Meet The "Well-Informed": Bringing Music To A Stoop Near You

Evan Duby and Paul Loren

I first encountered Evan Duby and Paul Loren of The Well-Informed last summer during their 'Fancy Chance' tour through Brooklyn.  They were playing at the corner of Union and Smith Street with a former band mate and I stopped in my tracks to listen to them and to take their photo.
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with them for an interview at Bar Great Harry.

Loren and Duby have been writing and performing music together for a very long time.  They first met playing in a previous band on Long Island.  When the group split up, the two friends stayed in touch.  Duby moved to Brooklyn shortly afterwards and now lives in Park Slope.  Loren, whose Italian family has ties to Carroll Gardens that go back 50 years,  settled in this neighborhood.
"We decided to carry on musically here."  Paul explains.  "This is were Rome is.  We told ourselves
'Let's move to Brooklyn at the time of Caesar'".  He continues:  "It just made sense.  Brooklyn is kind of a mecca creatively."

The Well-Informed rented a music studio at 68 Jay Street, at the corner of  Pearl and Front Streets in Dumbo and  joined its growing community of "disproportionately talented musicians." One of those musicians is Brian Kantor, who did some recordings on drums with  Loren and Duby last December.  "It was just a natural extension to ask him to play with us,"  Loren explains.  The three did their first show together at The Living Room just a few weeks ago.  On a few occasions, they are joined by a fourth member; Carroll Gardener Lauren Balthrop, who contributes vocals and percussion.

This past winter, Loren and Duby started a new series entitled 'Two Buddies, One Bench.'
"We cover favorite songs by bands that we really liked. I would sit at the piano and Evan would be playing the guitar. It was just something to do during the winter months." He smiles: "We actually never sat on the same bench,  It was just a funny idea."
Like last summer, Loren and Duby will bring their music outdoors in a tour entitled "Two Buddies, One Stoop." They plan on playing at local farmers markets, including, of course, the one in Carroll Gardens.
"We will be bringing our music to the stoops, stairwells and fire escapes of our beloved neighborhoods."
(They kicked off the series on a stoop in Carroll Gardens just a few weeks ago.
"Some of our outdoor performances have drawn up to fifty people.  It is just amazing to have people take a moment out of their busy day to just stop and listen." Duby says.

The Well-Informed just released a three song EP entitled "Selections from Everybody Knows," which will be followed by a full length LP called "Everybody Knows." The two friends collaborate on all their songs and call their unique style "pop revivalism" or "cuban missile make-out music."  Whatever the tag, the music is truly catching and the lyrics of songs like "Daddy's Dime" are sharp and witty.
During shows, they perform their own material, but occasionally, throw in "a deeper cut by one of our favorite artists. It helps to fill in the context of our own music and creates a musical reference for the audience."
Their next live performance will be on Friday, May 11th , 8 PM at the Rock Shop in Gowanus.
And if you are lucky, you'll run into them and their music on a street corner near you.  Keep an eye out...

*The Well-Informed have just been nominated as "Artist of the Month" by The Deli Magazine!
Lets show this local band some Brooklyn love by voting for them here before May 15th.