New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Westover Beer Garden & Haus is hands down the best craft brew joint in Northern VA, with a patio that’s ready to host local bands on a weekly basis now that winter is officially behind us! This Saturday 4/13, come check out VA legends of rockabilly Jumpin’ Jupiter, who’ve been shakin’ it for over 20 years locally and nationally. DC101’s Roche will be there handing out tickets to the annual Chili Cook-Off starting at 6 PM.
"I’ve got nothing to hide behind," goes the opening line of one of Dead Professional‘s wry, Nick Lowe-esque alt-pop songs. And indeed what you hear is what you get throughout all of this VA-based one-man band’s work. The soulful vocals and old-school simplicity of the songwriting are boldly underlined by brutally stark arrangements (usually just vocals, guitar and a simple drum machine). But while the songs may be short and the arrangements lean, they can pack a surprising emotional punch.
Dead Professional will be at Iota in Arlington on Thursday April 25th.
(as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
The Baltimore based alt rock/hip-hop quintet Fiction 20 Down have come a long way since the inception of the band in 2010. Boasting a repertoire of 2 EPs and several music videos, the band shows no signs of slowing down with the announcement of a new full length album, Where’s The Levity? and an East Coast tour. Set for release on April 30th, 2013, the album will be made available as a free download to fans via the Fiction 20 Down website.
(as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
Shanda Woods exists in two different places at once. There’s the realist: a character that wears the hard-bitten reality of hometown Brooklyn in her comforting soprano. At the same time, all of this is pumped through an electro rock blur that wraps an artificial atmosphere around her charged energy. One half of We Are The Wilderness, latest video ‘Just For Now’ (song streaming below) plays with these alternating realities by placing Shanda as a coin-collecting, body-suit wearing heroine in an adventure that needs to be seen to be believed. All part of upcoming record ‘Descending From Paramount,’ slated for May. Perfect for any fan of boundary-breaking soul… or of old-school video games. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
This track was added to our SoundCloud playlist of "mellow" emerging NYC artists here.
DC based indie folk trio Kindlewood just premiered their new video for the track "Give & Take" on Paste Magazine today. This single will be on their upcoming 2nd LP release, so stay tuned for that.
This Friday, head over to IOTA in Arlington to catch a plethora of bands from around the corner. On the bill is DC indie pop artist Margot MacDonald (pic above), chamber rockers Star FK Radium, Americana group South Rail, MD based alt rockers YellowTieGuy, DC rock The Charm Offensive, VA based acoustic indie rock The Dreamscapes Project (check out a track from them below), and the mysterious James Ian.
Music starts at 8:30 and is only $10. IOTA 4/12
Lindsey Buckingham Palace is a DC based hard rock band that started in 2010 and got their solid current line-up in late 2012. The quartet is now complete with Mike Hill, Mark Minicucci, Marc Rothschild, and Names Thompsn who produce a sound that caught the ears of plenty of fans who made them our Band of the Month in March. We got a hold of them to find out a little more. Here Mike tells us about the relation to Fleetwood Mac, the Velvet Lounge, and rehearsing in bedrooms. Now onto the interview…
Catch LBP live at IOTA Nightclub in Arlington VA on 4/26.
Gondola is an ambiguous name for an indie band – if on one hand it conjures up images of mainstream tourism in Venice (yours truly knows something about that, since he lived there for 8 years), on the other it’s also true that those darn little boats rock like no other. Brooklyn band Gondola doesn’t rock particularly hard though, if not occasionally. Their tunes are propelled by strummed acoustic guitars, but they are not really folky. They are indie pop tunes featuring an element of blue thoughtfulness that falls somewhere in the middle between The Shins’ early lo-fi gems, Belle and Sebastian’s suggestive storytelling and the Beta Band’s quirky pop experiments. Charming. We are premiering the single "We Are the Map" – streaming below – from their debut EP. The band will celebrate its release tonight (04.11) with a show at Brooklyn’s Muchmore with Vensaire, Tica Douglas, and Bill Bartholomew.
Baltimore based bands, The Water (music below), Jonathan Badger, and Drone Theory (pictured above) are coming together to play an eclectic experimental rock show at Club K in Charles Village, Baltimore on Friday 4/12. These intensely talented avant bands are guaranteed to create an inspiring atmosphere.
The Water is an experimental rock duo made up of two uber talented multi instrumentalists who will blow your mind with their intensely emotive songs. Jonathan Badger is a strongly creative and brilliant singer/songwriter, and Drone Theory is Baltimore’s newest shoegaze avant band, who will be performing live for the first time! The show is curated by New York based International music collective The Process Records.
You’re not going to want to miss this awesome local line up! – Jordannahe
Wondering what our generation’s yacht rock is going to sound like? Look no further than Midnight Magic – the band made our most recent list of Best Emerging NYC Artists at #66. These guys take the smoothness of Captain & Tennille and mix it down with a disco-funk shot of Olivia Newton-John. A perfect cocktail to go with your next night out, check out latest record ‘Walking the Midnight Streets’ and get the party started. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
Now that the warm weather has finally thawed New York’s frozen core and melted away everyone’s collective doldrums, it’s time for the city’s countless music festivals to start popping up, and one of them – perhaps one of the city’s most unique – is about to hit this Thursday night. The Brain-Cave Festival, now in its third year and taking place at Europa in Greenpoint from April 11 – 14, bills itself as something of a music and multimedia extravaganza, and will feature a ton of NYC acts like Hooray for Earth, Peelander-Z, Lemonade, The Suzan, Monogold, Eula, Zongo Junction, Forgetters (mems. of Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil/Against Me!) GunFight!, Quiet Loudly and more, plus live art, video projections, DJs and other surprises (not to mention an open bar each night!). For festival founder Luis Velasquez (CaraBella Presents) and co-producer Gabo Rodriguez (Supercrush Studio), Brain-Cave is a chance to showcase a wide variety of musical acts alongside art – a combination of ear and eye-candy guaranteed to mess with your senses and rattle your own brain cave. The festival has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings at Shea Stadium in 2011 and its stint at the Bell House last year, and now boasts four nights of music and art. For only $12 a night (or $40 for the whole festival – advance pricing), you’ll get four days of Brain-Cave, including a day show at the Greenpointers.com Spring Market on Saturday. Get more info on the fest here.
With the spring flowers of April comes Dead Leaf Echo‘s long awaited full length album release "Thought and Language." An ambitious literary work of dreamy and lyrical beauty and meticulously crafted sonics, the record was impeccably mixed by legendary 4 AD master John Fryer, who worked with Love & Rockets’ Daniel Ash, Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode among others. The band has been keeping a relentless touring schedule in support of this album over the last few months and they will bring their live show back to Brooklyn for the first time in over 6 months on April 18th at Public Assembly. Stream single "Kingmaker" in SoundCloud and Video format below. – Dave Cromwell
This track was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.
