Music
Baby Alpaca
Photography by John Felix Words by Kate Hegarty My first interaction with Baby Alpaca, the band led by singer and songwriter Chris Kittrell, is over email, when he mistakes me for a violin player. He has invited me to their studio to practice with the band and says the violin accompaniment would be a great addition. I wonder how he feels about a writer instead of someone trained at the strings. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, he invites me to sit in on practice nonetheless. I [...]
Young Magic
Photography by Victoria Stevens Words by Benjamin Trager Shining through a sea of musical abundance and ambiguity, Young Magic is a band that shies away from any singular identity. The band's cohesive task is the creation of an organic aesthetic, and though Brooklyn is their home, Young Magic is not defined by a particular location or style, the result being an eclectic, if not otherworldly sound. Band members Michael Italia, Melati Malay, and Isaac Emmanuel all live and work as [...]
SKINT
Photography by Victoria Stevens Words by Luke Koz Bands often brand themselves as “collectives,” though rarely expand beyond the production and performance of music. The Brooklyn-based experimental dance and music group Skint is an exception, however. The group renders definition irrelevant, blurring the traditional roles such as “dancer” and “musician” into an amalgam that transcends traditional definition. Working Class reached out to the permanent members of Skint, Elizabeth [...]
From Scratch
Words by B.W. Trager Lines hugged the exterior walls of MoMA PS1 as hauntingly ambient sounds seeped from inside. Although the queue to enter the space was anything but short, the time spent in the February chill of Long Island City was well worth the wait. Not only did the day’s event mark the start of a new winter performance series at PS1, more importantly it marked the debut event of multidisciplinary culture house Clown & Sunset Aesthetics (CSA). Presented in conjunction with [...]
The Death Set
Photography by Bryce Ward Words by Luke Koz In the past six years, The Death Set has probably toured harder and lived more than any other indie band. Since founding members Johnny Siera and Beau Velasco began playing together in Gold Coast, Australia, in 2005, The Death Set has shifted cities at least four times and continents once. The group has logged more traveling hours than most international airline pilots. When Velasco died in September, 2009, The Death Set lost its co-founder, but [...]
Set and Setting with the Psychic Ills
Photography by Shawn Brackbill Words by Luke Coz Since 2003, the Psychic Ills have created a sound based on repetition and noise. The band’s songs drift and hover, with parts melting into each other, often starting with one anarchic theme that is pounded into the skull as other elements dip in and out. Likewise, the band’s mission has changed over time in much the same way, with the edges becoming further dilated and the core — a sort of infinitely looped om — further clarified with [...]
Sweaty Weapons Blow Shit Up
Words by Luke Koz Photography by Jamey O'Quinn ` “Todd's the only punk guy in the band. John's emo, Leeora's a lesbian, and I'm just fucked.” It's appropriate that Sweaty Weapons was born in a bathroom at a house party, as the band's sugar-laced noise sounds cut from a two-inch line of coke on a squat house sink. The band's music is touched by '80s Los Angeles punk and '90s riot grrrl, but singer Leeora Empire's lyrics are distinctly New York City. The characters who occupy her stories [...]
Newtown Radio
Words by Megan Cahn Playing everything from the Fuck Buttons to Madonna to Holy Ghost!, Newtown Radio—an Internet station based out of Bushwick—is the itch to the scratch of Brooklyners and beyond who are sick of Pandora, missing their college radio listening days and just wanting to hear some good tunes without having to work too hard for it. Mixing local favorites, cult classics, crowd pleasers and hidden gems of the past with the latest from the indie music scene, Newtown Radio [...]
Jib Kidder’s Mixed-Up World
After spending many years making music with his guitar and other tactile instruments Sean Yent Schuster Craig created Jib Kibber. The idea behind the project is using found music from LPs, cassettes, mp3s and other audio translations to make something entirely new with them. Four records are scheduled for release this year, including "Cold Hands" cassette on Demo/Forever, "Nucular Mind" on DVD from States Rights Records, an LCM volume on Asthmatic Kitty and very soon, and a split [...]
Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Art of Underworld Domination
Photography by Nicholas Breslow Words by Megan Martin Anton Newcombe on Houston Street in NYC. “I very much want to rip the pop culture’s fucking lungs out and smoke ‘em. All of it.” –Anton Newcombe Being a successful artist is a fine balancing act between the exposure of the art and the introverted tendencies to get it done. Its never been a question that Anton Newcombe from the San Francisco-bred band Brian Jonestown Massacre has walked this tightrope his whole life, [...]
Be Set Free with Langhorne Slim
Photography by Cracker Farm Words by Adriana Rizzolo "Yeah well, whether you feel like dancing and singing or not dancing and singing, just not worrying about what other people are thinking is cool, being true to yourself." -Langhorne Slim Hailing not far from the small borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania called Langhorne is the singer/songwriter who carried it's namesake, Mr. Langhorne Slim. Once dubbed the “bastard son” of lunatic rockabilly musician Hasil Adkins, the [...]
Ian Mackaye, I Love You
This article is from several issues back, but I've seen a resurgence of Ian Mackaye in the blogosphere as of late on sites like Buddyhead, and Arthur Magazine. So I figured I'd re-dedicate myself to the genius that is Mackaye and re-post my interview with him. He is such a well-spoken and intelligent guy; best interview yet. ** GUIDING YOUR BAND’S POLITICAL AGENDA by Ian MacKaye Intro and Interview by Megan Martin There’s something inherently linked between music and politics. [...]
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Photography by Tessa Angus Words by Megan Martin We can all bow our heads and hold touching palms to hearts for a prayer of thanks to the dirty, bearded rock-and-roll Jesus and the resurrection of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Rock music, in all its grittiness and smoke and drink and raw emotion and sound, isn’t something that anyone can just pick up and do. It’s a lifestyle, a pocket of resistance. After nearly ten years as a band, BRMC has constantly risen to the occasion as the [...]
JM Airis Creates an Indian Summer in a Brooklyn Winter
Photography by Megan Martin Words by Ryan Spoto "Oh baby, watch my fears hold for a million years. I know what you're thinking, but its not love that's making your heart sick." –‘Divider,’ JM Airis JM Airis, drummer from the New York rock group Dead Sparrows, has taken a bold leap that only few musicians can manage: creating a solo album that sounds drastically different from, yet equally powerful as his other projects. Filled with heavy emotions and heart felt lyrics, the sounds [...]
Isn’t It Romantic? Er, Sort of? A Rather Grey and Lovely Chat with THE xx
Words by Ken Scrudato It’s pithy that The xx’s name employs the same sort of intentional poetic colorlessness as did the name choice of The Smiths. Indeed, this London foursome similarly forward a particular brand of graveyard and teatime poetry laced with turbulent, bemused sexuality. Their rather astonishing debut is one of those rarest of birds: a record that is both enthrallingly sexy and almost unfailingly, well, grey. Intrigued to peel back a couple of layers of the already [...]
The Haunted Lady: Interview with Juliette Lewis
Words by Ken Strudato Since bursting violently onto the big screen in flicks like Cape Fear and the brilliantly insidious Natural Born Killers, as well as playing the love interest of both Woody Allen (Husbands and Wives) and Johnny Depp (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), Juliette Lewis has cagily skirted the perimeter fence of Hollywood stardom. As it turns out, she was actually just prepping her inner rocker for a no-holds-barred coming out; indeed, Juliette Lewis and The Licks’ 2004 [...]
A NIGHT WITH KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES
Photography by Chris Becker Jr. Words by Megan Cahn I was tired, I didn’t want to go—one of those commitments made too long ago when I was well-rested, bright eyed, and hopeful. I just wanted to nurse my Friday night hangover on the couch. And usually I would succumb to such an urge, but I had heard enough about this guy, this King Khan, to drag my sorry ass to the subway and head into the city. And thank God I did—that little man got me dancing more than I had all [...]
The Slits
Words by Ken Scrudato Considering that punk was one of the monumental touchstones of 20th Century feminism, it was pretty fucking depressing watching it all regress back into an antediluvian dichotomy of ape-ish doodism (Lollapalooza) and huggy foofyism (Lilith Fair). But the equally glorious and ferocious return of landmark girl-punks The Slits--now in the form of original members Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt, along with a fresh new battalion of fearsome young estro-warriors--should do much for [...]
Ninjasonik are Tight Ass Pant Wearin’ N@!#%s… and they’re lovin’ it.
Words by Megan Martin It’s yet another cold, breezy night in Brooklyn when I arrive at a non-descript door on Bayard Street near McCarren Park. A friendly guy in a leather coat shuffles me in the hallway to a club called The Shank, noting the Baltic winds. Once inside I find a couple guys lingering around the turntables near the stage. Jah Jah and Telli Gramz of Ninjasonik are sipping on cans of Miller Lite and cracking jokes – nothing too new. This up-and-coming rap-rock band [...]
Dave Gahan and Brandon Flowers
Words by Ken Scrudato Recently, while immersed in the eerie drug-sex double entendre of “Never Let Me Down Again”, a friend commented to me, "What's with Depeche Mode? They make self-destruction sound like you're falling through the clouds." It would be difficult to fathom a more essence-perceiving appraisal of a band that has almost inconceivably spun a penchant for both futurism and perversion into more than ninety-million record sales (not a misprint) since being discovered [...]
Hangin’ with The Two Tears
Words by Megan Martin With all things creative, it’s never a one-step process. You’ve slaved to get that final product – that killer song, that awe-enhancing painting, that perfectly crafted suit jacket, that all-informing editorial. It’s ready, but people still don’t know about it. Enter in step two, getting it out there, which us artistic types aren’t quite as masterful at. But promotion, like any art project, can often start with scissors, tape, glue sticks and ideas. [...]
GERIATRIC ROCK GODS
Words by Megan Martin When presented with the question of, is there an Aerosmith of our generation—not because they are a brilliant band, but because it’s brilliant that they’ve lasted so long—I immediately start thinking about other musicians who are geriatric rock gods. First off, The Rolling Stones. Obviously. At 65, Keith Richards has etched his rock-and-roll cred permanently into our brains, and his own. I still see the NY Post headline: “Keith Richards Snorts [...]
Guiding Your Band’s Political Agenda
Words by Ian MacKaye Intro and Interview by Megan Martin There’s something inherently linked between music and politics. They are two juxtaposing worlds living in a parallel universe causing the sound and the fury. A rallied call for energy, for change, for excitement, fists pumping in the air chanting for a chorus or a cause. Music, for obvious reasons, has been the voice of the people who have little voice – the message for the poor, struggling, and working class. On the flip side, [...]
The Magnificent Seven
Words by The Clash Ring! Ring! It's 7:00 A.M.! Move y'self to go again Cold water in the face Brings you back to this awful place Knuckle merchants and you bankers, too Must get up an' learn those rules Weather man and the crazy chief One says sun and one says sleet A.M., the F.M. the P.M. too Churning out that boogaloo Gets you up and gets you out But how long can you keep it up? Gimme Honda, Gimme Sony So cheap and real phony Hong Kong dollars and Indian cents English pounds [...]
The Raveonettes
Words by Ken Scrudato STYLE STYLE STYLE They were a glorious sight, appearing gorgeously on the horizon. Modern day Vikings, they came from the land of Hamlet, pastry and strikingly progressive politics not to plunder but to enlighten. They joined a small band of our own revolutionaries led by the likes of Karen O and Carlos D, those fighting to reverse the cultural regression wrought upon this land by a seemingly endless string of mopey, badly styled clans of college dudes with [...]
Titus Andronicus
Photography and Words by James Giller There was a time when your work was your word there was none of the bullshit you see in the world today. We now live in a world of little to no recognition for those most deserving. Suddenly it’s who you know that gets you a leg up in the world. The only problem is, there’s too much gray area today. The good the bad and the ugly are over, good shot the bad and the ugly killed himself... So what does that leave us? Titus Andronicus. The five [...]
Carla Bruni
Photography by Gerard Rondeau Words by Ken Scrudato It’s not often you’ll find a model decrying the rise of the visual over the written word. And let’s face it, no writer we know of has ever refused to get out of bed for less than $10,000. But make no mistake, it is one Carla Bruni, Italian-born ex-supermodel and conspicuous rock star girlfriend, who is now gracing these decidedly graceless times with a loving, moving encomium to another kind of beauty altogether. Following [...]
A Trip Through Volta
Words by Ken Scrudato Comes a time in every girl’s life where she’s got to reach for the trigger and take aim at the motherfuckers (usually mostly guys) who seem forever intent on poisoning their sugar and spice. Not that Bjork has ever spent a tenth of a millisecond playing by man’s dastardly rules. But perhaps she’s finally exhausted the certainly noble but possibly futile “All is full of love” approach, and is intent on rolling a few heads. And after all, this is the girl [...]
Siouxsie Sioux: Post-Punk Prophetess
Words by Ken Scrudato It’s hard to recall a time when the scent of Armageddon has hung so heavy in the international air as it has during this, the nose-end of the 21st Century. During the century previous, a few sentient seers--Orwell, Gramsci, Ballard--had, in fact, offered fair warning. But none did so with anything quite like the luridly affective glamour of the puissant post-punk prophetess Siouxsie Sioux. By now lazily tucked into a few tired classifications (“Punk [...]
JASON BRODY ISN’T DEAD, HE JUST FEELS LIKE HE IS
Words by Adam Pollock Jason Brody has been up all night. As lead singer, guitar player and songwriter for the East Village quartet that bears his name this might be expected. After all, isn’t the guilt free ability to hang out all night ingesting various non-drowsy formula substances and trying to talk the skinny jeans off the pretty things who think your band is ‘soo much cooler than The Decemberists’ the reason young men start bands in the first place? Of course it is. Today, [...]
WE HEART LAUREN FLAX
Words by Megan Martin This is Lauren Flax. She’s small and smiley. She’s got dark hair that falls over her eyes and it sticks to her forehead in the New York summer humidity. “You’re catching me at a funny time .” She giggles, “After being in Europe DJing for a month, my eyes have been opened…” City life has been good to Flax, she’s established a credibility and a huge following in the New York party scene, as well as in Chicago and parts of Europe. And somehow, [...]
THE CUMMIES: AMERICAN ORIGINALS
Words by Ryan Spoto Anyone who has seen The Cummies knows they are a straight up, no bullshit rock-n-roll band. You won't see a big set up on stage, no seven-piece drum kits, no Marshall Half Stacks, no huge bass cabinet and definitely no effects pedals. One thing is for sure, it will be one of the loudest and raunchiest shows this side of the Mississippi. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, the three boys migrated to New York City in the winter of 2006. When asked what they thought of [...]