THIS
JUST IN: Duglas T Stewart of lead singer/songwriter for The BMX
Bandits has been added to the illustrious line-up of performers for
Lach's Fort at Le Monde on Saturday November 26th at 9pm. Duglas will be
accompanied by various local Edinburgh musicians in a round of BMX
Bandit songs! See below for information on the entire evening.
Cheers!
For Immediate Release: New York City Songwriter and Founder of The Antifolk Movement, Lach, Brings The Scene To Le Monde
Photo
of Lach for Publication> Photo Credit: Eric Lippe. Lach standing in
front of flyers for some of the shows he's presented at The Fort over
the years.
11/14/11
Legendary
NYC singer/songwriter/performer Lach will be bringing his 'East
Village, NYC' style night to Edinburgh's prestigious, newly-refurbished
late-night cabaret
lounge, Le Monde (16 George Street, EH2 2PF), on Saturday November 26th (Doors at 9pm. 18+ restricted. £8 admission.) A special night of artistic and nightlife revolution
featuring performances through-out the evening from such artists as Lee Patterson ("An undiscovered gem" –Maverick Magazine), Seafieldroad ("Featuring florid, literate
songwriting all the way, this Scottish artist has made an adult pop record with heart and brains." –The Guardian), William Douglas ("Without a doubt, Edinburgh’s finest songwriter"-
reddogmusic.com), Chloe Philip (Up and coming Glaswegian comedian with a "Distinctive and fertile imagination!"- The Scotsman), Emily Scott ("Whimsical, charming,
double bass inflected folk-pop with buckets of soul and unexpected melodic twists"-Vic Galloway, Radio 1 Scotland), Tragic O'Hara (Fresh from opening for The Fall, "A one-
man army!" –The
List) and Lach himself with additional music and video installations
curated by The Great Calverto and Lach. Expect unannounced, surprise
performers
throughout the evening as well.
“Lach is NYC’s living legend, riotously catchy” – Time Out London
“Lach is
the mastermind of Antifolk, like a Lower East Side rendezvous of Bob
Dylan and Patti Smith. Like black snow, stalled subway cars and random
violence, Lach is a Manhattan institution.”- NY Times
" Lach is a beat-punk-unplugged joy, and likely to send you home with several favourite new songs"- The Guardian
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lach arrived in Greenwich Village in the
early Eighties and began playing in clubs such as The Speakeasy and Folk
City. Previously considered to be prestigious venues on the folk
circuit they seemed now, to Lach, to have become increasingly
conservative in their attitudes. “I started the Antifolk scene in the
mid '80s as a rebellion against the lame so-called "folk" scene that had
congealed in the West Village after Dylan went electric,” reveals Lach.
“We were as inspired by The Clash, The Pistols and The Jam as we were
by Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan. But the Folk hierarchy would
have nothing to do with our punky, scruffy lot."
In protest
Lach inaugurated what was an illegal, and infamously
renowned, after-hours joint called The Fort in a rented loft, on the
Lower East Side where he also initiated the first ever New York Antifolk
Festival, to contend with the 'official' New York Folk Festival.
"The
Fort was a loft on Rivington Street. I gutted the place, put in a
stage, lights and PA system. I slept on the stage during the day and ran
the club at night. We opened at midnight and stayed open until the
afternoon of the next day. When the other NYC venues closed at 4am, The
Fort was the place to be. The Daily News dubbed it the most dangerous
block in New York which made it perfect for the artists and misfits the
Antifolk scene was attracting. I named the club after Akira Kurosawa's
film The Hidden Fortress but it quickly became known as The Fort," recalls Lach.
The
Fort eventually became a mobile club inhabiting such Manhattan venues
as Chameleon Club, Tramps and Sophie's Bar; birthing such acts
as Michelle Shocked and Brenda Kahn before settling in at the Sidewalk
Cafe on Sixth Street, in 1994. It was here that names-to-be such as Jeff
Buckley, Hamell on Trial, Thomas Truax, Daniel Johnston, and more
recent Antifolkers like The Moldy Peaches, Jeffrey Lewis, Regina Spektor
and Rick Shapiro, took to the stage. It was this scene that inspired
the UK Antifolk movement (Laura Marling, Milk Kan, Emmy The Great). On
any given night at The Fort over the years you could have run into
anyone from Bob Dylan to Tony Bennett.
After enjoying a huge success with rave reviews over the last two Fringe Festivals and releasing his latest album, Ramshackle Heart,
on Edinburgh's own indie label Song, by Toad Records, Lach is also the
subject of an upcoming BBC special documenting his move to Scotland.
"I
definitely feel a vibe in this town. It's like Seattle a year before
Nirvana got together or San Francisco of 1964. It's building and on the
verge of something truly special. I want to stay and watch it happen. I
ended up one night at Le Monde and the owner, Billy Lowe, and I hit it
off. I was fascinated with the renovations he had just completed making
the upstairs a live music venue. It's a beautiful room, elegant and
decadent at the same time," comments Lach.
Just
before leaving New York Lach was the executive producer at the city's
largest nightclub, Webster Hall. He converted one unused section of the
venue into an art gallery/bar and another room into a version of The
Fort. It quickly built into the buzz room in town where the likes of
Eddie Izzard and Mike Myers mingled with the downtown anti-scene.
"As
soon as I saw what Billy had done with Le Monde I knew it'd be perfect
for The Fort. It's like the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall (where
everyone from The Rolling Stones to Ice-T performed) shrunk down and
refined into an intimate spot. The potential for intense artistic,
musical happenings is tremendous and I love the idea of framing the
Antifolk sensibility in a sort of mini-Fillmore East," says Lach.
What can people expect from a Fort night at Le Monde? We'll let Lach have the last word,
"Well,
it depends what time you arrive but you could walk in with Iggy Pop or
The Ramones or T.Rex coming from the speakers as Russ Meyers and Warhol
films fill the various screens around the room. The place is dark with
little nooks and crannies to hide away in and plan your revolution. All
of a sudden a spot hits the stage and you'll get a live performance of a
few songs or comedy or performance art that will blow your mind. Just
as your getting a handle on it, blackout, music up and back to the
mounting buzz in the room. Shake, stir and repeat."
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