The New Standards are three friends, musicians and raconteurs who have been performing together since 2005 in clubs and theaters everywhere, from Shanghai to New York City. They've released half a dozen CDs and populated Youtube with a number of popular videos. In their original state, they take the form of an unusual trio (stand up bass, piano and vibraphone), but of-late have been the soul and creative core of a hydra-headed, funny, freewheeling, nutty yet very moving "Variety Show". Look for them when they come to your town to surprise and delight, whether the stage holds three or twenty-three.

In December 2012, the trio released its latest album, Sunday Morning Coming Down. Reviews as always have been stellar. But judge for yourself. Click the link and you'll be directed to a place where you can buy it.

Check back here often to see current gigs coming up, and read more news. 

Next up in the coming months TNS can be found:

APRIL 11 and 13 @ The Chanhassen Dinner Theater. Tickets available now through Chanhassen's site.

Let one moment serve as an example: Mike Doughty singing Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," behind him a fifty foot tall projection of Mary and Joseph in homesteading attire, their faces lit by the baby Jesus floating over a haystack while the three wisemen, re-thought as cowboys, genuflect awestruck.  On stage a feast of cowboy dancers leap to the skies as the music suddenly turns Copland-esque "Rodeo" and then the dancers canter offstage, "Gangnam Style."  Here's a little smidge of the show that our friend Steven Cohen put up on Youtube.  Thanks Steven for making such an excellent document of the show each year!

'Nuff said...

OK, not quite enough.  Let's talk about that Western Nativity concept and the projections.

Taking the stage the stage, the entire band, sometimes numbering as many as 20 members at one time, were all fitted out in beautiful Western wear (The New Standards themselves got costume design help from super hip dress designer Joy Noelle).  The show was illuminated by towering color-soaked photos (by Travis Andersen, with brilliant photo composite and manipulation by Pixel Farm's Tony Mills based on The New Standards concept) that told the tale of The Nativity as played out in the Old West.  The songs of the first act were chosen to cast a light on the emotional world of the characters Mary and Joseph, with Chan, John and Steve revealed as the Three Wise Dudes who journey across the prairie  and finally finding  the blessed baby out back of a saloon.  The overall effect was a mind-boggling blend of sentiment and the kind of high culture kitsch of Jeff Koons or Cindy Sherman, but the one that worked on a variety of levels.

Besides Doughty and dancing cowboys, imagine the haunting beautiful tenor of Jeremy Messersmith singing "Ghost Riders In The Sky"

...the evocative soulful voice of Aby Wolf on a minor-key brood through "Silent Night," a honey tongued Chris Koza singing a David Lynch meets Ennio Morriconne version of "Walking In The Air" Matt Wilson stunning the audience as he hit the high highs of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and Lucy Michell presenting a song from her upcoming solo record (produced by John and Chan), "Can I Confide."  The first set wrapped up with the soulful Chastity Brown bringing it all back home with a rollicking version of her radio hit "After You."

And that was just the first set.  Here's just a "minimalist" taste of where we went in the second act.

We're getting all set for the big Holiday Show at The Fitzgerald December 7--9.  How are we doing it?  With a training regimen involving early egg nog imbibing, toddy tippling and wassail quaffing.  It's heavy work, but at the end of the night it will be WE who are the last ones standing.

For those of you who didn't already nab your tickets, well, there are still a few left for Friday and Saturday, a very precious few, and considerably more at last report remaining for Sunday's matinee.  Don't delay, though.  The shows will sell out.

Now then, to enhance your experience at The Fitzgerald we have a few simple ideas:

1) Watch this movie we made with the incredibly talented animator and director Bret Farley.

2) Watch this incredibly awesome version of Snow Days on the first day it snows, shot and edited by the prodigiously talented film maker to the stars, Dan Huiting.

3) Listen to the alternately mystical and silly strains of our last year's Christmas CD and buy one or several for your family stockings.

4) Use this time to dance about your living your living room while this is playing at top volume in your house.  Let the neighbors know how you like to shake it. It's our wholly original Christmas SMASH! 

5) Finally, begin a pre-party routine yourself, so at the end of the night when all the glitter has fallen and the fake snow has been combed from Munson's moustache you can march steadily to your taxi cab and zoom off into the night, fully prepared for the Holiday Season!   This is a reliably awesome way to slip into the mood.

Thank you!

PS

So here it is: The Fitzgerald Box Office is in downtown Saint Paul, on Exchange St.  There's a giant mural of F. Scott Fitzgerald on the rear of the building.  The ticket agents will be happy to accommodate you in person.  But if you so desire you could also use your telephone to call them: 651-290-1200.  

For those who prefer to buy their tickets from the privacy of their own computer, we have that covered too, though there is a fee from ticketmaster for that convenience.

We can't wait for the show and hope to see you all there!  

I've been thinking of our new CD this morning. In the flurry (note "snow" motif) of preparations for the as always highly anticipated upcoming Holiday Show the quite exciting (to me anyway) news that TNS will have a brand new studio album finished within a couple weeks has been somewhat lost.

But this is a great moment in our life as a band, I think. Since the first record, TNS has set a certain bar for song interpretations that is not only a fun challenge for me as a musician and (arguably) a singer but more than that offers us a platform for delivering the - to be a bit pretentious - art of songcraft. And this next record is filled with some gold. These songs are made famous by others, yes, but our job, if you will, our pleasure, is to keep them alive, to curate a set of tunes that illuminates pop history - our journey through it anyway - and offer you an experience where you can sit back and savor in a new way some nuggets you may have overlooked.

Immodesty aside, this new CD will be a bit different too. It will be a trio record, and there are some beautifully stark moments, but with just a bit of extra arrangement sauce, a bit of the flavoring you've been experiencing on our bigger live shows. I think it marks a turning point for us, and opens the door now for some more original songs besides the Suburbs and Trip Shakespeare songs we've re-done (although more of that is entirely possible) of our own devising. 

In other words, I think this is our best record yet. We hope you will agree.

See you out there!

Chan

Mpls Oct '12

Anyway, we love you Princess Kay of the Milky Way, and to prove our abiding affection, we have organized a contest, with prizes (!), to celebrate you in poetry, mostly haiku.  The contest was launched from the stage at The Minnesota State Fair Friday at our show in Heritage Square and will conclude at midnight, Tuesday September 4th.  If you wish to enter in the next 24 hours or so please post your haiku on twitter using the hashtag #princesskayhaiku and send to @newstandards We will pick a male and a female winner and post our picks for the ten best haiku here!  If you want to see all the poems just search #princesskayhaiku on twitter.

Can't wait to see what you come up with... and thanks to those who made it to the fair shows!  They were absolutely awesome!