The Bowery Presents

The Mercury Lounge upcoming shows

Late Show

CMJ Opening Night!

The Disciplines (feat. Ken Stringfellow)
12:00
Jupiter One
11:00
Pete & J
10:00

All set times are actual times.
Venue:
The Mercury Lounge
Date:
Tue 10/20
Notes:
21+
Doors: 9:30 PM / Show: 9:30 PM
$10
The Disciplines
official website
myspace
.. It’s a given: with today’s popular culture, the joke is either on you (post post-irony irony); or the content is so pathetic as to be worthy of a joke (er, rhymes with Itney Ears) or is so serious as to make jokes unwelcome (99% of indie rock is as dour as the security line at the airport--and offers a similar role: suffer first to atone for your escapist pleasure). There are very few safe havens in the entertainment menu. This is a pity, because this is the age of the Darwinian superhero--anyone in popular culture is expected to an actor, musician, activist, author, fitness freak/guru, playboy/girl, wife/husband of someone of similar caliber. An entertainer is supposed to do it all, effortlessly. With only so much talent spread oh-so-thin, of course, the ranks are now replenished with the talentless--a bunch of people who can’t sing captivate the attention of a national audience by singing badly, after which they are scolded for not being able to sing. Entertainment? It sounds like a penal colony. There are alternatives. Saviors, even. Four of them, the Four Norsemen of the Apocalypse, come to liberate the living and the brain-dead. THE DiSCiPLiNES. Three Norwegians, ex-members of Nordic pop sucess story Briskeby, and one American, Ken Stringfellow, whose extensive resume includes founding one of the 90s most critically acclaimed bands, the Posies; touring worldwide with R.E.M., and providing terawatts of energy and talent to artists such as Big Star, Lagwagon, Snow Patrol and Neil Young. Ken’s a European now, having been based in France for some years, and in his frequent tours of the Continent he teamed up with Briskeby in 2005 with a chart-topping duet hit single called “Joe Dallesandro”, the band’s swan song. The core of the group--drummer Claus Larsen, bassist Baard Helgeland and guitarist Bjorn Bergene--and Ken decided to carry on, and quickly developed a sound that might be seen as the antithesis of the Posies ornate, literate rock and Briskeby’s icy, slick pop; THE DiSCiPLiNES shoot from the hip and aim for the head, heart and the naughty bits all at once, in a streamlined, succinct and stabbing series of nasty jabs. The group’s first effort, a raw, in the basement recording called “Best Mistake” topped the Norwegian radio charts for an entire summer in 2007; the band worked on an album and wisely chose to stay in the basement to record it. The result, SMOKiNG KiLLS, was released to huge acclaim in Norway in Spring 2008. The song “Oslo” was played once an hour for 18 weeks on all the major radios in the country. The band went from a few tenative club shows to headlining festivals straight out of the gate. The band traveled to Spain to play a sold out club date in Barcelona--6 months in advance of the album’s release there. Snow Patrol and R.E.M. both took the band as support for massive arena shows. SMOKiNG KiLLS is snarly, but catchy; direct, but not dumb; winky but not snarky. The songs race by in brutal efficiency, and within the garage-y production you might miss the delicate smattering of wordplay tucked in amongst the singalong chourses. Playing live, the band is uplifting, taking its cues from the community and spirit of a hardcore show, but with an entirely different musical agenda. A Pilates-enhanced Stringfellow lapdances on the security guards; pencil thin medical student Bergene karate kicks the air while maintaining a Billy Zoom-like grin; Larsen and Helgeland anchor the antics with fabulous, titanium-solid fuzz bass and drums. Set to visit the US and Canada in 2009, THE DiSCiPLiNES are neither comic relief nor academic sobriety--they are just a band fulfilling their mission, in a spectacularly entertaining fashion. Give them two minutes and eighteen seconds; they will give you their lives.
Jupiter One
official website
myspace
A Sunshower can be a rare occurrence, but when these opposing forces meet, magic and allure is in the air. This is exactly why the NYC-based rockers, Jupiter One, chose the title (inspired by the Japanese short film Dreams by Akira Kurosawa) for their upcoming Ryko album available September 15, 2009. Their far-out freshness mixed with timeless musical inspirations mesh together in a bittersweet indie-pop rock concoction—produced by the group and noted engineer Chris Ribando (The Black Crowes, Priestbird, Mary J. Blige).

This young quartet—all in their twenties—consisting of K Ishibashi (lead vocals), Zac Colwell (lead guitar), Dave Heilman (drums) and Pat Dougherty (bass), has a knack for unifying their contemporary style with a range of musical influences. Sunshower is the result of Jupiter One's experienced ear. For instance, the dancefloor-friendly “Simple Stones,” filled with handclaps and soulful riffs, boasts a bass line for all ages while blending ‘80s Rolling Stones and MGMT. The epic opener “Volcano” resurrects the youthful spirit of the Beach Boys with The Flaming Lips, while delivering one of the disc’s best choruses. And if Ishibashi conjures The Shins on “Find Me a Place,” then he drops vintage, finger-picking folk on “People in the Mountain”. Lastly but certainly not least, their current single “Flaming Arrow,” a shimmering acoustic folk tune, shoots through with a bumping bass line and New Orleans inspired drum groove. This genre-bending approach creates a hook-heavy opus well suited for our ADD times.

From selling out Manhattan’s hot bed of music venues, to releasing their self-titled EP in 2005, followed by their debut album in 2007 as well as scoring high-profile commercial campaigns (MLB’s Opening Day ‘09, NASCAR Talladega Race ’09, NBC’s hit show Heroes, Madden NFL ’08, Payless‘09, Mazda ’08), Jupiter One has come a long way from the traveling circus. Yes, Barnum Kaleidoscope is where Virginian-born K Ishibashi and Austin native Zac Colwell met as touring musicians, and where the two planted the seeds for Jupiter One. Having quit their day jobs, the new Jupiter One, with the addition of former STOMP member and New Jersey-born Dave Heilman and Delaware-raised Pat Dougherty, continue to rock stage shows stateside and breathe new life into their ever evolving sound.
Pete and J
official website
myspace
Pete Harper and Jason Blynn are known to themselves, and in turn by others, affectionately but usually appropriately, as "Pete and J". Pete and J tour nationally, all over the US of A, and occasionally in the UK. Most of the time, Pete and J are a band consisting of 4 people (a bassist and drummer in addition to the Pete and the J).

They are based in New York City, where they flourish in the sweet exhaust and excitement of city life. They tour much of the year, however, so occasionally see both grass and trees.

“Drawing regular comparisons to Simon & Garfunkel, but rising well above simply sounding like someone else, Pete and J are seasoned live performers, consummate entertainers, and offer a simple but unique twist that somehow bridges young and old, shy and wild…”
-Cheshire FM (in the grand UK)

Pete and J have released “Dressed for Conversation” and “Without a Band”. But the forthcoming new album (currently being worked on) is the most highly anticipated of all of their works to date. Featuring a move towards the upbeat pop hooks of The Rolling Stones and vocal harmonies that have been lost for 30 years, the new songs are at the same time nostalgic and new, vinyl and totally original.
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