Jezebel Music is Sponsored by: Made in New York 45 Stores Nationally 245 Canal St, 4th Floor, NYC 212.625.3467   Williamsburg's Gym 718.486.0630, Williamsburg		Monthly Feature. Down Under in The Dark Room The Sounds of The Animators May 2005 Feature Monthly Partnership with Block Magazine Feature Article by Cameron Brindise Photos by Judith Schlieper Imagine Walt Disney in a dark think tank slaving feverishly over the production of a mere frame of animation. Hold that image; replace Walt with four stunners from Williamsburg, think tank with music studio, cartoon with music, and now we have ourselves The Animators. A Williamsburg-based pop band, The Animators draw analogies between chewing gum and The Killers, find warm solace in New York crowds and think Bob Dylan's Victoria Secret commercial is a job well done. These boys are excited about growing up musically, moving on from old bands they once gave heart to and jumping headstrong into this new era of creating first-rate pop music as jaunty as The Jayhawks and as narrative as Peter Gabriel. On stage The Animators are one big smile. Devon Copley (vocals & guitar), Alex Wong (vocals & guitar), Phil Galitzine (bass) and Kevin Rice (drums) are pop proud happy and not afraid to school the crowd as to how much they truly love every minute of making their music. And it hasn't been easy for these guys, there's been guts, there's been glory. "Nothing has fallen in our laps, "Alex says, "Every milestone we hit has been worked for." Their newest happenings include headlining The Jezebel Music showcase at Galapagos and their month-long residency at Pianos. The founders, Alex and Devon, met in Los Angeles, where with whiskey, coffee and flair spent the following nights composing the early stages of what was to become their sound. Following two years of bi-coastal collaboration, that bleak reality involving couch surfing and redeye flights, the two settled down in Williamsburg, finding their counterparts (Phil & Kevin) and in 2003 self-releasing their first full length album, Home By Now. Songs such as "Help is on the Way" are testament to a sound that spins melodic pop songs unforgotten after a single listen. Songs from their full length debut, Home By Now, can be found on their website. These new songs range from melodies resembling former New York band The Realsitics to drum beats paralleling old Third Eye Blind and the pop of The Police. They tell a story like a merchant to love; a single beat reveals the ways of a moment, the single cinematic glance into wet hot emotion. Cigarettes, a long car drive, a cheap pick up line -- The Animators turn common acts into tender songs. "Singing is communicating," says Devon, the storyteller, the voice of the animation. "All of a sudden through the instrumentation and the lyrical prose, you get it, it suggests this whole world," continues Alex. With influences spanning from Louie Jordan's pop songs of the 40's to Bjork's ballads of today, "there is a sense of possibility of what a song is really capable of," in Devon's own tongue. With accordions, keyboards and even beat boxing, The Animators deliver addicting hooks that catch the audience by the tail. Aside from their musical inspirations, Williamsburg's own bars and coffee shops offer these guys a cheap drink and a new view of the sidewalks. Favorite watering holes include Black Betty, The Alligator Lounge and The Atlas Cafe. Not to be forgotten is Hana Food, on Metropolitan near Union. "Omar makes the best egg and cheese. Readers: check it out," says Phil. Williamsburg is also the place where their own sound studio dwells as well as Angelhouse East, the home of much of their recording. Both places let day jobs become recording music for friends: "It's something we love to do, it helps us grow as writers and producers, " says Alex, "we never see the daylight." As far as the future, the boys want to make a living by creating these sweet harmonious pop tunes. "And I want a hummer, a stretch hummer, with a hot tub and Sprewells, and a platinum grill," shouts Alex with a sarcastic ego the size of a king's. Coming down from the throne, The Animators really just want "to play for people that are singing the words back to us that mean something to them, that feeling, that connection, we want to do that as long as possible, amen." Amen. Find more information at www.theanimators.com. This article presented with permission from Block Magazine and can be found in their monthly section of Uproar.

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