Sharing the Dream.

You know those moments when you are sitting still and observing the world around you, and you’re suddenly overwhelmed with the simplest feeling of happiness?  That is precisely the way to describe the audibly stunned and enthused audience at Joe’s Pub this past Saturday night, as I watched two of my favorite and unquestionably talented artists take the stage and, quite simply, rock.

The show opened with the much-anticipated return of Martin Rivas, who has been on rest for the past month after undergoing ankle surgery.  Martin’s voice has never sounded better- clean, smooth, and full of excitement- as his band (Craig Meyer, Brian Killeen, Pat Firth, Ryan Vaughn, Chris Kuffner, Dan Hindman, and Sarah Versprille) nailed each Rivas song with conviction and pleasure, conveying an energy level that was so clearly beyond a “work” relationship and bordering more on a family-like aura.  One of the highlights of the evening was the stunning a cappella moment in “Hide In Me,” in which Dan Torres joined Martin and Sarah in exquisite harmony.  The silence that fell upon the room gave inclination that every person was actually holding their breath, as the three flawlessly sang their hearts out. Overall the performance was top rate, striking all the right chords, and leaving huge smiles on the faces and hearts of new fans and loyal followers.

Following Martin’s brilliant opener was Dan Torres, a musician who sits perched on the wings of thenext big thing about to take flight.  Torres is a natural performer, knowing exactly how to wrap his audience in and keep them there regardless of the duration of the set.  Using many of the same band members as Rivas and then some (Vaughn, Killeen, and Firth also played with Dan, in addition to Michael Day and Dan Tirer), Dan brought out a quartet of back-up singers (Zach Hurd, Norman Vladmir, Holly Laessig and Jesse Wolfe) to accompany him on selected songs.  Visually, the amount of musicians on stage created one of the most well-choreographed live performances I’ve seen- it was as if the show was designed to be watched like a play, and each scene brought in or removed certain characters.  Perhaps the most beautifully structured piece was “Leaving In the Morning,” which begins with Torres’ solo acoustics, and builds to a full band powerhouse that swells within your body.  Torres’ hit “You Don’t Even Want To Know My Name” rocked the house, and “Say Goodbye” closed the regular set so strongly that the band, in fact, did not say good bye, and played an encore performance. My favorite surprise was the cover of “Let It Be” in which Martin Rivas, Zach Hurd, and Dan alternated the verses with Holly, Jesse, and Norman harmonizing on back up.  Paired with a simple guitar, the sweet melody filled the room with hope and love, a perfect reminder of the classic rock roots that have inspired so many songwriters of today.

All in all Saturday evening at Joe’s Pub will remain one of my favorite New York moments, bringing together music, friends, and unquestionable talent on a well-equipped stage and in an intimate, upscale venue.  It’s so important to remember that every artist begins somewhere, and if you stay on that road and pursue your dream, you will hit every milestone on your way to the top.  Thank you to Dan and Martin, for sharing your love, your passion, and your dream with the city of New York.

Robbie Gil: As Real As It Gets

Listen to one song in Robbie Gil’s powerhouse set and you are sure to be hooked on this songwriter’s gut-wrenching lyrics and soulful voice. A regular at established New York venues such as The Living Room, The Bitter End, and Rockwood Music Hall, Robbie recently released his sophomore album Lightning in a Bottle, a hopeful follow up to his first record Stumble Inn, named after a bar his father owned in the 60s. Hooked on music since first picking up a vintage guitar in high school, Robbie explored his voice by singing along with great rock singer-songwriters like Roger Daltry, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Robert Plant, traces of which linger in his performances today. His ability to hook his audience with powerhouse ballads like “How’s Colorado” and “The Big Picture” have made Gil’s shows a must-see in NYC.  The volume of the crowd when singing along takes even the smallest venues and makes them feel like Giants Stadium, moments which Robbie describes as completely beautiful.  “I was so filled with joy on the stage,” he describes of one particular night. “It means so much for me to be able to share my gift and be getting it back.”  The raw and vulnerable energy Robbie Gil bestows on every stage he graces simply serves as a reminder to all of us that from even the most dismal, disheartening, and frustrating of situations, the purest form of beauty can emerge.

How would you say that your latest release, “Lightning in a Bottle,” differs from your first album, “Stumble Inn,” in both lyrical content and sound?

I always write about the juxtaposition of good decisions versus bad decisions.  That’s something that consistently comes up… I try to put a little hope on it.  There’s a lot of despair about what I was doing as a person when I was writing Stumble Inn- I was a mess, just partying way too much, all over the place, and that’s a lot of what that album’s about.  Lightning in a Bottle is the revelation that I could change things about my life and do things in a different way.  Also, [Lightning] was coming off of a long relationship that didn’t work so there’s a lot of loss and longing in the songs, as well as finding something new and great.  It’s about letting go of that last love- saying goodbye not only to that but also to booze and drugs.  There’s a lot that’s being left behind in Lightning in a Bottle and at the same time there’s a lot being gained.  It’s more hopeful about what life means to me, and how I can participate in the world and give to the world in a more sober, meaningful way.

There is such honesty in the way you write that reaches people on many different levels.  When you are writing, is there any sort of method or process you follow, or do the words just come naturally?

I am incapable of being not 100% honest in music.  I don’t know what it is but I just feel the need to be so confessional, almost to a fault… if I’m going through something, you are going to know about it.  If you listen to my music you will hear what is going on in my life.

I want to write from an honest place and talk about things that are real.  I’m not good at sugarcoating it.  Also, I love words.  I love making things that are awful sound beautiful and getting to the core of things.  I don’t know of any other way to write.

While your lyrics often pull at the heartstrings, your music composition is also incredibly choreographed to reach its audience in a powerful and memorable way.  Do you find your lyrics affect your orchestration?

My music can be very cinematic in it’s reach.  Dynamically there are lots of shifts… there are quiet moments but then there are cries for help, or this really big voice that comes out.  I like those peaks and valleys in music… I think it’s more interesting.  I also think going to acting school had an affect on that.  Something that intrigued me in acting was a monologue- the way it’s structured and has an arc. In a monologue something should change, because if it doesn’t what are you looking at?  Simply a snapshot.  I like to have those snapshots within a song, but I also like the perspective to change so there’s a sense of story to the song.

Your voice is so powerful and distinctive- it’s very clear to the audience that you are singing with everything in you when you get up on that stage.  Do you ever feel vocal strain from the reach and range in your voice?

I’m not really good at marking something.  I have to perform it all the way.  It doesn’t feel right if I don’t, and it can’t feel fake to me.  I always want to give it 140%.  I would do that if it’s Rockwood for 20 people or if it was Madison Square Garden- I don’t discern those two places.  You have to give it of yourself or else it’s not real. The songs come from such an honest place and they’re true moments for me, or bits of my life that are being expanded upon; whatever they are now, at their initial stage they were important enough for me to write about.  So when I perform them I want to get back that energy.  [The songs] need to convey a message, whether or not I’m feeling differently about them.  When you don’t give all of yourself the audience is not going to get what you meant, or believe you and the place it came from.

What is your favorite aspect of performing?

I love being able to affect people, and to see that.  I love being able to allow people into my life and give to the audience in a way that I know they are identifying with what’s going on, even though the situations may be different from me to every person they’re still taking something from it.  And “it” is a universal thing, whatever “it” is- hope, fear, loss, love, falling down and how we get back up and face everything every day.  It’s about going through all of the hard parts of life, which I tend to write about more.

How would you describe the energy in New York and the music scene?

I think New York is amazing.  There are so many good artists hanging around the scene right now and there is definite validity to “if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.”  There are a lot of struggling musicians and artists.  You’re constantly trying to one-up yourself in New York and it pushes you to sometimes do even more than you’re comfortable with- something new, inventive, interesting, catchy.  You can’t suck in New York… you have to be good for people to pay attention to you because people are inundated with talent.  I’m constantly blown away by the acts here, particularly at Rockwood and The Living Room.  It’s pretty awesome.

Robbie Gil is current working on an EPK and looking to expand his performance schedule to at least two different cities a month.  His next NYC show will be on February 11 at The Bitter End, 9:30pm.  Both “Stumble Inn” and “Lightning in a Bottle” are available on iTunes.  More info on Robbie at www.myspace.com/robbiegil and www.robbiegil.com.

Two Big Shows! Don’t Miss!

Weekend Shows

Some friends playing around town this weekend… Come out and support!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28:

WILL KNOX, Rockwood Music Hall, 8:00PM

REEL BY REEL, Pianos, 9:00PM

NICK HOWARD, Mercury Lounge, 9:00PM

DEREK JAMES AND THE LOVELY FOOLS, Mercury Lounge, 10:00PM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29:

ZACH HURD w/full band, Spike Hill, 8:00PM

CASEY SHEA, final night of Rockwood Residency, 1:00AM

Stay warm and stay safe…

Ian Axel: A Contemporary Classic

There is a moment in every artist’s life when they are no longer learning their art, but their art is learning them.  This is the only way to describe the energy that drips from every definitive and delicate stroke of the instrument Ian Axel has mastered so well  that he describes it as an extension of himself.  “I feel like I play the piano better than I talk, or do anything really,” Axel reveals, “I don’t know the world without it.” Music came naturally to Ian, who first began playing at the age of three on his grandmother’s piano, recreating Pee Wee Herman’s Tequila! by ear before even taking a lesson.  In high school, the singer-songwriter started taking it more seriously, participating in classical competitions, and got into writing song lyrics in college.  Singing came last for this young prodigy, who first explored his voice during his junior year at NYU, writing with friend, co-manager, and co-collaborator Chad Vaccarino, performing at songwriters series and open mics, and finally taking on his first full NYC performance at The Knitting Factory during his senior year.

On January 5, 2010, Ian released his first full length album This Is the New Year, which was quickly promoted as the Free Discovery Download on iTunes, and hit #57 on the top sold pop albums the first day it was released (notably beating out Beyonce and Fleetwood Mac).  His debut video for the title track took YouTube by storm with over 40,000 hits, creating it’s own little cult following as the brilliant anthem of the indie music scene. Quiet intensity, simple messages laced with sharp wit, and a transcendental approach to playing generates instant followers, but above all it’s the humble, gracious, and mesmerizing talent of this young and promising artist that packs the intimate setting of Rockwood Music Hall, forming lines out the door on the evening of his performance… moments that still have Axel scratching his famously wild and curly-haired mane, thinking, “Are you serious?”

In what ways would you say New York City has had the greatest influence on you as a singer-songwriter?

Definitely the people here… everyone supports each other and that’s amazing.  Particularly the people that I play with- it’s so challenging, and I’m so honored and almost scared to play even a note because I don’t want to ruin their music.  When my album came out everyone tweeted about it and promoted it on a larger scale.  That’s what its all about, leaning on each other.  It’s the best thing about being here, the calibur of people in this city.

What was the concept behind your “This Is the New Year” video?

Well it was collaborative between me, Chad, and Leiv Parton (who shot the video)- he’s kind of a genius when it comes down to it.  We didn’t have a budget and we only had one day to shoot, and that day was my friend’s holiday party we were supposed to play at.  It wasn’t “What are we going to do?” it was “The video has to be shot at the party.”  One of us came up with the idea of having lots of different people in it either holding up signs or mouthing the words.  We set up a camera in her bedroom, while everyone else was drinking and partying in the other room, and between the hours of 6pm and 4am people just kept coming in and doing their thing.  We had the music playing on the laptop, one camera, and one light.

Did you expect it to become such a big hit?

Maybe.  I knew when we were doing it that it felt absolutely right.  It felt like “I am in the right place, right now.”  Everything led up to this day, and it was one of the best times of my life.  There were sparks and magic in the room.  Also, it’s so genuine- totally walls down.  I know almost all of those people [in the video], and that’s what works… Honesty. We try to put that behind everything we do- music, videos, photos, etc.

Your new album, also titled “This Is the New Year” is your first full-length record.  How long did that take to record and produce?

We did the bass, drums, and piano in two days, and everything else we did over a six week period at Dan Romer’s.  After that was just mixing and mastering.  It was a few months process from beginning to end, and then we started the artwork… so overall it took about a year to get everything done.

Actually, all my life I’ve been working on this.  It took me 21 years to start singing, and then what came out of me at age 21 wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have those years behind me, and then the songs I had been writing for the past three years.

Favorite songs?

I really like Waltz, Cannonball, and Gone.

What was your favorite memory of last year?  What is the one thing you hope for in the new year?

My favorite memory of last year was when I went to Germany randomly.  I was playing a show at Rockwood and this guy and girl came up to me afterwards and asked if I wanted to come play in Germany.  So I said yes and gave them my information, not knowing what to expect.  Then I did a West Coast tour with Allie Moss, and when I was in Vancouver I got an e-mail from those people saying they wanted to fly me over to Hamburg for this event, creating a Rockwood-vibe at this venue over there, and they mentioned me coming with Greg Holden, who I hadn’t heard of at the time.  That night after I played in Vancouver this girl (completely separate from the German connection) came up to me and said, “I don’t know who you are but you need to play with my friend Greg Holden.”  I was freaking out because it was the second time someone mentioned him to me that day, and so I wrote him an e-mail.  It turns out he  also worked at Apple and had heard of me and my music… just a lot of weird coincidences.  So that was my favorite memory, going to Hamburg and meeting Greg Holden.

As far as this year, I want to tour.  I want to be on the road and just see more, traveling outside of the country.  Maybe get on a bigger act tour and open for somebody.

For an exceptional album start to finish, buy “This Is the New Year” on iTunes, and for a video that will put an instant smile on your face, do yourself a favor and click HERE.  Ian’s next New York performance will be on March 2 at Joe’s Pub, with Greg Holden opening.

Tria Gallery Weekend Photography Exhibit: “Water”

New York Sings for Haiti

Please find  the time next Monday, January 25 to come down to City Winery in NYC and support New York Sings, a newly formed non-profit group, that has put together a night of music to support the tragedy in Haiti right now.  The line-up of talent is amazing, and the cause is incredibly important… this country is in dire need of all the help they can get- every little bit counts.

Singers include:

IAN AXEL

ALEX BERGER

NATE CAMPANY

ROSI GOLAN

GREG HOLDEN

WES HUTCHINSON

WILL KNOX

ARI HEST

THE PAPER RAINCOAT

MARTIN RIVAS

AMBER RUBARTH

JOEY RYAN

THE SPRING STANDARDS

VIENNA TENG

THE WELL SPRING

And Featuring Musicians:

ADAM CHRISTGAU

MARIKA HUGHES

CHRIS KUFFNER

TONY MACELI

CRAIG MEYER

KEVIN RICE

MELISSA TONG

WARD WILLIAMS

Information on the event can be found by clicking HERE.

City Winery is located at 155 Varick St.  Show starts at 7pm and runs til midnight.

Luke Wesley: The Piano Man

A self-taught pianist who began his music career on the drums, Luke Wesley first got his feet wet in the New York scene when he moved here from Ohio almost five years ago.  It took the singer-songwriter almost a year to hit up his first open mic, two and half years to get into the indie music scene, and is now preparing to release his first full-length album in early spring.  Admitting to teaching himself piano by way of writing, Luke began playing music simply for fun, enjoying it but never really working at it, and often struggled with a poor memory, which made remembering even the standard cover song more difficult.  Wesley has made quite the turn around in recent years, making a name for himself amongst the singer-songwriter scene and playing at least once or twice a month since his first official gig at Mo Pickins on St. Patty’s Day, 2007.  His new record, which features the talents of Chris Anderson on bass, Dave Burnett on drums, Jeff Jacobson on guitar, and incredible team that he refers to as “monsters” of musicians, marks the production debut of fellow singer-songwriter Casey Shea, in addition to Peter Block.  His natural charisma, clever banter, somewhat brutal honesty, and heartfelt songs have made this Piano Man an act that holds strong in a industry where it’s difficult to stand out.  I sat down with Luke to discuss his take on the album, friendship, and being an independent artist in New York City.

What’s your favorite place to play in New York?

Well Rockwood is like a second home, so it would be really easy to say Rockwood.  However, I will go as far as to say at this point, it depends.  I really enjoy playing the open mic at Bar 4.  I always get there really late, around midnight, and then play around 2:30am.  At that time it’s mostly friends of mine mixed with a few random people that are really interested in listening to music.  I like what happens there.  The Living Room is great because it’s a room full of people really focused on the music, no one is talking and it has a great reputation for being a quiet listening room, but sometimes it’s hard to bring energy to the room because everyone is seated and there’s no movement.  Where as at Rockwood it’s a small little place, dimly lit so there’s more anonymity, and more boozing so everyone’s more likely to move and groove, BUT it can be really loud when it’s crowded in there.

You mentioned there were a few artists/friends who took you under their wing and really helped you out when you first started playing.  Who would you say are some artists you really respect after being immersed in the scene for the past two years?

At the top of the list is Mike Grubbs.  Ever since we bonded over breaking up bar fights, we’ve become very good friends, and Mike, in the very beginning, was thankfully very honest with me.  Four days after we met he came to a LC night and afterwards we went out for a drink and I asked him to tell me straight what he thought.  And he did. He basically said, “Pull your shit together a little bit more.  The show’s really loose, it can be fun, but at times it’s just awkward.”  Mike has been a helping hand whenever I needed it.

There are other people I respect as both people and artists, and Casey Shea is up at the top of that list. Casey is someone that as an artist he has a great sense of melody and a really solid sense of pop, and he’s just a beast on stage.  He’s got a great presence. I feel lucky in saying that I have some ridiculously talented friends.  But I think everyone in this scene says that… I’m just right.

What would you say are the pros and cons of being an independent artist?

I think one of the biggest things is money.  You make more money when you run a business yourself, of course, but at the same time most people on the indie scene only have a part of what they need to know to get everything done.  Labels tend to have a more solid idea of what they’re doing.  I think a lot of us are constantly stabbing at the dark.  There are so many different levels between me and U2 in the music industry, and at each of these levels someone like me doesn’t have U2 saying, “This is what you should be doing.”  We just have someone a little farther ahead than ourselves, like a hierarchy, but you never hear anything from three levels up.  So you end up SLOWLY learning, and even if someone wrote a book explaining it all it still wouldn’t help because the book would be outdated, fast.  The only way to really learn how to do what you’re doing is trial-and-error or find out from someone else, and that’s where a label comes in handy.

You have a new album coming out soon, and it’s your first official release.  How did you feel writing and recording it after such a bumpy road coming to New York to pursue this dream, and what can listeners look forward to hearing?

We’re calling it “Because We Never Talk About It.” I’m a really big fan of the title of the album summing up the attitude of the album.  Take Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We’re Talking About Love.”  It’s not a novel, it’s just a collection of short stories, but the thing is they’re not short stories that explicitly intertwine and have any connection to each other.  But, when you read the short stories under that title, you start to recognize in each of the stories different aspects of love.  It ends up building like a novel until you get to the climax of the book, which is the actual short story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” So in making an album that’s what I wanted- songs that weren’t necessarily intertwined, but fell under the same concept.

All we are trying to do with the album is make a really solid pop album that isn’t super-overproduced and remains true to the live shows.  I’m a little too close to it to say “I think we definitely did this,” but I think we did our best to try and capture the energy of a live shows… some songs are gonna do that better than others.

Look for “Because We Never Talk About It” to be released this Spring, and in the meantime check out Luke’s next show at Rockwood Music Hall on Friday, January 22 at Midnight.

Cold Week, Hot Shows

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Take Your Pick… You can’t go wrong with any of these great artists!

ZACH HURD 8:00pm, Rockwood Music Hall

AMY REGAN 9:00pm, The Living Room

MIEKA PAULEY 10:00pm, Rockwood Music Hall

AND CALEB HAWLEY w/Brian Killeen and Ryan Vaughn, 9:30pm-12:30am at Prohibition

FRIDAY JANUARY 15

WAKEY! WAKEY! 9:00pm, Rockwood Music Hall

JOSH DION 11:00pm, Mercury Lounge

SATURDAY JANUARY 17

SYDNEY WAYSER, WILL KNOX, & AYO AWOSIKA 8:00pm, The Living Room

CASEY SHEA 9:00pm, Rockwood Music Hall

ROBBIE GIL 11:00pm, Rockwood Music Hall

Happy Listening!

Take a Holiday at Rockwood…

To those of you enjoying the week off between Christmas and New Years, head over to Rockwood and check out some of your favorite artists warming up the stage.  Here’s who you can look forward to:

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28:  Local Correspondents takes the stage from 8-11pm, with Kellie Rae Powell, Sweet Soubrette and Marie Darling.  Stick around right after for Patryk Larney at 11:00, joined by Patrick Firth on keys!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29:  Your favorite singing drummer Josh Dion plays a FREE show at 11:00pm…

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30:  8:00 Bryan Dunn, 9:00 Matt Duke, 10:00 Deadbeat Darling Holiday Show… all rounded out at midnight with Hank and Cupcakes.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31:  Say goodbye to 2009 with a great line-up of music, starting at 7:00pm with Adam Levy.  Following Adam is Allie Moss at 8pm, Bess Rogers and the Flux Capacitors at 9pm, James Maddock 10-12, and Mr. Dan Torres singing you well into 2010 with his set starting at midnight.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2:  Kick off the first Saturday of 2010 with some of my favorites… Genevieve LaBean at 4pm, Brent Shuttleworth at 9pm, The Mieka Canon at 10pm, and the Casey Shea Band finishing up the night at 1am!

Have a safe, happy, and healthy New Year everyone!