Tape Swap Radio has announced the return of one of our concert series’ most popular events—the LV Fall Bash. The event, which marks the often-overlooked final phase of the fall season (after Halloween weekend), will take place on Saturday, November 9, 2019 at the Ice House in Bethlehem, PA. The featured line-up will be an international affair, including Lou Rogia of Lewis & Clarke, Lehigh Valley psych rockers The Beings, Philadelphia fuzz rock band Grayling, and Tokyo’s Transkam who will be on their U.S. east coast tour.
Proceeds from the show will benefit Hope Lodge NYC. The program, run by the American Cancer Society, provides a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers. According to their website, the Hope Lodge program is “more than just a roof over their heads, it’s a nurturing community that helps patients access the care they need.” We chose Hope Lodge NYC in memory of our friend and musician Emily Meixell (VoirVoir, Zepplehem) who was helped by this program before passing away earlier this year.
The event is all-ages with alcohol for 21+. Doors will open at 7 PM. Admission is $10 with $7 student ID admission. There will be a poster sold through a pre-sale, so watch this site as well as Tape Swap’s social media pages for more announcements.
Lou Rogai | Credit: Rob Yaskovic
Lou Rogai is an artist and composer from Delaware Water Gap, PA. He has fronted the group Lewis & Clarke since 2003, producing a signature sound of lush, long-form songwriting. Through the process of creating orchestral arrangements for his songs, he became immersed in the instrumental aspect of story-telling. His first string quartet, Implications in D Major was released in June of 2018 and featured on WNYC’s New Sounds. It is the first in a five-movement sequence of music for chamber orchestra. He has just completed work on his latest solo album which will be released through Rogai’s new label Veriditas Recordings on November 8, 2019, the day before the LV Fall Bash. For this show, Rogai will be performing both Lewis & Clarke songs as well as new solo material with a quartet.
The Beings performing at the Tape Swap Stage at Allentown ArtsFest 2019
The Beings are a psychedelic rock band that have long been a staple of the Lehigh Valley music scene. If the band can be said to be led by anyone, it would be Nathan Breininger who embues the Beings’ music with a mixture of jammy instrumental exploration and 70s rock-styled songwriting. Nathan is in good family company as fellow Breiningers have also left their mark on the Lehigh Valley music scene with bands like Golden Spectre and Izzy Business. Throughout their life as a band, The Beings have never had a proper album release, but they are looking to change that soon. The band is in the process of recording their first full-length album with Matt Molchany at Shards now. The recording has also seen the band grow from three to five members, adding both horns and keyboards to create a fuller sound. The Beings debuted this expanded line-up for us at the Tape Swap Stage at Allentown ArtsFest 2019.
This will be Tokyo three-piece band Transkam’s fourth U.S. tour overall and second appearance in the Lehigh Valley
Tokyo, Japan’s Transkam are releasing their sophomore album The Voyage of the Dark Light Years this November as well as embarking on their fourth U.S. tour. Tape Swap was lucky enough to snag them for a Shards Session in 2016 but the LV Fall Bash will be the first time we get to host the trio in our concert series. The three members of Transkam all come from other talented bands in the Tokyo underground: guitarist Tune has previously played in the experimental synth-punk collective Alan Smithee’s MAD Universe, bassist Yukiyo with the psych-rock combo Tacobonds, and drummer Yana with Numbs. Transkam defies categorization more adeptly than most bands we’ve come across. The Tranksam Bandcamp page pulls together this mad libs-style list of genres: HxCx / minimal / ’90V / Junk / Industrial / Krautrock. During their Shards Session interview in 2016, when bassist Yukiyo was asked about that word Junk, she said it means incomplete. “I like rhythms, changing patterns, and poly-rhythms.” And there are plenty of pulsing, repeating patterns in Transkam’s minimalist instrumental brew. What about the band’s goal for the audience? “I want the people to get…trance.” “You want people to be in a trance?” She smiled and nodded.
Lexi Campion of Grayling
The participants of the Lehigh Valley Girls Rock camp will recognize Grayling singer and lead guitarist Lexi Campion as one of the volunteers who helps empower young girls by teaching them to play instruments, write songs, and form bands. The annual camp is a fitting endeavor for Campion who began her musical journey as a drummer before moving on to her current role fronting Grayling. The Philadelphia-based fuzz rock band is filled out by Campion’s brother Greg on rhythm guitar as well as bassist Sean Rynkewicz and drummer Nicco Piagessi. Grayling bristles with punk energy and driving rhythms. But perhaps tipping their hat to some 90’s alternative influences, Grayling delivers plenty of quiet/loud, push/pull dynamics. 2019 is proving to be a big year for the band, being signed to 6131 Records with a planned release of a new EP called Low on October 18th.