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New Madrid

The epitome of musical culmination and collaboration. It is as diverse as it is universal, as musically expressive as it is organized - an elegant yet gritty Rock sound planted in South America and harvested in New York.

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Hometown	Brooklyn, NY
Genres	Rock, Latin
Band Members	Axel Ito (lead vocals, drums, keys); Anthony... » more
Achievements
Upcoming Shows	None

Contact Information:	Manager Isa Nicole isanicole@gmail.com 917.325.1343 Artist / Band Member New Madrid newmadridrock@gmail.com 917.325.1343
# Years Experience Performing Live:	3
# Live Perfomances Past Six-months:	16
Market Draw:	Philadelphia, PA: 31-50; Stamford, CT: 0-30; New York, NY: 76-100; Brooklyn, NY: 76-100; Austin, TX: 0-30
Venue History:	Pianos - New York, NY The Studio at Webster Hall - New York, NY The Knitting Factory Brooklyn - Brooklyn, NY Parkside Lounge - NewYork, NY Arlene's Grocery - New York, NY Bowery Electric - New York, NY Cake Shop - New York, NY Red Door Studios - New York, NY The Underground Lounge - New York, NY Motor Grrl Garage - Brooklyn, NY Spike Hill - New York, NY Club Amnesia - New York, NY Cameo Gallery - Brooklyn, NY Rockwood Music Hall - New York, NY Mercury Lounge - New York, NY Sullivan Hall - New York, NY Bruar Falls - New York, NY Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA The Fire - Philadelphia, PA The Legendary Dobb's - Philadelphia, PA Northstar Bar - Philadelphia, PA Mugshots - Austin, TX Seaside Tavern - Stamford, CT Rack-n-Roll - Stamford, CT Mehanata - New York, NY B.B. King's - New York, NY
Opener Experience:	Penrose; Mahavatar; Black Taxi; The Shake; Apollo Run
Similar Artists:	Mars Volta
Discography:	La Arana Single—2011; Soberano Single—2010; EP EP—2009

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About the Artist

New Madrid is a three-headed monster. Their music and lyrics are an amalgamation of rock culture and South American idioms, a blending of languages, rhythms: Un estilo engendrado en Latino America pero creado en Norte America.

Formed in Brooklyn in 2009...

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June 2009 Experimental

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Press Coverage

New Madrid is "El Bomb-Diggity" by Paige Graham
Brush up on your high school Spanish folks, New Madrid is in LA CASA! I actually had the chance to see New Madrid back in November, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them again at the Webster Hall Studio on January 28th. They are truly a marvelous experience. When I was originally invited to see this fantastic threesome, I was a bit skeptical of their greatness. Being characterized as a “Latin Rock Band” I wasn’t sure if I was getting some kooky Spanish Pop or Bodega music. I guess the saying is true, “Don’t knock it till you try it” because I was definitely blown away. What also impressed me was their set up. (Wizzawhat?! Lead singer on Drums?! Not everyone can pull THAT off ) Nowadays I don’t see a lot of awesome 3 member bands. Sure, Nirvana & Cream rocked their scene, but nowadays (as well all know) music lacks originality. Dare I say it? New Madrid is bringing my faith back into the underground music scene. No speake’ Español? Not to worry. Their music is so powerful that it breaks the language barrier and translates to heartfelt tunes and rhythm that you just can't resist! By their 2nd song it is almost expected that you see people dancing and having a fantastic time. So New York, check out their myspace page HERE and “like” them on Facebook by clicking HERE. They will be blessing the city of brotherly love (Philadelphia, PA) on February 17th so be sure to check out details on their music pages. (Road trip anyone?) Overall, their trio is fun and musical with vibes that are libidinously lovely Keep tuning in to find out when they’re playing NYC next because they are definitely worth seeing New Madrid is Axel Ito (Lead Vocals, Percussion), Erik Barragan (Guitar,Vocals), & Anthony Formichella (Bass,Vocals)

Studio Session: Penrose & Co. Play Webster Hall by Dania McDermott
New Madrid, by contrast, offered a novel marriage of Latin meets alternative, an undoubtedly unique and relatively unchartered musical territory amidst the larger segment of U.S. indie bands. Though the components to their sound have clear roots, it’s the fusion of the two (Latin and rock, English and Spanish) which make this band worth paying heed to.

Concert Review: New Madrid at Crash Mansion, NYC 4 by Lucid Culture
New Madrid have really taken their live show to the next level. Entering to the thundering strains of a cd of Also Sprach Zarathustra, they hit a jarring chord in a completely unrelated key and then proceeded to pummel the audience with one darkly catchy, stomping anthem after another. There is no other New York band who sound like them which is probably because A) being a bilingual/rock-en-Espanol band, they’re the furthest thing from “indie” and B) they seem to draw more on European or Mexican influences. Their shtick is that their drummer stands and sings, and he welcomes the chance to come out from behind the kit. This time around he’d shut the band down for a pregnant pause, sticks between his teeth, waiting for a reaction (something he could do a little less frequently – or else this time he was just in a particularly boisterous mood). He’s a good player, too, going four on three during two jarring, extended crescendos during one of the set’s last songs. The guitarist is eerie and noisy, like Daniel Ash but with better chops, at one point taking a solo that sounded like Saul Hernandez trying to channel Beefheart. Their bassist has a tough job, as much a part of holding the runaway train to the rails as the drums, and he delivered, at one point carrying the song with boomy intensity while the drummer took an eerie suspense-film solo on the toms. Most of the material in the set seemed new, other than the tensely staccato anthem Soberano (Sovereign). The best song of the night saw the guitarist employing the most macabre, watery effect you could imagine: on top of that, he’d bend the notes at the end of a phrase with his tremolo bar for even more sepulchral quaver and goosebumps. The big audience hit seemed to be a fairly simple, somewhat glamrock number entitled Kill; another new one, possibly titled Crazy Lady was aptly menacing, with a grittily noisy, offhandedly intense guitar solo out. Another way to tell that New Madrid is on to something good is how they managed to clear the fratboys out of the room. Almost imperceptibly, a much more intelligent-looking, diverse and considerably less obvious crowd gathered at the front of the room as the khaki-and-poloshirt contingent stumbled back toward the bar.

Live Review: The Theatre Shows 3.6.10 by Meijin Bruttomesso
First up, New Madrid, cleverly fusing Spanish and English lyrics performed with an intensity that surpassed the sound of three, and engaged the bizarrely dressed crowd with adrenaline-infused rock. During “La Araña,” the band even tossed out creepy crawly souvenir spiders. -Meijin Bruttomesso

Live Review: Cake Shop 1.23.10 by DirtyFuckingHipster
I was extremely intrigued to see New Madrid. I’ve heard things here and there about them, but had never seen them live nor really dug into their self-titled EP, which was released last year. The four tracks and live videos on their MySpace had me very interested to see what they’d be live. And, while the songs off the EP are catchy and interesting, and the live videos (as home-made as they appear and sound) are pretty cool, this live show is off the fucking chains.

Album Review by Lucid Culture
Fiery, artsy, adrenalizing, original rock from Brooklyn. New Madrid have two guitars, bass and drums, purposeful lyrics that alternate between Spanish and English and a relentlessly tuneful melodic attack. There seems to be a 90s rock en Espanol influence although there’s definitely a classic art-rock vibe going on too...Proof that there’s just as much great stuff as there is shit coming out of Brooklyn. If this EP is any indication then they probably kick ass live. -Lucid Culture

NEW MADRID EP RELEASE REVIEW by Hank C. Kupsic
I've been following this new band, New Madrid, for a couple months now. I first heard of them when a friend of mine happened to catch them at Fat Baby over the summer and she said, "Hank, you've never head music like this before." So, I took her advice and checked out their myspace. There wasn't much content and the recordings were low-fi, but I saw they were playing a show at Pianos a couple weeks following, so I marked it on my calendar. Great decision. It was a pretty slow, warm Sunday night in July. The show was free. There were a couple other bands on the bill who were set to play after New Madrid, but I had work early the next day so I wasn't planning on sticking around for them (though I got sucked in and ended up staying, but that's for another blog). At about 9.30 the place started to fill up. Apparently I wasn't the only one who had heard that this band is a must-see/must-hear. A little after 10 New Madrid stepped on stage. At the middle mic was a guy who looked in his early-mid 20's with a charming little Latin accent. The bass player was a big dude with big dreads and a small t-shirt (sounds about right), the lead guitarist looked a little older, maybe late-2o's, with a fedora and a tie, and the drummer wore a smile on his face from set-up to tear-down. The first song, "Soberano," which became the first song on their recently-released EP, which I will get to shortly, began with a booming, almost tribal drum beat on the big toms. The lead singer, Axel (yes, that's his given name), got the crowd clapping - he hardly had to ask. Then his voice came in... I'll be honest, the rest of the set became a blur. I was hooked. Sucked in. Tractor beam victim #1,598. This band was awesome. It was spicy but not over-the-top Latin - it was Rock but not too hard - it was fusion but not too obvious. It was new but not scary. So, of course, I bought the EP which came out this past September, and, of course, went to the EP release party. The party was at Pianos, too, with the same band as the first show. As though the four members hadn't poured their hearts and souls out on stage the first, they FUCKING KILLED IT. The energy and the passion were engulfing, mystifying almost. The band was incredible. The EP is great. There are four songs: "Soberano," "Vesicant," "Pure" (my personal favorite), and "I'll Find My Way." They go together very nicely and it's a great way to kill about 20 minutes of your day. It cost me 4 bucks and I sent it to all my friends, now they're all NM fans like me. I highly recommend getting your hands on the New Madrid EP, I recommend seeing them live even more. They are spectacular.

¡Ay Caramba for La Araña! by Undergroundbiz.net/Paige Graham
Araña?!… A SPIDER?! Okay, not like a tarantula or anything of the sort, but “La Araña”, the new single from one of my favorite bands; New Madrid Their music is doper than dope, fly-er than fly and more jive than…the original Jive! (1940′s dance anyone?) Their rhythmic tunes will flow through your veins, pump tantalizing vibes throughout your body, and revive every dull cell in your being. Energetic? Yes. Groovy? Most definitely. Truly they are nothing short of perfection. Don’t believe me? Click the audio player below and listen for yourself I know, I know, you can thank me later. Meanwhile, hurry to itunes and purchase your copy by clicking HERE. Now that “La Araña” has enhanced your interest in the band, be sure to see this fabulous trio LIVE! They are playing on Cinco de Mayo at the famous Pianos Bar located on 158 Ludlow Street in Manhattan. You can check out more details on Facebook by clicking HERE. Also, “stay in the know” by visiting their BLOG for shows, new releases and “general musings” New Madrid is Axel Ito (Lead Vocals, Percussion), Erik Barragan (Guitar,Vocals), & Anthony Formichella (Bass,Vocals). www.NewMadridMusic.com Happy Listening!

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Boom mic stand stage front, center

Drum kit stage front, center

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New Madrid

About the Artist

Music

Photos

Photos

Achievements

Press Coverage

Stage Specs

Technical Requirements

Technical Requirements