We are fam-ish

Hello MIRKins

We have completed another very busy weekend in the land of MIRK. On Friday we kicked off our 3 day gig run at The Best Damn Sports Bar on Broadway in Albany NY. Needless to say, there is not much to say about this one... Gigs like these are always good to knock us down a couple of pegs and reinforce that we are just fam-ish (hence the title of the blog).

On Saturday, we ventured back to Pearl Street to The R Bar. If you haven't been here yet, it is where The Envy Lounge used to be, but this place it waaaay nicer. It is definitely worth a trip!

If you know Pearl Street, you know it only comes alive after midnight, so we chilled on their outdoor seating before the show. But since we had been there since 7ish, we were starting to go a little crazy (evidence below).




On Saturday we returned to Elda's on Lark Street for the first time since...well...I am not entirely sure how long it's been but it definetly has been awhile. It always feels good to return to Elda's and the vibe that the crowd gives us there.
The crowd there always has the fucking feeling they were MIRKin around (evidence below)



Inbetween and around all these gigs, we have been working very hard at fixing up our rehearsal space and recording studio. We gotta give Josh props for the studio because it is AMAZING. Check out the pic below as the view from the vocal booth.



PS-If you see Josh, please wish him a Happy Birthday!

The last time we were in a studio, it was at St. Rose. We were helping out a group friend slash lady friend of Steve Struss with a class project. Not only was it a nice studio, but the boys had a super fun time doing back-up vocals.


Oh silly boys...

So this weekend, we are gracing the Red Square with our presence for The Third Annual Beat*Shot Music Festival. If you have never been/heard of this event, it is a three day event to celebrate independent musicians and artists.


Each day has a different theme. Thursday is "Djs and Dancers," Friday is "The Away Team," and Saturday (when we are playing) is labeled "Homecoming." Below is a description of what "Homecoming" means:
This is the reason why the festival was started, to showcase our local talent. "Homecoming" encourages the area’s, emcees, singers, bands, poets, DJs and axe jugglers, to come give their all to the best crowd in Albany. This is the 3rd Annual Beat*Shot Music Festival finale and we are proud to present, Hip Hop Icon and Juice Crew All-Star, Masta-Ace & Marco Polo as the headliner! Beat*Shots own, Lo-Fi Lobo will host w/ Albany legend Nate Da Great spinning!
The list of performers for the three day show is waaaay too long so check out the facebook event page for more info.

NEW ALBUM UPDATE!!!
Everything has been recorded! We are in the mixing/mastering phase of the process. Here is Josh and Mike hard at work at this tedious project


But really, we have to give a shot out to Andy, our amazing keyboardist, who has done the most work with mixing this album (evidence below).




So 'Thank You' Andy, how would we get anything done without you?

That's all we have for you this week. Don't forget to comment and share this with your friends. Much LOVE from the whole MIRK Family.

MIRK signing out

Albany is MIRK

Hello All!

Well holy f*ck sticks this was a busy week!

On Tuesday we were in the NYC for this month's Ghetto Metal. Here is our bass player Kate getting ready to go in and looking as attractive as ever!

If that doesn't turn you on then something is wrong with you...

This event was sponsored by The Source Magazine, who seemed to really enjoy us! Here is what they said...
"Mirk Music always comes correct - with soul, style, and bearing gifts...Mr. Cheeks! This team gets the "I'm focused man" award. The music, lyrics, and stage presence are equally sealed tight. If only Drake and Ryan Leslie could see this...they'd be jealous."

Our good friend Mr. Cheeks was there spittin on our new release, Beautiful Music

Ghetto Metal was also being sponsored by a new fun fruity drink! I mean, if Colt 45 wasn't already the best thing in your mouth, now it is FLAVORED! That's right! Colt 45 BLAST comes in lemonade, watermelon, grape, and pomegranate (for the fancy ones out there). And if that's not good enough, the D-O double G is promoting the sh*t out of it...and so are we!

We had Wednesday off to recuperate because Thursday, Friday and Saturday we were all booked up.

On Thursday, we were reunited with Tess and her staff from Lark Tavern (they are all over at McGeary's now) for the After Alive @ 5 show. This was a BLAST! Not only was it fun for everyone dancing and drinking under the tent, but we all had so much fun vibing off the crowd AND we were able to show off our new banner...


On Friday we went a little north to a new hot spot on Caroline Street in Saratoga called The Paddock Lounge. If you haven't been there, it really is a cool place to go check out! We had our good friends The City Never Sleeps there to get the party started. Looks like John forgot to pee before he went on stage.


Before the show, we decided to pass out some flyers on Broadway in Saratoga. Steve must have been tired of walking, so he decided to try horseback...
He didn't get very far...

We ended the long week at Graney's Stout which just opened up in downtown Albany on Broadway across from the Beir Garden. You would never guess that this place used to be a furniture store! It is gorgeous! Great beer, great staff, great crowd! We really hope to get down there again!
People were snapping pictures all night and everyone was looking SUPA fly. However, during Steve's solo, Kate seemed to have her mind on other things...


This Friday we will be christening a new bar on Pearl Street, The R Bar (the old Envy Lounge). We haven't been here yet, but check out the pics of the food they have! It looks maaaaad good!

Then on Saturday we will be making our much anticipated return to one of our favorite hot spots, Elda's on Lark.

We are continuing to stay busy and bring you as much live music as possible while we are finishing mixing and mastering our new album. You can listen to Away and Beautiful Music (2 tracks off our new album) on youtube. However, if you want to hear more now, you have to come check out the live show!

Before we sign off, we just wanted to give a big shout out to our friends over at Nippertown for their write up on us at Alive @ 5.
"Fortunately, Mirk was there to save the day. Formerly known as Mirk & the New Familiars, the seven-piece served up a fab, 65-minute opening set that neatly balanced a firm funk foundation with undeniable pop hooks."
"And, oh yeah, any band that wants to mash up Timbuk 3′s “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” with Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” is AOK in my book. Can’t wait to hear the new album…"

We hope to see you all out there dancing soon. Thanks so much for all your LOVE and support!

MIRK signing out

Even Weiner doesn't have as much web presence as us....

Helllloooo MIRK Fans!

Thanks so much for tuning in (really clicking on) the third installment of the MIRK Mondays blog. Not only have we been crazy busy, but it's about to get even crazier!

This weekend we played at IcarusDreams art gallery on Lark Street during Art On Lark. Although the weather was so-so, it didn't stop us from rocking out and from all those Indie Artists from getting even smellier than they already are.

Watch out Tokyo....move over China Town...be aware Lark Street...
The Mirk poof strikes again! This time in dinosaur form?


We have the same feelings as you do...WTF?!?
We have decided to have a comment contest. Please comment below with a 'comment' that would describe what is happening in this picture (think New York Times Magazine kind of stuff...)

This upcoming week has three MIRK shows lined up...WHAT?...THREE?!?!
That's right...
We will be invading the NYC once again at S.O.B.'s on Varick St for Ghetto Metal



For all those whom are residents of the concrete jungle, you definitely don't want to miss this!

Also, on Thursday June 16th, we will be rocking McGeary's on Pearl St in Downtown Albany for the 'After Alive @ Five Party'. For those of us that have been long time followers, you may remember our shows at the Lark Tavern (r.i.p.). Now, our good friend Tess is over at McGeary's showing Albany how it is done! Come check it out! Three hours of MIRK...BOOM!

The following day, we will be headed up north to Saratoga. The newly opened Paddock Lounge on Caroline Street will be brought down by MIRK and our good friends The City Never Sleeps.



For those who don't know, our very own bass player Kate Sgroi is a music teacher by day. This week she decided to 'school' her students in how to be a Rock Star. She reached out to her band mates for some instructional help...






Thanks so much for tuning it. Don't forget to check out our website and facebook page for daily updates.

MIRK signing out!!!

We are everything you want, we are everything you need...

So this week was super fun for MIRK and all our fans! We kicked off the first Alive @ Five in Albany for the 2011 season in style.



If you can't read the caption above, it says
"Brenna Hamlin of Albany, center, raises her arm while enjoying Mirk in the Corning Preserve during Alive at Five on Thursday evening June 2, 2011 in Albany, NY. She is a fan of the band and enjoys "mirking out." Mirk opened for Vertical Horizon."

Thanks to the Knickerbocker Ledger for the awesome coverage and article this week!

Check out the whole article here!

We appreciate all the fans that came to support us at Alive @ 5 and mirk-ed around with us!

After the show, we packed up and made our way over to our favorite local spot, Justin's, for a more intimate show with our fans. Thanks to everyone that came and continued the party with us.

More fun things that happened this week...

Our new website has officially launched!!!! Thanks so much to our drummer Steve Struss for working super hard on an awesome site...go check it out at www.mirkmusic.com


After completing the site, Steve needed to get some Zen on next to the new mural in our studio


This Saturday, June 11th, we will be playing at Icarus Dreams art studio on Lark street for Art On Lark. We played there during Tulip fest and literally brought the house down. Our boy Seth did some 'on the spot' burn art while we were playing upstairs


We are also very proud of Mike Thornton for playing his first game of golf this weekend. And you can't play golf without looking like a golfer...Or a 70s porn star!


So that's your MIRK Monday! We hope to see you soon. Please share and comment so we know you care...and don't forget...



MIRK signing out...