Yep folks... it is that time of year again! This year, CMJ kind of snuck up on me like Christmas sometimes does...Glad to see that the festival is becoming more diverse and is no longer just a skinny white boys rock club (although I do love my skinny white boys...holla!). So many rock chicks...so little time. So after catching some cool panels (All Hail Andrew WK!), getting some free haircuts,massages, beer and swag and meeting the Marco, the official visual artist of CMJ this year, it was time to get my rock diva on...
First, Remi Lane at The Delancey... I kind of like to call her "mini-me" because she is a fellow dangerous redhead who can rock a red sparkly red dress and hang from ceiling pipes like nobody's business. Lane has been working with Linda Perry, but is humble enough to talk about trying to get friends to come out and support in the New York Clubs... keep it real girl. She kind of reminds me of Beth Orton meets The Strokes meets U2, Meets Garbage... just commercial enough to get into the hearts and minds of the mainstream, yet just indie enough to keep her cred while doing it....she's got hooks galore coupled with intelligent lyrics.
Next was Mieka Paulie at The Gallery Bar who was playing at indie queen Rachael Sage's MPRESS Records soiree. That night, Mieka's lineup was a "cross between a solo project and a band" as we was rocking the acoustic guitar in a 3 piece. Mieka and I are both on the "Next Paradigm" compilation where she covers "Angels from Montgomery". Stunning husky vocals that leave me scratching my head for comparison. Meika has been working it for a minute... I see her name everywhere...a true inspiration for indie artists living the dream...
Then, off to the Artists Lounge for some more free beer, vodka and pomegranate soda..hmmmm. I saw a super cool boy fronted band with a hot chick guitarist/vocalist. This band was one of my highlights of CMJ. They clearly had the room (folded arms and all, everyone was loving it on the inside) and I felt compelled to make my way up to the front and DANCE... we need to bring that back people!
"Do you know who this band is?" I asked about 5 people before learning it was "The Nervous Wreckords" (NOT Nervous Records, the house music label...) featuring Brian Karscig/Anthony Saffery w/Mark Maigaard, Ray Suen, Mark Stoermer, Steve Smith. Andy Ridley, Shaun Cornell and Lindsay Matheson. Beyond their dance infectious grooves, hypnotic bass lines, killer harmonies, hooks and good looks, I think my FAVORITE thing about this band is their song titles. "I Don't Feel Tardy".... if you don't immediately know the reference, shame on you! I freaked out an when I learned that they were from San Diego, since my favorite radio station X1FM is there. I immediately accosted lead singer Anthony Saffery... all in the name of hopefully seeing them featured on "The Open Door" sessions one day and learned that Anthony is formerly of "Louis X1V", which has been covered by X1FM. Anthony is very nice to his accosters btw. Lindsey also made it a point to come say hi, as she saw us dancing in the front and giving her the unspoken "oh hell yeah hot rock chick work it girl" vibes.... we both agreed that New York and San Diego need to return to the days of dancing... big cities sometimes has a the-church-town-in-Footloose-before-Kevin Bacon-takes-over kind of vibe. Anyway, look for this band to blow up, like yesterday. They have 12 shows under their belt, most of them being on tour with The Killers.
Then last but not least, we walked over to Santos Party House, we were to exhausted to actually catch any bands, but I wanted GRGR founder Gail Silverman to experience the awesomeness of Santos Party House,even if only for a second... I ran into the folks from Panzie, who are starting to get a lot of love in the press. Tonight is a
new night, so I think we may return to there tonight...
Peace out folks!
Collette McLafferty, Guest Correspondent
No comments:
Post a Comment