Chris Erikson CD Release Party At Lakeside Lounge
Usually I stay home on Friday’s getting ready for the next week of TWM and planning out places to go and report about. But last Friday, my friend Chris Erikson and his band the Wayward Puritans were having a CD release party and show at the Lakeside Lounge to celebrate Chris’ new CD of original tunes called, Lost Track of Time. Chris and the Wayward Puritans have been featured on my other two blogs, 365 Bars and MAD and I wanted to include a post featuring them here at TWM. On a sad note, The Lakeside Lounge is closing next week so I also wanted to go pay my respects to this great East Village bar that has hosted so many bands and musicians through the years. Okay, let’s trip back in time to last Friday night. Sherman, set the Wayback Machine to April 20th, 2012!
Here we are, the Lakeside Lounge, sadly this will be the last appearance of this classic East Village bar on TWM. Let’s go in and have a drink and drown our sorrows.
As usual, I’m way early for the show, so there’s plenty of seats at the bar, let’s go snag one.
Lucy was the pretty bartender on duty and here she is serving up an ice-cold bottle of Budweiser.
Johnny was seated next to me and we had a nice conversation about music and New York City. And it turns out it was his birthday Friday night! Cheers and happy birthday, Johnny!
I always loved this sign and at least it will live on at this post.
The jukebox here is one of the best in town. Click here for a list of the diverse artists featured in this magical box of music.
Hopefully the Photobooth will live on after the Lakeside Lounge shutters. It’s not owned by the bar and you can read more about it at this post at EV Grieve.
Some photos taken in the booth decorate this lit up pole at the bar. I’m sure going to miss this place. I hear some commotion in the back, maybe the show is about to begin.
The band is setting up their gear and it’s a packed room for tonight’s show.
Here’s the set lists and some notes on the stage floor. I think it's just about show time!
Ladies and gentlemen...Chris Erikson and The Wayward Puritans, featuring...
Chris Erikson on lead vocals and guitar...
Jay Sherman-Godfrey on guitar and harmony vocals...
Jason Mercer on bass and...
Will Rigby on drums and percussion. These are the same musicians that played on the CD.
Chris and the band played the entire CD during the show. Other guests showed up as you’ll soon see.
I wasn’t the only one snapping photos in the crowd. I wonder if she has a blog?
As I said, the room was crowded, but I was lucky enough to squeeze into a space next to these two pretty and friendly women, Kamy and Alexandra. This was their first time seeing Chris and The Wayward Puritans and they were very duly impressed.
On the third song, Erik Della Penna got on stage and added some fine lap steel guitar to the mix. Erik is part of a two-man band called, Kill Henry Sugar. Erik plays lap steel on two songs on Lost Track of the Time.
Here Cliff Westfall joins in on harmony vocals and he’s sings harmony on a few songs on the CD as well. Cliff is the front man for a band called The Steamboat Disasters.
And last, but not least, in the lineup of guest stars at the show is Florence Dore singing harmony.
Chris and Florence have been friends for a long time. Chris played guitar and sang in her band when she lived in New York and she put out a CD called, Perfect City in 2002, which Chris played guitar on and sang (Perfect City was produced by Eric Ambel, who is the co-owner of Lakeside Lounge). Florence sings harmony on the song, “When It All Comes Down,” on Chris’ new CD.
Here Chris is belting out a stinging solo on stage as the show is coming to a close.
And here’s the band and guest stars singing one last encore. As good as the other shows I’ve seen by Chris and The Wayward Puritans, this has to be at the top of the list!
Chris Erikson
Lost Track of the Time
Lost Track of the Time starts off prophetically with a song called, “All I Need.” The rollicking number kicks off with the line, “All I need is a ticket and I’m ready to go,” and this collection of tunes fires up like an empty fifth of Jack Daniel’s being smashed against the concrete wall of a dive bar signaling the start of one rowdy, raucous party. Jangly, swampy guitar riffs are thrown out like party favors and the song chugs along like someone from the bar car has hijacked the train and is steering it towards Juarez, Mexico with a bottle of tequila in one hand. The next song, “Ear To The Ground,” keeps the party going with a catchy chorus that will be imbedded in your brain, but you’ll be thankful for the earworm.
The brakes get hit for, “Call It Even,” a country-flavored gem that brings to mind someone on a nine day bender telling the bartender at closing time how his woman skipped town with his best friend and his bank account. The honky tonk piano, pedal steel guitar and Chris’ wailing, plaintive vocal is enough to bring a tear to George Jones’ world-weary eyes. The tune “Guilty” conjured up the Rolling Stones circa “Beggars Banquet,” not in an imitative way, but with the same selling your soul to Lucifer spirit.
The core band on the CD is Chris and his band, The Wayward Puritans consisting of Chris on vocals and guitar, Jason Mercer on bass, Jay Sherman-Godfrey on guitars and harmony vocals and Will Rigby on drums. They play off each other like seasoned veterans because that’s exactly what they are. There’s also nine other guest musicians contributing, harmonies, piano, pedal steel guitar, organ, mandolin and harmonica. If you’re like me and you’ve been sick to your stomach from all the generic American Idol type music floating around, the remedy can be found within the grooves of Chris Erikson’s, Lost Track of the Time.
You can listen to samples of Lost Track of the Time and buy the CD or MP3's at the following online outlets:
iTunes
CD Baby (Note: CD Baby has a notice that the CD is out of stock, but Chris told me he sent them a new batch and they will be available within a few days, so if you order from them, be assured you will receive the CD quickly.)
Chris generously gave me a CD at the show, but I went over to CD Baby and bought one anyway to support this great and original music. So I’m going to give out the one he gave to me as a prize to the person who leaves the first comment today!
Further Reading: Time Out New York, The Sycamores and MySpace.
Perfect City by Florence Dore featuring Chris Erikson on guitar and vocals.
Reader Comments (24)
What happened to the Lakeside Lounge ? I guessing rent ? (as seems to be the usual). Eventually NYC is going to be nothing but Dunkin Donuts, Subway, and lame ass yuppie bars. It will be a place I don't want to come to anymore. That is sad. I'll just have to go to a place like Pittsburgh - where gentrification is a dirty word.
"For want of a nail the kingdom was lost"
~ American Proverb
sad to see this place closing, but it looks like it's going out with a blast. looks like this was a good show and the cd sounds great, i listened to the samples and will be getting the mp3s soon! nice to see that original music is still being made in nyc!
This closing troubles me because as Gene said,,,,this could be a rent issue or something like a greedy landlord trying to push out the old timers. Anyways gentrification is a dirty word,,,,its happening everywhere,,(maybe not in Pittsburgh),,,I should move there. Looking at Google streetview, I see massive construction going on right next to Lakeside, and I notice that Lakeside is one story, sandwiched between tall buildings,,,I also wonder about Boxcar Bar, directly next door,,,did they get their walking papers as well?
A friend of mine just sent me a link to this! I was at the show Friday and it was a great one, really like Chris and the Puritans songs and what a great show! It is a shame about Lakeside, one more haven for live music in the city closing.
@GENE: I'm not totally sure of the details but I'm guessing rent as well. A very fitting quote! And you win the CD! I'll give it to you next weekend, glad you were the first commenter, it saves me some postage!
@Bobby D: Nice to hear you're going to buy some of the music, original music needs support!
@Al: They're bringing in some fancy whiskey bar at the Lakeside location, ugh! I think the Boxcar Bar is still in operation, I'll double check next time I'm on the block and let you know.
@EV Ronnie: Cool you were at the show! It was a great one! And it is a shame about Lakeside Lounge, glad I got to see one last great show there.
I can't take the CD ! ... I usually wind up commenting first every day. That wouldn't be fair. Bobby D., Al, or EV Ronnie deserves it.
Has Will Rigby ever been tempted to use a patron's head as a bongo drum after being asked; "Howsya sistah Eleanor doin'?" once too often?
@GENE: The CD is rightfully yours, unless you choose to buy one instead, the choice is yours!
@Jaws: Ha ha ha! I'll ask him the next time I see him!
Can I pay you to give to one of the next 3 posters ?
@GENE: I'll give it to you next week and if you want to send it off to someone else, it's up to you! We'll deal with it over a few beers!
OK. I'll take it. It'll wind up on my Ipod and should be some good gym music for me. I could always use something new !
Oh how sad the Lakeside Lounge is closing it's doors, seems like a very cool place. Off to listen to the links/songs you posted!
some cool old pictures of New York, first link has a Mars Bar picture
http://www.retronaut.co/2011/05/the-disappearing-face-of-new-york/
http://www.retronaut.co/2010/06/the-jokers-1959/
Here's a link to the NY Times article about the closing of the Lakeside:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/nyregion/gritty-musical-mainstay-will-close-in-the-east-village.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
Yep, it's the rent. I love Jim Marshall's quote about the jukebox being like a self-cleaning oven. He's used that before, saying that people from the suburbs would stick thier head in, hear Howlin' Wolf or Buck Owens on the jukebox and not go in. Of course, that didn't work for me and my friends. We're from the suburbs, and we went there BECAUSE of the jukebox.
Not sure if you know it but Jim Marshall had a long running radio show on WMFU in the 1980's and 90's as "The Hound". Basically it was like his juke box on radio.
Here's a link to airchecks of a lot of his shows. They were great:
http://thehound.net/
@GENE: Cool!
@meleah: It is a very cool place and it's being replaced with some fancy-ass place that will probably go out of business in six months and then it'll become a 7-Eleven.
@night goat: Great photos! Thanks for the links!
@Ken K. in NJ: Thanks for the Times linkage! I listened to "The Hound" when I first moved here! Thanks for the link to his old shows, it'll be fun to listen to some of the past ones I never got to hear!
I sure like Chris' music. I think that I am going to order the cd for my brother for his birthday. It is just the kind of music he really enjoys.
I'll bet the concert was fantastic.
That is so cool the music is offered on itunes I think I will order a copy for myself as well.
Looks like a great night full of cool people and great music.
Lakeside Lounge has been there for quite some time. Sad to see it go, glad the Wayward Puritans got to play before it went..
If you meet anyone from the 5th Dimension, tell them to fuck off. The Age of Aquarius is horseshit.
That is a very nice photo for the CD. Reminds me of the old days of singer/songwriter record covers in the 70's.
Was thinking about this while reading a few other articles about the place closing. The old stat used to be that the average life expectancy for a club/bar in NYC was one year. In that regard the Lakeside Lounge beat the odds for a long time. Unfortunatley, as with any other business, you have to make money and a lot of it to stay viable. From what I read the place just wasn't drawing enough on a consistent basis to stay open. If they tweaked the idea of the place slightly: concentrated on cuisine, renovated, maybe only had one band a night and tried to expand their appeal it might have helped matters. It probably would have given them a fighting chance.
@Tiki Bar Susie: That's too cool of you to buy a copy of Chris' CD. You'll really like it, there's some great music on there and it's all original Chris Erikson-penned tunes!
@csp: I hear you, it sucks to see places like Lakeside disappearing. Oh and I just ran into the 5th Dimension, they said to tell you that they are living quite nicely off the royalties from their musical lie.
@DaveW: I'm glad you mentioned the photo, it was taken by Ted Barron, who was featured on this blog a couple weeks ago! I hear you about renovations, etc. but I also heard the landlord was upping the rent to some obscene amount, so I doubt there’s much they could’ve done.
@DaveW: I agree with everything you said here. Also the rent increases in New York City is above the norm given that it is NYC. I always feel sad to see bars close down,,,,then the landlord rents the space to new people paying much more rent,,,,and everyone is happy for a while,,,,,a year,,,,,until the new kid on the block becomes passe and the vicious cycle starts over again. You made a valid point here.
Every time you put up one of these posts, Marty, you make me wax nostalgic. There used to be a club on West Broadway that had Indie Bands almost every night. Tier 3 it was called, if my rapidly fading memory serves me right. Just googled it and - - - holy crap, they have a facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tier-3/142687542410108
SIP AHOY
@Uncle Waltie: I wish we could've had a drink in there when it was open! SIP AHOY!
Marty,
Thanks for sharing these great photos! Takes some of the pain away from having missed this show. Fingers crossed that he takes the band on the road - with a stop in Minneapolis.
@The Sycamores: You're welcome, it's my pleasure! Loving the tunes at your website! Come out here and do a show while there’s still some places to play!