Square Zeros

Few musicians tell a story like Jamie Frey. His attitude and honesty make him a true pleasure to listen to, and as a native Brooklynite he offers a rare perspective on the city's music scene. In this episode, we talk with Jamie about how his experiences as a kid in Kensington informed the music he makes now as the frontman of NO ICE and The Brooklyn What. (This episode opens with "Summer Bummer" by NO ICE and closes with "We Are The Only Ones" by The Brooklyn What. Photo: Square Zeros/CC.)

"It was just a shit show man. I think our biggest influences in that band were Rage Against The Machine, Every Time I Die, and, like, Wu-Tang Clan." Stefan Mersch and Carlos Francisco of the New York garage-psych outfit Sun Voyager tell the story of their first attempt to forge a band together.

The Village Voice recently named Brooklyn noise punks Low Fat Getting High the best rock n roll band in the city — and there's hardly a band more worthy of the title. Low Fat delivers an un-fuck-with-able blend of grunge, fuzz, and shrieks that's unlike anything around. Frontman and guitarist Michael Sincavage sat down with us recently and gave us a taste of where it all came from. (This podcast opens with "Don't Believe You Anymore" and closes with "Start All Over Again" from Low Fat Getting High's self titled LP, out now on Money Fire Records.)

In a recent column for Square Zeros' ongoing In Defense Of series, Brooklyn-based writer and poet Alexandra Smyth wrote a thoughtful argument on behalf of Dashboard Confessional, wherein she challenged us to look upon one of emo-pop's poster children with a little more sympathy. Alexandra's piece excited such debate on social media that we decided to bring her on the podcast to elaborate on what she appreciates about Dashboard's music and to reflect on the legacy of the genre most of us call emo. If you were a teenager at any point between 1998 and 2005, you don't want to miss this one. (Pictured: Emo Alexandra Smyth, circa 2002. This podcast opens with two non-emo songs: "Striking Distance" by Faux Ferocious, and "Slug Shake Armageddon" by The Mad Doctors.)

You might know Brian LaRue as the Telecaster wizard in the indie rock outfit The Planes, which you’ll find playing scruffy pop tunes all over the north Brooklyn circuit. Or maybe you recognize him as the crooner at the front of the more aggressive four-piece Shelter Dogs or the bassist in brooding post-punkers Dialogue From A Silent Film. Have you been to a show at Pet Rescue, the cozy, off-the-grid DIY space by Cooper Park? Brian’s the brains behind that. And if you’re really lucky, you might have caught him performing a solo set as Women’s Basketball. He’s also a hell of a good writer, especially when it comes to music.

If there’s a way to package all that, it’s this: when Brian leaves his stamp on something, it’s unmistakable.

The frontwoman of riffy indie rockers Slothrust shows some very cool and truly bizarre solo recordings she made with some basic recording software and a Casio keyboard.

Gymshorts are a scuzzy, high-energy surf punk band from Providence, and in the year or so since they formed they've covered a lot of ground. They've cut a killer debut record, maintained a constant presence on the east coast DIY circuit, and recently kicked off a cross-country tour. The four of them found some time in their busy schedule to sit down with Square Zeros and share some of the lo-fi hits they recorded long before they got together. This episode is sweaty, beer-soaked, and packed with awesome songs.

Jonathan Daily is one of those savvy, self-taught musicians who learned guitar, drums, and some basic recording techniques early on. And he's got a more than decade-long catalogue of original material to show for it. Jonathan plays guitar and sings in the dancey post-punk outfit The Black Black. They've got a new full-length album coming out next month on Brooklyn's Money Fire Records, and they've got a slew of local shows lined up. In the premiere episode of Season 3, Jonathan shares a few of his earliest and most primitive experiments in punk songwriting. We also bookend the episode with "What The World Needs Now" and "Until Death Do Us Party," two unreleased tracks from The Black Black's forthcoming record.

It seems totally appropriate that noise punk powerhouse Vulture Shit was conceived in the glow of a flaming piece of architecture. Almost everything about the band is an attack on convention and piety, musical or otherwise — from their dirty, guitar-less production to their biting lyrics to their name itself. And what’s great about Vulture Shit is that, radical as they are (they really do believe that destruction of the nuclear family would be a good thing), it all comes with a wry and intelligent sense of humor. This episode features five tracks from the members' earlier days, plus a couple cuts from the new Vulture Shit/Clean Girls split.

If you wanted to describe Bezoar, you could throw out terms like heavy and doomy and psychedelic and stoner and experimental. And you could point out some similarities to Electric Wizard or Dead Meadow or Swans. But that really does a disservice to Bezoar, whose raison d’être is to defy those types of labels and comparisons. In this episode, the trio gives us an exclusive on a new track, plays a cut from their most recent LP, and shares some material from the bands they were part of in the early 2000s.