Bands Do BK Inside-The-Book Studio Sessions: Interviews and Performances with Featured Artists Mary Shelley
Bands do BK Inside-the-Book Studio Sessions: Interviews and Performances
Following the release of Bands do BK: A Guide to Brooklyn, by Bands, for Everyone, author Sam Sumpter sits down at the Radio Free Brooklyn studio with a selection of featured bands for a series of short and sweet (and frequently funny) interviews covering some of the key themes featured in the book. Featuring Tea Eater, A Very Special Episode, and Mary Shelley. In this featured episode, Mary Shelley.
Tune in to get to know a few of these Bands do BK favorites and to enjoy some very special stripped-down performances from each of these groups that you won’t see, or hear, anywhere else.
Bands do BK Inside-The-Book Studio Sessions: Mary Shelley
In this installment of Bands do BK Inside-the-Book Studio Sessions, author Sam Sumpter sits down with Jackson Dockery, Sam Pinson and Charlie Hull of Mary Shelley to talk Brooklyn, Bowie, and the relationship between band and manager.
Bands do BK Inside-the-Book Studio Sessions: Mary Shelley LIVE!
Jackson Dockery, Sam Pinson and Charlie Hull of Brooklyn punk band Mary Shelley (featured on the cover of the Bands do BK book!) perform a stripped-down set in the Radio Free Brooklyn studio.
Follow Mary Shelley: @maryshelleyband
Buy music on Bandcamp: maryshelleyband.bandcamp.com
Interviews and Performances Recorded Live at the Radio Free Brooklyn Studio
Bands do BK Inside-the-Book Studio Sessions was recorded live in Radio Free Brooklyn studio. A special thank you to Radio Free Brooklyn for the use of this space and for all the work you do for the community.
Radio Free Brooklyn is a community organization providing a freeform radio platform for the diverse cultures that comprise the borough of Brooklyn. RFB hosts have complete freedom to experiment with the medium of radio to create what the London Telegraph called “a glowing petri dish of creativity, variety, and counter-cultural energy.” A community and all are welcome to participate. Tune in to RFB!
Bands do Bk Inside-The-Book Studio Sessions: Tea Eater (NOW AVAILABLE), A Very Special Episode (NOW AVAILABLE)
Bands do BK Inside-The-Book Studio Sessions: Tea Eater (NOW AVAILABLE)
The first installment of Bands do BK Inside-the-Book Studio Sessions! Two years after interviewing Tarra Thiessen and Vram Kherlopian (Gustaf, Tea Eater) for the Bands do BK book, Sam sits down with the artists to talk NYC audiences, pizza-shop shows, and the perks of making music with your best friends.
+ Tarra and Vram perform a stripped-down Tea Eater set in the Radio Free Brooklyn studio!
Watch the interview and live music performance here
Follow Tea Eater: @tea.eater
Buy music on Bandcamp: teaeater.bandcamp.com
Bands do Bk Inside-The-Book Studio Sessions: A Very Special Episode (NOW AVAILABLE)
Author Sam Sumpter sits down with Kasey Heisler and Patrick Porter of NYC noise rockers A Very Special Episode and—in a spin on the newlywed game—quizzes the couple on their favorite spots in Brooklyn.
+ Kasey and Patrick perform a stripped-down AVSE set in the Radio Free Brooklyn studio!
Watch the interview and live music performance here
Follow A Very Special Episode: @avsepisode
Buy music on Bandcamp: averyspecialepisode.bandcamp.com
Stream their songs on Spotify: A Very Special Episode
Bands do BK: A Guide to Brooklyn, by Bands, for Everyone
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | WALMART | WATERSTONES | BOOKSHOP | INDIEBOUND (LOCAL BOOKSTORES)
348 Pages | 6 x 9 | 1.25 lb
ISBN: 978-1-7351458-4-6 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-7351458-5-3 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-7351458-6-0 (Ebook, also available on Kindle Unlimited)
Somewhere in Brooklyn, and all over Brooklyn, your favorite, and soon-to-be favorite, bands are… Writing. Rehearsing. Recording. Performing. Scouring thrift stores. Stuffing down pizza. Drinking and dancing. Lounging and living. But where is this happening? Where are the local musicians whose music, styles, and tastes we admire working, playing, and hanging out in Brooklyn? What spots do bands on tour stop by when they’re only in town for the night? What do their versions of Brooklyn look like?
In Bands do BK, Sam Sumpter explores Brooklyn from the unique perspective of the bands who live it and love it. Equal parts oral history, guidebook, and music-fan memoir, Sumpter shares behind-the-scenes stories, sound bites, and recommendations on places to visit from hundreds of featured interviewed bands—a hot slice of New York City indie chronicling the people and places that define it.
Based on Sumpter’s popular music blog, Bands do BK supports local Brooklyn musicians while sharing new ways to explore and enjoy the borough. In Bands do BK, you’ll discover stories you don’t read on an about page or social-media bio, details and recommendations that aren’t incorporated into reviews, and the defining characteristics that definitely don’t factor into typical guidebook ratings.
Meet your new favorite band, discover your next go-to bar, expand your personal playlist, and experience the weird, wonderful, and unbeatable beauty of Brooklyn’s influential music scene for yourself.
Book Reviews
“An honest and quirky snapshot of musicians’ lives from the past decade who are really, really doing Brooklyn… If you’re thinking of coming to NYC to pursue music or just be a part of it. Bands do Bk will push you over the edge with DIY inspiration to make this borough your own. Start a band! Start a venue! Eat some pizza! You’ll find your tribe and create community here.” —TARRA THIESSEN, MUSICIAN (GUSTAF, SHARKMUFFIN)
“An insiders guide to the who’s who and what’s what of the best parts of Brooklyn that you won’t find anywhere else.” —SOPHIE EVERHARD, HEAD OF CONCERTS AT SOFAR SOUNDS
“With wit, charm, and unbridled enthusiasm, Sam Sumpter has captured the next great time capsule of oral history detailing the modern NYC musical landscape. This time in a way it has yet to be viewed before – with fervent eyes and ears soaking up the sounds of the city’s most creatively celebrated borough, Brooklyn. Her words illustrate portraits of the musicians, romantics, and preachers injecting their passions into dimly lit venues and dive bars within the endless web of nightlife. These stories are documented with such poise and precision that every reader becomes a Brooklynite.” —RICH WEISS, FOUNDER (BLOODLESS MANAGEMENT), SR. TALENT BUYER (ARLENE’S GROCERY)
“Bands do BK has its finger on the pulse of Brooklyn’s burgeoning music scene, and this book is a must-have for anyone looking to understand what it’s like to be a part of it.” —MATTIE SAFER, MUSICIAN (SAFER, POOLSIDE, THE RAPTURE), CO-FOUNDER (CELL VISION)
"Sam Sumpter's infectious love for our scene is on every page. If you're local, you will find in these pages your favorite band talking about the amazing breakfast wrap that you were sure was your well-kept secret. If you're new to our community, welcome! You hold in your hands the definitive portrait of being a band in Brooklyn.” —JASON KATZENSTEIN, MUSICIAN (WET LEATHER), AUTHOR (EVERYTHING IS AN EMERGENCY: AN OCD STORY IN WORDS & PICTURES)
“Filled to the brim with passion, curiosity, and intention, this book is a fantastic snapshot of the people and places that make and support music and make Brooklyn as special as it is.”—NICK LAFALCE, MUSICIAN (ATLAS ENGINE, EDNA), CO-FOUNDER (FAVORITE FRIEND RECORDS)
Sam Sumpter
Sam Sumpter is the founder and editorial director of Bands do BK. She is a journalist, MC, and host of the popular radio show, Bands do BK on Radio Free Brooklyn, featuring live interviews with local artists. She is the manager of the punk band Mary Shelley, and produces, books, and promotes live shows on stages across Brooklyn and in Manhattan. Since founding Bands do BK, Sumpter has spent time in recording studios, music venues, performance spaces, restaurants, bars, and cafes in the borough of Brooklyn interviewing her favorite musicians about their favorite places while using Bands do BK as a platform to share and promote the amazing music of the artists she loves.