New Indie Bands from the Catskills and More

My taste in music is as old as the Super Bowl. Really, I am that old. Growing up with Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles, and then completing my high school ears with the likes of The Doors, Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, The Band, and so many other fine singer/songwriters that it gave me pause enough to feel by the time I had a family that maybe I had already heard it all and enough was enough. I mean, how do you beat these acts? Well, you know, you don't.

I dropped out of the music scene until about twenty years later when my youngest son became enamored with the talents of Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. I decided then to upgrade my old dusty album collection with new Cd's of almost every band I ever listened to. I naturally re-devoured everything until I became eager again to acquaint myself with new acts I found on message boards in the burgeoning Internet. I discovered there was a new generation of what I call uncommon music lovers with a keen ear toward the uneasy, dirty, homespun, country, haunting, and lovely sounds of bands similar to my beloved past. But I faded away from listening to most of these new discoveries as they could not hold my attention because of the long shadows cast by the great bands I had coveted in my youth. But there were a select few performers who could definitely keep me interested such as Will Oldham (whatever his latest moniker is), and he will continue to do so I predict.

Some of these new artists I am about to profile here have been around awhile, paying their dues, and finally getting into that personal creative step that makes an artist original. These fellows are considered new to me now because they were either lost in the crowd prior to me finding them or have transformed themselves into something new and original. All five can finally witness the grand stage door slowly opening for them and their one fugitive opportunity to claim their place beside The Greats.

1. Great Lake Swimmers, a Toronto band led by Tony Dekker. Their self-titled debut album was recorded in a silo and released by Weewerk records in 2003. Tony Dekker continued to write new songs, recording new albums while playing most of the instruments himself, and plugging along, touring with different players until he settled on what you could now call his regular regulars. Their latest album, Lost Channels, released in 2009 features a sophisticated rural blend of acoustic instruments and Dekker's great voice. I never get tired of this music on my player, and that proffers a good sign that Dekker will sustain me.

Great Lake Swimmers biography link

Link to discography

2. The Duke and the King, a Catskill band born of bereavement. When Simone Felice and his wife lost the child they were expecting, Felice went into seclusion, and with his friend drummer/songwriter Robert "Chicken" Burke they created an album of distinction titled Nothing Gold Can Stay. Simone earlier had left his band of brothers and their fine group called The Felice Brothers who most people in the indie world have already heard of, and if they haven't, they should. The Duke and the King is still evolving as a band, experiencing great crowds and reviews wherever they go. It has been widely reported that their live act is nothing short of amazing. It is obvious that love and harmony exists between the band's four highly-gifted singers and players.

Duke and the King review link

3. A. A. Bondy was a direct result of discovering The Duke and the King. Bondy's roots again are from my latest-trend Catskill Mountains. Formally of the southern grunge band Verbena, Auguste Arthur Bondy retreated home in 2003 and in time began writing songs again, emerging with a stripped-down indie folk sound. His debut 2007 solo album, American Hearts, was recorded at a barn near his home. His brilliant second album When the Devil's Loose appeared in 2009.

A A Bondy biography link

A. A. Bondy disc link

4. Sun Kil Moon is the latest transformation of a fellow by the name of Mark Kozelek. His previous band Red House Painters was famous in their own right until contract disputes with their record label forced them to dissolve. After some solo work Kozelek resurfaced with Sun Kil Moon, expanding on his acoustic balladry and the intimate lyricism that are the benchmarks of his career to date. His latest CD produced in 2008 and titled April was too haunting for me at first, but I have grown into it this year and consider it one of the very best albums he has ever made. No telling what he'll do in 2010.

Sun Kil Moon biography link

Sun Kil Moon disc link

5. Bon Iver is the name Justin Vernon now records under. Following the breakup of his indie folk group, DeYarmond Edison, Vernon moved back to Wisconsin to hole up in his father's cabin in the woods to write the music of his heart. For three months he worked, recording songs in twelve hour bursts, finishing with a nine-song debut album titled For Emma, Forever Ago released by Jagjaguwar in 2008.

Bon Iver biography link

Review of For Emma, Forever Ago link

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