What do you get if you put together walls of banjos and one of the great figures in left wing pseudo proto-Yippie, pseudo-Beatnik, psychedelic weirdo brilliant figures in modern pop? You get Better Than Expected, a brilliant mix of improv and song as community singalong… with the promise of giving us the same thing in 2015 for fiddles.
I met Peter through a writing project that I am working on with him and Jeffrey Lewis. Peter told me about this idea for a record which would be mostly without vocals and mostly banjos and told me that it would sound “better than expected,” I said “that should be the album title!”
Let Me Down Easy – Betty Lavette – I had my doubts about this soul icon till I saw her at Summerstage last year where I found myself completely impressed. This soulful r&b sounds classic to these ears – A-
Fantastic Planet Of Love – Marshall Crenshaw – This is the most Crenshaw-y song he has ever written, the sink of “just this morning I felt like troubles plaything” is lost and the joy just overwhelms you -he steps back to the problems of life and then takes us out of. One of the greatest songs ever – A+
Peter is signed to New Brunswick’s finest (who seem to expanded with every passing day) Better Than Expected the debut album from the Peter Stamfel And The Brooklyn And Lower East Side Banjo Squadron, will be released by Don Giovanni records on April 22nd and the record release party will be two days later
