LIC Notes

 

The LIC Barn Dance is a brand new monthly Americana music series at LIC Bar that kicks off on Monday, November 8th (RSVP on Facebook here)! We got the low-down on this unconventional hoedown from one of the series' creators, "Notorious" Liz Cousins. Check it out!

 

Who came up with the idea for the LIC Barn Dance?
My husband Daniel (aka The Invisible Kid) and I were out at a Silbin Sandovar show a few weeks ago and were riffing on some ideas, and he threw out the words Long Island City Barn Dance, which I wrote on a napkin and stuffed in my bag. From there it was chatting with Gus [Rodriguez, LIC Bar's booker and event producer] and making it happen.

 

Why LIC?
Simply? LIC is still an undiscovered neighborhood. Folks'll go one stop into Brooklyn for Williamsburg, or a lot more than that for Park Slope, but they think Queens is FAR. LIC is ONE stop into Queens from midtown! It's also a neighborhood of some AMAZING musicians and people. I want folks to recognize! And, I'd rather support MY neighborhood and it's proprietors.

 

What is the LIC Barn Dance all about?
LIC Barn Dance was developed to showcase the great Americana acts throughout LIC/Astoria proper as well as the City at large. This could be anything from bluegrass, country, western swing, Bakersfield, two-step, zydeco, rockabilly, ragtime to the more modern takes of NewGrass and Alt-country. It's about GREAT music, GREAT performances and giving people a GREAT reason to come back: fun. Music has gotten so dang serious, we aim to bring the fun back to a night out.

 

Why were DB Rielly, Rick Snell & The Whistlin' Wolves chosen for the inaugural show?
Gus had already booked DB Rielly and as DB is one of my favorite musicians and humans, he was a lock. He always does a seriously GREAT show and knows how to make the audience have fun (there's that word again). Rick Snell came in via Gus as well and knows a thing or two about most of the styles I listed above. He's a pro, and we're glad to have him on board. And The Whistlin' Wolves? I saw then the same night we came up with the Barn Dance idea and they absolutely blew me away. Really high-energy, tight show, and, dare I say...fun. So I HAD to get them on the bill.

 

What can music fans expect from future events in this series?
My main objective is to give folks a truly memorable night out with some amazing music. The future? I could say they have to come on out to keep it all elusive-like, but I'm hoping for things like a Bluegrass/Newgrass Festival, a Rockabilly night, a Mardi Gras zydeco/Swampfest, Banjopalooza (banjo being my favorite instrument, which I play VERY terribly)...just about anything under the Americana/Roots umbrella.

 

When can we catch the LIC Barn Dance?
We're looking at once a month, keeping it alive is up to YOU dear reader. Check in with us on Facebook or at www.licbarndance.com.

 

What is your particular investment/involvement in LIC?
I have lived in Astoria-LIC for 8 years now and have watched it grow and want the rest of the City to finally "get it". Queens isn't just Beer Gardens, cemeteries and airports! I also promote self-released bands/musicians to radio and feel a lot of GREAT music gets overlooked just because it's not signed with a huge payola machine behind it. Starting the LIC Barn Dance lines up perfectly with both of my "missions". And we hope you'll come along and join us. And because I've seen several posts on the topic, dancing IS optional.

 

 

The Inaugural LIC Barn Dance!
Monday, November 8th @ 8pm
LIC Bar: 45-58 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City
with DB Rielly, Rick Snell & The Whistlin' Wolves

 

Audrey Dimola is a born and raised Astoria/Long Island City gal. Best known around town for her work as Managing Editor of LIC-based arts/music/culture magazine, Ins&Outs, Audrey is now Project Manager of Dom & Tom, Inc., a NYC web and mobile development studio.

I don’t think I’m down with the global warming thing. This new autumn weather – sultry/cold rain/humid/chill breeze – sucks. So New York is the new Austin; I almost turned on the a/c today, and it’s time to write the November rent check. But if this were really Austin, the rent would be lower.

 

In a spasm of quasi-political action, I refrained from flipping the switch and went food shopping using canvas bags. Having ditched my ’89 Honda Accord LX for a purple Fuji Absolute 12-speed, I’m now feeling virtuous but, well, a bit bland.

 

You know the temporary yet effective solution to that: I turned to sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll. I’ve hoisted more than my fair share of Radeberger* this past month, and even got to meet the Radeberger Girls. One of them bought me a beer – I think she fancies me a bit!

 

Oh right, you’re here for the music. October’s de-blanding has mixed Brazilian surf riffs, sax-playing around Japanese swing, and Croatian dance-party rock. On one LIC Bar evening, João Erbetta and his band spin out high-energy surf tunes with a Portuguese accent. My usual problem with much Brazilian music comes from its being too pastel and languid (yes, it’s my problem); I’m happy to listen to surf music anytime, and believe I hear complications under the fun. Erbetta neatly reverses those tropes. His playing is fluid, exciting, precisely shaped, and quite engaging, so much so that I don’t really want to look under the hood to see how it all runs. I’ve heard him play in other contexts, and know he’s not just technically a savvy guitarist, but a musician who blends his personality with many genrés. Sadly, the bar was not so crowded when Erbetta played. He deserves a wider audience; while pretty well known on the scene, that and $104 will get you to your day job on the 7 train next month.

 

We’ve chatted about DB Rielly before, but that’s not going to stop me here. DB’s band followed Erbetta’s, and the party mood continued. For me, this show pivoted around the playing of the estimable Hiro Suzuki, lead guitar player in the group. Suzuki favored swing-era tunes which, by virtue of his actually being able to swing, set up a great dance mood. DB added counterpoint via his bluesy sax playing. Even some folks who’ve followed him for years realized he even played sax – turns out it was his first instrument, who knew? – and the contrast in sound lent depth to what can be a surface-y genrè. The two also collaborated beautifully on some covers of singer/songwriter tunes, like John Hiatt’s "Feels Like Rain," managing the transitions in mood gracefully without damping the party spirit.

 

By time The Dynasty took the stage, the party mood had swung to raucous. Don’t look for The Dynasty on iTunes; this was a one-off group, essentially Chris and Diana from Bad Buka, playing as part of Diana’s sister Carla’s birthday celebration (not saying which one, but “Lather” would know). And celebrate is what Bad Buka do best. I can’t say I remember much particularly that went on, other than someone shouting to the crowd, “Shut up and sing!” Everyone sang, everyone danced, it didn’t matter if you knew Croatian songs or dances; soon everyone felt like part of Carla’s family and the celebration. As the full band is playing a Hallowe’en party, I’ll try to get a more fair assessment then. Like, it’ll be easier on Hallowe’en?

 

The evening closed with Julie Kathryn, a local singer/songwriter. That transition, closing after a rowdy crowd-pleaser, is less than easy, as I’ve noted previously. It does help the neighbors get some sleep, but the previous music had opened me up so much that I found it hard to calibrate Kathryn’s stuff. Which isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy her; I did. And when she said, “I’ve never played my guitar this hard, it’s out of tune!” I though, God on ya, lass! I’ll bring positive expectations to her next gig.

 

In a final twitch of political activism, I’ll be voting before filing that next report. You know that we middle-aged, upper-middle-class white guys ALWAYS vote. (That’s why they call us The Man, right?) Not saying I won’t vote the straight The Rent Is Too Damn High party ticket, of course. Especially if I’m tempted to turn on the a/c again.

 

*Bloggers are enjoined by some federal rule to reveal every product bought for them in the course of covering their beat. I’m compiling a disclosure document that will enumerate the Pilsner, Coteaux de Languedoc, small-batch bourbon, single-malt Scotch, self-produced cd’s, brownies, Hawai’ian skunkweed spliffs, and mutual avowals of sexual desire involved; it will be available for you right around the time I complete my 2008 NYS corporate tax return.

 

The Silver Shark is always moving, just under the surface of the LIC scene. He comes up suddenly to snap up some wine and music, and perhaps bare his teeth at nearby lovely mermaids – though he generally doesn't bite. You can catch an occasional glimpse of him at your favorite LIC venue, and regularly here at his blog.

DB Rielly & Michele Riganese at LIC Bar, June 23, 2010 – Any time I heard DB Rielly, that's my highlight for the week. "We're all goin' straight to hell," indeed. And Hiro Suzuki, his geetar player, blazes dirty smoke around every tune. It was a perfect night for rollicking alt country under the weeping willows at LIC Bar, the wet soft soaking air laden with the grill's burnt-cow tang.

 

My definition of "designed to fail": being a singer-songwriter following DB Rielly's band outdoors late on a school night when everyone's into their third (fifth...we are going straight to hell) drink. You wanna talk about relationships NOW? Michele Riganese proved my doubts hollow. Everyone notices her voice: full, strong, and textured. But it's her songwriting that held us there, as her stories are just quirky enough, her chord changes fresh and angular; her solid strumming holds everything together without intruding on her story-telling.

 

Yes, it was hot and late, and she'd wrung everything out of herself, but the only disappointment of Riganese's set was that she didn't play an encore. Usually those are formulaic - for once it would have been well-deserved.

 

More:

DB Rielly

Michele Riganese

LIC Bar

 

The Silver Shark is always moving, just under the surface of the LIC scene. He comes up suddenly to snap up some wine and music, and perhaps bare his teeth at nearby lovely mermaids – though he generally doesn't bite. You can catch an occasional glimpse of him at your favorite LIC venue, and regularly here at his blog.