Payphones Past

Categories: Sounds

TOO MANY ZOOZ, Payphone Style.

The hottest band playing in the New York City subway system these days has got to be TOO MANY ZOOZ. ZOOZ has become a fixture at the 14th Street/Union Square subway station, where I first caught them through a payphone back in February. I also spotted TOO MANY ZOOZ at the Grand Central subway station, but no payphone was nearby. Click below to hear a capture from last week.

Sound quality is hit or miss when using a payphone to record sounds from more than a few feet away, but I think the raspy, staticky quality of the landline separates the sound from reality, turning it into the equivalent of black & white photography as compared to color.

The February capture of this band was poor, but listenable. This time around the payphone almost works as a conduit for communicating this band’s exciting sound. TOO MANY ZOOZ is best heard live, but if you happen to hear them in a subway and you want to share it with someone you know then pick up a payphone and call them. When you get home you can buy downloads of TOO MANY ZOOZ music and join the 40,000+ others who follow their Facebook page.

the payphone project

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