NYS Music 202​1

Tag: Cousin Earth

  • Wintercourse Returns to the Knitting Factory on January 8, 2022

    After taking a year off in early 2021 during the (still ongoing) pandemic, the annual Wintercourse will return to Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 8, 2022.

    wintercourse

    Wintercourse 2022 boasts a lineup including Brooklyn bands Teddy Midnight, Jam the Radar, Bonus Level (featuring members of Cousin Earth), and headlined by Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, featuring Scales, a world renowned steel pan player who melds fusion, progressive and rock music on steel pans.

    Bonus Level will perform a set of video game jams, featuring members of Cousin Earth, the original hosts of Wintercourse. Synth-driven trio Teddy Midnight will bring in tunes perfect to set the tone for a night of dancing, with newcomers Jam the Radar kicking off the night.

    Past Wintercourse events have featured acts such as Bella’s Bartok, Funky Dawgz Brass Band, The Reformed Whores, Space Bacon, Chromatropic, Teddy Midnight, The Matty Carl Project, Mercury Landing, Stevie and The Lion and many others. Read a take from the 8th annual Wintercourse in 2019:

    After a short break, the night’s hosts “Cousin Earth” quickly set up and opened their Wintercourse set with the Queen staple “Bohemian Rhapsody,” highlighting newest member Melissa Goscinski’s beautiful falsetto, much to the delight of everyone in the room. With their unique ukulele arrangements and stage antics, Cousin Earth provided a set full of surprises.

    “When The Dinosaurs Come Back From Outer Space” saw the appearance of a dancing dinosaur in the crowd before they launched everyone back into the stratosphere with the dance track “Super Fun Laser Beams.” The funky “Alive,” from the recently released album Human Music, paved the way for former vocalist Tara Lawton to come out and rejoin the group on Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady.”

    Tickets are available on the Knitting Factory website, or you can Venmo cousinearth@gmail.com for NO-FEE digital tickets in advance. 

  • Listen to the Frank Zappa-Inspired, Frenetic EP “Baby Kangaroo Baby Cow, Part II” from Joey Calfa

    Joey Calfa of Cousin Earth drops his exhilarating new solo EP, Baby Kangaroo Baby Cow, Part II, bringing spring into summer with his vibrant sound.

    joey calfa
    Baby Kangaroo Baby Cow Part II Album Artwork

    The EP opens with the track “Brain Lehrer” and is immediately funky with its building guitar grooves. This track can be easily imagined in a bar, feeding the room with its danceable beat. As a tribute to the legendary WNYC/NPR host, “Brian Lehrer” is an ebullient song that deserves a listen.

    The second track “Double Whammy” opens with harmonic, virtuosic guitar lines. The shredding and the funky bassline intertwine for a sublime groove. Inspired by video game music, its technical prowess is shared with an ensemble put together by Calfa, including Frankie Coda and Ryan Liatsis (SchwizZ).

    The third song on Baby Kangaroo Baby Cow Part II is “Small Hands,” which draws inspiration from Frank Zappa, as well as features an FDR snippet from 1941 that eerily parallels the politics of today. The guitar work is once again wildly funky, interspersed with 80s-inspired synths. Calfa’s vocals interacting with the vocal sample is creative and catchy.

    Baby Kangaroo Baby Cow Part II is a solid EP, full of songs that become earworms after the first listen. Members included throughout the EP range from members of his main band Cousin Earth, as well as long time high school friends of Joey Calfa. The quirky, funky release is out now! You can listen here and find more information about Cousin Earth here.