Spottiswoode and HIs Enemies

"Spottiswoode and his Enemies do something that few bands can do: evoke real emotions, sometimes several different ones in a single song. Spottiswoode himself is both funny and scary at the same time, and there is undeniably a major talent lurking behind the songs and the live show. Lotsa unexpected twists and turns, and lotsa soul." - DAN REED, Music Director, WXPN

Referred to as a “genius” and a “downtown ringleader” by The New Yorker, Spottiswoode is the son of an American singer and an English clergyman. WNYC’s John Schaefer describes him as, "One of New York’s more colorful band leaders for more than a decade." For the past fifteen years, Spottiswoode & His Enemies have become a New York institution. Drawing comparisons to everyone from Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and The National to Ray Davies and Nick Cave, the band has been profiled on NPR’s Weekend Edition, World Cafe and Soundcheck and toured worldwide from SXSW to Lille, France to Lincoln Center. Paste Magazine describes the live show as, "Nothing short of transportive!”

English Dream, Spottiswoode & His Enemies’ sixth studio recording, is a haunting new departure for the New York septet. "It’s an English record, written and sung by an Englishman, but recorded in Brooklyn by a New York band. “Salvation, our fourth record - was Americana” says Spottiswoode, the band’s songwriter and front man. “This time we've gone ‘Anglicana’ and made a pastoral collection of songs about nature, love, childhood and the other side of the pond. Sometimes it’s idyllic and sometimes it’s a bit scary."

Spottiswoode’s songs have been covered by numerous artists and have been featured in a variety of television shows and films (She’s Out Of My League, The Ledge, Tart, Bridget), as well as in his own short film, The Gentleman, which screened at Sundance and played for several years on IFC. His gothic rock opera, Above Hell’s Kitchen, was presented to sold-out crowds at the prestigious New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2010.

Spottiswoode & His Enemies features John Young (bass), Tim Vaill (drums), Candace DeBartolo (saxophone), Kevin Cordt (trumpet), Riley McMahon (guitar, mandolin, glockenspiel), and Tony Lauria (piano, accordion, keyboards).

"Pretty much the best band from New York City fronted by an Englishman...the bastard child of Randy Newman, Elvis Costello and Tom Waits." - GENERICANA

"New York-based septet Spottiswoode & His Enemies is a swirling cocktail of indie-rock, folk, country and even big band music. The real entertainment, however, lies in the songs and their clever arrangements." - WNYC Soundcheck with John Schaeffer

"His moony, crooning voice, dripping with wasted elegance recalls at various times the smoke-cured continental suavity of Serge Gainsbourg, the latter-day ethno-eclecticism of the Pogues, and the turbid moodiness of the Bad Seeds."-BOSTON PHOENIX
The Chairman Dances
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The Chairman Dances is an art rock band hailing from Philadelphia. Alternative radio station WXPN has compared them to acts as wide ranging as Belle and Sebastian, Destroyer, and Sonic Youth. Since 2010, the quintet has released three albums: Long Lost / A History of Iniquity (2011), A Promise (2012), and Michael and the Prophetess (2013). When the group isn’t busy recording, it’s busy performing at galleries, cafes and rock clubs throughout the northeast. The band's touring regimen and steady stream of albums have made them the darling of blogs (WORDKRAPHT, What’s Protocol?, Underwater Explosions) and alternative radio: in 2012, the group was nominated for three WSTW awards in the categories of Album of the Year (A Promise), Song of the Year (“A Voice in the Night”) and Best New Video (“A Voice in the Night”). In 2013, WXPN featured the ensemble with a rare, in-depth article, hailing the group’s original composition with the tongue-in-cheek: "If the Philly music scene… were a food court, would be an artisan bakery, selling handmade pastries crafted with care."

Since its inception, the band has made it a point to work with artists in other mediums and genres. In May 2012, the group wrote and recorded “Jacob Wrestles the Angel” for the short film Jacob’s Ladder, directed by J. Randolph Brown. The film had its debut at the New York Film Academy that September, premiering the following month at Philadelphia’s Filmtech. In the spring of 2013, the band met with Marc Rusch, resident sound engineer for the avant-garde jazz record label CIMP, to record a reimagined cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Blonde in the Bleachers.” This cover, in turn, prompted cinematographer Gregor Knell to write and film a music video for that work, casting the band as the womanizing rock n’ rollers whom Joni bemoans.

Currently, The Chairman Dances are once again busy performing, opting to spend limited off hours rehearsing material for a fourth full-length, a song cycle entitled The Death of Samuel Miller. Looking to stretch themselves artistically, the band plans to premiere the work this spring at a combined classical/art rock show that would include performances of canonical song cycles.