The Bowery Presents

The Bowery Ballroom upcoming shows

Young Love
official website
myspace
If you really know Keyes, you may be surprised it's him behind these songs.

It was only two years ago when the multi-talented musician was a member of Recover, a buzzworthy young band from Austin, Texas. Their melodic post-punk sound landed the group a major label deal, a dedicated nationwide fan base and much critical acclaim. But Keyes had other things (or, actually, other songs) on his mind.

"I love those guys, and I'm still close with them, but I was at a creative crossroads," remembers Keyes. "I knew I had to change something about my life."

Fate intervened. During a birthday party, a New York friend of Keyes made the musician an offer he couldn't refuse. "He said, 'I have a room free up here. Be here in a week and a half.' And I had always wanted to move to New York, even as a kid."

So Keyes left a town full of great musicians and good friends to move to a strange and wonderful new place … to bus tables. "I moved up here with one bag and my guitar," he says. "And I mean that literally." Fortunately, his bag contained a few demos and rough sketches for songs, which would eventually serve him well.

While doing time at a high-end midtown restaurant ("Catering to rich white people that spoke to me like I didn't know English"), Keyes started thinking more about those unfinished songs. They were good songs, but they hadn't fit in with any of his previous bands. They were danceable, unpredictable, catchy and even thematic. They were, in essence, the origins of what would become Young Love.

"That band name actually hit me years ago," he says. "I knew if I had another band, it would be called Young Love. It's not two words just randomly thrown together. The name is an idea, and all of my songs reflect that."

Guitars, while present on Young Love's debut, are merely a side note in the band's sound. "And that's the funny thing," says Keyes. "I wrote these all on an acoustic guitar; some of them even sound like country.

But once Keyes hit the studio, things changed as he and his bandmates started tinkering with the songs. "Discotech", the infectious first single that's already requested in NYC night clubs, is now sonically more in tune with its name, featuring a dance beat - squealing guitar combo that fits comfortably into the New York underground … while never emulating it. And the propulsive "Find a New Way" is Keyes, as he puts it, "trippin' out on a Microkorg keyboard."

"That was written a couple of years ago," admits Keyes. "I had just turned 21, and I was going out to bars and clubs, and realizing how much fun it is. Actually, a lot of these songs are just about nightlife, and the other half are about love. It all sounds really positive, even if you really listen to the lyrics and see that it's not always the case."

Meanwhile, "Tragedy" shows off a darker side, with the guitars a little noisier and the mood stark. "That song is too crazy to even describe," says Keyes

Keyes, who is currently assembling a band to tour with this summer, ultimately sees Young Love as a culmination of hard work, taking chances and allowing himself the chance to write the music that's been knocking around his head for years.

"This record has been a long time coming," says Keyes, "These songs have existed with me for so long. I'm excited to get them out there. And I hope people get excited by them: I feel like I'm just the instrument to give the songs to everyone."
Tigercity
myspace
Since the critically and commercially successful self-release of their Pretend Not To Love EP in July 2007, Brooklyn’s TIGERCITY has been touring almost continuously, bringing their brand of pop escapism to the masses. Between numerous journeys across North America and a recent European stint, the band found time to return home and record its first full-length album, enlisting producer Chuck Brody (Peter, Bjorn and Jon, Ghostface Killah, Lykke Li) to help realize their vision for a darker, more mature sound. The result is Ancient Lover, a collection of songs that expand upon the crisp production of Pretend Not To Love, utilizing a new arsenal of vintage synthesizers and layers of beautiful ambient guitar to support songs about the ups and downs of rock life. For a band with influences ranging from Prefab Sprout, Chic and Roxy Music to Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, and Tangerine Dream, TIGERCITY has certainly created its own unique brand of outsider pop.

After a much-deserved post-recording spring break spent fishing in Maine, driving through Costa Rica and spending time with friends and loved-ones in New York, TIGERCITY will be back in action later this summer and fall, beginning with the release of the new single, “Fake Gold.” The single will include a number of remixes and will act as a precursor to the release of the band’s debut LP, Ancient Lover, which is out this fall.
American Express — Are you a card member?

© 2010