New Year. New Music. New Favorites. ChinaShop handpicks the Women to Watch in 2011. Don’t sleep…
Music Girls in a ChinaShop: Sharon Van Etten
5.00 (1 votes)
Tag Archives: Brooklyn
5.00 (1 votes)
Featured Music NewVillager set-up Temporary Culture in LA
Picture the motley imagination of Where The Wild Things Are mixed with the quixotic, avant garde world of Fischerspooner. Throw in the patience and immersion of a method actor. Then strip it all down and build it back up using a boutique, DIY aesthetic. This, in a nutshell, is how NewVillager have approached their craft. Are they artists? Yes, and not just in the musical sense. Ben Bromley and Ross Simonini—along with a cast of characters spread between San Francisco, Brooklyn, and all points in between—are just as keen on creating elaborate art installations as they are three-minute tunes. Are they musicians? Totally, yet their record is chock-a-block with big hooks and indie pop melody. Nothing is over your head, yet the band talks, almost reverentially, about a “mythology” they adhere to; something intrinsically connected to the way in which they form new creative ideas.
5.00 (2 votes)
Featured Geek In A ChinaShop Geek Drinking in Brooklyn Borough
Visiting New York and getting your geek on? Wondering where to go for a post-outing nightcap? Brooklyn is the NYC borough to beat when it comes to geektastic drinking establishments, boasting two locales that appeal to lovers of genre fiction, gaming, and good beer.
4.75 (4 votes)
Contest The “Effin Ladies” Get Your Motor Runnin’: Red Bull Creation
On July 10th, teams of inventors, makers, and hackers will head to Brooklyn, New York where they will embark on a 72-hour anything goes build-a-thon. The event, known as Red Bull Creation, will challenge teams to push their imaginative limits and “create the future.” Upon arriving in New York, contestants will be given a theme, taken to a creative build space, and unleashed on the streets of New York city as they scramble to acquire materials and seek inspiration for creating a potentially winning masterpiece. After being judged in front of a live audience, the winners will go home with a load of cash and tools to support future projects.
16 teams are officially in the running, with six deemed as wild cards. Among the wild cards is the all female team of Zorah and Tirzah Rodgers, Laura Leva, and Sarah Kihls who call themselves “Effin Ladies.” The ladies bring a twist to the contest, as unlike many of the contenders, they are scattered around the United States and until July 10th, have never collaborated on a project as a unit. They haven’t quite lined all their ducks in a row but come contest day, the Effin Ladies plan on bringing the heat.
ChinaShop tracked these ladies down to pick their brains on their backgrounds as artists and to nab some insider secrets on how they are preparing for the big day.
5.00 (2 votes)
Gallery Music #justsayin: Northside Fest Day 4
It was Sunday afternoon and I set out to enjoy the last of the Northside Festival riches. Four days of music and art were drawing to a close and I was content with the events of the weekend. I fought my way through crowds, rubbed shoulders with indie music celebs, I saw more shows in four days than I have since SXSW and I’ve got a list of EP’s to download.
(not rated yet)
Gallery Music Kids, WAVVES, Blood and GBV: Northside Festival Day 3
Surfer Blood opened for WAVVES who opened for Guided by Voices during Saturdays day shows at McCarren Park.
Most people in attendance were there to see Guided by Voices. I know this because the demographics were much more something you’d expect to see in Williamsburg’s southern neighbor, Park Slope; lots of old dudes and so, so many children. I totally wish I was one of those babies at music festivals with the hot pink ear protectors on my head and I bet if, god forbid, I ever birth such a thing I’m gonna drag it along with me. Maybe thats what outside day shows are for. Bring your kid to a music festival during the day and everyone will glance over and be like, ‘OMG, isnt that rocker kid so cute. And look at his mother! I hope I have that many tattoos by the time I’m a parent.’ Bring your kid to a bar at 1 AM and you’re likely to get picked up by social services.
3.00 (2 votes)
Gallery Music Northside Festival: Brooklyn’s Best Day 1
It was the opening day of the third annual Northside Festival in Brooklyn and at every step of the way I couldn’t help but make SXSW comparisons. First, there was free beer at the press badge pickup and I was off to a great start. The festival is very definitely music heavy but is also featuring film and ‘Ideas’ showcases.
I saw a few shorts by NYC filmmakers at indieScreen, a beautifully designed small theatre three blocks from my house that I didn’t even know existed, before heading over to The Music Hall of Williamsburg to catch Gordon Voidwell and Theophilus London at the Northside Festival Opening Party. I have to say that Gordon Voidwell stole the show. That voice! Their style! The girl on the keys!
5.00 (2 votes)
Featured Music Theophilus London: Music, Fashion and Weird Science
Swag. It’s the term you love to hate, but it’s easy to tell who has it and who doesn’t. Brooklyn’s Theophilus London has it, and not just in one place. His debut album, Timez Are Weird These Days, doesn’t drop until July 19, but he’s already been featured in more fashion spreads than your average supermodel, and his mixtape game has been on point for a minute now. A YouTube search will pull up performances at Cannes and Letterman, and London’s Tumblr is constantly popping off with stylish photos of him in various locales across the globe. Pretty soon you’ll even be able to dress like him. A collab with Cole Haan will see a limited run of TL-signature, triple blue suede loafers on the shelves of select boutiques. So are these for fashion or for function?
“F*ck fashion. This is lifestyle!” he says. “This is for kids to jump on a plane with. This is for you to wear to the all-white party this summer, hanging out pool side. You could rock these to the store. Your girls can rock these unisex!”
Consider yourselves on notice. Check out his first single, “Last Name London,” then download 2009′s This Charming Mixtape from MediaFire here.
5.00 (1 votes)
Gallery Music Dim Lights and Strobes: Yeasayer
It seemed as if everyone in the vicinity of Hollywood was at the Yeasayer show this past week. The Brooklyn-based experimental rock band took the stage at Hollywood’s Music Box on May 23rd and 24th, performing to a sea of eager Angelenos.
4.00 (8 votes)
Art Artstars: Blood Dumpster
Melissa Dowell is a member of Blood Dumpster, a notoriously cutting edge Brooklyn art collective. Here she talks about artistic motivation, campfire stories, and the origins of the collective’s name.
4.33 (3 votes)