Quiet Loudly's LAST FRIGGIN' SHOW

Hey people!

  I've been insanely busy and I haven't written ANYTHING in FOREVER. I'm breaking my silence to let you know that you all must go to Fort Useless in Bushwick tonight. It's the last ever Quiet Loudly show and the opening bands are great and we're all going to miss them! 

Here's an interview with Max from last year.

Here's a picture of Max that has been saved on my desktop for a year for some unknown reason.

Here's the RSVP link to the show.

And here's my favorite QL song:

Sharkmuffin: Fembot vs. Mermaid vs. The World

Hello Universe. We have the privilege of chatting with Brooklyn's Sharkmuffin. They are, I think, very close to the heart of what is rock and roll, the leather jacket, motorcycle, rebel darkness that lurks in the bone marrow of even the most innocent, precious, and pretty bands. Not that Sharkmuffin is any of those things; they are loud, aggressive and up front. They are playing with The Planes and Sunset Guns at our 5th showcase show, this Saturday at Fort Useless. They are going to be incredible. Here's the chat transcript:

Hearts Bleed Radio: Can one of you start by giving me a brief history of the band? When did you guys start?

Tarra: Well it actually all started as a completely different lineup in 2012 when a close friend of mine was recovering from an addiction and I started Sharkmuffin with her on lead vocals to help her keep her mind off of things, and that all went to shit pretty quickly. So by July 2012 it became a 3 piece with Natalie on Bass and me on lead vocals and guitar and a different drummer than we have now, who just recently left.

HBR: That sucks. But I think we're all happy we get to hear your voice.

Tarra: Sarah just joined the band last month actually. Has it been a month?

Natalie: Yup, our first show with Sarah was in a parking lot in Bushwick on June 1st.

Sarah: My first show was June 1.

HBR: How are you fitting in?

Sarah: Hah, well I'm a girl and have red hair so now we look like the Powerpuff girls. I think I'm fitting in pretty well.

There's nothing to fear in the ocean when you are the shark.

Tarra: We're still in the hazing process with her, I think.

Sarah: Lots of hazing

How West Bushwick Was Won or: A Brief History of Fort Useless.

Hey there, Internetz. Showcase #5 is upon us! We are super lucky to be throwing down at Fort Useless, a performance/art/comedy space off the Myrtle JMZ stop. I've been going to shows at Fort Useless for the last couple of years, and I always have a blast. Its atmosphere sits at the intersection of bar/gallery/party, and everything in the space feels handmade and intimate. Since this spot is so interesting, I figured it would be fun to talk to the man behind the Fort, Jeremiah McVay. Any further questions for Jeremiah, send us an email or leave them in the comments below. Enjoy! 

Hearts Bleed Radio: When did you decide to open Fort Useless?

Jeremiah: I decided to open Fort Useless sometime in 2009. My band at the time, Coyote Eyes, was starting to look around for a possible new practice space. And I'd also been booking shows at various venues for a while and was sort of feeling the DIY bug, I guess. So, the original idea was to find a place where, perhaps, a couple of bands could practice and we could have parties or shows from time to time.

HBR: I miss Coyote Eyes...

Jeremiah: Thanks, yeah, me too, sometimes.

HBR: How many different spots did you see before you settled on the Ditmars location?

Jeremiah: Honestly, I can't quite remember -- probably somewhere around 15 or 20.

HBR: Wow. Were they mostly like, industrial spaces?

Jeremiah: It was a mix of different types of spaces. Some were very industrial, some ended up being more residential than was appropriate. One spot I got really excited about kind of early on in the search was on 9th Street in Gowanus, but they ultimately decided they didn't want music in there -- just visual artists instead.

HBR: The first time I went to Ft. U, I remember thinking I was at the wrong address. It looks like just a door in a row of houses, and I was expecting an old factory. Were you nervous about neighbors and the noise? Are you still?

Unsacred Hearts at Fort Useless  (photo by Bryan Bruchman)

Jeremiah: I was incredibly nervous about neighbors and noise. But the thing that made me think that what we were planning to do there would work, was that the guy who showed me the place told me the previous occupants had been throwing hardcore punk shows... which was obviously way more intense than what I was interested in doing. I still do get nervous from time to time, but I just try to be smart about it and keep things to hours that are easiest on the neighbors. Also, the building was sold to new management at the beginning of the year and they've begun redoing the apartments in the building and there's about to be a lot of turnover -- that makes me really nervous. Really not sure how it will pan out...

Shooting the shit with Sunset Guns

  Greetings dear readers! Sunset Guns are an incredibly fun Brooklyn based four piece, and we're proud to have them playing for us at Fort Useless on July 13th. I sat down with Jon Mann (guitar/vox) and Derek Hawkins (also guitar/vox), and chatted about the usual band nonsense. Derek starts this one out with a brief history of the band. Here's the transcript:

Derek: I guess the whole thing technically started a couple winters ago. Jon and Chuck had their own bands but they'd linked up and started writing some songs together. I was somewhat new to the city and Jon, who I knew through some mutual friends, brought me into a practice with them and George Garcia, who was on drums. We had a good session, banged out a big stupid rock n roll song, and it was just a matter of time before we started playing shows. The idea at first was to write big, scrappy, simple rock n' roll, but after about a year of that we parted ways with George, found Sam on Craigslist and started working on new, tighter, slightly more serious material.

Jon: Sounds about right. Sam was a huge Craigslist find. I do like to think we still have the big and scrappy elements, but yeah, we've tightened things up.

Hearts Bleed Radio: You guys have really good guitar interplay, (and vocal interplay too), how do your songs come together?

Jon: That's nice to hear, man, thanks. Early on, it was more common for us to come in with relatively complete songs and sort of throw them around, but increasingly - and I think this leads to some of that back-and-forth interplay - we're coming into practice with ideas or pieces of songs with the desire to get everyone's input in order to complete them.

HBR: Do you feel like one of you has the job of the lead guitarist? It seems pretty split.

Jon: It's pretty split. The other thing that leads to that interplay is that Derek and I are both riffy as hell.

HBR: And vocally, the same applies?

Derek: It's pretty even overall, but I think Jon's got a tad more noodle in him and I lean a little more on the vocal duties. I like driving the guitar a lot but I get a lot of energy by pushing my voice, stretching into my upper range, doing back to back songs that get me a little raspy.

HBR: The old tag team!

Jon: Yeah, I've never really thought of it, but we've never had a moment of 'No, I think I should sing this one,' or anything like that. It's always just fallen in place. 'I've got some lyrics for this.' "Do it."

Derek (left) and Jon (right) get down to business

HBR: Do you write lyrics together? Or at least talk about the meaning of the song? Y'know, to make sure it makes sense? DOES IT MAKE SENSE?

Jon: Yeah sure, sometimes. 'Haymaker,' for instance, was about a 50/50 collaboration. 'Thunderclap' and '25th Hour' were also situations where I had incomplete lyrics and asked Derek to give me a chorus or a bridge or whatever.

Practice makes OK: The Planes, HBR, and Beatalic Cats.

Greetings dear readers! For this interview, we're talking to Stephen Perry from The Planes. "Wait!" you might say, "isn't that your band?" Well, it is... I tried interviewing myself, but it was coming off more like a cross between Mao's little red book and the Unabomber manifesto, so I decided it would be best to get a hand from Marisha, formerly of the band Corita. I must apologize for the goddamn novels I wrote for some of the answers, but I've been tapping into the writing part of my brain lately, and it's a well that is not easily capped. Marisha was a good sport though, here's the transcript:

Hearts Bleed Radio (Marisha): So, you have a fantastic showcase coming up on Friday. Tell me about the Northside Festival showcase for HBR.

Stephen: Well, it's mostly a bunch of friends bands that I wanted to get together on the same bill. Mostly catchy indie bands, all of whom are excellent performers. The Planes played a super fun showcase with Crazy Pills last year, so I wanted to get them again. Quiet Loudly is a blast to see live, really dynamically good set, poppy, but you can also get a chance to zone out with them. Mount Sharp has a kinda songwriter plus loud dissonant guitar thing, that a sonic youth like myself really digs. pow wow! might be one of the best bands in the city when they really nail it, like, any fan of rock would like them. And lastly, we were fortunate to get Queens natives, The Beets, to round out the bill. They haven't been playing to much recently, and they are kinda getting back into things, so we're super excited.

HBR: Crazy Pills are amazing! It's a really strong line up you've got on a Friday night. You guys are creating a supportive community of bands that tend to curate a lot of interesting shows in Brooklyn on a pretty regular basis. What are some of your favorite venues to play?

Stephen: Venue wise, there are three who have been very friendly to HBR and The Planes... For starters, Matchless, where we're throwing the show. Nice, tight, small room, bar in the band room (key), good food, outdoor area, good location. Cake Shop, has been very kind also, probably the last spot in Manhattan that small bands love to play (not to diss Bowery Electric, but I've never played there). And lastly Grand Vic, where we're doing a showcase on 8/1. Jeremy is a super nice guy and I recommend everyone stops by on a slow night and has a beer with him. Also, we haven't played Fort Useless yet, but we will on 7/13, and we're pumped, 'cause we've been going to shows there forever and what they do is so true to the DIY spirit and the community spirit of indie.

HBR: Fort Useless, Matchless and Grand Victory are great places for live music in an intimate space. I am a major fan of Cake Shop for all of Andy Bodes's ideals, high standards and good taste, all around a great place.

Stephen: I'd take a full room over a big room any day, haha. Legion has been good to us too, and they are super tiny.

I lost those aviators after this shoot. If anyone finds a pair on Meserole Street, hit me up.

Sharkmuffin's big splash... Mermaid Sex Slave

Some music critics (who get paid a lot more than me), say that rock music is dead, or dying... But that's bullshit. If you're reading Hearts Bleed Radio, you probably know that's bullshit. However, if you still need proof that indie rock still rocks (and hasn't totally become yupster adult contemporary), just listen to Sharkmuffin. They are the antidote to the Bon Iver-ization of indie...

I don't look nearly as good in a black dress and heels...

"Mermaid Sex Slave" is the single off their new EP, She-Gods of Champagne Valley, and it's the kinda punch-you-in-the-face-and-don't-say-sorry rocker that we LOVE here at HBR. The song starts off with a watery two note lick that drifts into the verse, and sets the tone for the poseidosexual barrage of Tarra Thiessen's vocals. The full force of the guitar comes in with the chorus and pulls the song from a wet spacey undersea lair, into the tightness of a small rock club. This is where the song really shines, Thiessen riffs perfectly over the tightness of Natalie Kirch's bass, and the sharp, syncopated beat of drummer Sarah Peterson.  It's a great track, check it out below.





You can hear the rest of She-Gods of Champagne Valley ---> here.

Like Sharkmuffin on Facebook ---> here.

We're happy to announce Sharkmuffin will be playing HBR Showcase #5, at Fort Useless on 7/13! To stay in the loop, Like HBR on Facebook ---> here.

We'll be interviewing Sharkmuffin before that show, so if any of you have any questions for them, email me, or leave them in the "comments" section below.

Check out our Northside Showcase ---> here.

Thanks for reading. I'll catch you at a show.