photos by Vincent Cornelli

"On Friday night we stopped in at the Guggenheim for the second in the museum's "It Came From Brooklyn" concert series [(the first featured The Walkmen)]. This time around, the main event was Paul Banks' solo project Julian Plenti, with a solid dose of comedic input from MC Eugene Mirman...

...Banks took to the stage around 10:30, with a band significantly larger than his usual four piece. In addition to Banks on guitar, there was an additional guitarist, bass, drums, and a three piece string section. The mix of instrumentation served to flesh out the sound, and moreover it served as a solid foundation for the atmospheric sound of Julian Plenti....

...One of the more interesting points of the evening was Banks' choice of covers. They included America's "Horse With No Name" and the Pixies B-Side "Into The White". [Hippies Are Dead]

There were also readings by Hampton Fancher and Rivka Galchen before Julian played.

Due to Julian's 10:30 set time, there was actually time on Friday to see Passion Pit and Phoenix at Summerstage before Julian, and then Rorschach and Hellbastard at The Charleston afterwards. At least a few people did just that.

Julian Plenti plays two more NYC shows in November. Tickets are on sale.

More pictures from the Guggenheim (where Kandinsky works are now on display), and Julian Plenti's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Julian Plenti & band played The Guggenheim w/ I'm In You, Eugene Mirman & friends - pics, setlist "

DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Fun That We Have (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Games for Days (MP3)

Though the solo debut of Julian Plenti (aka Paul Banks of Interpol) has been out for over a month, the singer still hasn't played any shows. His official live debut takes place September 25th gig at the Guggenheim Museum, as part of its It Came From Brooklyn series (which brought the Walkmen and High Places in August). Also on the bill are I'm In You, authors Rivka Galchen and Hampton Fancher, and host Eugene Mirman. Tickets are still on sale to that show. We also has a pair to give away - details are below.

Past that it looks like Julian will be going on a North American tour in November, though not many dates are public yet. NYC was announced though, and the shows are November 24th at Bowery Ballrom and November 25th at Brooklyn Bowl. Ticket info TBA (on sale Friday?). He's also scheduled to play Europe in December.

Two tracks from Julian Plenti is Skyscraper are posted above. Contest details and known tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Julian Plenti tour dates, 2 more NY shows ++ WIN TICKETS "

Tickets are on sale for the Julian Plenti aka Paul Banks of Interpol show happening at the Guggenheim Museum.

DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Fun That We Have (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Games for Days (MP3)

'Plenti' of tour dates on the way?

The inaugural "It Came From Brooklyn" show at the Guggenheim happens this Friday, August 14th with The Walkmen (who also play Summerstage on the 16th with Dinosaur Jr. and Saviours), High Places and the Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band (plus Colson Whitehead and emcee Leo Allen). Tickets are still on sale.

The next edition of that monthly series on September 25th will feature a headlining set by Julian Plenti (aka Paul Banks of Interpol). Presumably this will be his first real show as Julian Plenti (and the September show that was promised). Also on the museum bill are I'm In You, readings from Rivka Galchen and Hampton Fancher and host Eugene Mirman. No tickets yet.

Banks's Julian Plenti is Skyscraper album came out on August 4th. Two tracks from it are above, and the full record is streaming at Rhapsody. It looks like he'll be planning a bigger tour around the Plenti material this fall.

Interpol frontman Paul Banks has revealed today (August 11) that he plans to tour as his solo alter-ego Julian Plenti.

The singer, who recently released the album 'Julian Plenti... Is Skyscraper', spoke to NME Radio about his plans for his solo project.

"I'm really enthused about this music and making more of this music and doing everything that goes into it," he told DJ Iain Baker. "There are some shows that are just getting booked now. There will be a tour!" [NME]

Continue reading "Julian Plenti playing Guggenheim & will tour ++ Fallon video"

"after seeing this video I lost any respect I had for Perry Farrell. Why is he even bothering with music anymore? He and his wife should stick with porn exclusively". - Anonymous | August 8, 2009 1:32 AM

"Perry's" stage @ Lollapalooza - August 8, 2009 (by kazahel)

Julian Plenti FTW....

Continue reading "Paul Banks (Julian Plenti) & Emily Haines VS Perry Farrell & Etty Farrell VS Perry Farrell & LeAnn Rimes (VIDEOS)"

DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Fun That We Have (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Games for Days (MP3)

We just wrote about Julian Plenti, the solo project of Interpol's Paul Banks. His debut under that name, Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper, is due out August 4th on Matador. A second MP3, "Games for Dates," is now legally available for download above.

It was also announced today that Plenti/Banks will be making a TBA live appearance in September (stay tuned for details), and that he'll be on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Friday, August 7th. Album art and tracklist (again), below...

Continue reading "Julian Plenti (Paul Banks) will play TV & somewhere + an MP3"

DOWNLOAD: Julian Plenti - Fun That We Have (MP3)

Since we just mentioned one new solo project from a band on hiatus (Julian from The Strokes), it'd be good to mention two other similar albums in the works.

In May, it was announced that Paul Banks of Interpol will be releasing a solo record called Julian Plenti is Skyscraper (Plenti being his own moniker) through Interpol's ex-label Matador on August 4th. Listen to "Fun That We Have," from the record, above.

This'll be the recording debut from "Julian Plenti," but the project itself is nothing new.

From 1998 to 2003, Julian Plenti performed in and around Manhattan as an acoustic solo artist. Venues that played host included Tobacco Road, Pete's Candy Store, The Knitting Factory, The Living Room, and "Lach's Antihoot" at Sidewalk Cafe.

In 2006 Plenti began to demo a selection of his music using Logic Pro, including some older acoustic songs ("Girl on the Sporting News," "On the Esplanade," "Fly as you Might," "Fun that We Have") with added beats and string arrangements.

In the Fall of 2008 Mr. Plenti took the demoed album to the Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn to be re-recorded with live instrumentation.

He hired session performers to play the string and horn arrangements, and also enlisted some friends. Mike Stroud of Ratatat and Charles Burst of The Occasion guest on "Skyscraper;" Sam Fogarino of Interpol plays drums on "Games For Days;" and Striker Manley of Stiff Jesus appears on "No Chance Survival" and "Fun That We Have."

And it was announced this week that another frontman-cum-solo-performer, Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (who we reported in January will be taking a break... possibly a very long one), will be releasing his debut, Mo Beauty, on October 20th on Anti- Records. That album was recorded at New Orleans' Piety St. recording studio...

For Mo Beauty, Ounsworth was backed by George Porter, Jr. on bass, Stanton Moore on drums, Robert Walter on keys, and Matt Sutton on baritone and pedal-steel guitars, with additional help from some members of the diversely talented New Orleans community such as Mark Mullins, Craig Klein, Greg Hicks, Washboard Chaz, Shannon Powell, John Boute, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, and Meschiya Lake. The album was produced by veteran musician/producer and fellow Philadelphian Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Blasters, John Lee Hooker, The Replacements).

Other CYHSY side-projects include Uninhabitable Mansions and Radical Dads. Interpol Sam drums in Magnetic Morning. None of these bands have any upcoming dates.

Tracklists for Mo Beauty and Skyscraper, with a YouTube video that purports to be the first 30 seconds or so of each Julian Plenti track, below...

Continue reading "Interpol's Paul Banks (Julian Plenti) & CYHSY's Alec Ounsworth are releasing solo albums too"

Magnetic Morning @ Southpaw - CMJ 2008 (more by Tim Griffin)

Interpol posted a letter so we know they're alive...

Continue reading "a letter from Interpol"

Photos by Tim Griffin

[Swervedriver's] Adam Franklin: Most of the earlier tunes were [Interpol's] Sam [Fogarino]'s, and mostly started with simple guitar lines, to which I would then place chord sequences beneath or counter-melodies on top. Sam also gave me a nine-minute Mellotron jam, which I cut and arranged into a verse/chorus/verse arrangement. I also wrote the lyrics and vocal melodies. Although 90 percent of the lyrics are mine, probably 50 percent of the titles are Sam's, due to the fact that he tends to name his demos. This makes it interesting for me, because the lyrical threads follow paths suggested by the titles. After we established a sound aesthetic, I began bringing in some song ideas to which Sam would add keyboards, guitars, atmospherics, rhythmic patterns.

---

Adam Franklin: The live show should be fun. Myself and Sam essentially inhabit the engine room of a kick-ass live unit. The band sounds out-of-this-world after a week or two of rehearsal. Bolts of Melody's Josh Stoddard is on bass; Blasco, who has previously played live with Interpol and Secret Machines is on guitar, melodica and psychedelic banjo; and The Album Leaf's Jimmy LaValle is on keyboards. He was an obvious choice, as Sam and I have both known him separately for some time.

Continue reading "Magnetic Morning & Springhouse @ Southpaw - pics, setlists"

by Bill Pearis

Springhouse

Before blogs, before the internet as we know it, Jack Rabid was writing up all the shows he attended, the records he listened to, and interviewing his favorite bands. Since 1980 he's been publishing The Big Takeover which started as a Xeroxed 'zine but is now a legit glossy mag, thick as a phone book, and even more crammed with reviews and meaty interviews with some of the biggest indie/alt bands and artists on the planet. The passion (and the encyclopedic knowledge of the staff) makes it such an awesome read to this day.

In addition to The Big Takeover, Jack is also a great drummer. Having played in a number of bands over the years (early '80s punks Even Worse, and more recently Last Burning Embers), he might be best known as one-third of '90s-era trio Springhouse. While lumped in with the then UK dreampop scene (Ride, MBV, etc), Springhouse (Mitch Friedland on treated classical acoustic, and bassist Larry Heinemann) was closer to early-'80s groups like The Sound, The Comsat Angels and The Chameleons, the latter of whom they opened for on their 2002 reunion tour.

Springhouse released two very good, if under-heard, albums on Caroline in the '90s and have been slowly working on a third that will finally see the light of day in October. As Jack wrote on Bigtakeover.com:

"From Now to OK, which we've been working on for the better part of 10 years, is finally finished and will be released in October...on limited edition, 550 copies deluxe Bruce Licher-designed letterpress multi-layered foldout CD art package and free internet digital download, Radiohead-style (i.e. pay what you want!). Then we hit the road!"

Opening the Big Takeover tour is Washington DC's Julie Ocean, which is fronted by two veterans of the '90s DC/Arlington indie scene: Jim Spellman was in Velocity Girl and The High-Back Chairs (and is now a producer for CNN where he recently got Tasered on purpose); and Terry Banks was in Tree Fort Angst, The Saturday People and Glo-Worm. Julie Ocean's debut, Long Gone and Nearly There, is ridiculously catchy power pop.

There are only six dates on the Big Takeover Presents tour as of now, including one at Southpaw in Brooklyn on Oct. 21 which is also the opening night of CMJ. Tickets are on sale.

Adam Franklin has also been keeping busy with his old band Swervedriver and Magnetic Morning's dates are part of a much bigger fall tour. All scheduled stops, and a video, are below...

Continue reading "Big Takeover tour w/ Springhouse & Julie Ocean + other MAGNETIC MORNING (Interpol+Swervedriver+Album Leaf) tour dates"

This Saturday, April 19th, Other Music is excited to be taking part in Record Store Day along with hundreds of other independently owned music shops across the country. Throughout the day we'll be selling limited vinyl singles and EPs (exclusive to shops participating in Record Store Day) from the likes of Vampire Weekend, the Breeders, Stephen Malkmus and Built to Spill, along with give aways, prizes, and 10% off of everything in the shop for the entire day. Also, various members from great bands will be stopping by to spin their favorite tunes throughout the afternoon. We hope that you can come by the shop and celebrate the day with us, and for those of you not in New York City, please make sure to visit your favorite local record store and show them your support!

DJ SET SCHEDULE:
TAPES 'N TAPES - 12:30 to 2PM
BLACK KEYS - 2 to 3PM
DEAD MEADOW - 3 to 4PM
GRIZZLY BEAR & DEERHUNTER - 4 to 5PM
INTERPOL - 5PM

Continue reading "Other Music celebrates Record Store day w/ DJ sets & deals"

Members of Bat For Lashes, Earl Greyhound, Blonde Redhead and others modeled for today's NY Times. None of the pictures come even close to the ones Paper just published of Joanna Newsom though.

Check out the video of Kazu (Blonde Redhead) performing with Paul Banks & Samuel Fogarino of Interpol, below...

Continue reading "Kazu Makino, Natasha Khan, Earl Greyhound & other models"

High Places @ Market Hotel, Brooklyn, NY (mercurialn)

For rock bands this is a great time to be weird and independent in Brooklyn. After years in which the sound of New York was defined by various shades of retro monochrome -- the new wave minimalism of the Strokes, the disco-punk of the Rapture and LCD Soundsystem, the moody Anglophilia of Interpol -- a new generation is making music that is indefinably eclectic and complex, and finding acclaim around the world. [NY Times]

School of Seven Bells is a new band formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines. He left Secret Machines in early 2007 to concentrate on the new band solely. The band also includes twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, formerly of On! Air! Library!, and James Elliot aka Ateleia. Curtis and the Deheza sisters met when both were opening on an Interpol tour. [Wikipedia]

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells = Secret Machines + On! Air! Library!"

DOWNLOAD: Cassius - Toop Toop (streetlab remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Chemical Brothers - The Salmon Dance (streetlab mix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: M.I.A. - Boyz (Time Machine Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Lips - Veni Vidi Vici (Diplo Remix) (MP3)

King Khan & BBQ Show @ Paradiso, Amsterdam - Jan 2007 (CRED)

* King Khan & BBQ Show play Montana's Party Place
* Drive by Truckers are playing Bowery Ballroom
* Shout Out Louds played Bowery Ballroom last night
* Shout Out Louds play Music Hall of Wlmsbrg tonight
* Later on they DJ with Bjorn @ Union Pool
* The Brunettes are playing Union Hall
* The Detroit Cobras are playing Mercury Lounge
* Small Sins played Mercury Lounge last night
* Small Sins play Luna Lounge tonight
* Film School & Land of Talk move to Maxwell's
* Reuben Butchart is playing Europa
* a Beastie Boys tribute band is playing Lion's Den
* An actual Beastie Boy came to see Black Kids @ R Bar
* Bon Jovi & MCR return to Newark Arena
* Morrissey returns to Hammerstein Ballroom
* Kristeen Young does not
* Saul Williams is making like Radiohead
* new Ween is streaming

Interpol played Jimmy Kimmel. AOL won't hire Tim Harrington. Videos below. What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

and I never posted about Interpol @ Madison Square Garden...

New video below....

Continue reading "VIDEO: Interpol - No I in Threesome"

Devendra Banhart molesting Chan @ Coachella 2006 *

* photo by Jenny Applebaum

Cat Power added a bunch of tour dates including one where she'll be playing Madison Square Garden with Interpol and Liars! What a great triple bill...but Cat Power as an opener for Interpol at MSG? I don't know, but I'm a very cynical person. Could be good. Hopefully people will pay attention.

Chan (Cat)'s next record is going to be another covers one, which is a great thing if it's as amazing as the last one. Details on that, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "CAT POWER - new covers record, opening for Interpol @ MSG & other Tour Dates"

words & photos by Bao Nguyen

Girl Talk

So this was a very last minute idea, meaning I left New York for Baltimore at 12 PM on Saturday when gates had already opened at 10 AM. Not knowing at the time whether I had a pass waiting for me at the festival, I made the 4 hour drive, hindered by the beach bound crowd on the NJ Turnpike, armed with a Polaroid, 4 hours of sleep, and a sense of regret for missing the previous night's CSS show. I arrived at Pimilico Field at exactly 4 PM and after nearly being run over by Richard Branson on a golf cart, I made it just in time to catch the start of Peter Bjorn and John's set. I think their music plays better in a small club than a large festival type atmosphere especially when the entire crowd seems to be waiting for only one particular song that everyone can whistle to. Following Peter Bjorn and John was an high energy set from LCD Soundsystem that included a very unusual mosh pit where three people were doing their best Thom Yorke seizure dance....

Continue reading "The 2007 Virgin Festival in Baltimore - review & pics"

Regina Spektor

Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O

more pictures below....

Continue reading "Photos from Lollapalooza 2007 - Day 2"

DOWNLOAD: Liars - It Fit When I Was A Kid (Crystal Castles Remix) (MP3)

"Liars are set to release their self-titled, fourth studio album on Mute Records on August 28." Liars are the band opening for Interpol at MSG and elsewhere. Check out a new interview with Liars @ Paste. More new album info below....

Continue reading "Liars touring with Interpol, new album"

What do they all have in common?
* Interpol are playing Madison Square Garden - tix on sale today
* Damien Rice is playing the Theater @ MSG - tix on sale today
* Beyonce adds SECOND show @ MSG - tix on sale tomorrow

new album, new Letterman appearance....

Continue reading "VIDEO: INTERPOL on Letterman ++ ticket presale today"

DOWNLOAD: St. Vincent - Now, Now (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spoon - The Ghost Of You Lingers (MP3)

For a mid-summer week, the music CD release list is surprisingly bountiful. Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Interpol's Our Love To Admire lead the pack of new releases, and I can also highly recommend St. Vincent's debut album, Marry Me, former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell's Sirens Of The Ditch (which includes my current favorite protest song, "Dress Blues"), and Patton Oswalt's comedy album Werewolves and Lollipops).

Reissues released this week include two Monkees remasters (Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd), as well as a remastered edition of M. Ward's Duet for Guitars 2.

Have I left anything noteworthy off the list? What new music releases can you recommend this week?

Continue reading "Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week"

Interpol @ Bowery Ballroom, June 2007 (more)

Interpol's next NYC show will be significantly bigger than their last one. It's at Madison Square Garden on September 14th - the big room - the one White Stripes & Muse are playing - the one Moz never made it to. The show is being promoted by "Bowery Presents". Will Interpol pull it off? Will you be there?

Stream the new Interpol album Our Love to Admire at MTV.com - it comes out for-real on July 10th. Hang out with Interpol and listen to the same album at Sweet & Viscous Bar in NYC on July 11th (free, 9pm-2am). Watch and listen to Interpol perform exclusively for AOL @ Spinner. Check out the video for "Heinrich Maneuver" below. Tour dates below too...

Continue reading "INTERPOL to MSG + album stream, tour dates & fun stuff"

DOWNLOAD: Adam Franklin - Seize the Day (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Adam Franklin - Syd's Eyes (MP3)

Didn't see Byrne, Bowie or Reed in attendance at the Wilco concert at Warsaw last week, but Pavement's Stephen Malkmus was spotted, as was the slighly lesser known Adam Franklin. Admittedly I wouldn't have even recognized the ex-Swervedriver shoe-gazing frontman by myself, so I'm glad my friend not only pointed him out, but reminded me that Adam has a new solo album called Bolts of Melody - out 6/26/2007. Further research revealed that you can stream the entire album, and that Adam is playing at Mercury Lounge in NYC TONIGHT (July 2, 2007).

It's also worth noting that Adam has been collaborating with Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino on a project called The Setting Suns.

The Setting Suns will start recording their debut EP (Title TBA) in NYC this June. Among the tracks to be included is a cover of the Kinks' "The Way Love Used To Be", and an "epic" version of "Cold War Kids". Sam intends to play Adam's guitar whenever Adam leaves the room. Release is scheduled for the fall. Further details will be posted as they develop....................The duo met over dinner in NYC last winter, while being introduced by long time, mutual friend, Jack Rabid (The Big Takeover).

Continue reading "Adam Franklin (Swervedriver) MP3s, album stream & 2007 Tour Dates"