8.26 A wknd w/ Lizzie No

The artist on Nigerian street food, a Fort Greene artisans bazaar and her Saturday-night show at Mercury Lounge

Aug 26, 2022

GATHER ‘ROUND CHILDREN! And allow us to tell you (maybe again? you know how grandma gets) about a time, many moons ago, when movies only cost a dime, soda pop was nothin’ but a nickel and the BdBK process involved actually meeting artists for interviews in real life.

The original process, begun before the blog’s launch back in 2018—when we were a little less lazy and a little more analog—involved asking musicians to send over a list of their favorite spots in Brooklyn, from which we would pick one for an interview (bar! restaurant! venue! cemetery?) and miraculously willing artistic individuals would agree to meet us IRL to be interviewed for a blog that didn’t technicalllllly exist yet. Typically in exchange for a beer or two.

One of the first to embark on this experience was Lizzie No, whom we originally encountered at a Sofar Sounds show at Industry City’s Hygge Haus—a giant teepee decorated with a bunch of appropriately cozy accessories #isthishygge —where the soon-to-be-Rolling Stone-lauded artist whipped out her harp and wooed the shit out of an entranced audience with a gorgeous set of songs that, while we can’t remember exactly, likely appeared the next year on her 2019 sophomore album Vanity.

Some months after officially joining the Lizzie No fan club, we met the artist at 61 Local (RIP TBD?), where over a pint of draft kombucha, she talked about her music and shared her favorite spots in Brooklyn. The result of this Wednesday-night hang was Lizzie No Does BK, a set of recommendations that included destinations for smoothies, solo drinking and Sunday music—plus the undeniable beauty of the occasional Taco Bell or Applebee’s experience.

This interview is also where the artist provided the quote that serves as the introduction to the Bands do BK book: Every place that is dear to me in Brooklyn is dear because of how I choose to live my life.

Fast-forward four years (ah!), and the artist has continued to do what she does best: make amazing music. Most recently, Sweeter Than Strychnine / Stop Bothering Me, which is described as “two sides of the soul pop coin… ‘Sweeter Than Strychnine’ is the smoking gun in a 60s thriller. ‘Stop Bothering Me,’ the b-side, is girl group sour candy. Psychedelic strings serve as the backdrop for these cinematic vocal performances.” She’s also the co-host of Basic Folk, a podcast featuring “honest conversations w folk musicians” and appears to have been insanely busy bopping around the country to deliver her music live to some very lucky audiences—

Including, this weekend, YOU, when the artist hits the stage on her home turf, performing with a full band in NYC for the first time since COVID at Mercury Lounge THIS SATURDAY! (Tix here.)

As for the rest of the weekend, reeeeeead on!

In full-circle fashion, the artist has once again filled us in on her favorite spots. And along with following her impeccably planned itinerary featuring square pizza, sweet songs and a soulful Sunday-night dance party, we suggest you take a note from the first situation in which we witnessed a Lizzie No performance all those years ago and take a quiet moment to grab a blanket, cozy up and get hygge with it.

We love you. Have a beautiful weekend~

[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]

FRIDAY

Go crate diggin' at 5th Avenue Records. The owner of this record shop is a connoisseur of house and electronic music. Great recommendations, super peaceful vibe. Treat yourself to a hoppy ale at Threes Brewing, if you're into that sort of thing. Pick up some replacement guitar strings for your acoustic guitar at Main Drag Music. Sure, this is more of a note-to-self, but how can I be sure that you, the reader, couldn't benefit from this recommendation as well? End your day at Saint Ann and the Holy Trinity Church for Nora Brown's album release, presented by the Jalopy Theatre. Prayers optional. Or if you're more of a jazz head, catch Kaya Nicole at Cafe Erzulie. For the perfect slice of Detroit-style pizza to send you into a restorative cheese coma, stop by Ace's Pizza Spot in Williamsburg.

SATURDAY

Start your day with a stroll around the Fort Greene Park Artisans Bazaar, where my friend Matt Aprile (hey, Matt!) will be selling elegant, ultra-comfy, hand-dyed pieces from his indi + ash clothing line. Eat lunch at Brooklyn Suya, a Nigerian street food spot that will blow your mind. Then come to Mercury Lounge for my first full-band show in New York since my pre-covid glory days. Country songwriters and heartthrobs Paisley Fields and Roger Harvey are on the bill as well. I am so excited for this show I could pee my pants!!

SUNDAY

Eat brunch at Cheryl's Global Soul. It's called "the best place to eat in Brooklyn" for a reason. I love this place. Amazing breakfast foods and super close to the park for a post-caffeine stroll. In the evening, head to Wild Birds for Tamar Korn & Friends. Tamar is a fabulous singer. Wild Birds is a fabulous venue that is about to close. SIGH. Get it while you can. Oh and did I mention they serve really good square pizza? Why the hell is this place closing. Capitalism is a disease. Moving on! If you need to dance your troubles away, end the night at Our Wicked Lady. DJ Jonathan Toubin's Sunday Soul Scream summertime rooftop dance party might inspire you to call your boss on Monday morning and say, "I have discovered my true self so I quit."

Itinerary above written + submitted by Lizzie No. Follow the artist at @lizzie.no, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists.

Feature image provided by the artist.

MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS

This week, we were stoked to announce our big BOOK-RELEASE BASH on Saturday 9/17 on the roof of Our Wicked Lady! This is an all-day//all-night event (seriously: 1:30 PM - 4 AM… we got carried away) featuring performances from 13 bands featured in the book. Grab your tix here, get your Red Bull IVs ready and prepare to celebrate getting more musical bang for your buck than ever before!

Speaking of shows, our friends at Home Scene are throwing their first one ever on September 4th at Heaven Can Wait with a bill featuring Analea, Apollo Flowerchild and Amalie Juliane! Grab your tix to support—and enjoy some sweet, sweet tunes—here.

RELEASE RADAR

New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:

“Ride Ride” // Work Wife

“Just Friends” // Ok Cowgirl

“Mexican Moonlight” // Papi Shiitake

Where’s West From Here // Karl Soro

“slow dancin’” // Scout Gillet

Pop Songs For Dummies // Lost Boy ?

Bummer Camp // Bummer Camp

“Daisy” // Superbloom

IT’S HAPPENIN’

Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!

8.31 BdBK Presents: DUMMY (NYC single release) + Nara’s Room + Bad Spy + some acoustic action from Red Sun Radio (tix here)

9.6 BOOK RELEASE-DAY EVENT presented by WORD Bookstore: Sam Sumpter x Rich Weiss of Bloodless Management w/ a Q&A + performance by Atlas Engine (free!) at Saint Vitus (RSVP here)

9.13 STRONG LITTLE SONGS 5 @ BdBK HQ ft. Nara’s Room, Jackson Dockery (of Mary Shelley), The Bird Calls, Arlo Indigo - DM for address

9.17 BdBK BOOK-RELEASE BASH w/ 13 bands featured in the book @ Our Wicked Lady (tix here)

+ PLZ SAVE THE DATE for a second DIY-style release show 10/8 ;)

A LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK

Leading up to the 9/6 release of Bands do BK — THE BOOK (avail for pre-order here), we’ll be dropping in *short* snippets from the 18-chapter ~manifesto~ that’s equal parts Brooklyn guidebook (by bands), oral history and music-fan memoir.

Joey Giambra: It’s an old punk house we played at. Apparently it’s a generational punk duplex, and they have shows in the basement. They’ve been having punk shows for years.
Ed Weisgerber: It’s like five-and-a-half foot ceilings, classic basement, shit everywhere, bad sound. But you know what, that’s rock ‘n’ roll.
Joey Giambra: We have a YouTube video of our performance there. It was really fun. We had a really insane pit in that one.
Ed Weisgerber: I had a 101-degree fever. I was just sweating the entire time.
Joey Giambra: While Dan was doing a solo, someone suplexed him through a table.
Dan Barrecchia: I went out into the crowd and was like, doing some shit with my guitar while everyone was moshing, and then someone picked me up and suplexed me through a table.
Joey Giambra: That’s in the video.
Dan Barrecchia: The table didn’t break fully, it just kinda collapsed in. I don’t want to oversell the story. Honestly, I think we should incorporate that into our set.
Ed Weisgerber: Big contact mics on everything.
Dan Barrecchia: Just body-slam each other.