Thursday, October 29, 2009

Official UK Tour Press Release

NEW YORK RISING STARS BAMBOO SHOOTS TO TOUR UK WITH 3OH!3!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(NEW YORK, 28-10-2009) BAMBOO SHOOTS, American Epic Records artists are slated to begin their first-ever tour of the UK next week opening for hitmakers 3OH!3!. The tour will bring the foursome, whose music has been described as “Daft Punk meets Hall and Oates” to Wales, Great Britain, and Scotland over a week-long string of dates.

“We’re psyched to get out there and bring our music to a new audience,” says Avir Mitra, vocalist/guitarist. Coming off the American release of their debut, “Armour,” which was produced by the Talking Heads/Modern Lovers’ Jerry Harrison, and features the catchy single “Hey Girl,” this will mark the second international outing this year for Bamboo Shoots. The band traveled to India last April, where they played to sold out crowds around the country and were featured in media like Rolling Stone India and on channels like CNN-IBN. “India was a blast, and it seemed like the next logical international stop for Bamboo Shoots would be the UK,” adds Shiv Puri, drummer.

Bamboo Shoots’ shows, with their blend of “rhythmically propulsive alt-rock,” have been called “energetic and electrifying performances,” “a riot on stage,” and “a party, whether you’re ready to move or not.” Get ready—starting November 2nd, the party is finally coming to the UK.

Dates (with 3OH!3!):

11/2 - Cardiff - Millenium Music Hall

11/3 - London - Electric Ballroom

11/4 - Brighton - Komedia

11/6 - Glasgow - Classic Grand (Sold Out)

11/7 - Manchester - Academy 1

—————-

Bamboo Shoots will have select media avails over the course of the tour. Please contact Jared Kaner at jared[at]brightlineartistsmanagement[dot]com or bambooshoots[at]gmail{dot]com with any requests.

www.bambooshoots.com

www.epicrecords.com

www.myspace.com/bambooshoots

Thursday, October 22, 2009

TOUR! and we're moving....to Tumblr

Hey everyone. So our posts have been pretty sporadic on here for a good reason--we've moved our blog to Tumblr - from now on, you can get all your Bamboo Shoots updates there (also on www.bambooshoots.com)! This blog will stay up for archival purposes for a while. PS- Don't forget to check out a show on our first national tour:

Dates:
Oct 23 Brooklyn NY Public Assembly
Oct 24 New York NY Fontana's (CMJ)
Oct 30 Clementon NJ The Cherrywood
Oct 31 Bennington VT Knapp's Underground
Nov 01 Boston MA Henesy Hooley House
Nov 02 Hamden CT The Space
Nov 04 Philadelphia PA The Khyber
Nov 06 Centerville VA Café Martini
Nov 07 Silver Spring MD Takoma Park Perf. Arts
Nov 08 Fayetteville NC The Rock Shop
Nov 09 Mt. Pleasant SC The Village Tavern
Nov 13 Mobile AL Alabama Music Box
Nov 15 New Orleans LA Dragon's Den
Nov 18 Austin TX Club Mixx
Nov 19 San Antonio TX Jiggers
Nov 24 Hollywood CA The Viper Room
Nov 26 Las Vegas NV Freakin' Frog
Nov 28 San Francisco CA El Rio
Nov 30 Seattle WA Studio Seven
Dec 07 Des Moines IA Vaudeville Mews
Dec 09 St. Louis MO Cicero's
Dec 10 Chicago IL Bottom Lounge
Dec 11 Indianapolis IN The Melody Inn
Dec 12 Rochester MI The Factory
Dec 13 Lakewood OH Hi-Fi Concert Club
Dec 18 New York NY Pianos

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Band of the Day...in Canada?

merci à nos voisins nordiques... :)

"What does your Monday afternoon need? A bit of good times? Some office chair-shaking dance-rock? Bamboo Shoots has it." (via The National Post Ampersand)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Announcing official Bamboo Shoots ringtones on iPhone and Verizon

Update: We've just been informed ringtones are available via the Verizon ringtones store (on your phone), with the same songs as the iPhone PLUS "Wrong All Along"!

Hey guys! iPhone users can now download Bamboo Shoots ringtones simply by going to the iTunes store on their phone and searching "Bamboo Shoots." "Hey Girl," "Where The Ocean Meets the Road," and "If You Should Die" are all available for $1.29 each. Just download on the spot and assign to that special someone. Enjoy! Please note, as of today these are only available via iTunes on the iPhone.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Street Teamers wanted!

Hey guys! Bamboo Shoots is looking for a hard-working, dedicated Street Team that wants to promote us, make more contacts, and have fun! We're looking for Street Teamers primarily in the Northeast region of the U.S, but really all over the country. For your help, we will give away prizes such as a FREE DOWNLOAD, FREE MERCH, and a GUESTLIST spot at a show of your choosing. Make sure also to check out our new tour dates (more coming soon as well) and let us know if you can help promote any of these. If you're interested, kindly hit up our manager, Jared Kaner, at jared@brightlineartistmanagement.com with "Bamboo Shoots Street Team" in the subject line. thanks for your help!! Bamboo Shoots

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Armour...now with digital booklet

Haven't downloaded Armour yet? Not to worry! If you look on iTunes, you might see (somewhat confusingly) that there are two versions of the album- the correct link is here, and includes a download of a digital booklet with pictures and lyrics.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Bamboo Shoots blog/press wrap up

Here's what everyone's been saying about us...

"
Bamboo Shoots’ debut ‘Armour’ is out... first track is hot" via Ultrabrown

"Bamboo Shoots' major-label debut features Parsippany native" via The Daily Record

"A band with an eclectic sound, unique look and rising popularity may soon be joining the list of famous musicians from New Jersey...Bamboo Shoots will debut its first CD, "Armour," on Tuesday. The release is the latest stop on this quartet's meteoric rise in the music industry." via Burlington County Times

"That album, a bubbly cocktail of new wave, dance pop and a dash of their Indian heritage, would be shepherded by producer Jerry Harrison...who straddles the line between megapop (Madonna, Beyonce, U2) and indie (Arcade Fire, CSS, MIA) like few others. The result is a frenetic offering that teems with Price-indebted electro like “Hey Girl..." via Shakefire


"Armour officially drops today, and we’ve officially started paying attention." via Format Magazine"
I cannot seem to get [Hey Girl] out of my head, so I wish you all good luck with that." via Guilt Free Pleasures

"Try It Before You Buy It- Week of September 29th, 2009" via Largehearted Boy and KEXP Blog Out This Week

Epic Records Press Release on Armour

Epic Records posted a press release about the release of "Armour" which you can read here.

Avir wants YOU to buy Armour!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Bamboo Shoots and Kofi Annan's TCK TCK TCK- free download

A while back, Bamboo Shoots joined Kofi Annan's TCK TCK TCK Campaign for global climate change. The campaign is geared towards this year's conference in Copenhagen. All of the artists involved recorded a cover of the 1987 Midnight Oil track "Beds are Burning." Get it as a free iTunes download here. While you're there, don't forget to pick up Armour, Bamboo Shoots' debut album!

Check out the other artists involved:

Monday, September 28, 2009

ARMOUR IS RELEASED!!!

Armour, Bamboo Shoots's major label debut is available NOW as a digital download at your favorite online music retailer. Pick it up on iTunes, Amazon.com or at www.bambooshoots.com TODAY!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

5 days till Armour...what what! Get your copy now...

We can't believe Armour is out in 5 days! Finally! Pre-order your copy now at www.bambooshoots.com.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Bamboo Shoots attend "Age of Stupid" premiere in NYC and Shiv chats with Heather Graham

(via http://shivhead.blogspot.com/)





Yesterday Bamboo Shoots and I were invited to attend the premier of the documentary, The Age of Stupid. It's about climate change, the war for resources, the ending of humanity if we continue to consume the way we do etc. It was pretty moving. Here's a link to a decent review in case you wanted to read more.

Upon arriving, we were escorted to walk the "green carpet" and posed for a couple pictures and did some interviews.

And then I met Heather Graham! I've always been a fan of her but when she appeared in my favorites series ever, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, it sealed the deal. I got a quick photo with her, and upon saying goodbye I said "I love Saddam!" (it's a line she spoke in ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, Season 1 Episode 14, "Shock and Aww")...she laughed and smiled. And the rest of the night I was glowing. And of course I totally thought she was into me.

Kofi Anan was also there, as well was the former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson (whose business card I still have from meeting her at a development conference at Yale back in 2004), the president of the Maldives (Bamboo Shoots tour??), Gilian Anderson, Stephen Baldwin, and one of my new favorite actors, Larry Gilliard, Jr. who plays D'Angelo in HBO'S The Wire.



Monday, September 21, 2009

Bamboo Shoots Cover Series: We cover Ne-Yo



Notes on the Video:

We met up earlier in the day for practice and setup to do this taping. Right from the start, everything went wrong. The audio setup wasn't working right, everything was taking forever and we were getting frustrated. Then my wurlitzer fuse blew and Ankur had to disassemble it and jerry-rig it into the PA. It was hot and sweaty and by the time the cameras finally turned on, we were all aggravated and taking it out on each other. If you're in a band you probably know what I'm taking about. As I'm watching this, I can feel the tension in the room and if you know us, you can probably see it on our faces too. I love that Steve dutifully captured it. Anyway, we hugged and made up after the taping, and now it's just funny to see us going through this band drama while singing "nobody struts like her" in perfect harmony.

Huge disclaimer: I think Ne-Yo is one of the best singers out there right now. I'm not Ne-Yo, we're a rock band, and believe me I'm not trying to put my voice in the same league as his. We just like his songwriting, it inspired us, and we thought we'd share. Hope you dig.

--Avir

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

About to Pop: Bamboo Shoots

Check out this interview with Avir and Shiv on Popeater, it's good stuff:


About to Pop: Bamboo Shoots


Less than two weeks to go!

Armour's almost here, folks... hitting your computer on September 29th. Be sure to pre-order your copy here and get a free 3 song EP of "Hey Girl," "Wrong All Along," and "Milk, Satin & Silk," while you count down with us to the big day!

We've also got a great new official website up at www.bambooshoots.com

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Coming soon...cooking with Frankie

Hey guys it's Shiv here, the drummer from Bamboo Shoots, and this is my first blog entry! Wanted to let you know that tomorrow, Wednesday September 9th, I'll be featured doing one of my favorite things - cooking! There's this blog site about music and cooking called The Young and The Hungry, and I've been invited to showcase some of my favorite recipes for a video shoot. This is a really interesting site by an eccentric guy called Frankie who has previously hosted bands to come in and cook for the show. And in between he does a bunch of weird stuff like this video which is all about cooking a fillet of sole fish -- all set to an original song and video written, directed and performed by Frankie himself. I must say I've never seen anything quite like it before -- there's a part in the middle of the video when the fish is slowly frying and reaching it's point of done-ness that Frankie splits the screen to a raging and building guitar solo which matches the climax of the cooking fish! So I'm pretty excited to be working with Frankie tomorrow and think it'll be a lot of fun to cook for his show.

I figured I'd make what I love to cook for the rest of Bamboo Shoots when we have super long rehearsals at Avir's house. My boys need a high protein, lowfat and tasty meal to keep on rockin! So tomorrow I will showcase my "Chicken Curry with Lentil Brown Rice and Cucumber-Mint Lowfat Yogurt." I don't know if you're into Indian food, let alone curries, but wait till you see how I'm going to make it -- this aint yo mamma's preparation for sure! I don't know when the video of me doing this is going to be online, but be sure to check back for updates! THIS IS GONNA BE FUN....AND TASTY!!


Shiv with his Mom, the best cook in the world!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Choose our next cover

That's right...YOU can choose our next cover - go to our MySpace to vote for what song you think we'd do best. We'll be recording it with a video too. The choices:

Sweet Dream- Beyonce
Party in the USA- Miley Cyrus
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Love Game - Lady GaGa

Friday, September 4, 2009

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Anokhi Magazine Article

Cheers to our friend Hilal for writing this piece which you can read in its original form here


Bamboo Shoots Are Shooting Stars
Desi American Pop-Rockers Are New Jersey's Next Big Export

BY: Hilal Nakiboglu Isler
PHOTO: Courtesy of Hilal Nakiboglu Isler


I met Ankur Patel in an over-lit New Jersey diner a few years ago. A
kid with a quick smile and over-sized jeans who didn’t talk much, and
when he did, it was about this band, called Bamboo Shoots, he was in
with a couple of his buddies.

I might not have taken Patel that seriously (what is it with boys and
their garage-bands?) if Rekha Malhotra, a.k.a. DJ Rekha, hadn’t been there.
She’s the New York-based turntablist responsible for bringing Bhangra to the
city through her long-standing club night Basement Bhangra. I was
interviewing her and had spent the day being SUV-ed around to a local
TV taping to her offices in Brooklyn and now here to this restaurant
booth off the New Jersey Turnpike.

It was she who introduced us. And over some deep-fried food, which the
three of us now shared, she told me Ankur’s band was the real deal, a
group to watch. She was a fan, and had recently hosted them at
Basement Bhangra, part of an attempt to showcase Desi-American music
not of the dhol-beat-repeat kind.

Patel, softspoken with an earring and well-pruned goatee, told us
about a competition they’d recently entered: an annual contest
sponsored by mtvU, held in attempt to find the "Best Music On Campus."
He said if they won, it would be "huge" and gave me the online address
where I could go and place my vote — which I did later that night.

So did thousands of others. The Bamboo Shoots secured a win, becoming the
first Desi-American band to do so. The prize: a chance to perform on
Late Night With Conan O'Brien and a deal with Epic Records, a major
mainstream label.

That was two years ago. Since then, there have been gigs, lots of
them, across the United States: at dive bars, clubs, even a theme park
(the tween girls seemed to really enjoy that one). Then three months
ago, a first: a five-city tour of India.

You don’t see many young bands travel to India so early on in their
careers. That’s something generally reserved for rock veterans
(Metallica, Iron Maiden come to mind) who roll through, almost as an
afterthought, on the tail-end of an Asian blitz. So why India? And why
now?

"We get the sense that most American bands would only come to India
once they were firmly established internationally," frontman Avir
Mitra told me from Delhi, where he had performed at the Turquoise
Cottage the evening before. "They'd stop by on their way to Japan or
something and play huge venues and then leave. We want to do it
differently…to start from a grassroots level, build a solid
relationship with India early on." They’ve managed to pull this strategy
off nicely in the States.

The guys (there are five: Avir Mitra, Karl Sukhia, Shiv Puri, Ankur
Patel and Ahmed Mahmoud) have a following as loyal as any — people
they’ve won over with their accessibility and their endearing, nerdy
charm. Watch their YouTube videos (/bambooshootsband), and you’ll see
what I mean. In the clip where Mitra announces the India tour, for
instance, he sits mumbling in a collapsed lawn chair, nervously
tossing a pebble around before someone (is that Ankur?) starts raking
a pile of dead leaves in the background.

The video ends as awkwardly as it began which makes you realize two
things. One: these guys probably didn’t go on many dates in high
school. And two: they don’t see any reason you can’t be rock stars and
normal people simultaneously.

The Shoots cover both classics (Al Green’s I’m Still In Love With
You), and contemporary hits (by Kanye West, Radiohead), but it’s their
original pieces like Milk, Satin, Silk and Wrong All Along that are
really memorable, full of punchy charm. Their debut album, Armour, is
to be released late this year. Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads
gets production credits.

Their legion of committed online fans will help make the album a
success here. And in India? "None of us had any idea how our sound
would be received," says Avir Mehta, "But people there are definitely
getting it."

That’s reassuring and suggests if word-of-mouse spreads, as it does,
the Shoots just might become a band with a transcontinental following.

Visit the band on MySpace for more info: http://www.myspace.com/bambooshoots.

Monday, August 31, 2009

One Day for Change

Our label mate Matisyahu has a new community service project- One Day for Change - we think it's great. We've gotten involved, and think you should too. The idea is to "create a viral online movement via Twitter and YouTube that encourages people to share ideas to positively affect their communities in one day." You can win $5,000 to donate to a charity of your choice as well as some other cool prizes like FlipCams... 

Here's our video: 



You can share ideas via Twitter using the hash tag #onedaychange.net or on YouTube by posting a video of what you would do to change your community at the One Day For Change group on YouTube 

Friday, August 28, 2009

Menya

Our friends Menya have been putting out some cool covers lately... their cover of Vanessa Carlton's White Houses, featuring dj Good Goose has a pretty rad beat. check 'em out.



Wednesday, August 19, 2009

It's here....preorder Armour today!!!


Hey everyone!

Great news! Armour, our debut album on Epic Records is available for pre-order here - you also get instant access to the Armour EP with the download - pre-order it today!





Hey friends and fans

Hey friends and fans,

Some sad news: we have parted ways with our guitarist, Ahmed Mahmoud, and will be moving forward as a four piece. We are honored to have worked with him and he brought a lot of energy in the band. Although we are parting ways - we remain friends and are eagerly looking forward to new music from Ahmed. We will keep you posted on his future endeavors and we know you'll support him just like you do for Bamboo Shoots.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Hey Girl - live at the Gramercy Theatre Tumblr Concert

Check out this new version of Hey Girl we played at Tumblr's Reblog This Concert earlier this week..

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Long time coming...on tour...and Armour out 9/29!


it's been a while folks... we're smack in the middle of a tour leading up to the release of Armour, our debut in September! A few days back we played Tumblr's Reblog This Concert in NYC - you can see our tumblr at bambooshoots.tumblr.com and thanks to Bianca at Tumblr for putting us on the bill...it was a blast

Here's some choice pics and vids from the last few weeks...


sign at the bar at Ground Zero in South Carolina

The one and only....in Big Stone Gap, Virginia

Pics from the Tumblr show...






Saturday, July 18, 2009

2300 Jackson St

These past few days we've added a good 1500 miles on the van, hosted a couple of dance contests mid set, and Shiv freestyled for the first time. And that's just the beginning. For just four (admittedly far) shows, we had our fair share of adventure.

We set out on our mini-tour at 7am Monday making our way to Shiv's childhood summer camp in Rochester, NY to spend a day and a half. We got there, set up all our gear, did our band thing, kids did their kid thing, fun was had, dancing, campfires, group sing-alongs ensued as the night went on... considering I never went to overnight camp as a kid, it was like making up for lost time. Oh and it was my birthday on Tues and something about hearing 120 kids shout out 'happy birthday Karl' first thing in the morn made it totally bearable to be another year older. And tshirts were all sold out, that makes this band member happy enough to use emoticons:) fuel aint cheap and those kids fueled us for the whole tour, both literally and spiritually. f'n rad experience.

From there, we headed to Rochester, MI (close to the Canadian border) for our next show that Tues night. We opted to add a few hours to our trip and not take the shortcut over Lake Michigan/through Canada since we all didn't have passports; wise choice we felt. Anyways about 30 minutes away from the venue, I wake up to Avir driving the van dangerously close to Canada. Like border close. Fackin gps... the thing had basically led him past the point of no return onto the Ambassador bridge into Canada, where we made our accidental crossing into the waiting arms of the Canadian border police who proceeded to search our van full of brown dudes and equipment very, very thoroughly. These guys and girls were full body armoured, quite Storm Trooper-ish. We were searched, then processed; I had to sign papers saying god- knows-what since I wasn't born in the U.S., and we were sent back to the states where the same process started over again on the other side (but with fatter, slower cops). Of course we totally missed our show in the meanwhile... all this and it was still my birthday. Only one of the cops (on the Canadian side) wished me a happy bday. sigh.

Kalamazoo, MI and Lake Villa, Indiana followed that crazy night. In Michigan we stayed at our pal MC Imagery's house (that's where Shiv freestyled btw, at 2:20am Jul 15th, a rapper was born). And after Lake Villa, we decided to head home that night - 15 hrs back to jerz. As I was driving back that Fri morning, at about 2:30am we passed the road sign for Gary, IN. I took the exit as we googled the address for Michael Jackson's boyhood house. 2300 Jackson St. 3am. We were alone in the dead of night with the tiny building that housed the Jackson 5. Hallowed ground. Amazing way to end the tour, a quiet goodbye to one of my heroes.

-Karl

Friday, July 10, 2009

Like FREE stuff? Download Hey Girl for FREE courtesy of Reverb Nation & Microsoft!!!



Hey guys!

Guess what? You can download our first single, HEY GIRL, from our album "Armour," for FREE courtesy of Reverb Nation and Microsoft.

We need as many people to download it as possible to make an impact so please invite as many people as you know to join in!

TO DOWNLOAD:

CLICK HERE: http://www.reverbnation.com/bambooshoots

THEN CLICK: GET MUSIC NOW

Thursday, July 9, 2009

EXCLUSIVE Audio from our show in Hamden, CT last night

last night we played The Space in Hamden, CT, with a special lineup of Avir, Karl and Shiv (aka Bojangles). It was the first time we've played like that in years.



Dance contest.

Check out some of the cuts from the soundboard

Speeding Star


Speeding Star - Bamboo Shoots

The World Is Beautiful


The World is Beautiful - Bamboo Shoots

Wrong All Along


Wrong All Along - Bamboo Shoots

Into the Sea (with Karl Singing!)


Into the Sea - Bamboo Shoots

Leakin...

On the Tappan Zee

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

interesting..plus show in Hamden, CT tonight (7/8)!

so we're doing a bit of a stripped down set tonight at The Space in Hamden, CT (doors 7pm) so be sure to listen for some cool switch ups... here's some shots from practice













Tuesday, July 7, 2009

IM BACK FROM THE JUNGLE. Avir updates us on his Costa Rica trip





IM BACK FROM THE JUNGLE.

although I miss the jungle and the unpaved roads and the wild lychees and someday I will go back and learn to live like an animal and to hell with all of you.  not really but, you know, sorta.  here's some pics from costa rica.  before that i was in turkey (less jungles, more ancient civilizations, more unibrows, still amazing).  




a toucan eating a bug.  

i eat often

tried to keep the boots, couldn't

miles of perfectly lined african nut oil trees, courtesy of united fruit co.


african nut oil seeds, millions of them

those leaves were big enough to hold a small child.  

More pics:





Tuesday, June 30, 2009

wow this video is cool... Hypnotic Brass

So a bunch of us have seen these guys Hypnotic Brass (from Chicago) playing around NYC subways over the past few years. They are great. We came across this video of theirs, it's just a great piece of cinematography and we wanted to share it with you all!


Saturday, June 27, 2009

YRock/88.5FM @ 6pm Today - Live Performance & Interview

Hey there, tune into Y-Rock Philly, 88.5fm or goto http://xpn.org/yrock-on-xpn/listen-live at 6PM TODAY to hear us play some songs live in the XPN studios...

Friday, June 19, 2009

Consequence of Sound: Review of Northside Festival Performance

From Consequence of Sound:

Sunday, June 14: Day 4

Those who managed to jump back on their hungover feet, returned to the streets of Brooklyn/Williamsburg to catch the last day of Northside Festival. They waited in parks, drank more “coffee” and “smoothies” and listened to meringue from leftover attendees of the Puerto Rican Day festivities. The momentum was clear – time for more so let’s move on to day four .

Bamboo Shoots:
Public Assembly (back room)

Bamboo Shoots approached the stage with a handicap – the lead singer was off somewhere in Turkey, while his band managed without him. This quirky quintet played their asses off and at times, the whole missing lead singer thing was forgotten. Although similarities can be drawn to Radio 4, the band has its own pop-indie sound that put the audience in a good mood.

During one song, the synth player grabbed up a drum and banged on it furtively to pick up a tribal element for an already energetic tune. The force of Bamboo Shoots’ music was received with dance and smiles but this is nothing new to them. The word on the streets about this band is getting around, which is what got them signed to Epic Records in the first place.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Some great pics from the past two shows...

One of our friends took some great pics of the Walk for Hope and Public Assembly shows. For those of you who don't know, Karl sang lead Sunday and kicked some major ass!