The opening band, The Chronicles, are Albany natives and I arrived in time to catch the last four songs of their opening set. Their sound made me imagine Lettuce and The Roots, canoodling in a jazz bar, full and polished with energy to spare. I’ll be hoping to see them at a venue where the space is more dance friendly.
After a short intermission, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band took the stage. On tour promoting their newest album Twenty Dozen, they are not quite a dozen, but seven musicians. Original members Gregory Davis (trumpet/vocals), Roger Lewis (baritone sax), Kirk Joseph (sousaphone) and Kevin Harris (alto sax) were joined by three younger musicians, a trombonist, keyboardist and Terrence Higgins on drums. At 24 years old, Terrence may be younger than the band, but he holds the rhythm down.
Starting out with “Big Chief” and continuing on into “Burn Down the Levee” and “Oo-Poo-Pah-Doo” before returning to “Big Chief”, DDBB had me wishing Massry was better suited to let loose and dance. Through fiesty solos and a hot backbeat, most of the crowd remained seated, even after prompted by Davis to stand up. “Just for tonight, it’s Mardi Gras in this 20° weather” he instructed us. “You aren’t in Albany anymore.” He had us all clapping and singing along after demanding “When I call to you, you respond!” When the power failed in some mics, they powered through it, their sound saucy and resonating in the room. Davis kept us involved, shouting out over the crowd for us to sing a long.
During “Git Up”, again we were instructed to stand and dance, and this time it worked. Most of the audience complied and were clapping and dancing with the beat. Towards the end, Davis brought two audience members onstage to dance, which they did with enthusiasm, if nothing else.
Not to leave the crowd unsatisfied, DDBB stitched songs into a closing medley with “Big Mamou” followed by a favorite “When The Saints Go Marching In” reprised by “My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now.” Leaving the stage to a standing ovation and much fanfare, we were graced with one last song, a duet by Davis and Lewis. They perform a very sweet and sultry “Saint James Infirmary Blues” which was a beautiful end to a very intimate show.
Listen to “Jook” from their new album Twenty Dozen
Adam ‘Shmeeans’ Smirnoff has played with Lettuce since their inception nearly 20 years ago in Boston, and has since branched out with The Expanded Consciousness, which includes Craig “Butter” Glanville on drums, bassist Chris Loftlin and Blind Boys of Alabama keyboardist Pete Levin. In advance of the shows, Adam sat down for an interview, where we talked Lettuce, the Boston music scene and a solid amount about the Knicks and the NBA’s undervaluing of franchises.
Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff
Pete Mason: You started out at Berkelee, like alot of the Royal Family Musicians, as well as members of The Slip, among others. What is it about the school that makes it such a hotbed for musicians like yourself and a launching pad for innovative jazz and improv groups?
Adam “Schmeeans” Smirnoff: Obviously Boston in general is a young college town and so you have an influx of all these people from around the entire world who are interested in improving their craft, whatever their craft may be. In Boston with Berklee, The New England Conservatory, all these other schools you have a lot of people with a lot of similar interests and the idea of growth. For me personally, I felt like I was coming from a high school in New York where I didn’t have that many people to play with and I was searching for people who had similar ideas and had similar direction, and I think that’s what Berklee School of Music in Boston gives you.
PM: What was your first interaction with Eric Krasno and the other members of Lettuce? Can you recall your first gig with the band?
AS: I can, I can recall all those events. My first interaction with Krasno was when we were 13-14 years old at the National Guitar Summer Workshop. I didn’t know that many people and Kras would sit outside with his friends and bust everyone’s balls, just like he does today (of course I’m saying that with love.) My first gig with Lettuce, there are two ways of looking at it: one, the ‘Caf show’ during the five-week program when we were 16, that might be considered the first Lettuce show, but not really. The first real show was in 1994 at Tufts University at the Wilson House set up by Noah Smith, another Hastings High School alumni, who was going to Tufts at the time.
PM: The Expanded Consciousness is one of the relatively new Royal Family acts to head out on the road. What sets the sound apart for your group and what can fans expect?
AS: Obviously, this is a much smaller group, as a trio or quartet. I think this is a much more open project and we’re currently still trying to figure it out. It really hasn’t developed into what it can become, but come check it out and be part of the growing process. The sound is more jammy and more funky, leaning towards longer jams and more improvisation, trying to really find the spiritual element as we play together as a unit.
PM: You have since played with Lady Gaga and Robert Randolph. How did each of those gigs come about and how long did you play with each group?
AS: Robert Randolph and the Family Band was my longest tenure, six years, and that came about from Tobacco Road. Robert Randolph opened for Lettuce at The Wetlands, they jammed and Krasno reminded Robert that I was around and took me out on the road with him. He introduced me to the whole world of sacred steel and I’ve been able to play with some of the most incredible sacred steel players in the world Aubrey Ghent, Roosevelt Collier, Chuck Campbell, Robert Randolph and Calvin Cook. I don’t know if you can get any higher playing on the plateau that sacred steel is on, and it has permanently affected me in my life and I really enjoyed that experience.
Lady Gaga was through Jeff Basker, the original keyboard player of Lettuce who played on the Outta Here album, and who just recently won a Grammy for Song of the Year (as a producer) for ‘We are Young’ by Fun. I did Saturday Night Live with her and her first Monster Ball Tour. I truly enjoy musically, our world, the jam world, a lot more than I enjoy the pop world. It was a fun, short lived experience, I’m glad I got the opportunity to do it, although I’m not sure I would do the pop world again, but it was an amazing experience to play with Elton John at the Grammys.
PM: How good is it to be a Knicks fan lately?
AS: (Laughs) It’s been a fun year, we’re in the final stretch here and we gotta turn it up a notch, there’s a lot of great teams in the NBA right now. Win or lose, I’ll be the Knicks #1 fan. Look out Spike Lee, I’m coming for ya!
PM: Having played festivals and shows around Upstate NY, what are your favorite spots to hit off when traveling through the state, whether they be venues, towns, restaurants, etc…
AS: I’m a huge fan of Woodstock. I used to have a friend who lived out there for no reason other than living out there in the trees and woods. I love all the little organic stores out there, feeling that not everything is commercialized and there are mom and pop places, which I really enjoy. There is nothing worse for a musician than traveling and seeing the same thing, the same stores, chain stores in every city.
PM: It breaks up the monotony traveling in Upstate?
After what felt like eternity, Start Making Sense: A Talking Heads Tribute made their return to the Capital Region on Thursday, February 7th. The Bayou Café in Albany welcomed the musicians with open arms and fully packed the dance floor. Start Making Sense recreates the music of Talking Heads known for their funky and punk New Wave 80’s dance parties.
The night opened up with “Thank You for Sending Me An Angel”, lots of whoops and hollers as the drums start to rally the crowd. One of the many things I love about the Talking Heads music is the constant roller coaster volume of the lyrics. Start Making Sense is always a loud show, with every word being screamed at the top of everyone’s lungs such as “Pulled Up” and “Slippery People.” At one moment, you are yelling and stomping, giving way to your rebellious urges. The next you are gently grooving to “And She Was” and being swayed by “Air.”
Start Making Sense performs the vast music styling’s of the Talking Heads with skilled ease and pure appreciation. Lead man Jon Braun recreating David Byrne is spot on, including his clothes, crazy facial expressions and legendary vocals. Braun and the band have great flow with their dance moves, always a crowd pleaser. Before set break, Braun announced how “Thankful and happy the band was to be back in Upstate New York” and listed a few of their upcoming shows.
The crowd does its best to keep up with Start Making Sense’s nonstop fireball energy being hurled throughout the second set. It’s a treat to watch the musicians laughing to each other and having just as much fun as we are. I personally enjoyed the second set better because I knew more of the songs. “Nothing but Flowers” followed by “Cities” was the best way to resume the dance party. “Burning Down the House” was electrifying. The show ended with wild keyboard ranges from “Girlfriend Is Better” into a mellow yet enthusiastic “Crosseyed and Painless.” Start Making Sense will lightly tour around the east coast, making stops in Maine, Vermont and Delaware, before returning to their home state of Pennsylvania. As the lights came on and the band started to pack up, my friends and I already were planning our next show to see them.
Setlist:
Set 1: Thank You For Sending Me an Angel, Pulled Up, Slippery People, And She Was, Air, Uh Oh Love Comes to Town, Psycho Killer, Drugs, Born Under Punches, Animals, Found A Job, Mind, What A Day That Was, Naïve Melody
Set 2: Nothing But Flowers, Cities, Life During Wartime, Not In Love, Stay Hungry, Big Business/I Zimbra, Once In A Lifetime, Making Flippy Floppy, Burning Down the House, Girlfriend Is Better, Crosseyed and Painless
The first time I saw Big Gigantic, I was floored by the amount of energy exuding from the stage to the crowd. They have all the aspects of any amazing electronic show: the mind blowing light show, the high energy and the improv jams, but also the jazz stylings that you would only find in a classically trained saxophonist. Dominic Lalli (sax and production) and Jeremy Salken (drums) have pioneered their own genre of music fusing together electronic, bass-centered music with smooth jazz and acoustic drums. Their sound is truly one of a kind and they have made their presence well known in the electronic scene. I had the pleasure of chatting on the phone with Jeremy just days before their show in Clifton Park at Upstate Concert Hall.
Jenni Wilson: Alright, we’ll start off with a little history behind Big G. When and how did you two meet?
Jeremy Salken: We met through the Boulder, Colorado music scene. We both were playing in funk and jazz bands, any gig we could get and we kind of met through that and ended up moving in together. Dom found a computer and started making some beats and it all kind of progressed from there.
JW: Who would you say are some of your biggest influences?
JS: Everything. Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, all jazz music. Radiohead, a bunch of new stuff like Skrillex and Bassnectar. We get influences from everywhere. We are always looking to push ourselves. Dom’s always trying to push the way we make music and the angles its coming from.
JW: You have clearly forged your own path in the electronic music scene, but being that what you play is still so different from other acts, how would you go about defining your music to someone who has no connection to the electronic music scene?
JS: It’s really hard to explain, honestly. It’s one of those things were still kind of trying to figure out. Its really not jazz and electronic. We call it electronic dance music or live electronic music. We take so many different styles from drum and bass, hip hop, dubstep, sometimes moombahton.
JW: What exactly inspired you to blend live sax and live drums with electronic?
JS: Dom has been playing sax for a while he has his masters in jazz performance. I’ve been playing drums since I was a little kid, self-taught. Naturally we wanted to bring different instruments together and we wanted to find a way to fuse electronic beats. We wanted to be able to throw a party and keep everyone dancing but still get to play our instruments and improvise and build and drop.
JW: Your tour schedule looks jam packed. Is this busiest you guys have ever been?
JS: It’s pretty normal, we’ve stay relatively busy since we started so it feels very natural. We have more time coming up than we ever have. Things are kind of chillin out. We have a nine-week tour in the fall, so this five-week tour is a short one compared to that.
JW: The last time I saw you guys was main stage at Camp Bisco and I know you guys ended up playing some of the top U.S. festivals last year. What festivals do you think you’ll be leaning towards this summer?
JS: We’re on Summercamp and Snowball in March, but we played so many last year this year will be more mellow and we try not to repeat festivals. A lot of festivals don’t like to repeat. We’re working on our new album and doing a big tour in the fall. We’re also working on a Red Rocks gig. There are also a couple of other festivals that I can’t really announce yet.
JW: What is your favorite part about playing a festival, and how does that compare to playing a headlining tour?
JS: It’s definitely different. We love playing festivals because Dom and I have been going to festivals before we were in this band. We’re huge fans of the festival vibe. It’s awesome playing in front of so many people with a huge crowd and massive energy. But we also love getting indoors and containing all of that energy and playing with a more intimate crowd.
JW: You guys have put out an album almost every year since 2009, is there any new material planned for 2013?
JS: We’re working on an album for the fall now hopefully before our tour. And hopefully we’ll have that and ya know, that’s been kind of the main focus.
JW: Will your show at the Upstate Concert Hall be your first trip to the Albany area, aside from Camp Bisco? What can we expect from you guys at this show?
JS: No we’ve been to Albany a bunch, probably our third show. We played The Big Up Festival, and we’ve also played in Rochester. We played a sports bar (Jillian’s) about a year and a half ago in Albany. We try and hit that area (Buffalo, Rochester, Albany) because we love coming to the Northeast. It’s gonna be a party. I wouldn’t miss it if I were you guys. We have a new light rig that we dropped on New Years and we’re bringing that out. We’re playing a bunch of new music, Dom’s been working on some new stuff so it’s gonna be a non-stop party.
JW: Alright last question. There have been rumors floating around that you and Jennie Garth recently started dating. Is this true?
JS: True. I haven’t been asked that on an interview but I’ve been asked it more and more since Jam Cruise. Our story broke in the National Enquirer with a bunch of false information. It said I was 41, which I wouldn’t mind if it was true but it’s not. It was funny being in the National Enquirer because obviously they don’t have reputable news. They called every member of my family and Dom trying to get all of this information and obviously nobody gave them anything so they ended up making everything up. They said we met at Coachella and have been dating for a really long time. That isn’t true. We didn’t meet at Coachella, we met in October so it’s impossible. It’s pretty nuts what kind of information they’ll print. Even with no information they will print whatever they want.
You can catch Big Gigantic at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park on February 12th and at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester on February 17th.
Formula 5, one of the fastest up and coming acts in the Capital District are about to release their debut, self-titled album, and has your first listen to these tracks. If you don’t know about Formula 5, here’s a primer from an interview with the band last fall.
Trey Anastasio loves Albany – for evidence, take a look at his opening words to the sold out house at The Palace Theater in Albany on a frigid January 26, 2013. “Thank you guys, this is the … I just want to say how much it means to me whenever I come here … I have so many friends here tonight from this part of the country … Thank you so much. This is also the last show our tour, so lets celebrate … Thank you for sharing it with us.”
And with that, Trey led his band into the song that the original trio of Trey, drummer Russ Lawton and Saratoga Springs resident Tony Markellis wrote back in 1998, “First Tube”. A Grammy nominated rock instrumental that usually closes down these TAB shows, “First Tube” got the crowd moving early on. “Cayman Review” followed, now a classic first set staple for many years now that features Ray Paczkowski on clavinet to drive the funk into the song. With the crowd settling in, they were treated to “Alaska”, one of the handful of crossover songs that Phish and Trey Band both play.
Rather than drop this tune in the middle of set two, per usual on Phish tour, Trey brought it out early and let the song shine in its proper venue – with TAB and with horns. The placement wasn’t just great – the version of the song was impressive as well, with some extra licks from Trey while Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman and James Casey (Lettuce) continued to pepper the tune with just the right dose of horn. “TubeTopFlop” (ne, Wobble), surprisingly showed up net, as this is one of the earliest songs from TAB, debuting in 2001 on his first big band tour. Although it fell out of rotation, its appearance tonight elicited great cheers from the older TAB fans who followed the bob and rhythm of the horn-driven piece.
“Pigtail”, possibly the most poppy Trey song to date, and written by longtime writing partner and friend Tom Marshall, has become a staple of Trey shows in the past two years, its flirty lyrics and confusion-inducing refrain, “I’m conscious again, unconscious again, I’m conscious again, unconscious again”, is the kind of tune that sticks in your head, pleasantly, and accented by Trey’s guitar bursts at the end of each refrain. What was once a 20-minute song in 2001, “Last Tube”is now half that but compressed into an equally stellar song. This high energy, spastic tune with a dash of Caribbean Island music gets the band firing on all cylinders at once, blowing up the song before crashing it down with a big band finish that peters out. “Last Tube”, welcome back to TAB! The Bob Marley classic “Small Axe” followed, as did two new songs, “DarkandDown” and “Scabbard”, off the new album Traveler.
“Dark and Down” was more somber than anything else up until this point of the show, while “Scabbard”, a Zappa-esque single, captures the best of Trey’s songwriting skills and multi-instrumentalism of this band. “GreyhoundRising” provided the other piece of somber bread for this relatively new music sandwich. “Shine”, Trey’s breakout single from 2005 has proven to grow as a crowd favorite and continues to take shape in the regular rotation. Set closer “Money, LoveandChange” was another oldie and goodie that can still find the nasty notes to cap off a set.
During setbreak, it was easy to observe that the crowd for a Trey Anastasio Band show is different that a Phish crowd. At SPAC in the summer, the crowd is typically 80/20 guys/gals, but at TAB it is closer 60/40, plus some older fans who come out in larger numbers to the Palace. The band attracts more couples to shows, either as a segue to seeing Phish, or replacement value for Phish shows not seen/enjoyed as a couple. The ornate building’s interior continually looks sparkling and new (The Palace is nearly twice as big as the past week’s show at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse) and the broad interior walls gave the light show room to make an incredible visual spectacle throughout the show as the lights danced all over.
Set two began with the Afrobeaty “Curlews Call”, building the band’s sound up, particularly with the percussion supplied by returning TAB member Cyro Baptista, whose inventive percussion instruments (gong and flippers, anyone?) make him not just a band member to watch, but one to listen for on show recordings. “GottaJibboo” isnever a disappointment and having horns once again adds an extra layer to the upbeat tune. A standard “AliveAgain” came next, then a trio of songs from Traveler: “LandofNod” is incredibly horn driven, especially Natalie Cressman’s trombone, while “Valentine” was played much like the album version, although that’s hardly a bad thing. The reworking of “Valentine” for Traveler includes more vocals from Cressman and Hartswick, and although when performed live, the song could have been stretched out a bit by Big Red, the true highlight in this song is the visual interpretation that one can gather from the lyrics:
“Jagged beams of light, explode and dance in the darkness around me. And I can reach out and touch the beams and the light turns sold and wraps around my wrist. One makes a loop, a thousand more follow, a thousand more follow till my arms are surrounded by a conical web of light. My arms in the eyes of a web of light, a tornado of light beams and I feel the pull and start to rise, and every beam is there to guide.”
Speaking of great lyrics, “Architect”, while a bit mellower, still carried the themes from “Valentine” that are marks of Trey’s life from 2006-2008. Fan favorite, “Sand”, recently destroyed by Phish the past few years at 18 minute clips, is a staple from the original trio. But with horns, again, it’s just sublime. Although Phish fans are getting spoiled with these extended versions on Phish tour, the reserved Sand on TAB tour not only suffices, it gives a new spin to a classic. The strong anthem of “Tuesday” stepped in, where the vocals of Hartswick and Cressman continued to dominate, but not overpower the song. Then there’s “Clint Eastwood”, the Gorillaz original that debuted as a cover last year at The Palace. Jennifer Hartswick’s powerful vocals are not to be missed – you’ll still be amazed that she did the lyrics for the album version in just one take.
With the show winding down, “Traveler” appeared, and while it started out slow, grew into one of the more impressive tunes of the night, generating swaying motions from the crowd amid the lyrics “Maybe if you stand still, you are traveling too, making it easy for someone to choose you”. Trey took a moment to introduce the band as the song’s chorus was repeated, then delved into “Push on Til the Day”, one of the most popular and well known TAB tunes, where it is always fun to watch Trey spin around with his guitar leading up to the triumphant big band ending. An encore of The Five Steps’ “O-o-h Child” was very apropos for the evening for this reviewer and capped off a whirlwind tour for Trey Anastasio Band.
Even though he didn’t play some tunes that have been staples of his shows – “Drifting”, “Sultans of Swing”, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, “At the Gazebo”, “The Way I Feel”, or “Burlap Sack and Pumps”, – it became clearer during this short tour that Trey’s catalog for TAB has grown so much that you can start to expect the unexpected and never get the same show twice. Trey has grown as a band leader with TAB and expanded his catalog with both bands. It is impressive enough to see him with Phish, but with TAB, it’s a completely different experience, and one that is continually changing and improving.
Set 1: First Tube, Cayman Review, Alaska, Tube Top Flop, Pigtail, Last Tube, Small Axe, Dark And Down, Scabbard, Greyhound Rising, Shine, Money Love And Change Set 2: Curlew’s Call, Gotta Jibboo, Alive Again, Land Of Nod, Valentine, Architect, Sand, Tuesday, Clint Eastwood, Traveler, Push On Til The Day Encore: Ooh Child
Last Saturday was a big music night in Albany: many downtown venues offered a genre of music complimentary to the sold out Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) show at The Palace Theatre. Hot Day at the Zoo and The Blind Owl Band were scheduled for a foot stomping, hoedown of a good time. Bluegrass at the Bayou stood on it’s own as if it were competing with TAB. Each of these bands performing at The Bayou Café have a dedicated following which filled the venue.
The hungry-for-more music aficionados left the Trey show and filed into the already bursting-at-the-seams café where Hot Day at the Zoo kicked off sometime around midnight. The deluge of music fans brought with them the carnival like atmosphere where they would boogie with their drunken hearts, ready for more. While Hot Day at the Zoo is focused on traditional bluegrass, there are subtle change ups relatable in the progression of this genre.
Throughout the set, each musician gave the others fair opportunity to take a solo, and yet, partake in a conversation through instrumentation. Musically, the roots string band captured an underlying jazz progression. Vocal harmonization with genuine lyrics could tug on the heartstrings. Hot Day often add agreeable little nuances for a finishing touch to their showcased songs. Those newly introduced to Hot Day were pleasantly surprised to hear “Ripple,” a widely known Grateful Dead tune.
Opening for Hot Day at the Zoo was The Blind Owl Band. The four piece outfit is new to the scene, but not new to eclectic sounds, traditional instrumentation and influences of some more obscure bands in the business. Geographically in the music world, location can often define a band. Hailing from Saranac Lake, these bearded boys have characterized their sound as if they stood on top of their mountain reaching out their beat up instruments grabbing various concepts of music, holding it captive ultimately for a presentation unique to the scene. On stage, they knocked the nit and grit right out of their strings. Added vocal harmonies invite us to the darker realm, where we were lead through a journey of traditional roots, dirty jams and down right scary turns along the way. Be brave and bold, these North Country boys can lighten it up a bit with Irish pub tunes as well.
Surely, those meandering out on the street missed two great acts. The energy inside was so alive you could reach out and hold on. As was the rest of South Pearl Street, which was rather magical as if some music fairy sprinkled her dust and said, “enjoy.”
Upstate New York music legend and producer Tony Markellis has played with the likes of David Bromberg, Jo Henley, Paul Butterfield, The Mamas & the Papas, been a member of The Unknown Blues Band and is the current bassist for Trey Anastasio Band.
With a career spanning from his origins in Helena, Montana to his current home in Saratoga Springs, NY, Markellis has spent the past forty-plus years playing a wide variety of music, including jazz, folk, rock, country and blues music, including appearances on nearly 100 albums in his storied career. Tony was kind enough to sit down for an interview after meeting at the Soule Monde show at Putnam Den on May 12, 2011 and discuss his bass playing and local musical impact.
Pete Mason: What is it like being one of the most famous local music celebrities in the Saratoga area? How has your status as a musician evolved over the years living in the region?
Tony Markellis: I really don’t think about it much. I live a pretty private life, and for the most part, I come and go without much notice when I’m not in a professional setting. I don’t think most of my neighbors know what I do for a living, and I tend to prefer it that way.
PM: What is it like playing with guys like Russ Lawton and Jo Henley?
TM: Playing with Russ is a real pleasure. We’ve known each other for over thirty years, and I’ve been a big fan of his playing since I first heard him playing with Zzebra (a Vermont based Afro-fusion band led by Nigerian musician Lofty Amao, formerly of Osibisa). My band, Kilimanjaro, was losing drummers just about every five years. Every time that happened, I would recommend Russ as a replacement, but the timing was never quite right– even back then he was in high demand! When Trey called me up to start what became TAB, I couldn’t think of a better drummer for the project than Russ. My one and only regret about Russ is that he’s a strict vegan, and I’m definitely not. Wherever we go, I’m always in search of the local equivalent of a goat roasting on a spit, or just about any cuisine that involves a combination of immigrants, meat and fire. As you can imagine, we don’t get to share many dining adventures.
I’m glad you know about Jo Henley. I got introduced to them about five years ago when they were recording their CD Sad Songs and Alcohol in Schenectady, NY. They happened to be between bass players at the time. The engineer mentioned that I lived in the area, and the guys knew me from my work with TAB. It worked out well, and I even played out with them for a while. I went on to do their next CD, Inside Out, as well (which also included Russ Lawton and Ray Paczkowski from TAB). Jo Henley has just released a very autobiographical new CD called Mohawk, which is a great representation of how the current working band sounds with their new bass player and drummer.
PM: You play a wide variety of music. Where does this interest and ability come from and do you have a style that you prefer to play above all others?
TM: I’ve always had varied interests– not just in music, but in everything. Life’s just too short to think that only one type of anything is good. As a college kid in Ann Arbor, I got to start playing with some living legends like blues singer Johnny Shines and singer/songwriters like Paul Siebel and Rosalie Sorrels. After that, I worked for years with people like David Amram, David Bromberg, Kilimanjaro, the Mamas & Papas and Paul Butterfield, just to mention a few. I also got some great opportunities to play once in a while with people like Professor Longhair, Martin, Bogan & Armstrong, Ellen McIlwaine and Nick Brignola. I have played almost every form of American music in one context or another, and I hope I can continue to do that for a long time to come. I have to agree with Duke Ellington that there are only two kinds of music– good and bad.
PM: Can you talk about the group of talented musicians in the Saratoga area?
TM: There are so many great musicians in the Albany/Saratoga area who I am fortunate to have worked with at one time or another. I have a couple of great singer/songwriter friends, Michael Jerling and Bob Warren, who I have been playing and recording with for about thirty years. I’ve played Mexican and cowboy music with Don & Victoria Armstrong on and off for the same period of time. They have migrated back and forth between Saratoga and the Southwest for as long as I’ve known them. For the past ten years or so, I have worked with a great roots/blues trio called No Outlet (with Kevin Maul on slide guitar and vocals and Dale Haskell on drums and vocals). For about the same amount of time, Kevin and I have been traveling and recording with the Burns Sisters, a wonderful three-sister country/Americana act out of Ithaca, NY. I worked with the Sarah Pedinotti Band (now Railbird) for a couple of years, and for the past couple of years have been playing in an intense roots/blues trio called Street Corner Holler with Dale Haskell and slide guitarist Mark Tolstrup. For a few years, I had the pleasure of playing with Albany songwriter Rosanne Raneri, who just might be the best singer I’ve ever heard.
PM: What kind of bass do you play?
Tony Markellis, The Palace Theatre, Albany, NY February 19, 2011
TM: I have a number of basses that I use, depending on what the gig demands. I have two almost identical P-J basses (combining features of the classic Fender Precision and Jazz basses), one fretted and one fretless, that I assembled myself out of parts from various makers. The fretted one is the one I generally use when I play with TAB. I have a fretless Taylor AB-1 acoustic/electric bass guitar that I use on a lot of singer/songwriter, jazz and bluegrass gigs. I have an Eminence Portable Upright that I use on some blues and jazz gigs. And I have a couple of headless Hohner basses that sound great and are wonderfully easy to transport– I can carry them on a plane and put them in the overhead rack.
PM: How did you get into playing the bass?
TM: I began playing upright bass in the third grade in my grade school orchestra in Helena, Montana. The music teacher gave us a choice of which instrument we wanted to play, and for some reason, the bass spoke to me.
PM: Any bass influences or favorite musicians amongst your peers?
TM: From early on, I was a great admirer of Paul McCartney’s playing. Unlike most of the players who I consider influences, he was always more of a ‘guitar player playing bass’ than a bassist, but the playful fluidity of his playing was always very appealing; his playing with the Beatles is consistently brilliant. As a teenager and as a college kid, I listened to guys like Jack Bruce, Jack Cassady, Freebo, Rick Danko, Bruce Palmer and Phil Lesh, but it didn’t take me long to discover the masters– giants like Oscar Pettiford, Jimmy Blanton, Ray Brown, Willie Dixon, James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey, Duck Dunn, Jerry Jemmott, Phil Upchurch, Scott LaFaro, Eddie Gomez, Family Man Barrett and George Porter. If anyone reading this doesn’t recognize some of those names, I hope they will do themselves a big favor and go look them up. Of my contemporaries, I think very highly of Lincoln Goines, Huey McDonald, Mark Rubin, Sarah Brown, Conrad Lozano, Lee Allen Zeno, Oteil Burbridge, Victor Wooten, and of course, the late Jaco Pastorius.
PM: How did you develop your method of playing bass, seated with the bass so vertical? Is it a comfort thing?
TM: I have sustained a number of injuries over the years, the cumulative effects of which have made standing up with a bass around my neck really difficult. I was an avid and overly daring skier as a teenager, and I broke my back and one of my knees. Those injuries didn’t bother me for a long time, but they’ve both kind of snuck back up on me over the years. I also broke my collarbone as a baby. It apparently didn’t set right, and after some fifteen years of hanging heavier-than-average basses over my shoulder, I started getting pinched nerves and numbness in my left arm. About ten years ago I dislocated both ends of my left collarbone in a badly-planned home logging mishap. To top it all off, last year I was on an extremely turbulent flight on the edge of a tornado system, resulting in a case of whiplash that I’m still trying to get straightened out. With all that, a seat and a bass stand makes it a lot easier for me to do what I do.
PM: How did you develop your method of playing bass, seated with the bass so vertical? Is it a comfort thing?
TM: I have sustained a number of injuries over the years, the cumulative effects of which have made standing up with a bass around my neck really difficult. I was an avid and overly daring skier as a teenager, and I broke my back and one of my knees. Those injuries didn’t bother me for a long time, but they’ve both kind of snuck back up on me over the years. I also broke my collarbone as a baby. It apparently didn’t set right, and after some fifteen years of hanging heavier-than-average basses over my shoulder, I started getting pinched nerves and numbness in my left arm. About ten years ago I dislocated both ends of my left collarbone in a badly-planned home logging mishap. To top it all off, last year I was on an extremely turbulent flight on the edge of a tornado system, resulting in a case of whiplash that I’m still trying to get straightened out. With all that, a seat and a bass stand makes it a lot easier for me to do what I do.
PM: What is it like going from the high energy/big crowds at a Trey Band show to your regular quieter gigs in the region?
TM: In many ways, I find it easier playing for a sea of faces than for a handful of people who are only an arm’s length away. The biggest difference, though, is that on the TAB gig, everything– transportation, business, equipment set-up, logistics– is taken care of by a very well-oiled crew of professionals. Back in the real world, I have get used fending for myself again.
PM: Is it a wind or a bug?
TM: Ah, yes– I’m afraid people will be asking that question long after we’re all gone.
PM: Seriously though, how did “Windora Bug” come about?
TM: It predates me. Knowing Trey and Tom, they were probably having an evening writing session near an open window, and heard something unidentifiable outside, raising the question, “Was that a wind or a bug?” and another classic was born. Trey’s always trying out different material in different contexts, and that’s one of those songs that I guess he had tried out with Phish, and then shelved until Russ and I came along.
PM: How did Trey first invite you to join him in the creation of the original Trey Trio?
TM: When Trey first went to Burlington to look at colleges, I was playing there with Kilimanjaro and the Unknown Blues Band at a great (now-defunct) club called Hunt’s. Trey claims that we were one of the deciding factors in making him choose to stay in Vermont. He and his girlfriend Sue came out to see us on their first date; years later, we played at their wedding. As we were watching Phish develop into the juggernaut that it is today, they were also looking to us “old guys” for inspiration. The Phish guys were also big fans of the Sneakers Jazz Band, some of whom also became members of TAB. In 1999, Trey wanted to get a side project going, and he got in touch. At the time, he was very interested in African music such as that of Fela Kuti, and I couldn’t think of anyone better than Russ Lawton, with his strong background in African beats, to recommend to Trey as a drummer for the project.
PM: Didyou have any input into the evolution of the band as it went from 3 members to 6 to 8 to 9 to 10 and back to 7?
TM: I brought Russ on board– beyond that, it’s all been Trey’s doing. The process has involved Trey trying to assemble a group of individual musicians who are not only versatile enough to handle all the many styles that he might throw their way, but are also agreeable enough to coexist smoothly. And I think it’s worked beautifully– I can’t imagine a better group of not only musicians, but people, than the current TAB lineup.
PM: Describe the evolution of songs like “Sand”, “Gotta Jibboo” and “First Tube”, three of the most popular and famous TAB songs that have become full fledged Phish songs.
TM: When Russ and I first got together with Trey, he encouraged us to build some basic grooves from the bottom up, based on things we liked or had been working on individually. He then fleshed the grooves out with his own ideas. We came up with the foundations for about twelve or fifteen tunes from our first rehearsals. After we left, Trey continued to tweak ideas, eventually adding some of Tom Marshall’s lyrics onto the finished tunes. He eventually took a few of them to Phish, and now they’ve become standard parts of the Phish songbook– so much so that when a lot of people hear us play them, they think we’re covering Phish tunes.
PM: How does life on the road affect your playing over time? Do you prefer to stay local for shows?
TM: They both have their good points. I love to travel– I have since I was a little kid. My parents would throw us on a train and take us from Montana to Chicago or New York, or we’d drive to San Francisco or the Oregon coast. Now, as an adult, how much better could it get than getting paid to travel around the country playing music with a bunch of people I like? There is, however, something to be said for being able to jump in the car, drive five minutes to the gig, and five minutes back to sleep in my own bed. One thing I know is that I don’t get much time to practice when we’re on tour.
PM: How did the 6/20/10 sit-in at SPAC with Phish come together? What prompted it and how did it all go down?
TM: I hadn’t heard Phish play for a few years, and I wanted to stop by to say hi to all my friends in the band and the crew. If you know anything about Trey, you know that he is unable to pass up a show-biz opportunity. As soon as he saw me, I know he was thinking, “How can we work this into the show?” It worked out fine– he picked a song that I cowrote (Gotta Jibboo, which Phish even plays in the same key), so it wasn’t a stretch. Fishman is such a pleasure of a drummer to play with, it was just a piece of cake. I think Mike even enjoyed playing guitar for a change. I guess I’m just lucky that Trey didn’t have the crew try to stuff me in that bathtub with all those little kids!
PM: Have there been any TAB moments that stand out among the rest over the past decade-plus?
TM: I enjoy listening to the other players in the band so much that there have been moments– I couldn’t tell you exactly where or when they were– where I’ve just sort of left my body while listening to them play. I’ve enjoyed the beautiful venues we’ve gotten to play– Red Rocks stands out, as does RadioCityMusic Hall, the Ryman Auditorium, the Pabst Theater and the gorgeous Fox Theaters. One of the most memorable highlights for me would be when Carlos Santana came to sit in with us at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco in 2003. He’s been a musical hero of mine since I was in college. What a great night that was– I was grinning from ear to ear the whole time!
Questions were looming whether Camp Bisco was going to happen in Upstate New York this year. There were rumors of it being completely done; moving south or even changing it’s name. Well, Bisco fans don’t need to worry anymore. Camp Bisco announced that the show will go on for # 12 of its run. Camp Bisco will be returning to the beautiful Indian Lookout Country Club, in rural Mariaville, NY.
Camp Bisco is a unique festival for many reasons. Where else can you find such a unique blend of electonic house, hip hop, jam bands and whatever else they might throw at you every year. the only thing you can count on is that the disco biscuits will be gracing the stage and that you will have a great time. Oh yeah, there is also a good chance of rain.
The festival plans to expand and enhance the experience for attendees by adding “surround sound and greater concert production to all stages. From large-scale art installations and artist workshops to performance art demonstrations, carnival rides and more, Camp Bisco is also increasing the interactive elements in 2013 to create an even better festival experience for patrons. Long distance shuttles will also return, offering service from Albany, Baltimore, Boston, New York City and Philadelphia.”
Early Bird tickets go on sale Saturday, February 2 at 10 a.m. EST for a very limited allotment at $170. General on sale tickets will start at $185, before raising to the last minute price $199. All-inclusive pre-sale VIP packages are available again this year, starting at $450 for VIP and $1300 for a pair of Platinum VIP tickets, before increasing to $500 and $1400 respectively. Camp Bisco will also be introducing a new layaway plan, where fans can divide payments on General Admission tickets equally between the on sale date and July 1st. Tickets will be available online at campbisco.net. Camp Bisco is an 18 and over event.
Trey Anastasio Bandcomes to Albany on Saturday, January 26th, but the music doesn’t stop when Big Red leaves the stage. If you’re coming to town for the main show, stick around for three great late night options, all close by The Palace Theater. The Bayou is located a few hundred feet down North Pearl Street from The Palace while Red Square is on Broadway, a block east of North Pearl and about a 1/2 mile walk. A cab is recommended to get to Valentines.
Hot Day at the Zoo (HDATZ) is the quartet of Jon Cumming (banjo, dobro, vocals), Michael Dion (guitar, harmonica, vocals,) Jed Rosen (upright bass, vocals), and JT Lawrence (mandolin, vocals). Dion and Cumming are the band’s two main songwriters. Both, with distinctive personalities, offer enough stories to fill a catalogue of songs that are whole-hearted and full of sincerity. Add in Rosen, who’s technical prowess allows him to hold down the beat and push the music along, and Lawrence, who’s youthful energy and stellar musicianship fuel his strength in fulfilling each song’s missing piece, and the result is a band who humbly creates something bigger than any of themselves.
Rosen speaking about HDATZ’s live performance says, “Expect to see four guys up on stage playing their asses off and singing their hearts out.” All four members play with so much vivacity and vigor that an abundance of both baby powder to keep dry and superglue to prevent their fingernails from falling off is necessary. Whether they’re headlining or performing as special guest support for artists including The Band’s Levon Helm, David Grisman, Leon Russell, moe., and Hot Buttered Rum, HDATZ connects with their audience through their defiant high energy on stage. With improvisations that give songs new shape, signature arrangements of covers, and many special guests, concertgoers may expect to never see the same show twice.
The Brooklyn-based funk army known as Turkuaz “is like tossing a lit match into a dumpster full of fireworks” (bestnewbands.com). Their stage show combines influences from Sly and the Family Stone to Talking Heads into an explosive auditory and visual circus, a full-frontal assault on the senses. After multiple residencies at NYC’s Brooklyn Bowl, two blowout performances at Bear Creek Music Festival, and tours spanning the east and west coasts, Turkuaz has developed a reputation from NYC to San Francisco as the band that plays louder, faster, and harder than all the rest. Learn more at
Combining jazz, hip hop, funk, soul, and gospel, The Chronicles bring a unique sound that defies classification. Founded by upstate NY horn heavyweights, Bryan Brundige and Jeff Nania in October of 2009, The Chronicles have included and continue to feature the most talented up-and-coming musicians in the Capital Region. The Chronicles have been working hard to spread their music throughout the northeast with appearances at regional theaters like the New Hampshire Jazz Center and Proctor’s GE Theater. They have also appeared at major music festivals like Riverfront Jazz Festival, Tulip Festival, Bella Terra, African American Heritage Day, The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, The Big Up, and The BeatShot Music Festival. Albanyʼs alternative newsweekly, Metroland recognized them as “Best Jazz” in 2012, and in their 2011 “Best of the Capital Region” critic’s poll as the best in live hip hop with “jazz chops out the yin yang, and new tunes at their fingertips every time they pick up their instruments.”
While this is an after party, the music begins at 9pm. Formula 5 caps off the night, and they are a great up and coming jamband in Albany, with a great sound. Check out our interview with them.
Cost is $10 to get in but only $5 with a Trey ticket stub!
As for the tracks, take a listen below. We’ll have a full review later this month, so take a listen to a solid debut album from Formula 5, and catch them for their CD Release show on 
And with that, Trey led his band into the song that the original trio of Trey, drummer Russ Lawton and Saratoga Springs resident Tony Markellis wrote back in 1998, “First Tube”. A Grammy nominated rock instrumental that usually closes down these TAB shows, “First Tube” got the crowd moving early on. “Cayman Review” followed, now a classic first set staple for many years now that features Ray Paczkowski on clavinet to drive the funk into the song. With the crowd settling in, they were treated to “Alaska”, one of the handful of crossover songs that Phish and Trey Band both play.
During setbreak, it was easy to observe that the crowd for a Trey Anastasio Band show is different that a Phish crowd. At SPAC in the summer, the crowd is typically 80/20 guys/gals, but at TAB it is closer 60/40, plus some older fans who come out in larger numbers to the Palace. The band attracts more couples to shows, either as a segue to seeing Phish, or replacement value for Phish shows not seen/enjoyed as a couple. The ornate building’s interior continually looks sparkling and new (The Palace is nearly twice as big as 
With the show winding down, “Traveler” appeared, and while it started out slow, grew into one of the more impressive tunes of the night, generating swaying motions from the crowd amid the lyrics “Maybe if you stand still, you are traveling too, making it easy for someone to choose you”. Trey took a moment to introduce the band as the song’s chorus was repeated, then delved into “Push on Til the Day”, one of the most popular and well known TAB tunes, where it is always fun to watch Trey spin around with his guitar leading up to the triumphant big band ending. An encore of The Five Steps’ “O-o-h Child” was very apropos for the evening for this reviewer and capped off a whirlwind tour for Trey Anastasio Band.
Pete Mason: What is it like being one of the most famous local music celebrities in the Saratoga area? How has your status as a musician evolved over the years living in the region?
PM: You play a wide variety of music. Where does this interest and ability come from and do you have a style that you prefer to play above all others?
PM: How did you develop your method of playing bass, seated with the bass so vertical? Is it a comfort thing?
