NYS Music 20​13

Author: Pete Mason

  • It’s Back to Labor Day Weekend for moe.down in 2014!

    For the first 10 years of moe.down, Snow Ridge Ski Resort in Turin was the home and Labor Day was the weekend – an end of summer tradition everyone in the Northeast that called themselves a moe.ron looked forward to experiencing. Then there was the ill-advised shift to Mohawk at Gelston Castle for moe.downs 11 and 12, but fortunately fans convinced the band to move back to Turin, with a shift to mid-August for moe.downs 13 and 14. Now, things have come full circle in the past 5 years and moe.down 15 will return to Snow Ridge Ski Resort for moe.down 15 on Labor Day weekend.

    labor day weekend moeA message from moe.: “We are excited to announce moe.down is moving back to Labor Day Weekend! A lot of thought has gone into this decision. It wasn’t easy: so many people liked the new weekend, but a number of people also missed the advantages of the holiday weekend. We hope all of you can still join us. Watch for updates, 15 will be moe.mentous! August 29,30&31 2014 Snow Ridge Ski Resort Turin, NY”

    Fans were asked to vote on the preferred date for moe.down, and while Mid-August was the fan favorite, Labor Day was the decision fans went with. Looks like Phish at Dick’s  may have some competition for fans of both bands. Or maybe not.

    Read Amy Fischer’s review of moe.down 14. moe. plays December 30th and 31st at The Palace Theater in Albany. Pick up tickets here.

  • 10 Years Later: In Memory of Warren Zevon

    I first learned of Warren Zevon sometime in the early 1990s, by way of the song “Werewolves of London,” which was playing on Dr. Demento, or perhaps it was just in the rotation on PYX 106 in Albany. Either way, I had those lyrics quickly memorized and thought the song was funny. But I paid no attention to the man behind the curtain for a long time.

    In 2000, I was introduced to Widespread Panic by my brother Chris and in the next couple years I saw the band a few times and collected bootlegs of shows along the way. In the process, I came across a great song, “Lawyers, Guns and Money”, which I would play and sing loudly during my travels. It took until later in 2002 to find out that the song was written by the same guy that wrote “Werewolves”, Warren Zevon. The adventure into learning more about this mysterious musician had begun and I was hooked on his music.

    Warren ZevonArt by RJ Matson

    But I was almost too late. I tuned into Letterman one night by pure happenstance, to watch what would be Warren’s final appearance on Late Show with David Letterman. He didn’t look sick, he looked like a Rock Star. I watched the conversation between two friends unfold, Letterman asking Zevon about what he had learned about life from the point of view of someone dying. Warren’s response was simple: “You’re reminded to enjoy every sandwich…”, a phrase that would become the title of his tribute album, released in 2004, featuring many of his friends, family and artists he influenced. Enjoy Every Sandwich is not only great advice but a proper tribute album, and one I highly recommend for even casual Warren fan unfamiliar with his catalog. Warren played a few songs that night, interacted with Paul Shaffer and Dave all the while in what became a classic night of Letterman.

    A year later, 10 years ago today, Warren Zevon died of inoperable peritoneal mesothelioma, but only after recording The Wind, which would win Two Grammy, including Song of the Year, and featured many of his friends and contemporaries – Bruce Springsteen, Dwight Yoakam, EmmyLou Harris, Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne and Tom Petty, among many others. Gone was a quietly influential, dark and twisted mind that crafted incredible ballads, classic rock tunes and sing-a-longs.

    Zevon is far more than the guy who wrote “Werewolves of London”. In fact, if that’s the only song you know of his, keep reading! Warren Zevon is an incredible singer-songwriter who took personal struggles and dark topics and turned them into hilarious, and at times depressing songs, which painted a picture of a troubled yet creative psyche.

    A couple examples of Warren’s lyrical stylings:

    “I called up my friend Leroy on the phone, I said buddy I’m afraid to be alone, cause I got some weird ideas in my head, about things to do in Denver when you’re dead” – “Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead”

    “Michael Jackson in Disneyland, don’t have to share it with nobody else, lock the gates Goofy, take my hand, and lead me through the world of self” – “Splendid Isolation”

    “Well I’m going to Detox Mansion, way out on Last Breath Farm. I’ve been raking leaves with Liza, me and Liz clean up the yard” – “Detox Mansion”

    “Carmelita, hold me tighter. I think I’m sinking down. And I’m all strung out on heroin on the outskirts of town” – “Carmelita”

    Warren also on a classic episode of The Larry Sanders Show, provided “Even the Dog Can Shake Hands” as the theme song to the short-lived 1999 TV show Action, and Kevin Smith’s soon to air hockey film-turned-miniseries, Hit Somebody!, is based on the song of the same name by Zevon (featuring David Letterman’s vocals).

    You can find these and many other incredible songs in his collection on the Internet Archive, a wonderful resource for music and much, much more. Three shows from Upstate New York are featured on the Archive: Saratoga Performing Arts Center 1991, Saratoga Winners 1993 and Sideshow Music Hall in Lackawanna 1999. You can also listen to a full performance below from The Warehouse in Rochester in 1988 below.

    Warren Zevon was only 56 when he died, leaving behind his son Jordan, a singer-songwriter living in Los Angeles. A biography written by his ex-wife, Crystal Zevon, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon, received high praise when it was published in 2008 and is in the same league as Keith Richards’ rock and roll lifestyle detailed in his acclaimed memoirs. Warren is gone but not forgotten and his music lives on, as musicians like Widespread Panic and Bruce Springsteen, not to mention many Jerry Garcia Band recordings, continue to share his music and introduce future generations of fans to his music and songwriting genius.

    New York Times – Warren Zevon’s Last Waltz

    The Guardian – Warren Zevon: the man behind the demons

    UltimateClassicRock.com – Top 10 Warren Zevon Songs

    Warren Zevon Internet Forums – tons of music, links, discussion on all things Warren.

  • Mayoral Candidates in Albany Share Their Views on the Arts in the State Capital

    This past March, two business owners in Albany looked to open up a music venue in the Warehouse District, an area away from residences and perfect for a music venue. The Zoning Variance was denied in part due to concerns about parking (which were overstated by local bar owners) and complaints from one bar owner who now lives in the district. This venue was a great need in Albany, as there are venues for 100-300 fans (Valentines, Red Square, The Hollow), 1000 (The Egg) and up to 3000 (The Palace) as well as the Times Union Center (it’s still The Knick to us) for larger shows. There is a gap between the 300-1000 crowd sizes, and that stifles the growth of bands and groups, as well as limits the music that can come to Albany – once you outgrow a venue, you cant play here unless you become big enough for The Palace.

    mayoral candidates albanyThis leads to a lack of income that stays in Albany, sending bands to Clifton Park, Saratoga, Western Mass and Central NY, as well as Burlington, VT and NYC. It makes no sense that local bands should suffer because of a lack of a venue, and a zoning board that won’t allow for simple variances when all things are in order.

    We reached out to all 5 Mayoral candidates in Albany, asking them to share their thoughts on this issue, on the arts in general, as well as how they each hope to contribute to improving the arts in Albany. Covering music and arts across Upstate NY, takes this rare opportunity in a race for Mayor of Albany (that doesn’t involve a candidate named Corning or Jennings) to be a perfect time to enlighten our readers on an issue near and dear to their hearts.

    We reached out to all 5 candidates on the ballot, and Jesse Calhoun (R) Alex Poretti (L) and Kathy Sheehan (D) all got back to us with their thoughts, see below. Corey Ellis (D), declined to give a statement. Despite efforts to contact him, James Sullivan (C) did not get back to us with his take on this pressing issue.

    Jesse Calhoun, Republican Candidate for Mayor

    As both a musician and a candidate for mayor, this issue hits very close to home for me. It’s hard enough just being in a band. It took over a decade, to put together my band, The Ameros. It is hard to describe the feeling when you get the band that is a “perfect fit” but you know it when it happens. Due to the ever increasing legal restrictions on freedom and the oppressive bureaucracy here in Albany, two of my band mates are leaving the state. In addition, many of the venues we used to play have either picked up shop, or have been forced out of the area. The only thing that stands between Albany and a thriving nightlife is Bureaucracy. There are five local colleges. You guys reported in 2012 Albany had 154 musical acts per every 10,000 people. Let awesome places exist. Let the natural, young, musical environment that Albany is, thrive.

    Alex Portelli, Libertarian Candidate for Mayor

    I ran for mayor back in October because I grew up in this city and have seen what they’ve done to the nightlife. The libertarian philosophy is about live and let live, and families I grew up with made a living off of the bars and clubs. I want to abolish residential and commercial Zoning laws, throw out many permits that are hindering growth, and even abolish last call in a section of the city, essentially making a nightlife district. Though the “kegs and eggs” riot is most well known as causing a crackdown on the city nightlife, the city started the crackdown on the nightlife in around 2007 when a couple of women who had left a bar crashed their car going in the opposite direction on the thruway. After that happened, the city began to shut down a number of bars, sort of causing a ripple effect on the nightlife. A lot of young people turned to underground house parties, and the neighborhood known as the “student ghetto” became such an underground nightlife scene, drunken parties ended up rioting one St. Paddys day. But if the bars were never getting shut down and people had a place to go, there would be none of these problems.

    Kathy Sheehan, Democratic Candidate for Mayor

    “It would be premature for me to comment on a specific project, but I am an active board member of a large arts organization and a strong supporter of the arts. As Mayor, I will move quickly to create and implement a cohesive arts strategy. We must ensure that we have venues in our city that meet the needs of our diverse population. By engaging all of the stakeholders in our unique neighborhoods, I’m confident we can build vibrant entertainment districts that will improve quality of life and provide economic benefits to our City.”

  • Grass in the Adirondacks is Blue: Oak Mountain Bluegrass and Arts Festival, August 17th

    The foothills of the Adirondacks are a perfect location for camping, hiking, kayaking and fishing, especially in these dog days of summer as the sun sets a little earlier each day. Oak Mountain in Speculator has been an all-seasons destination for years, but in the summer they have begun to attract a crowd for an annual event, Oak Mountain Bluegrass and Arts Festival. Smaller than Snow Ridge (moe.down) and Hunter (Mountain Jam), Oak Mountain has gentle sloping hills that lead to a comfortable base where music fans can set up tents, canopies and chairs and bask in the warm sunny Northern New York days and feel the chill come down the mountain once the sun sets.

    oak mountain bluegrassWith locally made arts and photography of the Adirondacks for sale, the crowd was very relaxed on this warm day, some hooping, others chatting with friends but all focused on the music and tapping their feet to the five bluegrass bands from Upstate New York that graced the stage. Birdseed Bandits got things kicked off with Lumineers-style bluegrass, paced and inviting, including “Wagon Wheel”, a popular cover by Old Crow Medicine Show. Pocket Change played tunes from Steve Miller Band, Justin Earle Townes, The Grateful Dead, Marshall Tucker Band and Neil Young, as well as original spread out in between these wonderful renditions of classic songs. Blind Owl Band performed more frenetic bluegrass tunes, notably “Missing my Home”, eliciting cheers with a shoutout to Eastbound Jesus. A gorgeous cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You” had Christian Cardiello swap his upright bass for electric one, while the strings of Eric Munley, James Ford and Arthur Buezo were in sync in a Greensky Bluegrass type of connectedness. Their high intensity and fast paced play for the full set is proof that Upstate NY bluegrass is its own subgenre.

    Two bands from the Utica area, The Rusty Doves and Remsen Social Club, closed out the night as the sun began to set, giving way to pink and purple hues in the sky. The Rusty Doves started off with a cover of Patsy Cline’s “After Midnight”, an intense “Rock of Ages” and a beautiful “Pretty Fair Maid”, by Tim O’Brien. Remsen Social Club polished off a splendid day with the campfire crackling nearby, playing “Over You Darling”, “Mountain Top Love Song” and “Gorge Road Blues”. Campers enjoyed the brisk Adirondack night and locals ventured back to town once night fell, setting up a perfect night in that area between the Mohawk Valley and the North Country, a perfect place for a music festival in August.

  • Phish Saves the Best for the Last Night at SPAC

    After two days of Phish at SPAC, the energy that had built up between band and crowd was brought to a froth, thanks to Friday night’s Second Set (“Energy>Light->Mango>46 Days->Steam>Drowned>Slave”) and Saturday’s improv heavy “Split Open and Melt”, plus the magic of “Tweezer>Sand>Carini”. The froth spilled over Sunday with a start to finish highlight of the tour, as the band broke out the rockers in Set 1 and the Jam vehicles in Set 2, capping off a three night run in a way to rival last year’s tour closer at SPAC.

    phish best SPACFans filled the lots on either side of Route 50, brought Shakedown Street to life once again and mingled with friends under looming gray skies. Whether fans came in from Lee’s Campground, drove in from area hotels or walked across the Route 50 bridge, the excitement was electric and rain be damned, made their way into the venue. There is no weather condition that Phish fans can’t deal with in their journey to see Phish – rain, fog, snow, sleet, high winds, Sharknado, mud or Oswego 99-esque humidity – coping with a light rain was old hat for even the newest fan. Once inside, fans made their way to the lawn, and the lucky ones to the balcony and pavilion. Whether you were on the lawn or inside, you were getting wet – on the lawn from a consistent but light shower, or for those inside, from the sweat, smoke and humidity that had built up over three days.

    With one of the most energetic openers in their repertoire, Phish kicked off the night shortly after 8pm with”AC/DC Bag”, followed by “Back on the Train”, both of which had Trey noodling to steady the rocker, pumping up the crowd in the process and getting the show off on the right foot. A well placed “Divided Sky” was given the standard treatment and then some, showcasing one of the band’s early compositions. “Free” developed from the end of “Divided Sky”, with “It’s Ice” and “Mound” following close behind. “Maze” was Page-heavy in the best way possible, tearing up the keys and organ to build the song up and up. “Limb by Limb” paired with “Walls of the Cave” to close the set, the latter building fans up during “Listen to the silent trees” and Trey leading the way with all three on par with the Bad Lieutenant. The first set in the books, fans took refuge under the trees or stayed in the pavilion and balcony to rest up for what was sure to be a hot set.

    Second set opened with a typically spirited version of “Down With Disease”, drifting into Type II jams that led to even deeper exploration as the song built to the 14 minute mark. From there, the song seemed to dip into dark territory, a la “Sand”, but having played it the night before, we were treated to a fantastic segue from ‘Down With Disease” into “Ghost”. The first “Ghost” of the summer had some playful Frampton-esque sounds from Trey in between stanzas, then fell into a clavinet jam from Page, combining with Trey’s riffing and led towards a playful discourse between the two. “Piper” was shredded by the band from the start: they simply rocked out without reserve, carrying the tune for seven minutes before a final two minutes allowed experimentation take over and found time to give “Piper” a soft sendoff, drifting into “Wading in the Velvet Sea”. This is truly a ‘love it or hate it song’, but many at this point appreciated the placement for a slight break to prepare for the second half of the set that was yet to come. Sometimes, you need a breather at Phish shows and this one was of those times.

    If one song keeps getting better and better in the 3.0 era of Phish, it’s “Run Like an Antelope”. The dancing frenzy created from each version is due in part to Trey’s focus on the progression of the song; he has great focus on this tune, more so than any other, shunning his musical ADD for a bit to keep the song moving towards a finish line of undetermined origin. Building out of the lyrics that were substituted at the end of “Antelope”, (“Run like a Meatstick out of control“) the natural next song selection was “The Meatstick”, leading to the Meatstick dance from fans who were still catching their breath from “DWD>Ghost>Piper” and “Antelope”. To cap off the set, fans were rewarded with a 20-minute “You Enjoy Myself”, that while good, had Trey’s guitar talking over a conversation between Mike, Page and Jon. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it lacked the flow of the post ‘Wash Uffizi’ jam that is a staple of YEMs. The vocal jam that arose for the final three minutes was humorous and captivating.

    For an encore, “First Tube” felt like the natural choice, keeping the energy cranked up to 11 and preparing to get SPAC ready to liftoff. “Loving Cup” was a fine replacement and accepted without complaint, an entire crowd of 20,000 singing in unison “Oh, What a Beautiful Buzz!” Walking out, the night air was warm and light as fans made their way back to tents, beds, homes, cars and RVs, all in need of rest after three incredible days of Phish, and with all the potential of Summer Tour laying ahead of them.

    Set 1: AC/DC Bag > Back on the Train > Divided Sky, Free > It’s Ice > Mound, Maze, Limb By Limb, Walls of the Cave

    Set 2: Down with Disease 1 > Ghost 2 > Piper 3 > Wading in the Velvet Sea > Run Like an Antelope 4 > Meatstick 5 > You Enjoy Myself

    Encore: Loving Cup

    1 Unfinished.
    2 Guy Forget quote from Fish.
    3 DEG tease from Trey.
    4 Lyrics changed to reference Meatstick.
    5 Japanese lyrics.

  • Good Fortune From Phish with Ventura Box Set

    The late 90s were Phish’s greatest years, and fittingly, yet another Live Phish release from the era has been released. Ventura, a six-disk set covering the July 30th 1997 and July 20th 1998 shows at Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, California, captures the sound of the era – the cowfunk of the 1997 and 1998 tours. With two prime shows chosen, the Ventura release is one of the best from Phish, on par with Phish at the Roxy and Colorado ’88.

    Before getting to the music, it is worth noting that the packaging and art, designed by LandLand, represents vivid beach scenes on the box cover and unique designs on each of the six disks. LandLand goes for a relaxed, inviting scene on each, comparable to their equally impressive Alpine Valley and Commerce City prints in 2012, making for a great official design to the set.

    Both shows are remastered by Fred Kevorkian, the guru who has brought new sounds to multiple releases recently, and begins with the 1997 installment where “NICU” wakes the crowd before a wonderful “Wolfman’s Brother” takes charge before segueing into a “Chalkdust Torture” that is given nearly as much space to breathe into its jam. “Stash”, like so many other shows before, is a mid-set highlight which clocks in at over 15 minutes. With so much excellence in the first half of the set, the rest of the set winds down with “Weigh” > an elusive five minute “Piper” then “Cars Trucks Buses” before “Character Zero” is found in its natural place to close the set.

    Set two dips in with “Punch You in the Eye”, always a nod to a heater of a set on the horizon. While “Free” is 11 minutes long, this version gives off a ‘less is more’ vibe, but still rolls the set along. Then, we are treated to one of the true highlights of Phish in their early prime, a tasty jam sandwich of “David Bowie” > “Cities” > “David Bowie”. This is the thing Phish dreams are made of: 21 minutes of “Bowie”, a perfect and smooth segue into “Cities” then a re-entry into “Bowie”, creating one of the many highlights of the summer, and an intriguing listen at that. With much of the heat of the set contained on Disk Two, a cover sandwich later in the set includes Bill Monroe’s “Uncle Pen” and “Prince Caspian” > Hendrix’s “Fire”, rounding out a tremendous set, capped off by an encore of Clifton Chenier’s “My Soul.” The bonus – a “Makisupa Policeman”-ish soundcheck jam is the final track, giving a taste of the warm ups from the period that propelled these jams to light.

    The 1998 show opens with an adventurous “Bathtub Gin” that clocks in at over 20 minutes, a rare start to a show these days, but from the late 90s, anything like this was possible. Much of the rest of the first set: “Dirt”, “My Sweet One”, “Water in the Sky” and others are standard versions, serving as a balance to “Gin.” The set enders, an early and proper “The Moma Dance” and a rockin’ “Split Open and Melt”, are a one-two punch, ending a set that is meaty on both ends.

    Set two features two Phish songs in between two songs from The Who’s Quadrophenia, with “Drowned” > “Makisupa Policeman” > “Maze”,  a delightful journey through varying improvisations, ending with the soft piano solo of Page McConnell on “Sea and Sand.” “Prince Caspian” > “Harry Hood” is yet another fine example of the extensive exploration that the band undertook on the stage, taking risks and developing jams organically into things of beauty. Just six songs in this set shows how improvisation of the era could translate into an incredible musical experience. The encore of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” was part of a summer of unique covers at each show, then a “Halley’s Comet” with a little extra mustard from the good ol’ days of Phish. Once again, a snippet of the soundcheck jam from the show was again “Makisupa”/reggae-ish, with Shocking Blue’s “Venus” serving as hilarious banter amid the jam.

    Ventura is available now for purchase at Phish Dry Goods. Pick it up and enjoy some of the best of the late 90’s while you rock out on tour this summer.

  • Summer Nights in Saratoga: Assembly of Dust at Putnam Den, June 22nd

    Saratoga Springs has so much music in the summer, particularly at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, it can be easy to overlook the local music that is found throughout the town nearly every night of the week. Whether you are looking for music to follow dinner, a free show in the park or a stand alone night of live music, there’s something for everyone in Saratoga. A fine example of Saratoga in the summer took place this past Saturday at Putnam Den with Assembly of Dust and opener Capital Zen.

    After a warmup from Capital Zen, the crowd filtered outside for some fresh air, then back inside once Assembly of Dust made their way to the stage shortly after 11 pm. Opening up with “Sometimes”, the Strangefolk original had a twist with a little jazz fusion added in from Adam Terrell, followed by a lengthy “Tavern Walker”, a nod to the band’s street team. Twenty minutes later, we had only heard two songs, a fantastic glimpse at a band who was relaxed and patient with their songs. “Arc of the Sun”, a track off Some Assembly Required and featuring Mike Gordon on the studio version, gave a mellow contrast to the previous songs, but “Samuel Aging” was where the band jumped right back into the thick of things, diving into the tune and finding plenty of space to stretch the song out.

    “Elixir” featured Jason Crosby on the keys; Crosby, who has played with both Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, gave a jazzier taste to normally rocked out songs, yet still played the fiddle on “Corpus Christi” , a very multi-talented member of Assembly of Dust. “Filter”  capped off the set with the ‘Funky Chicken’ dancing crowd and now-sweating band singing in unison the “Doo-doo-do-do-do” refrain, literally melting in the moment. The set kept getting more rocking as each song unfolded and progressed. With a great flow to the songs, the jams were built from within each individual song, a true jamband set.

    Among all this great music, it should be noted that the band and well lit audience were a great accent to the evening. Wes Rizzo’s lights had a 1960s Flower Power vibe that shone down on the band and crowd equally, using the walls to illuminate all. Speaking with Reid Genauer during setbreak, he spoke of the Putnam Den as “Great, it’s an awesome energy. We were in a small little theater and it was pristine and sort of quiet, and very resident, last night. Tonight it’s back into the bar brawl scene, not brawl literally, but you know, the gritty bar – as much as I love the serenity and acoustics of a nice theater, I’m just at home in the context of a bar, I’m a happy camper. And the vibe is awesome out there.”. Clearly enjoying the night and digging the vibe the crowd was putting off, the band was relaxed and took a well earned break between sets.

    Second set opened with “Truck Farm” and “Bus Driver”, leading up to a resounding version of “Roads”, a classic tune that any live music fan can identify with. The line “I don’t know where I’m going but I’ll get there, yeah! Sometimes I’m wondering where will it be?” has broad appeal and led to the crowd singing/shouting along with the refrain. A special treat, thanks in part to bassist John Leccesse, was Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Woodstock”, a perfect tune for AOD and leading to another sing-a-long amid sustained dancing in the crowd.

    “Mud Spring Draw” featured Crosby’s fiddle once again, while “Poland” included a “down down diggy diggy” vocal jam, and whether it was organic or rehearsed did not matter – the crowd was into it, the band was meshing and drummer Andy Herrick held down the beat to keep the jam progressing – this was the highlight of the night, among many other worthy candidates. The encore began with “Things That Fly” with just Reid and Adam on guitar, gentle and stretched out perfectly. “Fountain” and “Harrower” followed, both jammed out just as nearly the entire night was, closing in a three-song encore at nearly 25 minutes. The crowd cheered for more while catching their breath – the night was a non-stop rocker from start to finish, a great way to kick off the summer in Saratoga.

    Assembly of Dust is also playing at Gathering of the Vibes in Seaside Park, CT, in late July. Before then, you can catch them at  The Friendly Gathering in Windham, Vermont, this coming weekend, June 28-29. Reid mentioned, regarding Assembly of Dust playing, “Our good friend and longtime manager Bob Kennedy is involved with that in some way shape or form. And I think its BYOB which is nice.” AOD and BYOB at a festival – a great combo.

    Set 1: Sometimes, Tavern Walker, Arc of the Sun, Samuel Aging, Elixir, Vaulted Sky, Corpus Christi, Second Song, Filter

    Set 2: Truck Farm, Bus Driver, Roads, Mama, Woodstock, Poland, Mud Spring Draw, Honeycreeper

    Encore: Things That Fly*, Fountain, Harrower

    *just Reid and Adam

    Assembly of Dust on Facebook, Twitter and on the web

  • Bassist Tony Markellis is Playing a Few Local Shows This Summer in Saratoga Springs

    If you live in Saratoga Springs, you live in the hometown of Tony Markellis, bassist for Trey Anastasio Band, a master of bass guitar and a regular at many local venues in Saratoga Springs on a regular basis. This summer, Tony has a number of shows planned with various local and regional musicians, at venues in Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Troy and Wells.

    bassist tony markellis
    Photo by Andy Hill

    Catch Tony at a couple of these shows this summer and soak in the bassist who Trey Anastasio calls “The Heart and Soul of our band,” of which Tony is a member of the original trio with Trey and Russ Lawton. Read our interview with Tony from 2011.

    You can catch bassist Tony Markellis this summer performing with the following bands in Saratoga Springs, or otherwise as noted.

    June

    Thursday 6/27 Markellis, Haskell and Maul at Druthers, 7-10 pm (an Eclectic acoustic power trio)

    Saturday 6/29 Billy Eli & Spook Lights at The Ale House, Troy, 9 pm

    July

    Thursday 7/4 Juke Joint Jokers at Gaffney’s, 8 pm -12 am (Electric blues)

    Friday 7/5 Markellis, Haskell and Maul, Mouzon House, 7 pm

    Saturday 7/6 Street Corner Holler at Gaffney’s, 9 pm – 1 am (Slide guitar blues trio)

    Thursday 7/11 Street Corner Holler at Druthers, 7 pm – 10 pm

    Friday 7/12 Bob Warren Trio at Mouzon House,  7 pm (Great original songs)

    Saturday 7/13 Bob Warren Trio at Oliva Vineyards, Fort Edward, 2 – 6 PM

    Saturday 7/13 Street Corner Holler at LakeHouse Grille, Wells, 8 pm

    Tuesday through Sunday 7/16 – 7/21 Markellis, Haskell, Maul at Saratoga County Fair, Noon to 5, daily

    Thursday 7/18 Markellis, Haskell, Maul at Druthers, 7 – 10 pm

    Friday 7/19 Bob Warren Trio at Mouzon House, 7 pm

    Saturday 7/20 Street Corner Holler at Mouzon House,  7 – 11 pm

    Friday 7/26 Markellis, Haskell, Maul at Mouzon House, 7 pm

    Wednesday 7/31 Markellis, Haskell, Maul at The Track, Noon – 4 pm,  with special guest Ted Hennessy

    August

    Thursday 8/1 Larry Clyman Duo at One Caroline, 8 pm

    Friday 8/2 Markellis, Haskell, Maul at Tang Museum, 7 pm

    Thursday 8/8 Larry Clyman Duo at One Caroline, 8 pm

    Friday 8/9 Jeanne O’Connor & the New Standard at Tang Museum,  7 pm (Favorites from the ‘60s and ‘70s)

    Saturday 8/10 Bob Warren Band at LakeHouse Grille, Wells, 8 pm

    Friday 8/16 Burns Sisters at Spencer Picnic Festival, Spencer, 8 pm (Americana)

    Saturday 8/17 Burns Sisters at Taughannock Park, Ithaca 6 – 9 pm

    Thursday 8/22 Markellis, Haskell, Maul at Druthers, 7 pm

    Friday 8/23 Bob Warren Trio at Mouzon House,  7 pm

    Sunday 8/25 Doornails at Lyons Lake 4 – 7 pm (Bluegrass & roots rock)

    Wednesday 8/28 Street Corner Holler at Gaffney’s, 9 pm – 1 am (Slide guitar blues trio)

    Thursday 8/29 Larry Clyman Duo at One Caroline, 8 pm

    Friday 8/30 Bob Warren Trio at Mouzon House,  7 pm

    Sat-Sun 8/31-9/1 Bob Warren, Final Stretch Festival, 7 – 11 pm

  • Classic Ominous Seapods Shows Resurface on Archive.org

    In the past few months, a group on Facebook of Ominous Seapods Fans have had the benefit of having first listen to OS shows that were, for the first time since the original performance, transferred and uploaded to Archive.org. Thanks to Rich Lemire, Taper Wayne and a lot of patience, these recordings are now free for fans of the Seapods to download or stream at their leisure.

    To get an idea of what went into this task – unearthing and uploading shows from 15-20 years ago, Publisher Pete Mason talked with Rich Lemire about the process, the history and technology behind these classic recordings of The Ominous Seapods.

    ominous seapods

    Pete Mason: Take me back – you were clearly an early Seapods fan. What were the early shows like, especially as the fan base began to grow around the state?

    Rich Lemire: The shows were always a lot of fun! From the very first time I met the guys, you could just tell that they were a lot of fun to hang with and while they were serious about their music, they were just as serious about having some fun! You could tell that they were having a great time playing together and finding their sound as a band.

    The first year or two I saw them, I only caught them in Albany and Plattsburgh, so I couldn’t really comment on any other shows they were playing elsewhere. But they were either a bit on the intimate side like they were in Albany, when they were establishing themselves after they moved here, to totally rowdy affairs when they would return to Plattsburgh, their original stomping grounds in college.

    PM: How many shows would you estimate you saw? How many would you estimate you taped?

    RL: While the band was together and a touring unit, I would estimate I saw roughly 300 shows, most of them during the four year period I was working with them. I’d say roughly seventy-five percent of those shows I saw were taped.

    PM: The tapes – currently, they are mostly from 1992 and a few from the later 1990s. Why did they only come to light now?

    RL: Most of the Seapods shows I recorded and want to archive digitally are from late 1991 when I first saw the band, through the summer of 1997, with some random shows from 1998-2001 thrown in. It’s just time for them to be digitized and shared, you know? They’ve been sitting in tape racks the entire time, some I haven’t listened to in almost 20 years. Their conversion only came to light recently after a couple of conversations I had with their former sound engineer Marty, and TaperWayne who was Conehead Buddha’s archivist while they were together during the ‘90s and early ‘00s. Marty and I had a conversation during the setbreak of a Phish show at Madison Square Garden a little while back, about the band being on indefinite hiatus now that Dana is in Australia, and that it would be really great to preserve the recorded legacy of the band.

    I had given thought to doing it for a quite a while beforehand, but it always came down having the time to deal with it. To create the digital files, it’s a real time process to play the audio cassettes and create the tracks digitally. And that’s where TaperWayne comes in!

    I need to say that Wayne’s effort has really been the key to this project, and I’m thankful he is into the project as much as he is!! He’s totally psyched to help get the shows converted and added to the Live Music Archive, just to get them out there for people to hear. We’re old friends and he’s out in Wisconsin these days, so it’s just great to just keep in regular touch while working on it. We eventually want to convert and upload more shows down the road, from other bands I was seeing and recording, like Moon Boot Lover, God Street Wine, Shockra and a bunch of others in my archives from the ‘90s. It just made the most sense to start with the Ominous Seapods archives.

    PM: How were these shows recorded, taped and transferred?

    RL: The shows were recorded mostly by just taking a feed directly from the soundboard right to the tape deck. Some of the earlier shows I taped were audience recording and some of the very early stuff I posted from the archives was passed on to me by Eric Buecken, the band’s manager at the time, when he was stepping away from handling the band’s affairs.

    The majority of the Ominous Seapods shows that I recorded were on Sony D5 or D6 cassette decks, some were recorded on a home cassette deck in instances where I was dealing with repairs on mine or another taper friend was borrowing it to run multiple decks at Grateful Dead or Phish shows they were hitting. Towards the end of recording them and for the most part taping regularly, I started dabbling in some DAT recording, either using either a Sony D3 or Sony D7.

    All of my recordings that have been posted so far have been transferred by Wayne, using a deck he has that is specifically used for archiving purposes. From the cassette playback, he extracts the audio files from the cassettes and creates the digital files in .WAV format in a program called Audacity. From there, he does some clean up or normalization to the files as needed and converts them to FLAC files in a program called CDWave. FLAC is an acronym for Free Lossless Audio Codec. It’s a format much like an MP3 or WAV file, but it’s lossless, meaning that the audio is compressed without any loss in quality. From there, one of us uploads the FLAC files to the Live Music Archive or to etree if the band is not on the Archive.

    PM: Are there any shows that have stand out among the shows you are sharing, or any shows that you have specific memories from?

    RL: As you can probably imagine a lot of those nights 15-20 years ago are a total blur now, as some of them were a blur back then! Ha ha! We’re only two batches of tapes into the conversion project, so were really just getting started. So while I can’t say anything that we’ve done yet has really stood out for me personally, what has been cool with this project so far, at least to me, is to hear the progression that some of the older songs they played made as they continued to play them through the years, maturing as musicians and as a band. I am really looking forward to re-listening to some of the shows from 1994, which is when I felt the band really became the well-oiled machine they were. This was about a year after Ted joined the band. They had evolved into a really tight unit writing some great tunes and putting on some great rock shows! I hope people are really digging checking out these shows, as much as Wayne and I have been converting them. There’s much more to come!!

    Here are the first batch of Ominous Seapods shows that have been released on Archive.org. We’ll update this list as more shows are uploaded.

    Bogie’s, Albany, 11/15/91
    Bogie’s, Albany, 12/20/91
    Bogie’s, Albany, 10/30/92
    Aiko’s, Saratoga Springs, 1/4/92
    P.B. Finnan’s, Plattsburgh, 4/24/92
    Bogie’s, Albany, 5/2/92
    Bogie’s, Albany, 6/6/92
    P.B. Finnan’s, Plattsburgh, 10/17/92
    P.B. Finnan’s, Plattsburgh, 11/7/92
    Rhinecliff Hotel, Rhinecliff, 11/20/92
    Bogie’s, Albany, 3/11/94
    Bogie’s, Albany, 2/25/95
    Bellstock, 7/27/97

  • A Hot Saturday at Red Square with Timbre Coup and The Assortment of Crayons

    The Assortment of Crayons, based out of New Paltz, NY, is a relatively new band in the Upstate scene and one very much worth a listen. They have garnered quite an audience on Tuesday nights in New Paltz at Oasis Cafe and Snug Harbor, because SUNY doesn’t have classes on Wednesday (weird, I know). Albany was treated to an opening set from The Assortment, showcasing a wide range of music stylings and versatility in the live setting. “Courier” bled out of “Happenstance” and became a Phishy jam with excellent guitar work from Sean and Erik Hill, delving into a bluesy noodle-fest.

    “Trust a Stranger” was dedicated to semantics and had a jazzy vibe throughout. “Leroy’s Adventure” was intricate and composed progressive rock, rising and falling throughout the song. “Like a River” was introduced as we were advised to ‘Dance like a hoedown’, a perfect upbeat tune to cap off the opening set on. Taking with guitarist Sean Hill afterwards, he professed his love for the guitar work of none other than Jimmy Herring, who’s steadfast focus could be heard in “When You’re Gone”.

    the assortment of crayonsThe Assortment of Crayons is Sean Hill (guitar/vocals), Matthew Richards (keyboards/vocals) Jack Singer (bass/vocals), Erik Hill (guitar/vocals) and Eric Segerstrom (drums). You can check out more from The Assortment of Crayons on their website and on Facebook. Stay tuned for more coverage of this great band from .

    Setlist: Happenstance>Courier, To Trust a Stranger, Molly Gagging Lolly, Leroy’s Adventure, When You’re Gone, Like a River.

    As many times as I have seen Albany’s Timbre Coup, Saturday was one of their best shows. They kept the energy at a high point all night, barely letting up with their electronic jams and great flow. Timbre Coup does have a dark side to their jams but I was happy that they didn’t venture too deep into it this time. A great surprise was the debut of hearing “All Night Long”, originally by Lionel Richie, catching the crowd off guard and resulting in massive cheers. “Mother Nature’s Baby Daddy” brought an intense heavy rock mode to the venue with slamming guitar riffs.  I was stoked to hear “September”, a groovy rock techno melody from their latest album, Knuckles & Valleys. As a bonus, the night’s performance was recorded for an upcoming live album release. Fans can catch Timbre Coup performing this summer at Bellstock and The Big Up Festival.

    Set 1: Takes Awhile, Running Always, All Night Long*, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Verbal Kint> Jam> CTS, Mother Nature’s Baby Daddy

    Set 2: Gurfin> Jam>55, Z#, Roland Opus, Snoop Tiger, Chupacabra, September

    Encore: I Didn’t Know She had a Moustache

    *debut