Bethlehem Steel (band)

Bethlehem Steel is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2012.[1] The band is composed of singer-guitarist Rebecca Ryskalczyk, bassist Patrick Ronayne, singer-guitarist Christina Puerto and drummer Jon Gernhart. Bethlehem Steel has described their band as at first "our sound was a lot softer, through the anger of everything, we were able to transform the sound of the band.”[1] In 2016 they were named as one of 14 bands that impressed at South by Southwest.[2] Bethlehem Steel has been known for playing the party game Ninja, which was the basis of one of their singles music videos.[3] They have previously toured with Cold Sweats, Pleistoscene, Haybaby, Baked and Painted Zeros.

For America's second-largest and now defunct steel producer, see Bethlehem Steel.
Bethlehem Steel
OriginBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenresIndie rock, shoegaze
Years active2012–present
LabelsMiscreant Records Exploding in Sound Records
Associated acts
MembersRebecca Ryskalczyk
Jon Gernhart
Patrick Ronayne
Christina Puerto
Past membersZephyr Prusinski
Peter Katz

History

Becca Ryskalczyk, Jon Gernhart, and Zephyr Prusinski were part of a closely knit music community while students at SUNY Fredonia,[4] and SUNY Purchase (Zephyr Prusinski). They had played in separate bands, but knew each other well just from spending time in similar circles. Through performances at house shows and the bar and club scene of Buffalo, there were enough places for developing musicians to flourish in Western New York.[1]

Gernhart and Ryskalczyk established a friendship that lead them to Brooklyn upon graduation of their Fredonia music community, they were the only two from their group of friends who ended up relocating southern to Brooklyn: where they continued to become close-knit while working on their musical ambitions. Gernhart ended up working in sound engineering, while Buffalo native Ryskalczyk took her time finding her place in the city she was a nanny before fully immersing herself in the Brooklyn DIY music scene.

The original trio decided to call themselves Bethlehem Steel. In explaining why, Ryskalczyk stated "It's a good way to stay connected to the industrial cities from which they all hail originally." Additionally, paying tribute to her hometown prevented Ryskalczyk from feeling as though she was abandoning her past.[1]

Ryskalczyk added Ronayne on Bass in 2016 after a friendship formed at Brooklyns now defunct DIY venue Shea Stadium, where both worked. After releasing their album Party Naked Forever, Bethlehem Steel added a second guitarist, Christina Puerto, to the band.[5]

Style

After seeing them at SXSW, Robin Hilton of NPR's All Songs Considered described their sound as "gloriously loud fuzzy rock." All Songs Considered featured the band's song “Yeah, I’m Okay With My Shit Life.”[6] Hilton went on saying that there's been lot of comparisons between Generation X and the Millennials over the years, they're exactly the same, nothing's changed. He expanded, "The complaint about Gen Xer's were they’re lazy and don’t care. They’re the whatever generation. And I felt like when I was watching a lot of the younger bands at South by this year I really felt like that vibe is coming back. The whatever rock, and I loved it." Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton coined the genre name of 'Whatever Rock'/Shrug Rock, naming Bethlehem Steel as their source.[6]

In 2016, Bethlehem Steel was also named by USA Today's FTW!Culture writer Nate Scott as one of 14 bands that impressed at SXSW. Scott labeled their sound as moody and ethereal.[2]Stereogum writers awarded the band with the yearbook style superlative of "Most Likely to Tell it How it Is." [7] The Village Voice wrote: "Even though Bethlehem Steel's music retains some lo-fi elements and a punk ethos, the foundation built for a bigger, more accessible sound is a sturdy one."[1]

Nick Sessanna of Buffalo-based music source, Buffablog, explained Bethlehem Steel: "Try to imagine Waxahatchee fronting Pinkerton-era Weezer for a second… If that’s too obscure, other comparisons could be drawn to buzzing indie queens Courtney Barnett, Colleen Green, or even Rochester’s Pleistocene."[8]

With the release of their first studio album, BrooklynVegan's Andrew Sacher describes the record's sound as "It’s kinda got a Waxahatchee vibe in the way it combines singer/songwriter type stuff with loud, crunchy indie rock, and singer Rebecca Ryskalczyk’s truly soaring voice makes Bethlehem Steel really stand out."[9]

Members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums
Title Album details
Party Naked Forever

Extended plays
Title Album details
Grow Up
  • Released: June 12, 2013
  • Label: Miscreant Records (re-issued MCT 010)
  • Formats: LP, Digital download
Docking
  • Released: November 6, 2015[11]
  • Label: Miscreant Records
  • Formats: MC, Digital download

Singles
Title Details
"Fake Sweater"
  • Released: November 30, 2018[12]
  • Label: Exploding In Sound
  • Part of Split EP with Washer
  • Formats: 7" Single, Digital download
"Bad Girl"
  • Released: July 24, 2019[13]
  • Label: Exploding In Sound
  • Formats: Digital download

Music videos
Title Year Director(s)
"Guts" 2014 Bethlehem Steel
"87s" 2015 Adam Kolodny[3]
"Florida 2" 2018 Uncredited Director[5]
"Fake Sweater" Becca Ryskalczyk[12]
Adam Kolodny (DP)
"Bad Girl" 2019 Becca Ryskalczyk[13]

References
  1. Kohn, Daniel "The Leap from Buffalo to Brooklyn Brought Bethlehem Steel to Their Solid Sound". Village Voice. Retrieved December 15, 2015
  2. Scott, Nate (March 21, 2016). "Fourteen Bands that Impressed at SXSW". USA Today. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  3. Rettig, James (November 10, 2015). "Bethlehem Steel – "87s" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  4. McGuire, Mac (July 20, 2015). "Interview: Rebecca Ryskalczyk of Bethlehem Steel". BuffaBlog. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  5. Janes, Steve (August 10, 2018). "Bethlehem Steel Share "Florida 2" Video + Touring with Lemuria". WithGuitars. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  6. Hilton, Robin; Boilen, Bob (March 23, 2016). "All Songs Considered: SXSW 2016 Wrap-Up: Our Favorite Discoveries And Memorable Moments". NPR. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  7. Claymore, Gabriella Tully; Rettig, James (March 21, 2016). "Stereogum x Exploding In Sound's Austin Invasion 2016 Yearbook". Stereogum. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  8. Sessanna, Nick (July 20, 2015). "Album of the Week: Bethlehem Steel – Docking". BuffaBlog. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  9. Sacher, Andrew (August 10, 2018). "Bethlehem Steel – new video & upcoming shows w/ Sparta, Pile, Lemuria, more". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  10. Goldin, Dan; Spak, Dave (October 5, 2017). "Bethlehem Steel, "Party Naked Forever"". Exploding In Sound. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  11. Evers, Derek (September 21, 2015). "Bethlehem Steel, "87s"". Impose Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  12. Guilbault, Kristy (November 27, 2018). "Weather The Winter With Bethlehem Steel's 'Fake Sweater'". All Songs Considered. NPR. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  13. Rettig, James (July 24, 2019). "Bethlehem Steel – 'Bad Girl' Video". Stereogum. Stereogum. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
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