Locally Grown Music

 

It's the tail-end of summer, but man, you guys haven't been slacking off at all. I've gotten so many e-mails recently about Westchester residents who, instead of whiling away the days reading at the park like a certain pop-culture editor, devoted their summertime to making new music. Here are a few:

Artist/Band Name: Two Shots of Rye
Hails From: Harrison
Sounds Like: "The band plays unabashed, hooky pop-rock. Some people tell them they sound like Elvis Costello, or Third Eye Blind."
FYI: After releasing their debut album Hooks on Tape, in addition to getting some radio play on The Peak and WFUV, the band recently secured a spot on the Vans Warped Tour and played shows with Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Paramore.
Listen: twoshotsofrye.com

Artist/Band Name: AlyssA
Hails From: Hastings-on-Hudson
Sounds Like: "Hailed for her incorporation of Indian and African traditional music on the EP, 'AlyssA’s gently soulful sound calls to mind artists as different as Congo’s Lokua Kanza and Australia’s Robyne Dunn.'”
FYI: “Feel the Softness,” included on her recently released Within, was nominated for “Best Indie Pop Rock Song of 2008” by the Empire Music Awards in Riverside, CA.
Listen: myspace.com/alyssafolksoul

Artist/Band Name: Parlor Tricks
Hails From: Parts unknown, but they're on Dobbs Ferry record label Garagista Music
Sounds Like: "If Madeleine Peyroux, The Squirrel Nut Zippers or the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou? are in your record collection, then you’ll know what we’re talkin’ about."
FYI: Though the band's self-titled debut album has been around for a while, Parlor Tricks is reuniting for a gig at the Dobbs Ferry waterfront park on August 20. (That's tomorrow—clear your schedule.)
Listen: garagistamusic.com (You can find a ton of local music there.)

Those are just a few that reached out to me. Who am I missing? Plug your favorite local bands below.