Long live CMJ

October 28, 2011 By Chris Taillie Leave a Comment

Every year there seems to be discussion about whether CMJ still matters, and if it will, and/or should, continue to exist. Well, CMJ is always one of the highlights of my year (last year I saw 35 bands) and I hope it continues for as long as it can!

This time around I got to spend a lot of it with The Barr Brothers from Montreal. They are insanely talented and insanely sweet people and played 4 shows including The Apple Store and the always great M For Montreal showcase and emerged from the hubbub as one of the break out acts of 2011 with over-capacity gigs, landing on Top 5 (NPR) and Top 10 (AM New York) preview lists, in festival recaps and more. I snapped some photos along the way (and got to see some other great bands too).

The Barr Brothers perform in the crowd @ The Apple Store

jetting over the W'Burg bridge for more Barr Bros CMJ action

just about to play their final CMJ show @ Rockwood, check out that harp!

a tiny portion of the band's huge collection of mad-scientist instruments being packed away on Allen Street post-Rockwood show

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Tagged With: Barr Brothers, CMJ, CMJ 2011

CMJ

November 1, 2010 By Chris Taillie Leave a Comment

I had a pretty epic CMJ last week and was still recovering from it a few days later.  I saw 30 bands (of course I counted!), some of which were amazing and I came away from the fest with some new favorites.

Ty Segall.  Brilliant grungy punk – never seen Ty Segall live before and glad i did. twice.

Listen to “Caesar” from their latest disc ‘Melted’:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFpxKvYd5WM]

Suuns.  Admittedly never heard of Suuns (formerly called Zeroes) before CMJ started but really wanted to see their set and braved a packed crowd at Pianos to do so.  I’ll let the NY Times explain this one.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Cgh8-Np6c]

Lia Ices.  Gorgeous voice washed in chorus with excellent band behind her to showcase a set of really smart songs.  A nice surprise.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayAfFxD78Is]

Reggie Watts.  I’ve known of Reggie for a few years but hadn’t seen his show this up close and personal before.  It was simply amazing and wickedly funny.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=344OpaQCAQI]

I also attended an official CMJ panel featuring TuneCore CEO Jeff Price and George Howard, which was a fascinating discussion on artist rights, royalties, publishing – how an artist can enable and control their career. Read more here.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: CMJ, Lia Ices, Reggie Watts, Suuns, tunecore, Ty Segall

My Week with Awesome New Republic

October 25, 2009 By Matt Amoroso Leave a Comment

Photos by Karp

The CMJ music festival can be a taxing time. While filled with quality music and new relationships, the arrival of CMJ often means little sleep, meals on the run, and did I mention little sleep? Well, when you spend the week with the gang from Florida’s Awesome New Republic – it makes it all worthwhile. It seemed we were all over NYC last week, and with 4 shows the band, label and management took it all in stride.

But of course, it’s about the music. What I saw from these three musicians was a fully formed band taking a honed and focused approach to their live show and winning droves of fans in the process. The week culminated in a packed show at R Bar on the Bowery Saturday night. From the opening vocal notes of “Digital World” through the closing snare cracks of “Last Drop,” Awesome New Republic were in full stride – captivating the audience with an energy and passion rarely seen from CMJ acts. During “Alleycat” and “Birthday” the entire room was moving.

When the set was over, the week felt all too short. Even after all those shows, I somehow wanted more. Despite the tired legs and sore feet, I could’ve easily listened to them play for the rest of the night. Thanks for a great week ANR.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Awesome New Republic, CMJ