Your band name: I'm not in a band but I work with a bunch of them. My name is Marley McNamara, manager at Levee Drivers, The Districts and Ali Wadsworth, booker/promoter (independent and for World Cafe Live)
Style: whatever sounds great.
Years on the Scene: 4.5 years
Current Project and/or Members: Managing The Districts, Levee Drivers and I recently took on Ali Wadsworth. Also, President of For The Record Management.
Recent and/or most unique/exciting show: I would have to say it's a toss-up between the Levon Helm Tribute that Ron Gallo (Toy Soldiers) and I put together last summer downstairs at World Cafe Live, which featured about 17 locals artists who all joined together to commemorate the life and work of Levon Helm and The Band (including Eric Slick of Dr. Dog assisting almost everyone on drums) and the Beck Song Reader show I organized this past January. I asked 20 local bands of all different genres to learn one song out of Beck's Song Reader sheet music album and perform all 20 songs together, live upstairs at World Cafe Live. It was a really successful and awesome night because it was the first time everyone in the room was hearing the album. Philadelphia was actually the first city to perform Beck's Song Reader album live in its entirety, which is pretty cool.
Fav local festival: XPoNential Festival, hands down! This year will be especially great because the lineup is AMAZING and I'm so happy to see The Districts were asked to play!
Introducing: Keepers
Where to see them? Why? I first saw Keepers about a year and a half ago downstairs at World Cafe Live for a showcase that was going on with like 15 bands I had never heard of, or didn't want to hear again, but once Keepers hit the stage I was FLOORED. I noticed their age right away and couldn't believe how great they sounded for being so young. I briefly mentioned to them at the end of the night that I dug their music but I didn't really hear anything about them again until the Beta Hifi Festival at World Cafe Live last August (which is where I stumbled across The Districts). It's an emerging music competition between artists in and around Philadelphia and I was super excited to see their name on the list one of the nights. They didn't end up passing through because we have a lame policy on "audience participation" votes, but The Districts didn't make it through either and look how far they've come in less than a year. It was frustrating to see Keepers walk away empty-handed
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The band consists of members Alex Held on drums, Korina Dabundo on bass, Brian Thomas on guitar, and Pat Cassidy on vocals and guitar. They all met at the Downingtown School of Rock about three years ago, and have been working together ever since. They released their debut album New Waves in July 2012 to a sold out crowd at the School of Rock out there.
While they don't have a whole lot of shows lined up for this summer, seeing as they are all travelling and preparing for college, they're planning a week-long tour of the northeast with their good friends in Family Vacation. The band is also in the process of writing their sophomore album, which they anticipate releasing sometime next year. I'm working on getting a show together with them and The Districts, hopefully by fall because they would fit great on a bill together and they could both gain a lot of fans from each other, seeing how they are in the same age group and ridiculously talented. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on that!
Keepers played Steel City Coffeehouse with Cheers Elephant a few months back and I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that it was sold out. Wish I could have been at that show... They actually remind me a lot of Cheers Elephant, but they have their own sound that stands out, as well. Their influences consist of Philly favorite Dr. Dog, The Strokes, The Flaming Lips, The Killers and Real Estate, among a slew of local bands that they have played with and befriended over the years. Once the band is in Philly come this fall, you will be hearing a lot more about them...at least if I have anything to say about it!
http://www.reverbnation.com/keepersband
Philly music hero (band/producer/promoter) Hmm this is a hard one so hang in there because I'm naming one for each!
I really have to say Toy Soldiers is the band I admire the most because I've seen Ron Gallo through every stage of that band and never give up, and he's finally honed it to the absolute perfect recipe for success...with staying power. Ron Gallo, Dom Billet, Bill McCloskey, Matt Kelly and Luke Leidy have really figured it out and I'm excited to watch them grow because they deserve it.
Producer-wise, I've always been really impressed by Bill Moriarty because I'm a lifer Dr. Dog fan and he helped create some of my favorite albums of all time, I'm just so impressed by the work he has done with them and with Toy Soldiers, The Lawsuits and Ali Wadsworth's albums. I look forward to working with him in the future!
My promoter hero hands down is Robin Parry. I learned so much I needed to know from Robin when I first started at World Cafe Live and I still learn something from her every day. She started out on the scene in the 80s and worked her way through owning her own nightclub as a single mom, helping acts like Amos Lee, Regina Spektor, Birdie Busch, and a ton of others. She also is the organizer of the Philly to NOLA project which she started after Katrina, which brought Philly musicians to New Orleans to help rebuild music venues and musicians houses and just help build everyone's moral up in the music community after such devastation. I just really admire her and hope to be like her someday!
Music info/source site for Philly The Swollen Fox is a great music blog here in Philly, Kevin Kennedy is really on top of the music scene here, as well as Root Down in the Shadow (which we can all thank for getting this Philly Presents series going!) WXPN: The Key goes without saying. John Vettese is like a local indie music prophet for us here in Philly.
Random thoughts? Everyone should mark their calendars for a few really awesome upcoming shows in the next few weeks:
May 22: Levee Drivers at Fergies Pub for the Ron Gallo Revue
May 24: Big Terrible Album Release Show with Ali Wadsworth and Satellite Hearts
May 26: Levee Drivers at Sun Drop Music Festival at the Fire
**AND**
RG's 3 for 3 at Ortlieb's featuring Thom McCarthy and Devil Whale later that night at 10pm
May 29: The Districts are playing the XPN 30th Street Porch Series at noon outside of 30th Street Station
May 30: The Districts play The Fire
MAY 31: THE DISTRICTS are headlining The Chameleon Club in Lancaster with CHEERS ELEPHANT and JUSTON STENS AND THE GET REAL GANG
June 6: LEVEE DRIVERS are playing JOHNNY BRENDAS with Divers and Swedeland.
June 7: Chelsea Mitchell EP Release show at WCL upstairs with The Lawsuits and August John Lutz II of Levee Drivers
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