Back in July we had the pleasure of seeing one of the best shows of the summer at The EARL in Atlanta, discovering a new band, Brooklyn’s EZTV, on release week of their debut album Calling Out. The album has been spinning on constant rotation since, grooving our ears with their dreamy power pop and exquisite guitar riffs. We are so enamored with EZTV we asked frontman Ezra Tenebaum to weigh in on our OpenEars Influencers series with an album that has made a major impact on him.
More on EZTV:
Inspired by hazy, jangly power pop acts such as Cleaners from Venus, Emitt Rhodes, and Shoes, Brooklyn’s EZTV began as the project of New York-based vocalist/guitarist/audio engineer Ezra Tenenbaum. Ezra Tenenbaum had been casually working on solo home recordings on his Tascam 8-Track and, in a desire to round out his songs, he enlisted collaborators from his circle of friends. Enter bassist Shane O’Connell, a fellow audio engineer with similar tastes, who quickly suggested college friend/drummer Michael Stasiak (formerly of Brooklyn perennials Widowspeak) to help Ezra with rhythm tracking. As it happened, the trio’s first chance to play together came at an audition for the American touring version of Spiritualized where they tried and failed to get the job. But, through Michael’s urging, the trio kept meeting regularly at his microscopic rehearsal space, now to work on Ezra’s songs. After self-releasing a limited-run tape of demos and a flurry of local shows, the band caught the attention of Brooklyn label Captured Tracks. The trio recorded its debut album with Woods’ Jarvis Taveniere as producer, with the April 2015 release of the 7″ Dust in the Sky heralding the arrival of Calling Out in July.
EZTV’s Ezra Tenenbaum’s Influential Album:
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bayou Country
“I came late to CCR. I’m usually tepid about anything bordering on white guy blues rock. However, I fell hard for this album after Michael gave me a copy at the beginning of the year and it’s been on heavy rotation since. Shane has a sort of Clockwork Orange response to this record due to it playing at pizza shop he used to work at, but I’d never heard it so had no prior associations. The arrangements and production are stark and stripped down, and contrast perfectly with Fogerty’s over the top vocal style. In spite of it’s jammier moments, Bayou Country stays fun and full of pop hooks through and through. The lead guitar feels laser-guided and trading off with the singing it makes the sometimes cheesy allegorical lyrics feel profound. It seems like the older I get, the more I appreciate simple direct statements and unapologetic shows of emotion. Bayou Country is a pretty ubiquitous album, and I think for good reason. I’m not sure I’m going to start writing slow burning swamp-rock anytime soon, but I’m hoping some of the magic of this album rubs off on me.”
– Ezra Tenenbaum/EZTV
More Info:
Website: http://www.eztv.nyc/
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/eztv
IG: eztv | Twitter @eztv
* #OpenEarsInfluencers is a series highlighting an album that had a major influence on artists, music industry folks, and music fiends alike’s love for music, an album that was really a catalyst and started it all for where they currently are in their musical journey.
