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12.31.04

Happy New Year everyone! If you're in the NYC area tonight and still have nothing to do for New Year's Eve, come down to the Trash Bar in Williamsburg to check out this very last minute show with Paul Schneider (along with Oscar and one of the top cultural icons of the 21st century, the iPod). Here is the info:

Trash, 256 Grand St (@ Roebling) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
http://www.thetrashbar.com
(718)-599-1000
(L train to Bedford or G to Metropolitan)
w/ Rollo, Paul Schneider (w/ Oscar Rodriguez), Undersea Explosion, and Brooklyn Queens Experiment

In Nakatomi-land we're still working out some issues with the master but we're very close to posting some new music online so keep checking back.

And from everyone in Nakatomi Plaza, we wish you a happy and healthy new year. See you all in 2005!
-NP

12.27.04

Aww yeah, '97 VOX AC30/6TB in da house! (a present to myself) It sounds sooo good! Other awesome things now in my possession:
-version 1.0 of a mastered copy of our new record (it also sounds sooo good!)
-a cool tour offer for us in April '05
-MC5's "High Time" and Neil Young's "Tonight's The Night"
-The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" DVD
-a Rode NT1-A condenser mic
-Jeero The Uglydoll
-Family Guy action figures (ok, it says "dolls" and not "action figures" on the package)

Listening to (besides MC5 and Neil Young):
-Elliot Smith's "Either/Or"
-Superdrag's "Head Trip In Every Key"
-The Like Young's "So Serious"
-Poster Children's "Tool Of The Man"

Movies watched in the last few days:
-"The Aviator" (What a weird movie to see on xmas day.)
-"The Day After Tomorrow"
-a bunch of James Bond movies on Spike TV

OK, enough boring lists. Hope everyone had a good holiday. New mp3's coming soon...
-oscar

12.19.04

Happy Holidays. I saw the last NYC show of the Pixies a few hours ago and it was great. Frank and Kim were amazing (as I expected them to be) but Joey Santiago was downright incredible. Such simple lead guitar work, but very sophisticated, classy, and most of all, consistent. Musicians should take note, less is still more.

Does anyone else miss the 90's as much as I do?

Anyway, back in the Nakatomi world, the mix of our new album was finished this past Tuesday early morning around 4am. It sounds amazing. Just flat out amazing and incredible. Thanks again to J. Robbins for putting all that time and work into this record, you're the best. I know I'm being self-righteous right now but I'm really proud of the work we did and I can't wait for you all to hear it. It's getting mastered this week at West West Side Music, so expect to hear some songs online after the New Year.

Now that the record is almost finished, my friends keep asking me, "so, now what?". Well, the record will eventually come out once we have all that business sorted out. And then, TOUR! TOUR! TOUR! We are still auditioning drummers so if you're interested please get in touch.

Keep each other warm.
-oscar

12.10.04

Hey from Jarvis Studios in rainy NYC. We got back from Baltimore yesterday morning and we're 99.9% done with vocals (which we'll finish up tonight). Everything sounds AWESOME!!! We already started mixing this afternoon and I'm way psyched right now.

I want to thank everyone at Big Crunch Studio (Brooks, Carri, and Eva) for letting us take over their studio and home for 3 days, you guys are the best!

Alright, back to the control room for now ... talk to y'all soon.
-oscar

12.06.04

Hello from Newark, DE! ("hi, i'm in delaware."). Joel, Al, and I are on our way to Big Crunch Studio in Baltimore to record vocals for our new record with Brooks Harlan and J. Robbins. We recorded some awesome percussion yesterday, played by Liam's roommate and our good friend, Brook Martinez. And over the last few days, we've been recording some keyboards and samples at home. Everything is coming out really well and I'm very psyched that we're a few days away from mixing!

I just heard the new Avec record and it totally rocks so go buy it! You should go to Marathon's Pure Volume page to stream some of their new songs because they're so good! My good friend Paul Schneider is about to start doing vocals for his new record, and what we've tracked so far is really awesome, that record is going to turn some heads. Also, my buddies in New Electric are doing a bunch of shows (sans Oscar, I am bummed I can't go on this trip to play with them!) this weekend in Philly, DC, and Baltimore so if you're around you should check them/us/them out!

Other things rocking my world: " The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", Al's parents' Ford Minivan (thanks!), The Beatles' "Past Masters Vol. 2", John Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band", Nirvana's "In Utero", the TV show "Lost", the MBox, my new-ish guitars (SG special and '62 reissue Telecaster), and stress management / acid reflux diet.

Stay healthy.
-oscar

11.14.04

Hey everyone. These last 8 days have been very INTENSE. True to form with anything Nakatomi-related, I got very sick a few days before we went into the studio (if you must know, I had some sort of allergic reaction around the morning of election day that gave me really bad congestion and post-nasal drip which then inflamed and irritated my throat and vocal chords). At the suggestion of two doctors and J. we decided not to record my vocals this week (and for the first couple days of tracking, I barely said a word, strictly communicating with weird/rude hand gestures and a legal pad/sharpie). It didn't really matter in the end because we ended up tracking guitars from Tuesday to Saturday! (A word of advice: once in a while, it's ok to not look at the Pro Tools screen to see if you are ahead or behind the beat. If it rocks, it rocks! Other things I learned this week: A stereo amp set-up of the Subway Rocket and AC30 sounds amazing, the Big Muff still rules, Amp Farm is useful when applied in moderation, the Jack Endino studio guitar tuning method actually works, and Joel and I are WAY too picky about our takes. Two things I already knew: Liam rules on the drums and Al is a total monster on the bass. Modern Drummer and Bass Player magazines will be calling them for interviews once this record comes out.)

Getting back to my illness, I'm sure it was stress-induced. Thanks W!

Anyway, we're done tracking 90% of the instruments and everything is sounding ridiculously good. Joel, Al, and I will be heading down to Baltimore to record our vocals in a few weeks and then we'll be mixing back at Jarvis in mid-December, with mastering at West West Side happening just before Xmas (meaning that I will be posting some mp3s for y'all by the New Year). Apologies to my fellow bandmates in New Electric for having to postpone our December weekend of shows (we will rock beyond the NYC area soon, I promise!). Thanks to Paul for being flexible with his recording schedule and for loaning us his bass cab (although we still have yet to re-amp the bass tracks!). Thanks to Jesse for loaning us the Whammy Pedal. Thanks to Main Drag for the set-ups and repairs. Thanks to Dave Snyder for having us at Jarvis and for coming down to NYC to get us up and running during the first few days, it's much appreciated. Thanks to Dave and Noah for dealing with us running around the studio all week. And finally, special thanks to J. Robbins for making us sound and play like a real band and for basically getting in the trenches with us on this. Dude, you're the best, dude.

Rock on.
-oscar

11.07.04

We're half-way done with drum tracks, and Liam is absolutely nailing his parts. If there's any justice in this world he'd be on the cover of next month's Modern Drummer (ok, and Seventeen magazine and the Musician's Friend catalog). Time for bed, good night.

11.05.04

What a week it's been. I'm not so surprised that Kerry lost the election (let's face it, he did not appeal to his correct voter base as he was pro-war), but I am surprised that so many people turned out IN RECORD NUMBERS to vote for Bush. The man that didn't win the election in 2000. The man who was in charge of this country as 9/11 happened under his nose. The man that dragged us into war against Iraq. And now with the Republicans basically controlling ALL THREE branches of the U.S. Government, who knows what's going to happen next. I have to give it to the Republicans, they're clever. Evil, but clever. I mean, this election should have been about the War, but the Right turned it into an election about Religion, so now we have all the Righteous Folk in this country saying "Women don't have the right to choose, and gay marriage threatens straight marriage ...well, I'm voting for Bush! It's a SIN not to vote for Bush!" WAKE UP PEOPLE!!

J 20 will be a very bleak day.

Sorry to start off on such an angry note, but I, like many others, are infuriated.

On the other end of emotions, I am absolutely thrilled to say that we're entering Jarvis Studios today to start our recording sessions with J. Robbins for what will be our first new full-length in almost 3 years. As depressed as I am about the election, I am looking forward to these sessions and I can't wait for you all to hear the record.

Thanks for reading.

Please keep hope alive.
-oscar

10.25.04

Just a quick reminder that we are playing tonight at North Six, here's the info:

TONIGHT!
Monday, 10.25.04, 8pm, $7
North Six (basement), 66 North Six St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
w/ Sex Positions, Tora Tora Torrance, and Bullet Train To Vegas
We go on first at 8:45pm, hope to see you there!

10.12.03

RECORDING!!!
Well, it's finally official. We will be recording our next album in early November at the amazing Jarvis Studios in NYC, with the also amazing J. Robbins at the helm. We are extremely lucky to be working with such a talented producer/engineer/musician and we can't wait for you all to hear the results. Thanks to Dave Snyder at Jarvis and Heather Hawkins at AAM, and of course, J. for making this possible. The as-of-yet untitled record will be released on an as-of-yet unknown record label, but interested parties should get in touch.

CMJ!!!
Don't forget, please come to the CMJ Music Marathon on Saturday, October 16 at Siberia with Neurotic Swingers, The Capsules, Only Children, and The Beatings! We're on at 9pm sharp.

NEW VIDEOS!!!
There are live videos available of "Get Me My Meds" and "Miguel" taken at the (noun) Fest '04 (our last show with drummer, Max Goldman) available at The Angry Penguin. Start yer downloading.

10.07.04

Thanks so much to Explosions In The Sky, Adem, North Six, and everyone that came out to the show last night, we had a blast playing and it was awesome to see those two amazing bands. Sorry to anyone that couldn't get into to the show, I was bummed to see you guys go home.

More rehearsing and writing, and then we're gonna rock the night away at the CMJ Music Marathon on Saturday, October 16 at Siberia with Neurotic Swingers, The Capsules, Only Children, and The Beatings! We're on at 9pm sharp.

I believe the deadline to register to vote is TOMORROW!!!! So if you're not registered, please click here. Thanks!

09.29.04

Hey! Just wanted everyone to know that we're playing the CMJ Music Marathon on Saturday, October 16 at Siberia with Neurotic Swingers! Please come out and support us!

And don't forget, Wednesday, October 6 is the night of our show with Explosions In The Sky and Adem. It's going to be an awesome show, you definitately don't want to miss it!

Nakatomi Plaza has joined MySpace, you can check out our profile by clicking here. That's all for now, see you next Wednesday!
-oscar

09.21.04

Hey everyone. Ten days into being 25 and so far so good. Thanks to everyone that came to the show at Otto's and celebrated me and Liam's respective birthdays. Just want to remind everyone about our show with Explosions In The Sky, here's the info:

October 6, Wednesday Night
Nakatomi Plaza @ North Six
66 North 6th St., Brooklyn, NY
w/ Explosions In The Sky and Adem
8pm, $10adv./$12d.o.s.
Click here to buy tickets. (We strongly urge you to buy tickets in advance; last time EITS played in NYC at the Knit the show was sold out.)

We also have another new song entitled "Red Room" up for download at PureVolume.com. Hey kids, start all the downloading!

Also, the deadline for registering to vote is October 8th!!! Please go to Rock The Vote to register online.

That's all for now. See you soon.
-oscar

09.09.04

Friends,

Sorry for the lack of updates during August. We have been holed up in our homes, continuing the never-ending work of writing and demoing. We are not sure who will be putting out our next record, but we do have some news about when and where we'll be recording the album (which will be in November), however, we're going to wait to announce that until it's all confirmed. Until then, we have 2 (possibly 3) shows coming up...

This Friday night, September 8th!
Nakatomi Plaza @ Otto's Shrunken Head, 21+
538 E 14th St (between Ave. A and B), NYC
(Tanner and P5's going away party! Oscar and Liam's Birthday party! we go on after midnight!) w/ Persnickety, Mz Pakman, JFK jr. Royal Airforce, Baghdaddios, Sonic Uke

October 6th
Nakatomi Plaza @ North Six
66 North 6th St., Brooklyn, NY
w/ Explosions In The Sky and Adem
8pm, $10adv./$12d.o.s.

In unrelated (but awesome) news, we just wanted to say congratulations to our friends Paul Schneider and Melaine Oster. They got married during a beautiful ceremony this past Saturday in West Park, NY. And afterwards, Liam, Oscar, Paul, and Sam rocked the guests in between dinner courses. (Best of luck to you both!)
-NP

07.31.04

Thanks to everyone that came out (especially in that awful rain storm) to this past Tuesday's show at the Knitting Factory. A fun time was had by all, including all the bands. Special thanks to Kimono (see you in Iceland!), Vostok (for being the first band to sleep on the floor of me and Al's apartment ... oh, and also for rocking our world!), Paul Schneider (who is right now sleeping on someone's floor in Chicago ... he plays Erie tonight and then he and I will be at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Sunday night), and the Knitting Factory. And thanks also to anyone that said nice things about our new songs. After all the work we've been putting into them, your kind words are much appreciated.

We just got added to a show at Sin- é in NYC on Sunday, August 15th. We'll be playing with Sono Oto, Sans Alabaster, and Via Violenta. Doors are at 7pm (we go on at 10:30pm). This may be our only local show for August so please come by and support us that night!

Thanks, see y'all soon!

07.06.04

hey, so, al finally got a new wysiwyg html editor, mozilla, so lo and behold, some new pics are up! check out pics from our 2003 tour with Marathon.  for older pics, click on pictures in the navigation bar.

06.16.04

SHOWS!
We have two awesome shows coming up. This Saturday we're playing a benefit for Guild The Lily, a Brooklyn Art Collective. Doors open at 9pm, and it costs $5 to get in. And then on July 27, we'll be playing with this awesome band from Orlando, FL called Vostok (go download their mp3s from purvolume.com, they're amazing). Also on that bill is the indie-math rock band (from Iceland!!!) Kimono so please come out to this show! Info for both shows is on our shows page.

We have no news to share about the new record yet. We are still barricaded in our homes demo'ing new songs. We're all very psyched about our the new material and we can't wait to share it with you.

We do have our new-ish songs up for download at www.purevolume.com/nakatomiplaza. Start downloading!

05.27.04

Howdy! We'd like to thank Jasmine and Jane Doe Books for having us at the Ladyfest Benefit, and thanks to the Angry Penguin for putting on such a great show for us up in Westchester County. We have some summer shows in the works, we're just waiting for some confirmations. Expect to see us in NJ, NYC (with some friends' touring bands), and possibly an overdue return to Long Island.

NEW DEMO MP3's AVAILABLE!
Go to PureVolume to download a demo of "Get Me My Meds". Our song "It's Really Not This Hopeless" is also available there. And of course, more mp3s are available on this website's sounds page.

CONTEST!
What genre is the music of Nakatomi Plaza? Email your entries here. Winner will receive one Nakatomi Plaza tee-shirt of their choice. Entries will be judged by us.

VOTE BUSH OUT OF OFFICE!
Need I say more.

04.29.04

Wow, what a crazy month it's been. And it's not even over yet! Al and I are about 90% done with our move to our new place (affectionately dubbed "The 203 Annex"), but we shall be distracted from packing tomorrow night because of:

An ALL AGES Rock Show to Benefit Ladyfest* East
Friday, April 30 @ Jan Doe Books

w/ Nakatomi Plaza, Rachel Jacobs, Welcome the Plague Year
6pm, $ 5 @Jan Doe Books, 93 Montrose Ave
Subway: L

Please come by if you can 'cause it's gonna rock.

Thanks to everyone that came out to support us at the Knitting Factory, North Six, and Maxwell's and to said venues for having us this past month. And special thanks to Marathon, Milagres, Decahedron, Baby Teeth, The Butchies, Kimya Dawson, Mickela and everyone at Genuine Artists Management for the kind words, good times, and the rock.

Attn: Westchester Nakabots, we will rock you on May 14 with the Suicide Pact!

Writing has been going EXTREMELY well. I am itching for y'all to hear the new songs. We started recording some demos of the newer songs this week ... keep your eyes and ears peeled, we may post these demos online at a later date.

04.13.04

Thanks so much to everyone that came out to our show at the Knitting Factory, we had a blast playing with you all and it was fun to rock out with our friends in Marathon and Milagres. If you can, please come see us with Decahedron, Baby Teeth, and Quick Fix Kills at North Six this Thursday, and with The Butchies at Maxwells on April 21, and at the Ladyfest East Benefit on April 30!

04.03.04

Al and I didn't make it to Macrock this weekend, it was just going to be too much driving for one weekend (this coming from the same people that drove 19 hours straight from Albuquerque to San Francisco). So I'm home writing this news update, instead of gearing up to see Majority Rule. sigh.

OK, enough sulking. April is going to rock!

We were just added to a great show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ with The Butchies and Kimya Dawson of the Moldy Peaches! That show is on Wednesday, April 21 at 9pm.

Tomorrow we're playing at the Knitting Factory with Marathon, Milagres, Kill Crush Destroy, and Flowers and Cops. Get there early, the show starts at 2pm! And don't forget about our show with Decahedron at North Six on tax day, and the Ladyfest East benefit we're playing on April 21 at Jane Doe Books in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

We also have a new song called "Calling All Cars" available on the Cipher Records Compilation 2004. You can get that CD from us for $5ppd. Also included on the comp are Marathon, The Audios, New Electric, The Red Death, Scream! Hello, Hedaya, Sound the Alarm, Dear Tonight, and others. Even De La Hoya.

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour.
Don't forget to vote Bush out of office.
Thanks.

03.17.04

Hello everyone! First of all, thanks to all of you for coming out to the Clamor Magazine Music Festival. Josh told me that Clamor reached the goal of the benefit, so congratuations to them! Thanks to Jenn, Josh, Clamor Magazine, Southpaw, and the New York Grassroots Media Conference for allowing us to participate in the festivities.

Since that show we've been concentrating all our efforts towards the next album. We will be debuting some of our new songs at some shows we have coming up:

April 4 @ The Knitting Factory w/ Marathon, Rome Fell, Flowers and Cops, Milagres

April 15 @ North Six w/ Decahedron

April 30 Ladyfest East Benefit @ tba

Please drop by if you can and let us know what you think of our new material.

In a few weeks, our merch page will be overhauled for easier consumption. And you'll be able to order our newest shirt (the one we've been selling at shows with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory floor plan design). You'll also be able to order merch via Paypal. Stay tuned.

Science. The Future.

02.08.04

Hey ya. I hope everyone has been staying warm. Al and I had our heat shut off during the 2 coldest days of the last 110 years. A phone call to 311 possibly saved us (thanks to you guys if it did), but we can't be sure.

Since coming home from tour we've been working on a bunch of material to round out our next record. And former Nakatomi drummer and our good friend, Liam Hurley, has agreed to join us during the writing of these new songs and the recording of our next record. He is also playing an awesome show with us on Saturday, February 28th (Al's birthday):

Clamor Magazine Music Festival - Brooklyn, New York
in connection with the New York City Grassroots Media Conference
at Southpaw, 125 5th Ave (at Sterling Place)
Scheduled to perform: Ricanstruction, Marathon, Nakatomi Plaza, and Monsterpuss, plus DJ Ese (Def Jux/Embedded)
Show starts at 8pm
$10
16+
BUY TICKETS

Drummer Graham Mitchell (from The Red Death) was awesome enough to come down last weekend to rehearse with us. He will be touring with Nakatomi in the Fall after our record comes out. In other news, I will be leaving for a west coast tour this Wednesday with Paul Schneider and the day after our Southpaw show, Liam and I will be playing with The New Electric at North 6 with the always amazing Avec from Baltimore. We are still looking for a permanent drummer, if you want to audition, please get in touch. C ya! -oscar 01.08.04

We're back from tour. I have to say that being on tour with the flu was extremely hell-ish, and I want to take the time to thank everyone that made it more comfortable for us, particuarly Ana in Birmingham and Jamie in Louisville. Much apologies to the Chatanooga kids, sorry we couldn't make it to the show. Some highlights from the tour included the This Is For You Fest (where we got our asses kicked in varying degrees in Scrabble by Rob from Black Cross), The Cave 9 Fest, and our show in Louisville where Joel rocked really hard and then collapsed with his own version of my fever. Lastly, I want to thank Dom from Exit to East Booking for helping us put this tour together at the last minute.

We are, as usual, still looking for a new drummer. Please get in touch if you have any leads. Also, don't forget to go over to check out our new songs on the Sounds page. I guess that's it for now. See you in New Brunswick on January 17th and in Westchester County the next day. Stay healthy.

01.02.04

well, we're on tour so of course, oscar is sick. oops. so we are cancelling our show tonight in chattanooga. sorry. you should still go though, because My War is playing and it'll still be a great show. we're not cancelling any of our other shows, so we'll be playing again tomorrow in louisville.

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