Brooklyn-based Band, Naked Hearts, Announce Southeast Tour in July

Brooklyn-based duo Naked Hearts are ready to set hearts and ears on fire when head to the southeast with their fuzzed out ‘90s alt-rock and hypnotic girl/boy vocals. The duo has played shows with the likes of The Raveonettes, The Black Angels, and Evan Dando, delivering a perfectly delicate balance of stripped-down raw energy and moody lush vocals.


The Naked Hearts Tour Dates
6/23/10 Cake Shop- New York, NY
6/24/10 Kung Fu Necktie- Philadelphia, PA
7/18/10 Eye Level Art – Charleston, SC
7/19/10 Sentient Bean – Savannah, GA
7/22/10 Government City Grocery - Ocean Springs, MS
7/23/10 Magic City Wholesale –Birmingham, AL
7/24/10 JJ’s Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN
7/25/10 The Basement – Nashville, TN
7/27/10 Broadway’s –Asheville, TN

Listen to "Mass Hysteria" and "Call Me" off of the debut album, Mass Hysteria.

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Brooklyn's New Scene

In an engaging and inventive manner, this past April, Samantha Tilipman started a blog about Brooklyn's contemporary music scene. She wanted to dig deeper into the artists, their music and why Brooklyn is such a hub for creativity. She does so interviewing musicians and publicists (like our own Janelle Rogers of Green Light Go) to get to the heart of what continues to make Brooklyn a boiling pot for great music, almost a decade after the initial hype of the "hipster Brooklyn rock" was constantly being toted around.Tilipman states exactly what she intends to do with her blog Brooklyn Beats City Sounds.

"I write with a purpose."

Together we will travel the road to stardom through the eyes of a bubbling music group. We will see what it takes to make–what are the drives, desires, and dreams necessary to become known. Does making it in the New York music industry require talent or connections, a passion for fame or a passion for the art? Who’s involved in the success and who takes credit for it? These are just a few questions I hope to answer."

So far in her travels Tilipman has come across Brooklyn-based Green Light Go artists Naked Hearts and Fan-Tan, who both have new albums out this week. Tilipman interviewed both bands for the blog as well got some insight straight GLG head honcho Janelle Rogers.

Tilipman interviewed Naked Hearts' lead singer Amy Cooper about how the duo got their start and how they landed a high profile piece in Interview Magazine last year, and the band's future as an independent band.

"I hope that we’re able to still continue to make records. The main hope that I have is to be able to tour Europe; we would love to do that. We would just like to live being able to tour four to five times a year, and to plan our lives around tours. We’d record when we’re not touring. I think it’s totally possible. You just really have to keep doing what you want to be doing. There are a lot of ups and downs, and if you really love something, you just continue doing it and things will happen the way they’ll happen. I have faith that you’ll end up doing what you want to do for sure," Cooper told Tilipman.

Like many bands have done in the past decade, Fan-Tan, originally from North Carolina, moved to Brooklyn, in hopes of more support and they seemed to have found in according to their interview on Brooklyn Beats City Sounds. Among other things, Tilipman interviewed singer/guitarist Ryan Lee Dunlap about their transition from North Carolina to Brooklyn.

"It was pretty easy for us. We just moved and started playing shows. We emailed everyone as soon as we got here; it was a lot of calls and stuff. Our first show at the Cake Shop, and it was good. We had a good draw because we knew a lot of people in NYC at the time, so that sort of helped. And once you play one show at a venue you can book another show there later. We just kept doing that and then we went to bigger and bigger venues and started getting established as being able to play wherever we wanted to around the city."

The features on Fan-Tan and Naked Hearts were the direct result of a music industry insider who has seen bands come and go from the Brooklyn "scene," and as Green Light Go's publicist and owner, Janelle Rogers told Tilipman she didn't go out seeking "new: bands from Brooklyn.

"They actually chose me. A lot of my business is through word of mouth. It starts with one community and builds from there. Naked Hearts was the first Brooklyn band that I started working with and I met them from another Portland band that was called Star Fucker at the time [now called Pyramid]. And then the others were just word of mouth from other musicians."

Janelle also gave some great insight into why band's benefit from having a publicist. "From start to finish, we’re public relations because from the beginning we’re trying to help them find their identity. We don’t dictate that, we let them and we work with who they are and find their story within that. It’s targeting the people that we think would like their music. For Naked Hearts, they have their niche; an indie rock fan base that will eat them up and love them. For Fan Tan, because they’re synth-pop, the people that go out dancing on Saturday nights and listen to great retro-Brit-pop, that’s like their lifestyle. We’re playing into those things–how people would already consume the music and find the right writers for them."

Keep an eye on Brooklyn Beats City Sounds as Tilipman is adding new interviews and insights every week.
Click Here to Read More..

Synth-popsters Fan-Tan Announce National Tour in May

Brooklyn’s Fan-Tan announces a national tour to support the release of their album Age of Discovery, set for national release on May 11, 2010. Fan-Tan’s post-punk intermingles with synth-pop melodies and moody Brit-pop tones on their latest recording, offering up sonic layers and evocative moods for listeners.

Age of Discovery represents Fan-Tan’s self-discovery as a band and the spirit of adventure and exploration that keeps the excitement within making music. Exhibiting a somewhat vague overtone in order to allow fans to create their own interpretation, the album addresses the various devastating emotions and circumstances of life. The band’s second EP was recorded with Arjun Agerwala (who has worked with names from Courtney Love to Ben Lee) at James Iha’s (Smashing Pumpkins) Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios in New York.

The main focus of Fan-Tan has always been to ignite fans through energy-charged live shows, inspiring them to place it above all else. “We actually write all of our songs live, with everyone in the room contributing simultaneously, so the material naturally comes off really well in a live setting,” explains singer/guitarist Ryan Lee Dunlap. No matter what the future holds for Fan-Tan, their unique and morose melodies allow the group to reach fans on emotional level that most bands just can’t match.

Fan-Tan Tour Dates

Thu Apr 15, 2010: Cake Shop - New York, NY

Tue May 11, 2010: The M Room - Philadelphia, PA

Wed May 12, 2010: The Velvet Lounge - Washington, DC

Thu May 13, 2010: The Plaza Bowl - Richmond, VA

Fri May 14, 2010: Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC

Sun May 16, 2010: Snug Harbor - Charlotte, NC

Tue May 18, 2010: Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA

Fri May 21, 2010: Derby City Espresso - Louisville, KY

Sat May 22, 2010: The Comet - Cincinnati, OH

Sun May 23, 2010: The Majestic Cafe - Detroit, MI

Click Here to Read More..

Absolute Punk Interviews Fan-Tan

Good old web zine Absolute Punk always has their finger on the pulse of newbie bands who quite often go on to huge heights. The zine asked 20 random questions to Fan-Tan about everything from having super powers they would have (" I would time-travel my ass back to Manchester around 1977-ish and watch it all happen again," they quipped); to what bands they are influenced by (classics such as "P.I.L., New Order, Magazine, The Cure, Gang of Four.")


Take a gander at some informative and quite often funny questions and answers on Absolute Punk.net. Click Here to Read More..

This Song Sums Up the SXSW Experience

Day three of SXSW and we're back at it. Brooklyn's The Naked Hearts may not be here, but the song "Mass Hysteria" most certainly brings them  here in spirit. Too many bands, too many choices, all to the point of paralysis and each day we "jump back into it" and "start it all again."

In the tone of a softer Sonic Youth or tougher Blake Babies, The Naked Hearts tell it like it is:
"it feels like a party but it's starting to end
stuck in the middle of a typical jam
my feet keep on moving but I don't know where to go
think it's time to turn the f#cking stereo up
jump back into it and you start it all again"

Download "Mass Hysteria" now for a SXSW jump start. Click Here to Read More..

Fan-Tan Announces East Coast Tour dates

Heads up Eastcoasters and Southeasters! Brooklyn's Fan-Tan may be bringing their synth-pop sounds ala bands like Interpol and Echo and the Bunnymen to a city near you. They've announced five cities on an upcoming May tour which starts on May 11th in Philadelphia in celebration of the national release of Age of Discovery on April 27th.

Fan-Tan Upcoming Tour Dates
May 11 2010 The M Room--Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 13 2010 The Plaza Bowl--Richmond, Virginia
May 14 2010 Local 506--Chapel Hill, NC
May 16 2010 Snug Harbor--Charlotte, North Carolina
May 18 2010 Drunken Unicorn--Atlanta, Georgia

In the meantime, download On Your Wall. In NYC on March 26th? Catch them at the Mercury Lounge for the local record release party with Surf City, the band Stereogum annointed as "Band to Watch" in 2008 .
Get your tickets in advance for only $10. Click Here to Read More..