New York Times hold an MFA, a Screen Actor’s Guild Card, a Congressional Press Pass, and have illustrated for Dark Horse and DC Comics.
They are: one artist, one reporter, one poet, one actor, one part UK, one part New York, two parts California, three parts Portland
You may remember them from such other names as: The Night Time
BOOKING?: nytband@yahoo.com
MAILING LIST? nytband@yahoo.com with subject line: "I wanna come to shows and bring my friends and stand up front"
So?
"Brooklyn quartet New York Times offer up artful indie."
--Time Out London
"It's kind of like a little hit song of the mind. There ought to be a hook, and those guys did find one." --Jonathan Lethem on "Monster Eyes" from Zoom-in online
"Broken bones didn’t stop Rory Store from pogo-ing up and down on stage, his manic enthusiasm mirrored by Rebecca, drummer Tom Stephens and bassist Tara McPherson.
The Brooklyn-based quartet...take their cues from the rough, under-produced elements of ’90s indie rock without crossing over into nostalgic or dated territory...Driving the sound is Rebecca’s uninhibited wail, undoubtedly cultivated from many hours spent getting intimate with the Kill Rock Stars back catalog."
--New York Press, Maggie Serota
"They play literate pop that has been compared to everything from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Pavement, and other lo-fi treats."
--BrightestYoungThings.com, Svetlana
"A star-powered week at Audiofile, as tracks from Wilco, Patti Smith and Richard Thompson shared space with a bonus exclusive song from Brooklyn band the Night Time [New York Times]-- 'Monster Eyes' -- based on the description of the music made by the fictional band in Jonathan Lethem's new novel." --Salon.com's Audiofile, David Marchese
"When I popped Brooklyn based New York Time’s EP into the stereo I was greeted with straight forward curb side indie rock that kicks and punches before it swoons and kisses. Thirty seconds into the first track I found myself assisting their drummer on my steering wheel as I was driving to work. By the fifth song I was chiming in on the choruses and on the second time through the EP I was thinking that this band was friggin good." --Pastaprima.net, Laurent
"Listening to the Brooklyn based New York Times, one can't help but thinking of the multitude of bands that they sort of resemble. Bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Sleater-Kinney immediately spring to mind thanks to the female vocals, but just comparing any band to another band is selling them short. The Brooklyn quartet is certainly an original entity, even though they wear their influences on their sleeves.
By blending elements of New Wave, Post-Punk, Pop, and other musical genres, New York Times are creating sounds that are immediately appealing to any music lover's ears. It's accesible music that's just the right amount of interesting and catchy together. Lead singer Rebecca Roulette has the kind of voice that sounds like its yearning to get out the emotions she's feeling. It's powerful and raw, yet somehow remains tender and very feminine. That's complemented well by the rest of the band with pounding rhythms and blistering guitar riffs that push the music to new heights."
--Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, Pat Duffy
"At their best, they sound like a subdued Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with fiery female vocals and a (duh) New York rock scene sound. At times, I tasted hints of the Velvet Underground and perhaps, just maybe, a scootch of Autolux. All of those bands (and NYT) have that eerie, spooky rock vibe that one would normally have to invest in some serious downers to experience."
--Instrumental Analysis
"It seems as though New York Times looks to Pavement (among other lo-fi indie bands) for their musical inspiration, capturing their recording sound and coupling it with catchy hooks. They also mix in some of Sleater-Kinney's punk rock attitude. One of their greatest assets, however, lies in lead singer Rebecca Roulette. If Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein had a love child, Roulette's voice would be the result. In songs like "Burn" and "Monster Eyes," Roulette shows traces of the amazing wail of SK lead singer Tucker. She also exhibits signs of Brownstein's lower range, and goes down an octave to match slower, more deliberate songs such as "Terminal Five," and still sound confident and strong... the melody of "Burn" is reminiscent of California surfing, and the faster tempo of "China Lounger" matches the pace of New York City" --New Jersey Hipster, Dan Wassington
From Salon.com interview with Jonathan Lethem: Salon: And if [New York Times] do blow up and make a killing on the song? JL: I'll be Andy Warhol to their Velvet Underground. I'll be their Complainer.
"So, if you want me to throw in another band to compare N** Y*** T***** to, I will. I choose a band with a different Rebecca in it... The Spinanes (but, you know, not as sparse). Anyway, they rock."--Gimme Tinnitus, Rob Reich
"You are awesome!"--George Saunders
"New York Times' [demo] endears intself by sounding very much like a first release. It’s got the feel of a guitarist carrying a travel bag worth of arpeggio riffs crossing paths with a singer that’s been itching to test out the vocal ideas floating around her mind. The resulting sound is redolent of mid-90’s alterna-acts like K’s Choice and Joydrop that succeded in melding clean picking verse/crunchy chords chorus arrangement style with pastel-shaded female vocals. Roulette’s smooth, Nightingale voice is the sweetest treat here" --The Deli Magazine, www.thedelimagazine.com
"Oh My" at Union Pool, on a night of wintry mix:
"Tiny Secrets" at Union Pool:
The true, abridged, story of New York Times:
New York Times play songs about a party at JFK airport, the view from a Portland porch, the decay and transformation of cities they love, and giant pigs. The band has performed at such NYC venues as Mercury Lounge, Union Pool, Glasslands, Cakeshop, The Delancey, Pianos, The Tank, and Sin-e, at Velvet Lounge in DC, and in London and Paris. In June, 2007, New York Times met at The Fort in Brooklyn to record an EP with little to no air conditioning and even less time. Engineer Jim Bentley worked patiently, aided by block parties and ice cream trucks, as did Jon Cohrs of Spleenless Mastering, aided by a wall of antique clocks, vaulted ceilings, and a view of Manhattan.
A few weeks later, New York Times escaped the sea of hot trash they call home and made their overseas debut in the UK. They were set to play Truck Festival in Oxford until torrential rain swept the British countryside. But the mini-European tour was saved by gigs at two pubs called the Windmill (in Brixton and Brighton), and Fleche D'or (in Paris), earning it the unofficial name, The Windmill Tour. The band spent the summer of 2008 recording new songs with Travis Harrison at Serious Business Music, to be released by insert-label-name-here in the nebulous future.
New York Times have had the pleasure to play with such bands as Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs, Demander, Fresh Kills, Jukebox the Ghost, Silver Rockets, Christy and Emily, Schwervon, Dream Bitches, Paul Holmes and the Patients, Bugs in the Dark, Milena Mepris, Bones Royale, and Michael the Blind at home in the U.S., and Betty and the Werewolves, Wet Dog, Piney Gir Country Road Show , The Bobby McGees, and Monday Club in the UK.
Here's our version of Lethem's "Monster Eyes," slightly edited, for the Italian book trailer for You Don't Love Me Yet. This is what we'd look like if we were Italian?
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
Wanna come to a live music event in Brooklyn? I'll be on stage at an event that starts 8:00 Wed. 4/1/09 @ southpaw 125 5th Ave. Other acts are UltraViolence, Box Of Crayons, M-TRI and Belt. Should be fun. Hope to see you there.
Thanks for being our friend! we want to share our music with everyone, and in case you aren't already familiar. you will like it. we promise. they are jams for this generation. from outerspace. with an affinity for diana ross & ye-ye girls & britpop. oh... & bacarach. written and performed by us, a couple of space cadets originally from new jersey. we will run into you sooner or later we hope. and thanks again!
Click the covers below to download. free. cause we know. the economy. yeah.
"6" (Six Singles) 1. Do You Really 2. Sister 3. No one's Gotta Know 4. Shake 5. My House Your House Mine 6. Still Only You
23 19 (AAA side SINGLE) 1. 23 19 2. You Can Take Me 3. Sour Apples (Fat Lip Remix)
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