(flier by Dan Davis)

The Other Side of Life is proud to present:

SPIDER BAGS

with

GANGLY YOUTH

Wednesday, January 14th
at THE NEW VINTAGE
Doors open at 8 PM
$10, 18+
Advance online tickets available here: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/748313-spider-bags-gangly-youth-louisville/
Facebook invitation here: https://www.facebook.com/events/827380153984737
Recommended If You Like: The White Stripes, Thee Oh Sees, The dB’s, The Feelies

SPIDER BAGS formed in 2005 as a long-distance project between close friends who had known each other since their high school days in New Jersey. Dan McGee had just witnessed the demise of his NYC-based punk band DC Snipers. Feeling he had gone as far as he could with the three-chord punk genre, and not wanting to repeat himself, he began writing volumes of songs with his friend Gregg Levy. He began sending these new songs in demo form to three of his NJ friends who had since relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. McGee and Levy drove down to NC to record with the full band, intending it to be more of a visit than anything. But something special happened during that recording, and eventually McGee and Levy would relocate to the area as well. That original lineup recorded their excellent debut, A Celebration of Hunger (Birdman, 2007), with Brian Paulson and then toured the country together for a couple of years before eventually going their separate ways. But McGee found himself more prolific than ever, and he and Levy decided to keep SPIDER BAGS going. A number of different players toured and recorded with the band while they finished another full-length, Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World (Birdman, 2009), and recorded half a dozen singles. Shortly after, Levy would move back north, but he continues to be a contributing member when he can.

During the 2011 recording of the band’s third album, Shake My Head (Odessa, 2012), the current lineup consisting of Steve Oliva (bass) and Rock Forbes (drums) was finally solidified. Having gone through so many members by this point, McGee couldn’t help but wonder if the guys would stick around for the long haul. But slimming down to a three-piece, the band members found they connected musically, and most importantly, they all liked each other. Building upon the foundation laid down by its predecessor, their 2014 release on Merge Records Frozen Letter rocks with the clairvoyance of three musicians who have spent a lot of time recording and touring together over the last few years. “When we started this record, we weren’t even thinking about it being released. We just did it to have fun and keep moving forward,” says Forbes, who has been playing with SPIDER BAGS since 2008. This approach, and McGee’s intent to make a “weird, trippy record,” allowed the band to push itself further out into the psychedelic frontier than ever before, aided by engineer/producer Wesley Wolfe.

After a bit of a hiatus and whatnot, GANGLY YOUTH of Louisville, Kentucky (and Charleston, West Virginia) return! Their sound is a mix of jangly noise, fuzzy pop, and a no-perfection required style. One might be reminded of bands like Sonic Youth, The Pixies, or warped cassettes playing favorite pop songs.

Watch GANGLY YOUTH play “What’s Yr Weirdness” live here:

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