StereoactiveNYC

Photos: Raccoon Fighter + Boy Genius + Jared Friedman at Fort Useless

Our first show of the year was earlier this month at Fort Useless and featured co-headliners Raccoon Fighter and Boy Genius with Jared Friedman (of Holy Moly!) opening.

This was our first time seeing Raccoon Fighter live and we really enjoyed their set. The band, which seems to have a fluctuating number of members, played as a two-piece this particular night and really nailed it. Their energetic bluesy brand of rock was extremely entertaining and we look forward to hearing more from them in the future.

Boy Genius is a band we’ve covered in the past, but this was our first time actually putting a show together with them — a long time coming. They seem to get better each time we see and hear them and this night was no exception. It was our favorite set of theirs yet and we were extremely happy with how well their sound fit in at the new venue. They’ve got a new full-length coming out that we’ve been wrapping our ears around — a really nice piece of work produced with Mitch Easter, that we definitely recommend.

Jared Friedman is a close compatriot of ours that we’re always happy to hear and work with. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing and hearing him progress as a solo artist and with his country/folk rock trio, Holy Moly!, over the last couple of years and the guy just keeps getting better. He’s a gifted songwriter with an ever-growing voice.

Here are some photos from the night (with more on Flickr) and mp3s by the artists:

Jared Friedman
mp3: “What You Get” by Holy Moly!

Boy Genius
mp3: “Radio Silence” by Boy Genius

Raccoon Fighter
mp3: “Rollin’ Wheel” by Raccoon Fighter

Tags: boy genius, fort useless, holy moly, jared friedman, raccoon fighter, stereoactivenyc presents

Ear Farm Holiday Party Tonight With Great Bands! // StereoactiveNYC DJs

The Ear Farm crew has put together a great show at Spike Hill tonight for their holiday party, featuring a few of our favorite local artists. We’re really looking forward to seeing the recently reclusive Mancino (9pm) for the first time in well over a year in addition to the great Takka Takka (10pm) and Goes Cube (11pm). Also playing is Moser’s Gambit (8pm), who we’re not familiar with, but we’re looking forward to seeing for the first time.

We’ll be DJing throughout the night, and plan to play a mix heavy with favorites from the closing decade, as well as a few well-placed holiday jams.

Oh, and the show is totally FREE — and not only FREE, but those Ear Farm dudes are actually going to give you something for showing up.

We have a feeling tonight is going to be a memorable night, so thanks to Ear Farm for inviting us to be a part of it.

mp3: “L’amour (Or Less)” by Mancino
mp3: “Homebreaker” by Takka Takka
mp3: “Goes Cube Song 30″ by Goes Cube

Tags: ear farm, goes cube, mancino, mosers gambit, spike hill, takka takka

Scrambler Seequill Release New Album / Show Tonight + mp3s

Whereas many bands seem to be concerned with taking something pretty-sounding and making it dissonant, Scrambler Seequill has an interesting way of taking dissonance and making it sound pretty. They’re adept at mixing different textures and sounds — big drums, electronic bits and blips, thoughtfully-played spaghetti western guitars, dreamy reverb vocals, string orchestration — as if assembling a collage made up of sounds they’ve torn apart and recomposed to their distinct liking along with whatever interesting outside fragments they’ve discovered in the process. There’s a certain sense of curiosity built in to much of the music, like they were constantly just trying things out as they went, that makes it all seem somewhat lighthearted even as there’s a sense of interesting murkiness that seems to come from the knowledge that maybe the chance they’re taking might not work out. But they try things out anyway and are better for it.

Scrambler Seequill is playing tonight at Littlefield to celebrate the release of the album. And here are a couple of preview tracks for you to sample:

mp3: “Rest For Now” by Scrambler Seequill

mp3: “One Design” by Scrambler Seequill

You can also get a couple of more free downloads and preview the entire album via bandcamp.

Tags: littlefield, scrambler seequill, secret passageways

Dinosaur Feathers LP Presale + mp3/more

2009 has been a year in which many new(er) bands have really come into their own in NYC/Brooklyn. Bands like pow wow!, Shark?, Pet Ghost Project, and Dinosaur Feathers have played scores of shows (often together), put out multiple singles and EPs and even managed to improve upon strong starts to become more and more interesting. It would be hard to hold it against any of them if they wanted to take a bit of a break after such a busy year, but it looks as if all that was just preparation for even an even more impressive 2010.

Case in point: Dinosaur Feathers, whom we’ve had the good fortune of working with already (with another show already in the works — details soon), who released a free digital EP just a couple of months ago, and are now set to release their first full-length album. Fantasy Memorial will be out March 2nd, but is available for pre-order at Insound. We were lucky enough to get a preview copy of the album and have been enjoying it immensely, so suggest you go ahead and order it. Here’s a preview track from the album:

mp3: “Vendela Vida” by Dinosaur Feathers

And we also recommend checking them out at Cameo on Thursday as they finish up a residency there, playing with Pterodactyl, Grandchildren, and Julianna Barwick.

Tags: cameo, dinosaur feathers, fantasy memorial

Live This Week: December 7-13 /// mp3 Mix

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Here are mp3s by some artists playing live this week:

“History Lessons” by Dinosaur Feathers (Monday)
“I’m And Animal” by Shark? (Monday)
“Call Me” by The Naked Hearts (Wednesday)
“Stand Where I Can See You” by She Keeps Bees (Wednesday)
“Bell” by Screaming Females (Thursday)
“Seeds On Stone” by Limbs (Thursday)
“Sleepwalking” by The Jaguar Club (Saturday)
“Filthy And Free” by Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers (Saturday)

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Visit our SHOWLIST for more information about these and other upcoming shows.

Photos: The Jaguar Club at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

The Jaguar Club played perhaps the best set we’ve heard from them yet at our CMJ showcase. Above and below are photos from the show (with more available on Flickr):

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey, the jaguar club

Photos: Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers played a ferocious set at our CMJ showcase that pretty much blew everyone watching away. The photos above and below are from their set (with more available on Flickr):

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, shilpa ray and her happy hookers, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

Photos: Locket at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

Locket took to the stage on Saturday night at the Delancey to play what we consider the best set we’ve heard from them yet — that it was at our CMJ showcase made it all the more enjoyable. The photos above and below are from their set (and also available on Flickr).

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, locket, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

Photos: Mama Bear & The Power Bottumz at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

Mama Bear got things off to a great start on Saturday night at our official CMJ showcase at the Delancey. Their energetic, spirited set of twang-tinged rock got the sizable group of early show-goers moving with ease. Above and below are photos from the show (with a few more available on Flickr):

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, mama bear, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

Kittens Ablaze // StereoactiveNYC CMJ Showcase Preview

Kittens Ablaze are five musicians that equal one giant ball of energy and enthusiasm. Every time we’ve seen them live, we’ve wondered about how much coffee they must consume to put on their raucous brand of slightly-folk-inspired, slightly-punk-inspired rock. We think they’re a little bit like goldfish in that they grow to the size of the space they’re in — except they don’t stop growing as they hit the glass of their bowl, they just keep expanding and bust through it. So watch out for flying glass and water…

They’re playing the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase at the Delancey on Saturday at 1am. Here’s an mp3 for your preview enjoyment:

mp3: “This Machine Is Dying” by Kittens Ablaze

And here’s what CMJ says:

“Punk-rock songwriting with alt-country instrumentation and pop sensibilities.”

rsvp on facebook

Tags: cmj 2009, kittens ablaze, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

The Binary Marketing Show // StereoactiveNYC CMJ Showcase Preview

The Binary Marketing Show has been a real favorite of ours lately. They were first recommended to us by a friend earlier in the year and we finally saw them live in September. If forced to compare them to another band, we’d first mention Animal Collective just because most people have a sense of what they’re about, but Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 is probably much more apt. The way they weave live guitars with loops and other effects, as well as some perfectly placed live percussion (including floor tom, snare, and lone cymbal) is both musically impressive and entertainingly captivating in a way many other groups with similar live set-ups fail to achieve outside a studio. We think they’re going to make for an excellent close to the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase at the Delancey on Saturday when they go on at 2am and hope you’ll join us to perhaps close out your CMJ experience. Here’s a particularly great track from their excellent album, Patterns:

mp3: “Shape of Your Head” b y The Binary Marketing Show

And here’s what CMJ had to say about them:

“Experimental rock strengthened with electronic polyrhythmic percussion and off-kilter vocals.”

rsvp on facebook

Tags: cmj 2009, stereoactivenyc presents, the binary marketing show, the delancey

The Jaguar Club // StereoactiveNYC CMJ Showcase Preview

The Jaguar Club is on a hot streak of late with a well-received and excellent album recently released and a successful tour they just recently returned from. And it’s all well-deserved. Here’s what we said about them when we first featured them last year:

“The Jaguar Club is a three-piece — wait, now a four-piece — Brooklyn band that plays New Wave-inflected, forward moving rock. The guys put on a fun and energetic show…”

We’re excited to have them play the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase at the Delancey on Saturday — they’re on at 9pm. Here’s a track from their recent full-length release:

mp3: “Sleepwalking” by The Jaguar Club

And here’s what CMJ had to say about them:

“Rough garage rock with jangly guitars,thumping drums, and charisma. Confidence in rock form.”

rsvp on facebook

Tags: cmj 2009, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey, the jaguar club