Philadelphia

The Deli’s Featured Artist(s) of the Month: Ladyfingers

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So we tossed a few questions at our recent poll winner Ladyfingers (a.k.a. Adam Weiner). Weiner might throw like a girl, but he hit these questions out of the park. Check out a more-than-interesting interview with a not-so-average (or mediocre) guy. If you’d like to see his fingers in motion, you can catch him tonight at Millcreek Tavern or on April 9th at Patou (yes, strange but true) for a showcase being promoted by local/national music journalist A.D. Amorosi. He’ll be joined by Swampmeat and Jass, and promises that it will be a "swell time".  
 
The Deli: Where did you get the name “Ladyfingers” from?
 
Adam Weiner: I was playing piano in a drag karaoke bar in Manhattan, and this tiny Chinese man dressed up as Diana Ross whispered it in my ear.
 
TD: What are your biggest musical influences?
 
AW: Jerry Lee Lewis, Tom Waits, Cab Calloway, Little Richard, Dion, Hasil Adkins, Suicide, Leadbelly, Hank Williams, Ween, Fats Waller, Capt. Beefheart, Richard Simmons, "Love Me Tender", and this schizophrenic dude that sleeps in front of my laundromat. 
 
TD: What artists (local, national and/or international) are you currently listening to?
 
AW: Tune-yards, Swampmeat, Andre Williams, MJ…"Beat It" is playing right now on repeat. I’m trying to learn the solo.  
 
TD: What’s the first concert that you ever attended and first album that you ever bought?
 
AW: Alvin and the Chipmunks @ the Spectrum. Simon played the guitar with his teeth, and I cried. First album was Huey Lewis & the News. Someone told me recently they heard Huey’s influence on my stuff…which upsets me less than you think. 
 
TD: What do you love about Philly?
 
AW: I like that people really tell you what they are thinking all the time. I did a show once where someone yelled "MEDIOCRE ! "  after I finished baring my soul. I need that kind of honesty. 
 
TD: What do you hate about Philly?
 
AW: I really hate that people really tell you what they are thinking all the time. To that dude that told me I was mediocre…you’re an asshole!
 
TD: What are your plans for 2010?
 
AW: I’ve got a Ladyfingers movie coming out – a bunch of music videos with a tour documentary and me dancing in Wal-Mart parking lots in Texas and Louisiana! The score for the film is my new album OPEN YOUR ROBE…downloadable on my sites as well as the vinyl release…which is stellar!! People need to let this stuff into their lives. 
 
TD: What was your most memorable live show?
 
AW: The first time I went to England, I went to Birmingham and all these kids there knew all my tunes and were singing along and dancing really sexy. They treated me like a rock star and invited me out to this club for an after-party. I got stuck in the freight elevator for 3 hours, and the fire department had to come cut the door out with the jaws-of-life. I never made it to the after-party, and I nearly peed my pants. I feel that this is a touching metaphor for the fragile beauty of life. 
 
TD: What’s your favorite thing to get at the deli?
 
AW: Corned beef special with chopped liver and onions.  I’m Jewish, what did you expect me to say?
 
 
– The Deli Staff

 

Philadelphia

Hair Rocket Rock It @ M Room March 31

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I think that I might have been at the sophomore live performance of Hair Rocket. It was up in Bucks County at a cool little basement/art space called Pipedown (I think that it’s defunct now). Hair Rocket was a duo then with Blasucci on drums and vocals and Dallas Viety on keys and bass synthesizer. Since then, Blasucci has come out from behind the kit and plugged in his guitar proving once again that you don’t need the Berklee degree to rock the fuck out! Hair Rocket has evolved into a five-piece powerpop band with hooks galore. Now, they just need to lay down some new recordings that better represent what they’re currently up to. Lucky that Blasucci makes good use of his YouTube account. Here’s a new song “Motorcycle” that’s been stuck in my head for days. I may need to get my fix tonight at the M Room. M Room, 15 W. Girard St., 9pm, $8, 21+ myspace.com/hairrocket – Q.D. Tran

San Francisco

The Deli SF’s Weekend Highlights For 4/1-4/4

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Certainly everybody’s Thursday competition (if you’re trying to play anywhere else in the city anyway), Epic Sauce has gone and once again put together another impressive line up for their show series at Milk. A free show, this Thursday the 1st will see Man/Miracle and Butterfly Bones celebrating the release of their split 7-inch. Red Blue Yellow (who recently played a Deli Presents show) and Beehive Spirit will also be playing, 8pm. Though it is free you are strongly encouraged to RSVP here.

If free shows are not your thing however (or rather lets say you want to rock out with some awesome garage girls), on the same night you can catch The Splinters playing with Ty Segall and The Baths at the Eagle (debateably a NSFW site), 9pm.

Friday night out in the East Bay, Veil Veil Vanish, Mister Loveless, Chambers (a band featuring former members of Death of a Party), and The Ferocious Few will also be playing a free show at The Uptown starting around 9. Of course it is advised that you get there much earlier then that as starting at 6 (and boasting $2 Pabst) East Bay Express, Sony, and Amoeba will be hosting a listening party for the new MGMT album (to be released on the 13th) with free CDs given to the first 50 people to arrive.

If you’re only planing on being out Saturday night (or just find you ears still unsatiated) head over to the Hemlock around 9:30 for the psychedelic sounds of The Love Dimension, Honey, The Spyrals, and Greg Ashley.

Lots to see and lot’s for free this week. Head out and enjoy some good music and check back with us next week for another round of suggestions.

–Ada Lann

New England

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling talks about their new EP – The New Number 2

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donotforsake

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling is a duo consisting of Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein. Self-described as, "loud, arty, minimalist rock working in the realm of proto-punk/new wave/no wave bands", Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling has an authentic energy and sound that is rarely seen around town that often.

They will be celebrating the release of their debut EP, The New Number 2 Saturday the 3rd at Church. Get more info HERE. The EP is stuffed with creative angst. I recommend this EP if you are sick of all the same old crap. It also is inspired by a sci-fi series, The Prisoner. Can’t get more awesome than that. Cacciola, Epstein and Epstein’s mustache had the time to answer a few Q’s about where the unique inspiration came from.

Deli: The new EP, The New Number 2 is based on/inspired by an old sci-fi show, The Prisoner. Can you tell as more about what inspired your take on the project? Why is The Prisoner so important to Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling?

Sophia Cacciola: Once I saw The Prisoner, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I first saw it right at a time when my writing was getting a little less introspective and more about exploring a murky, cinematic world centered around a moralistic, dark, strong-willed yet desperate character. Patrick McGoohan’s Number 6 fit this mold perfectly. The themes of the show: Big Brother, societal distrust of individuality, totalitarianism, the meaning of escaping, the construct of imprisonment, and identifying who actually dictates fate, are all topics that feel ever-urgent and worthy of thinking and writing about. So from there it just became obvious that this was what I wanted to do with the band. The rest, the visual imagery (black coats with white piping, etc.) as well as the name of the band, all just fell right into place.

Read more HERE

–Interview by Meghan Chiampa

Chicago

Last-Minute Plans: Antennas Up @ The Whistler – Free Show!

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Though electro-galactic trio, Antennas Up, may call Kansas City their official home, we’re holding on to their Chicago ties–and claim them as our own.

Fresh off this month’s SXSW festival, the trio is passing through Chicago tonight (and perhaps still nursing residual SX hangovers) for a show at Logan Square’s high-end watering hole, The Whistler. Equal parts funk (as heard in "Don’t Wait Up"), pop, and serendipitous space-rock (look no further than "5P4C35H1P"), Antennas boasts an eclectic sound and impressive live light-show (often with space helmets to boot); it will be interesting what they’ll manage to swing in the cozy confines of the Whistler.

Rounding out Tonight’s local lineup is Volcanoes Make Islands, and intermittent spinning, courtesy of DJ Screeble Dee. Free show! 21+. – Neph Basedow

NYC

NYC Artists on the Rise: Geezer on Diesel

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Geezer on Diesel is a band featuring two NYC scenemakers who work in the shadow – i.e. Producer Paul Mahajan (here on guitar) known for recording TV on the Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Sam Tayolr (here on baritone guitar) who’s been providing guitar gear to the Williamsburg’s community of musicians through his store Southside Guitars. The band plays a grainy brand of snare-less dark and droney (but not necessarily psych) indie rock reminiscent of a less dreamy Jesus and Mary Chain and a more controlled Dead Meadow. Stay tuned for upcoming live shows in the Billyburg neighborhood.

NYC

Chinatown’s own Hip Hop phenomenon: The Notorious MSG

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The Notorious MSG is Chinatown’s one and only Chinese hip hop band. Besides hopping on stage and on record, the guys also make "educational" videos like this one (from the series "Schoolhousin’ ", focusing on the many interesting and "different" habits of our Manhattan based neighbors – hey, you can’t say these boys don’t come from the ghetto! I highly recommend to watch at least the first 30 seconds of this video.

NYC

The Deli’s 5th Year Anniversary shows in W’Burg: BEST OF NYC FEST!!!

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Insatiable NYC Ears,

The Deli was founded as a magazine whose sole purposes were to give exposure to emerging NYC artists and make us millionaires. Although we are obviously failing our second objective, against all odds, The Deli has reached its 5th year anniversary! Isn’t that a good excuse to party like there’s no tomorrow?

WHY "BEST OF NYC"?

The Best of NYC 2010 Fest is the live transposition of our year-end Best of NYC 2009 list. This is the Fest’s second year and it’s going to be an exciting experience with 7 shows in 5 different venues spread over 3 nights in the heart of Williamsburg.

Here is the calendar:

– THURSDAY MAY 13 –

Brooklyn Bowl:
Midnight Masses + Beach Fossils + TBA

Public Assembly:
Alt Rock Night with The Shake, Click Clack Boom, Midnight Spin, Cavalier Rose

– FRIDAY MAY 14 –

Brooklyn Bowl:
Motel Motel + April Smith + TBA

Glasslands
7-12: Noise Rock Night with Talk Normal, Asa Ransom, Buke and Gass, Miniboone
12-4 am: Electronic party with Gordon Voidwell, Glass Ghost, Stereolab+ TBA

– SATURDAY MAY 15 –

Brooklyn Bowl:
London Souls + Locksley

Cameo
Afternoon: Folky Night with Julie Peel, Pearl & The Beard, Miracles of Modern Science, The Woes, Sticklips, Shanya Zayd + more
Night: Indie Rock Night with The Vandelles, Monogold + more.

San Francisco

Album Review: Birds & Batteries’ Up To No Good

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Birds & Batteries’ Up To No Good is a complex blend of creepy and dance-y.

Hard to categorize throughout, Michael Sempert’s disaffected and sliding vocals hold this 2009 EP together through five eclectic tracks that bring ominous bass together with psychedelic guitar, creepy keyboard chimes, and distorted whistles. They only break from the task of making the listener feel like he’s lost in the dark by occasionally turning on their dance party floor lights.

This EP is intricate, and lends itself to multiple listening sessions. “The Villain” starts you off feeling alone and confused, with plenty of well-placed synth noise to bolster the freaky guitars and dark lyrics. The excellent harmonies are the lightest part of the song, with the backup voices sounding downright cheery compared to the lead vocalist’s slow drawl. The eerie theme developed in this first track sticks around for most of Up To No Good. Though the short “Lonely Guns” elevates the tone into something more upbeat in preparation for the jaunty third track, “Out in the Woods,” you still hear plenty of those whistling keyboard runs in both tracks (complete with a sudden tempo change or two) to keep you tripping out about the whole experience. There’s even judicious use of that slide whistle sound that makes me think I’ve spotted a UFO, X-Files style.

You know the sound I’m talking about.

“Lightning (UTNC Version)” is their get-up-and-dance track, switching the beat over to a drum machine (or just a well-emulated drum machine feel) that occasionally drops out to leave the vocalist and keyboard on their own. Once I’m reminded to be freaked out, they turn the beat back on. This track is great but it is a partial break from the resonating feel of the rest of the EP. It’s their dark synth-pop moment punctuating the EP’s crescendo before they drop it back down for the final track. If Up To No Good was longer than 20 minutes (and I truly wish it was) I’d expect one or two more songs in this vein, and as it is I’m left wanting more.

Concluding with “Sneaky Times,” they finish up with some compelling vocals that alternately stretch out and rush through the lyrics in between really phenomenal bass lines, bringing us back down from “Lightning” into a slower groove. This is a great final track on a great EP, a good mixture of a funky feel with the unhinged hollowness that I came to expect by the end Up To No Good.

Birds & Batteries never commit themselves completely to any particular genre here, but still end up with a bizarrely cohesive feel that you should definitely experience for yourself. For the San Franciscan with a vehicle, they’ll be playing in Davis on April 10th. I on the other hand, will eagerly wait for a San Francisco show date to materialize.

–Kyle Wheat

Editors Note:  Birds and Batteries Up To No Good can be purchased digitally at iTunes.  For a hard copy contact Birds and Batteries here.