Antifolk UK

NYC: Arrived Weds 31st March!!

So... to Heathrow for the start of a new chapter in the evolve or die world of Misterlee and we're held up at Air India's check-in for 2 hours due to a computer failure. On to the plane and 'Stan the Exercise Man' is preventing us from getting DVT. Michael has taken aspirin, but we all elect for Bombay Sapphire and Schweppes, pre-lamb curry.
At JFK it's raining as we hail a yellow cab. The driver whisks us through the Queens-Midtown tunnel (toll), while talking to himself gently. We get to our gracious host's Manhattan pad and realise our cabby was actually on his 'Cell' phone for the whole hour-and-a-half. I don't think the $45 dollar cab fare could have covered the cost of his call...
Get the key from the nice doorman, drop the bags and heavy gear and find a pint. The Black Sheep beckons, with a faux-Irish frontage with promises of Guinness and craic. We have 3 each and meet Judy who works for the electric company. She can't categorize/se what music Misterlee plays either.
Meet with our gracious hosts Steve Shiffman and his lovely wife Melissa, who take us for a Tibetan meal towards the East Village. I get a bit groggy and don't eat much, but everyone else tucks into the lovely grub. Then off to a bar called Black and White. They play The Kinks and many other 60's Brit musics. Nice. We discover 'Brooklyn Lager', which is very strong and becomes the 4th member of the band for the rest of the week. We have a few...
I'm now a bit pissed and very tired.
Michael notices a young John Butler at the bar, who I believe turns out to be Jesse Malin. We also pass Ryan Adams on our way out of the place. The three that are Misterlee confess to being none the wiser, besides, neither of them recognised us. This sets a pattern for our non-recognition by celebs in NYC.
I lose the power of all speach by 11pm, though apparantly I hide it well...
We gracefully retire.

Our NYC Family:

NYC: A day off, Thursday 1st April.

Someone ( ) decides it would be a great wag to walk everywhere, as we will see much more of our host city than if we take the subway. This day shall now be known as 'The long walk day'.
We trot down 3 blocks and head West along 34th St., to take in the Empire State Building. It's foggy up there, decide not to go up. Next block, I pop into a giant 'Sunglass Hut' and buy the pair of Ray Ban Aviators I've been promising myself for ages. I pay $108.57, opting not to purchase the cleaning kit, but find the shades won't fit the nice stainless steel case I'd bought a year previous (specially, for this most special usage).
Bugger.
I reckon I save all of £10, thanks to George Bush and his preferential exchange rate.
Trot on and hit Broadway. We head South, past Madison Square Gardens (where the sign says Dreamtheatre are to play....). This is the current site of MSG, as apparently, it moves...

*check this link for
Mitzvah Tank Fest!

We are looking for 'Kim's Music', which is a shop/store selling S/H CDs and DVD's etc. We can give them some CDRs to give away and convince punters to come to our gigs. We have a browse and I notice a lass who bears an uncanny resemblance to Bjork. I tap 'Pikey' Jamie on the shoulder to point this out and as I do so, realise that it is in fact Bjork - flicking through a rack of CDs, nattering on whatever the Icelandic colloquialism for a mobile/cell 'phone is.
Jamie is extremely stunned.
This calls for a round of Brooklyn Lager, so we have 2 or 3 or so. I'm not too sure as I'm still a little pissed from the previous night.
We try on hats and wander around the place that was once home to The Village People. It is relaxed, with a feel of somewhere like Camden or Galway, maybe even Santa Fe.
We visit 'Other Music' to drop off giveaway CDs and say hello to Josh, who I'd previously arranged this with. Pick up a copy of The Village Voice and am happy to see a write up previewing our Knitting Factory gig. Somewhat bemused by the prose, which uses Stereo MCs and The Average White Band for our comparisons. Thanks anyway...
Lunch is a pizza, after some long deliberation and more walking.
We potter along East Houston and I remember that a friendly rock band called 'Serafin', had highly recommended a bar near here called The Library Bar, so we go in search of it via a place that stored and sold film props. A hairy fella pointed us East and we found the bar. I would concur with the Serafin lads that it certainly does have the best jukebox in town. We arrive at happy hour and duly enjoy the benefits. Brooklyn and Guinness for a while... Jamiepirate had wanted to visit a venue called 'Tonic' as he heard that there was some hot improvisational combo playing that night, so we'd engineered this trip to put us in the right area. Timing is everything, so we had a couple more beers over the road (and a game or two of pool) and headed for the gig. 10 minutes in the queue/line and hearing the soundcheck, I was fearing 'Hello Dolly' at any minute, so suggested that we adjurn to the bar over the raod for a pint and check-in later. Guinness, and finally Manhattan cocktails in Manhattan, courtesy of our lovely hostess Sunita. Norfolk bar - highly commended - I imagine it was probably somewhere on Norfolk St.?
Met by our lovely hosts once again, we return to The Library Bar and I 'cover it up well' once more.

I think I've done permanent damage to myself tonight.
Praise be to Serafin!
Apparently, we later trudged round a plethora of NYC's venues, but I have very little recollection of this...
*I recount the Village Voice preview to everyone and show the article as evidence and Steve tells me that this journalistic mishap happens a lot. He was likened to Emo Phillips - now I don't feel quite so hard done by.

NYC: Sidewalk, Friday April 2nd.

Today we are musos. Heathrow/Air India or JFK baggage handling - I'm not sure where to sling the mud - have damaged Michael's instrument. Jamie wants to buy some strange 'round pics' and flat wound strings. Steve takes us to Sam Ash and Manny's Music. It appears to be some kind of Zappa Day at Mannys: all the staff are decked out as various eras of Frank Zappa. No flat wound strings, but Mick gets his violin string.
Rock 'n' Roll! We see Times Square and theatre stuff.
An extreme cab ride to meet Melissa for tea and buns at a quaint tea room in Chelsea. Kind of Fairy Cakes I'd say. Nice.
Another nice walk, this time through Chelsea and past the Chelsea Hotel. Quick 'Hi' to Sid (who blanks us) and stumble on Sidney Pollock directing Sean Penn in his new movie/film! Blanked again, we move on and I'm sure I see Gerard Depardieu rushing, head down with a handful of dry-cleaning...
We take in the Chrysler Building and the Flat Iron Building.
Quick break and out to the Sidewalk gig.
The Sidewalk Cafe is the home of the 'Antifolk' movement and is open 24 hours a day. Steve Shiffman has put together a wonderous bill for tonight, which opens up with Steve Espinola, then Cheese on Bread, Randi Russo, Misterlee, Steve Shiffman and Land of No, Barry Bliss and Double Deuce to finish.
Misterlee: NYC, 2004, Sidewalk.

NYC: Knitting Factory, Sat April 3rd.

We've been heading South a lot in our ventures of tourism, so today opt for a Northerly turn up 3rd Ave. A stroll in Central Park will clear our heads for tonight's Knitting session! We enter, aptly near the Wildlife Centre and head North through the grassiest piece of Manhattan. It's very green, but you cannot walk upon those bits. I think the Mayor may be afraid that people might like it?! We're puzzled as to why there isn't any broken polystyrene in the boating lake and there's no broken push chairs stuffed into the gaps of the Alice in Wonderland bronze?
This is the cleanest place ever.

We walk and muse through a great deal of the park, but get bored just before the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and turn East back to 5th Ave. We head back down the avenue past rows of stalls selling everything from door mesh sculptures (I liked those) to old film scripts. Just about every artistic medium is represented in great gloriousness. We scoop around the edge of the park and get stung for big $$'s at a photo processing place. A beer is needed. We find the best pint of Guinness west of Craggy Island at 'Rumours'. An Irish bar just in Hell's Kitchen - I think it's on West 48th. Best Guinness award by far - all agreed. Two nice fellas give us the rest of their pizza - which was the best pizza too, but not sure where it was from. Sorry!
Back home; rest and prepare for tonight's gig...
The Knitting Factory was built by Satan for his very own Rock 'n' Roll purposes. Tattoos and piercings abound. We play in the farthest of the 3 performance spaces in the building - the place is the closest to Beelzebub's motherland. Down a million flights of stairs....
Justin gets the levels quickly, so we're each behind a pint in no time at all. An old friend in the shape of Paul Fairall is here tonight, celebrating his birthday with his partner, Linda. Also in attendance are Rich and Brendan from the Tin Angel in Coventry! Nice to see some familiar faces.

The Old Office fills to a positive throng during our set and we are well happy. Have a long chat with a genuine top fella, who is JC - the man who booked us for the gig. I spot another familiar face at the bar and upon tugging his shirt, am greeted by a fella I have not seen in 15 years! Turns out that this ex-Leicester man is now the General Manager at the venue. He frees up the bar all night for our crew and we chat about old things.
Thanks very much to our generous hosts, JC and Shay.
We move house tonight, so off we go to The Pussycat Lounge to meet our new foster parent - Mr. Frank Wood.
The Pussycat Lounge is host to the NESA (North East Surf Alliance) gig tonight and Frank is doing his promoter-type thing as we arrive. He shows us round the venue, which includes a protracted stop in the strip bar downstairs. Very Nice........ We crash out upstairs to the sounds of surf music. Just too damn tired tonight.

...then off to Frank's place in Williamsburg. Adams Family 'til some crazy time in the morning then crash on sofas. Next day, Frank knocks up a hearty pasta lunch and regails many tales of greatness and woe. A wonderful host is our Frank - a very special man.

NYC: Otto's, Sunday 4th April.

So, we're weary now... Tourists by day and experimento-noise therapists by night, via a diet of 'beer and quick bites from here and there' is catching up. We enjoy a nap for the afternoon...
For tonight, we play at Otto's Shrunken Head, courtesy of Frank Wood.
Our cab pulls up and we disembark, load the cases through the bar and are greeted by an array of Polynesian-style carved wooden heads and various bar paraphernalia. In amongst all of this is our smiling hairy host, Mr. Wood, who is clutching a milk-coloured drink decorated with a whole heap of straws and brollies. He is well happy!
Tonight there are sets from The Velmas, Heather Larkin Band and Said Sadly as well as ourselves...
We shun the drum kit once again and set up in a manner which spreads confusion (and maybe a little trepidation!?) amongst the assembled crowd. Generally, folks are bemused with us before we start playing. Most are still none the wiser afterwards I'm sure...
We plan a cocky, mixed bag tonight and hit a gratifying stride early on, so things get real hot up on the stage. We really enjoy this set. It must have been the onlooking gods of Tiki?!... CDs are flying out hand over fist and we distribute more CDRs to those with no dosh. Mother Theresa would be proud.
We stop to watch a couple of numbers by Mad Juana, who display all that is from New York's hayday - a real tidy underground vibe, full of voodoo and heroin chic. Some huge hair too. Nice!
Back home via Sarge's deli and it's chicken soup with a huge 'matzo ball' (like a dumpling). They ply us with their pastrami, telling us it is the best in town and I can well believe it.
Sleep comes quickly, but then, we have been very patient!
G'night.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

NYC: Recording, Mon 5th April.

Another lie in and we're fully recharged, so over the road to Sarge's Deli to put the pastrami to the test. I had a week's worth of that beefy beauty, stuffed between a couple of rounds of toast. It is just as good ad they said it would be. We have an apointment with Major Matt Mason today, to do some gentle recording - a fine memento of from our trip - so it's into the cab and head south once more.
The good Major greets us with a coffee and a smile and introduces us to Gummo, his cat. Gummo is, of course, black and white - as only a cat belonging to a Major Matt could be (our US subscribers could have difficulty with that reference..?!).
We set up in Matt's converted appartment studio and feel right at home. We're trying a live version of 'Shadowcast', so set up pretty much as live and after one run-through, the first take nails it. We tinker with the mix as Gummo pulls himself along the floor with his front legs, dragging his sizeable (for a cat) backside along the floor behind him. Apparently he does this a lot, Matt confides. It's a beautiful day, so I suggest we adjourn for a pint to rest our ears. We saunter around Ludlow Street and find a bar called 'Iggys'. Pint and jovial banters ensue - Major Matt is a lovely, gentle fellow. He tells us of his planned trip to the UK and we resolve to meet up, maybe for a gig while he's over. I'd like that.
Back to the mix and it's sounding great. A couple of tweaks and we're done. The good Major runs off a couple of CD copies and we're there - sorted. We leave the Major and Gummo for The Sidewalk once again, but not before arranging a gentlemen's distribution agreement for Misterlee's album in the US, via Olive Juice Music. Huzzah! And off to the Antihoot....
We get to the Sidewalk Cafe in good time, so food is king. The food here is great. Jamie has catfish (Gummo would approve) and Mick has his fifth burger in 48 hours. I have a little nibble on some salad - belly is still not too good. I could murder a pint though.... Lach pops in and chats with us for a while, which is nice. He's a lovely fella, though sometimes I do think we confuse him a bit, but then I do feel this same thing about a lot of people and I'm probably mostly right.
The Sidewalk 'Antihoot' is an open mic' affair of some great renown. Lach started it, but is now taking more of a back seat in the day-to-day runnings there. Tonight's show is ably steered by Amy Hills, who tells us how it all works and gives us a bit of history. We all get in a huge queue and get a number. Misterlee gets 9 (which means we're up ninth!). 2 songs or 8 minutes, whichever is quicker and the lights start to dim as your time runs out! Sounds like Logan's Run!! There's a real mixed bag of stuff on tonight, but these shows are crucial for the development of new music and Sidewalk's is second to none.
Our number comes up and we hit the stage. There's a problem with Mick's violin DI, but hostess, sound engineer and compere Amy is on the case - assisted by Danny Kelly, our stint is up and going in no time. 'Job on a Bike' to start, as we didn't do it the Sidewalk gig on Friday and 'Promises' (for the same reason). I'm feeling that we must have been given some grace for the time allotment, as 'Job' must be 6/7 minutes?! Thanks Amy x
My friend Paul Fairall is over again tonight and I forget that we'd arranged to meet for food (sorry Paul), oooops. We'll keep the date, Paul - next time!
A late supper at Sidewalk and I try the Catfish (I nabbed some of Jamie's earlier and it was divine). I make pretty short work of it. We get back early 'cos we go home tomorrow...

NYC: Leaving, Tues 6th April.

Today, we leave for home.
It's been a hard slog this last week, but well worth all the time and effort it's taken to put the thing together and carry it out. We've met loads of great people, who have been so generous with their time and various resources - we've enjoyed an embarassment of riches in that department and no mistake. We pack our bags and swap a few words about our adventures and are just about to leave when there's a knock at the door. It's a guy from the TV show 'Law and Order' (he has the hat and the ID, anyway...) and would like to know if he could use the apartment for filming?...
We've a couple of hours to kill, so it's off to Macy's to buy some last minute gifts for the loved ones. It's Macys Flower Festival this week and the whole place is decked floor to ceiling with gigantic displays of horticulture. I'm so glad I don't get hayfever, for I fear I'd now be dead.
We opt for lingerie, 'cos that's the kind of saucy devils (dirty old buggers) we are, so off to the other building and buy things for the ladies...
Time to leave and so we hail our final cab. This time, it's a big 4/4 chauffer job that stops - I don't mind the extra fare at all for this trip, so we hop in.
No hold-ups at JFK, but plenty of time for beers in departures!
The flight takes off without incident. We're all shattered and enter a dream-like state for the trip back. At least we got the extra leg room this time....
Back in Leicester for lunchtime and my van won't start.
Oh joy.
Welcome home lads!