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Jan.10 - New artists The Neighbours added to antifolk.net.

Dec.30 - Man, I don't want to write this one.
We just found out this week of the passing of three friends to Antifolk. Three.
Lynn Samuels was the host of Folk City's open stage in the Eighties when I first arrived on the scene. She was the only one in any position of power there who welcomed and supported not only myself but the rest of the ragtag crew that would make up the first wave of Antifolk. She was New York. Abrasive, honest, funny, smart and loving. She also became a radio commentator on WBAI the flagship station for all the hippies, yippies and freaks. She was the first to play my band on a "big" station. She spun my tune The John Glenn Song and I listened while smoking a joint and looking up at the stars. It was huge to us. And then, she came on the air and said "I love that tune so I'm playing it again." And she did. And now I could finish the joint and sail out to that star on the airwaves of my guitarist's electric riffs.
Lynn went on to bigger things, Sirius Radio, Air America and she became a rare liberal voice in the swamp of hate talk radio that the country's night became. Thank-you Lynn for believing in the rebel upstarts and playing our songs.

One of the songwriters from those early days was a stocky, aggressive, grinning fountain of true grit named Mike Rocklin. He had the integrity and awareness of Phil Ochs mixed with the bar room rockingness of a BB King. He howled. He stomped. And we loved him for it. I lost touch with Mike for many years but he returned and played at Sidewalk for awhile. He was a family man and that split between doing this thing we love and earning a living to support a family was a struggle for him. But it was watching him still manage to make music, to turn a room into sweat and smiles from the stage in spite of his hardships that was so inspiring. Bruce Springsteen should cover a Mike Rocklin song, and he'd be lucky to do so. Mike passed back in 2008 but we just heard about it today.Our thoughts go out to his beautiful family.

Carlo Carlini also passed this week. He was a gregarious promoter of tours in Italy and worked with a number of people from the scene. He booked my tour there several years back now and I always hoped to work with him again. You hear many negative stories of people in the business but there are so many more people who are supportive and loving to musicians. Who do this thing called show biz because they love it. Unsung heroes. Carlo was that for many of us.

As a new year dawns on Sunday morning it's a good time to look around your "here and now". Look at the people you are traveling with on this revolving planet. If they are not people you want to be around, leave. If they are people who enrich your time here, let them know. Life doesn't get an encore. Don't waste it.

Have a Happy Now - Lach

Dec. 21 - The Scotsman blogs about Lach's upcoming radio special on the BBC.

Dec.18 - The BBC Lachumentary
December 28th at 2pm BBC Radio Scotland will present a half-hour documentary on my move from NYC to Edinburgh Scotland. Featuring interviews with Suzanne Vega, Michelle Shocked, Dean Friedman, Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, Vic Galloway and Colin Somerville with additional music from Beck and The Clash.
Listen on the radio and the web!
Click here for more info and how to hear it globally!
Happy Holidaze my friends and I hope you enjoy the program.
Cheers
Lach

Dec.5 - New Lach video posted here at antifolk.net. A new one based on Lach's song Sixtie's Girl

Nov.24 - Jeffrey Lewis in The NY Times

Nov.22 - Matt Frye video added in the videos section.

November 14 - 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.

Nov.4-Lach Playing Two Scottish shows this weekend with Viv Albertine (of The Slits)

Solo Antifolk-stylee!

Edinburgh Show:
Saturday November 5th at 11PM
at Henry's Bar (6a Morrison Street, EH3 8BJ)
This is Lach's Birthday Show
(Yup, Guy Fawkes Day, coincidence?)
Click Here for Advance Tickets to Edinburgh Show:

Glasgow Show:
Sunday November 6th at 8pm
at Mono (12 King's Court, G1 5RB)

Lach will be performing solo songs from all six of his albums
including the freshly released 'Ramshackle Heart'
("4 Stars! Brilliant!") - Mojo Magazine
("Dangerously fun!") - Uncut Magazine
Oct.21- Lach will play The 12 Bar Club in London on Monday Oct.24 at 8pm with UK Antifolk openers: Erin K & Tash, Depresstival Oct.6, 2011- Jeffrey Lewis in American Songwriter Magazine

Oct.5, 2011- Cal Folger Day artist page updated

9/6/11- New free download from Charles Latham Moving Back To My Parent's House

9/1/11-Antifolk Festival, Fall 2011
Complete Schedule
September 19 through 25
Sidewalk Cafe, 94 Avenue A (6th Street)
East Village, New York
Monday, September 19, 2011
8 pm The Open Stage with Ben Krieger (signup 7:30, music until late) The Festival at Sidewalk includes such Antifolkers as: JJ Hayes, Debe Dalton, Kirk Kelly, Erin Regan, Elizabeth Devlin, Joe Bendik, Domino and more. Check out the full calendar at Sidewalkmusic.net

8/14/11- Jay Beharj won Anti-Idol last night at the outrageous Antihoot at Edinburgh Fringe. Did we have a 74-yr old stripper? Did we have a flamenco dancer eat whole chili's while dancing? Oh, yeah, we did! 8/11/11- Big night at Lach's Antihoot at Edinburgh Fringe. Anti-Idol winners were Nikki Lynn Kat, The Good Ship and Ani Desai (who broke the world record with 55 impressions in 5 minutes and 23 seconds! Spotted in the crowd were Richard Melvin (currently with two podcasts in the top twenty comdey-casts on iTunes), Paul Foot (comic Supreme) and Neil Halstead (of Slowdive and Mojave 3).

8/10/11- Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village of NYC has reopened with a new menu, new look and a home once again for NYC Antifolk.Ben Krieger returns as host of the Monday open stage and entertainment booker so we expect good times comin' down the pike.

7/4/11- Lach's Antihoot is alive and better than ever as it prepares to return to Edinburgh for this year's Fringe Fest. The Gilded Balloon, only the coolest venue ever, will once again host the joint every night (except Tuesdays) from Midnight til 3am. This year the Antihoot will also hold the Anti-Idol. Every night the audience will choose it's fave act of the night. That act will get free drinks and prizes and then on the last Thurs, Fri and Sat they will return to be recorded live for the Antihoot CD to be put out by Edinburgh's own Song by Toad Records! Already confirmed for the Antihoot this year are Thomas Truax, Col. Mustard and The Dijon Five, Dean Friedman, Biddy O'Laughlin, Aidan Bishop, The Last Battle and many more.

Wanna sign-up for the Antihoot at Fringe? Just email us at: info-at-antifolk.net with a link to yr stuff.
We strongly advise getting your tickets in advance at The Gilded Balloon

7/20/11-

4/9/11 -Antivolk by Ryan Bartek (as Jack Cassady) arrived as a free digital release on April 1, 2011.The first three singles from have been posted on YouTube

Ryan Bartek will be playing select Jack Cassady dates in Europe this summer . Download his stuff here

4/8/11- Winter family added to our Artists Section.

4/7/11- Adam Green released his new movie The Missing Ferrari (filmed entirely on an iPhone) this week and you can watch here

2/26/11 Lach announced last night at the Winter Antifolk Fest that he was shutting down the distribution arm of Fortified Entertainment to concentrate solely on his own creative projects which have taken over his time and attention. he thanked the Antifolk community for their support over the years and he announced that his next album will be out this summer on the Scottish label Song By Toad.

2/20/11- Antifolk goddess Debe Dalton injured her finger last week in a slip on some treacherous ice. We are all hoping for the best and wishing her a swift recovery. We love you Debe!

2/19/11-
The Winter Antifolk Festival 2011 February 23-27 at Sidewalk Cafe (94 Avenue A and 6th Street, NYC)

This is the Festival that Lach began at Sidewalk Cafe about 300 years ago and is still being carried on today by the venue's illustrious booking agent Ben Krieger. We highly recommend every night listed below. They are chock-filled with the best in today's Antifolk scene. Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 23: 7:00-Domino, 7:40-Little Insects*, 8:20-Amanda Nicole, 9:00-Charles Mansfield, 9:40-Ben Pagano*, 10:20-Crazy & the Brains, 11:00-The Telethons, 12:00-Clinical Trials,

Thursday, February 24: 7:00-Myles Manley*, 7:40-Jon Berger, 8:20-Jordan Levinson, 9:00-Bernard King Presents, 9:40-Adam Bricks, 10:20-Elizabeth Devlin, 11:00-Brook Pridemore, 12:00-Joe Crow Ryan,

Friday, February 25: 7:00-Scott Rudd, 7:40-Fenton Lawless, 8:20-Lenny Molotov, 9:20-Emily Einhorn, 10:00-Lach, 10:45-Phoebe Kreutz, 11:30-Isaac Gillespie & the Due Diligence, 12:15-John Houx,

Saturday, February 26: 7:00-Bible Gun, 7:40-Laura Brenneman, 8:20-Bird to Prey, 9:00-Ray Brown, 9:40-The Barnyard Boys*, 10:20-Dan & Rachel, 11:00-”The Penultimate Blowout” with Yossarian Feedback, JJ Hayes, Berth Control, Timothy Dark, Deep Sound Diver & more!

Sunday, February 27: BLACKOUT NIGHT – CLOSING CEREMONIES Candlelit performances with no stage lights or power Each set will begin with short readings by Gina Mobilio and Dan Costello Intermission Music by Joe Crow Ryan
7:00-Blueberry Season*, 7:40-Charles Latham, 8:20-Cal Folger Day, 9:00-The Everybody Knows, 9:40-Dave Deporis, 10:20-Beef & Jerky*, 11:00-Talking Stick Presents with Master Lee, Rick Patrick, Puppies Holding Hands and more! *first-time festival performer!

2/3/11 - Fortified announces it's biggest clearance sale EVER! Go to our store now for half-off prices on all your fave Antifolk artists! Limited quantities! First come, first served! Many CDs only $3! FREE CD for orders over only $15!

-1/7/11- Crazy and The Brains are on tour with Isaac Gillespie. Dig it, America!
1/8 Saturday in Atlanta Ga at Wonderroot with Zebu, the Emotron, Savant & Bad Mammals
1/9 Sunday in New Orleans at an art gallery, more details to come
1/11 Tuesday HOUSE SHOW in Nashville
1/12 Wednesday HOUSE SHOW in Knoxville, Tn
1/13 Thursday in Cleveland at Now That’s Class with Shivering Timbers
1/14 Friday HOUSE SHOW in Youngstown
1/15 Saturday in Pittsburgh at Ed’s Garage with Sleep Experiments

12/4/10- Brilliant Cardiff-based songwriter John MOuse talks about Antifolk and new album.

-12/3/10- Johnny Flynn's Antifolk adventure in The Guardian

11/10/10- Lach can now be spotted hanging out at Webster Hall where he hosts the new Art Bar gallery space. Calling art the "new rock" Lach kicked off the new space with a beautiful exhibit entitled Skinned including photos, paintings and video by downtown QAS artist Carianne Blain. Recent drop-ins at Art Bar include: Ice-T with his wife CoCo and best-selling author Ratso Sloman

In addition to Art Bar, Lach put together a new night at Webster in The Studio on Saturdays from midnight-4am called Freakshow as part of the night's Circus theme. DJ Jess spins great rock hits as a motley assortment of downtown burlesque stars strut their stuff. Lach calls it, "A night of elegant decadence."

10/8/10 - While Lach's Antihoot is on hiatus this is a perfect time to check-out the QAS. Songwriters, poets, actors, dancers, visual artists all meet every Monday at 8pm at Webster Hall and exchange ideas and perform for each other in a lead-up to the quarterly take-ove of Webster by the city's arts community. Antifolkers are strongly encouraged to attend for a different time of open stage and an opportunity to play at Webster. It's free to get in and hang and participate.

10/7/10 - Jeffrey Lewis brought the Antifolk to Webster Hall's main stage in the Grand Ballroom this week opening for The Vaselines. Spotted in the crowd were Toby Goodshank, Dave of The Humans and Luke Kelly and Deenah Volmer of Kung Fu Crimewave.

9/23/09 - Lach is planning a major announcement concerning the Antihoot, Antifolk and Webster Hall. Stay tuned!

9/17/10-Anti-Idol 2: Anti-Idol Returns to Lach's Antihoot at Webster Hall. $100 prize each week with a Grand Prize of Free Studio time and CD Manufacturing! Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street) is proud to present Lach's Antihoot every Tuesday night in The Marlin Room. Doors open at 7pm. Performers should arrive by 7:30 to sign-up to perform. Show starts at 8pm. Admission is free with a two-drink minimum. Age limit is 18+ (21+ with ID to drink). The Antihoot is NYC's longest running open stage, launching pad for such stars as Regina Spektor, Beck, The Moldy Peaches and hundreds more.

Lach's Antihoot returns to Webster Hall after spending August sequestered in The Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it received 5 star reviews from The Herald, Radio Forth and Leith Radio as well as 4 star reviews from The Scotsman and The List.

The Anti-Idol competition is a chance to reward and recognize the extreme talent so particular to the uniquely downtown acts that congregate at the Antihoot. Each week by audience acclaim and celebrity judge's final decision, a semi-finalist wins $100! The Anti-Idol will receive studio time with a professional engineer in Webster Hall's renowned studio and Webster Hall will also manufacture the first CD printing for the artist.

Oh yeah, and one more thing…The Antihoots are recorded for a weekly podcast presented on www.antifolk.net and giving performers even more potential for exposure and acclaim.

"A vital New York club scene." – Billboard

" Lach's Antihoot drips with honesty…creating a nice family feeling for misfits. " – The Village Voice

9/10/10- Nice article on Diane Cluck and Anders Griffen with video here

9/9/10- After an incredibly successful and critically-acclaimed month-long residency at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (5 Stars from The Herald and from Leith Radio and 4 stars from The Scotsman and The List) Lach's Antihoot returns to Webster Hall every Tuesday night beginning September 14th. Doors at 7pm, sign-up at 7:30pm. No cover and $3 drinks and 3rd drink free. Two drink minimum. See you on the 14th from the big home-coming party!

8/24/10- Congrats to Lach for another 4-star review, this time from Broadwaybaby.com, for his one-man show 'The Day I went Insane' now running at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

8/21/10 - This just in from Lach:

With less than ten days left of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival I feel compelled to look back at some of the shows I've managed to catch before it all becomes a complete blur. As I review I realize all the performances I've seen have been by women and all of them have been strong, accomplished and very talented.

I'm doing two shows a night and getting to sleep around 5am. I see hundreds of performances a year in New York so, between these two facts, I am quite happy spending my afternoons in my friend's Scottish garden reading and watching the sky change. However, there's this voice of guilt in my head berating me for not "experiencing the Fringe" more. Future voices of friends and family in NYC drifting into my present moments questioning me when I return, "So, you just spent the whole festival staring at clouds?"
"Well, they were particularly spectacular clouds." I might reply but still, the poison drop's been planted and so, I have come into town on occasion and caught a few shows of my fellow artist's at The Gilded Balloon. And I must admit, I'm glad I have. Seeing one singular show every few days has allowed me to appreciate and process what I've seen. Similar to when I visit a museum and just look at three paintings, each one for quite a while. If I try to see more than that it just gets me dizzy and I end up tired and unable to absorb what I saw.

Tara Flynn - I snuck into Tara's show a few minutes into it and left before it was over because of commitments I had made but what I got to see was delightful. Tara reminds me of NYC Antifolker Phoebe Kreutz in that both play "funny songs" but through the sub-text and performance style reveal a vulnerability and open-approach to life that elevates their work and makes what they do as valid as so-called "regular songs". Smart, funny and a real treat!

War Notes - Lili La Scala's show War Notes features Lili's beautiful classically trained voice singing vintage songs from world wars one and two along with simple piano arrangements by her accompanist. Lili appears like she stepped out of a duo-tone sepia-graph as she sings such well-known tunes as A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, We'll Meet Again, I'll Be Seeing You as well as obscure chestnuts like That Lovely Weekend. During the show three letters from soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are read adding a modern poignancy and realism to the performance and fueling Lili's ability to total inhabit the emotions of these songs.

Chloe Philip - I strayed from the Gilded Balloon and popped into several Free Fringe shows around town. Unfortunately, none of the shows held my attention for more than a few minutes until I ended up at Opium and caught Chloe's set. I know Chloe from her stay in NYC and performances at the Antihoot there and was happy to see the place was packed and the crowd was charmed by Chloe's self-deprecating stories. Her monologue about her sudden encounters with Alan Rickham and Russell Brand were unintentionally (?) symbolic of new women performers trying to break-through the invisible force field of the male-dominated comedy scene. Chloe has the least improvised of the shows I've seen, she sticks to her script, but that's a good thing in this case. The show still feels fresh each time to each new audience and it gives her the ability to concentrate on refining what works and discovering new things in the material. The result is a very funny and endearing show.

Bec Hill - The first time I went to see Bec the show was sold-out. Once I got into her show I could see why. Bec is simply delightful. The show is based on the idea that one can and should hold onto their child-like wonder of life as they navigate the passage into adulthood. Using a giant sketch-book in a way similar to Jeffrey Lewis and a few other under-stated props and lighting/sound effects Bec draws you into her world, a land where one is faced with compromises and the claustrophobic (false) realities pushed on an individual by society. But with a devilish humor she skewers those expectations laden upon her and ultimately triumphs and emerges with her hopeful curiosity of life intact...and so do we.

Rona and Beverly - I discovered this duo as a result of their asking me to guest on their show at The Pleasance. They are two LA comedians/actresses who perform as a pair of forty/fifty something Jewish yentas pushing a book on second marriages. It's all a pretext for their hilarious improvised interviews each night with a different guest. Their ability to stay in character and improvise without missing a beat is a riotous experience and I'm hoping they'll do some guest hosting with me at the Antihoot.

Biddy - I just have to mention this fireball who's been gracing the stage at the Antihoot. She doesn't have a fringe show, she's crashing on couches and I have no idea how she's surviving. Her sets are not polished and she sometimes looks a bit bewildered that she's here but she has that special something that cannot be learned. A little like how I imagine Dylan first struck people when he ambled onstage at those early open mikes at Folk City. Her comedy is risky and rebellious and I’m eager to see what she brings to the world over the coming years. Very much someone to look out for.

Tanya Lee Davis - OMG! Tanya Lee is a midget. She prefers that to dwarf because she thinks midget is funnier. And funny she is. Totie Fields meets Joan Rivers by way of Lily Tomlin. She is far from physically challenged as I think she's one of the funniest physical comedians I've seen. Making faces and gestures that would rival Lucille Ball on her best days. This is why the Antihoot is so much fun, you never know what sudden treasure will appear.

Caroline Rhea - Caroline seems to be adjusting to the style of the Fringe. Still a bit distracted by new motherhood. But I am so glad she came and did a set at the Antihoot because the crowd adored her. She's much more in her element with the late-night uninhibited audience and it was a pleasure seeing her relax and just be incredibly funny. I hope she returns to the Antihoot because everyone truly loved her and she’s easily one of the best on the scene.

Celia Peachy - Celia has a show running entitled 'Girl Constantly F***ing Interrupted'. This is my favorite show title and I really want to catch it especially after meeting her and hearing her story of incredible tragedy and how she's getting through it and emerging as a soul warrior and accomplished actress. Unfortunately, her show is at noon when I'm still asleep! But that's what alarm clocks are for and I have her show on my list of things to see before the Fest ends.

That's it for now. I'm immensely enjoying the brilliant performers I've experienced so far at the Fringe and looking forward to more, but just for now the garden and sky are calling and I think I'll sit and stare for a while before getting ready for my shows tonight.

Cheers-Lach

8/19/10- Amazing reviews coming in for Lach's performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest. He's doing his one-man show 'The Day I Went Insane' every night at 10pm and hosting the Antihoot five nights a week, both shows at the Gilded Balloon. Here's the press so far...
The Day I Went Insane:
"***** Five Stars - Rich, Skilful, Quirky and Quixotic!" - The Herald

"His set was very nostalgic, descriptive, funny and moving. Lach is hilarious and although little known here has a huge following in the US. I have already and will continue to tell people to go see his show. A very funny man!" - Radio Forth

"An acoustic ruckus...funny! New York singer/songwriter Lach is a legend!" -The Scotsman

Lach's Antihoot:

"***** Five Stars!"- The Herald

"**** Four Stars!" - The Scotsman

"***** Four Stars!" -The List

8/15/10- Big shout-out to Ben Krieger for a great Antifolk Fest at Sidewalk Cafe this year! Anybody got a on the spot report/reviews for us? send 'em in for posting...

7/31/10-Lach leaves for the Edinburgh Fringe Fest today. The town is already buzzing. Lach will be performing his one-man show "The Day I Went Insane" every night Aug.4-30th at 10pm and running the Antihoot five nights a week Midnight-3am at The Gilded Balloon. Buy advance tickets now as these shows will sell-out quickly!

7/28/10- Amazing finale to this season's Anti-Idol at the Antihoot last night at Webster Hall! Six fantastic finalists competed at the end of the night for the free recording time at Webster Studios and the suspense was high as to which act was the winner. All six acts were wonderful: Tyler, Crazy and The Brains, Rob Shapiro, Supercute, The Fools and Cal Folger Day. With the packed room stamping and cheering the judge's (Lach, Brook Pridemore and Somer) called an impromptu meeting of the acts and a huddle formed around the soundboard. Then the acts sat back down and Lach announced that the rules were thrown out the window and all six acts would be allowed to record and that an Anti-Idol compilation CD would be made featuring all the finalists! In addition, Webster will print up 100 copies of the CDs to give to the acts and that the acts could also use the recordings for future projects if they wish. Talk about a win-win situation! Congrats to everyone involved, a big shout-out to everyone who attended the history making first season of Lach's Antihoot at Webster Hall and we'll see you all in September. (ed note: wait, what? a whole month with no Antifolk? Don't fret dear reader, The Summer Antifolk Fest will be in full swing in August at Sidewalk Cafe, NYC and Lach's Antihoot will be shipped lock, stock and barrel for the summer over to The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh, Scotland for the World's largest Arts Fest, The Fringe!)

7/8/10- Congrats to Supercute for becoming last week's semi-finalist to be the Anti-Idol of the summer and winning the weekly prize of $100!

7/3/10- Congrats to Tyler for becoming last week's semi-finalist to be the Anti-Idol of the summer and winning the weekly prize of $100!

Only one more week to go. Come by this Tues July 14th for your last chance to become a semi-finalist, win $100 and go on to the finals where you can win free studio time with producer and engineer! 6/27/10- The Antihoot's Anti-Idol game is going great! The crowds have doubled in size and we already have four amazing semi-finalists: Rob Shapiro, Cal Folger Day, Crazy and The Brains, Gabrielle. They've all won $100 each and will compete for a recording deal in our finals at The Antihoot on July 27th. You still have three more weeks to win yourself! See you at da hooooot!

6/18/10- Ben Krieger at Sidewalk Cafe has announced the dates for their Antifolk Festival as being Aug.3-13. Plan accordingly :-)

6/14/10-Jeffrey Lewis and Laura Marling cover Eminem.

6/11/10-
(L-R) Eddie Izzard, Lach and Mike Myers enjoying the night at "Lach Presents..." at Webster Hall.

6/10/10- Great new video from Thomas Truax

5/29/10-Lach's Antihoot, NYC's longest running open stage, happens every Tuesday Night in The Marlin Room at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Str, NYC). Launching pad for such artists as Beck, Regina Spektor, The Moldy Peaches, Jeffrey Lewis, Rick Shapiro and hundreds more. Are you next? As much fun to perform as it is to watch. The Antihoot now includes the Anti-Idol contest. Each week a semi-finalist is chosen and they will win $100! After eight weeks, at the Antihoot on July 27, they will compete for the final prize of a recording deal with Webster Hall (studio time in Webster's recording studio with a professional engineer/producer and the manufacturing of 100 CDs!). Judge's decision is influenced by audience acclaim so bring your friends and fans to cheer you on! Doors at 7pm. Sign-up to perform at 7:30pm, show at 8pm. No cover, 2 drink minimum and 3rd drink is free! $3 beer/ $3 whiskey.

When: Every Tuesday night. Doors at 7pm. Sign-up at 7:30pm. Show at 8pm.

Plus: Free to get in! 2 drink minimum and 3rd drink is free!

5/21/10- An episode of Lach's Antihoot Radio Hour is now up on our jukebox! 5/13/10- At the last Antihoot at Webster Michelle Shocked showed up and jumped up on stage with Lach for a rendition of The Edie Effect from Lach's first album and the Velvet Underground's Femme Fatale. The week before Adam Green came by and charmed the crowd with two songs and introduced us to The Shining Twins. Can't wait to see what happens this Tuesday...

5/10/10- New Soft Black video premieres today!

5/6/10- Last night at Lach Presents...in The Marlin Room at Webster Hall: Sander Hicks announced his candidacy for the Green Party's nomination to the US Senate with a speech from the stage. Macaulay Culkin, Dibs, Dashan and Kirk Kelly spotted in the crowd. Alana Sveta discovered and booked straight from the weekly Tuesday Night Antihoot mesmerized the late-night crowd with a beautiful, hypnotic set. Next week sees the return of Joie Blaney (AKA Joie Dead Blonde Girlfriend) to the New York stage at Webster on May 12th along with fellow Antifolk stalwarts Lenny Molotov, Greg D and the mysterious Churchill Downs

5/5/10- Wow, what an amazing Antihoot last night in the Marlin Room at Webster Hall! Over 100 people came by to hang out, perform and have fun. I dug all the performances but a few stand-outs to my brain-of-very-little-sleep include Rob Shapiro's hilarious diatribe, Adam Green's set, Da Skufz getting the crowd joint jumpin', The Antihoot debut of The Shining Twins, Pezzettino's stomping accordion set (she's fresh in NYC for only two days but I got a vibe she's gonna have a great summer here!), Toby Goodshank's short and sweet song, Tommy Volume of The Star Spangles Lou Reed-like number...oh man and dozens of other great acts and moments...oh yeah, the light saber martial arts demo by Dark Cthulu! Tonight, Wednesday Marlin has 6 acts for 5 bucks. Look at our calendar on this page for the line-up and we'll see you tonight!

5/1/10- On Wednesday May 5th at 8PM Sander Hicks will announce his Green Party candidacy for the NY Senate at his show this week at Lach Presents....at Webster Hall. Other clubs profess revolution, we do it!

4/20/10- So, how many of you have gotten your heads wrapped around the fact that Antifolk now has a home at NYC's largest, longest running, live rock and roll music venue - Webster Hall? Every Tuesday night is Lach's infamous Antihoot open stage with sign-up at 7:30pm and every Wednesday night Lach Presents...5 acts for 5 Bucks! This is Antifolk on steroids! The roof just came off and this beanstalk's shooting past the clouds, hop on, it's a wild ride!

One of the best columns we've read recently on Antifolk...and in Pitchfork!?! (ed. note: who's James Murphy? We never got his demo...)

4/18/10- Adam Green interviewed in Cleveland Scene

4/10/10 - The NYC debut of Lach's One-Man Show The Day I Went Insane has been announced for Wed. April 21st at 11pm at Webster Hall in NYC.

4/8/10- Malcolm McLaren has died. Malcolm's style and energy as manager of The Sex Pistols was a big influence on what became the Antifolk scene. We will miss him.

4/5/10 Nice write-up on the new Antifolk scene at Webster Hall in The New Yorker. So classy! Um, a few corrections though: It's the Antihoot, not the Anithoot. It started in 1984 and arrived at Sidewalk fully-developed in 1992. It was on Mondays at Sidewalk not Tuesdays. It attracted over 200 people a night on average not 60 and it's already doing quite well in the bigger room at Webster. Other than that at least they spelled Lach's name right and we love the New Yorker! When is the Antifolk cartoon issue with David Chelsea, Jeffrey Lewis, Fly, Leah Hayes and Toby Goodshank coming out?

4/4/10- New interview with Lach in indiesoundsny.com

3/25/10 - Spotted at the last two Antihoots at Webster: Jason Trachtenberg, Randi Russo, The Debutante Hour, Master Lee, Rob Shapiro, The Fools, Debi Dalton, Crazy and The Brains, JJ Hayes, Lorraine Leckie, Timothy Dark, Chris Maher, Larkin Grimm, Steve Espinola, Cal Folger Day, Mr. Patrick, Ariel, Touching You, Joe Crow Ryan, Don McCloskey, Birds of Prey, Anna Haas and scores upon scores more. Don't miss it! Lach's Antihoot every Tuesday night at Webster Hall!

3/21/10- Happy Spring everyone. A time for new beginnings is upon us. Easter and Passover respectively celebrating rebirth and liberation! The perfect time to come out this week to Webster Hall (125 East 11th street, NYC) for the official opening night of Lach's Antihoot. Doors at 7pm, sign-up at 7:30pm if you want to perform, show starts at 8pm and goes all night long. At last week's 'soft launch' of the Antihoot we had an amazing time. Everyone kept describing it as a dream, as being surreal and walking around with huge grins on their faces. Time-out NY made us a pick-hit for this week, 'East Village staple Lach personifies the antifolk scene with his jangly, funny pop-punk songs. Tonight he hosts an antifolk open-mike night, which restricts performers to (very) brief sets; good for those with short attention spans. This series ran for years at Sidewalk Cafe, and tonight debuts at Webster Hall's new Marlin Room.'
And then on Wednesday, March 24th at Webster is the premiere launch party for the new weekly series entitled "Lach Presents...". Every week you can see 5 acts for 5 bucks in the beautiful Marlin room at Webster. This week on the 24th we hit it with The Fools, Chink Floyd, Ching Chong Song, Rav Shmuel and Don McCloskey

3/17/10-From the Herblog:

Lach's Antihoot got off to a new start last night at Webster Hall. I wandered up about 7:20 or so and saw some familiar faces outside, Debe Dalton chiefly among them. The room inside is large and kind of slick, with comfortable places to sit. There's a stage with a cool back drop that looks like a big wrought iron fan--a kind of Art Deco look. Lach is stationed behind plexiglass partitions in a booth at the back of the room. There's a large bar to the left of the stage. Leading into the main room is a side room that I have a feeling will become like the Sidewalk basement, a place to hang out, practice, chat. While hanging around before things got going, I had this disorienting moment from encountering Lach as Antihoot host in a new setting. After all, the pattern and rhythms of the Sidewalk open mic nights hosted by Lach had grown so familiar over the years.

The crowd was kind of slow to build and Lach delayed sign up a little. Unfortunately I had to leave for a while and so wasn't there for the evening's kick-off, but from what I heard it was pretty much as usual with Lach explaining the ropes of how the evening works. I came back later in the night and somehow things felt more familiar. Bernard was hanging around and people were singing their hearts out on stage.

It seemed to be a kind of quiet kick-off for the Antihoot. There were any number of folks from Sidewalk there: Master Lee and Mr. Patrick, Steve Espinola, Vin, Charles Mansfield, Don Cameron, Rick Shapiro. There also were other performers who seemed new to the scene, who somehow found out about the Antihoot, and there was also a group of mysterious folks in darkened areas along the wall who were hanging out. But the large room made it feel as if it was a little sparsely populated. The new event probably does need some time before it catches on but I have no doubt it will.

As usual, even in the brief time I was there, I heard some really interesting music, some of it from folks I wasn't at all familiar with. Is there a bottomless source of people in New York needing to express themselves? It seems so. The greatness of open mics is the opportunity given to anyone who has the urge, the drive, the desire to tell the world how they feel. Even with Lach back as host, this one will probably take on a character that's different than what came before. So, let's say welcome to the new Antihoot, and thanks for providing us a stage.

3/11/10 - The Fools added to jukebox. Catch The Fools on the opening night of "Lach Presents...at Webster Hall" on March 24th along with Chink Floyd, Ching Chong Song, Rav Shmuel and Don McCloskey

3/9/10- Trevor Jude Smith added to the artist pages and the jukebox.

3/8/10- The Return of The Antihoot hits the news at altsounds.com

3/7/10- RANT FROM THE EDITOR: OK here it is. Spring is around the corner. The Antihoot is coming to Webster's Hall. Antifolk is blooming all over the world (again!) and a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon. They are adding "Antifolk" to their music resumes as a marketing tool along with twitter, facebook, and myspace. They feel the need to be everywhere at once and part of anything that might possibly help them get three more people to a gig or the attention of the music programming director for Grey's Anatomy. The phrase "chill out, it's all good" was actually overheard at an Antifolk event! Enough's enough. It's NOT all good. Some stuff is fucking amazing and some stuff suck's Woody Guthrie's balls. How can an artist grow in an environment like that? The scene was never about a cloying passive-aggressive acceptance of everybody so no one gets offended and everybody wins. You want that go join a San Francisco Little League team. Artists, true artists, need and thrive in a community of like-minded peers who are critical, competitive and supportive. But they are supportive out of a desire to experience better art not out of a fear of personal rejection or failure or being left behind.
To be an Antifolker takes more than just using the word as your genre descriptor next to indie, quirky and guitar-driven. It means hanging out at the Antihoot 'til dawn because your heart is burning to be part of the song of night, it's about owning a vast collection of Antifolk CDs,it's about going to an Antifolk event not just because your friend is playing and you want them to come to your gig too but because you've been to them before and had your mind shredded and opened up to a new way of approaching art and entertainment. You can't call yourself "folky" and expect an artist page on antifolk.net. We are NOT folky! Go play on the freak folk site or buy a ticket to the Folk Alliance to listen to Gordon Lightfoot wannabes and don't waste our time anymore.
On our end of things, we apologize, we've gotten a little lazy while pulling up our chair to the lip of the apocalypse. We allowed artist pages up on the site without really vetting them and as we started to review them over the past week we found they had NO MENTION of Antifolk on their sites. That no-one has seen them actually hanging out at Sidewalk's open stage, that they couldn't name a Debi Dalton song if you paid them.
Over the next few weeks we will be deleting those artist pages that are from artists that are not really committed to calling themselves Antifolk. It's OK, they probably won't notice anyway.

3/6/10- Darwin Deez has a wonderful new video

2/27/10 - OK, this is big. Really. Really Big. Lach's Antihoot is back but at a new venue on a new night. Starting on Tuesday Night March 16th (and every Tuesday thereafter) Lach will be hosting The Antihoot in the Marlin Room at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street, NYC), sign-up at 7pm to perform. There will be no cover charge and no drink minimum. There will be a piano, full bar and coffee drinks available. We'll get you more details as they become available but, for now, mark your calendars for Tuesday March 16th...The Return of Lach's Antihoot!

2/21/10 - Ray Brown added to artist pages.

2/20/10- This Just In: Lach will bring the infamous Antihoot back to Sidewalk Cafe for one night only this coming Monday night (Feb.22) to give Ben Krieger a well-deserved respite. Sign-up to perform is at 7:30pm, chamomile campfire sometime after 2am.

2/20/10- It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Antifolker Gena Dry. Gena arrived to the NYC scene in early 2000 from the UK and brought with her a vitality and sassiness that quickly endeared her to the Antifolk community. She will be missed.

2/20/10-Adam Green fashion tips

2/19/10- Cal Folger Day added to artist pages.

2/19/10-Antifolk Fest, Live, February 18, 2010
Blurple is the type of act we need more of around here. Kind of weird avant gardy stuff They even had a song called Avant Schmavant Garde Schmant, or something like that. Another of their ditties elucidated the steps for making grilled cheese, and yet another featured a sort of chant of the lyrics: "Hey Kids, Don't You Smoke, Hey Kids You Will Choke. Blurple consisted of a guy who mostly played acoustic guitar but also played the piano with his foot on one song and a girl who played a variety of things including a hollowed out gourd whistle. Somehow Blurple, I think, came from a combination of the names of the two members of the group. - Herb Scher

2/18/10- Annie Crane added to artist pages and jukebox.

At Sidewalk's Antifolk Festival last night we caught JJ Hayes doing his TS Eliot meets The Doors set last night as well as Joe Crow Ryan's beautiful off-the-cuff acapela version of 'September Song' and The Telethons' punked-out power-pop set and were instantly reminded of how the diversity and eclecticism of Antifolk still thrills us and confounds the critics. Perfecto.

Hank and Pigeon added to artist pages and jukebox.

2/17/10-
Antifolk Fest, February 16, 2010 - By Herb Scher

Jeff Lewis: Jeff started off with a new song...it was about trading time...essentially it was about how to be great, how to use the time you have to learn something new, unique....
He also did covers of three songs from the 1950s: "Endless Sleep" by Jody Reynolds and the Storm, The Fang, by Nervous Norvus, and a Tom Lehrer song about when we all die.
Another new one was a song about green sludge. Yes, it was about something called "Crongu" the best green sludge around. (I'm not really sure if that is how you spell "Crongu" by the way. Could be Krongu or Crongoo or Crongue etc.
Jeff also performed one of his documentary films, a new one about the fall of the Roman Empire.
As usual Jeff's set was rich with compelling and interesting material. It had at least three new pieces and three covers I'd never heard him play before. That's a lot of new material and a lot of ideas for someone who could coast a lot more on his established "hits" if he wanted to.
Unfortunately I had to leave before hearing The Everybody Knows. Man these shows go late.

(ed. note: The Everybody Knows caused an appearance of the police due to noise problems...now that's folk!)

2/16/10-Roger Manning added to the artist section

2/15/10- Crazy and The Brains added to the artist section and the jukebox!

2/6/10- What's old is new again. It's funny how Antifolk is constantly the 'new thing'...for 25 years! 1/13/10- For those in the know Jessica Kane is an amazing performer and was a shining light of the Antifolk scene for a few years at The Fort at Sidewalk Cafe. It is to our delight that she's back with a brilliant album collecting her spoken word rambles. Check it out for free at her site.

12/23/09- Jeff Lewis and Kimya join forces for a new album as The Bundles.

12/21/09- New Joie Dead Blonde Girlfriend Review.

12/18/09-ALL FOLKED UP with NOWHERE TO GO?

KIRK KELLY's Go Man Go ANTIFEST at Webster Hall features Jeffrey Lewis, Lach, Jason Trachtenberg, Joe Hurley, Debe Dalton, John S. Hall, Roger Manning, Erin Regan, John Kruth, and Mike Rimbaud.

12/17/09- Wakey!Wakey! releases new album. Read about it here.

12/14/09 - A Lach interview has surfaced. Read it here

12/11/09- Five Questions for Lach from Metro UK just surfaced, thought we'd post it.

12/8/09- Review of Regina Spektor concert in UK

12/5/09- One of our fave UK Antifolk venues is closing (read about it here). We hope Ruth and the gang best of luck wherever they end up!

11/30/09- Video of Lach performing at McCabe's Guitar Shop in LA from several years back unearthed and posted in the video section (Lach plays at Sidewalk in NYC on Dec.5th)

11/25/09-New Adam Green song for free for the Antifolk.net crew :-)

11/13/09: BULLETIN FROM THE FORTIFIED STORE:

We have unearthed a few official Fortified Antifolk Fest 2006 T-Shirts! These collector items are designed by renowned artist Peter Nevins (graphic artist for Gillian Welch, Lach, Ben Godwin, Eric Wolfson!). This is it! Once these are gone, they're gone! Here is what's available (first come first served!): Ladies Tank Tops: XL, M, S and Guys: S. Please indicate which type in your order. These 100% cotton T's will sell -out fast so please order today so you won't be disappointed.