Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage, Grasping Straws & John Cozz in The Den

by Williams Center Music
Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage, Grasping Straws & John Cozz in The Den
Sun, 21 Apr 2024 (EDT)
07:00PM - 10:00PM
Event past
Williams Center
15 Sylvan St
Rutherford, NJ 07070
Open Map
Artist Jeffrey Lewis Collaborator Williams Center
Join us at The Den at the Williams Center in Rutherford, New Jersey for a night of live music! With only 100 tickets available, be sure to secure yours for $20 in pre-sales or $25 on the day of the show.

Featuring performances by:
- Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage (NYC, Don Giovanni Records)
- Grasping Straws
- John Cozz

Bios:
Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage (NYC, Don Giovanni Records)
Songwriter and comix artist Jeffrey Lewis began recording homemade cassettes in New York City in 1998; his critically acclaimed, unusual and word-dense songs lead to Jeffrey signing to Rough Trade Records in 2001 (record label of The Smiths, The Strokes, Belle & Sebastian, etc.). Creating a brilliant style of scuzzy urban indie-rock-folk, like a 21st Century mash-up of Sonic Youth, Pete Seeger and R. Crumb, Jeffrey has played countless gigs all over the world, both solo and with bandmates, including playing as the opening act for bands like the Mountain Goats, Daniel Johnston, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Dinosaur Jr, The Fall, Dr. Dog, Pulp, Roky Erickson, The Vaselines, and more.

His most recent official album is “Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage: Bad Wiring” released on Don Giovanni Records (USA) and Moshi Moshi Records (internationally) in November 2019 (garnering rave reviews), but Jeffrey has also digitally self-released four DIY albums from his apartment since the pandemic started, and there’s a brand new full-band official studio album due for release in 2024 (more info tba!), recorded in Nashville with producer Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Lou Reed, Sleater-Kinney)! 

Jeffrey continues to wring folksy spiel and garage bohemianism from his ramshackle guitar, whether with his full band or solo, while sometimes incorporating his often politically subversive visual artwork and cartoons into live appearances. Some of these audio/visual projects have been hosted on History.com, such as “The Story of Sitting Bull,” a Jeffrey Lewis illustrated song which won a Webby Award in 2011 for “Best Writing on the Internet;” Jeffrey's “The Story of Keith Haring” was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in 2021.

As of 2024 the 4-piece line-up of Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage includes Mallory Feuer on violin and keyboard, Isabel Martin on bass and Brent Cole on drums.

Grasping Straws
Grasping Straws’ grungy, jazz-infused abstractions come together with a scream and a whisper in angry, angsty softness that’s raw, controlled and ever surprising. The project was formed in 2012 by Mallory Feuer who, inspired by antifolk and the music emanating from New York’s basements, started performing, developing, screeching, sleeping on floors, and meeting soulmates. The most recent recordings feature Jim Bloom (drums), Sam Goldfine (bass) and Marcus Kitchen (lead guitars), but the band is often seen live as a solo project, or featuring many additional artists, friends and collaborators.

"Raw, emotional, lo-fi art rock that really drew the crowd in. And with wide ranging dynamics, Feuer could be soft and subdued one minute and then release an angst ridden banshee wail the next. Instrument wise she’s as eclectic as the sound, playing guitar, violin and keyboard at various points." (Full Time Aesthetic)

"The Straws are great at creating beauty from confusion and contradiction. The music is grungy rock, except when it’s jazzy folk. The lyrics are strong, heavy, and firm, yet fragile, subtle, and unstable. The stories are clear and literal, but mysterious and open-ended. It’s sure to leave any listener grasping at straws." (Cannonball Statman for the Boog City Festival Blog)

This event will be hosted at The Den at the Williams Center in Rutherford New Jersey.
100 tix available
$20 pre-sales/ $25 day of show

John Cozz
John Cozz, equal parts New Jersey Folk and Punk Madman. John is always finding ways to connect to New Jersyian's through tongue in cheek songs littered with inside jokes, catchy choruses, and humorous lyrics. John Has concocted a slew of releases over the years trying his hand at many different genres, punk, folk, ska, and electronic. in 2020 John Co-founded Pizza Bagel Records, a collective set to showcase New Jersey art in an unconventional manner.