Monday, April 26, 2010
The Quick Weekend Roundup 4/26 - Elvis Costello, Living Room Gig, Hey Brooklyn, Weird Plane Incidents, Transformational Life Events
- Went to that show with my friend Tony, who had a brilliant idea. He and some friends that took the train to the very top and walked the island of Manhattan down Broadway all the way to Battery City Park over 8 hours, watching the neighborhoods change. And then celebrated by drinking beers on the Staten Island Ferry. Pretty awesome.
- Made some big developments on a music video this weekend. Everything is hush hush for now, but something potentially huge in the works. And dropped my record One Way off at indie store Other Music, where it's now for sale. Oh and I'm featured in the podcast Hey Brooklyn! http://heybrooklyn.com/462/danny-ross/
- Played a great show at The Living Room Saturday night at 9 with the 6-piece band after our friends Quintus. In fact, they joined us for a cover of The Beatles "And Your Bird Can Sing" Not sure how it happened, but I channeled a Baptist minister at one point. Thanks everyone for being a killin audience! We wrapped up the night at our friend Adam's dance party - it's been awhile since I danced to hip-hop like that. Let's just say I spilled many people's drinks, including my own.
- Some Transformational Life Events occurred: My brother got a new job, Dani's mother got a new job and is moving to California, Dani's brother Ross visited and will likely move to NYC for business school.
- Some Weird Plane Incidents occured: A friend's plane was literally struck by lightning, and my brother's plane had an emergency landing because the stewardess smelled smoke. Something in the air this weekend I guess...
Upcoming this week: Gogol Bordello at Brooklyn Bowl, Daily Show taping, Housewarming Party.
Damn, it's busy! What did YOU do this weekend of note, and what's up this week? I'll try to join you. Let us know!
- D
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Danny by Danny Ross (DXDR) Part 4 of 5: Twenty-Eight Bands Later
I made a list below of the artists I caught at the festival along with their MySpace links and a brief description of their show if I can remember. With the exception of one or two, all these artists are still very much on the downlow. I was so busy seeing bands that I had some connection with (mostly from NYC) over the 5 days, I never had a chance to see some of the bigger or even medium-sized acts. After all, something like 3,000 bands were playing. Plus those lines were too long anyway.
Here's your chance to hear 'em before they're huge...
o Shwa http://www.myspace.com/shwamusic
A great vocalist and songwriter with good humor (NYC Scenester Friend)
o Midddle Distance Runner http://www.myspace.com/middledistancerunner
o Wakey! Wakey! http://www.myspace.com/wakeywakey
You probably know them from "One Tree Hill" by now, a lyrically engaging piano-led indie act with a great live show. (NYC Scenester Friend)
o Casey Shea http://www.myspace.com/caseyshea
Combines loose-limbed classic rock sound using a dozen guys onstage with unque brand of songwriting. (NYC Scenester Friend)
o Shayna Zaid & The Catch http://www.myspace.com/shaynazaid
Really dynamic and engaging singer with interesting instrumentation.
o Christina Courtin http://www.myspace.com/christinacourtin
Caught her with a string quartet at a church. Amazing vocalist and beautiful music. Her guitarist/ boyfriend Ryan Scott also played in my Austin group.
o Baby Monster http://www.myspace.com/babymnstr
Electronic Indie Pop based in LA. Danny Sternbaum was the guitar player in my high school band, Broken Sound. We hung for the first time in eight years, I watched him trade in his axe for synths. Great sound.
o
Mary Jennings is a R&B Tinged Piano pop. (NYC Scenester Friend)
o Emanuel and The Fear http://www.myspace.com/emanuelandthefear
Eccentric and engaging singer with a large band full of interesting orchestral arrangements.Caught him acoustic for this set.
o The Shake http://www.myspace.com/theshakeband
o Deadbeat Darling http://www.myspace.com/deadbeatdarlingmusic
o Black Taxi http://www.myspace.com/blacktaximusic
Think hard rock with hints of pop and eccentric instrumentation. I'll call it Bushwick Rock. Awesome theatrical frontman and live show. They literally blew the fuse of the venue.
o The Defibulators http://www.myspace.com/thedefibulators
Old school country, bluegrass music with an updated sound. Catchy tunes, charasmatic singer, gotta love it. Featuring Freddy Epps on drums and Mike Riddleberger on drums, who also played in our Austin band.
o Shotgun Party http://www.myspace.com/shotgunfiesta
Three person bluegrass group with excellent singing and great, funny lyrics. Check out this video:
o The Woes http://www.myspace.com/thewoes
A huge group with a huge country/ bluegrass/ sometime klezmer sound. Awesome.
o Whqles http://www.myspace.com/whqles
Caught these guys in someone's backyard shed. A freak duo on synths and drums, really fun.
o T Bird & The Breaks http://www.myspace.com/tbirdandthebreaks
Loved these guys - mixed old school hip hop with Stax soul in a new way. Tight as hell, and real catchy. Austin based, they're already pretty huge, I'm assuming they'll blow up further.
o Dinosaur Feathers http://www.myspace.com/dinosaurfeathers
o
Brooklyn-based trio with catchy tunes, interesting lyrics and instrumentation.
o Warren Charles http://www.myspace.com/warrencharles
o Spring Standards http://www.myspace.com/thespringstandards
Great 3 piece pop group with virtuousic players and engaging live show. Heather Robb sang "Forgive Me Love" with me in Austin.
o Jukebox the Ghost http://www.myspace.com/jukeboxtheghost
A breaking Philly/ DC act, we had a chance to open for them in Austin. Excellent piano-oriented pop.
o Speak http://www.myspace.com/octopusluck
o Doublethink http://www.myspace.com/doublethinkrocks
Great hard-rock. They smashed their instruments on stage Who style. Well done.
o Hightide Blues http://www.myspace.com/hightideblues
Southern fried rock.
o Natalie Gelman http://www.myspace.com/nataliegelman
Great singer/songwriter, always touring so look out.
o Ionia http://www.myspace.com/ionia
Hard hard rock. Featuring Freddy again on bass.
o Pretty Good Dance Moves http://www.myspace.com/prettygooddancemoves
Electronic Indie Pop - already blowing up, don't miss em. (NYC Scenester Friend)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Danny by Danny Ross (DXDR) Part 3 of 5: Three Gigs, a Couch Drum Kit and Beatles Ukulele
In the video posted in Part 2 last week you got to see some live footage. To quickly explain what went down, after the 3 gigs were booked down in Austin (many thanks to Richard Zack from the Wink Winks for that, and also for taking down my equipment!), I decided to make it official and book the flight. Soon I got in touch with my boy Sandeep and boom, had a sweet place to crash and access to an SUV.
But how would I also fly down and house 4 band members? Couldn't afford it, not this year. The solution was to hire NYC musicians already heading to SXSW with other bands. Meet Mike Riddleberger on Drums..
And here's Freddy Epps on bass (left) and Ryan Scott on guitar.
Mike's an amazing drummer and singer for bands like the pop-infused Quintus and the country swinging Defibulators. Freddy also kicks it with the defibs, and then crushes it with hard-rock outfit Ionia. In fact, Freddy and I met over 6 years ago, interning together at jazz label Verve Records. Ryan has also played with Quintus but has a great gig with an amazing singer on Nonesuch Records, Christina Courtin, who happens to also be his girlfriend.The first day in Austin, amongst the thousands of shows going on, my friends and I stumbled upon a Beatles Tribute band, The Eggmen, along with Roger Greenawalt, the famous Beatles Ukulele player based here in Brooklyn, doing Beatles songs with singer/songwriters including Ben Kweller. I told them who I was, and naturally they asked me to sing a few tunes. Next thing I know I've sung 5. Nice.
That night I played an acoustic show with Ryan at The Belmont. And I made a little fan!

At these festivals, all of our time is carefully plotted out because there's so much going on. So I was lucky to find a 3 hour slot in Austin when the whole band could rehearse. (We had rehearsed once before in NYC) I had called a studio down there a week before to reserve the space. We all managed to shlep out to this place on Thursday afternoon in the middle of nowhere to an old industrial yard. Knock on the door, no answer. Call the guy's cell, no answer. Knock next door and find out his home number, no answer. After 30 calls, I realized we were screwed.Stranded in East Austin, we came up with the idea to rehearse at Sandeep's apt. We had amps for piano, guitar and bass -- and Mike would have to mime drums on the couch. Sadly, I don't have a picture of this.
But one thing that made an impression on me. At the end of the rehearsal, I asked "Which song at this point are you most afraid of screwing up?" To which Ryan responded, "Afraid? There's nothing to be afraid of." Oh yeah, this is rock n roll -- nice to have some perspective.
Next we played the Sneak Attack/ Playing In Traffic Records Showcase at Clive Bar. We were lucky enough to have Heather Robb from the awesome band, The Spring Standards join us to sing "Forgive me Love."


And lastly, that night at 11 we played to a packed outdoor stage at Shakespeare's Pub. The monitor on stage was totally effed, so I decided to just be a maniac- tossing my keyboard offstage in the process. I felt like Pete Townshend for just a minute. Crazy, crazy, sweaty show.

Overall, I learned a lot about performance while I was down there. Particularly, that you don't need an audience hanging onto your every word in order to feel like you're succeeding. It's enough to just be there, play well, and be real.
And that's all for now folks. Stay tuned next week for all the rad bands I saw. Lata!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Danny by Danny Ross (DXDR) Part 2 of 5: The Official Movie
Hey folks, this is my 5 part recollection of our trip to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in
Part 2 features a film shot and edited by my good friend Sandeep Ayyappan. It's an interesting collage of live show performances with the band, an acoustic show, a rehearsal and an impromptu visit to a Beatles Ukulele concert (they wouldn't let me leave!). Altogether, it's an excellent summation of the types of shows a singer/songwriter can play, and hopefully gives some insight into the process. Hope you dig folks - and please do comment below with your thoughts, and maybe your favorite Beatles song.
Danny Ross Does SXSW: Part 1
Danny Ross Does SXSW: Part 2:
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Danny by Danny Ross (DXDR) Part 1 of 5: Yummy Tacos

So the week before I left I read this amazing article in the NY Times about breakfast tacos in Austin. This gave me a list of taco places that were essential to visit. And at the top of that list was Torchy's.

Now as I don't eat red meat or pork, this presented somewhat of a problem for me. Being this is Texas and all. Not knowing what to expect, I ordered the following 2 items at $4 each:
- Baja Shrimp
"Hand battered shrimp fried with cooked cabbage slaw, topped with pickled onions & jalapenos, queso fresco, cilantro and a lime wedge. Served on tortilla of choice and our creamy chipotle sauce."
- Brushfire
"Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapenos, mango, Sour cream, and cilantro served on a flour tortilla with our Diablo sauce."
It was awesome! Especially the Brushfire. I gulped it down with a famous Jarrito's Mandarin soda. Oh and here's my friend Sandeep.
Funny enough, Sandeep checked out my apartment in NYC on Craigs List about 2 years ago and we've been friends since (though he didn't take the apartment). He moved down to Austin soon after that doing finance, but just quit his job to travel the country and write a book on energy. Straight out of Yale, he's a pretty brilliant dude and definitely hilarious when you get to know him. And he was nice (or stupid?) enough to let me crash with him at his place on South Congress. More on that in a post to come. Oh, and here's Janessa.

What an awesome name! Janessa lives down the hall from Sandeep and they've developed a Jerry and Kramer pop-in type vibe. She's a sweetheart from Utah, working to help people with eating disorders. Janessa was also nice enough to let me crash with her for 2 nights. Also more on that to come.
But in the meantime, I woke up the next morning to the much-discussed breakfast taco! From a place called Taco Deli (also on my hit list), here's what I had:
Migas Royale
Eggs topped with queso, monterrey, jack cheese, avocado and pico de gallo, Mexican mashed potatoes and refried black beans.
Now a thing in Austin (which I really don't understand) is trailers. There are food trailers parked all over the city serving all kinds of food. The best one I ate at was Izzo's. I had a grilled talapia taco with all kinds of crap on it. This time with a Jarrito's Tamarind soda. It was amazing...


And lastly, just before one of my concerts I decided I needed to have a little something. Nothing too heavy, obviously. But soon I discovered that Austin's famous Iron Works BBQ was just next door and I couldn't resist. There were signed pics of all kinds of celebrities - Obama, George W, etc - and a line out the door. However before long I was eating a delcious BBQ Chicken Platter with potato salad and baked beans. Needless to say, I felt a bit bloated on stage. But worth it!

There were other places I ate, like a Korean BBQ Taco trailer, but above were the ones really worth mentioning. Hope this gets you hungry, and see you in Part 2!
- Danny
Thursday, February 18, 2010
SXSW and New Press... Plus this weekend's Haiti / Madonna Tributes
What's crackin? Back from a few weeks in hiding, I feel Tiger Woods at an apology press conference. Ladies and Gentleman, say hello to Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra!
So you must be asking - what do Madonna and the Haiti earthquake tragedy have in common? Turns out Danny Ross will be performing in tribute concerts for both causes! First on Friday come to Bar 4 in Park Slope Brooklyn (7th Ave/ 15th St) at 8pm and check me singing this Madge classic along with other amazing interpretations. And unless you're watching 60 Minutes with my grandparents you won't be doing anything Sunday evening, you might as well enjoy great music and help the people of Haiti. That's...
Danny Ross at Haiti Benefit - Sunday February 21, 7:30PM sharp
Upstairs @ The Living Room (Googie's Lounge)
154 Ludlow St at Stanton, F Train to 2nd Ave
And good news: We're going to our first South by Southwest Festival in Austin, TX next month! For show details check out dannyrossmusic.com Thanks and catch you on the flip-side scenesters.
D-Ross in the Press
"Danny Ross Goes it Alone" - Gabrielle Sierra, Rumbum
"Danny Ross is not your typical Brooklyn musician. Drawing inspiration from bands like the Beatles and Wilco, musicians like Bob Dylan, and albums like The Who’s Tommy, Ross’ sound is worlds away from the run of the mill indie hipster music scene. And Ross likes it that way." Check out the full interview HERE.
"Danny Ross: One Way Review" - Mike Farley, Bullz-Eye
"(Three and Half Stars) It’s one thing to say you sound different than everyone else. It’s another thing entirely to do it without trying...One Way is an exuberant batch of songs. You’re going to love Danny Ross’ music." Check out the full review HERE.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sat Jan 30, 8pm @ Living Room - Lookin Like A Foo With Yo Pants On The Ground
Happy 2010. Hope you're doing better than the San Diego Chargers this week (J-E-T-S!). Although personally I'm rooting for Team CoCo.
The band and I got a king-size FREE show coming up in about 10 days at NYC's famous Living Room and we think you should come. Not only to hear our six-piece, first-class stab at rock n roll and the world premiere of a new song, but of course to partake in our first-ever Bitchin Pics & Vids Contest where you'll snap smokin hot pictures and videos on your iphones, digital cameras and such and post them on your Facebook (tagging me), and I'll shoot a Top Secret Prize your way ($100,000). Check it...
Danny Ross and Band @ The Living Room
Saturday January 30, 8:00PM
@ 154 Ludlow Street, F Train to 2nd Ave
FREE!
And a special thanks to the folks at Local Correspondents and Bar4 for raising a whole bunch of money for Haiti last night in a Benefit Concert they let me be a part of. Rock on Raggae Woman, catch you on the flip!
- D
--
“Danny Ross is a classicist to the core…Gorgeous…Immaculately arranged… I hope "One Way" becomes a breakaway hit. Like Ryan Adams, Ross realizes that there's no point in recreating the past note-for-note when it's more fun to smash pieces of the past together in a collage.” - CMJ
Play the new album "Danny Ross Presents One Way" FREE and Pay What You Want for it at http://www.dannyrossmusic.com
Danny Ross iTunes Store






