New York-based electropop powerhouse Car Astor has released the new music video for her single “Don’t Stop, Don’t Speak.” The self-directed video contains elements of classic 90’s music videos by Garbage, Placebo and Foo Fighters, including fisheye lenses, loose narratives, and energetic performance footage.
“I was able to look to many of my earliest musical influences and nod my head to them with the performance aspect of the video,” says Car Astor. “It was such a blast. I really wanted to pull on the tension and desire that surrounds the lyrics of the song, and execute that in a symbolic, dark ‘me’ way.”
“‘Don’t Stop, Don’t Speak’ is a song that really pushed me to grow as an artist, and this video did the same exact thing,” says Car. “I’m super stoked with the end result. The project was a true labor of love from start to finish.”
Car Astor previously released “Don’t Stop, Don’t Speak” as a standalone single earlier this year, which served as the follow-up to her music video “Girlfriend”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II7iehfiJRs
Hailing from Long Island, Car Astor first emerged into the music world via YouTube known simply as SEE, creating a viral underground presence that infected a whole legion of internet fans.
Sounds Good To Steve and Offside Tavern present a 4/20 celebration in New York City featuring O’Duo and guitarist Will Bart’s project, Johnny In The Basement. The afternoon event serves as an “unofficial” pre show for those going to see Lettuce at The Capitol Theatre, Twiddle at Brooklyn Steel or Dumpstaphunk at Brooklyn Bowl.
The show is free and runs from 2:30-5:30pm, leaving plenty of time to get to Brooklyn, Port Chester or wherever the night takes you. There will be limited 4/20 inspired giveaways, and if you register with Eventbrite, you’ll get a buy back on your first drink. Offside Tavern is located at 137 West 14th Street in NYC.
Last night Trey Anastasio brought his newest project, the emotionally charged Ghosts of the Forest, to New York City for the first of a two night run at the United Palace Theatre. A departure from the improvisational jam routine, GOTF provided a set of incredible honesty and vulnerability. Apart from the music, this project stands-out as beautifully intimate and something uniquely special.
Six shows into their one-off tour, the group of frequent collaborators (members of Phish, TAB and the fresh voice of Celisse Henderson) have played the same setlist every night. Opting for one single set, the sextet unrelentingly weaved through all the highs and lows with precision.
As the crowd funneled in, the ambient house music set the mood, giving everyone time to settle into the wonderfully-detailed 3,000 capacity room. If you’ve been paying attention, by now you know that the music of GOTF has all been derived from the passing of Trey’s childhood friend Chris Cottrell. The 90-year-old opera house provided a perfect setting for this music. The poignant to-the-point lyrics, gorgeous layers of soothing vocal melodies and soaring guitar solos filled air with sentimental, and sublime energy.
The title track “Ghosts of the Forest,” which served as the opening song, is an ethereal walk through an odd-time signature – a reflection of what it’s like trying to understand permanent loss. Going on themes of confusion and searching, there is no nonsense here; “I’m drowning in my own mind, I’m drowning in thoughts, I’m drowning in memories.” These personal revelations continue through “Drift While You’re Sleeping” and “Friend,” a touching gospel ballad expressing the difficulties of making, and losing, friendship.
When new music is released, fans love and look forward to hearing how studio music will translate into the live setting. As the album had not yet been released before the first 5 dates, nobody knew what to expect. Yesterday however, the studio material was revealed and finally gave a taste to the masses. Still, two-plus hours gave plenty of time for extras. The first non-album song, “Sightless Escape,” was fourth up, but the first to feel like a potential jam-vehicle. Featuring a surf-rock tinged riff and a loose mid-section groove, you know things are picking up when Trey lets loose with the whammy pedal. A short, but soulful vocal solo from Celisse was an amazing touch.
Trey and his team, including Stop Making Sense production designer, Abigail Holmes, have done an excellent job of blending various elements of this production to evoke and portray the feelings one might experience when losing someone they love. The stage was fascinating, featuring constantly changing graphics displayed on 10′ vertical LED screens situated between three large panels of swirling three-dimensional triangles. At some points, the backdrop really looked like ghosts in a forest.
The setlist was up-and-down, light and dark, upset yet glad. At times the crowd would sit, during “In Long Lines,” a heartfelt acoustic passage where Trey is clearly singing about real memories he had with his friend. “I lit your cigarette, your hand was touching mine.” As Trey mentioned in a recent Rolling Stone interview, Chris smoked up until the day he passed. In another song, the crowd was bouncing, laughing with the band as they smiled and danced through “The Green Truth,” an uptempo classic rock number featuring vast interplay between guitar and vocals, on the refrain “take it as it comes.”
In a dare-worded curveball moment, Trey sat down his guitar completely for “Mint Siren Dream” and sang over a soft shuffle from Fishman, on top of descending leads from the milkman on keys, Ray Paczkowski. Another obviously special moment, as last year Ray had a brain tumor scare, right around the same time Chris Cottrell was in his final months. Allowing Ray to shine felt like a reminder that these unpredictable episodes in life can be celebrated as much as they are to be mourned in.
Recently Trey commented on Sirius XM that Chris loved it when he ripped on guitar. This was undeniable through the entire set, but spoke most loudly on the racer “Ruby Waves” and “About To Run,” which featured a colorful silhouette on the LED’s during its peaking solo.
It was not painfully obvious, that a man in mourning wrote this music. Though, songs like the all acoustic “Brief Time” point out the inevitable, most of it is uplifting. These songs are an expression of an infinite and all-encompassing love. They are an honor to friendship and experience. The set ended the same way it began, with the piano melody of “Ghosts Of The Forest” as each member walked off stage one by one. It was a surreal call back to the beginning, perfectly encapsulating the circle of life. In his final words, Trey thanked the crowd on behalf of the entire band. It was so heartfelt and really showed that they were there for him as much as he was there for them “dancing beneath a sea of stars.”
Stay tuned with NYS as GOTF is back at United Palace tonight for round two. Download audio of tonights set via LivePhish.
SETLIST: Ghosts of the Forest, Drift While You’re Sleeping, Friend, Sightless Escape, Halfway Home > If Again, In Long Lines, There’s a Path Above, About to Run, The Green Truth, Beneath a Sea of Stars Parts 1 & 2 > Mint Siren Dream, Stumble Into Flight, Ruby Waves,Shadows Thrown By Fire, Wider, A Life Beyond The Dream, In This Bubble > Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 3 (blue).
On Friday April 5, The Record Company made their debut at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. A cold and rainy evening did not deter fans from a night of foot stomping soulful Rock and Roll, that included covers of the Beastie Boys and Grateful Dead.
Their sound incorporates slide guitar, distorted bass, Mark Cazorla’s Ludwig drum kit, and the enormous vocals of Chris Vos. It was a joy to see fans young and old come out and enjoy and appreciate a hard working rock band starting to make a name for themselves in the music scene.
The Record Company formed in a living room in 2011, playing farmer’s markets parking lots and in front of crowds of three, putting in the time to build this three-piece band to the powerhouse it has become. “Tears have been shed, stress has happened, Fuck it; it keeps you together,” said bass player Alex Stiff. All that time and experience shines through the music of The Record Company, showing why the popularity of this band is growing daily.
In a world full of mumble rap and this week’s newest pop star, it is a relief to see a hardworking band like The Record Company gain traction and success. Their music is refreshing and reassuring that Rock and Roll is here to stay.
The Record Company – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
Setlist: Baby I’m Broken, On The Move, Rita Mae Young, New Speedway Boogie, Goodbye to the Hard Life, Hard Day Coming Down, The Movie Song, Life to Fix, Off the Ground
Lotus unleashed high energy into the Brooklyn Bowl on Friday night, with two sets of their eclectic, instrumental, dance multi-genre sound. The band members include Mike Rempel (guitar), Jesse Miller (bass/sampler), Mike Greenfield (drums), Luke Miller (guitar/keyboards) and Chuck Morris (percussion). Originally from Goshen College in Indiana, the band is now based out of Philadelphia and Denver.
Jaw Gems opened for Lotus, and successfully warmed up the crowd. They are an electronic band from Maine that is creating beat music in a more organic live setting. Friday’s lineup included bass, drums and synthesizer, and delivered dark grooves that flowed into one another.
Lotus took the stage in front of the packed crowd, and picked up where they left off on Thursday night, which included a rare Talking Heads Deconstructed set with Gabe Otto at the Brooklyn Bowl. The flawless transitions combined with powerful electro-pop beats of “Intro into a Cell” > “E” > “Trip” > “Stranger Danger” had the floor dancing and excited almost instantly. Other notable songs include the hip-hop based “Golden Ghost” > “Intro” and the electronic groove “Anti-Gravity” > “B” > “Comptroller”. Throughout the set, Rempel delivered intense guitar riffs, and had excellent synergy with both Jesse and Luke Miller.
Lotus emerged after the break with “Nematode,” a fan favorite from their Gemination album. The dark “Bellwether,” another classic Lotus tune from their Hammerstrike album, and the newer hip hop tune “Gunk,” from their recent Frames Per Second album, both showcased Greenfield’s drumming versatility and skills. The jam of the night was undoubtedly “Arupa” > “½” > “Bubonic” > “B” > “Flower Sermon” and included elements of Lotus old and new. “Arupa”’s organic feel was great contrast to the edgy “Flower Sermon.” The band closed out the night with the cohesive, funky dance tune “Sift.”
Lotus brought their signature jamming to the sold out Brooklyn Bowl on Friday night, and sent their fans home exhilarated after a night of intense dancing.
Jaw Gems Setlist: Parch, Graymalkin, Ohio, Sap Flow, Young Pulp, Sweet Egg, Liquid Purchase, (INTERLUDE//MPC SWITCH), Rvil, Sleep arena, Peace Pipe, Narrows, Party Slave
Lotus Setlist:
Set 1: Intro into a cell > E > Trip > Stranger Danger, Golden Ghost > Intro, Turquoise, Anti-Gravity > B > Comptroller, 72 Hours
Set 2: Nematode, Invincibility, Bellwether, Gunk, Arupa > ½ > Bubonic > B > Flower Sermon
Talking Heads! The band that inspired dozens of artists from Vampire Weekend to Phish take the crown as the winner of this year’s NYS Music March Madness! The band of RISD graduates who moved to New York City and got their start at CBGB in Manhattan’s East Village have had a profound impact on generations of musicians who have followed.
via Rockhall.com
It does however seem likely that the group will never reunite, and Byrne made it clear to Rolling Stone a year ago that a reunion would overshadow his own personal accomplishments:
“There’s a lot to that. I see what happens with other people when they do their reunions – and then it turns into a second reunion and a third reunion. With someone like the Pixies, it’s different – they’re getting the audience now that they deserved ages ago. But with a lot of them, it just seems like you don’t have anything new to say, and you go, “OK, this is just some kind of nostalgia exercise.” And I’m not interested in that.”
Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz defer to Bryne, and seem to be on board with a reunion. As Tina told Rolling Stone in 2013:
“You’ll have to ask David Byrne about that. We never ended Talking Heads ourselves. That’s entirely in his court. We never had a fight. I don’t see why there shouldn’t be a reunion. On the other hand, I’m not going to hold my breath because life goes on. Life is too short to sit around moaning about what could have been or what was. We are in touch with the band and we all would love to do it, but we can’t do it without David.”
Frantz referred to the situation as ‘hopeless’ in a 2009 interview with SPIN:
“The rest of the band would love to do something but our singer doesn’t see it that way. He prefers to play “Burning Down the House” with a Talking Heads cover band while wearing a tutu and then tell us that to go out would make us a parody of ourselves.”
So there’s that. In the meantime, there’s always Start Making Sense, if you’re looking for an ‘as close as you’ll ever come’ to a Talking Heads experience.
We would like to thank our sponsors Buffalo Iron Works, Anthology, TIP the Band and Funk n Waffles for being a part of this year’s March Madness. Support your local bands and venues so that they can be a part of New York State’s continued legacy of music for decades to come!
On Wednesday April 3 The Brooklyn Bowl played host to a Benefit for Creative Music Studio. An amazing lineup of musicians including Billy Martin, Oteil Burbridge, Joe Russo, Marshall Allen, Dave Harrington, Cyro Baptista, Jonathan Goldberg and many more paid tribute to an amazing cause with two hours of jamming – blending of many different styles of music in true fashion of the foundation. The culmination of the performance came when founder Karl Berger conducted this amazing group of musicians, just as he’s done since he began this foundation.
Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman founded the Creative Music Studio in 1971. Their Goal was to establish a nonprofit organization focused on improvisation and musical cross-pollination that complemented musician’s academic studies. It’s a place where music as a universal language can be explored and expanded. The organizations main program was a place where over 500 hundred performances were recorded. Hundreds of guiding artists lived, played, and shared musical wisdom with thousands of participants many who went on to become well know musicians.
Following Phish’s cow-funk laden 1997 Fall Tour, Phish embarked on a 4-night ‘Island Tour‘ with two shows each on Long Island and in Providence, Rhode Island. The result was four historic shows that continued the free flowing jams from 1997 and a new era of exploratory Phish. Unexpected jams arose from “Roses are Free,” “Cavern” and “Weekapaug Groove,” and debuts of “Shafty,” “Twist” and “Birds of a Feather” were peppered throughout the run.
As mentioned by Trey after the debut of “Birds of a Feather,” Phish was about to record Story of the Ghost shortly after the tour, before heading to Europe to test out even more new tunes before heading back for Summer Tour. Watch videos from the two Nassau Coliseum shows and relive the glory of Island Tour as it turns 21.
Colorado-based, three-piece stringband Head For The Hills released their newest studio work this past Friday, an EP: the politically minded and emotionally vibrant, four-song collection called Say Your Mind. Featuring a heady mix of special guest artists, like Pimps of Joytime’s Kim Dawson, Elephant Revival’s Darren Garvey and others, the record is some of the band’s most creatively satisfying work yet.
Born out of the Colorado music scene, Head For The Hills have been pushing boundaries in the studio and on stage for over fifteen years now, and that decade and a half has earned them regular performances at mega festivals like Telluride, SXSW, and High Sierra, along with recognitions from the likes of NPR and others.
Ahead of an East Coast tour this week that, starting in Virginia, will hit NYC, Burlington, Connecticut, Lima, NY and Mt Holly, NJ, the band’s bassist Matt Loewen talked with NYS Music about the new EP Say Your Mind, the title track’s new music video, and more.
Miles Hurley: So, your new release. How did you guys go about deciding to make an EP of four new songs rather than a full album or something else?
Matt Loewen: So, we’ve been in a little bit of a transitional period, in terms of being a band that had a mandolin player in it, to being a band that plays with percussion in it. We’ve been an acoustic four-piece band for a long time, so we’ve been in the process of evolving a little bit, I guess. And we went into the studio and recorded those four songs, and I really thought it was a strong statement. But in terms of the EP thing…the way the music industry goes, to make it work you kind of have to put stuff out all the time. And I think we’ve shifted from everybody just put out a record, and then twelve to eighteen months later you put out another record, and then twelve to eighteen months later you put out another record. But that’s just not the way it goes anymore. I mean, I love albums, I have thousands of records, I love the long play album format.
But I also think it’s cool how things have opened up, and how you have the full myriad of ways of going about releasing music, whether its a record, or an EP, or just a single, or just a video, etcetera. So we’re starting to look at doing all of that different stuff, and we’ve got some other interesting things later this year that are, again, not in the full album format, but just making music and getting it out there.
MH: That’s cool. So then, would you say the band is in a writing period? Or do you have material that you’re currently sitting on?
ML: I wouldn’t say we’re sitting on things, but writing, it’s just always happening. We all write a little bit, but there’s two primary writers, Adam and Joe, and they are always writing. So we’ve got some songs that we haven’t recorded. But we don’t do the thing where you hole up for a month and write a bunch of songs. We’re always writing and coming up with stuff.
MH: I’ve heard a similar sentiment from other artists I’ve spoken with recently, that it’s more common to be touring and working, and living life and all that, and songwriting is worked into the lifestyle.
ML: Yeah. Which is cool and not cool, sometimes. But overall I think its cool.
MH: So, for Head For The Hills, bringing guests into the studio process is not something new. But can you tell me about some of the artists you invited this time around? I see Kim Dawson, Todd Livingston, even a horn section. Are these old or new friends to the band?
ML: Everybody that’s on the EP are people that we’ve known for awhile. The drummer, Darren, was with Elephant Revival, their percussion guy, although they aren’t playing right now. That’s how we know him. The rest of the people we’ve known for awhile, and it was fun to have that kind of family atmosphere. Sometimes you do bring in people that you’ve never met before, and the first time you meet them is when you’re trying to be creative, which can in and of itself be really awesome. But yeah, this time it was bunch of friends, and we got them in there and it was cool. We’d been bringing in some of those people into the live show, locally, because they’re all our Colorado friends. We’ve had the horn section up at some concerts, we’ve had Kim come and sing…so there was a familiarity thing, and it was really rewarding.
MH: That’s always an interesting thing, hearing what artists create in the studio and then they sometimes have to choose what of that makes its way into the live show. For the EP, did you have to make decisions about trying to recreate some of it’s different sounds live, or maybe just playing them in a stripped down way?
ML: Well, that’s all part of the process, exactly what you’re talking about. Because inevitably, in the recording we do, there’s typically going to be overdubs. There’s always little things that you add, like Joe will double the violin part, and no matter what you just can’t be two people at once, right? (laughs) So we can’t do that live, and we have to figure out how to approach that. And, with this new stuff, these four new songs, we play pretty much everything. Like “Can’t Stay This Way For Long,” which has a pretty significant horn section on the album, we still play that live. What’s cool about it is, Joe and Todd Livingston, who is playing dobro on the road with us, they’ve learned those horn parts, right? So they’ll come in and replicate some of those parts. And, inevitably, the songs become their own thing live, because that’s just kind of what happens, which is cool. But that’s how I’d say we’ve kind of approached that, on this new stuff. Picking some of those new pieces up, and playing them in the tunes. It’s been fun.
MH: “Say Your Mind,” the title track, has a great music video along with it, which you directed. Can you tell me a bit about what’s going on in this video?
ML: The guy that plays the main character is Boots, the one with all the jewelry and that drives the car. He’s been a friend of the band for a long time, and he’s a local. He lives up in the canyon, outside of town. I just think he’s so f***ing interesting. You know, he was born in Queens, had famous parents, moved to the Bay and knew The Grateful Dead and Bill Graham, he was a technical guy that went on tour, was an animal person that was on the Jack Parr show. He’s just a fascinating dude. And I always wanted to make a music video with him, and the original concept was that he was going to be driving around town in this convertible. That was an idea in my head for a really long time.
Then it came time to do a video for this “Say Your Mind” song, and I started kicking that idea around again, with Boots, and it evolved into this story about a father and his relationship with his kid. There’s some heartache there, and so the story is about reconciliation, about coming together, and love and family can really bring things together. So that’s the story of the video, which to me is a parallel narrative to the song, because the song is really a message from a father to their child. Adam wrote it, he was inspired by this experience to write a song as a sort of letter to your child, and about doing your thing and being happy, living life to the fullest.
When I think about music videos, I’m most interested in parallel narratives if it’s going to be a narrative-based thing. So instead of something that’s directly following the words of the song, I’m into doing something that’s similar but not exactly the same thing, and telling a related story that can maybe highlight some elements of the lyrics but not be directly tied to it. So that’s what we did with “Say Your Mind.” The party at the end of the video is shot at Joe’s house, with a bunch of our friends and family, it’s Adam’s family that’s in the video, like his daughters.
MH: You’ve done a bunch of videos for your band in the past as well. Has video production been in your background for a long time?
ML: You know, I actually started doing it for the band. And yeah, I’ve been doing it for a little while at this point. My background with it is really all centered around making content for us. I’ve expanded and worked with other people. I’ll eventually be doing a video for another group, when we get back from tour. But yeah it began, well, years ago, before video became as ubiquitous and necessary as it is now. But I rented a camera when we recorded our self-titled record in the studio. And I thought, we should video this, why not? Let’s just rent a camera. So we took a bunch of video footage and then I was like, “Well shit, I guess I’ve gotta edit this, or do something with it.” (Laughs) So I got my software and did up the whole thing. That was pretty much the beginning of it, for me, and I’ve had a bit of a network from it, other bands and creative people that need stuff. It’s allowed me to grow and do different stuff, and I’m always looking for more work.
MH: The last track on the EP, “I Am The Problem.” Honestly, I don’t think I’ve heard anything quite like that, the mix of hip-hop and Americana songwriting.
ML: Good! Well thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment, whether you mean it that way or not (laughs).
MH: Definitely a compliment!
ML: Sweet! Yeah, that’s definitely a product of Joe’s personal background as a writer and as a musician. Separately, he has had different hip-hop groups, one in particular called Whiskey Blanket that still makes records. He’s done that for as long as he’s been with our band. I think, over time, those things get closer to each other, more and more hip-hop worked into his writing for Head For The Hills. Another example is from a few records ago, a song called “Never Does.” It’s very rapid-fire, and if you were to look at the words on a page and the way that the rhymes actually make out, and the way the end line rhymes, all that stuff, it’s pretty similar to the way someone would concept a hip-hop verse. So, flash forward to now, on “I Am The Problem.” The concept for the song was alway that there would be this part in the middle where he raps, essentially. And the decision was made to just go for that. And he goes on and on and on, which is progressive. It’s cool to hear it live, it’s a lot of words, and he just goes for it (laughs). I hope that people are ready for it!
MH: So, you have a little tour coming up soon, which will start on the East Coast and then head back out west. So I’m curious – over the years, as you’ve toured more and more with Head For The Hills, have there been certain scenes or places around the country that you’ve really taken a liking to, or looked forward to returning to?
ML: Yeah, I’d say so! You know, being based in Colorado, it’s a lot easier for us to get to the West Coast and the Midwest, so over the years that’s where we’ve spent a lot of time. Especially the Northwest, love going there, love Portland and Seattle and that whole area, it’s been good to the band. I would say the same for Chicago, it’s been a favorite for the group. But over the past couple of years, we’ve just started to expand a little bit more eastward, and have actually really enjoyed getting out there. And I say that because…my initial answer is always the Pacific Northwest, but part of that is bred in familiarity, like we go there all the time. I haven’t been to Burlington, VT ten times, I’ve only been twice, and I love that area. It’s a big-ass country, and there are just so many different people and places. And I find myself enjoying a lot of them where people are open minded, proudly respecting people for who they are, stuff like that. As long those elements are in place, I’m down. (Laughs) If people are close minded and weird, and there’s a bunch of bigotry going on, that makes it harder to really enjoy a place. I’m also really looking forward to getting back to New York, always such a crazy, vibrant place.
MH: Nice! Well I am personally planning to catch you guys on April 4 when you perform at Rockwood Music Hall. Have you played there before?
ML: We have been there before. The last time we played somewhere else, but the first time we played at Rockwood, and yeah, that’s a cool spot. The first night we played there, the music that was presented before us was a singer-songwriter with a pianist and bassist, and the bassist ended up being Leland Sklar, who’s like one of the most recorded, most famous studio bassists of all time. Which is just random, but that’s the way that place definitely is, and I got to meet him which was f***ing awesome. And then after him was this band from, like, South America. I’m not even sure what you would call it, definitely not a salsa band but like a modern dance, but it was so good. So yeah, such a cool place. I’m a big fan and definitely looking forward to getting back there.
Two weeks ago, we started with 64 artists from New York State, representing all genres and corners of the state. Now we have reached the Final Four of NYS Music’s March Madness and these four remaining artists represent four different genres – folk, rock, rap and jam – an eclectic mix of what makes New York State a breeding ground for all types of music.
Beastie Boys bested Billy Joel to take the crown in the TIP the Band region, and they will face off against the lone Upstate victor in the Final Four, moe., fittingly, out of the Funk n Waffles region.
Vote below for who you think is the best artist from New York State in the past century! The finals will start this Thursday, April 4. You can also vote on Twitter!
