Links, Links, Links, oh my!

Saw my friend Tom Moran's band (The Tom Moran Band) at the Bitter End last night.
Based out of Massapequa, they play primarily all around Long Island and the five boroughs, and Boston as well. The Tom Moran Band sound like a mesh of Elliot Smith, The Smiths, Pixies, Fleet Foxes, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley. It's almost as if he is the pulsating heart and these artist's are the veins and capillaries that branch off and around him, inspiring and transpiring into something melodic and beautiful.
Ranging from upbeat tempo's to pure acousticness, there is something very vulnerable about the way he plays that draws you in and keeps you transfixed; as if he wears that same beating heart on his sleeve for a humbling five minutes of pureness, then transforms back into the almost-mysterious being that he is.
His use of effect are way advanced to the bar-band typically on the New York scene. Can't really compare at all actually. Nonetheless, definitely worth checking out and supporting.
'Virgin Smile' and 'What's On the Radio?' (which is an indie-cult song in the making)are personal favorites of mine. Those two songs are older but every song on his new EP Mr. Brain is amazing.
Tom is also the lead singer and bassist in a psychedelic metal band 'Exemption', with the awesome Nick Lee (Nick Lee Conspiracy, El Rio Humano) on guitar and Ray Marte of Killingsworth Studio on drums. They are currently in the studio recording a new album.

After the band played we all headed over to Peter McManus, (drummer in the Tom Moran Band) Mike McManus's family's bar. They have been in business for over four decades! It's a nice chill spot in the heart of Chelsea; great sports, tv and music play and awesome selection of brew. Mike also bartends there during the week, so for whoever is reading this, if you decide to go ask for Mike McManus at the bar nd tell him Devin sent you.


So glad the wonderful and beautiful Kristina came out with me last night. Had a blast. Can't wait for Adventure Two of The Jimmy Fallon show with her and her boyfriend Pete.
Pete is an awesome guy. He raps under the name Speechless and works for Billabong in Times Square under the MTV studios. So go visit him and buy all of your stoner/skater/surfer wear/gear from him. He'll be the laid back yet well dressed, tall, short haired blonde guy with a slew of tattoos up and down his arms and neck.

Last time we went to the Fallon show we got picked out of the seating line to do Band Bench. At first we thought we were getting kicked out for trying to sneak an ice coffee in (they are very strict about no food, drink, cameras, videos or cell phone noises) but they walked us over to the opposite side of the hall and asked if we wanted to stand behind the band when they played. We had no idea who it would be but we were in such a state of shock that all three of us said yes in unison and happilly exchanged colored wristbands to stand on the shorter, cooler line.

The Cribs played. They are very much in the vein of The Strokes and The Smiths, considering Johnny Marr is the lead guitarist. I got to shake his hand along with the lead singer/guitarist of The Roots and Jimmy Fallon waved and smiled at me while we were waiting on the stage to take our place!
We got lucky too because to get up to the "bench" behind the band, you have to climb up a set of stairs and stand on metal grating. A few extradonairily tall guys were standing in the front. Well, being the midget that I am, and Kris not being extravagantly taller than me, I asked one of the tall guys with an exeedingly large afro if we could squeeze in in front of him and he happily obliged, even moving over for Pete. Because of his kindness to the height impared of the world, our grill's appeared on the *overexageratedenglishaccent* telly!

I wish this coming week we get to do Band Bench again. And I hope the celebrities and band are ones that we like. They don't tell you who's going to be on or who is playing until you get there. That's the catch. I mean, what if it's someone you despise? Then your stuck.

I'm just praying John Mayer's going to be on. I would keel over. Then he'd have to jump into the audience and save me with his beauty. Haha. Oh.

Last time was Ashley Judd and some race car driver. She was boring as shit and her outfit was obnoxiously hideous. I don't even remember anything about the race car driver guy except that he was hot. But The Roots, The Cribs and Jimmy's dry humoured-cute antics made it totally worth it.


We-ell, I should be cleaning instead of whoring out my friends on my blog, but my body is craving electrolites and whole weat tortilla-meatless burrittos like mad thanks to the ventures of last night. Despite feeling like wanting to smash my head through the wall and crawl into a warm, black lagoon to sleep for days, last night was indefinitely worth it. Needed a good night out in the city, and to see talented, awe-inspiring musicians thrive.
Made me want to start performing and getting out there that much more.
I hope the snow dies down though so it won't be such a pain in the ass traveling around to open mics this coming week. I really want it to stop snowing here in Rockaway. Seems like everywhere else hasn't been hit this hard, if at all.

I do have a busy couple of weeks ahead. Cheng Huai Fashion show on Tuesday, Jimmy Fallon on thursday. The following week I'm going to see this dope musician Don Ryan from Long Island at the Trash bar. Then the amazing Vision Through Sound at the Bitter End again that Friday.


Before I forget, you should also check out my mother's friend Stephan Fowlkes. He carves and sculpts. It's amazing what he can do with a slab of wood or stone. He is working on this amazing piece right now that is a perfect cube of over 175 pieces of wood so far!
He is also the writer and art editor for the Art Crawl review in the New York Optimist.
Not only is he an amazing and informative writer/reviewer and highly educated when it comes to art, but also an amazingly friendly person who has given me great advice and insight into the world of art. On top of it, he has even sold his work to the likings of Orlando Bloom! I would love the oppurtunity to own a piece of his oneday.

For now I must get off my lazy ass and start to clean up, but here are some links I've compiled of musicans (mostly from the Long Island scene) that I love:

Musicians

Tom Moran:
http://www.myspace.com/thomasmoran
http://www.myspace.com/exemption

Michael McManus:
http://www.myspace.com/elriohumano
http://www.myspace.com/helicoptergoeskaboom

Vision Through Sound:
http://www.myspace.com/visionthroughsound
http://www.myspace.com/thesonitusrevolution (background provided by yours truly)

Dinosaurs In Vietnam Record Collective:
http://www.myspace.com/dinosaursinvietnam
http://pellytwins.blogspot.com/2010/02/last-chance-to-buy-to-worlds-largest.html

Bdee and the Venoumous Oranges:
http://www.myspace.com/therealbdee

Elefant Walk:
http://www.myspace.com/elephantwalkus

Bonus Eventus:
http://www.myspace.com/bonuseventus

Casual Sweater Tuesday:
http://www.myspace.com/casualsweatertuesday

Nifty Breed:
http://www.myspace.com/niftybreed

Fortune and Spirits:
http://www.myspace.com/fortunespirits

Joyce Nancy:
http://www.myspace.com/joycenancy

Rice Cultivation Society:
http://www.myspace.com/ricecultivationsociety

Chelsea Smile:
http://www.myspace.com/chsmile

The Holy Soviets:
http://www.myspace.com/holysoviets

The Rhodes:
http://www.myspace.com/therhodesmusic

Christian Peslak:
http://www.myspace.com/christianpeslak


Don Ryan:
http://www.myspace.com/donryanmusic

Artist

Stephan Fowlkes:
http://www.thenewyorkoptimist.com/stephanfowlkes.html


These are just a few. I'll add more and give more in depth descriptions/opinions as I go a long.

Enjoy.