DOWNLOAD: Rain Machine - Give Blood (MP3)

“Rain Machine” with TVOTR in Philly in June (more by Tim Griffin)

TV on the Radio has become an alternative-rock sensation, with a blend of musical styles that’s not only innovative but also brilliantly authentic. For vocalist/guitarist Kyp Malone (who just released the debut CD from his Rain Machine solo project), keeping it real, however, has its limits.

“It’s pretty old. It’s on the bedbug list,” Malone says, complaining about the prewar building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where he’s lived in a one-plus-bedroom, sixth-floor walk-up for the past four years. “I’ve seen people cycle through. They spray and bomb and all the things you’re supposed to do, but it doesn’t work.”

Despite the building’s bedbug misfortune (a bullet he’s managed to dodge), the apartment, which Malone has shared since December with his artist girlfriend, Jessie, has served him well through multiple redecorations. [NY Post checks out Kyp Malone's apartment]

Rain Machine played at the Bell House on September 21st with Sharon Van Etten and Candles of Paradise. Videos from that gig are below.

Kyp and Co. are currently on tour, working their way back from the West Coast. They’ll play a CMJ show on October 24th show at Bowery Ballroom. Again, they’ll have Sharon Van Etten opening, along with Violens, Imaad Wasif, Threes And Nines and Stricken City. Tickets are on sale Wednesday, September 30th.

There’s a reason Sharon Van Etten and Kyp Malone seem to keep showing up at the same gigs…

Van Etten went to college in Tennessee to study recording but dropped out after her first year. To take her music in a more serious direction and to reconnect with her family, Van Etten moved to New York City. It was there that she hooked up with TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone, whose brother was a close friend of hers in high school. The connection proved fruitful for Van Etten.

“[Kyp] ended up taking me under his wing,” says Van Etten, “introducing me to friends, and showing me new music that I didn’t know existed. If it wasn’t for him I probably would have played at a place called Zebulon, which is my favorite place in Williamsburg. I started playing more seriously and getting encouraged by people.” [Microphone Memory Emotion]

Sharon just played two nights in NYC with Great Lake Swimmers and The Wooden Birds (which unfortunately we lost pictures from due to a faulty memory card). She leaves that tour on October 3rd to join Rain Machine, who she’ll play with through October 25th.

Videos and tour dates are below…

Continue reading “Rain Machine played Bell House, doesn’t have bed bugs, playing CMJ/Bowery Ballroom, is buds w/ Sharon Van Etten” at BrooklynVegan.com