4.13 A wknd w/ Sam Zalta
The artist on b-ball with bands, hanging with Dad, diners... like, so many diners... and his Thursday-night (tonight!) show at Union Pool
AYYY! HAPPY THURSDAY, BABEZ! And what a glorioussss one it is.
As we’ve often mentioned, whenever we break format or character or any rulez whatsoever that we technically made up for and by ourselves, the best part of being I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T (do ya know what that mean) is that we can do pretty much anything we want..
By which we mean, like, send out a Friday newsletter on a Thursday. (Really livin’ la vida loca over here.) Allow us to begin.
If you’ve caught sick NYC band Bambara live, you’ve certainly seen Sir Sammy Zalta (we added the Sir) on stage, And if you’ve been to Pulaski Playground on a Sunday afternoon, well, you’ve likely caught him on the court.
But on this, the sweet n sunniest of afternoons, we’re not here to talk about the aforementioned musical group (with which he’s toured the world on guitar and keyboard) nor the weekly musician-packed b-ball game (during which he… uh, probably dribbles and shoots and stuff). Rather, this week’s SETLIST serves to advertise another project at which Sam has been plugging away. One that’s more personal—and, until recently, far more private—than anything else.
While the artist has been writing and recording since his teens under different aliases, Memento Mori—the ”the most pure or natural thing [he’s] done”—is due out May 12th and is the first set of songs to be released under the name listed on both his birth certificate and his social security card. Of the forthcoming album—a piece of work he says is influenced by everything from David Lynch films to the Bible to the Beach Boys—Sammy shares the following:
“‘Memento mori’ means ‘remember you are mortal’ or ‘remember you will die’, phrases that serve this collection of songs well since the themes of the album revolve around the many definitions of death. While not a concept album per se, Memento Mori has different through lines that get intertwined and evolve from track to track, with some of the first few songs in the tracklist delving into questions of the meaning of life and the search for connection (through love, spirituality and community), while the next batch deal with the complications those relationships bring; later on, the lyrics struggle with finding meaning to it all only to resolve in the inescapable fate of death; which in turn, becomes a celebration to take advantage of every second and dedicate ourselves to what make us happy. It’s a call to celebrate what life we have left to live.” (Pre-order here!)
And speaking of celebrating—what a segue!—you have the opportunity to do just that TONIGHT when Sam hits the stage to commemorate the release of his second single “Altar” at Union Pool with Midwife and Nyxy Nyx.
Grab tix here.
Boom! Just like that, your Thursday plans have been prepared. As for Friday, Saturday, Sunday… well, Sammy’s got a plan for that. (And yes, it does include the aforementioned bandsketball.)
Spring has at last, definitely, sans doubt, at least for now, probably, we think (?) certainly sprung. And your chaperone—and apparently chauffeur—awaits!
Get in, go out and enjoy enjoy enjoy it all <2
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
THURSDAY
It’s Thursday. Yeah, your weekend is starting early. You already know what you’re doing tonight: you’re coming to see me, Sam Zalta, play with Midwife and Nyxy Nyx at Union Pool - but what the HELL are you going to do until the 7pm door time? You’ve got around 10 hours until you can go to north Brooklyn’s long running and most consistent hookup bar (or as I call it, “Brooklyn Orientation”). Don’t worry though, I’ve got a car and I’ll drive you around to make the most of our time.
Okay, first off, we’ve got to get something out of the way… we’re not going anywhere “cool.” No Rolo’s, no TV Eye, no Roberta’s, no Coyote Club, no Winona’s – none of the places my girlfriend would probably like to go (I’m sorry, honey. You’re the best!). We’re starting our day off with some breakfast at the first of many diners: Bel Aire Diner in Astoria. You’ve got the classic lobster tank in the front when you first walk in, a menu that is probably 85 items too long to even be remotely fresh and all of the grease to make our next stop is a clean public bathroom. Get eggs, a burger (for breakfast, sure, why not), a milkshake. Just don’t get pasta or seafood. This isn’t the spot for that.
Alright, we’ve eaten. Let’s walk the heaviness off at Socrates Sculpture Park (just a convenient 6-minute walk). We’re feeling good, we’re stretching our legs and– OH GOD. We forgot to walk Frank before we left. Alright, time to drive back to Bed-Stuy and walk my dog. Frank is a sweetheart and a tiny little fluff ball Pomeranian. I know he’s small, but the boy needs his exercise.
After a quick stroll through Herbert Von King’s dog park with Frank, we’re back in action. We get back in my car and… oh. Sorry. Work is calling. We’ve gotta go back to my place for a bit, so I can take care of some things. You can play Elden Ring on my PS5 while I’m working.
Okay, 3 hours have passed and it’s time to get to Union Pool for soundcheck. Okay, I know I said no “cool” spots, but we’re going to Williamsburg now, and I’m from Brooklyn, so I still consider Williamsburg to be “hip” or whatever. This one counts as a loophole: go to Best Pizza (around the corner from Union Pool). Their pizza is pretty good, but their garlic knots are the best in the city. They’re loaded with tons of parmesan and served with a side of Arrabiata (chef’s kiss).
Yeah, you can come back to Union Pool for the gig and get your mind blown.
FRIDAY
Friday morning is here and it sucks. I’m sober, so I don’t have a hangover, but you really went all out last night. I know you’ll probably want to start slow. That’s fine. The Mets are playing in Oakland, so we’ll be up late tonight watching them. Jump in my car, and sleep on the ride to our next spot.
Wake up. We’re here. Yeah, it’s another diner. Ignore the “Vote for Zeldin” and pro-Curtis Sliwa signs. This place is pretty good. We’re at Mirage Diner on the opposite end of the island. We’ve gone all the way down to south Brooklyn, where I’m from to get you some properly well done home fries and burnt coffee. Trust me, order my full French meal: French onion soup, french fries and some pickles. Dip the fries in the soup. Don’t be afraid. Trust me. It’s good. Stop gagging. IT’S GOOD.
It’s a shame that Cinema closed down. I would’ve loved to have taken you to my family’s favorite local movie theater. Alright, we gotta make a personal stop now. That bag in the back of the car is my laundry, and I’ve been putting off visiting my dad for a bit. We’ll go in, say hi, clean my clothing and get on our way. It’ll be quick. I swear.
Okay, how was I to know my dad was going to make us stay through the entire Mets game? At least they had the lead until the 9th. What? You want to go to another diner? Alright fine. Atlantic Diner is close to my buddy Max’s place and they’re open 24 hours.
SATURDAY
It’s Saturday and I swear we’re done with diners. Also, Saturday is the official bagel day, right? We’re gonna go to a (gasp) chain bagel spot to start our day: we’ll go to the Bagel Pub on Franklin. They do great bagels and have pastrami lox, but they’re normally slammed on the weekends, so we’ll order ahead. In the meantime, we’ll walk Frank and grab some coffee from Little Roy.
I know we ate a lot yesterday, but we’re going for the triple play today. With our bagel with lox procured, we eat in the car and head south again down to Kings Plaza on Flatbush Avenue, arguably the most depressing shopping centers in the tri-state area, but they have a Cinnabon there. Fine, we won’t eat there, but at least we can walk in the shop and smell it. Anyways, we walk around the mall long enough to get nauseous from the smell, so we can make room for more food. Just around the corner from Kings Plaza is Mill Basin Deli, one of the few truly Kosher delis left in the city, where we’ll load up on pastrami, hotdogs with mustard and sauerkraut (the only way), knishes and some half sour pickles, and try to understand why this is the only deli/art gallery in the world.
We’ll get back in the car to listen to the Mets play their 4pm game against the A’s, and head to Coney Island. Sure, it’s April, but we can still take a stroll on the boardwalk. Coney Island is one of the few places in this city that makes me feel the nerves and fear I did when I was a kid. There’s a certain freedom to the place, no matter how much they try to clean it up. It’s dangerous, it’s ugly, it smells and it’s aggressively human.
Enough waxing poetic, let’s go get the actual best pizza in New York. Not DiFara’s. Sorry. We’re going to L&B. It’s definitely gotten too expensive. The price of a slice and pie have doubled in the past decade alone, but it’s still cheaper, fresher and better than any other counter slice/pie shop. We don’t go into the restaurant there, we’d just be getting pizza regardless. They’ve got you covered on dessert too, just walk to the next window for the Spumoni flavored ices.
Okay, go home. I’m done with Saturday.
SUNDAY
Sunday morning is here, and we’ve got to make the most of our last day. We have an 11am call for basketball at Pulaski Playground, the official home of the Hoop Commission. It’s good we’ve been eating non-stop this weekend, because we don’t have time to eat before the game. We’ve got a lot of great musicians and locals that play in our games. Members of bands like Monograms, Consumables, Mary Shelley, Hnry Flwr, Chemical Bathhouse, Russian Baths, Bodega and many others are waiting for us. As commissioner, I must make my presence known with a fashionably late arrival.
I know you’re sweaty and exhausted, but we have to run back home because I told my girlfriend we’d be done at 1pm. It’s now 2:30pm. After a quick cleanup, we head back in my car to go to Park Slope to get groceries for Sunday pasta. The three of us get to Russo’s for some fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, Castelvetrano olives, some bread and some vodka sauce. After this weekend, who can think of cooking sauce from scratch?
We head back home and I realize I’ve been neglecting my girlfriend all weekend, so we decide to do something special for her and ditch our “no cool spots” rule. I call Miss Ada in Fort Greene and make a reservation for three. We decide to walk there, since we’ve got some time before our reservation. We stop and look at the nice houses and brownstones in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, and take a stroll around Fort Greene Park. We go into Ada’s and order half of the menu. I hate sharing food, but I’ll do it for you.
Though we’re full, the savory flavor in my mouth needs to be countered with something sweet, so I drive us over to Fortunato Brothers for some cannol— wait… it’s between Saint Patrick’s day and Easter. They’ve got Saint Joseph’s pastries! Okay, now I’m driving 90 mph down Manhattan Ave. We pull up to Fortunato Brothers but there’s no parking, we spend the next three hours circling and the clock strikes midnight. The weekend is over. I kick you out of my car and drive away. You realize you left your wallet and cell phone in my car, and never see me again.
Itinerary above written + submitted by Sam Zalta. Follow the artist at @akabambo, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image (provided by the artist): Ash Bean
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Psyched to share that Tuesday’s STRONG LITTLE SONGS show raised $209 for Food Bank for NYC! The biggest of thanks to everyone who came out and donated // to Edna, Raising Daughters and Torture and the Desert Spiders for playing // and, as always, to our co-host Arlo Indigo. If you’d like to donate and help feed your neighbors, we’ll direct you right this way to help. Hope to catch you at the next one!
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.