On Wednesday night, musician Harper Simon held court in one of New York’s greatest rooms. Simon, whose sophomore album Division Street came out this week, wasn’t at a concert hall, however. He was at his own record-release party, held at the chichi Top of the Standard nightclub, 18 stories above Manhattan’s High Line park.
It wasn’t supposed to be a big to-do. “I just really wanted to see my friends and have a party,” Simon tells DuJour. “It turned into a bigger production than that.”
That it did. Hosts Brooke Geahan, Umindi Francis, Gaby Hoffman, Natasha Lyonne, Daniel Pinchbeck and Parker Posey gathered a sparkling group of Simon’s friends and fans to celebrate the musician, who collaborated with famed drummer and Elvis Costello collaborator Pete Thomas on Division Street.
“We crafted these songs together and they are the foundation of the record,” Simon says. “All the songs are recorded guitar and drums. We would nail down the structures and tempos and whatnot. All the other guestscame on later and overdubbed.”
Guests at the event will find out for themselves, as Simon made a point to give away vinyl copies of the album at his soiree.
“I think it’s nice to give out vinyl,” he says. “If people are serious about listening to records they can do that. I think it’s a nicer thing to give out than a CD.”
