Brooklyn-based The Upstart Crows today debut their first ever music video for “Melancholy Haze” off their self-titled record. The video was inspired by the movie Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind and the memory-wiping machine Joel (Jim Carrey) uses to forget about Clementine (Kate Winslet). The video was filmed in less then 24 hours and offers a dreamy glimpse into love lost and how we all try to move past it.
The Upstart Crows self-titled album was released on August 24th of last year and earned them the best alt-rock band of 2018 award by LA Music Critics Award. Listen to Upstart Crows “Melancholy Haze” below.
The Upstart Crows formed in the basements of Keene, NH during Jon Adams’ (lead singer/guitarist) and Forest DeCoste’s (drummer) college years. After cutting their teeth in the area’s party scene, the two made their way to Brooklyn, NY and deliver a varied mix of folk, punk, and Americana to their audiences. Always backed up by manic energy, their songs give a nod to the two’s theatrical background and wax poetic over catchy guitar riffs and booming drums. Their tongue and cheek demeanor and danceable riffs create a fun, high-energy experience for everyone.
The Upstart Crows perform on August 2 at Red Hook Roxx in Brooklyn with Flyin’ J & the Ghostrobber and La Coy. More details can be found here.
Bowlive VIII’s final night brought a full house of great musicians alongside Soulive for “Family Night.” The special guests included Dan Mayer (guitar), Sam Kininger (saxophone), James Casey (saxophone) and Brian Thomas (trombone). Soulive’s lineup includes Eric Krasno (guitar), Alan Evans (drums) and Neal Evans (organ, bass keys, clavinet).
Eric Krasno
The evening began with the core trio from Soulive who delivered a sweet instrumental version of The Beatle’s “Revolution.” “Bubble” was up next, from 2007’s No Place Like Soul, followed by “Spark.” The vibe then quickly charged as saxophonist and frequent collaborator Sam Kinninger joined the band on stage. He sat in for “Hurry Up… and Wait” (Doin’ Somethin), “Rudy’s Way” (Get Down!) and “Liquid” (Next). The horn section increased by two at the end of the set as James Casey and Brian Thomas joined the party for a deliciously funky “Tuesday Night Squad.”
Neal Evans, James Casey, Sam Kinninger and Brian Thomas
Set two raised the bar as guitarist Dan Mayer, from Star Kitchen, added another strong guitar presence on stage. Krasno announced that Dan Mayer “is one of my favorite guitarists.” The quartet opened with “Curse Lifter,” followed by a stellar instrumental version of Jimi Hendrix’ “Manic Depression,” showcasing the talents of both guitarists. The horn trio then joined the squad once again and delivered a funky “Backwards Jack.” Mayer left the stage and the sextet rolled on with “Up Right,” “Hat Trick,” and “PJ’s”. The set closed out with “Canonball,” another Doin’ Something track. Mayer joined the stage once again for the encore of “Flurries” which included audience confetti. All seven musicians took a bow, and wrapped up another successful Soulive residency at the Brooklyn Bowl.
Dan Mayer and Eric Krasno
Setlist
Set One: Revolution, Bubble, Spark, Hurry Up… and Wait^, Rudy’s Way^, Liquid^, Tuesday Night Squad^%
Set Two: Curse Lifter*, Manic Depression*, Backwards Jack*^%, Up Right^%, Hat Trick^%, PJ’s^%, Cannonball^%
Enc: Flurries*^%
Notes:
^with Sam Kinninger (sax)
*with Danny Mayer (guitar)
%with James Casey (sax) and Brian Thomas (trombone)
Bowlive VIII rolled on at the rustic Brooklyn Bowl with Soulive and legendary Meters funk bassist George Porter Jr. sitting in. The setlist had no shortage of covers, including songs from The Beatles, The Meters and The Grateful Dead. Soulive’s current line up includes Eric Krasno (guitar), Alan Evans (drums) and Neal Evans (organ, bass keys, clavinet).
Eric Krasno
Soulive began the first set as a trio, delivering the band’s signature jazz-funk. Originals “So Live” and “Steppin’” got the crowd ready to party with Krasno’s delicious guitar work. A rocking instrumental version of The Beatle’s “Eleanor Rigby” was up next, followed by a new Soulive original, “Waves”.
George Porter Jr.
Alan Evans addressed the crowd with ,”Is it time?” The crowd responded with a resounding approval and the King of Bowlive, George Porter Jr., joined the funky party. Drawing from his time with The Meters, Porter led covers of “Pungee” and “Africa” and took the lead on vocals. The set wrapped up with the tasty New Orleans classic “Iko Iko,” by The Dixie Cups.
Set two continued with more of The Meter’s catalog, starting with “Look-Ka Py Py” from the album of the same name. The funk classic “Keep On Marching” from the Fire on the Bayou album was up next. The funk single “I Need More Time” had the crowd dancing like no one was watching. Rejuvenation‘s “What’cha Say” then proceeded and “He Bite Me”, also from Fire on the Bayou, closed out this delightfully funky sequence.
This talented group of musicians then switched gears and doubled down on one of Porter’s favorite songs to cover, The Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree.” Porter’s soulful voice and eclectic bass skills brought new life to this beloved classic. The frequent Dead cover and Bobby Bland original “Turn On Your Love Light” lit up the room and was the jam of the night. The set wrapped up with another Meter’s classic, “It Ain’t No Use.” This electrifying group then closed out one hot night with another Rejuvination tune for an encore with “Just Kissed My Baby.”
Setlist
Set One: So Live, Steppin’, Eleanor Rigby, Waves, Pungee*, Africa*, Iko Iko*
Set Two: Look-Ka Py Py*, Keep On Marching*, I Need More Time*, What’cha Say*, He Bite Me (The Dragon)*, Sugaree*, Turn On Your Love Light, It Ain’t No Use*
Thursday night kicked off the second round of shows celebrating the ten-year anniversary of Bowlive, the unique relationship that brought together Brooklyn Bowl and Soulive has produced some of the most interesting and classic musical collaborations in the New York music scene.
For show number four of the anniversary run, Soulive welcomed the extremely talented Marcus King, the southern rock prodigy who has quickly rose in popularity for his immense musical talent and charm treated a sold out crowd to an amazing night of music with takes on a few Allman Brothers classics and the Soulive catalog.
Bowlive is all about collaboration, not only chemistry on stage but a connection between musicians. It’s amazing to see the friendship blossoming between Erick Krasno and Marcus King as it shines through the music and joy shared on stage.
Things I Remember from Earth is the latest album from Maybird, their second release on 30th Century, the label founded by Danger Mouse, and in honor of the new album, the Rochester quartet will play at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn on Wednesday, July 24.
The album has an other-worldly feeling – weaving pop, part psych rock, and part experimental into a sci-fi fantasy. Inspiration for the album came in part from Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan. For more on the album, read the NYS interview and the album review.
Shira Yevin, better known as Shiragirl, upset The Vans Warped Tour atop her pink tour bus in 2004, so much that the following year she was given her own SHIRAGIRL stage to curate the amazing female talent in the industry. Since, she has been drawing fans with her edge and overwhelming personality – full of energy. So infectious that she has shared the stage with Joan Jett, NOFX, and Rancid, whom she is currently working on her upcoming album with.
“I’m Stoked to be playing the Warped 25th Anniversary in AC. I lived in Brooklyn for a long time, but I am originally a Jersey Girl, little known fact, so it’s pretty cool to be here.
Shiragirl. Photograph by Lisa Johnson – Rock Photographer. All Rights Reserved.
I’ve played in a lot of awesome, fun Jersey shows and obviously all the Warped Tours over the years. In Jersey we would do a lot of basement shows and in New York it’s about the clubs. I love New York City, it’s my favorite city in the world.”
Shiragirl just released a new single on Tuesday, July 2, called “Nothing to Loose” off their upcoming EP, Andi Underground. Produced by Rancid’s Tim Armsrong, the album weaves a mysterious concept loosely inspired by Alison in Wonderland. “It’s a dystopian tail where black mirror meets the runaways,” said Shiragirl. The album was recorded at The Boat studio, mixed by Cameron Webb and mastered by Andrew Alekel. Shiragirl features co-performers Raine Palladino and Leanne Bowes.
Finally, Andi’s crew hacks the system and takes down the filter software, and all that it upholds: social control, apathy and compliance. Now the people are free to see reality how it really is, rise up, empower themselves, and most importantly, do as they please.
Depicting “Creepin” – Andi Underground (To Be Released July 19).
“Nothing To Loose” when Andi follows Rabbit down a dark hole to an underground world.
“This is the character Andi Underground,” as she pulled a pair of anime-esque stickers out of her bag and showed me. “It’s about this girl that runs away from home and falls into an underground world and decides she needs to save everyone. I’ve always loved Alice in Wonderland. There’s a lot of different ways you can spin it; a lot of metaphors.”
The record is also inspired by our current political climate. “I feel that as much as we escape into TV and movies talking about futures, it is here already. Technology controls our lives, there’s a lot of things happening in the news where one could say we’re already in borderline dictatorship. There’s a lot of scary things happening so the record is an artistic way to make a statement about what I think, or dangers of the cultural norms that grow from being so technology based.”
“I think its hard in the social media day and age you have to put everything out there, you have to be on it – on it- on it. It’s hard to live in the moment with that, but constantly sharing content, music, videos and sharing, speaking to the fans and being connected to the fans. It is so cool to meet people after the show, just to feel like we made their day better is a great feeling.”
“It’s amazing to see how the tour has grown and affected so many people,” said Brooklyn’s Shiragirl. “To be apart of this is a huge honor – there are so many amazing bands. We are super stoked to be apart of the final chapter. Last year we were lucky enough to bring back the stage for the final full cross country tour. I just have nothing but great things to say about Kevin Lymann. I wanna be like him when I grow up.”
Kris Kelly has released his newest single “Cracked Porcelain,” featuring an all-star team of musicians, including” Todd Sickafoose (“Hadestown”, Ani DiFranco) on bass and arrangements by John Philip Shenale (Tori Amos). The track will appear on his forthcoming album, Runaways, due out on August 29, which also features previously released singles “Birthplace” and “We Flew.”
Kris Kelly is a singer/songwriter based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Austin, TX, he moved to New York City to attend NYU, where he studied classical vocal performance and music composition. For years he performed his original compositions for guitar, vocals, flute, violin, bass, and percussion at many popular NYC venues. He then spent five years traveling through South America with just his guitar and a suitcase. Living mostly in Argentina and Brazil, Kelly met his husband, and his travel experiences inspired the core of Kelly’s album – pure love, loss, discovery, and growth.
Kris shares some insight into ‘Cracked Porcelain:’ “This is a story about two gay men who find freedom in defining their relationship in an unconventional, ‘open’ way but who end up getting lost in the revelry and ultimately drive each other apart. I think the LGBTQ community has a unique opportunity to redefine our relationship with sex within our partnerships. Not having forced onto us the traditional ways of defining a healthy partnership gives us the freedom to discover it for ourselves, but it also comes with a great responsibility, and I think we often fail. I failed at least. And that’s OK, because I realized if I wanted to be happy, I had to make a change. I’ve been forced to reevaluate constantly my relationship with my partner and to figure out how to respect each other while maintaining a healthy individuality, and we’re still navigating it to this day.”
“It’s easy to go unconscious and do whatever feels good in the moment, but without consciously, intentionally taking care of the relationship, it falls apart. There has to be a balance in order to nurture both carnal desires and the spiritual connection with another human being (if that’s something that you value). And when things are out of balance, suffering is inevitable. That’s what happens in ‘Cracked Porcelain’.”
After the untimely death of lead singer Mark Fletcher, the surviving members of Brooklyn, NY indie rock band Stringer completed a posthumous music video for “Through the Walls.” In a joint statement, Stringer band members said, “Mark Fletcher, our brother and bandmate passed on Feb. 19th, 2019. For six years we made music. We lived our lives together with a bond that can only be forged by the most intense and ecstatic experiences, we spoke in our own language. Mark and filmmaker Chris Elia made this video featuring a collection of strangers and his best friends singing his words. We think this is fitting because Mark made friends so easily and it didn’t take long for a stranger to become a best friend.”
Elia, a longtime friend of the band and frequent collaborator adds, “When Mark was in the Bay Area this past winter, he used his camera phone (as well as his outgoing & charming personality) to start filming the 1st verse in my old neighborhood. We spent literal hours talking on the phone during his trip, part of which involved his vision for a lyric video. He was so ecstatic about the initial rough cut I had sent him, so I can only imagine the happiness it would have brought him to see the completed video full of familiar faces singing his song.”
Members of Stringer, along with family and friends of Mark’s have also banded together to launch The Mark Fletcher Studio, a non-profit that has been set up in his memory. Stringer’s practice room in Bushwick, Brooklyn has been refitted to host analog recorded sessions that are free for artists.
The band adds, “We are running this studio solely on community donations so any help is greatly appreciated! Even $5 or $10 will go a long way. You can donate here.
Produced by Adam Reich (So So Glos, ex-Titus Andronicus), Stringer’s critically-acclaimed album My Bad was released in July on Wiretap Records.
Joywave dropped the first single off their highly-anticipated third album, Like a Kennedy. In conjunction with the release, they announced “The Possession Sessions,” a handful of show dates including intimate shows in Rochester on June 29 and Brooklyn on July 11. The hometown show in Rochester at The Bug Jar sold out in a few hours, and a second-late night set has just been added. Tickets are on sale here. See the complete list of upcoming shows below.
In a commentary that is available to stream now, Armbruster explains:
“I think a lot of people will probably try to fit this song into some type of political narrative, but that’s really not the point. It’s a song about complete exhaustion and media burnout. It’s an anti-chaos song. Every screen you walk by DEMANDS your attention. Everything is BREAKING NEWS in all caps. It’s a really difficult time to think about the mundane small-scale things that have been the focus of human existence until very recently. I don’t think people should check out, but I think it’s beneficial to at least zoom out and not take the bait every time. It feels like everything is designed to keep us enraged 24 hours a day. We deserve a little sanity.”
– Daniel Armbruster
The Possession Sessions:
June 29 – Rochester, NY – The Bug Jar
JULY 9 – Los Angeles, CA – The Moroccan Lounge
July 11 – Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere (Zone One)
July 13 – Chicago, IL – Taste of Chicago
July 18 – Fayetteville, AR – Free Summer Concert Series at JBGB *
July 19 – Kansas City, MO – Coors Light Block Party *
August 10 – Redmond, WA – 107.7 The End Presents Summer Camp *
Brooklyn indie rock duo comprised of twin brothers Tim and Dan have recently launched the EP Two Songs under the name The Reflections. The release features the songs “Union Sq.” and “Beachy Preachy,” a pair of tunes steeped in contemporary NYC indie aesthetic, yet bearing overtones of classic 90’s alternative.
The brothers have been making music together for years, performing under the name Middle Infield. The re-branding occurred in conjunction with dropping the new songs.
“We changed our band name to The Reflections because we wanted a band name that represented ‘us’ more-so,” Tim told NYS Music. “With my twin and I, it’s always been a situation where the sum is greater than the individual parts; where people are more drawn to our collective energy by simply us being together… And when people meet us, they sometimes just see the same person ‘twice’. So our band name highlights this phenomenon, but once you get deeper we’re obviously quite different people.”
“Union Sq.” and “Beachy Peachy” were mixed by Hunter Davidsohn (Frankie Cosmos) and Mike Ditrio respectively, and mastered by Paul Gold (Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, and LCD Soundsystem).
Two Songs is just the beginning. The Reflections plan to record and release more songs this year. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and events.
