55 search results for "forsyth"

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: November 12, 2015 The Bowery Ballroom + New Show Announcement!

November 24, 2015

It’s been a wild, satisfying year for those of us following Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band. I’ve been treated to so many live excursions from the band since January, I’m running out of adjectives. Luckily they’ve got an upcoming 2xLP+7″, The Rarity of Experience, dropping early 2016 to help me replenish my vocabulary. Three songs from this Bowery Ballroom set will feature on that album: “Anthem,” “High Castle Rock,” and “The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1–2.” The back half of the set covers last year’s Intensity Ghost, with “The Ballad of Freer Hollow” and the dreamy, meandering closer “I Ain’t Waiting.” Opening up for the alt-country Futurebirds, you might think Forsyth and gang would hold something back for the unfamiliar audience—instead, they let it rip and I’ll daresay they won over an unsuspecting crowd entirely.

I recorded this set from our usual spot in the venue, with a board feed from FOH Kenny. The sound is fantastic. Enjoy!

New Show Announcement!
We are extremely pleased to be able to bring Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band back to NYC. On December 12, 2015, NYCTaper Presents the band at Trans Pecos. The direct support for this show is provided by the outstanding Maine-based psych-rock band Herbcraft. Tickets are available now at Ticketfly [HERE]. The Facebook invite page is here.

Downloads are available at the Live Music Archive

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Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2015-11-12
The Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Kenny) + AKG C480B/CK61 (PAS) > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, compression, mixdown, normalize, fades) > Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [48:35]
01. Anthem
02. [guitar swap]
03. High Castle Rock
04. [banter]
05. The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1-2
06. [banter]
07. The Ballad of Freer Hollow
08. I Ain’t Waiting

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Chris Forsyth. Visit his website, like him on Facebook, and buy Intensity Ghost from No Quarter.

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: June 11, 2015 McCarren Park (Northside Festival)

July 23, 2015

By EricPH

[photos by PSquared Photography]

Last month, we were pleasantly surprised by the addition of Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band to the Northside Festival‘s premier event: Luna’s first NYC show in a decade. Our love for the Moteliers is no secret by now and their late breaking appearance in McCarren Park gave us the chance to soak in some sun and suds with our favorite Philadelphians. Though all the tunes here will be familiar if you’ve been following along this year, the latter three-fourths of the set—”The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1-2,” “High Castle Rock,” and “Harmonious Dance”—is all new material that will appear on the next Solar Motel record due out on No Quarter in 2016.

NYCTaper recorded this set in the same manner as Luna’s set from the same day. There are a couple spots of wind, but none mar the recording and the sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Forsyth also has an upcoming collaboration with Koen Holtkamp of Mountains called The Island and due out on Trouble in Mind this fall.

Downloads are available at the Live Music Archive

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Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2015-06-11
Northside Festival
McCarren Park
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by NYCTaper
Produced by Eric PH

Soundboard + Schoeps CCM4u Cardioids > Sound Devices 744t > 2xWAV (24/48) > Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter) > Adobe Audition CC (align, mixdown, normalize, fades, tracking, downsample, dither) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [40:26]
01. The Ballad of Freer Hollow
02. [banter]
03. The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1-2
04. High Castle Rock
05. [banter]
06. Harmonious Dance

Support Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: Website | Facebook | Buy Intensity Ghost from No Quarter

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: April 18, 2015 Baby’s All Right

May 20, 2015

By EricPH

[Photos by Jamie Langley]

Even though he’s Philadelphia-based, New York looks more and more like Chris Forsyth’s home turf, having already played a couple shows here this year. On a short break between recording and mixing their next record for No Quarter, Forsyth and the Solar Motel crew stopped by NYC for a one-off with likeminded jammers Howlin Rain (their set posted here). This set from Baby’s All Right is comprised entirely of new material that’s slated to appear on that next record: “High Castle Rock” and “The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1–2” we’ve heard before but “Anthem” and “Harmonious Dance” are completely new to us. The new one won’t drop until 2016, so in the mean time we’ve got you covered with another live Solar Motel excursion.

Baby’s FOH Harrison Fore recorded this set with a board feed and the Baby’s room mics. I mixed those two sources in post-production. It might be our best Forsyth capture yet. Dig in!

Forsyth also has an upcoming collaboration with Koen Holtkamp of Mountains called The Island and due out on Trouble in Mind this fall.

Downloads are available at the Live Music Archive

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Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2015-04-18
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by Harrison Fore
Produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Harrison) + Audio Technica 4051 > 4x Mono WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, mixdown) > Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, exciter) > Audacity 2.0.5 (amplify, fades, downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [38:00]
01. Anthem
02. [banter]
03. The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1-2
04. [banter]
05. High Castle Rock
06. [banter]
07. Harmonious Dance

Support Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: Website | Facebook | Buy Intensity Ghost from No Quarter

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: February 5, 2015 Union Pool

March 11, 2015

By EricPH

It’s hard to believe that Chris Forsyth’s second outing with the Solar Motel Band, Intensity Ghost, is merely four months old. So even as the album’s songs hardly feel worn-in, it’s exciting that the band has already begun airing new material live. “High Castle Rock” is one such new song, but also one we’ve heard before. The band has been playing it live since even prior to the release of Intensity Ghost and the long gestation period has proven fruitful. Charting its progress over the last few months, each performance burns a bit hotter than the last. This version of the song from last month at Union Pool is an unforgiving, relentless jam. Playing for a packed crowd convinced to brave the cold by a New Yorker writeup, the band airs a second new song, “The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1–2.” That one, along with their standout cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “The Calvary Cross,” illustrates Forsyth’s increasing comfort with vocals. From Intensity Ghost the band plays the title track, the album’s standout jammer “The Ballad of Freer Hollow,” and closer “I Ain’t Waiting.”

I recorded this set in the same manner as the Horse Lords and Mind Over Mirrors sets from the same night: with the AKGs clamped to the balcony combined with a board feed from Union Pool FOH Leah. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Downloads available at the Live Music Archive

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Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2015-02-05
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Leah) + AKG C480B/CK61 (FOB, PAS) > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, EQ, mixdown) > Audacity 2.0.5 (amplify, fades, downsample, dither, tracking, tagging) > FLAC (16/44.1, level 8)

Tracks [56:55]
01. The Ballad of Freer Hollow
02. [banter/tuning]
03. The Rarity of Experience, Parts 1–2
04. High Castle Rock
05. [banter/tuning]
06. The Calvary Cross [Richard & Linda Thompson]
07. [banter]
08. Intensity Ghost
09. [banter]
10. I Ain’t Waiting

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Chris Forsyth. Visit his website, like him on Facebook, and buy Intensity Ghost from No Quarter.

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: October 24, 2014 Rough Trade & January 10, 2015 Palisades

January 19, 2015

By EricPH

NPR pretty much nailed it when they described Chris Forsyth’s music as “the intersection of Television and The Grateful Dead.” Add to that casual mentions of Neil Young and Richard Thompson, both of whom Forsyth has recently covered, and you get a fairly accurate portrait of his music. But musicians—the good ones at least—are more than just vectors for their influences. Forsyth’s first album with his band, Solar Motel, made it clear that here was an original songwriter working within and pushing the boundaries of a musical tradition. Forsyth’s guitar playing comes off as effortless and his looseness is counterbalanced by the Solar Motel Band’s ability to jam as if a single consciousness.

Here we have two sets, one recorded just days before the release of Intensity Ghost and one a short few months later, though long enough to have let that album’s jams percolate. The sets are nearly identical in setlist; the Palisades set substitutes a cover of Richard & Linda Thompson’s “The Calvary Cross” in place of Intensity Ghost’s “Yellow Square” from Rough Trade. Each features the same as-yet-untitled new song, an impressive jam to rival “The Ballad of Freer Hollow” for dominance as the band’s signature tune. Forsyth does an admirable job on vocals with “The Calvary Cross,” managing to carefully convey the song’s significance without resorting to affectation. “Intensity Ghost” is an exercise in guitar soloing bookended by an urgent jam that highlights the band’s ability to craft more tightly-wound rock songs. Finally, each set closes with “I Ain’t Waiting,” a slowed-down jam that eases you out of the Solar Motel headspace you’ve just inhabited for a good three-quarters of an hour.

Acidjack recorded the Rough Trade NYC show with Shoeps MK41’s set up at the soundboard, with a board feed from FOH Cam. The Palisades show was recorded with the AKG’s set up in front of the board, with a board feed from FOH Ariel. Both sets sound outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the Rough Trade NYC show at the Live Music Archive

Download the Palisades show at the Live Music Archive

Stream the complete Rough Trade NYC show:
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Stream the complete Palisades show:
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Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2014-10-24
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Cam) + Schoeps MK41 (DFC, PAS, at SBD)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (exciter effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [44:27]
01. Intensity Ghost
02. [banter]
03. The Ballad of Freer Hollow
04. [banter]
05. Yellow Square
06. [banter]
07. High Castle Rock
08. [banter]
09. I Ain’t Waiting

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
2015-01-10
Palisades
Brooklyn, NY

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by Eric PH

Soundboard (engineer: Ariel) + AKG C480B/CK61 > Roland R-26 > 2xWAV(24/48) > Adobe Audition CC (align, balance, mixdown, compression, fades) > Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ) > Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, tagging) > FLAC (24/48, level 8)

Tracks [48:37]
01. The Ballad of Freer Hollow
02. High Castle Rock
03. The Calvary Cross [Richard & Linda Thompson]
04. Intensity Ghost
05. I Ain’t Waiting

Remastered August 2018

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Chris Forsyth. Visit his website, like him on Facebook, and buy Intensity Ghost from No Quarter.

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: September 7, 2013 Paradise of Bachelors / WXYC Day Show, Hopscotch Music Festival (Raleigh, NC)

October 9, 2013

By acidjack

[Photo courtesy of Constance Mensh for Paradise of Bachelors]

Chris Forsyth has a body of work that’s deeper and more diverse than that of most artists twice his age. But he may have produced his finest work to date with his first release for Paradise of Bachelors, Solar Motel. which comes out at the end of this month. Joined by a group of players (Paul Sukeena on guitar, Peter Kerlin on bass and Steven Urgo on drums) that he calls the Solar Motel Band, his new psychedelic art-rock outfit, Forsyth gave the assembled crowd for the Paradise of Bachelors / WXYC day show the great privilege of playing the new record straight through. The four-movement record has a power and narrative structure all its own, suggesting that even with his many accomplishments as a guitarist, Forsyth may be even better in the role of bandleader.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones from the exact spot you can see in the photo above. Put the headphones on and let Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band take you on a journey you won’t soon forget. Enjoy!

Solar Motel is available for pre-order now.

Downloads available at the Live Music Archive

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Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band
2013-09-07
Paradise of Bachelors Day Show
Louise “Scottie” Stephenson Amphitheatre
Raleigh, NC USA

Schoeps MK4V>KC5>CMC6>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, adjustments)>Izotope Ozone 5 (tube effect, compression, EQ)>Audacity 2.03 (tracking, fades, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Solar Motel Part I>
02 Solar Motel Park II
03 [banter]
04 Solar Motel Part III
05 Solar Motel Part IV

Players:

Chris Forsyth: guitar

Paul Sukeena: guitar

Peter Nye Kerlin: bass

Steven Urgo: drums

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Chris Forsyth, visit his website, pre-order Solar Motel from Paradise of Bachelors and buy his other releases from the links here.

BASIC: June 25, 2025 Tubby’s

July 22, 2025

By Kliked

Readers of this site should be well versed with Chris Forsyth’s work. We have covered him extensively through the years with a variety of his projects. Currently, his focus is on the trio Basic with Mikel Patrick Avery and Doug McCombs.

EricPh posted a fantastic Basic recording and interesting insight into the project’s formation just shy of a year ago. Since then, the band has released a new EP and, on this evening, even treated us to a couple of new and as of yet unnamed compositions.

The project’s concept remains intact: a far-reaching combination of sampled and organic percussion, Forsyth’s always creative guitar playing, and McCombs somehow finding a pocket between the two. This project has matured quite a bit since its inception, and I find the new EP to be significantly stronger in both composition and performance. I think listeners can experience this firsthand with the performances of that material captured here.

Aside from the new material Basic seems to be cooking up, all three members are working on other projects. Forsyth is debuting a new trio called “What Is Now” in early August, McCombs is hitting the road with all-time greats Tortoise, and Avery has a Natural Information Society gig in October with Sterolab and Bitchin Bajas; talk about a stacked bill! Plenty of opportunities for you to catch some tunes!

I recorded this for the normal spot in the back with my MBHOs and soundboard feed from ace FOH engineer Wil. The sound quality is excellent!

Download and stream at the Live Music Archive!

Basic
2025-06-25
Tubby’s
Kingston, NY

Source: MBHO440 + SDB > SD MixPre 3 > SD (24/48) > Adobe Audition/Izotope 9 > Audacity Flac (lvl8) > Mp3Tag

Thanks to Tubby’s FOH engineer Wil for the board patch

New Auspicious
Nerve Time
Changes, Changing
New 2
New 3
Dream City
Tension Envelope

Basic is:
Mikel Patrick Avery: percussion, electronics, drum machine
Chris Forsyth – Guitar
Doug McCombs – Bass

Support this excellent artist!
https://chrisforsyth1.bandcamp.com/album/dream-city-e-p

Support the venues bringing you interesting music!
https://www.tubbyskingston.com/music-calendar

BASIC: September 14, 2024 Seuffert Bandshell

September 30, 2024

By EricPH

Long before This is BASIC—the new album from Chris Forsyth, Nick Millevoi, and Mikel Patrick Avery—Forsyth and Millevoi had both separately been discussing the uniqueness of Robert Quine’s discography and playing. Forsyth gave an interview in Raven Sings the Blues back in 2019 where he praises the overlooked, even disliked, album from Quine and drummer Fred Maher, Basic. In 2021, Millevoi breaks down Quine’s “unpredictable” playing for Premier Guitar, complete with music notation. As an observer and non-player, it’s fascinating to hear musicians talk about their influences in ways so clearly project their excitement and awe. It’s worth mentioning also that Quine was a taper, having captured some of the key surviving Velvet Underground performances, including three renditions of “Sister Ray”!

The current lineup of BASIC has Doug McCombs, who should need no introduction, sitting in with Forsyth and Avery. Catching up with them here in Forest Hills park, BASIC are anything but. Mikel Patrick Avery’s percussion, a mix of triggered sounds and analog drumming, is mesmerizing as it reverberates throughout the bandshell and park. McCombs plays a six-string bass which opens up its own unique possibilities as a foil for Forsyth’s guitar. They play the album through in order but with the new lineup it’s morphed into something unique. I expect as this trio continues playing together, they’ll further adapt into new forms.

BASIC is about to kick off their West Coast tour and then return to Brooklyn in December with 75 Dollar Bill at The Sultan Room or at Tubby’s in Kingston with Chris Brokaw. If you’re local, don’t miss those. If not, check out the BASIC tour dates and catch them near you:

Sat 10/5 Portland @ Star Theater w Marisa Anderson
Sun 10/6 Seattle @ Sunset Tavern w Diminished Men
Tues 10/8 Arcata CA @ Richards Goat w Eta Corina (Chasny/Aolani)
Thurs 10/10 San Francisco @ Thee Stork Club w Bill Orcutt
Sat 10/12 Los Angeles @ Zebulon w Sessa
Sun 10/13 Joshua Tree Music Festival

Wed 12/4 Brooklyn @ The Sultan Room w 75 Dollar Bill
Thurs 12/5 Kingston NY @ Tubby’s w Chris Brokaw Rock Band
Fri 12/6 Boston @ Middle East Upstairs w Chris Brokaw Rock Band
Sat 12/7 Philadelphia @ Johnny Brenda’s w The Early & Totally Automatic
Sun 12/8 Washington DC @ DC9
Mon 12/9 Pittsburgh @ Bottlerocket Social Hall
Wed 12/11 Detroit @ Outer Limits Lounge
Thurs 12/12 Chicago @ Judson & Moore w Yr Knives
Fri 12/13 Milwaukee @ Cactus Club w Yr Knives
Sat 12/14 Minneapolis @ 7th Street Entry w Yr Knives

Stream and Download at the Live Music Archive

BASIC
2024-09-14
Seuffert Bandshell
Queens, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [46:15]
01. For Stars of the Air
02. Nerve Time
03. Positive Halfway
04. Last Resort of the Gambling Man
05. Versatile Switch
06. New Auspicious

Stuart Bogie, Jon Goldberger, Andy Hess, and Ryan Jewell: January 5, 2020 Nublu

January 7, 2020

By nyctaper

Oh, what a night. This was seventy minutes of pure improvisational bliss. These four incredibly talented musicians have played together before in various combinations, but never as a quartet. Ryan Jewell should be familiar with the readers of these pages in his many outings with Chris Forsyth and with Ryley Walker, and a few months back we posted a five-piece improv set that featured Stuart Bogie and Jonathan Goldberger. Andy Hess has only appeared here with Govt Mule (2007), but has played with a plethora of area musicians over the years.

On this night, the quartet performed an unrehearsed improvisation set that extended to almost an hour before starting another shorter piece as an encore of sorts. Generally speaking, these types of events lean towards the avant and noisy side, but these four folks naturally seemed to be able to instantaneously conjure up chunky nuggets of melody interspersed with tasty bits of effects, some quiet interludes, and some squonk. Ultimately, this was an exceptionally satisfying night of music, and one that I hope gets repeated again.

I recorded this set with a pair of Schoeps mounted at the front of the stage, and mixed with a board feed. The onstage recording was so crystal clear so that the board mix is only used as some fortification and also to soften the hard pans of the stage capture. The mix is superb. Enjoy!

Download the Complete Set [MP3] / [FLAC]

Stream the Complete Set:

Bogie Goldberger Hess Jewell
2020-01-05
Nublu
New York NY

Digital Master Recording
On Stage + Soundboard

Schoeps CCM4u’s + Soundboard > Sound Devices 744t > 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (post production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:08:26]
01 Improvisation 1
02 Improvisation 2

Stuart Bogie – Tenor Sax Clarinet Flute
Jonathan Goldberger – Guitar
Andy Hess – Bass
Ryan Jewell – Percussion\

PLEASE SUPPORT these outstanding Musicians and visit their websites linked above.

Mosses: September 21, 2019 Nublu

October 9, 2019

By EricPH

Ryan Jewell may just be the busiest man in rock and roll. Does he eat? Does he sleep? No one knows. Between drumming with Ryley Walker, Chris Forsyth, Olden Yolk, Elkhorn, and others he’s somehow found the time to play some guitar and sing in Mosses, a duo with Danette Bordenkircher on keys and “space machines.” They’ve got a new cassette out as part of Black Dirt Studio’s Microdose series. You can listen to one song on Bandcamp but you’ll need to track down a physical copy to hear the whole thing—totally a worthwhile effort.

I recorded this from our usual location at Nublu, which is fast becoming one of our favorite NYC venues. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!

Download MP3/FLAC

Mosses
2019-09-21
Nublu
New York, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

MBHO KA200N/603A > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 2.0.5 > FLAC

Tracks [27:35]
01. Jam > Another Plan > Ahh Auspicious
02. Ouroboros
03. MSR

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55 search results for "forsyth"

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: November 12, 2015 The Bowery Ballroom + New Show Announcement!

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: June 11, 2015 McCarren Park (Northside Festival)

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: April 18, 2015 Baby’s All Right

[Photos by Jamie Langley]

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: February 5, 2015 Union Pool

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: October 24, 2014 Rough Trade & January 10, 2015 Palisades

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band: September 7, 2013 Paradise of Bachelors / WXYC Day Show, Hopscotch Music Festival (Raleigh, NC)

[Photo courtesy of Constance Mensh for Paradise of Bachelors]

BASIC: June 25, 2025 Tubby’s

BASIC: September 14, 2024 Seuffert Bandshell

Stuart Bogie, Jon Goldberger, Andy Hess, and Ryan Jewell: January 5, 2020 Nublu

Mosses: September 21, 2019 Nublu

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