Baker St

The members of Baker St, an indie pop/rock band made up of Columbia alums and one current student, gathered last Friday in a Chinese restaurant a few blocks away from the Delancey on the Lower East Side. There, they played a release show for their new EP, Irregulars.

The gig was only one night, but the band is looking forward to a longer residency at the Sidewalk Cafe at Avenue A and 6th Street in April.

“We basically get to do a bunch of different types of shows,” said frontwoman Michelle Hutt, CC ’09. “One show’s going to be all covers or stuff we always want to play or that our friends want us to play, and one will be a normal type of show, and for the other we’ll bring in friends.”

“We have friends?” said bassist Mke Kennelly, CC ’11.

“Well, we have some friends,” she said.

If anything, friendship seems vital to the dynamic of the quartet, which is comprised of Hutt, Kennelly, Kevin Oshinskie, and Jimmy Nugent, CC ’13.

“We’re friends who happen to be in a band,” said Oshinskie, a student at Fordham University. “It’s something we do for fun. It’s not something we do to make ourselves known to bolster our own careers.”

The band, whose name and EP title are nods to Sherlock Holmes, came together in 2009 after Hutt met Kennelly in a music theory class at Columbia. Hutt soon pulled in Oshinskie, an acquaintance from her hometown, to be their drummer.

The puzzle wasn’t complete, however, until Nugent came on the scene, a recruit from Kennelly’s quantum physics class.

“I was, like, I play guitar and Ken was, like, I’m in a band that needs a guitarist,” said Nugent, who’s majoring in computer science-mathematics.

“And it was perfect,” Hutt added of Nugent joining the group.

Nugent’s arrival allowed the band to expand its sound in terms of lead guitar, said Kenelly, and freed Hutt, who played rhythm guitar in addition to singing, to move to the keyboard and synthesizer.

When asked about influences, the members cite a variety of individual sources, from Ben Kweller and Juliana Hatfield to Tré Cool and Slash.

“I don’t think we do too much pandering in terms of what we do,” Hutt said. “What’s coming out of Brooklyn right now, it’s getting more and more noise-oriented, synth-oriented, less and less songs where you have a whole line and there’s a melody and there are lyrics you can actually hear and we don’t really do that because it’s not what we’re about. ... We like doing short, sweet, pop songs.”

Currently, the band members juggle their music with school and day jobs­­. Kennelly recently accepted a job offer as an analyst—“whatever that means,” he joked—while Hutt is teaching art in public schools.

The demands of everyday life, however, don’t deter the band, who have released three EPs, the latest being Irregulars.

“At some point, I’d like to go on some form of a miniature tour and do some more stuff,” Hutt said. “But again, it’s more like, we’re not hunting for something. ... It’s supposed to be fun.” - The Spectator

Seeing hard work pay off has to be an incredible feeling for a band, but experiencing it is something else entirely. That’s why album release shows exist in my opinion. You labor for days to record, hours to polish, and then when it’s all said and done you grab your instruments and share with the world what you and your friends created.

This is something NYC based band Baker St got to be part of last week at The Delancey. Once inside the venue I could barely see the outlines of the other occupants of the room; though they were unmistakably there as I had to usher my way to the front. What was really refreshing about this was the mood of genuinely being happy to be there that night. Imagine it; all week you’re being crammed with test, your significant other is terrible at texting, and etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…

With a week like that being crammed in a room with loads of people seems like a grand retreat and having music fill your ears feels like a pure necessity if there ever was one. Baker St delivered that desire to the music fans at The Delancey and with an incredible view of ease. Front-woman Michelle Hutt flawlessly owned that stage while singing swoonful harmonies of uncompromised emotion. Bass player Mike Kennelly not only did a great job laying down the bedrock for the set but also began most of the tracks with a bassline that hooked listeners instantly, allowing guitarist Jimmy Nugent to shred at a quick pace while drummer Kevin Oshinskie sported an affectionate smile of passion and concentration during the set.

Baker St played a lot of songs from their new EP Irregulars which is an infectious blend of indie/pop tunes that most music fans won’t find trouble putting on constant rotation. Be sure to keep an eye out for the next time the band plays a show, you honestly won’t regret it.

You can stream the bands new EP Irregulars as well as previous releases on their bandcamp http://bakerst.bandcamp.com/

Also be sure to visit their Facebook page and give them a like so you can get updates on releases, live shows, and random banter! http://www.facebook.com/bakerstband - Gigape

In the dimly lit basement of an East Village café sits Baker St, nestled under a stairwell while a comedy show finishes upstairs. With over zealous comedians and thundering laughter still heard up above, the band waits to finish off their 3-week residency at the local Sidewalk Café.
Their bassist sports his trademark Expos hat, while the drummer comes dressed in kakis and a pink polo, a fitting style for the whimsical songs they’ll play later that night. They’re excited to play before taking a break for the summer, while some band members move home over college break or others begin internships.
Backstage, the band is just as fun and quirky as their lighthearted music would make you believe. When asked about their most memorable moments, bassist Mke Kennelly was quick with his response.
“The time we played Madison Square Garden in front of 20,000 people,” he said sarcastically.
The band formed in the summer of 2009, when vocalist Michelle Hutt approached Kevin Oshinskie about playing drums during a performance at a local café. Hutt knew Kennelly from a music theory class they took together at Columbia and thus Baker St was born, named for the famous London road that’s home to the fiction residence of Sherlock Holmes.
The band began practicing that summer and played their first show in October. Oshinskie remembers the exact date, as it was the same night of Game 2 of the ALCS. A.J. Burnett was pitching, Kennelly was quick to add.
While most of their early work was music written by Hutt before Baker St had formed, the group feels their style has grown since the band’s early days.
“It evolved around our limited musical talents and we went from there,” Kennelly said. “As we got better, it became more complex and more interesting. ”
The band also credits the addition of Jimmy Nugent, their lead guitarist, for expanding their sound. Nugent and Kennelly met while working on a string theory research project. The mere mention of their eccentric professor sends the pair on a tangent about their former proctor before Hutt diverts the conversation back to the band’s music.
While Hutt originally played rhythm guitar, Nugent’s addition allowed her to incorporate keyboard into their songs, with Nugent taking the lead on guitar parts.
“It freed me up to add a different level, a different sound, a different depth to our music, instead of being stuck on playing rhythm guitar,” Hutt said.
Since they began playing, Baker St has managed to record three EPs, releasing Baker Street Destroys the Internet in June 2010, Hook Up, Wake Up, Break Up in August 2011, and Irregulars this passed January.

Growing Up Jersey

Baker Street is a New York City band by way of New Jersey. The band is a Manhattan based group with three members sporting Garden State routes. Both Oshinskie and Hutt grew up in Highland Park, while Kennelly came from Wyckoff.
“Within the area we live in there wasn’t much in terms of a music scene but I was able to go to concerts in the city, or Bamboozle, which totally changed my life,” Oshinskie said of his hometown of only one square mile.
Oshinskie also credits New Jersey with giving him to opportunity to play in a high school band, as well as introducing him to a lot of influential music.
“I think there are a lot of bands from New Jersey that people listen to a little bit more, or bands like Brand New that are really popular in the New York area, even though they’re not from here,” Oshinskie said. “I listened to those bands in high school and I still really like those bands. The drummers aren’t really the biggest parts of those bands, so I don’t draw drumming inspiration from them so much, but little parts I incorporate into my music.”
While Hutt initially didn’t think her Jersey roots had a great impact on her music career, she found that her suburban upbringing - NJ Kegstand

Going underground on a Friday night is easy at the National Underground. This Roots Rock Americana Music Bar owned by Joey DeGraw and Gavin DeGrawin in the LES is a hopping good time. From the honky-tonk upstairs to the bands "underground" in the basement this place is worth the trip downtown. With good drinks, cheap beer and great hamburgers you can make a night of it on Houston St. Yes, its on Houston St. the strip between the east Village and Lower Manhattan. Baker St. is a street somewhere..anywhere USA, but in NYC Baker St. is a Band with a good sound and a great attitude. This band is one part Indie Rock, one part 90 Rock, and the rest Singer Songwriter. The slow/fast pop songs are so much like the music of our high school years. The song bird at the helm is Michelle Hutt, who not only has a voice but plays her original songs on the guitar. With Mike Kennelly on Bass, Kevin Oshinskie on Drums and new guitarist's Jimmy Nugent the Band is now complete. Some more time with the second guitar is needed to make the music sound like it does in Michelle's head, but when they put on a show thet kids pile in to hear not only the music but also the banter.

Baker St's next show is Sunday the 29th at Trash Bar in Brooklyn. They also have a show At Ace of Club's on 9/10. - NYC You are here