At Home He's A Tourist, Part 2: Record Release Party for American Pinup--Support your local Bands

So last night I went to a belated record release party for a local band from White Plains at the Capt. Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford N.Y. The band is American Pinup and their 2nd album Change Machine came out on the market September 3rd on Altercation Records.

Six-pack, nuthin' to do......

But first, a disclaimer:

I work with one of the band members, so bear this in mind as you are reading this post. And the drummer at the show was clearly not the guy in the above picture.

I don't have any of their records--yet, but I have to say that it was an enjoyable show. A band celebrating a new album release in front of family, fans and friends makes for a nice environment.
And the show took place right in the brewery itself, so it was a pretty cool and unique experience, listening to music while surrounded by beer kegs, vats, and bags of ingredients. Maybe it's not that conducive to sound quality, but I think that the people doing the sound for the gig did a nice job given the acoustics of the building.

Musically, they are a chameleon-like group, playing in a variety of styles, from punk-pop, country, ska, reggae, rockabilly, and their final song was reminiscent of the Pixies. Some of the faster rockabilly music reminded me of the Waco Brothers or Social Distortion with a female vocalist. So they are definitely not 3 chord wonders---they pulled off everything they did pretty effortlessly.





Certainly the focus of the band is Lauren West, the vocalist/rhythm guitarist. While No Doubt comparisons are inevitable, her voice reminded me a little of Patty Smyth in the early days, like that song Goodbye to You. Maybe on some of the country balladry I heard a little Neko Case, but perhaps that has as much to do with her appearance as her vocals. She is very charismatic, and is very confident in what she does. And she can belt out a song. In the above video, she has that old retro look of the old WWII posters with Rosie the Riveter.

That being said, all the genre-hopping complexity of the music requires able musicians to back her up. And the rest of the band was up to the task. Tim, the bass player seemed to propel the band forward with his energetic basswork and I would have said this even if I don't see him at work 5 days at work, when they aren't jetsetting off to parts unknown on the national touring circuit. The guitarist switched from country twang licks to punk roar with ease and the drummer pounded the skins with punk energy at times, while taking the tempo down for the quiet bits. It's pretty obvious that if you are playing ska, dub, ska-punk, two-tone reggae type music, you need a little bit of subtlety that isn't always there with punk bands.

But the band does a very credible job shape-shifting from song to song and everybody seemed to have a great time. I was really glad I decided to go.

So that's about all I have to say. Believe me, if I didn't like what I heard last night, you would not be reading this post. It would not have happened. Judging by the YouTube videos I had viewed from the first album, I thought that they were a good band with a few good songs and that they were only going to improve if they persevered. Now, seeing them live after a few years of hard work and touring they have definitely upped their game.




And I find it extremely cool to see a talented local band from Westchester on their way to making good.

So give Change Machine a listen--I think you won't be disappointed. Or give their self-produced 1st album, Strange Creatures a spin, if you like the Strongbow video.

Secondly, for all you fellow alcoholics, Captain Lawrence Brewery makes a nice Kolsch. I was surprised that an American Brewery made this, as I thought it was basically a German regional style of beer. So also please support your local Braumeisters! And they also make a seasonal Pumpkin Ale that I've heard some good things about.