Hailing from the glass canyons of NY\u002FNY, Two Shots of Rye have just releasedtheir debut album, Hooks on Tape.The band plays unabashed, hooky pop-rock. Some people tell them they soundlike Elvis Costello, or Third Eye Blind. It's flattering. 2007 saw themself-producing the album in Mike (sings\u002Fstrums) and Ariel (shreds) Podwal'schildhood home, much to dad's delight. Converting livingrooms into liverooms and vestibules into vocal booths, bassist Dane Sannicandro took onengineering duties as they entered the abyss of self-recording. Drummer AndyFligel triumphantly recorded all of his drums over just two days. The rest ofthe guys took?longer. The band emerged from the thicket after 18 months,armed with a shiny collection of well-crafted pop songs.There was, of course, great help from the outside world. Mike Kalajian (Theudition) and Bryan Russell (Straylight Run) lent their enormous productionand engineering talents at various stages. Through Russell, the band wasintroduced to Claudius Mittendorfer (Panic at the Disco, Brand New, Muse),who signed on to mix the album.Moving from the studio to the stage, the band is focused on playing locallyas much as possible. In recent years, they've played shows with venerableacts like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Paramore. Stay tuned for moreaction.