So uh, Frances McDormand was at Death By Audio last night

yeah, um, Frances McDormand was at Death By Audio last night... for real.

Last night, around 10pm, I was standing up near Tara, the door girl, at Death By Audio. I had booked a show for two french bands, The Liminanas and Gaz Gaz (who play again tonight at Cake Shop, fyi), and I was doing my normal thing where I stress out like crazy and hover near the door, waiting for more people to arrive. The Gytters were playing, and people were steadily coming in, when Frances McDormand opened the door to Death By Audio, walked inside and stood there, staring at the wall.
After a few minutes she turned to me and Tara and said "I'd like to see this, what do I have to do?"
I replied "Pay $7," which seemed like a pretty simple solution. She said she needed cash and ran out the door. In under a minute she was back, handed Tara a twenty and ran into the venue.
Now some people have given me shit about charging her, but honestly? I'm all for charging celebrities, they surely can afford a $7 cover, right?
Once inside she stood near the sound booth and immediately started dancing like crazy to the Gytters set. The room started buzzing with whispers of "is that Frances McDormand?" as she let loose and had fun.
After the Gytters were over she came over to talk to me, I guess thinking I was in some kind of position of authority, and said "Why doesn't anyone move?"
I asked her who she was there to see, thinking maybe she had read about the French bands, and she said "I'm not here to see anyone, but don't people your age dance?"
I said "Oh, I don't know, maybe we're all just indie snobs?" (which in hindsight was not the best thing to say) and suggested she stay to check out the French bands.
She just responded, "Well I can't believe people your age don't dance! I guess people my age don't dance either," and left just as quickly as she had arrived.
So there you have it. Frances McDormand randomly wandered into Death By Audio, a place that is not really easy to wander into. How did she end up there? Maybe she was eating at Williamsburger and heard some music from outside? Maybe she has friends in the neighborhood? Maybe she just wanders the streets of South Williamsburg late at night, looking for a dance party?
The world may never know.

MORE SHOWS PLZ

So, it seems that all of a sudden I've managed to book another awesome show. How about that? This one's a real good one too... trust me, you don't want to miss it.
Two awesome bands are coming up from Nashville, and if you've ever met me before, you know that Nashville bands are my favorite bands.
I'm super excited to see The Paperhead, an awesome young band that has an LP on Trouble In Mind and a single on Nashville's Dead. They're psychy and slow and drawn out and dreamy. I bet it'd be cool music to listen to on "grass" but I don't do pot so I wouldn't know (no downers).
Also excited to see D. Watusi for the first time... it's the new band from Ben Todd, the brilliant mind behind Nashville's Dead (and my close personal friend). They're more on the rock end of the spectrum, but like, the best rock.
Listen to their mp3s below and be happy and toe-tappy. Both bands play at Death By Audio on Thursday with The Hairs and The Gytters, as well as at Bruar Falls on Friday with Conversion Party and Royal Shoals. Come out and party. Free hugs.


The Paperhead -- Can't Keep My Eyes Open

The Paperhead -- Do You Ever Think Of Me?

D. Watusi -- I Hate You

D. Watusi -- High School Baby

Gettin' the Gytters

Have you guys heard of the Gytters yet? Well, they're just great. They're a new three piece from Brooklyn and they play awesome indie rock that makes me think of awesome bands from England in the 90s and a time when indie rock was beautiful and poppy while still being full of quiet, sad, angst.
Well I am excited to announce the Gytters blog debut! They sent me an exclusive mp3 of their first single, Divebombers, and I am excited to be able to share it with you today.




So listen to that shit and enjoy it and come see The Gytters! They play this Thursday at Death By Audio with The Paperhead and D. Watusi from Nashville and The Hairs from Brooklyn.

Slush Puppie Love

I grew up in a small town on the Hudson River that didn't have a 7-11. in fact, we didn't have any major chain stores until we got a Blockbuster Video when I was in middle school. I had never tasted a Slurpee or anything like that, but at Martino's Deli, the place all the middle school kids went to at lunch time to get sandwiches, they had a Slush Puppie Machine and it was a major part of every summer.
Now anyone who knows me knows that I hate sweets overall... I don't eat ice cream, I don't like milkshakes, I don't really like popsicles, but every summer I get a major Slush Puppie craving, and I've become a bit of an expert on how to find genuine Slush Puppies in Brooklyn, so I'd love to share my expertise with you...

As far as I'm aware, there are only two places in North Brooklyn, or the "Greater Williamsburg Area," if you will, where you can get real Slush Puppies.
The first, most convenient for a Bushwicker such as myself is Danny's Pizza on Bushwick Avenue and Montrose, right outside the Montrose stop. Danny's is cool because it's a pretty old school pizza place, the kind that you would go to in a small town, and the Slush Puppie machine seems to make sense there. The only problem is that they only have the machine out during peak summer months, so if you find yourself craving one on a particularly hot day in April you're shit out of luck.
The other option is at Greenpoint's Finest Deli on Manhattan Ave at Norman, near the Nassua G. It's just a normal bodega that happens to have a Slush Puppie machine and it's a shame more bodegas don't. So if you're Greenpoint-ish you can get one there, and they have the machine all year.
You do have one third option, though it's kind of not really real. If you need a Slush Puppie and can't make it to either of those places, the "slush" that they sell in ice cream trucks has a pretty similar consistency to a Slush Puppie and those trucks are fucking everywhere.
So go enjoy some nice summer refreshment, okay?

Crazy for you, Crazy for me, Crazy & The Brains!

Working at a music venue is weird, in that you interact with a lot of bands but don't really get to enjoy their sets usually. Actually, you usually openly are just hoping the bands will finish as fast as possible so you can just go home, you know how work is, right?
Well, the other night I was chilling out in the Lower East Side, sipping on some Bud 'n Beam, working door at the wonderful Cake Shop and kind of just tired and wanting to pass out. Well, I went downstairs once the show was almost over to survey the scene, and had the extreme delight of catching Crazy & The Brains, a band full of vaguely pretty boys from New Jersey.

Their sound was so infectious that I was glued to the stage until they were over... totally the kind of shit I'm into... obviously a bit punk, but got the pretty xylophone high notes that you guys know drive me crazy forever. They also played some pretty sweet covers and had really nicely placed screams and whatnot. They kind of gave me a Nodzzz vibe, which obviously rules.
Anyway, I feel like lately it's been hard for me to get excited about new music and all I've wanted to do is write about NASCAR, but this shit got me to my keyboard, so it must be good, right? Anyway, check these tracks and rock out...

Crazy & The Brains -- Let Me Go


Crazy & The Brains -- Lindsay Lohan

The Whitest Wires You Know

Lately I've been jamming out to a bunch of jams from Canada. I'm not even kidding when I say that I've been listening to "Baby" by Justin Bieber on repeat on my iPod while I frolic through the streets of East Williamsburg Industrial Park in the spring weather... I can't help it, it just works.
But more importantly, I am always jamming the sophomore LP from one of my favorite bands of the moment, the White Wires, "WWII."

And today I am a very excited PopJew because for the first time in a long time the White Wires are back in New York and are going to be playing at the awesome Daed Pizza show at Bruar Falls tonight with Games (who I posted some tracks from a while ago) and Baby Shakes. Jeremy from Games/Sing Sing Records will be spinning all his rare 45s as well as sweet re-issues all night.
I'd really be sad for you to miss White Wires on this rare US appearance. Let's groove all night in our sweetest threads.

White Wires -- Be True To Your School (Til You Get Kicked Out)


White Wires -- Popularity

I Love Pizza

Do you ever have a few months where you just worry that maybe you hate music? Lately I've just been bored at shows and generally underwhelmed with everything and just want to listen to Ke$ha all of the time. True Story. But last night everything changed.
I went to see Personal & The Pizzas at Bruar Falls last night. Last time I saw them was in 2009 at Silent Barn with Coconut Coolouts and Tyvek. That was a great show and a crazy party but it was a long time ago. Last night was totally incredible.

The whole show last night was crazy. Bright Lights, Barreracudas, and The Stalkers also played, and the crowd was clearly there for a party. Lot's of people were getting way too rowdy and one very, very, very wasted girl was starting fights and had to be carried out of the bar by one of the bartenders... there was definitely the vibe that a lot of people there were fueled by more than alcohol.
Because of a very, very long set by The Stalkers, it seemed that Personal & The Pizzas might not get to play because of Bruar Falls's strict midnight curfew.
Well, fun prevailed and they took the stage and proceeded to play the best live set I've seen a band ever play at a bar. It was so much fun and I just found myself rocking out and pushing up to get closer to the stage and enjoying the set with an enthusiasm I haven't been able to muster up in a while.
The Pizzas play characters of Jersey tough guys, even using a chain as a guitar strap, and it makes the show so much fun. My friend Amalia was endlessly amused that frontman Drew kept calling the audience "Turkeys" and I enjoyed that three songs in a row were individually dedicated "to the ladies." What class!
The songs were loud and rocking, and even though there were some technical difficulties with a guitar amp, it really didn't matter, the party atmosphere totally made up for it.
My favorite part of the show was when the amp problems became too much for Drew and he stopped playing and started yelling at the audience to leave. Everyone just stood there, waiting for more songs, and he just kept yelling "Seriously! It's over! I'm serious! Why are you still here?" but when the audience didn't budge, and someone approached to fix his amp, he gave in and played one more.
Really the best time ever. Pizzas have a pizza my heart now forevz. Sucks you missed it!

I Have A Boyfriend

I don't want to brag but I totally have a boyfriend. The only problem is that he lives in Canada and I only know him on Twitter and he's not actually my boyfriend, but still, we're totes in love in less than 140 characters a pop.
He loves the Beatles and cool music and you'll never believe it but he's in a band. His band is Ketamines and they're really good. You may know some of their members from the awesome Myelin Sheaths, and both bands have releases on HoZac Records. Here's a pic of The Ketamines, my boyfriend is the dreamy one (I think, I don't know what he looks like, but don't worry it is true love).

But you should definitely listen to and support my new boyfriend's band, so he can become really rich and fly me to Canada and buy me diamonds and lots of rare records and elk meat or whatever it is Canadians eat...
Also, they play good music.

Ketamines -- Line By Line


Ketamines -- 1 yr v 2

Gold Bears Kicking It Old School

Let me tell you a story, it's not too long. About five years ago I met a dark, brooding noise musician who worked nights with me at my weird TV job. He had been the music director at V89, the FSU college radio station, in Tallahassee, Florida, before moving to the cold, hard city. He was so dreamy and I loved him and started spending every waking moment with him and his roommate Theresa (now the guitar player in Home Blitz) and listened to crazy power pop records all night long in their shitty loft.
Well, I developed a weird obsession with everything Tallahassee and everyone that had lived there. It seemed to be this weird pocket of indie that was just full of good people and good vibes. Now, five years later, I'm living the Tallahassee dream, I'm roommates with one of the best Tallys, one of the members of the ollllde indie band Plastic Mastery.

PlazzMazz has been over for a while, and my roommate Larry has been recording some solo stuff after his epic year long project of writing and recording a song every day that should be pretty exciting when it comes out.
But, his old band mate Jeremy has been recording with his new "twee punk" band Gold Bears in Atlanta. They have an LP coming out on Slumberland and an upcoming US Tour with PopJew friends Dream Diary.
Listen, I already said the words "twee punk" and "Slumberland" and "Tallahassee" to you, do you really need to know anything else? Trust me, you're going to like it. Here's a song (from a single) for you to enjoy before you can get your paws on the LP.

Gold Bears -- Something To Think About

all i wanna know is where do we go when this bar closes?

So listen. I'm unemployed and bored and pretty much all there is to do with my day is go to the gym, sit around my house, go to bars and get wasted. MY LIFE IS GLAMOROUS.

This song is not new, and I've written about Allo Darlin' before, but lately I have been jamming "Silver Dollars" on pretty constant repeat...

Sometimes a song just really speaks to you. Not only is "Silver Dollars" sweetly, inoffensively enjoyable, but it really captures the way it feels to be young and broke and just not want to give a fuck...

And tough I've got no money to burn I'm gonna burn what I got
And though this band is awful I like them an awful lot

I know, right? That's totally how I feel pretty much every day of my life. Love you Allo Darlin'.