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Tag Archives: diy
Why Cassettes Rule if You’re in a Band
Out here in 2022, we’re about 15 years into the ostensible Cassette Revolution* – well past the point where it could reasonably be considered a “revolution.” Tapes are just part of what we’re doing now, as a culture, or whatever. … Continue reading
Bad Advice Musicians Hear, Part 3: Can a PR Rep Fast-Track You to Fame?
Today, we’re going to get into this not-so-great piece of advice: If you hire a PR rep, you’ll fast-track your band’s rise through the ranks. When I was about 21, I asked an acquaintance of mine who was already in … Continue reading
Bad Advice Musicians Hear, Part 2: Start Your Own Music Scene
In the second installment of the Bad Advice Musicians Hear series, we’re going to get into one of the more daunting pieces of “advice” young musicians will hear as they’re coming up and trying to gain a foothold in their … Continue reading
Introducing: Bad Advice Musicians Hear (The Series)
I’ve been playing in rock bands since I was a teenager, and while the realities of being a gigging musician have taken loads of wild turns over that time, one truism has held throughout: When you’re a young musician, you … Continue reading
Video: Brian LaRue Performing on Live at Main Drag
Right around the Fourth of July, 2020, I appeared on an episode of Live at Main Drag, the webseries filmed at Main Drag Music in Williamsburg, playing three songs by Shelter Dogs solo, on a guitar that is not mine. … Continue reading
Posted in Arts and Culture
Tagged blondie, brian larue, brooklyn, diy, elvis costello, ernie banks, gays and lesbians living in a transgender society, glits, jamie frey, live at main drag, live music, main drag music, music webseries, nyc music, olivia russin, sean spada, Shelter Dogs, stuart solomon, the regrets
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I Was a Teenaged Ska Kid: A Mostly Unapologetic Confession
In 2017, my former colleague Brian Slattery (author, Spaceman Blues, Lost Everything, and more) invited me to contribute a “long personal essay” to the journal the New Haven Review, where he’s a long-time editor. Because it is essentially unthinkable for … Continue reading
Posted in Arts and Culture
Tagged diy, New Haven Review, punk, ska, ska-punk, Tune Inn, Webster Theater, youth culture
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ICYMI: The Band I’m In Is Called Shelter Dogs
I’m the primary singer, guitarist and songwriter in the garage rock/powerpop band Shelter Dogs, and that isn’t new. But in the time since this blog went on hiatus, Shelter Dogs came out of its own hiatus, and we’ve been up … Continue reading
This Summer’s Contest of Hipness: The 2013 Bushwick Games
Who says Brooklyn hipsters are lazy? Why, they engage in feats of strength and endurance as a matter of course. Finally the hardiest, quickest and most adroit among them will be recognized for their years of training this summer, competing … Continue reading
Posted in Arts and Culture, Old Stuff
Tagged block party, brian larue, brooklyn, bushwick, dance party, diy, hipsters, O, rooftop party, satire
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Hey, It's Brian LaRue 