Artist description Pawnshop's East Village indie rock is a joyful mix of simplicity and solid frills. NY Rock described their sound as "jangly alterna-pop," and we'll go along with that. The band's album sound is deeply polished, with crisp drums and thrumming bass and a gaggle of guest guitars; live, as a full four-piece or a trim trio, Pawnshop is punchy, raw and immediate.

Music Style indie rock

Musical Influences The Clash, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Iggy Pop

Similar Artists Block, Sugar and Bob Mould, Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, Paul Westerberg

Artist History Pawnshop took wing in New York's East Village in the early '90s, picking up where singer Sean Smith's young Rhode Island punk band, Bored Youth, left off. After self-releasing a cassette and 7" green vinyl EP, Pawnshop appeared with 4 early demo tracks on the Home Office Records "Burner" compilation in 1997 and shortly thereafter signed to that spunky indie label; "Three Brass Balls" arrived in early 1998 and was released into national distribution in the spring of 1999. And now you're here with us! Cool.

Group Members Sean Smith (vox, acoustic guitars) - Keith Golden (bass) - Ned Stroh (drums)

Instruments vox, guitars, bass, drums

Albums Three Brass Balls (1998), Burner compilation (1997)

Press Reviews Sound Views: "This is a great sounding record. Throughout the dozen songs the guitars ring, the vocals are warm and immediate, the bass seems to come out of the very walls, and the drums are full-bodied and right up front ... It sounds that good." - The Big Takeover: "If you were to plot Pawnshop's music on a pop music graph, Three Brass Balls would fall somewhere between a humorless Jonathan Richman and a slightly less histrionic Bruce Springsteen." - Geoff Wilbur's Renegade Newsletter: "With excellent mixtures of acoustic, easy-listening, and electric, keep-'em-up energy, Pawnshop is the group that can soothe the nerves or get the party started. "I often trip, but I never fall" is a phrase from "Trip" and is probably very descriptive of Pawnshop's future as a hit band."

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Location New York, New York - USA

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