Sad Bastards of Brooklyn

Sad Bastards of Brooklyn are an acoustic side project of Charlene McPherson and Mo Goldner of the New York City band Spanking Charlene. They perform cover versions of the saddest songs ever by artists such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Patsy Cline, The Replacements, etc. The project started in 2010 when Spanking Charlene was in the studio working with producer Steven Van Zandt. During breaks in the sessions Charlene and Mo would sit and pass the time by playing quiet ballads. It was in the middle of playing the Sam Cooke song "That's where it's at" that Van Zandt asked if we ever performed that song live. We answered that we did, even though we didn't. We then hatched the idea to take this acoustic thing on the road and Sad Bastards of Brooklyn was born. Our upcoming debut release "Sad Bastards of Brooklyn Volume 1" was recorded live in one two hour session at Cowboy Technical Services in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and was produced by Eric "Roscoe" Ambel. "The Sad Bastards of Brooklyn prove that New York City’s largest borough has more to offer than just hipster beards and horn-rimmed glasses. By opting for sincerity over irony and pathos over snarkiness, the team of Charlene McPherson and Mo Goldner have given us a slice of the Brooklyn they used to live in. A place that can kick your ass and demoralize you, but which can steel your resolve. By day, these two get their songwriting ya-ya’s out with Spanking Charlene, the garage-rock band they’ve fronted since [YEAR]. But for this special project, they’ve harvested the sad ol’ songs of their favorite scribes, ranging from Bob Dylan and Alex Chilton to Elton John and Johnny Thunders. The songs aren’t about any particular place, but they’re certainly not from the land of cronuts and frappucinos. The Brooklyn that McPherson and Goldner inhabited is the one that’s left them sadder-but-wiser, and unafraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves. And that’s what they bring to bear on this disc. Ultimately, it’s McPherson’s silky vocals and Goldner’s gentle touch on acoustic guitar that make this collection a gem. When McPherson sings lines like “You can’t put your arms around a memory,” or “Sorry seems to be the hardest word,” you can’t help but feel her pain". Bill German, author of Under Their Thumb: How a Nice Boy from Brooklyn Got Mixed Up with the Rolling Stones (and Lived to Tell About It)

New York, NY