Q & A: Jump Into The Gospel

New York based band Jump Into The Gospel have been shaking things up left, right and center. Their songs are irresistibly catchy, synth based, pop-rock ear candy. And, their shows are high energy fun. The first time I heard Jump Into The Gospel, I thought to myself, 'hm, this reminds me of when I first heard "Girls On Film" and fell in love with some little band called Duran Duran.' JITG however, are edgier and aren't slathered in make-up.

So, on the eve of their residency at Pianos (Wednesday nights in June at 10PM), I thought I'd share a little Q&A with you. I sent over some questions and got back some quirky answers thus adding to the reasons why I'm a little bit in love with them. They fit in well here in my little corner of the Internet.

Quirky NY Chick (QNYC): Lame origin question everyone probably asks ... why the name Jump Into The Gospel? How did it come about?

Jump Into The Gospel (JITG): Simple. A software program called Sought Flare Slow Jam. It takes your old name and plays with the words until it comes up with something marketable without losing the rhythm of your old name. We used to be called Hump The Princess Toadstool.

BritFest NYC 2011, Live!

BritFest NYC 2011: June 4 @ The Delancey, New York, NY

BritFest NYC 2011 kicked off Saturday at The Delancey with a bang! The annual festival features social and entertainment events with British flavour. The whole shebang is produced by our friends over at Big Apple Brits. I, of course, was on hand to take in the live music feast!

Lisa Redford got things rolling. Redford accompanied herself on guitar playing originals and covers. She does a great acoustic "Brass In Pocket" by the way. Her voice is down to Earth ... you know, that folksy, soulful kind of sound. You should check her out. I dig her sound.

Next to take the stage was PreFab 4. If you didn't get it from their name, they cover the Beatles. Normally, I'm not much into cover bands but these guys play well, sing well and are 100% cheese free. Everyone sang along and a whole lot of folks danced. Seriously, if you couldn't have fun while these guys were playing, something might be wrong with you!

It was a terrific night of music fun. Check out a few photos from the evening.

More photos HERE

Lisa Redford

PreFab 4

Video: Luciana - "I'm Still Hot"

Check out this catchy song by Luciana, "I'm Still Hot." The song was released in April and the video debuted in early May.

Video Of The Day: Friend Slash Lover - "Disasteroid"

Friend Slash Lover debuted the new video for their single "Disasteroid." Check it out below.

Ambient rockers Friend Slash Lover debut their new video for the single “Disasteroid” off their EP As American As Ones and Zeros. The video provides a stylized viewpoint on global warming and the environment. It was inspired by a George Carlin sketch according to Friend Slash Lover mastermind Josh Mintz. “He points out how arrogant it is to say we’re ‘killing the planet,’ when in fact, we’re only killing ourselves.” The video was directed by Jordan Katnik and produced by Bryan Raber.

Review: Whitesnake Live At Donington 1990

This coming Tuesday, June 7, Whitesnake releases Live At Donington 1990 via Frontiers Records here in North America. The 2 CD and DVD packages are a welcome treat to fans whom this show has been a favorite of for years. The DVD contains never before seen footage of Whitesnake at a time some would say was their peak.

I'm a long time Whitesnake fan. Anyone who knows me has probably heard me say at some point David Coverdale can sing to me anytime, any place, for as long as he wants. This is Coverdale in full-throttle wailing rocker mode supported by a cast of stellar characters, Steve Vai (guitar), Adrian Vandenberg (guitar), Rudy Sarzo (bass) and Tommy Aldridge (drums) ... the all-star line-up, as many refer to this version of Whitesnake.

The favorites are here and the sound quality is good. Maybe a bit too good at times. When Coverdale pulls back his vocals and just sings without the theatrics as he does in the classic "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City," you can hear the end of the set roughness in his voice that comes from night after night of hitting those high notes. Good sound quality makes that a little more noticeable. And, that's not really a negative per se.

It has been a little while since I've heard live Whitesnake from that era. So, I was slightly concerned, that listening with somewhat fresh ears, that it might sound dated. Whitesnake was delightfully and brilliantly over the top during that period in time and I wondered if it was going to be as good as I remembered. Yeah, it's pretty darn close. At this stage in my listening I'm a little past the guitar and drum solo thing but they've held up well and sound good.

I haven't had a chance to check out the DVD portion but you can watch the trailer for the release below.

The LIVE AT DONINGTON 1990 DVD also includes a substantial gallery of never before seen stills of the band on the "Liquor & Poker World Tour 1990", plus an intimate behind-the-scenes documentary of the making-of the SLIP OF THE TONGUE album. LIVE AT DONINGTON 1990 will be available as a 2 CD set, a DVD coverpack, a combo 2 CD and DVD in digipak and digital editions. Please see below for the respective double CD and DVD track listings.

Track List
CD 1:

• Slip Of The Tongue
• Slide It In
• Judgement Day
• Slow An Easy
• Kitten's Got Claws
• Adagio For Strato
• Flying Dutchman Boogie
• Is This Love
• Cheap An' Nasty
• Crying In The Rain (featuring Tommy Aldridge drum solo)

CD 2:

• Fool For Your Loving
• For The Love Of God
• The Audience Is Listening
• Here I Go Again
• Bad Boys
• Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
• Still Of The Night

DVD:

• Slip Of The Tongue
• Slide It In
• Judgement Day
• Slow An Easy
• Kitten's Got Claws
• Adagio For Strato
• Flying Dutchman Boogie
• Cheap An' Nasty
• Crying In The Rain (featuring Tommy Aldridge drum solo)
• Fool For Your Loving
• For The Love Of God
• The Audience Is Listening
• Here I Go Again
• Bad Boys
• Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
• Still Of The Night
• BONUS CONTENT: The Making Of SLIP OF THE TONGUE; Slide Show

Burlesque: At Last... Marshmallows, Bad Girls & Ruby Red Pumps

NY Pin Up Club Burlesque: June 2 @ Bowery Poetry Club, New York, NY

Sometimes, a chick has to let her hair down. What better way to have fun than to take in a burlesque show. So, Thursday night I headed over to the Bowery Poetry Club to hoot 'n' holler and have a good time at the NY Pin Up Club's monthly get together. The show was hosted by the groups leader, the loveable Brandon Herman and with co-hosting duties handled by the adorable saucy, delectable diva Miss Em.

The lovely Desiree DeLovely belted out "At Last" which you can see if you scroll down to the bottom. That tiny little lady has a big voice! It was her first official performance for the group; unofficially, she emerged from the audience a couple of months ago and blew us away. She was great fun to watch and looked to be having a blast onstage. She also made an adorable Dorothy as you can see in the photo below. Everyone should have a pair of ruby red pumps.

Red hot, redhead Cherry La Voix from Ohio also sang and has a great voice as well. Why oh why didn't I turn on my video to catch one of her songs? The two songs she sang were her own compositions. I forgot to ask her if she has any recordings available, shame on me! It was my first time seeing her perform and it was definitely a treat. She makes a really good bad girl as you can see below.

Miss dynamite, Iris Ex Plosion didn't sing but she put on one hell of a show! I'm sure a lot of the gentleman in the audience have a new found fondness for marshmallows now. I certainly won't look at them the same way again. You should have been there! Like her fellow performers, she was great fun to watch. The photo below was just the beginning!

I know you were probably expecting some risqué photos since this was after all a burlesque show. But, if you want to see that, you've got to go to the shows! The first Thursday of every month is always entertaining!

Holiday Weekends & Bob Schneider

Bob Schneider: May 29 @ Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

Give folks a three day weekend when it's warm out and two things happen. One, you want to eat and two, you want to party. There was no food at Bowery Ballroom but, Bob Schneider threw a party and served up a feast of music. Folks came to have fun. And fun we had. I dare say, we may have been louder than the last time I was down at the Bowery to see him.

Things were hot, sweaty and at times outright funky. Twenty-three songs (if I counted correctly!) yet, everyone was asking for more. A lot of the songs took on some reggae flavor (a bit more than usual) and there was a little more funk in the mix. "Ready, Let's Roll" well, I'm just going to call that version the 'Lap Dance Remix' ... yeah, funky bump 'n' grind y'all, that's all I'm saying. The hands down highlight of the night was 40 Dogs. When you're making that summer party mix-tape, that live version of 40 Dogs needs to be on it ... loose funk with horns, yeah, need I say more?

I keep saying it, you really have to see this man live. But be warned, you may have to go to BS Anonymous to deal with your Bob Schneider habit because, you will become addicted. Of course, if you're like the rest of us, you won't want to be cured. You'll just continue to happily look forward to your next Bob fix.

More Photos HERE.
Bob did this (did it so well he was a blur in motion)...

And, he always surrounds himself with some seriously talented musicians.

Harmoni did this...
Conrad did this...

Ollie did this and a whole lot of stuff (it's a you had to be there thing)...

Clint did this (way on the other side of the stage)...

Setlist

• Penelope Cruz
• Honeypot
• Bullets
• Flinty
• Gold In the Sunset
• 2002
• Country Club
• Peaches
• Til Somebody Catches A Feeling
• Bombanaza
• Cheaper
• Band Intro/Let The Light In
• John Lennon
• Ready, Let's Roll
• The Californian
• The Unknown
• Everything You Love
• Come With Me Tonight
• ?
• Tarantula
• Big Blue Sea
• Boom Box
• 40 Dogs

Video Of The Day: Johan Agebjörn - "The Last Day of Summer

Swedish DJ/Producer Johan Agebjörn has released a video for "The Last Day of Summer" featuring Ercola and British electro-pop artist Queen of Hearts. The video was directed by Stuart Hall. Check it out below.

Swedish DJ/Producer Johan Agebjörn (Sally Shapiro) has released the video for "The Last Day of Summer" featuring Ercola and British electro-pop artist Queen of Hearts. The track is taken from his recently released debut album, Casablanca Nights on Paper Bag Records. Agebjörn will release the single for "The Last Day of Summer" on May 31 featuring remixes by Le Matos, Le Prix, Dreamtrak and Ercola.

Styled by Oliver Vaughn, the video depicts Queen of Hearts in a top notch array of high end couture. She is featured in looks by haute couture German designer Furne One, Tomasz Starzewski, who made some of the most famous dresses for Princess Diana, Rachel Freire,who has designed pieces for massive artists such as Rihanna, Britta Kjerkegaard, one of the most established couture and bridal designers in London, and upcoming designer Ksenia G.

Jump Into The Gospel To Take Up Residence At Pianos

Guess where all of the cool kids and people who like good bands are going to be on Wednesday's in June? They'll be at Pianos getting hot and sweaty with Jump Into The Gospel. You know how much we here at QNYC, aka Me, like them.

Beginning Wednesday, June 8 and continuing each Wednesday (6/15, 6/22 & 6/29) for the rest of the month, they'll take to the Pianos stage at 10PM. The shows will cost you $8 except for the June 29 show which is FREE, yeah that's right, I said FREE! So, you have absolutely no excuse for not seeing them at least once! Check out the hot promo video below that they put together for the occasion.

OH! Did you see? Spank me and tickle me too, another QNYC fave, Prospector, will be on the June 22nd line-up!

Video Of The Day: Only Son "Stamp Your Name On It"

Check out this fun video from Only Son (Jack Dishel). The James Holland directed video was recently featured on mtvU's Freshman 5. The song, "Stamp Your Name On It" is from his album Searchlight which was released this past January.

It features Mr. Dishel being up to no good alongside Macaulay Culkin, Reggie Watts, Adam Green and Regina Spektor. (Fun Fact: the only other music videos Macaulay Culkin has ever appeared in are Michael Jackson's "Black or White" and Sonic Youth's "Sunday.")

"Stamp Your Name On It"