Luxe Pop

Luxe Pop is a New York-based band that plays hard rock music, with influences spanning the last several decades, from 70s classic rock to 80s punk and new wave to 90s alternative to 00s New York indie rock. Listeners will detect these varied influences around the edges, but ultimately the Luxe Pop sound remains predominantly good, old-fashioned rock and roll--loud, catchy, and concise.

Luxe Pop’s music is almost entirely written and developed by the band as a unit through improvisation and group con-sensus during rehearsals in their New York City studio, located beneath 42nd Street’s hemline in the notorious Music Building. Even the lyrics, which are entirely Nelson’s brainchild, are initially crafted as part of this joint improvisation. While the members hone and embellish their individual parts, adding new textures and tones to round out each com¬position, the band’s live shows strip each song back down to its basics, combining the essential ideas developed in the original group jams with raw energy and a healthy dose of wattage.

The first incarnation of what would become Luxe Pop came together in 2006, when Brooklynite Greg Nelson (Lightouts, Carpetbaggers, Squirmin’ Bourmen), guitarist Bill Farkas (Basketball Jones, Mobile Precinct), and bassist Dustin Wahl (The Mystics) began creating raw original rock songs in a practice space in Hoboken, New Jersey. Drum¬mer Matt Katz, who had previously performed with Brandon Wiard and played drums in the New York folk-pop band Moye, joined shortly thereafter.

The newly formed band took the name Luxe Pop—a jab at the unofficial moniker, itself apparently based on a quote from the incomparable Kanye West, of a luxury condominium development located directly across from the Brooklyn House of Detention—and began writing a number of staples of the Luxe Pop repertoire. In early 2007, Bill Ferullo, who most recently had played drums in Philadelphia hardcore punk band The Great Clearing Off, joined the group on keyboards, rounding out the current lineup.

Since then, Luxe Pop has built a regular following playing at renowned rock clubs in and around New York City, including Pianos, Arlene’s Grocery, the Lakeside Lounge, Magnetic Field, and the Whiskey Bar, with everyone from local indie acts like Wolff to international pop juggernaut Lady Gaga.

The band is currently preparing to release its new, nine-song full-length album, One Bulb Room. The album, produced and mixed by Andy Altmann (The Perfekts, 45 HiGH), was recorded throughout 2010 and 2011 primarily at Suite 503 in Manhattan and Seaside Lounge Studios in Brooklyn. And in 2008, the group self-released a self-titled, four-song demo EP recorded at Seaside Lounge by Phil Palazzolo (New Pornographers, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes) and Charles Burst (The Occasion, Takka Takka).