On Friday, March 29th, Turkuaz and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad jump-started the weekend playing at The Water Street Music Hall in Rochester. While the doors were said to open at 8 with a prompt show starting at 9, we found ourselves still waiting in a long stagnant line at 945. By the time it struck 10 an explosion of sound echoed through the venue as Turkuaz kicked off the night with “Chatte Lunatic”, a song from their new album Zerbert. The crowd danced their way inside and those there for Giant Panda were pleasantly surprised by an upbeat crowd-moving funk band with colorful jumpsuits and a boisterous sound.
I have only been afforded the opportunity to see Turkuaz twice before, once at Strangecreek in a late night cabin and once at Red Square in Albany, so seeing them in a venue this size did them much justice. The crowd exploded as guitarist Craig Brodhead went into an impressive jiving guitar solo during “Lookin’ Good Feelin’ Tough” which was equally matched by Michelangelo Carubba with a loud Bonham-strong drum solo.
The set included some noteworthy covers such as Joe Crocker’s “Feelin’ Alright” sang by saxophonist Josh Schwartz whose soulful voice and killer moves encouraged many of the audience members to sing along, and “Trampled Underfoot” by Led Zepplin which was lead by vocalist Geneva Williams whose golden locks and bright yellow jumpsuit created a picturesque vision of soulful 70’s and keyboardist Stephen Malinowski wrapped it up and brought it home with an equally epic solo.
The crowd applauded as Giant Panda took the stage, playing for the last time with keyboardist Aaron Lipp in their hometown. The energy shifted from upright funk to a low smooth reggae with a hard undertone and an untouchable beat. There was an emotional feel to the night as Giant Panda played crowd favorites such as “Missing You More”, “Undermove” and “Seasons Change”. Mixes of trance jam and low tempo groove carried the night away and the audience was dancing alongside of them every step of the way.
As the band came back from the encore, guitarist James Searl referenced Aaron Lipp’s departure and they touched back to their acoustic routes and played a song from their newest album Country. Switching back, Giant Panda threw down another long set carrying the crowd into a sea of smooth beats and funky bass lines and ended the night of truly dance worthy music.
There is something about SxSW that makes Meg and Laura want to hold hands and skip together and slide down a banister of razor blades into a pool of alcohol at the same time. By day three, the two of them were holding their heads in their hands, running on nothing but caffeine and two hours of sleep. After complaining about the nonexistence of cloning machines that would allow them to attend every amazing showcase at once over one, two, then three pots of coffee, they make peace with the fact that they just would have to prioritize.
That been said, Meg and Laura headed on over to the VH1 Cafe and tried to keep it cool as they weave their way around tables of celebrities to make their way to minimalist rapper, Zebra Katz. Laura suppressed the urge to point out that David Guetta just walked in as they sit down for the interview. The fashion-forward Zebra Katz shared the experiences that got him where he is today. He talked about growing up in New York City and how working as a staff manager at a catering company helped him in his rapping career. The graceful rapper rose out of the stereotype as he talked about the meaning behind the lyrics of “Ima Read” and the importance of education in society.
After the interview, Laura rushed to the Austin Convention Center and charmed her way to the front of the line for the SxSW interactive interview with Clive Davis. Bill Werde opened the interview with the question, “What do you do as the head of Columbia?” to which Clive Davis subtly responds, “You watch and you listen”. Though this industry executive has made enough contributions to the music industry for his work to speak for itself, he graciously tells all the stories behind the music. Werde tucks in controversy in his questions, asking the music mogul about his bisexuality, the on-going conflict with Kelly Clarkson and his reaction to Whitney Houston’s death. In the words of Werde “when you interview Clive Davis, you’re kind of just along for the ride”. This statement really couldn’t hold more true.
After the interview, Laura got her copy of “The Soundtrack to My Life” signed and lined up with Meg for the next panel. The two were ready to check off one major to-do off their bucket lists: seeing Stevie Nicks in person. And as the black dress donned Bella Donna herself took the stage, every empty night the duo spent singing along on the top of their lungs to “Edge of Seventeen” felt suddenly redeemed. Stevie Nicks dished on her experience with Fleetwood Mac and her decision to pursue her solo career along the way. She claimed that she just had so much music inside of her that not expressing it was not an option. “Yeah, Lindsay can go ahead and lock himself in a room, recording songs that no one will ever listen to but I had to put mine out there”. The singer-songwriter certainly doesn’t hold herself back at any point throughout the interview. Just like her music, her voice is raw and uncensored but lovable to say the least. “Some moments in life are sad but they make for a beautiful song”, says Nicks. She injected a sense of humor as she comes clean about the origin of the title “Edge of Seventeen”; she heard her friends say, “age of seventeen” but heard it wrong. “It sounded great so I decided to go with it”, professed the poet. The two left the panel covered in goosebumps, fueled by inspiration.
As the day turns into night, the girls decided to part their ways. Laura headed over to the Warner showcase at The Belmont to watch the incredible lineup of Joy Formidable, alt-J, and The Flaming Lips while Meg decided to head toRepublic Livefor Adrian Lux, Congorock and Benny Bennassi and then back to La Zona Rosa to catch Zedd, Krewella, and Wolfgang Gartner.
As she waited in line outside the red bricked Republic Live, Meg is filled with awe as she’s taken back to the moment in 10th grade when she first fell in love with EDM upon hearing Benny Bennassi’s track “Come Fly Away”. She then realized that she is about to finally see him perform. She could already hear EDM star Congorock’s blasting his track “Ivory” from the street and when she finally got through the usual gang of bouncers, she was handed a pair of raver shades and a giant glow stick. The nightclub is polarized by dueling stages where Congorock and Adrian Lux trade off their DJ sets, making the drunk music industry executives and geeks dance.
As amazing as The Joy Formidable sounded, Laura was willing to bet that it would have been a far better experience from inside the venue, rather than waiting in line outside. However, alt-J and The Flaming Lips make the two-hour-long wait more than worthwhile with their stage presence. It is true, alt-J really makes indie rock feel sexy. Between all the neon balloons, glow sticks and the inexplicable monster mascots, the venue is ablaze with energy. Though the Flaming Lips do not play Laura’s favorite, “Chewin the Apple of My Eye”, the set consisted of all the songs from Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. The opener, “Fight Test”, set in itself was a guarantee for the night, nothing bad could possibly happen at this show. Wayne Coyne talked about the story behind “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell”, mentioning how they lost the original demo but decided to write a new song for the title. Their lush performance was enough to get Laura successfully through the night.
At a little past 2 AM, Laura casually witnesses a street fight as she marches past Lavaca and Colorado to catch the bus back to her hotel with Meg. Guess it’s just another night in Austin.
Every music lover remembers certain nights of great music with great friends: the gems that you reminisce about years and years later. For me, more than a few of those times were at Valentine’s in Albany, NY. It’s one of those places that things can get down and funky.
To be honest, it’s a hole in the wall. But it’s a magic hole I love to escape to. Have you ever pissed in a trough style urinal the same night as shaking Derek Trucks’s hand and then smoked a joint with Jimmy Herring? Neither have I, but only because I don’t usually use the men’s room.
Howard Glassman has been the owner and bartender of Valentine’s since 1998. Before that he was the booking manager at Bogie’s in Albany, back when Bogie’s had acts like Guster, The Spin Doctors, Rusted Root, God Street Wine and the Ominous Seapods. When Bogie’s went in the direction of dance party music, Howard started working for Valentine’s; a year later he bought the joint. Mike McGrath, the manager and bartender at Valentine’s, has his own background in booking live music in Albany at the old Lionheart location on Lark Street.
Originally called Papa’s Place, Valentine’s was owned by Karen Seeburg and her family. Back then it was just a locals bar. Enter Jeff Guthrie and Greg Bell, local Albany music promoters extraordinaire. They caught wind of the tragically underused upstairs floor and convinced Karen to let them bring in a sound system and lighting rigs for a show once a week. In six months’ time, Greg and Jeff were bringing Karen bands every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and convinced her to allow them to set up a stage and a real sound system. If you are familiar with hippie jambands in Upstate NY, you probably know The Deadbeats, a staple Grateful Dead cover band that have a Wednesday night residency in Albany. Greg Bell met the band in Saugerties back in 1994 and hired them for the bar and the rest is history. Wednesday nights downstairs at Valentine’s has been an Albany tradition ever since and the party keeps going til 4 am.
In general, Valentine’s has a plethora of live music on both floors. The downstairs caters to a smaller crowd/bands and is open for business as the main floor. It has a pool table, some arcade games and a dart board. Upstairs the bigger acts can fit. I’ve seen moe. multiple times upstairs at Valentine’s. When moe. wanted to play a random low key show, they’d advertise under the pseudonym “Monkeys on Ecstasy.” The first big show Greg brought to Valentine’s was The Weasels with Soul Asylum. The first sold out show was Ominous Seapods with Moonboot Lover and Dr. Jah & the Love Prophets.
I sat down with Howard to talk about the history of the venue, what makes Valentine’s such a special place and an Albany Live Music institution.
Amy Fischer: What are the pros of running a live music venue?
Howard Glassman: Live music! I get to see live music. I probably see more live music than anybody. I’ve seen more music than reviewers, promoters…
AF: The good, the bad, and the ugly?
HG: Exactly! That’s the great thing. Oh and I get free beer.
AF: Do you feel like you are part of a community being a bar owner?
HG: I feel like this place is part of a community. I think I am only a part of a community because I play in a band (Grainbelt), I book and I deejay, I do it all.
AF: What about the cons of running a live music venue?
HG: Dealing with bureaucracy, from all directions. The city, radio stations, booking agents, record companies. Some people would think it’s the drunks but it’s not. It’s not the customer. The people that come here, they come for a reason – they come for the music. The assholes are the ones that got dragged here by their friends and this ain’t their scene, so they’ll complain about anything, like the bathrooms that we’re all used to, they just don’t understand what we do here. They’ll go online and rate us as being terrible because they think everything should be nice and clean. (smirks) We’re a dive bar rock club, and our sound system is really good. The beer is cold and the sound is good.That’s a priority for us.
AF: (nods and smiles) “The beer is cold and the sound is good. It’s a rock club dive bar.”
Promoters lose money on shows all the time. Are you better off because you are a bar owner? At least you make money on the drinks. There are all types of music that comes here. Do you wish that you didn’t have to bring music in that you think sucks? If you know there will be a good crowd, you must feel you have to accommodate, knowing that people would come?
HG: Yeah, I learned a long time ago that you can’t book with your heart, you have to book with your head. (pauses) But sometimes I book with my heart, because I want to see a band and it’s cheaper for me to get them to come here to play, rather than go to NYC and pay gas and tolls. If I lose a couple hundred bucks, it will be worth it for me and for the 30 people who may come out and get their minds blown off.
In this past year Albany has had a late night hurdle to jump over. A “Cabaret License” has been trying to pass through the law books, requiring those under 21 to leave the establishment by 11 pm and amplified music to end by 2 am. (Bars can legally serve until 4 am in Albany!!) Many feared that this would further diminish the seemingly depleting visits of national acts to the area in recent years. Albany has been a stop for Max Creek, Rufus Wainwright, Derek Trucks Band, John Scofield, Jorma Kaukonen, The Disco Biscuits, Robert Fripp with Trey Gunn and Adrian Belew, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Buckley, the Last Poets… but what tour manager would want to bring his band to a place where half their fans would be forced to leave halfway through their first set? Luckily, Howard hasn’t been told to change anything since the bar’s hearing months ago and business continues as usual.
The more inevitable fear seems to be the ever expanding Albany Medical Center. The hospital has been making major renovations for a few years now and the construction workers are getting closer and closer. And closer. The run down housing in the neighborhood has slowly been bought out and bulldozed.
AF: Do you ever fear that you’ll have to shut down?
HG: You mean because Albany Med is eventually gonna buy the area here? No, we’ll just buy another building. What else am I gonna do? (laughs) I’m not qualified to do anything else. This is it.
AF: Any last tips you’d like me to print? How to get good service or anything?
HG: Don’t piss off the bartenders. Have your money ready and if it’s packed don’t try to order a bunch of fruity shots or complicated drinks.
AF: (laughs) Anything else?
HG: Yeah, in the men’s room don’t stand too close to the trough when you take a piss – stay six inches away or in the summer you’ll feel the splash on your shorts.
I hope he remembered to tell Derek Trucks.
Valentine’s is located at 17 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY
Hours are5 pm – close Tuesday thru Saturday; Sunday & Monday closed unless live music scheduled
FYI – Valentine’s is a CASH ONLY BAR – no tabs, no credit cards accepted. There is an ATM on-site. Entry is 18 & over for most shows, otherwise 21+. Visit valentinesalbany.com for more info and their show calendar.
Special thanks to Howard for this interview and profile on a great music venue.
Missed Roger Waters on tour? Well, you’re in luck–The Machine is coming to town! The New York based cover band bring back Barrett’s creativity, Water’s compassionate songwriting, Gilmour’s simplicity, Wright’s compositional talent and Mason’s resourcefulness to stage.
Selling out theaters and large clubs across North and Central America, Europe, and Asia and performing at music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Riverbend, Gathering of the Vibes and Rock of Ages, they have earned worldwide recognition and the original members’ seal of approval. Receiving accolades from the likes of Spin magazine, The Machine are notorious for “sounding exactly like Pink Floyd.”
“The shows are different every night”, drummer and founding member Tahrah Cohen told NYS Music. “It really depends on the age of the crowd and the city. We get a feel for who’s in the audience and tailor a set list for each show.”
Make sure to catch The Machine live on their 2013 Spring Tour in Upstate New York!
After touring with Papa Roach, Otherwise is playing at the Webster Theater Underground in Hartford, CT on Tuesday, April 2nd. This will be the band’s first time playing the venue since before the release of their debut record, True Love Never Dies. Opening for them is Girl on Fire. A night full of excitement, head banging, and killer guitar riffs await the rock lovers of Hartford, CT on April 2nd and then in Upstate New York at The Uptown Theater in Utica Wednesday night.
OTHERWISE:
Originally from sin city, Las Vegas, this four-pieced hard rock alternative band is one that has put their blood, sweat, and tears into their debut album, True Love Never Dies. The band consists of the Patrick brothers, Adrian (vocals) and Ryan (guitar/vocals), Vassilios Metropoulos (bass/vocals), and Corky Gainsford (drums/vocals). You may recognize Adrian’s voice from the metal duet done with In This Moment’s Maria Brink, “The Promise”, for their third record, A Star-Crossed Wasteland, accompanied by a steamy music video. The band first gained notice by having their leading single, “Soldiers” played nationally through Sirius XM’s Octane channel, yet they remained unsigned at the time. Finally, when they signed with Century Media, Otherwise was produced by Jay Baumgardner (Godsmack, Bush, Papa Roach, Seether, Sevendust, and P.O.D.). Most certainly, the band’s music will be haunting the back of your mind for quite some time.
All in all, a very great line up, one that will leave the crowd buzzing for a long while. Get ready for a rocking and kick-ass night! This will be an explosive experience that will leave your ears ringing for quite sometime!
After playing the Upstate Concert Hall on Halloween of 2012, Pierce the Veil returned on Sunday, March 24th with a whole new lineup of supporting bands, and came back to rock with a vengeance. Lead singer Vic Fuentes said himself during the show that the crowd was not only much rowdier than that of the Halloween show, but they were “the best crowd on the entire tour so far”. A statement like this leaves us to wonder: who’s responsible for that? Did PTV leave a good impression on the crowd last time, or are we Upstate metalheads just the best crowd in the world? I’d like to think it’s a little of both, and that Vic wasn’t just saying that.
Rapcore/postcore rising stars Issues opened the show, and got things moving to a quick and fun start. They played their new EP, Black Diamonds, in its entirety, which is a good enough length for an opening set, but left many of us dying for more. There were some minor flaws with the sound, including very dull and quiet guitars, but they played it off well with their charisma and rhythmic unity. Clean vocalist Tyler Carter and unclean vocalist Michael Bohn are like perfect alter egos of each other, and co-dominate the stage with a band that plays a unique blend of catchiness and heaviness.
Following them was letlive., Epitaph Records’ unstoppable postcore quintet. This band certainly kept the momentum going, and any audio troubles were certainly worked out by the time they took the stage. Frontman Jason Butler was bouncing all over the stage, and at a few points was singing hanging upside down from the rafters. Displaying high intensity and musical prowess, they served as a great segway for Memphis May Fire. These Rise Records veterans really brought the metal, and the crowd loved every minute of it. They played a fairly long set, and no one in the crowd was tired at all, it made it all the more exciting in anticipation for the headlining band. Of course, the excitement got to quite a few people, as the incessant mosh pits of each act caused numerous slight injuries. Props to the security at Upstate Concert Hall for being on top of things.
Pierce the Veil took the stage at approximately 9:45 with confetti cannons, light and sound effects, and a very appropriate chanting of “this is the Street Youth Rising Tour!” They played eleven songs, including many fan favorites, and most of their hit new record, Fearless Records’ 2012 smash Collide With the Sky. I, along with nearly every other person in the room, sang every lyric to every song, and the room seemed to be on fire with music and spirit. Vic conversed with the crowd, as did hyper-energetic bassist Jaime Preciado, and they were joined onstage by their good friend Jason Butler of letlive. for their collaboration song, “Tangled In the Great Escape”. The band and the crowd gave each other a continuous cycle of energy that blew the roof off the venue. It’s no wonder Vic said we were their greatest crowd of the tour.
In the weeks prior to the show, we attempted to contact PTV‘s management so I could do an interview with them, but we were never contacted back. This was very disappointing to me, as I had hoped to capture some of their famous friendliness and connection with their fans, and the fact that we were ignored made me feel quite the opposite. However, when I saw them live, I started to understand. Their connection with the fans is still strong through music, and they are out to help the fans, never hurt them. Anything could have gone wrong with the interview through the publicist, so I shouldn’t blame them for something that is possibly out of their control. I also came to realize that some bands do in fact think they’ve gotten too important and that is ridiculous. These bands would be nowhere without us (the fans), because everything in this scene stems back to the fans; we are its backbone. Pierce the Veil and friends played that night like they haven’t forgotten this, let’s hope they never do.
I kissed Emily in the hallway outside her apartment. The fluorescent tube above was about to die, and it blinked and hummed as it clung to life.
“Come inside,” she said, giving me a look that hit below the belt.
“I can’t,” I said. The light above grew brighter then died, leaving us in shadows. An old woman from across the way stuck her head out as if sensing the darkness, the odor of Marlboro Reds spilling out into the hall before she went back in.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“I’m the only one who can.”
“No,” she said, resting her head against my chest. “You’re just the only one who will.”
I had met Emily three months ago. She was a bartender and a good one. At the end of the night my tab would only count one drink. I’d tip her for each one I’d actually had. One night I closed down the bar. She’d said it was her turn.
“What’s this guy done?” she said, leaning her weight against the wall. She hung on to my jacket, pulling me gently into her. I wanted her to open the door. I wanted to follow her in. I wanted to take off her clothes and lose myself. I have an addict’s brain. I need constant stimulation or I start to get bored. And when I get bored I get dangerous.
“He’s hurt a lot of people.” My voice shakes. Nerves? Anxiousness? Fear? I almost wanted it to be fear. It had been so long since I’d felt it.
“You can beat him?”
“I have to try.”
“You won’t come back. Even if you win.”
“There is no win,” I said. “There’s only lose.”
“You don’t have to lose me.”
But I did. She was changing me. Healing me. I was starting to feel happiness, and that in turn brought my guard down more and more. The walls I built were not to keep other people out.
They were there to keep me in.
“The words. I can’t say the words.” I kissed the top of her head. Tilted her face towards mine.
“You don’t have to. I love you, too.”
She was making me weak. And I needed to be strong.
“I can’t say goodbye, either.”
“So don’t.”
Even in leaving her, she was perfect. I wanted to kiss her one last time, but that would be too dramatic. I loathed theatrics. I just looked at her, making a mental photograph. One I would remember for the rest of my life.
Like pulling off a Band-Aid, I turned and left her. She didn’t call after me. My ears strained to hear any final words. All I heard was her key in the lock. The door opening and closing.
Outside was February. A winter storm had dumped two feet of snow over everything. All the dirt. All the filth. Covered over in virgin white that glowed beneath the streetlamps. Even at this late hour snow blowers were blowing. Cars passed by slowly, tires crunching the tightly packed snow in the streets. My own feet crunched along. The wind blew fresh powder from the tops of the high banks between the road and me.
I looked up, hoping for stars.
I would have liked there to be stars.
Instead there was a pale pink canvas stretched above. Light pollution and cloud cover. The reds of taillights and traffic stops. The streetlamps hummed.
I felt alone.
I looked at my mental picture of Emily. I adjusted it so the lighting was better. Made her eyes look less sad.
I gave myself two blocks alone with her before dissolving the photograph. To do what I was about to do, I needed to be cold. My enemy was ruthless. I needed to be just as bad.
I turned the corner at State Street. The diner was open. I thought about getting coffee. I looked at my watch. There was time.
A bell rang as I pushed through the door. I stomped the snow off my shoes. A middle-aged waitress with dark red hair was sitting at the counter reading something on her cell phone. She looked up at the sound of the bell.
“Just one?” she said. She smiled when she said it, as if to offer comfort for the fact I was alone.
“Counter is good,” I said, choosing a seat that let me see all the angles.
“What can I start you with?” I was glad she didn’t comment on the weather. People always comment on the weather because it’s the one thing we all have in common.
“Just coffee. Black.”
She came back with little buckets of creamer and an assortment of sweeteners. No one ever believes you when you want it black.
My fingers twitched for a cigarette. Coffee was often just as much something to occupy my hands as it was about caffeine. I needed my hands to be steady. I had one shot and could not miss.
The bell above the door rang. I looked up. I mentally kicked myself for hoping it was Emily. That she had followed me from her place. That she didn’t want to lose me and would stay with me so I couldn’t confront the monster I was about to face. “I won’t let you,” she’d say. Then she’d give me that look. The look that made me want to pick up the chains and gladly shackle myself to her. The chains I had to escape before they ever had a chance to bind me.
But it was just an old couple. He in a fur hat and mackinaw. She in a beige coat and bonnet. They went straight to the second booth, right by the window, as if it was theirs. The waitress brought them their coffees without taking an order.
They were regulars.
This was their spot. Their warm, bright place in the world.
I was just a stranger passing through. Neither unwelcome nor noticed. They were all ignorant of my fate. Of the service I was about to perform.
Would I have wanted it any other way?
The old woman hung up her handbag and coat on the hook beside the booth. The old man set his hat on the table. He unbuttoned the mackinaw with arthritic fingers. His face tinged in pain, softening when he looked at his wife. Their hands met across the Formica countertop, and for a moment they looked as young as they must have been when they first met.
I looked at my photo of Emily. Tried aging her. Tried to see myself as that old man.
I couldn’t.
I left a ten on the counter for coffee and rent. The old couple paid me no mind as I walked past. The cold February wind punched my face as I hit the sidewalk, slowly building up a momentum as I crunched down the street. Towards my fate. Towards the moment when I would learn if I was tough enough.
“Got a light, mister?” The girl could have been no more than fifteen. She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors. No gloves. I don’t know how she wasn’t frozen to death.
I pulled the Zippo from my pocket and did a trick for her.
“Nice,” she said, leaning into the flame and taking a drag.
“You need gloves,” I said, snapping the lighter shut.
“I left home in a hurry,” the girl said. “My mom’s boyfriend. They’re fucking.”
There was nothing to say to that. So I didn’t.
“Here,” I said, pulling the leather gloves from my hands. “They’ll be a little big for you.”
“I can’t take your gloves, man. The light was plenty.”
She had a ring through her nose. I wondered if the cold made it stick.
“I don’t need them,” I said. “I need to keep my hands free.” I needed my trigger finger free.
“Thanks,” she said, slipping them on. She held her hands in front of her. They looked oddly disproportionate to the rest of her. Like Mickey Mouse.
“You got any money?”
“Why?” she said. “You robbing me?”
I pulled some bills from my pocket. Handed her a twenty.
“Go sit in the diner up the street. It’s warm in there. They have pie.”
“Pie goes straight to my hips,” she said.
“Coffee’s good,” I said.
“Why you doin’ this?” she said.
“I never got to have a kid,” I said. “So tonight, you’re it.”
I turned and continued my walk. She hollered “thank you” to my back but I kept walking. I put my hands in my coat pockets. The alley was close by. That’s where I needed to go.
I passed a bar. Thought about getting a drink. Decided that was a bad idea. I heard music, though. Shine a Light by the Stones. I’d always liked that one.
I kept on walking. Past a closed up jewelry store. Past a twenty-four hour Laundromat. Empty. Past a consignment shop and a tattoo parlor and an antiques store. I couldn’t hear Shine a Light anymore but I kept it playing in my head. It had been playing the night I first had Emily. It reminded me of her. I looked at the photograph one last time.
Then I tore it to shreds.
I stood in the mouth of the alley. In the cold. In the snow.
I made my heart a thing of winter itself.
I crossed from light into dark, swallowed by the shadows of the brick buildings on either side of me. I jumped up and caught the fire escape with both hands. The cold metal stung my gloveless fingers.
It slowly came down from my weight.
I climbed.
No more Emily. No more Stones. No more old people in diners. No more light. No more hope. No more coffee.
No more.
Each rung I climbed brought me closer. I felt it. Inside of me. The blackness that had been there since birth. The raven whose dark wings beat against my brain.
Inside me was madness and hatred and violence. With each rung of the ladder I remembered the faces of all the people I had hurt. All the lives I had destroyed.
I could not back down now.
I had to be stronger than my enemy.
Reaching the top, I swung my legs over and onto the flat roof, snow covered roof. I looked for fresh prints.
I was alone.
Stepping to the edge, I looked to the street below. I hoped the cigarette girl was warm. I hoped the old couple made it home safely.
I hoped Emily could love someone again.
I took the old Colt Python from inside my coat. Thought of each life I’d taken with it. And of the first one I had taken. Here. At this very spot.
“One more,” I said to no one.
I put the muzzle under my chin and looked up. Inhaled.
This is the band that is not afraid to speak their mind and sing out what everybody in the venue is thinking. Their music has a very fresh rock sound, with catchy tunes that will haunt you for months, maybe more. This is the kind of music that loosens you up after a long day or week. The words that melodically leave their lips are very interpretive; their style is very edgy and rough, in a very good way. It’s that good-time feeling kind of rock, the kind that is also very blunt. Say hello to the hard-rockers of Memphis, Surrender the Fall.
Formed in 2005, band members consist of Jared Cole (vocals), Eddie Tyre (guitar), Anthony Pitts (guitar), Devin Hightower (bass), and Rick Anderson (drums). Surrender the Fall has been to hell and back; Tyre, being a lifelong resident of New Orleans, lost everything in Hurricane Katrina; Pitts was promised career in football until a knee injury. Of course, there was the case of their loved ones succumbing to sicknesses and passing away. Through all of the tragedy, Surrender the Fall strove for greatness. Before showing off their amazing talent, they took the necessary precautions to make sure everything sounded absolutely perfect. Eventually, they booked killer gigs such as in New Orleans, and with a great turn out, and they soon signed with Rum Bum Records. Rum Bum sent Surrender the Fall to Sonic Ranch in El Paso, TX (Taking Back Sunday, ZZ Top, Madonna, Devildriver) to record with producer/artist Lennon Murphy (Lennon, Devil’s Gift). After a five and a half week period, the band recorded what is now their debut 12 tracked record, Burn in the Spotlight, filled with songs on “love, hate, pain and everything in between.” The album was released September 18, 2012, with leading singles “Love Hate Masquerade” and currently, “Some Kind of Perfect.” Upstate Metal’s Kate Drexel had the chance to interview the band’s front man, Jared Cole.
Media Credit – Kate Drexel
UM: How did you come up with your band name?
JC: Surrender the Fall…we sat down, and took paper and pen and started writing ideas about band names. It was the hardest thing in the world to do; meanwhile people come up with names like Alien Ant Farm or Butthole Surfers…we set out to figure out this name and, to be honest, we didn’t have the meaning right off the bat. We kind of put the words together that sounded good, and we sat down and thought about it for a while and it’s like “Surrender the Fall”…it’s liking giving up the fall. You don’t fall, you don’t fail; if you don’t fail, then you’re still going and that’s success, that’s following your dream, that’s doing it in a diligent way so that nothing and no one can tell you not to, like they can’t keep you from it. Giving up the option for failure. That’s what it means. And well, we’re five stubborn assholes who refuse to stop doing this…one way or another, we’re going to figure out how to piss everybody off with rock and roll music. I forget now who said it, somebody called us “The Bastard Stepchild of Rock ‘N’ Roll”…it was not in an interview, but it was something along those lines…The Bastard Stepchild…the Assholes That Refuse to Quit Playing.
UM: Who are your biggest influences?
JC: Biggest influences…Elvis, Michael Jackson, Prince, U2, Metallica, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash…again, we’re all about music without prejudice, we take influences from everything and everybody. Anybody that would do it, no matter what, anybody that would get behind the mic and say it, and didn’t give a fuck what anybody else thought. Those are our influences.
UM: How did you get to become a part of the My Darkest Days tour?
JC: I think it was a package deal; we sent some of our stuff to their management, kinda worked the details out on the business end and joined with them. Obviously we have never met before or anything like that but they’re some of the coolest guys you’ll ever meet. We love those guys…we actually saw Matt Walst not too long ago, they were…of course you know that he’s filling in for Three Days Grace right now, and we talked to him over at the Shinedown show out there, and they were playing a Battle Creek show same night we were.
UM: What’s the story behind “Some Kind of Perfect”?
JC: Well, I’ll answer that by saying this: “Some Kind of Perfect” and quite a few other songs that we have are very open to interpretation. Sometimes when I write, I draw from a couple of different scenarios to influence me to get me the vibe and “Some Kind of Perfect” is basically about having a goal and having dreams and then thinking this is what’s going to be perfect, which in this case, a band trying to make it and trying to make it in this music business and then they decided to leave it and expected me to go with them and I was at a crossroads in my life where I had to say “You know what? I can’t go” I believe in this enough to see it through and just to keep pushing on and we parted ways. I saw this movie…I forgot what they were talking about but the lady said to another person, “You need to update your fairy tale.” At that point, I had to update my idea of perfect and that it didn’t matter that it wasn’t the perfect that it began with, it was at least some kind of perfect. I think it’s all about following your heart and doing what you know you were born to do, regardless of anyone else in your life. That you can have the strength and the will and the determination to follow it through and see it through no matter what, and it can mess up along the way, get some scrapes and bruises along the way but it’s still perfect because it’s exactly what you set out to do and you didn’t let anyone push you away from that. Like I said, it’s very interpretive so people can pull their own feeling from it and relate to it in different ways and I think that’s the best thing about music in itself is that when people write, it’s not always what the listener thinks it is, and the listener can…I know I found myself growing up, hearing songs and then being able to meet the guy that wrote the song and I was like “I had no idea the way I felt about that situation in my life until I heard your song and that’s exactly how I felt about it.” I think it’s cool to be able to connect with people in that way.
UM: What does your music reflect about you guys?
JC: That we have a really good time on stage. Our live shows and our music go hand in hand. When we did this record, we wanted it to be big, we wanted it to be loud, and we wanted to write these songs that people could grab a hold of and sing with us, because it’s a party. When people pay money and spend the time to see us do something, they want the connection and that’s all about that for us, it’s all about connecting with the audience and connecting with each other on stage and everybody is looking at everybody having a good time. Our music, it reflects us as people; we’re the band that says what everybody else is thinking but they’re afraid to say it. All of our music is honest, it’s real, it’s not a over-fabrication of anything, and I think that’s why we’ve related so well on these tours that we’ve done so far, and the fact that our first major tour was with All That Remains and Nonpoint, they’re metal bands, and I’m sitting there going, “Holy shit, these guys are helping us with our launch…” And I love metal, my guitar player Ed was in a metal band and I used in a metal band, so I mean, it’s sort of blunt but we’re just rock ‘n’ roll. We got up there and every night after night after night, everybody got it, and everybody dug it. We never got a bad review, we always went up and gave it 110% every single night and I think people gravitated towards it because it was honest because we talk about it on stage and we get off stage and we live it. And it’s real and it’s…I think that’s what it is: it’s live, it’s loud, it’s honest, but hopefully it’s catchy enough to where it sticks in your head a little bit.
UM: Favorite venue and why?
JC: Oh, man! It’s a toss up, actually, and I’m not saying this because I’m biased but Rams Head is one and The Machine Shop is the other, and they’re for the exact same reasons: the stage, the sound, the atmosphere at both venues are incredible. The fans that come out and the people that come out are so ready to go. It’s not like they show any prejudice towards any other band, it’s not like the crowd that comes and sit in the back until the headliner comes on. These guys are fucking ready. Both places and we loved it; man, and we were…it’s actually the first time we played at both of those places on the My Darkest Days tour. We had five, six hundred people at Rams Head and I think The Machine Shop sold out, so it was amazing. Those are the two of the ones that stick out. I still watch YouTube videos of the Rams Head show; it was one of my favorite shows I’ve ever played. It’s just the energy and the crowd, we got off stage and everybody was so cool, everybody wanted to hang out…it’s what we live for, it’s what we love to do.
UM: What do you guys do during your down time?
JC: I sit around and write a lot, plus seeing new cities, we’ll go and see different things. My drummer plans on seeing every capital of every city, we’ll go see the sites and what not, if we have time. A lot of times we’re hanging out at radio stations and going to get set up and…this and that, but a couple of the guys like to hit up the casinos and blow a little money, some of the other guys like to get a little bit of their drink on and hanging out, meeting some of the local people. We sit on the bus for long enough; you’re around everybody, all day so sometimes we like to split up; sometimes we go in pairs, sometimes we don’t go out. At the same time, it’s kind of like whatever; it depends on where we are. We’ll sit and write, we like to play Black Ops, I don’t ever play video games…I’m not good at it at all. I’ll sit around and play Black Ops and…I’m big into movies so just normal stuff. Stuff to pass the time when you don’t have anything going on.
UM: When composing a song, where do your ideas come from and how do they evolve?
JC: I just write about life…I write about my life and the things going on and things that I’ve learned, thing’s that I’m feeling; sometimes it’s in the past, sometimes it’s present, sometimes it’s things that I want later on in life and it’s a product of what that moment does to me right then. We sat down and said we were going to try and write good songs. We weren’t going to stick to any kind of genre or anything like that, and we were just going to write, to write good songs. I personally feel like that’s what we did. I don’t know what the rest of the world thinks, I hope they think the same thing but it’s just…I don’t know…it’s just life and stuff that we care about and stuff that happened to us. We’re musicians, we’re all artists and we’re all just a bunch of crazy fuckers.
UM: What does music mean to you?
JC: Ah, man…music…it’s a hard thing to say, you know, ‘cause I don’t know if there’s a word that…it’s a paramour, it’s a drug, an addiction; music is life and it’s a living and breathing thing. It’s the opiate of the masses. No one that I have ever met that does not connect with music in someway, you know, that it affects their life…it’s the energy. Sometimes it’s food, sometimes you get lost and that’s all you need is music. Sometimes you don’t need physical food; sometimes it quenches the thirst or solves your problem…I don’t know…it gives people hope. I mean it’s all the same things to us too. We got into this because we love music and we love the creative process of music…it’s the only thing we know. This is the most important thing to me, this is the only thing I know how to do and for me, it’s life.
It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon in Austin, TX and Meg and Laura make their way to the Moonshine Grill on Red River Street to sit down for lunch with one of SXSW‘s must-see acts, the Swedish Synth Pop duo Icona Pop.
Mary Morgan Craig: So how has SXSW been treating you so far?
Caroline Hjelt: Great! It couldn’t be better!
Aino Jawo: It’s really been good.
CH: Everyone warned us that it would be crazy and we can totally feel the vibe and the craziness.
MMC: But a good kind of crazy, right?
AJ: Yes, definitely!
CH: It’s all about the positive chaos!
Gauraa Shekhar: Totally! How was your show last night?
AJ: Our show was amazing! Well, at least the first one we did. The second would have been amazing but we blew the sound system out so we couldn’t go through. We just played one song. Our lovely fans that were standing there for hours were so disappointed so we were like, “we’re so going to make it up to you tonight.”
CH: We have four more gigs to go and we’re so excited!
GS: Well I know everyone asks you this question, and there are so many different versions of this story, but how exactly did you guys meet?
AJ: We met in 2009, and I was heartbroken. We have this amazing mutual friend called Emily and she would call me everyday for two weeks and she was like, “you have to get out of bed” and then one day she just came over and forced me out of bed and she took me to an amazing party. This woman here, Caroline, she was the one hosting the party. She used to throw a lot of good parties those days.
CH: My apartment was like the center of the party and everybody was welcome. We were having a lot of fun.
AJ: Basically the hippie collectives, really.
CH: But yeah, I met Aino there and it was love at first sight. We definitely felt like we had this special connection immediately. We went out dancing the whole night. When I woke up the next morning, I was a little bit nervous that it was just the wine talking. I really wanted it to work out because we started talking about how we should do something together but Aino called me the day after and she was like, “Hey, I’m on my way to your place with a computer and a bottle of wine” and we just started over a drum, writing our first song, and since that day we decided that, “Okay, we’re a band”. A lot of our friends were definitely laughing at us but we knew that “Yeah, this is great”.
AJ: When you think about it now, it’s kind of sick how I can kind of just laugh at all of the situations we put ourselves in because both me and Caroline are people who do stuff and then we think and sometimes it’s good but sometimes it’s really bad. But I guess that’s how we kind of put ourselves in chaotic situations and kind of rise out of it. I feel like you two are kind of the same!
GS: Yes, definitely. Story of our lives!
CH: I mean, if we don’t have enough chaos in our lives, we create it. That makes us so creative also!
AJ: Yeah, we’re two girls from Sweden sitting in a sofa riffing this song we wrote four years ago and now we’re just cruising around in America!
GS: And now you’re one of the must-see acts of SXSW. That’s amazing!
CH: Yeah, that’s crazy! It’s a little bit unreal and I have to pitch myself once a day.
MMC: So how’s the transition been from Sweden to the U.S?
CH: It’s been a major difference, of course. Sweden is a very small country, you know. But really, we don’t even have a home anymore. My home is wherever this beautiful lady is (points at Aino). That’s the thing that keeps me going. I feel very home and safe wherever we go because we’re always hanging out and we have each other.
AJ: We’re good at creating homes. We’re like snails, carrying everything within ourselves.
CH: For us to come over here and not just be in New York and L.A., but to actually go to places like Milwaukee and meet people who’ve been listening to our songs on the radio; it’s crazy. It means so much to us to be able to share that connection with our fans. We really do love our fans, they’re the best. They’re such rebels. They stand with their fist in the air and dance their asses off every night too.
MMC: Yeah, I mean, back at Syracuse, “I Love It” is the biggest pre-game song.
GS: Actually, we opened our radio show this semester with your song! It’s actually incredible to be sitting here a couple months down the line and actually be interviewing you. I mean when you talk about crossing boundaries, it’s amazing because Morgan’s from Boston and I’m from Jakarta, Indonesia and we’re in Syracuse listening to a Spanish DJ remix your song and here we are discussing it Austin.
AJ: Wow! I feel so honored! Thank you! That means so much to us. You go, girls. A friend of ours goes to school in Syracuse. We must definitely perform there sometime soon. She’s a fashion design major.
MMC: Speaking of style, who inspires you fashion wise?
CH: I think we’re all about feeling, you know. Especially when it comes to performing on stage. We wanna express how we feel when we sing that song. We want something that extends our movements, you know. Dramatic stuff. But if you’re thinking about icons, we love Prince, David Bowie, Patti Smith…
AJ: …and PJ Harvey, of course. With the leather pants, leather jacket, in white. Ah, she’s so cool. I love it. Not to mention the red lipstick. But we don’t really follow any trends, we’re really bad when it comes to that. In the beginning, we would kind of sewing our own stuff. The first time we were in Paris, Air France lost our luggage and then we ended up cutting and sewing our own stuff after that. We love the side of fashion when it comes from an arty perspective.
CH: When it comes to expressing ourselves, we’ve been to a lot of fashion weeks and we love it. Just the energy and the clothes, you know. Some people spend a whole year working on it and it’s cool because it’s chaos backstage but when they go out there everything is perfect. It’s so beautiful and well put together. We’re actually really bad at following trends though.
GS: It doesn’t even matter because you guys set them, really.
AJ: Aw, thank you!
GS: Well, you guys have an amazing stage presence. Is there any specific routine that you guys follow before you go on stage to pump yourselves up?
AJ: Oh, yeah. We call it the band tattoo. It’s kind of like a horn. We stand in a ring and choose one person that stands in the ring and we stand around the person, doing…well, it’s actually really embarrassing.
CH: Yeah, it’s really embarrassing. We do this rock pose and we scream, “YEAH!”. And you can feel the energy when you’re doing it. It’s really amazing! It’s kind of liberating!
AJ: It’s liberating and yet at the same time you feel like the biggest geek on Earth. But you do it because you can’t be any more geeky anyway. And really, whenever we don’t follow through with this routine, it turns into the worst show ever.
MMC: Yeah, definitely keep doing that! Do you ever get nervous before you take the stage? And if you do, how do you deal with it?
CH: Oh yes. When it comes to lifestyles, we want to keep it interesting for ourselves all the time so we can also keep it interesting for the people in the audience. I mean, I’m always nervous when I go onstage because we always keep on adding stuff so I’m like, “Shit, the synthesizer and the vocals should be different, etc…” I mean it’s a lot of stuff to think about but when you’re out there you don’t end up thinking so much, you just become one with the whole thing.
MMC: Yeah, I bet. So how did you start learning to DJ?
AJ: Well, we just threw ourselves out there and we couldn’t even insert a CD when we started. It started out with the fact that we had a lot of parties. We decided to move in together and we had a lot of parties at our apartment, so much so that the neighbors started to complain so we had to take the party to another place; I mean, we’ve been club kids since we were sixteen years old so we knew everyone and were like, “Please, can we have a club?” and the club owner was like, “Yeah, I know you’re gonna draw a lot of people there” so we started having clubs and we didn’t even know how to DJ so that was a problem. We got so much energy out of it. In the beginning we didn’t see ourselves as DJs, we saw ourselves as just changing songs but then we saw an interest growing out and we started to love it. It was a way of expressing ourselves.
CH: Yeah, I think it’s very important to start somewhere.
AJ: Yes, you have to dare to make mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Just learn from them. I mean, no one’s going to judge you for that, it’s very important to start somewhere. Worst comes worst, the crowd will be angry for messing up the song. But that’s the worst scenario. You just have to go to a club and practice. It’s crucial. You just have to do it so if you just play music that you love and have fun, it doesn’t matter if you make a few mistakes.
MMC: That’s great advice! Have you ever had people give you a lot of attitude?
AJ: Most definitely. We’ve been through a lot of shitty situations. Times when we would come into clubs and would try to play music and people would be like, “Who the hell are you”? It’s been terrible sometimes and I think that makes you become a stronger person. I mean, there are so many times when we went to clubs and guys have been DJing. So many guys DJing before us have been like, “So girls, this is the button you push to play a song and this is where you eject a CD”. I don’t think they mean to be condescending but they just don’t know better and I think we’re here to change it.
CH: Yes, and instead of trying to work against each other, girls should realize the power of supporting each other and building each other up. You have a lot to learn from each other and it would be so much better for everyone to understand that. That’s really important to remember. Sometimes you might feel like someone’s trying to pull you down but then you have to remember that that person is probably insecure. You should know better to do it back.
MMC: Solid advice.
GS: Who were your musical heroes growing up and what’s getting most play on your iPods right now?
AJ: Well, we love Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, David Bowie, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Destiny’s Child. Also, the one hit wonders and the boy and girl bands. But I think there’s a lot of women like Tina Turner and Beyoncé that we really love. The most played song on our iPod–that’s tough.
MMC: What about recently added?
CH: We love the producer that we worked from the start, he produced the Rihanna single, “Stay”. We love that one a lot, we’ve been listening a lot to that. The Knife is great, too. A lot of Swedish bands, too, ha.
GS: Do you think it is true that you need music the most when you’re falling in and out of love?
AJ: Yes. It’s a good way to escape. Sometimes when you’re really sad, you just listen to a song and it helps. When you’re talking about love, either you feel more or you feel less. It’s very important to listen to the right kind of music.
CH: If you’re hurt, it’s important to let yourself cry. When you’re sad, you just need to take your time but it’s also important to have those pick-up songs that really make you feel a little bit warmer inside and a little bit stronger.
MMC: We couldn’t agree more.
GS: Yeah, “I Love It” was that pick-up song for us, ha.
AJ: Thank you! It makes us very happy to hear you say that!
MMC: Well, you have already given us some very good advice and our final question for you is if you have something to share with us for aspiring females in the music industry?
AJ: Yeah, most importantly, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. That’s what you learn from. You learn from them so much more than you learn from people telling you what to do.
CH: If you just take a direction and go with it, the worst thing that could happen is you have to change the direction and move another way but if you never dare to do anything, you’ll be walking around in circles wondering what it would be like if you tried it. Just don’t be scared. Surround yourself with people you love and who love you.
With fifteen years of touring, 800,000 albums sold and appearances throughout the year at the Grand Ole Opry,O.C.M.S is certainly in good company with bluegrass all stars like Doc Watson, Del McCoury and countless others whom have graced the stage of the Nashville landmark.
Old Crow Medicine Show has been on the radar of bluegrass heads for years now, legend says they were discovered while playing on a street corner in North Carolina where bluegrass grandfather Doc Watson just happened to walk by one afternoon. They were immediately invited to Watson’s MerleFest which led to a residency at the Grand Ole Opry, which led to appearances at renowned festivals like Bonnaroo, Coachella, and now they will be making history headlining the 6th annual DelFest.
I have only been afforded the opportunity to see Turkuaz twice before, once at Strangecreek in a late night cabin and once at Red Square in Albany, so seeing them in a venue this size did them much justice. The crowd exploded as guitarist Craig Brodhead went into an impressive jiving guitar solo during “Lookin’ Good Feelin’ Tough” which was equally matched by Michelangelo Carubba with a loud Bonham-strong drum solo.
The crowd applauded as Giant Panda took the stage, playing for the last time with keyboardist Aaron Lipp in their hometown. The energy shifted from upright funk to a low smooth reggae with a hard undertone and an untouchable beat. There was an emotional feel to the night as Giant Panda played crowd favorites such as “Missing You More”, “Undermove” and “Seasons Change”. Mixes of trance jam and low tempo groove carried the night away and the audience was dancing alongside of them every step of the way.
To be honest, it’s a hole in the wall. But it’s a magic hole I love to escape to. Have you ever pissed in a trough style urinal the same night as shaking Derek Trucks’s hand and then smoked a joint with Jimmy Herring? Neither have I, but only because I don’t usually use the men’s room.
Originally called Papa’s Place, Valentine’s was owned by Karen Seeburg and her family. Back then it was just a locals bar. Enter Jeff Guthrie and Greg Bell, local Albany music promoters extraordinaire. They caught wind of the tragically underused upstairs floor and convinced Karen to let them bring in a sound system and lighting rigs for a show once a week. In six months’ time, Greg and Jeff were bringing Karen bands every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and convinced her to allow them to set up a stage and a real sound system. If you are familiar with hippie jambands in Upstate NY, you probably know
In general, Valentine’s has a plethora of live music on both floors. The downstairs caters to a smaller crowd/bands and is open for business as the main floor. It has a pool table, some arcade games and a dart board. Upstairs the bigger acts can fit. I’ve seen moe. multiple times upstairs at Valentine’s. When moe. wanted to play a random low key show, they’d advertise under the pseudonym “Monkeys on Ecstasy.” The first big show Greg brought to Valentine’s was The Weasels with Soul Asylum. The first sold out show was Ominous Seapods with Moonboot Lover and Dr. Jah & the Love Prophets.
Selling out theaters and large clubs across North and Central America, Europe, and Asia and performing at music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Riverbend, Gathering of the Vibes and Rock of Ages, they have earned worldwide recognition and the original members’ seal of approval. Receiving accolades from the likes of Spin magazine, 
Mary Morgan Craig: So how has SXSW been treating you so far?