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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Previously Unreleased Pantera Track Surfaces "The Will To Survive"


Pantera is working on some deluxe edition albums and has apparently dug up a bunch of old unreleased tracks. "The Will To Survive" comes from the Cowboys From Hell sessions and it's fucking awesome! You can stream it on Facebook (link below).

It's obvious why they cut it though. Pantera was in the middle of a makeover during the CFH days. They wanted to ditch their roots as a high pitch, glam metal band (yes, they were totally glam at one point) and establish themselves amongst the whiskey drinking, tattoo'd maniac bands like Slayer. They succeeded a thousandfold at this, mostly by ditching tunes like "The Will To Survive". But that doesn't mean the songs weren't totally bad ass. In fact this track has the heaviness of a CFH track but with the vocal style of their earlier stuff, which overall gives it an almost Iron Maiden / Judas Priest type of feel.

Pay close attention and you'll even hear the riff from "This Love" in there!

Link: 

New Matt & Kim Track "Cameras"

Matt and kim

Matt & Kim have released a single from their new album. The track is called "Cameras". I'm listening to it as I type this and well, it's different. I mean it still sounds like Matt & Kim but just going in a totally different direction. They've ditched the minimalist approach and have layered on the multi-tracking. The general vibe is a bit more mellowed out than the high energy, up-tempo party jams we all grew to love. But is it bad? Nope. I just don't think I'll be cranking it up at my next BBQ.

Link: 

Deer Tick Adds Brooklyn Show (11/10)

Last week I mentioned that Deer Tick was going on tour but skipping good ol' NYC. Well, it seems that the situation has been remedied. Deer Tick will be stopping by Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 10th.

deer tick

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Today: Out In The Streets Music Festival & JellyNYC Rock Yard

If you want some fun in the sun and you're in Brooklyn you've got two killer options. If you're in Bushwick there's the Out In The Streets fest, which is a street party with tons of bands including Sigmund Droid, Shadowbox, Fan-Tan and more. They're handing out free beer from 3-5pm, cover is $10. If you're in the burg then check out the JellyNYC Rock Yard. Motel Motel is playing that one with CSC Funk Band and bunch more. That party is free!


Friday, August 27, 2010

The Two Tears Playing Beauty Bar Tonight + MP3 (Free Download)


I got an email about The Two Tears about a week ago and have been meaning to write something up about them. Today seemed like a good time for a post since they're playing at Beauty Bar Brooklyn tonight. The Two Tears play really well done garage rock. There are so many fucking garage rock bands these days it's almost impossible to stand out but this band manages to make a splash. I haven't seen them live but with tunes like this it just has to be a good time.

Link:

MP3:
The Two Tears, featuring KERRY DAVIS on guitar and vocals, Ryan Spoto (Des Roar) on bass and Justin Ennis (Mutilation Rites) on drums, combines pop influences and clever lyricism with elements that come straight from the garage. Davis started out in 90's LA girl group the RED AUNTS, who boasted producer credits by BRETT GUREWITZ and the much revered MICK COLLINS of GORIES and DIRTBOMBS fame. She went on to join Collins as drummer in the Screws (In The Red Records) and played in Beehive and theBarracudas (Flapping Jet, Swami), which feature San Diego's finest musicians, including former members of the Rocket from The Crypt and Hot Snakes.

Spirit Family Reunion Playing Tonight + MP3 (Free Download)

View All Photos | Spirit Family Reunion

About a week ago I saw Spirit Family Reunion for the first time. They went from being completely off my radar to one of my favorite Brooklyn bands after only hearing one or two songs live. Tonight they're playing Zebulon in Brooklyn with Morgan O'Kane, who they played with last time. Morgan O'Kane is more than worth coming out for alone, the dude is brilliant on a banjo, so coupled with Spirit Family Reunion I don't think you can miss this shindig.

If you're a fan of Forest City, O'Death, The Goddamn Rattlesnake or any other Brooklyn band rooted in folk, bluegrass, country or any other Americana roots music you'll love this band. They have a way of taking you straight out of Brooklyn and bringing you right to Appalachia. Seeing Spirit Family Reunion live is like going on a 30-minute vacation to place where life is simple and sweet.

Link:

MP3:


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Tonight: Smell The Glove @ St. Jerome's (Open Bar, No Cover)

The best party in town is tonight at St. Jerome's. Why is it the best you ask? Well, it's simple - it's my party! We've been throwing Smell The Glove since March and it just gets better and better every time. If you haven't attended yet, STG is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the glory days of hair metal and hard rock. We'll drink hard all night to fist pumping jams by AC/DC, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses, Motorhead, New York Dolls, Twisted Sister and late night we'll thrown in some heavier shit like Maiden and Sabbath. The last few parties have been jam packed all night so don't fucking miss it!

Oh, and MyOpenBar, FreeNYC, Broke Ass Stuart and Booze Party say you should come party at STG too! This will be the last Smell The Glove until October, we're taking off September, so you better be there.

Link:

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Deer Tick On Tour (Not Playing NYC) + New MP3 (Free Download)

deer tick

Deer Tick just announced a bunch of tour dates that hit all the big cities, except the biggest. Sorry NYC, no Deer Tick for you...or us, I should say. It's a bummer but at least we got a new MP3 out of the deal.

Link:
Deer Tick MySpace

MP3:

Santana Butchers My Favorite Beatles Song

So apparently Santana has a new album coming out and he's following his magic formula of teaming up with a bunch of semi-annoying pop stars to handle vocal duties. The new album consists of covers of classic "guitar songs." The first single is a cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles, featuring India Arie and Yo Yo Ma. It's my favorite Beatles song ever and well, he thoroughly ruined it.

The kicker is they went as far as to watermark the stream of the song so I can't even share that...the stream. Not an MP3 download, the stream. Sorry, they must really not want people to hear this turd. They did send this sweet image though, enjoy.


Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Thee Oh Sees "Meat Step Lively" Video + NYC Show Dates


Thee Oh Sees have a new video out for their tune "Meat Step Lively." They're also playing two shows in NYC on September 21st. The first show is at 4pm with Pavement at Central Park. Then it's downtown to Santos Party House to play again at 6pm.

Link:

Tonight: Ra Ra Riot & Motel Motel Release Parties With Vampire Weekend, Chairlift & Violens!

Tonight we've got two awesome bands, Ra Ra Riot and Motel Motel, throwing record release parties in Brooklyn. Ra Ra Riot will be DJing alongside their buddies Vampire Weekend at Brooklyn Bowl, which is free and has some kind of Cabo Wabo tequila deal. Motel Motel is having their party over at Union Pool with DJ sets from Chairlift and Violens. That one costs $8, which is kind of a bummer.

Link:

Monday, August 23, 2010

Cerebral Ballzy On NME Top 50 List


Last week or so NME released it's top 50 bands of 2010. There were a few NYC bands that one might expect to be on there like Freelance Whales, Sleigh Bells and The Drums. What got us totally stoked was to see our homeboys Cerebral Ballzy on the list at number 22! Now don't get us wrong, Ballzy is fucking rad and deserve it as much, or more, than the others. We just didn't think NME was down with grimy, Brooklyn punk bands. Who knew? Anyway, congrats to Cerebral Ballzy who, coincidentally, have been killing it over in the UK for the past few weeks. I guess the NME staff were raging at one of the shows.

Link:


American Fangs (Free MP3)

View All Photos | metal up yr ass | AMERICAN FANGS

I got an email about American Fangs a couple of weeks ago. I almost didn't listen because the logo and language gave a distinctly emo/screamo/pop punk kinda vibe. But the dudes in the band photo didn't really look like emo pussies so I gave it a go. Well, it turns out that while there are traces of pop punk, American Fangs are way more on par with a band like The Bronx. Like The Bronx, these dudes could easily share a stage with shitty Warped Tour bands but could also go the other way and open for, say, the Fucked Up's of the world.

American Fangs are in town on October 5th with Four Year Strong and The Wonder Years, who suck, but also with Comeback Kid, who are mostly awesome. See, basically this tour is exactly what I was saying.

Link:

MP3:

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Joint Was Jumpin' (Morgan O'Kane Played Grand Billiards)

For the past few years I've been going to Absolute Power gym on Grand St. near the Grand L stop. Above the gym is a massive pool hall, which is great for pool but doesn't have much else to offer. Every time I walk by that place my promoter instincts kick in and I just say, "Damn, this place would be awesome for shows and parties."

Well it appears someone finally agrees with me because Grand Billiards is under new management and the shows and parties are under way. Last night was the first of many to come. They kicked it off with a free show featuring Morgan O'Kane and Spirit Family Reunion. On top of it being free they offered up $3 PBR and Beam combos and $4 wells!

If you're not familiar with Morgan O'Kane, he plays what could be described as Appalachian folk, maybe bluegrass, maybe country...call it what you will, it's super bad ass. It's the kind of music you can't help but stomp your feet too. You may have seen Morgan jamming on his banjo in Union Square at some point. He would have likely had a huge crowd around him. Typically he performs solo or maybe with one other person helping out.

Last night Morgan brought out a whole mob of pals. There were at least six people

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Tonight: Morgan O'Kane @ Grand St. Billiards (Free Show)

View All Photos | Tompkins with Casa de chihuahua | Morgan O'kane

Some of you already know this but I had knee surgery two weeks ago. As such, my nightlife activities have been limited to...well, nothing. I haven't been out since surgery simply because getting around hurts. Today I needed to get out of the house so I went for a "walk," which is limited to about 2 blocks from my apartment. As I was passing my gym a punky looking chick came out with a sign.

The sign said "Tonight Morgan O'Kane. Free Show, starts at 8pm. $3 PBR+whiskey special. $4 Wells." First off, fuck yeah cheap as shit booze! Second, fuck yeah rowdy bluegrass folk music! And finally...wait, what? The show was happening at the pool hall above the gym. I went inside to inquire and was told the pool hall is under new management and tonight was their first show. Yeah, buddy! I love when shows feature excellent talent, cheap booze and are within crutchin' distance. I will be there with bells on.

Link:
Grand Street Billiards

**If you haven't figured it out yet Morgan O'Kane is that dude that plays banjo in Union Square all the time and has huge crowds surrounding him. He's fucking killer.

Morgan O'Kane
@ Grand Street Billiards (750 Grand St.)
8PM
FREE
$3 PBR+shot, $4 wells

New Soundgarden Track Streaming + New Album

The song is called "Black Rain" and it's not actually new. They originally recorded it during the Badmotorfinger sessions but never released it. I have no idea why they didn't because it's fucking awesome. Some might say it's a cop out to simply release an old track and bunch it in with the new stuff but I say fuck it. We're talking about Soundgarden here, one of the best ever. They can do anything they want...besides let Cornell release another solo album. Soundgarden will be releasing a new album called Telephantasm on September 28th, you can pre-order it here.

Link:

Andy The Doorbum (Free MP3)

Andy The Doorbum

Andy The Doorbum is weird. The dude looks weird, his music is weird and releasing your album on cassette in 2010 is weird. I, however, have been known to gravitate towards the weirdos of the world. The tunes have a little bit of Tom Waits and maybe a little bit of Mellow Gold era Beck but mostly it's this maniac, hobo, meth-head folk punk sound. Needless to say, it's fucking fantastic. The insanity level is high and clearly not for show. And let me tell you, it's not easy finding pure, uncut insanity these days.

Link:

MP3:
Wallet - Andy The Doorbum

It Could Be Worse

Stanley Creek

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

So How About Tila Tequila at The Gathering of Juggalos?

You've already heard about this whole nutso Tila Tequila shit at Insane Clown Posse's Gathering Of The Juggalos festival. I know you have, it's everywhere. But from the get-go it was mostly word-of-mouth and despite my interest in the whole thing I didn't want to post anything about it just yet. The reason why is my buddy Igor from DrivenByBoredom and The Village Voice was right fucking there within about 15 feet of all this madness, with his camera going the whole time. So I've been waiting for an update from him.

Today he put up a post on DBB with a full update of how it actually went down complete with photos of a bloodied, topless Tila Tequila. Igor talks about how bad ass she is and frankly, from what I've seen, she sure as shit is. I mean, she's onstage being pelted with bricks, explosives, rocks, shit, piss, Faygo soda and God knows what else, all the while still performing, bruised and bloodied with her big, fake tits exposed. As Igor said, it was very G.G. Allin, only the shit and piss came from the crowd and not from her.

Link:

gathering-of-the-juggalos-1452.jpg

MP3:

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

80 Blocks From Tiffany's Trailer (Video)

A documentary about gang culture in the late-70's and 80's in the South Bronx is being rereleased. The original was so rare that a VHS for it sells on Amazon for $80! I'm personally pretty fascinated by the gang culture of that period so I'm pretty excited about this. Check out the trailer and read the blurb for more info. The funny thing is in the suggested videos in YouTube you can actually see the full video, in 8 parts, if you can't wait for the fancy new version to come out.


Director Gary Weis was still working as a short film creator for Saturday Night Live when he came up with the idea for80 Blocks after reading a Jon Bradshaw article, "Savage Skulls." Published in a 1977 issue of Esquire Magazine, the piece centered on two gangs based in the South Bronx at the time -- the Savage Nomads and theSavage Skulls. Weis became infatuated with the story and, soon after striking up a dialogue with Bradshaw, he convinced SNL producer Lorne Michaels to help him produce the film. Just two years later, in 1979, Weis and Bradshaw brought a camera crew to speak with members of both gangs, along with police officers, community activists, and civilians.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Another New Morlocks Track (Free MP3)

The Morlocks Play Chess

Last week we put up a post about the new Morlocks album dedicated to Chess Records and comprised of covers of their classic tunes. We shared "I'm A Man" MP3 and it was the most popular track we've put up on BSC in 6 months, which was kinda surprising. So here's another, "Killing Floor," from the upcoming album Play Chess.

Link:

MP3:
Killing Floor - The Morlocks
(Click the arrow to download)

New Screaming Females Video "I Don't Mind It" (Video + MP3)

The Screaming Females have a new video out for the song "I Don't Mind It." They're playing an all ages show at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on September 15th.

MP3:
I Don't Mind It - Screaming Females

Friday, August 13, 2010

New Tony Castles Song: "Black Girls In Dresses" (Free MP3)


Brooklyn based Tony Castles, featuring a member of Boogie Boarder, just released a new track called "Black Girls In Dresses." It has super light and breezy vibe, perfect for yard hangs in the summer. Keep an eye out for the 5-song EP No Service coming out on September 21st.

Link:

MP3:

Eat Brooklyn: Grand Morelos



If you live around the Grand or Graham L train stops than there's a good chance you're quite familiar with Grand Morelos. It's a 24 hour diner and bakery on Grand and Graham that specializes in authentic Mexican fare. It's pretty roomy and if you can't get a table you can always pull up a stool and sit at the rather long counter. 

The food at Grand Morelos can be broken up into three categories: Mexican, diner and bakery. The menu has something for everyone with food ranging from tacos to turkey clubs to eggs and potatoes. The Mexican food at Grand Morelos is some of the best in the neighborhood. They have authentic Mexican choices like barbacoa, beef tongue, tinga de pollo, chorizo, al pastor and more. These can be applied to just about anything you like be it tacos, burritos and tostadas. Al pastor tacos, chorizo burritos, etc.

But the best bang for your buck are the tortas, in particular the tinga (stewed chicken) tortas. The tortas at Morelos come on an amazing homemade roll with pickled jalapeños, delicious Mexican white cheese and veggies. Ask for them to add some guacamole and bring a side of their famous green sauce and you'll be in heaven. If you want something to wash it down order a michelada (beer and lime cocktail, very popular in Mexico), which is not 

Ancestry.com Will Take Your Money (Beware)


A few months back I decided to sign up for an account with Ancestry.com. I'm very much interested in my families history but know very little about it. An account with Ancestry.com is expensive, about $33 a month! So I decided to sign up for a month or two and do as much research in that time as possible.

The information and databases they have is pretty impressive. I was able to trace my mom's side of the family back to the 1500's! I found out I'm a 5th cousin to Dolly Parton, very distantly related to Ernest Hemingway and I'm related to the famous Morgan family of Wales (Captain Morgan, son!). I was also surprised to find out I had family in New England in the 1600's, some of the first people over after the Mayflower colonists set up shop. I'm also related to a confederate war hero who fought under Robert E. Lee, he was at damn near every major battle during the Civil War (don't worry, he was fresh off the boat from Scotland ie. not a slave owner). And I might actually be a direct descendant of the Royal bloodline of Wales, although the lines get a little fuzzy once you go back to the 1300's. Anyway, it was pretty informative and now well worth the $60 I paid for 2 months.

After two months though I got busy again and didn't have time to continue my research so I cancelled my account, or so I thought. A few weeks ago I was looking through my statements and realized that Ancestry.com continued to charge me after I had cancelled. There were 3 months of additional charges that

Top 5 Downloads This Week (MP3 Roundup)

Every Friday I'm going to re-post the top 5 most popular tracks on Brooklyn Ski Club during that week. This time The Morlocks ran away with it but we had strong showings from Metermaids and Young The Giant as well. Considering Young The Giant has only been up for a day that's pretty impressive. I'm excited to see Forest City made the list, they just beat out Jangula by about two plays to make the top 5.

#1: The Morlocks - "I'm A Man" 

#2: Metermaids - We Ztay Shynin' (Sleigh Bells Remix)

#3: Young The Giant - My Body

#4: Chief - Night & Day

#5: Forest City - Help Me, Help You
 Forest City - Help Me Help You by BrooklynSkiClub

***If you want to download any of these tracks, as opposed to just playing them, click the little arrow on the player. 

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Bottle Up & Go Playing With Titus Andronicus + New Song (Free MP3)


Bottle Up & Go are scheduled to open for Titus Andronicus at the upcoming NAG Benefit at Glasslands on August 18th at Glasslands. Titus Andronicus have been on a tear lately, having just played "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and getting ready for a tour with Free Energy. BU&G will be taking the opportunity to showcase some new tunes which are supposed to be a little more upbeat and poppy than what they're known for.

About a month ago Bottle Up & Go played the Brooklyn Ski Club show at Don Pedro's. The band's drummer Fareed had to split town at the last minute and it looked like we were going to be short a band. But Keenan and Andrew decided to drop by anyway and just play sans drums. They played a set that was heavy on blues covers and pretty damn badass. Coincidentally, they just released a new track which features just Keenan and Andrew performing a cover of O.V. Wright's "That's How Strong My Love Is." And yes, they played this at the show.

MP3:

Young The Giant (MP3 + Video)

View All Photos | Photo by Alex Shahmiri | Young the Giant

Young The Giant are a five piece indie band from California. They recently signed to Roadrunner Records and have a self-titled digital release coming out on October 26th.

Right now they only have one proper song to listen to, and an acoustic version of another, but from what I can tell they're pretty solid. The track is called "My Body" and it reminds me of the New York Howl (mostly the vocals), but more indie and less rootsy, if that makes sense. The track was #1 on Hype Machine already so you've probably heard it but if not you can download it on Brooklyn Ski Club. I'm looking forward to hearing more from these cats.

They're going to be in NYC on September 2nd at Webster Hall, which is cool but if I was booking the tour I'd slip in a Brooklyn show on that off date (9/4) ::hint hint::.

Link:

MP3:


Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The Dirty Pearls Opening For Kiss!

The guest DJ for the last Smell The Glove (Brooklyn Ski Club's monthly party at St. Jerome's) was Marty Concussion from The Dirty Pearls. For the past month or so the band has been competing for an opening slot for KISS, who are playing PNC on August 20th. Well, all of their campaigning and hard work paid off because it was just revealed that they got the gig! For a hard rock band there's really no higher honor than that. Congrats boys! 

The Morlocks Release Album Of Chess Records Classics (Free Download)

The Morlocks Play Chess

The Morlocks new LP (Play Chess), coming out August 24th, pays homage to the music they grew up with. The entire album is covers, remakes and tributes to Chess Records blues classics like "I'm A Man," "Smokestack Lightning," "Killing Floor," "Who Do You Love" and eight others. If you're a fan of classic blues, particularly Chicago/electric blues, and garage rock well then this is a dream come true because you're getting an awesome garage band covering some of the best blues songs ever.

As I said, the album comes out Aug. 24th but you can stream the entire album now and we've even got a free MP3 to hold you over.

Link:

MP3:
Click the arrow on the player to download

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Metermaids Release 5-Song Sleigh Bells EP (Free MP3)

On Saturday we posted the Metermaids Sleigh Bells remix called "Bedford Kings." Well, apparently that was just one piece of the pie because there's a whole Sleigh Bells remix EP, and it's free!

Link:

MP3:

Brooklyn Band: Jangula (Free MP3 Album)

The other day I got an email asking me when the next Brooklyn Ski Club show is and if I'd be interested in booking this band for it. I never heard of Jangula before but the email claimed they've been playing the house party circuit and since some of the best bands start out there I gave it a listen. It's pretty good stuff and while I have yet to see them in action they seem like they would be lotsa fun in a party setting. Brooklyn Ski Club won't be having any shows anytime soon but maybe you can book them for your next rager.

Link:
(You can download their 4-song EP below the MySpace player)


Shows:
Aug. 21st (DJ SET) @ The McKibbin House (125 Manhattan Ave)
Aug 28th @ Bitter End 

View All Photos | Jangula

Monday, August 09, 2010

Chief's Debut Album + NYC Shows (Free MP3 Download)

Modern Rituals

A couple of months ago I went to Union Pool to see what was dubbed as one of the last Wild Yaks shows ever. It was outside during the day and they played as a 3 piece. After they finished up a band from LA called Chief went on. I didn't know anything about them at the time but a few friends of mine seemed super excited about it. After about 30 seconds of the first song I could see why.

Chief's sound, at least from what I saw live, has an "Allman Brothers if they were a mellow indie band" vibe. That's not to say Chief has a particularly country rock sound but there are traces of it here and there. After listening to the single though I'm not sure that comes across in the recording. Nonetheless, describe them as you like, when all is said and done they're just a really good band. They're releasing their debut album called Modern Rituals on August 17th, you can pre-order it here or just stream it on MySpace starting today.

MP3:


Chief has three shows coming up in NYC if you want to check them out live.

Aug 14 - JellyNYC Pool Party (Free show!)
Aug 15 - Governor’s Island w/ Dr. Dog (Free show!)
Aug 17 - Joe’s Pub

Pics from Union Pool

Gunfight Album, Frontier Land (Free MP3)

Frontier Land

One of my favorite Brooklyn bands, Gunfight!, recently released an album called Frontier Land. If you've had the pleasure of seeing these guys live then you'll recognize most of the songs on the album. The recording does a pretty good job of capturing the essence of their live shows. Considering they're one of the absolute best live bands in Brooklyn that's a good thing. If you want to check them out in action they're playing Cameo on August 21st.

The last time we saw Gunfight! was at a loft party with Hank & Cupcakes at the infamous McKibbin Lofts. As always the whole place erupted during Gunfight's set. Literally every single person in the room was dancing and passing around bottles of booze and just going apeshit. I've been to lots of Gunfight! shows and this happens every time, even at square joints like Crash Mansion (check out the video below from a Ski Club show at Crash Mansion, at about 1:54 we get a crowd shot of everyone dancing). Again, you have to go see these guys play live.

In the meantime you can purchase the 12 track album from Amazon for $8.99. And if you're strapped for cash or just want a freebie we've got a free MP3 download of "Woof/Howl."

Link:

MP3:



Pics from the McKibbin Loft show I mentioned





Iced!


Sunday, August 08, 2010

New Band: Headless Horseman, Free Download "Wavlngth" (MP3)

Headless Horseman is a new band with Fareed Sajan (from Bottle Up & Go) and Conner O'Neill. They have four tracks you can stream on their Bandcamp page and we've got one, "Wavlngth," available as a free download. The music is atmospheric and...well, I'm not sure how to describe it but I like it. On the Bandcamp page under tags you'll find: icelandic folk music, hi-fi, lo-fi, glockenspiel, glitch, pop, reverb, baritone ukulele, big beat, percussion, pitch shifting, surf. To that my response is: Yes...exactly. Download the MP3 and enjoy. Maybe smoke a little pot too.

Link:

MP3: