nyctaper posts

NYCTaper is 6 Years Old Today

May 11, 2013
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6th

It was six years ago today, May 11, 2007 that I opened NYCTaper as an experiment in a new way to distribute live recordings in the context of a music blog. Today I can say that the site has exceeded my expectations in every imaginable way. Thanks for our faithful readers, the addition of three other excellent editors and multiple other contributors, the site is now a mainstay and something for which we can all be proud. So thanks for six great years!

Last year we had a big party for our Fifth Anniversary, an epic show at 285 Kent headlined by Oneida. Their set is still available [HERE].

NYCTaper Presents: Endless Boogie Record Release Party w/ Arbouretum and Hans Chew at Cameo Gallery this FRIDAY, Feb 15

February 13, 2013
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Facebook Invite / Tickets [HERE]

Endless Boogie
Endless Boogie
Whether you’re sick of Valentine’s Day shenanigans or not, you owe it to yourself to join your fellow music fans at Cameo Gallery this Friday, February 15, as NYCTaper presents a triple bill from three excellent live bands that we dig. NYC’s Endless Boogie are fixtures of the local rock scene, and deservedly so. We first saw them opening for Pavement during their reunion tour a few years ago and have followed them with interest since, as they have cranked out some positively deadly LPs like the double Full House Head on local No Quarter Records.  As their name implies, EB play big songs with fat, chooglin’ riffs that you might remember from the 70s, if you’ve been alive that long. If not, this is what you missed. The show will be the release party for their new No Quarter release, Long Island, the first track of which recently debuted on NPR. If you want more Boogie than that NPR taste, there is also a three-hour (remember that word, “endless” in the name) live set from WFMU online.  Or, you know, just  come to the show and find out what they’re about in the raw.

Arbouretum
arbouretum
[Arbouretum. Photo courtesy of the band's Facebook page]

This show’s out of town guests, also introducing material from a new record, are NYCTaper veterans Arbouretum.  This will be their first NYC show since their latest Thrill Jockey release, Coming Out of the Fog.  If you managed to catch their set at Glasslands back in 2011 like we did, you know to expect some tightly performed, heavy-rocking Southern-influenced psych rock with a strong literary streak.  Coming Out of the Fog is their most focused work yet and these guys’ live show is not to be missed. See what we mean by streaming our 2011 recording below:

Hans Chew

You may have first met the piano boogie wizard Hans Chew when he played the NYCTaper CMJ Day Party back in October. If you didn’t, you missed a barnburner.  Hans kicked off that show with almost all-new tracks, and a few months later, he’s got even more new material to share.  Hans will start this night off at 8:30p.m. sharp, and he should more than wet your whistle for the next acts to come with his high-energy and endlessly entertaining style that takes its honky-tonk roots into the 20th century.  His Three Lobed/Divide by Zero LP Tennessee & Other Stories is not to be missed, and we expect a new release from him this spring if things go according to plan.

We hope to see you at Friday’s show.  Once again, tickets are HERE and the Facebook invite is HERE.

Hans Chew also playing the NYCTaper CMJ Day Party at Cake Shop (Thursday Oct 18)

September 25, 2012
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Yesterday we posted about our first CMJ show of 2012, the day party on Thursday October 18, 2012 at Cake Shop. We revealed two artists for this amazing bill, with clues about the other five acts. Today, we’re filling in another name — the inimitable Hans Chew. A little bio about Hans:
“Hans Chew’s 2010 debut album, Tennessee and Other Stories…, received four-stars from Rolling Stone Magazine who called it “fantastic… timeless…”. Uncut Magazine included the record in their Top 50 Albums of the Year and their list of the 20 Best Americana Albums, while also nominating Hans for their highest honor, The Uncut Music Award. Hans Chew is alive and kicking in New York City. He is currently working on his next record, due in 2012.”

Yesterday, Hans revealed his appearance at our show with this tumblr post:

We&#8217;re all set to play the @nyctaper @cmj 2012 day party at @cakeshopnyc&#160;!!!<br /> This show is sure to be a highlight of CMJ 2012 in October&#8230;our band is like a bunch of rabid thoroughbreds kicking in their stalls raring to rock and roll a New York City crowd after a long local hiatus&#8230;not to be missed&#8230; Also on the bill are New Orleans&#8217; own Hurray For the Riff Raff, who recently appeared on HBO&#8217;s Treme, and have been touring Europe extensively, and recently played a spectacular show in Brighton, UK promoted by our European management company Brighthelmstone Promotions. Plus Merge Records&#8217; act Mount Moriah, and more TBA&#8230;<br /> http://www.nyctaper.com/2012/09/nyctaper-at-cmj-2012-first-show-thursday-october-18-day-party-at-cake-shop/

We’re all set to play the @nyctaper @cmj 2012 day party at @cakeshopnyc !!!

This show is sure to be a highlight of CMJ 2012 in October…our band is like a bunch of rabid thoroughbreds kicking in their stalls raring to rock and roll a New York City crowd after a long local hiatus…not to be missed…
Also on the bill are New Orleans’ own Hurray For the Riff Raff, who recently appeared on HBO’s Treme, and have been touring Europe extensively, and recently played a spectacular show in Brighton, UK promoted by our European management company Brighthelmstone Promotions. Plus Merge Records’ act Mount Moriah, and more TBA…

So now the bill looks like this:
6:00 – Hurray For The Riff Raff
5:15 – [awesome all female quartet]
4:30 – Hans Chew
3:45 – [female folk singer extraordinaire - after year playing keys for BK indie vets]
3:00 – Mount Moriah
2:15 – [talent-rich songscape creator - childhood friend of nyctaper faves]
1:30 – [irresistable Michigan-based pop trio]

NYCTaper at CMJ 2012: First Show Thursday October 18 — Day Party at Cake Shop

September 24, 2012
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The success of a dogged pursuit can be sweet. In the case of our first 2012 CMJ lineup, its sweet several times over. As our longtime readers are aware, we’ve been fans of Hurray For The Riff Raff since 2008, but its been their recent album Look Out Mama that put it over the top. After the two outstanding concerts they played at Mercury Lounge this Summer, we pursued them heavily for CMJ. HFTRR is currently on tour in Europe, which will take them literally to the day before our show at Cake Shop on Thursday October 18. They fly from Europe over night, and land in NYC in the early afternoon of the 18th. We are sending a car service to take them directly from the airport to Cake Shop, where they’ll play the final set of our CMJ party. Quite an amazing set of circumstances, and one that we’ll not soon forget.

In another nice bit of coincidence, Hurray For The Riff Raff appeared on last night’s season premiere of Treme, HBO’s series about post-Katrina New Orleans. The band is playing outside of the coffee shop where the character Sofia works, and Sofia’s new boyfriend sings with the band. We hope HFTRR will be making regular appearances this season on Treme.

Another one of our dogged pursuits for CMJ was Mount Moriah. Last Fall, they played a set at Bowery Ballroom that was both impressive and moving. I’ve burned my recording of that performance to CD and play it in my vehicle more than literally any other CD that I own. The music is now burned into my brain. When we invited the band to play our CMJ show, it was admittedly a bit of a long shot. Mount Moriah is from North Carolina and have played multiple US tours. There was another fact in their development we did not know at the time — they’ve signed to Merge Records. But in another beautiful bit of synchronicty, Merge Records is hosting their first CMJ show since 2008 on Thursday night at Mercury Lounge, and Mount Moriah is on the bill. Shortly after the announcement of their Merge gig, the band agreed to play our show, and we could not be more excited.

NYCTaper CMJ 2012 Day Party
at Cake Shop
Thursday October 18, 2012
Doors 12 Noon
Music begins at 1:30pm

More musical guest to be announced this week. We’ll fill in the set times as we go along (see if you can guess!) …

6:00 – Hurray For The Riff Raff
5:15 – [awesome all female quartet]
4:30 – [Brooklyn-via-Tennessee ragtime piano genius]
3:45 – Jo Schornikow
3:00 – Mount Moriah
2:15 – Port St. Willow
1:30 – [irresistible Michigan-based pop trio]

Daniel Johnston Live Release to benefit Brett Hartenbach Cancer Recovery

August 31, 2012
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Teenarena Records has launched a limited edition 10″ vinyl/cassette “Daniel Johnston Live” release to benefit Brett Hartenbach, Daniel’s long time touring guitarist/friend. Brett has recently been diagnosed with a grade III brain tumor and is fighting the tumor uninsured. All proceeds from this release will go directly towards assisting Brett in his recovery. This show was recorded direct to 1/4? stereo two track tape on May 12, 2012.

You can now snag a Limited Edition EP of “Normal: Daniel Johnston Live” A Benefit for Brett Hartenbach (available on 10” vinyl, cassette and D/L) and a ton of extra goodies! Visit HERE to support Brett.

NYCTaper Presents: Prairie Empire Record Release Show this Sunday at Mercury Lounge

June 7, 2012
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Prairie Empire is the current project of the multitalented musician and songwriter Brittain Ashford, who is another Seattle transplant to Brooklyn that we are thrilled to have in our midst. As a singer, Ashford’s voice packs incredible emotional presence and range, as well as a little pixie dust pinch of whimsy; you feel an instant kinship with her and her music even if you’ve never met her. As for her band, their lush arrangements provide a broad sonic palette for Ashford’s compositions, incorporating strings, cello, violin, viola, drums, sleigh bells, dulcimer and trumpet, not to mention vocal harmonies. No surprise, then, that no less than eight other musicians played on the band’s new record.

Fresh off a recent Daytrotter performance, Ashford and her bandmates (several of whom live in Portland, making this no small trip) are celebrating the release of their eponymous debut album on Durham, NC’s Trailer Fire Records with this very special early show at Mercury Lounge this Sunday night. Although Prairie Empire has not been on the site before, everything we know about this band suggests that they will deliver a performance with a grace and beauty that more than does justice to their new album material. Opening the show will be the singer-songwriter Jo Schornikow, another young talent that we look forward to getting to know.

The NYCTaper crew will be on hand to capture audio of this event and to celebrate Prairie Empire’s new album and future success.  We hope that you will join us!

Tickets for the show are $10 and can be purchased [HERE] or fee-free at the Mercury Lounge Box Office.

Following this show, Prairie Empire will be going on an early summer tour of the Northeast and Midwest (and hopefully more to come).  Those tour dates are listed on their website [HERE].  You can also follow Brittain Ashford on twitter.

The show starts at 6:30pm SHARP (no, not 6:30pm “rock n’ roll time”)

NYCTaper Announces 2012 Northside Festival Showcase

June 4, 2012
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For the second year in a row, we are thrilled to be participating in the Northside Festival, which is more or less north Brooklyn’s answer to CMJ.  This year’s NYCTaper showcase will take place next Thursday, June 14 at 285 Kent on the festival’s opening night, and will feature four bands whose music we are very excited about.  Our Facebook page for the event is [HERE] and tickets can be purchased [HERE].

Co-headliners and Thrill Jockey labelmates Pontiak and White Hills are two bands I have been digging for awhile now, and I couldn’t be happier to have them on the bill.  I last checked in with Pontiak at the Memory Burn Psych Festival a couple years ago (that recording [HERE]) and since then, they have put out some excellent new material, most recently the record Echo Ono.  White Hills are fresh off the release of Frying On this Rock, which we recently got a taste of at Glasslands (recording [HERE]).  The trio has an avid following, and the recording makes it clear why.

Rhyton are a fairly new project (also on Thrill Jockey) from longtime NYC-area musicians whose other projects have been on this site. Dave Shuford, also of D. Charles Speer and the Helix (our recording of them [HERE]) and formerly of No Neck Blues Band, founded the band along with Jimmy SeiTang (Psychic Ills – our recording of them [HERE]) and Spencer Herbst (Messages, Matta Llama) to once again give voice to some of his heavier, more experimental influences that don’t find their was obviously into the Speer material.  Rhyton’s eponymous first record is a masterwork of jazz/psych experimentation, and we can’t wait to see the material in the live setting.

EULA are a Brooklyn band that we’ve caught out and about a few times (for me, most recently at Cameo Gallery (recording [HERE]). Frontwoman Alyse Lamb has established herself as one of the most compelling bandleaders of late in the local scene, and she and her bandmates will be kicking off the night with their high-energy postpunk sound.

Stream “Young” by Pontiak from the Bell House:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Stream “Dead” by White Hills from Glasslands:

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Stream Rhyton’s music from their MySpace page

Stream “Maurice Narcisse” by EULA

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We hope to see you at the show, and please grab your tickets [HERE]!

NYCTaper 5th Anniversary Show! Saturday May 12 at 285 Kent with Oneida and Special Guests

May 10, 2012
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Five years ago I established this site with a few goals in mind — that my recordings would be the centerpiece in posts that would profile the artists and would encourage people who read the site and download the music to support the artists. I did not however envision that the site would grow to the extent it has reached today. NYCTaper is now a group of four tapers with countless other contributors. The site continues to pursue the original goals, but with the help of our contributors, our readers and our many friends in the music community, we have become something more. With an enormous amount of help from artists, promoters, venues, booking agents, blogs, and others in the music world, taping has been removed from the shadows and the live recording of artists is now seen as a powerful tool to enhance the relationship between fans and artists. When bands now seek to “be on NYCTaper”, its understood that this is a good thing for an artist. And for us here at NYCTaper, its a humbling experience to realize that our hard work and good intentions have made this site work for a community of music performers and music lovers. We hope to keep doing this and to continue to grow well into the future.

We are celebrating this milestone with a concert curated by one of the artists that represents everything we love in music. Oneida is a band that is truly unique. The band is comprised of five incredibly talented musicians who are untethered by the bounds of conventional music genres and completely free of the traps of the music industry. They have been featured on NYCTaper eleven times (plus two solo projects) and last year we worked with them to offer recordings of their studio Ocropolis sessions to raise charitable contributions for Japanese earthquake relief.

Oneida will headline the show on Saturday, and will be joined onstage by special guests Greg Fox (Guardian Alien / GDFX) and James McNew (Yo La Tengo / Dump). The opening bands for the night are Sightings and Prince Rupert’s Drops.

Here are the details:
NYCTaper 5th Anniversary Concert
285 Kent (google map)
Brooklyn NY
Doors are at 8pm
Admission is $10
All ages are welcome

Advance Tickets are available at Ticketfly [HERE]

Tell us that you are coming by joining the Facebook Invite Page for this event [HERE]

Tommy Brull Foundation Concert Announcement: War On Drugs and Dean and Britta July 21 in Wantagh

April 30, 2012
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We are so pleased to be able to announce today that the Tommy Brull Foundation will present the 2nd Annual Shine A Light Festival on July 21, 2012 at Mulcahy’s in Wantagh on Long Island. This year’s roster of bands includes co-headliners (and nyctaper favorites) The War On Drugs along with Dean and Britta. Wormburner will also appear again this year in an encore performance from last year’s Festival.

The Tommy Brull Foundation is a remarkable organization set up to celebrate the life of Tommy, who died far too young. The Foundation’s mission includes assisting persons with disabilities in the greater Nassau County area. The proceeds from last year’s Shine A Light Festival were donated to Camp Anchor, a summer camp for disabled youth in Lido Beach. The Camp is special to the Foundation in large part because Tommy actually worked there. We were involved in last year’s Festival, which included performances by Deer Tick and Wormburner, both featured on nyctaper.

Tickets for the July 21 event went on sale this morning through Ticketfly [HERE].

The Facebook invite page for this amazing show is [HERE].

Mulcahy’s is in Wantagh on Long Island. It is reachable by the Long Island Railroad, and the venue is right across the street from the Wantagh station. See you there!

Kevinchino and NYCTaper Present: Caged Animals, Natureboy and Cat Martino – Union Pool Friday March 30 Tomorrow!

March 29, 2012
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We are teaming up with Kevchino to present an excellent bill at Union Pool tomorrow night. The show will feature 3 excellent bands, all of whom who have appeared on NYCTaper in one form or another.

The show is tomorrow night, Friday March 30, 2012 at Union Pool, located at 484 Union Avenue, near Metropolitan [Google Maps]. Doors are at 8pm, the show starts at 9pm, and its only eight bucks to get in!

Caged Animals is the new project for Vincent Cacchione, whose previous band Soft Black appeared three times on NYCTaper, including their phenomenal set at our 2010 CMJ show (here). Caged Animals have been getting a nice little bit of attention lately, thanks to some brooklynvegan features (here and here) and a nice writeup in the UK Guardian (here). Caged Animals continues Vincent superb ear for melody in a more indie-pop realm than Soft Black’s power folk. Either way, Vincent’s a great guy and we’re really excited to present Caged Animals.

Natureboy is a band led by singer/guitarist Sara Kermanshahi, who rich vocals and intense songwriting have graced the pages of NYCTaper twice, including their set opening the NYCTaper 3rd Anniversary show (here). After a short hiatus when the band wrote new songs and re-grouped, Natureboy is back performing — Sara even made an impromptu trip to SXSW this year.

Cat Martino is familiar to NYCTaper readers for her several appearances on these pages beginning with her vocals for several acts at the Truck America Festival a couple of summers ago. Cat was also the second vocalist for Sharon Van Etten’s touring band in 2010 and 2011. She recently released an excellent solo album entitled Yr Not Alone, which features Sufjan Stevens on the title track.

The Facebook invite page for this show is HERE.

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