Years ago, in an interview I was asked 'What was the best show you've ever played?' I replied, 'The one in my basement'. This blog is an effort to catch the spontaneous birth of a song. Posted here are MP3s of practices and other assorted demos involving Sarah and myself. American music at it's most raw and unchallenged. -Ben Azzara
Pup Tent played a fun show at Wonderland last night with Shame Girl. It was a pleasantly chaotic show with lots of friendlies.
The track featured here is a slice from the rehearsal earlier this week. I don't know the name of the song but I hope it re-surfaces again. It's moments like this that I created this blog. Here Phil comes with a song that we maybe had played once two years ago and we just lock in as a unit and feed off the inherent energy. I go kind 16th-note crazy and barely hold it together, Phil has some brilliant riffs and Ted a rock-solid Entwistle!
This particular rehearsal is an excellent example of what I call Pup Tent's stream-of-consciousness punk rock. The three of us just get into a kind of trance and just play song after song writing and arranging whole parts on the fly. Listen to the entire hour long rehearsal if you dare to--Step into the Pup Tent Laboratory »
Personnel:
Phil Duarte, guitar/vox; Ben Azzara, drums; Ted Watts, bass/bg-vox. Song written by Phil Duarte.
This track from Sarah's new band, Shame Girl is one of my favorites. Sarah plays no guitar but instead delivers a fantastic tongue in cheek diatribe reminiscent of Karen Finely.
This coming Thursday, Feb 8th is another chance to catch Shame Girl. They will be opening up for Pup Tent at Wonderland up in Columbia Heights, it's a nice cozy place to get rocked.
Personnel:
Sarah Azzara: vocals; Alexis Sainz: bass; Kaeri Johnson: drums.
I am pulling a double-header tomorrow night at the Warehouse. I'm playing first with The Caution Curves and then with DCIC. It should be a blast. Featured here is a little video I made with The Caution Curves. The MP3 track is the original soundtrack take. I wanted to post it along with the video since it gets so smashed and edited in the video version.
Personnel:
Tristana Fiscella, guitar/vocals; Rebecca Mills, laptop/horns/vocals; Ben Azzara, drums and percussion
Pup Tent played a show this past Sunday with the incredible Shame Girl. We had tons of fun and the crowd was great! It was a snowy night, which in DC is like armageddon, and it was awesome folks took the risk to join us. Pup Tent debuted a few new songs and "She Said Gramsci" is one of them. It is about a philosophical discussion featuring the political theorist Antonio Gramsci, who's birthday happens to be today, January 22, 1891, how weird is that! It is one of my favorite new numbers--the riff is very addictive. The next Pup Tent show will be February 8th at Wonderland.
Personnel:
Phil Duarte, guitar/vox; Ben Azzara, drums; Ted Watts, bass/bg-vox. Song written by Phil Duarte.
I'm playing with Stella at the Warehouse on Thursday with her new band. We have had a series of rehearsals lately and things are coming together well. Adrian from Shortstack has added that perfect lead compliment to Stella's insightful lyrics. And what a difference a bass player makes--Sean McArdle adds that much needed low-end. J. Tom Hnatow of so many other great bands will be joining us for the show playing lap-steel and banjo, even though he is not featured on this track. Hopefully we'll have more dates booked as a full band in the future.
Personnel:
Stella Schindler, guitar and vocals; Adrian Carroll, lead guitar; Sean McArdle, bass; Ben Azzara, drums
Shame Girl is playing with Pup Tent and SOB January 21st at the Black Cat. I just can't wait to see their full set. They have been writing a lot of new material including this number, "Spare Me My Life" based upon this clip from a Japanese excercise tape that also teaches you English.
Personnel:
Sarah Azzara: vocals, guitars; Alexis Sainz: bass; Kaeri Johnson: drums.
Here is the first track from my first web-only release, "Drumming on Keys". As with all the pieces on the release this is completely improvised. My playing is like an elephant painting, I like the colours but lack the dexterity. Sarah came up with the name Plinky Plink, I think it is very fitting.
Lately I've taken up as Amanda Huron's understudy in the Caution Curves, a group I've been a great admirer of since their inception. It's a real pleasure playing with the very talented and imaginative Tristana and Rebecca.
We play our first show together this Sunday, December 3rd. I also make my vocal debut, proving again I have a natural tendency towards the avant-garde.
Personnel:
Tristana Fiscella, guitar/vocals; Rebecca Mills, laptop/horns/vocals; Ben Azzara, drums and percussion
Sean has been working on this unnamed song on and off for about a year now. I think this current line-up may have the best version yet. It is one of my favorites with lots of dramatic moments. Maybe we will play it live this coming Friday, November 17th when Sean and band plays at the Red and the Black.
Personnel:
Sean McArdle, guitar/vox; Ben Azzara, drums; Chris Grier, bass, Carrie Ferguson, organ. All songs written by Sean McArdle.
Remember This One? - Pup Tent
Sean has been working on this unnamed song on and off for about a year now. I think this current line-up may have the best version yet. It is one of my favorites with lots of dramatic moments. Maybe we will play it live this coming Friday, November 17th when Sean and band plays at the Red and the Black.
