Darren Gaines (Vox, Guitars, Percussion, Wash Tub Bass, Noise and Songs) and The Key Party (which has and may include): Sara Syms (The 3Vs - Vocals, Violin, Vibraslap), Mark Rapp (Trumpet), Rick Parker (Trombone), Derek Lee Bronston (Harmonica, Dobro), James Reynolds (Piano-Organ), Jarrod Ruby (Drums), Matt Beck (Lap Steel), Andy Mazo (Bass, Guitar, Toy Piano Shaker), Ken Rich (Mixes and More Noises), Josh Keithley (Kitchen Sink and more)... Please be advised that in no way is their participation an endorsement of the product... Thanks>
Influences
John Prine, Billy Bragg, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Pink Martini, The Clash, Paris Combo, Esquivel, Underworld, David Bowie, Nick Cave and Dean Martin and of course Henry Mancini.
Sounds Like
“A Tom Waits-style one man junkyard army from New York” (LA Weekly)... “Nick Cave meets No-Wave” (SF Chronicle)... “A house party of unusual artistic coterie” (CMJ 2007)... "The kitchen sink with guitars" (DG 2006)
DARREN GAINES & THE KEY PARTY... THE FIRST SUBVERSIVE LOUNGE BAND EVER…
The Key Party came to Darren Gaines like someone else’s wife at 3am on a Friday night. Bingo, Sigourney Weaver (The Ice Storm) had a hand in the bowl for him. Musicians showed up, reached their hand into a bowl and pulled out the instrument they were going to sleep with that night. They picked pots and pans, toy airplanes, and a washtub bass made solely from parts found within a block of his West Village apartment, they picked anything broken, borrowed or stolen. That late night affair became a manifesto that was a goodbye to boredom, a goodnight to bands born of drums and guitars and bass. It became “15 songs of rock and roll poetry celebrating the debauched, the broken, the drunken and the misfitting” (PopMatters 2007). Gaines’ songs of “heartbreak and unemployment (sung) with complete conviction… there is no posing here.” (itsnotthebandihateitstheirfans.blogspot.com) propelled TKP’s debut CD, Hit or Miss, onto CMJs album of the Day, the SF Chronicle’s Pink Section Download of the Week and numerous CORE College and Specialty Radio Charts.
But even sleeping around gets boring… enter the Pink Panther and please Mr. Mancini, meet the three Johns (no, not that John, but Prine, Cash and Rotten). The new songs are not your father’s lounge or hipster kitsch, sure there’s a jazz horn section, but that junkyard kitchen sink still clanks like a factory pipe and the punk by way of Deano still screams DIY. The bittersweet séance, the iconoclastic brew, the orgiastic noises still chill. But it’s Darren Gaines’ voice of “tattered velvet…” that continues, “his croon oozing around and through cigarette smoke“ (PopMatters) that again define these new songs. One part manifesto, one part punk-a-rock, one part Gaines “just woke up from that joyous get-together, only to find his head aching and his house wrecked” (CMJ 2007), these new songs are all parts conviction.
To quote Darren Gaines, “Thank you and good night.” Cheers>
To contact email: info1@thekeypartynyc.com / To purchase: http://cdbaby.com/cd/keyparty
Darren Gaines & The Key Party's Friend Space (Top 12)
hope all is well. i back in town from this tour in asia... i see you know kari-bomb. i worked with her back in the day at this club Rothko in the LES. let me know if you need a drummer anytime.
hope you been well,,stoppin to say hello and let ya know i am a wee bit closer to NY and still would love to play a show sometime,,cant wait for some new vibrations..D
Hey hey hey Darren Gaines & The Key Party! Great news - We've been nominated for an Indy Music Award - BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT!!! We would be grateful if you and your friends can vote for us at the web site below! It will only take a few seconds and we sure would appreciate the support.
Here’s the link to vote - http://www.indyawards.co.uk/2008/artist_voting.php?artists=Eden%20Jam
Other news is our single 'We're meant to Rock n Roll' is out in Greece this month - March 10.
Just to let you know that The Penny Black Remedy have rather excitingly been nominated for The 2008 UK Indy Music Awards. To have a chance of getting to the final selection we are calling, Lord Kitchener stylee, on all our dearest friends help (that would mean you).
It really does only take 2-3 mins and is extremely easy to complete.
On opening the link, scroll down the page and look for The Penny Black Remedy, then click on vote. After voting, you shall then receive an email in your inbox asking you to confirm. Do that, then have a cup of tea knowing that you’ve just done a jolly decent thing for someone (ie us).
Thank you so much for your time. You shall be rewarded with instant karmic fluffiness.
Hey Darren, Thanks for the add and your friendsh....we really appreciate it. Really enjoying your tunes here...some great stuff and playin'. Yo pals from here down under Australia sending you some great vibes and music for 2008. All the best for the future and hope u enjoyed our page. Feel free to drop in and have a chat.
FairplayCollective will be playing an exclusive and rare collaborative performance-in-the-round at Joe's Pub on March 6th. All members -- Michael Brunnock, Mark Dignam, Jenna Nicholls and Brendan O'Shea -- will be combining talents for an amazing night of collective music. NOT TO BE MISSED!
Get Your Tickets Now by going to Joes Pub online ticket store at http://tickets.publictheater.org/calendar/view.asp?id=4842
Thanks for the new songs - love the sparse/atmospheric arrangement on Snowdrift, which really complements the lyrics. It's simply beautiful. And The Litterati rocks - which isn't something I ever thought I'd hear myself saying! Hang in there....
The life is well, the music life is VERY well. We're prepping for a CD release show next month at Jack Rabbits down here playing with our buddies from WeakSauce, Social Ghost, and Chasing Yesterday. We have a radio interview the day following and will be getting airplay in Daytona, so the ladder is slowly being climbed.
Well, I have the album Joani gave me of the Key Party. I guess this means I'll have to get the new music somehow as well.
With the holiday of Thanksgiving upon us here in the States, it's certainly fitting for us to give our heartfelt thanks to the international toy industry for now taking steps to reduce the number of children's toys containing lethal amounts of lead contaminants... And we're also thankful for their efforts to reduce the number of items containing chemicals associated with the dreaded "date rape" drug--- and lastly, we're also thankful for their efforts to reduce the number of toddler toys that if swallowed could cause "severe bowel obstruction"... The caring and compassionate folks of the international toy industry are the best-- and for that we are mighty mighty thankful...
On a more serious note, BIG STICK is currently recording music & mixing, preparing for a release that will feature some back catalog, new material and a DVD of visuals/videos...
“What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” - Erna Bombeck
Finally thanking you for reaching out. Love the 'about me' page. Really dig the rawness & sincerity in the songs All the best One Talking Shoe-Traveling Minstrels
Reunion update: Most shocking news: Tobi Lunt in an airline pilot with Jet Blue. Craziest rumor: Kate Shallenburger married a plastic surgeon and is a total Stepford wife in El Dorado Hills. We partied till 4:30am, Seb Elrite brought lots of raw oysters but still the chicks never got horny. Chicks who looked the best: Lisa Kajikawa, Kerri Webb, Rosabell Tao, and Kathleen Lewis(has 4 boys in Arizona). Rock on!!!
