new york city MUSIC

So as of Wednesday night, Kris Allen now holds the title of "American Idol" after winning by a large margin according to a source at FOX.  Many expected Adam Lambert to win but in the end, it was Kris who came out on top. When asked why he thought he grabbed the win over Lambert, Allen explained,  "There's not a whole lot of people that approve of the whole guy-liner thing and the nail polish and all that. But for me, I love Adam and I think he's one of the greatest people that I've ever met so far. For me, I'm just a regular guy and I think a lot of people just related to me." Kris owes his success to the support from his wife saying,  "She's been my biggest supporter and since we got together seven years ago, she's always tried to make me work harder at music. She believed in me a lot because there were times when I wanted to give up and she was like. 'No, dont stop, you're really great and you need to keep doing this ...

On Breakfast At Sulimay's, (a web video series) senior citizens review the latest and greatest indie music. The commentary is very funny, and it's always nice to hear new music ! Here are two of their latest review sessions: Dan Deacon's "Snookered" and The Doves' " Kingdom of Dust" Favorite quote: "I... I think I suffered from an overlong intro. I think this could be improved with judicious editing of the music." Common's "Universal Mind Control" and Bon Iver's "Blood Bank" Favorite quote: In response to Bon Iver: Bill: "It's a sad song." /Ann:"But it's sad" /Bill: "I like it...because I'm a sad person" The series is created by Woodshop Films . According to the official site, "Woodshop Films is an independently owned multimedia company housed in a working woodshop in Philadelphia, PA. Founded by artist Marc Brodzik, the company serves as a think tank for the cre...

The official schedule for L Magazine's first annual Northside Festival has finally been posted! To make things even more awesome, the infamous Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, BK will be closed down for street traffic 12PM-9PM Saturday June 13th! For those of you who don't already know, Northside Festival is a four-day indie art and music festival kicking off on June 11th-14th in Williamsburg and Greenpoint Brooklyn. According to L Magazine "...it is, as we've grown accustomed to saying, a four-day celebration of the independent music and art scene that thrives here in New York City, with live music being held at nearly every venue in the area (including some that haven't even opened yet), and art events at some of the most relevant galleries in the neighborhood." Additionally, L Magazine has teamed up with the Williamsburg Gallery Association to open up the doors to some of the greatest exhibitions in the area. With rooftop BBQs, late night shows, and a SXSW...

TAKING BACK SUNDAY  RELEASES NEW SINGLE OFF FORTH-COMING ALBUM, “NEW AGAIN” This weekend, Warner Bros. Records artist,  Taking Back Sunday , is dropping a brand new single on MySpace  “Everything Must Go.” The new album, aptly titled  “New Again”  due to the new band member, hits the streets on June 2nd, 2009. The newly rejuvenated group is excited to emerge with their new guitarist Matt Fazzi on board and a fresh new sound as a result. “We kicked around a bunch of different titles, but [New Again] always remained at the top of the list, and that’s because it really does feel like a new band,” says lead vocalist,  Adam Lazzara . And when it comes to the newbie, Lazzara can’t wait for the fans to get to know Fazzi, “His drive to get out there and play for people is just where it was with our first record; it’s like that energy, it’s like we bottled it. He brings an excitement and a fearlessness to working on music that really makes us feel even more so that we can do anything and still...

Here are some quick music industry updates: Wilco is streaming their new album "Wilco" live here A full review with photos by Brooklyn Vegan of Amanda Palmer's Neutral Milk Hotel-Inspired High School production can be found here Blondie, Pat Benatar, and the Donnas have announced their 2009 tour dates . This is going to be an amazing tour, not to be missed! Check the ladies out in NYC FOR FREE on August 13th 2009 at Asser Levy Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn! I'll be there! The John Lennon Exhibit by Yoko Ono titled "John Lennon: The New York Years" has officially opened at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York City. Yoko Ono has included some truly shocking pieces including the a paper bag containing the bloody clothes John Lennon wore on the tragic evening he was shot in 1980 by Mark David Chapman. Ono explains that these pieces were "hard to include" but she felt thatit was "important for people to see that, and for people to un...

The NYC Musical Saw Festival has been approved by the Guinness Book of Records, and will try to break a current word record for the "Largest Musical Saw Enemble" . The currently record comes from Poland and stands at 27 musical saw players playing together. Sawists are welcome to come and be a part of the record breaking attempt on July 18th, at the annual NYC Musical Saw Festival. The Guinness World Record attempt will begin at 2PM at Trinity Church located at the corner of 37th Street and 31st Avenue in Astoria, Queens. Admission is $10.00 and all are welcome to come check it out! For more info head over to: www.MusicalSawFestival.org Checkout the video below of last year's Musical Saw Festival in NYC

We have been watching Regina Spektor for years develop into an undeniably influential musician. Regina's Begin to Hope and Soviet Kitsch has been on our Itunes and Blip.Fm playlist for years and it looks like its going to be on this Music PR firms Itunes and Pandora playlist for years to come. NYC / Lower East Side Neighborhood native Regina Spektor released her new single "Laughing With" on her myspace page. The reviews on the new song are as varied as her musical style however they are almost always positive. Its nice to see an artist who played the entire Ludlow St music/band circuit doing so well and selling hundreds of thousands of her cd. You can read more on this topic and other music news here at this Music Blog

Remember those music concerts in grammar school where you were given the solo performance and were horrified? I do...I'm still recovering. Katya Kazakova, schoolgirl in Moscow suffered from some serious stage-fright while singing a famous patriotic Russian wartime song in front of Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The performance took place yesterday in Moscow at a girl's boarding school for the children of Russia's military. Extremely nervous, Kazakova forgot the words to the wartime song but Putin was able to ease off his tough reputation and saved her from further embarassment. Putin immediately accompanied the schoolgirl in singing a duet of the World War II Russian Soviet victory song "The Dug Out". The Prime Minister bursted out singing: " "The fire is pulsing in a cramped stove/ The resin on the firewood is like a tear/And in a dugout an accordion is singing/About your smile and your eyes," Then, feeling a bit self-concious himsel...

Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls graduated from Lexington High School in 1994. Since then she has became a known artist in the punk-cabaret scene with her band the Dresden Dolls.www.dresdendolls.com/ Under Palmer's direction, her old high school will be performing an original play based on an indie rock staple(and a favorite of mine), Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 album " In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". "It's thrifty, profound, high-quality theater that happens to have been created by high school students," says Palmer. The play is called "With The Needle That Sings in Her Heart" featuring and inspired by indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel's music. The play is about Anne Frank's reliance on her imagination to escape from the terrifying experiences in a concentration camp during World War II. According to Palmer, "The scenes underneath it are about creativity and how, as human beings, our creative impulse is one of the most subline ...

Disclaimer: This article contains profanity taken from a quotation that may be inappropriate for young readers. Apple has recently learned a valuable lesson: be prepared for a smack down when you deny an iPhone application from a Metal band. Frontman,Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (NIИ) was VERY upset (to say the least) when Apple rejected NIИ's newest iPhone application, saying that the iPhone update contained "objectionable content" from "The Downward Spiral" and contained violations of the iPhone SDK Agreement. Reznor immediately jumped on Twitter and publicized the news saying: "Apple rejects the NIN iPhone update because it contains objectionable content. The objectionable content reference is 'The Downward Spiral' " So OK, that wasn't so bad but then... Trying to keep his fans informed, he then revealed Apple's email on the official band website , providing further details on the content that Apple deemed unsuitable: The iPho...

The always shocking, 23 year old Lady Gaga has an interesting story about how she became a major pop artist. In regards to her career she says, " I am defying all preconceptions we have of pop artists"...that's an understatement! The Grammy nominated pop music singer went from an innocent Catholic school girl known as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta of Yonkers, NY to provocative, glam pop star. At the young age of 13, she wrote a piano ballad and would later acquire early acceptance into NYU's Tisch school. Though she was already on top of her game, Germanotta felt like she needed to become who she felt she was meant to be, and so Lady Gaga, the Lower East Side NYC music scene socialite was born. In an interview LG explains: "I went against all I was brought up to be; I moved out of home, wouldn't take any help from my parents [her internet entrepreneur dad and his business partner wife], and supported myself with waitressing jobs and stripping," s...