Category Archives: WC: From Home

Brooklyn Broadcast (A One Question Interview)

Posted on January 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

1250827434-1‘Brooklyn Broadcast’ by nytyly   (Brooklyn, New York)

  

One of my favorite things about coming to work is how beautifully talented each person on this staff really is.  Half of our writers are musicians themselves and the other half are artists- so it only seems fair that Dingus gives their work the same consideration it gives others.  And, on that note, I’d like to introduce you to our tiny Arabian Princess, Natalie Kebob.  Nytyly is her production brand unlike and opposite of the very term used to describe it, because unlike most producers, she is not at all a “brand”.  Rather, she is a monster of mysterious energies that moves in and out of the shadows, only surfacing to write a column, give deep advise, or as we’ve most recently seen, drop a track.  I got to snag her for a few minutes via Facebook for a one question interview.

Dingus:  Our lives our made up, consistently, of shifting energies. Where did the energy for this song come from and why have you chosen to channel it?

Natalie:  [It is] the energy is Brooklyn’s music scene combined with a 400 year old village house. It’s the intersection of memory and future into a singular explosive point. I invite all energy. I welcome conversation with strangers. I think being open and receptive to others, compassionate and caring, allows other people’s creativity to flow into me. I invite love and music as a celebration of that invitation. Especially working for Dingus, it enlightens my taste everyday. It’s a blessing.  Also, horrible music is inspirational. It’s better to think of ways to make good music than to negate other peoples efforts. I aim to serve music. That’s the energy. Service and devotion to music as a unifier and expander of the love consciousness.

269274_10150262511084971_381608049_nCopyright it 2013 n y t y l y

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Dingus, C: Staff Favorites, T: Single, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , , ,

Life Size Maps (From Home)

Posted on December 21, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Photo Credit by Danny Krugphotocredit: Danny Krug
 

Recently Dingus and The Snake Records (site underconstruction) had the pleasure of hosting a show with Life Size Maps, one of Brooklyn’s premier acts in the local DIY scene. Although their music deserves a much deeper audience.  Join me as I chat with Mike McKeever, frontman and singer for the band while we talk friends, music (we better) and get a bit of advise from an unsung idol.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

 

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Dingus:  Life Size Maps is one of the most memorable and notable bands operating in the Brooklyn DIY scene.  The band’s consistency and cooperative congruency must be the result of personal group dynamics- how did the band come together and what are some of the vital beliefs that the members share as related to what DIY music was and is?

McKeever:  Our drummer Matt Gaffney has been playing in bands in the DIY scene as far back as 2006. I was blown away by the first DIY shows I went to a few years after that at Market Hotel, DBA, the Silent Barn, and Shea Stadium. Sadie Dupuis from Speedy Ortiz  linked us up earlier this year.

We both played in bands growing up and studied experimental music in college. From my perspective, I couldn’t get into pop bands that tried to appeal to people without taking risks. But I also found the avant-garde classical scene rigid and snobbish in its “who cares if you listen” attitude.

Watching Dan Deacon make kids go insane in a warehouse showed me that DIY could be the solution to this impasse: a scene with crazy music that also connects with people.

Do you have a lot of personal connections with your fans?

The coolest thing about the shows here is that they become social events that are more than the sum of their parts.  Most of the people who come to our shows are our friends.

Before it was shut down, 171 Lombardy was gaining some serious steam because our friend Danny Krug built the shows by having his friends play, dj,  bartend, etc. Things kept expanding further outward up until the farewell show, R.I.P. 171!

253874_10152063485770578_264631815_nphotocredit: Kouichi Nakazawa
 
 

If you had to give advise to an up-and-coming DIY band, how would you recommend reaching out to gain new fans beyond personal friends?

I think a part of it is putting your band in situations where people you don’t know will see you play. Loft parties are always cool chance events. Although sometimes the band before you pours baby powder all over the stage or some guy tries to start a fight.

Elaborate?

We were playing a loft in Bushwick on Halloween and this guitarist, wearing only a loin cloth, had someone throw baby powder all over him for the duration of his set. It got all over our gear when we played and was stuck on my pedals for weeks.

Who are some of your favorite groups to play along side and why?

Infinity Shred: These guys have unique and melodic electronics and have a great sense of timing in terms of building up their songs.

Total Slacker: Few bands can get people going like Total Slacker does, it’s always great to play with them.

I also played guitar for some of their shows last year and it was cool to get deeper into their songs that way.

For our readers, can you recall one of your earliest gigs?  What were some of the hurdles that LSM faced in the early days?

The weirdest stage of LSM was when we played a few shows as a 6-piece mini-orchestra with strings, bassoon, flute, etc. The hardest part was making sure you could hear everything live and trying to stop the excessive feedback that seemed to happen. For our first show, we crammed into someone’s bedroom with music stands and everything. There was no room on the floor so people watching had to sit on the desks and bed.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Thanks for joining us for the re-revival of From Home- the Dingus staff looks forward to bringing you many, many more exclusive interviews in 2013.  Wishing you all the best, a happy holidays and a blessed end of the year; make some proper resolutions!  By the way, get Life Sizee Maps’ Excavate for free! [Bandcamp Link] @Dingusonmusic

263805_10152137747780578_770867889_nphotocredit: Danny Krug

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Dingus, C: Free Music, T: News, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , , , ,

The Harmonica Lewinskies (From Home)

Posted on September 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Reviving our long lost column Talks From Home, I dig deep with the many members of Brooklyn favorites- The Harmonica Lewinskies. Join me as we investigate the conglomerate and it’s family of misfits: Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Dingus:  The Harmonica Lewinskies, on stage, appear to be a family, a brotherhood.  You guys seem like best friends, like you’ve known eachother forever.  What are the Lewinskies origins?

ROBERTO “Bobby Lou Lewinsky” BETTEGA: We’ve all been best of friends for about 4 or 5 years and music brings us closer together.

WILL “Slick Willy Lewinsky” SIMPSON: We’ve always admired those bands who are interested in promoting and showcasing all of their members equally, both on stage and in the studio. The Band, The Grateful Dead, the whole Jazz canon, just to name a few. Of course I love a little Mick Jagger, but we work to offer that kind of individual band leader mumbo-jumbo to each and every component of the Lewinskies. That mutual understanding makes our band greater than the sum of its parts.

Beyond the family vibes within the band, your live experience seems sacramental, your following seems devout.  Can you atribute that to anything in particular? 

DAN “Jesus Lewinsky” MCLANE: As an unsigned band, a lot of what people in the music industry judge you upon is based on first impressions and perfect packaging. There is a particular ”collectiveness” that is taking over Brooklyn, where people are becoming open-minded. People want to be a part of something. Acting like an outsider is cool, but that scene ends up getting lonely after awhile.

ZEBEDEE “Masterbasser Lewinsky” ROW: I attribute it to the vibes coming from the best family in Brooklyn right now…Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen.

Whats it like being a part of the MCFK collective?

JAKE “Leggy Bones Lewinsky” WARREN: The Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen
collective is fucking awesome.  First off, it’s a top-notch recording studio. Oliver Ignatius churns out records faster than anyone else, and they all sound uniquely amazing. He gives you the advice and criticisms you need, he respects the integrity of your original ideas, and he gives you the means to accomplish any sonic endeavor you could dream up. You want a backwards musical saw solo blending in with that saxophone? No Problem. Secondly, It’s an epic coalition of bands. A brotherhood of rock and roll. Bands that have come through MCFK are constantly on the same bill. We all share musicians; many of the bands have guys that play in 2 or 3 other bands.  Basically, if there’s an instrument you want on your album or at your show, no matter how obscure, chances are there is someone who knows how to play it at the Kitchen. Lastly, and most important, it’s getting bigger. More people are finding out about MCFK. More bands and musicians are getting involved with it, and the diverse and wonderful collective of talent is growing. Fast. The coolest part about it is its infinite potential. I have no idea where this thing is headed but I promise you, it’s going to be huge, and it’s going to happen fast.

Is there anything new there going on that you can let us in on? Care to spill some beans?

WILL “Slick Willy Lewinsky” SIMPSON:  We’re always trying to add something new to our shows and our music that will excite the audience and encourage them to come back next time. This includes new originals that push our boundaries, new covers that make people wanna freak out and dance, or new antics that’ll either piss people off or make them admire our immaturity. We’ve talked about bringing along a couple of barrels of Brass Monkey, though I suppose this’ll have to happen during a DIY show. Otherwise, we’re talking about getting back into MCFK in the next month or two and promoting our recent album in the meantime. Nevertheless, look forward to new songs at our upcoming gigs.

DAN “Jesus Lewinsky” MCLANE:  We’ve been flirting with the idea of a long national tour. South by Southwest next year is a definite possibility. A lot of us have new material ready for the next album. I’ve been pushing the idea of having each song on our next album feature a special guest. Like if we wrote a song with what’shisface from The Great American Novel and we played all the instruments and split up vocals with the Novel guys. Keep it in the family and have musical intercourse as many musicians as possible. We’re always looking to explore new genres.

Do you have any working titles for the next album?

DAN “Jesus Lewinsky” MCLANE:  Sing Puccini’s Greatest Hits

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Dingus, T: LP/EP, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , ,

Lil Kids (From Home)

Posted on May 22, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Dingus:  Adam, about a week ago I was sitting with you on a couch in a mutual friends apartment, meeting you for the first time over a blunt.  You told me you had a hip-hop projects called Lil Kids and I was skeptical.  But, I dug it, posted it to the blog and sure enough, you raked in 2.2 thousand hearts in three days, earning you the number one seat on Hype Machine.  Let’s just start here:  how does it feel to go from having 10 fans to having thousands in a matter of hours?

Kane:  I think my partner Nick Adams aka Lopato aka Young Fantasia would agree that we feel like we won homecoming court or something like that. It feels amazing that people are digging our stuff, we are really proud of our first release and we are super psyched people are listening to us.

When I spoke to you, you told me not to post Slow Rainbow because you had another album in the works, want to tell us about it?

Yes, on May 30th we are releasing our new album Young Hercules. It is my baby! It  makes me want to clap my hands at the dinner table. We shot a video for one of the singles with our friend Theo Schear from the Bay Area, it’s dropping the same day hopefully. Can’t say too much else yet other than that I can’t wait to finally drop it I’m really happy with what Nick and I have accomplished since the first tape. We started working on Young Hercules the day we released Slow Rainbow, so it took us about 3 months to finish.

How would you define your sound? and how would you say it’s progressing from album to album?

I try and always have a psychedelic vibe going on in every aspect of life so there’s psych roots for sure. Slow Rainbow definitely has a very classic hip hop sound to it. Young Hercules is kind of half old school hip hop half psychedelic 80′s synth music; if that even makes sense. I think both of these albums are a really good representation of my life in the past year. I’m sure Nick feels that in some sense as well. After this release we really want to get some better equipment to take our sound to another level. Nick is a really talented engineer as well as producer and I think we are going to stay DIY for a while and keep doing everything at home.

Slow Rainbow can get pretty heavy at times.  How do some of the grimmer lyrics relate to your life?  

Im just a grimy dude I guess (*laughs). All the self deprication in Slow Rainbow was definitely real when I wrote it. It is kind of a sad album in a way. Everything I write is either something that is kind of going on in my life or just stream of consciousness. I don’t really want to give too much information about my personal life though. It can mean whatever you want. Young Hercules is kind of on a different emotional spectrum I’m feeling happier these days.

If there was a moral message, or even just a message at all within the music, what is it?

I try not to get too preachy with anything. I dont necessarily have an agenda with the lyrics. I think my lyrics are very personal but at the same time are vague enough where other people could probably identify with them. If I could say one thing to the entire world right now though at this point in my life it would probably be try and be as happy as possible, dont have kids, and dont drink strawberry Yoohoo.

Shifting gears, how did you and Lopato come to work together?

We have known eachother since middle school. We never really hung out in high school but we had classes together and talked in class and what not. I heard his early shit he was making in college and I hit him up and said we should collaborate. Nick visited 2 summers ago and we recorded 3 songs and just vibed really well in the studio. After that summer he moved up here to go to school for engineering. Now we are roomates.

How have you effected each-others styles?  How involved are you in the instrumental process?

Nick and I have a good balance life wise. He’s got his shit a little more together than me though, he’s really fucking smart. Not that I’m an idiot, he’s just really brilliant. Nick and I go digging for records together a lot. He definitely understands what kind of samples work for LIL KIDS. He engineers and produces everything I just throw in ideas and arrangement suggestions from time to time but he pretty much holds down the entire production element of our shit. Someone give him some cred! Homie can make any style of beat- he’s about to drop some solo shit on everyone, so watch out for that.

Believe me, I’m a big fan of Lopato and I do owe his solo work a blog post, especially that track he released with The Snake.  Have you been contacted by anyone in the biz yet?

Yes, a label which I will not name expressed interest in putting us on a distributional sampler but then ended up flaking on it. Im hoping they enjoy Young Hercules though.

How do you feel about the DIY music scene?

Super good. I don’t even really want to be on a label. If we could keep doing everything by ourselves, I would love that. I just want to be able to print our albums on vinyl and play a lot of shows. The idea of a label is cool but if we could do LIL KIDS full time and not have to be on a contract that would be ideal! But if someone would hook us up with a good deal or something we’d probably say yes (*laughs).  I just know that right now DIY spots have the best shows in NYC.  You can usually bring your own alcohol which is a huge plus and they are cheap!

I find that’s a common answer.  ”We’d love to stay DIY, but if someone wants to pay the bills, how can we refuse.”- it’s honest and frank.  Unfortunately, I think we are entering a time where you’ll have musicians receiving international fame, getting posted on heavy traffic sites and still not making a cent.  If you were told you’d never make a penny, would you still do it?

Yeah because there are a lot of other awesome things that come from being in a band. One is free drinks at shows the next is free drinks at shows. Also if you play a show you dont have to pay to go to it which is cool. Plus I just love the feeling of rocking the mic and being on stage- it makes me feel like I’m fucked up on some other shit. Whenever we play I feel like the set only lasted for like 10 minutes, it goes by super quick it’s crazy and weird. Also, traveling is fun and playing with your friends bands is really fun. Music is just a good time in general. Money fucking sucks in a lot of ways and makes life really cheesy and complicated. Music is always dope, even if it’s shitty.

Believe it or not, that was poetic.  So what are your plans for the future, besides releasing the new album?

Man you’re talkin like my mom! Right now im lifeguarding at different apartment buildings in the financial district i get payed 10.50 an hour to sit and fuck around on the internet. No one every comes in usually so I’m by myself all day. It’s like “oh yeah my apartment has a pool but why would I go use, it I’m too busy sending my other fellow masons emails about the next blood orgy.” I really want to make another album after this one and also step up our visual grind and do more videos. I’m trying to save up money to invest in some good recording equipment. Basically, music is my life at this point and I’m putting all my money and time into that because fuck everything else. All my friends who went to college and are in college always bitch about it and are in debt hard as hell. I worked with kids for a year I- might do something humanitarian again if I feel too viced out and need karma points.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Dingus, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , , , ,

Eula (From Home)

Posted on May 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Brooklyn indie/punk scene is a wasteland littered with talent. Bands struggle for survival while the fit stand tall in the sandstorms. Join me as I talk with Alyse Lamb, singer of local rock outfit EULA, one of the few alpha-bands on the scene.

 

 

Dingus:  Can you briefly narrate Eula’s history?

Lamb:  I met Nathan and Jeff at music school in New Haven, CT.  I had recorded a bunch of demos at the recording studio on campus, so I hesitantly showed them… I was super shy about it.  They ended up really liking the demos so we formed EULA.  We actually started as a 4-piece.  I was playing guitar, along with Nathan, with Jeff on bass and a series of non-committal drummers.  Nate eventually hopped on drums and we have been a 3-piece ever since.  Early on we played and toured around the Northeast incessantly, all the while writing and writing.  We kept getting invites to play Brooklyn so we eventually moved there in 2011.  I love Brooklyn’s kinetic energy and really supportive DIY music scene.

EULA is a sporadic project that constantly shifts energy.  Where does this personality derive from?

I think our shifts in energy can be attributed to our wide-ranging of musical influences.  When I was growing up, my mother always took me to the ballet or theater,  so I was exposed to classical, romantic, neo-classical music (Satie, Debussy, Stravinsky etc.) at a very young age.  When I would get home from the ballet, my brother would be blasting Wu Tang, N.W.A, Tribe, and my sister would be blaring Lisa Lisa or Duran Duran (she only listened to artists with two names apparently).  So my youth was musically-diverse.  I love the energy and movement of hip hop or straight up new wave dance pop but I also love the beautiful and cerebral classics.  I think this comes out in our performance as well as songwriting.

The genre combination, which I’d dare to call a car crash, creates a very unique personality and sound.  The songs on Maurice Narcisse are, without question, tied by aesthetic while remaining dynamic.  Is there a significance to their arrangement on the album, contextually, poetically or compositionally?

I think one of the greatest things a band or a group of musical performances can do is weave through genres effortlessly.  Some artists do it from album to album, but I wanted to create a 10-song composition that had dynamics while remaining aesthetic.  ”Maurice Narcisse” is a character I created that represents our society’s scary obsession with narcissism.  ”Me me me” mentality is really frightening to me, so these songs are sort of an alarm call.  Alarm calls come in a variety of different forms, so each song on the album is written in a different style or arrangement.

Do the songs each address specific issues?  Are the issues cultural or personal?

There is a healthy mix between cultural and personal on the album.  For instance, “Honor Killer” was written about the honor killings happening to gay men in Iraq, and I believe it goes straight back to a person or group of people thinking the insane notion that their “way” or viewpoint is the best “way” or viewpoint.  It’s disgusting.  And then tracks like “Hollow Cave” and “Canyon” deal with very personal narcissism, how humans have the capacity and power to negatively affect another person’s life if they choose to exercise that power.

In one line, what is the main sentiment of the album?

Never be indifferent to the plight of others.

(First three Photographs by Eric C. Groom)

 

Lets lighten it up a little bit.  How does EULA compose?

As of late, I’ve been writing and recording songs in my apartment, quietly, then I bring them to Nate and Jeff and we flesh it out with drums and bass at our practice space.  I guess this is the tiny-brooklyn-apartment way of writing.  Originally, in Connecticut, we had a huge space and lots of room and time to practice, so it would be a mix of Nathan and I writing together and separately, which was a lot more organic.  So strange how your physical surroundings totally affect the writing process.  I think these new recordings will reflect a much different vibe than our last record.

What’s in store for EULA’s future?

We are going to release a 4-song EP within the next couple months, followed by a few five-show mini tours up and down the East Coast; perhaps out West a bit.  And, in the not-so-distant future (I hope) I want our asses playing in Europe.  However I think my booking abilities only extend to the U.S. so signing on with a booking agent would be most delightful.

(Photograph by Chris Mather)

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Dingus, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , , ,

Austin Scott Ansbro (From Home)

Posted on April 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Amidst the Saturday night, New York City chaos, Austin Scott Ansbro, one of Pratt’s finest recent graduates, hosted his most precious collection yet, Ordinary People, at Trumbull Studio.  The crowded space, which saw over three hundred attendes by my count, proved the perfect venue for the brightly colored, hard line illustrations of this inventive mind.  With the head-count high, I did manage to get a few words with the artist which went something like this:

Dingus:  Austin, what is art to you?

Ansbro:  Bright colors and black lines.

(Photography by Beth Nowiki, see more at Austin’s blog)

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Dingus, T: News, WC: From Home

Tagged , , ,

The Invasion Of The Narrows (From Home)

Posted on April 27, 2012 by | Leave a comment

For the past year or so, I have had the pleasure of getting to know experimental Manchester band, The Narrows. Their sound so mysterious and dark that it crawls into your head and buries itself deep within. I have never heard anything like them. The Narrows have played festivals such as T in The Park, FOM Fest and Eurocultured. They’ve headlined the O2 Academy2 in London and The Ruby Lounge in Manchester. They have supported some impressive acts like PVT, S.C.U.M and Gallops. Zane Lowe and Tom Robinson have even showed their support towards the band. I’ve never looked at all of these things put together before but now that I have, I am amazed what they have so far accomplished. With their debut album set for release in June, I figured I would ask them about the process, about their style and about the invasion.

Lovecat:  Your debut album comes out in June. What have you been doing to prepare for it?

Narrows:  We only finished the album a couple of weeks ago, so we’ve been running around sorting out the physical releases for it. Cognitive Dissonance Recordsare releasing it on vinyl, we’re releasing it ourselves on a deluxe CD and it will also be available to download from our Bandcamp page. We’re hoping that those who buy physical copies of the album will feel it was worth it- there’s different posters for the vinyl and CD as well as other bonus stuff. We’ve also been arranging the Manchester album launch on June 8th at Soup Kitchen, with the London launch the day after and trying to figure out how to play the new songs live. So in short, we’re sorting out the boring but necessary stuff.

Your music is dark, very experimental. Are there any particular subjects that you like or prefer to write about?

Phil is responsible for the lyrics and he doesn’t like to write about “generalities” as he puts it. When you read the lyrics there’s very little open to interpretation but there can be double meaning to what he writes. The album is called “The Eve of Invasion” for a reason- it’s themes are paranoia, war, death and the role of government and media in our lives. Musically, we believe there’s joy and beauty in melancholia and we try to exploit that as often as we can.

Do you think that since your music is experimental that it gives you more room for creativity?

Yes it does. I’m not sure how experimental we are but we do try to be as thoughtful, creative and unpredictable as possible. Our first release “Through Constant Decay” was intentionally very electronic and robotic- albeit with rock guitars too. The album still has some of that but we’ve added more organic sounds too- there’s pianos, strings, live drums and percussion, acoustic guitar and banjo (yes, banjo!) which we had avoided before. There’s a lot more focus on the vocals and songwriting this time round and we spent a very long time picking the right arrangements and sounds to compliment the songs. Hence, if we felt a song would be better suited to acoustic guitar as opposed to electronics, that’s what we did.

You recently set loose a Narrows invasion on Manchester and London. Can you tell us about that?

It was just in Manchester really, though some friends travelled up from London to help out. A while ago, our art designer Tompop (www.tompop.co.uk) had an idea that we should do some sort of dark, weird flash mob. So we asked people to meet us in Manchester on April 1st, dressed in black where we would provide masks. We then marched through the busiest part of the city centre, in silence with a banner. We also got some very lovely people to help us out by filming it- the footage will form part of the video for our most recent single ‘There Are Ghosts In These Machines’. We got some very strange looks and some lovely verbal abuse too. At least nobody threw anything at us.

What do you hope to accomplish with your release? Do you have any tricks up your sleeves?

We wrote, recorded and mixed the album ourselves so it’s been a real labour of love and has taken us a long time to finish. So if people like what we’ve done, that’s vindication to us. We feel as though the album is a big step forward from what we’ve done previously and we hope others feel the same. Anything else is really just a bonus. I don’t want to give too much away in terms of tricks and other bits- there could be another pamphlet on the way, with another little treasure hunt….. Amongst other things.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Lovecat, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , ,

Surprise Attack! (From Home)

Posted on April 26, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Over the years that I have been working in music, I have had the opportunity to meet some pretty amazing individuals. Its a really, really long story but about 4 years ago I met Jason Abrishami. Jason is a very hardworking young man, fronting bands, booking shows. In June if last year he started his own management company, Surprise Attack! Management. His schedule is pretty hectic. The amount of passion and drive he puts into all of his projects is truly commendable. With an upcoming Surprise Attack! Showcase, I figured it would be a good time to pick his brain. The showcase is on May 27 at Cameo Gallery (Brooklyn) featuring 14 bands, including: Dot Square, Beach Moms, The Nico Blues, Wild International, New York Rivals, Beast Make Bomb, Edelweiss, Slam Donahue, HITS (formerly Jump Into The Gospel), Team Spirit, Eula, The Suzan, Electric Sun and Click Clack Boom. Pretty solid.

Lovecat:  When did you start up Surprise Attack?

Abrishami:  I started Surprise Attack Management during June of 2011.

Why did you want to start your own management company? What is the main goal of Surprise Attack?

I’ve been helping out managing bands for a while now and giving advice to friends that were in bands since I was about 16 years old. It seemed like the best idea for me while I was 21 at the time, gotta start young! Haha. The main goal of Surprise Attack is to help developing bands get more attention in the public eye, more so than just in the eyes of their friends and family. I began putting together showcases to help local bands play with bigger headlining bands about 4 years ago.

How many bands do you work with?

As of right now I only directly work with three bands, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled. Just because I’m directly working with three bands now doesn’t mean that I don’t help out a ton of others. I do.

How do you feel about the current state of the NYC/BK music scene?

It can get pretty diverse between the sounds coming out of Brooklyn as opposed to Manhattan. But I love em’ both.

You put together a lot of showcases featuring up and coming bands. Your next is coming up very soon, what can we expect?

Expect a festival that I put together on the 27th of May at Cameo Gallery featuring 14+ bands, it will be the biggest Surprise Attack showcase as of yet. But I will plan bigger ones for soon, stay posted!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Lovecat, T: News, WC: From Home

Tagged , , ,

Fake Flamingo (From Home)

Posted on April 18, 2012 by | 2 Comments

Fake Flamingo is a pseudo-record label/philosophical music project that asks musicians to release double singles, under false monikers.  Escaping preconception, the artists are free to experiment.  Below, I discuss the project with “Johnny”.

 

 

Dingus:  Who are you and where did this idea come from?

Johnny:  Most of the folks behind Fake Flamingo Recordings are located in California.  We are all involved in a number of different music projects, from labels to bands to publications.  Late in 2011 we were having a discussion about the allure of being able to create art (be it music or visual) without having to worry about any of the ramifications of preconceived expectations, which tend to cloud the work itself.  We thought that creating an outlet for musicians to just create was a worthwhile endeavor.  This certainly isn’t meant as a condemnation of business-as-usual music, it’s just a pathway that chooses to leave out much of the less rewarding parts of making music in order to foster creativity and get rapid feedback.

Can you briefly explain the project for my readers?  

Essentially, we are releasing a digital single each week of 2012, created by artists working under a pseudonym.  Some of the artists are well-known, others are at the front end of their careers.  The single is dropped on Bandcamp every Wednesday as a pay-what-you-want download.  In order to encourage people to actually pay for the downloads, we will be pressing up a limited edition 12″ vinyl record each time the proceeds reach $1k and 100 people who actually paid for the downloads will receive the record for free.

What is the philosophical goal of releasing under a pseudonym?

This approach came about during a discussion with some artists who expressed frustration with having to constantly respond to their previous output.  Their new work was always being compared, dissected, and analyzed based on metrics outside the merits of the music itself.  Working under a pseudonym is a somewhat common occurrence in the visual art world where it is used by artists to explore styles and themes outside their known approach without alienating their core fans and supporters.  We thought we’d apply this methodology to the music world.

An interesting approach.  How has the public been responding to the project thus far?

The response from the public has been great thus far, we are starting to see an increased interest and appreciation of the project.  More importantly, the response from the artists has be phenomenal.  The experience is proving to be exactly what it was designed for, a free and open forum to be creative.

With that said, it’s been interesting to how willing the public is to pay for downloads when they can’t see a person on the receiving end of their contribution.  Even though it’s understood that nobody is making money on this little endeavor, I can certainly see where there is a structural disconnect between giving money directly to an esoteric project rather than a human being.  We’re hoping that the promise of a physical object (limited edition 12″ vinyl record) dispels some of the feeling of sending money into a vacuum.

Will the artists ever reveal themselves?

I’ve been trying to think of a scenario where the curtain would be pulled back, so to speak, but nothing jumps out at this point.  None of the artists have expressed an interest in doing so either.  However, there have already been instances where the work has been recognized.  I guess it’s all just part of the project, seeing where it goes and whether the artists behind the tracks get outed along the way.

The record sounds great.  When do you think that will be coming out?

I would love to start pressing some records soon, but it all depends on the willingness of the community to pay for downloads.  The theory is that a buck here or a buck there will add up and we’ll be able to make something archival to mark the project, but it remains to be seen whether we’ll be able to generate enough funds to start the vinyl series.

Is there a time frame? An end to the project?

I think it’ll be a one year experiment; it’s kind of refreshing to have a start and end to things.

What have been some of your favorite projects so far?

Bypassing the expected response of “It’s hard to pick a favorite”, I’d have to say that my three favorite tracks thus far are by Muir Moor, Moss Point, and Oscar Llapso.  Those folks really pulled together some amazing tracks that fit within the concept of the label.

Is there any future for Fake Flamingo as a label?

It remains to be seen whether the project will continue after we complete the 2012 cycle.  There are a couple ideas floating around for another project in 2013 which would take a different approach.  The label is just a platform for the artists, so if abother good idea comes around we’re open to it.

 

→ 2 Comments

Posted in A: Dingus, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , , , ,

Tim Fitz (From Home)

Posted on April 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Read: As I discuss things, and other things, and things related to musical things with Australian song-writer/singer/multi-instrumentalist and all around brilliant musician, Timmy Fitz.

Dingus:  Your albums are incredibly lush and it looks like you mainly play solo with loop stations.  Do you ever play with a band?

Fitz:  I haven’t tried out my stuff with a band yet, I really like the freedom of creating the sounds with a single loop station. I like the idea of doing things live without a computer as well, to give me more freedom for improvisation. The songs end up different depending on whichever gig I play. Sometimes a track played live will be faster, mashed up with another, even have different chords under the words.

What are the defining elements in your tracks? 

I have gone through times where I have gotten heavily into the instruments in songs I’m listening to, and others where I only listen to words. I really try to keep things engaging for both of these aspects! I also have a near-phobia of people getting bored in a track, because I often find myself turning off a track if it is too repetitious. So the most important element could change from track to track, or even within sections of a track.

“ADD IT TO THE PILE OF CORPSES OF MACHINES THAT TURNED US INTO SLAVES OF MORE STORIES TO TELL.”

 

They say all brilliant artists are a little bit crazy.  You’re craziness manifests itself well within eclectically arranged songs that, truly, pay deep homage to a vast line up of amazing 21st century artists.  What are some of your inner thought processes that have helped create the psyche we see in Beforetime?

Like you say, this EP is very much about paying homage to heaps of the music that I love. I love so much in jazz, electronic, noise, rap, funk, and rock (even some country from time to time). I grew up playing classical piano and drums, then I got really interested in funk bass and then lyrical folk guitar stuff. So now I just have a few instruments and many (seemingly conflicting) genres that I just want to explore, to mash together in interesting ways and maybe make people go ‘Oh! That was unexpected.’ But I agree, things do get a little crazy. On the day I recorded ‘The Line’ I showed it to a mate and he said ‘I want it to get louder in the middle’ so decided to go all out with some high fuzz guitar and heavy drum cut-ups. He just laughed when I showed him the song.

Do you ever feel like the schizophrenic nature (regarding genre) of your songs hinders your identity as an artist?

I definitely feel like the lack of a signature sound, to a certain extent, is part of my musical identity at the moment. But I recognize there are issues with the accessibility of a body of music that flits so frequently between genres. Maybe. OR maybe skipping genres between songs creates an artistic platform more cohesive to the short-attention spans of an itunes generation. But, I guess in the past the great artists have been the ones with an original ‘sound’ that you can recognize them by but who still manage variation within that framework.

Some of the greatest acts (Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead) span lengthy careers across multiple genres, but your music smashes them all together into one.  How were you brought up musically?

In terms of musical upbringing, I grew up in Papua New Guinea in a pretty musical family, with a combination of Nashville gospel music, and the tribal music of the people there. After moving back to Australia, I always wanted to learn drums so started teaching myself, and also learned classical piano for most of school. When I was 15 I discovered Led Zeppelin and through the next few years got really into all the modern music movements, the main ones being rock, funk, jazz, punk, prog., electronic and folk. So, pretty varied stuff but no different to most musicians I think. Everyone is on their own musical journey…

To date, what has been your most memorable music experience?

There is a swedish Drums/Vocals duo called Wildbirds and Peacedrums that played a show in Sydney last year, in a big old stone building. I think of it as my ‘favourite gig’, and it was right after a long period of being not excited about music at all. The singer’s voice was so powerful that in some songs she just sung un-amplified over the chaos of the drums. Seeing what they did that night with just improvised drums and vocals made me see once again that music is deep and instinctive. That long ago when people first started to create music for the first time, it came from inside them through singing, and through interacting with objects in their environment, like hitting two pieces of wood together. That really inspired me, and it was just after that I decided to record an EP.

http://vimeo.com/26901818

→ Leave a comment

Posted in A: Dingus, WC: From Home

Tagged , , , , , ,