StereoactiveNYC

Announcement: chopshop CD Release Party presented by StereoactiveNYC

Back when we were first starting to book bands for the Hot Rocks Party, we had Mancino booked to play a date and asked them if there was anyone in particular they’d like to play with. Their suggestion was chopshop. After listening to the band’s impressive first demos, we were interested and invited them to join the bill. And after hearing them play live at the show, we were convinced these guys were one extremely talented group of musicians. Eventually, they played a couple more StereoactiveNYC-sponsored events, but then, unfortunately, had to take a rather long hiatus from playing live due to some unfortunate circumstances.

So chopshop, at this point, has not played a show since late 2007, but has managed to make fine use of their time, having spent it in their studio crafting an eleven song LP. Hugs And Hand Shakes showcases the energetic, skilled band we were first introduced to nearly two years ago and manages to show off a range of dynamic arrangement, songwriting, and production skills only hinted at in those early —  still impressive — demos. Even without the ongoing history we have with the band, StereoactiveNYC would be proud to present the CD release party we’ve helped them to organize for this coming Saturday night. The band will be joined by friends Mancino, Gold Streets, and Coyote Eyes, with DJed music before, between, and after the bands courtesy of our friends over at The Music Slut.

Congratulations to chopshop for sticking with this and getting it done. And welcome back.

Here are all the details for the show:

Saturday, February 7th

at The Delancey / 8pm: doors open
168 Delancey Street
New York, NY 

11:30pm – chopshop
10:30pm – Mancino
9:30pm – Gold Streets
8:30pm – Coyote Eyes

DJing by The Music Slut

FREE Pabst Blue Ribbon – 12:30am to 1:30am
$4 well drinks – 8pm to 9pm

And here are a few mp3s from the album, along with cover art, below:

“Crickets” by chopshop
“Caves And Caves” by chopshop
“Sitting In A Circle” by chopshop

Visit chopshop’s website for info on where to buy the album online.

 

Tags: chopshop, coyote eyes, gold streets, hugs and hand shakes, mancino, release party, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

Live This Week

Thursday, December 13th

Harlem Shakes + The Subjects
@ Bowery Ballroom / 8pm
6 Delancey Street
New York, NY
w/ White Rabbits

The Muggabears
@ Galapagos / 10pm
70 North 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY
w/ Bear Hands, Hold Up

Friday, December 14th

Chop Shop
@ Fat Baby / 8pm
112 Rivington Street
New York, NY

Saturday, December 15th

The Vandelles
@ The Annex
152 Orchard Street
New York, NY
w/ The Icarus Line

The Art Of Shooting
@ Soundfix / 8pm
110 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
w/ Slasher Risk

Baker + The Self Righteous Brothers
@ Pianos / 9pm
158 Ludlow Street
New York, NY
w/ Levy, Ladystein, The Big Galoots

Tags: chopshop, harlem shakes, the art of shooting, the muggabears, the vandelles

CMJ Recap

Okay, now that CMJ is good and over, let’s take a look back at a few highlights.

Of course, Saturday night was the StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Party Official CMJ Showcase, co-sponsored by DigitalFreedom.org. In case you missed our wrap-ups, here they are:

PART ONE: Chop Shop, The Secret Life Of Sofia, Gold Streets

PART TWO: Mancino, Man In Gray, A Place To Bury Strangers

PART THREE: Up The Empire, El Jezel, The Vandelles

And here’s some other coverage of the show we’ve seen so far:
Metromix New York
CMJ
EarFarm
The Culture Of Me
The Sky Report
Flickr.com – EarFarm
Flickr.com – Jenny Fireballs
Flickr.com – Subinev
Flickr.com – LPSlogan
Flickr.com – Annie Rock

Now on to some of what we managed to catch earlier in the week…

(photo by Bryan Bruchman)

On Tuesday, we checked out a good portion of the Serious Business Records showcase at Pianos. First up was Benji Cossa, who impressed us with his vocal abilities. But our ears really stood up at attention during the second half of the set, which featured a full backing band made up mostly of members of Rocketship Park (above). No surprise then that Rocketship Park’s own set immediately after that blew us away. Their country rock sound was just what we wanted to hear and the pedal steel guitar through most of set was especially gorgeous sounding. We can hardly wait to hear the album they’ve been working on over there at Serious Business.

(photo by Bryan Bruchman)

Next up was The Two Man Gentlemen Band (above). It had been much too long since we’d seen them play. Their old time, rootsy country tunes and stage antics had the place mesmerized and the duo — accompanied by Travis Harrison on percussion, so actually it was a trio — had the crowd eating out of their hands like nothing we’ve ever seen before. It was truly exceptional. Plus the new material, including a raucous song about President William Howard Taft, from their next album was really great.

(photo by Bryan Bruchman)

Then it was time for the Unsacred Hearts (above), playing for the first time since May. And speaking of raucous, the stage was basically treated like one of those inflatable moon-jump things you see at carnivals and the drumset was like a min-trampoline with frontman Joe Willie leaping on and off it at will. But while this was all entertaining, it was, of course, the music that really rocked the place, just as it would again the next night at Matchless.

Then it was on to the Industrial Park Records showcase at The Tank, where we caught Higgins (above) for the first time in a while. Their sixties styles psych-tinged indie pop was a great was a great way to end the night. Notably, the set was the fourth of the night for drummer Brian Kantor, who’d played with John Biz just before and with Rocketship Park and Benji Cossa earlier at the Serious Business showcase.

(photo by EarFarm)

Wednesday night, at the EarFarm“>EarFarm & Serious Business CMJ Party at Matchless, we caught the Unsacred Hearts again and finally caught a full set of Goes Cube (above). Their heavy, loud brand of indie rock left us wanting more, so we’ll be checking them out again very soon.

(photo by Insky)

Thursday night at the Deli Magazine/Going.com party at Galapagos, we checked out a band recommended to us by Marta DeLeon of Lariats. We’d listened to a few Beat The Devil (above) tracks online, but just weren’t prepared for the sheer ferocity of their live show and the amount of classic and garage rock sensibility mixed in with the cabaret vibe the mp3s seemed to showcase quite a lot more of. And we have to say that singer Shilpa Ray has a powerhouse voice.

On Friday, we caught a little bit of Eagle Seagull’s set at the Indaba Music/Underrated Magazine loft party and hope to see more of them soon. Then it was off to another loft party featuring Kinetic and Looker, along with Man In Gray and Up The Empire. The new wave sound of Looker was fun and great for the party vibe. And the more psyched-out indie pop of Kinetic was more great stuff we look forward to hearing more of soon.

Tags: a place to bury strangers, beat the devil, chopshop, el jezel, goes cube, gold streets, Higgins, hot rocks party, mancino, rocketship park, the secret life of sofia, the two man gentlemen band, the vandelles, unsacred hearts, up the empire

Wrap Up: StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Official CMJ Showcase — PART ONE

Saturday night was a big night for us. It was the first time we’d ever presented a showcase as part of the CMJ Music Marathon. And with nine bands playing from 6pm to 3am, we knew it was going to be a monster of a night. In the end, we’re hard pressed to think of any ways in which the night could have been much better. From beginning to end, every single band was great and the audience — filled with wonderful friends and completely new faces — was spectacular. Really, any time we start organizing a show, we try to put together something we’d like to go to with our friends. And, in that regard and so many others, we were lucky to have just about as close to a perfect line-up as we could hope for on Saturday night.

Chop Shop

First up was Chop Shop. As we’ve said before, this band is one of our favorite discoveries of the year (thanks to Mancino for the introduction, by the way). Still relatively young, in the brief time we’ve known them we’ve already witnessed quite a lot of development. They started out with an impressive sound and stage presence and built on it with the addition of Rebecca Capua on keys, cello, and additional vocals. On Saturday, they got things off to an amazing start, playing to an already quite sizable crowd that only grew as they continued their set. Each time we’ve seen the band, we’ve been more impressed than the last, so no surprise that this was the most impressive set we’ve seen yet. Unfortunately, they won’t be playing live again for a little bit as they take a break to continue working on new recordings, but you can bet we’ll be letting you know when they’re back out there playing again. After all, we’ll be anxious to see them again ourselves.

From Ear Farm:

Chop Shop (above) kicked things off with a bang. They brought with them a nice sized crowd of fans and perfectly set the tone for the rest of the night with their charisma and energy.

The Secret Life Of Sofia

(photo by Ear Farm)

Next up was The Secret Life Of Sofia. We’ve been talking about the shift in their sound ever since they came out of hiding back in May. Well, it’s safe to say the shift is complete. It’s no longer the “new TSLOS sound.” It’s just “the TSLOS sound.” They’ve hit their stride and it’s quite impressive. With fifth man — and, we hear, possible permanent member — Dan D’Ippolito in tow to switch off various guitar, keys, and backing vocal duties, the band took to the stage for what ended up being the best show we’ve seen or heard from them not only since the hiatus, but ever. Seriously. But don’t take our word for it…

From Ear Farm:

The Secret Life of Sofia (above) delivered their best performance to date. At least, for the shows I’ve seen them play – this was it. The band is truly finding themselves within their new songs and I literally got chills at one point. Sounds silly? It’s the truth. I love this band. When their new album comes out, watch out world.

From The Sky Report:

I unfortunately only had time to catch a few songs, but what I heard was quite beautiful. Their stage was adorned with the previously mentioned flourescent lanterns, but no projections this time. Still, these guys are a band to keep an eye on.

Gold Streets

The third band of the night was Gold Streets. We’ve done a lot of shows with them recently and, every time, they bring an energy and confidence that makes each performance unique and fresh. Saturday was, of course, no exception. The band easily sustained the level of what was already an energetic night, playing the hell out of every song.

From Ear Farm:

Gold Streets (above) hit the stage with their trademark groovy bass and split male/female vocals and got many people shaking and moving along with their Cocteau Twins meets Veruca Salt vibe. God how I love a Rickenbacker bass.

More to come…

Tags: chopshop, gold streets, hot rocks party, mancino, the secret life of sofia

CMJ Preview: Chop Shop

Chop Shop is one of our favorite finds of the year. We were immediately impressed with them, as evidenced by our writing about them on numerous occasions since meeting them earlier this year and have already worked with them on a couple of successful shows. We’re very happy to have them starting off the night on Saturday and hope you’ll come early to check them out. Take a listen to their impressive four song demo and we think you’ll be persuaded:

“Crickets”

“Sitting In A Circle”

“Caves N’ Caves”

“Break Beat”

Chop Shop will be playing at the StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Party Official CMJ Showcase on Saturday, October 20th at The Delancey in NYC. The event is co-sponsored by DigitalFreedom.org.

Tags: chopshop, hot rocks party

Announcement: StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Party Official CMJ Showcase

StereoactiveNYC has been booking the bands for the Hot Rocks Party since it first started featuring live music back in March. Now we’re excited to be sponsoring an official showcase at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon featuring many of our very favorite local bands. We’ll have lots more info as the date gets closer, but here is the basic info:

Saturday, October 2oth

StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Party
OFFICIAL CMJ SHOWCASE
@ The Delancey
168 Delancey Street
New York, NY

6pm – Chop Shop
7pm – The Secret Life Of Sofia
8pm – Gold Streets
9pm – Mancino
10pm – Man In Gray
11pm – A Place To Bury Strangers
12am – Up The Empire
1am – El Jezel

w/ Fifties and Sixties party music DJed throughout the night

Tags: a place to bury strangers, chopshop, el jezel, gold streets, hot rocks party, mancino, the secret life of sofia, up the empire

StereoactiveNYC Presents Post-Show Wrap-Up

The show at The Delancey on Saturday night — featuring locals Gold Streets and Chop Shop with Boston bands The Self Righteous Brothers and Baker — was a lot of fun.

Chop Shop got things off to a great start. Last time we saw them, they had just added Rebecca Capua as the sixth member of the band, playing cello and keyboards. Those additional instruments, along with her backing vocals, have really widened what was already a rather full sound and we continue to enjoy the band more each time we see and hear them. Baker and The Self Righteous Brothers kept things going. Both bands had slightly retro feels to their indie sounds that had the crowd bouncing and hollering throughout the sets. And Gold Streets closed out the night with yet another in a succession of wonderful sets we’ve seen from them in recent weeks.

We were DJing between bands. Here’s what was played:

LCD Soundsystem – “North American Scum”
Harlem Shakes – “Carpetbaggers”
The Black Angels – “Black Grease”
Radiohead – “Electioneering”
Radiohead – “Planet Telex”
Joy Division – “Leaders Of Men”
Band Of Horses – “Is There A Ghost?”
Neil Young – “Come On Baby, Let’s Go Downtown”

[Chop Shop]

R.E.M. – “Radio Free Europe”
The Jesus And Mary Chain – “Just Like Honey”
A Place To Bury Strangers – “Never Going Down”
The Muggabears – “Dead Kid Kicks”
Mistakes – “Moving In Time”
Nirvana – “Negative Creep”

[Baker]

Modern Lovers – “Government Center”
Emma La Reina – “Did You Watch The Olympics?”
Via Audio – “Developing Active People”
Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago”
T.Rex – “Bang A Gong (Get It On)”
The Stooges – “Shake Appeal”

[The Self Righteous Brothers]

The Creation – “How Does It Feel To Feel”
Harry Nilsson – “Jump Into The Fire”
Mancino – “L’Amour (Or Less)”
Caribou – “Melody Day”
David Bowie – “China Girl”

[Gold Streets]

Iggy Pop – “China Girl”
Prince – “When Doves Cry”
Prince – “Take Me With U”
The Sonics – “The Witch”
The Rapture – “Whoo! Alright-Yeah… Uh Huh”
Kanye West – “Stronger”
Lou Christie – “Lighting Striking Again”
Marvin Gaye – “Got To Give It Up (Part 1)”
Feist – “My Moon My Man”
Chris Kenner – “Land Of 1000 Dances”
Peter Bjorn And John – “Young Folks”
The Beatles – “A Hard Day’s Night”
Amy Winehouse – “Rehab”
The Marvelettes – “Too Many Fish In The Sea”
The Walkmen – “The Rat”
The Rolling Stones – “Paint It Black”
LCD Soundsystem – “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House”
The Beach Boys – “Barbara Ann”
The Cure – “Boys Don’t Cry”
The Clash – “The Magnificent Seven”
The Clash – “Rock The Casbah”
New Order – “Blue Monday”
Nirvana – “Downer”
Pixies – “Debaser”
The Knife – “Silent Shout”
Hot Chip – “Boys From School”
The Knife – “Neverland”
The Knife – “Like A Pen”
The Knife – “One Hit”

Tags: a place to bury strangers, chopshop, emma la reina, gold streets, harlem shakes, mancino, mistakes, the muggabears, via audio

Live Saturday: StereoactiveNYC Presents 2 From Boston, 2 From NYC

StereoactiveNYC is sponsoring a show on Saturday that involves two of our favorite local bands. If you’ve been paying attention over the last couple of months or so, you’ll likely have noticed quite a bit about Gold Streets on the site. Their first full-length, titled Looks Like Fireflies and released earlier this year, is one of our favorite albums of 2007 so far and we’ve worked with them on a number of shows, including a mini-tour last month.

Chop Shop is a band we were introduced to earlier this year. We were immediately impressed by their demo, which, as alluded to back then, may be the best set of demo recordings we’ve heard from a relatively new band. Hell, it sounds better than most first EPs. Throw in a great live show and we were hooked. This show may be the band’s last one for a little while, so we suggest you see them while you can.

Also playing are two bands from Boston. The Self Righteous Brothers (who recently played with The Meat Puppets) and Baker are two bands we’re really looking forward to seeing live. They’ve been doing well for themselves in their hometown, and with their various indie rock and alternative leanings, should find a responsive crowd here.

Oh, and we’ll be DJing throughout the night.

All the details:

Baker + Chop Shop + Gold Streets + The Self Righteous Brothers
@ The Delancey (STEREOACTIVENYC PRESENTS) / 8:30pm
168 Delancey Street
New York, NY

9pm-10pm – $3 PBR
12am-1am – $6 PBR + whiskey shot

Tags: chopshop, gold streets