We found this lo-fi, self produced music video for Lizard Kisses‘ "Close" (off their forthcoming album) in our Open Blog and were intrigued by it. On Tuesday September 18th, the band will be performing in at Blue Warbler House in Brooklyn alongside best buds Mutual Benefit and Kevin Greenspon. It will be a small intimate show with accompanying projections. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

Part-time residents of the subway’s best busking spots, playing their sets to Time Square’s puzzled commuters, You Bred Raptors? (the name, a line out of Jurassic Park) is an instrumental trio from Astoria, NY with a taste for strange performances. Over an EP and two full lengths – the latest of which, Hammond, was released at the start of the year -the band deploys a rich catalogue of experimentations ranging from unique orchestrations to ambitious takes on some familiar patterns as varied as funk, metal or even celtic rhythmics – all served by a cast of drums, cello, 8-string bass & the occasional keys, bearing freakish masks from ghostface to grimacing jester. A tastefully weird, out-of-time local gem straight from the city’s underground that you can catch on September 21st at Galapagos Arts Center for Rebecca Brand’s new album release show. – Tracy Mamoun

(Photo by Todd Zimmer)

This week’s On The Beat features one of Kansas City’s most longstanding and voracious drummers, Kriss Ward of Federation of Horsepower. Kriss will be playing his last show with Federation of Horsepower this Friday before he relocates to Austin. We sit down with him and find out where he’s been and what’s coming next. Catch the beat right here!

On The Beat is typically brought to you by Sergio Moreno, but has been overtaken this week by drummer and The Deli – Kansas City editor-in-chief Michelle Bacon. This weekly interview features some of the many talented drummers in the area.

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Victor & Penny is the charming, self-proclaimed "Antique Pop" duo of Erin McGrane and Jeff Freling. The two have spent their summer touring the country extensively, and look forward to recording another album this fall. Their unique brand of ukelele and guitar music brings a modern flair to early 20th century songs and a clever, intimate approach to original songs.

The Deli: Gun to your head, 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?

Victor & Penny: Antique Pop is the popular music from the time when jazz was young, sassy and all the rage—the Top 40 before there was Top 40.

The Deli: Tell us about your latest release or upcoming shows. What can we expect?

V&P: We just returned from an extended summer tour that went really well. We’ve played over 100 shows so far this year (most of them on the road), traveled 30,000 miles and we’re still going strong. We’ve been touring on and off since last summer and we’ve learned a lot about the road and ourselves—it’s been a fantastic experience. But now, we’re home in KC for most of the fall and winter and we’re glad to be back in the thick of all the great happenings here. The news is that we’re going to record our next album in October here in KC and we’re writing songs that will appear on the album alongside more antique pop. The album will appeal to kids of all ages.

The Deli: What does "supporting local music" mean to you?

V&P: First and foremost: going out and seeing live music performance. There’s nothing else like the thrilling give-and-take between performer and audience. Secondly, please purchase local music when it’s for sale. Many independent artists (especially those on the road) live on the income from merchandise sales. People might not know that the bar doesn’t always pay the bands, nor do bands always get the door money. These days, often it’s the audience buying merch and tipping the band that is the payment for live music. I’m not saying that’s the best system, but it’s often the way it is.

The Deli: Who are your favorite "local" musicians right now?

V&P: KC is exploding with talented artists of all kinds right now—it’s hard to choose. But we’ve been very impressed with the dedication and character of some of the young stars like Enrique Chi (Making Movies) and Hermon Mehari (Diverse).

The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?

V&P: We love to listen to other independent artists we’ve met on the road like Tina & Her Pony, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Brian DeMarco and Lucas Young & The Wilderness. Besides that, the new Fiona Apple album is really interesting.

The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy bill to play on?

V&P: It’s a triple bill: Us, Radiohead and Duke Ellington.

The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?

V&P: We’d split that 50/50—Erin enjoys the stage most and Jeff enjoys the recording studio.

The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?

V&P: Erin: Aretha Franklin, Julie Andrews, Ella Fitzgerald and Joy Williams. Why: These are women singers I admire (all for different reasons).

Jeff: Django Reinhardt, Johnny Marr, Les Paul, Marc Ribot. Why: These guitarists influenced me the most

The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?

V&P: http://victorandpenny.com
http://www.facebook.com/victorandpenny
http://www.twitter.com/victorandpenny
http://www.reverbnation.com/victorpenny

The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for The Deli audience?

V&P: We’re glad to be back—we’ve missed everyone!  Come out, come out and play…

You can hear the delightful sounds of Victor & Penny this Saturday, September 15. They’ll be at La Esquina for the Manifest Destiny Art Installation at 2:00 pm, then at Davey’s Uptown with Howard Iceberg & The Titanics and Miss Tess and the Talkbacks at 9:00 pm.  

–Michelle Bacon

Michelle is editor-in-chief of The Deli – Kansas City. She also has a weekly column with The Kansas City Star and reviews music for Ink. She plays with Deco Auto, Drew Black and Dirty Electric, and Dolls on Fire. She is lactose intolerant but really enjoys cheese.

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JBM, the moniker of singer-songwriter Jesse Marchant, will be on tour this fall opening for buzzy British band Alt J. The tour begins tomorrow, September 12th, with a hometown show for JBM at the Bowery Ballroom. Marchant has recently expanded upon his humble acoustic beginnings with the release of his second full-length record, “Stray Ashes.” The album finds Marchant experimenting with loops, drums, and the electric guitar, resulting in a fuller, more intricate sound. “On Fire On a Tightrope” showcases JBM’s airy and majestic ambiance that simultaneously conjures a sense of warmth and emptiness. Check out Marchant and his band on September 12th at the Bowery Ballroom, and watch the video for “On Fire On a Tightrope” below. – Josh Johnson

Get pumped – The Muscle Milk EP is here!  It’s hard to find instrumental music that carries weight these days, but thanks to NYC’s Hot Sugar you get the brick in your stomach that you always wanted.  However, instead of feeling weighed down and sleepy, this brick lifts you with effervescent beat-trickery, catchy melodies, and funky synth work.  If Kool Keith went mute and was forced to make instrumental music, it would be Hot Sugar.  Go download the Muscle Milk EP right now and let the expansion process begin. – brokeMC

Treasure Teeth released their new EP "Sell Your Gold"at Public Assembly on September 9th. This is – reportedly – a US-UK duo based between NYC, Miami, and London (somebody must travel a lot!) making aquatic womb-like experimental glitch pop with hip-hop and R & B inflections. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

Starting from a place of pastel-soft fantasy, moving at times to hard-bitten reality, chanteuse Alexa Wilding paints an evocative and haunting self-portrait on new record ‘Coral Dust.’ Striking notes familiar to fans of Feist, songs ‘Fire’ and ‘Movie’ provide a churning momentum pulled over a whirlwind of detail supplied by producer Tim Foljahn’s deft slide guitar and keyboard outlines. Check out her new video for first single ‘Painter’ below, where the singer play with balloons and swings in a loveseat in a world painted pink, and see her when she plays Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 on Monday, October 1st. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Here’s to the start of a sweet day for The Denzels; on this September 11th they’re taking part in the first steps of a new Brooklyn-based record label, Admirable Traits, whose first release will be their second EP ‘Easy Tiger‘. Revealed in January, the five track-set of fuzzy garage-pop romance floats quite casually between surfing harmonies and noise, working its best moves right at the heart of this gap, where young love tales stay away from cheese, and dramatic synth lines can come glistening through without any of it feeling too nostalgic or too.. gleeful. Taking the release celebrations to the stage, they’ll be opening for The Vaccines this evening at The Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Brooklyn based trio The Gypsy West will be tearing up the stage once more at the Bowery Electric along with Jody Porter (guitarist from Fountains of Wayne) & The Black Swans and Baby Wolves. Known for their wildly energetic live performances and complicated instrumentals, the psychedelic/ grunge rock group has been picking up steam with a successful show at Bowery Electric last August and an impressive performance at the Northside Festival in June already under their belt. Break out your war paint this Saturday, September 15th for what’s sure to be a raucous time!! Get your tickets here. – Chelsea Eriksen

Things are getting sexy in the world of The Peach Kings, whose debut EP Trip-Wop was sure sensual but not half as spicy as the mix of their ‘Handsome Moves’, which they dropped as they were beginning a short series of NYC shows. On these six tracks, we get to hear Page McClain’s sultry soul voice wrap around doo-wop, dragged-out blues lines, hip-shaking percussions, some of that smoking indie rock a la Kills, etc. There’s just enough tease and attitude to keep things interesting the whole way through. Heading back to the West Coast, the duo will be playing The Roxy on September 26th.

Photo Source: Police Teeth

Police Teeth are at the top of the bill for a show at The Black Lodge on Saturday, September 22nd. Special Explosion and Animal Lover are set to play too.

Their forthcoming full-length is due out next month on Latest Flame Records. The eponymously titled Police Teeth has one song up on their bandcamp; it is an indication of the grit and grime to come.

"Bellingham Media Blackout" churns with one hell of a riff, its surges of electricity pumping like a current ready to blow and overthrow your brain’s synapses. They lay the buzz on thick, but the song is invariably an anthemic piece of punk. The lyrics echo a message of disaster with simple clarity.

You can hear a tinge of Ian Mackaye’s earnestness in the gung-ho choruses. The guitar riffage makes a passing glance at Death From Above 1979’s thunderous ways, but Police Teeth’s cues are more likely to inspire sing and shout-alongs.

Check the band out at The Black Lodge on the 22nd of September starting at 9:30pm. You can listen to "Bellingham Media Blackout" below; the whole record will be available on October 16th. Check out Police Teeth’s bandcamp page to stream prior releases as well.

– Cameron LaFlam