The Oxygen Ponies - ProfilesArchive

About Me

When life hands you lemons.....MAKE HANDGRENADES!
The Oxygen Ponies are an American rock band formed in 2006 in Brooklyn, New York by Paul Megna. The membership of The Oxygen Ponies changes from album to album, with Megna - who writes, composes and sings all of the band's material - being the only constant member along with Don Piper on the producing end. The Oxygen Ponies have released one studio album. The 2006's critically acclaimed self-titled debut, which landed on three best of 2006 blogger lists and was favorably reviewed in Magnet and Tape Op magazines.
Harmony Handgrenade is the politically charged and ironic follow-up... drawing on the 60's and 70's pre-corporate music scenes for inspiration, but going far beyond them, using the homages to remind us how music might again be relevant, especially without the interference and meddling of corporate distributors. This is musical terrorism at it's finest. Post-apocalyptic without being melodramatic or self-indulgent. Matter of fact, chastened, jaded but hopeful.
BUY THE DEBUT HERE!
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"Definitely one you don't want to miss out on..."
SMOTHER.NET
"Pop-rock group the Oxygen Ponies are on their own. Having been named as one of the â€œbest albums of 2006â€ by a few bloggers, the Oxygen Ponies have taken that Internet super-stardom and turned it into a singer/songwriterâ€™s dream. Folksy pop that belies great lyricism and witty lo-fi song arrangements, make this album one you definitely donâ€™t want to miss out on."
"A Modern Classic..."
AMERICANA UK reviewer rating 8 out of 10 stars!
"The Oxygen Ponies self-titled album is a sad album for lonely nights, yet the quality of the album means that instead of a state of depression a feeling of hope is left instead. Beautifully, well-crafted songs showcase an imagination that will not be led on by bare, acoustic songs. Reminiscent of YHF at times, a balance is achieved where emotions are allowed to shine through and not being lost in a confusion of noise.... Finally, the fantastic â€˜The Quickest Way To Happinessâ€™ finishes the album. Beautifully arranged, this song, and indeed this album, could become modern classics if given half a chance. "
"Minor-chord folk/pop for the end credits..."
MAGNET, First Exposure.. no. 74 Jan/Feb 2007
"Paul Megna's debut has quite a back-story to live up to: He was taught guitar by Jeff Buckley and played Kurt Cobain in an off-broadway show. As leader of Boston's [Brooklyn's actually] Oxygen Ponies, Megna makes minor-chord folk/pop for the end credits, a dozen songs delivered in a raspy voice that sounds broken beyond repair."

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/27/2004
Band Website: theoxygenponies.com
Band Members: Paul Megna
with tremendous contributions from the following...
Don Piper, Randi Russo, Joe Bennett, Matt Hawkes, Kat Hayman, Konrad Meissner, David LK Murphy, David Roland, Steve Salett, Ray Sapirstein, Len Small, Nick Stumpf, Ben Trokan, Brandon Wilde, Briana Winter, Rich Egan and Lauren Weaver

Influences: Red House Painters, The Afghan Whigs, Elliott Smith, Lloyd Cole, Arab Strap, Sparklehorse, Talk Talk, Smog, Miracle Legion, Aztec Camera, You Am I, Prince, Idlewild, Big Star, Hayden, The Fixx, Arnold, The Cure, The Beatles, Prefab Sprout, Matthew Ryan, Pedro the Lion, The Kinks, Swervedriver, The House of Love, Kevin Tihista, Spoon...

ARTISTS I ADMIRE: Mark Kozelek, Mark Linkous, Roddy Frame, Greg Dulli, Mark Mulcahy, Bill Callahan, Chris Bell, Malcolm Middleton, Emmit Rhodes, David Baerwald, Richard Thompson, Prince, Tim Rogers, Chris Whitley, Joseph Arthur, Damien Jurado, Gerald Collier, Hayden Desser, Leonard Cohen...

THE OXYGEN PONIES RECOMMEND:
A Don Piper Situation ,
All Night Chemists ,
Black Bunny ,
Blow Up Hollywood ,
The Bowmans ,
Brandon Wilde ,
Briana Winter ,
David L.K. Murphy ,
David Roland ,
Dawn Landes ,
French Kicks ,
Girl Friday ,
Goldrush ,
Jennifer O'Connor ,
Kat Hayman ,
The King of France ,
Less ,
Matt Hawkes ,
Randi Russo ,
The Silos ......

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2007:
The same as everyone else

Sounds Like: the end of the world
Record Label: Hidden Target / Oxpo Recording Co.
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Harmony Handgrenade where have you gone?

I am so stubborn. Always have been. The plan was to start playing a bunch of shows again with the new band. And release the record in a blaze of glory! But.... There's al...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:31:00 PST

SUN. FEB 17th Drew Glackin benefit at Southpaw!

I know this is late notice, but I'll be playing at Southpaw at the benefit for the beloved Drew Glackin (The Silos, Tandy, etc.etc.) on Sunday February 17th around 5 pm. After the Don Piper Situ...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:56:00 PST

Dave Mc Nair jumps on board!

Just wanted to let everyone know, we've coaxed the elusive Dave McNair back to the mixing board to tweak 'Harmony Handgrenade' in it's entirety. In recent years Dave has been exclusively masteri...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:12:00 PST

When life hands you lemons....

MAKE HANDGRENADES!In 2006, The Oxygen Ponies debut record came out of nowhere to garner mentions in Magnet, Tape Op and Salon.com while landing on three best albums of 2006 lists with such luminaries ...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:26:00 PST

MIXING

The record has just gone through its preliminary mixing stages. We'll do a few tweaks this week and then it should be ready to go. I'm also currently working on a little promotional film f...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:12:00 PST

Week Three

okay, so this has taken a little longer than expected. In the thrd week we finished the lead vocals and added some texturing. At first, I had the feeling this one would be sparser than the...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:35:00 PST

New Record (WEEK TWO)

Hi all, The new Oxygen Ponies record is coming along quite well, despite my three day bout of food poisoning during the last batch of sessions. I've started shooting bits and pieces of the sessi...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:35:00 PST

Number 2 Sesions (Week One)

Today I go in to wrap up the first week of recording the next Oxygen Ponies record. I'm very excited! I think y'all will be very surprised. Some big decisions have already been made....
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Sun, 09 Sep 2007 07:11:00 PST

Luna Lounge Concert Review on LUCID CULTURE

Lucid Culture's Luna Lounge ReviewThe show probably would have sold out if not for the elements: torrential rain, umbrellas blown inside out, everyone in the house soaked to the bone. The Oxygen...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Sun, 10 Jun 2007 01:28:00 PST

Read the AMERICANA UK Review!!

The Oxygen Ponies were thrilled to be review this week on the Americana UK website. 8 stars out of 10!!! Read the Review! Here's a few quotes for the link challenged."Beautifully well crafted son...
Posted by The Oxygen Ponies on Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:01:00 PST