Leah Wellbaum
Leah Wellbaum has been through Shea with Slothrust more than a couple times since making they made their debut at Personality Crisis just over three years ago. The band, and especially Leah's distinctly warm vocal style, made quite the impression then, and it's good to see that they're finally getting their due following the release of their latest LP - the stellar "Of Course You Do."
It's easy to make the parallels between Slothrust's music and Leah's picks from our archives. There's the lyrical neuroses of Big Ups, the understated wisdom of Frankie Cosmos and given Slothrust penchant for pentatonic rock, it's no surprise to see fellow shredders like California X and Diarrhea Planet among Leah's choice cuts. At over an hour long there'll be plenty of chances for you to draw your own connections but more likely you'll just be rocking out to one of our most guitar laden guest playlists to date. -LC
Sadie Dupuis
Sadie Dupuis has been a long-time proponent of DIY, but you may know her better for fronting Northampton's Speedy Ortiz. The band is coming off an extremely busy year that produced a new LP & EP, not to mention a busy month just returning from a tour with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. Sadie's kindly given us an immense playlist of tracks spanning back to those early days when she came into Shea reppin' Quilty. Like all great guest lists, Sadie's picks are like a tour of intra-scene influences. Her list is an eclectic but cohesive mix of some of the best melodic guitar rock that's graced our stage over the past few years - kicking off with Red Dwarf's less than graceful dickwave classic "Dick Joke" and later punctuated by some more tender moments courtesy of Widowspeak and Frankie Cosmos. Now would be a good time to finally take "Real Hair" off repeat and delve into Sadie's faves from the past couple years at Shea. -LC
R.J. Gordon
While there have been a handful who have had the distinction of pulling a Guest List together from shows they have played, attended, or even worked, none have had such a direct relationship with the tracks as to actually have recorded a handful themselves.
Meet R.J. "home by midnight" Gordon - one-third of Shea Stadium's starting lineup of sound engineers. And although he may rule the stage with the iron-fisted attitude of an old vet who's seen and heard it all, you would be hard pressed to find someone with a more genuine and vibrant appreciation for the live show.
A founder of the now defunct, but fondly remembered, Big Snow Buffalo Lodge, few have logged more hours behind the mixing console at such a young age than Mr. Gordon himself. When he's not too busy making adjustments to the sonic environment, he can be seen and heard as the deep, hazy baritone voice at the forefront of DIY supergroup Baked, in addition to supplying low end of a different kind in both Leapling and Lost Boy.
Easily one of the busiest big dogs in Brooklyn, R.J. manages to do it all with the kind of effortlessness of someone you would be quick to assume spends entirely too much time just sitting around doing nothing all day. If that is the kind of thing that only experience can teach, then RJ has tons of it. It is for this reason that the bands on this list should feel an extra sense of accomplishment - the cream of the crop as declared by the farmer himself. -AR
Nate Terepka
Nate Terepka is undoubtably one of the nicest guys in the business. As a regular denizen of the now departed Big Snow he shares in that same spirit of community, respect and true love of music that the space was reknown for. From what I understand Nate was somewhat legendary in his own right in the early-mid 2000s scene of his native Ithaca but these days he's better known as approximately one half of the Terepkas in Zula. I've written before about Zula's idiosyncratic funky psychedelia, and it's fun to go through this list and note the common elements in Nate's picks (Regal Degal's kraut leanings, Emily Reo's smooth synth, Many Mansions rhythms to name a few). It'll make for the perfect primer if you've never seen them before - you'll have your chance on 3/22 when they'll be at Shea along with Celestial Shore, Tiny Hazard, Universe & Body Parts. -LC