Photo by Judith Levitt

JezebelMusic.com’s Third Annual Benefit Show for Common Ground features some of the most exciting NYC bands — Neckbeard Telecaster, Lowry, Wakey!Wakey! (pictured), Elizabeth Harper & The Matinee, Project Jenny Project Jan, Abigail Warchild, and J.A.C.K. — promising to be the year’s best night of local music, and it’s all for charity!

They say that time heals all wounds, but we know better. All it takes is a really good song performed with a lethal dose of star power to rip those old scars right open. What makes Michael Grubbs (aka Wakey!Wakey!) sparkle in the ocean of confessional songwriters is his ability to translate personal tragedy into an emotional experience that the audience can share. Listening to Wakey!Wakey!’s best material, one isn’t watching someone else fall apart — they’re reliving their own wounds. Like Robert Smith or Adam Duritz before him, Grubbs is gloriously overdramatic. This is a local musician with the chops, charisma, ambition and local following needed for a clear shot at stardom.

Wakey!Wakey!’s newly released full-length CD (Family Records), recorded live at Piano's and Rockwood Music Hall over the past year, Silent as a Movie, is a collection of material that has won over fans and peers. Showcasing a plethora of emotions and Grubbs' emotive piano playing, Silent is a stunning release.

Third Annual Benefit Show for Common Ground
Friday December 19th, 7:00p doors
Music Hall of Williamsburg | 66 N. 6th, Brooklyn
$15
BUY TICKETS ONLINE!

Photo by Judith Levitt

JezebelMusic.com’s Third Annual Benefit Show for Common Ground features some of the most exciting NYC bands — Neckbeard Telecaster, Lowry (pictured), Wakey!Wakey!, Elizabeth Harper & The Matinee, Project Jenny Project Jan, Abigail Warchild, and J.A.C.K. — promising to be the year’s best night of local music, and it’s all for charity!

From Gabriel Levitt’s review of Lowry’s latest LP, Love is Dead:

In an era of the beloved 3½-minute indie rock song, Alex Lowry boldly writes epic-length songs that ambitiously and uniquely eschew traditional verse-chorus structure. This fact necessitates at least two listens to wrap your arms around the songs’ complexities. But unlike most bands attempting the epic rock song, Lowry’s long songs, with few over-indulgences, work beautifully…

The lyrics are introspective, semi and pseudo biographical, simultaneously serious and amusing, poetic and conversational. The music is melodically creative, instrumentally strong, non-derivative, and produced and engineered with enough professionalism and market awareness to attract hundreds of thousands of consumers. You’ll laugh at, sympathize with, and maybe even learn from Alex Lowry’s journeys of self-discovery and disillusionment…

As lead vocalist and songwriter, Alex Lowry is the driving force behind Lowry. But band members Crash on drums, and vocalist Heidi Sidelinker are indispensable to Lowry’s current trajectory. Crash’s sense of percussion always seeks to enhance and give coherence to the numerous rhythmic and melodic changes commonplace to most Lowry songs. Sidelinker’s vocal contribution cannot be overstated. Alex’s whiny voice is distinctive, on pitch, loveable and perfect for his own songs. But the dual-vocals perfectly punctuate important lyrics and create a truly heart-warming magical auditory experience.

Third Annual Benefit Show for Common Ground
Friday December 19th, 7:00p doors
Music Hall of Williamsburg | 66 N. 6th, Brooklyn
$15
BUY TICKETS ONLINE!

Photo by Gregory Wilson

JezebelMusic.com’s Third Annual Benefit Show for Common Ground features some of the most exciting NYC bands — Neckbeard Telecaster (pictured), Lowry, Wakey!Wakey!, Elizabeth Harper & The Matinee, Project Jenny Project Jan, Abigail Warchild, and J.A.C.K. — promising to be the year’s best night of local music, and it’s all for charity!

To mention that Neckbeard Telecaster is fronted by members of Dirty on Purpose (Joe Jurewicz) and the Shorebirds (Mark Ephraim) certainly helps hype the group up, but it doesn’t give you the faintest clue of what they sound like. If anything, the two singers contribute all the songs, that have been deemed too twangy by their other bands. A huge collection of videos reveal the amount of musical talent that bubbles beneath this collective. A lot of sharp playing drifts in and out of the mix and the harmonies are ragged and joyous. The music draws from country, folk and gospel…and the songs rarely contain more than two or three chords.

Neckbeard Telecaster comes across as Brooklyn’s own Last Waltz, a gathering of musical friends and acquaintances that just want to let off some steam… and happen to be incredibly entertaining while doing so. There is a lot of pressure being in a full-time rock band. To top it all off, a band could break up without warning, sending a lot of that hard work up in smoke. The members of Neckbeard Telecaster are all too aware of this and, admittedly, they crave the ambitious drive that they feel in their other projects. But unless they’re going to burn out in the business, there has to be a balance. There has to be some uninhibited, lazy, fuck-if-I’m-going-to-work-today fun. For an ever-growing cast of male Brooklyn musicians, Neckbeard Telecaster answers this need.

Third Annual Benefit Show for Common Ground
Friday December 19th, 7:00p doors
Music Hall of Williamsburg | 66 N. 6th, Brooklyn
$15
BUY TICKETS ONLINE!

JezebelMusic.com is proud to host its Third Annual Benefit Show for Common Ground, an organization that uses innovative housing development and outreach to end homelessness. The ticket sales will go toward Common Ground’s Green Design Initiative, which uses energy-saving building technologies and non-toxic sustainable materials, like bamboo and non-toxic paints, in building projects.

Although the main ground of this benefit show is to raise money and awareness for Common Ground, it also happens to feature some of the most exciting NYC bands (most of them past Jezebel Music NYC Monthly Features), and promises to be the year’s best night of local music! Local all-stars Neckbeard Telecaster, Lowry, Wakey!Wakey!, Elizabeth Harper & The Matinee, Project Jenny Project Jan, Abigail Warchild, and J.A.C.K. will perform for the sake of charity and grade A entertainment. Stay tuned for more info on each band!

Friday December 19th, 8:00p
Music Hall of Williamsburg | 66 N. 6th, Brooklyn
$15
BUY TICKETS ONLINE!

And the winner of the $4,000 grand prize of the 5th Annual Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition is Mr. Matthew Dorrien (pictured, middle)! In second place with a cool $750 is Ms. Rosi Golan (pictured, left). And in third place with $250 is Ms. Becca Stevens (pictured, right).

From 700 submissions, 150 were chosen to perform live over 8 nights at alternating venues in Williamsburg to an audience of fans, friends, and industry judges. From these 150, 18 advanced to the Semi-Finals on Friday night. From these 18, 9 advanced to the Finals last night. And from these 9, 3 were awarded with a cash prize.

If you’re turned off by “competition,” “cash prize,” or “first place,” let’s rewind: 700 people submitted a song to Jezebel Music, and 150 of them (149, minus the kid who was kicked out for drunken disorderly conduct on the opening night) came together to showcase their talent and make new friends and fans. It cannot be said enough: there is only one grand prize winner of the WLSC. Although it is an entertaining and appealing aspect of the event, the WLSC is best enjoyed when “prize” and “winning” and “competition” are stricken from our mindset. These things are simply a noble ploy to gather inordinately talented songwriters together under one metaphorically collective roof.

What happens when you get 150 musicians together in one place? Friendships, fans, collaborations, networks, and a damn good time are imminent. As Michael Grubbs – our esteemed host – has humorously reminded us, $4,000 can pay your rent in Williamsburg for only a month. Exaggeration aside, money is temporary, but the contestants who have performed live in the WLSC2008 have directly participated in the making of an absolutely incredible week of music in one of the most diverse, talented music communities in the entire world. If just one person heard their song, one person went to their MySpace the next day, one person asked to join their mailing list, one person said “hey, you sounded great!” – they won. And trust me, there were many winners!

Thank you to all who have submitted, performed, and made possible the 5th Annual Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition!

We will see you next year!

Go here to see photos from the WLSC2008!

All images copyright Jen McManus 2008

Jezebel Music NYC produces 150 shows each year. Some are weekly, some are monthly, and one is so very special that it can only take place once every year: the Annual Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition. Currently in its fifth year of production, the WLSC2008 accepted 700 song submissions. From these 700 songwriters, 150 performed live over 6 nights in Williamsburg. From these 150, 18 were selected to perform in the Semi-Finals last night, and from these 18, 9 extraordinary singers, songwriters, and performers have been chosen to advance to the Finals, taking place tonight at Public Assembly at 8:00p.

Of all the 150 shows Jezebel Music NYC produces, the Finals of the Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition is in many ways superlative. Not only is it guaranteed to be an amazing night of talent, but a grand prize of $4,000 is on the line. In case this isn’t enough, three amazing local bands will perform at the Finals after-party immediately following the announcement of the winners: Wakey!Wakey! (fronted by WLSC2008 host Michael Grubbs), Creaky Boards, and Schwervon. For a measly, meager, miniscule $7 (the price of two Pabsts), you can enjoy 9 contestants performing 2 songs each for their chance at $4,000, and hear three incredible bands immediately afterwards! We’ll be taking names of all in attendance at Public Assembly tonight, and those not on the list will be declared legally insane.

Last night, everyone (!) was fantastic. The competition was serious, and the entertainment potent. Performer after performer, the art of song was exemplified. 18 played, 9 advanced to the Finals: Annachristie Sadler, Becca Stevens, Carla Ulbrich, Cedric Lamar, Matthew Dorrien, Olentangy John Atzberger, Richard McGraw, Rosi Golan, and Stacy Rock. Among these performers we have expert musicianship, phenomenal vocals, brilliant lyricism, intense drama, and a shot at a very, very cool grand prize.

If we don’t see you tonight at Public Assembly, we can only assume a rift in the time-space continuum entrapped you in a state of temporal limbo, and as a prisoner bound between alternate planes of reality, your attendance has thus been rendered scientifically implausible. That or you’re allergic to fun.

All images copyright Jen McManus 2008

Tonight, at Public Assembly, the Semi-Finals of the 5th Annual Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition is going to be the most fun you’ll have until tomorrow night at the Finals. 18 Semi-Finalists, selected by industry professional judges, will come together under one roof (and behind one indoor body of water) to play their song for the delight of the audience – and high scores of the judges – in the hopes that music, melody, vocals, lyrics, originality and performance will catapult them into the Finals, after which one songwriter will be awarded with the grand prize of $4,000!

If you don’t know any of these Semi-Finalists, you will soon!

Alexa Woodward
Becca Stevens
Annachristie Sadler
Carla Ulbrich
Cedric Lamar
Chuck Costa
Elias Orling
Emily Arin
Jesse Lee
Julz A
Matthew Dorrien
Mike Schrieffer
Misty Boyce
Olentangy John Atzberger
Richard McGraw
Rosi Golan
Stacy Rock
Todd Michaelsen

See you tonight!

Public Assembly is located at 70 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The show begins at 8:00p and is $7.

That’s it! At Royal Oak, the last three contestants have been chosen to advance to the Semi-Finals of the WLSC2008, TONIGHT at Public Assembly on North 6th Street. There were contestants from Nashville, Seattle, Canada, and as far as Ireland, all coming together in Williamsburg to share their song, make new musical acquaintances, and of course, win $4,000.

As always, there can only be three lucky winners (pictured, left to right): Emily Arin is a markedly skilled songwriter, and strong performer. I couldn’t help but be reminded (in a good way) of Jaymay, a highly revered WLSC2005 Finalist. Mike Schrieffer put a ton of heart into his performance, spinning a forlorn alt-country tale of a war widow, and earning himself a slot alongside what promises to be an extraordinary line-up tonight. Todd Michaelsen vivaciously strummed his Parker Fly electric guitar as his projective voice soared and delivered him into the Semi-Finals.

Philip Radiotes performed a solid song with an old-time guitar feel and charismatic voice. Chris Braciszewski shared his unique guitar parts and song arrangement. Scott Gibson’s powerful vocals and epic guitar parts captured the audience’s attention. Although they did not advance to the Semi-Finals, Gabriel Miller-Phillips and Matt Lindauer both brought unique songs to the stage, driven by strong guitar playing, smart lyrics, catchy melodies, and straight up damn-goodness. Charles Ramsey is perhaps the most proficient and tasteful guitarist to perform in the contest thus far. Add to this natural (rather extraordinary) songwriting ability, thoughtful lyrics, and a really great voice, and you have yourself a singer-songwriter to keep an eye on.

At Public Assembly tonight, the 18 Semi-Finalists, gathered over the last six nights, will perform their song for a slot in the Finals, where the remaining 9 contestants will sing for the title, and the cash. Show starts at 8:00. $7. See you there!

All images copyright Jen McManus 2008