action painters

We are playing Mercury Lounge tonight!

2009-07-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

With our buds Robbers on High Street.

They were great, we played w them a year ago it was awesome. Come out.

brilliant

2009-06-13T08:59:00.001-07:00

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

I wanna go surfing!

2009-06-03T23:11:00.001-07:00

I stopped by Annex to see the Drums 2nite. They great!

Jonathan is a superb performer and their hooks are breathtaking. I can't wait to play with them in 2 weeks.

Tom

The Galaxy

2009-05-18T23:02:00.001-07:00

Watch the end where you can see the spine of the Milky Way. Far out...

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Pianos!

2009-05-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

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

Back home!

2009-05-10T22:01:00.001-07:00

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.

Springfield Il

2009-05-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Land of Lincoln and home to egg brothels.

Saint louis sound check

2009-05-05T11:11:00.001-07:00

Knife fight for guns

2009-05-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Tensions mount at Outback Steakhouse, Terre Haute, IN.

Great review of our Pittsburgh show

2009-05-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

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...

Columbus/Day Off etc

2009-05-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

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.

Cleveland, Pittsburgh

2009-05-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

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

Onward...

2009-04-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

It's been ok being back in NYC as the pollen exploded all around us (achoo/sniffle).

We are hitting the road today for Cleveland's Beachland.

Can't wait.

-Tom

ps- here are some random tour photos...

UPDATED TOUR PRESS

2009-04-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

People have been writing about us and our tour.

32Ft Per Second - NYC

Listen up. I'm only going to say this once: Action Painters are the best band in New York... Latest single release "456" comes with an EP Lay That Cable and a spring tour. I shouldn't need to encourage you to see this band. But I will anyways: go see this band. They are probably in your town. As for "456," it is the band's biggest work to date. The scope is utterly enormous.

The Cleveland Bachelor - Cleveland

On Wednesday, Action Panthers from good old Brooklyn, NY, are gonna rock the Beachland. These folks are pretty cool, with a nice indie rock sound that isn't too minimalist. I've been digging these guys since the dudes at Citizen Dick blogged about them last month, and was stoked to see them making their way into town. Allison Zatarain, is a serious contender for my indie rock crush of the week. Not only is she cute and a good writer, but her name reminds me of Cajun food, which is totally awesome.)

Songs in the Key of Touche - Pittsburgh

Their 2007 debut, Chubby Dancer, is solid all the way through, at times wearing post-punk influences shamelessly well, at others shedding them and showing off an original brand of sunny guitar pop that might have lingered and transformed in the night.

It's a sound that should resonate perfectly in the walls of the Southside's Lava Lounge, where they’re playing Thursday night [Apr 30] with Triggers.

Motor City Blog - Detroit

Broken Bell - Philadelphia

Action Painters have been getting a fair amount of buzz lately... it is clear what the buzz is about when you listen to the music - it is undeniably catchy, yet still rough around the edges, exactly what we want from our ‘indie’ rock. Synths add a vintage touch. I don’t think I’ve ever warmed to a band so quickly!

Pasta Prima-Baltimore

It’s Friday night in Baltimore and there’s plenty to see! The Metro Gallery has a good one with Action Painters...

Vinyl Visions- Baltimore

The band's style is similar to that of Julius Airwave, but the amount of energy in their songs set them apart from most groups that share their style.

Brightest Young Things- Washington, DC

Need some action? Action Painters frontman Tom Haslow won’t let you down. But don’t come just for the eye candy (see also: Allison Zatarain on keyboards), not that there’s anything wrong with that. Come for the total package — um, no pun intended — just a little raw and just below the radar.

yvynyl.com-Philadelphia

Some cool indie rock from Brooklyn just landed on my desk and thought I’d share a track with y’all. These guys are on a big ol’ US tour including a stop here in Philly on Saturday night at the North Star Bar with my pals East Hundred

Bag of Songs - Philadelphia

2009-04-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Our sincere thanks to everyone who came out to see us the last few days, especially the Philly maniacs who made our first show there so epic. Each of the last four shows was amazing in its own way. This phase is just beginning for us and it's a beautiful thing that we have discovered.

Being in hot and dirty NYC is way less exciting than it should be.

-Tom

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

2009-04-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

Day 4 of the tour found us in Philadelphia, PA, home of liberty, independence, colonial flags, and sweet sweet colon bombs. We bid a warm fondue to Casa Hankin in the afternoon and rolled into Philly, where, because we're tourists and don't have the sense God gave a danged grasshopper, we proceeded to chow down on delicious, greasy-ass cheesesteaks on Market Street and completely cripple ourselves for the next several hours. (Occasionally I tease Allison about being a vegetarian -- after that, never again.)

The afternoon in Philly was gorgeous -- hot and sunny and amenable to the rabble-rousing that was happening in front of Independence Hall. We took a pleasant walk around Olde City, probably the only neighborhood in America that can legitimately put an e at the end of "Old." Lessons learned: a) unlike New York, which spaces out its squares (Union, Herald, Times, etc.) every twenty blocks or so, Philadelphia decided to put all of its squares in a single, centralized square district; b) if you lose your metronome, consider getting a horse and putting it on a treadmill; c) when you don't know what you're looking at or talking about, every building's stairs look just like the stairs from Rocky.

North Star Bar is a really kick-ass venue. It's huge, it's got a sweet balcony, it's got a cozy green room downstairs (which was blissfully cool, considering we rocked the main room up to about 130 degrees and 400% humidity), and errebody's real friendly. The place was packed, the crowd was fired up, and we melted some faces. East Hundred, our band-friends who hooked us up down Philly-way, played a fearsomely tight set right after us and brought the place down. We were glad to see some familiar faces that night, including Ray's ladyfriend Cameron and her ladyfriends; Amit's buddy Todd from Holy Land days; and my high school friend Adam, who I used to tool around the B-more suburbs with, driving a ridiculous white minivan and generally acting a fool.

We're back in NYC for a couple days and then it's off to the heartland: Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and points west, south, and sort of east. (We're just setting the GPS to the intersection of Bread Basket and Rust Belt and seeing where it takes us.)

--Joe

Baltimore Pixxx

2009-04-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

Joe here. Just adding a couple of pictures to Ray's account of our night in Baltimore:

On stage at Metro Gallery, Baltimore, Md. The backdrop was a crazy painting!

Departing from Casa Hankin. My dad doesn't actually report for the New York Herald circa 1932, that's just the only hat he has.

2009-04-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

Couple Baltimore Pictures...

Hopefully this one captures how cool Metro Gallery is:

And this one definitely captures 2 things. 1, that Joe's parents are the coolest, and 2, that they are truly accepting of Amit and Joe's new "lifestyle:

-Tom

2009-04-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Action Painters bassist/ghost writer Ray here.

Night three of the tour brought us to the Metro Gallery in Baltimore. Right after unloading we gave an interview to B'more blog Vinyl Visions (whose writers had to talk their way in after they were turned away for being under 21). Pretty in-depth stuff, too; we covered everything from favorite food to the difference between a Venn diagram and a Van diagram, the latter being who gets shotgun on the looming nine hour drive to Athens, OH.

We played against the backdrop of artist Brian C. Baker's ethereal painting series Soulforms, whose massive scale fit the giant gallery space just right. Nice turnout since the show doubled as AP guitarist/local hero Joe Hankin's homecoming (big ups once again to the 'rents, Craig and Esther Hankin).

Loaded out, drank down the street at Club Charles, piled back in the van and headed to Paper Moon for a 2 AM early/late breakfast with Joe's electron microscopist buddy Ned, called it a night.

So now it's on to Philly for cheesesteak and cheap beer. I promise I will blackout by the end of the night since my girl Cameron will be in attendance, and today she turns 23! It is impossible to outdrink a birthday girl, although I will give it my all.

On a serious note I've gotta say RIP Bea Arthur from our very own Golden Girls superfan and keyboardist Allison.

Come on Philly.

tour press

2009-04-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

People have been writing about us and our tour.

Broken Bell

Pasta Prima

Vinyl Visions

Brightest Young Things

yvynyl.com

Bag of Songs

Day 2 - New Hope - New Bag of Corn Chips

2009-04-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Day 2
Venue: John & Peter's
City: New Hope, Penn.
Band's Caloric Intake: 6800
Band's Mood Ring Color: Orangish
Phrase of the Day: "Get me awaaaay from those Fritos"

After several hours of serene suburban sprawlin' we got into pre-gig mode. Applied make up, stretched out our jazz hands and played a variety of Commie trust games. On our way out of Baltimore we stopped for a spiritual re-charge at the local Guitar Center. I bought some sticks, Allison bought a keyboard stand, Tom was trying to barter with a guy in Pro Audio for his goatee - but failed.

In the car I devised a game that I believe will catch on very quickly in the US - The rules are simple, the pleasure is unimaginable. It doesn't have a name yet but I am open to suggestions. Basically, one names 2 real full names from ones high school and one made-up name. After this, the other bored, nauseous passengers then have to guess which name is bullshit. Extra points for you if you can keep the first name constant (i.e. John Glenn, John Roberts, John Balls) or construct believable sounding Indian surnames.

Three short hours later we arrived in New Hope. New Hope is a great town if you like over priced tie-dye gear and yuppies pretending to be hippies pretending to like you. I kid, I kid, its a great town, home to The Bucks County Play House, where I won an acting award several years back for my one man review "Shelly Long: Where The Shit Are You?"

We arrived at the bar and announced ourselves. This was met with smiles and confusion since we walked into the wrong fucking bar. Too bad- the bar looked cool. At the right bar, John and Peters, we loaded out with the help of some locals who were wonderfully kind and juiced for our set.

John and Peters is a cool looking venue, cavernous and cottagey - blues & rock semi- famous rockers pictures pepper the walls. The stage is situated smack in the middle of the room and carpeted really really nicely. I think the stage doubles as a gymnasium for toddlers during the days. The sound is pretty good and the lighting rig is no joke man.

We set up, drank beer, ate various foods and talked to locals. We hit the stage with a mission to rock and by all accounts succeeded - though Tom's amp died two songs in, and the NHL playoffs are systematically trying to fuck our draw, we overcame these obstacles and played a spirited and energetic set. The highlights included a powerful "Sooner or Later," "That's Alright Momma" Featuring Z-Cup on lead vox, and my personal fav of the night Tom sharing with the audience that he is indeed the son of Cindy Lauper and either Sting or Captain Lou Albano.

The crowd felt our heat and were thoroughly entertained. We made some friends, some cash and a thoroughly strong enough response by the club to be asked back again on a Saturday - Holla Holla!

And so we did our thing in New Hope and hit the road back to Baltimore. On the way home I once again debated Tom on the merit and glory of right wing, religious or wacky sports talk radio. Allison and Joe slept, Ray serviced himself in the back row for most of the trip, all the while barking uncontrollably every time he saw a bright red car. Why do you do that Ray...? Perhaps we will find out later this tour.

Amit

More photos + video (below post has max of 5 lame)

2009-04-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

A few pics from this morning + video from last night.

Day 2 of the Tour in New Hope: A Night of Firsts

2009-04-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to write much today cause it's technically "Amit's day." Whatever. Today is day #3 of the tour. We played New Hope last night after a failed attempt at stenciling the amps and drums (who knew the spray paint we found in Joe's parents' garage would be old and empty?)
New Hope was quaint and smokey. You can smoke inside there no shit. Joe, Ray, and Tom had cigs hanging from their lips while rocking it, which looked like more trouble than it was worth to me. We played to a rocking room, and since we were the only band on the bill we kept the jams coming despite Tom's blown amp. I sang a little "That's Alright Mama" live for the first time for the enjoyment of everyone. I also played behind a double-stack keys stand for the first time - very strange. Wall of keys! A night of firsts indeed. Here are some photos - enjoy!
XO,
Allison + Action Painters

Day 1 of tour in DC: AWESOME!

2009-04-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Day 1 of the tour is already over. We drove all day yesterday from NY to DC. The band gave my shotty cause I get mad carsick.

We got to DC early (thank you traffic gods) and parked right outside of the Red & the Black club. Then we took a leisurely, google-map guided stroll to the Capitol Building. I got a looksy from a senator and I felt the power. Then we returned to the club to set up our stuff and got ready to rock the f*ck out!

The show was amazing. The attic-like room at the Red & the Black was packed and very sweaty. We were stoked since this was our first trip to DC - we will definitely be back. The sound gal had to cut us off, (we had to wait for the hockey freaks to trickle in post-game), the crowd was asking for more, and we left them with a little Cyndi Lauper action.

Day 2 of the tour has begin. We woke up at Joe's parent's house in the middle of nature in the outskirts of Baltimore. I already have a gimp arm from playing Wii tennis against Tom, who I beat like a bitch. (Ok then he beat me but I totally let him). I think we're going to do some ill stenciling to our gear - the world will know our name.

Over and out for now,
Allison (+ Action Painters)

TOUR STARTS WEDNESDAY IN DC

2009-04-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

WE WILL BE BLOGGING DAILY HERE.

COME OUT AND SEE US!

AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD AN ALBUM'S WORTH OF AP TUNES AT WWW.ACTIONPAINTERSBAND.COM.

TOUR DATES:

4/22/09 Washington DC - THE RED AND THE BLACK
4/23/09 New Hope, PA - JOHN AND PETER’S
4/24/09 Baltimore, MD - METRO GALLERY
4/25/09 Philadelphia, PA - NORTHSTAR BAR w/East Hundred
4/29/09 Cleveland, OH - BEACHLAND w/GoodTouchBadTouch/Posh Army-ALL AGES SHOW
4/30/09 Pittsburgh, PA - LAVA LOUNGE w/Triggers
5/01/09 Detroit, MI - THE BELMONT - w/Cowboy Messiah
5/02/09 Columbus, OH - TREEHOUSE
5/04/09 St. Louis, MO - OFF BROADWAY - w/Target Market
5/05/09 Chicago, IL - ELBO ROOM
5/06/09 Cincinnati, OH - WOXY Lounge Act Session
5/07/09 Cincinnati, Ohio - NORTHSIDE TAVERN w/The Koala Fires
5/07/09 Athens, OH - THE UNION w/Russenorsk & She Bears
5/08/09 Canton, OH - OLD GLORY
5/09/09 Brooklyn, NY - RETOX- w/Disasteradio
5/11/09 New York, NY - PIANOS - XYZ Affair Residency show

AND SOME UP AND COMING NYC SHOWS:

5/15/09 Brooklyn, NY - NEWSONIC (THE LOFT)
5/28/09 New York, NY - MERCURY LOUNGE w/1990’s
6/13/09 Queens, NY - WONDERLAND COLLECTIVE - ASTORIA

HIPSTER GRIFTER!

2009-04-19T21:34:00.001-07:00

Now I know who stoke my tubescreamer..

Nice

2009-04-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

It's getting warmer in NYC, we're about to go on tour, and damn we're excited. We feel like this:

OUR NEW EP, LAY THAT CABLE, IS OUT!!!

2009-04-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Our new album is out!

You can download it for free at www.actionpaintersband.com/laythatcable.

All we ask is for your email address so we can keep you up to date about future stuff. You can opt out whenever bro.

We have to thank the following people: Helge Bernhardt for co-creating and shooting the video for "456" and mixing 2 songs, Natalie M for shooting the vid, Jason Whalen for the beautiful cover art, Jesse McLean who is designing the t-shirts we will soon print and who's been a huge support in many ways, Dave Kross for playing bass on the tracks, and Peter Wade for keeping us motivated and on our game.

This EP is a little blip of what we are planning for this year, so enjoy it and expect more stuff soon...

Also, the blogs are blowin' up about it! Here are what some lovely and kind music writers have said about it.

http://citizendick.org/2009/03/31/action-painters-citizen-dick-news-alert/

http://www.boomboomchik.com/2009/03/action-painters-new-ep.html

http://bonafidedarling.blogspot.com/2009/03/action-painters-lay-that-cable-ep.html

http://youretheshitandimkneedeepinit.blogspot.com/2009/03/lay-that-cable-open-door.html

http://yourexloverisdeadblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/ye-lid-news-action-painters-done.html

http://insomniaradio.net/2009/03/31/action-painters-money-changes-everything/

http://ihavemadeyouamixedtape.blogspot.com/2009/03/btla-vol-3.html

http://www.sitkot.com/2009/04/new-tracks-and-upcoming-shows.html

Cool YYY's vid from 2003

2009-03-25T15:44:00.001-07:00

Just came across this today randomly. Makes me miss the early 00's. -Tom

I love Obama but he hates kittens.

2009-03-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

Lil' Bloggggg listings

2009-02-18T07:58:00.000-08:00

We are featured in a new UK mag called Fashion/Music/Style

http://www.fashionmusicstyle.com/current_issue.htm

Sooner or Later was featured here:

http://catalouge.blogspot.com/2009/02/february-tracks.html

A hot listing in NY Press from last week:

http://www.nypress.com/blog-3417-live-tonight-fiasco-action-painters-cause-co-motion_-mr-falcon.html

And finally, we are/were in the top 20 indie pop bands on Deli Magazine. The list seems to be fluctuating I guess they have some kind of math at work.

Isn't that special?

Newspapers on Computer

2009-01-31T13:06:00.001-08:00

Prince Harry Military Drill

2009-01-14T10:07:00.001-08:00

Jesus is a friend of mine

2009-01-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

Allison found this...

New Year's Eve

2009-01-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

New Year's was drunken and amazing! We headlined at Lit, which we haven't played in ages, but it was great in that Lit sort of way. Everyone smells a little funny today. Thanks for the insane crowd that turned out. Really awesome.

We're playing Mercury Lounge on Jan 22nd. B there!

Action Painters in 2008 Best-of lists...

2008-12-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

Some great music blogs are rating us in their best-of 2008 lists, and are even copping our lyrics to title their entries.

Sonic Parthenon
Action Painters
Two reviewed gigs this year - including a Bowery gig that completely trounced the Siren Festival going on earlier in the day - established Action Painters as THE band to watch in New York City. The single "Supermarket" only helped that cause. And they'll be your band to take you into 2009 should you choose to attend their New Year's Eve gig at the Lit.

32FtPerSecond.."words don't seem to stick in my mind..."
Action Painters are a band with whom I should have a better relationship. I like their music a lot but I grossly mismanaged an interview that I did with them for The Deli Magazine and now they must think I'm the least credible pseudo-journalist in New York City. Well. This isn't an apology. "SuperMarket" could be even higher than this but I was terrified about my own desire to make it up to them. This is an attempt at objectivity. And this song is objectively the bounciest (not a technical term) song of the year. It's like rubber and springs melted down into a snyth-rock masterwork. So blast off.

Snow Dope By Dean Haspiel

2008-12-20T23:17:00.000-08:00

From the Times
Click on each picture to read. I'm too retarded to know how to make the images larger. -Tom

Fearless Music Photos

2008-12-19T13:21:00.001-08:00

We taped Fearless Music this week. It was real fun. We warmed up on the other side of the building where the entire space was being renovated, then shot the show. Photos are all by Josh Wehle.

Amazing video. This is Fear on SNL in 1981.

2008-12-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

Video for 456 up now!

2008-12-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

NEW VIDEO AND SINGLE!!!

2008-05-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yes two for Tuesday.

The video for SOONER OR LATER is finally done!

Also, the first single from our upcoming album is in the can. It is called Supermarket.

Check it out at our myspace page. www.myspace.com/actionpainters

Also, we're playing a huge show at Merc on 5.22 with Bear Hands, Saints & Lovers, and Jaguar Club. It'll be a great nigh so come out brotha.

Last Nite @ Mercury Lounge was the best nite.

2008-04-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to our show last night.

It was incredible to see so many faces at Mercury Lounge.

Robbers were great. Plus are really cool dudes.

Our next show is in Brooklyn, next Friday, April 18th at the Glasslands Gallery Lolita Party. We're looking forward to this one as it's brooklyn, a cool different venue and a different crowd. Gotta love it.

XO
AP

Quick update 2-12-08

2008-02-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

We are still writing and recording. All is well. We are eating lots of vegetables. We miss playing out tremendously.

We are working with wunderkind producer Peter Wade. He is the man. He's got great pop sensiblity but knows how to make it rock.

Expect a new Enhanced CD EP in Spring 2008, which will include new songs, live songs, and our first VIDEO.

Expect hot NYC/Northeast USA shows beginning in April.

We're playing a gig this weekend at a college upstate called RPI. We'll be debuting a couple new tunes, then back into our cave.

In the meantime, check out our new flash website at www.ActionPaintersBand.com. It's spiffy.

We are really stoked about 2008. It's gonna be amazing.

XO
AP

Mercury Lounge show review...

2007-11-08T23:20:00.003-08:00

From a blog called vLES:

"Being relatively new to this crazy city, I thought it would take months, maybe years to see a local, up-and-coming band tear up the stage and light it on fire.

Especially the way these guys did recently at the Mercury Lounge. For a band that has only been around less than a couple of years, they absolutely smoked it.

I had no idea who was headlining the triple bill the other night, but after getting a load of these guys and their killer tunes, infectious energy, and amazing live performance, I just assumed that these guys were it. I was all like, "I'm out. Seriously, take me to JFK, I'm flying home to Melbourne; I'm happy", before friends calmed me down, took my passport, and torched it before I could bail. That sure sucked, but for this show, it was worth it.

These guys have a kind of Bloc Party/Strokes thing going on and their new album is packed full of "life kicks ass, so let's jump around for no reason" goodness. Named after the method of creating art that relies on nonstop vigorous activity, they've got it all before them and me thinks they're even closer to hitting the big-time than Oprah is to her next breakdown. Get jumpin' for more..." --Dave Martin

Check out the site, vLES

Recap 11-8-07

2007-11-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

A quick recap of goings on.

Last few weeks have been a blur for us. Some NYC shows: Annex with this Icelandic band Jakobinarina, who will be big it's just a matter of time. They could be Tokyo Police of '08. CMJ at Europa: Solid show, cool space but the highlight was the statuesque Polish bartender. Mercury Lounge with Figurines and Dappled Cities was definitely the highlight. It was our second Mercury show in the last few months and it's always so great to play there as you can hear EVERYTHING on stage, the sound guys are actually cool to you, and you get to play with bands you genuinely respect.

After that we headed down to Baltimore and played the Automat!c dance party at Ottobar, which is sort of like if Southpaw and Don Hill's had a baby. It's got that really worn in divey feel but still it's big and epic feeling. Huge stage, good lights and sound, Joe's parents came out. It was, as always, great to play to a random crowd who has never heard you before. You have to work to win their love, which makes us raise our game, which makes the whole thing better. Afterwards we stayed to dance to new wave till last call, ate an insanely good 3am breakfast with Gorode who was down there anyway, at this place called Paper Moon. Peter Bogdonovich rules but who knew he could make pancakes. Either we were drunk and hungry or the food really did take a long time, but the waiter with all the tatoos on his head was pretty polite so we couldn't be too angry. Crashed in a hotel somewhere downtown then got up early because of the time change and drove back to NYC.

Last night we played what should be our last NYC show for a while, doing a gig at GalleryBar on Orchard St. for this cool line of t-shirts from KiserNy.com. Very cool stuff and a great group of people running the whole operation. When we got there there was this diminutive chick hanging out with a DJ running through some tunes and it was like, woah, it's Tippy. She's this crazy hip hop girl we know from around who writes her own beats and has this sort of electro-rap thing which is really fucking good. I guess she was rehearsing there. Random. The crowd was also far from our regular crowd so same deal there.

That's about it. We're going into hibernation mode now so last post for a while.

Mercury 2nite

2007-11-01T22:51:00.000-07:00

This was a great night. We really felt like we were humming on all cylinders tonight. Great Great. Dappled Cities really blew us the fuck away, as did Figurines.

So Friday is off and reserved for recovery and massive sleep quantities, then Saturday it's a drive to Ottobar in Baltimore. I went there about a year ago when I was randomly in Baltimore and went to see Agent Orange, this old school hardocore band, but they never showed up because their van broke down or some such nonsense. So here's to hoping our van does not break down.

If you're in Baltimore, you know where the party iz at.

-T

Things advertised on TV at noon on a weekday

2007-10-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

Denture cream
Bladder control medication
Medicare assistance
Erectile Disfunction

CMJ and other observations

2007-10-20T12:59:00.001-07:00

CMJ week is here and we've been making the most of it. Went to see Alberta Cross at Southpaw on Tuesday who were pretty great. We played a great set at Europa in Greenpoint on Thursday night followed by random partying in Brooklyn and then the LES.

Friday night checked out quite randomly a band called The Teeth who blew me away. The best part of CMJ beyond playing it yourself is managing to catch random bands you wouldn't normally see or even hear about. They're from Philly and really brought the noise with a tight syncopated punk/folk thing that I've never quite heard before. Something between the 2nd CYHSY album, Violent Femmes, Tom Waits. Hard to really pinpoint but unbelievably tight, great harmonies and you could tell they were all true musicians.

Also saw a solid band called We Are Wolves at Ruff Club who introduced themselves by saying "we are We Are Wolves".

Wandered out into the sidewalk to watch people smoke cigarettes and it was a beatific dream as if the entire LES scene had been condensed into a half a city block. Was a true carnival and in a semi-intoxicated state one sensed that right now in NYC there is something truly amazing happening in this intersection between music, fashion, new media, self-published fame and the longings of youth. I really think that people will look back on this time in NYC as a truly great era where so many people cared so much about music and the particular nightlife which now exists. People are still infatuated with re-imagining themselves online and dressing to be photographed and it is still NEW. It soon won't be. It's almost over but for now it's important to remember that nothing like this has ever happened.

---

In other news, It is a very important time for us. We're playing the last two shows of what turned into be a very intensive summer and fall. It's been amazing exploring all these cities and towns and schools of the northeast and playing better and better places each time, but we all have been talking about how we want to record some of our newer material, and finish half-written ideas that we've had for months, so after our Mercury Lounge show with the Figurines, and our Ottobar show in Baltimore, that we're going to crawl back into the studio and write and record like our lives depended on it for at least a couple of months and then launch back into the live insanity.

-T

Hello world

2007-10-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is our new blog. Check it out for our latest news and ramblings on all manner of subjects.