New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Pavement PR) - Only a month-and-a-half before the release of Up The Empire's new 4-song EP Loose Ends the Brooklyn-based trio's drummer
Ben Lord was bullied, bruised and, finally, arrested by a NYPD riot squad last Tuesday while reveling with hundreds of others in the streets of Williamsburg, NY over the recent victory of president-elect Barack Obama. As the spirited, yet nonviolent revelry spilled out onto Bedford Ave. and North 7th St. traffic issues ensued, spurring a massive show of force responding in full riot gear.
Up The Empire's bassist/vocalist Dan Hewins was also there and explained the following day, "An officer came up to Ben [the first to be thrown to the ground and arrested that evening] telling him to get on the sidewalk - which he was only a foot from - and pushed him with his shield and then poked him with his billybat.
He continued to push, yelling 'Get on the sidewalk!' even though, at this point, he was already on the sidewalk. He then pushed him into a giant pile of trash, knocking over my girlfriend in the process, and fell on top of him. Then a bunch of other cops dog-piled and rolled him into the street onto broken glass before handcuffing him and taking him away."
Additional witnesses who posted on The New York Times website this week also concurred that the 'police overreacted' with a 'shameful display of force' and were 'intensely aggressive.' One bystander even commented, 'The fact that I witnessed a women being knocked over and battered with clubs was heinous.'
Coverage of the event recently ran on the music blog BrooklynVegan with multiple shots of Lord's arrest.
After a twenty-hour stint in jail along with multiple bruises, Lord is ready to put this incident behind him and focus on Up The Empire's new music and upcoming Loose Ends record release show at The Mercury Lounge on Dec. 17th (with Bon Savants and Cougar Label-mates Ford & Fitzroy).
'I've got so much to say,' sings the band's guitarist Doug Keith on 'Last of the Bullets,' the opening track from Loose Ends. Even outside of its lyrical context, it's not an incorrect statement: this Brooklyn band's strength has always been in its members' disparate musical backgrounds, and in their search for new and unexpected ways to combine those experiences in the course of writing songs. Loose Ends finds the group's lineup pared down to a core trio, translating their ideas to notes, chords, and drumbeats with an increased clarity.
'We decided to make it happen fast and not spend quite as much time tweaking as we did [2007's Light Rides the Super Major],' recalls Lord. 'But there was also just an overall element of ease. The songs came out quickly and came out feeling pretty well and done.' The three originals on Loose Ends find the vocal interplay between Keith and Hewins brought more to the foreground, with lengthier instrumental passages delving into a conspicuously expanded sound.
'The shifts in lineup definitely got us to a point where we could breathe and focus on the songs,' Lord recalls. The group's lyrics orient themselves far more on a personal level, conscious of the constant nature of change: note the confrontational language of 'Last of the Bullets,' or the transient, ephemeral sentiment inherent in the title of 'It's Alright (For Now)'. 'Last of the Bullets' weds its skirmishing words with a keening, taut guitar line that eventually expands into something mountainous, the rhythm fording that expanse. 'Reasons Why It's On,' though its sound is equally full, opens up the group's sound to something looser, and 'It's Alright (For Now)' takes the record?s sound past dusk, blending vocal styles and allowing the guitars free rein.
Loose Ends concludes with a cover that's been a mainstay of the band's live shows for over a year now: Dinosaur Jr.'s 'Feel the Pain' (which, coincidentally, hits a little too close to home with regards to Lord's recent encounter with NYC's finest). 'We've all always loved that song,' says Lord. 'It's just a piece of our youth. Plus I always thought Doug's voice could totally do the original the growly wounded justice it deserves.' And it makes for a fitting close to this EP: a warm look back on one of their influences to conclude a concise statement on what those influences can produce.
UP THE EMPIRE'S CD RELEASE SHOW:
DEC. 17 - NEW YORK, NY - MERCURY LOUNGE (with Ford & Fitzroy and Bon Savants)
For more info on Up The Empire go to:
http://www.uptheempire.com
http://www.myspace.com/uptheempire
For more info on The Cougar Label go to: http://www.cougarlabel.com
For interview and media requests contact:
Tony Bonyata / Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: bonyata@wi.rr.com
http://www.pavementpr.com
Here's what people have already been saying about UP THE EMPIRE:
'...tasteful songs with hints of '90s indie rock and colorful, exploding guitar work.' - TimeOut New York
'There's still an ethereal glaze to Up the Empire's sound, especially in the glistening vocals, but now it's on a bed of sometimes crunching, often hypnotic guitars, lithe keys, spacious-to-pounding drums and some fantastically snaking bass lines. The combination has a lysergic sway, and the mix of airy, spellbinding melodies and crafty Post Punk pulsations is irresistible on record.' - Cincinnati CityBeat
'Forget the DIY and noise-pop labels that have been put before this band, these guys play hard and sound like your favorite bands did before they got rich.' - PLAY / New Haven
'...steeped in crisp melody' seismic bass overdrive and math-y high-string guitar licks.' - Philadelphia City Paper
'...equally forceful and rich, drawing as much on the music scene of today as the shoegazer bands of the early 90s.' - AMP Magazine
'...evokes disparate bits of Dinosaur Jr and Tom Petty for a sound that falls somewhere between art-rock and power-pop.' - Hartford Courant
'...wraps very catchy tunes in a crispy shell of distortion, feedback, and cranked-up, insistent bass.' - Play Magazine
'Loud, grand and tumbling warehouse rock for salvation headbangers and angry nervous twitchers.' - River Cities' Reader
'They've definitely got potential to be the next big thing.' - Music-Reviewer.com
'Hailing from Brooklyn, Up The Empire blend steady guitar rhythms and drum beats with melodic rock vocals to create a solid album of catchy, poppy, rock songs.' - KZSU Radio
'Up The Empire plays some snappy, new-wave-y prog rock.' - Boston Weekly Dig
'...a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde course through ten solid tracks of fuzzed guitars, Bonham beats and perfectly understated vocals. Half space rock, half slacker punk, Up The Empire delivers a sound completely admirable.' - Radio Exile
'Up The Empire are GREAT.' - The Battering Room (music bog)
'All around, it's upbeat and fun!' - 5 Acts (music blog)
'Pounding drumbeats that keep you dancing, and hypnotically-driving guitar hooks soaked in distortion. Similar to Superchunk, Sonic Youth and Idlewild.' - Rumblefish (music blog)
