlefield will be hosting Concert & Comedy For Sandy Animals: Benefit for the Sean Casey Animal Rescue with comedy by Michael Showalter and Jena Friedman, and music by Supercute, Casey Shea and more.

For more upcoming shows check out Eugene Mirman's schedule, Pete Holmes & Doug Benson's tour dates, Nick Kroll's tour dates, Greg Proops, and a big list of upcoming shows at the Bell House (and HERE).

photos by David Andrako

Father John Misty / Andrew WK & Matt Sweeney

Petty Fest returned to NYC last night (10/24) at Webster Hall for a night of Tom Petty covers with a huge lineup of contributors backed by The Cabin Down Below Band. Cyndi Lauper, Fred Armisen, John McEnroe and Alia Shawkat were surprise guests. Nicole Atkins, Nick Zinner, and Josh Lattanzi teamed up for "Mary Jane's Last Dance," Father John Misty (who also played his second of two sold out shows in NYC last night and will be back at Webster Hall in January) did "Learning To Fly" and "I Won't Back Down," Har Mar Superstar did "Don't Do Me Like That," Andrew WK & Matt Sweeney did "Listen To Her Heart," Albert Hammond Jr. did "I Need To Know" (Fab played the show too), Caveman (who just played our day party and team up with Albert for a show again this Friday) did "Don't Come Around Here," plus a whole lot more.

More pictures from the Jameson-sponsored benefit show (all money went to Sweet Relief), and the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Petty Fest pics & setlist (Andrew WK, Father John Misty, Har Mar Superstar, Nick Zinner, Albert Hammond, Cyndi Lauper, more)"

We haven't completely compared what was announced a month ago, to what the current lineup is, but this is who is playing Petty Fest at Webster Hall Wednesday (10/24):

The Cabin Down Below Band
With Special Guest Stars: Karen Elson, Justin Townes Earle, Father John Misty, Adam Green, Nicole Atkins, Jesse Malin, Sammy James Jr. of Mooney Suzuki, Cory Chisel & Adriel Denae, Steve Schiltz of Hurricane Bells, Ryan Miller of Guster, Har Mar Superstar, Devendra Banhart, Johnny T, Andrew W.K., Matt Sweeney, Danny Clinch & The Tangiers Blues Band, Justin Long, Petter Ericson Stakee of Alberta Cross, Delta Spirit, Caveman, Mikki James, Jody Porter of Fountains Of Wayne and many many more surprise guests!

100% of Ticket Proceeds To Benefit Sweet Relief Music Fund & The Musicians Cancer Fund

Brought To You By The Best Fest, Makers of Dylan Fest & Stones Fest
Artists and line-up subject to change without notice

Eternal Summers at Knitting Factory in June (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Roanoke, VA indie pop band Eternal Summers will be heading out later this year as a support act on Nada Surf's tour which comes to NYC on December 14 for a show at Bowery Ballroom. Nada Surf also plays Bowery Ballroom again the next night (12/15) but no opener has been announced for that show. Tickets for both of Nada Surf's Bowery Ballroom shows are on sale now.

Eternal Summers will be in NYC much sooner though, seeing as they're scheduled to play at least three CMJ week shows. First they'll play the Kanine Records/Wild Honey Pie/Etnies/Brooklyn Brewery/BreakThru Radio day party at Cameo Gallery on October 19 with Valleys, Beach Day, Bleeding Rainbow, Zambri, Moon King, Roommates, and DJ sets from Patrick Wimberly (of Chairlift), Thomas Fekete (of Surfer Blood), Allen Blickle (of Baroness), and Xray Eyeballs. The party is free and starts at noon (flier below). Then they'll play the Dirty Laundry & Get Bent party at Pianos on October 20 with Har Mar Superstar, The Sundelles, Fergus & Geronimo, Shark?, Squarehead, Radical Dads, and MØ. Tickets for that show are on sale now and the flier is below.

Eternal Summers will also play our BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly on Saturday (10/20) which is totally free. More info on that coming soon. Meanwhile we announced the lineup of our Friday day party at the same venue.

The band released their new album, Correct Behavior, over the summer and already have videos for its tracks, "Millions" and "You Kill." They recently finished up the video shoot for "Good As You," which you'll be seeing in the near future and are also holding a video contest for "I Love You." Entries are due October 31. You can watch those two aforementioned videos below, where you'll also find show flyers and a list of upcoming dates.

Continue reading "Eternal Summers playing CMJ shows (including BV day party on Saturday) before touring w/ Nada Surf (dates)"

Petty Fest is returning to NYC this year on October 24 at Webster Hall for "A Night To Celebrate Tom Petty." Many of the usual suspects are lined up for this one, like Nicole Atkins, Jesse Malin, Sammy James Jr. (of The Mooney Suzuki), and others. In addition to that, we've got some other interesting additions like Father John Misty, Devendra Banhart, Matt Sweeney (of Chavez, Zwan, and others), Caveman, and Har Mar Superstar, who played last year's Petty Fest, is returning as well. Tickets for the show go on sale Friday (9/28) at noon. All proceeds will benefit Sweet Relief Music Fund & The Musician's Cancer Fund.

Father John Misty will be bringing his tour with La SeraJeffertitti's Nile to NYC around the same time, hitting Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 23 and Bowery Ballroom the same day as Petty Fest (10/24). The Bowery Ballroom show is sold out but tickets for MHOW are still available.

Devendra Banhart will also be in NYC around that time to support Swans at Bowery Ballroom on October 28 and Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 29. Tickets for those two shows are still available. Swans also play Bowery Ballroom on October 10 with A Hawk and A Hacksaw, but that one's sold out. Devendra also recently said in an interview, "I finished a record. It's going to be put out by Nonesuch Records. And I didn't know that until today actually. It's kind of my dream label. So I'm really happy about that."

A video of Har Mar Superstar doing "Refugee" at last year's Petty Fest and this year's full lineup are below.

Continue reading "Petty Fest returning to NYC in 2012"

Har Mar Superstar at Austin's Mohawk in February (more by Tim Griffin)

Har Mar Superstar wrapped up a tour with Father John Misty last month, and since then hasn't had much on his plate. However, he just recently announced that a new album which was recorded and mixed at Austin's Public Hi-Fi studio is coming soon. He's also got a few shows scheduled, including one in LA tonight (6/18) and two NYC shows in September, happening on September 7 and 28 at Knitting Factory. Tickets for both of those shows are on sale now.

A list of all dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Har Mar Superstar working on new LP, playing shows (dates)"

photos by Bryan Bruchman

"@fieldmousemusic just did an awesome set opening for Poliça at the Rock Shop. Great sound." - Drew Salisbury

"Enchanted by Polica at the Rock Shop" - Lindsey Stanberry

Polica @ the Rock Shop

Polica, who were just at SXSW (where they played many shows including a BV party and one with Lionel Richie), is currently on a tour in support of their solid debut LP, Give You the Ghost, which hit NYC for their first of three shows here last night at the intimate Rock Shop (3/27) with Field Mouse. More pictures from the show and a video of Polica playing a new song at the show below.

Polica's tour continues, hitting Mercury Lounge tonight (3/28) with Zulu Winter (sold out) and Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday (4/1) with special guests. Tickets for the much larger Brooklyn Bowl show are still available.

Field Mouse play tonight too, opening for Dana Buoy of Akron/Family at Knitting Factory. Tickets for tonight's show are available. Field Mouse has other upcoming NYC shows in April too.

More pics and video below...

Continue reading "Polica played Rock Shop w/ Field Mouse (pics & video), play Merc tonight, Brooklyn Bowl Sunday (tix available)"

Father John Misty (aka J. Tillman) who recently left Fleet Foxes, just announced a tour in support of his debut LP, Fear Fun, which is due out on May 1 via Sub Pop. He also just revealed the cover art, which is pictured above. The tour is being supported by Har Mar Superstar and it hits NYC on May 18 at Mercury Lounge and May 19 at Knitting Factory. Tickets for the Mercury show go on sale Friday (2/17) at noon with an AmEx presale starting today (2/15) at noon and tickets for the Knitting Factory show go on sale Friday (2/17) at 10 AM. All dates are listed below.

Like Bill Callahan, Father John Misty is one of the contributors to MOJO Mag's 'Songs of Leonard Cohen' tribute album. He offers his taste on the album's great closing track, "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong." A 31 second clip of that recording is below.

Speaking of Har Mar Superstar, he'll be in NYC even sooner when he plays Glasslands on March 7 with Rewards and Rubbing Alcohol. Tickets for that show are still available. Meanwhile Har Mar is busy recording an album in Austin where he's also in the middle of a live residency at Mohawk with fellow Minneapolis residents Marijuana Deathsquads. Their next Austin show is tonight (2/15). Pictures from the last two are HERE and HERE.

Har Mar Superstar @ Mohawk - 2/8/12 (more by Tim Griffin)

All dates and FJM song clip below...

Continue reading "Father John Misty & Har Mar Superstar going on tour (dates)"

Ava Luna at BV Holiday Party last month/year (more by Jessica Amaya)

Wintersleep are going on a short North American tour this month which ends in 2 NYC dates happening on January 24 at Mercury Lounge with Pretty & Nice and January 25 at Glasslands with ARMS and Writer. Tickets for the Mercury show and the Glasslands show are on sale now. All Wintersleep dates are listed below.

Speaking of ARMS, their frontman, Todd Goldstein, is opening for John Roderick (of the Long Winters) at his Mercury Lounge show (1/28), which is three days after ARMS play Glasslands and one day after John Roderick opens for Aimee Mann at her sold out MHOW show. Tickets for the Mercury Lounge show are still available.

In other Glasslands/Mercury Lounge news, Har Mar Superstar has a few shows announced including Glasslands on March 7 with Rewards. Tickets are on sale now.

Rewards were also just announced as the opener for the second School of Seven Bells show at Mercury Lounge (3/1). Their record release show (happening at the same venue on 2/28) sold out and Tickets for the new show go on sale Friday (1/6) at noon.

Both Rewards and School of Seven Bells also DJ in Brooklyn next Friday (1/13) at Cameo Gallery with CREEP, who is also DJing. Doors are at midnight for this late show, which takes place after Radical Dads play the same venue a few hours earlier. Radical Dads recently played a great set at our Brooklyn Bazaar Holiday Party.

The day before that Cameo Gallery show, NewVillager and Avan Lava play Mercury Lounge (1/12). Tickets are available.

Avan Lava is not to be confused with Ava Luna, who just played a BV Holiday Party with Widowspeak and Twin Sister, the latter of which they're heading out on tour with later this month. That tour doesn't include any NYC dates but Ava Luna just announced their own NYC show happening shortly after the tour ends at Mercury Lounge on February 24 with Celestial Shore, Darlings, and Cindy Lou Gooden. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (1/13) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (1/11) at noon.

You can catch Darlings in NYC even sooner when they headline Glasslands on Thursday (1/12) with The Suzan, Fabric, and DAYTONA (mems. of Harlem and Wild Yaks). Tickets for that show are available.

Friends play Cameo on January 24th.

Faris (of the Horrors) and Honor (of Cerebral Ballzy) both DJ cameo this Friday night (tomorrow, 1/6).

More Wintersleep & Har Mar dates below...

Continue reading "Wintersleep, ARMS, Ava Luna, Avan Lava, Radical Dads, Har Mar Superstar, NewVillager, Friends & other upcoming shows"

Ryan Olson of Gayngs' other group Marijuana Deathsquads are working on their debut album Crazy Master. You can stream the album's title track, making its debut here, below.

For more music, check out their recent session at Daytrotter, where it was written...

With Marijuana Deathsquads, Olson and frequent collaborators such as Doomtree's Mike Mictlan, Rhymesayers' P.O.S. and Har Mar Superstar make you feel as if you've just been bit by a psychedelic rattlesnake and you're quickly losing your mind as the white venom courses through your veins. You can just shut your eyes and feel the dizziness take over, move you around the floor, twist you over the cushions or into the thin sheets of a bed. You feel as if you could be arrested for just being where you are right now, as if you've done something immoral that you don't even remember, as if the fog's either just wearing off or it's just setting in. We're on the borderline of cognition and full-blown fuzziness. They recreate the sensations of free-fall and in coming upon a bed full of tarantulas when you'd have been scared out of your skin just seeing one of them. It's a longer route to getting intimate with someone else (compared with the sax and vocoder-harmony-rocking style of GAYNGS), but Marijuana Deathsquads still leave the possibilities out there for you to do what you will with them. The frightening segments are interspersed with celebratory dancehall beats and you can almost see Olson hopping around behind his laptop, his mouth blowing up with ecstasy, stoned out of his mind, with the biggest smile you've ever seen ladling the bottom half of his face. You join in the look and go where the Deathsquads take you.

Speaking of Ted Leo and Bowery Electric, catch Ted as part of a BrooklynVegan-presented Replacements tribute show at the NYC venue in November.

Speaking of tribute shows and Har Mar Superstar, Har Mar is also taking part in Petty Fest at Bowery Ballroom and MHOW in October.

All tour dates and the MD song below...

Continue reading "Marijuana Deathsquads (Ryan Olson of Gayngs) setting up residency in NYC w/ Har Mar Superstar, releasing an album (dates & song premiere)"

Petty Fest is returning to NYC this October, though unlike previous years, this year there will be "Two Nights To Get Drunk And Celebrate The Songs Of Tom Petty." The fest is taking place October 5 at Music Hall of Williamsburg and October 6 at Bowery Ballroom. The fest is (almost) the same lineup of musicians that usually get together for things like this, like Norah Jones, Nicole Atkins, Jesse Malin, Sammy James Jr. (The Mooney Suzuki), Jody Porter (Fountains of Wayne), Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady, Josh Lattanzi of The Lemonheads, and others. Interesting additions inclue Har Mar Superstar and Jonny Corndawg. I hope they do a duet. And of course there will be "surprise guests". Tickets for both nights go on sale Thursday (9/1) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (8/31) at noon. $2 from each ticket will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.

Jonny Corndawg meanwhile will also be in NYC TONIGHT (8/30) for his record release show at Union Pool.

Full Petty Fest lineup, flier, and a recent video of Neko Case and My Morning Jacket covering "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" together, below...

Continue reading "Petty Fest returns in 2011, 2 nights, 2 venues"

photos by Amanda Hatfield and Timothy Griffin

"After last week's tsunami attacks & Thursday's brawl at Brooklyn Vegan, I'll label my SXSW a success based on stopped on the street kudos." - Brody Stevens

Dominiuque Young Unique & Brody Stevens (pre-brawl)

"...we somehow got in the cross hairs of a drunk guy (thank you open bar) assaulting the Brooklyn Vegan party hypeman, who in turn, beat the shit out of the guy we were affectionately referring to as "Aaron Neville" at the time. In any case, he was a good comedian, despite getting ejected from his own gig - check him out on twitter @AllThingsBrody" [robotanists]

A few more pictures from his pre-brawl sets, Dominique Young Unique (who performed) and Har Mar Superstar (who was just there hanging out) included, below...

Continue reading "Brody Stevens (kicked some ass) @ the Thursday BrooklynVegan day party (pics)"

photos by Timothy Griffin

Gayngs / Local Natives

"To create the GAYNGS' Regrind EP all of the stems from the bands debut album, Relayted, were arbitrarily named and compiled into a list. Ensuring anonymity, the list was presented in alphabetical order (shown below) to a collection of producers and musicians. They were then instructed to choose only 10, without knowing what songs they came from or what instruments they contained. One could choose anything from four sax solos and six bass lines, to eight keyboards and two background vocals. The combinations that could be chosen were indefinite...the only certainty was that the parts would all be set to the tempo of 69 beats per minute.

From there, the re-grinders were free to chop, pitch-shift, and otherwise pulverize the stems into a new, cohesive song. The only rule was that they must use all 10 stems they were given, and that the tempo must remain at GAYNGS' standard 69 bpm.

P.O.S, Cecil Otter, Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, MK Larada, and Plain Ole Bill (all from Minneapolis Hip-Hop Collective Doomtree) were the first to step up to the plate.

All turntablin' was done by Plain ole Bill. The Cook Bros (Megafaun) also lent their talents on keys."

Gayngs seem to be taking it day by day - the supergroup of sorts has publicly toyed with the idea of the band only touring once, but the demand seems to be there, and so they continue to hit the road (though Justin Vernon is not always guaranteed to be a touring member). On Friday night they shared a sold out bill at Stubb's in Austin with Local Natives, and this coming week they'll play at least two more Austin shows during SXSW, and in April they do Coachella. Har Mar Superstar, like he has in the past, was filling in for Vernon at the smooth rock & autotune-filled Austin show where they covered Godley & Creme's 'Cry', and George Michael's 'One More Try'.

Local Natives, who also play a SXSW show (but only during Interactive), played songs from Gorilla Manor and apologized for not having much more than that. They promised a new album before their next tour through Austin. You can see their whole setlist, and more tour dates, and more pictures from the Stubb's show, and the Gayngs EP, below....

Continue reading "Gayngs released a remix EP, played Stubb's w/ Local Natives (pics), playing other shows (dates)"

Har Mar Superstar & Gayngs @ The Box in NYC (photo by Lisa-Thi Beskar)

In the midst of a lawsuit releated to the loss of their tour bus in Texas,, Minneapolis soft rock supergroup Gayngs flew back to NYC in late October (the same month they played Music Hall of Williamsburg, Bowery Ballroom and Jimmy Fallon) for a post-tour, one-off, private show at The Box. Why did they do that? Because actor Josh Lucas, who met and saw them on that same episode of Fallon (he was one of the guests too), paid them to come and play his private pre-Halloween party at the Lower East Side club which he partially owns.

The cast of Gayngs that night included frontman Ryan Olson (of Marijuana Deathsquads), Ivan Rosebud on lead vocals, Channy Moon Casselle of Roma Di Luna on lead female vocals, three members of Megafaun (Brad Cook, Phil Cook, Joe Westerlund), Zak Coulter and Adam Hurlburt of Solid Gold, and.... fellow Minnesotan Har Mar Superstar who was basically filling in for Bon Iver aka Justin Vernon (who couldn't make the show probably because he was too busy chillin' with Kanye).

Gayngs have no more upcoming shows, possibly ever, but Har Mar can be found headlining venues twice in December. First you can catch him at First Avenue in hos hometown on December 15th, and then he heads back east for the New Years Eve show at Littlefield in Brooklyn (622 Degraw st.). Openers still TBA, but $25 tickets go on sale today, 11/19, at noon.

You guys ready to party?....

Continue reading "Har Mar Superstar filled in for Bon Iver @ a private Gayngs show @ The Box, playing New Years Eve @ Littlefield "

photos by Rachel Carr

The sold-out event, concisely named "No Cancer!" hoped to raise money for Irene Garcia, the mother of a prominent L.A. scenester who was recently diagnosed with what an event volunteer would only call "an extremely rare form of cancer." All proceeds from the daylong festival -- including ticket revenues and merchandise sales -- went directly to the cause.

Organized by local indie promoting giant Sean Carlson and his team at FYF Fest [I HATE ROCK N ROLL RECORDS and VIDEOTHING.COM], "No Cancer!" brought together an eclectic group of well-known and under-the-radar bands from Los Angeles and across the country, with acts hailing from New York and Texas performing over the course of the afternoon. [Daily Trojan]

Continue reading "No Age, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Best Coast & others played a benefit for Irene Garcia in LA - pics"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Salvador Santana - "Keyboard City" f GZA (Dan Deacon Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mando Diao - "Dance With Somebody" (The Hood Internet Remix f GZA & Cadence Weapon) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Lips - "Drop I Hold" featuring GZA (MP3)

GZA & Black Lips at SXSW 2009 (photo by Bill Pearis)

Still no word on a Gucci Mane/Beirut collabo album, but Wu-Tanger GZA has been hard at work rocking remixes and dropping collabos a-plenty. After appearing on a remix of Mando Diao's "Dance With Somebody" w/ Cadence Weapon by The Hood Internet (get that above), GZA has also popped up on another Hood Internet remix, this time of Salvador Santana's "Keyboard City". That remix inspired a second (a re-remix?) this time with Mr Green Skull himself, Dan Deacon.

Originally, GZA was featured over a remix of the song "Keyboard City" done by The Hood Internet. Now, Dan Deacon took that remix and dissected it into this an awesome blend of Vocoder / electro madness.
This collaboration was inspired by the idea of GZA and Dan Deacon working together and Salvador Santana a platform was set for more original material between the two in the future. GZA first caught wind of Dan Deacon earlier this fall and after a connection via their publicist, Dan ended up taking GZA and Salvador's remix and putting his own twist on it.

GZA also recently popped up on Fucked Up's charity single which is on iTunes now.

GZA appeared on the stupid dope Raekwon album Only Built For Cuban Linx Pt II, and now that the onslaught of praise has died down somewhat, that Staten Island representative is on a short tour to remind the haters why he rules faces. Count on support from Queensbridge representatives Capone n Noreaga (who aim to "blow holes in your Versace") as well as Queen Yonasda. The trio hits Irving Plaza on 12/16, tickets are still on sale.

Ruff Ryder, D-Block member and OB4CL2 contributor Jadakiss has also scheduled a show at Highline Ballroom on 12/22 with Melanie Fiona & special guests. Tickets are on sale. J-A-to-the-mwah dropped The Last Kiss earlier this year.

Make sure not to forget the previously discussed, Method Man / Ghostface appearance as part of the Hip Hop Legends series at BB Kings on Dec 23. The jawdopping lineup contains a veritable who's who of 80s-90s greats including Doug E Fresh, EPMD, Main Source/Large Professor, Onyx, Showbiz & AG, Masta Ace, Ed OG, "+ more TBA". Tickets are still available.

Dig on some videos below, including one of GZA with King Khan, as well as Raekwon tour dates...

Continue reading "Raekwon on tour (dates), GZA likes to collaborate (Dan Deacon, Har Mar, Peter, Bjorn, John, King Khan & more)"

Jay Reatard @ the Wired Store (more by Tim Griffin)

As I was saying (and Bill will say even more about later), Jay Reatard and his Shattered Records crew (Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders & Useless Eaters) are on their way from Pop Montreal to NYC for a late show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (10/1). Tickets are still on sale.

Yesterday, with some help, I rushed together some questions for an email interview with Jay (not the ideal format). Jay in turn rushed some answers back this afternoon, presumably from the road and after playing a late show last night. With that in mind, you can find that interview, which attempts to set the record straight on Jay's recent hate for Brooklyn, and what time Hamburghini practice starts, with all dates and tonight's set times, below....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Jay Reatard (whose Shattered Records tour hits Le Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight) "

Tickets are on sale for the Julian Plenti show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the Julian Plenti show at Brooklyn Bowl.

Tickets are on sale for the Julian Plenti show at the Guggenheim.

Joe Pernice is performing "Music and Stories from It Feels So Good When I Stop" at Mercury Lounge on November 6th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on sale for the Har Mar Superstar shows at Mercury Lounge and Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Athlete is playing Bowery Ballroom on November 3rd. Tickets are on sale.

Florence & The Machine are playing Bowery Ballroom on October 27th. Tickets are on sale.

Three Pavement shows are on sale and/or sold out.

Do Make Say Think, Art Brut, Girls, and Land of Talk tickets went on sale today.

Wolfmother, The Cult & Type O Negative tickets are on sale.

New Yorker Festival tickets went on sale at noon.

Breakfast at Sulimays reviews DJ Tiesto (featuring Tegan & Choir) and Volcano Choir (Bon Iver) in the video below...

Continue reading "Julian Plenti, Har Mar Superstar, Joe Pernice, other tickets "

The always-entertaining Har Mar Superstar is teasing the video for 'Tall Boy,' the lead single from his upcoming album 'Dark Touches,' with a series of film clips that will be unleashed one per week. "They're little tidbits. I'm going to roll out a whole other series before the album," Har Mar tells Spinner. "I'm all about making short videos and having people get excited and pass them around."

The 'Tall Boy' teasers will feature such celluloid luminaries as Eva Mendes, Eric (from Adult Swim's 'Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'), and Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat [the latter two are posted below].

Har Mar originally wrote the racy 'Tall Boy,' which is about a girls' night out -- not necessarily only drinking 16-ounce cans of beer -- for Britney Spears, hoping it would be chosen for her 2007 record, 'Blackout.' Though 'Tall Boy' didn't make the final cut, Har Mar is far from disappointed that the pop princess's peeps passed on it. "That probably was a great choice for them. They should have passed on it," he emphasizes. "It's a song glamorizing drinking tall cans of beer and f---ing tall dudes. She was out of her mind then. C'mon, it would have been a coup for me, but, at the same time, I feel like for everybody's well being it was such better choice for them not to do it."

Har Mar is going on tour across North America this fall. His dates includes two NYC shows: one on October 26th at Music Hall of Williamsburg and one October 27th at Mercury Lounge. Tickets for both go on sale Friday, September 18th at noon.

On top of the new record, Har Mar also contributes a song (a collaboration with Adam Green) to the soundtrack for the new Drew Barrymore movie. And he's also in it.

All tour dates, video teasers, and album tracklist and info (including a list of album guests) are below...

Continue reading "Har Mar Superstar - new album, videos, 2009 Tour Dates "