Brandon Curtis Unveils Cosmicide At Pianos 2-25-16; last of 4 show Thursdays in February residency

I caught Secret Machines at the long-shuttered Annex in, I’m reasonably sure, the fall of 07 when I had just moved to New York.  It was an amazing show: loud, swirling, and to use the word that their keyboard player Brandon used when I spoke with him recently, immersive.  This turned out to be late-era Secret Machines and it wasn’t too long before Brandon received a call from Paul Banks who asked him to go on tour with Interpol.  The two NYC bands had a long history together including touring in tandem after Interpol’s Antics album came out in 2004 and sharing bills at joints like Mercury Lounge before records and labels were part of the equation.  It was during a tour together that Brandon’s brother – and former bandmate in Secret Machines, Benjamin – met the identical twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza with whom he formed School of Seven Bells.

The Interpol gig  stretched through two record cycles and included Brandon contributing to Interpol’s El Pintor album.  As these first years of this decade were going by, SOSB boiled down to a duo of Benjamin and Alejandra and then, in 2013, Ben was stricken with lymphoma.  He died in December of that year at the age of 35.  After 12 years living in the city, Brandon, who had moved to Bushwick from Dallas in 2000 collectively with Ben and Secret Machines’ drummer Josh Garza, relocated to Vermont where he drove in from for the Pianos shows.

Two Thursdays ago felt like a real moment in time and I was happy that I could mark it in video.  It was the last night of Cosmicide’s residency and it was the night before the new School of Seven Bells record was released.  It represented a foothold for this new band  led by Curtis and featuring Chris Kyle on guitar, Sarah Pedinotti on bass, keys, and vocals, and Bryan Bisordi on drums.  (Ian Hershey was on guitar last fall for the CMJ show I caught at the same venue.)  Also, a glorious nod to the past was made when Josh Garza took the stage to play Alone, Jealous and Stoned from the Secret Machines 2006 album Ten Silver Drops.  Look for more Cosmicide gigs and a debut album that will come out just as soon as it comes out!