mercury lounge – News on Shuffle

“My Name is Brook Pridemore, and I live in Brooklyn New York”

I consider myself lucky enough to call myself both a fan and a friend of Brook Pridemore. This musician from Brooklyn has had an interesting journey in his musical career, and now you can own a piece of that history with the live tape of one of his last solo shows he is releasing. The tape is very aptly called, “My Name is Brook Pridemore, and I live in Brooklyn New York.”

Of the record, Pridemore explains, “I made sure to include songs from all five albums, as well as a few B-sides. I don’t like greatest hits packages. Greatest hits packages are for people who’ve died. If one, however, were looking for an introduction to my songs, this would be a good starting point. The record was made at Sidewalk Cafe, in the East Village, because that’s where I learned everything I know about being a song and dance man.”

From what I’ve heard of his work so far, everything he knows is a lot. Pridemore has an honesty and passion in his music that is refreshing in a world full of fake, insincere people who may or may not be in this business for the wrong reasons. I’ve seen his live show before, and it takes the energy and cranks it up to 11. The release of the album, which will be available on cassette and as a digital download, is tomorrow, Wednesday, January 29th at Mercury Lounge. Don’t miss this chance to be blown away by some honestly good music.

Matt Lowell EP Release @ Mercury Lounge

Matt Lowell is someone who makes an impression. My first review of him was also the first I had heard of him. Even with the limited knowledge I had though, his music stayed with me and memories resurfaced as I stood front and center for his EP release last night at Mercury Lounge. That first show I saw him perform solo, but this one had him with a full band. While the band does change the sound to some extent, there was still something there that was uniquely his own. I knew Lowell was special when I first saw him and was glad to see a room full of supportive people dancing with as much energy as the performers themselves offered. I think it is safe to say we will be hearing more from this artist in the future. Stay tuned.

Matt Lowell @ Mercury Lounge – March 10, 2011

Matt Lowell played an early show Thursday night at Mercury Lounge. There was a decent crowd considering it was 6:30 and the weather was dreary. Lowell was fun and easy-going while on stage. At one point he made fun of the fact the next song he had started playing sounded like a more famous one (totally by accident). This is something that happens to every artist at some point, but not everyone acknowledges it in the same way. He then went on to a short talk of world events and some songs with social reverence. Things got lighter though when he mentioned his new EP (which came out Tuesday). He was surprised and delighted to see some in the crowd had already bought the record. “It’s funny. You get to a certain point where someone who isn’t your Mom and Dad buys your record.”

Lowell also did a cover of La Roux’s “Bulletproof,” which was only recognizable if you knew the lyrics to the song. Musically it was completely different, being stripped of all the electronic sounds and simply being played on a guitar. I love when an artist takes an uncharacteristic cover and makes it their own, so this was enjoyable. I also enjoyed the song Swan Lake, which he concluded the evening with. I already linked to a download of it in my last post.

Matt Lowell – New Song + Upcoming Date

Matt Lowell is a local NYC musician who just released a new EP March 8th. You can listen to and download the song “Swan Lake” from Paste Magazine. He also has a show tomorrow night 6:30pm at Mercury Lounge. Hope to see you there (I’ll be the one in the front with her shiny new camera).