Sundry Items - Menomena, Idiot Glee, Grandfather and other musings

Sup everyone? Feels like it’s warm enough to start updating again. This last winter was a rough one. Record breaking levels of snow and brickness. Mad salt and sand on the streets, destroying pairs of shoes. No vacation to a tropical getaway to warm us up, or good music to cheer us up. All these things may or may not actually affect our ability to shoot, but the important thing is that spring is here, and the BAL crew officially back in ack...until we find some other way to slack. 

To celebrate the end of winter hibernation mode, we’ve reached into our reserve stash for some “fresh” vids shot 3-6 months ago that we’ve been saving for moments just like this. On some outdoor-middies shit, these vids are pretty decent we guess. Like those halloween baggies you got as a kid which only had Smarties and Tootsie Rolls in them, instead of king sized Snickers and Butterfingers. You always assumed the rich-ass residents would hook it up with full-sized treats, but this was never true; in fact the biggest jackpots were when people left the full container out with a note saying “please take only one!” Pfffff.

On the real though, we got a nice grab bag of vids that will surely satiate your need for that BAL freshness. First up is “Queen Black Acid” by Menomena, one of the hidden treasures from their album Mines. It seems that given this simple melody, most drummers would be content with tapping a repetitive and consistent beat throughout, maybe switching it up a little during the chorus. Not so with Menomena’s Danny Seim, who divides and subdivides the rhythm into an unpredictable yet perfectly timed cadence that makes this song so oddly addictive. In other news, apparently keyboardist/guitarist Brent Knopf said “see ya’ll” last winter and peaced out of the band to focus on Ramona Falls, his solo pj. Kinda weaksauce. Brent was one of the founding members and was with the band throughout 3 distinguished and impressive albums; we’ll definitely miss his contribution. In case you missed it earlier, check out the classic lineup in the video below ending in “Evil Bee”. 

Next up is another track from that Idiot Glee show we shot last winter, at everyone’s favorite summertime sweatbox, Glasslands. Did they even get AC yet? Gonna be a rough summer for shows if Glasslands doesn’t invest in multiple 50k BTU AC units that obliterate several layers of ozone. It’s kinda ass, how that the more you deplete the ozone with AC, the hotter it gets from global warming, thus feeding the vicious cycle until there’s no ozone left and the world is hot as balls all the time. 

The above track, “All Packed Up” is an oldie but a goodie from his EP. I feel like this song could easily be a solo number in one of those classic Hollywood flicks starring Bing Crosby or Fred Astair, singing about some broad who he’s trying hard to mack to. Idiot Glee will be releasing his debut LP hella soon, like June 15th. You can hear one of his new tracks, “Trouble at the Dancehall” over at YANP. 

Another band making big moves these days is our boys Grandfather, who just added two new members and are now a 4 piece. We caught these guys at Union Pool a few months ago, back when taco truck + bonfire made for a great excuse to trek out to the Willy on a random Saturday night. We're glad to have captured the classic lineup freaking out hard in this killer video of them playing "The Outcome." Don't forget to catch the new, expanded Grandfather next month when they play the BAL Northside Showcase (see below).

Spring is a time to start fresh and look ahead to the next season of indie music with derision, amusement, and excitement. For our part, we will be doing a special showcase at this year’s Northside Festival to highlight some of the best, most talented and interesting emerging acts here in New York and beyond. This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, and we hope you’ll join us for the party next month during Brooklyn’s very own SXSW - Northside Festival. Details/poster/lineup to come SOON. Promise. 

Grandfather - Album Release Party - Cameo Gallery

We’ve got a Friday morning special here at Big Ass Lens that will hopefully knock you out of the post-thirsty Thursday drinking coma and rearrange your facial features – but not on the Elvis Costello tip. We trekked it out (okay, more like a supremely simple subway ride) to the rather killer, and extremely free album release show of psych-tinged, grunge scions Grandfather a couple weeks ago in Williamsburg and came back with a treat. Fresh off their recording session with Steve Albini in Chicago, the band has just released their debut Why I’d Try on CD and Vinyl and put on a free gig at Cameo Gallery, September 18^th. They apparently dig on the whole free concept because their all-analog recorded album is available for zilch via their website, and we’re not complaining. It kills on some run-for-the-hills goodness – guitars jagged enough to pierce skin, with that thundering rhythm section only Albini can provide.

Grandfather - AWOL - Live in Williamsburg

We first caught these guys at a couple gigs prior to their recording and it looks like time in the studio has done them well. Taut, confident and ready to kill, their set of crushing tunes reminded us that at some point people made good hard rock records. Who knew?

Aside from giving us all a great set to watch, Grandfather also gave the BAL Crew more access, so we busted out two cameras for this bad boy and snapped up a fiercely played, two-minute blast called “AWOL” from their LP.

Check it out!

Link: How Grandfather Made A Record With Steve Albini In Three Days: Part I (Sonic Scoop)

Grandfather - Lit Lounge 6/12

More Big Ass coverage for you guys of the particularly man-could-get-muggy-hot-fire variety! BAL Crew was in full effizect this past weekend catching New York based ear drum destroyers, Grandfather. A rock trio hailing from Brooklyn, they’re most definitely on our radar of tight-as-shit bands to watch. They’re currently prepping to record their debut record with a crack team of BAL favorites – Steve Albini and Bob Weston – and we managed to grab a couple tunes from their set at Lit Lounge. And let us tell you, while Grandfather clearly brought that fire, Lit Lounge brought fire of its own as it was crowded Saudi market hot in the basement sweat pit of theirs. Oh well – definitely made the shellacking from Grandfather all the more appropriate.

Suffice it to say, we fucked with these guys. A power-house drummer who also handles lead vocals, a lockstep bassist and a tearing-at-the-fringes guitarist? We’re in.

We got two tracks for you guys – slow burning blitzkrieg “The Outcome”, along with the epic “You’re Strange” which features some killer crunch at the top. Finally, a bonus track,  "By Myself," live at Knitting Factory a while back.

Definitely check these guys out (grandfathermusic.com) – we’re very eager to hear their upcoming record and are optimistic it will deliver on its Alibini-assisted promise!

Peep the steeeeeeeez.