Natalia Zukerman and company

IMG_0254.JPG
Originally uploaded by saintclaireflickr

Willy Porter brought his album, "Available Light", to mix here back in 2006. Since then, we've stayed in contact and seen him play shows when he comes through the area. It's an understatement to say that Willy is one of our favorite people. A few months back when we caught up with him after a show in Lexington, he told us that he had been working with someone from New York named Natalia and that he was very excited about her music. Not long after that conversation, Willy was on the phone booking time to record her next album.

Once we were up and running, Natalia and her fellow musicians (David Shoepke on drums, Brian Mir on bass, and, of course, Willy Porter) more than lived up to the hype that Willy had provided. It was great to see a session come through the building that was mostly straight-forward in approach. Everything was tracked at the same time in full passes. You can see more photos of the setup and the session by clicking on the image in this post.

Natalia's songs are strongly based in the "acoustic guitar and vocals" school, but they have so much feeling and attitude that they match perfectly with richer sound of a full band. And, as a testament to their collective talents, the group managed to knock out the basics for a full length album in just a little over two days. That's a lot of music in a short time!

Keep an eye out for Natalia's upcoming release. It's going to be a good one!

CRICKETS ALL OVER THE BUILDING!

cricketpress_001.JPG
Originally uploaded by saintclaireflickr

No, we're not New York City. We're not Chicago, L.A., or even Atlanta. For not being a major metropolitan area, however, Lexington has no shortage of incredible talent. We've got great local bands and awesome venues for them to perform at, lots of traveling acts through town because we're situated on two major highways, tons of great local restaurants, and a thriving art community. I think Lexingtonians get sick of being compared to Austin, TX for the climate of our growing entertainment and artist scenes, but the comparison is a valid one. We're not a huge city, but we're still home to some truly world-class talent.

A shining example of Lexington's hidden gems is Cricket Press. The husband-wife duo of Brian and Sara is making some of the most incredible rock-posters you've ever seen. They're making posters for local events and local establishments right alongside gig posters for seriously cool indie bands. Their repertoire includes people like Mogwai, Murder By Death, Fleet Foxes, The Decemberists, Animal Collective, They Might Be Giants... The list goes on and on. And now, thanks to the kindness of these two wonderful artists, Saint Claire is proudly displaying 18 of their gig posters in our building! Since their love of music rivals even our own, teaming up was a no-brainer. We're thrilled to be able to partner up with local talent that thinks as big as we do.

Make sure you zip over to www.cricket-press.com to look at all of the amazing work that they have on display. And, if you're planning a big show or trying to promote an event, think about having them design posters for you! I guarantee you'll grab people's attention with artwork from these guys.