World's Fair

Come join the Daptone Family next Thursday for a very special event. The Budos Band, Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens plus some very special guests from the Daptone Stable, as well as DJs Honeydripper, TNT and Neal Sugarman, will all be adding their efforts to the fundraiser, whose proceeds all go to the Barack Obama campaign. Give your money to something that really matters. It will be a great night of dancing, drinking and supporting change that this country needs.

Tickets can be purchased at the Southpaw site, or directly from barackobama.com.

Thursday, October 23
Southpaw
8pm doors
Tickets purchased in advance are a $20 donation
Tickets purchased day of show are a $25 donation
125 Fifth Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11217

In other Daptone news, Menahan Street Band’s official record release party for Make the Road by Walking is tonight at Southpaw (free beer courtesy of Heineken from 8-9, with Phenomenal Handclap Band opening the festivities) and Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens continue their Friday-night Fat Cat reign this week and next (and next and next and next). It’s only three bucks, and it’ll change your life.

Also check out the new Daptone podcast. Subscribe and download to the latest, from DJ Finewine, here.

Menahan Street Band, headed by the Dap-Kings/Budos Band’s own Tommy Brenneck, already gave the world “Make the Road by Walking,” the 45 of which was picked up by some producers who happened to work for, um…Jay-Z. Now, as autumn begins to slowly uncurl itself across the continent, the band has unveiled the second single off the upcoming LP (Make the Road by Walking, out on Daptone/Dunham on October 14), “Tired of Fighting,” courtesy of an exclusive stream/premiere with the good folks over at The Fader.

The stream coincides with the release of the “Telephone Song” b/w “Tired of Fighting,” the 7-inch that the label is putting out today. You can check out “Telephone Song” (the vocal version of “Tired of Fighting,” with Charles Bradley doing the honors) on Dunham Records’ MySpace site. Or you know, buy the actual vinyl.

Listen to the “Tired of Fighting” stream.

If you happen to be in New York, Menahan Street Band will be throwing a record release party at Southpaw on October 17. Phenomenal Handclap Band will also be performing… it’s gonna be pretty sick…
 

But wait: there’s more happening on the Daptone front! The whole gang is also going to be pretty busy this weekend.

• Sharon Jones and her Dap-Kings are at Austin City Limits on Saturday, September 27.
• The singers from COMO NOW will be performing a very special show in Memphis on Friday, September 26.
• The Budos Band and Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens will both be at the Sufjan Stevens-curated BAM Takeover this Saturday, September 27.

Naomi of course is still thick in the midst of her weekly Friday-night residency at Fat Cat. Change your life for $3, you know what they say…

No, that’s not an Emeril quote…Daptone Records really never does slow down!

The Brooklyn Academy of Music has just made an announcement about TAKEOVER, an event curated by Sufjan Stevens that features a whole lot of Daptone music. Both the Afrobeat-funk connoisseurs the Budos Band and gospel-singer extraordinaires Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens (accompanied by the legendary Cliff Driver and band) will perform, along with St. Vincent and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus singing Nico Muhly and other works. There will also be four movie marathons (about Brooklyn, about beer, about 1985, and Lars Von Trier’s “The Kingdom”), DJ sets from King Britt and Vikter Duplaix, video art by Deborah Johnson, CandyStations, a Rec Room lounge with Wii, Guitar Hero, ping-pong, and arcade games – and $3 beer.

This year’s TAKEOVER follows the sold-out success of last year’s event. The one-night-only, all-night open house party will take place on Saturday, September 27 from 9pm to 4am. Access is first-come, first-served. Tickets are $20 in advance at www.TAKEOVERBAM.org (or via 718.636.4100) or $25 cash only at the door and include all-access entry to BAM’s venues for any or all of the events from 9pm–4am (space is limited at some events). Food and refreshments are available (cash only), including $3 beer specials sponsored by Magic Hat and Bud Light. Limited complimentary tote bag give-a-way, courtesy of Urban Outfitters, will also take place.

TAKEOVER
Saturday, September 27 from 9pm – 4am

Featuring music from:
The Budos Band
Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens
The Brooklyn Youth Chorus
St. Vincent

More information can be found here:
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)
30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY
718.636.4100
www.TAKEOVERBAM.org

The Daptone news doesn’t stop here though: Menahan Street Band, whose debut full-length, Make the Road by Walking, is out on Dunham/Daptone Records on October 14, will be having their CD release party on Friday, October 17 at Southpaw.

Fri. 10/17
Menahan Street Band
The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Southpaw
$14, 18+
8pm Doors/9pm show
http://www.spsounds.com/

If you want a preview of what’s to come, the good folks at NYC TV filmed the band’s live debut, which happened to be in front of thousands of people at the season-closing Daptone Revue at SummerStage. Their performance, along with that of Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens, will air Saturday, September 20, at 9pm.

Budos Band - “Chicago Falcon” [DOWNLOAD]

Menahan Street Band - “Home Again!” [LINK TO STREAM]

Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens - “What Have You Done” [LINK TO STREAM]

Let us not forget that Naomi and co. play a weekly Friday-night gig at the West Village’s Fat Cat. Change your life for $3 and an hour of your time.

Find more about Naomi here.

And Menahan Street Band here:

Artist: Menahan Street Band
Album: Make the Road by Walking
Label: Daptone/Dunham
Street Date: October 14, 2008
 
CONNECT: World’s Fair | MySpace | Website

Central Park’s SummerStage may have finished last week, the McCarren Park Pool may be over, and while that may herald the end of the free show season, it does not indicate a dearth of good live music. In fact, it means anything but.

Here are just a couple for the next month or so.

Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queen. Here are the facts:
-Naomi will change your life.
-She plays at Fat Cat every Friday from 9-10pm.
-It only costs $3.
-She will change your life.

STREAM “What Have You Done”

World’s Fair
MySpace
Website

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Central Park’s SummerStage is definitely one of the premiere events of the season in New York, and Daptone Records is quickly becoming one of the city’s premiere labels, so what better way to celebrate both by having Daptone close out the venerable series with a good old-fashioned revue!? Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens will kick things off, followed by Menahan Street Band (marking their debut live performance!), and the mighty Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings will close out the evening.

Sunday, August 17th
Daptone Revue @ Summerstage
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings + Menahan Street Band + Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens
3 - 7pm
FREE

This Sunday, from 3 to 7 pm, the label will be gracing music fans with three sets from some of its most talented artists. First up is Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens. Naomi Shelton first lifted her soulful voice into the Daptone family back in the Desco days of the late 1990s. Under her maiden name, Naomi Davis, she gave us “Forty First Street Breakdown,” which has become a secret weapon for funk DJs. Next came the coveted “Wind Your Clock” 10-inch, which surfaced only as test pressing due to the record company’s untimely demise, and later she fronted Sugarman and Co., delivering “Promised Land” in 2001.

Naomi has a regular Friday-night residency at the West Village’s Fat Cat, during which she and her band regularly blow away the audience with her powerful vocals, popping basslines, and spot-on harmonies (and for only $3, it’s probably one of the cheaper ways to change your life). “What Have You Done,” a staple of her live set, was recently featured on NPR’s Song of the Day (”She wields her blunt voice with no-nonsense passion, marking her as an heir to the late gospel great Dorothy Love Coates“), and you can listen to it for yourself right here.

“What Have You Done”

Find more about Naomi here.

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It’s getting close to release date of COMO NOW (August 19…), which means the good folks at Daptone have finished unveiling the 9 chapters that make up their COMO NOW Documentary.

Last week saw the release of the final chapter, aptly titled “Conclusion,” which makes a fitting end to the piece.

Earlier segments include Irene Stevenson (Chapter VII) and a moving performance by The Jones Sisters (Chapter VIII), the youngest group to perform on the album.

And if you think Daptone’s commitment to roots music ends there, well…it doesn’t. Also on the label, and a part of the official Revue as part of Central Park’s SummerStage series (August 17), is gospel-singer extraordinaire Naomi Shelton, who has a weekly Friday-night set at the West Village’s Fat Cat. To say the very least, it is worth checking out.

Naomi (with the surname Davis) has already lent her voice to soul and funk records cratediggers should be familiar with (”Forty First Street Breakdown,” the rare “Wind Your Clock” 10-inch), but it is with gospel that she’s truly in her element. With a tight-as-hell band and back-up vocals from the Gospel Queens, Naomi truly puts on a show that demands attention. Besides her remarkable voice, she’ll grab your hand, kiss your cheek, wish you happy birthday, and make you sing along; in short, it’s probably the perfect way to start any weekend, and if you’re anywhere near Manhattan and care anything about music, we here at World’s Fair implore you to check her out for yourself.

See you there!