CONGRATS TO FRANK-OH!

If you missed Frank-Oh!'s stand up show on Thursday shame on you, but congrats to Frank on a hilarious performance! Even bigger congrats because Frank has been asked to make a return! We'll bring you all of that info when the time comes.

Also, if anyone took pics of the show, please send them to us at brooklynoriginal@gmail.com. We will post them here and give you credit of course!

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THE FULL (SPACE)BEARD

On a rainy Friday night, this past one actually, I went down to NYC's Ace of Clubs, formerly the rock club Under Acme, to check out Brooklyn's Spacebeard. It was a CD release party for their new album, Specimen, and the guys were ready to rock out. This was my first time checking out the band live so I didn't know what to expect. What I got was four guys who rocked out and had a good time doing so! The show got stronger as it went along and from about the song Swords (the band's 1st song ever) on it was balls to the wall metal. I hadn't seen a pure old school type of metal band like SB in awhile and it just felt good. The high point of the performance was their instrumental Bratta, in which the band seemed the most tight. Afterwards I spoke to bass player Andrea Verderame for his reactions...

Was it nerve wracking to play a CD release party?

There were a bunch of people there that haven’t seen us before, so that was a little nerve wracking, but otherwise I wasn’t that nervous. I think I was more concerned about getting through “Synthetic” - our opening song. It’s a relatively new song and not on the record. We didn’t have the opportunity to rehearse it as much as we would have liked, but we were given extra time to play, so we decided to throw it into the set at the last minute. I think we did a good job with it!!

How do you feel the band came through the experience?

Overall I think we did well and everyone in the band agreed that it was one of our strongest performances to date. However, there is always room for improvement. It can and will get better!


How do you feel you guys translated the material from the CD?

We did great on that front. Mirroring the album isn’t too difficult because it was recorded using the same equipment we use on stage, in a live environment at Terminal One Studios. However, each of us has already added new elements to the songs that were not captured on the record, so there are aspects that are exclusive to the Live Beard experience.

The band really sounded tight during the instrumental piece, Bratta, my favorite song of the night, is there a more sense of unity when doing a song like this?

Absolutely! For the first year or so the band played instrumental versions of these songs exclusively - it’s the foundation of the band. I think we all look forward to the time in the set where we can just interact musically with each other and not focus on the vocals. Personally, I would love to put Brett (our drummer) in the middle of the stage and have the rest of us stand around him and just jam.


You guys covered Tom Petty's You're So bad. Petty is very far from what I think of when I think of your band's sound, why choose that song to cover?

We probably choose it because it’s quite different from what we normally do. However, I think it works well with our sound because we get to arrange it our way and still retain the feel of the original. It’s definitely fun to play live and I’m happy because I get to throw in a quick bass solo into a Petty song.

What do you personally come away with from this experience?

The fact that our drummer came through with getting a great banner made for us!!! Seriously, though, I’m just happy we are getting some really good feedback and people seem to genuinely enjoy what we are doing. Can’t really ask for much more!!


For more Spacebeard check out their website: http://www.spacebeard.com/

photography by Sal Cipriano

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BROOKLYNITES LAUNCH PARTY REPORT

Me and Marilyn went to The Brooklynites launch party Thursday night @ Brooklyn Industries to have some Brooklyn Brewery beer, meet the guys, and celebrate Brooklyn. The scene was very well put together, with pics from the book adorning the store, and a video documentary of author Anthony Lasala and photographer Seth Kushner's noble quest to put together this book.



The book itself, purchased by your's truly, is a must have for any Brooklyn loving folk. It paints a rich tapestry of what Brooklyn is all about with lush photos, great quotes, and masterful memoirs.


The music for the evening was provided for by another Brooklyn Original, musician/producer Ron Scalzo aka Q*Ball, who spun a great mix of hip rock'n'roll!


Meeting Seth and Anthony was very cool. They were both extremely nice, and from the book I can clearly see that they are extremely talented as well. You can tell they are very proud of their work and that the reaction to it is very humbling.


For more on the book check out: http://www.sethkushner.com/brooklynites/

And look here for an interview with the guys very soon!

photography by Marilyn Patrizio and Sal Cipriano

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INTERNAL BLEEDING: ART SHOW REVIEW AND INTERVIEW W/ MARCO DILEONARDO

Last Friday, myself, Marilyn, and fellow Brooklyn Originals Anthony Picone and Joe Milazzo took a trek down to Glascott Funeral Home in Queens. Thankfully it was for an art show and not a funeral! Marco DiLeonardo lives above the home, and acts as it's caretaker. This afforded him the opportunity to use the space on an off night for a fantastic gallery featuring his work, affectionately called Internal Bleedings.

Well the night from our POV was successful. The place, from the chapel that held his work to his apartment upstairs, was streaming with folks all night long; we left around 1:30am! It seemed that most of Marco's vast amount of friends were in attendance throwing their support for their artistically inclined pal. His family, coworkers, and strangers who heard about the show filled out the crowd. It looked like everyone brought alcohol as well as there was enough for 3 time the crowd as well! And Marco made sure we were all well fed with 2 giant sandwiches, one with chicken cutlets, fresh mozzarella, and roasted peppers that was outrageously good! One of his friends made a pretty tasty baked ziti as well! Everyone was well entertained.

Onto the show itself. Marco really excels at presentation as his framing received numerous praise. To number his works he stuck jigsaw puzzle pieces next to each one and numbered those, very fitting as pieces like that creep into his work every so often. Everything was affordably priced as well, but not so much to be insulting to the artist, which is always nice to see. And if you didn't have the money for one you got to take home a free Moo card with Marco's art on it.

The pieces themselves were a collection of works spanning his entire illustrative career. There is great emotion and language to his work and a vast understanding of what makes the mind work. You can tell Marco looks deeply within himself every time he begins a new piece. You can see right now that Marco is in top form and gaining steam. Every new work looks better than the last and folks are starting to take notice. I firmly believe the best is yet to come from this artist and everyone needs to start paying attention.

After the weekend we spoke to Marco himself about the show, his perceptions, and the future...


After having the weekend to recover from your big art show how do you feel the show went?

The show was fantastic. More people turned out than I had anticipated. Honestly, things could not have gone any smoother. Important contacts were made and old friends resurfaced. We ate, we drank, we basked in the art. All in all the response was great and the show was a total success.

How many pieces did you sell and how did it make you feel when you sold each piece?

Eight pieces were sold in total. I’m thrilled just knowing my art is hanging on someone’s wall. Usually I have issues parting with my original art. This time around I made peace with the pieces that went, with the exception of “Weakback”. Letting go of that piece was tough. Fortunately, my good friend Katie Wood owns “Weakback” now. I see her all the time and I know it’s in a good home. Ultimately each painting has its own sentimentality to me. The ones I hold dear are always the hardest to let go of.

Your pieces are very unique. They tend to grab the viewer and get a real emotional reaction out of them. Do you ever think about the viewer's reaction when working on a piece?

I try not to think of the viewer’s reaction when I’m working because it affects the outcome of the piece. This form of art is half organic, half free-association. In other words it just works itself out. The action is hardly premeditated. It’s brain to hand with a conscious effort on very little outside interference. Trying kills the process. It’s all execution with finishing touch-ups that I add later. If I worry about what people will think I’m going to befuddle the concept and integrity of the piece.

You were a comic book artist first for many years and did these illustrative internal bleedings on side, but have switched that up in the last year and a half. How do you compare the two mediums and what made you switch your focus?

I find comic book art to be extremely demanding and difficult. I give those guys and gals who draw comics professionally all the credit in the world. The traditional comic art I once did and my current paintings are two totally different things. I only get one panel to get my message across, which suits me fine. I prefer this now that I have a nine to five. It comes down to survival.

Where do you want to go with your Internal Bleeding work? What does the future hold?

Well, I’m certainly going to continue cranking out more work. There are also going to be more art shows on the horizon. Eventually I aspire to put out books featuring my artwork with descriptions about each piece. Also, I hope to lend my images to creating more t-shirt and tattoo designs. At this point the sky’s the limit.

Thanks, Marco. Check out Brooklyn Original's pics from Marco's Show.

And to check out Marco's work get to clicking these links: http://www.marcodileonardo.blogspot.com/ http://www.marcodileonardo.com/

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GREAT NIGHT @ THE WICKED MONK!

Last night's show at The Wicked Monk seemed to be a smashing success. Fans came out despite having work this morning and had a great time! For those that didn't know B.O. bands Black Pig and Next Tribe along with solo artist Tommy Lombardozzi recorded a live show last night at a staple of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, The Wicked Monk.

Tommy Lombardozzi started the night off with style, crooning and rocking some solid notes and giving the ladies something to think about when they went to bed last night. The man gets points for fashion!




Black Pig followed with a fun and exciting show filled with yelling, violence, and good ol' fashioned rock and roll! These guys really know how to get the crowd into the show and they had everyone singing along with some of their well known tracks. There was some great back and forth banter between band members Joe Milazzo and Wayne Daren Schneiderman and Tommy Lombardozzi which could be a fun part of the live recording.





While the crowd unfortunately dwindled abit because of the time and pesty morning work, the fans who stayed were really treated with something special. Next Tribe, one of the more well known and respected bands in Brooklyn came on to perform their usual array of fantastic, blow your mind, sounds, but before long BP's Milazzo came on stage for some percussion and soon was joined by Schneiderman. By the end BP's BarryG and Tommy Lombardozzi had joined in as well. The result was quite a meaty and pleasant sound. Quite the tasty treat to end the evening!




As a side note to the evening I am quite happy to report that Brooklyn Original was all the buzz. Many people had come up to me expressing their interest in the project, and showing/offering their support/help. It was quite heartening to hear this so quickly after our launch. It just fuels this idea even further and we look forward to seeing where it'll take us.

Thanks,
Sal Cipriano

photography by Sal Cipriano

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