GRAMERCY ARMS – “AFTER THE AFTER PARTY”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE
One of New Jersey’s finest music studios – Magic Door Recording (based out of Montclair) is no stranger to us, nor is the related Magic Door Record Label, both of which have brought us loads of great music over the past few years, including Elk City, Quiz Show, Rob Munk, CR and the Nones, Otherworldly Things, and the artist we present to you today.
This week, music fans will be able to download the new “After the After Party” single from Gramercy Arms, but today we offer a sneak preview of this fab new output. Created by Max Skaff, this video features members Jessie Kilguss, Renée LoBue, Richard Alwyn Fisher, Ray Ketchem, Dave Derby, Sean Eden, Gary Burton, Claudia Chopek, Lysa Opfer, and Phoebe Summersquash set against the backdrop of late-night footage of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The first offering from their fourth album The Making Of the Making Of this is a fabulous and fresh slice of positivity, wrapped up in a finely-tuned package of upbeat and harmonious pop-rock that will leave you wanting more and checking local concert listings to see if the band is heading your way. Impeccably performed; superbly arranged and produced.
This is Gramercy Arms’ first music since last year’s album Deleted Scenes‘ Involving a revolving array of music luminaries, Gramercy Arms is a NYC-based collective, masterminded by Dave Derby (The Dambuilders, Lloyd Cole) and producer Ray Ketchem (Elk City, Guided By Voices, Luna).
This single features several artists that Derby has collaborated with for many years – they are Kevin March (Guided by Voices, Shudder to Think, The Dambuilders), Rainy Orteca (Joan As Police Woman, Dead Air), Hilken Mancini (Fuzzy, the Monsieurs) and Mike Errico.
Produced, recorded and mixed by Ray Ketchem at Magic Door Recording in Montclair, NJ, this record was mastered by Ketchem and award-winning engineer Greg Calbi (John Lennon, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Tom Petty).
“I had the tune and general structure of the song lying around for a long time. For a long time I had the opening line ‘Do you suppose the door was already closed?” and the general vibe of the song but not much else. The song title and lyrical concept came for me while sitting at a bar in Brooklyn and overhearing a group of people talk about what they were going to do after an afterparty they were attending that night. I thought that that was a great title and general concept to anchor the song around. The song is about two people who’ve been chasing after each other for years but the stars never align until this one fated night where they are chasing after some magic that has been eluding them,” says Dave Derby.
“The “somewhere out on along the seven” line in the middle eight came from another overheard comment I wrote in a notebook somewhere. “Where does she live?” “Somewhere out on the 7 … in Queens”. I played the guitar solo, thinking it was a placeholder but Ray Ketchem, Kevin March and I fell in love with it and kept it.”
“After The After Party” will be available across online platforms, such as Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp and elsewhere. The Making Of the Making Of album will be released on April 26 and is now available for pre-order.
CREDITS
Written by Dave Derby (Passive Aggressive Music BMI)
Kevin March – drums
Stephen Hurley – bass
Mike Errico – guitars
Dave Derby – main vocals, guitars
Hilken Mancini – backing vocals
Recorded at the Magic Door Studio, Montclair, NJ
Engineered, Mixed and Produced by Ray Ketchem
Mastered by Greg Calibi and Ray Ketchem
‘After The After Party’ video by Max Skaff
Dave Derby photos by Debora Francis
Also enjoy their latest album ‘Deleted Scenes’, which we introduced to our readers earlier:
Gramercy Arms
[Single]
(Magic Door Records)
Release Date: February 21, 2024
Artist Links
