Meg Wilhoite is a music theory graduate who runs the kleineKultur blog. She had this to say about Telecom's show at the Annex:

Clever and enticing riffs, found in extended instrumental introductions—hear “Steel City”

Lead vox sung with air-gulping passion a la Matthew Bellamy—hear “Desert Reef”

Unconventional chord progressions creating a distinctive sound and peculiar moods—hear “New World”

Propulsive beats, conducive to movement—hear “Morning Star”

With a style that’s hard to pin to any one rock sub-genre, Telecom brought something that felt familiar and at the same time entirely new to The Annex’s stage with their seven-song set on Sunday night.

Hear Telecom.

See the review at megwilhoite.com

Thank you to all at Belmont Lounge (NY), Clash Bar (Clifton, NJ) and the Annex(NY) for having us! We send out our love to all who came and listened! Next up for Telecom is more recording, until further notice ( watch this space! ) or - whichever comes first - until its time to hit the Ramapo College Festival in New Jersey on October 4th for our first outdoor show!!

Love,
-T

As the guitar player for Wandering Kid, one of the most imaginative and real bands we have ever met on our travels, Bay Belza had long commanded our admiration of his skills and sensibilities as a guitarist. Also long-held was our belief that that band's eventual break-up was utterly senseless, but now we must shut up about that and count our blessings: Bayron Belza is Telecom's new guitar player! And isn't it simply weird that Telecom and Wandering Kid first shared the stage / met on the night of Telecom's live debut? Meaning Bay was present since the very beginning? Well, it certainly feels that way...

Michael Fairbairn played guitar with Telecom for most of the band's life so far. He is responsible for many of the more memorable, musical and technical bits of guitar playing in our music. His influence on the band's sound, working method and ethos will be lasting. The split was amicable - any musical differences had long been overcome - but Michael just wants to chill and be a respectable citizen of the world these days and so he shall. We wish him happiness and peace!

After a furious bout of recording and mixing this past week, Telecom spent an exceptionally sunny, breezy Saturday sipping this and that and sitting to have its picture taken by the equally sunny, breezy and not to mention very talented Marlo Gamora. Check the results out here and here ( Hi Res ) and make sure to stop by Marlo's website at marlogamora.com.

Telecom has just finished recording THE LIVE EP, comprised of 4 new songs recorded, well, LIVE!
Here is a preview of the cover art as it stands so far!


More info to come!

Come. And tell your friends .

We invite you all to read the bio page, which is finally up. After rejecting dozens of labored versions we reinstated the original thrown-together myspace bio from the summer of 2004, updating it to reflect (current) reality.

Hi everyone, a wee news update for you today. After an excellent time at the Knitting Factory show - thanks to all who came to listen - we decided to chill for a minute and see if we can't add a couple of extra songs to a set that is proving to be the best e v e r , and which we all agree is shaping up to be the core of the Telecom Album.

( Man say what? )



The set(s) we unveiled at these past three shows featured some of the most spacious, well-lit and electric material we've ever done, but there is a thought that possibly one or two or three kinds of song are still missing.

Anyway, after all this mysterious business is taken care of it's Next Stop Brooklyn.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the Ramapo College Benefit Concert in Mahwah, NJ. We had a great time and wish the Hayes family the very best.

Now That was a rock show. From the made-up PA to the up-for-it crowd (apparently comprised of all-supermodels?) we loved every second. And now off to Mahwah for the Ramapo benefit.
Can't.wait.

It begins. Telecom is playing a surprise show Midnight Thursday at the Belmont Lounge, near Union Square in Manhattan. Details Here

Pleased to announce the Ramapo College Benefit has been rescheduled for this Friday, February 29th! See you all there!

We regret to inform you that the Ramapo College Benefit Concert scheduled for tonight, Friday 22nd, 2008, in Mahwah, NJ has been POSTPONED due to weather conditions. As a safety precaution due to slippery roads, the show WILL NOT TAKE PLACE tonight. In all probability the show will take place next Friday, February 29th, but that is not confirmed at the moment.

As an added bonus, Rupert Murdoch chose this of all days to take down our myspace profile for 'maintenance' - we can't be sure if you can see our profile even though we can't. If so, please do what you can to alert anyone you know who was planning to attend.

What a bummer,
-Telecom Emergency Management

Telecom will be appearing at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ, on Friday February 22nd 2008. Nothing could make us happier than to show some new faces a new face of our own - nothing except doing it while raising funds for a great cause (see poster to the right) and taking in some chill reggae before and after the set. Show details here. Stay tuned for more special announcements soon!

With the unimportant things falling away one by one and a new sense of self emerging, you tend to care less and less about the future and more about truly being in the present. And while really excited about this proud and obtuse thing called 2008 waiting at the door, we can't help but marvel at the one stepping going out — truly one for the books. Tonight we drink to you, 2007.

We're pleased to tell you that Cabinet Noir, Telecom's band blog, is up and running, featuring entries from all four members of the band and permitting commentary from anyone. ( Cabinet Noir is French for "Black Room", and was the name given in 17th Century France to the secret office where the letters of suspected persons were clandestinely opened and read by public officials before being forwarded to their destination. )

JugendMusik and Engineer. Sure, they'll find their way to myspace - but you get to hear them first because you're smart and you visit the website.

Hello, my name is INTENTIONALLY DELETED and I will personally see to it that August 20th will be remembered as a National Holiday. Thank you.

Hello everyone and Happy Fourth and Fifth of July.
First of all thanks to all who were there at Snitch on June 23rd. Despite guitars refusing to stay in tune it was quite simply the best show in the existence of ever and the fucking thing was on fire that night and we got the motherfucker on video.

And we wanna do it again on the 27th! »

We're pleased to announce a Brooklyn show after all this Manhattan business, quite pleased that it will be at Matchless (we adore its cozy stage and pleasant staff) and very pleased that it will be on a Friday. We're pleased that it will feature 2 lovely bands and a DJ. Come and hear a revitalized, carribeanized, goodnewsified, contractified, originalHQbackified, restorified set. With slightly maddened smiles, we walk our straight line. And damn it all.

Interruption, the song you will recognize as TELECOM's set-opener, was just added to HQ's audio player and myspace page. The recording, engineered by James Deering, admirably captures the dynamics and scale the song has when performed live, due largely to the fact that it was recorded in that spirit - there were no more than a couple of takes for each player - and care was taken in the mixing stage to preserve the raw energy the band provided.

Interruption's relentless beat, grooving, almost dub bass, violent yet painterly guitar work and button-pushing lyrics (with imagery drawing on mythology and religion, invoking everything from 'holy water' to 'the sirens' to 'cracking the sky and shaking the earth' was enjoyed this Thursday by listeners of Mystery Science Radio , the newest show on Montclair State's 90.3 WMSC station devoted to real music. Here is the playist they graciously sent us:

PLAYLIST /MYSTERY SCIENCE RADIO / 90.3 WMSC

(Episode 1 / June 21, 2007 / 7p - 10p)

TONES ON TAIL -- Go!

CSS -- Let's Make Love (and listen to Death From Above)

BECK -- I Think I'm in Love

PETER, BJORN and JOHN -- Young Folks

THE KNIFE -- Heartbeats

GOLDFRAPP -- Strict Machine

----------------------------------------------------

BLONDE REDHEAD -- Spring and By Summer Fall

MINUS THE BEAR -- Pachuca Sunrise

DAVID BOWIE -- A Better Future

PLACEBO -- Second Sight

BUZZCOCKS -- Everybody's Happy Nowadays

INXS -- This Time

----------------------------------------------------

UNIFORM -- Black Market Memory

TELECOM -- Interruption

INTERPOL -- Say Hello to the Angels

EDITORS -- Colours

----------------------------------------------------

STEVE BURNS -- What I Do On Saturdays

THE SUGRACUBES -- Walkabout

P.J. HARVEY -- O Stella

P.J. HARVEY -- Dress

----------------------------------------------------

PIXIES -- Something Against You

PIXIES -- Broken Face

SMASHING PUMPKINS -- Bury Me

MUSE -- Bliss

Enjoy Interruption and more from Telecom tonight at Snitch, 11pm!

Telecom will be playing at Snitch Bar in Manhattan on Saturday June 23rd. The band will be taking the stage at 11pm. Lineup and cover will be announced soon.

Many thanks to all the great people who came to see us at the Annex & Clash Bar shows. We had great fun.

THE ANNEX, NYC
June 5th, 2007

Kicking off the summer in style, TELECOM shares the stage with four (4) diverse and highly listenable bands at New York's serious venue for emerging music, the Annex.

The Winners Are:
(links take you to myspace pages)

Stab the Matador - these guys play abrasive, poppy dance-rock poised to unseat The Rapture from their jerky, disco-esque throne - check out their song 'Red Light' and you'll see what we mean.

Satellite Lot Warm, 80's-influenced Electro-Rock from Maine. Trance-inducing sustained low notes and bleeping synths peppered by tasteful guitar and female ooohs and aaaahs in the backup - we like the songs 'liberation front' and 'rule your own', check them out

A Big Yes ... And a Small No - nice 'n' ever-so-slightly-strange pop with plenty of sunshine and rain from the heart of Brooklyn; listen to 'manic when I'm around you', its good for you - you can tell by the vibraphone.

Nerv - Last but not least come Nerv, visiting NY from Mexico, playing alternative music with influences ranging from shoegazing to diving-in-the-drums to the radiocephalic; but what we love most are the twists, like the blend of sounds heard in the mariachi-tinged 'sanitary measures', featuring trumpet that could as easily be heard on Sketches Of Spain as it could be from Amnesiac

Add TELECOM's galactic range of sounds, beats and lizard-brain-accessing vocal lines to the mix and you have a road-trip-worthy, concept-album-like hedonistic auditory experience of the highest order, except it's LIVE. A Very Good Line Up. Miss this one at your own risk!


CLASH BAR, CLIFTON, NJ
Like Never Before
June 16th, 2007


TELECOM returns to New Jersey to strengthen ties with the haunted suburban stories of Clifton, old stomping grounds of our bass player, Nancy. Telecom has a rich history in Clifton with a multitude of shows at the Loop Lounge there, as well as the historic impromptu secret-by-default show at Connections when a drunken three/fourths of telecom.2.0 took the stage to introduce Cheech to the world. So now, TELECOM visit Clash Bar, the new center of the scene - and this time it is to stake a claim. Sharing the stage that night will be of our favorite bands, Uniform, whose dark, sultry music we haven't heard for way too long. We'll close this one by saying we truly hope to see all the friends in Clifton and the surrounding areas there that night - we'll have a lot to give back to you that night.

For all show details visit the live schedule page

» The band has spent its time very productively, tinkering away in the rehearsal hall and the recording studio refining its sound, set and show. Meaningful collaborations have been established with a slew of talented people coming to aid in all aspects of this business we call music, from producer Bruce Smith (PiL, Bjork, Maroon 5), who along with the band's longtime engineer James Deering comprise the de-facto regisseurs of TELECOM recording sessions, to knob-twiddler and sonic mangler Aeryk Schlappi, to Malcolm Beckford and Hans-Juergen Eberdorfer - the directorial masterminds of Shot Shot Shot - to the talented crew at the playhangmen film co., to photographer Marlo Gamora and many many others, including promoters, bookers and club owners throughout New York and its surrounding areas. Last but not least, TELECOM has been busy playing a torrent of well-received shows in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey in venues such as The Annex, Snitch Bar, Fontana's, Matchless, Trash Bar, Loop Lounge, etc, with repeat shows at virtually every one of them.

» In April, Clinton Van Gemert was dismissed from the band, a difficult yet unanimous decision that was forced by his avoidance of band duties. Clinton served as bass player during some very important phases of the band's development, his melodic, sophisticated playing having aided in redefining the role of the bass in the band's music. Additionally, great strides in the live aspect of the band were made on his shift. But the fact that an otherwise strong lineup never seemed to fulfill its creative promise was what tipped the scales in the decision, making yet another round of roundtable discussions seem pointless. The decision was officially made when the band was unable to reach him mere days before a show at Snitch Bar, with additional shows at the Annex and Matchless immediately following...

Fortunate to be surrounded by talented people willing to help see the band through its short-term engagements, TELECOM never even considered cancelling the shows. Among the most tempting offers for assistance came from Mishal Zeera, whose abundant musical talent in what seems like all instruments would have more than covered it, but the decision was made instead to enlist founding member Nancy Ferro Jr. who, beyond being equally guaranteed to do an impeccable job, could agree to a more open-ended commitment, which would then allow TELECOM to continue marching forward with its plans for the summer. ( Alas, Mr. Zeera has a whole career of his own to tend to! ).

Nancy had remained close to the band throughout the Clinton year, having parted with the band amicably in a lifestyle choice, with no artistic or personal problems with TELECOM. She ended up playing the Snitch show without a hitch, with the benefit of merely four intensive rehearsals. The show was jokingly nicknamed The Battle of Snitch during the rushed-yet-fun, almost conspiratory all-night sessions and, moving on this idea, the poster originally designed for the show was replaced by one featuring an image of black flags bearing the Telecom Insignia. That the band played as if nothing had happened is a true feat by Nancy. The band had the opportunity to further polish its set for Matchless and by the time TELECOM stepped off the stage at The Annex, the consensus - consensus is what your friends mouth silently to you - was 'Best Show Ever'.

» With the huge undertaking of rebuilding HQ underway for what seemed like eons, TELECOM had increasingly relied on myspace for its online presence. Worth mentioning is the fact that TELECOM refused to pester people on the social networking site to get adds / views, instead adopting a policy of 'let them come to us' - going against the grain of common practice among indie bands. ( In the band's view, this alienates more people than it ultimately attracts, and overall is a little desperate of these people, don't you think? ) Despite eschewing the hard sell, Telecom's friend count on the site has surged to almost 3000 avatars, a number not inflated by accepting spammers, and instead reflecting actual people who came to the band on their own initiative. Adding to that comes a marked jump in hits for TelecomHQ.com in the first half of 2007 ( despite there being no site to see at the URL! ) which is another great sign that band awareness is growing and will only continue to grow exponentially as plans for a dynamic live and media presence materialize over the course of the summer. Presence? Make that a blitz.

Now this will feel good.

Welcome to the new TelecomHQ.com!!!

it is gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh, and you will find it to be the most informative, entertaining, validly coded, psychotic version of HQ ever. A lot of content is already up to make up for the long wait and a lot more is on its way. Make sure to enjoy the HQ-exclusive music on the audio player, and don't forget to sign up for the mailing list for show alerts. Stay tuned for the news!