Immaculate Infatuation: CHRIS STANG & ANDREW STEINTHAL

Chris Stang and Andrew Steinthal are of the opinion that, “In a city with so many great choices, is there any reason to eat mediocre food? No dice.” And we couldn’t agree more. Luckily for us—and for other hungry New Yorkers—Chris and Andrew founded the acclaimed foodie-website “Immaculate Infatuation” to air their fresh perspectives on NYC’s culinary world. In addition to capsule reviews and recommended dishes, Immaculate also presents other original content ranging from “Friday Fives” interviews, to “Infatuation TV”, to general features. Despite the site’s wild success and professionalism, Immaculate Infatuation is only an early morning/late-night hobby of Chris and Andrew’s; their days are spent pursuing careers in the music industry--Chris at Atlantic Records and Steinthal at Warner Bros. Records. However, their jobs often require them to entertain clients with a meal before a show, and so they developed a list of go-to’s and misses that they would recommend or warn against to a circle of friends. Now, with Immaculate, that circle of friends has grown to be enormous—and their credibility is hard to beat for diners looking for restaurants with the perfect balance of price, atmosphere, service, and food.

We take our hats off to blogger-professionals extraordinaires, Chris and Andrew, for bringing a hobby to a whole other level. We don’t remember how we ever chose restaurants before Immaculate Infatuation.

 

The Postelles: BILLY CADDEN, DANIEL BALK, JOHN SPEYER, DAVID DARGAHI

Rolling Stone writes that The Postelles "have a sneering attitude all their own," which is pretty awesome for a group of twenty-something's who have taken a gamble on pursuing their band's success in place of college. Daniel Balk (lead vocals & guitar), David Dargahi (supporting vocals & guitar), John Speyer (bass), and Billy Cadden (drums) have been The Postelles since they met in high school in New York City. Their acclaim has steadily grown since; what started as a band that did gigs for their high school crowd has developed into one with an international following that has shared the bill with big names such as Vampire Weekend, Fanfarlo, and Yeasayer. Not to mention, you can find them at Electric Lady Studios, a landmark in midtown New York City that has churned out music greats ever since it was built by Jimi Hendrix in 1970. 

What's next for the Postelles? White Night EP is due out March 2nd by Astralwerks/Capitol Records, and then they're hitting road on tour with Hockey. John (second from the right) takes the lead in the interview.
 

DJ: JON WIENNER

Jon Wienner got his first set of turntables at the ripe age of 12. Growing up in Connecticut, he seized any opportunity he could to experiment with spinning. At 18, he moved to New York City to attend Sarah Lawrence College, where he was able to use the resources of the city to hone his DJing skills. Now, at only 19 years old, Jon has spun at many of New York City's most popular nightlife venues, with 1Oak, GoldBar, the Rivington Hotel, Greenhouse, and Tenjune among the notches on his belt. 


Jon relies on patience and practice that allow him to do what he loves-- keep a room dancing. 

Brooklyn Academy of Music: KAREN BROOKS HOPKINS

The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) featured its first performance in 1861, and has been a fixture of Brooklyn and New York City culture ever since. Now, more than ever, BAM is bursting at the seams with international drama, art, music, dance, and film, as home to the Howard Gilman Opera House, Harvey Theater, and Rose Cinemas. The woman at the helm is none other than its president, Karen Brooks Hopkins. And what does the president of such a prestigious cultural center do? The answer, in short, is: everything. From managing finances to pleasing clientele, Karen is the force that has brought BAM into the spotlight over the past couple of years. 

Karen is committed to delivering cutting-edge art while leveraging all of the creativity and character that Brooklyn has to offer. For more information about BAM, please visit www.bam.org.
 

XL Recordings: JULIA WILLINGER

Julia Willinger explains that she gets "a gut feeling" about good music. Although she is only twenty-three and would modestly insist that she doesn't deserve such a confident accolade, she is an expert. Julia is already a label coordinator at the independent record label, XL Recordings, which represents notable artists such as Radiohead, Sigur Ros, M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Beck and the White Stripes, among many other huge names in the industry. Julia has worked in music throughout college, holding positions at Fuse TV and Sony Music, and acting as the Tulane University managing concert coordinator (which is both an extreme responsibility and highly sought after role). After graduating, Julia extended her industry experience at an imprint of RCA Records, Black Seal Music as the youngest member of the team. 

Julia is poised and committed. Out of a crowd at a concert, she is one audience member whose attendance an aspiring musician should hope for. 

Movement: RAFFI RADNA and TREVOR VAZ

Just as many high school romances fizzle at graduation, Trevor Vaz and Raffi Radna's high school band wasn't able to commit to a long distance relationship through college. Against all odds of it working out, Trevor (Columbia University '11) and Raffi (Vassar College '12) decided to take the plunge and start their own band, Movement, in the summer of 2008. All jokes aside, these two have managed to keep up their songwriting and recording over the phone and internet with great dedication. This shows in their latest self-recorded and self-released free EP. Trevor (vocals, guitar, and beats) and Raffi (guitar, bass, and synths) charm audiences with their distinct sound, relatable lyrics, and stage energy. Check out their next show at Vassar College on November 21st, and click here for a list of their other upcoming performances.

We have a feeling this musical couple is going to last.