Today, rock ‘n’ roll photog Jennifer shares a collection of her favorite locals (her locus being New York City).
A selection of my favorite New York City bands:
Atomic Tom (Brooklyn)
Luke White
These were taken at the Canal Room last fall, and I was actually too busy dancing to take that many pictures. I’ve picked my two favorites to share today: the lead singer, striking a classic rock star pose, and the drummer, because I’m particularly fond of the light in that picture. The music is more rock than pop, and they have a new record coming out sometime soon. In the meantime you can listen to their new single at their MySpace.
Tobias Smith
Black Gold (Brooklyn)
Eric Ronick
These are from a show at the (new) Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Also on the bill: Hunter Valentine, Des Roar (more on them below), and Girl in Coma. I really didn’t know much about the other bands, and was for some reason expecting a mellow show. I was pleasantly surprised to be totally wrong. All of the bands, but especially Black Gold, brought the high-quality, high-energy rock and roll to the stage. The songs on their MySpace are a reasonable representation, though live the guitars and the keyboards roll and soar in a much more muscular way. In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing them again this summer, when they go out on tour with The Young Veins and Rooney.
Than Luu
The Crash Moderns (New York, NY)
Danny Roselle
I first encountered this band last summer at an acoustic evening at Angels and Kings. The pictures I took of them that night are kind of god-awful. These are from a later show at the Canal Room – the same night as the Atomic Tom pictures above – and while their aesthetic is kind of gothy, their sound is pure fun pop. They will definitely be on my road trip play list, as it is the best kind of music for driving around in the sun with the windows open.
Mikey Vranek (guitar), Tommy Eichmann (keys)
Des Roar (New York, New York)
Ben Wolcott
And now for something completely different . . .
Unlike the other three bands, Des Roar has much more of a rockabilly feel, kind of like the Reverend Horton Heat, if the Reverend were singing songs about Ted Bundy and not bales of cocaine or the virtues of steak. I also spent a lot of time dancing and not taking pictures during their set.
Alan O’Keeffe