Big Fat Cat Showcase @ Banjo Jim’s- Skidmore Fountain
I headed deep into Alphabet City to Banjo Jim’s for the Big Fat Cat showcase to catch Skidmore Fountain. Based in Brooklyn, not only did they look incredibly dapper and keep their set wound tighter than a tick, their brand of pop, which runs the gamut from classical to funk-inspired, was highlighted by the absence of a bassist. Why? Well, when you’ve got a crack cellist like Topu Lyo, who needs one? Lyu also used his instrument for its intended melodic purpose, driving along the theme of “Asylum,” the single that lead singer Randy Bergida demanded everyone take home for free in CD form.Bergida has one of the cleanest, most earnest voices I’ve ever heard, one that neatly skirts generic pop vocals by harmonizing with guitarist Steven Cohen. Dylan Wissing is what happens when you harness a freight train to a drum kit, and the band never had the chance to step out of line once during the set. Their full-length album, Break, is available in iTunes, Rhapsody, and CD Baby from Triple R Records.
Pulling triple duty that
night were Lyo and
drummer Dylan Wissing, both of whom are in Brooklyn four
piece Skidmore Fountain. Fronted by the lovely Randy
Bergida, Skidmore Fountain played a slick set of polished,
rock-tinged dance songs. The band had a great stage presence
and an energy that was infectious. Piano’s was packed by this
time and the audience was grooving along with Wissing’s beats
and mimicking Bergida’s words.
I was just as impressed with Lyo’s cellist skills throughout the
Skidmore set, but I was equally impressed with the
musicianship from the rest of the band. Each of the four
musicians on stage shone through wonderfully without
overpowering each other or aurally dominating the room.
Skidmore Fountain no doubt has a bright future ahead. They put
on a fun and tight set that you have to see/hear for yourself.
Really.
Big Fat Cat Showcase @ Banjo Jim’s- Skidmore Fountain
I headed deep into Alphabet City to Banjo Jim’s for the Big Fat Cat showcase to catch Skidmore Fountain. Based in Brooklyn, not only did they look incredibly dapper and keep their set wound tighter than a tick, their brand of pop, which runs the gamut from classical to funk-inspired, was highlighted by the absence of a bassist. Why? Well, when you’ve got a crack cellist like Topu Lyo, who needs one? Lyu also used his instrument for its intended melodic purpose, driving along the theme of “Asylum,” the single that lead singer Randy Bergida demanded everyone take home for free in CD form.Bergida has one of the cleanest, most earnest voices I’ve ever heard, one that neatly skirts generic pop vocals by harmonizing with guitarist Steven Cohen. Dylan Wissing is what happens when you harness a freight train to a drum kit, and the band never had the chance to step out of line once during the set. Their full-length album, Break, is available in iTunes, Rhapsody, and CD Baby from Triple R Records.by Heidi Vanderslice
Our last show of the year is this Thursday at CMJ. We’ll be playing Banjo Jim’s (oct.23) at 10pm sharp. We would love to have you celebrate and bring in our last show as we did Piano’s on Friday for the release of the single “Asylum”.
We will be taking the next few months off stage to finish up recording our 2009 release. Stay tuned for the cd release party early 2009.
And again thanks to all that came out to piano’s. You were an amazing audience!
Actually Purple Mountain Glow is not a a New York Sunrise. On the other hand It’s a phenomena of the west coast and is the name of a brand new Skidmore Fountain Track that will be heard live for the first time at Public Assembly (formerly Galapagos) this coming Tuesday.
In fact Skidmore Fountain has been chipping away at the final tracks for their new release coming out January 2009. Three tracks that no ears have ever heard beyond the 12×12 rehearsal studio will be performed this coming Tuesday. Here is a summary of the three brand new tracks:
Track 1 = “Purple Mountain Glow” - US Presidential Candidates take their final debate to the Wild Wild West to have a shoot off ending with, “the people dance the people laugh and dream” and some ” oh oh oh’s ”
Track 2 = “Whole World Coming Down” - The title says it all…
Track 3 = “Cloudless Blue” - A love song. A good song to make babies to.
Show Details:
Skidmore Fountain
Tuesday August 19th at 10pm
Public Assembly (formerly Galapagos)
Back room $5
We arrived back at the “church” to finish our EP at 10pm on Saturday evening. We had the usual catching up to do with Warren and Chuck of Rotary Records and Offensive Tie. We had a listen to some of the rough mixes and smiles overtook our faces inspiring Steve to jump right in and finish his parts. We worked/played till about 1am when Warren and Chuck had to call it quits for the evening. 1am is like early evening for Skidmore, so left with nothing but an empy church and no Johnnie Walker, what else was there to do but play a few rounds of hide and go seek.
We were lucky to have the company of 18 year old intern Haoming Chang as she brought out the kid in us (ok…you got me…we would have played anyway, but she was a great addition to the game and added an extra sense of inspiration). Steven, wise in the way of hide and go seek, requested that we only use one floor. Topu and I were in doubt that there wouldn’t be enough places to hide, but we were schooled in this notion. Whether it was between the box spring and mattress, or under a heaping pile of dirty laundry, we found some very inventive places to hide making for a successful game of hide and go seek. At around 4am, we had to force ourselves to sleep as we had a long day of recording ahead of us.
10:30 roles around and we literally were kicking Topu to wake him up. We drove to the local eatery run by a sweet family. Even though the food was sub par, they put a lot of love into it and it fueled us for the day!
Back to the studio and into music making we went. It was a 1 take kind of day. Everything was feeling really great. The recording session culminated into Topu, Steve and I gathered in a circle singing our oldest new song “sun in the sky” in an old school kind of way. There’s a lush three part harmony throughout the song that we wanted to capture like they would in the Beatles era. So we gathered in the big open reverb room of the Church (I had been waiting for this moment) and nailed the harmonies. It was a very bonding experience. We weren’t sure that we could pull it off, but we were very happy with the results.
Again, a big thanks to Chuck Sokol and Warren Amerman who made for a truly wonderful recording experience; From our wonderful apartment on the bottom floor to the amazing studio that Warren built from the ground up (minus the 200 year old church). It’s always tough to leave a place where you feel so at home. I can’t speak enough good things about Rotary Records. I leave with a tear of happiness.
Thanks for all who came out to our show last evening. It was beautifull and physical. Lots of moving hips and even out of control dancing. And to put a cherry on top of that, what a special surprise to have Justin Tranter, lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons (the most beautiful man in the world), to do a special cameo to bring in Steve’s Birthday. Do not miss Semi Precious Weapons show on June 6th at rebel. If you haven’t checked out one of their shows yet, you are in for a treat!
We are heading off to West Springfield in less than 4 hours to finish our upcoming EP due out September. We’ll keep you posted and let you know if they let Johnnie Walker into the church this time.
1, 2, 3, 4…the set begins as the light fades into a blur. The drinks are being passed from bar tender to citizen. Beautiful people surround as your enveloped by cello landscapes. Rhythms are undulating your pre-show involvements. You are taken into a blissful dreamlike state as you move with the delicacy of the guitars and float on into many familiar places and scenes. The curtain drops and the fun has just begun.
The excitement endures as we hit the Stage of Arlene’s Grocery on Friday May 23rd at 10pm sharp! After several days in the recording studio we are prepared to put on a fiery show. As we have been working day and night to produce enough new tunes to record our unexpected new EP release, we will have, may I say, 6 fresh tunes to share with you! We are very excited to introduce our 2008 sounds to Arlene’s Grocery. It’s a fine place to play and a fine place to spend a Friday evening. Where else would one rather be than the Lower East Side in New York City on a Friday evening. Ok, maybe Williamsburg, but you know, sometimes you gotta give it a “break”.
We just returned back to New York after an amazing couple days out in West Springfield, MA. We were expecting something great, but this was beyond great. We had not only the luxury of recording in a mansion of a 200 year old church that has been converted to a recording studio, but we were surrounded by some fine amazing musicians, producers, engineers, and friends. I want to thank Warren Amerman and Chuck Sokol for being so great to work with. Thanks to Mike Kreher for making sure everything happened!
The first night we arrived we met Warren and Chuck for the first time. Warren owns Rotary Records, the 200 year old church, and gave us quite a warm welcome. Well, we brought the whiskey, but he is just so kind and very inspiring. Warren tapped me on the shoulder as I was setting up my equipment. He saw that I pulled out my tele, so he decided to grab his which was an original from 1962. Then he pulls out his princeton, also from the 60’s as well as his lime green Gretsh. It just didn’t stop. Loads of insane vintage gear and tons of Church reverb.
We were off rehearsing for our big day under the influence of several glasses of Johnnie Walker’s Red Label and the most echo that Skidmore has ever embraced. We settled at about an hour of a jam and then we ventured to our little apartment on the first floor of the church. As I was drinking water I hear an immense amount of laughter coming from the bedroom. It was Steven rolling around on his bed laughing out of his mind. Don’t ask me.
The sessions went amazing. We got much more done than ever expected. Topu, Steve and I will be heading back out to the Church at the end of the month to finish up. Then the final mixes, then to the mastering plant, off to duplication and voila, our record will be released.
Please stay tuned for more details. Unfortunately our camera had no memory and our video camera had a dirty head. No footage, no pics, but believe us, this was something not to forget.
Dylan originally wanted to be a Graphic Designer. However, he’s mildly colorblind in reds, greens, and browns, so he got sidetracked playing drums. His only real issue with colorblindness is traffic signals: the red and yellow lights look like the same color, and the green lights look white.
