All Photos by Everynight Charley Crespo
Pinc Louds is the most inventive and the most happening band to come out of New York City is nearly 20 years. The trio, comprised of Claudi Love on vocals, guitar, and kalimba, Mike “Monster” Mosteirin on bass, and Rae Mundo on drums, is on the verge of becoming a huge band.
After five years chasing a promising but unfulfilled break by playing Sidewalk, the Bitter End, and other local music clubs, Pinc Louds initially began gaining its loyal following by busking regularly at the Delancey Street subway station. Then the pandemic hit in March 2020 and the live music circuit evaporated in a flash. Pinc Louds was one of the first rock bands to come out of hibernation by playing free shows without a permit in Tompkins Square Park starting in June 2020. At first, this venture was an experiment during a time when there was no place for a rock band to play legally. Each time the band played, however, the joyously cheering and dancing crowds grew
arrow Pinc Louds performing in Tompkins Square Park this summer Courtesy of Pinc Louds
One of the many soul-crushing things about a deadly virus that makes it illegal to gather with other people is that live music can’t really exist. It’s the cultural loss I’ve felt most acutely this year, and the pre-plague memory I spend the most time revisiting.
Never again, I promise myself,
will I take for granted the chance to swap harmonies and respiratory droplets with a room full of sweaty strangers.
Under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, many performers did their best to give New Yorkers a taste of music responsibly. Nightly live-streams offered an escape during the harshest days of lockdown. As we slowly emerged, the city’s parks and sidewalks came alive with distanced performance: the funky brass ensemble on a porch, the nightly jam session in Prospect Park, the impromptu Philharmonic in the streets.