Tags archives: zoe marquedant
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9 years ago
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Halloween is barely behind us and yet the storefronts and Starbucks cups are already all geared up for Christmas. The holidays are still a solid month away. We still have Thanksgiving and the start of winter to get through. Let’s focus on the present and all the good albums that have come out instead of decking the halls in November. Based on the past month and the beginning of this one, it looks like 2015 is going to close strong. Releases have included Matt Berninger’s new project El Vy as well as relative newcomer Alex G. Here are some of our favorite releases of late:
“Need A Friend” by El Vy
For Fans of: The National, Menomena, MinutemenOff of the band’s debut Return to the Moon, “Need A Friend” is a great example of how The National's Matt Berninger and Ramona Falls/Menomena's Brent Knopf have combined two fairly different sounds together to craft a new, just as good one. Berninger is known for velvety, smoldering vocals set to sweeping instrumentals whereas Knopf is typically springier, stranger and heavier on the synth. El Vy doesn’t sound like either of those things, but it’s already a favorite. Other tracks of the record, like “I’m the Man to Be”, are downright goofy compared than their usual tones, which makes “Need A Friend” a good mid-ground to start from when getting to know the group.
“Josephine” by Frank Turner
For Fans of: Frightened Rabbit, Admiral Fallow
English folk/singer-songwriter Frank Turner has been churning out heart-wrenching, ho[...]
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9 years ago
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CMJ 2015 is in full swing. The festival takes its name from the College Media Journal, which was started by Robert Haber in 1978. Haber’s publication was aimed at college radio programmers and their audiences, a crowd which is still well represented at each year’s festival. This year the CMJ speaker schedule includes talks and workshops on the radio resumes, interviews and the history of student-run radio as well as the CMJ College Radio Awards.
As much as the five day, non-stop marathon still honors its history in college radio, it also delves into the live scene. Well over a thousand bands with varying levels of exposure play venues all over New York. From the basement-like space of Cake Shop to the expansive Brooklyn Bowl, artists gather to play their best and celebrate music. This year’s line-up includes bands of every genre and size. Seeing all of them is infeasible, but here are about dozen acts that you can’t miss.
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Glass Animals
Genre: Indie Rock
Set Time:
Thu, October 15, 8:00 PM
@ Terminal 5
Listen To: "Black Mambo"
Girls with Brown Hair
Genre: Indie Rock/Comedy
Set Time:
Thu, October 15, 8:06 PM > 8:16 PM
@ The Unicorn
Listen To: "Dad Rap"
Panda Bear
Genre: Experimental
Set time:
Thu, October 15, 9:00 PM
@ Bowery Ballroom
Listen To: “Boys Latin” off of Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
The Maccabees
Genre: Indie Rock
Set Time:
Thu, October 15, 11:00 PM > 11:45 PM
@ Me[...]
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9 years ago
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To celebrate the release of their first release on Fueled by Ramen Records, The Front Bottoms played Brooklyn’s Rough Trade. Entry to the show was granted with purchase of the album, Back On Top, and came with a signing after the show. The formula is one Rough Trade is a) known for and b) built for. The combined record store/concert space has the stage in the back and the floor space within the shop itself to accommodate both events.
Before the show fans, most of whom were hugging a recently purchased vinyl of Back On Top, lined up along the wall of the store, chattering excitedly about the record. It was a fairly young crowd, some members bragging about how they had cut class to line up early. The guy handing out 21+ wristbands didn’t have much to do. Despite the age difference, one thing was clear. Everyone was there for the band.
Not that only die hards are capable of showing up to an early show on a weekday evening. Everyone is and was welcome. It wasn’t the show that collected passersby or casual listeners. Partially because Rough Trade is tucked somewhat away from the rest of Williamsburg and partially because the nature of the show attracted the more “serious” fans. The majority of the crowd accumulating in Rough Trade really, really liked the band. That’s why they showed to the concert/signing, not just the band’s gig later in the month at Irving Plaza. In fact, many talked about going to both shows. Some even buzzed about seeing the band earlier in the summ[...]
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9 years ago
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It’s been a great summer for music. Taylor Swift is on tour, both the Cobain and the NWA documentary hit theaters, someone finally told off Miley Cyrus and One Direction is going on hiatus. Joy. Although summer isn't officially over until mid-September, the steady drop in temperature and fading light make it feel like it is almost fall. Before the leaves start to brown and fall, let's look back at the season and all the great releases that came with it:
1. “Run Away With Me” by Carly Rae Jepsen
Carly Rae Jepsen has gone from that one girl who sang that one sort of creepy song that everyone loved a couple summer ago to a legit pop artist. 2012’s one-hit-wonder has triumphantly returned with possibly one of the best pop albums of the summer. Maybe even of the year. Her new record, E•MO•TION, which was released last month, has already surpassed the popularity of “Call Me Maybe” and her sophomore album, Kiss. It’s no 1989, but it’s shockingly close.
2. “Leave A Trace” by Chvrches
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Martin Doherty of Chvrches told the publication that the band "could have sold 200,000 more albums” if they had “put Lauren [Mayberry] on the cover of every magazine." However, Chvrches didn’t want to be "that band with the pretty frontwoman" and chose to sell themselves as their full outfit. The issue of female representation has been brought up repeatedly this summer, starting perhaps with Sophy Ziss and Mariel Loveland’s Pixable article that animate[...]
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9 years ago
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PropertyOfZack began as a “blog with daily coverage and commentary of the underground music scene.” It was founded in late 2009 by Zack Zarrillo and Emily Coch and in the past several years has grown to be a staple in the diet of many music fans. The site’s "Tours You Should Know About" and "Albums Out This Week" posts kept readers apprised on what was on the horizon and it’s podcasts “Off The Record” and “Simpler Sound” spurred discussion within the community. POZ was a place to turn to for not only news, but dialogue, insight and the occasional blink joke. But all good things must come to an end.
Earlier this week, in a post entitled “RIPOZ”, Zarrillo announced that the website would be ending. Thomas Nassiff of Bad Timing Records/Absolute Punk spoke further on the sudden departure of the beloved website in a post entitled “Blogging’s Dead. We Got Jobs.” Kind of self-explanatory. Long story short is by the end of the week there will be no more POZ.
After that there will be a hole in many a morning route and something missing from most Twitter feeds. There will no longer be a point in the day where you habitually check POZ for updates. Zarrillo’s voice and the voices of the rest of the POZ writer will surely arise elsewhere and continue conversations on other platforms, but until then the music community will be a little quieter.
In the meantime, what do we read? Here are some ideas:
The Runout
The Runout was founded in 2014 by Bryne Yancey, former editor for P[...]
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9 years ago
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Is there a such thing as a stupid question?
According to our second grade teachers and parents, no. However, in the world of music journalism, the response not as positive. According to some outlets, yes, there definitely are stupid questions. Especially when it comes to interviews.
About six months ago, Nosiey ran a piece about what to ask and what not to ask during an interview with a band. The article amounted to a list of taboo questions that the author, Dan Ozzi, determined to be “shitty.” The list was drawn up based on the the premise that if a question could “be asked of literally any band ever...[then] it is a bad question. Do not ask it." Questions like "What does your band name mean?" and "What are your influences?" were the first to be stricken from use. Both those questions are fairly popular, so it makes sense that Ozzi would want them taken out of circulation. However, this unforgiving stance on the content of interviews fails to address several things.
Firstly, how old a band is. Not how long have they been a band or whether they're tweenie-boopers, but rather how long have they been in the public eye. Are they a known band? How long have they been sitting down for interviews and fielding questions? If the band has only ever done an interview with their hometown newsletter, it’s safe to ask about the origin of their name and how the band members met. If the band is The Foo Fighters, those kinds of questions are best left off.
Ozzi has a point in[...]
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9 years ago
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Mable by Spraynard
When: July 10th
Spraynard was started in 2008 by high school friends Pat Graham, Mark Dickinson, and Patrick Ware. The group released several splits as well as 2011’s amazing Funtitled, which earned them a strong and rather devote following. However, just as the anticipation seemed to be building to critical mass, the band announced a hiatus in 2012. Fans were left with a compilation album, The Mark, Tom, and Patrick Show, put out by Asian Man records in 2014. The record would ultimately serve as an impetus for Spraynard to eventually reformed, but this time with Jake Guralnik replacing Dickinson on bass. With their new line-up, the band signed to Jade Tree Records where they now plan to release their newest record, Mable. The tracks “Everywhere”, “Applebee’s Bar” and “Bench” can already be heard throughout the internet. From these first listens, it seems that the new record will have all the clever, introspective, punk goodness of the old Spraynard and it will be as if the band never left.
Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone by Various Artists
When: July 10th
The recent release of Liz Garbus’s What Happened, Miss Simone?, a biopic on Nina Simone, has sparked a renewed interest in the legendary singer. The film, which was made available via Netflix on June 26th, joins a bumper crop of Simone-centered pictures slated for release this year. 2015 should also see the release of the documentary The Amazing Nina Simone as well as the Cynthia Mort mo[...]
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9 years ago
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New Jersey's pop punkers Man Overboard released their newest album Heavy Love today. The record is the follow-up to their 2013 release Heart Attack. The band has been steadily putting out music since their founding in 2008, beginning with the self-released Hung Up on Nothing. Not long after their EP came out, the band signed to Run for Cover Records and released another EP Dahlia. The following year, the band released Real Talk and signed to Rise Records. While the group has cycled through a few drummers and shifted its formation to some extent during this process, they’ve also largely stayed the same. Band members and childhood friends Nik Bruzzese (vocals, bass) and Wayne Wildrick (guitar) formed the group, recruiting Zac Eisenstein (guitar, vocals, piano) and then-drummer Justin Mondschein to join soon after. There was some reshuffling of the line-up in those early years and a period where Wildrik briefly left Man Overboard, but band’s current iteration seems to be sticking. The newer members guitarist Justin Collier and drummer Joe Talarico fit seamlessly into the band's sound, creating no disruption for this new record, which in it's nature is full-blown pop punk.
You can hear the famed inflection in Heavy Love’s opening track “Now That You’re Home”. Bruzzese nails that almost nasal-y tone without sounding whiny and lets listeners know within the first three minutes of the record that Man Overboard is committed to the genre. As if naming their group after a Blink-182 [...]
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10 years ago
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River To River Festival 2015
June 18–28
Lower Manhattan
Since the festival began in 2002, River To River has been bringing dance, music, visual arts and other projects to various spaces throughout Lower Manhattan and the waterfront. This includes the Governors Island Arts Center, Pier 15, Federal Hall, North End Way, Nelson A Rockefeller Park, Fulton Center, Vbar, Robert R. Wagner Jr. Park and Peck Slip Park as well as a few others. In total River To River compiled sixty events (a full calendar can be viewed here), all of which are free. For those with limited capacity, it is possible to RSVP and reserve space. Of the dozens of performances, our picks are:
Olga Bell
When: Tuesday, June 23
8:30–9:30pm
Where: Pier 15
Benyoro, Los Crema Paraiso & Golem
When: Saturday, June 27
5:00–9:00pm
Where: Seaport District: Fulton and Water Street
Roomful of Teeth
When: Wednesday, June 24
8:00–9:15pm
Where: 28 Liberty Plaza
Brasil Summerfest
July 30-August 8
Where: South Street Seaport
Founded by Petrit Pula in 2011 and co-curated by Beco Dranoff, Brasil Summerfest has since brought the sounds and energy of Brazilian music to New York for several years now. From July into the first days of August, the festival has sports a mix of traditional and new age music. Artists like Bebel Gilberto, Maira Freitas, Marcela D2, Planet Hemp, DJ Nuts, Brothers of Brazil, Pedro Moraes and DJ Greg Caz have played the festival in past years. Of this summer's lineup, our mus[...]
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10 years ago
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3. SummerStage
May 18 - September 24
Rumsey Playfield
Musically, Central Park is usually just buskers and that one guy playing music obnoxiously loud from his phone. Except in the summer. During the warm months, the Park hosts SummerStage, an outdoor festival of almost entirely free shows. Like Celebrate Brooklyn, the series includes the odd benefit concert, for which admission is charged, but the majority of the line up is free. Everyone loves free concerts. Plus, even when admission is charged the money made helps fund SummerStage, so the proceeds still go to a good cause.
Each year the SummerStage concerts are held at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, which can be best accessed by entering the park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue. Seating (e.g. bleachers) isn’t always available and space is limited, so come prepared and probably early. On weekdays, doors are an hour before the show and on weekends are an hour and a half. If you don’t get a good spot or arrive after capacity is reached, there always plenty of green space around the venue to sit on and listen.
Alcohol is not permitted, but food/drink will be available from Pizza Moto, Asia Dog, Blue Marble, Lonestar Empire, and many more vendors. Professional cameras (SLRs) are also not allowed, but there’s always your phone? So settle in with an Ommegang and snapchat your friends from #Summerstage.
Of all this season’s shows some of the stand-outs are:
6/6: Blue Note Jazz Festival (2:00 PM)
6/17: Lindsey Stirl[...]
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10 years ago
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1. Governor's Ball
June 5-7, 2015
Randall’s Island Park
The sunburn of Warped Tour meets the popular appeal of Coachella at this NYC concert series. The Governors Ball Music Festival began in 2011 as a one-day affair on Governor’s Island featuring among others Girl Talk, Reptar, Big Boi and a DJ set by Passion Pit. After a healthily-attended inaugural year, Gov Ball has grown to be the concert series to wear your snapback to each summer.
This year the festival will bring dozens of bands to Randall’s Island for the weekend, but there are definite stand out that you should make a point of seeing each day:
Friday: My Morning Jacket, Ratatat, The Decemberists, St. Vincent, Twin Shadow will take the stage along with Drake, Florence + the Machine
Saturday: Future Islands, Marina and the Diamonds, Conor Oberst, Ryan Adams, Deadmau5, Bjork
Sunday: Lana Del Rey, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, The War on Drugs, The Black Keys, Hot Chip, Echosmith,"Weird Al" Yankovic.
Be sure to arrive early to secure a good spot. Buses and ferries beginning shuttling concert-goers to the island at 11:00AM. Gates open at 11:45 and the music starts at 12:15 (and doesn't stop until 11:00PM!)
Don’t forget/lose/damage your wristband. Gov Ball, like many of the bigger music events, distributes wristbands to ticket holders via the mail (or via the box office for late purchases.) They are your ticket in and are what allow you to re-enter the festival each day. Mind you can only re-enter o[...]
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10 years ago
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This year in honor of Earth Day, Art For Progress put on the "Music Saves the Planet” show at The Bowery Electric. With the tag line "Creative Culture Accelerating Social Change”, the event was meant to "celebrate Earth Day and to raise awareness.” Ticket proceeds went towards the NYC non profit's arts programs. Door prizes from the event ranged from a Gibson guitar to tickets to The American Museum of Natural History.
The evening began with Blythe Gruda. The singer was accompanied by guitarist Graham Norwood and violinist Claudia Chopek. Together the trio started the evening off with that can only be described as genuine, awe-inspiring talent. The opening slot isn’t an easy place to play. The audience is still filing in and/or hasn’t really arrived yet, but you’re still expected to put on a show as if it were a packed house. Gruda seemed utterly unphased and absolutely appreciative of the healthy showing that welcomed her warmly to the stage.
Idgy Dean (Lindsay Sanwald) took the stage second at 9:00. She carried her floor tom on stage with no rock star airs. In a pair of black over alls, she seemed more roadie than rock band. Where was the rest of the band? She IS the band. In fact Dean performs as a one-woman psychedelic rock band. She employs tUnE-yArDs-esque loops and drum beats to create multilayered garage rock that without her trusty pedal board would take a good half-dozen band members to recreate. Throughout her set Dean swapped her drumsticks for her [...]
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