not so silent

New yorkers, come out to this party at Fat Baby tonight! The first holiday party of the season, thrown by the awesome peeps at Loose Record and Sesac, and involving free beer from 9-10pm.
I'm super excited to be deejaying this event, but a bit bummed that i'll miss the bands because i happen to have seen and liked all of them, especially The End of the World, who i saw play with Surefire at the Mercury lounge a while ago. Levy is a local band to keep an eye on as well. Despite some rumors that i didn't like them (it was the name - not the band - that bothered me at first, but i've gotten used to it), their music has been growing on me. So definitely check out the live acts downstairs and come upstairs for a little dancing. I'll be on 10pm until 12am. And all of this is for FREE of course...

destination diamonds

Diamond Nights are currently touring the US. I have yet to see them live, but each time one of their songs comes on my ipod, i stop my headbanging for a minute and wonder "who is this again? it's really good!", then i look at the screen and go "aaah, Diamond Nights of course!" and resume my idiotic banging of the head. Diamond Nights will be ending their tour in new york at the Bowery Ballroom on december 13th, and i may finally get to see them play.

Diamond Nights :: Destination Diamonds [mp3]

forever debts

Paul Schneider is local musician, singer, songwriter i've been into for almost two years now. His first album Escape Velocity is an amazing reflection of his talent and influences. The record striked a chord with me as just straight-up beautiful and honest songwriting. Check out what Pitchfork wrote about Escape Velocity. Paul Schneider's forthcoming second album Forever Debts will be out in early 2006, and it's as, if not more, captivating as the first one. Here's an excerpt from Paul's bio in regards to the new album:
"Forever Debts builds on the traditional pop singer/songwriter canon of influences (Elvis Costello, Elliot Smith) which informed Escape Velocity, evoking a wider range of artists from Greg Kihn to Can to Chavez to Eno to 20/20. Jangled guitars swarm warm programmed beats and layered drums. Angular melodies morph into unforgettable hooks. Familiar radio sounds and prog explorations from the 70's and 80's grapple with turn of the century electronic foundations. Lyrically, Forever Debts ventures beyond the obvious (though tried and true) singer/songwriter concerns of unrequited romance to explore themes of money, debt, family, and work." Listen to these tunes off Forever Debts...

Paul Schneider :: The crimes of Sivwitz [mp3]
Paul Schneider :: Osmosis [mp3]
For more songs, click here.

In anticipation of Paul's second album, i am inviting everyone in nyc to Paul Schneider's 7th Day Acoustic Residency at Pianos, which will take place the first three sundays of december starting this week. Each sunday, Paul will be joined by several special guests. Come out and show some love!!

Join us this sunday, december 4th starting at 7pm for an evening of acoustic gems with special guests A Don Piper Situation and Mason Dixon. Paul Schneider will be accompanied on stage by Oscar Rodriguez.

NO COVER!
Pianos :: 158 Ludlow St.

Paul Schneider's web site.
Paul Schneider on myspace.

chele

I'm back from my short but fantastic trip to El Salvador. Though not a very touristic destination due to recent wars, El Salvador is such a charming country. I happen to have a few college friends from there so this was my second time visiting them. If you ever plan a trip to Central America, i highly recommend a stop over in El Salvador. The people are the best part of the country for they are the kindest ever.

Random musical facts about my trip:
- When on shuffle, Stevie Wonder's Superwoman was the most played song on my ipod.
- Did you know that U2's Bullet the Blue Sky was written about El Salvador?
- The 80's are the universal musical language! While down there, i attended my friends Kira and Mario's wedding. For the most part during the reception the music was all salsa and meringue, up until 2am when a DJ took over and started playing not just one Erasure song, but a medley of 6 or 7 songs that everyone (young, old, salvadoreans, americans) was singing along to and going crazy for! They also went nuts for Depeche Mode and for, ahem, Sir Mix-a-lot and Vanilla Ice...

Volcano.

Salvadorean road.

Pupusas!

"Chele marry me" - from Mario to Kira on his fin deep in the hawaian ocean (re-created on ice here)...

Regular musical content will resume tomorrow.