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the deli<br />
nyc emerging bands and gear<br />
Issue <strong>#56</strong> Vol. #3 Winter <strong>2019</strong> thedelimag.com<br />
altopalo<br />
It’s <strong>Queens</strong>’ Time!<br />
(<strong>Brooklyn</strong>’s Done)<br />
+ <strong>NAMM</strong> <strong>2019</strong> Special
Guitar Pedal <strong>NAMM</strong> Paradise!<br />
(Booths #3231 and #3424! )<br />
After a super-fun 2018 experience, the <strong>Deli</strong>cious Audio’s Stompbox Booth will<br />
return at <strong>NAMM</strong> <strong>2019</strong> in Hall D at booth #3231—the same spot you found us<br />
during the 2018 edition—with also a smaller extension in booth #3424.<br />
This year we’ll have our biggest space to date: a 13’ x 20’ isle booth shared by 17 boutique<br />
pedal manufacturers who will be present with one pedalboard each. Like at all our<br />
Stompbox events, visitors will be able to play with each board through a headphones<br />
setup—demo guitars will be provided.<br />
Once again, we’ll be reserving a section of the booth to shoot videos of all the new pedals<br />
presented at <strong>NAMM</strong>, this time in collaboration with the guys at 60 Cycle Hum. <strong>The</strong><br />
demos will be gathered on our blog <strong>Deli</strong>cious-Audio.com. Don’t forget to check it during<br />
the <strong>NAMM</strong> week (January 24-27)!<br />
In the following spread you’ll find one pedal by each of the participating builders. If you<br />
are going to <strong>NAMM</strong>, see you there!
<strong>The</strong> Pedals of the<br />
Namm <strong>2019</strong> Stompbox Booth<br />
Cooper FX<br />
Moment Machine<br />
Cusack Music<br />
Screamer Fuzz<br />
Deep Space Devices<br />
Trigonaut<br />
DryBell<br />
Unit 67<br />
One of the most tweakable (and<br />
yet easy to use) pitch shifters<br />
available in hardware form. Featuring<br />
two independent polyphonic<br />
pitch shifting engines, a<br />
powerful sixteen step sequencer,<br />
and <strong>over</strong> two hundred user<br />
adjustable parameters.<br />
A limited edition (50 unitts) Tube<br />
Screamer-style <strong>over</strong>drive with an<br />
extra fuzz on top that can gets<br />
you a wide variety of sounds.<br />
This pedal expands on past versions<br />
by including the additions<br />
of a tone/gate control knob, and<br />
a Germanium setting as one of<br />
the three clipping options (Silicon<br />
and LED are the other two).<br />
<strong>The</strong> Trigonaut is an <strong>over</strong>drive<br />
pedal with octave glitch/<br />
stutter capabilities where the<br />
octaves perform the glitch/<br />
stutter effect.<br />
A versatile multi-functional EQ/<br />
dynamics tone-shaping tool<br />
including a “Rangemaster-like”<br />
mid control, a boost and 1176<br />
style one-knob compressor—all<br />
in one extremely practical compact<br />
guitar pedal. <strong>The</strong> Range<br />
control will help you cut through<br />
the mix adding sparkle and bite.<br />
<strong>The</strong> compressor is transparent<br />
and through the blend mode can<br />
add the right amount of sustain<br />
while retaining pick dynamics.<br />
Dusky Amp<br />
Hypatia<br />
Glou Glou<br />
Pralines<br />
INDUSTRIALECTRIC<br />
RM-1N<br />
Massive FX<br />
G.O.A.F. Fuzz<br />
A versatile fuzz/<strong>over</strong>drive/distortion<br />
pedal with a wide gain range,<br />
an adjustable low end, a specially<br />
designed input buffer, and a<br />
MOSFET-based output buffer.<br />
It spans from ragged crunch to<br />
bludgeoning fuzz—all while remaining<br />
musical. <strong>The</strong> low end<br />
can be tailored for any instrument<br />
across a range of musical styles.<br />
A pedal featuring four parallel<br />
resonant band-pass filters and<br />
a versatile modulation circuit<br />
applied to them. <strong>The</strong> filters’ frequency<br />
can be adjusted separately<br />
with a shared volume and<br />
resonance control, and each has<br />
its own “modulation send” control<br />
as well. <strong>The</strong> toggle switch<br />
on the top engages a gated fuzz.<br />
<strong>The</strong> RM-1N is a unique and extremely<br />
versatile reverb - some<br />
have called it an amp in a box<br />
but that’s putting it lightly.<br />
A hand-wired recreation of<br />
the octave fuzz Burns Buzzaround,<br />
popularized by Fripp<br />
in the 1970s with separate<br />
fuzz, mid-range and treble<br />
controls. <strong>The</strong> right footswitch<br />
triggers the Fuzz, the Left one<br />
the Vintage Octave.<br />
6 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
Each one of these builders (and a few more who joined at the last minute) will be present at our<br />
shared booths #3231 and #3424 with a pedalboard full of their own devices, plugged into studio<br />
headphones with amp emulation. Demo guitars will be provided by PRS.<br />
Mastro Valvola<br />
LFO Tremolo<br />
Meris<br />
Enzo<br />
NativeAudio<br />
Ghost Ridge<br />
Old Blood Noise Endeavors<br />
Dweller<br />
A tap tempo optical tremolo<br />
that evokes the classic vintage<br />
sounds of the past, while offering<br />
a range of exciting new features.<br />
<strong>The</strong> warm modulation of<br />
the amps from the ’60s is reproduced<br />
through an opto-isolator<br />
analogue audio signal circuit. A<br />
“Digital Brain” allows you to access<br />
16 waveforms, the innovative<br />
“Symmetry” control and<br />
three tempo divisions.<br />
A multi-voice synthesizer that<br />
tracks your guitar for monosynth<br />
leads, complex chord<br />
polyphony, or multi-note arpeggiation<br />
without the need for a<br />
special pickup. Or, use built-in<br />
pitch shifting, modulation and<br />
filter effects on your dry signal.<br />
It works with any instrument,<br />
allowing you to synthesize the<br />
input signal with a complete<br />
synth tool palette.<br />
A multi-reverb pedal designed<br />
with simplicity in mind, the<br />
Ghost Ridge offers four unique<br />
reverb algorithms: hall, plate,<br />
room, and spring. In addition, it<br />
includes up to four programmable<br />
presets. Each reverb algorithm<br />
features controls for mix,<br />
depth, and modulation.<br />
From familiar phase and vibe<br />
sounds to resonant random<br />
step filtering, warm delays,<br />
and previously unheard in-betweens,<br />
the Dweller is capable<br />
of countless sonic textures with<br />
five controls and six modes. It<br />
features two phaser voices (4/8<br />
stage) and three wave shapes<br />
and an innovative Stretch control<br />
that changes delay time inside<br />
each phase’s stage.<br />
Paradox FX<br />
Oniric Delay<br />
Rabbit Hole FX<br />
OGOD<br />
Spiral Electric FX<br />
Black Spiral Fuzz<br />
SolidGoldFx<br />
Electroman MKII<br />
A delay pedal with pseudo random<br />
modulations to provide a<br />
dynamic trail of repetitions with<br />
a lo-fi touch, ranging from choral<br />
delays, vibratos and a warp<br />
mode for synthetic sounds<br />
brought from beyond.<br />
Driven by mini-vacuum tubes<br />
found in old military radios and<br />
hearing-aids, this is an <strong>over</strong>drive<br />
pedal that also works as an amp<br />
emulator with two headphone<br />
outputs. <strong>The</strong> Level knob controls<br />
the level of signal coming from<br />
the tubes for warmth, while Clean<br />
lets you blend the original signal<br />
back in for parallel distortion.<br />
Versatile and aggressive Maestro<br />
Fuzz-inspired pedal with a unique<br />
blend of vintage tone and futuristic<br />
technology. Bias Control,<br />
three voicing options, and gobs<br />
of output. Separate Gain and<br />
Bias control yield a wide array<br />
of fuzz tones from <strong>over</strong>drive to<br />
splatty, horn-like sounds. Incredible<br />
clean-up with guitar volume.<br />
A warm sounding echo with a<br />
1000ms maximum delay, modulation<br />
with variable speed and effects<br />
loop. <strong>The</strong> second switch is<br />
for the Warp feature, which sends<br />
the repeats ramping up to self-oscillation<br />
for ambient textures and<br />
spatial soundscapes delivering<br />
anything from gentle nudging into<br />
infinity to instant freakouts.<br />
the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong> 7
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Deli</strong> Magazine is a trademark of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Deli</strong> Magazine, LLC, <strong>Brooklyn</strong> & Mother West, NYC. All contents ©<strong>2019</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Deli</strong> Magazine. All rights reserved.<br />
the deli<br />
nyc emerging bands and gear<br />
Issue <strong>#56</strong> Vol. #3 Winter <strong>2019</strong> thedelimag.com<br />
EDITOR IN CHIEF / PUBLISHER<br />
PAOLO DE GREGORIO<br />
FOUNDER<br />
CHARLES NEWMAN<br />
ART DIRECTOR<br />
KAZ YABE ( WWW.KAZYABE.COM)<br />
ASSISTANT EDITOR / COPY EDITOR<br />
ERIN BETHUNE D’SOUZA<br />
EXECUTIVE EDITOR<br />
QUANG D. TRAN<br />
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
JACKSON BERNARD ( WWW.JACKSONBERNARD.COM)<br />
HIP-HOP EDITOR<br />
JASON GRIMSTE (AKA BROKEMC)<br />
WEB DEVELOPER<br />
BINOD LAMSAL<br />
EXTRA EDITING<br />
CHRISTOPHER SCAPELLITI<br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS<br />
SARA NUTA<br />
CONNOR MCINERNEY<br />
REBECCA CARROL<br />
CAMERON CARR<br />
TUCKER PENNINGTON<br />
THE KITCHEN<br />
CHRISTOPHER SCAPELLITI<br />
BRANDON STONER<br />
INTERN<br />
SUNNY BETZ<br />
PUBLISHERS<br />
THE DELI MAGAZINE, LLC<br />
MOTHER WEST, NYC<br />
Advertising Inquiries:<br />
paolo.dg@thedelimag.com<br />
Press Inquiries:<br />
info@thedelimagazine.com<br />
TABLE of CONTENTS<br />
p10. Fresh Buzz<br />
p.12 Records of the Month<br />
p.14 Feature: Queening It Over <strong>Brooklyn</strong><br />
p.20 altopalo<br />
p.22 Bands + Gear<br />
p.30 <strong>Deli</strong>cious Audio’s Guide to Reverb Pedals<br />
p.34 Best Pedals of 2018<br />
t’s again — it never stopped<br />
Ihappening.<br />
Just as the gentrification of <strong>Brooklyn</strong><br />
came about as a consequence of musicians<br />
in Manhattan seeking out low<br />
rents, with the ensuing following of tastemakers<br />
and art-savvy denizens capitalizing<br />
upon this relocation, the same<br />
story is being told again in the city’s<br />
easternmost borough: <strong>Queens</strong>. And<br />
just as the once-predominantly Jewish<br />
enclave of Williamsburg, or the post-industrial<br />
warehouses of eastern Williamsburg<br />
and Bushwick, may have appeared<br />
insusceptible to dynamic change, so too<br />
could be said about <strong>Queens</strong>’ bordering,<br />
predominantly residential neighborhoods<br />
today.<br />
This issue’s main feature tackles this<br />
geographic shift of the NYC scene and<br />
possible future scenarios, while other<br />
sections of it are focused on a music<br />
gear event happening on the other side<br />
of the country (the <strong>NAMM</strong> show), with a<br />
focus on curious devices many NYC musicians<br />
stomp on for creative purposes.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se seemingly separate worlds collide<br />
almost every time we listen to a NYC<br />
band that uses an electric guitar - you’ll<br />
also find a great selection of those in the<br />
central pages of this issue!<br />
Paolo De Gregorio, Editor in Chief<br />
& Connor McInerney
Fresh Buzz | New NYC Artists<br />
We’ve been saying for years that female indie<br />
musicians have, on average, been producing<br />
a lot more interesting material than<br />
their dude counterparts, and L’Freaq,<br />
the project of bi-coastal electronic singer<br />
songwriter Lea Cappelli, is another piece<br />
in the truly beautiful puzzle representing<br />
NYC women’s musical output in the new<br />
millennium. After premiering on Billiboard<br />
the delicate yet edgy electro-soul ballad<br />
“Weird Awakenings,” the artists has recently<br />
unveiled a darker (and even edgier)<br />
single/video combo entitled “Moonlight.”<br />
Channeling the experimental, noir ballads<br />
of Portishead, the track features a deceivingly<br />
sparse arrangement, blending a killer<br />
plodding and syncopated rhythm section<br />
with an ever-evolving ambient electronic<br />
soundscape. Lea’s vocals not only confirm<br />
her noteworthy pipes and silky tone, but<br />
also reveal her ability to convey character<br />
to a performance and “play” the song’s<br />
part, a trait only few musical performer<br />
possess. (PAOLO DE GREGORIO)<br />
L’Freaq<br />
Soul, Noir Pop, Electronic<br />
CLAVVS<br />
Synth-Pop, Electronica<br />
Synthpop <strong>Brooklyn</strong> duo (via Atlanta)<br />
CLAVVS has been catching a lot of cyber-fan<br />
attention recently by topping the<br />
Hype Machine charts with singles “Lay<br />
Back” and “Slow Dive.” <strong>The</strong> group has already<br />
two well received full length albums<br />
under their belt, but are showing no signs<br />
of slowing down. Atmospheric and easy<br />
on the ear without ever sounding banal,<br />
this year’s singles show a noteworthy<br />
growth in the songwriting department,<br />
which is a promising sign for a project<br />
whose songs aim at moving the listeners’<br />
feelings more than their body, boosted by<br />
vocalist Amber Renee’s soulful and melancholic<br />
alto. (PAOLO DE GREGORIO)<br />
Sloppy Jane is a band with bizarre and<br />
grotesque inclinations and an interest in<br />
translating them into their performances.<br />
Naked bodies, colored dye, and television<br />
screens set a backdrop for melting inhibitions<br />
as the music (and often the musician)<br />
tumbles into chaotic fits. It’s a must-see<br />
for fans of avant-garde, performative<br />
punk. <strong>The</strong>ir 2018 album Willow sounds like<br />
a theatrical post-punk/DIY opera and—allegedly—tells<br />
the story of a “girl who existed<br />
inside of a strip club in Inglewood, who<br />
Sloppy Jane<br />
Photo: Jorge Gonzalez<br />
Avant-Indie, Post-Punk, No Wave<br />
ran away to the desert to hustle pool with a<br />
lion, and who burned herself alive for [our]<br />
freedom.” It’s filled with odd tracks that<br />
develop in unexpected sonic and vocal directions,<br />
without ever sounding disjointed<br />
or randomly assembled. (CAMERON CARR)<br />
If you are stuck with the notion that emo<br />
has become the unbearably whiny expression<br />
of spoiled suburban kids, enter Bay<br />
Faction, and think again. <strong>The</strong>ir 2015<br />
three-track debut EP clearly carries the<br />
genre’s DNA, but slows down its BPM by<br />
a lot, makes a discreet if not spare use of<br />
distorted guitars, and puts a lot of heart in<br />
it. Those early tracks resonated with a lot<br />
Bay Faction<br />
Indie Emo<br />
of kids and gathered <strong>over</strong> a million plays<br />
on Spotify, and so did following 2017 single<br />
“Pendulum”. <strong>The</strong> band is now ready to<br />
release their debut LP Florida Guilt, which<br />
expands the group’s sonic palette with a<br />
more varied production, without betraying<br />
their music’s core qualities. Single “It’s<br />
Perfect” is to date their fastest and most<br />
driven track, but still stylistically hybrid,<br />
with the inwardly tortured voice of singer<br />
James McDermott adding oozes of character<br />
to vague lyrics related to the struggles<br />
of dating. Fans of Pingrove and Forth<br />
Wanderers (two other bands that are taking<br />
emo in new directions) should definitely<br />
check these guys out. (PAOLO DE GREGORIO)<br />
10 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
Records of the Month<br />
CONDUIT<br />
Drowning World<br />
<strong>The</strong> sheer volume of this album is bound<br />
to be a deal-breaker for some listeners. Yet<br />
for the brave there is much to appreciate<br />
here. “Saturn,” its opening track,” flutters<br />
and screeches, hanging in suspension as<br />
any good intro might. “Hypnagog” is the<br />
album’s full-scale launch, however, pitched<br />
somewhere between the muscular metal of<br />
the Melvins and the more orthodox hardcore-punk.<br />
“End Times” is built on a minor<br />
chord guitar dirge and pounding rhythm,<br />
each taken from the Black Sabbath playbook,<br />
yet juxtaposed by screamed vocals.<br />
“Gille de Rais” is the closest Conduit<br />
comes to modern psychedelic music. Its<br />
menacing rhythm gives rise to a thick wall<br />
of distortion which skirts the line between<br />
post-rock and metal. “Parasites” is the<br />
closest to straight-up hardcore; yet even<br />
here the tension felt in its combination of<br />
instruments seems less message-driven.<br />
“Zero Days” finishes the LP with a clear<br />
almost direct incantation—an oddity in<br />
terms of strategy (yet not out of place).<br />
Drowning World is not for the faint of heart.<br />
But if straight-up truth is your poison then<br />
here’s the antidote. (BRIAN CHIDESTER)<br />
EYES OF LOVE<br />
End of <strong>The</strong> Game<br />
In August, Eyes of Love put out their<br />
debut LP, End of <strong>The</strong> Game. Helmed<br />
by <strong>Brooklyn</strong> songwriter Andrea Schiavelli,<br />
EoL is a true meeting of the minds<br />
that brings together some of the New<br />
York underground’s most innovative<br />
musicians including Lily Konigsberg<br />
(Palberta, Lily and Horn Horse), Sammy<br />
Weissberg (<strong>The</strong> Cradle, Sweet Baby<br />
Jesus), and Paco Cathcart (<strong>The</strong> Cradle,<br />
Shimmer). End of <strong>The</strong> Game is an expansive—and<br />
impressive—debut of 14<br />
tracks ranging from breezy pop to lush<br />
orchestral arrangements, but mostly<br />
reveling in what could be described as<br />
a subdued, broken-up version of postpunk.<br />
Schiavelli’s vocals, reminiscent of<br />
the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, find<br />
the ability to make any turn of phrase<br />
sound instantly classic and soaked with<br />
character. Be sure to give their excellent<br />
album a listen, it’s a lesson in entertaining<br />
unconventionality. (SARA NUTA)<br />
L’RAIN<br />
Self-Titled<br />
<strong>Brooklyn</strong>’s Taja Cheek is an experimental<br />
singer/instrumentalist whose classical<br />
music education inspires her solo project<br />
L’Rain’s rich, ambient sound. While<br />
creating her debut, self-titled record in<br />
2017, Taja’s burgeoning music career<br />
was intersected by the passing of her<br />
mother Lorraine, which affected L’Rain’s<br />
lyrical content with themes centered on<br />
the subject of grief—as heard in tracks<br />
like “Stay, Go (Go, Stay)” and “Heavy<br />
(But Not in Wait)”. Her tracks, however,<br />
wander through mystifying and dreamy<br />
territories with the effect of blending<br />
morbidity with cheery effervescence.<br />
Listening to L’Rain’s is the aural equivalent<br />
of gazing into a sonic kaleidoscope<br />
composed by a multitude of synths,<br />
samples, and effects, concocting a wistful<br />
carpet blanketed with her lush, whispery<br />
vocals. (REBECCA CARROLL)<br />
12 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
Feature | Far East in the City<br />
* QUEENING<br />
OVER<br />
IT<br />
BROOKLYN<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rise of <strong>Queens</strong> As <strong>The</strong> New Home of<br />
<strong>The</strong> NYC Music Scene<br />
By Connor McInerney and Sara Nuta / Illustration by Astrid Terrazas<br />
14 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong><br />
*queen it <strong>over</strong> (one)<br />
To act in a way that shows one’s arrogance; to behave<br />
as if one is superior than someone else.<br />
Example: “OK, yes, you beat me—now quit queening<br />
it <strong>over</strong> me.” (Source: <strong>The</strong>FreeDictionary.com)
Housing <strong>The</strong> Struggle<br />
It’s impossible to discuss the New York City music scene<br />
without addressing the “900 dollars a month excluding<br />
utilities” elephant in the room: rent. At the crux of any environment<br />
in which young, broke musicians will thrive is<br />
the question of how they will afford to live there, and it’s a<br />
problem that NYC is notorious for, given the ever-increasing<br />
cost of living expenses for anybody who call the city<br />
home. Tangentially, when examining the city’s “It” neighborhoods<br />
throughout the years — the areas endowed<br />
with the ephemeral “cool factor” brought by the presence<br />
of artists — a pattern of eastward migration emerges, one<br />
coherent with the direction of NYC’s gentrification <strong>over</strong><br />
the last fifty years.<br />
As the city’s scene expands eastwards, as creative types<br />
settle into cramped three-bedroom Bushwick apartments<br />
en masse, the last bastion in <strong>Brooklyn</strong> appears on the<br />
precipice of full “artist-ification.” It makes sense why<br />
musicians, venue owners, and scenesters have begun<br />
looking eastwards, towards the inevitable jump to the<br />
Borough of <strong>Queens</strong>.<br />
Looking at the context of New York’s alternative scene<br />
since the 1960s helps illuminate why <strong>Queens</strong> is the heir<br />
apparent. <strong>The</strong> genesis of counterculture in Greenwich Village,<br />
its folksy cafe society of guitar-strapped drifters, the<br />
ilks of which included Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel,<br />
provided a workable modus operandi that informs underground<br />
and DIY music in the city today; all that was necessary<br />
to host performances by up and coming musicians<br />
was a few microphones and a space that’s willing to open<br />
its doors to their admirers.<br />
Over time, such soundscapes inevitably became electric<br />
and the venues changed, moving towards the East River<br />
and into dives like CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, both of<br />
which played host to bands like <strong>The</strong> Velvet Underground,<br />
Ramones, and Talking Heads, purveyors of a distinct New<br />
York soundscape that was increasingly becoming darker,<br />
“weirder,” and more electronic. <strong>The</strong> next big transformation<br />
in alternative locale, however, wouldn’t occur until<br />
the early aughts, when the Lower East Side became the<br />
scene’s new “hot spot.” That, in tandem with the meteoric<br />
rise of then-young indie groups like <strong>The</strong> Strokes, Yeah<br />
Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio and Interpol, would anoint<br />
now-established performance spaces like the Bowery<br />
Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, Arlene’s Grocery and Pianos.<br />
As the LES thrived, concurrent development in the<br />
now-gentrifying <strong>Brooklyn</strong> would eventually push artists,<br />
bookers, and venue owners <strong>over</strong> the river, forming the<br />
basis of the two-borough New York scene we see today.<br />
A Tougher Enviromnent<br />
for DIY<br />
New York scenesters have developed some kind of refrain<br />
that’s reiterated when discussing (read: lamenting) a venue<br />
that’s on its way out: that when one space shuts down,<br />
another will inevitably pop up. We have come to accept<br />
that this reincarnation cycle will take shape in converted<br />
warehouses, multi-purpose spaces, and shabby bar/venue<br />
hybrids. But <strong>Brooklyn</strong>’s nightlife scene has faced heavy<br />
blows in the last few years. A combination of rising rents,<br />
creative leadership differences, and stringent building<br />
code restrictions have spurred a(nother) wave of closures.<br />
Within the last few years, <strong>Brooklyn</strong>’s had to say goodbye<br />
to DIY heavyweights like <strong>The</strong> Silent Barn, Shea Stadium,<br />
Palisades, and Aviv, among others that filled the<br />
void left behind by 285 Kent, Glasslands and Death By<br />
Audio’s closure. Most recently, the underground <strong>Brooklyn</strong><br />
club and anchor of <strong>Brooklyn</strong>’s techno scene, Output,<br />
announced that they would shut its doors come the new<br />
year. This comes just weeks after <strong>The</strong> Dreamhouse and<br />
<strong>The</strong> Gateway announced similar outcomes.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se setbacks may stem from serious concerns surrounding<br />
illegal DIY spaces, especially in the wake of the<br />
2016 Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, a tragic occurrence that<br />
claimed the lives of 36 people attending a house show<br />
at the artist collective space. While concerns surrounding<br />
fire safety and building codes are legitimate, many venues<br />
have faced disproportionate scrutiny from legislation<br />
surrounding nightlife (like the cabaret laws, which until<br />
recently banned dancing in venues) and city taskforces,<br />
such as the NYPD’s M.A.R.C.H. Taskforce, which targets<br />
community hotspots (as outlined by Liz Pelly in her piece<br />
in the Baffler, “Cut <strong>The</strong> Music”).<br />
the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong> 15
In short, notwithstanding the enthusiasm propelling many<br />
of these operations, it <strong>takes</strong> a lot of hard work, perseverance<br />
and also good luck to keep them open; dealing<br />
with a multi-faceted art space with precarious funding<br />
and (in some cases) even less certain legal standing is a<br />
challenging and stressful task even for the most savvy of<br />
entrepreneurs.<br />
SUNNYVALE<br />
<strong>The</strong>se locales’ openings, closings and relocations are just<br />
as central to this timeline as the history of the transient<br />
music communities involved.<br />
Live Venues Invade<br />
Bushwick and Ridgewood<br />
After the “Williamsburg venue massacre” of the mid<br />
2010s, bonafide names in New York’s scene started setting<br />
up official shop in Bushwick. In 2013, forward thinking<br />
DIY entrepreneur Todd Patrick (colloquially known as<br />
Todd P.) was the first to settle in Ridgewood with all-ages<br />
venue and “community resource center” Trans-Pecos,<br />
while working on re-opening his bigger Bushwick<br />
operation Market Hotel (he co-owns both venues). <strong>The</strong><br />
PopGun Presents team — who built its reputation running<br />
now defunct, semi-DIY Williamsburg venue Glasslands<br />
— resurfaced in 2017 with the multi-room, EDM-friendly<br />
warehouse Elsewhere. Most notably, booking giant<br />
Bowery Presents, not happy with running adjacent live<br />
spots Music Hall of Williamsburg and Rough Trade,<br />
built from scratch (!!) <strong>Brooklyn</strong> Steel, an 1,800 capacity<br />
mega-venue which solidifies that area as as the current<br />
center of the New York scene.<br />
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and where there are<br />
abandoned warehouses and great swaths of the creative<br />
class, there are usually large electro/rave scenes. Avant<br />
Gardner, a massive event complex with a 6,000-person<br />
capacity, was shut down in 2016 for safety violations but<br />
recently came back as a colossal night club for deep<br />
house and techno grooves. <strong>The</strong> Myrtle-Broadway intersection,<br />
home to the legendary Market Hotel and former<br />
Palisades, serves as a jumping off point for new directions<br />
both musically and geographically. As you move into<br />
Bushwick, you’ll find an emphasis on dance and nightlife<br />
in places like the expansive House of Yes, to the intimate<br />
Bossa Nova Civic Club, to Bushwick’s bonafide<br />
AVANT GARDNER<br />
MARKET HOTEL<br />
astrology themed lounge Mood Ring. For those who<br />
tend to ride the electro wave, these spots are a welcome<br />
haven from the conventional nightclubs in Manhattan.<br />
Equally integral to the <strong>Brooklyn</strong> music ecosystem are the<br />
smaller, less flashy spots that provide space for emerging<br />
bands (who may not be backed by huge PR teams)<br />
to get booked and meet like-minded artists. Among them<br />
are reliable spots like Alphaville, Gold Sounds, Bushwick<br />
Public House, and Sunnyvale: Bars/venues that<br />
consistently put on good bills in low-key atmospheres. In<br />
GOLD SOUNDS<br />
BUSHWICK<br />
PUBLIC HOUSE<br />
16 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
ELSEWHERE<br />
HOUSE OF YES<br />
THE FOOTLIGHT<br />
KNOCKDOWN<br />
CENTER<br />
RIDGEWOOD<br />
(QNS)<br />
THE WINDJAMMER<br />
“It’s more likely that<br />
neighborhoods like<br />
Maspeth, with its large<br />
industrial lowlands,<br />
and Ozone Park, with<br />
its recent development<br />
investments, will become<br />
spaces where artists,<br />
promoters, and<br />
entertainment companies<br />
will set up shop.”<br />
ALPHAVILLE<br />
SECRET PROJECT ROBOT<br />
TRANS-PECOS<br />
RAKIT CLUB<br />
BUSHWICK<br />
(BK)<br />
H0L0<br />
Ridgewood, you’ll find dive bars like <strong>The</strong> Windjammer<br />
or venues like <strong>The</strong> Footlight that serve a similar downto-earth<br />
community-oriented vibe. Take H0L0, for instance<br />
— a basement space for electronica with an industrial,<br />
minimalist design and solid sound system — that’s helped<br />
house the nascent lo-fi electronica scene in Ridgewood.<br />
Everything from multi-faceted DIY art spaces like the<br />
Glove to more experimental, electronic-oriented spots, like<br />
the fourth incarnation of Secret Project Robot (or its offshoot<br />
bar Flowers for All Occasions) helps keep the active<br />
and vibrant arts community intact, especially at a time<br />
when DIY spots have been shut down in quick succession.<br />
Yet new venues have and continue to crop up and sprawl<br />
outwards.<br />
Where Next?<br />
Understanding the cyclical nature of artist movement,<br />
neighborhood development, and artist departure, raises<br />
the obvious question of “where next?” Sure, Ridgewood<br />
the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong> 17
and Bushwick have furnished denizens of New York with<br />
a variety of performance spaces, and it certainly doesn’t<br />
show any signs of slowing down soon, but the inevitable<br />
process of gentrification will likely continue to push<br />
musicians further into <strong>Queens</strong>. And while one would be<br />
inclined to just chalk up the immediately adjacent neighborhoods<br />
of Middle Village and Glendale (both of which<br />
are situated right next to Ridgewood), the residential elements<br />
of these areas set them apart from the visually<br />
unappealing industrial spaces of eastern <strong>Brooklyn</strong> that<br />
have proven fertile ground for art.<br />
Rather, it’s more likely that neighborhoods like Maspeth,<br />
with its large industrial lowlands, and Ozone Park, with<br />
its recent development investments, will become spaces<br />
where artists, promoters, and entertainment companies<br />
will set up shop. Both neighborhoods are characterized,<br />
at least in part, by recent real estate acquisitions of unused<br />
warehouses and factories, and fit with the general<br />
trend of movement that has characterized <strong>Brooklyn</strong>’s<br />
development <strong>over</strong> the last twenty years. That being said,<br />
DIY has never necessitated “venues” and established<br />
performance spaces for art to flourish, and as industrial<br />
spaces become increasingly scarce it may force a return<br />
to form. It’s entirely possible that Cypress Hills and its status<br />
as a diverse, residential community (plus its proximity<br />
to the burgeoning scenes of Bushwick and Ridgewood)<br />
may see an influx of creators in the next five years.<br />
Regardless of where exactly the next wave of musicians<br />
and scene-makers lands, their choice of <strong>Queens</strong> as “the<br />
place for artists” — at the expense of <strong>Brooklyn</strong> — is not<br />
simply written in the stars: it’s a process that’s already<br />
well on its way. d<br />
A<br />
RIDGEWOOD HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE By Sara Nuta<br />
s the fringes of Bushwick and Ridgewood seem to blur into<br />
one another, many loathsome acronyms have appeared––<br />
from the cringey “Ridgewick” to the somehow even worse<br />
“Quooklyn.” Bad names aside, the trend is noticeable and has<br />
become only more apparent as venues shift <strong>over</strong> to <strong>Queens</strong>, too.<br />
choice to be the new “hot” neighborhood. With its quiet treelined<br />
streets and safe yet modest residential sensibility, it’s an<br />
area that seems more conducive to raising a family than starting<br />
a punk band. Yet, the neighborhood was attractive for its convenient<br />
location, proximity to the M train and affordability.<br />
However, the historic <strong>Queens</strong> district is not simply an extension of<br />
<strong>Brooklyn</strong> or Bushwick and to refer to it as such would be a) misguided<br />
b) and <strong>over</strong>sight of Ridgewood’s rich history. Formerly a sturdy<br />
blue collar German enclave and later a predominately Italian and<br />
Latino neighborhood, Ridgewood was able to remain more or less<br />
out of harm’s way during the most chaotic points of deindustrialization<br />
in the ’70s. Pre-World War I, Ridgewood sustained a viable<br />
beer and knitting industry largely due to its population of German<br />
immigrants and proximity to what was previously farmland throughout<br />
<strong>Queens</strong>. Around the 1960s and 1970s, the white flight epidemic<br />
spurred many <strong>Brooklyn</strong>ites to flee to bucolic areas of <strong>Queens</strong>. This<br />
was especially salient when Bushwick became a hotbed for chaos<br />
and looting in the Blackout of 1977, leaving much of the area vacant<br />
and burned. However, Ridgewood and Bushwick were, in fact, entwined<br />
at one point, sharing the same zip-code (11227) up until the<br />
wake of the ’77 Blackout when Geraldine Ferraro advocated to split<br />
the neighborhoods and finalize a border.<br />
More recently, when rising rents have pushed artists out from<br />
their loft-style <strong>Brooklyn</strong> apartments, Ridgewood has presented<br />
a viable option. Ostensibly, Ridgewood appears to be an odd<br />
Unlike Bushwick, which has certain historic buildings, Ridgewood<br />
has designated historic districts (Stockholm Street, Ridgewood<br />
North, Ridgewood South and Central Ridgewood). It’s one<br />
of the reasons you see blocks of uniformed row houses uninterrupted<br />
by modern, plasticky apartment complexes. Architecturally<br />
speaking, crossing <strong>over</strong> into leafy Ridgewood feels and<br />
looks starkly different from the distinctly industrial look and feel<br />
of Bushwick. Louis Berger, a German born, Pratt-educated architect<br />
who designed around 5,000 homes in the two neighborhood,<br />
is partially responsible.<br />
However, now that the trendy vegan eateries, rustic pizza shops,<br />
novelty pinball bars, and hip galleries dot the streets alongside<br />
stalwart pork stores and bodegas, Ridgewood’s status is no longer<br />
pegged as an up-and-comer but rather a full fledged destination.<br />
As real estate developers and tastemakers have caught<br />
on to the trend and attracted a wide range of millennial newcomers,<br />
new zoning is being put in place to foster more housing and<br />
mixed-use residential buildings. Inevitably, this may cause speculation<br />
to sky-rocket and land values to rise, further propelling<br />
the cycle of displacement.<br />
18 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
Feature | C<strong>over</strong> Artist<br />
altopalo<br />
THE GLITCHES of<br />
SOUND and LIFE<br />
by SARA NUTA<br />
20 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong><br />
Avant-Soul Electronica
<strong>Altopalo</strong> started off the way<br />
many great NYC bands do:<br />
as college friends. Mike<br />
Haldeman, Jesse Bielenberg,<br />
Dillon Treacy, and Rahm Silverglade<br />
met while studying at NYU,<br />
where they hung out in similar circles<br />
and shared a love for tinkering with<br />
sound. <strong>The</strong> four were thrown together<br />
under some pretty serendipitous<br />
circumstances for a school gig, and<br />
officially came together as altopalo in<br />
2013. Since then, they’ve been creating<br />
songs that fuse electronica and<br />
R&B, and sometimes dip into postrock<br />
and psych musings. <strong>The</strong>ir sophomore<br />
release, frozenthere, came out<br />
earlier this year on Samedi records.<br />
<strong>The</strong> band’s debut album noneofuscared<br />
came out in 2015—an impressive and<br />
refreshing blend of funky electronica that<br />
caught the attention of local scenesters<br />
and music blogs. Silverglade’s expressive<br />
vocals layered <strong>over</strong> knotted rhythms<br />
and moody modulations (plus some serious<br />
production chops) made for a captivating<br />
record that stood out at a time<br />
when the “indie rock sound” was starting<br />
to feel stale. <strong>The</strong> record picked up where<br />
Radiohead’s Kid A left off, offering an<br />
experimental take on James Blake style<br />
electro-R&B, with a few primal screams<br />
thrown in for good measure.<br />
<strong>Altopalo</strong>’s newest album frozenthere<br />
pulses more than it grooves.<br />
Where noneofuscared was eager to<br />
burst open and invite you into its spacey<br />
universe, frozenthere is assuredly<br />
patient. It’s an avant-garde record that<br />
unfurls slowly, revealing the band’s more<br />
vulnerable introspections on relationships<br />
in the digital age.<br />
On the new project, altopalo<br />
made the conscious decision to leave behind<br />
their conventional full-band sensibility<br />
in favor of something more challenging<br />
and sparse. “We were listening to some<br />
artists that played with orchestration in<br />
inspiring ways and used that as a departure<br />
from writing for four instruments.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> process was a lot like taking<br />
a slab of marble and sculpting away<br />
until the desired shape is achieved, and<br />
it wasn’t easy. Just as Brian Eno used the<br />
recording studio as an instrument unto<br />
itself on Another Green World, altopalo<br />
views audio editing software Ableton as<br />
a unique tool for their songs. <strong>The</strong>re were<br />
several cycles of improvising, scrapping<br />
and going back to the drawing board—<br />
or rather, sounding board. “It’s an arduous<br />
process, you wish it were simpler.<br />
We could release two albums-worth<br />
of material comprised only of different<br />
versions of ‘(Head in a) Cloche.’” Along<br />
the way, altopalo realized that when it<br />
comes to songwriting, more is not in<br />
fact more. “Adding one good sound to<br />
another good sound more often than not<br />
makes them both worse.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> LP was written and recorded<br />
in the dead of winter of 2016 in<br />
Indiana. Being away from the city helped<br />
the musicians unc<strong>over</strong> a fresh perspective<br />
on what it means to be isolated—<br />
emotionally, physically, and digitally—<br />
which would inform the album’s central<br />
conceit. “Leaving New York to work, it<br />
becomes quite clear what pressures ease<br />
off as the city recedes behind you. <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>over</strong>bearing presence of the city’s ‘noise’<br />
in its many shapes and varieties fades<br />
away quickly, and it doesn’t really become<br />
clear until you can hear the ringing<br />
in your ears just below the rustle of leaves<br />
made by a nearby pack of coyotes.”<br />
Whereas living in New York<br />
can sometimes force stifling living spac-<br />
es, recording in Indiana gave altopalo<br />
some room to breathe, reflect and ultimately<br />
take their songs into a new direction.<br />
“We’ve all lived in pretty cramped<br />
accommodations in the city, too, and<br />
that minimizing of personal space brings<br />
with it a proximity to others that can<br />
grow at times uncomfortable in its unexpected<br />
intimacy.”<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir songs ruminate on the<br />
distortion of relationships, both physical<br />
and digital. frozenthere meditates<br />
on what it means to feel close, or far, or<br />
stuck—whether it’s in the form of struggling<br />
with monogamy or losing yourself<br />
in the endless scroll of an instagram<br />
feed. In this context, the notion of being<br />
frozen <strong>takes</strong> on new meaning. It draws a<br />
line from digital freeze—a buffering video,<br />
a glitchy facetime call, the flattened<br />
quality of an instagram profile—to a<br />
more tactile sense of coldness.<br />
<strong>Altopalo</strong> wouldn’t be the first<br />
band to admit that they have a fraught<br />
relationship with technology. By now,<br />
we’ve all heard the arguments against<br />
the alienating impacts of social media<br />
and nobody needs another laundry list of<br />
why it’s ultimately detrimental for our social<br />
and mental wellbeing. But this skepticism<br />
can be trickier to navigate when<br />
your work depends on sharing, creating,<br />
and connecting online.<br />
After taking a step back, altopalo<br />
were able to see—and express—<br />
clearly the frustrating duality of urban<br />
life: being constantly surrounded by others<br />
but feeling increasingly isolated, and<br />
in turn, “feeling alienated by the ways in<br />
which we distract ourselves from the immediate<br />
world by immersing ourselves in<br />
a universe of screens and pixels.”<br />
A universe, it turns out, that’s<br />
as alienating as it is inspiring—at least as<br />
far as music creation is concerned. d<br />
<strong>Altopalo</strong>’s Favorite Stompboxes<br />
“[We use the] Behringer US600 Ultra Shifter, whose “flutter” setting is paired with the EHX<br />
Stereo Memory Man w/ Hazarai on some bass parts. Mike really likes delay and pitch shifting.<br />
He’s got 5 delay pedals on his board, 2 of which have pitch-shifting capabilities, and<br />
one standalone pitch shifter. <strong>The</strong> Line 6 DL-4 and the Montreal Assembly Count to Five<br />
are often used in tandem with other delays to create floral rushes and verdant cascades.”<br />
the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong> 21
ands + Gear<br />
Read the full features on<br />
<strong>Deli</strong>cious-Audio.com<br />
Photo: Joanna Sullivan<br />
Yamaha Reface DX / Behringer<br />
Model D / Electro-Harmonix Deluxe<br />
Memory Man<br />
BARRIE<br />
In the the beginning of 2018, dream-pop five-piece<br />
Barrie put out shimmering singles, “Canyons,” and “Tal<br />
Uno,” before releasing a 12” in October aptly titled Singles.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Brooklyn</strong>-based band hail from all <strong>over</strong> the<br />
country (and world), but have recently converged in<br />
New York to collaborate and write songs together. <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
dreamy sound puts an ambient spin on retro synthpop,<br />
delivering ultra gorgeous tracks that swirl in a neon glow.<br />
In <strong>2019</strong>, they’ll be hitting the road in support of Miya<br />
Frolick. (SARA NUTA)<br />
What feelings, events, people and/or records worked as a<br />
source of inspiration for your 2018 tracks?<br />
Barrie: Those songs were written in 2015 or 2016, it took a long<br />
time to get them out. When I wrote them, I was living in Boston<br />
and my band at the time practiced in my apartment, so I had<br />
a full drum kit, percussion, bass and guitar amps, keyboards,<br />
etc. right in my room. I played everyone’s instruments all the<br />
time and that inspired a lot of music. Especially playing electric<br />
guitar, which was new for me.<br />
Do you guys use guitar pedals?<br />
Barrie: Live, the texture mostly comes from Noah’s guitar. I like<br />
a really simple clean setup, just a Memory Man.<br />
Synthpop Chill Wave<br />
Spurge: I run my piano sounds, per the recommendation of<br />
Dom, through a compressor pedal to even out the sound, and<br />
my Roland JV1010 through the compressor out into a mixer<br />
where I can control the levels of my piano sounds along with my<br />
Reface DX which is handling the synth sounds.<br />
Noah: My guitar pedal set-up is super simple: chorus, phaser,<br />
and space echo. I have the chorus on pretty much all the time<br />
and use the phaser and echo for moments here and there. <strong>The</strong><br />
centerpiece of my set-up is the Elektron Octatrack, which is a<br />
sampler, mixer, and MIDI sequencer. I use it to trigger one-shot<br />
samples, and to send MIDI sequences to/process audio from<br />
my KORG Minilogue. We don’t use a backing track so we needed<br />
something that would c<strong>over</strong> a lot of ground and be ultra-flexible/powerful,<br />
which the Octatrack is perfect for.<br />
What other synths were particularly inspiring?<br />
Noah: <strong>The</strong> Juno 106 sound played a large role on our first couple<br />
singles. On the upcoming album, Dominic and I did some<br />
modular synth stuff, Spurge did some sounds with the MS20,<br />
and I recorded a lot of Prophet 08 and Moog Mother 32.<br />
Spurge: I use the Reface DX for live and my personal writing. I<br />
really love the user-friendliness of that versus the DX100 or DX7.<br />
I also recently got the Behringer Model D which I would highly<br />
recommend if you like the classic Moog sound.<br />
22 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
RODES ROLLINS<br />
<strong>The</strong>re aren’t too many country singers that wax-poetic<br />
about the larger than life figures of our world. It seems<br />
like the cultural focus of the genre has shifted toward different<br />
stories with different motifs. Yet artists like Rodes<br />
Rollins are trying to change that with songs like “Mystery<br />
Man.” Appearing like a country-pop mirage on the horizon,<br />
Rollins’ vocals are watery and obscure, detailing a<br />
man in a “forsaken land” that cannot be shot dead. <strong>The</strong><br />
track is less about a character’s arc and more about this<br />
legendary figure’s reputation, and it plays out <strong>over</strong> haunting<br />
instrumentals that border on psychedelic with twangy<br />
guitars that become surprisingly soothing. With its soft<br />
sonic palette, Rodes’ 2018 material has the tempo of ballads<br />
and the melodies of lullabies, but a sense of unease<br />
and tension conferred by her vocals and the edgy and<br />
dark production transform these tracks in unmissable noir<br />
psychedelic gems. (TUCKER PENNINGTON)<br />
<strong>The</strong>re’s a very intriguing Spaghetti Western element to many<br />
of your tracks. How did that get in there?<br />
I’m immensely inspired my Morricone. Often, when I’m writing I<br />
Photo: Mark Peaced<br />
Electro-Harmonix Lester K<br />
/ Danelectro Spring King /<br />
Spaceman Orion<br />
Noir Folk Dream Pop Spaghetti Western<br />
think about Western landscapes and sounds. His music always<br />
<strong>takes</strong> me there.<br />
What did you grow up listening to?<br />
I grew up listening to Nirvana, <strong>The</strong> Beatles, and Cat Stevens.<br />
Mostly stuff my dad would play for my sister and I.<br />
Although sparse, most of your songs feature a subtle but<br />
“intense” production. Is there a team working on your recorded<br />
sound?<br />
I work mostly with producer Alex Goose and engineer Keith<br />
Armstrong. I write and arrange the songs in <strong>Brooklyn</strong>, and then<br />
I bring them <strong>over</strong> to LA where we record and work on the production.<br />
Alex is a real tastemaker and has an amazing ear for<br />
references. He collects records and can pull the most obscure<br />
references about that always help with production. Keith, is<br />
an incredible engineer with every guitar pedal imaginable. He<br />
knows how to achieve any sound, and he’s a real analog guy.<br />
Speaking of pedals, what are your favorite ones right now?<br />
Pretty much everything is drenched in verb, we used a lot the<br />
Spaceman Orion Spring Reverb and the Danelectro Spring<br />
King. I’m also a fan of the Electro-Harmonix Lester K, which I<br />
use to achieve a nice leslie rotator effect.<br />
the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong> 23
ands + Gear<br />
Read the full features on<br />
<strong>Deli</strong>cious-Audio.com<br />
BLAC RABBIT<br />
Psych rock is a genre that can encompass a spectrum of<br />
sounds ranging from pop-oriented songs to less-defined<br />
and at times downright chaotic jams. Risen to semi-celebrity<br />
status in NYC through busking in the subway to the<br />
tune of songs by the Beatles, Rockaway Beach, New York’s<br />
Blac Rabbit creates music that falls in the former category,<br />
with precise song structures and thoughtful lyrical content.<br />
What bridges those extreme ends is a like-minded penchant<br />
for phased guitar textures and dreamy introspection.<br />
After impressing with their 2017 debut 6 track EP, the band<br />
recently released new single “Seize <strong>The</strong> Day” from their<br />
forthcoming record Interstella. We asked the two brothers<br />
at the helm of the band a few questions about their creative<br />
process and gear. (DAVE CROMWELL)<br />
You guys became some kind of NYC sensation for busking in<br />
the subway, how long did you do that and was it a formative<br />
experience for what the band is today?<br />
Busking originated for us as a way to raise money to see our<br />
mother in Puerto Rico, she was living there for a while a few years<br />
ago. It was only years later after settling in to several dead end<br />
jobs, getting sick of them, quitting, and then busking for about a<br />
year and a half before it began to blow up for us. Busking definitely<br />
sharpened our skills in terms of performing. I think pre-busking<br />
Electro-Harmonix Small Stone<br />
Nano / ZOOM G3 / ZOOM G3X<br />
Psych Rock<br />
I would have considered us producers more than anything else.<br />
Does gear have a role in this process? If so, how?<br />
We knew we wanted a “Psych Rock” sound, so when trying to<br />
figure out which analog pedals we would need to achieve that, we<br />
stumbled across these Zoom pedals. <strong>The</strong> G2 and G3. We chose<br />
them mainly because we were too broke to afford a shit ton of analog<br />
pedals. At first I thought we were settling, but now I think the<br />
sounds have grown on us. We mainly use a compressor and drive<br />
setting which adds some sort of mid range-heavy EQ. It does<br />
a really great job emulating a vintage analog tone. A delay and<br />
reverb combo which nicely washes out a guitar sound makes it<br />
sound ghostly, which I really like. And a Vibrato modulation. Really<br />
like the way this sound warps the pitch ever so slightly… so sick.<br />
Is there a person outside the band that’s been important in<br />
perfecting your recorded and/or live sound?<br />
For me Steve Lacey and Kevin Parker have been major influences<br />
for getting “the right sound”. I remember listening to Tame<br />
Impala and being blown away by the way his record sounded.<br />
Finding out that he produced it all on his own was crazy to me<br />
and super inspiring. An artist who was just as obsessed with the<br />
engineering as the writing resonated with me. I had always been<br />
obsessed with production since high school and hearing Steve<br />
and Kevin definitely inspired some of the sounds on the EP.<br />
24 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
ands + Gear<br />
Read the full features on<br />
<strong>Deli</strong>cious-Audio.com<br />
MASS GOTHIC<br />
Noel Heroux and Jessica Zambri, active in the NYC scene<br />
since the mid aughts, released music separately through Hooray<br />
for Earth (Noel’s first breakout project, disbanded in 2014)<br />
and Zambri (the electronic band Jessica still plays in with<br />
sister Cristi Jo) and became the two creative forces behind<br />
Mass Gothic. <strong>The</strong> two musicians share an interest for dark atmospheres<br />
and edgy arrangements. <strong>The</strong>y found themselves<br />
involved in a romantic relationship that soon developed in an<br />
involved artistic collaboration, which fully bloomed in Mass<br />
Gothic’s sophomore album, entitled I’ve Tortured You Long<br />
Enough, released earlier this year through Sub Pop records.<br />
We asked Noel to share some thoughts about the creative<br />
experience and the gear behind it. (PAOLO DE GREGORIO)<br />
<strong>The</strong> new album sees Jessica join you as creative/songwriting<br />
force, how did you develop the idea that an “equal power”<br />
collaboration was in the cards?<br />
Jess influenced the first Mass Gothic album via proximity, we were<br />
always together while I was recording. <strong>The</strong>n with Sup Goth she<br />
ended up finishing a lot of the vocals, writing and recording. Around<br />
that point we realized we were making a band together. Natural<br />
progression when two people spend 24/7 in each other’s company.<br />
Overall, the new album sounds less electronic and more guitar (and<br />
bass!) based than the debut, what influenced this sonic direction?<br />
We toured a great deal playing these songs so when it came<br />
Death By Audio Exit Index Prototype (housed in Apocalypse<br />
chassis) / BOSS PS-5 / Death By Audio Echo<br />
Dream 2 / DOD FX56<br />
Indie Rock<br />
time to record we played it as it is live, so you’re hearing that.<br />
Cristi Jo (Zambri) handles a couple samplers full of sounds/<br />
parts we recorded earlier, much of it in demos. I think most often<br />
it’s either Josh’s (Ascalon, co-producer) MS20, ARP2600 or it’s<br />
vocal samples of our own.<br />
What guitar pedals were particularly inspiring while working<br />
on the new record?<br />
<strong>The</strong> DBA Echo Dream 2 is on, literally, all of the time. I put it in my<br />
setup a few years ago to replace a Memory Boy, which I used to<br />
run almost all the time. When I hooked in the Echo Dream it just<br />
did so much work that I ended up unable to turn it off, or else my<br />
sound would basically die. That’s what happens with hugely bold<br />
sounding pedals. <strong>The</strong>y ask to crash on your couch for a week<br />
but before you know it, oops they’re on the lease now.<br />
What other pedals do you use a lot?<br />
<strong>The</strong> BOSS PS-5 has also ended up becoming a permanent fixture.<br />
It started because my guitars are tuned too low to reach<br />
the occasional high note, so I throw the pitch up and octave<br />
or two with that. Jess and I like this DOD metal pedal for bass<br />
and guitar. <strong>The</strong> footswitch is awful though, so we just record<br />
it. Finally, I was gifted a Death By Audio prototype by Travis<br />
Johnson. It’s housed inside an Apocalypse but it’s actually the<br />
first prototype of Exit Index, a signal sensitive tremolo/fuzz. I’ve<br />
started using that extensively for solo. With mega low tuning,<br />
treated correctly it becomes quite scary.<br />
26 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
STUNNINGLY<br />
ACCURATE.<br />
OR, MORE<br />
ACCURATELY,<br />
STUNNING.<br />
STUNNINGLY<br />
ACCURATE.<br />
OR, MORE<br />
ACCURATELY,<br />
D’ADDARIO CHROMATIC PEDAL TUNER<br />
STUNNING.<br />
With its striking, full-color vertical display and quick, accurate<br />
response, the new D’Addario Chromatic Pedal Tuner helps you<br />
make sure not to miss the mark—even in demanding onstage<br />
conditions. Its slim profile leaves room on your pedalboard for<br />
D’ADDARIO all your effects, so CHROMATIC it’s there when you PEDAL need it, but TUNER out of the<br />
way when you don’t.<br />
With its striking, full-color vertical display and quick, accurate<br />
response, the new D’Addario Chromatic Pedal Tuner helps you<br />
make DADDARIO.COM/PEDALTUNER<br />
sure not to miss the mark—even in demanding onstage<br />
conditions. Its slim profile leaves room on your pedalboard for<br />
all your effects, so it’s there when you need it, but out of the<br />
way when you don’t.<br />
DADDARIO.COM/PEDALTUNER
ands + Gear<br />
Read the full features on<br />
<strong>Deli</strong>cious-Audio.com<br />
TAKING MEDS<br />
<strong>Brooklyn</strong>-based four-piece Taking Meds boldly advocates<br />
their distinct musical style, ascribing to the ’math-punk’<br />
label. After producing their debut album My Life as a Bro<br />
in 2016, the group returned to the studio earlier this year<br />
to begin recording EP My Moon Is Always Full. Many of<br />
their songs like “Blue Shirt Boogie” and “Comfort in Poor<br />
Planning” fuse aspects of classic, dissonant post-hardcore<br />
with the relatable edge of indie rock, creating a combination<br />
of hard-biting lyrics and rhythmic complexity that<br />
penetrates the spirit of punk rock. With vocals that err on<br />
the side of Four Year Strong or Neck Deep, blended into<br />
layers of Balance and Composure-esq post-hardcore instrumentals,<br />
you are left with a cutting mixture of intense<br />
yet complex loudness. (REBECCA CARROLL)<br />
What inspired for your 2018 EP?<br />
Skylar: Lyrically “My Moon Is Always Full” was highly personal.<br />
I had just gotten sober and was reflecting on that. A lot of our<br />
previous release, My Life as a Bro, addresses some extremely<br />
inebriated experiences. Sobriety was new ground.<br />
Jon: Musically we’ve spent a lot of the last year really digging<br />
into the Polvo and Shudder To Think discographies. To me,<br />
[Top] Jon’s pedalboard: BOSS ODB-3 / BOSS DD-7 / Adventure<br />
Audio Glacial Zenith / BOSS PH-3 / BOSS TU-3<br />
[Bottom] Skylar’s pedalboard: Adventure Audio Dream<br />
Reaper / Adventure Audio Whateverb / ProCo RAT /<br />
Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Nano / MXR Carbon<br />
Copy / Fulltone OCD / BOSS TU-3<br />
Math Rock Alt Rock<br />
“Discount Furniture” has a bit of a faster and more cross-eyed<br />
Chavez vibe while “My Moon Is Always Full” has a more melodic<br />
Drive Like Jehu quality to it.<br />
What’s about odd tempos that excites you?<br />
Jon: We seldom if ever think in terms of making intentionally complex<br />
music. We naturally lean that way as listeners and instrumentalists.<br />
Skylar: When I was first entering high school, I liked playing in<br />
bands a lot but was pretty self-conscious and easily defeated<br />
when it came to my abilities. My friend was like “I bet you can’t<br />
play this, it’s in 7/4” and he was all stoked when I could and I<br />
guess I felt like latching on to odd tempo parts has always come<br />
more quickly and naturally to me.<br />
Was there a specific pedal that kind of changed your life?<br />
Jon: As a guitarist and a studio engineer I love my ’80s Memory<br />
Man. I got it about 10 years ago and It was the first time I disc<strong>over</strong>ed<br />
a pedal that really extended far beyond that of simply an “effect”.<br />
Another pedal I really love is the BOSS GE-7 EQ. Pushing or pulling<br />
midrange before/after dirt boxes can bring extra focus to the guitar.<br />
Skylar: I really love my Fulltone OCD. It fixes so many things I<br />
used to struggle with in my tone, and I’m learning how to gain<br />
stage that against my AC30.<br />
28 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
Teenage Engineering<br />
PO-33 KO<br />
[Top] Vera’s pedals: TC Electronic Ditto /<br />
Hotone EKO / EarthQuaker Devices Grand<br />
Orbiter / BOSS DS-1<br />
[Bottom] Annie’s pedals: BOSS TU-2 / Barber<br />
Electronics Tone Press / Electro-Harmonix<br />
Bass Big Muff Pi<br />
T-REXTASY<br />
Garage Rock Punk<br />
NYC’s T-Rextasy are thinking about the end of the world, and<br />
the primordial beginnings of it, too. <strong>The</strong> punk four-piece have<br />
been shredding sugar-rush punk with a socially conscious<br />
twist and a Lisa Frank vibrancy since they were seniors in<br />
high school in New York City. <strong>The</strong>ir excellent debut Jurassic<br />
Punk––where they sing about everything and everyone<br />
from cafeteria ladies to gap year boys—came out in 2016<br />
on Father/Daughter records. Since garnering a cult following<br />
and going off to different colleges, T-Rextasy has continued<br />
to tour and gain momentum for their anticipated sophomore<br />
LP, Prehysteria, which is out in January. (SARA NUTA)<br />
What people, records, events and/or feelings influenced you while<br />
you were writing and recording your new album Prehysteria?<br />
Lyris: Thinking about technology/social media and the end of the<br />
world. We gotta burn our iPhones. We gotta return to the land.<br />
Ebun: I second what Lyris said. I also was just influenced by<br />
the notion of not giving a fuck about people thinking I’m crazy<br />
or “hysterical” and living in the body as I am as a black femme.<br />
Vera: <strong>The</strong> feeling of “wow we’re grown ups!” mixed with “wow I<br />
still live with my parents and worry about how I look!”<br />
Annie: Thinking about inevitable graduation (which has now<br />
happened), coming out as gay, feeling like an adult and also a<br />
leetle bitty baby all at the same time.<br />
Do pedals inspire your music as well?<br />
Vera (guitar): I was recently gifted a sweet Fulltone Plimsoul<br />
<strong>over</strong>drive. My friend got it for me and said that if he ever caught<br />
me playing with my BOSS DS-1, he would take it back. I brought<br />
the gifted pedal on tour with me, and it did a slammin’ job, but<br />
I missed my BOSS DS-1. I would hear people playing and be<br />
like, “damn, that’s a rad tone!” And sure enough, they would<br />
have a DS-1 in their pedal chain. I love that pedal and will never<br />
tour without it again. One pedal that’s been blowing my mind<br />
recently is the Electro-Harmonix POG. When you hear it, it’s like<br />
an organ. Amazing clarity, and it almost gives a shimmer of chorus<br />
effect or something that makes the octaves sound 3D. I’ve<br />
also been really digging the combo of my DS-1 and EarthQuaker<br />
Grand Orbiter. Also, not a pedal, but I’ve been crazy about<br />
my new Teenage Engineering PO K.O. sampler/drum machine.<br />
Annie (bass): This summer was the first time I toured with any<br />
pedals other than a tuner. I got an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff for<br />
that much needed bass distortion, alongside a Barber Tone Press<br />
compressor, because I finger play and sometimes that comes<br />
with a wooliness that I like to compress a bit so it really rings out<br />
to the back of the room. My forever love though is my tuning pedal,<br />
which I maintain is the only pedal anyone truly needs.<br />
the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong> 29
<strong>The</strong> Ultimate Guide to<br />
Reverb Pedals<br />
delicious-audio.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> object pictured here that<br />
looks like a 10 inch-long<br />
metal bath tub is how reverb<br />
effects for guitar looked like<br />
when they first appeared in the<br />
early ’60s — although you didn’t<br />
really see that, since it was hidden<br />
inside guitar amps like the Ampeg<br />
Reverberocket and the Fender Vibr<strong>over</strong>b.<br />
Those amps represented<br />
the beginning of a long lasting and<br />
prolific love story: the one between<br />
electric guitar and reverberation.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first reverb in stompbox format<br />
only appeared in the mid ’80s (DOD<br />
and BOSS units), but since then the<br />
acceleration in popularity has been<br />
A spring reverb tank. (Credit: Grebe, Common License)<br />
so swift that, thirty years later, looking<br />
for a reverb pedal has become a<br />
little bit like looking for a car: there’s<br />
a wide range of options and prices,<br />
with each model excelling at different<br />
things and offering different features.<br />
This is why when confronted<br />
with the idea of creating a guide to<br />
reverb pedals we decided to organize<br />
it in the four categories below<br />
— you can find the full articles by following<br />
the red links next to the titles.<br />
Best Ambient/Shoegazer Reverb Pedals<br />
bit.ly/GazeVerbs<br />
Once upon a shoe-gazing time, guitarists had few choices when it<br />
came to pedals that could create washes of ambiance. Many players<br />
used multiple delay and reverb pedals at the end of their signal chains<br />
to generate deep, blooming and lingering soundscapes. <strong>The</strong>se days,<br />
thanks to advances in digital signal processing (DSP) chips, pedal<br />
makers can create stompboxes dedicated to this particular brand of<br />
reverb. As it happens, pedals that excel at creating ambience are all<br />
the rage right now. We’ve spent some time with the current crop of offerings<br />
and have collected 18 that we consider the best. All of the pedals<br />
listed in this article will allow you to create cavernous reverbs with<br />
lingering tails, shimmer effects, delay, modulation and much more.<br />
In this article you’ll find these lists:<br />
1. Ambient/Shoegaze Reverb Pedals<br />
2. Ambient/Shoegaze Reverb + Delay Pedals<br />
30 the deli Winter <strong>2019</strong>
Best Multi-Mode Reverb Pedals<br />
bit.ly/Multiverbs<br />
If a simple spring reverb is a little too spartan for you, we have compiled<br />
a list of the best multi-function reverb pedals (aka “Multiverbs”) on the<br />
market organized by depth of features and (perceived) popularity. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
range from stompboxes with three or four different reverb flavors to fullblown<br />
workhorses that deliver a dozen ambience algorithms and deep<br />
levels of control. Some are big, some are small, but all will tickle your<br />
craving for the wondrously wet world of reverb.<br />
In this article you’ll find these lists:<br />
1. Multi-Algorithm Reverb Workstations<br />
2. Compact Reverb Pedals with 5 or More Modes<br />
3. Compact Reverb Stompboxes with 3-4 Modes<br />
Best Spring Reverb Pedals<br />
bit.ly/SpringRvb<br />
This list focuses on pedals dedicated to the spring reverb effect, which<br />
is based on a design featuring springs in a little tank that vibrate when<br />
your guitar’s signal goes through them. A pickup mounted inside the<br />
tank picks up those vibrations and sends them back to your amp. <strong>The</strong><br />
spring reverb is an effect associated with the electric guitar sound of<br />
the ’60s, brought to fame, in particular, by surf music, and facilitated by<br />
reverb circuits built inside many vintage amps from that decade. <strong>The</strong><br />
first Fender Reverb Unit was introduced in 1961 and reissued in 2016.<br />
In this article you’ll find these lists:<br />
1. Pedals with Actual Springs<br />
2. Spring Pedals without Springs<br />
3. Mini Spring Reverb Pedals<br />
4. Spring Reverb Pedals with Tremolo<br />
Best Hybrid Reverbs with<br />
Modulation and Fuzz/Distortion<br />
bit.ly/HybridVerbs<br />
Some of the best reverb stompboxes out there are not “pure” reverb circuits,<br />
but feature other effects that are often used with it — without necessarily<br />
being a “do-it-all” reverb workstation. In this article you’ll find reverb<br />
mixed with tremolo and other forms of low-frequency modulation, and<br />
with old-school fuzz, distortion and EQ filtering that lets you emphasize<br />
bass or treble frequencies. While many of the entries in this article feature<br />
both classic and modern styles of reverb, a few are satisfyingly spartan,<br />
allowing you to conjure up vintage ambience by turning just a few knobs.<br />
In this article you’ll find these lists:<br />
1. Reverb Pedals with Modulation<br />
2. Reverb Pedals with Distortion or Fuzz
Aggregating the<br />
A<br />
s usual, the Winter <strong>NAMM</strong> show will<br />
unleash on us a tsunami of new pedals<br />
(we’ll shoot demos for as many as we<br />
can together with the guys at 60 Cycle Hum,<br />
check <strong>Deli</strong>cious-Audio.com for the c<strong>over</strong>age!).<br />
However, we shouldn’t miss the opportunity<br />
given to us by the first issue of <strong>2019</strong> to see<br />
what devices stood out from the crowd during<br />
the previous twelve months...<br />
Since <strong>Deli</strong>cious Audio is an aggregator of<br />
pedal news and doesn’t review gear, our “Best<br />
Stompboxes of 2018” chart is an aggregate<br />
of the year-end lists compiled by other pedal-centered<br />
online resources. Up to this point<br />
(early January at the time of writing), we found<br />
this list of relevant “best ofs”: Reverb.com,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Pedal Zone, Dennis Kayzer, BestGuitarEffects.com,<br />
Popular Mechanics and<br />
Vintage King — the chart in these pages is<br />
compiled by tallying these lists’ results.<br />
Here’s how we did it: some of these lists (like<br />
<strong>The</strong> Pedal Zone’s one) assigned a specific<br />
“chart position” to each effect, while others<br />
(like the JHS one) just mentioned a list of devices<br />
in no particular order. To add the results<br />
up in a way that made sense, we decided to<br />
assign a value of 10 to any pedal that was<br />
given the #1 spot; we gave second places<br />
9 points, 8 to third places and so on. Pedals<br />
beyond the 9th position got just 1 point.<br />
Lists that didn’t specify an order generated 5<br />
points for each pedal.<br />
Here are the results!<br />
P.S. We’ll updating this page on<br />
<strong>Deli</strong>cious-Audio.com whenever new,<br />
relevant year-end lists will be published:<br />
bit.ly/BestFX18—keep checking it!<br />
1<br />
2<br />
Chase Bliss Audio<br />
Dark World<br />
27 pt.<br />
delicious-audio.com<br />
“Best Pedals of 2018” Lists<br />
3<br />
Meris<br />
Enzo<br />
29 pt.<br />
Red Panda<br />
Tensor<br />
23 pt.
4 5<br />
EarthQuaker Devices<br />
Pyramids<br />
6 6<br />
20 pt.<br />
8<br />
Benson<br />
Preamp<br />
15 pt.<br />
Beetronix<br />
Royal Jelly<br />
9 pt.<br />
BOSS<br />
MT-2w<br />
10 pt.<br />
Chase Bliss Audio<br />
<strong>The</strong>rmae<br />
10 pt.<br />
8<br />
10. Chase Bliss Audio - Condor<br />
10. Old Blood Noise Endeavors - Dweller<br />
10. Southampton Pedals - Indie Dream<br />
13. Dwarfcraft Devices - Witch Shifter<br />
14. Electro-Harmonix - OCEANS 11<br />
8pt.<br />
8pt.<br />
8pt.<br />
7pt.<br />
6pt.<br />
Find the full list of 40+ pedals here: bit.ly/BestFX18<br />
KMA Machines<br />
Horizont<br />
9 pt.