More CMJ Showcase write-ups.
Nice words! Read, learn! Photos galore! Look, enjoy!

The AllMusic Guide is our favorite online all-encompassing music encyclopedia. They also have a blog. A writer was at our label showcase at Pianos. The AllMusic Blog had all of this to say about Tuesday night:
"You have to love a record label that isn’t driven by profits, hipness, or some misguided attempt to capture and define a style. New York-based label Serious Business is a label of love — love for music of all kinds (their roster is a diverse one seemingly guided by label founder Travis Harrison’s personal taste) and, judging from their showcase at Pianos on Tuesday night, love for each other. Bands shared members and instruments, made sure to thank each other and Travis many times and, sweetest of all, they made sure the bands on stage were properly hydrated at all times by bringing up numerous cool refreshments."
and more...
...about Benji Cossa: "he brought on even more players on piano and pedal steel, and the band began to rollick like a low-scale version of the Band. It takes a lot to rock, but it takes some specific skills to rollick. You have to have light-hearted, easy charm and the band has to lay back and play exactly right. For a few minutes during the song “Volcano,” you could have closed your eyes and imagined you were in a basement of a big pink house. Impressive feat and a fine way to start the night."
...about Rocketship Park: "They kept the good feeling going with a sound that was kind of like an pretense and angst-free version of Wilco with big sunny hooks, swooping pedal steel, and an earnest, good-natured everyman behind the mike. Add a little down-home psychedelia with the chiming guitars, some folk-rock in the vocal harmonies, and you get Beachwood Sparks without the beach (they are pasty New Yorkers after all) and with plenty of sparks."
...about the Unsacred Hearts: "The Unsacred Hearts took the stage, grabbed it by the throat and never let go for a second. Their loud, fast, and scientific sound is equally drawn from post-punk sources like Gang of Four and the Fall, pre-punk bands like Dead Boys and Electric Eels, and more modern-day acts like Rocket from the Crypt. Led by singer Joe Willie, who jumped, strutted, and raised hell while spitting out his dead-serious lyrics like a cross between Roger Daltrey and Stiv Bators, the band was razor sharp and dangerous. Travis Harrison on drums played like he was on fire, guitarist Dave Siegel reeled off angular chords and the noise they made wasn’t joyous exactly, but it did feel like you were being lifted off the floor an inch at a time."
...and Looker: "...a breathtaking rush of Suzi Quatro drumbeats, Shangri La’s vocals, and pure power-pop guitar crunch"

CMJ's blog put up a post about Tuesday's show as well. See that here. Great photos!!

Benji Cossa

The Two Man Gentlemen Band

This blog Waved Rumor posted some photos of the Pianos show too.

And then there was our joint party with the check-it-everyday music blog EarFarm at Matchless in Brooklyn. Click here to read EarFarm's very thorough wrap up of the show. Photos galore.

The Unsacred Hearts

Kickstart

Man In Gray

And the The Deli Magazine's blog had this to say about the Matchless show:
"The Unsacred Hearts, for whom The Deli has had much love, were blowing up the stage as I walked in. They're less of a band than they are UPS delivery-men each song a neat little 3 minute package of tight catchy riffs and shout/sung lyrics. Each song was like getting a hallmark card from your Nana but instead of there being a ten dollar bill inside it just says "Fuck you."
"Following The Unsacred Hearts was Kickstart (picture) who sound like the Misfits if they watched more Charles Bronson and John Holmes than Bela Lugosi flicks. The lead singer had a distinctly sleazy voice ala The Cramps."