Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Cold Blood Club- Your Summer Dance Anthem Rock Band

Press photo by David Burlacu, courtesy of the band


Black Bear Bar is one of the remaining highlights in a Williamsburg so quickly changing it makes my head spin. Fans of electronic music should definitely check out this venue since it hosts DJs often, although the band I’m seeing tonight doesn’t fall under that genre. Rustic, unassuming, and yet decidedly hipster, the bar’s claim to fame is the halfpipe in front of the space, a memorial to the culture many of its patrons grew up with, when Tony Hawk was a household name and Tech Decks were the number one confiscated item in schools. 

The concert hall is in a separate room with a separate bar, and considering the drizzle and gray skies, the crowd of about fifteen is pretty decent. A hint of bad weather and half the city stays in and orders Seamless.

Cold Blood Club takes the stage at about 7:30. Bandleader Tom Stuart signals the start of the set with a riff on “The Star-Spangled Banner” reminiscent of Hendrix. The six members of this ensemble are illuminated in a rainbow of stagelight that complements their aural palette.

Cold Blood Club seems to feed on audience energy in the most direct way I’ve witnessed- perhaps because they are such a large group. When only a few people were scattered about the room, there was a hesitance to the performance, but as bar patrons trickle in and fill the venue, their warm spirit grows and takes on a life of its own, like a wildfire spreading. By the third song, they are the band you wish had played at your high school graduation party. Their music brims with a realistic optimism that concedes that maybe things won’t work out, but if you never taste and try everything, you’ll never know. Tom Stuart’s gunshot tenor and Kendra Jones’ defiant contralto pair perfectly for declarations of freedom and summer dance anthems, harmonies fortified by tambourine playing pixie Emily Iaquinta’s twinkling mezzo-soprano voice. Tom Cordell pounds bass drumbeats straight from the heart, putting the weight of his soul into the band’s explosive metronome. Even lighter snare and cymbal beats are charged with approaching thunder, sending electricity like blood to all extremities of the music. Hilary Davis’ violin lends sweeping, dramatic phrases to a heavy rock sound: a sophisticated fluidity to frost a very garage rock arrangement. Their performance of “Goodbye to All That,” one of their most successful singles, is a memorable moment, a thrilling rush of IDGAF vibrations. A catchy guitar riff precedes a lyrical tour of New York, followed by a romantic violin interlude, creating a sonic love letter to the city, saturated with bright melancholy that rings too true. The whole band gets so physically invested in the song that it looks like a dance floor on the stage and some of that inclination makes its way to the audience, surprisingly. (Audiences in Williamsburg and Bushwick are usually stiff as sardines and can be a real drag for those of us who like to dance.)

Tom Stuart

I’ve been a fan of Cold Blood Club since seeing one of their shows several months ago, and I have two of their singles on my phone, perfect selections for stepping out the door at the start of the day. The ladies of the group happily obliged me with interviews so I can get a picture of how this band works. Emily Iaquinta met me at a Starbucks in Midtown to talk about CBC, and Kendra Jones and Hilary Davis made time in their busy schedules to answer questions via email.

Cold Blood Club began with Tom Stuart, Kendra Jones, and bassist Jesse Reno. Jones tells me about the start of the project: “The band started with an inside joke. I've been friends with Tom for almost ten years now, and when we first met he used to joke about throwing me on stage with him and his previous band Radio America. When he was no longer in that band, he kept teasing me but one day he said in earnest: ‘Seriously, what would you want to sing about?’ I gave him a random list because I was still kind of joking (and terrified). A few weeks later, he emailed me some demos and things started snowballing from there. The rest is just us calling on our friends to come together and make it happen.” Hilary Davis joined at the same time as the band’s first drummer, and Emily Iaquinta found herself the newest member after being cast in their video for “Michelada.” The lineup has changed a few times, but Tom Stuart’s consistent direction has assured the solidity of the band’s sound, which Iaquinta describes perfectly: “It’s like the Kills threw a house party and LCD Soundsystem was the DJ, Andrew Bird was playing flip cup, Karen O was breaking up with her boyfriend on her cellphone and you just throw a fistful of glitter in there, and that’s Cold Blood Club. It’s very high energy, synth-y rock and roll with repetitive beats, but more challenging lyrics.” Davis recalls another writer’s description: “A write-up from a Detroit journalist once called us ‘a dance party at the end of the world,’ which I love because although the songs are catchy and we love to dance onstage, there's a darkness lurking behind them.”

What fascinates me about Cold Blood Club is how they seem to be so much more than just a large rock ensemble; they have a familial appearance more visible than other groups of their size. What are the dynamics like? “It can be chaos, but in a good way,” says Jones. “One thing Tom ALWAYS does, whenever opinions turn into disagreements, or social fatigue sets in, is to remind us that we're in this because we all love making music. So I guess he's the team leader, he keeps us motivated and inspired and writes all the songs. I'm kind of the mediator, I like to be a mama and try to make sure everyone is doing well physically, emotionally, creatively, etc. Hilary is our task master- she keeps us on our toes, acting like professionals, and working hard to get shit done.” Davis points out the pros and cons of the group’s size: “I always describe my band as a family. Sometimes we get on each other's nerves, but we're stuck with each other so we make it work. The benefit of the large head count (6-7 people) is that you always have someone to help out - loading in gear, promoting the shows, etc. The biggest drawback is just communicating about scheduling - we use Google Hangouts, texts, emails, carrier pigeons & smoke signals to confirm a show quickly.” Davis also says the group’s size and diversity might be its biggest asset. “When you combine 7 people from different parts of the country, with different musical backgrounds, you're bound to get something interesting!”

Press photo by David Burlacu, courtesy of the band


Cold Blood Club would not be possible without the passion and vision of vocalist and guitarist Tom Stuart. Iaquinta comments on his composition skills. “Tom is one of the best songwriters I know. He is constantly bringing in new music to rehearsal. I can just tell how much he loves music and how much it means to him.” 

After a few popular singles and a superb video for “Michelada,” Cold Blood Club is hard at work putting together an album to be called Tear Down the Maps. They are very tight-lipped about the project, but Jones says “it will feature everything you hear live, plus bonus glory.”


With the seemingly infinite number of artists in NYC, it can sometimes be difficult to hear what separates one great act from another. I ask the three musicians what they hope listeners find in their songs. Davis says she hopes audiences get a sense of what it’s like to live in New York. Jones says she hopes they fucking DANCE. Iaquinta shares an early memory of listening to CBC before joining the lineup. “The song ‘Goodbye to All That’ made me excited to be going anywhere. Anytime I would hear that song, if I’m on the subway or walking, it’s got that beat that’s just like, ‘I’m young and free and can do whatever I want to do.’ When something puts that feeling in you, that good electricity, it sticks with you…I hope that our music can be someone else’s electricity.”

Cold Blood Club's music is available on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, and their website.  Below is the video for "Michelada" that got me excited about this band. Watch it here, then download the song!


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