Binki Shapiro of Little Joy has gotten a TON of top-notch musicians, artists, and celebrities to contribute custom made artwork and items for her Crafts for a Cause auction. All proceeds will be donated to Artists for Peace and Justice, a charitable organization started by filmmaker Paul Haggis.

The online auction will begin on March 15th, but for now you can check on Binki’s Tumblr blog for the event which features teaser shots of some of the goods that will be for sale. Contributers are a who’s who of popular indie rock and mainstream musicians (Daft Punk, The Strokes, Norah Jones, No Doubt, Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Mark Ronson, Adam Green, SIA, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, just to name a few!!!) and film celebs (Spike Jonze, Natalie Portman).

Photo of Fab Moretti and Nick Valensi with the signed bag from The Strokes from the Crafts for a Cause site

You’ll find hand-drawn artwork, signed canvas bags, designed t-shirts, embellished guitars, and much more.

Sounds like an amazing collection of artists helping out for a great cause. Don’t forget — March 15th the auction starts online!

Here’s a video of SIA creating the wallet she donated:

SIA for Crafts For A Cause! from binki shapiro on Vimeo.

Plenty more info on the Crafts for a Cause website or on Binki Shapiro’s Twitter

Yup yup, even though The Von Bondies seem to have slipped from my radar, it seems as though they are still a working band (sans some eye candy–original member, the flame-haired Marcie Bolen, left the band in 2006), having finished their third album, Love, Hate, and Then There’s You, which is currently without a release date.

In anticipation of the new LP, the band has lent one of the songs off it, “Only to Haunt You,” to a rather unusual project–Lost Boys The Tribe. THAT’S RIGHT, LOST BOYS 2!!! Better yet, this vampire-heavy B-movie stars none other than original Lost Boy, Corey Feldman. THAT’S RIGHT, COREY FELDMAN.

Enjoy (Survive???) the trailer. I’m assuming the Von Bondies song is the one at the very start, and not the awful death metal music that kicks in during the vampire attacks:

THE LOST BOYS 2 OFFICIAL FULL LENGTH TRAILER

Yesterday the sun was shining, the skin was sunburning, and the McCarren Pool in Williamsburg/Greenpoint was hopping for the third JELLYNYC Pool Party featuring indie rock superstars, The Breeders.

The rock royalty did a mix of old, new, and others, including covers of a Guided By Voices song, “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” by the Beatles, and (believe it or not), their “hit” “Cannonball” (mid-set!).

The late sleepers were shut out

The Pool was at capacity (as you can imagine) and there was a huge crowd of folks waiting at the gates the entire time that the Breeders were playing. [PICS TK] Folks actually attempted to scale the fences around the perimeter of the Pool, only to be foiled by the new beefy security peeps that are now present at the ever-growing event.

Openers Matt & Kim rounded out their set by bringing on a full marching band to do a raucous version of “Crazy In Love.”

And for fashionistas, Topshop/Topman made their first apperance at the Pool, with a picture photobooth and handing out TS tank tops, buttons, and probably the greatest giveaway I’ve gotten this year–a roll-up bamboo mat emblazoned with “TOPSHOP MCCARREN POOL PARTIES 2008″ on the outside. Surely this will be used summer long and various outdoor events. That’s what I call smart marketing.

More ovah at: I Rock I Roll, Brooklyn Vegan, Chronicle of Habit

This year’s After the Jump Festival was a rip roaring success! Ok, so we might possibly have ruined a wedding occurring next door to the Williamsburg Hall of Music (oops!), and a recording session for an Australian band (double oops!), but I think nearly everyone who came to the ATJ festival this year had an awesome time.

We had four stages in various locations along North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (two inside Galapagos Art Space, one inside the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and one set up on the street right outside the WHOM) played free music to eager crowds throughout the day. Folks like actress Julia Stiles and Yeasayer’s Ira Wolf Tuton hit up the day show to support local music, and the fabulous Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) came out to support her buddies from Pattern Is Movement, who played our charity fundraiser night show.

I just want to say THANK YOU so much to everyone who came out and to the amazing bands who played their hearts out.

Watch this space for more updates on Saturday’s awesome event. For now, some photos:

Los Angeles noise rock band Health BLEW MINDS with their incredible set for the night show at MHOW. There was a ridiculous mosh pit, and then this guy decided to stage dive:


Another crowd favorite was Chambersburg, PA band The Shackeltons, who played the main stage outdoors. Lead singer Mark Redding immediately drew a crowd by asking for folks to cover him with the tree branches scattered about the front of the stage–when the pile got high enough, he burst out from underneath them. The band kept the energy up throughout the entire performance, by blazing through their guitar-heavy songs with remarkable vigor.

Come out to After the Jump Fest this Saturday!

Bands playing the fest and charity night show: Alex and the Horribles, Dinowalrus, DJ XXXchange (Spank Rock), Health, papercranes, Pattern Is Movement, Ponytail, Power Douglas, Project Jenny, Project Jan, The Antlers, The Austerity Program, The Forms, The Shackeltons, The Swimmers, Titus Andronicus, Wakey!Wakey!, Autodrone, Bell, Bridges and Powerlines, Brilliant Sweaters, Cursillistas, Extra Life, Fiasco, Montract, Noveller, Phil and the Osophers, Senryu, The Bloodsugars, The Swimmers

And hey, let us know you are coming! RSVP here ny@metromix.com for your chance to win an Ipod Shuffle courtesy of Metromix.com

Free t-shirts, Photographs and Giveaways all day!

Plus Raffles to win a pair of tickets to Virgin Mobile Fest, VIP passes to Siren Festival, CMJ Badges and a new Zune with a free 3 month download subscription!

Metromix.com, your online guide for arts and entertainment in New York, will be kicking it all day long at After the Jump Fest 2008, with their very own Street Stage right in the middle of N. 6th st. in downtown Williamsburg. They will also be there taking pictures of the fabulous crowd to post in a special photo gallery.

Make sure and come out to see Pela, Ponytail, Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears, The Forms and over 30 more free bands starting at Noon!

After the Jump would like to thank its sponsors for helping make this year’s festival possible:
Metromix.com
Stereofame

Gen Art Pulse
Brooklyn Brewery

Vitamin Water
Snoozer Loser

Uncensored Interview
Blog Fresh Radio

CMJ Music Marathon
Rize

Last Thursday I headed over to the enormous space that Campari is currently renting in NoLiTa for the “House of Campari.” It was the opening night of the “Defining a Moment: 25 New York Artists,” exhibit sponsored by Paper Magazine and the Guggenheim’s Young Collectors Council.

The XYZ Affair did the honors of performing for the night–doing a short set of their catchy pop tunes and also throwing in a cover of “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” by the Temptations, while model Theodora Richards grinned ear to ear.

The party was so packed, I hardly got a chance to get a look at any of the artwork hanging and installed throughout the three floors.

This week TMA fave St. Vincent will be gracing the party–surely rocking the socks off the guests who arrive!

I know, I know, not another young actress who thinks she can make music… but Jena Malone hs been toiling through the indie music world for quite some time, having released a 7″ single last year. Now she is one half of a performance music group called “The Shoe”, which just concluded a six stop tour of Los Angeles.

The Shoe sounds anti-folk, much like bands like the Moldy Peaches. When she’s not making music, you can catch Jena blogging about music she’s made about blogging over at IFC’s “Guest List” blog and on the Myspace.

DOWNLOAD: “Dirty Blog Ugly Word” by Bloodstained Shoe

Beth Ditto and the gang of the Gossip rocked the house on Letterman last night. Dittos electric performance, complete with neon makeup and traffic sign-patterned tube dress, surely weaseled them some new found fans.

When it was all over, Dave suggested that he and the band “rent a van and drive across the country.” To which Ditto replied, “Are you paying for it?” Letterman: “Yeah, I’ll pay for everything.”

Hahah.

Watch:

PS- I find Beth Ditto completely inspirational. I have this one project I’m DYING to do that’s inspired by her that I think will be pretty great. Hopefully I’ll actually do it. Stay tuned…

Check out the latest installment of the Basement Tapes for exclusive performances of the now Seattle-based indie rock fave, Say Hi (aka- the artist formerly known as “Say Hi to Your Mom”). (The 16-year-old kid down the hall who loves robots, rainbows, and being scared of bullies will be eating this shiz UP!)

Features some videos, photos, and live MP3s, one of which is a cover of the Beatles song “I’m So Tired” [DOWNLOAD: Mp3]

Oh and speaking of Beatles covers… did anyone see American Idol on Tuesday night? It was about 2 hours of pure TORTURE, as the contestants took turns brutally gang banging the Lennon-McCartney songbook. There were some rare moments of decency (that willowy blonde chick wasn’t THAT bad and I kinda sorta liked that hilariously over-the-top Creed wannabe dude doing “Eleanor Rigby”), but for the most part a consistent stream of cringe-worthy performances.

This one was the worst: David Archuleta forgetting the words to “We Can Work It Out”. UUUGHHH!:

And you may be horrified, but I dare you to look away: Creed dude doing “Eleanor Rigby”:

English indie band South is playing some secret gigs tonight and tomorrow night at Pianos in NYC. They will be trying out material off their new album You Are Here. From the Young American mailing list:

As a precursor to SXSW, South are playing two secret shows in NYC at Piano’s tonight Monday March 10 and tomorrow Tuesday March 11. They will be previewing new material from their 4th studio release, “You Are Here,” which hits stores April 22nd. Those in the NYC area be sure to come down early if you want to get into one of these intimate shows. Stay tuned to the yam and bluhammock sites as we begin to preview some of the new songs and announce new tour dates.

As long time readers will remember, I became totally OBSESSED with South in 2002 when I went to go see Elbow play with them at Bowery Ballroom. (In fact, Elbow was opening for South!) I was pretty adamant about the fact that I wanted to have lead singer Joel Cadbury‘s babies, and I nearly died of embarrassment when a friend tried to introduce me to him a year later.

Hopefully I’ll be able to check ‘em out tomorrow and let you know how swoon-worthy Joel still is/isn’t.