D-Day 2

D-Day is a military term that refers to the day of a combat attack or operation; More specifically, it refers to the date June 6, 1944, when allied forces advanced upon the beaches of Normandy in one of the bloodiest, most important and most famous battles of World War 2.

D-Day TWO refers to January 9, 2009, a day that will surely live in infamy, where eight bands will storm the neighborhood of East Williamsburg to kick off the new year at Vanishing Point in one of the biggest shows with one of the best lineups imaginable.

This is eight bands for eight dollars, fellas. Since I don't have the energy to write up a description of all eight groups playing, I'll do it all in two paragraphs. So here goes:

the Beach Arabs are an alternative rock group in the same arm (if not quite the same vein) as Built to Spill or Dinosaur Jr. Also fronted by mr. Fabian Kaupert will be the Bloodthirsty Unicorns, who enter a bit more psychedelic territory. Datura (lacking a myspace) is my own band, which fills the slot of the local scene's only other post rock band, swaying somewhere on the pendulum between ambiance and awesomenes from song to song. Take psychedelic drugs, and come see Datura. Then there's also Calamus, who always deliver a great show. An acoustic intermission to the rest of the show; play great and they write great songs, so let them take you on a journey.

Also playing will be Telecosmic, a noise rock band with a new 7 member lineup that I have yet to hear. Veteran teen rockers Sister Helen will be there to rock the kasbah. Featuring Nathan Campbell, one of the best singers yet to graduate in the city of New York, progged out bass runs at lightspeed by Eva Lawitts, scorching lead guitar by Chris Krasnow and beats by THE DEFINITION of a rock drummer, Clint Mobley, when all is said and done they are hands down one of the most solid sounding groups to play this scene and you should be as excited to see them as I am. Brooklyn indie rockers The Mighty Handful will also be making an appearance, and I'm sure they'll be bringing their over the top stage antics and frantic live energy with them for lots of good times all around. Finally, last one the lineup would be the funk renegades of Banzai. By far they represent the most rhythmically inclined group in the all ages Brooklyn scene, and I know that that's not necessarily saying a lot... but in this case, it is, because they are truly awesome.

SO there you have it, eight dollars, doors at 6, show at 6:30, eight band lineup, and perhaps the best part of all, it's SUPER fucking easy to get there!

WHERE: Vanishing Point, in Brooklyn, at 240 Meserole st.


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WHO:
I'm not sure on the final lineup, SO JUST GET THERE BEFORE 6:30 OR ELSE YOU WILL MISS YOUR FAVORITE BAND!
(in no particular order)
The Beach Arabs
The Bloodthirsty Unicorns
Calamus
Datura
Sister Helen
Telecosmic
The Mighty Handful, and
Banzai

WHEN: January 9 at 6 30

HOW MUCH: EIGHT fucking dollars so FUCKING be there!

Moving along

I should also take this time to announce another great lineup the very next day after the awesome Vanishing Point show- so now introducing, the awesome Tank show!

On the 10th of January, there will be a show at the Tank. At this show, present, will be Telecosmic, The Bloodthirsty Unicorns, and Datura, as well as Alternative Funk Rockers The Corrao Q and 8 Bit Rock Heroes Graffiti Monsters. The lineup is fucking great, so let's get down to it!

WHERE: The Tank's temporary location @ 354 45th street


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WHO:
in THIS order-
Bloodthirsty Unicorns, at 7 30
Telecosmic, at 8 15
Datura, at 9
Graffiti Monsters, at 9 45, and
The Corrao Q, at 10 30

WHEN: January 10, at 7 30!

HOW MUCH: $10

Broken Hands and Favorite Bands

Christmas didn't come at all for my band Datura this year. I knew that things would be a little less merry than usual as I sat in the emergency room with Jeremy Carroll, our unfortunate guitar player who we would shortly find out had broken his hand. No amount of morphine would cure the sinking feeling that I'm sure was coming over him as well; a broken hand is one thing. A broken hand for a guitar player is another matter entirely.

It looks like our shows on the 9th at Vanishing Point and on the 10th at the Tank will not be happening, but you never know. Miracles happen. And besides, it's his right hand; if he can hold a pick, then even if his hand is busted, we might be able to make some music for y'all.

Well anyway, let me tell you about some shows coming up.

First and foremost, it is LONG overdue for me to report on one happy fact. My good friend and comrade David Pollack is back from UVM for the holidays, and his band Play is performing at Sullivan Hall tomorrow with Hey Zeus at 6:30 PM

Here's the skinny

WHERE: the LION'S DEN / SULLIVAN HALL at 214 Sullivan St between west 3rd and Bleecker street


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WHEN: Friday, January 2, at 6:30 PM

WHO: Play and Hey Zeus

HOW MUCH: a whopping ten dollars. Suck it up, they won't be back for a while : (

Next on the menu is a chock-full-of Brooklyn Goodness at a relatively new venue called Vanishing Point, which recently had its cherry popped at a New Years party that, from what I understand, could be described as nothing short of absolutely wild.

Opening the show would be a band 'whose mystery is exceeded only be their power' (according to their myspace) by the name of The5xFast. Next on line is a rock group that wields a feverish blend of psychedelia and funk. Groaning vocals, trippy guitar work and slick drums make for one of the tighter groups that I've heard this side of the legal drinking age- they are Neutra, and you should definitely check them out.

The rest of this show looks to be a total scorcher, with two of my favorite local bands playing back to back. First are the funky Brooklyn beat banditos Banzai. They are a band that is always worth seeing. Their energy is always high and their songs are always fresh, and they can slap a bass like no other. Then headlining is the band that blows your band's ass straight out of the water, Le Rug. Some of my friends call them Twee. I call them badass. They're the band whose CD is almost always in my boombox. If you don't think that they're the best, then you can remove me from your facebook friends right this instant.

WHERE: Vanishing Point


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WHO:
The5xFast
Neutra
Banzai, and
Le Rug

WHEN: Saturday, January 3rd at 9pm

And then, on the 9th and the 10th, we have two absolutely AWE INSPIRING lineups at Vanishing Point and at the Tank respectively, but this post has been big enough- so I shall spare you until tomorrow.

Cheers!

Haven't been going to shows

I haven't been able to go to very many shows lately- nor will I be able to for probably the rest of December

I feel like I can't promote anything for a little while and I'll tell you why- I don't really know who's good and who's bad anymore. I just missed two of my favorite bands, Le Rug and Banzai, and I realized that I have really been missing the vast vast majority of these shows

Because I have so much downtime during the week, but because I'm usually very busy on the weekend, I'm going to come up with a fantastic alternative

I am going to try to record some live acoustic sets from some of my favorite acts and host them right here for you all, and I promise to use this space a little bit more interestingly from now on

I can promise some CD reviews of local bands, I'll continue promoting for bands that I know, and I'll try to make some videos to keep everyone entertained- cool as kim deal!

The Big One

So my last post, I told you about a couple of great shows coming up in November

This post is going to be about just one of them.

Sunday,
November 30th,
at the Bowery Poetry Club

Why is this one so special? I'll give you SIX very good reasons.

1) It is my band Datura's 3rd show, and boys and girls- not to be cocky but we are getting pretty good

2) It is my friend Audri's new band's FIRST SHOW! Their debut perfomance in the NYC scene! You should DEFINITELY come and catch Moustache Contortion's first ever show, because they are going to be good

3) Calamus might be down a member or two for this show, but they are talking about some singer/songwriter singalongs or something. Whatever those boys come up with, they're talented, so I trust them

4) Moose is making an appearance, and if you don't know how I feel about Moose then just read some of my other posts and you'll understand why I am always so excited to see them.

Plus their frontman Jeremy writes, sings and plays guitar in my band

5) We are taping the WHOLE SHOW. That's right, the whole thing. We'll be making CDs for all y'all of some of the performances

and 6) is that it is only five dollars. ONLY FIVE DOLLARS, OK? That's really cheap. I didn't book this show for the money, I booked it because it's going to rock. You should DEFINITELY come.

Here's what I wrote up about each act on the Facebook event page:

Moose"

Check out the psychedelic space funk of the future! A slap bass booty shakin attack over trippy post present post rock whatever the hell guitar wailing from another planet

"Calamus"

The reason why we all started playing music anyway. It don't get much better than a couple of guitars and a big ol pack of doubla bass. Folk songs that you'll approve of easily

"Moustache Contortion"

Now they aint finalized the band name yet- it was Moustache Contortion last I checked. Who knows- maybe today they're the Whatever the Hells. All I know is that Audri is a wily rascally little thing and she knows a thing or two about music.

This is their debut, folks! Who knows what to expect. Singer songwriter strikes back with some pizzazz from the most talented band ever given the Stuyvesant Test Seal of Approval, or five foot diva fronted soul shaking cabaret fright fest?

If you know anything about anything, you will not miss this!

And finally

"Datura"

My own heart and soul, a rag tag festival of Ragamuffins, Runaways and All Around No Good Kids, playing it by the sleeves of our shirts every night just happy to make it back in one piece. Every show is an adventure with us, so pack a canteen, some beef jerkey and your best space boots and come for a ride!


WHEN: Sunday, November 30th, 2pm - 5:30 pm
WHERE: The Bowery Poetry Club

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WHO:
MOOSE is starting this riot off at 2pm
CALAMUS kicking ass, taking names at 2:50
the MOUSTACHE CONTORTIONS at 3:40
and DATURA at a good and healthy 4:30
HOW MUCH:

FIVE
FUCKING
DOLLARS

If the show in question is the same price as a turkey and roast beef sandwich with lettuce, honey mustard and cheese... well the sandwich sounds good, but seriously, go see this show!

In the Merry Merry Month of November

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So I'm going to branch out a little bit for this update, and not only tell you what shows I'm excited for, but also tell you a little bit about something else that's important to me...

...but let's start with the music, because that's what this is all about

Pretty much every week this month, there's a good show or two, starting this weekend at NYU with our friends the Graffiti Monsters playing alongside one of my favorite live acts, not of the local music scene but of all time, Yeasayer.

Graffiti Monsters combine straightforward rock and roll with Louis Shannon's unique brand of bleeps, beeps and boops from his gameboy-turned-instrhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7616361347581793141ument-of-music. I had the pleasure of catching them at the Bushwick Starr a few weeks ago, and they easily get my seal of approval. You can see some of pictures from the show HERE



Well anyway, they're playing with Yeasayer, and if you don't know who that is, well there is no point in explaining- you should really check out this song and GO TO THE SHOW!

When: Saturday, November 15, 8-11pm
Where: At 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South

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Who: The Graffiti Monsters, Ponytail, and Yeasayer.
HOW MUCH: $12 - an EASY price to pay for Yeasayer, and the Graffiti Monsters are great as well!!

The week after, I have to support my friends from Calamus as they hit up Sullivan Hall for a Battle of the Bands. With any luck and with your help, they'll win a chance to record themselves which would be a great benefit to them... and they rock, so they have my full support anyway.

WHEN: Saturday, November 22, at 7pm
WHERE: Sullivan Hall

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WHO: Calamus
HOW MUCH: $10 in advance, $12 at the door! Hit them up on their myspace to buy tickets in advance!

And finally, on the 28th, we have Women, The Comfort and Chairlift at Don Hill's

I haven't heard any of these bands before, but I've always meant to go see the Comfort. There's nothing that I can really tell you, but I'll say that I like Don Hill's, and this'll probably be a pretty good show!

WHEN: Friday, November 28, 7:15 - 9:30 pm
WHERE: Don Hill's, at 511 Greenwich St.

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WHO: Women, The Comfort, and Chairlift

There are some more shows that I'll be promoting later this week, but three is quite enough for now- and besides, I've got something else to talk about

Proposition 8

If you don't know about it, go ahead and read. Basically, we all know that gay marriage has been an issue in this country, but recently, California of all places has passed Prop. 8 and thus has banned gay marriage- a great blow both to Californians, to Civil Rights, and in my opinion, to humanity in general.

I'm sure they're going to be raising all kinds of hell in California, and I'm sure they won't rest until gays have equal rights... so what can you do here in New York City?

There is a protest this Saturday, on the 15th (don't worry, it's before the Graffiti Monsters/Yeasayer show)

It starts at 1:30 pm at City Hall (260 Broadway)

I don't think that protesting in NYC is the most effective answer for overturning proposition 8 in California. HOWEVER! I believe it's VERY important for everyone to voice themselves on this issue, and to give support in whatever way that they can. FOR THAT REASON, I have decided that I will be making a video not only of the protest, but to represent the opinions of New Yorkers regarding this important issue.

This is civil rights. It's not about politics. This is worth getting beaten, hosed, tasered or gassed, worth being arrested for, and CERTAINLY worth your support. If you can help me in any way- by bringing a camera to film or photograph the protest, by making art or music for the film, narrating with a speech or essay, WHATEVER else, please let me know at

Gabe.Stranahan@Gmail.com

And PLEASE come to this protest on Saturday!

Thank you!

Black President, Fuck Yeah!

Needless to say, I am going to in the near future write up an article to better express exactly how I feel about this historic moment, but for now I'll just say

Fuck yeah!!!

BLACK President!!!

Barack Obama, '08

Post Halloween Meltdown

So if you're anything like me, and I know everyone's a bit like I am, then you'll probably be frazzled and fucked three times sideways after Halloween.

There is no better way to decompress than to go see some loud yet soothing music, crooning in your ears like your mother used to, but with electric guitars and drums and basses.

The venue is DON HILL'S (DIRECTIONS!!!)
The bands are as follows-

6:45 - FIRST ON THE MOON! (I have no myspace for these guys but I think they're a lot of fun)
7:30 - THE IVY LEAGUE (Adrian Simon & Co... They write some good pop tunes, definitely check them out if that's what you're into
8:15 - DATURA. This is my band- if you didn't catch us at our first show, then do do do come
9 - THE SHAPES (One of my personal favorites)
10 - CHEWING PICS

The show will be $10

Get your money's worth!

Also worth promoting, also worth mentioning here is a show happening a little later in our lives on November 7- a Friday- at the 6th st. Community Center. There are some good bands involved and I'm not really in a chatty mood, so this time I will simply tell you to SURELY come and get right down to business

WHERE: The Sixth Street Community Center (DIRECTIONS!!!)

WHO:
Sister Helen
The Comfort
Telecosmic
Neutra
Women

WHEN: from 6 til 10 m'lrds

The price is like 6 bucks or ten bucks or whatever. Find it within your hearts folks.

I'm personally excited for Sister Helen, who are always a treat because they can play like hell and are one of the only bands in the high school circuit who actually have a SINGER who can take pride in the fact that he SINGS, not mumbles, groans or shouts mind you but SINGS his songs

I'm also excited to see Tola's new project The Comfort who I missed last time. He's a capable musician, but more than that he's a capable artist and it reflects in most everything he does so I'm sure the Comfort is no exception

Ultra-Homogenized

I read a great quote by Jim Jarmusch the other day where he was talking about how mass media and commercial and popular music homogenize culture. There are so many different styles of music from all over the world, and yet popular music manages to make all of it sound the same by homogenizing it all. That is, you take take another style, and incorporate it while trying to make it fit pre-existing formulas. Like when hip hop samples some cool jazz lick, or some gospel organ track or a Spanish guitar riff but just repeats it over and over again to the same simple beats and the same lyrical styles.

Almost any famous hip hop artist does it. Take Snoop Dogg or Jay Z, who have both incorporated Bhangra in their music at one point or another. They succeeded in Homogenizing Indian music by taking some track of a guy chanting to some eastern sounding scale or some simple westernized sitar lick and repeating it over and over again, and then it's 'boom tch boom tch' same old same old hip hop drums and same old boring style of rap. It's like they just grabbed the sample, put it in the pro-tools track, and that's it- that's the end of the thought process.

Jay Z feat. Punjabi MC

Snoop Dogg for Bollywood film Singh is King

Here is an attempt to merge two very extensive and incredible cultures- Indian music, which is beautiful and complex, with hip-hop, a style which has produced some of the most notable advancements in modern culture and music- and the result just sounds like any other pop song.

You can see the same thing with almost any big name Spanish hip hop artist; Take my word for it, I live in Bushwick and I wake up to that shit every morning like clockwork.

If you listen to someone like the RZA on the other hand, when he incorporates new styles into his music, he produces something that's really ABOUT that, it really becomes about what's unique in it, instead of becoming something about what people already know and have already heard, that just SAMPLES something unique or new.

DJ Shadow does the same, especially on his album Endtroducing, which is made entirely from samples of everything from rock, to jazz, to new wave, funk, blues, and even metal, all mixed together with hip-hop style, for one of the most original albums I have heard of any genre

I'll also credit Tamur Records' own Brandon Can't Dance for transcending genre on any and all of his albums, mixing his own style with hip hop, electronic dance beats, alternative rock guitar riffing, crooning vocals, african drumming and, well, anything that comes to mind to create a totally inspirational and eclectic jamboree.

Don't homogenize! If you hear something cool from another culture, genre or style, don't be afraid to put it in your music. Don't let the thought process stop with some sample that you throw into pro-tools. Of all the music from all the cultures of around the world, there has just got to be more at your fingertips than Jay-Z and Punjabi MC

Post Rock And You

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One of the questions that I get most often must be, "What the fuck is post rock?"

As both a fan and a perpetrator of the genre with what I imagine to be the most pretentious title, (barring perhaps only 'art music') I've come to embrace something that most people clearly don't want to wrap their minds around. I don't mean to say that condescendingly; it's just that most people run like the devil when a word like 'post rock' is so much as uttered within a five block radius... and yet the title is completely valid.

If you've heard of Explosions in the Sky, then you have heard of Post Rock Music, but that doesn't explain very well why the fuck it's called 'post rock' at all. Explosions in the Sky? You've heard of 'em- they're that Texas band that plays those cool instrumental songs for like ten minutes apiece with the guy from the movie Drumline. Well what do they have to do with anything?

When I tell somebody that I want them to listen to some Post Rock, I'm probably not talking about Explosions in the Sky. More likely than not, I am referring to British 80's New Wave stars Talk Talk, and the commercially stagnant but culturally monumental release of their 1988 album Spirit of Eden. People will refer to an armada's worth of different bands as the 'originators' of post rock, crediting anyone from 70's Krautrock experimentalists Can to 60's early punkers The Velvet Underground to 90's shoegaze masterminds My Bloody Valentine.

Personally, I don't care. I don't set the mark at Talk Talk's album Spirit of Eden because I would dare say they were the first... I put the bar fairly and squarely there because they set it the highest. Wherever you might think it started, it wasn't until halfway through the 90's that anybody anywhere actually used the words 'Post' combined with 'Rock' to describe somebody's music, and by that time there had been a slew of utterly amazing bands who had done it and gotten it right, and what the term means is this:

Post Rock is rock instrumentation- drums, guitar, bass, keys, etc- to communicate rhythms, melodies, harmonies and chord progressions that would not obviously be associated with rock music. It is 'post rock' because it can only happen AFTER the establishment of all the preconditions and preconceptions for the genre of rock music. Once it uses the same instrumentation to defy all the standards set by rock, it is 'post rock'.

Unsurprisingly, such a standard for a genre creates the possibilities for some very cool and very unusual music to be made, and that's what I want to tell you about now. I already mentioned Talk Talk- one of my favorite bands- and their album Spirit of Eden, but also worth mentioning is their final album Laughing Stock.

An obvious evolution from Talk Talk would be Icelanders Sigur Ros with their ambient guitars, hypnotic singing, and heavy use of string and even xylophone melodies. For another eclectic group of Icelanders, you can check out múm with their minimalist electronic beats and their bells and whistles and all the other melodic contraptions that they employ.

A hop and a skip away in Ireland, we've got the band that's quickly risen to become my all time favorite, God is an Astronaut. I won't bother describing them to you, becase basically, everything that this band has put out is worth getting your hands on, so you should just do it without worrying about what time signatures they play in or whatever else.

And if you've been bearing with me so far, I've got a few more suggestions that I'll just throw out on a little list here for you to go and Napster or BitTorrent or, god forbid maybe actually buy with your own money, so here goes:

- 65daysofstatic
- Russian Circles
- Mogwai
- The Album Leaf
- This Will Destroy You
- Spiritualized

and of course Godspeed! You Black Emperor

And if you're looking a bit closer to home, a bit more locally, then look no further because we have two quite wonderful friendly neighborhood post rock bands around by the names of Moose and my own band Datura, both featuring my favorite guitar player under the legal age, Jeremy Carroll. Subscribe at the top of the page and you'll get updates with our show dates- I can tell you right now that Moose will be playing a fully improv'd gig at Goodbye Blue Monday, so-

WHO: Moose
WHERE: Goodbye Blue Monday (DIRECTIONS!!!)
WHEN: 5:45
HOW MUCH: not much. I dunno, just go my children go

8 Bit? You Bet

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It's been a while since I've last updated this thing. It's becoming something of a once-a-month kind of gig. This blog was always meant to reflect my attitude towards the local teen and young music scene, so I guess it tells you something that I don't update it nearly as often; But every now and then something comes along that I can't ignore, and right now that would be NY2NO's 8bit show.



Before I get to the details, I'll entice you a little bit with what this is all about. First and foremost is obviously the music, and NY2NO always tries their hardest to bring you the best acts around. This time, they've got 8-bit superstars Starscream on board along with up and comers ARE, the Graffiti Monsters, and a group that's unknown to me called This Is Game.

I'll be listening to them soon and reporting back to you, of course.


And secondly, there is the fact that NY2NO is a fantastic group that does a fantastic job bringing youth from the streets of NY over to the streets of New Orleans to help rebuild. So far as I've seen, everything that they've ever done is worth endorsing, and they will always have my full support.

Now... For those of you who aren't familiar with 8 bit, I'll lay it on you like this. Imagine your favorite music from Mario Brothers, the Legend of Zelda, or Pokemon... and then imagine it curb stomping your face and breakdancing over your grave on steroids. If you have a hard time wrapping your head around my explanation, then do yourself a favor and listen to Sabrepulse or Anamanaguchi, and if you're still not on board with what these folks are preachin, then you can kill yourself or something because we don't like you

The act that's got me most excited would certainly be Starscream- one of the only bands I've seen under the legal age who can drive me to mosh because I like their music, and not because I'm trying to ignore it. Maybe to you that's a feat not so impressive unto itself, but when it processes in that brain of yours that they are doing it with a couple of gameboys and a skeleton of a drumkit... yeah, now you're starting to get the idea. Suffice it to say: They are awesome.

...Which is not to say that you shouldn't also be excited for the rest of the lineup! Graffiti Monsters blend eclectic 8-bit debauchery with playful vocals and guest-star a myriad of other instruments for a sound that you will agree, if NOTHING else, is absolutely unique. I personally dig it to hell and back.

Next we'll move the microscope over to ARE. Drum and bass. And gameboy. They've got a sound that'll bring you back to the day you bought your first Pokemon cartridge. It's pretty classic 8 bit stuff- not as put together as Starscream or Graffiti Monsters, from what I can tell of their myspace page, but the live drums and bass are sure to make for an appetizing live show.

We Are Game is the group that I've heard the least about... but their music sounds solid and both members are true 8 bit veterans and seasoned musicians so if they keep their heads on straight I'm sure they'll blow your shoes straight off your little dancin' feet.

Look- the bottom line is that this'll be one hell of a show; The perfect thing, I think you'll find, to remedy a case of the 'boring friday afternoons'

Let's get to it then

This gig is FRIDAY, October 17th. Three days, just enough time to get mad excited, but not enough for you to lose interest... though perhaps I overestimate my readers

Time: Friday, 6-9pm
Place: The Bushwick Starr (DIRECTIONS!!!)
Lineup:
ARE
Starscream
Graffiti Monsters
This Is Game
Cost: A whopping $7. The general rule for things that cost under ten dollars is- if it's more fun than its price in weed, DO IT! And this'll be a helluva lot more fun that $7 worth of grass
What else do you need to know:

ALL PROCEEDS go to Ny2No! If a good show for seven dollars isn't enough to convince you, then let the fact that it's for an incredible cause change your mind! Ny2No will also be selling shirts and stuff, and probably snacks, so that's a plus as well

Annndd I think that about covers it! I truly wish I could see you all there. Revel in peace my friends!

-Gabriel 'Kung Fu'

Gabriel 'Kung Fu'

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This Website says that only forty percent of Americans believe in evolution

Folks, this is not one of those things that is up to our opinions to decide for ourselves. That is like having only forty percent of people believe that the sun is a star

It's not that people are stupid... well, they are stupid... but that's not even what it is. People just don't like to think for themselves because that is a quality which no longer seems to have any value. Rationalizing, analyzing, no no no...

People learn more from their church groups than they learn from their schools. In school, the most valuable ability is the ability to listen to information and repeat it with consistency. When you don't learn anything but horseshit in public school anyway, then you end up with the same thing that comes out your ass coming straight out of your mouth

If you ever get out of New York City, you will hear people tell you things like, 'well it's the THEORY of evolution, smart ass, doesn't mean they've proven it!'

You know what you tell them?

'it's called the THEORY of gravity, smart ass, go jump off your roof and see if they've proven it or not'




So what does this have to do with music or any of that good stuff that I said I'd be writing about?

Nothing. I just haven't been posting on this thing as much as I oughta and this is what I've been thinking about

Gabriel 'Kung Fu'

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'Teen Bands'

While most teen musicians will resent the 't-word' as a prefix or even a disclaimer to describe their work, and having 'made the rounds' as both a performer and a fan in the 'teen scene,' I cannot bring myself to sympathize with those who would do away with the term.

A 'young band' is a band whose members are in their late teens or early twenties, and has no negative connotations attached. The term suggests a band with potential on the first leg of their journey

A 'college band' is a band comprised of college students, and in most cases, does not presume any degree of permanence or completion. After college, the 'college band,' having run its course, will disband, except in rare cases

A 'teen band' however, is the Scarlet Letter of band description. It is a badge worn reluctantly but with a sense of pride- a sense of pride which, regrettably, is more often than not misplaced. It is a warning to friends and family that their ten bucks will perhaps be not wisely spent, but hey they are 'doing their thing' even if the music wasn't worth the money.

The vast majority of teen bands suck.

And the ones that don't suck are usually boring.

But hey, it's still fun to go to shows and see what your friends are into and what the scene is turning into every now and then, so I still go sometimes to catch an act or two.. But I'm not here to talk to you about all of the shitty teen bands there are in NYC.

I'm here to talk to you now about the two bands that I think best represent the MINORITY of teen bands out there; the minority of teen bands that are good, that play with talent, perform with conviction and work hard to put together full and complete no bullshit songs instead of flailing around on stage because they just learned what guitar tapping is a week ago.

Viva Mayday is a politically inclined three piece rock/reggae band that I affectionately describe to friends as "The Living Things if they had grown up listening to Bob Marley"

http://www.myspace.com/vivamayday



Moose, also a three piece, is the band which in my mind definitively draws the line of exactly where and when you can still be post rock without dropping your vocals

http://www.myspace.com/thebandmoose (no recordings ;_; )



Both bands display incredible musicianship from each of their members. Both bands show kids who can not only play like hell, but who can play like hell together. And both bands have the single element that is most lacking in other teen bands: passion.

When Jafe (Viva Mayday) is on the tips of his toes, eyes closed, bouncing to the beat, chanting the chorus, 'Don't let them die, don't let them die,' you can tell that this was his mission since the day he was born, to change the world with his anthems, to do his best or be damned.

And when Jeremy (Moose) is turning circles on stage with his head bowed under the force of his own music like a man possessed, you can see that it is his heart and soul going into his songs, and you can surely hear it as well.

Did I mention that both frontmen are also fantastic guitar players? While many of you probably have a number of friends who you might joke 'eat, sleep and breath' guitar, this would not accurately describe Jeremy, as he would be too busy actually playing the damned thing all day long to do anything else. The clearly Hendrix-inspired youth does one hell of a job adapting Jimi's rhythm and lead playing style to Moose's effects-laden post rock sound.

Jafe on the other hand pays homage to the gods of Reggae as he puts his talents towards palm muted rhythmic playing, opting to sing the melodies instead of playing them. And then, he unleashes a solo, and you can't help but think of the players who first made you love the sound of a guitar.

On the bass, Moose deploys the WMD of a musician Dylan LaPointe who alternates between the best slap bass you've heard that wasn't Flea, Les Claypool or Victor Wooten, and a more melodic style of playing that emphasizes Moose's melodies in case you didn't catch them under Jeremy's thunderous guitarwork.

Meanwhile, Viva Mayday boasts the rhythm section from hell, consisting of drummer Gian and bassist Duke. Hearing them live, you'd think the two share the same heartbeat. They play together like a lock and a key, like a fork and a knife, like beer and TV- like a bass and the drums should sound. All bassists and drummers know that the guitar player and the singer always get all the credit, but credit is due where credit has been earned, so do give them some respect the next time you see them play!

To conclude, I would say that... yes, probably all hope has been lost for teen music, but there are at least two canaries in the coal mine... and take my word for it, these two can sing like fucking angels

MOOSE is playing at DON HILLS (DIRECTIONS) with
AUDRI AUGENBRAUM,
THE SHAPES,
And my new band DATURA

on September 13 at 5:30!



VIVA MAYDAY is playing at The Bowery Poetry Club (DIRECTIONS) on September the 20th at 3 o clock with CHOCOLATE BOY, MAYBE ROBOT, and more

Free Show this Saturday!

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Hello friends-

So it's Sunday night, and I'm still recovering from Alexandra's show on Myrtle Ave.

The lineup was superb. I especially enjoyed Le Rug, and the Hipster Mess aka Mighty Handful also put on a terrific show, though everybody was great

I'm going to have my pictures up on my Flickr later this week. You can see my page here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10115907@N04/

OK! So now I'll get to the point. There have been some awesome shows these past few weeks, and the trend doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

This Saturday, first we have a free show in Washington Square Park which I have taken a hand in organizing

Here is the DEAL!

The show starts at one o clock, and should be going on til around 6 or 7 in the afternoon. The lineup looks something like this!

TOLA BRENNAN - 1:00
HANK CRAWFORD/AVIVA SKYE - 1:30
BABY DINO - 2:00
GAYTHAN (Nathan Campbell) - 2:30
LADY CHAA - 3:00
SONS OF AN ILLUSTRIOUS FATHER - 3:30
AUDRI AUGENBRAUM - 4:00
LILY - 4:30
CALAMUS - 5:30
KANE DULANEY BALSER - 6:00

The show will take place in the South East corner of Washington Square Park, and is totally free- though I would GREATLY appreciate some donations to help pay for my other PA system & Speakers, which were broken during Alexandra & Sophia's show last Saturday



Later that night, there is going to be a BENEFIT SHOW for NY2NO

You can find pictures from the LAST NY2NO show HERE



This one looks really great as well- here's what the lineup for the night is gonna look like!

THE MIGHTY HANDFUL
INSIDE DOGS
RADIATES
STARSCREAM
RUNTIME ERROR

HERE ARE THE DETAILS!

The show starts at 6pm and goes on til 10pm

It is only FIVE DOLLARS and is of course all ages

The venue is a place called STFO, and is located in Brooklyn on 280 Washington Avenue

A map can be found HERE

I suggest you go to both as they are both going to be amazing shows, so have a good week and I look forward to seeing you there!

Saturday is a Pretty Big Day

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Lots of shows coming up this saturday- I don't think I'll be able to make any of them, unfortunately due to a (shhhh don't tell anyone) surprise party for a friend that I'm helping to put together, but that doesn't mean I can't tell you where they are, when they are, how to get there, and why you should definitely be there, so here goes!

I'm gonna attempt to do this in chronological order.

At NOON!

My good friends in the band Jesse Fiasco will be putting on a show at the Grace Church School! The best part about this show is that it is absolutely free to go and watch them play.

Where: The Grace Church School @ East 10th St. btw. Broadway and 4th Av.

DIRECTIONS!!

When: 12 - 2 pm

Why: I don't know if this is pop songs being played by punk people, or punk songs being played by pop people, but it's not pop, and it's not punk, and it's not pop-punk- Sam Davison has got some really terrific stage antics, Cole can play that guitar, and Rebecca is there to show you what female drummers can do. Their songs are danceable, loud, and a lot of fun, and they ALWAYS put on a good show!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next show is at the Knitting Factory, where Anything Orange, Viva Mayday, and the Evening News are playing a show.

Where: The Knitting Factory @ 74 Leonard Street

DIRECTIONS!!

When: from 6pm til 10pm!

Now this show is THREE DOLLARS to buy a ticket in advance, and five dollars at the door!

BUY TICKETS HERE!!!

This one is going to be a GOOD SHOW! I just saw Viva Mayday at Moshing for Mobilization, and they are a lot of fun, definitely check this one out!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Next on Saturday's long list of things to do is a show with Gotham and Banzai at Sullivan Hall- this one is ten dollars ($10) and starts at 6:45

Where: Sullivan Hall (formerly the Lion's Den) @ 214 Sullivan Street

DIRECTIONS!!!

When: 6:45 pm - 8:30 pm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And last but not least, we've got this crazy shit going down at our favorite, at the Tank, at 9:30!

The lineup for this show will be Radiates, our buddies in Starscream, and the So So Glos who I unfortunately have just been unable to see all year due to one thing or another.

This show is gonna be killer- it's only six bucks, all three bands are phenomenal (I'm quite partial to Starscream in particular, but I'll give credit where credit's due and these guys all most certainly deserve it)

WHERE: The Tank @ 279 Church St.

DIRECTIONS!!!

WHEN: 9:30pm - midnight



Alright! So that's all I know of this Saturday. This will be a busy day for you if you are a music lover. Go forth, my children! Enjoy, dance safe, and don't take too many pills.

Fingers in Pies

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I have my fingers in a couple of pies right now, so to speak, so I'm gonna take this opportunity to promote a few of them.

In May, I've got a couple things coming up.

May 10th is not one of mine, but I want to promote this show a little bit because it's two bands who are good friends of mine- Play and The Archetypes

The show is at Sullivan Hall

DIRECTIONS!!

It's a ten dollar show, starts at 7pm, you should absolutely check it out!



Then on May 17th, my friends Lunar Station and Dr. Robot will be hitting up Don Hill's from 5:30 - 8pm

DIRECTIONS!!

It'll be ten dollars, and it's Lunar Station's first show. You should definitely come to support them! After Lunar Station and Dr. Robot, the Ivy League will be taking the stage. They are also a great band who I've played shows with in the past- if you're into pop/rock kind of music, then you should stick around for them as well



THEN on May 18th, my band has a show at the Tank-

I don't know who we'll be playing with just yet. I had been talking to Consumer Feedback a while ago about putting on a show at the Tank, so I hope they'll still be up for it, and also there is a new band on the prowl called the Evening News who might be interested in this date.

It's a sunday. The sunday shows are not such a bad deal, especially with the school year coming to a close, so I actually have a few of those coming up.

On May 25th, I have a show at the Bowery Poetry Club. It'll be my band, the The Strangers on the Footpath with The Shapes and Anything Orange

DIRECTIONS!!

The show will be SEVEN DOLLARS! That is cheap enough for you all, isn't it? Well you should definitely be there- the show starts at 7pm, and I do not have a poster yet.



Besides the above mentioned shows, I've got a couple more for you- all bigger ones that I'll be promoting later this week, so keep your eyes open and why don't you subscribe to my blog?

Just plug your e-mail address in at the top or the bottom and you'll get an e-mail once or twice a week with updates on all the upcoming shows

Stay cool cool cats