long island – News on Shuffle

Go Big – The Story From Our Side

A little background before I get started on this one…. As I’ve mentioned before, my guy is in a ska band called “The Pandemics“. Someone in the band got the idea one day to start a Touring Ska Bands group on Facebook. This is exactly what it sounds like, a place where touring ska bands can get help either filling gaps in their touring schedule or finding other resources (like someone to write an awesome review of the new album they just released). That’s where the lead singer of Go Big found my contact info and emailed me about doing a review of their new album “The Story From Our Side“. What makes this even better (and proves everything is connected) is that these folks were already on my radar from a gig they did with The Pandemics over the summer. Since I already knew I was going to like what I heard, I obviously was excited to do this review. Now that I’ve actually listened to it, I can honestly say I was not disappointed…

The beginning of the album is as if someone vocally took a running start and dove right into a crowd of people. The energy stays high throughout most of the album (the only song not running a million miles an hour is the closer) and leaves you with a great big grin on your face. Oh, and I defy you to not start dancing in your room while you’re listening to this… by yourself… with no one there to witness your lame dance moves.

Not only is the music full of energy, it also has a lot of variety. There are 8 people in the band playing more instruments than I care to list (unless you feel like reading a novel), plus two vocalists (one male, one female). Altogether it creates a great package that will make your ears happy.

After you’ve taken a moment to enjoy their new release, take the time to see them live. Upcoming dates include May 3rd at Evenflow Bar (LI) and May 9th at Santos Party House (NYC). If you can make the Evenflow show then DO IT. That’s where I met this band and fell in love. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Things To Do This Weekend

Quick post to let you know about two really cool shows happening this weekend in the NYC area.

1) Lyzfest, otherwise known as my good friend over at Candy Apple Red’s birthday show. She always puts together a great night of music, but she goes all out for her big day. This year the night doubles as the kickoff to Tail Light Rebellion’s tour. They go on 1st at 8pm, right after the open bar that takes place 7-8. All this is happening at, (where else?), Trash Bar in Brooklyn. It’s a great way to start a great night for a great lady. Come on out and celebrate with us, folks.

2) The 2nd show I want to throw at you is for the often ignored Long Island kids. The Pandemics are opening for The Toasters over at 89 North. They’re calling it “The Ultimate Ska Party” and I have to agree that it looks like it might be. I’ve never been to the venue myself, but my boyfriend tells great stories of hanging out backstage with The Slackers last time he was there. I’m looking forward to seeing the place. Also looking forward to seeing The Toasters again since last time I saw them I started feeling sick halfway through their set. It would be nice to actually get to dance this time…

There you have it, two great shows to get you through the weekend. I know LI feels super far away and not worth it for most people, but there are some great shows you’re missing out on with that attitude. Take a chance and come dance with us, won’t you?

Pandemics/Inspector 7/Mephiskapheles @ Revolution

Editors note: This post should’ve come sooner but I didn’t have internet for most of the weekend.

Friday night The Pandemics had a big show opening for Inspector 7 & Mephiskapheles at Revolution Bar & Grill in Amityville, NY. Everyone played a great set. Unfortunately my camera has been having some focusing issues, and by the end of the night I had mostly given up on getting anything publishable. That is why Mephiskapheles gets half the photos the other two bands have. Sorry guys, but I promise I liked you and had fun. Also, thanks for saving “Bumblebee Tuna” for last because it’s one of the most fun songs by any band ever; AND shout out to the lovely couple who got engaged right before the song started. Here’s to a good long musical life together.

The Blog Is Dead, Long Live The Blog

Last year was pretty dead for this blog (looking back my last post was in March, which is way too long to let something sit here and take up space, in my opinion). If anyone is still out there patiently waiting for new content here, I’m sorry to keep you waiting for so long. There were a lot of distractions to keep me occupied in my personal life. Two major factors were my move from Brooklyn to Long Island, and my only having the time to see the one band that has recently taken over a large part of my life. My writing wasn’t the only area that suffered because of it. I also majorly stopped with my photography pursuits. Fear not though, for my new year’s resolutions for 2014 are as follows:

1) Get this blog back on its feet and start posting content regularly again.
2) Dust off my camera and start taking pictures of anything and everything that crosses my path.

As I mentioned before, there was one band in particular that took over a large part of my life in the past year. That band is a LI ska band called “The Pandemics“. The guy I’ve been seeing for about a year and a half now is their bari sax player. This past year was very good to them, and they got a lot of great opportunities to play with some amazing acts. While I was pleased for them, their schedule combined with my work schedule left me with less ambition to run around taking pictures and writing about everything. I pretty much got in a routine of go to work, go home, occasionally see boyfriend’s band play. It was fine for a time, but it left me looking back on the year and wanting to push myself more in the future. I’m going to do my best to put myself out there and introduce you all to some great new things. Having said that, I’m also probably going to talk about The Pandemics a lot, simply because I have easy access to them and they are a large part of my life. Luckily for you, they’re not just some dumb band that I am close to. They actually are pretty good, and I think you will enjoy what I have to share with you. I promise to mix stuff up though and not just turn this into a lovefest for some guy and his stupid band.

Thank you for being patient with me as I work towards making this space more active again. I already have a couple of posts planned, first of which is going to be about the trip I took to Philly this past weekend. That should be out later this week, pending the status of the annoying plague-thing that has made residence in my chest. Until next time, happy new year and stay warm, kids!