Denizen / Blonde Otter / Avid Gamblers

Cousins Dave Schafer and Pete Vale bore the idea of forming a rock band late in 2011 as a therapeutic release from the pressurized day to day of New York City living. Adding on bass guitarist Andrew Wilkes, drummer Ben Selznick, and keyboard player James Gettinger, the band was complete in early 2012. For about a year, they would get together informally, sing, talk, and enjoy the company of each others??? talents, focused initially only on their favorite rock covers and whatever other melodies happened to pass before their minds. But the energy in the room soon developed into something more, and they began to write songs together: ones they liked so much that they felt compelled to share. In January of 2013 they played their first live show in the basement of a small club in Manhattan. From there, things took off quickly as crowds progressively got bigger and bigger. Denizen soon became a staple on the Lower East Side music scene, quickly moving from mid-sized venues like Arlene???s Grocery and Pianos to professional concert halls like Webster Hall.

But the rise was not without setbacks. The lineup had to be changed with the departure of Ben and James, and for a good while, it wasn???t clear that the band would survive. Fortunately, they had already begun playing with drummer Ross Procaccio, who joined as a full member in 2015. With the addition of Dylan Defeo on keyboards in 2016, the current lineup was solidified and the band was back as never before. Two EPs later, Denizen is drawing crowds in the hundreds at venues up and down the East Coast like Brooklyn Bowl, Ardmore Music Hall, The Fillmore and World Caf?? Live. They released their third EP in the winter of 2017.


Blonde Otter is a 5 piece from the Bronx, NYC. Formed during their years at Fordham University, the band consists of singer Michael Guariglia, lead guitarist Dan Wines, rhythm guitarist Brendan Glynn, bassist Rob Falcone and drummer Matthew Falcone. Their high-energy sound can be described as a mix of power pop, 80's new wave, and garage rock. They just released their debut EP titled "Hello, Bye Bye."


The band's emcee, K-cromozone, was a Washington DC mainstay in the 2000's; as part of Head Resinators, and collaborator with Educated Consumers/First Name Basis. He has released three albums, participated in thousands of open-mics/cyphers/battles, and performed with: Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Beatnuts, Jedi Mind Tricks, Brother Ali, Murs, Cappadonna, and Mr Lif. He currently co-hosts the Chrome Bills podcast, who's guests include Wax, Oddisee, Sage Francis, and Stan Ipcus.

The rest of the band, Rashid "Captain Romance" Galadanci and "Angry" Ben Selznick, toured the Northeast in the mid-2000s as part of the jam-rock group Rightly Guided Thieves (RGT). The band opened for several artists, including Bernie Worrell (Parliament-Funkadelic, Talking Heads) and members of The Meters.