NYS Music 20​12

Category: Interviews

  • Interview with Sim Redmond Band

    Ithaca based Sim Redmond Band is something to behold. Formed in 1999, the 6-piece have traveled many miles to bring their distinctive sound and positive energy to eager fans. The group’s unique blend of Roots/Afro-Caribbean/Reggae is a strong statement of how lively and diverse our local music scene really is. Offering strong rhythm, wonderful melody, and rich three-part harmonies, the group truly reaches their crowd with intent.

    With 9 albums to their credit, Sim Redmond Band is constantly working to expand their collective output, and minds of their listeners. Garnering new fans globally takes constant dedication and lots of legwork, but the group’s talent, ambition, and desire give them a full musical skill set to see their goals to fruition.

    I wanted to get in contact with Sim himself prior to their May 18th performance to discuss the band’s musical influences, their writing process, future plans, and a cross-cultural comparison of their performances. Here ya go!

    Interview:

    G- Hi Sim! Thanks for taking the time to speak with Upstate LIVE! If you could, please introduce the members in the group… Who is everyone and what do they play?

    S- My brother Asa Redmond plays the drums.  Dan Merwin plays bass and djembe.  Jordan Aceto plays guitar (and builds many of our instruments and pedals!).  Nate Silas Richardson plays rhodes, guitar, and sings.  Jen Middaugh sings.  And I sing and play guitar, and occasionally pick up my mbira, a Zimbabwean thumb piano.

    G- You formed this band in 1999… How did everyone meet up and when did you perform for the first time?

    S- I had begun writing songs in the late 90’s and we started out playing as the Sim Redmond Quartet: Asa, Dan, Jordan, and myself.  Our first gigs in this incarnation were at coffee houses and such late in 1998 and early 1999.  Soon after that, Uniit (our original female vocalist) began singing with us and we became the Sim Redmond Band.

    G- Your group is known for having a very diverse musical influence…. You blend several different styles together to form your unique sound. How would you classify yourselves as a group, and who in particular influences your style?

    S- Yeah, we all have a wide variety of influences that we bring to the table.  When forced to classify the music, I try to sneak around it by saying SRB is “all original feel-good music”.  But as far as genre, I guess it’s a blend of roots-rock, African, and Jamaican music, but even that is a limited description… There’s a lot more than that in it.  A lot of that diversity I credit to growing up around the Fingerlakes Grassroots Festival.  They bring in world class bands from all over the world.  Year after year, seeing groups like Burning Spear, Thomas Mapfumo, Super Rail Band, Lucinda Williams, and countless other greats, have all had a big impact on us.

    G- Dig that! So, what is your writing process like when you begin creating new songs? Who in the band typically comes up new music? Is there a primary songwriter, or is the process more organic and jam based?

    S- Our process in the past has been that anyone with a song (usually me, but not always) brings it to the band and the band then shapes and molds it until it’s ready for the stage or to be recorded.

    G- Cool… It’s great when artists all have a strong sense of collaborative effort. Speaking of which, SRB has a host of releases… 9 in total! Can you discuss your recording process? Do you have any new releases in the works?

    S- We’ve always really enjoyed recording new releases.  It’s a chance for us to explore all the potential of each song; to add that horn or string section we’ve always imagined, and the fill out that vocal part, or throw in a big drum jam.  We allow ourselves the freedom to do things that we might not be able to recreate on stage.  Then later, we figure out how to transform it back into something we can play live.  Sometimes that means Nate and/or Jordan have to cover a horn line on guitar or keys, or that we have to split up the vocal parts differently, but there’s usually a way to make it work.  Sometimes a song never makes it to the stage though, and we’re okay with that too!

    We haven’t written much over the past couple of years, so it may be time to take another approach.  Maybe this organic, jam based process you speak of….

    G- Right on hahaha! Now, Sim Redmond Band has a strong following overseas, particularly in Japan… Could you tell us about some of the musical and cultural differences between performances in the U.S. and overseas?

    S- Yeah, we’ve traveled to Japan several times… It was a blast!  It’s a whole other world over there, but we felt very much at home.  They treat us like rock stars, people constantly asking for pictures and autographs.  At performances, during songs, they are very quiet and respectful.  But in between songs they are quite appreciative.  And we did play in some more relaxed environments (beach parties, festivals, etc) where they showed us they certainly know how to party!

    G- Yea I’m told it’s tough to get around a healthy dose of alcohol in Japan if they want to warm up to people! Tell us a bit about what you hope the future holds for Sim Redmond Band… Do you have any touring coming up, new areas of the world you are striving/looking to perform in, or projects that you are working on with other artists?

    S- There’s nothing too different on the horizon.  We’ve never been a conventional touring band.  Our family ties keep us close to home for the most part.  But we’ve been playing at the newer Grassroots festivals (Shakori Hills Grassroots, Virginia Keys Miami Grassroots) that they have been developing.  They’ve got a festival for each season now.  Grassroots festivals have such a special vibe, and we’re really happy to be a part of that community.  Hopefully, we’ll continue to be involved with them and develop a more complete and consistent presence up and down the East Coast.  We’ve also been talking more and more about getting out to the West Coast.  So hopefully there will be some fun trips in our future.

    G- Do you have any particular bands that you would like to share a bill with in the future or events you would like to perform at?

    S- Wow, there are so many amazing bands and musicians it would be impossible to start naming them, and I’m sure some of the most amazing musicians are ones we’ve never even heard of.  As far as events we would love to be a part of:  New Orleans Jazz Fest would be very cool, Fuji Rock in Japan, maybe Bumbershoot out in Seattle, I could go on and on.  The world is a big and beautiful place…

    G- What is your personal favorite Sim Redmond Band performance to date? What was it like?

    S- I’ll admit it, I’m a homebody.  I like being around the Ithaca area.  One of my absolute favorite venues is the Taughannock State Park Summer Concert series just outside of Ithaca in Trumansburg, NY.  It is an evening event, there are lots of families and children.  We’ve been lucky and the weather has always been beautiful.  We’ve played there at least 5 times and it’s always like a dream come true.  We’re playing there on August 18th this year.  And of course it’s hard to beat the Fingerlakes Grassroots Festival, the biggest party I’ve ever been to.  That’s July 19-22 this year.  Those are some of my favorites, but we love them all!

    G- Lastly, can you give some of the young, up and coming bands who want to make it in music, on the road, and as a professional musicians a bit of your knowledge and expertise as a professional musician? Any words of wisdom or helpful tips you can offer from your experience?

    S- My advice would be to keep it simple and just have fun playing music.  If you’re doing that, then the rest should fall in line.  If you enjoy it, and play music that is true to you, people will respond to that.  Music is such a simple and beautiful thing, just let it be that.

    And there you have it. We would like to thank Sim and SRB very much for their time, and let everyone know that they’ll be rocking the crowd in Syracuse on May 18, so make sure to grab yourself a ticket and see some live music!

    http://www.simredmondband.com/

  • Trampled By Turtles Interview

    Still wildly hot after their highly praised SXSW performances, Trampled By Turtles is making their way to our city in just over a week! With a (spectacular) new album fresh off the presses, I have a feeling this band is going to exponentially increase their fan base this year … Bluegrass lovers take heed.

    Trampled By Turtles are a fantastic band. If any of you are looking to check out some honest, high caliber bluegrass talent, the group will be performing at Westcott Theater on April 19th, and I implore you to go see this show. After hearing their latest album, “Stars and Satellites,” I envision a very lengthy career for the 5-piece from Duluth, Minnesota.

    I recently spoke with guitar player and vocalist Dave Simonett over the telephone to discuss the group’s new release, creative vision, and travel plans for 2012. It looks like it’s going to be a busy year for these guys!

    Interview:

    Greg- Hi Dave and thank you for taking the time to speak with Upstate LIVE! If you would, please introduce the members in the group… Who is everyone and what do they play?

    Dave- Well, I’m Dave (Simonett) and I play guitar, sing and am a songwriter for Trampled By Turtles. Ryan Young plays the fiddle, Dave Caroll plays the banjo, Eric Berry plays the mandolin and Tim Saxhaug plays the bass.

    Greg- Trampled By Turtles has been a band since 2003. How did everyone meet and when did you all decide to start the group?

    Dave- Well Eric Barry, Dave Caroll and I started the group as kind of a side project. We were all playing in rock bands at the time in the town of Duluth, Mn. We wanted to do something acoustic because none of us had ever been in an acoustic project before, so it started as a very informal thing. We kind of learned some old string music… It wasn’t random, but there wasn’t much though behind it. We just had these bluegrass instruments and we wanted to play some acoustic shows.

    Eventually, our bass player joined up and, pretty much around the time he joined, the other bands that we were in broke up, all within a few months of each other. So we were left with this band and, instead of keeping it a side project… We were having a good time, so we just decided to roll with it.

    Greg- So, tell me a bit about Duluth, Minnesota… How is the Bluegrass scene in your hometown? When did you first start listening to Bluegrass music and who are some of your favorites?

    Dave- As far as the bluegrass scene in Duluth goes, there really isn’t much of one. There are a couple of groups, but it’s not like… As great as the music scene is in Dultuh, it’s fairly small, because it’s a smaller city, but I think there is pretty much one of everybody there. There are several rock bands, but none sound like the other. There isn’t really much of a focused bluegrass scene there.

    When we started, we knew of one other bluegrass, old time music band, and it was like a weekly jam in a small restaurant. So, we started doing it because we’d never really listened to it before, and found a whole world of stuff that we loved and I still listen to today.

    If I had to pick a favorite blue grass musician, Bill Monroe is my guy. I kinda stayed with the old generation… I usually tend to go back to that era. They were forging such new territory in kind of a conservative, country music scene.

    Greg- Can you tell me about how you came up with the name for the group?

    Dave- Our mandolin player Eric made it up. When we were starting out, we had a couple of shows booked locally and we didn’t have a name. Eric threw the name out there and it was the one that we all didn’t hate (laughter). It was something that wasn’t taken very seriously.

    Greg- Your new album, “Stars and Satellites” is incredible! Who is releasing the album and where did you record and produce the record?

    Dave- Banjodad (Records) is our own little label and we have released all of our albums on our own. This time around, we went through a little bit of time where we were looking at record labels, but it’s better in the end to just put it out ourselves. It’s a liberating and free kind of way to work, you know?

    We recorded it in a log home just north of Duluth last September.  Eric and his wife had had their second child, and it was the only time we had to work on the record, so we needed to find a space to record that was close to them in that area. So we found this place that was a vacation home that anybody can rent out, and blocked it off for a few days. We moved the studio in and stayed there for a week and recorded it like that. It was an amazing time!

    Greg- Can you tell us a bit about the creative process and who writes the tunes? Is it a joint effort, or do individual members bring ideas to the table to flesh out while jamming?

    Dave- All of the songs that have lyrics were written by me. A couple of instrumentals that are on the record were either written by Eric or Dave on the banjo. As far as the ones I write, I come up with the chords, melodies, and lyrics and bring it to the guys. As far as the band’s arrangement of the song, we work at it as a group and everybody comes up with their own parts for the songs.

    With this record, most of the songs… I think there were two or three that we had played before… The great bulk I had been working on on my own, and we kind of fleshed them out in the studio. There were a couple of times where the first take of the song was the first time the band had played it all the way through, so it was really a fresh kind of feeling. I think what you lose in arrangement, we kind of gain in vibe when we record like that.

    Greg- Nice! How long do you usually take to write a new song/album and was this experience different from your previous records?

    Dave- It’s pretty much the same. We’ve always recorded records pretty fast, and the bulk of this one was recorded in about 5 days in the cabin. We did a couple of overdubs in Minneapolis, but it took us about a week for the record.

    Our last record was a little bit different. We recorded it on weekends, throughout a wider span of time and we did it in a few different studios. But for this one, it was kind of straight through. I don’t think we’ve spent a total of 2 weeks on a record, whether that’s good or not! (laughter) For this band, we’ve always got our best material in the beginning.

    Greg- Whatever you guys did, it worked out really well, so I implore you to keep with that style! You recently astounded your audiences at SXSW and have a very busy tour schedule coming up. Where will you be playing?

    Dave- Well, we start pretty much at our release show here in Minneapolis. Then, we do an East Coast and  South East coast run this month. We come home for a week and a half, and then we go out to the West coast and the mountains next month, and Summertime is filled with festivals that we are really excited about! Come Fall, we’re probably just gonna keep on the road. We do have a lot of busy times coming up, but we are really looking forward to it!

    Greg- Any particular shows you are most excited about or bands that you hope to share a bill with in the future?

    Dave- Well, it’s a hard question to answer. When we go on tour, we don’t go out for a long period of time. I have a 1-year old daughter, Eric has 2 kids… We try to keep it within a couple of weeks so we can come home. So when we pick a tour, everywhere we pick is very much on purpose because we really want to go there, you know? We’re really looking forward to every show. Syracuse is new, so that makes it exciting! It’s just a blessing to be excited about every night.

    Greg- Well, hopefully you get a nice response up here in Syracuse… I’m gonna be there! Lastly, what advice can you give some of the young, up and coming bands out here in Syracuse, in NYS, and everywhere that listens to Trampled By Turtles who want to make it in music, on the road, and as a professional musician?

    Dave- I think the most important thing is to just stay true to yourself. It might sound like a cliché, but it is very applicable in this business. There are a lot of people that are going to try to change what you do in the interest of commercial success, should you get tothat point. But I think what is most important is making the music you want to make, how you want to make it, and when you want to make it. Everything else is a bit out of your control… It’s “Right place, Right time.” But no matter what, you can look back and say ‘Hey at least I did it the way I wanted to do it!’

    http://trampledbyturtles.com/

  • JONESTOWN discusses influences, religion

    JONESTOWN discusses influences, religion

    Jonestown is a metalcore band out of Syracuse, New York with a strong message and ruthless sound.  Their aggressive style is infused with hardcore undertones and edgy vocals.  Their message rails against corruption, fear and ignorance in society.  The name Jonestown refers to the infamous Jonestown Massacre in Guyana, South America in 1978.  I sat down with Tyler Frisbie, Bobby Backes and Ryan Thurston and spoke with them about their music, message, and style.  The following is taken from that conversation.
    Rob:  What bands have influenced you and inspired you to play music?
    Bobby:  I grew up on metal.  When I was a kid my dad was always jamming and there were always guitars and drums in my house.  The bands that made me want to get on stage would be the old hardcore bands that would play at The Wescott Theatre and Planet 505.  Bands like Norma Jean, Poison The Well, Nora, and Throwdown.  When I went to my first Hellfest that really set it off for me too.
    Ryan:  Well, the first bands that made me want to play music were Guns N Roses and Pantera.  I grew up on that stuff.  But then as I got older and started to play music it was more of the metalcore and hardcore bands.  If it was on Trustkill Records or Ferret Records I probably listened to it.
    Rob: Have there been any changes in style or members in the band?
    Bobby:  If you play our songs from the first to the newest you can hear the progression. At first, we shied away from breakdowns.  We would play the slow, stand out breakdowns like most metalcore bands have.  We found how to use the breakdowns in our own way without throwing them in every song, which I feel is boring.  I still think that we don’t know our sound one-hundred percent yet but we are still young as a band.
    Rob:  How would you categorize Jonestown Hardcore, Metalcore, or a mixture?  I am not a genre expert!  I just know what I like!
    Ryan:  We are the same man.  We like everything and draw influences from it all.
    Bobby:  Genres are so shotty you can say anyone is anything!  But if metalcore is a mix of hardcore and metal than we are true metalcore.  Metal and hardcore fans love it.
    Rob:  Can you tell me more about the song Burn The Page?  What influenced you to create that song?  Does it draw from Turn The Page?
    Bobby:  Ha ha….no, no influence from Turn The Page even though it is an awesome song, it just happens to rhyme.  The song is about the misuse of religion.  Not anti-religion if going to church and reading the Bible is your choice and it makes your life better good for you.  But when religion is used as a tool of fear to make children obey and follow without letting them make their own mind.  I just think its crazy there is nine year old kids that will kill themselves and you because “God” said so…….I just think that is CRAZY!
    Rob:  I agree!  People do crazy things in the name of religion!
    Ryan:  They really do.  I have no problem with what you choose yourself to believe or not believe, but people should make up their own mind.
    Bobby:  Like drinking Kool-Aid with poison, hence the name Jonestown.
    Rob:  Jonestown has a message.  It’s one that goes against extremists and societies obsession with fear in religion and government.  Does this sound right?
    Ryan:  I would say that is pretty spot on.  In my eyes people need to take a hard look at the things they believe and not just take in everything they are told as the absolute truth.  If I told you some crazy facts that seemed almost completely unbelievable,
    would you choose to take that as fact with no research or thoughts of your own?
    Bobby:  But then again we aren’t all about that all the time.  We have fun and our song 909 is just about going out to a party and getting wasted.
    Rob:  What upcoming shows will are you playing?
    Ryan:  We are playing with The Empire Shall Fall on May 24th and the Exposed Music Fest on February 4th at the California Brew House in Rochester.  If people would like tickets they can contact us on Facebook.
    Rob:  What bands and groups have you been playing with lately that you would like the readers to know about?
    Bobby:  We have to let people know about Embrace The Massacre, Suspended In Dusk, Broken Tooth Productions, and of course you can hear our song, Burn The Page, on the new Anarchy Hour Podcast!

    http://www.facebook.com/Jonestown909?sk=app_2405167945

    http://www.reverbnation.com/jonestownreal

    http://www.facebook.com/Anarchy.Hour.Podcast?sk=app_182222305144028

    Vocals: BOB BACKES
    Guitar: ROB PIERCE
    Guitar: TY FRISBIE
    Bass: RYAN THURSTON
    Drums: ALEX FRISBIE

    Rob Born

  • Greg’s 10 with Hot Day At The Zoo

    New England is a hotbed for upcoming talent. It is always a pleasure visiting Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine because I know there will be some sort of live music event occurring. Large or small, the musical environment in these states is always impressive, impassioned, and energetic.

    Hot Day At The Zoo has made a name for themselves nationwide with their high energy genre blends, incorporating Folk, Blues, Jazz, Rock, and Americana into flowing, technical jams that draw the listener right in. The name of their most recent release, “Zoograss,” recorded live at The Waterhole in Saranac Lake, should give you an idea about what kind of energy and feel they are going for in their performances.

    Therefore, when given the opportunity to witness Hot Day At The Zoo at Westcott Theatre on March 30th, I wasn’t about to say “No!” Cool guys they are, I was able to sit down with Michael, JT, Jon, and Jed to get to know the guys a bit better, discuss their live shows, talk about their writing process and approach, and gauge their excitement about being one of the main acts on this year’s Fiddler’s Picnic happening in June.

    G- Hi guys and thank you for taking the time to speak with me for ! So, where do you all come from?

    Michael – I come from Lowell, Mass where the band is based out of, and a couple of these guys are all southern New Hampshire cats, but we consider ourselves based in Lowell Mass.

    Jon- Well, he does! (Laughter)

    G- So it’s a struggle on the New England states right now!

    JT- You know, it’s 3 against 1!

    G- Hahahaha! How long has HDATZ been a group? How did everyone meet and when did you first get started?

    Michael- I’ll take part A. We’ve been a group for 9 years. (To Jon) You can take part B.

    Jon – I used to do an open mic thing and I met Mike. I started picking with them and then they picked me up there. And so basically the local music scene, in the Lowell area, we just kinda found a place there.

    Michael- Jon was our dobro player for 3 years. He’s the dobro player on our first album.

    G- How did you guys come up with the name of the group?

    Michael- It was actually born the first day we ever played together at my dad’s house. Playing for hours on end, finally we took a break to go have a smoke and have some drinks. We went back into the room after playing and it fuckin’ reeked… It was just overwhelmingly putrid, and it was us. So somebody just said ‘It smells like a hot day at the zoo in here.’ And the funny thing is it was the middle of January… Freezing outside! So the name just stuck… we never let it go.

    G- You are known for your energetic performances and your ability to draw influences from many different styles of music. By incorporating Bluegrass, Folk, Jazz, Americana, Rock and Roll, and many styles into your music, you have a fantastic overall reach… There is something for everyone! Was your goal to be limitless, or did the sound come about organically?

    Jon – Organically.

    Michael- Yea definitely organically. For the first few years there was almost no practice… It was all stage time. Until JT showed up, and he made us practice. (Laughter throughout).

    G- Atta boy! Any particular bands that influence your style?

    Michael- Well, Jed is a huge Village people fan!

    At this point, Jed breaks out into an acoustic rendition of Y.M.C.A. Let it be known that HDATZ are very friendly, good time guys.

    G- This is going on the bootleg, right here! Anyways… Your most recent release is titled “Zoograss,” on your own record label, INTA Records. The album was recorded live in Saranac Lake, NY at The Waterhole… Can you discuss why did you decided to record a live record? Tell me a bit about the experience.

    Michael- I’d say the best thing about that experience is that we didn’t actually plan on it. It wasn’t like we went in and said ‘We’re going to record an album tonight.’ It just got recorded.

    3 or 4 months later, the next time we were playing up there again, the house engineer said ‘I got this old recording last time you were here’ and he gave it to us. It was just a stereo recording, but he said he did it all multi-tracked. When we listened to it on the van ride home, it was pretty powerful, so we asked him if he still had the multi-tracked mixable version, and he said yes. So we bought it off of

    him, and mixed it ourselves.

    Jon- The whole show was a surprise!

    G- Your website states that Jon (Cummings) and Michael (Dion) are the primary songwriters for HDATZ. Can you tell us a bit about what your writing process is like?

    Jon- I think Mike and I probably write the same way. We come up with a basic format for a song… Hook, words, and chords… and we bring it to the band. Then JT and Jed start getting their hands on it, and we mould it as a group from there. Mike and I draw the lines, and those guys color it in.

    G- FUCKIN’ TRACERS!

    Room busts out in laughter again!

    G- So, what does HDATZ have in the works for 2012? Are you currently working on any new recordings or trying to break into any new markets?

    Michael- (Laughing) New bass player, new banjo.

    Jon- We’ve been going down to Virginia and Washington D.C., so we are trying to hit down South, and then West. We are trying to do a 15-hour radius with the new markets we are trying to hit.

    Michael- Michigan, Ohio…

    G- Nice… Day trip! So, You are one of the main attractions at this year 1st ever Fiddler’s Picnic happening in June, and there are several incredible acts sharing the bill with you! What can you tell us about the difference between festival performances and your own club shows? Which do you prefer?

    Michael- I think, generally speaking, festivals are just too much fun! You’re put in front of a huge audience that you typically wouldn’t get a chance to play in front of. When you headline your own show, you have people coming out to see just you, for the most part. So there is a connection between opening sets and festival slots where you’re in front of a lot of people who’ve never heard you before. They’re all cool, though. I don’t really differentiate… We just do our show!

    G- Right on. I’m not sure if there is any consensus, but what is the most memorable show HDATZ has played to date? Can you tell us about the experience?

    Michael- (Laughing) That one show where Jed took his clothes off… It happens all the time!

    JT- “Zoograss” was great!

    Jon- For me, one show that stands out is opening for David “Dawg” Grisman (Grateful Dead collaborator) in Portsmouth, NH at the Music Hall. We were firing on all cylinders and had a great time! The sound was incredible and we were received very well. We actually got a standing ovation from a “Dawg Crowd” which, to me, is pretty cool! Afterwards, we hung out with David for a little bit. The whole experience was pretty amazing!

    G- Nice! Lastly, what advice could you give some of the young, up and coming bands in Upstate NY who are looking to become successful, professional musicians?

    Michael- Don’t do what we do!

    Room explodes in laughter.

    Michael- No, just stay true to yourself. Don’t bend to anyone else’s will. Art should be limitless and unhindered. Don’t let anyone fuck with your shit.

    JT- Quote him on that!

    G- Michael Dion. Hot Day At The Zoo. Gangsta Rapper!

    Michael- “Rolling down the street in my ‘64”

    G- That’s awesome guys! Thank you very much!

    Clearly, we all had good time! Check out a full review of the show in the upcoming Music Guide, and be on the lookout for these guys when they come to Fiddler’s Picnic… It’s going to be a wild one!

    http://hotdayatthezoo.com/

  • An Interview with Nerve featuring Jojo Mayer

    Far too often, opening acts on highly popular bills fall by the wayside. You know it’s true… Your favorite band is set to take the stage at 10pm and, instead of checking out the 8 o’clock performers, you go to the bar next door because they have $3 drink specials, no line at the bar, and a cute waitress. Though this interview will probably hit the stands after the 3/31/12 DJ Shadow show at Westcott Theater, those in the know, or simply in early enough, will undoubtedly be raving about opening act Nerve as well as Jojo Mayer.

    Founded by Swiss drumming legend Jojo Mayer in 1997, the group has included some of the most astonishing players in our generation’s history.  The 4-piece, consisting of Jojo, Takuya Nakamura on Keyboards, John Davis on Bass, and Sound Guy Daniel Schlett (original sound guy Roli Musimann is in Poland), perform “Reverse Engineered Electronic Music in REALTIME!”

    From a musical standpoint, and in my humble opinion, Nerve is the best instrumental interpretation of electronic music out there. I caught up with Jojo, John, and Takuya prior to their set to discuss musical inspiration, the state of electro-acoustic performance, and the Dubstep Phenomenon. Musicians, Drum and Bass Heads, Junglists, and non-fratboy Dubstep aficionados… Pay attention, and take notes.

    G- Good afternoon and thank you for taking the time to speak for ! You are opening for DJ Shadow tonight… How did this booking come about and how many shows are you playing on this run?

    John- Well, about a week ago I got an email from Samantha at William Morris (Endeavor) randomly, out of the blue, saying that they were seeking support for Shadow’s upcoming tour, and they thought that we’d be a great fit. It turns out someone in the office is a fan of the band, so it was just sort of a last minute flail.

    G- Fell into your lap?

    John- Yea totally!

    G- That’s awesome! It’s a great break and you deserve it! (I’ll state right now that I am a huge fan of Nerve.)…..Nerve has been active since 1997. How did the group come together? Was your formation a direct result of the “Prohibited Beatz” parties in NYC?

    Jojo- That’s 2 questions!

    G- That’s true… oops.

    John- We can’t work like this!

    (Laughter)

    Jojo- Well, the first question is Nerve came together… Nerve has had different band members, and there were different vocalists, different percussionists, different keyboard players. Eventually, it became some sort of filters… those weekly events… where I discovered people. I did not find the people in Nerve… They found us. Takuya came in very early. Jon came around early 2003.

    Prohibited Beatz was an ulterior motive for me because I had the vision of doing this type of music, but I couldn’t find the musicians in my circle. Not a lot of people that I was dealing with had heard of Drum and Bass in, like, 1997… Which is kind of ridiculous because it had already passed its peak! So, it was a very small and selective club of people and when I started Prohibited Beatz, it was to create a pool of people who had interest in this type of culture. Eventually, Prohibited Beatz became the birthplace of Nerve. We didn’t have a name until the NY Times came down to do an interview… I just made it up on the spot and said ‘It’s called Nerve’ (laughs) and it just stuck.

    G- Do you have any intention on bringing “Prohibited Beatz” back?

    Jojo- I feel the itch of bringing it back just because I like to play in my own city once a week, and I can go home and sleep in my own bed… That’s a lot of fun and it’s good for the music. However, it’s very difficult to find the right logistics… Club promoters, owners… That can share the vision with you about doing something that is not commercially oriented, but culturally oriented. I feel the itch to do it, but the odds are against it… If given the opportunity, I’d do it again.

    G- And I would go! In your opinion, what is the current state of Electro-Acoustic music? Have you seen growth and interest from the younger generation looking to further bridge the gap between the two styles?

    Tak- After we started, the last 10 years.

    John- Yea Roli in Europe and myself in Brooklyn, we both end up working with and producing records for a lot of young bands who are doing something similar to what we’re doing. And it’s interesting because a lot of them are coming up with… the concept of playing this stuff live has already been established… They don’t have to create it, it’s already a genre… Which is kind of weird. It’s a generation that has grown up with electronic music.

    Jojo- It’s also, somehow, like… You’re taking it back to the late 90’s when we started. Culturally, things just go in mysterious ways. People are reaching out and grabbing for something that seems to be legitimate, you know?

    G- How do you feel about the recent explosion of Dubstep music into the commercial marketplace? How has this influenced your writing and approach towards new material?

    John- Yea it’s cool. It’s like any music… Some of it’s great and some of it’s terrible. But it’s good. Of course it’s influenced us because we try and listen to whatever is coming out. It’d be kind of stupid to ignore a huge revolution… A new genre taking over. Like if people dismissed Drum and Bass and Jungle when it came out. In that way, it definitely influences us because we listen to it, we check it out, we take what we like from it, and we filter it through what we do.

    Jojo- In general, I welcome ANYONE that creates an opportunity for people to turn off into a different direction. Skrillex definitely did that. It’s not like he did anything that people haven’t been doing in the UK for the past 5 years, but he’s very good at what he does.

    Any person that changes the perception of the general audience… To make them more open… Is positive. It influences us because, you know, it empowers us to go for what we feel, and not what we should do so people will like us.

    G- Since you play a style of music most commonly performed using turntables and otherwise non-acoustic instruments, do you feel Nerve will ever be fully appreciated by the commercial music industry? Is that even your goal?

    Jojo- I don’t care. The commercial music industry is not what it used to be. The commercial music industry is Toys R Us. I don’t have a problem if I don’t have a part in that.

    If I needed to drive a gold plated Bentley, I’d make different decisions than sitting on this couch having this interview with you. I’d be busy doing something else. I’m here because I made a decision to do this, and I’m oriented towards things I think I have to do.

    G- Can you speak a bit about the evolution of Nerve’s recorded output and your approach to writing “Prohibited Beatz, EP1, EP2, and EP3?

    Tak- Everybody has their idea, or sometimes we do a show and improvise a lot, and we check out what we did. And the 3 of us work together sometimes. It’s always different, but sometimes it depends upon the person’s idea.

    It’s not easy, because we are all very strong (headed) sometimes.

    Jojo- What has to be said about the musical content… That usually occurs out of negotiation from jamming. It’s just something that happens and we capture them into something recordable.

    They way we record is we lock out one week, four times a year. In that one week, we just start on Monday and, no matter what we do, we have to be finished and mix ready the next Monday. It might be just one epic jam, or it might be five little pieces of 3 minutes. It turned out that, more or less, we usually came up with 3 songs, and most of those songs are those EP’s. It’s basically back to the way records were done in the 1950’s.

    G-  So, you are all successful independently… Can you tell me about some of the other things you are working on? Any other recordings, performances or anything else interesting in the wing for Nerve as a whole?

    Tak- I play dub reggae stuff. I play keyboards for Lee “Scratch” Perry and last year I started playing acoustic piano… Super quiet, totally opposite but very powerful. I also produce different people and own a club in NY called BPM. And I just released my album called “Mystery of the Cosmos.”

    G- And I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting one, so Jojo… Go ahead!

    Jojo- Well, I always have, like, a menu of work I have to do for other people. Some recordings when I’m in NY. I also interact within my industry as a product designer… I design product for companies like Sabian. I just designed a bass drum pedal for Sonor which is being released. And I have been doing quite a bit of educational work in drum culture. I did a drum dvd which is like a tutorial, and I am working on a sequel for that.

    I’ve been seeking out a lot of collaborations outside of the music industry. Anything that gives me the ability to work with creative people outside the music industry. I have a project with an architect which is very interesting. I might be doing something with a symphony orchestra… He’s writing music around my things, something that I’ve never done. When this tour is finished, I’m going to Europe to work with tap dancers.

    But really, the central focus right now is Nerve… It’s been my pet project for the past, almost 15 years. If you ask me a year from now, hopefully I will tell you that I don’t do anything else.

    Jon- I’ve been working on a bunch of records. I just tracked and mixed a record for this band called The London Souls, and mixed the new Lettuce record. Rootscollider, an Upstate band… I’ve done all their EP’s. Umm… Yea just lots of records.

    Jojo- John is also an engineer and he runs his own studio called Bunker Studios which is incredible… You have to check it out.

    G- Lastly, what advice can you give some of the young, up and coming bands out here in Syracuse, in NYS, and everywhere that listens to Nerve who want to make it in music, on the road, and as a professional musician?

    Tak- Quit your day job!

    Jon- Be nice to people when you can, and be stern when necessary. I’ve met so many talented assholes who haven’t gone anywhere because they can’t get along with people. There opinionated or stuck up, and there are some amazing players stuck playing $50 gigs in NYC because they’ve turned everyone off.  Being positive to be around is hugely important in the music industry.

    Jojo- Yea I think attitude is a big one. In the end, talent will buy you a lottery ticket, but if you want to win it… There’s some lucky motherfuckers out there, but usually it’s just hard work. And it is a “People Business”… You play for people and you work for people.

    One other thing is be persistant. Don’t be discouraged by failures because there might be an opportunity, or it might be a blessing in disguise. And it’s ok to be different and it’s important… Don’t position yourself too closely to people you idolize. At the end of the day, if you want to be #1, you have to be yourself.

    Tak- Keep going and don’t look back!

    http://www.jojomayer.com/

    http://www.facebook.com/NerveOfficial

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn63PrEkKT8?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

  • ABORTED discusses “Global Flatline”, influences

    ABORTED discusses “Global Flatline”, influences

    Aborted is a death metal band from Belgium. They’re a four-piece band with members from Belgium, France and the UK. Signed by Century Media Records, and recently released their album, Global Flatline, They are a powerful, heavy band with a passion for mosh pits, blood, guts and horror. I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with Sven De Caluwe, vocalist for the band, between tours.

    Chris: Filming music videos can be a pretty cool experience. What did you think of the experience of filming “The Origin of Disease” music video?
    Sven: It was pretty intense, we shot it right in-between playing festivals—meaning we played a festival in Germany the day before, drove out to Holland, took a plane to England, and then shot the video the next day for about 8-9 hours straight, and we had way too many takes which were all more intense than the previous one at a location that smelled worse than any anus known to man haha. The day after that, we flew back to Holland to drive back to Germany and play Summer Breeze at 3AM. Exhausting to say the least, but we are ultimately very satisfied with the results!!
    Chris: Does this song have a significant meaning to you?
    Sven: It is one of the more instense songs on the record, and it has a good dose of groove at the same time. The theme is “mankind is a disease”, which is exactly what this whole album is about.
    Chris: Your new album, Global Flatline, came out January 24th. Describe the experience of recording it.
    Sven: I think this must have been the smoothest recording session we ever had. The whole album was done in under 3 weeks from start to finish, including mix and mastering. Jacob Hansen did a killer job, and it was very relaxing working with him. He got the best out of everyone and the sound we were looking for.
    Chris: The cover of Global Flatline appears to be a zombie eating Jesus. What inspired this intense album cover?
    Sven: That’s merely the digital single cover. The actual album cover is a completely devastated urban landscape with hordes of zombies eating people and what not. The intense album imagery comes with the intense pile of shit that mankind signifies.
    Chris: How does this album differ from your previous ones?
    Sven: I would say it’s more extreme, brutal, energetic, varied and mature than the previous efforts.
    Chris: Extremefest promises to be a pretty brutal event. What do you hope to get out of playing it?
    Sven: A good time, many crushed skulls, and destructive mosh pits!
    Chris: What do you enjoy most about being on tour?
    Sven: Playing shows in front of responsive audiences, meeting new people, hanging out with the other bands on tour, visiting new places and seeing the differences between cultures.
    Chris: Are there any shows on your tour schedule that you’re especially looking forward to playing?
    Sven: We are going to Brazil for the first time in a few weeks and also playing Norway for the first time in our career this year, so we are pretty excited to see how people bash their skulls in in those places!
    Chris: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
    Sven: This would vary from member to member, but in general for this band I would say Suffocation Carcass, Entombed, Dismember, and so on! Old school death metal.
    Chris: Personally, I enjoy Cannibal Corpse. What was it like sharing the stage with them?
    Sven: They are great guys and a killer band, they are simply a monument for death metal and it’s always a pleasure hanging out with them or performing with them. They are literally a testament of dedication to the extreme.
    Chris: Where do you see yourselves in one year?
    Sven: Touring, playing more shows and playing more death fuckin metal!

  • BIOHAZARD discusses touring, release of “Reborn in Defiance”

    BIOHAZARD discusses touring, release of “Reborn in Defiance”

    Admittedly, I was first exposed to Biohazard when Beavis and Butthead were rocking out to “Punishment” during one of their old school episodes. No problems, there… That show kicked ass (huh huh.) Since that day, I have always followed the band and checked out their albums. I picked up a limited copy of Urban Discipline and played it relentlessly. Shortly thereafter, I anxiously cracked open the neon orange case when State Of The World Address dropped, and just recently scored a bright orange vinyl promo copy of the album in Ithaca for $10. Score!

    So on February 8th, of course I’d have to check the group out when Amp Entertainment, Black Shoe Productions, and Station 58 brought the Boogity-Woogity Brooklyn Boys to town. Before their performance, I was able to sit down with guitar/vocalist Billy Graziadei to ask a few questions about their latest record, their lengthy career in the music industry, the departure of their longtime bassist and front man, Evan Seinfeld, and what’s in store for “Reborn in Defiance”

    Greg: What’s up, Billy? Thank you for taking the time to speak with Upstate Metal. There were some health issues while you were on tour in Europe… How is everybody doing?

    Billy: The name of the band is Biohazard, and there is always something crazy going on with us. We did 3 shows in the States before we went to Europe, and a couple of days before those 3 shows, we were in rehearsals. Danny’s wife, our drummer… The baby came late. He’s like “Dude, I don’t think the baby is gonna come before we leave… We’re gonna need to either cancel the tour or find somebody else to fill in for me. So we got Danny from Sworn Enemy… We rehearsed with him just in case. Kept him on reserve… Of course the baby didn’t come, so we took Danny with us. He was awesome… Phenomenal! So we get to Europe on tour with Suicidal (Tendencies), Terror, Walls of Jericho, and Lionheart. We get there and Scott is rushed to the hospital. Spends the whole day in the hospital, they run all these tests and they couldn’t find out what was wrong with him. He checked himself out at around 9:30 at night, we went onstage at 10, and he rocked the show, went back to the hospital, and stayed overnight. We picked him up the next morning and we finished the tour. Anybody else would have quit, but that dude’s a fuckin’ vegetarian hardcore dude, a hardworkin’ ass motherfucker, and he did it. Now, today’s the first date of the US run, and Bobby’s got Pneumonia. I just got a call yesterday and he could barely breathe, he could barely talk…

    Greg: He’s got Pneumonia right NOW?!

    Billy: Yea, so… He’s gonna make the show. Same thing… Hardcore motherfucker! Anybody else would’ve cancelled the tour, but we’re Biohazard, you know what I mean… Full of viruses but good, positive energy

    Greg: So, Danny just had a baby girl (Congrats, Danny!) What is it like being a family man on the road? You guys have been doing this so long that…

    Billy: You know what… Even without kids I’ve always been a family man. My family has always been important to me, as it has been for all of us. So, it’s always been tough… You feel like you say more ‘Goodbyes’ than you do ‘Hellos’. Obviously the ‘Goodbyes’ are more painful, but we do what we like to do in life, you know? We love being here, we love playin’, and the unfortunate side of it is being away from my family as it always has been.

    Greg: Well they obviously support you in all your pursuits because you’ve been doing it so long, and you’ve been doing it well.

    Billy: Thanks, brother!

    Greg: So this is the first day of your 10-date run… Is this run a warm up for more extensive touring in the near future? What do you have planned for the upcoming year?

    Billy–  It’s never a warm up. We’ve been on tour for a month now. We came back from Europe and had 2 days off and this is the first date of the next run. We’re doing this for 2 weeks, then we have 2 days off, and then we go straight to Australia for, like, another 3 weeks, and then we come back and go right back out again.

    Greg: Are you guys playing Soundwave?

    Billy: Yup.

    Greg: That’s fucking great!

    Billy: Yea it’s gonna be cool!

    Greg: So, Biohazard has recently released their latest record, “Reborn In Defiance”… Tell me a bit about it…? How was the writing process, and how long did it take to get it where you wanted it to be?

    Billy: The record came out in a weird way for us. We got back together in 2008. We toured around, and I didn’t think the band would last for 2 months. But here we are 4 years later. We ended up having a great time together, got along, nothing was broke. We just rolled with it. During sound checks, we’re jamming and working on new music and we weren’t really conscious of making a record. We were just vibin’ each other out… Different ideas musically and lyrically, and we started trying some things out live and it just became “Reborn In Defiance.”

    Greg: A lot of U.S. fans were pretty pumped to hear that the release was going to be made available as a free digital download here, but it got pulled, like, the day before it was set to drop… Can you tell us a bit about what happened there? Was that just music business bullshit?

    [momentary pause]

    [In unison] Yea.. Music Business Bullshit.

    Billy: I’ve been screaming for 20 years… Music is for me and you, not the fucking industry. The industry has always tried to keep Biohazard down and we come back swingin’ and survive. The record is gonna come out, and for everyone in America that has been behind us and had our backs for all these years, we’re going to release some extra stuff… Make it worth the wait… because we just had a bunch of bullshit to deal with.

    Greg:  Since we’re we are talking about 55 minutes of pure pummel here, how were the new songs received while you were in Europe? What was the response to the new songs?

    Billy: Awesome!

    Greg: Were kids going nuts?

    Billy: Yea.

    Greg: What was the best show of the tour?

    Billy: Berlin was great… Tilberg. Paris was phenomenal! A lot of those shows in Europe were sold out. London (Camden Underworld… Awesome spot!) sold out when we were headlining… It was our last show and it felt like CBGB’S!

    Greg: Have you made any videos for the tracks? Can we expect any on the new episodes of Beavis and Butthead or singles in rotation soon?

    Billy: (Laughs) I hope so! We’re STILL big fans of Beavis and Butthead. We already have something out and it’ll be released real soon, and we’re working on plans for the next video.

    Greg:So let me ask you… How are things between Biohazard and Evan? How are fans reacting to Scott taking over on vocals and bass after playing guitar?

    Billy: Scott was in the band for the last 2 records and toured around the world with us for the last 4-5 years.

    Of course, when Evan quit… We finished the record just the 4 of us (original members). He quit and it was a shock and a surprise for us, but that’s life. Life takes twists and turns and you gotta roll with it. And we did, you know? We decided ‘Fuck that… We’re not going quit, we’re going continue.’  I wish him well and have nothing bad to say about the dude… We share a lot of great memories and I hope he finds what he’s looking for and is happy. And the fans love Scott! He’s full of heart and soul, loves being there, loves doing what he does, and like I said… He checked himself out of the hospital for a show. That’s pretty fuckin’ hardcore! Anybody else would’ve quit… They would have cancelled the tour.”

    Greg: Biohazard doesn’t play that shit, folks… You heard it here first! So, Biohazard has been in the music game for a very long time. You’ve seen a lot come and go, bands ripping each other off, and executives stealing money left and right… How’s the game treating Biohazard right now, and what do you think is going on behind the scenes?

    Billy: The Biohazard family and fans, you know, I’d rather refer to them as friends. Without these people supporting us, we wouldn’t be here. There wouldn’t have been no reunion, and the reunion wouldn’t have been successful enough to make us fall in love with what we do again. Playing back together again, for me, reignited that fire inside my heart for Biohazard and what I do. So I love being here and I’m here because I want to be here, not because I have to be here.

    And as far as things are going, check us out on Facebook… You can get 3 new songs for free… Download ‘em! We have a song called “Come Alive,” a song called “Vengeance Is Mine” and a song called “Reborn,” and we’ll be playing those tonight!

    www.facebook.com/biohazarddfl

    Greg: Lastly, as a veteran band with amazing experience and lots of street knowledge, and lots of road dogging, what advice can you give some of the young, up and coming bands out here in Syracuse who want to make it in music, on the road, and as a professional musician?

    Billy: Do it for the love of it… That’s it. Everything else is secondary and not important. If something happens with it, you had a great time and enjoyed it. And if nothing happens, you still had a great time and enjoyed it.

    I want to thank Billy, Biohazard and crew, Amp Entertainment, Black Show Productions, and Station 58 for setting this up and putting on a great show in Syracuse. Stay tuned… Many more on the way!

    -Greg Allis

  • Brit Floyd – The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Tribute Show

    Brit Floyd – The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Tribute Show rolls into Syracuse on March 22nd at the newly remodeled Landmark Theater. Many fans will recognize members of the band from previous tours under a different moniker, especially Syracuse’s own Ian Cattell on bass and vocals. Cattell’s rise to the top of the tribute industry began right here in Syracuse as a founding member of local favorites, Childhood’s End. For the better part of seven years he has toured the world with Brit Floyd band director/guitarist/vocalist Damian Darlington, now, for the first time bringing their spectacular new tribute band to Ian’s hometown. From their stunning light show, impeccable sound design and note perfect renditions of the timeless Pink Floyd catalog, Brit Floyd brings the audience as close as it will ever get to see the legendary band in concert. This paired with the elegance and beauty of our downtown gem, The Landmark Theater makes for what promises to be an unforgettable evening of audio and visual delights. I’ll save my more in depth reflections on the band for after the interviews, so without further ado let’s get to that.

    First is Mr. Damian Darlington, a man whose talents will astound you onstage with his Gilmouresque guitar and lap steel sounds and his readings of the legendary songs vocally. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of sharing company with Damian several times over the last few years and as always it seems like it’s been too long since we last spoke.

    Greg Jackson: While you’ve toured North America many times previously, this must be extra special this time, yes?

    Damian Darlington: Yes, it definitely does feel more special this time around; it feels newly invigorated now that it’s become Brit Floyd.

    GJ: You’ve been in the tribute industry well over twenty years now, are you surprised at how large it’s become?

    DD: I suppose I am. When I first joined the Australian Pink Floyd Show back in 1994 the tribute thing was all still very new and on a much smaller scale than it is now. I had no notion that I’d still be here these many years later playing all around the world and in some of the venues and in front of some the crowds that I’ve gotten to play for, it’s pretty wild really when you think about it.

    GJ: I’ve seen the band in its former form several times, even without Ian present and in different configurations, what sets Brit Floyd apart from that and what do I have to look forward to?

    DD: I think all the guys in Brit Floyd now feel much more a part of what we’re doing and they feel that they have much more of steak in this band. There’s an even stronger commitment and passion for what we’re doing and I think this comes across in our stage performance and helps to hopefully recreate a full and authentic Pink Floyd concert experience for people to enjoy. We never become complacent about what we do; we’re always trying to improve our performances and the show as a whole. I think that the set list that we’re playing on this tour based around Pink Floyd’s new compilation album A Foot in the Door plus other Floyd gems such as Echoes and Pigs, is the best and most representative set list we’ve played to date and I’m sure that you and the rest of the folks in the crowd will enjoy it.

    GJ: Although you were musical director and more of your last band, having your name front and center of all things Brit Floyd is a huge accomplishment and responsibility. Do you feel your role is different now or does Chas (Cole – Managing Director of CMP Entertainment) do the real tedious mucking about? (I’m kidding Chas, I kid!)

    DD: My role while we’re out on tour is pretty much the same as it has been for some time now, because as the years have gone by I’ve increasingly become involved in all aspects of the show over and above my role as a musician and musical director. I guess I don’t feel like have to look over my shoulder anymore and think about what some other people might think of the choices that are made on how the show is presented, which is a very good feeling. I suppose I am more involved in a lot of the behind the scenes stuff now, but fortunately for me, Chas indeed is the one who has to worry about most of the really tedious day to day stuff.

    GJ: As a guitarist, where do you put David Gilmour’s skills on the mountain of all time guitarists?

    DD: David Gilmour is most definitely one of the best and most influential guitar players in the history of Rock music. He may not be the most technical of guitar players, but he has a sublime feel and gift for knowing what to play and when to play just the right thing that’s needed.

    GJ: Is Acoustic Unlimited still alive and well?

    DD: Yes, Acoustic Unlimited is still alive and well. I played a couple of gigs with it just before coming out on this tour. I enjoy it immensely, it’s a chance to play a wide variety of acoustic music which I love to do and it’s great to also get the chance to play some music with my brother Gareth, Brit Floyd’s sound engineer. Gareth is a fine Celtic fiddle player and acoustic guitarist and he also mixes all the audio for our CDs and DVDs. He’s really like another member of the Brit Floyd and as equally important to how we sound as any of the musicians on stage are.

    GJ: It’s been a pleasure to chat again and I’m looking forward to seeing the whole band in March, travel safely my friend.

    DD: It’s been a pleasure to talk with you too Greg. See you in March.

    Last, but certainly not least is my good friend, bassist/vocalist of Brit Floyd, Ian Cattell. Ian’s immaculate bass lines and startlingly accurate vocals have brought him to the pinnacle of the tribute world in Brit Floyd. Ian is a founding member and often time guest performer with Childhood’s End – A Tribute To Pink Floyd.

    GJ: Well my friend, you’re finally getting your home show, how great is it that it’s your “own band”?

    Ian Cattell: It’s a good feeling. With Brit Floyd, what you see is what you get. There are no unseen band members that will pop out of the woodwork at a later date claiming to be the real Brit Floyd.

    GJ: Now that some time and history has passed, tell us about receiving that fateful e-mail that took you away from Syracuse and the audition that followed.

    IC: Along with my extended Childhood’s End family, I was at the TAPFS performance at the Landmark in October of 2004. It must have been right at the end of that tour in that the Aussie bass player reached a decision to stay home on future North American tours. Damian then began the search for a replacement. He found videos of my Waters impression on the Childhood’s End website. I think Steve Mac’s response was “get him on a plane”. Shortly after that I received and email with the subject “TAPFS bass player”. I knew what it was without reading further and paced around my room all night. In the midst of their 2005 UK tour, I was to audition on stage during soundcheck in the Royal Albert Hall – no pressure there. As it happened, soundcheck ran long and I auditioned at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge, the home town of Gilmour, Waters, and Barrett – no pressure there either.

    GJ: You have quite the Pink Floyd pedigree; please share a bit of that with our readers.

    IC: I began playing Pink Floyd in January of 1995 with Crazy Diamond and continued on until late 1997 with P.U.L.S.E..During those three years, we racked up around 300 shows in 35 states and most of Canada. We lived in a truck when we weren’t being crammed 3 to a hotel room, and often were on the road for 2 or 3 months at a time. We played to packed houses of 1000 or more, down to empty clubs with more employees than paid customers. After that, I took a break from full time Floyd, but it wasn’t long before I reunited with some of my favorite Syracuse musicians to form Childhood’s End.

    GJ: You have an uncanny ability to re-create the vocals of both Roger Waters and David Gilmour, have you ever screwed up and started a song in the wrong voice?

    IC: It’s funny you should ask that. It happened for my audition for TAPFS. I was used to singing Shine On You Crazy

    Diamond in as Gilmour (à la the PULSE CD), but TAPFS wanted me for Waters vocals. I realized this at the end of the first verse and tried to change gears, but I think the result was disastrous and sounded like neither. Between that and dropping my pick than having my in-ear monitors yanked out of my head while trying to recover the pick, I really thought I had bombed the audition. If it weren’t for a passable performance of Fletcher Memorial Home, I doubt I’d have the gig today.

    GJ: It’s been said that many tribute bands get too involved and start to believe they’re better than the original band. I can’t imagine that from any of your band mates, have you ever seen this behavior before.

    IC: One thing I can say for myself, and I’m sure I can speak for all of my Brit Floyd bandmates in this regard, we are all fans of Pink Floyd. While we are proud of the work we have done and continue to do, but in the end, we didn’t write the material. The genius of Floyd’s creative force and ability to produce such a body of work spanning over 2 decades is something of which we could only dream. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

    I have seen this in action though. Back in 1996, there was a Doors tribute opening up for P.U.L.S.E. The Jim Morrison character was in full costume including leather pants and wig, and completely plastered by 2 in the afternoon. I’m not sure if he thought he was better than Morrison, or if he thought he really WAS the Lizard King.

    GJ: Tell us a bit about the routine on the road. So many music fans have what I believe to be a distorted view of nice hotels and Lear Jets, tell the folks the real deal.

    IC: Well, what can I say, only that it’s a Gulf Stream these days… The reality is much more mundane. We usually play for one night in venue often on the outskirts of town. While we do get to see the sights on occasion, there’s little opportunity to take in any of the local scene. We usually just see the inside of the bus, the venue, and on days off, the hotel. On the whole, I really can’t complain. It’s a good gig.

    GJ: While it’s easy for casual fans to say, being in a tribute band can actually be more difficult than an original band I believe, your thoughts?

    IC: I don’t want to take anything away from an original band’s monumental task of writing, promoting, and performing their own music, often for very little fanfare or money. But at least when you are playing your own music, the people in the audience can’t say you’re doing it wrong. I’ll just say there are some very discerning Floyd fans out there.

    GJ: What is your favorite color?

    IC: Blue… No! GREEN!!… AAAAHHHHH!

    I was first introduced to the whole tribute band industry in early 2005 by my lifelong friend and musical director of Childhood’s End – A Tribute to Pink Floyd, Steve Schad. He was very anxious to show me his new project as we had been out of touch with each other for a while. I freely admit to scoffing at the idea my good friends Steve and guitarist extraordinaire Gregory John were “wasting their talents” in a tribute band. I had no idea what was in store when he put their promo dvd into the player. My first reaction was, “Does the singer always do that with his voice? It’s really irritating!” (meaning singing with a British accent). It didn’t take long to realize how close to the real thing this sounded and by the end of the videos Steve was asking me if I was in, the answer was a fast yes!

    Within the week I’d been introduced to bassist/vocalist Ian Cattell and drummer Eric Garboushian and my education in the depth of the tribute band industry began. I was absolutely astounded at the talent out there showing respect and admiration for the bands they pay tribute to besides the amazing production values they held. In order to appreciate where Childhood’s End stood in hierarchy I needed to learn who was on top and where we stood against that benchmark. I quickly found out that despite a fabulous light show, great sound and fantastic musicians we were well down the totem pole from others who had been in the game much longer. This path led me directly to The Australian Pink Floyd Show (TAPFS), at the time they were hands down the best in the world. It was and is remarkable how precise and authentic their readings of the songs are not to even mention the extensive production values they have, I dubbed them “Pink Floyd Lite” in jest, not knowing at the time just how much this band would effect and ultimately mean to me within a very short time. It was clear Childhood’s End had a long way to go, but musically I’d have pitted us against anyone with equal production. Our biggest advantage was Ian’s voice and the band’s overall musicianship, I said it before and I’ll say it again, “No one does it better than Ian, no one”. This leads us to the next chapter and I’m going to skim over a lot of what happened out of respect to the friends I’ve met through Ian’s rise to the top. I’ve been very fortunate to see him perform with TAPFS half a dozen times and have seen the band without him once. From here on out this will tell the story from my point of view with the help of Ian and guitarist/vocalist/musical director of Brit Floyd and former member of TAPFS, Damian Darlington. I apologize for any inaccuracies in the story, but I promise they’re unintentional and the guys will help me out later.

    Through the spring of ’05 and into the summer I studied and developed a great respect for most of the other tributes plying their trade around the world, little did I know just how much this would effect the future of Childhood’s End. This reality came to the forefront when Ian didn’t show one night for rehearsal, I’m not sure any of us would’ve believed him anyway, but here’s the first major twist to the story. As it turns out, after 20 years of touring worldwide a few members of TAPFS were finding their North American tours too long to be away from their families and other personal reasons. Not wanting to stop these tours the band went in search of some surrogate players so to speak and the first one they needed was a bassist/vocalist which led them to CE’s front door and Ian’s obvious talents. The night he missed rehearsal he was in London, auditioning for TAPFS at The Royal Albert Hall, quite the huge step-up from Syracuse. They had discovered Ian on the Childhood’s End website, internet good/internet bad! To trim the story Ian was offered the tour and we put CE on hold while he chased the dream. While there were certainly mixed emotions in our camp I immediately supported it, it could only mean good things for Ian and our band right? I quickly found out just how serious bands this large are about how information is shared and how secretive some members can be. CE went on practicing and refining production with the idea of Ian returning after this tour. It took some time to acclimate to his new position, but by the time the tour ended he had cemented himself into the role, eventually being brought on board with TAPFS for the bulk of their tours and in the early summer of ‘06 CE went on hiatus as Ian was off to tour the world with The Aussies. I quickly fell out of favor with several members of his new band due to my openness regarding what they were doing internally, but the bonus was that a few of them supported me and appreciated how Childhood’s End and I handled the situation. In the fall of ’06 I had the distinct pleasure of following the band for a couple of shows in Florida, they treated me like an old friend, especially Damian, Gareth Darlington (Sound Designer, F.O.H. engineer and purveyor of set lists, Brit Floyd ) and Jason Sawford (keyboards/TAPFS), Mike Kidson (sax/TAPFS), Paul Bonney (drums/TAPFS). Jason was the only original Australian still touring with TAPFS in North America by this time. The band was a spectacle to behold in performance, the note for note replications and stunning production was second only to the real thing. Something many have never had the chance to see and never will. I became one of their biggest fans. I know I’m leaving out some very important people in the story and certainly no disrespect is meant. Steve Mac and Colin Wilson from TAPFS and all of the former members of TAPFS who now constitute Brit Floyd, especially Ola, Jacquie, Amy and Emily, the brilliant ladies who’ve been so sweet to Sandra and I over the years. Within the next few years the only remaining TAPFS band members touring in the U.S. and Canada were Damian and the ladies, this led to the biggest change and the new band we’ll see here in Syracuse on March 22nd, Brit Floyd. I’ll leave the story blank here besides stating that a split occurred between management and the three Australian members of TAPFS which ended with former TAPFS manager Chas Cole of CMP Entertainment and Damian forming Brit Floyd along with the members of the former TAPFS North American touring band and crew, with The Aussies continuing on with new management, the original band members and a brilliant new production. To me personally it’s a double the pleasure situation although my loyalties fall firmly in the Brit Floyd camp. I still hold great respect for TAPFS and their members I consider friends to this day and I can’t wait for the chance to see them perform again. For TAPFS fans on our continent seeing Brit Floyd this is really not much more than a band changing names, but they could well go to a TAPFS show now and say, ”Who the hell are these guys!” If you’ve become a fan over the last five years or so not much will be different besides the name, it’s the same fantastic band performing the music of Pink Floyd in a way that places them firmly on top of the heap in the Floyd tribute world in my opinion. If you’ve never seen them and are even a casual fan of Pink Floyd, the show at The Landmark Theater on March 22nd and any other tour date near you is a must see for any Floyd fan.

    It’s been my abject pleasure getting to know the members of Brit Floyd over the years and I’m greatly looking forward to the show. It’s been quite a while since the fall of 2010 when I saw them last, there’s the new name and new production, but that same familiar fiery band of driven musicians eager to make their mark in the tribute industry, besides being one of the coolest bunch of folks I’ve ever met. It’s only three weeks away, go get your tickets at www.landmarktheatre.org and prepare yourselves for a magical evening of Floydian majesty!

    Keep up with Brit Floyd at www.britfloyd.com and find them on facebook as BritFloyd.

    [Words by Greg Jackson, Photos by Sandra Jackson]

  • TAKING BACK SUNDAY talks lineup changes, being influential

    TAKING BACK SUNDAY talks lineup changes, being influential

    Long Island’s Taking Back Sunday is a success story of a more traditional kind than is common today. The band was formed by Eddie Reyes in 1999. Reyes was already a veteran of such influential acts as Mind Over Matter and Inside, not to mention a founding member of the Movielife. The band recorded a demo and toured relentlessly before attempting to talk to labels, subsequently being signed by Victory Records. 5 full length albums, countless tours all over the world and even placing number 2 on the Billboard top 200 charts are just some of accomplishments Taking Back Sunday have since seen. Chris Stocking recently had a chance to speak with Reyes.

    taking back sunday

    Chris: Between reforming the Tell All Your Friends-era lineup in 2010, then writing and recording your eponymous album, did you find the overall process of writing and recording more natural?

    Eddie: It felt more natural and it flowed a lot better. It was nice that it wasn’t forced, it flowed perfectly just like before.

    Chris: What is your favorite song on the album?

    Eddie: I have two that I listen to a lot, Money (Let It Go) and Falling.

    Chris: How do you feel your musical style has changed over the years? Do you feel that the changes in line up have created experimentations within the bands composition?

    Eddie: I think we’ve grown a lot as a band and matured a lot as people. Playing with different sound and ideas would probably happen on every album regardless of membership changes.

    Chris: You guys played “Existentialism on Prom Night” at Bamboozle 2011. Have you considered playing more Straylight Run songs as part of your set?

    Eddie: Yes, when we get the chance we would love to rehearse a few more of their songs.

    Chris: As a band that tours all over the world, what’s your favorite and least favorite parts of touring?

    Eddie: I love touring, I love meeting people and playing shows, I just wish I could be with my kids at the same time because they are the ones I miss the most.

    Chris: What was your favorite part of the South America tour?

    Eddie: We loved being down there and the audiences were so enthusiastic. Outside of that, our tour manager Marc arranged a sightseeing day trip in Rio and that was incredible.

    Chris: What are you most excited for on the Australia tour?

    Eddie: It’s just exciting to be in Australia period! Australia is one of my favorite countries! It’s everything awesome about the UK, the rest of Europe and America rolled up into one!

    Chris: Being a stage setter for an ongoing trend of emotionally strong lyrically driven bands, how does it feel to be in part responsible for the eruption of bands within that concept?

    Eddie:The band I was influenced by was influenced by someone else so it’s definitely always present. The fact that someone may have wanted to start a band because of our music will always be an honor.

    Chris: What inspired you guys to be behind the December 27th food drive?

    Eddie:Someone asked for help and it was something we could do so we did it.

    Chris: As we all know, you featured Flavor Flav in your video, You’re So Last Summer. What was the concept behind this?

    Eddie: Since John wasn’t there we tried to think of the silliest person we could who could cover his part. At one point we said Flavor Flav and everyone laughed. He is a fellow long island musician after all. Then we asked him and he said yes. This was before all of the reality shows though.

    Chris: I’ve always loved the cover art for Louder Now. It reminds me of a photo by Joel Meyerowitz called ‘NYC, 1963’. Did you draw inspiration for the cover from that photo?

    Eddie: Good eye, check the credits!

    Chris: My first exposure to TBS was from Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland where you covered “Suburban Home” and “I Like Food”. Would you consider the Descendents an influence on your sound?

    Eddie: Definitely for some of us. Everyone in the band has different influences.

    Chris: What can we anticipate from Taking Back Sunday in 2012?

    Eddie: More music and more touring! Maybe something to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of our first album!

    Chris: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. We really appreciate it and look forward to what Taking Back Sunday has to offer in the future.

    Eddie: Thank you!

  • INTERVIEW with Greg Bell from Guthrie/Bell Productions

    In April of 1992, Greg Bell promoted his first show in Albany, NY. Over the next few years, Greg Bell has brought to the Capital District the best up-and-coming bands and helped to develop Albany’s live music legacy. Next month, Greg Bell celebrates 20 years with two special shows at Valentine’s, combining the best of the past, present and future of live music in Albany.

    NYS Music sat down with Greg Bell at his home and discussed his memories of the past 20 years, how he got started in promoting shows, the evolution of the live music scene in Albany and the musicians and bands that have come up through Albany with the help of Guthrie/Bell Productions.

    Pete Mason: Where are you from?
    Greg Bell: I grew up on Long Island, in a town on the south shore called Bohemia.

    PM: What music did you listen to in high school?
    GB: I started listening to Top 40, The Monkees, moved to Jefferson Airplane and Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, a lot of different stuff.

    PM: What was the first concert you went to?
    GB: First concert I was to was Tommy James and the Shondells at the Ohio State Fair. They had several big hits – Mony Mony, Crimson and Clover, I Think We’re Alone Now…

    PM : Where did you go to college? What was music like at the time?
    GB: Siena; There were a lot of post-Woodstock bands who were touring. The bands we listened to most our senior year were The Grateful Dead, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen and Jerry Jeff Walker were the three biggest ones my friends and I were into. We listened to everything: Ten Years After, Jefferson Airplane, Loggins and Messina, whatever was hot at the time. There were a lot of singer/songwriters: Neil Young, James Taylor, and Carole King were all big, that were coming out at that time.

    PM: Do you have a favorite concert memory from college years?
    GB: Nothing offhand, I think of high school more for concerts, when Stony Brook University was having a ton of concerts when I was a junior/senior, so I saw Miles Davis open up for Santana, The Allman Brothers Band on their first tour opening up for Mountain, The Dead with Jerry Garcia playing pedal steel with the New Riders of the Purple Sage in the opening set, playing two shows in one night and I got to see both shows. Those are big memories; at the Summer Festival for Peace (at Shea Stadium) I saw Janis Joplin, one of her last live performances before she died.

    PM: How did you first get started promoting shows?
    GB: Throughout college my friends and I would throw big parties and we always had music. After college whenever we had big outdoor parties we’d always have a lot of friends who were playing in bands. In terms of doing it professionally to make money, that would be April 3rd, 1992 when a friend of mine rented us the Black Masons Hall in downtown Albany (kitty-corner from Lombardo’s) and let us use the liquor license to serve beer. The lineup included The Sharks, Hard Times, Mother Judge and Bryan Kenny and Friends. The cost was $10 for four bands and all the beer you can drink and went extremely well. It was pretty much sold out and seemed like a pretty easy way to make money. I think that’s one of the downfalls promoters have is that the first couple of shows they do are successful and they think it’s always going to be like that. Then reality kicks in they find out that’s not true.

    PM: Who were these bands? All local acts?
    GB: The Sharks had been big in the 80s and they were just making a resurgence at the time; Hard Times was made up of Todd Nelson (Fear of Strangers) Kevin McKrell (McKrells), Rick Bedrosian (Hair of the Dog), it was sort of like a supergroup of Albany musicians who had been around for years. Mother Judge still runs the open mic night down at McGeary’s. Friends of ours were musicians at the time so we did it just for fun, see what it was like to put on a show. This is before Guthrie/Bell Productions. That company was called Two Fools Presents; that was me and my friend Dale Metzger, he was my first partner in the music business before Jeff Guthrie and Guthrie/Bell Productions.

    Greg Bell and Keller Williams

    PM: How did you go from Two Fools to Guthrie/Bell?
    GB: With Two Fools we did a few events, we did an outdoor festival in Rensselaerville at one point called ‘Summer Fool Fest’. When The Dead came to town we rented out the Black Masons Hall, put on afternoon shows and some aftershow parties there. Dale and I started getting into different musical things; I started managing a few bands in the area. We parted ways amicably. My friend Jeff Guthrie was also managing a couple bands, including The Sharks trying to get them to do a comeback. One day he called me and said “Hey, I found this room that would be really good for shows that they don’t use for anything. Do you want to start doing shows together?” We managed to find this upstairs room at Valentines that no one was using for anything and we convinced the owner to let us start putting on shows up there. We started renting out the upstairs at Valentines on a weekly basis doing shows. Each week we’d lose a little bit more money, so we kept doing more shows trying to make our money back. After a few months of doing shows together he said we should form a company together. That was the start of Guthrie/Bell Productions, around the spring of 1993. That’s how it started.

    PM: How long were you two promoting shows together?
    GB: Probably six years or so, maybe longer. He just got tired of doing it and I kind of liked the name, it had a nice ring to it, so instead of changing it I kept it.

    PM: When did you start teaching?
    GB: 1979

    PM: How did teaching and promoting shows conflict?
    GB: I just gave up sleep. I went from having one full time job and a family to having two full time jobs and a family. It gave me an excuse to be out, ‘Gotta go to work honey.’ (laughs)

    PM: When did promoting shows seem like it going to be a consistent thing?
    GB: One of the reasons I started doing this was because there were a ton of local bands who I felt were not getting treated fairly at other clubs, not getting paid what they were worth or not as much time to play. So I started out doing a lot of alternative rock in the area and then, doing shows with Dr. Jah and the Love Prophets and they introduced me to (Peter Prince and) MoonBoot Lover and those two bands were probably the reason I took off promoting the jamband scene. moe. opened up for Dr. Jah, The Disco Biscuits opened up for Dr. Jah, Yolk opened up for Dr. Jah – almost everyone opened up for Dr. Jah their first time because they had the hippie crowd. When I stopped working with Valentines and became more independent and booked more shows in different rooms, I stayed with the jamband scene. That’s kind of how I got pigeonholed with the jamband scene even though over the years I’ve done tons of other shows. I’ve booked Alejandro Escovedo, Dave Alvin, Jeff Buckley, Los Straightjackets and a lot of shows that aren’t jamband related at all but I’ve always sort of been pigeonholed as the jamband promoter, but being a Deadhead I think its been pretty exciting because since I’ve started promoting shows I’ve done a show with every living member of the Grateful Dead at one point or another; I’ve done a show with every member of Phish except for Mike Gordon; I’ve met Jorma Kaukonen, Roger McGuinn, I’ve met many of the people who I listened to in my youth, a lot of my heroes. I’ve become fairly well known in the jamband scene, most bands like working with me, I like working with them. It’s been a fairly successful career, if not financially successful, it’s been fun. I think I’ve helped a lot of bands out. I think I was instrumental in getting that 2nd or 3rd wave of jambands going. At one point, Albany was one of the biggest jamband towns at least in New York and the Northeast. Everyone came through and played at Valentines at one time or another, or Bogie’s.

    PM: What was the worst night promoting music?
    GB: That’s easy, Bellstock 3 when we had 18 inches of rain in 24 hours and something like 18 bands showed up to play and 18 bands were sent home because there was just no way anyone could play in the amount of rain we were getting. That might be the worst.

    PM: How have you seen music evolve over the past 20 years in the Capital District?
    GB: I see it pretty much exactly the same: tons and tons of talent in Albany and a limited audience. You can listen to bands that say all the time ‘I remember when it was great and people were coming out’, but it’s been pretty much the same. Albany has always had a lot of talented musicians; there has just never been a central scene. You could never get the San Francisco sound or the Seattle sound because Albany is too eclectic, which is a good thing because you have a wide variety of stuff to see but you can never interest a wider audience that just what you have in Albany. There are bands from Albany who go outside the area and do well and spread the word. There are a select number of music fans in Albany who want to see new stuff. But even then, they don’t show up or pay attention to the opening act because they’re only there for the headliner. I think people need to broaden there horizons; when I put shows on I will put two bands together than seemingly don’t fit together purposefully so people can see bands they might not have ever seen, because a lot of music crosses over genres. Right now electronica and techno are really hot so musicians who play instruments and sing and harmonize are struggling and having a tough time because the young kids want to see the DJs and electronica shows. But I think Albany has always had a great music scene, its just always been separated into groups. You have the indie rock scene, the hard core scene, the jamband scene, something else over here. Albany has always needed one room that was doing everything, so you would have one place where people could go and see all different kinds of music and try and get a scene going better instead of having it spread out all over the city.

    PM: Do you think we ever had a place like that? The QE2?
    GB: They were pretty eclectic, they were seen as an all punk club; Bogie’s at one point was doing a lot of shows, as was JB Scott’s when it was open years ago, but nothing has stayed open throughout the years; Valentines has had its time when it was one of the top clubs in the area. In Albany right now, on any given night, you can see ten different bands play at different places, which splits the audience. When there are ten shows going on, it’s hard to get one of those shows to go really well. It’s just the nature of the business here.

    PM: How could that change?
    GB: I’ve been trying to make that change for a number of years; I just haven’t found a way to do it. When Revolution Hall closed, I felt that was a room that could do that and be the centralized spot for music, but it was in Troy and people in Albany didn’t want to go to Troy among other reasons. I think if Albany had a room like Rev Hall it would be successful. There’s a lot of good clubs in Albany, I don’t think there’s a great club in Albany. Red Square is good for some things, Jillian’s is good for some things, Valentines is good for some things, and Savannah’s is good for some things.

    Matt Abts, Vinnie Amico, and Greg Bell

    PM: What about venues like the Palace, The Armory and The Egg?
    GB: They are great places to see shows. At the Palace I’ve had Disco Biscuits, moe., Jimmy Cliff, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Gov’t Mule, Michael Franti, Black Crowes, Dark Star Orchestra, it’s a wonderful room to see shows in. It’s a theater and you need bands that can draw at least a couple thousand people. At The Armory I’ve had moe. a couple of times, Phil Lesh and Friends, Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Matisyahu, The Roots. But it’s a tough room because you only have a few bands that can do 3-4,000 to fill the room. Bands that do less than 1,000 or more than 5,000 won’t cut it there, so it’s a tough room for that middle area of bands that draw 3-4,000 in a general admission room. For techno shows and DJs it’s a perfect room, like for Deadmau5 and Rusko. I love The Egg, it’s a sit down room, so a lot of the stuff that I do is tough there. I’ve had success there with Dark Star Orchestra and Keller Williams and Medeski, Martin and Wood. You have to have a certain kind of show on in a good room like that. People are easy to work with, the sound is great. All the places in the area that provide music are good for certain things; there’s no one place that’s good for everything.


    PM: What do you think of the past five years of music in the Albany area?
    GB: It’s hard to say, I’ve seen Rev Hall which was really starting to take off, go under. I’ve seen Jillian’s move from a disco-y place to a viable venue in the area; Red Square is doing a lot of shows and Valentines is starting to pick up again. The music scene in Albany is vibrant and things are picking up thanks to young enthusiastic bands that bring out people. One thing that I’m trying to do, especially since Rev Hall closed, is get back into going out and checking out a lot of younger bands that I’ve been missing for a while. One of my fortes has always been finding young bands and then building them up to the point where they have an audience.

    PM: Like Timbre Coup?
    GB: Timbre Coup, Formula 5, Eastbound Jesus, Dirty Paris are all great bands, The Sunny Side of the Street Band… there’s tons of bands out there right now that are starting to pick up some steam. I have a couple bands I’m checking out in the next few weeks that I’m interested in seeing how they are, The Greys and Digital Dharma, both seem to be pretty interesting. There are always great up and coming bands but its hard for them to keep it together because bands are making less money now than bands made in the 70s and 80s because there’s no money out there, the drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 over that time. I see opening acts that have to drive 300 miles to make $100 which barely covers gas. You have to really be dedicated and really want to be in a band and be with the right people who have the same dreams and what you want to do. You see too many bands that are really talented that break up because it’s too much of a commitment to be a touring band anymore. You really have to be OK not making any money to get by till you start picking up a fan base. With gas prices now, I can’t really see how bands can open a show for $100. Unfortunately for promoters, expenses go up every year – club expenses, advertising expenses, national and regional touring bands with dwindling fanbases still expect to get paid like when they were drawing bigger numbers. People need to do a lot more cooperation between clubs, bands and promoters and work together so that no one gets hurt and at the least survive. I think that’s one of the things that I don’t see as much among bands; some genres have bands working together to get the scene going but certain genres of music have bands that are more cut-throat and expect more money and more fans to show up. If bands start cooperating and working together, that can make a difference. When I first did shows at Valentines, the audience would include band-members from bands that weren’t even playing and they would get up and jam with the bands on stage. I really don’t see that happening as much anymore, one band getting done at one venue and going to another to see a couple of tunes and maybe sit in, at least as much as I used to. Back when I first started doing Valentines, there were nights when we had to drag people off the stage at four in the morning while there were members of three different bands on the stage playing together. Back then, after midnight was the point where you would worry about breaking even. Now that’s around 11 or so. Part of it is due to DWI laws being enforced; part of it has to do with money. The economy being the toilet doesn’t help either, people aren’t going to be able to spend money on a Wednesday than on a weekend. They have to pick and choose more now.

    Soulive and Greg Bell

    PM: What is Albany’s role in the past 20 years in terms of live music in the greater Northeast?
    GB: When the 3rd wave of jambands were coming up, when moe, The (Disco) Biscuits, Deep Banana Blackout, Strangefolk and that whole group of bands were all starting out when I was starting out promoting shows, at some point I would get them. Albany was a major stop on jamband tours. In any given month I would have at least one night with Ominous Seapods, one night with moe., one night with Conehead Buddha and one night with Yolk; I mean those are four bands right there that are selling good numbers of tickets and anyone who is coming through would come to me. Max Creek when they started touring again, Schleigho and a lot of bands that were coming up at that time. Some of them didn’t go much further although I think some of them should have, such as Peter Prince from MoonBoot Lover should have been famous, I think he’s a talented man, I think Schliegho should have been famous; there’s a lot of talented bands that I’ve seen over the years that got beaten down by the road and record companies and everything else, and once they started getting older, having families and settling down, they couldn’t be on the road making no money. I met tons of great musicians; some of my closest friends are the ones I started promoting shows with in the 90s, I’m still in contact with a lot of them. Bands like moe. who could have stopped doing shows with me years ago and gone to Live Nation and bigger promoters have always stuck with me and remain loyal to me and that means a lot to me. That’s a great honor for a band that’s gone as far as moe. has gone to keep a local promoter involved with them. There’s not a lot of that loyalty going on right now.

    PM: What do you think the next five years of music is in the Albany area?
    GB: I think we’re on the verge of is, due to economic and social situations, I think Americana is going to get a lot bigger than it is, at some point, when things are typically going like this and things are getting stagnant… I respect what the DJs are doing with techno/electronica, but I think there’s going to be a lot of people who don’t want to see a DJ pushing buttons on a laptop on stage. I think that what’s going to happen at some point is like in the 70s and 80s all of a sudden you had Springsteen and then punk rock coming out to go against disco and arena rock. Then you had Nirvana come out against hair bands and glitter bands… I think we’re at a point now where you’ll see something in the next few years that will be totally different and save rock n roll again. But I think because of the economic situation right now and more people protesting I think you’re going to see more Americana type music where people are singing about what’s going on in the world and in people’s lives. You had Woody Guthrie during the Great Depression, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and people like that when we were on the verge of/in the middle of the cold war, people coming out during the Vietnam War and protesting. I think you’ll see a lot more of that coming out, I think people tend to go towards that kind of music when things are down. All great music has come from people being down in poor economic situations; you’ve got blues, jazz, folk, all that came out of poor people basically; rap came out of the ghetto where people were economically disadvantaged. I think you’re going to see more of that music coming out and a mix of electronica and rock with The Disco Biscuits and The New Deal and even that’s starting to fade away and it’s getting more and more electronic equipment based more than people based. I think you’re gonna start seeing people start breaking away from that for something new, at least that’s what I’m hoping. I think that the jamband scene has been struggling recently because I don’t see a lot of young hippies coming up now; I see a lot of techno kids coming up. But in the past year or so, I’ve seen a lot more bands, young bands, that are more jamband based, more songs and more jamming, people who can really play their instruments, so I think there’s gonna be a little resurgence of that kind of music too.

    Greg Bell celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first show as a promoter celebration of the first weekend of April at Valentines on New Scotland Ave in Albany. On April 6, Conehead Buddha will reunite with The Sunny Side of the Street Band opening, while on April 7, Timbre Coup performs with Formula 5 opening. Come out and celebrate 20 years of great music and toast to 20 more.