A couple of weeks ago we headed over to the fairly new UCB Theater in the East Village (known for its "Hot Chicks Room" scandal—click through for some photos!) to film a Gothamist House video with Craig Wedren, formerly of Shudder To Think. (After filming we headed down to Zuccotti Park to visit with the Occupy Wall Street protesters—which you can see more of right here.)
Gothamist House Presents: Craig Wedren At UCBeast
Photos/Video: Visiting Occupy Wall Street With Craig Wedren
Last Thursday we shot a new Gothamist House video (coming soon!) with former Shudder To Think frontman Craig Wedren over at the new UCBeast... and afterwards, we brought the wrap party down to Zuccotti Park to check in on Occupy Wall Street and talk to some of the protesters. Unfortunately, the audio from the visit didn't pick up too well, but you can check out a short clip below, where Craig talks to Councilman Jumaane Williams. And here's what Craig had to say about the experience:
Week in Rock: Shake Your Halo Edition
Click through the gallery for more on Shudder to Think, Sound Fix, TV on the Radio, and Jay-Z.
Craig Wedren, Shudder to Think
In celebration of their new release, Live From Home, Shudder To Think is playing a one-night-only show at Bowery Ballroom this evening. This comes after the band reunited last year, ten years after their breakup, and played a limited amount of dates nationwide—this album contains tracks handpicked from that tour. Prior to all this, the band (on Dischord Records) pushed the boundaries of the hardcore punk scene, and their legendary Pony Express Record (appropriately released on Epic) is regarded amongst many as one of the most influential albums in recent years.
Who's Tipping What at NYC Venues?
Do certain band's fans tip better than others? Sasha Frere-Jones does an uncontrolled study at Bowery Ballroom -- and Chromeo fans, you're busted.
“When Chromeo played, their crowd drank house vodka and Budweiser. Didn’t tip. Some of them did what I’ll call the slide-backs. They put a dollar down on the bar, wait until you turn your back, then palm their buck and walk away. Classy. When your night starts out with “What’s your cheapest drink?” that’s also not good.”Classy, indeed. So who is picking up the slack and keeping these bartenders in the green? It's the hard-drinking hard-rockers, of course. Specifically Preistess fans who fancy a little whiskey with their beer and often tip $2 per drink. Similarly, Bogmen fans aren't tight-fisted either, as Bowery bartender Amy Korb tells SFJ, "It’s nearly impossible to keep the Bud Light stocked in the cooler or the Ketel on the shelf. They draw investment bankers, guys who shout and get inappropriate, but, damn, they need that Bud Light."
Extra, Extra
- Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: serious trauma at Attorney and Houston Sts. in Manhattan, a water rescue at 1st St. and Astoria Blvd. in Queens, and a gas leak on Kingsland Ave. in Brooklyn.
- The NYPD and FDNY collaborated yesterday to put divers in the dark and frigid waters off a jetty at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, in order to rescue a 14-year-old boy trapped in the rocks of the jetty as high tide encroached. They were successful and none of the rescuers was injured.
- Newark hasn't experienced a single murder in more than 30 days, the longest stretch of non-killing since 1963.
- An entire Queens family--mom, dad, son, daughter, and son-in-law--were arrested this week for running a family cocaine distribution business out of their quiet home.
- The freaks of Coney Island's past, present, and possible future.
- Joe Torre all decked out in his Dodger blue and white uniform.
- Al Sharpton digs to the root of Major League Baseball's steroid scandal and determines that it's all about criminalizing black men.
- Thanks to everyone who came out to our Movable Hype show last night at Union Hall in celebration of our 5 year anniversary. And a special thanks to Craig Wedren for deejaying and Salt & Samovar, The Forms and Pattern is Movement for playing. You can watch a clip of The Forms performance here (courtesy of Sam Horine).
Craig Wedren, Musician
Craig Wedren is the former front man for the sorely missed D.C. band Shudder to Think, a group that seemed to intuitively grasp all the overlooked possibilities of the late-80s/early 90s post-punk landscape and render them into a sound that was at once startling, bizarre and irresistibly catchy. Since the band’s end ten years ago, Wedren has made a career as composer of soundtracks for movies such as Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter, while still writing his own songs, which appeared on his 2005 solo record Lapland. But an impromptu reunion between Wedren and two other Shudder to Think band mates last September has fans clamoring for more; and those at Bowery Ballroom tonight will likely get it. The sold out "Barack Rock" show will be hosted by the comedy group Stella; the lineup consists of OK Go, Craig Wedren, Nathan Larson, Nina Persson, and Joan As Police Woman. As Wedren told us in the interview, the concert was scheduled tonight for the express purpose of reminding people to vote in the Super Tuesday primaries tomorrow.
Gothamist Music Picks: The "Please Excuse Our Appearance As We Undergo Renovations" Edition
We hope you like change, because there's sure a lot of it when it comes to who's writing the music picks. Now, on to the picks...while we'll be down in Austin for SXSW this week, we aren't taking every band with us. There will be plenty to rock out to in the city, and as an added bonus, it's St. Patrick's Day this weekend...so your rock will be mixed with green beer.
The Pita's Weekly Music Picks, Dog Tired Edition
Hey, happy Chinese New Year, everyone! Time to drive out the old spirits of the past year and welcome the good spirits of the new year. The Chinese do this with explosions and fireworks; we'll do it rock-style, with extremely loud noises. Such as:
The Pita's Weekly Music Picks, Hangover Edition
What's your New Year's resolution? Is it to check out more live music, perhaps, and not be such a couch potato? Dance more, drink more, veg less? You have come to the right place. Here's some of what's happening around town this week:
This Week's Music Picks
Camera phone looky-loos, this one's for you. We're talking about the biggest band to hit small to medium sized NYC venues since Sufjan Stevens, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and The Arcade Fire. We're talking about Montreal's latest buzz band Wolf Parade. You've got three chances to see them this week. That's three chances to see them before they come back to play Webster Hall. If you can't find a ticket to the sold out shows Monday and Tuesday at Bowery Ballroom and Northsix, try to snag one of the non-student tickets available at the door to the NYU performance on Thursday. Listen to songs at their MySpace page.
A Cavalcade of Comedy Personalities This Weekend
Comedy shows in New York this weekend are going to be just like Debra Messing’s hair– all over the place but still really good. Here’s the rundown of what not to miss:
Cabaret License: This Week's Music Megalist (BIG WEEK)
Hyper-important must-see event of the month, first:
Coolfer's Music Picks
Tonight the Knitting Factory and the Onion are having a listening party for Wilco's . Of course, you could have been downloading the album off the Internet for the last three months, and the band's website was streaming the entire album well before its release. But...if you haven't heard it or just want to show up to get a handful of flyers and a free button, the event starts at 7pm. While you're there, there will be a band called Kash playing at the Tap Bar. Kash features Kelli Scar of the band Moonraker. She has an incredible voice and is well worth checking out.



