
nyctaper
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New York's live music archivist.
nyctaper
2M ago
What would you do if I told you that a four-piece rock and roll band is driving around in a van and kicking all sorts of ass at venues across the country? What if I also told you that it features screaming guitar harmonies with intricate melodic interplay propped up by one of the most badass rhythm sections you’ll see this year? What if I told you this band is called “Color Green,” and they are on tour right now? What started as a duo recording project has morphed into a four-piece band. With that transition has come a clearer focus on the songs and playing. On their excellent new record ..read more
nyctaper
2M ago
Photo by Christopher Bruno The NYCTaper coverage of the 2024 Deep in the Valley festival continues with Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears! I’m going to be completely upfront about this: This was the set I was most looking forward to going into the event, simply because I’d been pestering Andy from Raven Sings The Blues for at least two years to get Sean Thompson to play Deep In The Valley. Sean is a guitar player, songwriter, and generally good dude from Nashville. I’ll skip the background info; you can get all that on a recent episode of Good Friend of the Site J. M. Hart’s consistently excellent Br ..read more
nyctaper
2M ago
Shannon Lay’s new single “Mirrors” got a lot of play around my house this Spring. It’s beautifully recorded and sounds like the sunlight that filters through the trees and lights up my kitchen while I cook. So it was a pretty sweet and timely surprise to see her coming to Tubby’s on a stacked triple bill with Anna St. Luis and Shana Fullana. Shannon’s songs are so intricately crafted that it’s had to find a single point to dissect them. Do you lead with the profoundly introspective lyrics or the mind-boggling finger-style guitar playing? Or maybe you should focus on her treme ..read more
nyctaper
3M ago
When you pull on the string dangling off Weak Signal’s hoodie what unravels is the last 60 years of NYC’s music history. Which is probably why they aren’t huge. I have this belief that some of the best things from New York, particularly NYC, can’t truly be understood by outsiders. In a just world, “I’m Waiting for the Man” would have been a far bigger hit in 1967 than “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” just as M.O.P’s “Heistmasters” should have been a bigger hit than “Fantastic Voyage” in 1994. Maybe the grim realities of New York City are more than most people can, or want, to handle.  ..read more
nyctaper
4M ago
Photo by Christopher Bruno The NYCTaper coverage of the 2024 Deep in the Valley festival continues with Seawind of Battery! Mike Horn brought his Seawind of Battery project to open this beautiful day on the farm. Mike is no stranger to this blog, but it’s the first time we have featured him since the release of his gorgeous new album, “East Coast Cosmic Dreamscaper” on Warhen Records. Mike was kind enough to send me an advanced copy of the album and I was instantly impressed with the direction he has taken this project. He could have released “clockwatching pt 2” and made man ..read more
nyctaper
5M ago
Long before This is BASIC—the new album from Chris Forsyth, Nick Millevoi, and Mikel Patrick Avery—Forsyth and Millevoi had both separately been discussing the uniqueness of Robert Quine’s discography and playing. Forsyth gave an interview in Raven Sings the Blues back in 2019 where he praises the overlooked, even disliked, album from Quine and drummer Fred Maher, Basic. In 2021, Millevoi breaks down Quine’s “unpredictable” playing for Premier Guitar, complete with music notation. As an observer and non-player, it’s fascinating to hear musicians talk about their influences in ways so clearly p ..read more
nyctaper
5M ago
The NYCTaper coverage of the Tubby’s Fifth Anniversary continues with 75 Dollar Bill! On March 7, 2020 I went to Tubby’s to see 75 Dollar Bill. I had contacted Che beforehand via email to ask permission to record, and he was gracious enough to approve. So for the duration of their two sets, I stood as still as possible (so as not to create phasing issues with the tiny mics clipped to my hat) and recorded what eventually became the “Live at Tubby’s” album. I knew during the performance I was witnessing something special. The feeling in the room was electric with everyone compl ..read more
nyctaper
6M ago
Photo by Christopher Bruno The NYCTaper coverage of the 2024 Deep in the Valley festival continues with Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders! Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders became the first group to play at the festival twice, having appeared in year one. For this set, the core four were joined by Wednesday Knudsen (sax) and Ron Schneiderman (guitar), and John Moloney (percussion) fresh off their set with Sunburned Hand of The Man. The septet configuration of the Lidders gave us a one-song set. One 45-minute version of the classic psychedelic mind fuck, “Dark ..read more
nyctaper
6M ago
Photo by Christopher Bruno Welcome to the NYCTaper coverage of the 2024 Deep In The Valley festival! The event was once again held at From the Ground Brewery and organized, labored over and presented by our friends at the always excellent Raven Sings The Blues! Another incredible year of mellow vibes, good friend and incredible tunes! We begin this year with Magic Tuber String Band! At face value, a string band playing an early afternoon set in a field on a rural farm seems like a slam dunk, and it was a perfect early-day set. However, underneath, this project is much more than traditional fol ..read more
nyctaper
6M ago
Ruth’s recent album on Third Man, “Water Still Flows” is barely two weeks from release but already feels like an old favorite. The vast and atmospheric space jazz tinges found on “I Survived, It’s Over” are still there; but a harder edge has been added. Heavy guitars and fuzz, a touch of sludge and darkness. That’s not to say this is a dark album. These additions are well-balanced. Part of that balancing act is harpist (and local favorite) Mikaela Davis’s contributions to the record. Ruth and his band came through Woodstock on the last night of a run supporting Davis and her band, Southern Sta ..read more