Meet The Sniffles.
Most people probably know The Sniffles as the de facto house band at Hong Kong Garden, the ridiculously intimate Kensington house venue. Trey McCoy, Scotty Leitch and Mike Varriale formed the band there one year ago. They’ve already dropped a four-track EP and they are currently recording their first full-length album.
The guys are also crafting a cassette mixtape of awesome Philly bands that they’ll drop any day now. “We hope to have everyone passing these local tapes around in cities all over this winter,” Varriale says. “Hopefully it’ll put Philly on the map in terms of underground music, finally.”
Emcee Unless: The Artist is the Rapper.
Text by Kelsey Doenges. Photos by Bethany Casperite. Art by Dewey Saunders.
Dewey Saunders is a Virgo, and according to him, Virgos are super cute and really good at rapping. They tend to collect old books and they like really strong coffee, with a little bit of cinnamon, a little bit of sugar – organic, raw sugar, and cream – organic cream.
He’s probably being a little facetious with the organic stuff but you can never really tell with Dewey, a 28-year old renaissance man of sorts.
He is an accomplished illustrator, graphic designer, painter and hip-hop artist who performs under the alias Emcee Unless a.k.a. Dewey Decibel. In the art world, his illustrations and design work have been published in The New Yorker, Next American City and Under the Radar magazine. In the music world, he has worked with Fabian Thompson and Grammy-nominated producer Rick Friedrich, who is best known for his work with The Roots, Kanye West and Patty Crash.
Today, he sits on a bench in Rittenhouse Square, which is busy with dog walkers, joggers and people placidly sitting and reading. A Knock Steady T-shirt hides underneath his chunky brown cardigan. He wears dark jeans, a baseball cap and sneakers so white they could blind you. Leaning back on a wooden bench, his right leg crossed over the left, he is calm and collected, sitting next to his girlfriend, Bethany Casperite.
“My friend told me to treat this like a job interview,” he says with a chuckle as he straightens up and fixes his collar. Read more…
Eye Gate II will Psychedelicize Your Show.
Text by Brendan Menapace.
Light shows add a lot to the aesthetic of a concert – the bright colors and strobe lights flying across the stage and through the crowd make the experience of a show even more enjoyable. But light shows have become, well, common.
“When you go to a show, the maximum of what you’re going to see is some colored lights, maybe some fog, and a screen with some lasers on it,” says Andrew Baker, one of the members of Eye Gate II, a projection lighting team.
How about going one step further, Baker asks. How about projecting old educational films or colored oils that make the walls look like a giant lava lamp?
That’s exactly what Eye Gate II does.
After forming in Athens, Georgia under the name Eye Gate, some of the members relocated to Philadelphia. They’ve continued the style, doing shows for local bands in Philly like Da Comrade! and Gondola at venues like Bookspace and PhilaMOCA.
Most of the film reels, Kodakchrome slides and overhead projectors were salvaged from old schools, thrift stores and yard sales. The Eye Gate II team splash light and imagery behind bands, creating what they refer to as a “live painting.”
They create a tailor-made experience meant to enhance the crowd’s experience.
“We feed off of how they’re responding,” says Wes Kays-Henry, one of the members who moved from Georgia.
They’ll go from atomic bomb explosions to butterflies flying through a field of flowers, to straight up psychedelic bubble movements, and sometimes everything at once.
“It’s such an improvised thing with the music,” says team member Brian Kelly. “Sometimes when you’re watching it, things tend to just go perfectly with the music.”
Gary Steuer: Champion for the Arts in Philly.
Philadelphia’s Chief Cultural Officer Gary Steuer, better known as the Art Czar, loves funk music, dreads the clarinet and believes that art and culture is thriving here. It can continue to grow, he thinks, with the right help. Our Maxwell Reil talks to the New York native who was appointed by Mayor Nutter in 2008 to champion our creative economy. Photo by G.W. Miller III.
Why did you pursue a career in the arts?
It was kind of the classic story. My parents exposed me to a lot of theater and art galleries as a child, so I grew up with it. Living in a city like New York, much like Philadelphia, I had a lot of different venues for art at my disposal. So as I got older and was able to go out and appreciate the arts on my own, I decided that this is what I wanted to study. It was something I was truly passionate about.
Would you consider yourself more of an art fan with a political title?
I realized I wasn’t the starving artist. I ended up double majoring in theater and politics. I was hired as an aide to a congressman where I would help with certain issues such as the arts. By a fluke, I then got a second job helping with exhibitions at an art museum. It was here where I saw the business standpoint of the arts and realized that, though I was no longer an artist, I could still integrate my passion for art with the tools I had gathered from business and marketing. Read more…
The Lamagier Light Spectacular.
Text by Gabrielle Chepurny. Image by G.W. Miller III.
The guys in Lamagier take a DIY approach to their music at every step of the way. They create their own music, videos, merchandise and concert fliers, and they have a bandmate designated to creating the elaborate light show during live performances. The light show is a real point of pride.
“We’re working towards a spectacle,” says guitarist Shane Monroe.
They’ve come a long way since forming during the summer of 2009. They began by jamming together at Monroe’s house, where he lived with guitarist Martin Fleming, his bandmate from their previous group, Names. Twin brothers John (bass, vocals) and Tony Corrado (drums), formerly of the band Corrado, began showing up to play just for fun. The foursome decided to make the arrangement official.
“The Philly scene is so good,” says John Corrado. “We want to compete with it.”
They took the name Lamagier (pronounced lama-geer), which is a bone-crushing bird. In 2010, the straight-up rockers dropped their debut album, With The Sound, a five-song EP produced by David Ivory, a two-time Grammy nominee for his work with Erykah Badu and The Roots.
The guys are now building material for their next album and focusing their energy on live performances. Their shows are choreographed with the spectacular light show produced by Brett Hopkins, who uses an array of colors and effects specifically for each song.
The guys know that it’s the experience, energy and the intensity of the live show that will keep fans coming back for more.
“We’re an ever-evolving band who are constantly topping themselves,” John Corrado says.
Keeping up with Verbatum Jones.
Text by Aneesah Coley. Top image by Daniel Wooden. Bottom image by Brittney Bowers.
Verbatum Jones, Philly Hip Hop artist and Temple University student, heads to the stage at the “Almost Famous” talent showcase hosted by Temple’s S.O.C.A. Instantly cheers from the crowd fill the Owl Cove on main campus. “Yeah, Verb!” shouts one excited onlooker.
While the DJ tries to find his first beat, Jones gives the crowd a few laughs with a couple of impromptu jokes. He exudes confidence and knows how to work a crowd during what some would call an awkward situation.
Jones, who releases his debut EP, Verb, online today, November 14th, is a passionate and proud rapper.
“I could give a CD to my mom and dad and not feel odd about it and I know that when they see that, they’re gonna see their son,” he says. “When people hear it, they’re gonna hear Verb. They’re gonna see me. I would give my CD to a pastor.” Read more…
Friends @ Kung Fu Necktie on Wednesday.
They’ve got it going—a record deal, world tours, big time shows, media cred, music videos, a booming fan base. Yet the bandmates from Friends are all dirt broke.
Making it big isn’t what it used to be. But they’re not complaining. In fact, they’re having the time of their lives. Competition is fierce in the digital age and getting a band seriously organized and on the road to making things happen, more than ever, takes pure love and literally dedicating your life to it. Matthew Molnar, multi-instrumentalist of the Brooklyn-based band, talks to our Brittany Thomas just prior to the band’s first Philly appearance ever.
You guys have been featured on some pretty major music sites lately, but you’re still relatively unknown. It’s impressive, you’re obviously incredibly talented and major music critics are noticing. You’ve been featured on sites like Stereogum and Spin, yet you’re still playing corner bars and cafes with bands that really no one has heard about. Is this just an awkward stage? Are you trying to make it big?
I definitely wouldn’t say we’re trying to make it big, I think we just want to do what we want to do how we do it. We’re not above playing with bands that aren’t known on the national scene. If things come around that seem a little bit more glamorous we’ll do it, but we’re definitely not looking to be something huge. So we’re not showing up at these little places like, ‘urgh we’re too good for this.’
We’re more of that kind of a band that’s looking to be just hanging out with cool people, playing with awesome bands, and just being in cool scenes all around the country where they’re really happening. Read more…
IKE, The Shakers, John & Brittany, Zelazowa @ The TLA.
Images by Brittney Bowers.
IKE (above) and The Shakers (below) both celebrated the release of new albums Friday night with a concert at the TLA. 
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Beirut and Basia Bulat @ The Electric Factory.
Text by Kirsten Stamn. Images and video by Grace Dickinson.
“Good evening, Philadelphia. It’s good to see you again,” Zach Condon said as Beirut took the stage this Sunday. As the band – bedecked in crisp buttondown shirts and an arsenal of musical instruments, including but not limited to a tuba, a trombone, several trumpets and an accordion – played their set at the absolutely packed Electric Factory, Philadelphia was obviously glad to see them again too.
While the crowd bopped along to the jaunty riffs and clapped their hands to the beat, Beirut played songs both new and old. Their new album, The Rip Tide, combines their usual elements of layered instruments and harmonies that transcends genres. Best described along the lines of world indie folk, they feature lots of soulful brass and trilling, operatic singing set to poignant lyrics.
The atmosphere was relaxed and exuberant, and Beirut kept the energy constantly going by keeping the talking to a minimum and the music to a constant. Hearing the music and watching them play almost transports you to a different place; with the lights simply strung to the ceiling and the sound of an accordion gently playing, you can almost imagine you’re in Paris, right up until the horn section blares in and sends you to Harlem.
Opener Basia Bulat (right) showed that same transportive energy in her set, in which she charmed the audience by teaching them Polish (the lesson of the night: zoo animal vocabulary) in her raspy, excitable voice.
Whether playing on her autoharp or simply clapping her hands and stomping her feet, which she did for her closing song, her effusiveness was unmatched.
Both acts showed incredible musicianship: instruments were changing hands at almost every song, impassioned solos (especially the epic tuba solo during Beirut’s last song) showed the fervor of their players and each set showed an astounding variance in tone and style.
All in all, it was an inspiring and wonderful night for music.
Pavarotti With a Pizza Pie.
Text by Kim Maialetti. Images by Jessica Griffin.
Wearing a navy blue apron and sporting a tan fedora on his otherwise bald head, Franco Borda takes a break from tossing pizzas to take the stage at his restaurant, the High Note Café.
He shakes his tambourine and leads diners in a sing-a-long that starts with “That’s Amore” and ends with “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” with a few bars from “Hava Nagila” in between.
It’s Friday night in South Philly and the Singing Chef entertains diners just as he has been since his days hawking soft pretzels decades ago. Read more…
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 