Resident Noise! Brings Ivan & Alyosha, My Glorious Mess and Clementine to 92YTribeca Mainstage
Brooklyn-based singer, songwriter and pianist Joseph Blaise wants to turn you on to some of his favorite new music. This is the simple yet noble mission of “Resident Noise!,” the monthly live music program Blaise puts on at 92YTribeca, which — this Saturday (7/24) — makes its move from the venue’s Café to the Mainstage.
Blaise has been booking and hosting Resident Noise! since February of ’09, building an audience around an eclectic, unpredictable roster of (mostly local) artists that has included Essie Jain, Becca Stevens, Noam Weinstein, Evan Felts, Ursa Minor, Doran & The Violents, Jo Williamson and Greta Gertler.
The featured artists this weekend will be jangle-pop-masters Ivan & Alyosha from Seattle, Blaise’s own piano-powered rock band, My Glorious Mess, and NYC-based Clementine — the indie-pop reincarnation of jazz singer, Julie Hardy.
Though most of the Resident Noise! artists hail from the NYC area, and many could be considered “singer/songwriters,” the program’s musical and even geographic scope expands to suit the mission. Simply, Blaise books shows he wants to see, and as far as content, he’s open to anything…so long as it’s good!
“I’m personally interested in all sorts of music and so I think Resident Noise! mirrors my personality in that way,” he offers. “I just go by what excites me — if I get that tingly feeling when I hear it, I know it’s going to work. The program has been very eclectic so far but I think one of its strengths has been that within a very loose context every month, the two artists that I select end up working well with each other.”
The appeal of this series may well be its authenticity, its lack of labels, its refusal to commit to any one musical ‘scene’ or subculture. Like a mix-tape made by your best friend on some poignant occasion or other, Resident Noise! is designed to inspire and move you. That is, if you’re open to being moved.
“Regardless of any sub-genres or classifications people put on the music, there does seem to be a thread that ties the series together,” Blaise notes.
“And that is: it’s music that connects with people really well, music that people respond to, music that is in some respect more direct in its impact and — I guess in some cases — more obscure.”
Resident Noise! tickets ($10 for the 7/24 show) and event info can be found here: http://bit.ly/resnoisejuly24.