Black Betty
Pillow Theory
Chewing Pics
Bio:
Black Betty is Jonas Fairley and Ana Serena. Founded in our mutual love for music and the need to express, explore and exploit our creativity, we are committed to provide the most entertaining, alternative heavy music to the world.
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Pillow Theory delivers a high-powered, dynamic live show while successfully genre hopping under the alt-rock umbrella. The band has been selected as one of Tommy Hilfiger’s “Best Unsigned Artists”, featured on FOX News, SONY PSP UK and performed twice at the CMJ Music Marathon in NYC.
The band’s debut disc, 9 1/2, was independently released in 2001. After a slight hiatus, Pillow Theory regrouped and collaborated with sonic genius Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies, NIN, PJ Harvey) for their sophomore release OUTPATIENCE. With Albini, they were able to manipulate their ever-changing moods to blend a sporadic yet cohesive sound. The album displays a delicate balance between heavy and light with change ups that may seem bizarre on paper, but work eloquently in sound.
Outpatience was chosen as one of the VILLAGE VOICE’s “best of” in their yearly Pazz & Jop poll before the CD’s official release in 2007 on Pursuance Records. One of the album’s tracks, “Drama Fiction Fiend”, was pre-released on the Black Rock Coalition’s 2005 CD compilation, ROCK N’ ROLL REPARATIONS. The album’s opening track “Jealous” was recently featured on the SONY PSP UK website.
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Shrills echoing through the night, booming bursts oozing and throbbing onto the cold isolated streets somewhere in the depths of Brooklyn, fog was disbursing by vibration. Permeating from the warm cellar below, a sound grew, stirring sleeping neighbors in the trans of their dreams. Chewing Pics brings its listener to visit this reminiscent place.
Those whom have heard the band live describe its sound as psycho or dellic, twilit, taking the audience passenger on a “journey” through what feels and sounds like other worldly space. Since the turn of the century, Ernest D’Amaso, bassist bred in the midst of New York City’s hard core punk rock scene, and Elias Diaz, drummer who physically manipulates beat and blood lines of his native home the Dominican Republic, have been conjointly making music- spawning together ideas that redefine drum and bass. It wasn’t though until Diaz in his maniacal pursuance of awesome sound, took interest in the Pics’s vocalist Naima Mora, who came baring influences of Latin Jazz and Detroit Rock City, that the band took solid form.
Then nameless, the trio began by seeding in their workshop “The Basement” the fundamentals of their first self- produced EP “TARANTULA”. Many laborious hours and several months later, The Basement having suffered floods, electrical fires, and desertion, the EP was finalized in what is now affectionately “The Living Room”. “TARANTULA” embodies unique and tremulous vocals with an effect driven sound of laden colors that mash against heart surrendering rock bass and drum.
Chewing Pics has kept busy touring the East Coast promoting and earnestly performing their first love child EP since it’s release in early 2008. While touring and upon working on their upcoming LP, the trio discovered the talent of guitarist William Chen. Joining Chewing Pics, he paints a melodic surface to a strong rhythmic foundation allowing the music to grow and develop organically as a beautiful butterfly would sprout from the rhythmic inches of the caterpillar.
The band continues working toward their next album and performing with the goal of connecting their audience to a musically intense journey.
Video:
Black Betty
Chewing Pics