6.3 A wknd w/ Brandi & the Alexanders
The band on boozy bookstores, COVID cancellations and the occasional Sunday afternoon at Chuck E Cheese
The second best part about a long weekend is a short week, so GOOD NEWS - IT’S FRIDAY ALREADY!
BdBK is currently jetlagged and sunburned and solidly brain-fried in Barcelona for Primavera Fest (shoutout to our NYC faves Gustaf, who absolutely killed it last night!), so apologies if this isn’t the most ~coherent~ newsletter… or if we slip into Spanish mid-sentence or start, like, accidentally ordering tapas in the middle of this thang. (Lo siento!) (And 200 orders of bread with tomato plz!)
ANYWAY! Onto the weekend! As is per tradition (two years running, baby!!!!!), COVID has swooped in to do what it does best—cancel stuff. The latest casualty: the release show for NYC rock ‘n’ soul group Brandi & the Alexanders, who were originally slated to play Rockwood Music Hall tonight to celebrate the release of their single, “Fire,” which premiered on BdBK yesterday and is out everywhere today.
ICYMI, the premiere included a bit of background on the ~fiery~ new track from Brandi Thompson of the band and some insights on the song and the movements, past and present, that inspired it:
“In the spring of 2020, a second Civil Rights Movement overwhelmed the United States. I was as swept up in the movement as anyone, but I decided to write a song to not just stand against the brutality that was happening that spring but to remind my listeners that this brutality and discrimination is not new; my ancestors survived similar brutality and discrimination – like that which we saw in 2020 and the many years prior – for centuries. I’m proud to be a product of my ancestors who survived generation after generation; their strength is my strength, and I wrote this song to honor them. As the saying goes, I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams. Theirs are the shoulders on which I stand and which have gotten me where I am today.”
While this newsletter typically revolves around where you can see the featured bands perform each weekend—and we def, def, def recommend catching Brandi & the Alexanders live—despite the unfortunate cancellation, Brandi was still kind enough to create an amended itinerary that includes, well, everything except the group’s postponed release show (and involves plenty of live music, so don’t worry—you can still get your fix, ya fiends).
Read on for some very excellent plans + for bonus recs, check out the piece from when we met the band’s phenomenal frontwoman in Gowanus for rooftop ice cream and an interview about her favorite places circa 2019. And because there are infinittttte more weekends on the horizon, be sure to follow the band for updates on the rescheduled show and go out and catch Brandi & the Alexanders (a group that, for the record, contains precisely 0 Alexanders but, last we checked, like 2 or 3 Erics?) live as soon as you can.
Ruined plans be damned! It’s going to be a glorious weekend, so go forth and enjoy it.
And that, friends, is the last sentence we are currently capable of stringing together. Adios~
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
FRIDAY
Welp. We got hit with covid, so this is a tweaked setlist - recommending you vibe on our new single, “Fire” and visit some of these spots.
When we’re playing a set at Rockwood Music Hall, you can usually catch us having a pre-show dinner at V-Nam Cafe, a solid, kinda small hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant and take-out spot. It’s great people-watching if you can grab a hi-top, plus the Vietnamese iced coffee is like rocket fuel for a show. Ginger pot for the win.
Afterward, we’ll catch a set at Berlin (a favorite, and where we had our last album release show) where there’s always a great band or head over to one of our favorite independent bookstores; Book Club, on Ave B and 3rd where you can chill with a glass of wine, have a real (but quiet) conversation and pick something up. Ada Limón’s poems in The Hurting Kind is a recent read to check out. We’re based in BK but most of our band hang time in the LES at Rivington Music where we rehearse and chop it up after at The Magician, Donnybrook, or literally just the corner with a few tallboys.
SATURDAY
I just moved out to Gowanus/South Slope-area and am still exploring, but we try to get some green space-time up north at Prospect Park or the Grand Army Plaza farmer’s market in the morning. For a late breakfast beforehand, I’ll do it up with chilaquiles at Fondita’s.
If it’s too hot out for the park, we love some pool and pinball at Buttermilk Bar, the leafy shade and cocktails at Bearded Lady, or catch some local music (funk, country, hip-hop, and even burlesque depending on the night) or watch the Mets probably lose to the Dodgers this weekend at Freddy’s Bar and Backroom for some day drinking.
Saturday night I’m working, but the Alexanders are split up to see Banda De Los Muertos at Barbes Brooklyn, Future Islands at Brooklyn Steel, and Robert Plant at Forest Hills. Points if you can figure out which band member goes to which show.
SUNDAY
Yea we’re sleeping in so it’s Dough Donuts on Flatbush for a sugar rush or Cheryl’s Global Soul for a laidback lunch in their backyard.
Our song ‘Fire’ is very much about where I come from, that Black culture can’t be erased, and where we all go from here. In that spirit, take some time and check out Weeksville Heritage Center. This Sunday afternoon, they’re offering a virtual reading group and conversation on abolition and liberation.
Afternoon-wise, we’d recommend taking the Metronorth or 4 train (depending on your budget and time) up to the Bronx for some time at the Bronx Botanical Garden to see everything in bloom before it’s too fucking hot out or Punchlove at 18th Ward who is killing it.
Dinner is probably made at home, damn y’all we ain’t rich.
Also PS, couple of us are parents, and not gonna lie, have been to Chuck E. Cheese for birthdays at Atlantic Terminal. Not recommending it, but can confirm it has not changed in twenty-five years.
Itinerary above written + submitted by Brandi & the Alexanders. Follow the band at @brandiandtheas, buy music on Bandcamp and add their songs to your Spotify playlists.
Feature image (provided by the band): Beth Crane
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
A reminder that there are only THREE shows left before our fave DIY space Pet Rescue closes its doors. (ICYMI read our ode to the space that was last week’s newsletter). We’ll be back there TOMORROW NIGHT w/ the lineup below, so don’t miss your chance to show some love + pay your respects + pour one out before the end of what has been a truly excellent era.
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
How Am I Still Holding On // Elizabeth Wyld
Audio Tree Live Session // Moon Kissed
Panic // Ilithios
“Be” music video // Kissed By An Animal
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!
6.9 BdBK Presents: The Thing + TBD [NOT A BAND NAME] + Dale Jr. and Bat Kid +. Uncle Pizza @ The Nest
6.14 BdBK Presents: Strong Little Songs 4 — a charity living-room show for Planned Parenthood— w/ RONI + LEONE + Silvia K. + Arlo Indigo @ BdBK HQ (DM 4 Address)
6.16. BdBK Presents: Cowboy Boy + Long Neck + Bummer Camp @ Misfit Kava Bar
6.24 BdBK Presents: New Myths + Valerie the Vulture + Monarch (EP Release) + Hollye Bynum and Friends
+ ICYMI
Around the blog + on the radio + from the archives:
WANTED: Touring Member with Synth, Sample Pad & Ableton Experience
PREMIERE: “Fire” from Brandi & the Alexanders
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Pre-order the Bands do BK BOOK (out 9/6) here.