Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 04:24, 6 May 2016

Postmodern Jukebox is a rotating music collective formed by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011, known for reworking popular modern music into different genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. In its first few years of existence, Postmodern Jukebox has amassed over 425 million YouTube views and 1.8 million subscribers. The band has drawn coverage from sources like NPR, Time, Mashable, Billboard, Yahoo! Music, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Post.

Postmodern Jukebox (also widely known by the acronym “PMJ”) puts out a new video weekly on YouTube, all of which are shot in Bradlee’s living room. The band has covered songs by artists ranging from Lady Gaga and The Strokes to Katy Perry and the White Stripes. Since their beginnings as a small group of friends making music in a basement in Queens, New York, Postmodern Jukebox has gone on to feature 70 different performers and tour four continents.

Origins

The origins of Postmodern Jukebox came when Bradlee began shooting videos with his close friends from college in his small basement apartment in Astoria, Queens. This original group included bassist Chris Anderson, saxophonist Ben Golder-Novick, harpist Brandee Younger, and vocalist Emma Walker.

Bradlee struggled post-college as a jazz musician in the New York City area for years before hitting it big with his first viral video in 2009 – “a medley of ‘80s songs done ragtime style.” A tweet from famed author Neil Gaiman was the beginning of his eventual online viral popularity.

In 2011, the precursor to the Postmodern Jukebox concept emerged in the form of Bradlee’s project A Motown Tribute to Nickelback. It was this video that introduced the world to many PMJ featured performers including bassist Adam Kubota, drummer Allan Mednard, emcee Drue Davis, sax / EWI player / producer Steve Ujfalussy (also known as ’90s R&B icon “Steve Sweat” from Saturday Morning Slow Jams) and Tambourine Guy, Tim Kubart.

Recent accomplishments

With over 1 million views in its first week, and 4 million in the first year, Robyn Adele Anderson's cover of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis', "Thrift Shop" (2012) was Postmodern Jukebox's first viral music video. The breakout track was included on Introducing Postmodern Jukebox (2013) and eventually found its way to a #9 position on Billboard magazine's Jazz Albums chart. This success was followed by her cover of Miley Cyrus’, “We Can't Stop” in 2013, landing the band a performance spot on Good Morning America (ABC) in September.

In late 2013, Postmodern Jukebox was invited into the New York City offices of Cosmopolitan magazine to film a year-end tribute to 2013, covering the year's hit songs with arrangements transitioning through various genres and time periods. The "Just Another Day at the Office" mashup features: Robyn Adele Anderson singing “Blurred Lines”, Cristina Gatti singing "Holy Grail", Anderson and the Tee Tones singing “We Can't Stop”, Karen Marie singing "Roar", Ashley Stroud singing "Royals" and Andromeda Turre singing "What Does The Fox Say?". The production was completed in a single take, and a companion behind-the-scenes video was also produced.

In 2014, guest artist Kate Davis performed a cover of Meghan Trainor's, "All About That Bass" (2014), in Scott Bradlee's living room after three hours of practice. Davis performs and solos on the upright bass while singing the song and recalls the occasion, "I knew the song, probably could have done it on the fly. Maybe that's why it's so funny. I remember thinking it was so funny at the time I was going to crack up, maybe five times." The 1940s arrangement and piano accompaniment is by Bradlee with Dave Tedeschi on drums. The single was a success, catching the attention of Time magazine, Billboard magazine, the Huffington Post and PBS NewsHour. As of February 2016, the music video has over 15 million YouTube views, and the song is track 11 on PMJ's Historical Misappropriation (2014) album.

BuzzFeed featured a doo-wop cover of "Timber", with Robyn Adele Anderson and The Tee Tones fronting, in February of 2014. The group's cover of Radiohead’s seminal ‘90s hit “Creep”, performed by Haley Reinhart, was called a “stunning listen” by the Los Angeles Times in April of 2015.

In 2015, Broadway's Shoshana Bean became active with the group as a guest artist when the band moved to Los Angeles. Broadway World raved about Bean's performance of Sia's, "Chandelier", at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and Billboard magazine did a feature story on her Motown makeover of Justin Bieber's "Sorry" Bean joined the Postmodern Jukebox 2016 spring European tour at its midway point.

Sara Niemietz joined the cast in August of 2015, covering the Talking Heads', "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (1983), PMJ's rendition of "Hey Ya!" (2003) by Outkast, a Dixieland arrangement of Justin Bieber’s "Love Yourself" (2015), and a club-jazz version of the "Theme to Pokemon." Niemietz joined the band's Northeastern leg of the 2015, U.S. tour and the entire 2016 European tour. MTV U.K. caught up with the show in London and spotlighted a big band cover version of "Ex's & Oh's" (2014) featuring Niemietz on vocals and Sarah Reich tap dancing.

In early Feb. 2016, Postmodern Jukebox covered the late David Bowie’s classic song Heroes in honor of World Cancer Day – featuring vocals by Nicole Atkins. The track was sold on iTunes to earn money for the Cancer Research Institute.

"American Idol" connection

Several former American Idol finalists have found success as part of Postmodern Jukebox’s ensemble, including Blake Lewis (Season 6), Haley Reinhart (Season 10) and Casey Abrams (Season 10). Three Season 14 finalists have also performed lead vocals for the group: Joey Cook, Rayvon Owen, and Clark Beckham. Additionally, vocalists Von Smith and Brielle Von Hugel are Idol alums who went through the audition process but did not advance to the finals in any season.

Really the only good thing about those kinds of competitions is they can introduce talent to America, and there are so many awesome performers such as Casey and Haley and Blake. I think it’s valuable to do those shows just for exposure, but I think the worst thing that can happen to you is you win one of those shows, because you’re going to give away all your freedom, And I realize that nowadays, you don’t really need to give up all that. You don’t need to sign a restrictive contract to get exposure. It’s just not necessary. What those shows provide for an artist isn’t worth what you’re required to give up.

— Scott Bradlee, "Meet Postmodern Jukebox, YouTube Idols", Yahoo! Music

Touring

On Feb. 24th, Postmodern Jukebox co-headlined the Dubai Jazz Festival, alongside Sting, Toto, Chris Botti, and David Gray. On Feb. 26th, the band kicked off a 75-date European tour at Vicar Street in Dublin, Ireland, wrapping on June 4th in Ankara, Turkey.

In April 2016, PMJ announced a 44-stop fall North American tour, kicking off Sept. 29th at THE VETS in Providence, R.I., and wrapping Nov. 27th in Mesa, AZ.

Band Members and vocalists

Band members

The band has featured the following artists as guest musicians:

• Adam Kubota - bass
• Allan Mednard - drums
• Allen Hunter - bass
• Andrew Gutauskas - saxophone
• Ben Golder-Novick - saxophone
• Bennett Miller - bass
• Brandee Younger - harp
• Chip Thomas - drums
• Cynthia Sayer - banjo
• Dave Koz - saxophone
• Dave Tedeschi – drums
• David Wong - violin
• Erm Navarro- trombone
• Jacob Scesney - flute/saxophone/clarinet
• James Hall - trombone
• Jason Prover - trumpet
• Jay Ratmann - clarinet
• Joe McDonough - trombone
• Kate Dunphy - accordion
• Lemar Guillary - trombone
• Michael Sailors - trumpet
• Mike Cottone - trumpet
• Molly E. Fletcher - violin
• Nick Finzer - trombone
• Ric Becker - trombone
• Robert Edwards - trombone
• Scott Bradlee - piano, arrangements
• Sean Clapis - guitar
• Sean Condron - banjo
• Seth Paris - saxophone
• Stefan Zeniuk - woodwinds
• Tim Kubart - tambourine
• Tom Abbott - clarinet

Guest vocalists and entertainers

The band has featured the following artists as guest vocalists and performers:

• Addie Hamilton - vocals
• Annie Goodchild - vocals
• Ariana Savalas - vocals
• Ashley Stroud - vocals
• Aubrey Logan - vocals
• Bernard Taylor - vocals/Tee-Tone
• Blake Lewis - vocals
• Brielle Von Hugel - vocals
• Caroline Baran - vocals
• Clark Beckham - vocals
• Casey Abrams - vocals, bass, melodica
• Cristina Gatti - vocals
• Daniela Andrade - vocals
• Emily West - vocals
• Gerard Giddens - vocals/Tee-Tone
• Haley Reinhart - vocals
• Holly Campbell-Smith - vocals
• Jasmin Walker - vocals
• Jerome Cohen - vocals/Tee-Tone
• Joey Cook - vocals, ukulele, and accordion
• Karen Marie - vocals
• Kate Davis - vocals, bass
• Kiah Victoria - vocals
• Ksenia Parkhatskaya - swing dancer
• Lara Johnston - vocals
• Lauren Molina - vocals, cello
• LaVance Colley - vocals
• Lisa Gary - vocals
• Maiya Sykes - vocals
• Miche Braden - vocals
• Morgan James - vocals
• Mykal Kilgore - vocals
• Natalie Angst - vocals
• Nicole Atkins - vocals
• Puddles the Clown - vocals
• Rayvon Owen - vocals
• Robyn Adele Anderson - vocals
• Sara Niemietz - vocals
• Sarah Reich - tap dancing
• Scout Ford - vocals/Tee-Tone
• Shoshana Bean - vocals
• Tara Louise - vocals
• Tony DeSare - vocals
• Von Smith - vocals
• Wilkie Ferguson - vocals

Discography

Albums

References

1. Staff, N. P. R. "A Vintage Filter On Today's Top 40". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
2. Grossman, Samantha. "Hear Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' as a Brassy Swing Song". TIME.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
3. "Postmodern Jukebox". Mashable. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
4. "Exclusive: Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox Premiere New Orleans-Style Sam Smith Cover". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
5. ^ "Meet Postmodern Jukebox, YouTube Idols". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
6. Calia, Michael. "Listen to the Sultry, Jazzy Cover of 'Seven Nation Army' From Postmodern Jukebox". WSJ. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
7. "Wham! Have yourself a retro Postmodern Jukebox 'Last Christmas'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
8. "Meet The Group That Replaced Miley Cyrus Twerking With Classic Doo Wop". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
9. ^ Silver, Marc (2015-01-15). "Postmodern Jukebox turns back the clock on present-day pop hits at the Birchmere". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
10. "Vintage gone viral: Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox takes music back in time". NJ.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
11. Johnston, Maura. "Q&A: Scott Bradlee On Revamping Nickelback, Taste Hierarchies, And Screaming Words". Village Voice. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
12. Justin Colletti (8 January 2015). "Postmodern Jukebox: The Making of a Multi-Million View YouTube Music Channel". SonicScoop. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
13. "GUNS N' ROSES' 'Sweet Child O' Mine' Like You've Never Heard It Before". Blabbermouth.net. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016. POSTMODERN JUKEBOX actually originated as a musical concept created by our bandleader/pianist Scott Bradlee," lead singer Robyn Adele Anderson told Pipe Dream last year. "He came up with the term some years ago when he first started covering songs in different genres. I loved the idea but didn't get involved until February of when Scott first asked me to be in a video (our vintage 'Thrift Shop' cover) and we've continued to make videos together ever since. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
14. Kristen Grennan (19 May 2013). "Exclusive Interview with Postmodern Jukebox's Robyn Adele Anderson". Sensible Reason. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
15. Chris Baker (23 May 2013). "Postmodern Jukebox goes viral with jazzy YouTube cover of "Thrift Shop"". Syracuse Media Group. Retrieved 7 April 2016. Robyn Adele Anderson is the group's charismatic lead singer. An upstate native, she moved to New York City two years ago, hoping to start a career in music. "I wasn't sure I would ever end up singing in the real world," she said. "But now we've got millions of people watching us on YouTube." Anderson grew up in Delmar, N.Y., just outside of Albany. She studied political science at SUNY Binghamton and moved to New York City after graduating in 2011.
16. ^ Eric Felten (23 May 2013). "A Jazz Band Has the Pop Scene Covered". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 April 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
17. Kevin Fallon (11 September 2013). "Doo-Wop 'We Can't Stop': Behind the Ridiculously Good Miley Cyrus Cover". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 7 April 2016. Robyn's actually my girlfriend. We dated for about a year before I put her in one of the videos, too. "Thrift Shop" I wasn't even familiar with at the top, and she was one day just sort of singing it in jazz style. I thought, We should do video of this. And we did and posted it. It was her first video singing in public. And that has over 2 million views now. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
18. Ingber, David. "CONVERSATION STARTERS The Most Unbelievable 2013 Pop Music Re-Mix You'll Hear". Cosmopolitan magazine. Cosmopolitan magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2014-01-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
19. Bryn Becker (1 January 2014). "Postmodern Jukebox wraps up 2013 in style with their mashup Year in Review". ThePickup. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
20. "Postmodern Jukebox One Take 2013 Mashup: Just Another Day at the Office". YouTube. PostmonderJukebox. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
21. "Postmodern Jukebox One Take 2013 Mashup: Just Another Day at the Office". OutBuzz. 19 January 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
22. "Postmodern Jukebox | Behind the Scenes |Cosmopolitan". YouTube.com. Cosmopolitan (magazine). 3 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
23. John Orr (20 January 2016). "Kate Davis to sing with iSing". Mercury News. Retrieved 21 February 2016. The idea was to take Meghan Trainor's hit song, which preaches self-acceptance, and jazz it up in the Postmodern Jukebox style. "But I'm here to tell you," the song says, "Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top."
24. ^ Samantha Grossman (9 September 2014). "Here's 'All About That Bass' Played on an Actual Upright Bass". Time Magazine. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
25. ^ Leight, Elias (November 17, 2014). "Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox Premiere New Orleans-Style Sam Smith Cover: Exclusive". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
26. Barness, Sarah (September 10, 2014). "'All About That (Upright) Bass' Gives A Jazzy Twist To A Great Message". Entertainment: The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
27. ^ Min, Ariel (December 10, 2014). "YouTube crooner all about that upright bass and then some". Art Beat: PBS NewsHour. NewsHour Productions. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
28. "All About That [Upright] Bass - Meghan Trainor Cover PMJ ft. Kate Davis". Youtube.com. PostmodernJukebox. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
29. "This Is How Ke$ha's "Timber" Would've Sounded If It Were A 1950s Doo Wop Song". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
30. ^ Gerrick D. Kennedy (8 April 2015). "Haley Reinhart's 'Creep' cover with Postmodern Jukebox is worth a listen". latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
31. ^ Juan-Jose Gonzalez (14 April 2016). "BWW Interview: Shoshana Bean - on PMJukebox, Wicked, Hairspray and more!". Broadway World. Retrieved 15 April 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
32. ^ Michael Lawrence Quintos (30 January 2015). "BWW Reviews: Postmodern Jukebox Entertains in their O.C. Debut Concer". Broadway World. Retrieved 21 February 2016. As for Bean---good lawd, this gal can saaaang. Already one of the musical theater world's favorite "Elphabas" (from WICKED, of course), this flawless-sounding, remarkable soul diva feels right at home with PMJ's vintage sounds. Along with her slinky soul viral hit cover of Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," (which she thankfully recreated for the concert), she also blessed the audience with outstanding, jaw-dropping covers of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off." {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
33. ^ Michele Amabile Angermiller (19 February 2016). "Broadway star Shoshana Bean takes on the Biebs in a new PMJ arrangement". Billboard magazine. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
34. Bershad, Brad. ""This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" – Postmodern Jukebox ft Sara Niemietz (Talking Heads Cover) [YouTube Video]". Zumic. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
35. ^ McCall, Malorie (24 September 2015). "Postmodern Jukebox & Sara Niemietz Put a Retro Spin on Outkast's 'Hey Ya!': Watch". Billboard Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
36. Grossman, Samantha (3 October 2015). "Listen to Outkast's 'Hey Ya!' as a '60s Soul Song". Time Magazine. Retrieved 3 October 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
37. Samantha Grossman (29 January 2016). "Listen to Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself' as a 1920s Jazz Number". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
38. "Love Yourself - Vintage 1920s Postmodern Jukebox Justin Bieber Cover ft. Sara Niemietz". YouTube.com. Postmodern Jukebox. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
39. Mike Fahey (11 November 2015). "Pokémon Theme Becomes Late Night Drinking Companion". www.kotaku.com.au. Australia: Allure Media. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
40. Stephen K. Peeples (4 February 2016). "Santa Clarita Valley Entertainment Report: February 04, 2016". KHTS. Retrieved 5 February 2016. The YouTube superstar is just about to hit the road on her first tour of Great Britain, Scandinavia and Europe as lead singer of the group Postmodern Jukebox.
41. Mike Pell (12 April 2016). "This Cover Version Of Elle King's 'Ex's & Oh's' Will Blow You Away". United Kingdom: MTV. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
42. "Nicole Atkins & Postmodern Jukebox Honor David Bowie, World Cancer Day With 'Heroes' Cover: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
43. Michele Amabile Angermiller (November 29, 2015). "'American Idol' Alum Joey Cook and Rayvon Owen Join Postmodern Jukebox". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
44. Nicole Gallucci (April 1, 2016). "Postmodern Jukebox delights by performing the Internet's favorite prank song". Mashable. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
45. Nick Roman (March 4, 2016). "American Idol Star Brielle Von Hugel Teams With Postmodern Jukebox on 'Same Old Love' (VIDEO)". Rickey.org. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
46. Michele Amabile Angermiller (4 March 2016). "Postmodern Jukebox & an 'American Idol' Alum Cover Selena Gomez's 'Same Old Love'". Billboard magazine. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
47. Shayani Mukherjee (23 April 2016). "Stunning: Watch This 14-Year-Old Sing Cyndi Lauper". Australia Network. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016. Caroline Baran, who is just 14 years old, is blessed with an incredible voice. The PMJ team was so impressed with the voice of this little girl during their #PMJ search contest that they immediately booked her and her mother's ticket to Los Angeles so that she could record a PMJ video with them. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
48. ^ Michele Amabile Angermiller (16 March 2016). "Watch Casey Abrams & Postmodern Jukebox Cover Guns N' Roses' 'Sweet Child o' Mine'". Billboard magazine. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016. The cover is part of a series of videos called Postmodern Jukebox: Reboxed. The group originally recorded the song with Motown vocalist Miche Braden. In the video, Sarah Reich joins Abrams for a tap dance. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
49. Michele Amabile Angermiller (8 March 2016). "'American Idol' Alum Haley Reinhart Signs Deal With ICM Partners". Billboard magazine. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016. Haley Reinhart from Scott Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox performs at L'Alhambra on March 12, 2015 in Paris, France. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
50. Sharan Shetty (29 December 2015). "The Tap Awakens in This Terrific Dance Cover of the Star Wars Soundtrack". Slate. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016. The folks at Postmodern Jukebox have a new video out, but this time around there's no old-timey cover of a new-fangled tune. Instead, we get a dance—specifically, a tap dance, one that sees renowned tapper Sarah Reich shuffle and shimmy her way through the Star Wars soundtrack {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
51. ALEX HEIGL (20 July 2015). "Tap Dance and Star Wars Combine with 'The Tap Awakens' from Postmodern Jukebox". People (magazine). Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016. Was there a Darth Bojangles?
52. "Awards: Scott Bradlee". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 April 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
53. "Jazz Albums: Year End 2015". Billboard (magazine). Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
54. ^ "Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox : Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 February 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

• American jazz ensembles
• Cover bands
• Musical groups from New York City