What’s Happening in the New York Indie Rock Scene
Contents
Learn about the latest news and happenings in the New York indie rock scene from this blog. You’ll stay up-to-date on the latest bands, venues, and more.
The New York Indie Rock Scene
The Bowery Ballroom
The Bowery Ballroom is a music venue in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The venue, which opened in 1997, is operated by The Bowery Presents, a concert promotion company. The 600-capacity room is on the second floor of an former bank building; its interior was renovated by architects Elisabeth de Montesquiou and Philip Johnson.
The Bowery Ballroom was opened in late 1997 by Andrew Rasiej and Nathan Troster. With its decade-plus of history, the club has become one of New York’s most beloved music venues, playing host to everyone from Beck to Radiohead to Arcade Fire to Vampire Weekend.
The Mercury Lounge
The Mercury Lounge is one of the most popular venues in the New York indie rock scene. It’s known for being intimate and having a great sound system. The venue usually books up-and-coming bands, but occasionally will have bigger acts play.
The Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is one of the most popular venues in the New York indie rock scene. Located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, the Knitting Factory has been a go-to spot for up-and-coming bands since it opened in 1987. In recent years, the venue has undergone a major renovation and now features three stage: one for live music, one for comedy, and one for DJ sets and other special events.
The Bands
The New York indie rock scene is abuzz with activity. New bands are forming left and right, and existing bands are honing their craft and perfecting their sound. The competition is fierce, but that only makes the music all the more exciting. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the bands that are making waves in the New York indie rock scene.
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the group is composed of vocalist Julian Casablancas, lead guitarist Nick Valensi, rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Following the success of their debut album, Is This It (2001), released to critical acclaim and commercial success, the band went on hiatus after hiring Anglo-Scottish record producer Gordon Raphael to produce The Room on Fire (2003). After a five-year hiatus through most of 2008 and 2009 during which they worked on individual projects, they reunited and began recording material for a new album in 2010.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The band consists of Karen O (vocals and guitar), Nick Zinner (guitar, keyboards), and Brian Chase (drums). They are one of the key bands in the early-2000s garage rock revival scene in New York.
The band released their debut album, Fever to Tell, in 2003 to critical acclaim. The album spawned the singles “Date with the Night” and “Maps”, which both charted on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The follow-up album, Show Your Bones, was released in 2006 and had more commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 album chart and spawning the single “Gold Lion”.
The band’s most recent album, Mosquito, was released in 2013 to positive reviews. The album peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart and spawned the singles “Sacrilege” and “Buried Alive”.
Interpol
Interpol is an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the group’s original line-up consisted of Paul Banks (vocals, guitar), Daniel Kessler (guitar, vocals), and Greg Drudy (drums). Drudy was replaced by Sam Fogarino in 2000. The band’s fourth member is bass guitarist Carlos Dengler, who replaced original bassist Bryce Dessner in 2010. Following the departure of Dengler, the band hired David Pajo as touring bassist for live performances; Pajo also stepped in as bassist on El Pntenero Retorcido (2014).
Interpol has released five studio albums: Turn on the Bright Lights (2002), Antics (2004), Our Love to Admire (2007), Interpol (2010), and El Pintor (2014). The album Turn on the Bright Lights was a critical success and garnered much attention from the music press upon its release. It achieved popularity with the single “Obstacle 1”. Subsequent singles “PDA” and “Say Hello to the Angels” also received some airplay. All three singles were included on Rolling Stone’s list of State songs. The album Antics also proved to be successful, selling more than two million copies worldwide and receiving gold and platinum certifications in several countries. Interpol toured extensively throughout 2004 taking them to many different parts of Europe, North America, Asia and South America; playing largeFestivals such as Lollapalooza; and making TV appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien.
Our Love to Admire was released in 2007 to positive reviews. It sold nearly one million copies worldwide and was certified gold in both Ireland and the UK; where it charted at number four on the UK Albums Chart.”The HEIST” was released as a single from Our Love to Admire but failed to have much chart success. In 2010 Interpol released their self-titled fifth album. This album featured a new lineup for the band with Dengler having left during post production; Paul Banks taking over all bass duties; David Pajo touring with them as a second guitarist; Bradleyif Christenson joining as their keyboardist; Burke Reid taking over engineering duties from long time collaborator Alan Moulder . “Barricade” was released as a single reaching number nine on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart while also becoming a minor hit elsewhere.”Lights” reached number two on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart while also becoming their first song ever to appear on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart where it peaked at number 39.”Safe Without” was released digitally as a single on December 6, 2011 but failed find much commercial success peaking only at number 27 billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.”All The Rage Back Home” became their second song to appear on both Modern Rock Tracks chart peaking at number ten and Mainstream Rock Tracks peaking at number 24.”Anywhere” was released digitally as a single ahead of their scheduled appearance at Lollapalooza Brasil 2015 but failed gain traction outside Brazil.”My Desire” was serviced radio stations as promo single ahead of tour dates but similarly failed make an impact elsewhere.”Macedonia” appeared episodes of Pretty Little Liars season 5
Interpol has sold more than 3 million records worldwide
The Fans
New York’s indie rock scene has been heating up over the past few years. A new crop of bands have been making a name for themselves and the fans are loving it. If you’re into indie rock, then you need to check out what’s happening in the New York scene.
The “hipsters”
The “hipsters” are a group of people often associated with the indie rock scene in New York City. They are typically young adults who are interested in alternative music and fashion.
The term “hipster” is often used as a negative label, but not all hipsters are the same. Some people may dress hipster because they think it looks cool, while others do it to intentionally defy mainstream culture.
Many hipsters are also vegan or vegetarian, and they are often passionate about social and environmental causes.
If you’re interested in learning more about the indie rock scene in New York City, there are many great resources available online. You can also check out local venues to see if any upcoming shows appeal to you.
The “scene kids”
The “scene kids” are a group of kids who dress in a certain way and listen to a certain type of music. They are usually very into the indie rock scene.
The “music nerds”
For years, the music nerds have been the lifeblood of the New York indie rock scene. They are the ones who go to every show, buy all the records, and know all the band members by name.
Now, they are being joined by a new breed of fan: the casual listener.
With streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music making it easier than ever to explore new music, more and more people are becoming interested in indie rock. And while they may not be as diehard as the nerds, they are still an important part of the scene.
The casual listeners are helping to bring indie rock to a wider audience, and that can only be a good thing for the scene as a whole. So whether you’re a nerd or a casual listener, welcome to the New York indie rock scene!
