Recommendations... Cause I Said So

Some EPs/demos I've been digging on lately and you should dig too.

Thousandaires - Land Seal Demo
A mixup of members of Bridge & Tunnel, Halo Fauna and Get Bent. Usually listing this kinda information means shit, but not in this case. It pretty much sounds just like a melting pot of those bands, which is a great thing. Hope we see more music from this collective.

Download from In You Make It




Air Raid Barcelona - 4 Song EP
They're a band, then they're not a band. Then they're a band again. Somethin like that. Urgent, driving, catchy punk rock from New Paltz. Rough vocals which compliment the music in a delicious manner. Would be killer to see an LP by these guys one day in the next few years.

Download from If You Make It




The Brass - Demo
The Brass rip. Nuff said. Seriously they just rip hard and that's all you need to know. Listen to this band. People who miss On The Might of Princes will be stoked on this (as it features ex OTMOP, dur). Also features members of Latterman, Air Raid Barcelona and Potboiler. Get into it.

Download from If You Make It




All these albums are available to download for free* by the fine folks of If You Make It. Please support the site, bookmark it and check it daily, like you have anything better to do.


*that means when you go see these bands live, buy shit from them. ya greedy bastids.

Lucero - FINALLY returning to Brooklyn

Well it's finally fuckin' happening. After the last few laps through NYC saw Lucero playing on boats or opening for The Black Keys at Terminal 5 (I'm aware of the Mercury Lounge date that happened after but I had my own drunk punk-country band to tend to), Lucero is finally playing a normal club show. And I cannot really complain about the location. On April 18th they will take the stage at the North Si... err, Music Hall of Williamsburg.

It's a Saturday night, that could not have been more perfectly planned. Why? Because the only way to see Lucero is by trying to out drink them throughout their set. A feat very few can tackle (this is Lucero people). If you're not familiar with Lucero, there is something wrong with you first off. Secondly you need to aquaint yourself with them. I can cite no specific record to dig into first (ok maybe That Much Further West) as they're all whiskey and beer soaked masterpieces. You cannot listen to them and not be affected somehow.

I cannot lie, one of my goals in life is to one day get drunk with Ben Nichols and start playin' songs. Yeah it'll probably never happen, but a guy can dream yeah? Tickets go on sale Friday at noon. Do not miss this. Show details can be found below:

Lucero
w/ Titus Andronicus
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 N 6th St - Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Saturday April 18th - 8pm doors 18+

train to Bedford Ave.

Lulu and Alligators

Lulu's changed to Lost & Found. No biggy. Lost & Found was an excellent neighborhood establishment in north Greenpoint. It offered a decent draft beer selection, cheap Black Label, PBR and High Life, Simpsons pinball, a photobooth, pool table, skeeball (yep, skeeball), free hot dogs and pretty much the coolest bartenders around. It was never packed unless there was a show going on upstairs. Which was fine because that's how I was introduced to one of my favorite bands right now (Bridge & Tunnel, dig em).

The one night, while severely drunk, they informed me that L&F would be closing soon for renovations due to new ownership. I was crushed. I was also shitfaced. So it wasn't too bad. Then they didn't close for a while, and I thought all was honky dory until the day I rode past on my bike, and saw the site we see documented to the left in that photo. There used to be a ferris wheel and it read "Lost & Found". Devistation.

Months go by, and finally it reopens with a new name. Now it's Alligator - Greenpoint. Owned by the same folks who own Crocodile Lounge in the city and Alligator Lounge in Williamsburg, the free hot dogs are gone, replaced by free pizza. Which I'm not against, cause its damn good. But there's so many places to get free pizza in north Brooklyn. I was drunk when I came in to check out the changes, but they were vast. All the cool stuff is gone from the walls. They cleaned off the graffiti in the bathroom. High Life prices went up, no more PBR/Black Label. All the games appear to be gone. New random seating areas. I dunno, it wasn't bad. But it wasn't great. Still the same bar staff though so I can/will enjoy that. I guess you'll just haveta see for yourself. If you're new to it, you'll probably like it. If you're used to Lulu's/Lost & Found, you'll be let down. But I'll give it a chance to grow on me.

Oh yea and they're still doing shows. Bridge & Tunnel on March 12th. Do it.

*Another notable change i realized: happy hour is now only $3 drafts from 3-6 when it used to be half priced til 8. Who the fuck can get there before 6 oclock? I do believe you've lost me now... RIP old friend.

113 Franklin St.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
train to Greenpoint Ave

or just go somewhere better, like Tommy's or Goodman's ($1.50 Bud draft and nothin but metal).