from Another Dead Clown's debut full-length 'This May Not Work.'

HF!!!

The Ghost of Frank O'Hara

For The Aeroplane (You Could, You Could)

Drinking Song #4

Pyramids

Eva's Guitar

Eight Miles to Ludlow

Spenser's Bad News

Akashic Field

Another Dead Clown is a small rock band based in Astoria, Queens.

Founded as a sprawling musical collaboration between friends, ADC now consists of Chris O'Keeffe, Gerad O'Shea, Meagan Brus and Ian Deming.

The band also often features an extended cast of family, friends, and brave audience members that participate in live performances and recordings.

Another Dead Clown released their debut EP, "Everyone went home alone." in March of 2012 and their first full-length album, "This May Not Work." on June 25, 2013.


The Saga: 

	It started as a joke between childhood friends.  Another Dead Clown was the pseudonym substituted for the latest sketch of a song or stupid idea - the "band" responsible for trade-school homework assignments, guerilla-style open mic appearances, and leading many a late-night dive bar sing-a-long.  By 2011, Chris was steadily recruiting a coterie of friends and family to join the organization, and the ranks of ADC swelled along with the hours logged in cramped Cambridge apartments, swapping the roughest of demos and amassing an increasing arsenal of backlogged ideas. Gerad, recently transplanted to NYC, had returned to Cambridge, MA a handful of times, rejoining Chris to play songs as Another Dead Clown. To do so, Gerad borrowed Chris's grandmother's heirloom accordion and learned how to play it like a squishy piano.  The guys narrowed the catalog down to focus on a svelte five tracks, largely based around which songs would sound nice with some ukulele and\or banjo on them. Recruiting ur-3133 denizen, Kevin Carranza, to play, who just happened to own one each of the above instruments, was influential on the decision-making process.  After performing as ADC for an assortment of Connecticut house parties (where, somewhat miraculously, nobody got hurt,) and with the encouragement of engineer extraordinaire Christopher Abell, they hit the city to record an EP.  Enlisting the aid of many highly trained and accomplished NYC talents - including future permanent member, and winner of three consecutive "nicest legs in the band" awards, Meagan - glockenspiels, kazoos, fiddles, and washboards were shoved into unsuspecting hands, and the tape rolled. What came out was Another Dead Clown's debut EP, "Everyone went home alone." which would eventually be released in March 2012.

	While Abell was working on turning the resulting tumult into an aurally pleasing artifact, Chris moved to Astoria with the lovebirds, Kevincito got hitched and left for the Left Coast, and Ian decided he was tired of being left out and could probably learn how to play uke since it only had four strings. It was a busy summer. After agreeing to come to practice twice a week and promising never to wear flip-flops or shorts on stage, Ian joined the band. Another Dead Clown's live Astoria debut occurred in November 2012, with the band featuring a baker's dozen of performers, all taking turns on a stage that fit roughly four-and-a-half comfortably. The cast of characters in ADC rotated throughout the following cold months, spent hunkered down learning, practicing, and playing songs in kitchens, basements, and living rooms.  Along the way, the band distilled down to a dedicated four-piece, with Chris, Gerad, Meagan and Ian forming the core of Another Dead Clown. This was around the same time the organization's unofficial mission statement settled into "Friends. Music. Whisky." after some previous permutations of priority. After several near-disasters at live performances, the traditional pre-show announcement, "We are Another Dead Clown, and so are you.  If you don't like what you're hearing on stage, come up and fix it!" was abandoned. The band figured out how to retain the ability to get audience members, friends, and family up on stage to join in the fun without derailing the entire experience. (Establishing the "Tambourine Permit" was a good step.)  After enough shows, and nearly losing Chris to the French Pyrenees, ADC settled into a more intimate lineup, featuring simple arrangements with unique instrumentation provided by band-members and guests alike. They took this inclusive attitude and drove 150 miles north from New York to Ludlow, MA.  After clearing out the barn on Sweet Local Farm of hay bales and assorted agricultural implements, Kevencito flew in from CA, and Abell set up a studio at the farm. Their attitude throughout the process of creating their first full-length album, borrowed from the earliest days of the organization, was, "This may not work, but..." So, borrowing friends near and dear from locales near and far to sing, shout, drum, clap and play, the gang challenged each other to arrange, improvise, and orchestrate often right up until they pressed record. The result: Another Dead Clown's debut album, "This May Not Work."  

	With the album released in June of 2013, ADC has continued to grow, change, and push one other to experiment, get loud, and include any and everyone who might have an interest in helping them make music.  So, if you come to a show, you just might find yourself with a kazoo, ukulele, or harmonica in your hand, playing along.  


Another Dead Clown.

Popular tracks