Who They’re Listening To – Artist Spotlight: Stephen Yonkin of Zigmat

Happy Day!

It’s a beautiful day, and right after I’m done posting this awesome playlist, I get to go enjoy it!! :p

So let’s get started!

This weekend holds some great shows for the NYC area! I couldn’t be more excited!

William Fitzsimmons takes the stage at the Canal Room on Friday AND if that wasn’t enough, ZIGMAT takes the stage Saturday (April 18th, Joe’s Pub @11pm! BE THERE you won’t regret it) for their album “Sounds of Machines” release party! Icing and the cherry on top!

So to celebrate the week of Zigmat show anticipation…… This week’s playlist will be that of Zigmat’s bassist, Stephen Yonkin.

Stephen Yonkin loves music.  Having graduated from the famous Berklee School of Music, Stephen now fills his hours teaching music to children in Harlem and producing and mixing music for other bands.  This is all in addition to his role as the bass player of Zigmat, one of New York’s most exciting new bands. He’s a fun guy to hang out with, extremely interesting and someone you can talk to for hours….although shots of Patron frequently interrupt our conversations….

Get excited because this is my favorite, FAVORITE playlist thus far.

Who Stephen Yonkin is listening to:

“Machine Gun”- Portishead

Beautiful, haunting and makes me want to fight someone in slow motion.

“Turn the Other Way”- Shaimus

These boys wrote the perfect song about your day job sucking away your will to live. How it interferes with how we perceive ourselves.

“Kilo”- Ghostface Killa

..so nice.

“In the Air Tonight”- Phil Collins

Haha.

“Nothing Ever Happened”- Deerhunter

I just started listening to these guys. First new rock band I’ve heard in a while that I like.

“Talk Show Host”- Radiohead

“Give it to Me”- Timbaland

I was a bit confused when Nelly Furtado turned “Nelly from the Block,” but this track is hot hot hot. I made Monica listen to it on repeat in the car for like three days straight while we were in Puerto Rico.

“Soundtrack to Mary”- Soul Coughing

“Saeglopur”- Sigur Ros

“Pin”- The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s

I love this band’s bipolar dynamics and Karen O is the sexiest. I want to breed with her. Listening to their music helped drive me to moved to this city in the first place.

“Down”- 311

C’mon. You know what I’m talking about. C’mon. Stop it.

“Testify”- Rage Against the Machine

Makes me want to dance, fight and use my brain too much.

“Every You and Every Me”- Placebo

“Here I Come”- The Roots

“Think Tank”- Blur

The whole fucking album.

“Gravity”- Gorillaz

Amazing, no?

Well make sure you clear your calendars for this Saturday, April 18th – Joe’s Pub @ 11pm! Stephen and Monica will be performing songs from their new album “Sounds of Machines”. Tickets for this event can be purchased HERE.

Until next week!! Enjoy the sunshine and the good tunes!

Rach

Who They’re Listening To – APPR Crew Spotlight: Tom Williams

Happy Happy Monday!!

If you’re in the city…you hate today. It’s been ugly and rainy…. If it doesn’t get warm soon, I may move! (I talk about the weather a lot on here don’t I??)

On a happier note, April is the month for some great shows in NYC!! So get out your calendar and a sharpee…..got it yet??….. How about now?… ok Good. MARK THESE ON YOUR CALENDAR:

April 10th, Pianos @ 9pm- Dynasty Electric’s “Closer to Contact” Video Premiere

April 13th, Door Lounge @ 8pm- Jerry Cherry “Acoustic Stories” RockMeTv

April 15th, Sullivan Hall @ 10pm- HeavyRoad- Free Beer!

April 18th, Joe’s Pub @ 11pm- Zigmat’s  “Sounds of Machines” record release party!

April 24th, Canal Room @ 7:30- DAVID ROGUE

April 28th, Crash Mansion @ 8pm- DAVID ROGUE

April 29th, Fontanas @ 9pm- Dynasty Electric’s “Burning” EP release party!

If you have ANY questions regarding any of these shows, please do not hesitate to contact me! rachel@absolutepitchpr.com

Ok on to the playlist!!

We are featuring one of our own this week! Tom Williams.

- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away – This band is hated by most people nowadays but I see nothing wrong with loving nasaly three guitar indie rock anthems!

- Wolf Parade – I’ll Believe In Anything – In my opinion, this is the best song of the 2000′s. This is why I love Spencer Krug. This song is perfect in more ways than I knew perfection was possible.

- Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye – This song exploits my childhood love of the Smashing Pumpkins, turning into an unashamed obsession for this song.

- Real Estate – Fake Blues – I’ve been obsessed with this song the past couple weeks.  It’s like Yo La Tengo meets The Feelies, or in other words, everything that is good about the state of New Jersey.

- The Rural Alberta Advantage – The Deathbridge In Lethbridge – This band will be one of the next big indie bands.  Amazing on record, amazing live, and three of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.  I assume this is because they’re Canadian.

- Yo La Tengo – Cherry Chapstick – This is an imperfect song but it may be the most perfect song of all time.  Certainly it is the sound of being in love.

- The National – Mr. November – The National write songs for those of us who balance their dreams of being rock starts with our daily commute and the daily elevator ride to the top of our white collar office buildings.  This is the might be the most triumphal song about disillusionment I’ve ever heard.

- Beat The Devil – Shine In Exile – With only a bass, drums, harmonium, and (especially) Shilpa Ray’s incredibly powerful voice, Beat the Devil have blown me away so many times I’ve not only lost track, I’ve lost the ability to keep track.  It is a shame they broke up, this is one of the great lost bands of the 2000′s.

- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Oregon Girl – This is on here as a nod to the Oregon girl who is sitting next to me and who makes this sweet blog possible.  Also, this is my second favorite band of all time so, it’s also justified.

- Andrew Bird – Fake Palindromes – One of the coolest riffs of all time and it’s on a violin! Win!

- Telekinesis – Coast Of Carolina – If you loved Weezer in the 90′s and then loved indie music in the ’00′s, then you will lost Telekinesis in ’09.

- The Chairs – Polly – This song is a recent obsession.  It’s a step away from being one of those seminal recordings of our era.  Or maybe it actually is.  Time will tell.

-The Antlers – Bear – The Antler’s Hospice is quite possibly the album of the year.  This is a gorgeous song with absolutely heartbreaking lyrics.

- The National – Fake Empire – This is my favorite song of all time.  Nothing else in this world is like the moment when the horns wash over you at the climax of this song.  It gives me chills every time.

- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Gwyneth – The little rave-up at the end of this song is probably my favorite moment in music of all time.  This song is single handedly responsible for my undying love of SSLYBY. Love it.

Next Week’s Playlist: Stephen Yonkin of Zigmat!

Until next week!

–Rach

Feast your eyes and ears on this….

ZIGMAT

Joe’s Pub April 18th @11pm

Tickets can be purchased HERE

Who They’re Listening To – Artist Spotlight: Monica Rodriguez of Zigmat

Hi Everyone!!

Rachel here, I’m sorry this segment has been on hold for a few weeks! We have been so swamped with all the SXSW excitement I haven’t had time to get a playlist up!! But it’s back now- and will be from now on!!!

It’s a beautiful Monday here in the city. A little windy but I can feel the warm weather creeping up! So excited!

This week’s playlist, we are featuring the woman behind Zigmat’s haunting lead vocals, Monica Rodriguez.

Monica’s voice brings to mind a Karen O or a Goldfrapp.  But do not think she is a mere replica of indie pop greatness past.  She is a true original who must be experienced to be believed. I remember listening to the song Machines when I first heard the name Zigmat.  I could NOT stop listening to it and was instantly excited to see them perform. When I got to at Crash Mansion, I was blown away. Her stage presence is as captivating as the music.

You can check her and the sound of Zigmat out through their MYSPACE.

Zigmat will be performing at Joe’s Pub the night of April 18th @ 10:30 to kick off the release of their album “Sounds of Machines”. Hope to see everyone there!

And on to her playlist!

ENJOY this one, the girl has GREAT taste in music!

MY LIST OF BLAH BLAHs…. mental masterbation.
by: Monica Rodriguez

1. Radiohead – Nude

One of my favorite aspects of this song is the sweet sense of fatality… “Now that you found it, it’s gone… Now that you feel it, you don’t”. Everything changes so quickly…

2. Goldfrapp – Deer Stop
This particular track takes me to her concert at Radio City Music Hall this year… I was alone, had just drank 2 glasses of red wine, and listened as I sank in my seat to feel the hairs on my body rise, as this song harped on about feeling arrested by love…

3. Bjork (Ratatat Remix) – Wanderlust (Ratatat Remix)
The genius of Ratatat amazes me here. What a fantastic remix – a complete lesson in production.

4. Daft Punk – Something About Us
Haven’t you ever dated someone that you felt was not exactly the “one” but yet every moment with them provoked further cravings…? mmhmm that’s it

5. SebastiAn - Ross Ross Ross
Makes me move.. can’t resist it.

6. Air  - Surfing on a Rocket
Let’s all move to Versailles and eat chocolate covered oranges for breakfast.

7. Lhasa de Sela – Abro la Ventana
My mother… ok, ok … yes she reminds me of my mother. Her lyrics and passion, her voice which weeps and sweetly hums.. it’s beautiful, her work…

8. Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin – Je t’aime moi non plus
Sex. This song is completely sexual, while still retaining a sense of elegance only Serge can do this….

9. Grizzly Bear – Knife
Sweet jam. Don’t you want her to know that when you look in her eyes….you think it’s alright? Who makes you feel alright? This song does…for me.

10. Susumu Yokota – Grinning Cat (the album)
Clever Japanese electronic music. Extremely tasteful graphic work and the installations that go along with the this are brilliant… absolutely.

11. The Dirty Three – Sea Above, Sky Below
This song sounds the way love feels.

12. Belle and Sebastian – Heaven in the Afternoon
I want a mimosa whole I listen to this track on a Saturday afternoon…

13. Arto Lindsay – Modos
A perfect blend of electronic and live instruments, while singing in Portuguese… the production in this album is quite sophisticated.

Until next week!! Happy First week of April!

SXSW – Shows, Xhilarations, Sorrows and Wisdom

This being my first post on here, I’d like to first thank Tom and Rachel for doing a bang-up job on this blog.  I hope that you’ve found this as entertaining and informative as I have.  If you like what you’ve been seeing on here, I would encourage you to tell your friends who are in the music business or are just music fans.  This blog is for all of you…enjoy!

We all had an amazing time down at SXSW in Austin last week (which now seems a month ago…)  We had the wonderful opportunity (just 3 weeks prior) to fill an entire night – so we took it and ran with it.  And 3 weeks later, we had flights and hotel rooms booked, and 6 bands traveling down to Austin and performing in front of a throngs of drunk Austiners (and some out-of-towners).  It was simply awesome.  All of our hard work paid off, and the artists went home knowing they had made a few hundred more fans that night.  It was truly our biggest event thus far!

Daria Musk at Creekside Lounge

Dynasty Electric rocked the house!

In addition, I had the opportunity to attend some of the music panels at the conference.  What a great experience!  The connections I made were by far the biggest benefit.  But I also learned a lot from the panel discussions on topics ranging from what annoys venues about artists to how artists can be entrepreneurs to what record labels look for in new artists.  One of the best panels was the online resources one, from which I am happy to share bits of wisdom with you now:

“Online Resources”

• good site for distribution:  kunaki.com
• for promotion:  Myspace, FB, Eventful, Pandora, LastFM, Reverb Nation
• for photos:  flickr
• use a WordPress blog; can export to FB
• pick 3 great photos and use these on all the platforms (no need to use more than 3)
• for niche social networks:  changethis.com (for bands with social missions)
• for free biz cards/gig cards:  freebusinesscards.com
• for gig cards, design with white space at the bottom – then just use Avery labels for each diff gig
• Twitter is important
• for organizing your gig/tour logistics:  pcguild.com
• use your email signature as a way to update fans and promote yourself, upcoming shows, etc.
• for lodging:  betterthanthevan.com or couchsurfing.com

I would highly recommend investing in a music badge next year.  If anything, the contacts you make are well worth the price.  Other highlights were the cheap food and drinks — GREAT Mexican food!  Drinks were generally $2 and a meal was generally $5-6.  Food was even cheaper outside of the downtown area.  I came home craving tex-mex for days…

And the shows — too many to count!  As you read earlier, we all attended several shows that we could possibly get to in a 21-hour period (we slept 2-3 hours a night).   One of the craziest shows was the one at the Red Bull party with the Monotonics.  I actually heard about this band during the panels earlier that day…and they weren’t exaggerating!  The lead singer crowd surfed during most of his performance, along with a couple of his bandmates, until the security eventually cut their power due to liability concerns.  Boo!!  Oh well, at least we had the free Red Bull cocktails the rest of the night…

Finally, the sorrows…can’t really say there were any at all that week!  The weather was pristine, our artists were fantastic, and we had a blast the entire time…probably the only sorrow was having to leave to go back to 20 degree weather in NYC.  Brrr…!

Well, we definitely look forward to SXSW 2010!  Thank you Austin — see you next year!

SXSW 2K9!!!

Hey everybody! Tom and Rachel here. The APPR team is finally all back from Texas and SXSW. We may still be a little sleep deprived but all in all we had an amazing week.

Here is a recap!

We arrived Tuesday. Bea, Rachel, Sam, Jen all flew (running into Jerry Cherry and Daria Musk on the way) and Tom, that crazy rascal, drove from New York.

Daria Musk and Rachel

Jerry Cherry at 5am

Conveniently it was St. Patrick’s Day so a fun and green time was had by all (except Tom, who had some minor food poisoning from a Waffle House). Once Tom left, the partying began….Zigmat, DAVID ROGUE, and Jerry Cherry met us at the Six Lounge where we all managed to celebrate the holiday right!

Sam, Rachel, Bea and Jen

DAVID ROGUE and Jerry Cherry

Jerry Cherry playing with the St. Patty's Day band

Wednesday was the day of our showcase at Creekside Lounge! I think I speak for all of Absolute Pitch when I say that it was one of the best days we’ve ever had. It was an amazing showcase and we had an incredible time. Everybody was great. We had an amazing audience, an amazing crew at Creekside, and amazing performances from all our artists. Tomorrow we’ll be posting ALL of our pictures from the showcase so check back!!!!!!

Thursday was our last full day in Austin. Beatrice went to many great panels while the rest of the APPR crew hit up as many concerts as humanly possible. Some of the highlights being: The Wrens, Grizzly Bear, Rural Alberta Advantage, Riverboat Gamblers, Lady Sovereign, Cursive, and Lucero

Lady Sovereign

Riverboat Gamblers

Lucero

Friday we began to trickle home. First Beatrice, Sam, and Jen, then a few days later Tom made his way home (again driving!), and finally Wednesday Rachel returned to us. We all agree that SXSW was a truly incredibly experience and we’ve already begun to plan for our return next year.

More from SXSW tomorrow!

Dynasty Electric @ The Sidewalk Cafe Pictures

Great show. Thanks to all who came!

DAVID ROGUE’s Canal Room debut – February 25th, 2009

Check out DAVID ROGUE’s videos from his Canal Room debut!

Who They’re Listening To – Artist Spotlight: Seth Misterka from Dynasty Electric

Happy Monday!

If you’re in the city, you have woken up to about 10 inches of snow! Seriously?! It’s March, isn’t it about spring time already??

Anyways, it’s my favorite time of the week again and we’re featuring 1/2 of a band that’s in my Top 5! Double win!

This week’s playlist is from Seth Misterka of  Dynasty Electric, an indie electropop/rock band from Brooklyn.

Seth is the friendliest person I’ve met in New York and he always makes for entertaining conversation. Him and his duo partner, Jenny DeVeau, have a captivating stage presence which transforms each song into an experience. You’ll leave each show not only remembering each tune but how it was performed to you. You’ll have an instant crush on both of them, I can assure you of that, I speak from personal experience.

Seth started his music career as an experimental saxophone player. Since then, he has grown into one of the most diversely talented musican/producer/recording engineers of our time.  He has toured all over the world as well as recorded/worked with musicans as wide ranging as the Brian Chase (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Jonathan Zorn,  William Parker, Jeff Arnal, Reuben Radding, Nate Wooley, Chris Dahlgren, Matthew Welch, Mary Halvorson, Jessica Pavone, Mike Pride, and Gordon Beeferman, thus allowing him to be featured on over 100 albums.

You can catch Seth and Dynasty Electric March 13th at Newsonic in Brooklyn.

Also, they will be performing at APPR’s  SXSW showcase down in Austin on March 18th!!! Wahoooooooo!! If you can’t make it then definitely check back here because I’ll be blogging the whole time down there!

And on to the playlist…..

Who They’re Listening To- Seth Misterka

1. Ali Akbar Khan “Raga Chandranandan”
   Ali Akbar Khan is a master Indian musician. He plays the beautiful sounding Sarod, a guitar-like cousin of the sitar.  The music transports you to a higher plane and another dimension.
2. Alton Ellis “Sunday Coming”
   Alton Ellis is a great Jamaican singer, a little known but highly influential figure in reggae and rocksteady music.  This 1970 album is amazing
3. Fan Tan –  ”On Your Wall”
   Fan Tan is a new Brooklyn band that has a powerful sound in the vein of Radiohead and Interpol. Dark, romantic, mysterious. This song was stuck in my head for days.
4. Tom Petty  ”Runnin Down a Dream”
   Tom Petty is an American master who has distiled the neo-traditionalist music of Bob Dylan, and Neil Young into perfectly produced Top-40 pop.  This is a great driving song.
5. Bob Dylan  ”The Freewheelin Bob Dylan”
   This album has been blowing my mind since I was 14 and discovered the LP. Powerful and direct songs of protest and conscience, of love, and dreams.
6. Black Uhuru “Happiness”
   Black Uhuru is a really tight and dark sounding reggae band that was huge in the 80s touring with The Police and The Clash
7. The Doors “Hello I Love You (Adam Freeland Remix)”
   A hypnotic remix of an American classic.
8. Gordon Thomas  ”Everything’s Coming My Way”
   Gordon Thomas is a brilliant 92 year old outsider singer. His music is utterly unique, and inspiring.  There’s a great documentary of the same name
9. Thievery Corporation – Lebanese Blonde
   Who doesn’t like Lebanese Blonde?
10. The Shamen “Boss Drum”
    Acid House. Second Summer of Love

Thanks for reading!! Don’t forget to keep checking back!

Until next week!!

Rachel

Who They’re Listening To – Artist Spotlight: Daria Musk

Rachel here, It’s about that time again!

Yay for another artist playlist! My favorite thing about these playlists (aside from making fun of some of the artist’s choices in music ::cough:: chumbawumba ::cough:: Love You DAVID !!) I get the privilege of finding new and really great music. That’s the best!

This week, we are spotlighting Daria Musk’s playlist!

Daria is a singer/songwriter from Newtown, CT. I’d like to start off by saying, SHE ROCKS! She has a great spirit about her. Her laugh is contagious and she is SUCH a positive person. When I first met her, she made a comment to me in the elevator as we were leaving, something along the lines of “I just really believe in the music”, which left me excited to work with someone I had such instant respect for!
She also rocks literally! She started her career off as a little tyke on Sesame Street (Insert awesome JD from Scrubs quote here-“I grew up on the street, no not that street, Sesame Street!), and has evolved into an awesome musician. She has helped with vocals for one of her fav’s, Mystic Bowie, opened for Melissa Manchester and Eric Hutchinson, as well as played her own sets at places like The Paradise in Boston and The Mercury Lounge in NYC.  Both which were SOLD OUT!  You can check her music out at Daria’s Myspace.

And now for the playlist! ENJOY!

What I’m listening to: Daria Musk

1. Adele, “Hometown Glory”, “Make You Feel My Love” – Adele might be the coolest person ever. Her voice sounds like it’s from the depths of the earth and ages old. She desperately makes me want to be British so I can pull of lyrics like “Tuttin’ my heels and struttin my feet”.
2. Coldplay, “Lost?”, “Viva La Vida” – I just love them. I love the use of rhythm in these songs. “Lost?” has the gravitational pull of a black hole. I can’t escape it. I need to cover this song.
3. The Beatles, The LOVE Album: This album is a total revelation. An entirely new way to hear the genius of The Beatles. My favorites are the mash-up of Drive My Car / The Word / What You’re Doing and “Strawberry Fields Forever” which builds from the first acoustic demo of the song, and then includes the orchestral section from “Sgt. Pepper”, the solo piano from “In My Life”, the brass from “Penny Lane”, the cello and harpsicord from “Piggies” and the refrain of “Hello, Goodbye”. It’s mind-blowing.
4. Dave Mattews Band, “Granny” – Dave has been with me since I first picked up a guitar. My guitar teacher started writing, “By, You Know Who” on our sheet music because we learned so many of his songs.
   This one is so sweet, especially the “Live at Central Park” version. It’s warms me up from the inside out.
5. Fiction Plane, “Death Machine”, “Two Sisters” and “It’s a Lie” – I couldn’t drive anywhere last summer without listening to these three songs at least once. Incredible songs and performances, and the band’s live shows are breathtakingly great. I adore them and I have no idea why they’re not hugely well-known. Not just because they’re three amazingly talented guys that totally rock, but also because the lead singer Joe Sumner is Sting’s son. (That’s where I faint.) If you like The Police and rock with a little angst you will love Fiction Plane as much as I do.
6. Imogen Heap,  “Headlock” – Imogen really opened my eyes to see how the computer and new technologies can really be used as instruments. She’s made me so curious about exploring that terrain. I find her totally inspiring. This song really shows off her style.
7. The Police,  “Walking on The Moon”: The Police are one of my all time favorite bands and this song just transports me. Sting’s vocals have really influenced me.
8. U2, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb: Really this entire album is so dear to me. It rocks, it’s emotional. Bono always teaches me about singing with total freedom and honesty and enthusiasm. The songwriting is perfect. I love playing Edge’s parts to learn what he’s doing. It’s always so simple at it’s core, but so right.
9. Yes, “That Is, That Is”, “Your Move” and “Seen All Good People” – I love Yes. These songs are awesome classic progressive rock because they’re melodic and complicated, but also have great hook sensibilities. The chess game lyrics in “Your Move” are so much fun.
10. Elton John, “Take Me To The Pilot” – This song always makes me smile and bop around the car clapping and singing.
11. Joni Mitchell, “Conversation” – Who hasn’t been influenced by this amazing songwriter? I love the vocals in this song and how she lets the words shape where the melody goes.
12. Yael Naïm, “Far Far” – This song is so lovely! I love the layers of percussion and incidental sounds. She has a great band too.

Until next week!!

Make sure to check back for more updates!!

-Rachel