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It has been a tough summer for music: this week we lost Isaac Hayes, and in July it was Hiram Bullock. Club closings are nothing new to New York City, but we were particularly sorry to say goodbye to The Baggot Inn, which was a sort of home for us back in the early days, up through our first CD release party. Here’s a photo of that very gig, for posterity.
The very cool online music store Amie Street is now offering our album Buh Ba Ba Ba as a high-quality download (320 kbps), and super-cheap! These are DRM-free mp3 files, not copy protected or restricted to any particular software or device. As of this very moment, each track is only 15 cents, making the whole album $1.80, but the price will automatically increase with demand. What are you waiting for?
This weekend, while Prince was busy launching Coachella into the stratosphere, Shagg was competing for slots at the Afro-Punk Music and Film Festival this summer and the CMJ Music Marathon this fall. Our songs Between Words and Just Ain’t Enough reached the top ten in their respective categories on OurStage after literally thousands of listens and votes. The semi-finals end on Tuesday at midnight. Check us out on OurStage and vote if you can!
The term “Afro-Punk” refers to African-Americans in the punk subculture, as documented in James Spooner’s 2003 film. But the movement itself seems to take a more expansive view to include music of multiple ethnicities and styles. Shagg has been making multi-genre music and avoiding racial labels for more than 10 years. In that light, it seems perfectly OK that our tune “Between Words” is competing on OurStage for a slot in this summer’s Afro-Punk festival in Brooklyn, where it all began for us. Go listen and vote here!
We’re in the running for the 2008 PLUG Independent Music Awards. Please check us out on OurStage and vote! Think of it as a warmup for February 5.
Our song “Walk Through Me” is among the top 10 rock songs on OurStage for the month of November.
This November marks Shagg’s 10th birthday. We’re in the fifth grade! To celebrate, we’re giving away some free stuff.
First up is an mp3 copy of Shagg’s Peach EP for your iPod. These five songs were recorded in 2000 by budding producer/engineer Stephen Shirk at his home studio in Astoria, Queens, right beneath the N train. As you may recall, two of the songs were finalists in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. One of them, “Shade of Melancholy,” is probably the best thing we ever did. Download the songs here.
The other stuff you’re going to have to work for. How well do you know Shagg? A free Shagg t-shirt, featuring our awesome logo by Derek Oscarson, goes to the first person who can correctly answer each of the following three questions:
Copies of our second album, Buh Ba Ba Ba, go to anyone who can answer two of them. If you can answer one of them, you get a free hug from any band member you can find.
Answers should be sent to shaggband@gmail.com by November 30. Good luck!
Our tune “Renewal,” a tribute to poet James Merrill, is competing in the semifinals in jazz on OurStage.
The folks at OurStage featured “City in the Sky,” our little ode to New York City, on the sixth anniversary of 9/11.