Spanish Prisoners are a NY-based group with an interesting history. Frontman and songwriter Leonid Maymind crafted the first album, Songs To Forget, and launched an impressive effort to thrust his new group into the forefront of the music scene last year. Against all odds, he saw some remarkable success, from touring with John Vanderslice to playing with Daniel Johnston, and more. Through this he performed solo and with various incarnations of his band, always on the lookout for the right collaborators to help things take off.

Now Maymind is back with a new band to work with in the studio and on stage, and a new free ep to show it off. Download the three excellent tracks of Los Angeles Guitar Dream over here. Fans of bands like Ladytron, Grandaddy, Radiohead, and Eels should definitely take notice.

For the band’s NYC fans, there will be a record release show this Saturday, April 25, at Crash Mansion (199 Bowery, Manhattan). Buy tickets for the show here. Download the free ep and you will receive a code word which you can bring to the show and get a drink ticket.

Though I no longer live in NY, I still keep up on what’s happening in the local music scene there, and The Deli is a great place to start. For the first couple years of the magazine and website I was involved in a few different capacities (mostly writing record reviews, music news bits, and blog posts) and it’s great to see it doing so well. It’s hard to imagine that the one year anniversary party at Tonic was over 3 years ago.

Anyway, the Deli is celebrating the scene’s “Best Of NY” with a great festival in (mostly, with the exception of Joe’s Pub) Brooklyn from May 6-10. The After The Jump Fest is one of the sponsors of the event.

Check out the full festival schedule after the jump!

Sunday 05.10 (sponsored by ASCAP)
- The Bell House, 21+, $12 -
10.00 Chairlift
9.00 TBA
8.10 The Secret Life of Sofia
7.20 Takka Takka
6.30 TBA
BUY TICKETS

Saturday 05.09
- Joe’s Pub, $15 -
9.30 The Lisps’ FUTURITY Musical
FUTURITY is an original indie-rock musical by Brooklyn band The Lisps. A theatrically staged song cycle, FUTURITY tells the story of a Union soldier in the Civil War who is an aspiring science fiction writer. The work fuses traditional Americana, found text, experimental music, and The Lisps’ own brand of quirky co-ed pop.
BUY TICKETS

Friday 05.08
- The Bell House, 21+, $15 -
12.00 Crystal Stilts
11.00 Blank Dogs
10.00 Religious Knives
9.00 Dinowalrus
BUY TICKETS

Wednesday 05.06 (sponsored by BMI)
- Southpaw, 21+, $10 -
11.10 Lowry
10.30 Elizabeth and the Catapult
9.40 The King Left
8.50 April Smith
8.10 KaiserCartel
7.30 Mia Riddle

My friends The Shondes had their van stolen in Brooklyn this weekend. Please read their note (also copied below minus photos) and keep a lookout for it. They’ve got a show in Maryland that they need to get to this weekend!

Hi Friends,

The Shondes’ van was stolen from Prospect Heights this past weekend. This is obviously a huge loss, and we need all the help we can get trying to find and recover it. It’s urgent — our next out-of-town show is this weekend, and the van is absolutely necessary for us to tour regionally and nationally.

Please keep an eye out for:
-A 2003 dark blue Ford E150 van
-license plate, NY state, ERL 7270
-tinted back windows
-sliding side door
-last seen Sunday 3.29.09 on Prospect Pl between Washington Ave and Underhill Ave in Prospect Heights

The lock on the driver’s side is busted and poking out, with a hole underneath it, which is a distinguishing sign, even if the plates have been changed or removed. There is also a thin, long scratch on the driver’s side. If you see or hear of any sign of this vehicle, please be in touch with us right away. You can email me at temim@shondes.com.

A couple of partial pics attached; please note that the license plate number has changed since the photos below. ERL 7270 is the correct license plate.
Many thanks.