Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 01/09/2022
(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- The Porchistas have gone old school for their latest release - a single called "BellA" and its b-side, "Keep Your Distance". It was recorded and mixed by Adam Falzer at The Porchistas Home Studio in Montclair, NJ using a broken down four track cassette recorder that was dropped off at a recycling center.
Early during lockdown, Bill, a neighbor of theirs who works for Glen Ridge, New Jersey Public Works, brought them a broken Tascam Portastudio 464 four track cassette recorder that was dropped off at the recycling center which was destined to be crushed and incinerated. Alan Smith and Johnny Salami opened it up and replaced a chewed-up belt. Voila, they had a machine that allowed them to represent the pre cell phone era in song with a recording technology of the time. The band thinks the warm, low-fi sound taps into the same nostalgia they were reaching for in BellA.
"BellA" - an ode to payphones and by proxy to an era not that long ago of less convenience and more freedom.
"I only miss you cause I hate your replacement / And I hated you when I had to stand out in the rain / I can’t believe I ever pushed your buttons with my fingers / or let your grimy mouth rub up against mine / But now that you’re gone, there’s just robots and porn / And I can’t leave my house anymore /No I can’t leave my house anymore" the band says in the song's chorus.
The single is available at Bandcamp.
The b-side, "Keep Your Distance," is a lockdown rant, delves into that lessening of freedom and some of the forces that led us to wax nostalgic on a pre 9/11 world in which we naively moved about freely.
"Plastic protozoa, pharmacia at my door / You’re hanging from the stadiums and campaigns on the floor / Should appreciate the obsolescent choices that you sell / And my favorite liquor store and artificial smells" starts "Keep Your Distance" - a song that is like conspiracy theories put to music with a beat that will haunt you.
Since it is an analog recording, the band decided to release their first vinyl record. Unfortunately, it's also a time when there is a vinyl shortage around the world.
The band includes Adam Falzer (guitar/vox); Arian Clay-Sirop (drums/vox); Alan Smith (guitar/vox); and Gerry Griffin (bass).
The Porchistas started as a bunch of friends writing and singing songs late into summer nights, on their rickety porch on Forest Street in Montclair, New Jersey. That evolved to DIY house concerts and block parties that continue today. Their songs navigate through the rock genre; Folk, swing, surf, reggae, blues, psychedelic, punk - always rock and roll.
The Porchistas have performed at the WNTI Stage Festival, The Jersey Shore Music Festival, The Wellmont Theater and The Hoboken Arts & Music Festival, The Bitter End, just to name a few. In October 2017 they were aired on WFMU's "Dance With Me, Stanley" for two consecutive episodes with DJ Stashu, first live on air, then taped live in Studio B for live broadcast and for WFMU's free music archives.
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