BeatCrave brings you Brooklyn-based mash-up artist, Brilliant, My Boy, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. Although Brilliant, My Boy (aka Skyler Klingenberg) is just one guy, we just had to feature him. Not only is mash-up a growing phenomenon in music, but we know that everyone wonders these very questions we’re about to ask him. Why and how do you do mash-up? In this case, how do you make an album that astonishingly echoes the great mash-up artists like Girl Talk?

With one listen to his album, Dance, Blacula, Dance!, one is pleasantly surprised to contemplate if he IS the next Girl Talk. With songs like “Hail to the King, Baby” that layersNelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” over Modest Mouse’s “Float On,” intervened by NWA’s “Express Yourself” and followed by Dr. Dre’s riff in “Nuthin’ but a G Thang,” the rhyme from RUN-DMC’s “King of Rock,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” and The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” you’ll love feeling of ADD during each three minute song.

Dance, Blacula, Dance! is available on his MySpace page and it’s FREE! We strongly recommend for you to check it out. Until then, check out this exclusive interview with Brilliant, My Boy’s Skyler Klingenberg below!

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BeatCrave is happy to bring you band, Elizabeth & The Catapult, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. There couldn’t be a better band to make your Friday a little brighter. E & the C have been gaining buzz from local blogs here and there for years but recently, the big kids at NPR and Billboard have also taken notice of the newly signed trio (to Verve Forecast) for their bouncy tunes. Their vibe is sure to please the fans of the playful Feist, the jazz-influenced The Bird and the Bee, and the great storytellers Rilo Kiley in addition to pulling in new crowds.

Leading lady, Elizabeth, has put her knowledge of classical music and indie pop to good use with her band mates (and former Berklee colleagues) on their deliciously sunny album, Taller Children. Although the record is the epitome of breezy charm that echoes happy childhood memories, songs like “Rainiest Day of Summer” and “Apathy” are also melancholic morsels that melt in your mouth leaving you with an aftertaste of contemplation.

It is our pleasure to present an exclusive interview with the trio’s own Elizabeth Ziman along with their brand spanking new video for their title track, “Taller Children,” below!

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BeatCrave brings you band, Cavalier Rose, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. Although they are a fairly new band in the musical epicenter called Brooklyn, Cavalier Rose’s sound could fool anyone into thinking they’ve been a professional band for decades. They categorize themselves under the “rock” genre, but it’s obvious that this four-piece band (half male, half female) touches on so much more with your first listen. With Sia-like vocals that could easily slide into jazz or folk, there is a beautiful combination of grooving bass lines, theatrical drums that can crash or simmer with just the right amount at the right moment, and strong guitar chords underneath these haunting vocals.

Just two months after their formation, Cavalier Rose recorded their debut EP, Primary Colors, and it is available to dowload for FREE at their website now. I’ve already downloaded mine and the entire record is nothing less than jaw-dropping. Cavalier Rose plays The Delancey on June 17th starting at 10:30. If you’re in the area, make sure to catch them live! Seeing a band who deserves critical acclaim is one thing. Seeing a band like that in their earlier stages is another story that is very rare and humbling.

Just watch a video of their debut performance of “Lie to Me” from April below to see what I mean. Then make sure to check out an exclusive interview we were lucky enough to get with the entire band!

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BeatCrave is proud to bring you band, Religious Knives, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. Although Maya Miller and Mike Bernstein have been making music together for the most of their time in NYC, first in their band Double Leopards which had a more tape and drone/experimental sound, they are now successfully flourishing with psychedilic jams heavy with synths and organs which bring back the good characteristics of honest rock and roll.

After recruiting Mouthus’ Nate Nelson on drums and long time friend Todd Cavallo on bass, the band expanded into what is now Religious Knives. As the epitome of DIY rock, Miller and Bernstein also run their own label, Heavy Tapes (appropriately named when you think about Double Leopards’ sound) and continue to create jaw-dropping music that has been released on everything you could possibly imagine (from vinyl to cassettes to self-made CD-R’s…). Their most recent album was released through Ecstatic Peace!

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BeatCrave brings you Brooklyn band, Forest Fire, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. By this, we say “you’re welcome” as we bring you another great gem from Catbird Records. Just like they did with Air Waves, Catbird Records saw the potential in Forest Fire and graciously offered to put out their latest album, Survival. Although an unknown in the beginning, Forest Fire proved that listeners everywhere are always loyal to great music as they got massive attention from other countries for the album. With their quirky and beautiful indie folk music, the band is now signed with a European label to distribute the supply in demand.

For a band who was bi-coastal for some time, songs such “I Make Motion” and “Slow Motion,” which sound smooth as honey in the comfort of a warm summer day, is evidence that this album involved some beautifully thought out dedication. Songs such as “Fortune Teller” also sound off their originality as a rock band with the lyrics, “Tonight, I’m gonna melt some faces.”

Get to know Mark from Forest Fire in our exclusive interview below!

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BeatCrave brings you band, Air Waves, as part of our Know Your NYC Band series. Fronted by vocalist/guitarist, Nicole Schneit, Air Waves is another band that belongs on your iPod playlists during the summer, while riding your bike on a sunny day, or even when you’re unwinding from a busy day. Schneit’s storytelling is relayed through simple lyrics that come from a pure heart on top of organic chords wrapped in peaceful drumming. Although Air Waves’ music is soothingly non-pretentious, don’t you dare lump Schneit’s songs into the fragile folk. The truth is heard in her hints of country music and her catchy clever lyrics are reminiscent of the Pixies’ pop rock. Songs such as “Lightning” aren’t overclouded with unbearable cuteness but are polished by a sharp tongue that whips out a strong story instead. Schneit still writes about things such as love, but there’s a straight-to-the-point factor in her vocals that feeds the listener intellectual clarity in the midst of her charm.

We aren’t the only ones who are smitten with Air Waves. Electro-pop musician, Dan Deacon, has also shared his affection towards Nicole and her band by saying that Air Waves was his current “favorite band.” Finally, folk music that speaks to everyone simply because it is that good! Check out some of their tunes at their next show. Air Waves share the bill with The Beets, Beachniks, and Gutises at Glasslands on April 10th. Until then, check out our exclusive interview with Nicole Schneit below as she tells us how she used to play in a band for five people in a cafeteria, how magical the pizza is in Brooklyn, and more!

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BeatCrave is proud to bring you duo, She Keeps Bees, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. With the help of Andy LaPlant on drums, Jessica Larrabee is the fiery force behind this righteous band that melds that renewed soul of Cat Power and the blues of The Black Keys. She Keeps Bees has this amazing talent to churn out the rawest, grittiest, get-to-the-point songs out there right now. With lyrics such as “Work me like my back ain’t got no bone,” in their addictive song, “Gimme,” this band is far beyond flashy or superfluous. Larabee’s vocals speak for themselves in sparse arrangements that immediately satiate your hunger for the “good stuff.”

If you wish you appease your craving for rock with a swagger and you happen to be in Manhattan tonight, make sure you catch their show with The Love Story, Naked Hearts, and Whitetail tonight at Cakeshop! To tide you over for a few hours, check out our exclusive interview with Lady Larrabee below!

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BeatCrave brings you artist, Alice, as part of Know Your NYC Band series. Now she may not be a collective group, but this singer-songwriter probably has more passion in her body and soul than all the members of The Polyphonic Spree put together. Alice (Stopkoski) has been in bands before, but it wasn’t until she was solo under the spotlight that she found the core of her sound. With vocals that can come off only soothing to the first-time listener, but wise with an edge to those with an ear, Alice has been entrancing music goers through her lilting melodies that coat her meticulous guitar strumming.

Discovering new music and searching for different perspectives on her own music, Alice has been awarded by several songwriting  competitions and playing shows throughout the city. She is also currently putting the finishing touches on an upcoming debut album. Until then, check out our exclusive interview with her where, just as any song of hers, she pours out honesty.

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BeatCrave is proud to bring you band, ZAZA, as part of our Know Your NYC Bands series. This gem of a band sparkles just as much as their name does as they distract you into another hazy realm with their haunting vocals and eerie melodies. It’s a shocking surprise to know that they haven’t been involved in every other indie film, or placed into the final scene of an HBO episode which would probably involve some kind of epiphany, scandal, or glamorous shot of drug consumption. ZAZA brings the ethereal aspect of most shoegaze bands but stand apart because of their ability to skillfully slide moments of suspense, pleasure, and even danger into their sound.

ZAZA is definitely a band to keep your eye on. It could just take a few months for artists like this to come out of nowhere to others. However, if you’re smart and you trust our gut instinct, you’ll be ahead of the game when ZAZA is the only band anyone can talk about. “Have you heard of this band named ZAZA?” Your answer: “Yeah, man. Haven’t you?”

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