Friday, July 22, 2011

VAS VEGA gets hip-hop remix feat. Drex and Fresco P.; Preps live shows for Canada, NYC.

Remix video cuts up Caine’s “Get Carter”; Band gives insight into lyrics of “The Living Dead”.

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VAS VEGA (L-R): Mark LeRoy, Jordan Holman. Photo by: Jeff Cheong and Mae Tsui.

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“The Living Dead (Remix)” (feat. Drex and Fresco P.) Produced by Harrison & Hagler.

    

 
 


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VAS VEGA Live

07/23 Montreal, PQ @ Petit Cafe Campus 1030PM, 57 Prince Arthur Est.
07/24 Quebec City, PQ @ L’agiteE 930PM, 251 Rue Dorchester
07/25 New York, NY @ The Delancey 950PM, 168 Delancey St.
07/26 New York, NY @ The Fortune Cookie Lounge 24 1st Ave (btw 1st & 2nd St.)
07/28 Moncton, NB @ Plan B Lounge 9PM, 212 St. George St.
07/29 Halifax, NS @ The Seahorse Tavern 1665 Argyle Street, 9PM

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VAS VEGA’s debut single “The Living Dead” is already inspiring reinterpretations. The Toronto-based duo of Mark LeRoy and Jordan Holman met producers Harrison & Hagler and rappers Drex and Fresco P. through The Remix Project, an initiative in Toronto that was created to help level the playing field for young people from disadvantaged, marginalized and under served communities looking to make it in this field.

The result is an outstanding version of the song which actually helps bring light to the deeper lyrical content of the tune. LeRoy explains, saying, “When we worked on the remix, Harrison & Hagler put a gun shot after the insane verse that Fresco P. lays down. In doing this, they chose to address the theme of suicide in the song’s hook: ‘Suicide is the rite of the living dead.’ The idea of suicide in the song is in direct relation to the play on the word ‘rite,’ being a ceremonial action and ‘right,’ being one’s just claim.”

LeRoy is describing the only way out for the characters in his song, people lost in the land of make-believe, trapped in their own visions that have deceived them. This concept is well-illustrated in the original video for “The Living Dead,” but it was after the completion of the remix of the song that LeRoy realized the similarity between the narrative of the tune and one of his favorite films, the 1971 Michael Caine thriller, “Get Carter.”Michael Caine’s character is ruthless, brutal and twisted; unknowingly ‘the living dead.’ ‘Get Carter’ and the remix of ‘The Living Dead’ were made for one another, even if forty years apart,” says LeRoy.

VAS VEGA launched a series of Canadian tour dates this week and will travel to NYC for two shows next week.  At the band’s show in Toronto on Tuesday, they were joined onstage by Drex and Fresco P. to perform “The Living Dead” remix live.  Based on the response to the re-imagined track, more versions of “The Living Dead” are sure to surface.  VAS VEGA is in on the act as well, prepping an acoustic piano version of the song.  The band is also currently preparing to release a follow-up single and video.

Jordan Holman and Mark LeRoy of VAS VEGA are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Check out the original version of “The Living Dead”





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VAS VEGA Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


VAS VEGA gets hip-hop remix feat. Drex and Fresco P.; Preps live shows for Canada, NYC.


Remix video cuts up Caine’s “Get Carter”; Band gives insight into lyrics of “The Living Dead”.

+++


 VAS VEGA (L-R): Mark LeRoy, Jordan Holman. Photo by: Jeff Cheong and Mae Tsui.

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

“The Living Dead (Remix)” (feat. Drex and Fresco P.) Produced by Harrison & Hagler.






+++

VAS VEGA Live

07/23 Montreal, PQ @ Petit Cafe Campus 1030PM, 57 Prince Arthur Est.
07/24 Quebec City, PQ @ L’agiteE 930PM, 251 Rue Dorchester
07/25 New York, NY @ The Delancey 950PM, 168 Delancey St.
07/26 New York, NY @ The Fortune Cookie Lounge 24 1st Ave (btw 1st & 2nd St.)
07/28 Moncton, NB @ Plan B Lounge 9PM, 212 St. George St.
07/29 Halifax, NS @ The Seahorse Tavern 1665 Argyle Street, 9PM

+++

VAS VEGA’s debut single “The Living Dead” is already inspiring reinterpretations. The Toronto-based duo of Mark LeRoy and Jordan Holman met producers Harrison & Hagler and rappers Drex and Fresco P. through The Remix Project, an initiative in Toronto that was created to help level the playing field for young people from disadvantaged, marginalized and under served communities looking to make it in this field.

The result is an outstanding version of the song which actually helps bring light to the deeper lyrical content of the tune. LeRoy explains, saying, “When we worked on the remix, Harrison & Hagler put a gun shot after the insane verse that Fresco P. lays down. In doing this, they chose to address the theme of suicide in the song’s hook: ‘Suicide is the rite of the living dead.’ The idea of suicide in the song is in direct relation to the play on the word ‘rite,’ being a ceremonial action and ‘right,’ being one’s just claim.”

LeRoy is describing the only way out for the characters in his song, people lost in the land of make-believe, trapped in their own visions that have deceived them. This concept is well-illustrated in the original video for “The Living Dead,” but it was after the completion of the remix of the song that LeRoy realized the similarity between the narrative of the tune and one of his favorite films, the 1971 Michael Caine thriller, “Get Carter.”Michael Caine’s character is ruthless, brutal and twisted; unknowingly ‘the living dead.’ ‘Get Carter’ and the remix of ‘The Living Dead’ were made for one another, even if forty years apart,” says LeRoy.

VAS VEGA launched a series of Canadian tour dates this week and will travel to NYC for two shows next week.  At the band’s show in Toronto on Tuesday, they were joined onstage by Drex and Fresco P. to perform “The Living Dead” remix live.  Based on the response to the re-imagined track, more versions of “The Living Dead” are sure to surface.  VAS VEGA is in on the act as well, prepping an acoustic piano version of the song.  The band is also currently preparing to release a follow-up single and video.

Jordan Holman and Mark LeRoy of VAS VEGA are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Check out the original version of “The Living Dead”



 

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VAS VEGA Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Bird Call’s video for award-winning “Waltz In The Snow” debuts at The Deli.


National tour with Johanna and The Dusty Floor starts August 2nd at Knitting Factory.

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Bird Call’s Chiara Angelicola as photographed by Gretchen Robinette.

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Bird Call’s “Waltz In The Snow” is taken from her debut EP “The Animals Know” out now.



 


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Bird Call + Johanna and The Dusty Floor | On Tour

08/02 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory w/ HolidayHoliday, Former Belle, 7PM
08/04 Philadelphia, PA @ Clubhouse 730PM
08/05 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire w/ Former Belle, 7PM
08/06 Washington, DC @ Bella Cafe & Bar w/ Former Belle, 7PM
08/11 New Orleans, LA @ AllWays Theater 10PM
08/16 Austin, TX @ Hole In The Wall 9PM
08/24 San Diego, CA @ Tin Can w/ Addiquit, 7PM
08/25 Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint 8PM
08/27 San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar w/ Pat Parra, 8PM
08/28 Berkeley, CA @ Rasputin Music In-Store, 1PM

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Earlier this year, Chiara Angelicola’s original song “Waltz In The Snow” bested over 15,000 entrants to win the Performance category of the International Songwriters Competition as judged by Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel and others. Performing as Bird Call, Angelicola recently completed a video for the song which has debuted today at the popular music website, The Deli.  See The Deli’s feature on Bird Call’s “Waltz In The Snow” video here: http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/6429/bird-call-premieres-video-for-waltz-snow-kicks-off-tour.

The clip, directed and edited by Brody Bernheisel, is an ode to the historical culture of Brooklyn. Angelicola explains saying, “You can’t do a video about this borough without recognizing the history. It’s what makes the people of this town so confidently and gallantly boast about the place they call home.” Old street art, Puerto Rican flags, Christian front yard decor and zombies populate the video. Yes, zombies. Not exactly the typical co-stars of a singer-songwriter video, but as Angelicola says, “We had to add something different outside of the ‘singer-songwriter living in New York’ vibe.”

On August 2nd, Bird Call will kick off a co-headlining tour of the US with a fellow Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, Johanna Cranitch and her band Johanna and The Dusty Floor. Angelicola will be supporting “Other Creatures,” her recently issued Bird Call EP of cover songs, while Cranitch will be touring behind her new full-length album “Northern Lights.” Filter Magazine recently premiered the video for the album’s first single “Witch Shoes”. See it here: http://filtermagazine.com/index.php/media/entry/mp3_watch_johanna_the_dusty_floor_gives_us_some_gifts_filter_exclusive.

Both Chiara Angelicola of Bird Call and Johanna Cranitch of Johanna and The Dusty Floor are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information or with guest list requests for any of the above listed performances.

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Bird Call Links


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Johanna and The Dusty Floor Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

NYC’s Annie Crane brings urban edge to Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch influenced sound on new CD.

“…fabulous folk with enough thoughtful twang to transport you back in time…and down South.” – Time Out

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Annie Crane as photographed by Margaret Crane.

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“Jump With A Child’s Heart” is the title track and first single from the new album by Annie Crane.


 

[VIDEO]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN84dpMypsU (Making “Jump With A Child’s Heart”)


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See Annie Crane Live in NYC

07/21 Brooklyn, NY @ Pete’s Candy Store 10PM
08/04 New York, NY @ Banjo Jim’s 8PM

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New York City’s Annie Crane has traveled from Copenhagen to Kentucky, from Berlin to Albany, from Paris to Nashville (where she shared the stage with hero Emmylou Harris) performing her traditional folk and Americana influenced songs.  While reminding of icons such as Joni Mitchell and Gillian Welch, Crane stands out by infusing the edge of urban life into her music.

On Crane’s upcoming second album Jump With A Child’s Heart (Constant Clip Records, 10/4/2011), she deftly weaves this reality of city life into tracks that combine the essence of classic 60’s folk, traditional Celtic music and rootsy Americana in a way that is all her own.

The record’s theme (see a short making-of documentary HERE) is about making dreams come true.  Crane elaborates saying, “Do it without complaint, to do it honestly and with the purity of a child’s heart.”

Crane walks it likes she talks it.  Or sidewalks it, that is. It was at the famed Sidewalk Cafe in New York’s East Village (the club that launched Regina Spektor to name but one) that Crane began to climb the ladder. “I was attending the Sidewalk’s ‘Anti-Hoot’ open mic every Monday night for about a year,” she says.

In addition to appearances by fellow songwriters Frank Hoier (who co-produced the album) and Eric Wolfson (who is also Crane’s husband), guests on Jump With A Child’s Heart include trumpeter Jason Benjamin, founder of The Red Hook Ramblers, Sarah Bowman of internationally acclaimed Americana duo, The Bowmans, and banjo maven Alexa Woodward.

Annie Crane is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Annie Crane
Jump With A Child’s Heart
(Constant Clip – Oct. 4th, 2011)


Track Listing:

01. Jump With A Child’s Heart (STREAM | MP3)
02. You & Me & the Evergreen
03. Copenhagen Heart
04. Money Only Hates Me
05. Hell’s Gate
06. The Island of Manhattan
07. Ghost Body
08. Salinger Said
09. Lookin’ Out

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Annie Crane Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion