3.25 A wknd w/ Tight Lips
The band on gay beaches, cinnamon toast french toast and their Saturday-night vinyl release show at Brooklyn Made
While prose and fortune might favor the rule of three, we believe that the best things truly come in twos, and we just can’t deny the allure of a dynamic duo.
Romeo and Juliet. Batman and Robin. Bonnie and Clyde. Thelma and Louise. Sonny and Cher. Wayne and Garth. Bert and Ernie. Beevis and Butt-head. Luke and Leia. Lewis and Clark. Mary-Kate and Ashley. (YES, WE’RE MENTIONING THE OLSEN TWINS EVERY SETLIST!) (NO, WE DON’T KNOW WHY!)
Whether partners in crime or creativity, rock or romance—of the stage or the page, from the womb or the writers room—two heads are always better than one, and today we’re stoked to present more proof of this fact in the form of perhaps our favorite Brooklyn pair, Jasno and Abdon—
AKA Tight Lips, whose self-titled EP dropped THIS WEEK!
So with that, a word on the themes behind the work. With their music, the band asks, “What does a machine do with the knowledge that they are programmable?”
“‘Run away everyday, from the pain and the shame that’s in my head, cause my brain is a drive built to thrive and protect itself from death.’ sings Jasno in “Black Rainbow”. “I want to be more than just all that sums of my thoughts ran on living circuitry.”
As for the pair’s process and the inspiration behind the record—a product of what they call audile-collage:
“The Cut Up Method was applied while constructing this EP; starting with drum and bass riffs, then creating auditory cutouts from those recordings and collaging them like the mixed media of @portiswap1’s digital art,” the band shares. “For [the] record covers Jasno exported the same mode to cutting up a series of the duo shot by @ebruyildiz. Lyrical inspiration came from video essays by @lexfridman and @jmgodier… among others.”
Last we saw the duo, they were backing Cindy Cane on a last-minute trip to SXSW, simultaneously serving as a testament to the love and collaboration of the BK music community and to the individuals’ personal musical prowess (they learned the set in just one week). Prior to that, we were lucky to witness Tight Lips’ infectious energy and the power of their own performance when they brought the dance party to East Williamsburg Econo Lodge at our BdBK show back in December. But that’s enough about the past, man. Let’s talk (very near) future, because you have the chance to catch Tight Lips liiiiiive this weekend when they hit the stage at Brooklyn Made to celebrate the release of their new EP on vinyl THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!
As for the rest of the weekend, well, you know how this goes—
Check out the glorioussss three-day itinerary, courtesy of our friends in Tight Lips, below. Then grab your partner in love/crime/creativity/whatever and go out and have a bona fide ball. While we’re not sure how, we are absolutely, positively, 100% sure you earned it.
Be safe. Have fun. And, as always, enjoy enjoy enjoy it all <3
[Editor’s (late) note: Tight Lips has actually added a third member! So rule of three it is. Please disregard half of what’s above :)]
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
Hellowww friends and fam alike ... when it comes to Tight Lip'ping we range from chilly chill to rager partying all night hanging off of dumpsters behind hotel vegas. Oh wait this is about new york city not everyone from the brooklyn scene hanging out in Austin last week! My bad. Well what can we say about the literal best city in the world? Warhol lived here in silver dungeons, Rupaul towered over her minions here in subterranean disco layers and corporations have bought it all up to be used in cringe superbowl adds (that are also maybe art?). Wow I'm on a bit of a rant.
FRIDAY
Friday will be in the 60s so ditch work and let's go to the beach for the day, I'm thinking Jacob Riis because its gayyy ma'am and there's a nude area where we can see some elders flapping about. We rode there on bikes but let's take the train back because we're bored and a little tipsy, this will be a good op for reading weirdos...people watching. Let's head straight to Sultan Room when we get back so we can eat before bouncing over to The Broadway for Heavy Feather & the Magic Word's single release show with The Down and Outs and Ugly Mutts. After the show, who knows what we'll get up to, but save some energy for Saturday because it's going to be a rager.
SATURDAY
Ok Saturday we start the day at Tina's because that spot is serving the A #1 best dinner experience in Brooklyn. After pancakes and coffee we should hit some shops to grab a look for the night, let's do Beacon's Closet on Bogart. I always have good luck there, last week I found the sickest pair of black platform docs right before heading to Texas they made my trip! At this point it's probably 4-5pm because looking through clothes takes forever so lets get home and freshen up before we head to Brooklyn Made for Starchild & the New Romantic! The evening kicks off with Crypt Scanner who are really moody and gorgeous, then Scotch Mist who I have not seen yet but I'm excited for, then us (and it's our vinyl EP release baby! Come get one!) and finally the icon themself Starchild <3 so pumped for this one! The food at Brooklyn Made is pretty damn good. I will definitely be eating dinner there at the bar before the show. If you see me there, come right up and say hi I'll be busy eating so I definitely won't bite you. Who knows where the night will take us after the show ... be ready to party fam.
SUNDAY
Sunday, we wake up a bit late because ... well last night was iconic. I will definitely be feeling very inspired by Starchild so I intend to spend most of the day writing and recording at La Fam Recordings on Meserole St. I will be doing a late brunch ordered in from Champs...and frankly I'm not sure how we waited until Sunday to get their cinnamon toast french toast, ugh so yum. In the late afternoon we should definitely hit up Newtown for food again, their menu is short and to the point ... everything is fantastic, plus vegan options for me hell yes. To end the weekend we should pop into 3 Dollar Bill to see if there's a good show going on and if not let's walk down to Our Wicked Lady and see some friends. Either way we might be in for another late night, that's the city anything and anyone could be hanging out just waiting for you to vibe.
Thanks for hanging with me this weekend, let's do it again sometime soon!
Itinerary above submitted by Tight Lips. Follow the band at @tightlipsworld a nd add their songs to your Spotify playlists!
Photo (provided by the band): Michelle LoBianco
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
TONIGHT! Loose Buttons are performing at Union Pool with friends (including Church Crush), and all proceeds are benefitting Ukrainian humanitarian needs. Tix here.
We’re currently in Idaho for Treefort, and we’re here to say it’s quite great. If you’re in town for the fest, holla and let’s hang. BANDS DO BOISE - COMING SOON! (jk) (maybe)
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
The Great American Novel // Proper.
“Don’t Stop” video // Razor Braids
“Kids Like Us” video // Colatura
Dark Matters // Maneka
“Happy For You” // Stefan Alexander
“Afterlife” // Jeremy & the Harlequins
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the shows we’ve got coming up next month and beyond. Mark your calendars and come hang!
4.1 BdBK Presents: Max Pain and the Groovies (single release) w/ TVOD and Nevva (+ some sweet, sweet Jonathan Toubin DJ action) @ TV Eye (tix here)
4.12 STRONG LITTLE SONGS 3: A living-room fundraising show benefiting Ukraine featuring War Violet, Slight Of, Arlo Indigo (our co-organizer/cohost) and one more artist TBA - BYOB/Donation-based/DM 4 Address
+ ICYMI
Around the blog + on the radio + from the archives:
SXSW Diary: Colatura Takes Austin
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3