From the birthplace of punk, to hard rock on the streets of London, this fall readers can anticipate two captivating tales about two historic venues on October 15.
About CBGB
The star of the first book is CBGB, which served as the birthplace of punk and new wave in America in the 1970s. The Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and many other groundbreaking bands got their start in the rock club on New York’s Bowery. Originally issued in 1988, and out of print for decades, This Ain’t No Disco: The Story of CBGB by Roman Kozak outlines a detailed history of the glorious venue and features gritty anecdotes and interviews from multiple inside sources like CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, Joey Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone (the Ramones), Clem Burke and Chris Stein (Blondie), David Byrne (Talking Heads), Jim Carroll, Willy DeVille (Mink DeVille, Handsome Dick Manitoba (Dictators) and others.
This reprinted edition also includes a foreword by Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, 12 pages of photographs by Ebet Roberts and two pieces of historical reporting about the club’s closing in 2006.
Marquee Feature for Historic Jazz Club
The second book takes place with the backdrop of London. Marquee, originally a a jazz club on London’s Oxford Street, but later mutated into an R&B and hard rock club on Soho’s Wardour Street. Showcasing icons like Alexis Korner, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, the Marquee became home to the new wave and reached international fame status. The club also hosted AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Faith No More, Guns n’ Roses, INXS, Metallica, R.E.M. and ZZ Top, and Marquee: The Story of the World’s Greatest Music Venue by Robert Sellers and Nick Pendelton walks you through this wild journey and all the behind-the-scenes drama contained in the 30-year old club walls.
Both books will be available for pre-orders soon here.
29-year-old rap star Chief Keef announces 14 rescheduled dates for his upcoming cross-country tour titled “A Lil Tour,” which includes a stop at the Brooklyn Paramount in Brooklyn, NY on November 23, 2024.
Chief Keep will be performing at Brooklyn Paramount of November 23
“A Lil Tour” follows the release of Keef’s self-produced album Almighty So 2, which made debuted at number3 on the Billboard’s Independent Albums chart, number 9 in the top Top Rap Albums chart, number 10 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, while also ranking at number 26 on Top Streaming Albums and number 30 on the Billboard 200. The album features appearances from Chief Keef aficionado Sexyy Red, Quavo, G Herbo, Tierra Whack and 43B signee Lil Gnar, who will also be joining Chief Keef on this upcoming tour alongside his Glo Boyz group.
About Chief Keep
Chief Keef — aka Sosa– began his journey as a 16-year-old in Chicago as a pioneer of the drill scene. Since then he has gone on to create his own record label, 43B, and released five studio albums. In his early career, Keef rose to popularity because of his catchy and genre-bending mixtapes, and Almighty So 2 serves as a 16-track nostalgic sequel to his cult classic 2013 mixtape Almighty So.
Earlier this year, Keef collaborated with Sexyy Red on two singles from her Hood Hottest Princess (Deluxe)–”Ghetto Princess,” and “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Mama).” He also linked up with Lil Yachty for “Say Ya Grace,” a highlight from All Is Yellow. The song’s Cole Bennett-directed video went viral, reaching the top 5 on YouTube’s Trending chart and garnering over three million views in its first week of release.
Previously bought tickets will be honored on the new dates. Tickets are also on sale now and are available at ChiefKeef.com. Full lists of dates are down below.
A Lil Tour 2024 Dates:
10/30/24 – San Francisco, CA – The Midway
11/2/24 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
11/3/24 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
11/6/24 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
11/8/24 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
11/9/24 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
11/11/24 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
11/13/24 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
11/16/24 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
11/17/24 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
11/19/24 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
It was almost 9pm and the crowd was enraptured by an ecosystem of hundreds of tiny radiant lights sparkling from the Brooklyn Bridge. Yet, as soon as Amber Bain stepped on the stage, it was clear that she was the most incandescent star amongst them all, and she was here to deliver an utterly transcending performance of a lifetime. English synthpop and folktronica artist Amber Mary Bain, professionally under the moniker The Japanese House, performed at her sold-out show on The Rooftop at Pier 17 on July 27 – gloriously guiding her audience through a journey heartache, loneliness, yearning and unfulfilled desires.
Photo by Alisha Goel
The night started with one of her most popular songs “Touching Yourself” from her sophomore album In the End It Always Does. While the guitar and sax in the background make it sound like a fun lightweight pop song, the verses harrowingly grappled with the isolating feeling of not being able to forge a connection with someone no matter how hard you try to.
Photo by Alisha Goel
The set featured artists vocals from artists like Matty Healy from The 1975, Charlie XCX and members from MUNA and Bon Iver, perfectly complementing Bain’s signature layered vocals, experimental guitar riffs and electronic pop instrumentals. Her music fluidly infuses intimately confessional songwriting, potent storytelling and tender vocals, creating a highly nuanced and immersive listening experience.
Photo by Alisha Goel
A perfect example of this was her performance of “Sad to Breathe,” which started out as a gentle instrumental exploration on heartbreak, and then completely mutated into a catchy upbeat pop song. Bain also played “Boyhood,” a song about trying to embrace and find oneself amidst all the chaos, while also leaving the listener contemplating and reflecting on their alternate paths and experiences that brought them to this point in time.
The stage was decorated with colorful orbs, and the lights beautifully contrasted the gorgeous NYC skyline and the East River in the backdrop.
Photo by Alisha Goel
The encore section of the concert featured four songs, including a country acoustic guitar rendition of “Boyhood.” Bain played her latest single “:)” and prefaced it by saying, “It’s about being in love, about being gay. It is my favorite song to play,” which gained a lot of head nods and laughs from the audience.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Before bidding the crowd farewell with fan-favorite “Sunshine Baby,” Bain expressed her gratitude and emotionally declared that this was her favorite show she had ever played. Then the lights dimmed, and the whole venue screamed the lyrics “Sitting in the back seat/ Driving with my sunshine baby” – creating an ethereally cathartic moment of casual magic.
Photo by Alisha Goel
The Japanese House – The Rooftop on Pier 17 – July 27, 2024
Setlist: Touching Yourself, Sad to Breathe, Something Has to Change, Morning Pages, Follow My Girl, Boyhood, Baby goes again, You Seemed So Happy, Over There, Friends, Worms, Chewing Cotton Wool, Saw You In a Dream, Dionne Encore: Still, :), Boyhood(Acoustic Version), Sunshine Baby
Photo by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha Goel
From the moment I hit play on Hot Freaks’ new album Hot Freaks Forever, I was instantly transported into a nostalgic time warp, addictingly reliving the raw angst and bittersweet memories of my high school days. With 10 funky synth-pop and disco tracks, Minneapolis indie pop-rock band Hot Freaks resurrected from an almost decade long hiatus and infectiously captured all of our hearts at the Mercury Lounge on July 19.
Photo by Alisha Goel
“We had already been talking about reuniting,” said frontman Leo Vondracek. “I could tell that our Spotify streams had been creeping up, which was weird because we weren’t doing anything about it at all.”
After years of inactivity from the band, the song “Puppy Princess” from their debut album Hot Freaks went viral and became an overnight hit. “I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal, but then later that week we were getting emails from record labels. It was very surreal,” Vondracek recounted.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Opening their set with “Let’s Start a Country” from their new album, the night started with everyone chanting unisonally “One, two, three, let’s start a country,” perfectly encapsulating the feeling of wanting to move away from modern civilization and disappear into a vacuum.
They then transitioned to some of their more personal and intimate songs like “Write Me Letters” and “Heartache” from their previous album. When asked if their songs are generally autobiographical, Vondracek replied, “The songs that have worked are the ones that have this vulnerability and intrigue. They’re mostly, I guess, autobiographical, and even if it’s not like the whole story, they have a nugget of truth in them.”
Photo by Alisha Goel
Comparing their latest album to their debut album, Vondracek commented, “I feel like maybe compared to the first record, the second one is a little less vulnerable or more hiding behind metaphors.” Keyboardist Celeste Heule seemed to agree with this, and shared her thoughts on it: “I do feel like the second album has a lot of secret vulnerabilities in every song, but that could also because I read into lyrics and have my own vivid imagination. I don’t even know what they’re about or what Leo is thinking, but I feel like I’m reading into his soul. It’s stuff he doesn’t want me to know.”
One of my favorites of the night was “Stuart Little Vibes,” a quirky song with a soothing bridge that made me feel sublimely elevated from the venue. While Vondracek described this song as “a bit cartoonish,” he also felt the song was very postmodern. “It was like an idea of a thing, it wasn’t an actual thing. We wanted to try making something funky and weird in a fun way,” explained Vondracek.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Diving into their songwriting process, Vondracek commented, “It’s like writing a diary entry and making yourself find a balance. If you’re feeling low, vent it, and if you can put it into a fun pop song that has a self-contained arc to it – that’s like really fun.” Vondracek also talked about finding courage in the process: “It’s kind of like skydiving. You have to get ready to bolster yourself up to jump out of that plane. It’s really similar – the courage to get up there and be vulnerable.”
The band also performed “What Can I Do?” from their latest album. While a lot of their music is about love and yearning for unrequited crushes, this song thematically stood out to me from their other music – painting an introspective picture on the struggles of moving on with melancholically upbeat instrumentals in the background. “It felt like a very first thing that popped into my mind. I thought that it was really fun because it was kind of a straight shooting, simple lyric and a sad vulnerable thing,” said Vondracek. Bassist Sarah Darnall added, “It’s like you did a really hard yoga class and you get to do your Savasana at the end.”
Photo by Alisha Goel
When asked about finality and completion of a song, Vondracek interestingly remarked: “A lot of time it feels like archaeology, like thrusting the dirt off and uncovering. Sometimes there is this intrinsic feeling, but more and more, I barely have that magic feeling. I think we all seek that feeling of completion, but if you don’t feel that, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. Sometimes you just have to take that leap of faith and believe that’s good.”
The night ended with their two most popular songs “Puppy Princess” and “I Wanna be your Boyfriend.” The crowd went absolutely crazy, and people were jumping, screaming their guts out and hugging their friends. The atmosphere was intoxicatingly electric, and the intensity made it feel like a massive block party where people were busting out their best dance moves. It was chaotic, unhinged and just the right amount of freaky.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Hot Freaks – Mercury Lounge, NYC – July 19, 2024
Setlist: Let’s Start a Country, Together Above, Write Me Letters, Heartache, End of the Night, Stuart Little Vibes, Boyfriend, Outset, Not Concerned with Everything, Girlfriend, I Want You To Be My Daddy, Baby Boy, What Can I Do, Puppy Princess, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
Photo by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha Goel
Do you ever wonder what happens to all the art that is castaway or disavowed by an artist? Where does it go and what stories do we miss in the process? Once in a while this unsettling question dawns upon me, and I get innately queasy in my bones thinking about all the ideas I will never know and understand.
It is rare for these art pieces to ever likely be perceived by the world, yet even rarer for a band to make a whole album out these pieces, let alone so exquisite it warrants the creation of a whole new label for special release.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Comprising of 13 euphonious and whimsical tracks, often featuring bizarre and enigmatic other-worldly characters, Catskills-based folk and rock quartet The Felice Brothers impressively accomplished this feat with the release of their latest album Valley of Abandoned Songs. Recorded live in an 1870’s church, this collection incorporates unreleased songs from their previous releases 2019’s Undress and 2023’s Asylum on the Hill.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Instrumentalist James Felice described this collection as “little snapshots of places that we were at and ideas we had over the years,” and we talked more about Valley of Abandoned Songs before their show at Bowery Ballroom on July 11.
The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Alisha Goel: People often categorize your music as folk and Americana. What are your thoughts on it? How do you describe your band style?
James Felice: When we first started, the label Americana or folk was so annoying to us. We didn’t want to be pigeonholed, or we thought that we were too cool for it. But honestly, we are. All of our music, the way we play and the music we grew up with is folk music. It’s the music that we are most connected to. So yeah, I’m okay with that. I think we’ve been doing this long enough to have our sort of thing.
Ian Felice fixing his broken guitar string on stage. (Photo by Alisha Goel)
AG: Describe the Valley of Abandoned Songs in three words.
JF: It’s abandoned songs. These are songs that we recorded over the course of the last few years. Most of them did not fit any records, but they were songs or demos that we’ve loved or felt connected to. We didn’t have high hopes for it and we didn’t know if it was worth putting out in the world. It’s surprising that it exists and that people are listening to it. Sometimes you’re not the best judge of your own work.
Photo by Alisha Goel
AG: There is a lot of vivid imagery and distinctive characters in this album. How do these characters come alive? Are there any particular literature or media sources that acted as your inspiration for this album?
Ian Felice: The characters come alive through the act of songwriting, which is an esoteric process that I don’t fully understand. They grow in my mind. Sometimes they are versions of myself or people that I know. Sometimes they are ghosts that appear and vanish at will. The songs span over a six-year period of writing so I cannot say there was a particular writer that inspired the album as a whole. I recall having certain writers in mind for specific songs, Elizabeth Bishop for example, when I was writing “Raccoon, Rooster and Crow.”
Photo by Alisha Goel
AG: Since we are in NYC, we have to talk about “New York By Moonlight.” You have a rich history with the city itself, from starting your journey as subway buskers to now playing at the Bowery. How do your personal experiences in this city tie into this song?
IF: Yes, when we first started our band we lived in the city and busked a lot in the subways. The song brings to mind some imagery and feelings from those days. It’s a dreamy rainy song about loneliness in the midst of so many people, but the gloom is pierced by moments of beauty, hopefully. It’s like daisies blooming in a prison yard. The character is a lost old man who walks with a cane and scares the pigeons.
Photo by Alisha Goel
AG: I know your writing process and creation process mutates a lot for every project you work on. Can you walk me through how the writing and production process was for a project that was so unique?
IF: A lot of the songs were intended to be demos and were never meant to be heard by anyone outside the band so the production process was extremely loose. We recorded them by ourselves with usually only one or two takes.
JF: We had these sweat sessions, which was like five or six songs recorded in one session. It was so hot, even higher than it is now, and we were just dripping sweat. A couple of the songs on the album are from the sweat sessions. Musically, this record is very simple. It’s very raw, live and just trying stuff to see how it feels. Sometimes when I hear it, I wish I played something differently or better, but if people are enjoying it, it’s fine.
Photo by Alisha Goel
AG: I imagine there were a lot of abandoned songs. How did you thematically decide which ones are going to make the cut for this album?
IF: They were all castaways that lived in a remote valley. They grew to love each other and their stories were made more rich by their interrelation. Obviously, this wasn’t a conscious decision but it’s how it worked out somehow. It’s a record about reincarnation and imperfection.
Photo by Alisha Goel
AG: What are you working on next and do you have any plans of ever stopping?
IF: We are touring a bit this year. I’m also working on a painting show for Half Gallery in NYC this November.
JF: I don’t ever want to stop. I get more joy every year. I really do. I find that playing music is the best part of my life. Maybe the music will change as we get older. Maybe we will stop hopping around so much on stage. Maybe we will get quieter or weirder, hopefully. I have nothing else I would like to do. Just this music and playing it with the band.
If there was a music style I had to describe as ethereally tender and mystical, yet perfectly encapsulates the feeling of standing in the middle of a swarm of men while eternally wanting to scream your guts out – I would instantly push you towards Paris Paloma’s music.
Infused with Greek and biblical references, the 24-year-old UK artist somehow manages to incorporate serene vivid storytelling in her music while simultaneously arousing the most primal and aggressive feminine urges in her audience. Folk-music with a bit of a dark gothic twist, Paris Paloma dominated the stage on Jun. 26 at Bowery Ballroom and left the crowd screaming in utter awe at her evocative stage presence.
Photo by Alisha Goel
The concert started with a uniquely soothing and harmonic performance by The Army, The Navy. The American duo, consisting of Maia Ciambriello and Sasha Goldberg, serenaded the crowd with some fan favorites like “Alexandra,” and prepared the audience for a hypnotic evening at Bowery. Much like Paris’ music, the duo’s lyrics are jam-packed with intimate and poignant stories, and their music comes across as earnestly confessional. Their calming and intricate harmonies were done on their acoustic guitar, and their chord progressions felt fresh and extremely delicate.
Photo by Alisha Goel
When 24-year-old Giorgia Merolli was asked to describe her connection to Paloma’s music, she said: “I discovered Paris when Labor went viral, and I think one reason why that song went viral is because it’s the most descriptive universal way that we women can relate to us being women. I’ve never heard an artist depict so simply, yet impactfully, the female experience of oppression and shielding our real emotions just to conform to some sort of societal norm.”
Opening her set with the first song in her upcoming debut album “Cacophony,” Paloma desperately repeated the line “What did I do wrong /Will you tell me what I did wrong, what did I,” heartbreakingly resonating with her audience on the pains of feverously scrambling to figure out and reason the abhorrent behavior of past loves in aching toxic relationships.
Photo by Alisha Goel
With her vulnerability and absolute openness in songwriting, Paloma transported everyone from the vast hall at Bowery to what felt like an intimate private gathering. Candidly expressing her grief and struggles surviving in a patriarchal society, Paloma gathered something so uniquely personal to her and used it to forge an iron-clad bond of fury and understanding between every woman present in the room attentively listening to her potent voice.
Paloma also sang “as good a reason,” a lyrical concoction providing a refreshing perspective on ageism and self-love in a society that thrives on manufacturing insecurities. One of the most personally impactful songs for me from the night was titled “the fruits,” a discomforting but visceral exploration of uneven power dynamics and submissiveness.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Paloma surprised the crowd with some of her unreleased songs from her new upcoming debut album. My personal favorite was “the warmth,” which started with what felt like the most beautifully disassociating siren call, and continued with incredulously haunting symphonies and drum beats, making it remarkably distinctive from anything I’ve heard from her before.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Paloma ended the night with her viral TikTok song “labour,” the song which rapidly made her way to the Top 30 on the UK singles chart, and became an anthem for womanhood and the queer community. Screaming “labour” breathlessly on the top of my lungs was an utterly transcending religious experience. It was like we were all bound by one beautiful string – a string harboring chaos and feminine rage and fostering a phenomenon I can only describe as pure and raw human connection. All our collective tears and frustrations binded together, and I found solace and comfort in our universal aches. It was cathartic. I felt liberated.
Photo by Alisha Goel
Paris Paloma – Bowery Ballroom – June 26, 2024
Setlist: my mind (now), drywall, boys, bugs & men, notre dame, as good a reason, knitting song (unreleased), the warmth (unreleased), the last woman on earth (unreleased), bones on the beach (unreleased), the fruits, yeti
Encore: labour
Paris Paloma’s debut album “Cacophony” will be released on August 30.
Photo by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha GoelPhoto by Alisha Goel
If you’re a music connoisseur searching for an entertaining kid-friendly activity this summer, Live Nation Entertainment and Empower Federal Credit Union just announced five exciting new shows in their “Kids in Free” concerts series, spanning across multiple genres—an absolute treat for everyone. The shows will take place in Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview in Syracuse.
The series includes music giants like Santana with Counting Crows; Dan + Shay; Train and REO Speedwagon; Hootie & The Blowfish; and Xscape and SWV – promising an amalgamation of nostalgic and sensational beats to immerse yourself in this summer.
Chris Keller, Chief Marketing Officer at Empower Federal Credit Union, commented, “This program is an example of one of the many reasons why we love being in partnership with the Amphitheater. It gives our community a wonderful place to gather, including our younger audiences. Parents, this is a great time to show your kids the music you love, and kids, this is a great chance to see just how cool your parents really are!”
The concert series permits entry of one child, 12 and under, for free to the lawn with each paid adult ticket. Tickets are limited and are available for purchase here. Child lawn tickets will be available for pickup near the main entrance at the amphitheater.
Kids In Free Shows at Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater:
Classical chamber music ensemble Musicians of Ma’alwyck presents Pulitzer Prize winner Dominick Argento’s 1975 mono-opera “A Water Bird Talk,” paired with Anton Chekhov’s one-act monologue “On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco,” on which the opera is based.
The performance will take place on June 15 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, with a pre-opera talk with the performers scheduled at the Hart Cluett Museum, both located in Troy.
“A Water Bird Talk” is a sharp-witted piece that follows a gentleman lecturer presenting a scholarly talk on water birds in a late nineteenth-century ladies’ club. His descriptions of each bird serve as metaphors for his own dejected life, portraying him as an inherent victim of constant ridicule from his domineering wife and daughters.
In 1962, Paul Newman directed an Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Chekhov’s play featuring music by David Amram, and Musicians of Ma’alwyck intend to pay tribute by using Arman’s score to provide musical interludes to the play. The opera boasts a 12-piece orchestra, including core Musicians of Ma’alwyck personnel: Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, artistic director and violin; Norman Thibodeau, flute; and André Laurent O’Neil, cello. Internationally acclaimed baritone Joseph Han will also be part of the opera, with direction by Brian Sheldon, known for his work on plays like “Minutes” in Albany, and musical conducting by Micah Gleason.
“A Water Bird Talk” stands as a testament to Musicians of Ma’alwyck’s mission to cultivate and promote an understanding of American life in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly in New York. The opera follows the legacy of the ensemble’s previous nationally recognized opera “Shield’s The Poor Soldier,” and other remarkable productions like “Blum’s The Ship’s Captain” and “Max Caplan’s Aleda.” They have also been in residence at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany for over twenty years, and currently hold a residency at SUNY Schenectady.
This collaboration with Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY promises a mesmerizing evening of musical brilliance.
Tickets are available for purchase by calling (518) 273-0038 or online here.
