Those Who Dig Presents Sandy Relief Benefit

As we announced last week, we will be hosting our very first "Those Who Dig presents" live show on November 14th at Muchmore's in Williamsburg featuring friends of the Dig Oh! My Blackbird, Palomino, and David Pollack! It will be a benefit for Sandy relief efforts and we hope to see all of our NYC readers there.

For Dave and I, it has been nothing but an incredible pleasure to get more involved in our local music scenes in Baltimore and Brooklyn. We've done interviews, attended shows, created podcast episodes, reviewed albums, shared songs, and more. It seemed like a perfect extension of what we do to start bringing bands we dig together in a live setting for all to enjoy. This first installment should be a great evening of quality music.

The bands and I have decided to turn this into a Sandy Benefit. While the event will continue to be free and not have a cover charge, we are going to collect money for Sandy relief efforts. Your donations at the show will go to Red Cross. We suggest giving $5, but people are welcome to give as much or as little as they like. For any donations of $10 or more, you will get your very own copy of our sweet gig poster!

Muchmore's is a venue in Williamsburg at 2 Havemeyer. It opens for business at 7:00 each night and music should start at 8:00. It's a cool new DIY space that hosts all ages shows. If you haven't been, this is a great time to check it out.

You can RSVP to the event on Facebook and get more info here. We will be adding another band hopefully, so be sure to check back for more info. I hope to see you there, but for those that can't make it, we should have a fantastic photographer capturing the event and we'll share them here post-show.

Also, props to the designer of our incredible gig poster, James Rudy.

More about the bands:

Palomino is a rock and roll trio I profiled earlier this spring after featuring their song "Ghost Story" in my first NYC music podcast. They have a great, self-titled EP out and put on a rocking live show. Here's one of my favorite songs of theirs, "Far and Away."

Oh! My Blackbird is four piece band that plays a catchy mixture of folk, classical, and indie. They were part of the recently released second NYC music podcast with their track "Faking," and profiled a few weeks ago. Their album Dare Me is quite fantastic. Here's one of my favorite songs of theirs, "Stick Song." 

David Pollack will start the evening with a solo set. He hasn't appeared yet on the blog, so I thought I'd ask him for a short bio and to answer a few questions as a way to introduce him to the Dig-Nation.

David is a singer/songwriter from NYC. He has loved music since he was a toddler, when his dad would lull him to sleep at night listening to "Further to Fly" by Paul Simon. David has been writing songs and performing them on his own and with various bands since he was a teenager. Bands like Green Day and Weezer have served as major influences on his music. While he attended middle school and high school, David led bands that played clubs all around the city, including The Knitting Factory, CBGB's, and Sullivan Hall. The bands released several EPs featuring his music.

David went to college at the University of Vermont, where he studied jazz voice and was a member the jazz vocal ensemble and some on campus a cappella groups. When in Vermont, however, he felt that he missed the music scene in NYC, so he returned in summer of 2010 upon release of his first solo album, Out the Other Side. After a short stretch of gigs, David soon helped form Brooklyn-based band Bridges, which has performed his original music all over the city and released several EPs. David resides in New York and attends Fordham University. In addition to his performances at local venues, he can be seen busking in the subways or at Bethesda Fountain at Central Park. He is presently working on his second solo record at Mama Coco's Funky Kitchen in Brooklyn.

What do I do, what do I say? from Adrian Rothschild on Vimeo.

TWD: How long have you lived in NYC? What are some of your favorite things about it?

DP: I grew up in New York and lived here most of my life. My favorite places are Mamouns Falafel, The Sidewalk Cafe, The Tea Lounge, Wo Hop, Zabars, Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, Elias Corner, Roberta's, Tom's Diner, Eastern Parkway, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Whale Room at the Natural History Museum.

TWD: What was one of your most powerful live music experiences as a concert-goer?

DP: The first time I saw Weezer at Roseland Ballroom. I was 14 when the W came down and "Tired of Sex" was blasted.

Or, Sasquatch Festival a couple of summers ago: The Roots, Saint Vincent, Bon Iver, NIN, Jane's Addiction, the Avett Brothers! At the Gorge in Washington State! Pure spectacular!

TWD: What TV theme song would you most like to cover?

DP: "Hey Sandy" by Polaris from The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

TWD: The worst band name you can think of is…?

DP: The Rock n' Roll Rockers.

TWD: If you could ensure that one song survives forever and one song gets removed from history and memory, what would you choose?

DP: Forever stays – "Dreams" by the Cranberries and/or Fleetwood Mac.

Removed – "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

TWD: What is your go-to karaoke song?

DP: "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.

TWD: The Simpsons or Seinfeld?

DP: Seinfeld.

TWD: If you were on a deserted island and could only have a board game for amusement, which you could play with anyone living or dead, what game would you pick and who would you play?

DP: Risk with Alexander the Great.

TWD: Who is one of your favorite directors and what is one of your favorite films of theirs?

DP: Alfonso Cuaron. Children of Men: apocalyptic London and Michael Caine as a hippy. What a fantastic film!