Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Pianos!
We had a lovely show with XYZ Affair on Monday which officially concluded our Spring Tour. We are all exhausted and taking a couple days off before our show this Friday at Newsonic in Bushwick.
XYZ's are superb and really talented. They have some new-ish songs up on their myspace that are dope. We played with them last year at Music Hall of Williamsburg, the night of the torrential downpour of '08.
Monday was the first show of their residency and the last show of our tour. The crowd was really great and, for a NYC crowd, enthusiastic (middle america is just so damn friendly, you forget about NYC...) But it was seriously a blast.
Our set from this show will be broadcast on Jezz Harkin's Breakthru Radio in early June so check back for details. Our pal Helge, who mixed 2 tracks on Lay That Cable, is giving the show a once-over as we speak.
We are really stoked to have some unique and wonderful NYC shows coming up. As mentioned, this friday, May 15th is at Newsonic, which is by all acounts an INSANE party. Then May 28th we're opening for our indie heroes the 1990's at Mercury Lounge. June 13th we're playing the Exit 44 fest at Wonderland with Tigercity, whom we played with at Bowery last year and really dig. We're planning our summer tour in late July/early August, so we should be back in a lot of the places we hit this time around again. We cant' wait!
Tom
XYZ's are superb and really talented. They have some new-ish songs up on their myspace that are dope. We played with them last year at Music Hall of Williamsburg, the night of the torrential downpour of '08.
Monday was the first show of their residency and the last show of our tour. The crowd was really great and, for a NYC crowd, enthusiastic (middle america is just so damn friendly, you forget about NYC...) But it was seriously a blast.
Our set from this show will be broadcast on Jezz Harkin's Breakthru Radio in early June so check back for details. Our pal Helge, who mixed 2 tracks on Lay That Cable, is giving the show a once-over as we speak.
We are really stoked to have some unique and wonderful NYC shows coming up. As mentioned, this friday, May 15th is at Newsonic, which is by all acounts an INSANE party. Then May 28th we're opening for our indie heroes the 1990's at Mercury Lounge. June 13th we're playing the Exit 44 fest at Wonderland with Tigercity, whom we played with at Bowery last year and really dig. We're planning our summer tour in late July/early August, so we should be back in a lot of the places we hit this time around again. We cant' wait!
Tom
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Back home!
We made it back in one piece to Brooklyn last night for a super sweaty set at Retox/Glass House in Bushwick. We were exhausted but had a blast. Disasteradio, a one-piece synth rock freakout session from New Zealand played as well. Fun stuff.
The last few days of the tour were pretty amazing despite being incredibly drained (can you tell how tired we are in this photo?) from so much driving and shitty rest stop food. It's unbelievable that you cannot buy anything fresh off the interstate in this country. I won't rant about it except to say that shitty food makes you feel shitty and it's no wonder this country is so unhealthy.
That aside, the shows were amazing and we met and crashed with some of the most wonderful and friendly people on the planet. Cincinnati was a highlight. We played a short set at WOXY radio, which was such a thrill as we all listen to those guys all the damn time anyway. They are great hosts and super people who love what they do so much. One wishes that there were more people like them, fighting the good fight and doing incredible work out of sheer passion for music and radio. DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE SET AND INTERVIEW HERE.
After the set we killed time for a couple hours, bought some cables at a typically douchey Guitar Center and then went to the Northside Tavern and played an awesome gig with Koala Fires. The turnout was awesome, people danced and shouted. We partied serious.
Here is a review from that show:
The Action Painters got people dancing last night at the Northside Tavern, which is always a good thing for an indie band! The band feels somewhere between The Strokes and The Killers, before both got too commercialized. The Action Painters have the refreshing qualities those bands had when they first started out. They began their set with an unreleased Beatlesesque “How Could It Be So Wrong” and yes I think I even spotted a Harmonica which showed some range. The majority of the evening however they kept the kids dancing to songs like “Sooner or Later” and “456”. The Brooklyn band played a mix of songs from their 2007 album Chubby Dancer, brand new EP Lay That Cable, and some unreleased tracks. They ended with the crowd pleaser from the new EP “Money Changes Everything.” I believe that there will be nothing but good things to come for this band!
We have a ton of NYC shows in the near future, starting with Pianos tomorrow night with the XYZ Affair as they kick off their residency, which is sponsored by OhMyRockness. Sweeeet.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Great review of our Pittsburgh show
This is a great, in-depth review of our Pittsburgh show:
Songs in the Key of Touche
For at least two weeks now, the Action Painters’ debut album, Chubby Dancer, has been in heavy rotation for me. If I had it on vinyl, it would show serious wear along the grooves of “456” and “Sooner or Later.” So my hopes were high last night when they opened for Triggers in the Southside. Thankfully, they killed...
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW HERE...
Songs in the Key of Touche
For at least two weeks now, the Action Painters’ debut album, Chubby Dancer, has been in heavy rotation for me. If I had it on vinyl, it would show serious wear along the grooves of “456” and “Sooner or Later.” So my hopes were high last night when they opened for Triggers in the Southside. Thankfully, they killed...
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW HERE...
Columbus/Day Off etc
No updates for the last few days. Computers have been hard to come by.
We are in the Taj Mahal of Terre Haute, also known as the Holiday Inn.
We had an off day yesterday after four solid days of heavy driving and great shows. The mid-west is more spread out than it looks on the map, let me tell you. We had a great time in Detroit at the Belmont. The gig was a benefit for a local Detroit charity, so it was cool to connect with a local scene in a different way than usual. People were hella friendly, which you may not guess driving through the husk of a city that is Detroit. I always like those kinds of towns with their desolate beauty and no bullshit attitude. People have no pretense, they welcome you like family. Ray won a picnic basket in the silent auction before the bands went on and almost flipped out when he couldn't find it at the end of the night but it turned out to be behind the bar so all was well. My friend Jessicallyn who just moved back to D-troit from NYC to have her first beautiful baby also came to the show. Great to see a familiar face somewhere you've never been before. We played a great set and had a blast. It was a rowdy crowd who'd been drinking since the afternoon it seemed, so the energy carried us throughout the night.
We didn't stay in Detroit after the show and drove straight through the night to Columbus, Ohio. At Columbus we crashed with three college girls who were amazingly gracious hosts. We then headed to our gig: this awesome little club called Treehouse which we liked as soon as we got there. It reminded us of Cake Shop in NYC, but distinctly midwestern: xmas lights strung up throughout, cheap beers, wood paneling, mellow vibes, good juke box. In the live room there is a gigantic tree, must be over 100 years old, growing through the floor and up through the roof into the night sky. Maybe it was the spirit of the tree, but we played one of our best sets of the tour there, and the crowd was at one with us the entire time. The one thing I'm consistently getting off on this tour is how each crowd seems to really connect to almost everything we play. They LISTEN to what we're doing and whether they're dancing, nodding their heads, or just watching from the back, they seem locked in. It's a powerful thing to be a part of and feels like we are tapping into the great vein of music gold every night, letting it take us for a ride.
After our set, Gost Shirt came on and completely slayed. It was without a doubt one of the highlights of our tour to see these guys play. They played a purely creative and high-energy set that went from whisper quiet to punk screaming, but all the while with great feel, hooks, lyrics and heart. Listen to them. We are going to do our best to get them out to Brooklyn in the coming months. They need to be heard.
After the show and many hugs and drugs from and with locals and yocals, we retreated to the back yard of our Columbus hosts for the tail end of a bonfire cook out. Some brilliant friends schooled us on the phrases "off drip" and "off rip". Expect to see these show up lyrically in future AP songs.
Which brings us to yesterday, our off day. Drove to Terre Haute. Hotels are dirt cheap, so a good place to have a free day. We swam in the pool and drank at the bar all afternoon and evening, went to some mainstream chain restaurant and ate unspeakable foods at night, and crashed early and happy.
We are now off to St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati (yay WOXY!!!!), Athens and one other Ohio town which I cannot remember the name of at present, before heading back to Brooklyn.
We will post a ton of photos as soon as we can.
And make sure to TUNE IN ON MAY 6TH AT 4PM EASTERN TIME FOR OUR WOXY.COM LIVE SESSION.
We are in the Taj Mahal of Terre Haute, also known as the Holiday Inn.
We had an off day yesterday after four solid days of heavy driving and great shows. The mid-west is more spread out than it looks on the map, let me tell you. We had a great time in Detroit at the Belmont. The gig was a benefit for a local Detroit charity, so it was cool to connect with a local scene in a different way than usual. People were hella friendly, which you may not guess driving through the husk of a city that is Detroit. I always like those kinds of towns with their desolate beauty and no bullshit attitude. People have no pretense, they welcome you like family. Ray won a picnic basket in the silent auction before the bands went on and almost flipped out when he couldn't find it at the end of the night but it turned out to be behind the bar so all was well. My friend Jessicallyn who just moved back to D-troit from NYC to have her first beautiful baby also came to the show. Great to see a familiar face somewhere you've never been before. We played a great set and had a blast. It was a rowdy crowd who'd been drinking since the afternoon it seemed, so the energy carried us throughout the night.
We didn't stay in Detroit after the show and drove straight through the night to Columbus, Ohio. At Columbus we crashed with three college girls who were amazingly gracious hosts. We then headed to our gig: this awesome little club called Treehouse which we liked as soon as we got there. It reminded us of Cake Shop in NYC, but distinctly midwestern: xmas lights strung up throughout, cheap beers, wood paneling, mellow vibes, good juke box. In the live room there is a gigantic tree, must be over 100 years old, growing through the floor and up through the roof into the night sky. Maybe it was the spirit of the tree, but we played one of our best sets of the tour there, and the crowd was at one with us the entire time. The one thing I'm consistently getting off on this tour is how each crowd seems to really connect to almost everything we play. They LISTEN to what we're doing and whether they're dancing, nodding their heads, or just watching from the back, they seem locked in. It's a powerful thing to be a part of and feels like we are tapping into the great vein of music gold every night, letting it take us for a ride.
After our set, Gost Shirt came on and completely slayed. It was without a doubt one of the highlights of our tour to see these guys play. They played a purely creative and high-energy set that went from whisper quiet to punk screaming, but all the while with great feel, hooks, lyrics and heart. Listen to them. We are going to do our best to get them out to Brooklyn in the coming months. They need to be heard.
After the show and many hugs and drugs from and with locals and yocals, we retreated to the back yard of our Columbus hosts for the tail end of a bonfire cook out. Some brilliant friends schooled us on the phrases "off drip" and "off rip". Expect to see these show up lyrically in future AP songs.
Which brings us to yesterday, our off day. Drove to Terre Haute. Hotels are dirt cheap, so a good place to have a free day. We swam in the pool and drank at the bar all afternoon and evening, went to some mainstream chain restaurant and ate unspeakable foods at night, and crashed early and happy.
We are now off to St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati (yay WOXY!!!!), Athens and one other Ohio town which I cannot remember the name of at present, before heading back to Brooklyn.
We will post a ton of photos as soon as we can.
And make sure to TUNE IN ON MAY 6TH AT 4PM EASTERN TIME FOR OUR WOXY.COM LIVE SESSION.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Cleveland, Pittsburgh
Hey all!
It's been an amazing couple of days. Cleveland' Beachland was a treat: great stage, super hyped crowd, some guys Dave and Alex from Kent State who taped our show for their college TV station, a cool online magazine writer came out to see us too. Beachland gives you free food and plenty of drink tickets, so we were firing on all cylinders on stage. Can't wait to get back there. We will post the interview and footage from the Kent State boys as soon as they put it up.
Pittsburgh last night was insane at the Lava Lounge. Crowd was fantastic, the space itself is a wierd, mod lava cave with cool twists and turns, hot local Pittsburghers, and strong drinks. Triggers, our host band, were super tight and a great band to dance to. Definitely check them out. My mom, who's from Pittsburgh, came out with my long-lost cousin Kim to see us. We are staying at Joe's friend's Kate who is a great host and super cool girl. She took us for perogies at 3am last night.
TO top it off, I ate some tainted french fries a few hours before the show. I'd been sticking to a vegetarian, non-processed food diet the entire tour and the fries were doom. Ray had a disguisting chili dog at the same shitty bar but it seemed only to bolster his constitution, so I dunno what that says. I felt dizzy the entire set and literally saw stars during the 2nd chorus of Supermarket, so while it was weird it was also transcendental.
ok we have to to hit the road for Detroit but i"Ll write more later.
-T
It's been an amazing couple of days. Cleveland' Beachland was a treat: great stage, super hyped crowd, some guys Dave and Alex from Kent State who taped our show for their college TV station, a cool online magazine writer came out to see us too. Beachland gives you free food and plenty of drink tickets, so we were firing on all cylinders on stage. Can't wait to get back there. We will post the interview and footage from the Kent State boys as soon as they put it up.
Pittsburgh last night was insane at the Lava Lounge. Crowd was fantastic, the space itself is a wierd, mod lava cave with cool twists and turns, hot local Pittsburghers, and strong drinks. Triggers, our host band, were super tight and a great band to dance to. Definitely check them out. My mom, who's from Pittsburgh, came out with my long-lost cousin Kim to see us. We are staying at Joe's friend's Kate who is a great host and super cool girl. She took us for perogies at 3am last night.
TO top it off, I ate some tainted french fries a few hours before the show. I'd been sticking to a vegetarian, non-processed food diet the entire tour and the fries were doom. Ray had a disguisting chili dog at the same shitty bar but it seemed only to bolster his constitution, so I dunno what that says. I felt dizzy the entire set and literally saw stars during the 2nd chorus of Supermarket, so while it was weird it was also transcendental.
ok we have to to hit the road for Detroit but i"Ll write more later.
-T
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)