Beijing

I’ve always wanted to visit Beijing since I am fascinated with Asian culture. For now, I won’t bother with extremely long flights (yet), but will settle to listening to Beijing, an alternative rock band out of New Haven, CT. TamikaBelle and I met Beijing via Twitter, and if you know a belle, you know that we swear by the relationships we’ve cultivated via Twitter. Beijing was kind enough to let us into their world and befriend us (don’t you just love their album cover?!).

In case you’re musically curious, Beijing is comprised of 4 musicians: Bill Pruchnicki, Jack Hoopingarner, Eric Thornberg, and Thomas Smith. I got my sweet hands on their debut EP, “It’s Not So Simple,” which has 4 solid rock songs that will please your discerning ears.

“Glitch” has a thudding bass guitar line combined with some gritty vocals. It reminds me of punk and a little bit of what I call dirty rock. Let’s just say a belle was bopping her head on this one.

By far, my favorite song is “New Beginning.” If you listen to the passion in this song, you’ll understand why. Overall, the production on the entire EP is very strong. If you appreciate rock as much as we do, then you have found yourself a new favorite band in Beijing!!

We look forward to seeing what else Beijing is going to do. Keep your eyes and ears on them ArtBLT’ers! If you’re a fan of good music and tire of listening to all that canned wanna be music on the radio, then purchase Beijing’s music NOW.

Go out and support independent music. You can buy Beijing’s EP on iTunes for the low price of $3.96. Tell ‘em your favorite belle sent you. If you are really daring, follow them on facebook & twitter, too! - ArtBLT

I’ve always wanted to visit Beijing since I am fascinated with Asian culture. For now, I won’t bother with extremely long flights (yet), but will settle to listening to Beijing, an alternative rock band out of New Haven, CT. TamikaBelle and I met Beijing via Twitter, and if you know a belle, you know that we swear by the relationships we’ve cultivated via Twitter. Beijing was kind enough to let us into their world and befriend us (don’t you just love their album cover?!).

In case you’re musically curious, Beijing is comprised of 4 musicians: Bill Pruchnicki, Jack Hoopingarner, Eric Thornberg, and Thomas Smith. I got my sweet hands on their debut EP, “It’s Not So Simple,” which has 4 solid rock songs that will please your discerning ears.

“Glitch” has a thudding bass guitar line combined with some gritty vocals. It reminds me of punk and a little bit of what I call dirty rock. Let’s just say a belle was bopping her head on this one.

By far, my favorite song is “New Beginning.” If you listen to the passion in this song, you’ll understand why. Overall, the production on the entire EP is very strong. If you appreciate rock as much as we do, then you have found yourself a new favorite band in Beijing!!

We look forward to seeing what else Beijing is going to do. Keep your eyes and ears on them ArtBLT’ers! If you’re a fan of good music and tire of listening to all that canned wanna be music on the radio, then purchase Beijing’s music NOW.

Go out and support independent music. You can buy Beijing’s EP on iTunes for the low price of $3.96. Tell ‘em your favorite belle sent you. If you are really daring, follow them on facebook & twitter, too! - ArtBLT

New Haven rockers Beijing sent Alternative Control their EP to review — see, Twitter is good for something after all. It’s Not So Simple was recorded this summer, only months after the band formed. To be honest, I’m hooked. “Glitch” and “Hands in Front” gave me serious nostalgia for the days when I laid on the floor for hours listening to the Foo Fighters and Weezer. In fact, the moving vocals paired with “My Name is Jonas” guitar tone makes me want to crack open a beer and dance around my bedroom right now…

Okay, I’m back.

Download your own nostaglia fix at Beijing’s site, either for free or for $3.96. (Your choice!) You can also catch Beijing in real life at Daniel Street on 9/14 with Sneaky Castro and Skratch Happy. - Alternative Control

New Haven rockers Beijing sent Alternative Control their EP to review — see, Twitter is good for something after all. It’s Not So Simple was recorded this summer, only months after the band formed. To be honest, I’m hooked. “Glitch” and “Hands in Front” gave me serious nostalgia for the days when I laid on the floor for hours listening to the Foo Fighters and Weezer. In fact, the moving vocals paired with “My Name is Jonas” guitar tone makes me want to crack open a beer and dance around my bedroom right now…

Okay, I’m back.

Download your own nostaglia fix at Beijing’s site, either for free or for $3.96. (Your choice!) You can also catch Beijing in real life at Daniel Street on 9/14 with Sneaky Castro and Skratch Happy. - Alternative Control

Well this was fun, interviewing and recording a new Connecticut band called Beijing up on a roof in Woodbridge, Connecticut. This was the first time they’d ever done some of their tunes on a rooftop. I think this works for them, it goes with their sound. I told them they should play rooftops all over the state and make it their niche.

This is a great group of guys, three from Connecticut and one transplanted here from new Jersey. They’ve been together only a few short months and are doing only originals. They have dozens and dozens of songs ready to go and may even put out a double album. They’re thinking put it all out there and see what sticks.

They’re having a great time forming their sound and trying to figure out what is next. When I showed up to talk to them on a Saturday morning, they were completely chill, doing that “Starbucks” thing.

Who makes up Beijing? The drummer is Bill Pruchnicki and he’s from Madison. Jack Hoopingarner is the “Jersey” guy, he plays bass and now lives in Moodus. Thomas Smith is from Clinton and he plays electric and acoustic guitar and is the PR guy, and Eric Thornberg plays guitar and is the singer, he hails from Orange. If the band thing doesn’t work this would be a great law firm. Hoopingarner, Pruchnicki, Thornberg, and Smith.

How did they come up with the name “Beijing?” They wanted a name that sounded worldly and big, I told them they have accomplished that, bond m and after hearing them play I told them I thought they could be huge in the UK. I’ve been there a couple of times and their sound reminds me of music I have heard around London. Beijing, London, Paris, go big or stay home right? The logo they came up with the band I think is stellar, it matches what they are trying to accomplish and that of course is world domination in the music world, they didn’t say that by the way, those are my words. The guys describe their music as post 1990's alternative grunge, but m0re polished. They gotten some internet play and local radio, now they’re getting ready to launch. I would love to hear that someday Beijing has been booked in a huge arena in that amazing city in China.

Listen to two of their more laid back songs here and see what you think. - Ann Nyberg's Network Connecticut

Beijing isn’t just a big city in China anymore it’s also an alternative rock band, with the hopes of showing the world who they are and what they can do. With great personalities and a passion for music, I’d say they’re on their way to making it big!

Q: How exactly did you guys become a band?

Eric: I posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a few like minded musicians hoping not to attract any weirdos. Turns out I did attract a weirdo but he was also a like minded musician by the name of Thom Smith. He sent me some stuff he had written and I emailed him back a version of one of those songs which turned into the song, “Glitch”. From what I understand as soon as he heard it he knew right away we had something. We got together with Thom’s old drummer Bill and rehearsed for a month or two before adding a bass player who ended up being Thom’s brother-in-law, Jack.

Thom: Yeah, It was weird because everything ended up happening so fast, like in a matter of a few days once we started passing tracks back and forth. After the email demo version of “Glitch” was done, Eric and I ended up getting together and banged out like 2 more songs in a night, and then it pretty much went on from there.

Q: How did you come up with the name for your band?

Eric: It was a long process of throwing ideas back and forth. We had some pretty terrible suggestions as a group but as soon as Thom threw out ‘Beijing’ we all agreed the name game was over. Plus we were all born in Beijing which is pretty ironic.

Thom: Yeah who would have guessed that as young kids, we all lived on the same Beijing city block haha. But yeah in all honesty, one of things we wanted to do was to come up with something that wasn’t a trendy name that would sound dated in a few years. You know like “blank the blank” or “the blanks” or “blanks” or “blank 213”. We wanted a name that was something we could grow into, and that people didn’t really have too much of a preconception about. Beijing is one of the biggest cities in the world, but at the same time (for us anyway) there’s a certain amount of mystique around it. As far as we could tell, there weren’t any bands that had taken the name, and it just felt good to us, like something where down the road we could be like “oh yeah that totally sounds like Beijing”. The added icing is that it has those three dotted letters in a row which is fun to look at.

Q: What do you want fans to take from your music?

Eric: I’d like people to connect and relate to our music; feel inspired by it. It means one thing to us but I want the listener to insert their own meaning and feeling into the song. I’d love for somebody to look back at a certain moment in their life and associate one of our songs with that moment.

Thom: That is a really good question. For me, I guess musically, I hope that we can just create our own little musical fingerprint where people hear one of our songs and think, “wow that doesn’t really sound like every other band on the radio, and I like it a lot”.

Q: Who would your top 3 bands that you would love to tour with be?

Eric: I’d love to tour with Conor Oberst whether it’s with Bright Eyes or another one of his projects. Foo Fighters because Dave Grohl is a hero and Amy Winehouse… too soon?

Thom: I listen to a ton of bands that don’t sound anything like us at all that I’d love to play with, but would probably make for a weird tour. As far as 3 bands that I think we’d fit in with…hmmm… 1) A friend of mine recently introduced me to this UK band called “Yuck” that I’ve been really into lately. I’m hoping to catch them in Boston when they come around next month. 2) I’m a big Silversun Pickups fan. I think they have some of the most interesting alternative rock songs out there today, just really sick guitar tones and overall interesting arrangements. 3) I’m also a huge Jimmy Eat World fan. They are a band that can do no wrong in my eyes haha.

Q: What or who inspires you guys to make music?

Eric: I’m inspired to write by all kinds of things. Mostly by my feelings and experiences I have throughout my days. If I’ve had a bad day, I find that writing helps me get those feelings out and off my shoulders. I like the idea of being able to capture a moment of time or a feeling in song that you can take with you forever.

Thom: For me, music is just such a part of me that I think I’d go crazy if I wasn’t making it. So I guess keeping my sanity is my main inspiration. As far as musicians that I look up to, I would say that my favorite guitar player of all time is Brian Hubbard of The Gloria Record. The stuff he wrote in that band always blew my mind… It was so expressive and melodic, but it never was technically all that complex. I love stuff like that.

Q: Who all makes up Beijing and who does what?

Eric: Beijing is made of Thom Smith, Bill Pruchnicki, Jack Hoopingarner and myself, Eric Thornberg. Thom writes a lot of the material and plays guitar. He also does an insane amount o - Wellz Street Journal

Beijing: It’s Not So Simple

Debut EPs are tricky. Most bands like to show their range but its almost impossible to do in just three to five songs. If you show your range on a debut EP, the listener gets absolutely no sense of what type of band you are. If you do not show your range, the listener may write you off as a one trick pony. These are the issues Beijing must have struggled with while writing their debut EP, It’s Not So Simple.

The key to a successful debut EP is to have three songs that show a consistent style and tempo so that the audience can peg what kind of band they are listening to and then have one or two songs that deviate from the formula slightly. This is pretty much what Beijing does.

The EP kicks off with “Glitch,” a track that has all the energy of 90s Get Up Kids with a chord progression that is more indicative of bands like The Dismemberment Plan. Lead singer, Eric Thornberg’s voice reminds me of Eric Bachmann‘s work with Archers of Loaf. The track clearly establishes the group’s 90s indie sound.

That sound is built upon with the EPs second track, “Hands In Front.” The song has similar energy as “Glitch” but Thrornberg’s uses a slightly different voice. His voice gets raspy as he strains to hit notes just slightly out of his range, think of Archers of Loaf’s “Wrong.”

Where the band deviates from this basic sound is with the EP’s fourth and final track, “New Beginning.” The track starts with an Interpol-esque guitar line over just a kick drum but quickly adds sweeping guitar arpeggios over both. This layered, lush sound is something the other more raw tracks lacked. When Thronberg’s voice finally gets added to the mix, it shows him using a softer delivery that reminds me of Chris Simpson during the Mineral years. While the sound is not exactly NOT 90s indie, it does show a slightly more classic emo edge to the group.

Ultimately, It’s Not So Simple piqued my interest in Beijing. It shows a consistent vision in songwriting while exploring their sound in four distinct ways. The only critique I have is I would not have ended the EP with “New Beginning.” The song is the EP’s only “downer” and leaving it on that note does not leave the strongest picture of the band in my mind. But besides that slight critique, the EP marks an auspicious begin.

Rating: 7.8/10 - Surviving the Golden Age

Beijing: It’s Not So Simple

Debut EPs are tricky. Most bands like to show their range but its almost impossible to do in just three to five songs. If you show your range on a debut EP, the listener gets absolutely no sense of what type of band you are. If you do not show your range, the listener may write you off as a one trick pony. These are the issues Beijing must have struggled with while writing their debut EP, It’s Not So Simple.

The key to a successful debut EP is to have three songs that show a consistent style and tempo so that the audience can peg what kind of band they are listening to and then have one or two songs that deviate from the formula slightly. This is pretty much what Beijing does.

The EP kicks off with “Glitch,” a track that has all the energy of 90s Get Up Kids with a chord progression that is more indicative of bands like The Dismemberment Plan. Lead singer, Eric Thornberg’s voice reminds me of Eric Bachmann‘s work with Archers of Loaf. The track clearly establishes the group’s 90s indie sound.

That sound is built upon with the EPs second track, “Hands In Front.” The song has similar energy as “Glitch” but Thrornberg’s uses a slightly different voice. His voice gets raspy as he strains to hit notes just slightly out of his range, think of Archers of Loaf’s “Wrong.”

Where the band deviates from this basic sound is with the EP’s fourth and final track, “New Beginning.” The track starts with an Interpol-esque guitar line over just a kick drum but quickly adds sweeping guitar arpeggios over both. This layered, lush sound is something the other more raw tracks lacked. When Thronberg’s voice finally gets added to the mix, it shows him using a softer delivery that reminds me of Chris Simpson during the Mineral years. While the sound is not exactly NOT 90s indie, it does show a slightly more classic emo edge to the group.

Ultimately, It’s Not So Simple piqued my interest in Beijing. It shows a consistent vision in songwriting while exploring their sound in four distinct ways. The only critique I have is I would not have ended the EP with “New Beginning.” The song is the EP’s only “downer” and leaving it on that note does not leave the strongest picture of the band in my mind. But besides that slight critique, the EP marks an auspicious begin.

Rating: 7.8/10 - Surviving the Golden Age