Features

Feature: An interview with singer Clare Burson

photo by Ted Barron (from clareburson.com)

New York-based musician Clare Burson is set to release her new album, Silver and Ash, on Rounder Records later this year. As part of NewBeats’ 10th anniversary, here is an interview that the magazine did with Burson a couple of years ago; since her debut EP Undone, she has put out three more releases: In -Between, Idaho and Thieves

Clare Burson: Troubadour with a Twang

by David Chiu

Sometimes when you enter a bar or a club to listen to live music from a new artist, it can be hit or miss. When it misses, at least you could go back to the bar, order a tall cool one, and flirt with the person next to you. But when it the music hits, it makes the evening more interesting than you expected. And if that person goes on to superstardom, you can be proud to say you were one of the first to witness how it all happened.

That is what happened to this reviewer when he saw Clare Burson perform at the Luna Lounge on a hot August Saturday night. Despite the lack of name power, this young artist managed to play strong and convincingly to a small but very appreciative audience in the Lounge’s performing space. Somewhere down the road Burson has the potential to ascend to the stratosphere of recognition. Continue reading “Feature: An interview with singer Clare Burson”

Features

Feature: An interview with Galaxie 500 co-founder Damon Krukowski

from left to right: Dean Wareham, Naomi Yang and Damon Krukowski

An interview with Galaxie 500 co-founder Damon Krukowski
by David Chiu

Like all the great alternative rock bands that came before them, like the Velvet Underground, the late Galaxie 500 are probably more appreciated today compared to when they were together over 20 years ago. At a time in the late ’80s when pop music was at its most bombastic, with its preoccupation of style over substance (which hasn’t changed much today), or when indie rock was literally underground, Galaxie 500 was the antithesis of videogenic marketing or categorization. Their sound certainly owed much to VU, ’70s punk and avant garde musical stylings thanks to the band’s introspective, yearning lyrics; slow tempos; and jarring yet ethereal drone.

The history of the based-band dates back about 30 years ago when the three founders–guitarist/singer Dean Wareham, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang–were high school friends in New York. It was when they were at students Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. that they formed the band (they named themselves Galaxie 500 after the Ford model car from the ’60s).With producer Kramer (who can arguably be described as the fourth member of the band), Galaxie 500 recorded three extraordinary albums: Today (1988, an album that Sonic Youth); On Fire (1989) and This Is Our Music (1990). During that period, the group played in the U.S. and Europe (including an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 1990) while earning critical acclaim.

Galaxie 500 broke up in 1991, but over the time, their music has grown in stature–even Liz Phair cited the band in her song “Stratford on Guy” from her legendary debut Exille On Guyville. As if not to tarnish the memory of their former group, the members went on to other musical projects whose sound veered into different directions: Krukowski and Yang became the folk duo Damon and Naomi, while Wareham formed the group Luna.

But the legacy of Galaxie 500 lives on for both old and new fans to celebrate: On March 30, the band’s three studio albums were reissued after having been out of print since their last release on Rykodisc Records. They are now available domestically through 20/20/20, the label headed by Krukowski and Yang. What makes these new reissues unique than their predecessors is that each Galaxie 500 studio album is now paired with a previously released live or rarities compilation. Here are the following new configurations:

Today + Uncollected
On Fire + Peel Sessions
This Is Our Music + Copenhagen

NewBeats had an opportunity to speak with former Galaxie 500 co-founder Damon Krukowski about the reissues as well as the band’s music and aftermath. Continue reading “Feature: An interview with Galaxie 500 co-founder Damon Krukowski”

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News: Brill Building, Legendary Site of ‘60s Pop Songwriting, Is Now a Landmark

photo by David Chiu

A New York City building that was home to many hit songwriters from the 1960s, including Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and Neil Sedaka, has now been officially called a city landmark.

The Brill Building, located on 1619 Broadway in Times Square, was one of several structures in the five boroughs that were named landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee last Tuesday. Continue reading “News: Brill Building, Legendary Site of ‘60s Pop Songwriting, Is Now a Landmark”