Episode Transcript
[00:00:13] Speaker A: We get Spotlight with BJ Swinghammer.
Is that his real name? Yes, it is.
Yeah.
We get Spotlight with BJ Swinghammer.
Is that his real name? Yes, it is.
Yeah.
BJ Weekend Spotlight.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Hello, everybody. Hello to all of you local music lovers out there. Welcome to another episode of Unsigned518's Weekend Spotlight. I'm your host, BJ Swinghammer, and I'm back again to kick your ass or whatever. No, no, just. Just to play some good music and maybe kick your ass. Just don't piss me off, I suppose.
Yeah. Hope everybody's been staying cool. And by cool, I mean, holy shit, it's fucking cold out there. Like, all the time.
Just relentless. Then again, you know, it's getting into February, so that's gonna happen. That I'm just doing. I'm just. Just complaining a little bit. A little bit of whining.
Fucking cold.
Anyways, yeah, welcome to another episode.
It's another week already, and I say this every episode, and you're probably like, yeah, Schwing Hammer. Happens every week. It's not that far apart, but sometimes it seems like a very great distance between episodes.
Anyways, speaking of cool, I know I've mentioned Frank Polanji on several occasions and. But mostly for, you know, him doing his movies and stuff like that. And they've been making their way around the circuits and doing very well, of course, but have you ever heard any of his music?
Have you? Yes. No.
Yeah. No, I guess it doesn't matter because you're gonna hear it right now.
Now he's got some new stuff that's. That's been coming out, but I just wanted to start this off with something from a few years ago.
This is a single he had from 23.
And I enjoy. I enjoy it so much. It is. And this, by the way, this is not gonna be like, a quiet episode. There's not gonna be any, like, folk or anything like that on this one. This is very much a more of a loud episode. So, you know, just. Just to give you a heads up, I'm not saying you should, you know, switch to another podcast right now, but just know there's gonna be a lot of, like, bah, like, kicking around.
All right, so anyways, Swinghammer's pick of the week, it's Frank Polangi. This is dynamite.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: What makes you be you?
[00:03:08] Speaker B: Are you wired up to survive?
[00:03:15] Speaker A: Write my name with hey, remember me.
Falling down the doors in the city of.
So now again listen, my friends.
Hello, me falling, empty Kicking all the noise in the city of things hello, Faith can't you fly.
Come to life what am I All night Drowning my mind.
Ram.
[00:06:19] Speaker B: That was dynamite from Frank Polangi. It's a few years ago. I think that's 20, 20, 23.
And yeah, just moving forward. So that was a lot of fun. That's a fucking awesome song. And we're gonna listen to another one. And this one is happening on the 30th, so we're gonna skip. We're skipping around a little bit, but not too much. So this is gonna actually. And none of this, none of these that I'm gonna be reading off to, you are really all that close to me. So I'm. I'm up north a little bit.
These are all about an hour south of Albany. But you know what? Well worth the travel because a lot of great stuff going on there. And I love the 518, but sometimes you gotta. You gotta step outside and, you know, do something a little bit different. So this is gonna be on the 30th. This is gonna be at the Ashtray in New Paltz. And this starts at 7:30.
And it's got. It's a. It's a great lineup. It's your favorite person, Pink lady and Patchwork.
And I don't know if you ever heard of these bands, but I've listened to them, especially Pink lady, and they're. They're great bands. I enjoy them very, very much. And because I'm saying that I'm going for Pink Lady, I'm selecting them out of the lineup.
And this is from the album Americans Eating hot Dogs. And I've played a couple songs off of this already. And it's. It's a great album. And it's. It's named so fucking well. And this one is Kiss me like your girlfriend.
So here we go on the week. Fence Club.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Be my down.
I want you, you want to be me For God I want you. I want you to be my d.
I want you. I want you to be.
I want you to be left out I want you, I want you to be forgot I want you, I want you to be let down I want you, I want you to be.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: All right. That was Kiss me like a Girlfriend from Pink lady off the album Americans eating hot Dogs. You know, if you, you know, check out the album, it's definitely worth a listen through or two or three. You will appreciate it and enjoy it, I guarantee it.
Moving forward to the first, now we're just hopping like right to Sunday. And this is actually going to be at Snapper McGee's in Kingston, which I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with. So snap. McGee's always putting on some great stuff in Kingston. This set, 4:00pm all right, and this is. I believe this is by dcpc. So this is a benefit for Heart Support with Brutality, rbnx, Incendiary Device, Faded Line, and Prize Fighter. And this is once again, this is not gonna be like a quiet show. This is a show that's meant to maybe pop your eardrums a little bit. You might bleed from them a little bit, but, you know, sometimes bleeding from the air can be a wonderful thing, depending at the show you're at. And this is definitely one that you might really want to think about, you know, think about making it to. And it's for a great cause, so who doesn't love that shit?
I decided to go with and I reached out to Incendiary Device because I have not played any other songs on this so far. And they got back to me and, you know, they've got a new EP coming out called New York City.
There is just one single song that they've released on it so far, and if it's anything like the rest of the album, it's gonna be a fucking awesome album. So this one, all right, this is the first release of the upcoming album.
This is thrown to the wood.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Pick and choose your friends wisely. Deceit, evil is everywhere don't believe what they have told you you're just a pawn in their game Are you ready, get set?
You know it's all bullshit Yummy song to the wolves now that it's all said and done? Don't go pointing any fin Would you be so foolish? These f will drink your blood Are you ready, get set?
You know, don't you be strong to the wolves?
With every crown comes a guillotine?
So be careful what you wish for they care not a thing about you they will tear you from them Are you ready, get set?
You know some bullshit you bit don't do the wolves don't do the wolves and dead to the world.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: All right, that was thrown to the wolves by Incendiary Device off the yet unreleased album New York City.
So be be happy and lucky that you got to listen to this song before it comes out, because I always love doing stuff like this. I don't know if it's quite an exclusive, but it's. It's fucking incredible and I enjoy it. And thanks a lot, guys, for letting me play this on the podcast. I really appreciate it. And going into appreciation, one of my favorite segments of of the podcast is checking in with our band show. So we try to do this as often as we can every week and they like to give us a heads up on what they're doing and they do some important stuff right there. And by stuff, I mean giving people the rock star treatment that they deserve because everybody works their ass off in this industry.
So guys, what is going on with our band show this week?
[00:13:47] Speaker C: Thank you BJ and welcome in to our band show. Patrick W. Huber here, producer and director of an amazing team of recording artists that aims to film musicians in the Hudson Valley area and beyond, who this past week has been one filled with cold weather as well as a crazy amount of snow. If you tuned in last time, you know we hyped the Pine Boys for their amazing storytelling skills. I must applaud them for one of their recent Instagram posts. They focused on that famed Groundhog and His Shadow. Something about teasing a new album. We'll have to wait and see, but if we're going to get six more weeks of winter, we could all use some good music to get through that.
To get my mind off all the shoveling of snow and tracking wood across the yard and some wet boots, I want to turn focus to transporting us to warmer climates, if only for a few minutes.
We've been posting videos from the Hudson Valley's very own the Big Takeover, fronted by Jamaican songwriter Nene Rob, was our point of contact for the band.
Really cool dude overall helping us get this recording done in the studio. Great bass player, loved everybody from the band. Of course we had Nene, then Guthrie, Roger, Manuel, Chaz, Owen, and of course Ryan. A lot of warm memories from the studio that day and maybe some of their Jamaican pop, reggae and ska can cheer us all up. This week I want to spotlight warm fuzzy feelings, Hot Toddy or two and some worldish music.
That is why this week I have gone for a double feature and chosen the Big Takeovers. Summertime in the Ghetto followed by Break. Somebody performed live on our banjo.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: Taking me higher and higher this keeps getting deeper and deeper When I'm up in no getting down from here I say it's taking me higher and higher this keeps getting deeper and deeper and when I'm up in or getting down from here I say yes, my baby always has some more time in the ghetto and I look outside my window under your There is a policeman shooting a fellow oh it's a summertime in the ghetto When I look outside my window and I There is a policeman shooting a fella like he was a policeman shooting a rubber but he was a policeman shooting my bro.
Taking me higher and higher this keep getting deeper and deeper When I'm up and I'm getting down from here I say it's taking me higher and higher this keep getting deeper and deeper and when I'm up and on getting down from here I say always I saw my time in the ghetto and I look outside my window There is a policeman shooting a pillow.
So my time in the ghetto and it's getting hot Somewhere there's an innocent man and he's getting shot I say la da da da la la la ta ta ta ta ta so much time in the ghetto when it's getting hot so much time in the ghetto when it's getting hot.
Right now I say lot of time, lot of time so much time.
Always have summertime in the ghetto and I look outside my window yes, for real I see a policeman out there oh gosh. Someone, someone, someone, someone, someone yeah he was a policeman shooting a robber he was a policeman shooting my.
It's the way, the way you said my name I don't know, you don't know let's call it the day keep settling somehow we'll make it there to the floor, to the door let's call it what it is My heart is sorrowing everything I tonight oh yeah, That's the way that's the way you break somebody break somebody down that's the way the way you break somebody break somebody take somebody It's a game it's all a strategy People you to show it anyway Keep playing, keep up your silly ways. You don't know you're grown don't show it anyway. Oh, baby.
How did we get back here?
We go round and around our getting anywhere creating a literal nightmare.
When you open your doors My body lets me in My heart is pouring everything else tonight oh yeah.
That's the way that's the way you break somebody down oh, my baby Baby, that's the way that's the way you break somebody down Break somebody down that's the way oh yeah the way you break somebody break somebody, break somebody.
My heart is pouring everything else tonight oh yeah.
That's the way that's the way you break somebody down Break somebody, break somebody that's the way oh, yeah, yeah the way you break somebody down Break somebody down my baby oh yeah, yeah way the way you pray.
The way you break somebody break somebody break somebody.
The way it breaks my mind.
Oh, man.
[00:24:00] Speaker C: Another amazing performance.
I hope you'll Check out all the full videos of this week's spotlighted artist on our YouTube channel.
And check out some clips from all our past guests on the Instagram, both at our band show.
Also, for a catalog of all our sessions, check out our website, our banjo.com.
anyway, that's all the music I had to share with you this week, bj. Back to you.
[00:24:30] Speaker B: All right, man. I really appreciate it. That's freaking awesome. Once again, that is our band show doing some of the best and most important work in the 518 and beyond. You know, they take the bands that you love or haven't had a chance to hear them yet, and they give them the rock star treatment, whether it be just doing an awesome recording or doing them on video. You know, you can check them out on Facebook, Instagram, our bandshow.com YouTube. YouTube is one of my favorites because you can just sit there and just watch what they're doing right there. There's a great catalog already for you to just, you know, consume and enjoy. It's awesome.
You know, I'm just gonna leave it at that. Go get it. You're welcome.
And now, now it's time for Metroland Now.
And it's the hot singles in your area now. This is a list compiled every month by TJ Foster. He is one of the triumvirate of people that resurrected the Metroland back to life. So it's Aaron Harks, TJ Foster and Andy Scullin. And you know, they. And now it's. It's starting to grow. It's starting to blow up. It's amazing.
And so TJ Foster does hot singles in your area every month and he picks up some great songs and he gives him a great highlight. He reviews them. This past month he was really busy, so he didn't have as much time as he wanted. So fortunately he gave it to someone who's still busy as shit, but slightly less busy in those moments.
And it's Andy Scullin. So Andy Scullin actually did the reviews this month and one of the songs that was picked out, it's actually a really nice kind of send off to the episode because it was definitely a louder episode. And this one's a little more like relaxing, kind of bringing you back to earth. You know, you're kind of relaxing for whatever, whatever you're doing with the rest of your day.
This is the newest single from Reality Distortion and this is Rat Race.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: You.
Keep that clear place.
Do you ever think at the end of every day will I be at the End.
Ram.
Better race.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: All right, that was Rat Race. That's the newest single from Reality Distortion.
It was such a good song. It's just great. It just takes you like to another place and you enjoy yourself. I love that friggin song. That's definitely going on my favorites list. And that's gonna be in my car rotation going forward. And you know, before we close out for Metro Land, don't forget physical copies of the Metro Land. The Metro Land is back. It was there. We were young, it was gone, we were middle aged. And now it's back and we're all kind of old. But it's okay because there's so much magic and blood, sweat and tears in those pages and it makes me so happy and so many people work their asses off to make it happen. And it totally, totally shows, shows kind of. It's just everywhere at this point. There's very few places you can't find. There's very few towns and cities you can't find the Metro Land in now. But just in case that you can't, you know, just reach out, be like, hey, Swinghammer, I'd like to find the Metroland. I can't find a copy around me. Just go to the metroland.com, go to contact us and someone will reach out to you and give you a close location. And you know what, you're, you're gonna be so happy with those pages in your hand. And yeah, and if you're listening and you're going, schwinghammer, you know what? I like the cut of your cloth, sir. I'm gonna start carrying the Metroland in my place of business. And yeah, hell yeah, you should. Why wouldn't you? Like, why wouldn't you? And we make it very easy once again. Go to the Metroland. Go to the metroland.com, scroll to the bottom, it says, you know, start carrying the Metro Land here. Click on here. Fill your information. It shows up at your doorstep and all of a sudden you are one of the hippest people in your area. Like, seriously, like you just come. All my disco music starts playing wherever you walk. People are dancing around you and you're like, oh my God, I'm so cool. If that doesn't happen, then I'm sorry, you know, it just, you just missed the boat on that. Either way, you carry a great publication at your place of business and that lets people know that you give a about your local area, where you come from and the people in it. So always keep that in mind. And don't forget The Metro land, you know, you got Facebook, Facebook, Instagram, the metroland.com. any one of those things will give you so much information that you can just enjoy not knowing until you. Until you get to the metro and you get there and you go, oh, I can do this with my weekend, my week, my day, my month. It's no problem. It's all over the place.
You're gonna love it. And you know, the Metrolin also, it's not just me doing these podcasts. I know you think it is because you guys listen, I get so many emails and carrier pigeons and fax machine, you know, you know, pages, and they're like, oh, man, I don't know what this podcast thing really is, but you do it so good. And I have to let you know, it's not just me. It's not just me. This. There's other people, you know, that do this for the Metroland. You know, you've got Aaron, Aaron Hark's mistress of none. You've got andy sculling with unsigned 518. You've got Angelina Valente, two normal people.
There's. There's three right there. And you can just lose yourself and everything is being created and it's awesome and you're welcome. And you were like, I didn't say thank you.
[00:32:31] Speaker A: Fuck you.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: You didn't have to. You're welcome.
Anyways, and that's it for me. That's it for me.
Yeah, you know what? Do your best to stay warm. That's all I can say. And if you're freezing your ass off, I don't know what to tell you. You know, burn some of your furniture or like, you know, whatever, get some wood. I don't know, tell you, it's so friggin cold out there and it's not gonna get better for, you know, several weeks.
You know, stay warm, stay cool, have fun, enjoy your weekend. We all deserve it. And as usual, you stay cool. 518. All right, friends and Polaroids, man. Sign me off.
[00:33:08] Speaker A: I'm gone. Shotgun.
Where's the party tonight?
Let's take a ride. Been swinging. We're driving.
The weekend spotlight.
Get ready. The Weekend Spotlight is a production of.
[00:33:35] Speaker B: Unsigned 518 and part of the Metroland now network of podcasts. Unsigned 518's Weekend Spotlight is produced by Andy Scullin and hosted by DJ Schwinghammer. Look for new episodes every week at the metroland.com and everywhere you stream podcast.
