8.4 A wknd w/ Strawberry Launch
The band on Bushwick Bee Stings, photogenic BECs and their sold-out show TONIGHT at Mercury Lounge
HAPPY FRIDAY! It’s officially time for HAPPY HOUR and we are comin’ in HOT with your weekend plans—this time from the sweet sweet studs of NYC indie pop-rock band Strawberry Launch!
But first, a question: When was the last time you answered a phone call from a stranger?
After all, friends and family prob text, work often emails, bills and birthday cards arrive via USPS and any internet weirdo soliciting sugar babies and/or asking you to be a brand ambassador for what is absolutely an imaginary jewelry company is def just going to slide into your DMs. Plus, while we’ve previously been excited by the potential of an unfamiliar set of digits (FUTURE SOULMATE?!), in our experience, ~9.9/10 times an unknown number belongs to Save the Children, scammers kindly alerting us to the expiration of the auto warranty for the car we don’t have OR, what has rapidly become the bane of our personal cell phone-owning existence, the very pushy people over at MPower Energy.
However… HOWEVER! On occasion… ON OCCASION! Answering a cold call just might pay off—and to clarify, we’re not talking about switching energy providers or saving any children here.
As the story goes, the first seed was planted for Strawberry Launch back in November of 2018 when lead singer Riiza cold-called (!) guitarist Matrianna Gahol “hoping she would want to start a band with a complete stranger.” (!!) Matrianna apparently answered the call—in the literal and spiritual sense—and from there, Strawberry Launch… well, took off… with the addition of bassist Abby Flicker, keyboardist Taylor Hurt and drummer Benjy Berkowitz.
The band released their self-titled EP in 2021 and this year have dropped a few extremely perfect singles, including “Light Blue Sheets” — their most recent — and “Ready Yet”, which was accompanied by a lovely home video that premiered on Bands do BK in April.
So! Now that you’ve got some band background, let’s look forward a bit… like, two hours forward… because Strawberry Launch is playing TONIGHT at Mercury Lounge… which means that this is really ridiculously short notice but we would feel way way worse about it if the show wasn’t already SOLD OUT, BABY!
BUT! Never fear, friends! There are far more opps to get this particular fruit fix, starting with the band’s next show at The Sultan Room on August 31st with Jay Rosie and Papi Shiitake (info + tix here). And whether or not you managed to score a ticket to tonight’s show before it sold out, Strawberry Launch has still got you covered for the rest of the weekend with a lovely set of plans that they’ve prepared just 4 you.
Read on, have fun and go ahead and get a little weird with it. See ya out there <3
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
FRIDAY
Start your morning with a full glass of water and a quick journal entry, because you probably have ADHD and wont remember all the little things you wanted to do today unless you write them down. You wouldn’t want to be thinking about how you forgot to text your friend a happy birthday while trying to rock out at the Strawberry Launch show later, would you?! You’re in Bushwick, so you grab a coffee at Swallow Cafe and do some thrifting at Beacon’s Closet, and pop over to Friends for a few fun knick-knacks to furnish your house with (I’d recommend getting the strawberry spoon holder and using it as a trinket dish). You grab an early dinner at Roberta’s Pizza (get the Bee Sting) and take the train to Mercury Lounge to enjoy a night of glitter and tunes by yours truly, along with Monarch. and Seeing Double!! You also stay afterwards because we’d love to meet you, and you may or may not go home with an SL tee shirt.
SATURDAY
You wake up in your SL tee and get an iced dirty chai (with oat milk and maple syrup) from Bittersweet Cafe in Fort Greene. You also grab a cinnamon bun, because they are to die for. You stroll over to Fort Greene Park and watch the doggies run around, maybe stop by the farmers market for some fresh bread and berries. Spend your afternoon roaming around the neighborhood - there are usually some rich people having stoop sales or open houses. You can go home with a goodie and calculate how many gigs it would take for you to be able to own a place like that. Head to Head (haha) Sound Records (half barbershop, half record shop) and browse their old records for your next best find. Meet some friends at Endswell down the street for cocktails and savvy bar foods, then grab a nightcap on the rooftop of one of your friends places.
SUNDAY
You wake up, once again, in your SL tee and bike over to Frankel’s in Greenpoint for a MEAN B.E.C. and an iced coffee. You find the perfect park bench at McCarren Park and crack it open, maybe snap a picture of the cross section (delicious, melted cheese). You watch the local baseball teams warm up for their game and wonder how Sunday morning running people exist. You thrift hop along Bedford Ave, and pop into Mother of Junk to peruse the glassware, paintings, furniture holy grail, and debate wether or not an 11 ft tall vintage mirror will be easy to carry on the train. Walk over to Smorgasburg - an open air food market with vendors from all over the world and snack away with the view of the East River. Let’s dance it off - gather your friends for a final hurrah at Our Wicked Lady for Sunday Soul Scream, complete with live music and DJs and disco all night on their rooftop!
Itinerary above written + submitted by Strawberry Launch. Follow the band at @strawberrylaunch, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image provided by the band.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you’ve been around Brooklyn for a bit, you’ve probably caught Leesa behind the kit or in front of OWL. In other words, she’s a member of our local music community—and now she needs our help. A Gofundme has been set up to support her in her time of need, and here’s the low-down, pulled straight from that page: “Meet Leesa, the phenomenal professional drummer who has been enchanting audiences for over three decades with her exceptional talent. She's a core member of the renowned band Lez Zeppelin and also plays in the equally captivating band called Sabbath Warlock. However, she's now facing challenging times as she battles with health issues requiring surgery and is currently without a home...”
The full story—as well as the option to donate—can be found here. As always, support if you can <3
In case you missed every single post blessing your beautiful feed, it’s BANDCAMP FRIDAY ONCE AGAIN, BABY! And, as is custom, the org is waiving all fees. Head to the site to scoop some merch and music to support the local bands you love—and, who knows, maybe finance your future favorite record in the process.
The next STRONG LITTLE SONGS show is nearly upon us (August 15th), and this round we’ve got Cameron Castan, Extra Special, Dustin Hamman and our co-host Arlo Indigo tearing up the living room (in very shill acoustic fashion) to raise money for the Russell J. Efros Foundation!
A bit about the org:
“The mission of The Russell J. Efros Foundation is to empower creators by sprouting and nurturing creativity by providing support, resources, education and community events. Founded in loving memory of Russell J. Efros, affectionately known to his friends and family as ‘Russell Sprouts’, the foundation is dedicated to empowering creators and artists to express their creativity and spotlighting the value of art and culture in our society. We do this by providing wellness and mental health resources, financial support and creating a network for collaboration and exposure through events, programming and community outreach.”
Come out for a night of sweet tunes and new friends (plus probably vegan cookies) at BdBK HQ, aka Sam’s apartment. As always, BYOB, donation-based, with BdBK matching the first $100. DM (@bandsdobk or @sam_sumpta) for address <3
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“The Bliss” // HNRY FLWR
“Pictures” // b3cca
“Miss The Summer’’ // Ilithios
“The Sun” video // Lovetempo
“Proof of Life” // Big Bliss
"Love Language” video // Jelly Kelly
“Sound of Hope” // Karma Brigade (technically from Iceland but they’ll be here playing shows Sept 7/8/9/10 so we’re making an exception)
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
8.15 STRONG LITTLE SONGS living-room show with Cameron Castan, Extra Special, Dustin Hamman, Arlo Indigo - DM 4 address
8.31 BdBK Presents: Two-Man Giant Squid Album Release w/ Namesake @ Baby’s All right (tix here)
THE SETLIST by Bands do BK is a reader-supported publication that’s freeeee. BUT! If you want to become a paid subscriber to show some love and support the work BdBK is doing… well, hey. That’d be pretty rad of you. <3
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.