Go directly to the video

By John Norris  @jonnynono

Hospitality suits them. They certainly showed it to us, did Nathan Michel, Amber Papini and Brian Betancourt--as they welcomed us into their Red Hook, Brooklyn pad (and occasional practice space) to talk about a remarkable and inspiring tale of a little band that could. Inspiring in the sense that, in our increasingly here today, gone two seconds from now world of music consumption, the idea that a band could release an unassuming, lo-fi debut to some blog acclaim, bide its time, write more delightfully quirky songs. then re-emerge several years later with those new and old songs in a fine, richly produced debut album--well it almost seems too good, too normal to be true. Rush out that product, get ready to take off or to crash and burn seems to be the way it goes in the 2010's. But not so these guys.

Maybe it's because they've known each other and played together and apart for years, Michel with his own pre-Hospitality electronic solo project, Papini writing songs and recording on her own and with her sister Gia, and Betancourt in several bands, most notably Frances and--in between Hospitality's 2009 EP and the 2011 recording of the new album--a stint with White Rabbits.

All of which we cover in our Red Hook chat, in addition to Amber's elementary school teaching job, and what her 2nd graders make of their rock star teacher; the real-life woman behind the band's most beloved song, "Betty Wang", and what she made of the tribute; the new life and spacious sound that was breathed into the old songs by the album's engineer and co-producer Shane Stonebeck (Vampire Weekend, Sleigh Bells); and comedy writer and #1 Hospitality fan Scott Jacobson, and what his support has meant to the band--among other things, he helped pave the way for their deal with indie giant Merge Records, and he directed the cleverly inspired "bicoastal" video for Hospitality's new charmer of a hit, "Friends of Friends".

If there is any justice this is only the beginning of much bigger things in 2012 for a band that was willing to bide its time, and whose moment seems to have arrived. Fingers crossed, and thanks again to them for being so, well, hospitable. It's music and conversation on this week's Face Time with Brooklyn's own Hospitality.