Gets the Girl has been playing shows at a breakneck (for us) speed, performing four times in the last month or so despite the onset of school. We made our NYC debut with an August 22nd show at The Local 269, followed by a September 8th show at the prestigious Sullivan Hall. Then we had our biggest concert to date: solo billing at Keys to the City, a great bar and night club on the New Haven Green that brought in a whopping 400 people. Photos from that show are up on our myspace and feature multiple shots of me dancing like an idiot, so check 'em out. It was a totally ridiculous night, capped by free champagne for the band and our crew and leading to our first radio play on the new 104.1 FM. Sick.
All these gigs had the happy consequence of adding two excellent musicians to the band's roster for good. I'm happy to say that Niraj Patel, drummer, Yale '11, and Dan Bailen, bassist, NYU '12, are officially IN THE BAND. More complete bios on those two to come, but for now, let it suffice to say that they are both ultra-talented musicians who add energy and virtuosity to our live show.
Rounding out the shows, last week Allen and I played an acoustic show at a penthouse apartment in downtown Boston, on the 34th floor of the Ritz Carlton. We played an hour-long set for fifty or so of Boston's most powerful, well-connected people, who were a wonderful audience and bought loads of CDs. It was an amazing opportunity, and spoke well for the accessibility of our sound (most of them were over 40 years old).
We're on a bit of a gigging hiatus for now, as Allen's basketball and my compositional studies preclude any real traveling, but we're planning on releasing a number of videos in the coming months, so stay posted.
All signs seem to point to the fact that the band is nearing the Tipping Point, that critical mass all unsigned bands hope to achieve where their music reaches enough people that it takes on a life of its own, and goes viral. (For an example of someone who is doing this RIGHT NOW at Yale, see Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider's video here.) Our stuff is definitely spreading... I've been receiving three or four bits of fan mail a week. Consider this message from a fan at McGill:
"at the risk of sounding like a rabid fangirl, i just wanted to tell you how amazing gtg is. so, so, so amazing. i'm only saying this to you because i can't believe that you guys aren't monumentally famous yet, and when you become monumentally famous i'll never be able to tell you. your music is just brilliant. i've been playing the piano for twelve years, so i say that not just as a head-bopping girl, but as a head-bopping, legit-music-appreciating girl. the sophistication of your style and your classical training is really apparent."
-M
Wow. We sent her a T shirt.
We were also recently featured on a running blog and iTunes playlist run by John Anderson in Philadelphia, PA, called Bold Pace Music. I've heard our stuff is good for studying or hooking up, but this is a first. Thanks John for the love, and good luck with your endorphins.
Finally, big props to our manager Avi Gandhi, who is setting up all kinds of great opportunities for the band, ordering t-shirts, getting gigs, talking to blogs, etc.
Other things on my mind: Sufjan Stevens's orchestral piece "The BQE," the return (after a 30 year hiatus) of Bladderball to Yale's campus, Rasheed Wallace.
In the Brooklyn Way,
Ellis
P.S. visit us at our Wordpress account from now on, please!
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