The Useless Critic 2.0

My friend Alyssa will be featured in a Bushwick art show. Yes like "Girls." But I don't watch "Girls" that often. Okay, you can view her art at her website ( click here ).  It's happening all weekend   at the Ange Noir Cafe at 247 Varet Street. NO I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE THAT IS.  Diana Abi Khalil is curating it. Other featured artists: Emmanuel Germond, and Michael Linton Simpson (a.k.a. Percy Feils). Here's the facebook event so you know it's legit. 

SHHHH My friend Alyssa recently saw my old love Oh Land during her residency in New York. I wish I could have been there, as tickets were cheap, but I live far away. Alyssa (and others) had rave reviews about the shows. Here is a brief Facebook chat discussing Alyssa's specific experience: me:  so how was the venue Alyssa:  i've been to rockwood several times. it's a great spot, as far as space and design. very intimate. drink prices are pretty typical for the lower east side - not completely ridiculous, and sound quality is great. my only complaint about the venue is that i've often experienced a really obnoxious crowd. me: ewww was this crowd obnoxious? Alyssa: for the most part, everyone there was definitely there excited to see oh land, but per my usual experience, there were a few girls who talked obnoxiously loud throughout the whole show. me:  ugh how was the opener and then how was oh land and feel free to use every word in the ...

I discovered Sun For Moon via happenstance. There are such things in life we call happy accidents- I'm living proof- and to me, she is one. She's a very talented New York-based Egyptian-American singer-songwriter (I love hyphens obviously) who you should keep a close eye on the future. Definitely a musician worth the category "you need to hear this." Although she was affected by Hurricane Sandy, Charlene Ava (a.k.a. "Sun for Moon") agreed to answer several of my questions at length. Which is cool! So see below to see what she's up to, her plans as well as why she's been taking acting classes:   UC:  What are you currently up to at the moment? Charlene:  I just finished doing a show in a cathedral in Gramercy Park in NYC. It was a lot of fun to play in a beautiful old space with lots of natural reverb. I think it's important to remember that the exchange of energy between the artist and the listener is very real and very much a part of ...

To all the Giants Fans out there. We Won. We really are the Champions....once again. Let's win next year too, and make it a dynasty. QATFYG: Who is your pick for next year?

I've pegged this week (in my mind at least) as the week of a thousand (or at least three) interviews. The first up is a girl I met not too long ago through a mutual friend, Katie Uva . Katie Uva is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter with a lot more on her plate than just music alone. She has some fast approaching shows in New York and was able to do a question and answer session with me (via Facebook messaging, hey, the wonders of technology) yesterday. How did you get started in music? Where do you take your influence from? Katie:   I took several kinds of music lessons as a kid. I played piano from the age of 7-17, although I never got very good at it. I also took bass in middle school. I think I started the way most people do. I listened to music a lot and I liked to sing along, and eventually I wanted to imitate what I was hearing. When I was younger, I listened to the Beatles pretty much nonstop. In high school, I discovered the Indigo Girls. They became my favorite ...

I encounter this band a lot on the subway. Now platform musicians run the gamut from "annoying" to "want to kill" to "intriguing" and I can safely say that Sistine Criminals are in the latter category. They have kind of a ska/jazz/classical sound which is fairly unique anymore!  I began seeing these guys enough time that my old idea of interviewing subway musicians (something that's been interesting to me since I got here) finally gave way and I hit these guys up for an interview about where they came from, what drives them and their hopes for the impending future (yet the future is always impending). What's your backstory? GREGORY:   In 2004, Me and Aaron met in Boston on Newbury St while he was busking. I was just a Berklee student passing by but I was drawn to his sound so I waited til he had a second to exchange contact info. At the time I was studying to become a jazz drummer while at Berklee College of Music and my favorite musician was J...

Lightning People is by far one of the more unique and interesting reads I’ve stumbled across in recent memory. The book represents the first tentative footing for novelist Christopher Bollen, the editor of Interview magazine as well as a respected freelance writer.  He’s off to a good start, it seems! Maybe Lightning People resounded with me a lot more than it might for some others because of the back-story Bollen has put into his fictional work, one taken from his own life, as many writers do. Being:  Bollen is not a New York native, despite becoming a fixture on the scene, he’s actually a Midwesterner. Like the protagonist of the novel, a struggling actor named Joseph trying to outlive a family curse. They both claim Ohio as their homes (I claim Pennsylvania, so that struck a chord with me). New York, in the days post 9/11, has become both their adopted homes. Speaking via email, I told him the book reads like an “odd love letter” to the city. Apparently, I was not al...

Right now I am waging a very public war about whether or not I want to spend the money to see Mr. Ryan Adams this December. word on the street is his new album is good. I BET IT IS.  anyway, this song will always remind me of my first love in high school. I listened to this song and thought about her on long, winding busrides home. It didn't click with me how good of a song this was UNTIL that point, because up until then my mind considered it the "9/11 song." (because VH1 played this non-stop after 9/11). NOTHING EVER BECAME OF THAT, BUT WHATEVS. Found myself a picture that would fit in the folds Of my wallet and it stayed pretty good Still amazed I didn't lose it on the roof of the place When I was drunk and I was thinking of you Every day the children they were singing their tune Out on the streets and you could hear from inside Used to take the subway up to Houston and 3rd I would wait for you and I'd try to hide Now I live here and this s...

Hey! So if you are lucky enough to find yourself in BROOKLYN these days I have some concerts for you. AHEM.  SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16TH:   https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169155806502284 this concert's deetz: 9pm-Cassie Ramone (Vivian Girls) http://www.facebook.com/pa ges/Cassie-Ramone/15688396 1041492?sk=wall 2.Sweet Tooth http://www.facebook.com/pa ges/Sweet-Tooth/1899135110 69158 3.Acid Baby Jesus (Greece) http://www.last.fm/music/A cid+Baby+Jesus 4.Xray Eyeballs http://xrayeyeballs.bandca mp.com/ 5.Davilla 666 (PR) http://allover.bandcamp.co m/track/davila-666-yo-seri a-otro http://www.myspace.com/dav ila666 http://www.facebook.com/pa ges/Davila-666/27884872677 2 http://www.last.fm/music/D %C3%A1vila+666 + DJs 8:30pm-11pm- Charles Gaskins (Killer Diller Records, garagepunknyc.com, Hullabaloo!) 11pm- 1am- Frank Favia (AZ) 1am-3am- Juan Wauters (The Beets) + Record stalls from -Kanine Records -Impose -Oops Baby -Killer Diller ...

I recently met up with the on-the-rise singer/songwriter/poet/dancer Klairkia . She has a lot to offer the world and is set to take it by storm, it seems. She's one determined lady!  I was very late to our meeting- the first IN PERSON Useless Critic interview- because I work way way way out by Coney Island where everyone is Russian and I'm not. But she was nice enough to wait for me and to give me the benefit of the doubt that I was indeed on my way.  The first thing that struck me about her was how beautiful and personable she was, and the next thing was how DRIVEN she was. I mean, my god, this girl has a gift and she's going to let the world know about it, no matter what. Her new record is about to come out to the public on September 16th (my brother's birthday, happy early birthday Joe). It's called Who's Bad , which is a partial nod to Michael Jackson, that late "king of pop." As she explained, both Jacksons have been big influences on her...