he 2010 DIY Bushwick Music Festival (March 24-27), brought to you by the Deli, Bushwick Music Studios and Arts in Bushwick, kicks off tomorrow night! It will feature some of the neighborhood’s best bands, DJs, and artists, and will take place in nine of the area’s best DIY spaces. In addition to Bushwick Music Studios, the venues include Brooklyn Fire Proof, House of Yes, Northeast Kingdom, Party Expo, Don Pedro, Eastern District, Goodbye Blue Monday, The Opera House Lofts, and Castle Braid. Below is a quick rundown of each space, and some of the featured bands playing at each. You can see the full schedule and a map here: http://www.diybushwick.com/index.html

Bushwick Music Studios – 55 Waterbury St., Brooklyn

[Renmimbi at Bushwick Music Studio]

Bushwick Music Studios is one of the neighborhood’s most active DIY spaces, boasting some of the best local bands and performers and featuring top-notch sound. The space has the atmosphere of a fun loft party, the equipment of a professional venue, and can be credited with truly helping to foster the music community in the vibrant East Williamsburg/Bushwick area. Run by Tito Fleetwood Ladd, BMS is also a resource for independent engineers looking for a large tracking space, or for those in need of a rehearsal and performance space. It also serves as a lighting, sound and video sales and rental facility. Check the BMS Facebook page for upcoming shows after the DIY fest—there’s always something mind-blowing going on.

Featured bands: Shinobi Ninja (in the picture), Eskalators, GunFight!, Anton Glamb, The Twees, Memberz Only

Brooklyn Fire Proof – 119 Ingraham St., Brooklyn

Tucked away in a dim-lit alleyway, Brooklyn Fire Proof East offers a cozy nest of exposed brick and character. From morning to night there is an atmosphere of creativity and flow from the surrounding artist community. There is a café which offers an extensive menu of delicious breakfast and lunch options as well as coffee and loose teas. At night there is a menu of small dinner plates and cheeses. Seasonal cocktails, specialty bottled beers, as well as draft beers and a unique list of liquors are offered. Nightly events such as Bingo and Animal Parties get the night started and our special guest DJ’s keep the party going all night.

Featured bands: Aviation Orange (in the picture), Bern and the Brights, Datura, Lowry, Low Water, Otis Grove (MA)

House of Yes – 342 Maujer St., Brooklyn

House of Yes is hidden on the desolate end of Maujer Street near Morgan Avenue. Since opening in 2009, it has hosted everything from theatrical circus productions and performance-infused dance parties to dinner theatres and music showcases. The House of Yes is also home to Make Fun fabric studio and costume shop (makefunstudio.com) as well as Skybox Aerial Space (www.theskybox.org) where you can learn trapeze, silks, poll dancing and other impressive circus arts..

Featured bands: Not Blood, Paint; Tayisha Busay (in the picture); Consider the Source; David E. Beats

(image by leoxby.com)
 

After jet setting in and out of New York for writing and recording sessions, Reckless Sons have re-surfaced on the live scene with new material and a replenished swagger. Branded by Matt Butler’s distinctively gritty vocals and incandescent lyrics, that are complemented by unhinged guitars and a stomping rhythm section, Reckless Sons will rile up The Studio at Webster Hall on March 25, with their unbridled energy, rebellious attitude, rousing stage presence, and some surprises. These New York rockers have teamed up with fellow scenesters, The Auctioneers, Wyldelife, The Shooting Gallery, and Flight from LA for a highly anticipated show. Presented by renowned menswear designer, John Varvatos, who recently dressed Reckless Sons for a full-page ad in SPIN Magazine, this “NYC Line-Up" is guaranteed to be one of the better looking and better sounding events happening around town. The show is 19+, and doors open at 6:30 P.M. www.recklesssons.com -Meijin Bruttomesso

Bushwick Music Studios in association with Deli Magazine and Arts In Bushwick are proud to announce the official schedule for DIY Bushwick, A Musical Festival, taking place March 24-27, in nine venues throughout Bushwick. The inaugural festival will feature Brooklyn-based bands, DJs, and artists performing in alternative Do-It-Yourself spaces just a walk or a bike ride apart. Admission prices range from free to $10 with an average ticket price of $5. Festival passes will be available online for $20, with Friday/Saturday passes available for $10. This is part of an effort by festival organizers to make sure that the events are accessible to all.

Tito Fleetwood Ladd, owner of Bushwick Music Studios (one of the venues involved), decided to organize the festival in an attempt to galvanize the neighborhood’s flourishing music and arts scene. In the last few years, Bushwick has emerged as a frontier for DIY venues, attracting artists and musicians with the limitless opportunities provided by these raw spaces (check out a Deli article about this here). Although the scene has been growing for some time, a Bushwick-centered festival of this scale has never been attempted.

Ladd’s vision was that by working together, the Bushwick music scene would ultimately receive more visibility. “There’s this incredible energy and all these cool spaces with amazing talent in Bushwick,” says Ladd, “This is our way of showing that to anyone who wants to pay attention to us. We’re all doing it together.” When he reached out to several venues and organizations in Bushwick, he immediately received enthusiastic support.

Deli Magazine and Arts In Bushwick have both signed on to help coordinate and produce the event. Bushwick Music Studios will be joined by nine spaces including Party Expo, Don Pedros, Goodbye Blue Monday, Brooklyn Fireproof, Castle Braid, The Opera House Lofts, House of Yes, Eastern District, and Northeast Kingdom. Corporate sponsors are nowhere to be found. DIY Bushwick is pure grassroots. 

The Deli will cover this event in depth, so stay tuned!

Via Audio‘s new CD Animalore – released in early March – gives us a fresh new sound, inspired to the glorious Motown years, but also reminiscent of some of the more elegant pop of the early 90s’ – for example, we hear some Prefab Sprout influences in the bands’ sophisticated jazzy melodies and arrangements. Jazz as a matter of fact seems to be the main new ingredient, bringing the band’s sound closer to orchestral pop artists like Claire and The Reason and My Brightest Diamond, with whom they also share high production values on record. Unlike these artists though, the upbeat pop element is still Via Audio’s trademark – check out the dancey track "Babies" (streaming under this review) and other tunes on their Myspace page. Currently on tour, the Brooklyn quartet will be back live in NYC at Le Poisson Rouge on 04.17 – a venue particularly appropriate for their new sound.

The Gay Blades and J.A.C.K. are two of the indie bands with the most fun show in town – and as the town we are talking about is indie band capital NYC, this might even be one of the most fun shows you’ll ever see! Uhm, yeah, maybe we are parital to these guys because they played our Deli Parties several times and rocked da house. Jack is a weird beast of a band flirting with indie, blues, noise rock and metal, tied together by an insanely intense frontman. The Gay Blades play another weird mix of rock’n’roll, indie and pop that sometimes purposedly (and gayfully) enters cheesy territory – this is one of those bands that you MUST see live, as their recordings really don’t give the right idea of what the live experience is going to be. On the bill also slightly mellower indie pop group My Other Friends. Bowery Electric on March 26 – Do not miss!