Doug Fir will be different this Friday night. You’ll be stepping deep down below for sound heaven. Tiburones and Old Age are opening for the Builders and the Butchers, delivering sensory excursions one after another. Tiburones will give you all that is charmingly unbalanced, thriving folk music with a dust of a dangerous underground. This is perfect music to play while faking your own death and hosting a wild summer picnic simultaneously. Initially being Luz Elena Mendoza of Y La Bamba and Nick Delffs of the Shaky Hands and Death Songs, the collection and creation has grown to an amazing 5-piece destined to expand your sound experience. Old Age, another intimate Portland secret, imply mental torture with the mention of endless local weather and heartfelt vocals. Meet the soundtrack to your new year. – Colette Pomerleau
Lunch Record Release at Slabtown 1.9
Lunch are starting off 2014 right this week with the release of their first 7” record, Johnny Pineapple. The four tracks within, originally off of Quinn Touched the Sun, were remastered for the new release and together display the low-fi, garage-punk sound that encapsulates Lunch’s style. Dirty guitar tones, tight rhythms and shouting vocals color the songs with an frenzied energy that overlaps their addictive hooks. Celebrating the release with Lunch will be L.A. Drugs (from Los Angeles, of course), Wounds and Dark Light, get to the show and pick up one of these awesome green records for yourself. – Benjamin Toledo
David Bowie Birthday Bash at Howard House Jan. 8
Kensington DIY space Howard House will be hosting a David Bowie Birthday Bash tonight. At the event, there will be a full art installation dedicated to the iconic rock star who turns 67 years old today. There will also be musical performances by Nicos Gun, who recently shared a couple of new tracks from their upcoming album Dream Vacation, rock ‘n’ rollers Black Stars, Fat Possum’s Mean Lady and I am Bowie (featuring members of i am Love), who will be covering the master’s works. Admission is FREE if you show up dressed like David Bowie. (Sidenote: I once saw David Bowie crossing the street near me and a group of friends in NYC. When one of them pointed him out, he looked at us. We all looked in amazement and jerked forward towards him at the same time. He turned quickly and took off. Being all pretty good concertgoers, we decided to give him his privacy, and stopped ourselves from chasing after him. Then, we walked a couple feet, turned and looked at each other, and started screaming with joy while we high-fived. That’s my David Bowie story. Cheers!) Howard House, (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.), 8pm, $7 (Free if in Bowie attire), All Ages – Q.D. Tran
DC’s Open Submission Results for The Deli Magazine’s Year End Poll, 2013
We had an incredible pool of talent submit this year! Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word and give bands a chance to have their music heard by critics all over the country. After tallying the votes for the Open Submissions stage of our DC Year End Poll, it’s time to release the results.
Please note that no editor was allowed to vote for bands in their own scene. The editors that voted on the DC scene were: Charise (Deli Austin) and Paolo De Gregorio (Deli NYC, Editor-In-Chief). In the coming weeks we will release the list of nominees chosen by our local "scene expert" jurors and it will be up to you to pick your favorite Emerging DC Area Artist of 2013.
Acts advancing to our Readers/Fans Poll with a ranking above 8:
1. Kindlewood – 9
2. Margot MacDonald – 8.75
3. The Sea Life – 8.5
4. Pleasure Curses – 8.25
5. The Raised By Wolves – 8.25
6. Me and Karen – 8
7. The Mellish – 8
Total submissions from the DC Area: 36
WHAT’S NEXT: These results end the first phase of the poll. In the next few days we’ll unveil the artists nominated by our local jurors (mostly venue promoters and other industry people who know the DC/MD/VA scene inside out), and we’ll let our readers and writers influence the poll with their vote.
Thanks to all the acts who submitted to us. Our open submissions pool was truly a celebration of the diversity and richness of the DMVs talent. Keep creating, keep supporting and stay tuned for your chance to vote!
-Dawn
Poor Remy wins The Deli’s Year End Poll ALT FOLK Open Submissions
Active since 2010, alt folk trio Poor Remy has stepped thing up a (big) notch in 2013 with their four song debut EP "Still Sleeping," which features enthusiastically strummed acoustic guitars, basic percussions, a remarkable amount of two to three part harmonies mostly sung at the top of their lungs, and melodies ranging from the haunting (‘Wrecking Ball’) to the uplifting (‘North Carolina’ – streaming). The band topped our Best of NYC 2013 Open Submissions ALT FOLK category with a staggering 9.16 rating (out of 10).
The full results for the NYC Year End Poll’s ALT FOLK submissions are here.
New Track: “So You Know” – Bleeding Rainbow
Below is a new track from Bleeding Rainbow called "So You Know," which will appear on their upcoming record Interrupt. The album is scheduled for release on February 25 via Kanine Records. It was produced by Fancy Time Studio’s Kyle "Slick" Johnson.
Rilgood wins The Deli’s Year End Poll HIP HOP/OTHER Open Submissions
Rilgood spits raps like he’s furious with the microphone. In “Flying Pig Theory” he boasts, “lookin’ at my rhymebook is like lookin’ at Medusa.” Indeed, his stony perspective reflects a cold and hard world and the gravelly character of his voice defies his youthful look and carries the weight of his sentiments like a freighter full of masonry. Between verses in “Flying Pig Theory” he speaks against degenerating rap values, but his raps don’t necessarily deviate from the familiar themes of guns, alcohol, misogyny and the deadly “rules of the game.” In “Chinese Chess” from the “Great Expectations” mixtape, he falls into step with Public Enemy and N.W.A. saying, “We don’t really rap, we just recollect the facts.” However, he might have to turn down his swagger a smidge if he really wants those facts to be heard.
The full results for the NYC Year End Poll’s HIP HOP/OTHER submissions are here.
Free Download: “Time” – Work Drugs & Announce Release Date for New LP
Prolific Philly songwriting duo Work Drugs just shared a new track called "Time." It’s the debut single from their upcoming LP Insurgents, which will be available on March 4 via Bobby Cahn Records. According to the band, "’Time’ is a song about finding new love. Insurgents is an album about finding your place." Our question is: Where can we find the new music video that usually comes with each of their releases? You can stream "Time" and download it for free below.
Album Review: Harrison B “Down at Brown’s”
Harrison B released a full-length album in November of 2013,then took off for a tour in Alaska in December, as most sane musicians are wont to do. "Down at Brown’s" is a collection of blues, rock, and roots music recorded in one session inside of a general store. Listen to "Sun Shine Down," my favorite cut off the album below, then check out the full review HERE. -Terra James-Jura
Deli Best of NYC 2013 – Open Submission Results for ALT FOLK
More results from the open submissions for The Deli’s Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists – these are for the ALT FOLK category.
We define ALT FOLK the genre played by musicians who are trying to redefine traditional American music, or by songwriters with an edge. This is a budding scene in NYC, hence the high number of submissions and qualified artists. We were happy to see some truly talented artists here – check out those scores!
Total submissions in this category: 34
Artists Qualified to the next stage (Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.15):
1. Poor Remy – 9.16 out of 10.
2. Suzanna Choffel – 9
3. Brooms – 8.83
4. Cassandra Jenkins – 8.66
Honorable Mentions (scores above 7):
Bird Courage, Great Elk, Don Ryan, Erin Barra, Són Boom, Tall Tall Trees, Gandhi, Inland Traveler, /_drian Daniel, Orly, Robin’s Egg Blue, St. Lenox, Cheap Blue Yonder, The Butcher Knives.
Jurors: Jason Behrends (Deli Chicago), Jake Reed (Deli New England), PDG (Deli NYC)
Stay tuned for more results, and then for the readers’ poll!
The Deli’s Staff
Suzanna Choffel qualifies for The Deli’s Best of NYC 2013 Poll’s final stage (2nd place in ALT FOLK category)
What’s a music teacher from Austin to do after scoring a million hits on YouTube with a beautiful cover of ‘Landslide’ on NBC’s ‘The Voice’? Move to Brooklyn and become our borough’s (not so) best kept secret.
Suzanna Choffel has huge chops, (despite her diminutive stature), and those pipes usually mean business. Tracks like ‘Race Car’ and ‘Hot Shot’ from her just -released LP ‘Archer’ bring home a confident medley of her country and soul roots, to a broken heart constantly challenged to do her thing her own way. Think Dusty Springfield… with a little more grit. Check out beautiful DIY video of "Golden Fires" below. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
The full results for the NYC Year End Poll’s ALT FOLK submissions are here.
Open Submissions Featured Artist #1 – Kindlewood
Coming in as our most voted upon in the Open Submissions round and now moving on to our Best of 2013 Emerging Artists poll is Maryland’s dream folk rock trio Kindlewood! You can hear the love in every note this group produces together, especially on the featured track “Give & Take” below. Expect to hear even more from them this year.