Brooklyn welcomes The Posies

By Meredith Deliso

Ever since the Posies did an anniversary show last year for their long-time label, Houston Party, in Spain, playing from their classic 1993 album “Frosting On The Beater,” venues across the globe have been vying to get the seminal alternative rock band to do just the same at their own space.

On June 12, Brooklyn gets just that lucky, as the band does a rare show at the Gowanus venue The Bell House, playing “Frosting On The Beater” in its entirety. New York gets twice as lucky, as the band will play again the following night at the Gramercy Theater in Manhattan.

“Skippy [Jack McFadden] at The Bell House has been making overtures to us for awhile, since people stateside got word of our ‘Frosting on the Beater Tour’ for our 20th anniversary as a band (and the 15th anniversary of the record) in Spain last year, there has been some real interest in the concept,” says Ken Stringfellow, who formed the band in 1987 in Washington state with Jon Auer and currently lives in France. “So, it worked out we could squeeze in these two New York shows amongst other things we do individually. It also helped that airfares between New York City and Paris haven’t been this cheap since the Lindy Hop.”

In 1998, after such hits as “Golden Blunders,” “Dream All Day,” “Solar Sister,” and “Flavor of the Month,” off “Frosting on the Beater,” the Posies’ core singer/songwriter partnership of Stringfellow and Jon Auer sundered. The band has reunited several times over the years since for gigs and albums, as well as kept busy with such said individual projects, including Stringfellow’s band The Disciplines, which plays “glorious, punky, nasty, nerdy pop,” says the musician.

Currently touring with The Disciplines, Stringfellow will go right from the airport to the stage to perform first by himself, on June 11, at The Bell House, in a solo show, with Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 also on the bill.

“My solo work is always pretty intense and emotional,” says Stringfellow. “When I play solo, I experience it one way, sort of free to follow my inspiration. With the band, especially my current band The Disciplines, it’s more physical, free to ignore my body and sort vaporize within the moment.”

The next night he takes the stage with the rest of the Posies, who reunite since their Spain show last year.

“That’s a motivating force right there,” says Stringfellow, who’s also looking forward to coming to Brooklyn and reuniting with a bunch of friends here he hasn’t seen in a long time. “And,” he says, “The Bell House looks downright sexy on its web page.”


The Posies play The Bell House (149 7th St.) on June 12 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased in advance here. The show is 21+.

You can also catch them the following night on June 13 at The Gramercy Theater (127 23rd St.) in Manhattan at 9 p.m. Tickets are $22.50 and are available here. The show is 16+.