Hey, Scenesters!
Who’s Who In The L.I. Indie Rock Underground
THE IRONY OF LONG ISLAND MUSIC is that most bands doing unique things claim that the scene lacks creativity and innovation. But they have countless recommendations, and “disconnect” is as common a descriptor as “hopeful.” Much like the indie underground of the ’90s, word-of-mouth is how I learned of the following bands, who are recreating the sound of Long Island in 2010 and embracing the current indie rock resurgence, which has become a global phenomenon.
DUDE JAPAN is a Rocky Point indie rock band who, according to their MySpace page, write “simple indie pop songs in the spirit of the ’90s.” Their tracks nod to pioneering indie groups like dreamy ’80s trio Galaxie 500 and high-energy North Carolinians Superchunk. On Dude Japan’s split 7” with Weed Hounds, the band presents “The Storytellers,” an upbeat track reminiscent of indie rock heavyweights Dinosaur Jr. Other tracks like “Teenage Summer” and “The Seattle Freeze (Has Come to NY)” throw around swirling guitars and crunchy hooks, carrying the band’s 90s DIY ’tude.
TWIN SISTER is an experimental pop band with roots in Sea Cliff and Patchogue who cite Arthur Russell, Björk, Timbaland and “bubblegum pop” as main influences. In recent months, their debut EP, Vampires with Dreaming Kids, has been praised excessively by indie tastemakers like Pitchfork, Stereogum and BrooklynVegan. On Vampires, Andrea Estella’s pristine pop vocals blend with reverby drums and dreamy, unforgettable guitar work. But it’s the super-chill vibin’ and unflinching soul on tracks like “I Want A House”—influenced by life on Long Island and named one of 2009’s best tracks by the Canadian music blog Said the Gramophone—that make the band really stand out. (Weed Hounds bassist Patrick Stankard praised bassist Gabe D’Amico’s previous band, The NSG, for being one of the only indie rock bands who played all-ages shows on the Island when he was in high school, from 2004 to 2007).
Twin Sister: I Want a House
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Twin Sister: Ginger
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HIGHWAY GIMPS make heavy, psychedelic garage rock—as far as this list is concerned, they’re standouts for not replicating ’90s indie. Fast and loud with sing-along verses and crunchy riffs, they play raw rock and roll with a retro-vibe, recorded straight to analog tape on their demo, available for free on their MySpace.
Highway Gimps: Safe House
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BONUS EVENTUS are a group of Massapequa-natives who produce lo-fi, booze-soaked pop punk. “We always thought we were more old school rock ’n’ roll though,” says frontman Dave Barrit, 20, a senior at SUNY Albany. “We keep some pop chops because it makes things fun and gets people dancing, but we’re a lot rougher around the edges and more unpolished than most bands that identify with the typical Long Island sound, who are playing Bamboozle or Warped Tour.”
The band spent their teen years at Massapequa High School obsessing over early aughts-era guitar bands like The Strokes, The Hives and Against Me! Their 35-minute debut album, Canaceros—which is Spanish slang for “alcoholics who enjoy cheap liquor”—dropped in November and fuses rough, unpolished boy-group harmonies with raw punk verse. Their catchy tales of house parties gone awesome and those gone awry is blatantly dedicated to youth, in all its energized horrors and doo-wop joys. Their mantra, as summed up on the album’s drunken, high energy single “Rough Housing,” is “No wasted time, just wasted times.”
Canaceros was released via Dinosaurs in Vietnam, a Massapequa- and Wantagh-based collective and label which books shows and releases zines in support of their roster of LI-based artists. Other artists on DiV include The Sonitus Revolution (shoegaze/psychedelic rock), Helicopter Goes Kaboom (avant-garde electro rock), Bdee and the Venomous Oranges (’90s grunge vibes left to chill), and Thomas Moran (a Dylan-esque singer/songwriter whose hit single, “What’s On the Radio,” screams of potential licensing in a major teen flick).
Bonus Eventus – Rough Housing
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POLYGON is a Long Island indie-rock four-piece formed June 2009 with a self-released demo. The subdued vocals and lo-fi productions on tracks like “Built for Tricks” sounds like Built to Spill with more power chords and sharper drumming. Shiny guitar parts layer distorted ones and build up to a heavy, anthemic chorus on “Creepy Feelings.” Their four-track long demo is solid and available to download for free at their MySpace page. The band plans to release an LP by the end of the year. Three members—Colin Rieger, Anthony Corallo, and John Stippell—previously played in SLEEPWALL, who broke up in October 2009, but once recorded a 7” with Sebadoh’s Jason Lowenstein.
Polygon drummer Anthony Corallo has been playing around on Long Island since 2003, and says it’s become increasingly difficult to play on the Island since then. “There’s no more Local 7, LIHQ, Freespace, or even record stores like Empire Discs to play,” he says, citing former LI art spaces. “These places used to consistently have shows of all kinds, and it helped keep the scene together. Now it seems smaller and a little more divided. And when Polygon plays, it’s usually been 21-and-up.”
SAY NO! TO ARCHITECTURE is the experimental solo project of Allen Roizman. The Plainview-native started SN!TA in 2005 after dropping out of film school at C.W. Post. Roizman was working at Tower Records in Huntington and debating the idea of leaving Plainview when he decided to start experimenting with sound, creating what he calls “droney stuff” in his basement with guitars, pedals and sound effects on idle weekday afternoons. He began hosting shows in his parent’s basement in March 2006, consistently hosting experimental artists far more obscure than the “typical” Long Island sound. “Kids were mostly into emo and hardcore in Huntington and Deer Park, like Taking Back Sunday and Brand New. It didn’t seem like anyone was trying anything different” Roizman says. “But for the past couple of years on Long Island, I’ve started feeling like things were on the verge of changing.”
He and his friends dubbed their basement space the Ghost Hunters’ Club Co-Op, and hosted shows until May 2007. “My friends and I were all really into God Speed Black Emperor,” he says. “They introduced us to a lot of weird sound aesthetics with really noisy interludes.” According to Roizman, the reception of Ghost Hunters’ Club Co-Op was positive, and most shows (including Huntington band Beard Lift, solo artist Mike Wieder, and Brooklyn band Spectress) were pretty packed. Since moving out of his parents’ house, Ghost Hunters’ Club has become the name of the record label run by Roizman and his musician friends; they’re more focused on physical releases, which included a 7” record from Say No! To Architecture in 2009, and sees forthcoming records from Human Resources, Orphans, and SN!TA.
SLOTHBEAR is an experimental rock band from Valley Stream and Roslyn Heights comprised of Josh Ginsberg and Craig Heed, who attend SUNY Stony Brook, Ian Miniero, who attends NCC, and Doug Bleek, who goes to NYU. All members of the band are between ages 19 and 21 and reside on Long Island. “But the only things from Long Island that really influence us at all are Jackson Pollack, Thomas Pynchon and A Love Supreme,” says Ginsberg. On their self-titled EP, the band fuses the spacey weirdness of Animal Collective with a fuzzy, abrasivene edge.
“Slothbear are kind of Sonic Youth-y, with strange tuning and weird guitars,” says WUSB’s Agathos. “They’re a wonderful band simply because they’re not hardcore, pop-punk, ska or a cover band. Which usually dominate the Long Island music scene.”
Slothbear – The Exceptional Bastards
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GAZA STRIPTEASE is an indie band from Valley Stream with reverby vocals and distorted, swirling guitars; they seem to take cues from the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Pavement. The band recently recorded their demo tape with Darren Nanos of Weed Hounds/Everything Sucks. They reside on Long Island but say they prefer playing at Brooklyn venues like Death by Audio and Don Pedro’s because the crowds are more receptive.
Gaza Striptease – Nothing At All
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COLOUR BÜK is a Levittown-based duo who use splintery guitars, delay pedals, tape and an array of other electronic devices to create wordless, ambient noise. Their favorite Long Island diners include the Embassy Diner and the Massapequa Diner, even though the Massapequa Diner’s portion size is often sub par, says Adam Kastin. A love of diners may be the only thing that he and bandmade Brandon Wulle have in common with other Long Island bands.
Defying what some people consider music, Colour Bük works within the realm of live electronics, and is “ritualistic in both performance and composition.” Their songs pay homage to the dada-expressionist movement in Zurich circa 1917. “We don’t communicate with words [when composing],” Kastin says. “Just facial gestures and nods.”
Kastin says that he met his bandmate seven years ago, through a “mutual mystic mentor” named Cranebeast,” who taught them about Zurich, and his “tangibility theory, which revolved around the condition the Information Age has left us in.
“We would sing and play music for long periods of time on psychedelic [drugs] in Bethpage State Park, once a month to cleanse and humble ourselves,” Kastin says. The ritual ceased three years ago, when Cranebeast”disappeared. “We have since taken matters into our own hands,” Kastin says. “But this is an oversimplification of the history.” Colour Bük have released three self-released CD-Rs, a cassette, and a 7” single on the German label Wir Wollen Wulle.
CHEEKY created cute, catchy garage pop with memorable, intricate guitar work; their thrashy girl-punk harmonies and pounding power-chords take cues from Jawbreaker on tracks like “Get Outta Here.” The band disbanded in November, but their recorded work is too fantastic to leave out. Cheeky’s Angie Boylan nows plays in LITTLE LUNGS, an awesome group who create power-pop and pop-punk in the traditional sense. Little Lungs were twice recommended as a Long Island band, but their MySpace says they’re from Brooklyn.