Greenpointers, along with Pancakes & Whiskey and Buzzchips, is putting on a show at Cameo Gallery this Saturday 1/18. There are four great bands on the bill: Adios Ghost, Youngman Grand, Folding Legs, and Canon Logic. All week long, we’re featuring one of the bands to get you even more excited to come party with us this weekend. Youngman Grand is in the spotlight today.
Before I share the interview with the band, here’s what you need to know about the show. Cameo is at 93 North 6th Street in Williamsburg. The doors are at 7:00 PM and music begins at 7:30 PM. It costs $10. You can RSVP here and buy tickets here. Hope to see you there.
The members of Youngman Grand are are Daniel Sparks, Elliot Rayman, Travis Stanek, and Mike Fadem. According to the band, they began making music together in the fall of 2009. At that time, Daniel moved to Brooklyn from Portland, OR and met Mike. They realized they had mutual friends from the band Sea Wolf. Daniel he had seen Mike’s old band, The Jealous Girlfriends, open for Sea Wolf in Portland. The two decided to try playing together. Elliot worked with Daniel at a cafe and was an obvious choice for the next member. Travis still lives in Portland and has been playing with Daniel for many years in other projects and comes to NY to perform and record when he can.
The band released an album nearly two years ago, but it is still very much worth checking out. It sounds like the work of a band seasoned well beyond four years, with adventurous rock songs that provide a dynamic journey within and between tracks, managing to still be quite cohesive.
I asked these guys about new music and more as we get closer to the showcase. Here’s what they had to say:
GP: What was one of your favorite musical discoveries of 2013? Doesn’t necessarily have to be a 2013 band or release, just something new to you in the past year.
Mike: The new Nine Inch Nails album [Hesitation Marks] and live shows posted online have been really inspiring to us this past year.Â
GP: I really like your song “Erase You.” It reminds me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the notion of erasing someone or being erased in the context of a relationship ending. Do you think you’d rather be the eraser or the erased?
Mike: That’s a difficult question. I think most of us have probably been on both sides, and they are both pretty unpleasant. With that song we can imagine ourselves from either perspective.
GP: On a lighter note, if we were to imagine this song being addressed to someone you’d like to erase from music history, who would that be?
Mike: Billy Joel. Â
GP: I wanted to know what might be happening soon for Youngman Grand. Any shows, or releases to promote?
Mike: We are currently in the process of recording our second full length album. Daniel bought a bunch of recording equipment and we are doing it all ourselves. We’re very excited about it. At the Cameo show we’ll be playing all new material from this forthcoming album.
GP: Finally, our site is all about Greenpoint, so I have to ask, what are some of your favorite things about Greenpoint?
Mike: We actually all live in Greenpoint, except for Travis in Portland. Living across McGuinness Blvd, I really appreciate how quiet and clean it is on the far side of Greenpoint, yet still so close to all that the Manhattan Ave area and Williamsburg have to offer.Â