Quirky NY Chick

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

moe. To Release Smash Hits, Volume 1 + MP3

moe. will release their latest, Smash Hits, Volume 1 on June 1 via th

eir own Fatboy Records. The record celebrates the band's 20th anniversary. They're offering up a free song, "Spine of a Dog," which can be found at the bottom of the page in the MP3 Grab.

From modest beginnings in a Buffalo basement over two decades ago to today's multifaceted success, the members of moe. have never lost sight of the earnest, elemental goals that they aspired to from their very first show: to deliver honest, heartfelt music and to ensure the audience has a good time. 2010 marks the twentieth anniversary of moe.'s frontline of Rob Derhak (bass, vocals), Chuck Garvey (guitar, vocals), and Al Schnier (guitar, keyboards, vocals), who continue to perform together with the addition of drummer Vinnie Amico and percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Jim Loughlin.

Tour Dates

May 28 - Summer Camp Festival 2010 - Chillicothe, IL
May 29 - Summer Camp Festival 2010 - Chillicothe, IL
May 30 - Summer Camp Festival 2010 - Chillicothe, IL
May 31 - Time Warner Cable Ampitheater - Cleveland, OH
June 2 - Innsbrook Pavilion - Glen Allen, VA
June 3 - Rams Head Live! - Baltimore, MD
June 4 - Saranac Brewery - Utica, NY
June 5 - Saranac Brewery - Utica, NY
June 25 - Buffalo Place Rocks The Harbor - Buffalo, NY
June 26 - Buffalo Place Rocks The Harbor - Buffalo, NY
June 27 - Mountain Park - Holyoke, MA
June 30 - Paramount Center For The Arts - Peekskill, NY
July 1 - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - Hampton Beach, NH
July 2 - Nateva Music & Camping Festival - Oxford, ME
July 3 - Theatre At Westbury - Westbury, NY
July 4 - Stone Pony Summerstage - Asbury Park, NJ
July 7 - Centennial Terrace - Toledo, OH
July 8 - LC Outdoor Pavilion - Columbus, OH
July 10 - Simon Estes Amphitheater - Des Moines, IA
July 12 - Weesner Amphitheater - Apple Valley, MN
July 13 - Sioux Falls Orpheum Theater - Sioux Falls, SD
July 15 - Babcock Theatre - Billings, MT
July 16 - 6th Annual Targhee Festival - Alta, WY
July 17 - Northwest String Summit - North Plains, OR
August 1 - Fuji Rock Festival - Niigata, Japan
September 3 - MOE.DOWN 11 Gelston Castle Estate - Mohawk, NY
September 4 - MOE.DOWN 11 Gelston Castle Estate - Mohawk, NY
September 5 - MOE.DOWN 11 Gelston Castle Estate - Mohawk, NY

MP3 Grab: "Spine of a Dog"

www.moe.org

Nada Surf Release Video for "Electrocution"

Nada Surf have released their video for "Electrocution." It was directed

by Eli Stronberg. The song is off of their upcoming covers album if I had a hi-fi which comes out on June 8 via their own Mardev Records. Also, the band will be performing on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on Wednesday, May 26 at 11:15AM PST. Check out the video below.

Nada Surf are proud to unveil their video for "Electrocution", taking viewers on a visually innovative and somewhat psychedelic trip through all four seasons of the year. Off of their forthcoming covers album if i had a hi-fi, "Electrocution" was written by Cleveland musician Bill Fox, one of the many artists covered by Nada Surf for the release. if i had a hi-fi is in stores June 8th via the band's label Mardev Records, but fans may purchase the album in CD and Vinyl format exclusively at their upcoming us tour dates.

Tour Dates
MAY

24 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
25 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
26 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
27 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
29 - George, WA - Sasquatch Festival
30 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
31 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café

JULY

08 - Palma de Mallorca, ES - Cultura Club
09 - Santa Pola, ES - Camelot Club
10 - Liege, BE - Les Ardentes
12 - Holland, US - Effenaar Eindhoven
13 - Luxembourg, US - Rockhal Club
14 - Amsterdam, US - Melkweg Max
16 - France, FR - La Guerre du Son
17 - Stuttgart, Germany - Tubingen Lauscht
19 - Paris, FR - La Maroquinerie
20 - Paris, FR - La Maroquinerie
22 - Luzern, Switzerland - Schuur
23 - Eberndorf Osterreich, AT - Acoustic Lakeside Festival
24 - Feldkirch Vorarlberg, AT - Poolbar Festival
26 - Aschaffenburg, DE - Colos saal
27 - Numberg, DE - Hirsch
28 - Munich, DE - Backstage
30 - Grossenfehn, DE - Omas Teich

AUGUST

07 - Messe, Japan - Summer Sonic ( Marine Stadium)

www.nadasurf.com

Monday, May 24, 2010

Photo Review: Shwa Losben At Mercury Lounge 5/20 + Video

Shwa Losben and The Good Times: May 20 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

Shwa Losben has a new album, Good Times, Good Times, that came out

earlier this month. What does one do when one releases a new record? You have a party to celebrate. That's just what they did. Now, I confess, I'd never heard of Shwa Losben before I walked into Mercury Lounge Thursday night. Now that I've witnessed the band, I have two songs stuck in my head, "Sandy Don't Worry" and the highly infectious "Penultimate Dance." The former song, has been on repeat and the latter song, there's something about it that reminds me of "White Wedding" ... yeah, what? Don't look at me all funny like that, y'all know I'm prone to questionable comparisons. At any rate it has a killer disco beat and it's sure to inspire way more off beat dancing than necessary. Being a guitar fan, I'm diggin' the guitar player, y'all cool with that? Check out some photos from their set and a video of "Everything Fell Into Place."

Set List

Trainwreck
Total Nightmare
Treat The Disease
Annie In Luck
Everything Fell Into Place
So Cry
Sandy Don't Worry
Never Too Soon To Compromise
Penultimate Dance
Brooklyn Girls

www.shwamusic.com
www.myspace.com/shwamusic
www.facebook.com/shwalosben

Photo Review: Val Emmich At Mercury Lounge 5/20 + Video

Val Emmich: May 20 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

Last Thursday, I went down to Mercury Lounge to see a band I like who happened to be t

he last act playing that night. But, since I like live music, I decided to get there early to check out the other bands playing.

Val Emmich was set to start shortly after I arrived. My first thought was "who?" and my second thought was, "that's a lot of lights they've got set up." Well, out walks Emmich and I thought, "isn't that the guy from Ugly Betty; you mean he's a real musician?" The answer was yes to both of my internal queries. Anyway, he was charming and his fans were loud. It was possibly the most well lit show I've ever encountered in a club and I'm slightly surprised nobody had a seizure or went blind but, it made for fun photos of Emmich in a variety of hues. Check out some photos from his set as well as video of "Snowy Day."

www.valemmich.com
www.myspace.com/valemmich
twitter.com/valemmich

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Photo Review: Des Roar At Mercury Lounge 5/20

Des Roar: May 20 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

Des Roar are one of those bands whose name I've heard around but I'd never actually seen until Thursday night. Well, I'm glad I finally saw them. They're full of high energy, sweat inducing, in your face punk that kicks you in the gut. They left me rather lightheaded ... love it when you get a musically induced buzz. Check out some photos from their set.

www.myspace.com/desroar

Doppelgänger, Hot & Sweaty Rock 'N' Roll

Doppelgänger: May 20 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

Doppelgänger took to the Mercury Lounge stage Thursday night. I last saw

them back in March so I was excited to finally get a chance to catch them again. Since I last saw them, Ryan (drums/vocals) and Rob (guitar/vocals) have added Joey (bass/vocals). The trio put on one hell of a show.

They took no prisoners and rocked everyone in attendance into hot, sweaty rock 'n' roll messes. Every time I see this band, I'm reminded exactly why I like my rock live. They're loud, wild, raw and fun. They're like being in a speeding car on a cliff side road with the threat of careening over the edge at any moment. But, you don't care because you've got that tingly adrenalin sensation running up your spine and burning your gut; you feel impending danger and excitement all at the same time. That's rock 'n' roll and that's how I like it.

I'm sure this happens everywhere at some point but, it happens here a lot. You have so many live music choices you start to feel blasé about the scene. But then you have bands like Doppelgänger and Des Roar, who played before them and joined them for

a song, giving a much needed spark. They make rock 'n' roll exciting. You can't help but want to be right up front, shaking your body along with the music which is exactly what I did.

A copy of Doppelgänger's six song EP, Get It Over With Already, landed in my appreciative, quirky little hands. I've been looking forward to this record and I'm not disappointed. The energy they have live translates well on the record.

I had a great night. And in the end, I went home hot, sweaty and giddy.

www.myspace.com/Doppelgangerisyourfriend

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Talking To Walls On Tour & Heading To NYC

The Walls are coming, the Walls are coming, hooray, the Walls are comi

ng! No, I haven't lost my mind. Well, I have but, that happened a long time ago!

Talking To Walls, the Connecticut band of rockers, are on tour and coming back to New York. They're going to be everywhere! Here in NYC, the band will grace the Bowery Poetry Club stage on Friday, May 28. Hell fire, they're even playing Six Flags y'all. So go see them ... one show, two shows, all shows! They're an incredibly fun live band.

As you may already know, Talking To Walls released a new album earlier this year. We Were Not So Tall is the bands second full-length record and was produced by Greg Giorgio. It happens to be a stellar piece of work in case you're wondering. The album and band have been getting a good deal of buzz. We Were Not So Tall entered the CMJ College Radio charts, debuting as the #19 most added record in the US & Canada in its first week. I am, by the way, currently in lust with "Crossed My Mind" ... just thought I'd share.