News Archive

New York, NY April 2012
The Enemies played 4 weekend shows this March and April at the Living Room in New York.

They delivered four completely different late-night double-set spectaculars: a Rock Night, a Lounge Night, a Gospel Night (with special guest, Martha Redbone) and a final Pastoral Night to celebrate the coming of spring.

It was the band’s first series of late night Living Room double-sets since 2006.

New York, NY October 2011
Spottiswoode & His Enemies performed their first New York residency since 2007 at The Living Room in the East Village this October.

There were five Sunday night sets at 9pm, each one very different from the other….

On Sunday, October 2nd, they played a set of unrecorded “Pastoral” Songs.
On Sunday, October 9th, they played a Rock set featuring old faves and also cuts from their recent CD, Wild Goosechase Expedition
The Enemies rested on Sunday October 16th as Spott played a singer-songwriter triangle double-set with good friends Kenny White and Amy Correia.
On Sunday, October 23rd the Enemies performed a Jazz Set of mostly unrecorded Spott lounge ditties.
On Sunday, October 30th the full band finished the residency with a trademark theatrical Halloween Set.

The first 4 shows of the residency were double bills with our fine friends, The Silos. Much fun was had by all.

New York, NY -2011 Young Spott is proud to be one of the featured singers on the remarkable new CD, ROSLER’S RECORDING BOOTH, a hauntingly beautiful concept album written by his friend, Don Rosler.

Rosler, also a songwriter on the recently Grammy-nominated Bobby McFerrin CD Vocabularies, has already gained rave reviews for his latest project as well as a feature article in The New York Times.

Spottiswoode sings lead on two of the tracks, one from the Empire State Building, and is part of a backing chorale on the closing song. Other singers on the CD are Jeremy Sisto, Terry Radigan, John Margolis, Tam Lin, Isabel Keating, Tamara Hey, Kathena Bryant, Jon Albrink and Don Rosler himself.

To find out more and hear songs from the CD, click here.

New York, NY 2011
In the spring of 2011 Spottiswoode joined Ben Arthur at Dubway Studios in downtown Manhattan to co-write and record a song in one day. During the afternoon, Riley McMahon and Tony Lauria joined the session.

The five Dubway Days webisodes have now been posted on BlipTV. To download the song for free, send an e-mail to spottiswoodesong@gmail.com

The petulant Mr. Spottiswoode has refused to watch the episodes for fear that he’ll look far less hip than his hipster Enemies. It was also a stressful day for the Englishman in the bounteous Big Apple since he is not accustomed to co-writing songs to his unborn child.
However, everyone at Dubway Studios was delightful – a beautiful new studio in Lower Manhattan. And Ben Arthur was a kind and generous host and collaborator.

If five episodes of reality TV is too much, The Examiner recommends the last two in particular.

The final song, “I Don’t Know Your Name,” is quite eerie. Note some fine mandolin work from Riley McMahon and some patented piano and organ deliciousness from Tony Lauria.

New York, NY Jan 2011
Spottiswoode’s solo album, Piano 45, has been nominated for an Independent Music Award as the best Adult Contemporary album of 2010.

Judges this year include Tom Waits and Suzanne Vega. There is also a “VOX POP” award that is voted on by the public. To vote for Spott’s album please go to the IMA website and follow their guidelines.

One of the other nominated artists in the Adult Contemporary category is Victoria Vox. Spott co-wrote one of the songs on Victoria’s album as well. So please vote for her too.

This is Spott’s second IMA nomination. The Spottiswoode & McMahon CD, S&M, was nominated in the Folk category several years ago.

Flagstaff, AZ 2011- Once again Spottiswode has teamed up with Silos frontman Walter Salas-Hamara to pen a couple of songs for the new Silos CD. FLORIZONA, produced by Silos bass player Rod Hohl, is a hauntingly beautiful and shimmery collection of tunes full of classic Silos blood and grit. Highly recommended.

The two tunes that Spott collaborated on for the CD are “Gravity” and “Never Lost The Sunshine.” Still, Spott’s favorite numbers are “Teenage Prayer” and “Ring of Trees.”

“I’m a big fan of this CD,” says the Brit. “It just sounds fab.” Fans of the new Enemies CD will note that Enemies guest drummer and long-time Silos member, Konrad Meissner, is on top form as always.

The Silos’ FLORIZONA is now available at iTunes.

Kabul, Afghanistan 2011
The Enemies have taken their WILD GOOSECHASE EXPEDITION on the road this spring, playing in familiar and unfamiliar territory, to friends, foes and new fans, battling through hardship and crushing logistics to a surreal state of grace.

And rave reviews are starting to trickle in. “Not only one of the best albums of 2011 but one of the best of the decade,” exclaims the Lucid Culture blog.

Check out the dossier page for more reviews. We will continue to update the page as the propaganda machine finds new media victims.

After a late May Southern swing across the Mason Dixon line, the Enemies will retreat and scatter to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Ithaca and Washington DC in order to properly contemplate their navels.

Spottiswoode himself will return to London for the summer and dream up his next conquest.

New York, NY October 2010 – The first full staging of Spottiswoode’s gothic opera, ABOVE HELL’S KITCHEN, has been completed! Photos and blogs from the New York Musical Theater Festival production will be posted soon.

In the meantime, a big THANK YOU to La Vie Productions, to all the designers, the fabulous cast and crew, to Hayley Finn (our tireless director), to choreographer Janine Molinari, to all the remarkably generous folks who donated to the cause, and to so many friends who came to the show.

And CONGRATULATIONS to the band for winning an Honorable Mention (second prize) for Best Orchestration at NYMF 2010.

Hollywood, CA- Romantic Comedy fans can hear Spottiswoode’s song “Trust What You Feel,” sung in its entirety by the sultry Bronwen Exter, during the first dinner date scene in the recent Dreamworks/Paramount film She’s Out of My League starring Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve.

Spottiswoode and Exter were recently seen smuggling sushi and kombucha into a screening at a Loews Cinema on 3rd Avenue in New York. There have as yet been no sightings of either Spottiswoode or Exter here in Los Angeles.

“She’s Out Of My League” is now available on DVD.

To download “Trust What You Feel” go to iTunes and search for Bronwen Exter. The album is “Elevator Ride.”

New York, NY – While Spottiswoode, artist and bandleader, was away in London, city of his birth, there came the news that his music had been kindly mentioned in TIME MAGAZINE. Apparently, the actor Timothy Hutton has recently been listening to the Enemies in the privacy of his own iPod. Since Spott had only just watched the 1980 classic “Ordinary People” and had enjoyed Mr. Hutton’s stunning performance, the Englishman chalked all of this up to the the cosmic symbiosis of mutual appreciation.

Cosmic symbiosis? The general fear amongst Spottiswoode’s bandmates is that the Englishman is starting to lose his marbles. At first they applauded his pioneering work in the field of yoga. While not yet able to turn himself into a pretzel, Spottiswoode has been seen on several recent occasions impersonating a soggy salt and vinegar potato crisp. And he has been heard chanting “Om” quite a bit as well. This all seemed harmless enough. But recent pepperings of words such as “karma,” “presence,” “supine,” “surrender,” and “namaste” into the Englishman’s vocabulary have raised more than a few eyebrows.

And now the news that he has collaborated with Roger and Dave on a re-rendering of the Beatles’ weirdest song of all, one of course written by the dangerous spiritual loner, George Harrison! “Within You Without You has long been one of my favorite Beatles songs. It is much underrated,” said Spott to himself recently while vainly trying to clear his mind at a meditation retreat.

Brooklyn, NY 2010
Spott’s infamous cover of George Harrison’s “Within You Without You” has found a new home. To hear/download a version of the navel-gazing song sung by the navel-gazing Englishman, go here.

Young Spott is proud to be part of the remarkable Beatles Complete on Ukulele Project. The project features a remarkable array of New York and international artists. Spott is also particularly happy to have been asked to sing perhaps the Beatles’ weirdest song of all, one of course written by the dangerous spiritual loner, George Harrison!

“Within You Without You has long been one of my favorite Beatles songs. It is much underrated,” said Spott to himself recently while vainly trying to clear his mind at a meditation retreat.

Any readers of The Examiner who wish to get everything that has been recorded on
The Beatles Complete On Ukulele should go to iTunes at
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-beatles-complete-on-ukulele/id376226700. All the songs can be downloaded as a podcast.

New York, NY – In addition to “That’s What I Like,” two other brand new videos have surfaced.

Mike Goode lured Spottiswoode out to LA a while ago and threw him into the arms of a German model. At last, the sordid truth is revealed.

S&M’s Nuit (French remix) and Night (English version) are finally available for viewing.

Hit the links or go to the On Film page…

TWO STRANGE RECENT SIGHTINGS!
July 4, 2010

Vatican City –
Papal authorities are now convinced that it was indeed John Young, Enemies bass player, who complained about the presence of a slug in his caprese salad at a local trattoria.

He was in the company of a “supicious-looking” curly-haired friend. This might possibly have been Professor Spencer Moriarty, the notorious financier of the gang.

The pair left the restaurant shortly after the incident with “broad smiles on their faces.” An English tourist, Nigel Bloggs, observed the entire altercation. “Seemed like perfectly normal people to me,” he said at a press conference.

In an important gesture of transparency, Pope Benedict’s Vatican staff subsequently made the following pronouncement:

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetaur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.”

Seattle, WA-
A Neapolitan with a fake New York accent was seen arguing an umpire’s call at a sports bar in donwtown Seattle on a recent August night.

“He behaved terribly and was extremely disrespectful,” said one witness who only allowed herself to be identified as a lifelong Seattle Mariners fan.

Authorities are wondering if this is the same gentleman, Anthony Lauria, who recently outraged a migrant band of Cleveland Indians fans. In July they got very lost and ended up somewhere near Green Bay, Wisconsin. They reported meeting a handsome accordionist of questionable origin who insulted the states of Ohio, Massachussetts and Texas in a single sentence.

“He was frothing at the mouth!” said a frightened man from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Authorities have asked citizens to take special precautionary measures during play-off season. The current threat status is somewhere between Red and Pin Stripes.

SPOTTISWOODE INVADES FRANCE!
November 2009

Paris, France Once again the French have surrendered!

We have received the following message from Guillaume Cotillard, a former orrespondent of ours in the City of Lights:

“I have directed a play called Le Jour De La Marmotte. It is running at the Theatre du Marais on 37 Rue Volta until December 16th. It features two songs by Spottiswoode & His Enemies: Drunk and I Get Blue.”

If you are in Paris and you see the play, please send us a review.

SUMMER STUFF
August 2009

New York, NY – Young Spott has been hard at work on a solo recording, mostly of piano songs. He has been testing the patience of Kenny Siegal at Old Soul Studios in the Catskills.

Mr. Siegal is only indulging the romantic Englishman because he wants to make another CD with the full band in the fall.

Yes, that’s another 2 CDs Spottiswoode has up his sleeve.

How the hell’s he gonna pay for it?

Well, want us to play your party? Yes, it’s possible! Go to the Missives page and read Spottiswoode’s most recent Epistle to the Bohemians.
Or would you prefer to watch someone else sing a Spottiswoode song? In that case, go to the On Film page and check out Trevor Exter’s beautiful version of “Love Her Again.”
Any questions, requests? Drop us a line at the Contacts page.

Young Spott continues to sing, write, record and plot how to take his musical to Broadway, his film to Cannes, and his mum to Mexico.

What else could you possibly need to know?

JOE’S PUB EXTRAVAGANZA!
April, 2009

New York, NY –
On Thursday, April 2nd, Spottiswoode & His Enemies presented their most ambitious show to date…

“Above Hell’s Kitchen.” An Opera!

Presented at Joe’s Pub as a staged concert/reading in two acts, the show featured the band plus a cast of six.

“Yes, I know it’s an ambitious project,” said Spottiswoode before the show. “It’s kind of a gothic surrealist dream play set to music. If I’m lucky I’ll make a complete fool of myself.”

Perhaps he did. But the other singers and musicians on stage mesmerized the packed house.

The cast included the formidable talents of Martha Redbone, Meghan McGeary, Kyra Climbingbear, Max Low, and Don Dilego.

Anthony Patellis narrated.

The band was also joined by their good friend, Konrad Meissner, on drums.

Hayley Finn directed. And Enemy#5, Riley McMahon, was the musical director.

Stay tuned for further operatic developments…

TRIANGLE TOUR
November, 2008

New York, NY – Before accepting a cabinet position in the next administration (somewhere between the cups and saucers), Young Spottiswoode will be taking a post-election swing through the blue and purple states.

Foregoing the standard Vice Presidential pick, he has decided to rewrite the constitution and rule as a triumvirate. His fellow frontmen are none other than Kenny White and Amy Correia. Together, they will bring peace and harmony to the NorthEast.

Yes, the tour begins immediately after the election. Check the appearances page for details.

WNYC SOUNDCHECK
August, 2008

New York, NY – On Thursday, August 21st at 2pm (or a little after) Spott & several of his Enemies performed live and chatted with John Schaefer, New York’s legendary music host.

Listen Here.

SPOTTISWOODE RETURNS FROM ZORGON
July, 2008

New York, NY He’s back on the planet with a few new songs.

“I miss Zorgon!” is all he has said since his return.

SPOTTISWOODE VISITS THE PLANET ZORGON
May 1st 08

From The SpottMobile Somewhere Beyond The Solar System

Spottiswoode has not only abandoned the United States of America. He has clearly escaped from the entire stratosphere!

We catch up with him on his eco-friendly SpottMobile as he travels through some of the uncharted and exotic nooks and crannies of our unfathomable universe.

Read the EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW… (or read one of his missives)

Examiner: Why are you traveling to the Planet Zorgon?

Spottiswoode: To find the Ring of Zorg.

E: What is the Ring of Zorg???

S: I can’t tell you till I find it.

E: Why are you looking for it?

S: Because it’s the Ring of Zorg.

E: Should we have heard of this ring?

S: Did you hear that?

E: What?

S: A sputtering sound on the starboard side?

E: Oh my God!!!!

Alas, we experienced technical transmission problems at this point. We promise to furnish the rest of this exclusive dialogue when our reporter reestablishes contact.

TEXAS AND BACK

March 27th 08

New York, NY
The Enemies have returned righteously from the SXSW Festival in Texas, even more awesome than ever. They blazed a trail from Austin through Houston, Birmingham, Atlanta (see Paste Magazine’s rave review of that show on the Dossier page), Charlotte, DC, all the way back to New York.

The Tenth anniversary blowout show at Joe’s Pub was a major metropolitan event, touted in The New Yorker as THE music happening of the week, and extremely sold out. Apologies to our fans who couldn’t get in.

S&M: BEST DIY RECORD OF 2007!

-January 08_

New York, NY – Yes indeed!

The powers that be at Performing Songwriter Magazine (probably the most respected of all the songwriting/music magazines) have determined that Spottiswoode & McMahon’s “S&M” was THE BEST DIY RELEASE OF 2007.

Yes, that’s Number 1.

If you have any doubts, we suggest you go to CDBaby and buy it.

Producer extraordinaire, Riley McMahon, has been unavailable for comment.

SPOTTY IN A SILO
December 07

New York, NY- Rumors have been verified that Spottiswoode recently teamed up with Walter Salas-Hamara to pen a couple of rock songs for The Silos' new release Come On Like The Fast Lane. The songs are called “Keeping Score” and “Out Of Our Way.”

This all took place in the East Village of New York. Under their very noses.

Authorities suggest paying close attention to the comings and goings of The Silos and their infamous Thompkins Square madras.

CHRISTMAS IN THE NORTH-EAST
December 16th 07

New York, NY – The Enemies navigated ice storms, drove thousands of miles, subdued Eastern, Midwestern & Southern audiences with their patented numbing potion, and remain on surprisingly good terms.

Highlights of their Christmas tour included a magical evening in Claverack NY, ecstatic performances in Northampton and Cleveland, furious family support in Chicago, radio appearances in Bloomington and Louisville, mayhem in Nashville, a yuletide lovefest in Charlotte, laughter and tears in Ashland VA, and a triumphant Big Apple Christmas homecoming.

All that and a ton of great press everywhere.

November 18th 07

New York, NY – The Enemies have returned from their first weekend foray of regional touring in celebration of their tenth anniversary and their two new CDs.

And they have been receiving some very favorable press attention!

The Boston Phoenix marvels at Spottiswoode’s “moony, crooning voice, dripping with wasted elegance” and the band’s ability to “recall at various times the smoke-cured continental suavity of Serge Gainsbourg, the latter-day ethno-eclecticism of the Pogues, and the turbid moodiness of the Bad Seeds.”

The writer from the Portland Phoenix describes Spottiswoode as “one of the more commanding frontmen I’ve heard in a while,” and notes that “His Enemies are comfortable in cabaret, post-punk, soul, and any other mode – all but a backdrop for Spottiswoode’s sly, Nick Cave meets Stephen Merritt put-ons.”

The Washington Express, in a feature on the band, praises their two new releases, That’s What I Like and Salvation. “Both highlight Spottiswoode’s charmingly coarse baritone and conversational lyrics as well as a sparkling soundtrack from the dexterous Enemies, whose playing is technically cool but rife with embellishment and quirky colloquialism.”

And Washington’s NBC affiliate rhapsodizes about Spottiswoode’s “challenging, beautiful music” and “his incredibly talented Enemies.”

More articles and press will soon be forthcoming on the DOSSIER page.

Or go to the MISSIVES page and read Spott’s tour blog.

November 07

Clarendon, VA – Ten years ago, on November 14th 1997, the rock septet, Spottiswoode & His Enemies, performed their debut concert at Washington DC’s Black Cat.

At 10:30pm, on Saturday, November 17th 2007, Spottiswoode & His Enemies will return to the DC metropolitan area and take the stage at IOTA Club and Café.

They promise an uproarious anniversary celebration.

Most of the Enemies had been members of The Zimmermans, a cult 90s DC group that had disbanded a year earlier. Spottiswoode, a prolific English songwriter, had since moved to New York along with several of the others.

During the last ten years, the band has developed a cult following of its own. They have performed numerous residencies at New York’s best clubs; toured the country; played Lincoln Center, NPR, festivals from Texas to France; and released several critically acclaimed records.

And they remain a law unto themselves: a band packed with multi-instrumentalist personalities, fronted by an Englishman who is happy singing a neo-gospel lament, a cabaret ditty, a heartbreaking ballad and a balls-out rocker back to back without pausing for breath.

To capture at least some of the band’s range, the Enemies will play songs from their two new CDs.

Their first set will feature songs from Salvation, a collection of soulful ballads and upbeat folksy Americana. The second set will be a madcap cabaret retelling of their CD, That’s What I Like, as performed earlier this year to a sold-out crowd at Joe’s Pub in New York’s Public Theater.

Don Dilego opens at 9pm, Spouse at 9:30, Enemies from 10:30 till 1:00. Cover: $12. IOTA Club and Café, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201

The Enemies will also play shows this week in Boston (11/14), Portland (11/15) and New York (11/16).

October 5, 2007

New York, NY – Andrew Blackwell, a shadowy character with an ominous name, led seven musicians – resembling the fugitive band Spottiswoode & His Enemies – into a Chinatown dungeon on a recent weekend. They were followed by two dozen men in khaki.

Was it some kind of J. Crew orgy?

October 2007

New York, NY- This Friday, October 5th, Spottiswoode & His Enemies will perform two more late-night sets at the Living Room here in New York City. The show begins at 11pm.

Business as usual? Not quite. The whole show is being taped by XM Radio for future broadcast.

Spottiswoode promises to dig into the archive and play a medley of the band’s most radio-friendly hits. His Enemies have promised to sabotage the Englishman’s noble undertaking.

“Radio-friendly?” scoffs John Young (Enemy #1). “His songs aren’t even gyroscope friendly!”

“It’s just another excuse to rein us all in and play shallow three minute songs without ever letting the band stretch out,” said a pouty Tim Vaill (Enemy #2) to a lonely slice of vegetarian barbecue pizza here in the East Village.

The rest of the Enemies have declined to comment.

September 2007

New York, NY- Spottiswoode and His Enemies have threatened to hold hostage anyone who comes to the Living Room on Saturday, September 22nd.

“If they come at 11pm like they’re supposed to,” says Tim Vaill – band drummer and reportedly the gang’s most vicious member – “we won’t let them leave till well after their bedtime.”

Tony Lauria, band accordionist, followed Vaill’s threat with a statement of his own: “If these douchebags give a shit about good music why would they think about leaving anyway?”

An official statement from the band’s secret headquarters promised a “new and improved” Spottiswoode & His Enemies. This has been interpreted by certain experts as a message suggesting that a large number of brand new songs will be introduced into the repertoire at this particular performance.

In any event, we advise our readers to avoid the Living Room on the evening of Saturday, September 22nd. At all costs!

Shameless Propaganda!

(An Editorial By The Reverend Farley Grilwell)

Libertyville, SC- I am an open-minded God-fearing man. I am happy to let my fellow citizens go about their business as they see fit. I am proud to live in a free country.

Now we all know that the original promise of this great country has been corrupted. Still, my feeling has always been to just let the sinners follow their own unrighteous path to hell. We have given them plenty of warnings. If they don’t care to listen, well so be it.

However, I can’t just sit on the sidelines when a tribe of devils posing as a musical group actively encourages fornication and disrespect for women. For yes, that is exactly what Spottswick and His Infamies are trying to do.

We all know their music is bad. (And if you don’t know that, I encourage you to listen. Do not bury your heads in the sand!) But the fact that they are now indulging in a music video of perhaps their very worst song is a graver danger to our young children than the unacceptable coitus we all witnessed between Janet Jefferson and Justin Fingerflake only a few years ago.

Folks, it is no less than the propaganda of the Devil himself.

Evidently, on the weekend of September 22nd and 23rd, they will be filming a phoney performance of their song, “That’s What I Like.” They have even asked for volunteers. Yes, all an unsuspecting soul has to do is to send a message to the contacts page on their website and they willl be recruited!

My friends, the worse it is the further it travels. And believe me, this is BAD. I suggest we boycott the whole of New York City until these sad people are forced up to Quebec.

The Reverend Farley Grilwell is the author of “Life of A Saint: Pat Robertson and the Affliction of Haemorhoids,” and “Unholy Sinner: The Truth About Mother Theresa.”

SPOTTISWOODE REMINISCES

August, 2007

New York, NY – Some recent words of wisdom have been rescued from Spottiswoode’s subterranean foxhole.

No one is sure how the young Englishman has been able to learn what is happening in the outside world. He refuses to use electricity of any sort except for the purpose of drying his hair.

However, recent documents we have gathered suggest that Spottiswoode has not just kept up with current events; he may even be ahead of them.

A careful reading of his recent handwritten missives leads to some remarkable conclusions.

“The man is quite possibly the greatest cultural critic of his generation,” says Professor Anita Kielbasa, chair of Semiotics and Hermeneutics at the Warsaw Insititute. “But his recent travails appear to have damaged his powers of exegesis. Or it may simply be a matter of self-esteem.”

“Astounding!” remarks Professor Hugh Very-Ropey. “I haven’t seen anything as rich as this since the Hitler Diaries. They are his words. Of that I have not the slightest doubt.”

Judge for yourself. We invite our readers to open the Missives section in the left hand column….