Long Island Scene Alive & Well

One of my newest habits, a good one actually, is riding my bike around after work and ending up on a bench in Boston Commons about a half hour before the sun sets. Lately, I find that when I do that I've usually got a copy of the new Alternative Press, and take ten minutes to actually look through the magazine. (You can imagine I have stacks of shit I want to read, but never get to). This time, I gasped when going through the reviews to find a huge photo and great review of Long Island's Latterman.



This photo brings back a lot of good memories. From April of 2005 to August of that year, the Long Island Freespace (an alternative non-profit center: shows, panels, art/political workshops, bike collective, alternative media library, vegan potlucks, etc.) had a physical presence in Ronkonkoma, NY, and Latterman were a major player in the center's short but thriving livelihood. This band has been around for ages, and make up parts of other awesome bands to come out of, generally, the Huntington area of LI. (Solidarity Pact + BurnItDownRebuild records, particularly).


This guy right here is Phil Douglas, but many just call him Phil Latterman. Not only is he a great guitarist and awesome person, but he's also the go-to guy for Long Island bands to record, engineer, and produce their records. Maybe you should e-mail him if you're looking to record? Very awesome.

Releasing another record on Deep Elm, We Are Still Alive, their music is a smack in the face with lyrics that are straight-forward sing-a-long solidarity. It's catchy, but it's not all that pop punk. They're an underground band with an underground sound and have managed to maintain that for years.

Audible: http://www.myspace.com/latterman
Website: http://www.lattermanband.com/
Go! Go! Go!: http://www.burnitdownrebuild.net/