1898 was the year Brooklyn, previously an independent city, merged with New York City. The merger was called the "Great Mistake of 1898" by many newspapers of the day, and the phrase is, according to Wikipedia, used to denote Brooklyn pride among old-time Brooklynites.
The Great Mistake of 1898 is also the name of a local Williamsburg that plays around town, mostly at the Luna Lounge. They played Arlene’s Grocery on Saturday night. Photographer Cameron Justice is documenting their evolution as a band in a photo essay. He writes:
The Great Mistake of 1898 is a small, underground brooklyn rock band that I have been photo-documenting over the last couple of months.
They are very talented and committed to their music, and are currently
recording their first full length album. I hope to continue with this
project.
Has anyone heard them? I hear they’re great.
Thanks for the post! We’re editing & mixing the EP right now… send us your email/snailmail address if you’d like digital/hardcopy of the result &/or to be put on our mailing list. You can see some video from a show a while back on our site.