ARTIST PROFILE
ARTIST: GRAMERCY ARMS & MASCOTT
TITLE: “THIS CHRISTMASTIME ”
LABEL: REVEAL RECORDS
CAT. No. REVEAL 53
RELEASED. DECEMBER 2008
A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM NEW YORK CITY VIA REVEAL RECORDS FREE TO DOWNLOAD FROM www.gramercyarms.co.uk
Written and recorded at Crib Notes, Gramercy Arms’ studio in NYC, the song is a lovely and bittersweet collaboration between the two critically acclaimed artists, and features Mascott’s Kendall Jane Meade on lead vocal. Described as “honey-voiced” by Rolling Stone, Meade’s vocals are an ideal match to the sublime power pop production of Gramercy Arms, recently described by The Guardian as "an East Coast band dreaming of LA freeways and Bel Air pool parties”.
An instant classic, This Christmastime was also featured on the US show Grey’s Anatomy.
Mascott is former Sparklehorse and Helium member Kendall Jane Meade.
Here she joins forces with fellow New Yorker’s Gramercy Arms (a multi artist collaborative project, produced and fronted by singer songwriter Dave Derby).
Gramercy Arms comprise members of Guided By Voices, Luna, Joan As Police Woman and The Dambuilders all lead by Dave Derby.
Drawing from a pool of talented musical friends, their debut album features a wide range of guest performances including the unexpected backing vocals of comedian Sarah Silverman on ‘Looking At The Sun’. Sarah had worked with Gramercy Arms members Rainy Orteca (Joan As Police Woman, Dead Air) and Dave Derby (The Dambuilders) before, on music for her television show, the Sarah Silverman Program.
http://www.myspace.com/gramercyarms
Gramercy Arms’ new self-titled album and their Limited Edition 5 song “Shining Bright” EP, are also out now on Reveal Records,The Sunday Times highlighted the song “Walking Around” from the “Shining Bright” EP as their Hot Download of the week 12/12/08.
Word Magazine described Gramercy Arms’ songs as "woozily beautiful, sun, kissed, subtly well constructed things that suggest Teenage Fanclub touched by the all-American pop suss of Cheap Trick.”
Mascott is a tender indie rock band helmed by New York's Kendall Jane Meade that combines soft piano and guitar pop with diary-like lyrical intimacy.
Kendall’s musical heroes include Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and The Zombies, and her songs embody that reverence with soaring harmonies and deceptively simple construction. Her lyrics deal mainly with themes of love and loss, rarely venturing into the allegorical or polemic subjects of her folk progenitors, but holding true to the daily struggles of the human heart. As a struggling musician and label owner who also works a day job in New York City, Kendall knows all about paying dues and how great a role compromise plays into creating art that one can truly call one’s own, though a cast of friends have been called upon to help realize it. Art Project is full of moments acknowledging those contributions, which includes the crystalline production by Jim Bentley of The Fort studio in Brooklyn. From the to insistent percussion behind the longing (if not quite patriotic) “4th of July” to the back-porch stylings of the traditional parlor song (popularized by the Carter Family) “Wildwood Flower,” Art Project presents true songcraft from the heart, which is something we all need to hear from time to time.
A recent review described the music as “ a twist of Aimee Mann-styled attitude between hopeful harmonies and walking bass lines, creating a rich and uplifting sound that’s sure to turn the heads of soul, pop, and indie fans alike.” Whilst The New York Times said: “Kendall Meade turns folk-rock into stately pop, wrapping vulnerability and longing in quietly radiant arrangements.”
Mascott’s album “Art Project”, comes out on Reveal 2/3/09. www.reveal-records.com
ALBUM "GRAMERCY ARMS" INFO summer 2008 .......
GRAMERCY ARMS is a collective of New York-based musicians comprising members of Guided By Voices, Luna, Joan As Police Woman and The Dambuilders lead by Dave Derby. Their debut album features guest performances by Sarah Silverman, Lloyd Cole, Chris Brokaw and Joan Wasser as well as present and former members of Nada Surf, The Pernice Brothers, Dead Air, Shudder To Think and more.
This summery blast of power pop was recorded earlier this year in a wintry New York City. Clocking in at a concise 30 minutes, ‘Gramercy Arms’ will be released on Reveal Records on August 4th 08, preceded by a single, ‘Automatic’ on June 30th.
Named after an imposing Art Deco apartment block at East 22nd Street, the album is a celebration of New York in all its dirty - beautiful splendour. A slice of West Coast pop with East Coast sensibilities.
Drawing from a pool of talented musical friends, the album features a wide range of guest performances including the unexpected backing vocals of comedian Sarah Silverman on ‘Looking At The Sun’. Sarah had worked with Gramercy Arms members Rainy Orteca (Joan As Police Woman, Dead Air) and Dave Derby (The Dambuilders) before, on music for her television show, the Sarah Silverman Program.
http://www.myspace.com/gramercyarms
REVIEWS
THE GUARDIAN - JUNE 2008
At last! A supergroup that doesn't suck ... Gramercy Arms (Band of The Day)
Hometown: New York.The lineup: Rainy Orteca, Dave Derby, Kevin March, Sean Eden, Hilken Mancini plus a host of guests.
The background: Looks, and names, can be deceptive. We presumed, because of their Lower East Side-reeking name and the Bowery-scummy sleeve of their single (New York punks in brawl) and album (man in shades urinates against the wall of a derelict warehouse while his black-clad female companion squats in the gutter) that Gramercy Arms, the name of an art deco apartment block on East 22nd Street, would be your typical scuzzy Heartbreakers/Strokes-style dirty pretty things, but that couldn't be further from the truth. "A West Coast pop group with East Coast sensibilities" runs the blurb, but that's arse about tit - they're an East Coast band dreaming of LA freeways and Bel Air pool parties. They've got one song called Looking at the Sun featuring ba-ba-bas, handclaps and harmonies that is pure Simon & Garfunkel, those other New York boys pining for better weather. Another tune, Wander On, is the Modern Lovers in a mellow mood, drone-rock at 18rpm with a summer sheen. Shining Bright, if anything in the New York pantheon, has the casual gait of Mink De Ville's novelty new-wave hit from 1978, Spanish Stroll, while Since Last September, despite the references to Television's Marquee Moon, sounds like a less fucked-up Big Star - Teenage Fanclub, in other words.
They're an indie supergroup, you should know that. That's by way of a warning because supergroups - groups comprising members of other, at least semi-known, groups - are usually crap. This supergroup are good, often very good. Based in NYC, they include musicians - and the lineup will vary from project to project - from such acclaimed indie outfits as Guided By Voices, Luna, Joan As Police Woman and the Dambuilders. As if that wasn't stellar enough for you, their self-titled debut album features guest performances from brilliant US comedienne Sarah Silverman, Lloyd Cole (who's neither American nor a lady but can be quite good) and Joan "As Police Woman" Wasser as well as present and former members of Nada Surf, the Pernice Brothers and Shudder to Think. Somehow, all these arty New Yorkers with giant egos got together in a room and neither mayhem nor self-indulgent jam sessions ensued. Instead, gorgeous conventional songcraft and sun-kissed vocals ensued: laidback power pop, if that's not a contradiction in terms.The buzz: "Oh, Gramercy - we're in love!"
The truth: Imagine the Byrds paying tribute to the Velvet Underground, or vice versa.
Most likely to: Give Joe Pernice a boot up the arse - he needs one; his last great album of sweet-sad guitar-pop was The World Won't End in 2001...
Least likely to: Give Joan Wasser a boot up the arse - she's scary.
What to buy: Gramercy Arms will be released by Reveal on August 4, preceded by single Automatic on June 30.
File next to: Pernice Brothers, Big Star, Flamin' Groovies, Teenage Fanclub.
LINKS
CONTACT
| Live Agent | ||
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| Reveal Agency revealagency@mac.com |
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| Tel: Mob: |
01332 552220 |
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| PRESS AGENT | ||
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| VANESSA COTTON vanessa.cotton@triadpublicity.co.uk |
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| Tel: Mob: |
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| RADIO TV PLUGGERS | ||
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| COOL BADGE russell@coolbadge.com |
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| Tel: Mob: |
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