The Brooklyn What are a band at the forefront of the growing resurgence of guitar rock in the tri-state area, and one of New York City's most vibrant live acts. The group's primary influences are the Replacements, Guided By Voices, The Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth, The Ramones and Pavement, but the band's tastes extend to soul giants such as Otis Redding, classic songwriters such as Cole Porter, new wave groups such as Joy Division, and contemporary bands such as The Gaslight Anthem and Screaming Females. The resulting sound filters the whole history of Rock & Roll through a younger, rawer, hungrier perspective, using this as a platform to tell the stories of a struggling young generation, often laced with irreverent humor, while sidestepping the dry irony of the previous decade. The Brooklyn What was formed in the basement of lead singer Jamie Frey's parents in 2006, getting its start in the backroom of the original Freddy's Bar, known as a haven for local weirdos, young and old, later demolished to make way for a sports arena. The band's first album, The Brooklyn What For Borough President showcased the group's early incarnation as a wild adolescent punk band, skidding and careening across the whole rock spectrum at breakneck speed. It was recorded in 6 hours, self produced, and released on the group's own Pozar Records label in 2008. Peppered with random snippets of conversation, and minimal overdubs, the group lets it all hang out in an endearing barrage of catchy tunes, wisecracking lyrics, and a sneaking complexity that creeps out from behind the bar-room hijinks to surprise the listener when least expected. The album is still available on CDbaby The Brooklyn What played up their political leanings for 2009's Gentrification Rock EP, recorded and released quickly as a protest against the demolition of a neighborhood for high rise condos. The EP is still available through the band's personal sites, and is a good document of the darkening of the group's sound, and it's broadening influences and subject matter. The South Brooklyn Singles EP was recorded in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in 2010, and showed further growth in this direction, but this project was delayed due to the ongoing struggle and eventual passing of founding band member and songwriter Billy Cohen, in whose honor The Brooklyn What holds a yearly cancer benefit. The South Brooklyn Singles were eventually released one each month starting November 2010 as the group began to bounce back and rebuild it's gigging presence, gaining increasing momentum and truly coming into its own as a live act. Fueled by a new determination, the band set to work on its most recent release, the full length record, Hot Wine, available now through CDbaby and countless digital services, as well as on vinyl through the band's own sites. Hot Wine shows the band as a fully developed entity, finally realizing the perfect blend of classic songwriting style with turbo-charged, genre-hopping rock&roll, imbued with greater depth without losing its sense of humor. The album plays like a greatest hits record for a band you've never heard of, but will soon.