I give you the pilot episode of WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE! Funny stuff with some nice Vipers’ music at the bookends

http://www.with-friends-like-these.com/#!portfolio-item/episode-1/

Here is the official website for the web series “With Friends Like These” Which features the music of The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn.
http://www.with-friends-like-these.com/

The Vipers recording of “Some Of These Days” is featured on the trailer for a web series called WFLT. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb-nTi_k0Yg&feature=youtu.be

Video – http://live.wsj.com/#!646FAFA2-E104-4415-A920-3BBA63BE6DD1

David Langlois plays with Chris Pistorino, Billy Nemec and Tim Clement of the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn at Bar Tabac on Smith Street, where they perform Tuesday nights. Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal

For two decades, the percussionist David Langlois has earned a living—and been surprisingly busy at it—playing a washboard with a fondue pot, dishpan, wood block, cheese grater and the metal end of a garden tool attached.

The 42-year-old credits the strange instrument with helping him stand out in New York’s competitive music scene. He performs almost every night of the week, including long-standing weekly gigs with the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn at restaurants in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene and Cobble Hill, and in November played two “Boardwalk Empire”-themed parties for HBO with the band. Unlike many musicians, he doesn’t hold a day job.

Mr. Langlois wears thimbles on his fingers to play his homemade washboard instrument with a fondue pot, dishpan and cheese grater attached. Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal

“There’s thousands of amazing drummers in New York,” Mr. Langlois said, “but playing dishpan and pots, I guess I was the best one.”

Unlike the washboard players of New Orleans, he holds his horizontally on his lap, hitting, tapping and brushing rhythms with thimbles on four fingers of each hand. He lends his pots and pans to a variety of musical styles, including swing, blues, early jazz of the ’20s and ’30s, as well as “gypsy” jazz, an offshoot made famous by Django Reinhardt.

Born on the outskirts of Paris, Mr. Langlois grew up in another small French town, Le Plessis-Robinson, and as a teenager lived with his grandparents in an Alpine village near the Swiss border. He now lives in Park Slope, in a one-bedroom apartment whose backyard reminds him of the nature that surrounded him as a boy.

His rig is his own invention and came about because of the space constraints of touring. As he prepared to set off with the Gilles Remy Jazz Band in the south of France, there was already a double bass in the car, leaving no room for his drum set. On a bandmate’s suggestion, he bought a dusty washboard at a thrift shop.

Initially, Mr. Langlois was unimpressed with the new instrument, playing it vertically with his grandmother’s two thimbles. “I got really, really frustrated,” he said. “I was in front of my big drum set there, and there was not enough sound. There was only two different sounds.”

Then one day, while waiting for coffee to brew, he started banging on kitchen objects. One of his grandmother’s pots, drying on a rack after being used for fondue, gave off a cowbell-like ring.

Another gadget, which he suspects served as a grater, made a different, also appealing sound, and his late grandfather helped him fasten objects to his washboard.

The resulting instrument, while full of sentimental value, is much cheaper than the drums Mr. Langlois used to play. “When you have a $3,000 snare drum, you’re stressed out,” he said. “I don’t mind if there is a scratch on this.”

He replaces the dishpan every eight to 16 months, and still buys thimbles in France, where he said they are heavier and come in different sizes. “With some bands, I have to bang a lot and very hard, so I pass a lot of thimbles,” he said.

The washboard rig works well with the style of music promoted by the Django Reinhardt NY Festival at Birdland, said Pat Philips, its co-creator and co-producer. Ms. Philips said she invited Mr. Langlois to play as a guest years ago after hearing him play in New York, and he has returned many times since.

Typically, there is no percussion instrument in this style of music: A guitar keeps the rhythm. But since Mr. Langlois plays more softly, using the dishpan as a kind of snare drum, he adds a layer of texture that doesn’t overpower the other musicians.

“He’s a real crowd-pleaser,” Ms. Philips said. “He has a very amicable way with the other musicians, so it’s great fun.”

Billy Nemec, a guitarist and vocalist with the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn, said he and his fellow musicians are used to seeing people’s reactions to the washboard rig.

“People are always staring at David,” he said. “They ask him if he made it himself.”

Mr. Langlois said he appreciates the attention-grabbing nature of his instrument, though he often will say he plays pots and pans to avoid confusion with the washboard style played in New Orleans.

“You just sit that down on a chair, and people are staring, already wondering what is this, taking pictures,” he said. “They’re impressed with your instrument. They didn’t even know it was an instrument.”

Mr. Langlois and the band also perform Mondays at Chez Oskar on DeKalb Avenue. Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal

The Vipers have some great testimonials on theknot.com. See what these happy brides and grooms have to say about the band!

The Vipers had the pleasure of playing for Erik and Nili’s nuptials on June 8th. Here is a video montage featuring some Vipers’ sounds!

The Vipers are so excited to be a part of this fundraiser for the New York Aquarium! Check it out!!

Thursday Sept. 12
6-9PM
Central Park Zoo
The Vipers play an awesome concert!

SIP FOR THE SEA will feature pairings of sustainable wines from The Hess Collection, lead sponsor of the event, with sustainable seafood and other special offerings from some of New York’s top restaurants. Guests will be able to sample pairings at more than twenty stations throughout the Zoo’s colonnade and central garden.
SIP FOR THE SEA s benefiting the restoration of the New York Aquarium which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

All Ages

Full Details: http://www.wcs.org/sipforthesea/

What a beautiful day and what a turn out. I don’t think the folks at Laurita Winery had any idea their little food truck fest would be so popular. Thanks for having us and we hope to be back next summer.

Cheers,

The Vipers

We are back at Laurita Winery for another swinging concert. Come and enjoy the great music the beautiful scenery, and delicious wine. Plenty of room for dancing.

Tonight (7.12.13)  8pm-10:30pm
Laurita Winery 35 Archertown Road New Egypt, New Jersey 08533
http://www.lauritawinery.com/

The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn in Philadelphia
Cheers to Beer
5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday April 4, 2013
Grand Hall Main Lobby, National Constitution Center 525 Arch Street, Independence Mall Philadelphia, PA 19106
General Admission:  $35
Members:  $30
https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/618681528148183/
http://constitutioncenter.org/calendar/cheers-to-beer.
Admission includes food, drinks, and exhibition access

“Last call! Join us at our final American Spirits event to toast the “Beer Act” of 1933, which legalized beer prior to Prohibition’s repeal. Sample suds from local breweries as well as Beam Inc.’s newest spirits, and take home your own souvenir tasting glass. Tap your feet to the acclaimed Blue Vipers of Brooklyn—known for their fresh take on Jazz Age tunes—while enjoying all-American pub fare, a themed photo booth, and access to the must-see exhibition American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.”