Philadelphia

Mike Bruno + the Magic Family Band & Nothing Opening for Psychic Ills at JB’s Feb. 13

Posted on:

It’s going to get ominously weird (in a good way) tonight at Johnny Brenda’s when hypnotic, lo-fi NYC psych-pop/rock outfit Psychic Ills rolls into town. I can’t really think of a better local opener for the evening than Mike Bruno + the Magic Family Band, who will surely draw you in with their bewitching, shadowy folk tunes. Bridging the bands sets will be Nothing blending in shoegaze-y bursts of rockin’ soundscapes with emotive lyrics and vocals. It’s kind of a good night of music for people who aren’t afraid to take hallucinogens though they’re quite susceptible to bad trips. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Alexis V. 

 
Portland

Catherine Feeny Delivers a Moving Performance for One Billion Rising

Posted on:

Catherine Feeny has joined forces with fellow portlanders Nate Crockett (Horsefeathers), Daniel Dixon (Greylag) and Sam Adams (Sama Dams) to write a song for One Billion Rising. The organization is raising awareness of the disturbing statistic that one in three women will be beaten or raped in her lifetime and is calling for a stand against the violence. The campaign is building up to a worldwide dance party on Valentine’s Day with the intent of bringing people together to recognize this issue and start working together to solve the problem through education and cooperation. Watch the moving video below and go to onebillionrising.org to learn more. 

Austin

Volunteer Round Up

Posted on:

Everybody needs a helping hand every once in a while. Pay it forward, whydontcha:

Sorne is Kickstarting his next LP, with all sorts of prizes up for donated grabs. Check it out here.

Texas Microphone Massacre has, appropriately enough, a slate of zombie films to do. Which means they need zombies just like everybody else. Send an email here to sign up for some brain-eating fun. Who’s with me?!?

The good folks at WXWC are gearing up for their big 2 days (2/22/13 and 2/23/13), but are still shy a few hands. You should definitely jump in, meet some cool peeps, and get into some killer shows. Fire off an email thisaway.

On the fateful night of 2/1/13, Stumbledrunk was victimized by shameless thieves, who made away with a goodly chunk of their music-making gear. Nobody likes getting ripped off, so now we’re throwing a benefit to help those punkers get back to doing what they do best. Show up at Shine Studios on 2/22/13, give to the cause, and enjoy a great show.

NYC

Spirit Family Reunion wins the cover of the Deli NYC’s Spring issue 2013

Posted on:

Here at The Deli second place is not always for losers. In fact, for the third time in our history, the band that placed second in our Year End Poll for Emerging Artists will get the cover of our Spring edition – the "Best of NYC" issue (check out last year’s issue in pdf here). This is happening because the winners (in this case Foxygen) were already featured on the cover of a previous issue, and a quarterly mag can’t really have the same band on the cover twice. So congrats to Spirit Family Reunion, whose exuberant fiddles and banjos are leading the roots music revival that in the past few years has been threatening NYC’s indie rock supremacy. They are the first straight forward Americana band to win our Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists – signs of the times? 

NYC

Callers lands 3 week residency at Union Pool in March

Posted on:

It’s the commanding duo of vocalist Sara Lucas and musician Ryan Seaton that gives Callers their driving power-pop sound and provides a forceful backbone to the group. The Brooklyn- Providence foursome released their third full-length album “Reviver” in late 2012, with Seaton’s expertly crafted arrangements filling around Lucas’ earthy, abounding vocals. In honor of the latest release, Callers will be hitting up Union Pool in Williamsburg for a March residency for three consecutive Thursdays, beginning March 7. The stint will include appearances with Here We Go Magic’s Luke Temple and Fang Island, as well as a few promised “surprise guests” in between. – Devon Antonetti

NYC

NYC Bands on the rise: Streets of Laredo

Posted on:

Streets of Laredo is the kind of folk band Brooklyn was made for. A quartet that grabs what instruments they have around, and howls at the moon collectively over broken hearts, getting stuck in crappy situations, and wondering about how the hours pass by. Singing almost entirely in harmony, this band is every bit a family… they keep traveling back and forth from Brooklyn to their home in New Zealand where they do most of their recordings. Latest record ‘Girlfriend’ captures this familial intimacy, continuing their instrument-sharing traditions and starting some new ones. They won’t be back in NYC until April, but you can check out their schedule here for future shows. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Portland

The Greater Midwest CD Release Show at Backspace 2.15

Posted on:

The Greater Midwest balance passionate songwriting and musical integrity with their latest release, Consumer Confidence. The lucid indie rock anthems within are infused with poignant lyrics, hazy tones and energetic percussion synchronized with utmost precision. The vocals transition between fervent shouts and soothing melodies, at times accented by harmonies that strengthen the band’s powerful crescendos. Tracks like “I Do a Great Impersonation of Myself” and “Comfort Cigarettes” contain contagious hooks that could drive any crowd to dance while “Urban Wilderness” and “Afraid” entrance the listener with intricate guitar melodies and driving rhythms. The Greater Midwest will be celebrating the release at Backspace on Friday, February 15th with The Hague and Tiger House. Be there for a dynamic performance. – Benjamin Toledo

L.A.

What Cheer? Music Festival: March 2nd at the Overpass

Posted on:

Boasting two stages and over 20 bands, the First Annual What Cheer? Festival is kicking off the season of outdoor jubilance in style. The Deli LA is proud to be sponsoring the event along with Burger Records, Rollo & Grady, Lo-Pie, Comune, Bandwidth Mondo, underStory, and LA Phun. An inspiring effort to showcase an immense amount of local talent, the line-up is a solid collection of psych, garage, surf, folk, and indie rock. Quite a few of our past poll winners, and even Best of 2012 runners-up, The Vim Dicta, will be gracing the stages, including Cotillon, and Criminal Hygiene. Tickets are on sale now, and won’t be available at the door. For only $10 you better get them while you can. While you’re at it, spend some time perusing the line-up on the flier, and give a listen to one of the headliners, The Abigails – streaming below. – Jacqueline Caruso

Portland

Aina Haina CD Release Party at Mississippi Studios 2.13

Posted on:

It takes a lot to approach the music world as a power duo, and Portland’s rock heads, Aina Haina has just that. Their sound is grounded in distorted riffs behind thrashing yet simple rhythms that deliver a heavy punch served by music that creates a party. The duo consists of guitarist and lead singer Mike Ailes and drummer/back up vocalist Dylan Magierek. They originally played together while attending college in Hawaii and since have reconnected their tunes here in Portland. Although the band is new to Portland scene, they certainly are not. Dylan is the founder and owner of popular recording label Bad Man Records (Starfucker, My Morning Jacket) and is well known for his engineering work. They’ve reconnected and never forgot how to rock. That being said, their initial album is released today and if you’re wondering how good it is, “it’s better than the new Van Halen." – Colin Hudson

NYC

Foxygen – now a LA band – wins Best of 2012 Poll for Emerging NYC Artists

Posted on:

Those bloody brilliant Brooklyn betrayers did it again. Foxygen charmed our jury of NYC "scene experts" and writers and went on to win The Deli’s Best of 2012 Poll for Emerging NYC Artists. Congrats guys!

But, why "betrayers"? I’m glad you asked! Not only have Foxygen moved to LA (of all places) basically the day after they landed on the cover of our CMJ issue (had that happened one day earlier, they would have been ineligible since our publication is reserved for NYC based artists)… but they even dared to sing these words in a track from their latest album: "There’s no need to be an asshole/You’re not in Brooklyn anymore" – Well, not sure where you were when you wrote those lyrics, Sam, but it seems like if you really try your best you can be an ass wherever you are…

Admittedly, though, we have to agree about one thing: during CMJ we had more than one report that the guys were, ahem, (see above picture) – but you know… what could be better than being under 25 and getting the feeling you’re about to become famous? We were all there at some point, right? We shall forgive them, since they are about to realize what it truly means to be an indie musician…

But as far as LosAngelinos inspiring better behavior than New Yorkers – I’m sorry dudes, you got that one mixed up. We’ll let none other than The Reader’s Digest prove you wrong.

What cannot be disputed, though, is this duo’s crazy talent. We sang their praises many times already – well before most of the current media freak out. You can find all of our Foxygen coverage here, including this early interview.

P.S. One of the prizes for the winner of the NYC Year End Poll is the cover of the Spring issue of The Deli, but since Foxygen was already featured on a Deli cover in the past, the Spring cover will be assigned to the band placing second.