6.20.2008

Ryan Adams Channels Danzig (Song dedication for Man in Gray)

Listen: Ryan Adams - The Sun Also Sets

At first you may think this is your run of the mill pop ballad, but it builds. The payoff is at about 1:55 when Ryan Adams channels his inner Danzig and kind of sounds like he's being strangled, but in a good way (?). There it is.

This is definitely the highlight of his latest album, Easy Tiger, for me. Of course this has been out for a while so he's probably written 5 more albums by now (just check out the craziness posted on his myspace page)

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6.19.2008

What's in your past is still in your future

Dear friends,

A problem. It's way past bedtime and you are having what has become a regular nighttime occurrence; a panic attack. Your head is racing in that middle of the night frenzy of thought, possibilities opening up and closing in billions of tantalizing and terrifying ways. These scenarios are fantastical and unlikely, but they whip up the neurosis into fine, featherweight meringue nonetheless.

Through it all, through the heart racing terror, is your lover dozing on the other side of the bed. Breathing lightly, oblivious to it all. What would they think of this? What would they think if they knew? There are no answers. When sleep comes, and finally it does, it's not peaceful surrender. It hits suddenly, like a slap to the face.

Sleeping/Man in Gray (mp3)


Man in Gray would like to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge today*

About six years ago, my beloved friend Jared made me go see him play with his new band, Man in Gray. I went to humor him and stuck around because despite my cynicism, their giddy enthusiasm won me over. I became a fan. I went to most of their shows. I observed each member's particular strengths and idiosyncrasies and made up nicknames for them all. I liked them. I wanted to see where this ramshackle group of disparate personalities would go, I wanted to hear their music grow and I wanted to be there when they became whatever it is that they were supposed to be. I'm not talking about "making it" - that stuff bores me to tears. I mean something else, a feeling to be experienced where everyone looks around and recognizes it too.

A year or so later, the fangirl unexpectedly turned consort when I took up with MiG's quiet, sly guitarist Jeremy. I wasn't too wild about the role-switch at first. I liked being able to just be a fan, once you become "a girlfriend", the dynamics change. Now you're expected to carry someone's gear in a blizzard and no one will say thank you for your 3AM Sherpa work. No matter. It can't be helped. It's all part of being an insider, right? So wind-whipped and wet, you trudge on home, trying not to slip on the sidewalk and hoping against hope that the next gig will be a dry one.

Multiply that scenario, I have a dozen variations. And for every club that unexpectedly had no sound but somehow turned into a disco, booker that drunkenly fell down a flight of stairs before they could pay you, performance space that wouldn't let in a band member because they were underage, or radio station with mortifying technical difficulties, there were ecstatic moments. I knew those songs, saw them born, cheered them on and sang along to whatever words I could make out. I didn't have to be there but I was. Tired eyes or no.

Man in Gray is playing their last gig TODAY, Thursday, June 19th at The Delancey and it feels like the finale of a long-running, adored, and sometimes infuriating TV series. Whatever will I watch in its place? Thank you Bryan, Jared, Jeremiah, Jeremy and Tina for being my Tuesday night for the past six years. Man in Gray is dead, long live Man in Gray.

Purchase I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing by Man in Gray.

Love, D (Your #1 Fan)

* Inside joke. BECAUSE I CAN.

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6.18.2008

After The Jump '08 THIS Saturday!

Come out to After the Jump Fest this Saturday!

Free t-shirts, Photographs and Giveaways all day!

Plus Raffles to win a pair of tickets to Virgin Mobile Fest, VIP passes to Siren Festival, CMJ Badges and a new Zune with a free 3 month download subscription!


Metromix.com, your online guide for arts and entertainment in New York, will be kicking it all day long at After the Jump Fest 2008, with their very own Street Stage right in the middle of N. 6th st. in downtown Williamsburg. They will also be there taking pictures of the fabulous crowd to post in a special photo gallery.

Make sure and come out to see Pela, Ponytail, Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears, The Forms and over 30 more free bands starting at Noon!

And hey, let us know you are coming! RSVP here ny@metromix.com for your chance to win an Ipod Shuffle courtesy of Metromix.com.

After the Jump would like to thank its sponsors for helping make this year's festival possible:

Metromix.com

Stereofame

Gen Art Pulse

Brooklyn Brewery

Vitamin WaterSnoozer Loser

Uncensored InterviewBlog Fresh Radio

CMJ Music MarathonRize

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6.11.2008

After The Jump '08!

Dear friends,



Here is the official After the Jump Fest flyer, designed by Rob Corradetti of Mixel Pixel (also playing the evening show at ATJF). Taking over the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Galapagos Art Space, and a substantial chunk of North 6th Street starting at noon on June 21st, ATJF is partnering with Make Music NY, Metromix, Stereofame and others (including over 40 bands) to support underfunded New York City school music programs.

Love, D

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6.05.2008

Calling All Unsigned Bands in/near NYC!!!

Want to open the ATJ Fest 2008 on Saturday, June 21st?

If you answered 'yes', enter here.

Winning act will also collect $2000.

Good luck!

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6.04.2008

Don't let my heart turn sore

Dear friends,

This past Sunday, The Monkey and I celebrated our fifth anniversary. In terms of relationships, they say you should celebrate your wedding anniversary over any other but since there was no party, most of our family and friends couldn't be there, and we picked it because it was the last Friday before the end of the month, that particular date holds little meaning to me. June 1st does however. It wasn't the first day we met or even our first date, but it is the day we both stopped being cautious about one another. I couldn't replace it.

As a shotgun wedding present, our beloved landlords gave us a gift certificate to eat at this fancypants joint called Rosewater. It's the kind of place where, if you're anything like us, you can barely keep a straight face after you order. Because attempting to sound blithe whilst saying "Crudo di Opah" is tough. We ate without having to do menu-math and had dessert (chocolate banana tart with coconut sorbet - yowza!) too. It was all delicious. I gazed moonily across the table at J and asked him for another five years. He looked surprised and said, "Only five?" to which I replied, "In five years, I'll ask you for ten." He agreed to this arrangement. The two of us (and our shadow third) walked back home hand in hand on a hushed 6th Avenue and talked about various things as the tall, verdant trees rustled sweetly overhead.

Palate cleanser, anyone?

Stay (Just A Little Bit More)/The Dø (mp3)

The Dø are somewhere nicer than where you are right now.

Stay (Just A Little Bit More) is totally unrepresentative of this band's sound and totally unrepresentative of my feelings about my fella. I'm just using it because if you completely ignore the bitterness invoked in the lyrics*, Olivia Merilahti's sweet, coquettish voice makes the whole thing sound like strolling in the park with a winsome lass. For more information about The Dø and another track to sample, go read this fine gent's post.

Purchase A Mouthful by The Dø.

Love, D

* I don't make of habit of ignoring song meaning but thanks to the fact that most of the music I listen to nowadays first gets played on my tiny little computer speakers at work, the lyrics are the last thing catching my ears. It's like listening to music back in Chile and English is foreign language all over again.

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