little skips is proud to announce the creation of Skips Records, a label serving the creative community that has grown around the café art space. The label will primarily feature local artists from Bushwick in an effort to help emerging talent who might otherwise not have opportunities to diffuse their creative content.
The first release from Skips Records will be Photon Dynamo and the Shiny Pieces’ third album. Comprised of Frank Rathbone on guitar and vocals, John Swanson on drums and Gillian Visco on bass, Dynamo plays a style of rock’n’roll with influences from everywhere from surf rock to jazz to blues to indie. Among their many influences are Elliot Smith, The Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth, and they’ve developed a cult following in Brooklyn with their hectic and loud live shows
The trio formed when Rathbone and Swanson crossed paths at the Opera House, and they later brought in Visco, whom Rathbone had known from different open mics all over the city. Soon they were performing at places like Market Hotel, Death by Audio, Public Assembly, The Ace Hotel, Party Xpo, little skips, Opera House Lofts and countless other venues. Quickly they perfected their sound and gained a strong peer following, performing alongside Darwin Deez, Soft Spot and Dinowalrus to name a few.
“At the Fort Brooklyn, 2011” is not only the title of their album, but also the when and where it was recorded. So much of the energies heard in the album are real life feelings, moments and adventures that happen tangibly and intangibly around the artist and label’s home. The art for the album are two drawings by James Marshall who shows work at little skips regularly.
