Jay Brannan

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21^{st 2009}

Jay Brannan is a Texas born singer, actor, and songwriter. After finding homes all over the country to live in, and briefly attending University of Cincinnati’s acting school, he decided to plant his feet down in New York City. He played the role of Ceth in “Shortbus”, an indie film directed by John Cameron Mitchell. Relatively new to the music world, he has released several songs on iTunes and on his myspace page, has become extremely popular thanks to his YouTube profile, and has been keen on maintaining a self-produced, low-key website.

His songs hold many of the same universal themes other artists acclaim to, but with a more fresh, realistic, sometimes vulgar, understanding. This has made him a hero to other gay men and general audiences alike.

Recommended If You Like:

Chris Garneau, Scott Matthew, John LaMonica

Record Label: Great Depression

Listen at: www.myspace.com/jaybrannan

Appearing at The Social Wednesday October 21st

8pm doors $10.00 18+ Welcome

David Bazan

TUESDAY OCTOBER 13th ²⁰⁰⁹

The son of a pastor, David Bazan wasn't introduced to secular music until his early youth, an experience that helped fuel the Christian-influenced songwriting of his first project, Pedro The Lion. Bazan formed the band in 1995, mixing first-person narratives and nuanced indie rock with contributions from a rotating cast of musicians. Based in Seattle, the group released four albums, beginning with 1998's It's Hard To Find a Friend and concluding with 2004's Achilles Heel. Bazan stopped using the name in early 2006, but his musical aspirations continued with several other outfits.

Shortly after dropping the Pedro The Lion moniker, Bazan joined Nick Peterson and Starflyer 59's Frank Lenz to form the electronic pop outfit Headphones. He also began recording his own solo material, and 2006 saw the release of a solo EP entitled Fewer Moving Parts. The ten-track album featured five songs, each one given a full instrumentation effort as well as an acoustic rendition. Bazan even altered the songs' names depending on their arrangements. Named one of the Top 100 Living Songwriters by Paste Magazine, he spent the early portion of 2006 on tour in Europe with the Undertow Orchestra, an outfit featuring Vic Chesnutt Will Johnson, and Mark Eitzel. He headed to North America later that summer, supporting his EP's release with a tour alongside Micah P. Hinson. Three years later, Bazan released his full-length solo debut, Curse Your B, on the Barsuk label.

Recommended If You Like:

Damien Jurado, Pedro The Lion, Jeremy Enigk

Record Label: Barsuk

Listen at: www.myspace.com/davidbazan

Appearing at The Social with Say Hi

8pm doors $12.00adv $14.00dos All Ages

Frightened Rabbit

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29th  ²⁰⁰⁹

Playing clever but purposefully naïve pop in the manner of the Vaselines,the Twilight Sad, and the Clean, Frightened Rabbit sound a good bit bolder than their moniker would suggest, though it suits their lively but nervous musical personality. Frightened Rabbit was founded in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2004, when guitarist Scott Hutchison and his brother Grant, a percussionist who -- like his sibling -- prefers to keep his last name a secret, began recording demos of songs they had written. Encouraged by friends and family, the brothers added a second guitarist, their friend Billy, and the trio began making the rounds of Glasgow's pubs and music venues. Slowly but surely gaining a reputation for their work, Frightened Rabbit began work on their first album, initially planning to record at the home studio where they'd done their original demos but eventually opting to record at Glasgow's Diving Bell Studio with Marcus Mackay instead. 

Frightened Rabbit released Sing The Greys through their own label, Hits the Fan Records, in mid-2006. Reviews were enthusiastic, and Universal picked up the disc for distribution in the U.K. and the U.S. The group's reputation enjoyed a considerable boost in America after they played a well-received showcase at the 2007 South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, TX, and the U.S. release of Sings only increased Frightened Rabbit's popularity. The band's sophomore release, Midnight Organ Flight, arrived in April 2008.

 

Recommended If You Like:

The Vaselines, The Long Winters, The Clean

Record Label: Fat Cat

Listen at: www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit

 

Appearing at The Social with The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks

8pm doors $12.00 18+ Welcome

Fountain of Wayne

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19th  ²⁰⁰⁹

Although Fountains of Wayne didn't enjoy mainstream attention until the release of "Stacy's Mom" in 2003, the band had already established itself as one of America's strongest power pop acts. Based in New Jersey, the group first appeared in 1996 with a mix of British-influenced songcraft, lo-fi production, and wry lyrics about dead-end jobs and biker boyfriends. Fountains of Wayne expanded their lineup and embraced a more polished sound during the following years, eventually hitting gold with 2003's Welcome Interstate Managers. While the album proved to be something of a fluke success, the band continued releasing well-crafted records throughout the subsequent years. Meanwhile, co-founder Adam Schlesinger enjoyed a separate career as a producer and ghostwriter for other artists. 

Schlesinger first crossed paths with songwriter Chris Collingwood in 1986, while both were studying at Massachusetts' Williams College. Sharing a mutual affection for melodic British pop, the two formed a series of short-lived bands before recording an LP under the name Pinwheel. The duo split up after legal hassles blocked the album's release, with Schlesinger resurfacing as part of the indie pop band Ivy and Collingwood joining a Boston-based country group named the Mercy Buckets. The two musicians eventually reunited in 1996 as Fountains of Wayne, christening their band after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, NJ. Atlantic Records issued the duo's acclaimed self-titled LP that same year, and Schlesinger helped expand the band's profile by authoring the title song to the movie That Thing You Do! 

 

Recommended If You Like:

Weezer, They Might Be Giants, The Lemonheads

Record Label: Virgin Records

Listen at: www.myspace.com/fountainsofwayne

 

Appearing at The Social on September 19th 2009

9pm doors $17.00ADV $20.00DOS 18+ Welcome

Lee "Scratch" Perry

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 04th  ²⁰⁰⁹

Some call him a genius, others claim he's certifiably insane, a madman. Truth is, he's both, but more importantly, Lee Perry is a towering figure in reggae -- a producer, mixer, and songwriter who, along with King Tubby, helped shape the sound of dub and made reggae music such a powerful part of the pop music world. Along with producing some of the most influential acts (Bob Marley and The Wailers and the Congos to name but two) in reggae history, Perry's approach to production and dub mixing was breathtakingly innovative and audacious -- no one else sounds like him -- and while many claim that King Tubby invented dub, there are just as many who would argue that no one experimented with it or took it further than did Lee Perry.

 

Recommended If You Like:

Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, The Upsetters

Record Label: Upsetter

Listen at: www.myspace.com/leescratchperry

 

Appearing at The Social on September 4th 2009

9pm doors $20.00ADV $25.00DOS 18+ Welcome

Four Year Strong

SUNDAY AUGUST 09th  ²⁰⁰⁹

Alan Day (Vocals/Guitar), Dan O’Conner (Vocals/Guitar), Joe Weiss (Bass), Josh Lyford (Synth), and Jake Massucco (Drums) are Four Year Strong. At first, this may not raise eyebrows or drop jaws, but it is only a matter of time. Bringing a unique blend of brutal breakdowns and soaring choruses, Four Year Strong have cut their teeth into the Worcester hardcore scene and thirst for more. Their music incites a riot like nothing seen before, leaving live crowds and CD listeners alike simultaneously blown away, and fired up. 

Their influences range from Lifetime to Saves the Day, Gorilla Biscuits to New Found Glory. “We just play exactly what we want to hear,” describes Dan, explaining their combination of hardcore and pop-punk. Sharing an average age of 20 years old, the five guys of Four Year Strong have already self-released an EP, making themselves known on the Smartpunk Top 100 sales and Purevolume’s “most played” charts. The band built their own stage sets, booked their own tours, and made music the way they want it to be made

 

Recommended If You Like:

Lifetime, Gorilla Biscuits, Saves The Day

Record Label: Decaydance

Listen at: www.myspace.com/fouryearstrong

 

Appearing at The Social with Set Your Goals, Polar Bear Club, Drive A, and Fireworks

6pm doors $12.00ADV $14.00DOS All Ages Welcome

The Fiery Furnaces & White Rabbits

Sunday August 23rd 2009

The Fiery Furnaces are an inventive and often challengingly experimental rock group from Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Oak Park, Illinois — a suburb of Chicago — they consist of the brother and sister team of Matthew Friedberger and Eleanor Friedberger, and are currently joined by Jason Loewenstein (Sebadoh), Bob D'amico and Michael Goodman when playing live on tour.. 

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White Rabbits come to New York via the arid plains of the Mid West. Although they have been in NYC for just over a year, they have managed to catch the attention of Say Hey Records and producer Chris Zane (Shy Child, Asobi Seksu, Les Savy Fav).

Lead by dual vocalists, Greg Roberts (Guitar / Vox) and Steve Patterson (Piano / Vox), the 6 piece is rounded out by Alex Even (Guitar / Vox), Adam Russell (Bass), Matt “The Duck” Clark (Drums) and Jamie Levinson (Drums). With a certain joie de vive, playfulness and charm White Rabbits thematically evoke ?the more decadent and bygone era of days spent on the green, old cinemas “Tourist Trap”, tragic mothers “Navy Wives”, and restrained, but no less awkward domestic disputes, with the first single, “The Plot.”

 

Recommended If You Like:

Frogeyes, Of Montreal, Destroyer, Marnie Stern

Record Label: Rough Trade / TBD

Listen at: www.myspace.com/thefieryfurnaces  www.myspace.com/whiterabbits

 

Appearing at The Social August 23rd 2009

9pm doors $13.00adv / $15.00dos  18+ welcome