Browse Category: random commentary

Another Brooklyn Venue Bites The Dust – WTF

Hey, what is going on in Brooklyn these days? Another venue we played in over the past year and enjoy going to has closed, and that’s about the sixth time it happened in recent months.

First Glasslands (where we played a year or so ago) closed to become Vice Magazine owned (they also took Death by Audio), then Spike Hill (where we played a few weeks prior to its closing) is shut. Then more recently I go to Brooklyn Night Bazaar, only to find the next week that BMW is buying that space and thus that space – which was a great setup – is now gone, and then the other day I end up going for a beer in Trash (where we also played a few months back) and find out that’s closing in a couple weeks. Don’t forget Goodbye Blue Monday (where Bridget’s other band played prior to its closing). That’s six venues, gone…… am I missing something here? Yes, I know some new ones have come up since, but not as many.

Anyway, end of rant, bring us some new Brooklyn venues to play (or Queens for that matter!). The person on the image below is not the one ranting by the way, but here’s a pic from our Spike Hill show.

Stereo-Off-5

Dark Nights & Winter Hibernation

Apologies for the lack of updates in March and April so far, we’ve been hibernating from the cold. Actually that’s only partially true. We’ve made a few changes to the line up, we’ve put together a bunch of new songs for our 2nd EP and already perhaps ready to make a 3rd?! Promise its worth the wait and the many dark blurry nights will be worth it. Sunlight coming soon.

dark-city

The Next Six or so Months

Every band member of Stereo Off has been in previous bands – a couple of them are in multiple bands as we speak. And it can be a lot of work when you’re not 19 any more. But we all believe that it is going to be “that” time this time, whatever time that may be and whatever that even means. However, for new bands out there it can be a lot of hard work. This digital age makes it easy to make music and get your music heard. Which is wonderful. Gone are the days of only knowing about a set amount of bands or the hurdles you have to jump to get bands on mass market Vinyl, or in the hey-days of CD whenever that was (perhaps the 90s?). Now everyone can get out there. The negative factor is the same thing really. Everyone is out there!

As a result its more important to play to ones strengths. I’m probably breaking some rule here, but we are not the next big name band that’s going to go platinum and tour the world for life, as much as I’d (and hopefully we’d) love to be. But I do want to try and write more about how it is out there because that’s exactly what bands do not seem to do, though that is also less and less a boundary these days as well.

The band started in 2012, with just a few songs, gradually building into 2013 where we played a fair few gigs around New York, reminding me of all the things I loved and loathed about such nights. But it was frustrating to push things along. In the early days, you can bank on your friends going to your gigs, but the new faces need to show up sooner rather than later. To get a great venue spot, you need to really have a good following and some releases out there. That said, I think (like all bands I’ve been in prior) we’ve been able to punch over our weight there, blagging some of my favorite NYC venues, even with some recent turn outs being a little on the down side (another thing bands aren’t allowed to admit – though in our defense, still doing pretty well). However, in Jan 2014 we finally got our first EP recorded and printed out. It was cool to get this parcel in the mail, but at the same time, not quite the shiver you’d feel if you saw it in a store (though I guess these days, finding a store stocking CDs is just as rare!).

That was one consistency though. Whether a band now or a few years back, whether it was getting on Facebook or MySpace, you needed to get the word out, PR, Radio, Podcasts, Reviews, etc. And you can’t do that without anything recorded. But now we have no excuse. We’re here with EP1 and ready with enough songs to make EP2 and EP3 pretty soon, and we’re hoping to time that and our music video, along with getting coverage, reviews, etc, all in a way that a wave will start to hit. Not that I’m putting an exact time-line on it, but the next six or so months will be key. For those that know me, I spent many years on the other side of the Atlantic seeing bands come and go much faster than over here. Nowadays its full speed on both sides. Are you in?

Soundtracks For Indie Films

Just wanted to get the word out about Dead Red Eyes and their upcoming premiere in NC. Two short movies by the indie film makers in particular, “The Torment”, and “Alphabet Soup” – both just finished. One of which has Stereo Off doing the music soundtrack for it, the other has some cuts from my previous band. So its sort of self-promotion. But cross-promotion too. Does that make it better or worse? Anyway, find out more at www.deadredeyes.com. Once the film is publicly available, we’ll update the link here too.

Arlene’s Grocery Not Acme Underground

This pic below is not Acme Underground, but whatever happened to that place? Used to be one of the NYC key venues, but long closed I guess. Does that make me old. Should I tell people about shows at Coney Island High? Or going to Tramps NYC?

Anyway, we’ll be at Arlene’s Grocery on Friday, December 28th, 10pm sharp. More info to come soon.

And as for Acme Underground. Its been re-incarnated as a restaurant and cocktail bar! What the?!

Top 10 Stereo’s Other Than Us

From switching the stereo off because we’re on stage, to perhaps having a “stereo off” of a duel with an arrogant car in the next lane, there’s plenty of ways to have your stereo. Anyway, the band name had me thinking, what are some of the other great “stereo’s”. So here’s a top 10 in no particular order.

1 – Pumping on Your Stereo by Supergrass – Classic Song.

2 – Stereo by Pavement – Classic band.

3 – Stereo Sanctity by Sonic South – A bit of one and two.

4 – Stereo MCs – Old school and still spinning.

5 – The Apples in Stereo – Reminders of vinyl, but of the mp3 era.

6 – Death by Stereo – Old movie quote from the 80’s classic Lost Boys, later a name of a hardcore band.

7 – Stereolab – London based band, electro indie before it was called it. Still playing today.

8 – Stereogum – Music blog around longer than the term “blog”, also covered a previous band I was in back in the days.

9 – Stereo by John Legend – Falls into the category of songs I never thought (or wanted to admit) I’d like, but I do (perhaps a separate top ten list).

10 – Stereo Off! – Yeah, ignore the title, its my list after all.

Any others we forgot? Let us know. But for now, that’s your ten!

Does Letterman even do top tens anymore?

Put that on your Letterman!