Features | The Alternate Side

AlternateSide

Archives

Archives

Now Playing

Powered By Fordham University

Listen Live

RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
YouTube

New Music, New York

Siren Festival 2010: Cymbals Eat Guitars Blog About Their Dreamy, Sweaty, Diamond-Studded Saturday

Posted 7-22-10 by

Tags: Cymbals Eat Guitars

The Alternate Side reached out to a few of our favorite local bands performing at last Saturday's Siren Festival, asking them to blog at will about their long day in Coney Island. Cymbals Eat Guitars, who hail from Staten Island, didn't have far to travel, but as bassist Matthew Whipple revealed, it was still a mystical, near-transcendent band experience, thanks in part to Dan Aykroyd's mysterious and readily available beverage.

Siren Festival 2010: Screaming Females Blog About Their Coney Island Adventure

Posted 7-20-10 by

Tags: Screaming Females

The Alternate Side asked Screaming Females' intrepid drummer Jarrett Dougherty if he'd blog about the New Brunswick band's adventures at Saturday's Siren Festival on Coney Island. He did and yeah, he even made it onto The Cyclone rollercoaster.

TAS Interview: The Middle East

Posted 6-23-10 by

Tags: Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, The Middle East

Instrumentally precocious, folk-kissed rock septet The Middle East made their much buzzed-about North American debut at SXSW in March. The Aussie band, whose EP The Recordings of the Middle East dropped Stateside in late fall 2009, will make their Glastonbury Festival debut this weekend. The Alternate Side connected with singer and guitarist Jordan Ireland and learned about the status of the band's much-anticipated new album and why acoustic guitar might be "done" for the group ... for now.

Bonnaroo Blog 2010: The Young Veins

Posted 6-16-10 by

Tags: The Young Veins

The Young Veins, the new project of former Panic! At The Disco members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker, made their Bonnaroo Festival debut this past weekend, coinciding with the release of their album Take A Vacation! on One Haven Music. The Alternate Side asked Ryan if he'd blog about his first Bonnaroo experience for us. Young Veins kick off their tour with Rooney and Black Gold tonight, June 16, in San Diego.

Bonnaroo 2010: Baaba Maal

Posted 6-11-10 by

Tags: Baaba Maal

Senegalese superstar Baaba Maal, one of the most prominent and influential African musicians of the last twenty years, is making his Bonnaroo Festival debut on Saturday and plays New York's Central Park Summerstage on Monday, June 14. In 2009 he released Television, a collaboration with Brazilian Girls vocalist Sabina Sciubba and keyboardist Didi Gutman. The Alternate Side caught up with Maal as he made his way to Manchester and he told us about the genesis of Television, his plans for his next release and - a tricky question - which team he's rooting for in the FIFA World Cup.

Bonnaroo 2010: Bomba Estéreo

Posted 6-10-10 by

Tags: Bomba Estéreo, Simon Mejia

Columbia's vivacious, electro-dance export Bomba Estéreo is playing their very first Bonnaroo Festival, a triumph for the quintet which has received enthusiastic global attention following their explosively brilliant 2009 album Blow Up. The Alternate Side caught up with the band's founder/bassist/producer Simon Mejia who told us more about the origins of cumbia and champeta, the group's chosen genre of "elegancia tropical," and why ginseng and beer might work as a kind of Bonnaroo survival cocktail ... although we have our doubts.

TAS Interviews: Casiokids

Posted 6-8-10 by

Tags: Casiokids

Whimsical synth-pop funksters Casiokids might sing in Norwegian, but that doesn't prevent their groove-driven debut album, Topp stemning på lokal bar, from being one the most uplifting records to drop this year. The Alternate Side caught up with Casiokids' singer Ketil Kinden Endresen and got the inside scoop on their choice to eschew English lyrics, their penchant for puppetry and pineapple shakes, plus what it's like to do a 12-date tour of kindergartens. Plus a free download of the diskJokke remix of their song "Ev Vill Hest (A Wild Horse)."

TAS Interview: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Posted 6-2-10 by

Tags: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, who kick off a short summer tour with Surfer Blood and Hooray for Earth on Thursday, June 3 in Milford, Connecticut, will be headed into the studio at tour's end to record their sophomore album. Kip Berman, Alex Naidus and Peggy Wang recently talked to The Alternate Side about their plans for their next project, the joys of Slumberland Records, Japanese bagels and why the quartet's close friendship has made their rock 'n' roll adventure a true labor of love.

TAS Interview: Savoir Adore

Posted 5-20-10 by

Tags: French Horn Rebellion, Savoir Adore

The charming Brooklyn duo of Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro released their debut In The Wooded Forest on Cantora Records last fall and their new single, "Bodies," is out this week (a free MP3 download of the French Horn Rebellion remix after the jump). Even better, they play a co-headlining gig with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson this Friday, May 21 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in New York.

TAS Interview: Tracey Thorn

Posted 5-13-10 by

Tags: Everything But The Girl, Ewan Pearson, Hot Chip, The Unbending Trees, Tracey Thorn

Tracey Thorn's exquisite voice and smart lyrics have earned her an ardent fanbase through a nearly 30-year career spanning Marine Girls, Everything But The Girl and her recently revived solo career. Next Tuesday, May 18, she'll release her third solo record Love and Its Opposite. Thorn recently spoke to The Alternate Side about her north London life which inspired her new cycle of songs, a possible collaboration with the xx and why she's walking through London this weekend in a sequined bra.

TAS Interview: Toby Leaman of Dr. Dog

Posted 5-10-10 by

Tags: Deer Tick, Dr. Dog, My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, The Growlers

Philadelphia's own grass roots rockers Dr. Dog released their sixth album Shame, Shame last month and the quintet is currently in the midst of a North American tour. They arrive in New York this Saturday, May 15 to play Terminal 5. The Alternate Side caught up with bassist and co-founder Toby Leaman in Austin and he revealed what he thinks is part of the group's appeal and longevity. "We've always looked at ourselves sort of romantically as an underdog band," says Leaman. "We've never been hip, we've never had a [hit] single and we've never been part of a scene."

TAS Interview: Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit

Posted 4-30-10 by

Tags: Frightened Rabbit, Meursault, Neutral Milk Hotel, We Were Promised Jetpacks

Scottish rockers Frightened Rabbit hit a slight volcanic hitch delaying their North American tour - they were stranded at Heathrow Airport for days, wryly tweeting of their discontent. The quartet is finally on this side of the pond, catching up on lost time. Recently, The Alternate Side caught up with singer and songwriter Scott Hutchison who revealed his sunnier aspirations for the band's third album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, and admitted that the best advice he's ever received was "don't be bitter." Even over Icelandic volcanos.

TAS Interview: Bad Lieutenant's Bernard Sumner Takes On Another Twist Of Fate

Posted 4-27-10 by

Tags: Bad Lieutenant, Bernard Sumner, New Order

The wrath of Iceland's ash-coughing volcano forced Bernard Sumner and his new band Bad Lieutenant, whose new single is the portentously named "Twist of Fate," to cancel their first Stateside tour last week, the second time that the group has had to postpone US dates. But as the former New Order frontman and Joy Division guitarist told us recently, he's become strangely adept when it comes to adapting to unexpected detours and fresh beginnings ... and he's "addicted to waking up in the morning feeling good.

TAS Interview: Codeine Velvet Club

Posted 4-13-10 by

Tags: Belle and Sebastian, Codeine Velvet Club, Phil Spector, The Fratellis

While The Fratellis are on an indefinite break, frontman Jon Lawler is focusing on his latest venture, Codeine Velvet Club, with singer Lou Hickey. The duo just officially released their ebullient, eponymous debut album in the States last week. The Alternate Side caught up with Lawler and Hickey at SXSW where they chatted about the genesis of Codeine Velvet Club, the conundrum of admiring the music of a convicted murderer, and the horror of embarrassing yourself in front of drummer Max Weinberg.

TAS Interview: The Soft Pack

Posted 4-3-10 by

Tags: Alex Chilton, The Muslims, The Soft Pack, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon

The Soft Pack, who began life with the moniker the Muslims, wrap up the last of a three night stand in the New York area on Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The Alternate Side caught up with the quartet at SXSW where they told us about tricky name changes, the perils of pizza delivery and why they miss having Warren Zevon and Alex Chilton around.

SXSW Flashback: Fyfe Dangerfield

Posted 3-30-10 by

Tags: Fyfe Dangerfield

The frontman for the Mercury Prize-nominated Guillemots recently released his very own debut album Fly Yellow Moon and took a trip to SXSW. He talked with The Alternate Side about his solo sojourn, hiding his passion for Suede while working with Bernard Butler, his unapologetic love of good commercial pop and plans for the third Guillemots album

SXSW 2010 Blog: Melissa Auf der Maur

Posted 3-25-10 by

Tags: Melissa Auf der Mar

The Alternate Side asked the very busy and talented solo artist, bassist, filmmaker and photographer Melissa Auf der Maur, former member of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, if she'd document her SXSW 2010 experience for us ... the start of which happened to coincide with her birthday. Melissa releases her second solo album Out Of Our Minds (OOOM) on March 30.

SXSW 2010 Blog: Steve Schiltz of Hurricane Bells

Posted 3-21-10 by

Tags: Hurricane Bells, Steve Shiltz

Steve Shiltz of Hurricane Bells has survived SXSW week and sent The Alternate Side his "bloggy doggy" of his adventures in Austin. Hurricane Bells' new album is Tonight is the Ghost and Steve launches a tour with Blue October in April.

SXSW 2010 Report: Broken Bells, Codeine Velvet Club, Chew Lips, The Morning Benders And More

Posted 3-19-10 by , Alisa Ali

Tags: Broken Bells, Chew Lips, Codeine Velvet Club, Everything Everything, Morning Benders, Spoon, The Walkmen

The confluence of St. Patrick's Day and beginning of the SXSW music festival made things a little more wild than usual (forget about getting into any Irish pub to see any Irish band), but The Alternate Side managed to catch Spoon, Codeine Velvet Club, Broken Bells, Everything, Everything, The Morning Benders, Chew Lips, The Walkmen and more on Wednesday night.

SXSW 2010 Blog: Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak

Posted 3-19-10 by

Tags: Titus Andronicus, Wye Oak

Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner of the excellent duo Wye Oak were nice enough to blog about their SXSW experiences to The Alternate Side (and we'll have more from them later this week and next). Wye Oak's brand new EP My Neighbor/My Creator is available now on Merge.

The Alternate Side is a proud part of WFUV Public Radio from Fordham University,
90.7 FM on your New York dial and online at wfuv.org.

TAS Top 20

1. James Blake
Overgrown

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Mosquito

3. Vampire Weekend
Modern Vampires of the City

4. Kurt Vile
Wakin on a Pretty Daze

5. Savages
Silence Yourself

6. Chvrches
Recover EP

7. Palma Violets
180

8. Depeche Mode
Delta Machine

9. Daughter
If You Leave

10. Phosphorescent
Muchacho

11. My Bloody Valentine
m b v

12. Phoenix
Bankrupt!

13. Shout Out Louds
Optica

14. Atoms For Peace
Amok

15. Deerhunter
Monomania

16. Yo La Tengo
Fade

17. Foals
Holy Fire

18. Chelsea Light Moving
Chelsea Light Moving

19. Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell

20. Caveman
Caveman

Deerhunter and Caveman make TAS Top 20 debuts while the James Blake juggernaut continues at the peak of the album chart.

Search

Support

Purchases benefit TAS

Amazon.com Widgets