BELT (Brooklyn Indie Punk/Funk Band) Plays CD Release Show at Bowery Electric on July 16th

“The happy go-punky sound of BELT provides those who still wish to dance at shows reason to do so“ - High Times

BELT, a five-piece indie rock band based in New York City, is set to release their latest full-length album All The Cool Kids Are Doing It! due out July 16, 2013. The album will include 14 tracks featuring the band's signature lush guitar sounds and smooth yet gritty vocals provided by frontman Terrance Brennan. All The Cool Kids Are Doing It! features two previously released singles, "Lions and Whales" and "You Shit on My Heart". In true BELT style, the album crosses genres and features reggae beats, glossy guitars and punk lyrics.

BELT's songs draw from the rock classics such as The Clash and Pixies and incorporate 90s dance qualities from bands like Weezer. Over the last ten years, BELT has gone through 33 lineup changes before settling on the current five-man piece and released an EP, as well as two full-length studio albums including their most recent independent release DISQUIETUDE.



The release party for All The Cool Kids Are Doing It! is scheduled for Tuesday, July 16 at the Bowery Electric - Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the doors. The lineup for the show is Stevie and the Lion (7:30PM), Mallet Brothers Band (8:30PM), BELT (9:30PM) and Planeside (10:30PM).

More About BELT:
BELT started out as a duo consisting of singer-songwriter Terrence Brennan and singer Paul Munoz performing acoustic sets in New York City in 2003. In addition to their own releases, BELT helped record a kids album (Strange Kidz,) and helped produce an exclusive singer-songwriter showcase at Tainted Blue Studios in NYC. Currently the BELT line up includes Brennan, long-time lead guitarist Mike Bell, drummer Mike "Pain Train" Sutton, bassist Paulie Testagrossa and backing vocalist Dan Testa.

Links:
BELT

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Graveyard Lovers Play Bowery Electric on Friday, May 31st (Brooklyn Swamp Rock)

Local cow-punk / swamp-rock trio Graveyard Lovers are playing Bowery Electric this Friday night alongside Brooklyn garage punk The Mad Doctors (who are releasing their debut EP "Fuzz Tonic" on Friday), Blue Coin and Tracy Island. Cover is $8 and doors are at 6:30PM (...and happy hour runs til 8PM).

Graveyard Lovers have been earning strong reviews with frequent shows around town and have been compared from acts that range from The White Stripes (prior to Graveyard Lovers adding a bassist) and "Sonic Youth… if Sonic Youth grew from Tennessee’s swamps and traded their soul to the devil while on the same road as Blind Willie Johnson" (The Deli Magazine). To my ears though, I think the closest point of comparison is Los Angeles' Tex and the Horseheads (...or a non-doped up version of the Gun Club).

"Graveyard Lovers are a blues-based indie rock trio comprised of guitarist/singer Zach Reynolds, drummer Tricia Purvis and bassist Orion Wainer. Zach is a native of Louisiana whose background is rooted in Deep South folk and blues. Tricia, a New Yorker, came up influenced by the innumerable waves of rock that have sculpted the NYC music scene into what it is today. " (from the band's bio)

Following up on the band's 2011's debut 5-track EP (check out "Ripe to Misbehave"), Graveyard Lovers has their full-length, Dreamers, ready to drop in September.  The first release, "Manifesto", from the new disc is streaming above and the band played "Blessed Are the Ties That Bind" (also from the new disc) on The Artie Lange Show back in the Spring.



Graveyard Lovers Upcoming Shows
Thursday June 6th, Leftfield Bar
w/ St James and the Apostles, Midwestern Exposure and The Enthusiasts

Friday July 26th, Arlene's Grocery
w XNY

Kahbang Music Fest, Bangor ME
August 9/10 details TBA

Links:
Graveyard Lovers

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Stone Cold Fox - 'The Young' EP CD Review / Show at Bowery Electric on Dec. 7th

Stone Cold Fox formed last year but the band has an immediately recognizable sound that is rooted in the post Brit-Pop sound of the bands of the late-90’s. Vocalist Kevin Olken has a distinctive and emotive voice and the band plays intricate and atmospheric indie-pop, which easily leads to comparisons to bands like Coldplay, The Walkmen and early Radiohead.

Stone Cold Fox’ was formed last year by Kevin Olken and Ariel Loh and the duo’s acoustic bedroom project morphed into a full band group. The band’s debut EP, “The Young”, was released earlier this year and the disc has a mature sound (especially for being a debut disc) so you could easily convince your friends that Stone Cold Fox was a contemporary of the aforementioned bands. It is with good reason that Filter Magazine called the band “the new band that you all should know”.

The disc starts with the melancholy “Pictures” which is carried by Olken’s vocals for the first minute of the song before the full band kicks in and drives the song toward its big melodic chorus, which include strong vocals harmonies. The next cut, “American”, is a more upbeat number with a faster tempo and this song could be a big radio hit if this disc hits the right ears. “Father Spirit” is another standout cut with its repeating guitar riff and strong rhythm section pushing the song forward. The disc ends with the chill-out number “Wild Cats”, which prominently features Olken’s vocals with minimalist instrumentation (which sounds to include strings).

In an interview with Pop’stache, Kevin describes the lyrical themes of the disc as an “album…about coming of age. ”American” does place that theme in America specifically, but the other songs are really more about nostalgia for a loss of home. I wrote these songs in my last year of college and that is really the “coming of age” period I was thinking of. I think the “graduating college period” is a really important stage in development that I wanted to dive into. You feel you can’t go back home but you don’t have a new home to go to.”



Stone Cold Fox premiered some new songs live last month and the band is heading back into the studio later this month to start recording this new material. Below is a (presumably) new song, “Graduation”, from the band’s CMJ show at Trash Bar.



Stone Cold Fox plays Bowery Electric on December 7th along with At The Moment, Alex Vans and These Animals. Advance tickets are $8 and doors are at 6:30PM.

Links:
Stone Cold Fox

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Cobalt & the Hired Guns - Live Video and Photos from Bowery Electric, NYC 8-17-12

After some lineup changes, Chicago's Cobalt & the Hired Guns (CATHG) regrouped with a fabulous new album, Everybody Wins!, which came out in June. The band played Union Hall in July and came back through a few weeks ago for a show at Bowery Electric.



Friends since they were just little buckaroos, the boys of Cobalt & the Hired Guns have always aspired to create an album to match their rambunctious live shows and it's finally here! Their new record, "Everybody Wins!", aims for the rafters with a cherry bomb explosion of poppy punk, barroom ballads, power pop, ska, horny rock and good humor. Following up 2008's "Jump the Fence" -- their first Carbon Neutral album- Everybody Wins! continues the tradition of the band's commitment to art and environmentalism- and includes their fullest lineup of 20 different players (not all at the same time). The repertoire for this five-to-twelve piece from Chicago has been described as Americana, Punky Pop, or just Good Ol' Fashioned Rock n' Roll. They've been compared to The Hold Steady, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, The Fratellis, Frightened Rabbit, Backyard Tire Fire, and "Wilco on Xanax covering The Clash".



Links:
Cobalt & the Hired Guns

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Cobalt & the Hired Guns: Chicago Pop-Punk Band Plays Union Hall on July 27th

DOWNLOAD: Cobalt & the Hired Guns - "Like You Like Me Like Me"

It has been a couple years since Cobalt & the Hired Guns came through town. Last time through, they played a brilliant, sweaty show to a packed house at Union Hall and kept the crowd riveted with their mix of punk and Americana "working-man" songs.

After some lineup changes, Cobalt & the Hired Guns (CATHG) regrouped with a new album Everybody Wins! and are playing two local shows over the next few weeks. The first is at Union Hall on Friday, July 27th with Luff and Velah. Cover is $8 and CATHG are taking the stage at 7:30PM. The second show is at Bowery Electric on August 17th. CATHG are playing with Futurist, Xylofaux and BAM. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.

Friends since they were just little buckaroos, the boys of Cobalt & the Hired Guns have always aspired to create an album to match their rambunctious live shows. It’s finally here! Their new record, Everybody Wins!, aims for the rafters with a cherry bomb explosion of poppy punk, barroom ballads, power pop, ska, horny rock and good humor. Following up 2008’s Jump the Fence – their first Carbon Neutral album- Everybody Wins! continues the tradition of the band’s commitment to art and environmentalism- and includes their fullest lineup of 20 different players (not all at the same time).

The repertoire for this five-to-twelve piece from Chicago has been described as Americana, Punky Pop, or just Good Ol’ Fashioned Rock n’ Roll. They’ve been compared to The Hold Steady, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, The Fratellis, Frightened Rabbit, Backyard Tire Fire, and “Wilco on Xanax covering The Clash”.



I had the pleasure of spending some time with the band prior to their show at Union Hall in '09 and below is some footage of their acoustic pre-show performance.



Links:
Cobalt & the Hired Guns

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The Buddies (x-Welcome to Ashley) - Live Video From Bowery Electric, NYC 1/6/12

After watching a show at Pianos a couple years ago, where the European opening band made their NYC debut to an audience of three (myself and two other bloggers), I'm always impressed when an out-of-town opening band can fill the room.

Last Friday night, The Buddies played a strong 40+ minute set of memorable whiskey-drenched songs reminiscent of The Replacements or a "Southern rock" version of The Pogues and the crowd stayed at the front of the stage throughout the band's set. The band wrapped up their set by playing their final number, which sounded like an Irish drinking song, from the center of floor and it was met with an enthusiastic response. Obviously, I wasn't the only convert that night as The Buddies have been invited back to Bowery Electric and are playing a show on April 21st.



The Buddies combines three members of Chicago post-punk band Welcome to Ashley (bassist The Mouse [aka Jeremy Barrett], guitarist Pete Javier and vocalist Coley Kennedy) with Justin, Kim and Scott Collins from Nashville's Pale Blue Dot and the band just released their first full-length F*ck the Buddies.

Links:
The Buddies

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LA Guns (Phil Lewis) Cancel January 29th Show at Bowery Electric

There must be something about NYC that disagrees with the members of L.A. Guns.

Last November, the Tracii Guns-led band was scheduled to play a poorly publicized show at Club Rebel. All I can find online about the show is a one line comment: "L.A. Guns (Tracii Guns version) were supposed to headline but had a dispute with the club and walked out."



The Phil Lewis / Steve Riley lineup were scheduled to play Bowery Electric on Jan. 29th and the show description listed on Reverb Nation read "Shar Gorgiiss's BIRTHDAY BASH With LA GUNS Phil Lewis and Steve Riley with Panzie* The Mighty Pragmatics, and Suicide Boulevard." I don't know what happened but it looks like Wildstreet is now playing this show in place of LA Guns.



The Phil Lewis lineup's recent signing to Cleopatra may be what derailed this show as the band announced that they are: "currently in pre-production and expect to start tracking in early February with legendary producer, and old friend, Andy Johns (LED ZEPPELIN, THE ROLLING STONES, CINDERELLA, VAN HALEN, as well as the last three L.A. GUNS albums). A CD and vinyl release, as well as bonus tracks available only on iTunes, is set for early summer. A nine-month world tour following the release is also currently being planned."

Links:
LA Guns

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The Buddies (x-Welcome to Ashley) Play Bowery Electric on Friday, Jan. 6th

DOWNLOAD: The Buddies - "All the Beer is Gone" (from F*ck the Buddies)



I really enjoyed the music of Chicago post-punk band Welcome to Ashley (which sounded something like The Smiths crossed with Urge Overkill) and the band has now morphed into The Buddies (which has been called a "southern rock version of The Clash"...though I'm thinking more of The Pogues or Jason and the Scorchers).

The Buddies combines three members of Welcome to Ashley (bassist The Mouse [aka Jeremy Barrett], guitarist Pete Javier and vocalist Coley Kennedy) with Justin, Kim and Scott Collins from Nashville's Pale Blue Dot and the band just released their first full-length F*ck the Buddies.

In a recent interview with Chicago blog DO312, Collie described the band's sound as "Garbage-rock!” (As Justin once referred to our sound). The Mouse and I love old rockabilly music. We are also really into bands like The Smiths, Echo and The Bunny Men, and Jesus & Mary Chain (as is Pete). I think the front-porch/alt-folk/’60s/grunge-ier sounds The Buddies make are the result of Justin, Scott and Kim. The six of us all place a lot of importance on a really strong melody. We all share adoration for bands such as The Clash, The Faces, The Replacements, The Pogues, and The Stones. Throw all of our influences in a trash can, shake it up and dump it out … voila! The Buddies!"



At the show at Bowery Electric, The Buddies are playing with American Darlings and Sangsara. Cover is $8 and doors are at 7:30PM.

Links:
The Buddies

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Backwords: Brooklyn Psych-Folk Band Announces CMJ Shows at Bowery Electric and Bruar Falls

And Then Sigh by backwordsmusic

Brooklyn psyche-folk-pop band Backwords just announced that they have set up one of the last ever CMJ showcases at Bruar Falls on Thursday 10/20, under the umbrella of their basement diy recording studio "Campers' Rule Records".

Campers' Rule Records Presents a FREE daytime CMJ show:

Where: Bruar Falls, 245 Grand St., Brooklyn NY
Noon-1:00pm - FREE BBQ in Bruar Falls Backyard
$3 - Brooklyn Lagers!

1:30PM - Moonmen on the Moon, Man
2:00PM Yanqui
2:30PM Easter Vomit
3:00PM Beat People, (members of Girls at Dawn / Fergus & Geronimo)
4:00PM backwords
4:30PM Fort Lean
5:00PM Radical Dads

Also - Backwords will be touring immediately following CMJ and will be releasing a new album, By the Neck, in the Spring.

BACKWORDS TOUR DATES: - - - - - - -
10.19 - WED - Tijuana Gift Shop CMJ Showcase, Bowery Electric: Robbers on High Street, Madison Square Gardners
10.20 - THU - Campers' Rule FREE Daytime Showcase at Bruar Falls: w/ Moonmen on the Moon Man, Yanqui, Easter Vomit, Beat People, Fort Lean, Radical Dads - 1:00pm-6:00pm
10.22 - SAT - Fundraiser for the "Bushwick Community Darkroom" - Below Shea Stadium, Brooklyn, NY: The Furies, Broken Glow
10.23 - SUN - The Bug Jar, Rochester, NY
10.24 - MON - Soundlab, Buffalo, NY
10.25 - TUE - The Smiling Moose, Pittsburgh, PA
10.26 - WED - Bela Dubby, Cleveland, OH
10.27 - THU - South Park Tavern, Dayton, OH
10.28 - FRI - Green Lantern, Lexington, KY
10.29 - SAT - Rhino's, Bloomington IN
10.30 - SUN - Transistor in-store, Chicago, IL
10.31 - MON - Swing State, Lake Villa, IL
11.02 - WED - Rudyard Kipling, Louisville, KY
11.03 - THU - The Walnut House, Murphreesboro, TN
11.04 - FRI - The 5 Spot, Nashville, TN
11.06 - SUN - Acoustic Coffeehouse - Johnson City, TN
11.07 - MON - Knox ivi - TV appearance, in early morning - Preservation Pub Evening: Knoxville, TN
11.09 - WED - Strange Matter - Richmond, VA
11.11 - FRI - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Charlottesville, VA
11.12 - SAT - Gillies, Blacksburg VA

Links:
Backwords

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Automatic Children Play Bowery Electric on Wednesday, Sept. 28th (First NYC Show in 2011)

I'm too tired to write anything really deep and meaningful tonight/this morning so...great band, great live set, first NYC show in nine months. What more do I need to say?

"We are excited to announce two new shows in the coming weeks. Wednesday, September 28th we will be rocking the Bowery Electric (327 Bowery at 2nd st) at 930pm for an L Rock the Party booking event. We have half an album of new songs to debut, and we can't wait for you to hear them. We are gearing up to record a new album in a few months, and we hope you'll come out and hear all of the new songs in the works. This show is $10/21+ and at 10pm. There's 5 great bands on the bill, starting at 7pm. Joining us on drums is our friend Brian Jones, fresh off two years of touring with the Afromotive and Bobby Lee Rodgers. In October, we will be playing CMJ 2011 at Wicked Willy's on Bleecker Street for an L Rock the Party showcase. We go on at 1030pm. Again, its a great lineup, 21+, $10 and we may have even more new material to premiere. See you there!"



Links:
Automatic Children

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Samantha Ronson Plays Bowery Electric on September 9th

This show is sure to draw an eclectic crowd...

Uber-DJ Samantha Ronson (who is the one-time girlfriend of Lindsay Lohan, step-daughter of Foreigner's Mick Jones, sister of producer Mark Ronson, etc.) has started to play some live dates with her new band Samantha Ronson and the Undertakers. According to Huffington Post, the band played their first "real show" in July at the Blue Note Jazz Club and the "audience responded well to Ronson's songs and banter, and though the singer seemed a bit nervous at times, the show seemed to go off without a hitch... those who see her live will be shocked at the transition from chronic photographer-flipper-off-er to gentle love song crooner."

Ronson's album, Chasing The Reds, was co-written with Jimmy Messer (from Kelly Clarkson's band) and, while that says a lot for the musical direction of the album, Ronson also co-wrote the song "Save Me" from the new Foreigner album.



Tickets are $13 and Ronson is sharing the bill with indie-punkers The Happy Problem and Brooklyn What.

Links:
Samantha Ronson

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