Drummer Danny Eberle has always been the center of the frenzy. Whether he's with his experimental rock band, Rip Critic, on the campus of SUNY Purchase or with his rock band, On Pink, at venues across upstate New York, His arms were always shaking from the intense movements as he played in front of a group of college students who had gathered in front of him, all sweaty and excited. He was focused on his craft as fast tempo hits and rapid-fire movements collided with loud guitar sounds. It was a great backdrop for kids to mosh. This is the environment he called home for several years before the pandemic, and it's roots he still holds close to his heart.
Since then, Eberle has graduated from a basement run by sweaty students. Last year, he drummed through the Netherlands, Prague and Italy as part of hardcore rapper Lil Durkee's backing band. He is currently performing with Rip Critic, and is planning their first international tour with the band this summer in support of their latest album, “Hex Dealer,'' which was released on May 17th. Although he travels all over the world, he always seems to find his purpose. Returning to his beloved hometown of Staten Island.
While growing up in the borough, Ebert moved about as quickly and sporadically as he does onstage, doing multiple things at once. He began his musical career by taking guitar and bass lessons as a child, but it didn't click for him. From there, he played in a DIY band with lifelong friend and classmate Joe Ippolito while attending Manhattan's musically-oriented LaGuardia High School. The pair draw inspiration from the garage rock duet style of the Black Keys and the White Stripes, but are most distinctively associated with '90s indie band Ween. One of their earliest projects, Strangelands, actually took their name from, frequently covered Ween, a band whose carefree, tongue-in-cheek attitude also influenced their own projects.
“We didn't take ourselves seriously at all, but we did take our music seriously,” he said.
The two began their career in Strangelands with daytime gigs in front of families at cheap bars on Staten Island. Desperate to break out in city venues, they set their sights on recording studios and obscure venues in Times Square, anywhere the high schoolers could play a few songs. One of those hidden gems was Funkadelic Studio. In a small building tucked away in the Garment District, high school students were able to rent a room for free and perform live, giving them an early introduction to the DIY-style space.
“We’re little guys, so we definitely stood out painfully in kids-only places like doing drugs and stuff,” Ippolito said. “We were just there to play and watch music.”
“That was my first experience being around other music-minded people and skaters and things like that,” he said. “It was definitely an eye-opener. It's more than just playing drums in a recital, so in that sense it was great to perform in front of an audience.”
At LaGuardia, where everyone dreams of looking like former alumni stars, the classroom atmosphere felt too dangerous and too traditional. Eberle equated her rigorous jazz program to being on a college sports team and was more drawn to her DIY aspect of after-school projects she created with her classmates. He enrolled at the State University of New York at Purchase in his 2018 year. His lifelong friend and future Rip Critic bandmate, Ilan Nutter, lured him into the vibrant and diverse music scene that awaited him.
“I remember telling him that Purchase is what you really want, which is to be able to play a lot of music even if you're not a music major,” he said. “I couldn't speak to any other schools, but I was like, 'You can come here and play drums in any band.'
“It was like LaGuardia 2.0,” Hebert said of Purchase. The majority of the people in his class were his alumni, and the musical connections they shared continued all the way to Westchester. He was always watching his old classmates perform at shows at The Stood, a venue on Purchase's campus – a space that always produced fresh sounds and up-and-coming artists.
“It helps you meet musicians,” he said. “It gives you the foundation to start a band and play actively. It's very accessible, and no one judges you. You can test yourself by playing shows and seeing if people come.”
Lip Critic came together during Eberle's freshman year at Purchase College, but was originally an improvisational effort. It was born from the ashes of a previously failed project he started with musicians he'd met during his first few weeks at college. When a member of one of his many bands couldn't show up to practice, Eberle and Nutter, the band's other drummer, decided to experiment. After bringing in two other artists he'd met at a house party, singer Brett Kaser and sampler Connor Kreitz, the band took to the stage at The Stood for the first time for a hectic live jam session that was “received very oddly” by the venue's typical student crowd. “Everybody was like, 'What the hell is going on?'” Eberle laughs. “They thought we were weird.”
Lip Critic's sound refuses to slow down, even for those who can't keep up. Their fast-paced, glitchy rock music draws parallels to loud noise acts like Death Grips. Eberle's fast, distorted drumming enhances the collective chaos beautifully.
The band quickly began to pick up speed and released their first EP, “Lip Critic II,'' in 2020. Once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in 2021, the highly anticipated release was supported by a number of performances in upstate New York and New York City. They sent their first project to every record company they could think of and waited for all sorts of responses. Over the next few years, they set about gaining notoriety on the local scene, amassing over 20,000 monthly Spotify listeners and performing to sold-out crowds at established New York City venues such as Elsewhere Hall Did.
In early 2023, Eberle woke up one day to a text message from Alex Waxman (aka Wendigo), a producer she met through a mutual friend who works with Lil Durkey. The rapper had just released his latest album and needed a drummer to join him on tour. He read, “Do you have any plans for May?” “Would you like to come to Europe?”
Less than a month later, Hebert was on a plane to Switzerland to rehearse drums with the rapper. They had never played together, never even met, and in general it was his first time going to Europe. Eberle gushes about his experience, gushing about how easy it was to make friends through his backing band. He was just as quick to hit it off with the Purchase musicians. After all, they all spoke the same language.
Ippolito, who watched his tour from the United States, said, “He assimilated so quickly that it was almost as if he wasn't even part of this band.” “He's not necessarily a guitarist or bass player, but he has ideas that are easily transferable to people who play those instruments in that regard.”
The chemistry between Ebar and Darkie was great, and it was like a dream to meet Europe's “crazy bastards” in a strange land with a private driver from the Czech Republic. In just a few weeks, Eberle went from playing for a few dozen stragglers at the Stood to filling audiences of hundreds, including at the legendary Academy in Dublin, a rite of passage for indie bands of the past. The event has grown to the point where it has sold out the lively venue.
“Every show was a riot,” he said. “The fans were so young that they were there to get excited. I looked in the kids' eyes and thought, 'Keep going!' So it was very easy to feed off of that. .”
On stage, the Ebars are energized by each other's energy. Lil Durkey's fans were reminiscent of the packed Times Square crowd of teenagers during his time in Strangeland, jumping up and down in a frenzy to his fast, pulsating beats. Ever since Lip Critic started opening for big names like post-punk giants Idols and Viagra Boyz, he's found himself connecting with an audience that doesn't know what to expect from him and is stuck. became difficult. Still, he's developed a unique way of getting the audience to engage with him, and it seems to be working.
“If I see a guy with his arms crossed and just an angry look on his face, to my horror, I'll look him straight in the eye. I'm not going to kill him, but I'm going to look him in the face like he's going to kill me. .”
Eberle eventually returns to her beloved home of Staten Island, unapologetically. For a district that, in his opinion, has too much unnecessary laziness, he shamelessly advocates it wherever he goes. It's where many of his early bands started, it's where he met some of his closest musical friends, and it's still home to hidden gems like the North Shore's Mother Pugs and the beloved Flagship Brewery. This is where he performs live, an opportunity he never takes for granted.
“When you grow up in a suburb like this, you learn to appreciate what's around you. I think there's always been a good scene here since I started. When I was a kid, I played the drums and… I was able to practice in my basement when I was at Rip Critic, and my first practice was held here, so I feel it's a good fit to represent Staten Island.”
The band is currently touring across the UK and will return to Staten Island in July to play a local show at the studios of MakerParkRadio, the borough's independent radio station.
As an artist, Ebar has many places to call home. Purchase, his DIY scene in New York, Staten Island, and now the world. He doesn't know what's in store for Lip Critic and his personal career. Still, he's not worried. “I like having these multiple identities,” he said. “I meet all these guys who play drums and write songs that aren't just pop songs. They listen to the same bands as me or come from the same scene. All these communities. It’s great to see it exist.”