12.2 A wknd w/ Work Wife
The band on cat spotting, Coors Banquet back tats and their Saturday-night EP-release show at Union Pool
Ah, the work wife. Your cubicle compadre… your behind-the-bar buddy… your in-the-field-friend… your non-sexual 9-5 spouse… your PERSONAL PAM BEASLY. One half of a holy (yet totally circumstantial) union founded on proximity, gossip, stress, the much-needed lunch beer… occasionally fear … plus, primarily, a whoooole lot of bitching.
But uh, we’re not talking about that one.
Instead we’d like to direct your attention to the star of this week’s SETLIST and purveyor of some A+weekend plans (zero Zoom meetings required), Work Wife — the music project of Meredith Lampe (also of Colatura), who is probably the coolest person we know, as well as one of the kindest, and whose debut EP Quitting Season is out TODAY!
Our first introduction to Work Wife came in the form of Meredith’s debut single, “Thought We Met Before,” which premiered on Bands do BK back in February 2021.
This song—a piece of A+ indie-pop—explores what we like to call the ~groundhog date~ and is what the artist described as “an eye-roll at going on the same dates over and over again.” (“I’m chatting with the waiter while you smoke out on the sidewalk / Can’t help but wonder why he knew your name / My memory is hazy but I’m pretty sure he called me Casey / Yeah they say us blondes all look the same”)
Since that track’s release, Meredith has signed on with Born Losers Records, toured solo with Anthony Green, expanded Work Wife to a full-band operation and released a string of sick singles and videos that collectively serve as powerful proof of Meredith’s innate ability to hit you alllll up in the feels and evidence of the serious star power that was no doubt there all along, but has become even more obvious since she debuted this very personal endeavor.
^ COUNT THE CAMEOS ^
NOW: Back to the EP! The really, really good EP!
“The theme of the EP is things not going according to plan — a city you moved to that’s running you down, darkness in relationships and losing your religion,” Meredith shared of the record. “I wanted to look back on all the things that didn’t turn out quite how I thought they would and describe them candidly and with honesty. I think sometimes our expectations of what our lives should look like are so high, but realizing that even though things didn’t really go according to plan, and you still turned out alright, is grounding.”
Please join us in celebrating Quitting Season IRL w/ BFFs TOMORROW at Union Pool, where Work Wife is hitting the stage with Ok Cowgirl and Bloomsday (grab your tix here). As for the before, the after and the in-between this weekend, as always, keep scrollin’ scrollin’ scrollin’ scrollin’….
(Bonus points if you read that to the tune of the Limp Bizkit song. Also: sincere apologies. Lotsa Work Wife available for palate… and soul… cleansing purposes below.)
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
FRIDAY
It’s Friday in New York! 5:00 on Friday is the holiest of all times. You’ve already been slacking off for an hour or two because 3:00 is the new 5:00 and death to the 40 hour work week, you know.
You’re feeling chaotic so you head straight to your favorite new tattoo shop, Queen of Crowns in Bushwick. Artist Justin Buschardt (of Sharkswimmer) happens to be in on Fridays so he gives you a Coors Banquet back piece, inspired by his recent work on your friend Jake. You feel invincible.
You’re excited to show all of your friends your new tattoo at the Yot Club / TOLEDO show at Alphaville. You’re pretty sure it’s sold out but your friend Christian from Adhoc is working the door so you’re hoping if you’re nice he’ll hook it up. You forgot to eat all day so you indulge in a Feast (7 items) at Bunna cafe. Later that night, Dan gives you shit for your breath smelling like collard greens and you wonder how he could possibly smell it from all the way up onstage.
SATURDAY
Good morning! It’s Saturday, you lay around in bed playing Breath of the Wild because the apartment is chilly and you don’t wanna get up. Your pal Cody texts you to meet up at Brooklyn Banya in Kensington — apparently their restaurant is closed so it’s BYOB and BYO food. You and Cody sweat your stress from the week away and share a bottle of Josh. You feel grown up.
You’re planning on going to the Work Wife album release party tonight early enough to see all the acts, because you love Bloomsday and OK Cowgirl. You wanna look sick because everyone will be there, so you head to Stella Dallas, the thrift store right around the corner from Pool that’s your go-to for vintage sweater vests and deadstock jackets. You’re a parody of yourself, but you’re proud.
Later that night at Pool a guy offers to buy you a drink and compliments your sweater vest. You politely decline and he gives you a high five. You see him making out with someone a few minutes later and you wonder how you ended up at Pool on a Saturday night again.
SUNDAY
Sunday! You remedy your hangover from last night at Blue Light Speak Cheesy, your friend Andy’s insanely good tri-weekly breakfast popup. While you’re up in the north end of Greenpoint you figure you might as well treat yourself to a cinnamon roll at Bakeri, and you notice someone’s cat staring at you out the window across the street. You know that it’s a good omen.
You wanna get some writing done so you head to India street where they just reopened the Greenpoint MTA Ferry stop. You sit on the upper deck and coast over the east river. It’s pretty chilly but you love the view. You feel contemplative, and you reflect on how much you love public transit.
Itinerary above written + submitted by Work Wife. Follow the project at @ur_workwife, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlist!
Feature image provided by the artist.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS (SHIT, A WHOLE LOT OF THEM THIS TIME)
Is it BANDCAMP FRIDAY? You bet your ass it is. We see your Spotify wrapped and encourage you to put your money where your Insta story is and consider supporting the bands you love in a way that makes them more than like 16 cents! Send us a screenshot of music or merch you’ve bought from your fave local artists and we’ll mail you some BdBK stickers to deface your fave local bathroom. AND THAT’S BUSINESS, BABY!
ICYMI, we’ve changed our CLASSIFIEDS process! Since April 2021, we’ve been offering BdBK CLASSIFIEDS, free ads designed to help local creatives bypass the bullshit of Craigslist to connect and collaborate.
We’re beyond proud of and stoked on the success stories—a lot of musicians have met their bandmates via this platform, which is the absolute best thing ever—but in the last… um, lot of months… we haven’t been able to keep up and have gotten really bad at creating and posting ads, which isn’t fair to the people who take the time to submit.
SO! To continue to offer this service in a way that’s sustainable and realistic on our end—and to continue to help local artists find each other in a free, community-oriented way—rather than post individual ads when we can get around to it, from this point on we will be routinely exporting responses into an unglamorous but simple/easy/straightforward spreadsheet so that all of the live ads, complete with details and contact info, are viewable at once.
(Provided it’s appropriate and oriented around connection, each ad will remain live in the ~database~ until the person who has submitted it contacts us to take it down.)
The current batch of live ads is UP NOW (updated 12/2) and features calls for keyboardists, bassists, keyboardists, cellists, vocalists and—of course—drummers, plus some people who just wanna make a band. Check ‘em all out.
And if you’re a creative looking for project(s) or partner(s) and would like to post a free ad, as always, just fill out the Google form.As announced by BdBK BFF Jon Daily (Kissed By An Animal, The Black Black, bandNada, EWEL, etc.), sign-ups for the 2023 BAND LOTTERY are NOW OPEN. For those not in the know, this magical event—which demonstrates the amazing talent and the true community vibe of our scene more than any other—starts in the morning at Econolodge, where musicians show up, names are drawn out of a hat and brand-new bands are randomly formed. (Don’t worry, everyone gets a drummer.) Then these newborn bands go off, write some songs, and regroup at Econo that evening to perform for each other and the public. New music is made, friendships are forged, glorious times (and many cheap beers) are had. Sign up here and RSVP here.
On that same Band Lottery note, as a true testament to the excellence of this event, four musicians that were paired together and formed the one-day-only band We’re Drunk at last year’s event are all playing on a bill together with their personal projects this month. Catch Ilithios, Balloon Snake, Church Crush and Bikini Carwash at Hart Bar on December 9th.
BANDS DO BK INSIDE-THE-BOOK STUDIO SESSIONS — ROUND 3!
Stoked to share the third installment of our series ft. short interviews and stripped-down sets from artists featured in/on the BdBK book—filmed live in the RFB studio! This round, we’ve got Kasey and Patrick of A Very Special Episode, and in a twist on the newlywed game, we quizzed Patrick on Kasey’s fave places (and revealed they are not the *exact* same person, but def like 1.5 people total). Watch here.
[Bands do BK the book is available via Lit Riot Press on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and BookShop, or you can order through your local bookstore through IndieBound. Links 2 order here.]
101 Wilson is hosting a coat drive! According to the bar, “every coat you bring to the bar from now until December 7th will earn you a free beer! All donations are going to allofusclothing.org.” Do a nice thing, get a cleaner closet, score a lil bit of a buzz. #WINWINWIN
Come the weekend of 12/16, prepare to live at OWL all damn wknd. The day after the Friday BdBK holiday show + sock drive for the homeless (details + tix link below), our friends at Favorite Friend Records are throwing an all-day, two-floor, holiday BANDSTRAVAGANZA with 17 bands, comedians and more. Grab your tix here, and if you see us pitching a tent in the green room… no you didn’t.
ATTN: FEMALE & LGBTQ MUSIC ARTISTS! Vanessa Silberman is running a contest to win a ‘Single Recording Artist Development Deal’ with her label A Diamond Heart Production. In the post announcing the contest, she writes, “The deal will include a FREE recording to 1 Artist or Band, which will be a fully produced, recorded, mixed and mastered song by me and released via my label. I have also partnered up with the amazing @garden_sound_studio! The chosen artist or band will get a FREE day of recording time at the studio for the song. Additionally, the artist or band will get hands on artist development, advice, tips and other support assisting them to help build their career.” Submissions are open now through February 1st. Find details here.
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
My Life In Hollywood // The Bird Calls
Soft Power (Instrumentals) // Ryan Egan
“love song” // Shred Flintstone
Note to Self // Katie Martucci
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
12.13 Strong Little Songs 6 (our one-year anniversary!) w/ Yellow Birch Road, Sam Pinson (of Mary Shelley), Dumb Girl, co-host Arlo Indigo for Art Start @ BdBK HQ aka Sam’s apt. - donation based // BYOB // dm 4 address
12.16 BdBK Holiday Party and Sock Drive for the Homeless w/ The Thing, TV Moms, Debbie Dopamine, HYPEMOM, Candy Ambulance, Buff Ginger @ Our Wicked Lady - tix here
1.8.2023 (AH!) BdBK Brunch w/ Uncle Skunk, Sue Your Landlord, Lily Mao @ Arlene’s Grocery - tix here
+ ICYMI
Around the blog + on the radio + from the archives:
PREMIERE: “Top 10 Movie Scenes” from Slow Fiction
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Order the Bands do BK BOOK (!) (out now via Lit Riot Press) here.