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National Seashore hail from Brooklyn and are fronted by singer-songwriter John Biz, a talented young man with varying musical interests. I'm getting the feeling that Biz has a challenging time sitting still; which is good for you, I mean, us, as music fans. He's got several musical persona and founded a label on top of it all to put all this great music out. The label is called Industrial Park Records and it's filled with great music to listen to and buy. Biz can rock with the best of them and he can also lead some pretty cool sittin' around the campfire sessions as well. For his National Seashore project, he was inspired by his love for Woody Guthrie and took some cures from the Billy Bragg/Wilco collaboration. National Seashore was born out of that passion and serves as a collective to interpret the lyrics of Guthrie. And it's a beautiful knockout. I'm still trying to connect the dots, however, Biz also has something to do with the band called Higgins, who probably could be like Fall Out Boy but prefer riffing off XTC and Badfinger. Ah, but this is really about National Seashore, I guess. - http://bp2.blogger.com/
Posts by Matt Collar
Essentially the rootsy brainchild of singer-songwriter John Biz, the Brooklyn-based National Seashore is a melodic and folk-inflected group conceptualized around reinterpretations of the legendary songs of Woody Guthrie. With a sound that’s a little bit Wilco — who navigated these exact same waters with Billy Bragg on the Mermaid Avenue albums — a tad New Pornographers, and even a dash of early R.E.M., National Seashore may just get you to hear Guthrie’s songs again (or for the first time).
The group is scheduled to play at the Tank on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
"http://blog.allmusic.com/category/crush-bands/" - ALLMUSIC - CMJ http://blog.allmusic.com/author/matcol
Industrial Park Records, the East Williamsburg-based label run by John Biz, a workhorse of a man who not only spent the entire showcase last night at the Tank — where the risers and folding chairs made the small bar seem more like rehearsal space than anything else –- introducing and promoting the artists, thanking everyone who’s been supportive of them, but also performing two sets himself. He’s certainly no one-trick pony. Besides Biz, who first appeared onstage as part of the Woodie Guthrie tribute band National Seashore and then with the punk-influenced John Biz & the Rolling Stallones, trippy duo Norris and a Bob-Dylan-esque set by Joey Weiss (aka Super Monster) both provided solid examples of what the label can do. - ALLMUSIC - CMJ (INDUSTRIAL PARK)
Discography
National Seashore - (self titled L.P.)
9 tracks recorded 2006-2007
at Serious Business
Industrial Park Records
Unreleased
National Seashore - "Love Is The Only God I'll Ever Believe In" E.P.
6 tracks recorded 2006-2007
at Serious Business
Industrial Park Records
Unreleased
Photos
Bio
http://www.myspace.com/nationalseashore
Compelled by the story behind Mermaid Avenue, a 28 year old artist offers an extremely heartfelt interpretation of American folk hero Woody Guthries material from his own impressionistic perspective. The artist is John Biz, the setting is Brooklyn, NY and the musicians who made it all happen became collectively known as National Seashore.
Laboring over National Seashore wasn't something I was consciously trying to do. It actually stemmed from my love for Woody's work and everything he stood for. The music was guided by very intense dreams that I was having in the summer of 2006, says Biz about the origin of the project. I woke up and they were still with me. I dont want to take credit for writing anything; I just kind of saw it. The creative force behind this work comes directly from Woody Guthrie.
The sketches came together in what Biz regards as a very spiritual experience, incorporating interpretations of Woody Guthrie lyrics with the music from his dreams. Avoiding what he considered a superficial recreation of a style that Woody had already perfected, his intent was to honor the spirit of the song and its author by playing the music in his own voice. Extreme care was taken to preserve the original meaning and intent behind Woody's writing. Still, National Seashore lets some of the tracks express hints of nostalgia for the developing American culture from which it came.
Originally having no idea if he even wanted to record, let alone release this material, Biz just needed to create it for art's sake, and wanted to give something back to his hero. In folk tradition, he actively did so by sharing these ideas with patients at the Rivington House: a long term care facility for AIDS patients in New York Citys Lower East Side where he volunteers by playing bedside for the terminally ill. The music was met with such a tremendous response that he knew he had to continue. After witnessing how much these songs had helped the people who needed it most, he ended up recording the material that seemed to bring the patients the most inspiration. Biz laments, From my understanding of Woody Guthrie, I believe it would have made him smile.
Shortly after, the spirited young troubadour put together National Seashore, an all-star cast of musical frients featuring members of Apollo Sunshine, Kevin Devine & the God Damn Band, The Unsacred Hearts and SuperMonster. The band came together in a matter of days, freshly embracing each song in real time while recording to tape at Serious Business Records in Brooklyn. The result: each song is a living, breathing entity captured as it was created in celebration of Woody Guthrie, the man widely regarded as The Voice of The People.
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National Seashore is a prime example of a diverse artist collaboration to produce music that is so dynamic that it leaves little room to say that the project was not fated. The energy between the musicians, brought forth by a unified appreciation for Woody Guthries life work, is completely unavoidable. It is so inviting that people from all walks of life can sincerely fall in love with this music. There is a certain truth in these songs, achievable only by a spiritual movement that celebrates Americas greatest folk icon.
-Bronson Guliamo, Industrial Park Records
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Publicity:
Vicki Siolos
Planetary Group
vicki@planetarygroup.com
phone: 617.275.7675
fax: 617.275.7661 fax
Management:
Bronson Guliamo
Industrial Park
industrialparkrecords@gmail.com
Label:
Industrial Park Records
myspace.com/industrialparkrecords
info@industrialparkrecords.com
Links
