EKKSTACY
In the eight months since the release of EKKSTACY’s aptly titled, goth and post-punk indebted sophomore record, Misery, the Vancouver-born indie star has been touring basically nonstop. Between shows and festivals across Europe and North America, including his Lollapalooza debut, EKKSTACY found time to work on a third album, the self-titled EKKSTACY, forthcoming January 2024. Featuring melodic rappers The Kid LAROI and Trippie Redd, EKKSTACY’s new project is more expansive and dynamic than anything the 21-year old musician has yet made. EKKSTACY came up on his brooding, raw sound — epitomized by his breakthrough single “i walk this earth all by myself” — but here we find him, increasingly involved in the music’s production, leaning into brighter indie rock and surf punk sounds that epitomize an increasing confidence in his craft. It’s giving 2010 — the year of Wavves’ King of the Beach, Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast, Beach House’s Teen Dream, of Girls, MGMT, and Japandroids, all of which can be felt within the sonics of EKKSTACY. Despite the fact that, at the time, the artist was still a few years from learning guitar. Songs like “fuck,” “luv of my life,” and “goo lagoon” have the energy of garage rock shows on the waterfront. “goo lagoon” in particular, a marquee track written in a hotel room in L.A. and one of Ekkstacy’s personal favorites, is guitar-heavy, lively, and a little bit sticky: At the start, a wacky B-horror voice informs us we’re about to enter “A stinky mud puddle for you and me,” in which we get drunk by the water and get lazy by the coast. Heck yeah. Meanwhile, “i guess we made it this far” and opener “i don’t have one of those” are low-key jangly, dreamy and drum-driven tunes that are melancholy in a sunny way. It was music that became EKKSTACY’s outlet after battles with mental health. It’s clear why: There’s joy in the music that shines through the goo of gloom. Though EKKSTACY and friends and collaborator Mangetsu and Apob wrote and recorded this third record in fits and spurts, during tour downtime over the past several years, and though EKKSTACY is accustomed to and prefers the speedy release process of his SoundCloud origins, EKKSTACY really feels like an album. (The album is made up of a few “little rolls,” EKKSTACY says.) It’s not surprising that EKKSTACY and co were listening to lots of Ramones, The Strokes, and My Bloody Valentine. You can feel the playful punk, the indie rock power chords, the celestial production. It’s a rollercoaster-esque sinking-rising feeling all the way through the ups and downs. Wanting to cry, causing problems, rather drink than fuck. Remembering trips in the backseat of the car, needing to be alone with a guitar — it’s alright, haunted, quickening heartbeats, reminiscing about Chicago, clouds and rain and sunshine at the same time — and all the while these chords that go from languid to swift, and the sweet stretchiness of EKKSTACY’s vocals.Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
Katy Kirby
Let’s face it: There’s no such thing as “real life”. There is only experience and the negotiations we undertake in order to share it with other people. On her second album Blue Raspberry, the New York-based songwriter Katy Kirby dives headlong into the artifice of intimacy: the glitter smeared across eyelid creases, the smiles switched on with an electric buzz, the synthetic rose scent all over someone who’s made herself smell nice just for you. An exegesis of Kirby’s first queer relationship, Blue Raspberry traces the crescendo and collapse of new love, savoring each gleaming shard of rock candy and broken glass along the way. Originally from Spicewood, Texas, Kirby was living in Nashville when she started writing Blue Raspberry’s title track, the first of the album’s songs to take shape. “‘Blue Raspberry’ is the oldest song on the record. I began to write it a month or so before I realized, I think I’m queer,” she says. “There’s a tradition of yearning in country love songs. I like the male yearning songs better, usually. I started writing ‘Blue Raspberry,’ and I was thinking about, if I was in love with a woman, what would I love about her? Especially if she was someone that I couldn’t touch, but that I was pining for. What would I be caught on? And I thought that I would probably be particularly charmed by the choices she made on how to look after she woke up in the morning. I thought about tackiness, and the ways that’s a dirty word. That’s where the title comes from — loving someone for those choices, for the artificiality.” Blue Raspberry follows Kirby’s acclaimed debut album Cool Dry Place, which was also recorded in Nashville and released in February of 2021. While the songs on that record unfold amidst Kirby finding her voice, Blue Raspberry is a polished and confident sophomore effort that deepens the questions that bubbled through Cool Dry Place about how people can reach each other despite all the hazard zones where human connection caves in. After realizing that her romantic interest in women went beyond the confines of a songwriting exercise, Kirby kept writing songs that sought to untangle that false binary between the real and the fake, to celebrate the spectacles people put on for each other when they’re falling in and out of love. She committed herself completely to the work of drawing out these songs, often stealing away to her van to write immediately after playing an opening set while on a 2021 tour with Waxahatchee. For the first time since she started writing songs, Kirby stopped tamping down on her impulse to craft ornate, generously embellished music. “I felt less embarrassed about just wanting to write really gorgeous songs,” she says. She started weaving more intricate chord progressions and melodies into her work, and in turn she felt emboldened to hold onto the more baroque flourishes of her lyrics without whittling them down into plainer lines. Many of the songs that make up Blue Raspberry stemmed from a single page of lyrical fragments, words and phrases that kept their hold on Kirby even as she slipped them into multiple settings. Images repeat on different songs throughout the album: cubic zirconia gleaming at a woman’s throat, the lab-grown substitute indistinguishable from earth-crushed diamonds; salt crystallizing as seawater dries on reddened skin; teeth that shine in a grin and then bite till they bruise.Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Abbey Road LIVE!
“One of the world’s premier Beatles cover bands” -US News and World Report “unquestionably expert at what they do” -Indyweek Since 2002, Abbey Road LIVE! has been rocking the music of the Beatles at clubs, theatres, festivals, and private events. Initially a tribute to the monumental “Abbey Road” album, the band has expanded its scope to include more than 100 Beatles tunes, from all eras of the Fab Four’s career. The band specializes in complete, start-to-finish album performances of masterpieces such as “Abbey Road”, “Magical Mystery Tour”, “Rubber Soul”, “Revolver” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band”. Abbey Road LIVE! is not your typical Beatle look-alike tribute act; don’t expect mop-top haircuts and vintage Rickenbacker guitars. Rather, this show is about bringing to life some of the more mature and complex Beatles material in a raw & spirited fashion, while remaining true to the original recordings. Combining attention to detail with a creative exuberance, the band always delights its audiences with its diverse repertoire of hits and more obscure favorites. A splendid time is guaranteed for all! Website | Facebook | YouTube Radio Free Athens brings to life the music that catapulted R.E.M. to the top of nearly every college radio chart in America. Featuring members of Beatles tribute Abbey Road LIVE!, Radio Free Athens are well versed in the art of delivering vibrant renditions of classic tunes. Focusing mostly on R.E.M.’s 1980s catalogue, Radio Free Europe strives to capture the magic and energy that led Rolling Stone magazine to dub R.E.M. “America’s Best Rock And Roll Band” in 1987.
He Is Legend’s First Annual Holiday Hootenanny
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Wild Party
After a multi-year hiatus, the indie pop maestros, Wild Party, are set to release a new full-length album in 2023. After releasing their debut record, Phantom Pop, in October of 2014, the band toured extensively during the following year and a half before finally calling it quits at the end of 2015. “We played probably 100 shows in 2014 and 2015… but there weren’t a lot of people at the shows who knew the music, and we weren’t making a lot of money…things just weren’t working out,” frontman Lincoln Kreifels recalls. Family and financial obligations meant taking the focus away from music for a while. While Phantom Pop’s infectious melodies and danceable grooves never found a home with a larger market in 2015, the band’s nearly decade-old release has recently found a new, devoted fan base online. “The Spotify algorithm seemed to suggest us to a lot of new fans who were listening to bands that sounded similar to us, and things really began to take off around 2018.” To date, the band has hundreds of millions of streams and a half a million monthly listeners on Spotify alone. A newly found fan-base reinvigorated Kreifels and long-time collaborator Lucas Hughes, and they began demoing songs again in 2018. However, it wasn’t until a close call gave Kreifels what he describes as a re-awakening: “I got really sick about 9 about months ago, and it was almost a miraculous healing… I went from almost dying––my liver almost failed… but I came out of that floating almost, really thankful to be given another chance… music is something I need to pursue.” Together with band member and producer, Ethan Kaufmann, Wild Party has been steadily dropping singles since 2021, culminating into the band’s 2023 EP release, Get Up. The yet-to-be-named full length EP (expected at the end of 2023) will continue to feature the band’s signature indie-pop sound, albeit with more creative ambition. “It’s pretty similar (but) it’s a little more experimental in a lot of ways… there are going to be some songs that aren’t structured so pop-centric.” When asked about touring, Kreifels expresses enthusiasm, “The plan is play shows consistently… (and) make as many real connections with people as possible… (we want to) try and make the world a better place with our music.”Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud | TikTok
Cosmic Charlie / Dark Side of The Dead
Cosmic New Year – 2 Night Combo Ticket for Saturday 12/30 and Sunday 12/31 available here!“Dark Side Of The Dead” is Cosmic Charlie’s hybrid show featuring the music of both the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd. The centerpiece of the show is a live performance of Pink Floyd’s legendary Dark Side Of The Moon. The album is performed start-to-finish, by the Cosmic Charlie “big band” that includes two drummers, 4 keyboards, backup singers & saxophone. Before and after the “Dark Side” album performance, Cosmic Charlie will offer up two heaping helpings of its signature high energy Grateful Dead. Cosmic Charlie was born in the musical Mecca of Athens, Georgia. From its summer 1999 inception, the band has swiftly cemented its reputation as a band that puts a unique and personal twist on the Grateful Dead catalogue, a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent about Dead cover bands. Rather than mimicking the Dead exactly, Cosmic Charlie chooses to tap into the Dead’s energy and style as a foundation on which to build. The result is healthy balance of creativity and tradition, and both the band and its audience are taken to that familiar edge with the sense that, music is actually being MADE here tonight.Website | Facebook | YouTube
Cosmic Charlie New Year’s Eve
Cosmic New Year – 2 Night Combo Ticket for Saturday 12/30 and Sunday 12/31 available here!Ring in 2024 with Cosmic Charlie! The festive evening will include party favors, Father Time, champagne toast at midnight, and a healthy dose of Cosmic Charlie’s high energy Grateful Dead. Maybe even a few surprises! Cosmic Charlie was born in the musical Mecca of Athens, Georgia. From its summer 1999 inception, the band has swiftly cemented its reputation as a band that puts a unique and personal twist on the Grateful Dead catalogue, a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent about Dead cover bands. Rather than mimicking the Dead exactly, Cosmic Charlie chooses to tap into the Dead’s energy and style as a foundation on which to build. The result is healthy balance of creativity and tradition, and both the band and its audience are taken to that familiar edge with the sense that, music is actually being MADE here tonight. Moving and shaking even the most skeptical of Deadheads, Cosmic Charlie storms into a town and plays with an energy that eludes other bands, an energy that sometimes eluded the Dead themselves. Those precious moments during Dead jams when the synchronicity is there and all is right with the world, these are moments that Cosmic Charlie relishes and feverishly welcomes with open arms. Clearly, Cosmic Charlie’s audiences are also eager to arrive at those moments, and together with the band, they have indulged in many memorable evenings. Website | Facebook | YouTube
Cosmic New Year – 2 Night Combo Ticket
Cosmic New Year – 2 Night Combo Ticket Saturday, December 30, 2023“Dark Side Of The Dead” is Cosmic Charlie’s hybrid show featuring the music of both the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd. The centerpiece of the show is a live performance of Pink Floyd’s legendary Dark Side Of The Moon. The album is performed start-to-finish, by the Cosmic Charlie “big band” that includes two drummers, 4 keyboards, backup singers & saxophone. Before and after the “Dark Side” album performance, Cosmic Charlie will offer up two heaping helpings of its signature high energy Grateful Dead. Cosmic Charlie was born in the musical Mecca of Athens, Georgia. From its summer 1999 inception, the band has swiftly cemented its reputation as a band that puts a unique and personal twist on the Grateful Dead catalogue, a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent about Dead cover bands. Rather than mimicking the Dead exactly, Cosmic Charlie chooses to tap into the Dead’s energy and style as a foundation on which to build. The result is healthy balance of creativity and tradition, and both the band and its audience are taken to that familiar edge with the sense that, music is actually being MADE here tonight.Website | Facebook | YouTube Sunday, December 31, 2023 Ring in 2024 with Cosmic Charlie! The festive evening will include party favors, Father Time, champagne toast at midnight, and a healthy dose of Cosmic Charlie’s high energy Grateful Dead. Maybe even a few surprises! Cosmic Charlie was born in the musical Mecca of Athens, Georgia. From its summer 1999 inception, the band has swiftly cemented its reputation as a band that puts a unique and personal twist on the Grateful Dead catalogue, a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent about Dead cover bands. Rather than mimicking the Dead exactly, Cosmic Charlie chooses to tap into the Dead’s energy and style as a foundation on which to build. The result is healthy balance of creativity and tradition, and both the band and its audience are taken to that familiar edge with the sense that, music is actually being MADE here tonight. Moving and shaking even the most skeptical of Deadheads, Cosmic Charlie storms into a town and plays with an energy that eludes other bands, an energy that sometimes eluded the Dead themselves. Those precious moments during Dead jams when the synchronicity is there and all is right with the world, these are moments that Cosmic Charlie relishes and feverishly welcomes with open arms. Clearly, Cosmic Charlie’s audiences are also eager to arrive at those moments, and together with the band, they have indulged in many memorable evenings. Website | Facebook | YouTube
Video Age
Video Age make breezy and timeless songs that are so ineffable, they can only be the result of a decades-long friendship and songwriting partnership. Across four albums, Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli have gleefully worn their influences on their sleeve, writing inviting tunes that reference sounds ranging from disco to pop and indie rock. On their latest LP, Away From The Castle, the New Orleans duo have strayed from nostalgia and instead have honed their own unique musicality, making songs that sound like themselves with a taste of inspiration from classic singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s. The album is a testament to the possibilities that come from getting out of your comfort zone, the freedom of writing vulnerably and unselfconsciously, and the joys of getting to work with your closest companions. After releasing and eventually touring their critically-acclaimed third album Pleasure Line in 2020, Farbe and Micarelli sought inspiration for their next project through collaboration. They worked with Drugdealer on his album Hiding In Plain Sight, Micarelli gigged throughout New Orleans’ jazz and blues scenes, and Farbe recorded local artists at his home studio, most recently producing Esther Rose’s new album Safe to Run. Feeling refreshed, they rented a cabin in Eunice, Louisiana with touring members Nick Corson and Duncan Troast, where they spent eight days in August 2022 jamming, cooking and writing together. Through this process, Video Age have made their best collection of tracks to date by perfectly alchemizing their influences and experiences into a record still tinged with nostalgia, but moving towards a more succinct and authentic voice. Away From The Castle is a document of a band having fun and rediscovering their love for making music together, but it’s also their most honest and personal work yet–Video Age distilled to its purest form.Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | TikTok
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (SGM) – the most gloriously unclassifiable American band in existence – is bringing back the apocalypse. The esteemed curators of SGM are proud to announce a series of Grand Reopening tours, recordings, and related events. On any given night, SGM’s live set careens from euphoric to eerie to ego-annihilating wall-of-sound. Gleefully dark and joyful noise emanates from a wild array of instruments, many homemade. Crowds are engulfed in circuitous melody, strange bursts of color and light, unknowable time signatures, spasmodic dance. A Sleepytime performance is never just a string of head-bangin’ anthems. Each song is an elaborate journey of its own, often clocking in at 10+ minutes, framing cameos from friends and family in the form of Butoh dance, parades, puppet shows, even the occasional impassioned oration of Italian Futurist poetry. People speak in hushed tones about the live shows like rites of passage. What was an average local rock club just hours before is transformed into a volatile dreamspace where anything can, and does, happen. Flustered reviewers, desperate to pigeonhole the ineffable, have labeled SGM everything from neo-RIO (Rock in Opposition) to avant-prog metal to grindcore funk theatre to, in the words of one particularly rapt concertgoer, “some kinda Satanic Anarchic Viking Shit”. None of those descriptors come anywhere close to conveying the band’s ethos. Sleepytime’s arsenal of instruments ranges from the searing violin of a certain lady, standard rock fare of electric guitars, basses and drums, to intriguing contraptions from various folk traditions, to junkyard percussion and Fisher Price toys, to horns ‘n’ bells ‘n’ rusty trash can lids, to a collection of handcrafted one-offs including the Percussion Guitar, the Wiggler, the Spring-Nail Guitar, and a brutal, seven foot long piano-stringed bass behemoth called The Sledge Hammer Dulcimer. Together the group has penned lyrics inspired by the Unabomber, by James Joyce, by Muriel Rukeyser, by madness, by a stroke-stricken obstetrician, by love, by death, by cockroaches, by the increasingly bleak industrialized end times we’re all enduring. The band sports blackened teeth and spiked leather gauntlets and bonnets and tri-hawks and military khaki and antique lace nighties. They croon lilting post-modern folk melodies enmeshed with face-melting blasts of pure untrammeled black metal. Well, drop-kick a lithopedion, lizards and germs, because it’s time to ROCK AGAINST ROCK AND REJOICE! Run, walk, crawl, slither your way to one of their upcoming shows. Whatever you gotta do to get to the club, where some truly spectacular DIY-or-Die-Tryin’ art and community awaits you. Bring your body down to where SGM always has and ever shall live: on the loving, bleeding edge of an interrobang. This singular act is not to be missed. This message approved by The John Kane SocietyBandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
