It’s been a tough week at Daytona, where rains canceled Sunday’s NASCAR race and a fiery explosion shortened Monday’s night’s makeup competition. But it should be a much sunnier week for the band Daytona as they get set to release their debut EP. Guitarist Hunter Simpson (Wild Yaks), drummer Christopher Lauderdale (the Siberians), and bassist Jose Boyer (Harlem) were friends when they were in North Carolina, and now that they have all made the musical pilgrimage to Brooklyn, they have formed an indie pop trio. From the sweet opening chords of “You’re in Beijing” to the infectious closing jangle of “Dive In,” the five-song EP, Storm So Long, features bright hooks and catchy melodies. There’s an Asian tinge to the title track, while a flowing synth floats on waves in the background of “Undertow.” “I know you say you’re going away / Why don’t you stay?” they ask on “In Your Arms,” making it difficult to turn the album off. “A day is not a waste of time,” they proclaim on “You’re in Beijing,” and indeed, it would not be a waste of time to check these guys out. Daytona will be celebrating the March 2 release of Storm So Long, which was recorded in Long Island City in December, with a series of local shows beginning at Shea Stadium on March 2 with Simpson’s other band, Wild Yaks, along with Steel Phantoms and Busy Busy Busy, and continuing March 5 at Cake Shop with Fenster, March 21 at Littlefield with Ed Askew, Steve Gunn, and Saredren Wells, and March 27 at the Rock Shop with Polica and Field Mouse.
this week in music
SONG OF THE DAY — EXITMUSIC: “PASSAGE”
Back in 2008, Brooklyn-based duo Devon Church and Aleksa Palladino, who make up Exitmusic, self-released The Decline of the West, then put out their first official EP, the four-track From Silence, this past fall, featuring the ghostly ethereal ballad “The Sea.” Church, who hails from Canada, and Palladino, a native New Yorker, layer multiple sounds and ever-changing rhythms in haunting songs that float on the clouds and come crashing back to earth, with vocals that go from whispers to heavenly cries and shouts. They’ve just released the opening title track from their debut full-length album, Passage (Secretly Canadian, May 22, 2012), another musical journey into the heart and soul. Before they head off to Austin next month to play SXSW, they’ll be at Mercury Lounge on February 28, with School of Seven Bells. Although that show is sold out, tickets are still available to see both bands on May 5 at (le) poisson rouge ($15, 6:30).
VIDEO OF THE DAY — M. WARD: “THE FIRST TIME I RAN AWAY”
Over the last handful of years, M. Ward has been all over the indie scene, releasing the widely hailed Hold Time solo album in 2009, recording and touring with the Monsters of Folk (with Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James), and making two delightful discs with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him. Based in Portland, Oregon, Ward is a singer-songwriter with a wide range of influences, as evidenced by the first few songs from his upcoming solo album, A Wasteland Companion (Merge, April 10, 2012). On the record, Ward is joined by such guests as Tobey Leaman from Dr. Dog, Rachel Cox from Oakley Hall, Steve Shelley from Sonic Youth, and Tom Hagerman from Devotchka in addition to longtime friends Mogis, Deschanel, and Howe Gelb of Giant Sand.
The first video from the album is the enchanting animated “The First Time I Ran Away,” directed by Joel Trussell. Ward has also released the single “Primitive Girl.” Other tunes from A Wasteland Companion include “Me and My Shadow,” “I Get Ideas,” “Crawl After You,” and “Pure Joy.” Ward, who always puts on a fun show, will be at Webster Hall on May 11 with the Lee Ranaldo Band.
TICKET GIVEAWAY: SILENCE! THE MUSICAL
SILENCE! THE MUSICAL parodies controversial Oscar-winning thriller, with Jenn Harris as Clarice Starling and David Garrison as Hannibal Lector
Silence! The Musical
9th Space Theatre at Performance Space 122
150 First Ave. at Ninth St.
Thursday – Tuesday through May 6, $25-$79
www.silencethemusicalnyc.comg
In 2005, Silence! The Musical was named Best Musical at the New York International Fringe Festival and has continued to build a devoted cult following over the years. An “Unauthorized Parody of Silence of the Lambs” — Jonathan Demme’s controversial 1991 serial-killer thriller that won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally) — this comic satire follows the exploits of rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling (Swan!!!’s Jenn Harris) as she seeks help from imprisoned madman Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lector (Married with Children’s David Garrison) in order to catch another crazed killer, Buffalo Bill (Stephen Bienskie). Directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, Silence! The Musical features a book by Obie winner Hunter Bell ([title of show]), music, lyrics, and “screenplay” by Jon & Al Kaplan (24: Season Two: The Musical), and a cast that also includes Callan Bergmann, Harry Bouvy, Ashlee Dupre, Annie Funke, Deidre Goodwin, Howard Kaye, and Topher Nuccio.
TICKET GIVEAWAY: Silence! The Musical is currently running through May 6 at the 9th Space Theatre at Performance Space 122, and twi-ny has four pairs of tickets to give away for free for select shows March 1 – April 27. Just send your name, daytime phone number, and all-time favorite serial-killer movie to contest@twi-ny.com by Wednesday, February 22, at 3:00 to be eligible. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; four winners will be selected at random.
SUPER SABADO: CARNAVAL!
Lila Downs will perform a free concert as part of Carnaval celebration at El Museu del Barrio
FREE THIRD SATURDAYS
El Museo del Barrio
1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th St.
Saturday, February 18, free, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
212-831-7272
www.elmuseo.org
Fat Tuesday is next week, kicking off Mardi Gras celebrations all over the world. El Museo del Barrio will be holding a free Carnaval party on Saturday, featuring special events all day long. Mask-making workshops will take place 11:00 to 4:00 in Las Galerias and El Taller. From 12 noon to 3:00, you can dance to traditional music in the Black Box Theater, while from 1:00 to 4:00 you can don a jaguar mask made by artist Balam Soto and get your picture taken in the photo booth. Latin Grammy winner Lila Downs will perform a Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert at 4:00 in El Teatro, highlighting songs from her 2011 disc, Pecados y Milagros. Also at 4:00, Caridad de la Luz “La Bruja” will host a spoken-word workshop for teens in the Black Box. And at 7:00, a group of poets including Martín Espada, Jesús Papoleto Meléndez, Junot Díaz, Willie Perdomo, Mayda del Valle, and Emanuel Xavier will pay homage to writer, poet, and teacher Piri Thomas, who passed away in October at the age of eighty-three. In addition, there will be tours of the current exhibitions, “Testimonios: 100 Years of Popular Expression” and “Voces y Visiones: Gran Caribe.”
OTHER LIVES
Other Lives will hit the Bowery Ballroom before joining Radiohead later this month (photo by James Rhodes)
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St. between Bowery & Christie St.
Friday, February 17, $15, 9:00
212-533-2111
www.otherlives.com
www.boweryballroom.com
Before joining up with Radiohead at the end of the month, U.S. band Other Lives are going on a whirlwind tour of North America, hitting fourteen cities in eighteen nights. The quintet is on the road in support of their second disc, the lovely Tamer Animals (TBD Records, May 2011), a lush suite of songs that swirl and flow into one another effortlessly. Recorded over a span of sixteen months in their hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Tamer Animals consists of eleven carefully constructed soundscapes that evoke Ennio Morricone and Pink Floyd while delving into Western balladry, Asian traditional music, and medieval epics. The songs combine lofty, existential poetic lyrics with lilting, ethereal background vocals that reach to the heavens. “Solitary motion, in the wake of an avalanche / Deer in the headlights, there goes a weaker one / He’s listenin’ in the fast gaze, I don’t care now to see the way / Do you hear the silence? I was far too late,” Jesse Tabish sings over a haunting minimalist piano on the title track. “We’re on our way,” he adds in the acoustic “Dust Bowl III.” Featuring Tabish on piano, guitar, and lead vocals, Josh Onstott on bass and organ, Jenny Hsu on cello and piano, Colby Owens on drums, and Jonathon Mooney on piano, violin, and guitar, Other Lives are indeed on their way. You can catch them at the Bowery Ballroom on February 17 with Sydney-based five-piece WIM and Brooklyn duo Lucius.
VIDEO OF THE DAY — SLEIGH BELLS: “COMEBACK KID”
“Comeback Kid,” the brand-new video from Brooklyn-based duo Sleigh Bells, blows out of the speakers like machine-gun fire as vocalist Alexis Krauss, clutching a rifle, gleefully bounces up and down on a bed. Krauss and her musical partner, Derek E. Miller, are about to release their second LP, Reign of Terror (Mom + Pop, February 21, 2012), the follow-up to their hit debut, 2010’s Treats. The new disc ranges from poppy dance anthems to heavy guitar-driven blasts to slower, moodier songs, influenced by family tragedy that has struck Miller in a big way; since the first record, his father died in a motorcycle accident, and his mother contracted cancer. But there’s still plenty of fun to be had on Reign of Terror, which is highlighted by such tracks as “Born to Lose,” “Demons,” “Road to Hell,” “Never Say Die,” “D.O.A.,” and “Leader of the Pack,” which begins with the revving of motorcycle engines in a tribute to the girl-group classic. Sleigh Bells will be at Terminal 5 on February 17 ($25.20, 8:00) with Black Bananas and Wet Witch (which includes Krauss’s fiancé, Tyler Mate). You can watch the live stream for free as part of the new Bowery Presents Live series; in addition, you can check out a full stream of the new album for a limited time here.