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Porter Block
http://www.porterblockmusic.com
[BIOGRAPHY]
[PHOTOS]
[PRESS]
[TOUR DATES]
[AUDIO]
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BIOGRAPHY
Porter Block Releases Gowanus Yacht Club on Engine Room Recordings, a collaboration with eleven New York City Songwriters including Angela McCluskey, Wes Hutchinson, Casey Shea, and Nate Campany
Porter Block Celebrates The Release With A Series of NYC Club Dates With The Gowanus Songwriters
After writing, recording and releasing three albums, Peter Block wanted a new songwriting challenge. He didn't need to go far to find inspiration for his new project, he just looked at all the creativity that was happening in the neighborhood his recording studio is in, Gowanus, Brooklyn. Peter wanted to make a collaborative album, one that was a musical dialogue with songwriters he admired. He contacted eleven New York songwriters, some he had never met, and asked them to co-write and record with him. The resulting album, Gowanus Yacht Club, is a snapshot of the New York City songwriter scene as well as a collection of summer ready pop songs.
The songwriters involved in Gowanus Yacht Club are an impressive lot with a good deal of licensing and publishing success. The one non-New Yorker in the group, Angela McCluskey, is a Grammy nominated artist with her band Telepopmusik for their hit "Breathe". Casey Shea, formerly of the infamous NYC band The Undisputed Heavyweights, will have one of his songs featured in the season finale of One Tree Hill. Terry Radigan has had her songs preformed by Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless and Anuna (featured in Riverdance) and Wes Hutchinson has had songs in several tv shows including CW's Gossip Girl, MTV's Laguna Beach and Fox's Roswell. Nate Campany, who signed to Warner Chappell and Topline Music in 2006, has written for top artists including Backstreet Boys, The Click Five, Teddy Geiger, Tyler Hilton, and Morningwood.
The songs on Gowanus Yacht Club were written without any imposed parameters or themes, but ultimately ended up, in the classic pop song tradition, being mostly love songs of some sort. All came about in different ways, but all came easily and somewhat quickly. "Daylight Dreaming" was co-written with Wes Hutchinson on a flaming red Baldwin Piano and a J200 jumbo acoustic at Gibson and was based on an idea of a walking daydreamer that had been in Peter's head for months that Wes helped flesh out into a power pop song. "Your Heart Is A Broken Thing" was a co-write with Luke Janklow written with Angela McCluskey's voice in mind. When she heard the song, she loved it and agreed to record it as a duet with Peter. The other duet, "Walk Away", co-written with Terry Radigan, is just as strong when sung as a solo, but was recorded as a duet to reflect the collaborative process. "Everybody Knows" was one of the last songs written. Nate Campany and Peter sat down and listened to all the other tracks to find what was missing from the album. The result is a bouncy song that deals with the issue of dependence and tells the story of the unwinding of a troubled soul.
Gowanus Yacht Club has a cohesive feel despite the many diverse songwriters who contributed to the album. Beyond the obvious common denominator of Peter, the other consistent piece of this project was the band. Jeff Jacobson and Casey Shea, both co-writers on the album, along with Peter and Jamie Alegre, became the band for the album. Their playing gave the songs a consistency that makes the Gowanus Yacht Club feel like an album rather than a compilation.
To continue on with the collaborative theme of this album, Porter Block will be performing with each of these singer-songwriters at their favorite local venue over the next couple months. Check out myspace.com/porterblockmusic for more details.
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PHOTOS
Click on a thumbnail to download that hi-res JPEG (suitable for publication):
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TOUR DATES
- Aug 12 2009 *
Rockwood Music Hall (w/ Jeff Jacobson) * New York, New York
- Sep 26 2009 *
Lizard Lounge (w/Mike Viola) * Cambridge, Massachusetts
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PRESS
Porter Block
The Gowanus Yacht Club
(CD, Engine Room Recordings, Pop)
by LMNOP/Babysue
The fourth full-length release from Porter (Peter) Block. Anyone who hears this album (or any of Block's previous albums) will probably be wondering why this guy isn't already hugely popular. After all, his songs have that wonderfully inviting "hit song" sound that appeals to so many listeners. Whatever the case, at least at this point in time, Porter is mainly an underground phenomenon. For The Gowanus Yacht Club, Porter (Peter) invited several folks (almost all of who live in or near the neighborhood where his recording studio is) to co-write and record some songs. Surprisingly, instead of sounding incoherent and inconsistent...this album is a smooth ride from start to finish. And the songs are...absolutely top notch. Block and his co-writers came up with a bunch of tunes that'll sound absolutely fabulous blasting their way out of your car stereo or MP3 player this summer. The arrangements are superb...and the vocals are absolutely heavenly. After listening to this, we came to the conclusion that this guy must run a studio with one HELL of a killer vibe. Uplifting pop tracks include "You's Magic Horn," "Morning Finds You" (a totally fantastic tune), and "Walk Away." A must for pop fanatics. Recommended. (Rating: 5+++)
LINK: Porter Block - The Gowanus Yacht Club (CD, Engine Room Recordings, Pop)
Porter Block
The Gowanus Yacht Club
Songsmith mixes things up in 'Gowanus'
Brooklyn Courier-Life
After putting out three albums in his band, Porter Block, Peter Block wanted to mix things up a bit.
So the musician recruited some of the songwriters he admires the most, both good friends and complete strangers, from the New York City Music scene to collaborate with him on his fourth album, "Gowanus Yacht Club."
Collaborating with musicians like Wes Hutchinson, Casey Shea and Nate Campany, Block, despite the different personalities, created a cohesive album that offers a unique roundup of the local songwriting scene.
"Songwriters are a dime a dozen, but I think in this case every one of these songs and songwriters has so much to offer," says Block.
Recorded in his Gowanus studio, Block needn't look much farther than out his window to find the right name for the compilation.
"When we were trying to come up with album names, we thought of 'Dirty Water Love Songs,' what with the Gowanus and all that," says Block.
He wound up ripping the name from a little outdoor beer joint he's a fan of located that has the stamp of the canal on it.Block, a Manhattan resident, set up shop in the neighborhood a few years ago, looking for a space that over some peace and quiet, as well as the room to build a studio.
"I looked all over Brooklyn to find a space and chose here because it made the most sense," says them musician. "It's a little frenetic in lower Manhattan. There's a lot of interference in the city, it seems a little bit easier here."
Over the course of six months of writing and six days in his studio, the gang compiled a surprisingly cohesive work of yes, overwhelmingly, "dirty love songs." There's the breakup song "Walk Away," a duet with the Brooklyn-based songwriter Terry Radigan, whom Block had seen perform at Bar 4 in Park Slope and just knew he wanted to work with. There's "Your Heart is a Broken Thing" written with Luke Janklow, who also helped Block get in touch with Telepopmusik's Angela McCluksey to do the vocals in another duet.
"That was the icing on the cake," says Block of the collaboration.
Among the other standout offerings on the album are "Daylight Dreaming" with Wes Hutchinson, based on an idea of a walking daydreamer that had been in Block's head for months that Hutchinson helped flesh out into a pop song, and "Everybody Knows" with Nat Campany, one of the last songs written that adds a bit of bounce to the album.
This month, Block has planned mini reunions of sorts, playing gigs around the city with the songwriters on the bill. Coming up in Brooklyn, there's a listening party at the Bushwick Country Club on July 12, a gig at Spike Hill on July 16 with Bryan Dunn, and with Terry Radigan at, where else, Bar 4, on July 22.
Throughout the whole process, in addition to the new challenge of collaboration, for Block, it was about what he always strives to do as a musician: offer up solid tunes that don't go stale with repeated listenings.
"Fresh songs are always needed, just like food," says Block. "The idea of this was, let's make it nice, classy food, like a nice bottle of Chardonnay. An experience that's not a fast food kind of experience."
Catch Porter Block live, with shows at Gowanus Yacht Club (618 Grand Street) on July 12 at 7 p.m., Spike Hill (184 Bedford Ave.) on July 16 at 9 p.m., and Bar 4 (444 Seventh Ave.) on July 22 at 9 p.m.
Porter Block
The Gowanus Yacht Club
Mothpod
So since we rocked things out last week with Aranda, I figured that this week I'd select something a bit more laid back for this Moth Pick Of The Week.
The Gowanus Yacht Club marks a major collaborative effort between the band Porter Block and many local song writers of the New York area. The end result is a feel good album featuring an eclectic mix of talents.
As you may recall Moth Maniacs, your friendly new media Mothman is stuck in the 90's, So when I say that this album is chalk full of 90's goodness, you should take that to heart. When listening to The Gowanus Yacht Club I was instantly reminded of such 90's favorites as The Verve, New Radicals, and Tal Bachman. Not many bands today can pull of that vibe, but Porter Block does so perfectly.
While every track on The Gowanus Yacht Club is fantastic, I'd have to say that "Pulling Teeth," "Daylight Dreaming," and "Moving Around The Sun" are my personal favorite. These are the tracks that I find myself playing again and again.
So if you're looking for some feel good tunes to supply the soundtrack for your summer, then definitely checkout Porter Block's The Gowanus Yacht Club!
LINK: Moth Pick Of The Week – The Gowanus Yacht Club
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AUDIO
Click on a clip of an audio track below to download a mp3:
Porter Block - The Gowanus Yacht Club [2009]
Coming Soon!
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