Report: Ponytail with Brand New Math & Moron Says What?! at Whammy!

I seriously thought more people would turn up. Ponytail is a band that got big ups from publications like Pitchfork, Tiny Mix Tapes, and the BBC. They were named the Best Live Band by the Baltimore City Paper two years in a row which is an impressive feat as they are lumped in the Baltimore scene with bands like Animal Collective and artists like Dan Deacon.

The first band up was a four-piece tentatively named Moron Says What?! They were great in delivering a cute indie-pop show with plenty of biting synth and choppy guitar riffs. Did I mention that they were so young for a band of that magnitude? They already have an EP out for purchase and they look like they need their moms to carry their gear. Overall, good dancing fun and a tough act to follow.

The second was Brand New Math, an electro-grunge quartet. They were equally satisfying and provided a good contrast with their late-20s curmudgeon banter ["What's the next song?" "I think we should talk about our-" "WHAT'S THE NEXT SONG?"] and refined performances. They possess a dark sound but without being too mopey about it.

Ponytail is definitely a live band. If you are a fan of their records you'll go fucking nuts for their shows. The vocalist, Molly, was completely uninhibited and thoroughly immersed in her vocal mannerisms and the rhythm section, consisting of two guitarists and a drummer, gave the singer a balance of being reserved and whimsical. Molly is the most decisive aspect of Ponytail as without her you would get a pop-surf band. Everyone at the front was eating it up and dancing like a mad person, the band included.

I seriously thought more people would turn up. Whammy has a 200-seating capacity and there wasn't enough people to warrant a fire hazard. It's unfair because their shows look fucking exhausting. They were all dressed in shirts and shorts because of how physical they can be. They make noise punk performances look tame. It was like the Powerpuff girls had Fine Arts degrees and Blossom had down syndrome. And they had technical chops to boot.

One of the highlights was talking to Ponytail before their performance. Molly, Ken, Dustin, and Jeremy talked about their upcoming album. They played half of their stuff from their latest release at the show. We talked about producing your own albums, whether HEALTH is more popular than them or not, equipment, and whether they were self-sustaining or not.

It was a great concert with all three bands performing at their peak.

Radiance

Another song from me. This was fun to do but excruciating to mix down and master due to the number of overdubs. In some places the tracks are a bit out of sync with each other. But that's okay because I'm lo-fi! Reverb solves everything and I made it as loud as possible!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MJI6WM0M

A Room with White Painted Walls

This is the first mixed track of the album I plan to make over the summer. There's nothing like a good brood after a hard day's work I guess.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RZLZ9JWC

Deep Blue Sea [Cover]

I love Daniel Rossen both as a guitarist and a singer-songwriter. I AM a bit bummed that Grizzly Bear will unfortunately skip New Zealand and just focus on Australia instead on their Oceania tour.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AOHIWKS3

This blog is pretty & self-explanatory

Hello,

This blog is planned to be a receptacle of all the music I will record, mix, and master. Some will be originals and some will be covers; some will be performed by myself in its entirety and some will feature other musicians. Music is something I value a lot and on several occasions helped me get over depression and isolation. Phew. I hope you enjoy what I'll put out in the future and encourage you all to listen and to make music in your spare time.

Eat plenty of vegetables and get at least seven hours of sleep every day.