In these uncertain times, the resilience against the constant plethora of bad news that has come to embody this most terrible year that is 2020 will enable you to survive anything life has to throw at you in the future barring an apocalypse. In the spirit of the age, Brooklyn promotion collective Booked By Grandma has announced they’ll be releasing their self-titled debut compilation due out New Years Day 2021. The 12-track comp features new material from Mallrat, Oceanator, Water From Your Eyes, Gobbinjr., A Deer A Horse, Groupie and more. All proceeds raised from the project will be donated to For The Gworls, an organization dedicated to supporting rent relief and gender-affirming surgery funds for the Black transgender community nationwide.
We’re thrilled to premiere the first single off the album featuring raucous power pop trio THICK debuting an acoustic version of their anthem, “Lyfe”. The song strips away the originals give no fucks attitude for a more subtle heartfelt sentimentality that’s conveyed through an isolated guitar and soft spoken vocals. The originals refrain of “I Know my life is fine and it’s alright” holds more emotional weight given the worrisome tides of the dark winter around the corner.
We also spoke to BBG founders Mo Wilson, Shannon Minor & Katie Ortiz to get more insight on the compilation’s development, their lives in quarantine and their thoughts on the future of Brooklyn’s live ecosystem.
You can preorder the compilation here.
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1. Can you give a backstory on Booked By Grandma, how the collective came to be and some memorable shows you’ve hosted?
Shannon: Booked by Grandma came to fruition after a couple years of themed shows at The Bronze! We felt like we were finally ready to do more and wanted to create an inclusive scene for our pals and the Brooklyn community. Our most memorable show would have to be the summer camp theme. There were footprints on the ceiling!
Katie: I think we honestly just wanted to throw shows we wanted to go to! I loved the house shows, but after a couple years I was fully like, it would be really sweet to not have to mop beer off the floors every time we do this. Plus we wanted to work with other kinds of venues.
Mo: Doing house shows at The Bronze was a good start but we got too big and busy to do one small show a month! This year’s Palentine’s Day show was super memorable. It’s a show that we throw the day before Valentine’s Day to celebrate platonic love. We packed the Rubulad with people and all munched on free doughnuts during an epic lineup! It became even more bittersweet when S3rmon News wrote an article about it that came out early during lockdown. It made me appreciate what we did!
2. What was the inspiration for creating the compilation, and how have you developed the project behind the scenes, especially partnering with For The Gworls charity?
Mo: Shannon especially wanted to keep doing something during lockdown, and I think I suggested a charity compilation. Katie found the charity For The Gworls, which I liked because they also throw events to raise money. I liked the idea of donating money to a charity that’s also involved in the nightlife space. Mary Shyne (@myrtlewilloughby) had asked me about doing flyers for us forever ago, so I thought this was a great chance to finally get her involved.
Shannon: Although I’m very thankful for the cavaliers throwing online shows at the moment, it didn’t feel like something we as a collective wanted to do. A lot of this year has been asking “What’s fun? What’s worth our time and energy?” And creating something that would bring a sense of community while also benefiting one seemed like the right vibe for BBG.
3. As a collective that has been dedicated to inclusivity and creating awareness for a scene that is slowly reckoning with its lack of diversity, how does BBG plan to continue to highlight artists whose voices have been marginalized?
Mo: Honestly listening! And constantly looking at how you may be failing at those goals. For instance, after attending the black lives matter protests we had an honest conversation about needing to book more POC artists in the future.
Shannon: Couldn’t agree more. Listening is key and reevaluating ourselves as a collective constantly. Plus, being honest with yourself on an individual level about your own biases. We also discussed reparations and working that into future payouts.
Katie: I agree with all this. I think we also want to acknowledge that we are limited by our experiences. We’re so grateful to provide a space for folks other than cis-het-white-dudes, but we also have to make a conscious decision to look beyond that in our inclusiveness.
4. As fellow event producers ourselves, how has BBG changed over the past couple of months amid the pandemic? Do you think promoters / collectives will still play an essential role once live music returns?
Shannon: Definitely think promoters/collectives will still be a thing. Someone’s gotta do all that emailing.
Mo: I think once shows are allowed, everyone will suddenly be clamouring to lock down dates at venues. We’ll probably be really in demand when people need help navigating that. I also foresee us throwing shows in more DIY locations like backyards and houses if venues are harder to book, or (even worse) if they’ve all gone out of business.
Katie: Do not hold me to this, but I am absolutely itching for a blowout sloppy punk show at The Bronze.
5. How have your listening habits changed during these times, have you been discovering new artists or relying on nostalgic playlists?
Mo: I think they’ve been the same, I made a comforting playlist early on during quarantine with lots of Christine and the Queens, Fleetwood Mac, and Soccer Mommy.
Shannon: My attention span has definitely been lackluster, so there hasn’t been a lot of new music. Besides the new Dua Lipa album, that was a true lifeline. It’s mostly been a lot of dad rock (think ACDC or anything with a sick guitar solo), post-punk, and old country/folk music.
Katie: I’ve been spending less time with the songs I want to mosh to (RIP the pit) and more time with sentimental, melancholy sounds. I’m currently having a(nother) moment with Pom Pom Squad’s “Ow.” Sometimes you just gotta let the sadness wash over you. Dua Lipa’s album single handedly got me through June by letting me pretend I was out dancing with my friends.
6. Do you think with the ongoing fight to keep spaces alive across the country that folks will be excited to appreciate live music upon its return?
Mo: I think the people who are missing shows will be very excited once they return. I hope that by the time that happens there are venues to throw those shows at, although I can also imagine a landscape full of abandoned businesses that enterprising promoters might host spaces like. Perhaps there will be a return to the scruffy illegal shows of Brooklyn past?
Katie: Fingers crossed!
Shannon: Also keeping my fingers crossed! Katie and I joke there will be like 3 shows a night again as soon as that’s possible.
7. There has been a significant uptick in the compilation format especially as exclusive Bandcamp releases, what are other resources that musicians and former live music addicts can engage with their community these days?
Mo: I’m really excited about the livestream function that Bandcamp just launched, with the virtual merch table on screen to support the musicians. Maybe you’ll see a show from us on there soon….
Katie: Bandnada is a new streaming platform some friends of ours recently built! Personally I love that there are no ads or algorithms involved and that a tipping function is built into the site so that it’s super easy to support artists.
Shannon: I’ve been loving all the newsletters that have been coming out. We started one called the BBG Bulletin and Mo writes one called The Deviant Dispatch. Another friend started one all about drumming called The drumZine! It’s cool to read something and feel connected without having to go on social media.
8. Do you have an album or film that has played a significant role in helping you cope with the pains of this year? A line from which you can draw inspiration from in BBG or other projects you have?
Mo: In terms of Booked By Grandma, Mallrat’s new album def inspired us to throw a Zoom show in it’s honor, which ended being one of my favorites. It was the first time we’d worked with Gobbinjr, who’s been one of our faves for a while! The new Charli XCX album How I’m Feeling Now has been very key for me! Listening to her “c2.0” on repeat in May was really cathartic, and I go back to the whole album repeatedly.
Shannon: I’ve become super obsessed with Vietnam War movies or any war really. But my favorites have been Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket. 1917 and Dunkirk are really amazing too. I’m lol’ing at myself right now. I’m a big reader so I’d say The Autobiography of Malcolm X had a huge impact on me this year. And Johnny Got His Gun because war lol.
Katie: Oh man I have been so grateful for books in quarantine! Shannon and I often swap books so we have someone to discuss them with. I just finished “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” and I can’t wait for her to be done with it so we can stream the movie together! In terms of music, I’ve really been clinging to Mitski and Carly Rae Jepsen for solo dance parties.
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1.Supercut (cover) – puppy angst
2.Scar Tissue (cover) – Water From Your Eyes
3.dontgiveup (Demo) – gobbinjr
4.Turns Me (Instrumental Club Version) – Bacchae
5.Give Me Action – Bad Kiss
6.Mistakes (Live) – Oceanator
7.Lyfe (Acoustic Version) – THICK
8. Got Me Wrong (cover) – A Deer A Horse
9.beach song (suite for nectarine) (Demo) – MALLRAT
10.FREAKSHOW – Fear Not Ourselves Alone
11.Thick As Glue – Groupie
12.Disco Rayado (Demo)- Jackie Mendoza