Esser is a man. ESSER is also a band …a fucking great one. Really the band at its core is just Benjamin Esser himself, a snotty, sarcastic British 20-something with a fashion sense as sharp as his wit and a gravity defying Pompadour. But to reproduce the magic Ben made on his computer he requires the full resources of his guitarist/loopmaster Matt Lord, brother Reuben Esser on Drums and Bassist Paul Taylor Wale just to cover the sonic bases laid down on his record Braveface.
Unfortunately the album is only available in the US as an IMPORT. But if there is any justice in the world or intelligence left in the music industry (I just checked, there isn’t.) then maybe one day you’ll actually be able to buy an Esser record here in the states.
Until then the next best thing you can do is catch them live. Also unfortunately, they just finished a destructive 25-city US tour with DATAROCK so you may have to wait a little while…or move to England.
On the last night of a month-long tour, Esser and DATAROCK (and KAV for the West Coast) were playing a venue in Seattle rhat completely dropped the ball with the show’s production. The sound was terrible and non-existent in the monitors and the promoter was not-to-be-found until about 10pm and booked this terrible hipster rap act that ate up the headliner’s set time and threw water all over the stage (which doesn’t mix well with electronics!). Also, Seattle (and maybe all of Washington) has this bogus law about “No alcoholic beverages onstage”. All in all, it was a weird scene. But we made the best of it until finally the band was asked to stop playing around 1:30 am.
On top of this, the last night of any tour is subject to some ribbing, some hijinks…you know, shenanigans. One camera can’t possible do this night justice but I can hope that this sheds a little light on the situation. A cautionary tale.
KAV (myspace.com/kavsonic) is a person as well as a band. Kav himself was the guitarist for the reformed HAPPY MONDAYS, legendary in the UK. KAV, the band, just got off the road from a destructively brilliant week of shows with upstarts Esserand high-energy DATAROCK.
Tonight KAV will be at Spaceland (1717 Silverlake Blvd, LA) for KROQ’s “Locals Only” FREE MONDAYS with October Residents: LightFM as well as Obi Best and Wrong Way Driver. Like I said this is a FREE SHOW so stop down and enjoy some music from across the pond!
Esser is a man. ESSER is also a band …a fucking great one. Really the band at its core is just Benjamin Esser himself, a snotty, sarcastic British 20-something with a fashion sense as sharp as his wit and a gravity defying Pompadour. But to reproduce the magic Ben made on his computer he requires the full resources of his guitarist/loopmaster Matt Lord, brother Reuben Esser on Drums and Bassist Paul Taylor Wale just to cover the sonic bases laid down on his record Braveface
