Telenovela Star

Playing WHFR’s Benefit Show

COCOYEA — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 05:18:37 +0000

We thought it would be cool to play out again, and for a benefit show for a rad station, Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR). You must check out www.whfr.org. You can listen from anywhere.

WHFR is a DIY radio station in Washington Heights that broadcast music, storytelling, poetry, live events, and more, live off the web. The radio station acts on a volunteer basis and all funding comes out of donations and/or the founders’ pockets (mostly the latter).

Nikkie has been spinning tunes on WHFR every last Wednesday of the month for a year now.

Under the pseudo Calypso Sally, the name of her drums, her show, Broad Strokes, tries to play as many different genres as possible: from hip hop to soca, from bebop to punk rock. She also invites bands to play live acoustic sets as well.

It’s also Nikkie’s birthday that week, and she wanted to celebrate it with you, and you, and you…

So we’ve been in the lab creating, laughing, and coming up with tunes. We have a new one to share, so we hope you’ll be there on Saturday, December 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Fort Useless, 36 Ditmars Street, Brooklyn, NY
When: Saturday, December 11 @ 6:00 p.m.
Bands: Boy With the Ice Cream Face, TSTAR, Object, Magnetic Island, Coyote Eyes
Cost: $8

Gatorade + Ellery Hollingsworth + Telenovela Star =

Telenovela Star — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:24:57 +0000

Hey hey hey. Telenovela Star lives on.

Two of our songs – “FLUFF” and “CAR SONG” – were chosen by Gatorade as the tracks for several videos, and website featuring snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth. We were so psyched about this, that we met up and had a jam session to celebrate.

View our musical accompaniment to this thirsty, sporty event here: http://www.elleryridesallday.com/

Embed clips here:

“CAR SONG”

“FLUFF”

Car Song Does it Again!

Telenovela Star — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:22:25 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, we found out that Car Song was going to be used for a Gatarode ad promo. Check it out:

Nikkie McLeod plays on Magnetic Island’s single “Subterfuge”

Telenovela Star — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:38:32 +0000

Telenovela Star’s drummer, Nikkie McLeod, plays on Magnetic Island’s single “Subterfuge“.

Read more here

1/3 Telenovela Star – hitched!

Telenovela Star — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:01:41 +0000

On Saturday, May 1st, 6pm, close friends and relatives gathered discreetly on the Hudson River Waterfront at Debrosses Street to celebrate Hanna & Jonathans wedding – flash mob style! Jonathan waited with guests as Hanna walked towards the Serpentine Sculptures that faced the waterfront, accompanied perfectly by a gorgeous sunset, and a reading of their vows.

Tears. Kisses. Rose petals in the air. Sangria and food ended a fun celebration.

Congratulations Hanna & Jonathan!
T*

It’s been a year!

Telenovela Star — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:12:47 +0000

We last played July 3rd for DJ Mojos birthday and thought it was the right thing to do to play again this year. And, we have been ITCHING to play. We have dusted off our instruments, emptied out whatever pocket change we could for rehearsals and wrote a few new songs.

We hope to have your ears to test them on. Maybe you can name one of them for us, since we are totally stumped. If you cant make it, look for a couple of new recordings we should have out by late summer.
xx
Maggie

Back at it again

Telenovela Star — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:34:19 +0000

So last Saturday, TSTAR met up for the first practice in a long time. We went through our songs, which surprisingly wasn’t that bad considering it’s been like 6 months of not playing our set.

We played some new songs and some not so, but in the sense that it’s taking on new directions. I’m talking about Death By Meteorite (DBM) that’s off of our full length, Love, Lust, Sci-Fi & Monsters (LLSM).

The genesis of DBM began like any of our songs, out of a long and quite possibly frustrating day at work (you know what I’m talking about), and then coming to practice, and some douche played with and may have broken or stolen our equipment. So, we quite possibly spent a good half an hour venting, calling around to find out who messed with our shit, and then finally we channeled all of this stress and DBM was born. At which point, of course, we’re smiling because for the time being, we’ve forgotten about all of the ills inside and outside.

The first DBM recording was a total raw draft that was recorded on cassette tape. Feeling the vibe from that first draft, Maggie went home and started playing her acoustic. From there, she wrote the lyrics for DBM. I don’t know what made her decide to record what she was working on, but I’m so glad that she did.

Awesome was the first thing out of my mouth, when she shared the home-recording with Hanna and me. She did all of the recording for the DBM version on LLSM by herself! Even the whistling, the effing whistling.
It was around the time when we were finishing up with the LLSM album. So, we were so excited about including DBM on the album. It was the perfect ending piece.

After LLS&M came out, we hoped to come back to DBM with the whole band. And we so did last Saturday. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this song. Listening to it is like witnessing the sun about to set, you’re cruising down a road, and all you feel is this summer breeze. Maggie said it: DBM is very visual. You get the feeling of going across the country.

We can’t wait to share this experience.
The Love, Lust, Sci-fi & Monster’s “Death By Meteorite“ version

Live Set on Break Thru Radio

Telenovela Star — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:32:58 +0000

So last week, we recorded our first in-studio live set. If you’ve never heard us play live, here’s a pretty good idea of what you would hear.

Click the tune player on the right hand side of the page, and bookmark this site!
BREAK THRU RADIO LIVE SET

Thanks to Maia for having us : )

Also, we’re playing Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg this Saturday at 9pm, with some really cool bands Deleted Scenes, and Parachute Musical from Nashville, TN. $5 cover.

Post-Baltimore gig

Telenovela Star — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:45:30 +0000

We’re back from Baltimore! On our second trip down to Maryland, we made a conscious effort to write about it. We met our friends Object at our rehearsal space, then packed equipment and headed down to Baltimore in a caravan of two cars. I whipped out my notepad and started marking the times and events.

Here’s my only entry:

11:47am: We leave studio 38th street/ NYC
12:00pm: Got pulled over by the cops at 34th street

Thank you Sarah at Metro Gallery, The Payola Reserve, and Object for coming down with us and dealing with guitar & bass of Telenovela Star chirping in the backseat for 8 hours this weekend, Maria BMB, Pianowire, Kara & Jeremy, and everyone else that I am forgetting right now. I recall all faces, but not names.

Thank you kindly for a such warm reception, and open ears
xo

T* Valentine’s Day Wishes

Telenovela Star — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:49:46 +0000

A couple of months ago, we met up just to hang-out and play some songs. We’ve been on a hiatus since we’re practically broke, looking for employment, and trying not to get committed (the real, on-going telenovela). Anyway, we’ve been needing some sort of release for some time now, and meeting up just to play, not our set or unfinished songs, just to play loudly like we didn’t give a shit anymore, and feel the frustrations, the beast, bleed out. This release felt like the best sort of cure for the thwart that’s been illing, suffocating us for some time now.

Of course, I was late on the day, which sucked, because it takes forever to set a kit that’s not your own up, especially when it’s a piece of shit kit. If anything this is a good metaphor for life: never set-up or play anybody else’s piece of shit kit. Maggie was fooling around on the keyboards, and Hanna on her bass. I quickly tried to set the mouse trap of a kit up. It was my worst set-up time ever: half an hour! After doing a three week residency at The Delancey earlier this year, I could set-up in like 5 minutes, 10 tops. Well, that was mostly nervous adrenaline, mixed with shots of Red Bull.

We were just messing around, spur of the moment playing, and then we started talking about this metal band that shared the studio space next door to our old studio, and how awesome we thought their musical arrangements were (lately we’ve been getting into metal). Maggie started talking about how she wanted to write a grave song, and of course that just started it all. Hanna started jokingly singing about loving a lover from the grave, while Maggie was playing on the keys, a blues progression to match Hanna’s bass and vocals. I came in with a slow blues beat, and it went straight to hell after that. We were so excited. We had to play it again, and this time record it. We were hooked on what we had made, it felt so good. It honestly felt like a drug rushing through my veins.

We couldn’t get the melody out of our heads, even after our session at the studio ended. We kept humming this sketch, it was like a nursery rhyme. We just kept singing it over and over again, all through the streets of Manhattan’s Port Authority, laughing when one of us added a scandalous line to the lyrics. I raced home hoping Hanna had emailed us the short recording of the song. I remember I couldn’t sleep that night, and for once it was for a positive reason. I kept giggling like a kid about our night, and the song. Ha! my poor lover, she puts up with so much. Luckily, she didn’t kick me out the bed that night.

We never had a chance to meet again before the holidays to flesh the song out, but Hanna did this incredible keyboard version of it at home. The name of the song is “Carcass of Pleasure“, our attempt at a metal song. The lyrics are ‘metal’, but the melody is more blues, pop maybe? You decide.

After listening to “Carcass of Pleasure”, I suggest listening to “Something In the Middle” right away (on loud speakers, and dance around in front of a mirror, I do it all the time in just my underwear, and a broom as my microphone), since they sound so good together.

Carcass of Pleasure, Something In the Middle