Juan Wauters
I always enjoy seeing Juan Wauters, whether it's with The Beets, solo, or just hanging around recounting stories of the characters that inhabit his native Jackson Heights, Queens. Well, native by proxy really - Juan moved straight to into the heartland of the Ramones and Johnny Thunders from Uruguay while he was still in his teens. And you can tell these two locales are equally as important to him musically from his body of work which mixes English and Spanish with simple pop melodies that are often dominated by the acoustic guitar. In April of 2012, Juan unloaded an 11 minute, non-stop, stream of consciousness solo set that morphed and melded from song to song. This short recording has since become a favorite of the Shea Archives and is a rare look into the mind of one of the best songwriters this city has to offer. Juan Wauters - a true original, a true New Yorker. -LC
Shark?
We've been kicking around the idea of featuring staff favorite Shark? for a while and after a truly stellar performance on 12/4 we knew it was time. If you've been to more than a couple of shows in Brooklyn in the past four years you probably know these dudes. They've been pounding some serious pavement to perfect their craft and have they've easily logged over ten performances at Shea alone. And if all that wasn't enough their eponymous track is probably the most played song on our radio show to date. So what exactly is Shark?'s craft? Tight and catchy surf/garage influenced pop tunes that gain a great deal of character from singer Kevin Diamond's uniquely expressive voice. Do yourself a favor and take a listen to a few tracks we've compiled of Shark? highlights - it's got everything you could want: false messiahs, california girls, deadbeats and, very possibly, a shark. -LC
Adam Lempel & The Heartbeats
Adam Lempel returned to the stage at Shea this past August with wholly different intentions than when last we saw him. And those intentions were to chill. Unlike what you might have expected from one half of Baltimore shred duo Weekends, Adam Lempel and the Heartbeats were not bumping up the BPMs. These tunes are laid back - solidly constructed with a strain of soulful patience you'll usually come across in early 70s pop rock records. This is a set I find myself returning to often - most definitely a hidden gem in our archives. - LC
Ed Schrader’s Music Beat
If you look on a lot of the posts in these archives you'll see a list of bands referred to as "Related Artists." For a band like Ed Schrader's Beat, it's tough to think of a similar act - they're one of the most original bands around right now. That's partially due to their incredibly bare bones set up of a bass and single floor tom. That might sound like a limitation but for ESMB it's just their pallette. The songs are reduced to their basest elements and are played in such a deliberate fashion it makes most of it sound like a midnight drive on horrible dark roads (reflected in titles like "When I'm In A Car", "Traveling", & "Gas Station Attendant"). Ed Schrader's Music Beat is a living proof that you don't need a lot going on to have a lot going on. -LC