After spending two short weeks holed up and snowed in in the Studio, Blackbells emerged from the depths of Brooklyn with their debut self-titled EP. Their sound calls upon influences ranging from Echo and the Bunneymen to Oasis and contemporaries Band of Skulls — with whom they have shared the stage. The band has a run of post-release dates planned, including a stop at SXSW. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

The organizers of the Tech Mashup Party have selected the 3 artists that will play at their show in Austin during SXSW. The lucky ones are LA alt rock band Voxhaul Broadcast (in the picture), Austin indie rockers Red Leaves, and NYC singer Songwriter Dion Roy – congrats to them and thanks to all the bands that submitted through The Deli!

Ryan and Hays Holladay (formerly of the Brooklyn pop/rock band The Epochs ) played their "goodbye NYC" show at Pianos this past Monday under the new moniker Bluebrain. The two brothers – who are moving to Washington DC – had residency at the Lower East Side venue; performing every Monday this month to showcase their electronic rock songs off of their newly-released LP, “Soft Power.” Bluebrain smoothly transitioned from mellow, melodic songs like “Each Time I Think” to downright body-jolting jams like “Ten by Ten”. Athough there are only two of them onstage, the brothers managed to achieve an impressive, almost majestic sound weaving their voices with looped instruments like drums and violin and other electronics. With each song, they cranked out more and more energy and showcased some serious musical skill. When the set was over, one person in the audience yelled, “Three more songs!!” – there’s a fan who knows how to make a bargain…

NYC Bands and artists,

DIY space and event organizers Bushwick Music Studios along with support from Arts in Bushwick and The Deli Magazine are pleased to announce the first annual DIY Bushwick, A Music Festival, which will take place March 24-27th 2010 at various DIY venues spaces, studios, bars and galleries throughout the Brooklyn neighborhood. In recent years Bushwick’s industrial setting has proved a perfect breeding ground for new music and grassroots art spaces. The goal of the Festival is to highlight the positive work ethic and communal spirit of Bushwick artists and provide a platform that unifies the local business community, residents, and artists in support of this musical renaissance happening in the warehouses, community gardens, and lofts throughout the neighborhood.

A significant number of artists playing this Festival will be booked by the organizers through The Deli – to apply to play all you need to do fill in this form HERE and click on the confirmation email you’ll receive (this will simply add you to our mailing list and enter your band in our fabulous NYC charts organized by genre and region – one day we’ll also create band profiles!).

This particular opportunity is reserved to NYC based artists only, good luck!

The Deli’s Staff

The Antlers are heading to Europe again next week and then will make their way to Austin for SXSW in March. Following SXSW, they’ll be headlining a tour in April and May with Phantogram and supporting The National in June. Check out the video of "Bear" they recently released.

On March 4, 5, and 6, an imaginative all-ages concert series presented by CitizenMusic and called The Theatre Shows will take place at The Players Theater in Greenwich Village. Each uniquely themed evening, headlined by gritty, dance-rockers BLACK TAXI (picture below), will showcase some of NY’s finest rock artists. Night one is the Masquerade Ball when Black Taxi, The Shake and Old Wives set the standards high for performance and costume. Prohibition Night, cast with Apollo Run, and Milo and The Fuzz, will expose the seductive and the bootlegger. On March 6, the finale of this creative series, deemed PoMo Night, challenges the imagination and takes a walk on the wild side to the sounds of New Madrid and Philly’s Toy Soldiers. Between sets, F. Michael Haynie will entertain with acoustic sets, while attendants enjoy healthy juice-bar refreshments contributed by Liqueteria. This series is sure to be a memorable spectacle for the eyes and ears. No tickets will be sold at the door, they can be bought here. -Meijin Bruttomesso

Are The Raveonettesthe most productive band in the music industry or what? Here’s another video from last years album "In and Out of Control".

The Rex Complex describes themselves as roots ruckus. Jeremy Gustin and Rex Hussman have been best friends since college, they’ve traveled the world to learn more about music and have created a sound that is unique and energizing. Their most recent release, A Delicious Victory is an eloquent buffet of intertwined genres from afro-beat to punk. It is a phenomenal album by a one-of-a-kind band. The Rex Complex will be playing at Public Assembly in Brooklyn on April 8th. – Read Meghan Chiampa’s interview with the band here.

Relatively new to the scene, Brooklyn collective We Are Country Mice has released only a handful of tracks since forming in 2008. But the quality of their sound – muddy guitar riffs, beating drum rolls, distinct vocals and fluid bass lines – displays a talent way beyond their budding creation. Comprised of Ben Bullington (guitar), Jason Rueger (guitar), Josh Kothe-Levie (bass) and Kurt Kuehn (drums), the band calls upon influences such as Neil Young, Wilco and Modest Mouse to produce their signature sound. Midwesterners at heart (the band came to NYC to pursue their musical dream), We are Country Mice also adds a touch of country flare to the tracks. The foursome has already billed with such groups as Depreciation Guild, Surfer Blood, Freelance Whales and Drink Up Buttercup, and they may be the Brooklyn band to look out for in 2010. The members spoke to The Deli about their soon to be released debut album, coming to New York City, and canned beets, tacos and pizza (oh my!). – Read Cecilia Martinez interview with the band here.

With their gentle lo-fi waltzes and sparse crooner-less country-ish ballads, Brooklyn’s own Backwords are bringing back optimistic atmospheres reminiscent of Camper Van Beethoven’s unforgettable record Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart – minus that band’s legendary violin of course. Shots in the Dark in particular – with its lack of pretension, pleasant crooked melody, and lyrics about friendship – is a song that has the rare power to keep you company. The band is currrently working on their upcoming album in their house/studio, and will be performing live at Pianos on March 3 and at Sycamore on March 5.

Some songs sound like they were made for a windless and intense snowy day like today – Christy and Emily‘s Little World" is one of them (listen to it here). The duo plays elegant, contained, slow pop songs with a classical and experimental edge. The song will be included in the band’s third full length, entitled No Rest, recorded in Germany and released in April on Klangbad Records. For reasons beyond us this kind of gorgeous, sophisticated, introspective soft music (here we call it "mellow core") has way more following in Europe than in the States – some attribute this to the "European decadence". But dudes, Rock’n’Roll decadence started with the Velvet Underground, and Christy and Emily’s music shares many ingredients with the Banana Album, so it may be time for NYC to embrace its own. See them live at Monster Island on March 13.

Extra Life is one of those bands noisy engough to scandalize our friend and ex reader April (see her comment about Talk Normal here). But surprisingly enough, the video they recently premiered on stereogum.com is pretty much the exact opposit of noisy (are the dudes getting older? That’s what happens to musicians when they get older, they play less noisy, more structured stuff – the only exception is a Canadian band called Anvil). Anyway, whatever the reason behind this welcome surprise, the important thing is that the dudes haven’t lost their interest in experimenting, creating here a track that sounds like some sort of avant-pastoral music with disturbing imagery, very well transposed to video by director Peking. The Deli likes it!