EXCLUSIVE: Gramercy Arms Announces New Album, Shares Lead Track 'After The After Party'

Today, we are debuting the new single from NYC-based group Gramercy Arms. ‘After the After Party’, is a wistful, bittersweet and soaring power pop track about chances missed and taken. With echoes of the likes of Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur Junior as well as the classicism of 80s indie-pop, it’s yearning and hooky in all the right places, a gleaming melodic pick me up. Following up their 2023 album ‘Deleted Scenes’, this is the first taste of their fourth album The Making Of the Making Of, to be released via Magic Door Record Label. Produced, recorded and mixed by Ray Ketchem at Magic Door Recording in Montclair, NJ, this record was mastered by Ketchem and award-winning engineer Greg Calbi (John Lennon, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Tom Petty).

Gramercy Arms is a revolving collective of musicians and artists, masterminded by Dave Derby (The Dambuilders, Lloyd Cole) and producer Ray Ketchem (Elk City, Guided By Voices, Luna). With shades of 70s and 80s New York, this music is reminiscent of the work of Elliot Smith, Lloyd Cole, Marshall Crenshaw, Nick Lowe and the Go-Betweens.

This single features longtime collaborators Kevin March (Guided by Voices, Shudder to Think, The Dambuilders), Hilken Mancini (Fuzzy, the Monsieurs),Rainy Orteca (Joan As Police Woman, Dead Air) and Mike Errico. The video for ‘After The After Party’, created by Max Skaff, features members Jessie Kilguss, Renée LoBue, Richard Alwyn Fisher,Ray Ketchem, Dave Derby, Sean Eden, Gary Burton, Claudia Chopek, Lysa Opfer, and Phoebe Summersquash set against the backdrop of late-night footage of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

“I had the tune and general structure of the song lying around for a long time. For a long time I had the opening line ‘Do you suppose the door was already closed?” and the general vibe of the song but not much else. The song title and lyrical concept came for me while sitting at a bar in Brooklyn and overhearing a group of people talk about what they were going to do after an afterparty they were attending that night. I thought that that was a great title and general concept to anchor the song around. The song is about two people who’ve been chasing after each other for years but the stars never align until this one fated night where they are chasing after some magic that has been eluding them,” says Dave Derby.

“The “somewhere out on along the seven” line in the middle eight came from another overheard comment I wrote in a notebook somewhere. “Where does she live?” “Somewhere out on the 7 … in Queens”. I played the guitar solo, thinking it was a placeholder but Ray Ketchem, Kevin March and I fell in love with it and kept it.”

Inspired by the artistic heyday of ‘70s and ‘80s-era New York City, Gramercy Arms makes addictive indie pop – exquisite hook-laden melodies filled with lyrics that will have you floating back in time and remembering your favorite mistake.

As of February 21, ‘After The After Party’ will be available across online platforms, such as Apple Music,Spotify, Bandcamp and elsewhere. ‘The Making Of the Making Of’ album will be released on April 26 and is now available for pre-order.

CREDITS
Written by Dave Derby (Passive Aggressive Music BMI)
Kevin March – drums
Stephen Hurley – bass
Mike Errico – guitars
Dave Derby – main vocals, guitars
Hilken Mancini – backing vocals
Recorded at the Magic Door Studio, Montclair, NJ
Engineered, Mixed and Produced by Ray Ketchem
Mastered by Greg Calibi and Ray Ketchem
‘After The After Party’ video by Max Skaff
Dave Derby photos by Debora Francis

Single pre-save https://bit.ly/42IutYh

‘The Making Of the Making Of’ album pre-order http://gramercyarms1.bandcamp.com/album/the-making-of-the-making-of