News

May 14, 2008

Brassland Does East Village Radio

As of late, Brassland has been all over the airwaves (or rather, on internet-based radio, but whatever). East Village Radio, a "forum for the musical and cultural melting pot of New York City's East Village," recently welcomed Brassland co-founder Alec Hanley Bemis as a guest DJ for a Friday afternoon slot on Infinite Eargasm. If you're interested in discovering more about Alec's personal taste in music, you can download the show and/or stream it below.

In addition, Sam Amidon appeared on EVR backed by latest Brassland addition Nico Muhly as well as Mothertongue producer Valgeir Sigurõssen. You can both watch and listen to their performance of "Little Johnny Brown"...


May 4, 2008

Nico Muhly at Merkin Hall and St. Thomas Church

Brassland's latest roster addition Nico Muhly will be performing this Thursday (May 8th) at Merkin Hall in New York City. The night's program will be hosted by WNYC's John Schaefer and also will feature a performance by composer Phillip Bimstein. Nico will be performing "Mothertongue" (featuring mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer) and "Wonders" (for Helgi Hrafn Jónsson), both of which can be found on his upcoming Brassland release Mothertongue.

Muhly will follow up this performance with another the following week at St. Thomas Church on Tuesday, May 13th, showcasing his piece "Bright Mass with Canons."


May 2, 2008

The National Tour Across America and Europe

The National's appearance at Coachella last Friday marked the beginning of a busy summer for the band. Some highlights on their touring schedule include: a three night stand at Dublin's Olympia Theatre, a gig at All Tomorrow's Parties, and a month-long jaunt across the US and Canada opening for REM and Modest Mouse. Once done with that, then it's back to Europe for some more summer dates, including the O2 Wireless Festival, T in the Park, Haldern Pop Festival, and Green Man Festival.


April 28, 2008

Clogs Featured in Turn the River

Clogs are featured on the original soundtrack to writer/director Chris Eigeman's debut film Turn the River. The soundtrack features songs from Lantern as well as new music.

Starring Famke Janssen and Rip Torn(!), the film's narrative centers around Kailey, a divorced, tough-as-nails mother who makes her living playing poker upstate and hustling games in a Manhattan pool hall. In order to gain back her 11 year old son, Gulley, from his abusive upper-class father, Kailey must first gain the necessary cash to secure bootleg passports by participating in a $10,000-per-rack game of nine ball.


Will her plan work? Will everything turn out all right in the end? W...


April 17, 2008

Nico Muhly Signs to Brassland for the United States

Remember the March 14th news story that (not so subtly) hinted at a big upcoming announcement? Well, the news broke this morning on Brooklyn Vegan, and we're happy to confirm that Brassland will be releasing Nico Muhly's Mothertongue on July 22nd, 2008.

For those not in the know, Nico Muhly is a 26-year old composer born in Vermont. He graduated from Columbia University in 2003 with a degree in English Literature and received a Masters in Music from the Juilliard School one year later. Since then, he has amassed a string of commissions, collaborations, and premieres (including The Boston Pops, the BBC, American Ballet Theater, the New York Public Library, the Whitney Museum...


April 11, 2008

MusicNOW Festival Round Up

The MusicNOW Festival at Cincinnati's Memorial Hall has come and gone and, from all accounts, it was a major success.

The festival, curated by Brassland co-founder Bryce Dessner (Clogs, The National), ran April 2nd-5th and featured such varied musicians as Andrew Bird, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Dirty Projectors, Glenn Kotche (Wilco), Grizzly Bear, Nico Muhly, Padma Newsome (Clogs, The National), Rachael Elliot (Clogs), Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre), Sufjan Stevens, and Thomas Bartlett (Doveman).

For more on the event, there's an interview with Bryce at the Cin Weekly and, if you're in the mood for some pictures, head over to Pitchfork and Spil...


April 3, 2008

Bryce Dessner DJs on WOXY.COM

In anticipation of Cincinnati's MusicNOW Festival, Bryce Dessner (Clogs, The National) stopped by the WOXY.com studios to talk about the festival and guest DJ.

In the interview, Bryce revealed his enthusiasm for the festival's opening night (which is actually tonight) by name-dropping some musicians (Sufjan Stevens, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire/Bell Orchestre, Nico Muhly, Aaron Dessner of The National, Padma Newsome of Clogs) and films (by Robert Breer and Maya Deren) that will be featured in the night's festivities.

Give the interview a listen - it's both informative (Bryce really knows his stuff) and pretty interesting. And if you hear something you...


March 28, 2008

Bryce Dessner Curates MusicNOW Festival

Bryce Dessner, guitarist for Clogs and The National, does more than merely make music. Turns out, he (with the help of some other folks) can organize it, too.

On April 2-5 (Wednesday through Saturday), Bryce will curate as well as perform in the MusicNOW Festival at Memorial Hall in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The festival aims to feature artists "that take risks and do not fit neatly into categories," which this year includes Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre), Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), Padma Newsome and Rachael Elliot (Clogs), and Bryce and Aaron Dessner (The National). And that's only the first night. The festival will also featu...


March 21, 2008

New Pela Dates Announced

As previously reported, Pela was forced to cancel the remainder of their tour following singer/guitarist Billy McCarthy's hand injury.

Well, everyone's happy to say that Billy's surgery went well and that he and the band are now in the process of a little R & R. In May, the band will hit the road again to make up the canceled shows. See the new tour dates on our shows page (click on the "Artist" column heading in order to sort dates by Brassland artist).


March 14, 2008

One Down With One To Go: Bryce Dessner at The Kitchen Tonight

Bryce Dessner (Clogs, The National) will be appearing again tonight at The Kitchen with Wilco percussionist Glenn Kotche. The performances will consist of Dessner's original compositions for guitar and string quartet as well as works from Kotche's solo album Mobile and adaptations from Anomaly - his new composition for the Kronos Quartet. The show begins at 8 p.m.


March 14, 2008

Nico Muhly at The Kitchen Post-Show Update

From all accounts, it appears that Nico Muhly's two nights at the Kitchen - featuring our friends Thomas Bartlett and Sam Amidon from Doveman - went over very well. Nico, in describing the event, went so far as to write on his website that the three shows "were one of the highlights of my life." Even taking into account the possibility of sarcasm or overstatement (which we seriously doubt), that's saying a lot.

In related news, Brassland has a big announcement regarding one of the participants of the the Kitchen shows, so stay tuned...it's coming soon. Promise.


March 7, 2008

The Boss and Ms. Bush Approve of the National

This past week, both Bruce Springsteen (awesome) and Jenna Bush (awesome?) voiced their appreciation for the National. The Boss, in an interview with USA Today, provided a list of his favorite songs and artists on his iPod. Following the Flying Burrito Brothers ("Sin City") and preceding the Pogues ("Dirty Old Town") came the National ("About Today"). What can we say? The man's got good taste...

And in an interview with MTV News's John Norris, First Daughter Jenna Bush voiced her high opinion of the National. Norris also approved, stating, "Yeah, I love them...yeah." MTV News - illuminating and insightful, as always. Anyway, we certainly agree with them and enjoy th...


March 7, 2008

Clogs Percussionist Tours with Loop 2.4.3

Clogs' percussionist Thom Kozumplik will be touring the Midwest throughout March and has an April show in New York with Loop 2.4.3. The dates are:

3/9/08 Pittsburgh, PA (Your Inner Vagabond)
3/11/08 Chicago, IL (The Empty Bottle)
3/12/08 University Center, MI (Saginaw Valley State - Free Show)
3/13/08 University Center, MI (SVSU Master Class)
3/14/08 Caledonia, MI (Duncan Lake MS Auditorium)
3/15/08 Caledonia, MI (Strike Percussion Weekend Master Class)
4/9/08 New York, NY (The Players Theatre)

In addition, Rachael Elliot from Clogs will be performing with her bassoon duo Tuple at Loop 2.4.3's April show in New York.


March 5, 2008

Pela Cancel Tour

Pela guitarist/singer Billy McCarthy was injured at the band's February 29th show in Chicago. According to Pela's website, he fell off stage, landing on a broken pint glass and, in the process, sliced some tendons in his pinky finger. As a result, the rest of Pela's tour has been canceled as Billy undergoes surgery and recovers. Apologies to those who had bought tickets to upcoming shows. The band fully intends to make up the missed dates, and as soon as they're announced, we'll post them.


March 4, 2008

Thomas Bartlett and Sam Amidon at The Kitchen

Thomas and Sam of Doveman fame are playing with Nico Muhly on March 7th and 8th at The Kitchen. Though two of the three shows have already sold out, there are still tickets available for Friday night's show at 10 pm. Tickets are only $10, so come out and support some members on our Brassland roster.


February 29, 2008

Doveman Heading to Austin for SxSW

We here at Brassland are very pleased to announce that on Friday, March 14th (8 pm), Doveman will be playing with our good friends at Asthmatic Kitty as part of their showcase at Central Presbyterian Church.

The other acts on the bill are Tristan Perich, Clare and the Reasons, Cryptacize, My Brightest Diamond (fresh off her two shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music opening for Brassland alums The National), and Castanets. It's sure to be a whopper of a show, so come on out and enjoy yourself.


February 27, 2008

Brassland Site Up, Running, and Looking Good

Greetings, Brasslanders! We know things have been quiet here on our end for a little too long, but after months of working with our webmasters and internet gurus designing the site and uploading the (quite) extensive amount of information accumulated over the past seven years, we've finally managed to get things going. While we're still putting a few finishing touches on the site, we're beginning to get caught up and thank you for your patience.

So as things begin to come together, take a look around, enjoy the videos and photos, and be sure to sign up on the mailing list. Take care and stay tuned for more news to come...


November 15, 2007

Brassland Version 3.0 Coming (Eventually)...

Apologies dear readers for the lack of updates to this here website. We are in the midst of a complete site overhaul which we hope to have ready by the end of the year. So, we are busy sorting our HREFs and HTMLs, our XMLs and PHPs, et. cetera, et. cetera.

We assure you, it will be rad, and that we are hatching other plots, half-baked notions, and tie-in schemes with semi-famous independent rock bands.

For now enjoy this video from our latest and greatest, Doveman, as backed by The National. Yes, the sound is much less blown out live. Get your tickets now:


September 14, 2007

Catching Up with Doveman

We've consulted our Ouija board and divined a few more details about our release of Doveman's sophomore album With My Left Hand I Raise the Dead.

The record sounds like [LINK TO COME]this medley of two songs (those songs being "...." and "Sunrise"). A friend of ours called it "numinous" and we agree with him.

And, for those of you who still buy music (we like you extra much), we've settled on a few release dates.

September 25th: pre-release on eMusic.

October 9th: available in (better) record shops everywhere.

Late Octoberish: available on iTunes and all other digital type vendors.

Please support the good music by purchasing t...


September 14, 2007

The National Does Letterman

As some of you already know, Doveman has been opening a number of dates on The National's current US tour, thirteen dates which will find him visiting most major cities on the east coast of America and Canada, and into the deep south. For those ardent fans of The National (and boy, there's a lot more of you these days) we also bring you this hot gossip alert that Doveman's pianist/keyboardist/driving inspiration, Thomas Bartlett, has been joining The National on stage with some frequency. Let us count the iterations: (1) 3/5ths of The National have been backing him throughout Doveman's set, namely Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Bryan Devendorf. (We're told Scott and Ma...


June 18, 2007

Brassland Welcomes Doveman to the Dysfunctional Family

Observant fans of The National have noted the contributions of not one but two keyboard genius (genii?) mentioned in the linear notes to their much obsessed-upon new album, Boxer -- one being noted essayist Sufjan Stevens, the other being our friend, noted mixologist Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman. Want some basic stats? 25 years young; self-proclaimed fan of Bjork, Bach, Chris Whitley, and cocktails; resident of Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood. And here's a pretty picture.

Thomas has spent the past few years honing his sideman chops as touring keyboardist for artists such as The Frames, Antony & the Johnsons, and Elysian Fields. More recently he's done shorter stints work...


June 18, 2007

Brassland Mid-Year Update, the MusicNow Festival, Vincent Moon's Blogotheque

Until now, Brassland has lain dormant in 2007, but our extended family has remained quite active. Alec Hanley Bemis has gotten really into making smoothies for breakfast; we hear Aaron Dessner has already had to mow his lawn twice this summer season. Busy! A particularly hearty congratulations, though, to Brassland partner Bryce Dessner for his very successful MusicNOW Festival which took place in Cincinnati April 5-7. It featured performances by Amiina, Clogs, David Cossin, Irena & Vojtech Havel, My Brightest Diamond, Pedro Soler, and Sufjan Stevens -- as well as collaborations between many of the aforementioned artists. It was a magical weekend, made even more so by the presence of Brassla...


June 18, 2007

The National: Boxer, Selling Out the Bowery, and Opening for the Arcade Fire

Okay, RIAA certification seems unlikely at this point, but ya' never know...

It's seems very likely you've heard the deafening hype about, Boxer, the new album by Brassland's original flagship band, The National (aka The Franchise). A slot opening for The Arcade Fire! Five sold out shows in a row at New York's Bowery Ballroom! 10,000 copies of their new record sold in its first week! Justin Timberlake's announcement that Matt Berninger will do a guest rap on a remix of his new single! Okay, at least one of those statements is a lie. And, frankly, the hype has gotten so loud our ears and eyes feel slightly cloudy. Nonetheless, congratulations to the boys from...


June 18, 2007

Baby Dayliner Brings the Party

At the end of this month Crackers United and KEXP present Friction, "a DIY monthly concert series highlighting New York City's most up-and-coming bands along with the hottest buzzed about touring acts and DJs." Deep breath. This one has Baby Dayliner headlining a showcase of electro-pop bands Tigercity, Zigimat, and Freer.

Get ready to dance.


June 18, 2007

Pela Releases New Album

Congratulations to Brassland alumni Pela on the release of their new album Anytown Graffiti.

Be sure to give a listen to their Brassland release (and stellar EP), All in Time, and have the privilege of saying you knew them back when...


June 18, 2007

Erik Friedlander Releases New Album

Congratulations to Brassland alumnus Erik Friedlander on the release of his new album, Block Ice & Propane.

Be sure to give a listen to his Brassland release, Maldoror, and have the privilege of saying you knew him way back when...


March 26, 2007

Brassland: Busy Winter, Looking Forward to 2007

It has been an entire season since our last news update, and for that we apologize. We have been busy making music, receiving wisdom, curating festivals, and even going on dates.

Sorry to be so obscure, but that's what winter was like for all of us: full of ambiguity. And wait until you hear about Brassland's plans for 2007! We have no firm release dates, but many good projects "in the works." You'll just have to trust us.

For now, let us present three recent live videos from some members of the extended Brassland family. All of these were created by our unoffical "staff photographer" Vincent Moon.




#40.3 - The National - Start...


October 18, 2006

Devastations Announce First US Tour

The sharp-eyed among you may have noticed that Devastations sophomore album will be released on Brassland in less than a week. We're told it's already started popping up on some of the digital music services. We are even more psyched to let you know they'll be coming over here for their first US tour next week.

Their first two American shows will be opening slots for Love is All and The National. On most dates, though, they'll be accompanied by Favourite Sons and The Drones. All three bands are supporting new records. All three make bracing, intense music. It will be awesome. Visit our tour page or Vice Records for details.

Oh yeah, the international blogger...


October 18, 2006

Brassland at CMJ

For the first time in Brassland label history, we're having a particularly active CMJ. Four bands will be playing the festival, many of them multiple times. See our tour page for detailed set times, websites, etc. You can also refer to thsi quick'n'easy cheatsheet.

BABY DAYLINER
- Th 11/2 - NYC, NY - Pianos (CMJ party)

DEVASTATIONS
- We 11/1 - Brooklyn, NY - Sound Fix (afternoon in-store)
- Th 11/2 - NYC, NY - White Rabbit (3pm set time)
- Fr 11/3 - NYC, NY - R&R (10:15pm set time)

ERIK FRIEDLANDER
- Th 11/2 - NYC, NY - Pianos (CMJ party)
- Sa 11/4 - NYC, NY - Rockwood Music Hall (8pm set time)

PELA
- Th 11/2 - NYC,...


October 18, 2006

Erik Friedlander Plays on Mountain Goats Album

In 2005, our man Friedlander made his true indie rockin' debut by contributing cello and various other arrangement duties to the Mountain Goats career-making album, The Sunset Tree. He has reprised his roll on the Mountain Goats' new album, Get Lonely. And this time Friedlander even made it into the video.