All Photos By Gail
This bright Pink Wig, which I stopped to snap while walking south on 8th Avenue near Madison Square Garden, reminded me immediately of the crazy, disheveled fright wig that Andy Warhol famously sported in his later years. I’m picturing it on Andy’s head even as I type this.
Spotted in the window of Mane Beautify Supply, located at 412 8th Avenue between 30th & 31st Streeta, New York, NY 10001.
NYC Mixed gender quartet, Total Slacker supposedly has some kind of fan-type “thing” for Paris Hilton, but let’s not hold that against them. Their latest single, “Keep the Ships at Bay” flaunts a wall of guitar sound that aurally resembles a massive swarm of winged insects coming to eat your face off. Trust me, you want to hear this.
In this artfully shot, mostly Black & White video you will see front man/guitarist Tucker Rountree (sporting an Andy Warhol-esque fright wig) and bassist Emily Oppenheimer shop for / steal guitars, wreak havoc in a Mini Mart and huff paint, interspersed with the group performing the song live in (appropriately) what appears to be someone’s garage. Supporting roles in the video’s True Crime Story are provided by guitarist David Anthony Tassy, who kicks the whole thing off with his admonition of a “Good band gone bad” and drummer Zoë Brecher playing the undercover cop who unsuccessfully tries to bust the trouble-making duo. Acting!
“Keep The Ships at Bay” is lifted from Total Slacker’s upcoming new disc, Slip Away, which comes out, just in time for all of you Valentine’s Day lovers, on February 11th, 2014 on Black Bell/ADA. Their press release assures us that it “isn’t the sort of hack [90s] revivalism that’ll make you want to burn your copy of Bleach.” So, we can at least be grateful for that, because Bleach is awesome.
According to their publicist, Total Slacker “retains their original ethos — to blur the lines between the genuine and the satirical, the earnest and the sarcastic.” And this song kicks some ass as well. Enjoy!
