moe. has announced that they will be playing a 2-night New Years Eve run in Albany this year, December 30th and 31st at the Palace Theatre. On sale information is not available yet but you can stay up to date on all things moe. by visiting their website www.moe.org.
With The Big Up Festival just days away, I had the great opportunity of compiling a list of questions for Maff Scott of The Egg to answer before they take stage in Claverack, New York on Saturday August 10th. The Egg is an extremely influential and talented British electronic band formed in the early 1990’s and they have toured all over Europe as well as Australia and Brazil. It is truly a pleasure for Upstate New York to be able to experience such amazing music at a festival so close to home.
Jenni Wilson: Can you tell us a little about each individual in the band and how you all met and got started in the music industry?
Maff Scott: Well there’s myself (Maff) and Ned. Ned started getting better at the piano and I picked up the drums. We started jamming at home, using saucepan lids and a pedal that we made by attaching a rubber band to a marching band big drum (it only worked once and then fell apart.) We’ve played with a few others over the years. We used Ben Cullum’s (a great house producer and song writer) bass lines to play electronically. We also wrote and toured a bit with Matt White who we met through Pete Doherty (whom we wrote the song “For Lovers” with). Drew is playing guitar with us mostly; he’s done quite a few tours now and co-written stuff (something to do) and he’s great. Most musicians we generally meet through mutual friends. We also tend to meet a lot of people through the West London scene. We met Sophie Barker (Zero7) whom we’ve done lots of UK gigs, and even a recent gig with Mick Jones (The Clash) and Greg Hunter (Killing Joke, The Orb). We’ve done lots of recent production for a new release with him, and used his parts for a tune “Psyfunk” in the set. He’s on tour elsewhere but we will try to connect if we can. We also met a great trumpet player, Richard Wendel, while playing in Costa Rica. We jammed with him… and it was brilliant. He runs a great jazz club (The Bitter End) in NYC so we’ll be having him do some crazy trumpet at the Webster Hall show.
JW: Can you tell us a story about a day in the band’s life?
MS: Erm, well there was the time we were driving to Cleveland, famous for Spinal Tap’s scene where they get lost on the way to the stage (“Hello Cleveland”) – We’d overloaded the van’s alternator with all of our UK converters, laptops and phone chargers. The final straw was putting ‘Spinal Tap’ on the DVD player. We drew too much power and snapped the dynamo off which busted the van. We were stuck in a ‘Bennys’ for the night and missed the show. Ironic that it was Cleveland and Spinal Tap. How we laughed.
JW: What goes into your process of creating a new song or album?
MS: Years of hell and stress! Sitting up late playing with electronic bits and bobs. Sometimes it’s a loop or a chord structure Ned has created which we can jam on and take the parts into rehearsal and make an arrangement. Of course, it changed when we play it live for a while. We’ve been known to stay up for days on one tune. Sometimes in hotel rooms or soundchecks or instead of actually rehearsing for a gig: we are VERY undisciplined.
JW: What are the biggest obstacles for a band and what is the hardest part about working in the music industry?
MS: Errr.. getting paid! It’s hard to get people to buy stuff when so much is given away. But we’re happy to give away live recordings. The hardest part is keeping the excitement levels up. Web stuff is hard because everyone is competing for your fans attention using the same tool.
JW:What are some of your pet peeves when performing?
MS: Time! We always run out of time and don’t get to play the entire set, and the best tunes are at the end. We’re also really warmed up by then and so is the crowd. Maybe we’re too ambitious with set lists thinking we can do it. The best gigs we’ve done are the ones that have no time limit. The tunes have the time to develop without stopping to squeeze the next one in.
JW: How do you feel about online music sharing and how has it changed for you as a band since your start?
MS: We don’t mind sharing a few live shows and all, but as for albums, well, it’s hard to get paid for sales if people are downloading them for free. Sure it gets your attention to a bigger reach, but if everyone does that then it doesn’t really make you stand out as ‘the band who gives stuff away’ – Even though everyone expects it nowadays. The emphasis is now on live shows I guess. We’ve definitely found people who’d never heard of us elsewhere so in measure it’s a great thing (as long as you hold something back).
JW: How was your experience playing a festival as huge as Glastonbury?
MS: We’ve done it a few times now. It’s like a city that never sleeps and you don’t know who you’ll reach. There are massively long walks everywhere and it is sort of split up into villages really… mad crazy villages where everyone is the village nutter. There have also been some crazy muddy years, but that makes a comic bonding effect with everyone. We can all look at each other and laugh. This year was fun.. like another world. You feel weird going back to reality sometimes.
JW: What do you want Big Up goers to expect for your performance musically/visually?
MS: We have video triggers and a synced up set of dance music and electronics with lots of different styles and live musicians. Basically Moog baselines, an influence of deep house, but mostly eclectic house vibe: guitars, vocoders, a bit of ambient bleeps, crunched up this and that… I think they’ll like it.
JW: What advice would you give to other artists at The Big Up festival who have less experience?
MS: Less experience is good! New bands have hunger and faith and blind optimism. That’s all you need! Generally, be good at what you do and don’t piss anyone off. Everyone’s ‘good’ in a way, depending on what music you like, so someone not liking you as people will have far more effect on your next booking than how good you are. Criticizing other bands doesn’t make your band better either. It’s a backfiring effect. I’m sure they’ll all know this. I don’t want to patronize but I personally don’t bother with covers. It’s easy to think your music is so different that no one will get it, but that’s the reason they’ll notice you. Being yourself is always original, because we’re all different. So be yourself! I’ve often forgotten that. Anyway we’re crap at other people’s music and we can only do our own.
Make sure you don’t miss these guys at the Space Ball City Tent on August 10th.
Newton Crosby got the night off on the right foot on July 18th at the Hollow Bar, (formerly known as Bayou Café) ahead of Mister F. In the middle of a five day heat wave, music enthusiasts were more than happy to sweat it out to the funky beats of two phenomenal bands. Each of Newton Crosby’s songs built energy from the song before and stayed very heavily focused around the saxophone. The keys and synth transformed the organic sounds of instruments into a beautiful blend of synthetic melodic funk jams. They were the perfect band to warm up the stage on a hot night in Albany.
Mister F took the Hollow stage with full force and high energy. The electronic blend immediately picked up within their first song and invigorated the crowd with energy. Matt Pickering belted into the microphone without missing a single beat while the rest of the band follows suit in synchrony. Their authenticity within each song develops complex layers that bounce between band members creating stellar building points for each member to work off of. Even more so, you can tell that each member is genuinely having a blast doing it so it makes it all that much better for the crowd. Halfway through their first set they busted out a seriously funky rendition of “Superstitions” by Stevie Wonder. Scott Hannay (keys) really brought that song to life with his powerful vocals and amazingly funky keys. The blend of pure instrumental talent mixed with the electronic elements really creates a new and fresh sound that is rare to find. Even in 98 degree heat these boys threw down, and turned the heat up. This was the only the second time I had seen these guys and even from just a few months ago you can see the growth of the band and their fan-base. There is obviously a huge buzz surrounding Mister F, so make sure you catch them at their upcoming shows and festivals.
Set I: Jump the Shark, Everything You Say, Superstition > Answer the Dog, ‘Oasis Mood’, Buster’s Revenge, Hedgehog
Set II: This One Goes to 11, Fancy Footwork, Deal Breaker, Treadmill, 1000 Cigarettes* > Vocoder^, Get Used to It
*first time played, MSTRKRFT
^”Broke Odor” version
The Linda Theater provided the perfect setting for what turned out to be a very special and intimate evening with Billy Payne. Most people know Payne as one of the original founders of Little Feat. What some might not know is he is also an accomplished photographer, an amazing storyteller and a treasure-trove of musical history. Using all of these attributes, Payne presented “Tracing Footsteps”, a multimedia journal of music, photography, and stories from the road and from Billy Payne’s past.
Payne begins by explaining “I call this event ‘Tracing Footsteps’ because I have been down many paths in my life, from music to photography, and everyone I’ve met along the way have been a huge part of my life”. “Tracing Footsteps” is largely a tribute to Payne’s previous band mates. He performed “Feathers and a Smile” as a tribute to Little Feat co-founder Lowell George. Several songs were also played in honor of deceased Little Feat drummer, Richie Hayward. In addition, Payne played a few new tunes co-written with Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter, including “A Thousand Nights” and “Wolfe in the Wilderness”.
For the second set, Payne was joined on stage by current Little Feat drummer, Gabe Ford, and teenage guitar sensation, Conor Kennedy. The guys played several tunes from Payne’s current side-project, the Hooligans, including “Blue Grass Pines”, “Louisiana”, and “If I had a Mind To”. It was also an evening of experimentation with Payne trying “Juble”, another new tune recently written with Robert Hunter. The intimate and very entertaining evening wrapped up with a Q & A session along with friendly conversation and autographs.
Echo Music Fest, brought to you by Loyalty Entertainment, was designed to be an all day, all night outdoor EDM festival set in the beautiful, hilly region of Schenectady- home to Maple Ski Ridge, majestic Plotterkill Preserve and the Indian Lookout Country Club- made famous by Camp Creek, Gathering of the Vibes and Camp Bisco. Instead, Echo Music Fest was downsized twice, cutting out all “minor” acts including Syracuse funk favorites, Sophistafunk, and relocated to two clubs, and finally one club, in downtown Albany. The performances were narrowed down to the following DJ’s: Valerie Valentine, SAV and Mystereo, DVDJ Dread, and Jersey Shore celebrity and mashup hip-hop/house/electro DJ, Pauly D. The festival started out with few attendees filtering in and out of Legends on Pearl, and ended in a packed, drunken, dancing mess of sweaty Albany clubgoers and assorted party people. Mission Accomplished!
The lovely Val Valentine spun Synth-laden, bouncy electro-house tracks to start the evening off and bass-heavy mashup/house/trap/electro continued to echo down Pearl St. until close at 4am. Each DJ brought their own style of EDM, providing listeners with a range of experiences. Valentine’s set established an upbeat and technically interesting ambiance, with lots of cool sonic effects, knob-twisting and live mixing. This Buenos Aires native was also quite enjoyable to watch, as she would periodically and adorably rise up to mix on tip-toe. Her set was unfortunately somewhat sparsely attended due to the early hour. Next was SAV and Mystereo, the black and white Rorschack-masked Moombahton duo from parts unknown, who held fast to their anonymity, even down to an identity-killing, scratchy, Batman-like stage voice on Mystereo’s behalf. Cheesy?…maybe. Fun and weirdly cool?…Definitely. Their set followed suit as it proved fun and danceable. Moombahton, for those who are unfamiliar, is a blending of reggaeton and thick-baseline electro house or electro. This form of music has a tendency to get the party started due to its relatively new (c. 2010) electronic take on the ridiculously rhythmic and timeless roots of Jamaican dance hall and Dominican bachata. The night continued to hold this energy as DVDJ Dread took the booth. This is a DJ with technical skill. Most memorable were the scratching breaks Dread regularly took in his hip-hop heavy set. Fast scratching was his forte, and it was nice to see someone that still formidably wields this too oft neglected art. Dread is also a filmographer (hence the “DVDJ”), and his videos streamed across Legends’ many large flat screens as the party grew in size and intensity.
It was during these primetime hours at Legends that a number of other DJ’s traded off with each other, most of them unidentified to this writer. Pauly D soon integrated himself into this party of now hard-drinking DJs, and continued the theme of hip-hop/mashup/house. He stuck hard to top 40 and club hits, with crowd favorites like A$AP Rocky’s “F***ing Problem” and “Ball” by TI. Unfortunately, his spinning style appeared to be lacking in a variety of, well… creative mixing or turntablism. I left remembering one instance, wherein Pauly D left the beat to a song thumping, cut out the treble, and mixed in a loop that simply repeated “Pauly…Pauly” for an extended break. But…you do have to hand it to him, he was able to keep those Albany clubgoers and a handful of festi-type partygoers dancing through the night, and repeating catchy pop-hip-hop rhymes the next day.
Thanks to Loyalty Entertainment for a valiant effort in tough circumstances and hospitality all around. Better luck with a larger outdoor festival next year!
One of the best ways to cool down after a disgustingly humid Saturday is with cold drinks at Albany’s Red Square, and on June 1st, it was even cooler with Boston’s Club D’Elf and the infamous Marco Benevento. Club D’Elf is notorious for having a jazz –infused, progressive rock, Moroccan sound which was enough to sell me on seeing their show for the first time while Marco Benevento is no stranger to me or Red Square.
The evening got off with a mellow and slow start with “Bass Beatbox”, gentle bells, easy beats from Dean Johnston and echoing riffs with each musician getting a feel for the crowd and space. I lingered in the back of the crowd to take in the sound of the music clashing beautifully together. I could hear Marco pounding on his keys while Club D’Elf sent out waves of creepy Middle Eastern flair. I was pulled closer to the stage by the hypnotizing electric guitar riffs in “13/Gijro” and strong rhythm of the drum set plus ever growing bongos in “Hegue”.
Being closer to the action gave me a deeper appreciation for the artists who kept a constant exchange of smiles between themselves and the audience, plus a better look at instruments, some of which I have never seen before. Danny Blume takes credit for playing the biggest guitar I have ever seen and shredded the life out of it. While Mike Rivard handled the skinniest stand-up bass, switching back and forth to an electric blue guitar, giving the music a heavy dub/reggae sound. Benevento played what must have been every note on his piano and keyboard, all with great fire and recklessness throughout the night. “I Wish I Was in Heaven” and “Sidi Rabi” as the encore, brought out intense vocals from Brahim Fribgane and exotic sounds from his stringed Lutar.
The sound of the evening could be summed up as a “Bob Marley meets crooked Arabian Nights meets downtown Jazz club” mixture. With everyone playing together, it was true Frankenstein of a band, complete with bizarre instruments and monstrous songs that left me with confused, delighted terror and amazement.
The show is available for a free listen and/or free download, thanks to Ed Guidry. Remember to tip your tapers folks and to catch Club D’Elf at the Disc Jam music festival and The Lizard Lounge in MA on July 12th and 26th. Marco Benevento can be seen at Equifunk festival on August 17th Upstate New York.
Setlist: Bass Beatbox, 13/Gojiro, Hegue, As Above, Mogador, Zeed Al Maal, I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down, Instar,
Encore: Sidi Rabi
Valentine’s Music Hall and Beer Joint is one of the most well known venues in Albany, hosting hundreds of bands throughout its history and leaving many memories behind after the shows are over. Now, a Kickstarter has been created to fund a Documentary on the classic venue. Titled No Pepper, after the sign at the bottom of the first floor stage, the movie will examine the history of the venue, the bands who played there and the significance it holds for live music fans in Albany.
Created by TG Branfalt Jr, he explains his reasoning behind the venue, “The story of Valentine’s has never been told and I think it’s time to tell it. If you’re an East Coast musician you have either heard of, or played at Valentine’s. If you’re a fan of underground or local music you have heard of or been to Valentine’s. As club after club closes it’s important to keep a record of the ones that played a role in shaping the city – no other club helped shape the musicians of Albany like V-Tines. Valentine’s is an incredible venue for budding musicians, run by awesome people. And places for musicians to play in Albany are dying.”
Summing it up as honestly as he can, “Valentine’s is important to Albany’s culture.” Indeed it is.
Keep in mind that the spread of a certain hospital complex and urban renewal are quickly threatening the location, so it is of the utmost importance to document the venue and its history before too long.
You can stay in touch with the project through their Facebook page, and take a look at Valentine’s with Amy Fischer’s profile in of the fabled venue, including a chat with Howard Glassman, the proprietor of the establishment.
The Kickstarter is only open until June 19th, so act soon! If you pledge just $25, you’ll get the soundtrack and DVD of the completed documentary.
Support live music in Albany, but right now, do what you can to support Valentine’s and their Kickstarter for No Pepper.
The second annual MOVE Music Festival was held April 27th in Albany, bringing 100 bands to play in 10 venues across the city, catering to a wide array of musical genres. People are always looking for the next big thing and wanting to be a part of something, especially from the beginning. Some bands catch big breaks and it’s fun to be a fan who can say, “I saw them before they were famous.” Albany’s MOVE Music Fest gave concert goers the opportunity to experience new acts from all over the state and country, promoting the cities’ ever growing music scene. I barely knew 5 out of 100 bands on the lineup and was expecting really amateur music from bands who I thought were getting their first gig out of their mother’s basement. However, I was more than surprised with the talent that each group displayed and can’t wait to see their upcoming shows.
It was more than overwhelming to look at the schedule for the day and pick a place to start. With each band only getting an hour to play, my friends and I tried to strategize a route which was convenient for ourselves and would give us the chance to catch the few bands we did know in action. In the end, we decided to start at Valentines because it was the closest venue to my apartment and never fails with good music. We arrived at the venue around 4pm with plenty of people inside and out ready to catch the first of many acts to come. Party Boat kicked off my evening with wailing vocals that reminded me of the indie band GroupLove, complete with catchy lyrics and simple harmonies. I love surfer music, mostly for the unique guitar sounds that I don’t hear too often living in Upstate New York. I was excited to learn that the group is from Saratoga Springs and often play at Valentines plus other nearby venues.
Next up was The Ameros, who opened with one of my favorite songs, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage the Elephant. This not only pumped me up but the rest of the crowd too causing a massive surge to the front of the stage. Lead singer Jesse Calhoun belted out lyrics of freedom and rebellion with great passion and honesty, almost causing a riot on the dance floor. Charles Pope blew me away with his sharp guitar riffs especially during “New American Century.” The Ameros musical style ranges from reggae, rock, funk and explosive hip hop. This was their second time playing at the MOVE Music Festival and Calhoun said it went way better this year since they got to play at one of their favorite venues, Valentines, and were able to support their friends’ bands by catching more music too.
While catching some fresh air outside, my friends and I were approached by a few tie dye wearing, hairy faced dudes handing out flyers for the band, TreeHouse! It seemed legit. We headed upstairs at Valentines to check out the reggae group that had traveled all the way from the Carolinas to play here. As it was getting closer to show time, we noticed that the guys handing flyers outside were now on stage, tuning up and was actually the band TreeHouse! The band takes pride in their excessive way to self-promote themselves, such as pulling people in from out the streets. I was totally surprised by the deep vocals coming from Jeremy Anderson that echoed off the walls in the venue. Bassist Matt Link did not stop dancing and grooving the entire time they were on stage. Trey Moody laid out tasty beats throughout the set, only encouraging the band to keep pushing the reggae party vibe.
Barons in the Attic, the grunge rock Albany locals, took the downstairs Valentines stage and blasted into their set with “Julia.” The upbeat melody mixed with hardcore rhythm was more than enough to get the crowd in full dance mode. The Barons combine punk, garage and folk with energetic force and attitude, always making for a good show. Matt Hamilton was unavailable for the show so fans were treated to Eric Krans from “The Parlor” who fit right in by strumming and stirring up the crowd just as loud as the rest of the boys.
For a change of pace, we headed towards Lark St where there would be more venues with more music. My girlfriend suggested we check out Brown Bread & Von Holt, an electronic pop band from her home town in Beacon, NY. We cruised into Lark Tavern, a bar that after undergoing renovations, hosts routine musical acts of all genres in their back room with a small stage and plenty of table seating. The dynamic duo is Rebecca Doerfer (Brown Bread) and Colin Cheyne (Von Holt) who together make up a bone chilling dance party. Doerfer’s voice is haunting and angelic while Cheyne sends out eerie chords from his guitar. Their sound is a dark and electronic space jam full of heartbreak yet good spirits.
Still a new festival, MOVE is off to a great start and has support next year when they want to host 100 bands in our back yard of Albany.
A little known secret is that sometimes the best shows happen during the beginning of the week. The Kollectiv and The Heavy Pets drew in quite a crowd on April 23rd, a Tuesday night for The Hollow Bar and Kitchen (formerly The Bayou Cafe) in Albany. I was urged by multiple friends to check out these two jam bands and at the end of the night, it was way beyond worth going out for.
The Kollectiv hails from Oneonta, NY, so making it to Albany was an easy trip for dedicated fans from all over the Upstate region to catch them in action. The five-piece up and coming band wasted no time laying out a funky fresh jam with edge and attitude. Their music ranged from reggae, rock, hip hop and funk, with each song being groovy and original. The highlight of their set was the Grateful Dead’s “Fire on the Mountain”, quite possibly the best reggae remix I’ve ever heard. One of the most unique aspects about The Kollectiv is member Lars Viola on the turntables. The rhythmic record scratching surprisingly brought the jams to a new level, making them deliciously contemporary and cool. The Kollectiv’s fusion of musical styling is a game changer and a band to be on the lookout for.
The Heavy Pets took the stage and sent out their own reggae jam vibe that light up the room. I was lucky to find myself right in front of Jeff Lloyd and Mike Garulli, guitarists with spark flying strumming. Bassist Tony D’Amato looked laid back throughout the night, despite his delivery of continuous heavy bass notes. Jamie Newitt hit symbols and slammed out serious beats while he and Jim Wuest on keys went back in forth sending a steady rhythm through the room all night. The entire night was filled with nonstop energy from each member, displaying tremendous talent and experience. It was a great pleasure to watch as each musician would get lost in the music, only causing more of a reaction from the crowd and elevation of jams. The band currently resides in Florida but they are always more than happy to come home to Upstate New York.
Setlist: 3AM, Spin Round, Travel, Bibbles, Babies, Slow Down, Chevrolet, TDTSFTR, Pass it Down,
Encore: No More Time, Jackie Bones, STYM
After becoming a phan-favorite in a short amount of time, the intimate show with Mike Gordon and his band at The Egg in Albany will be released as a 3-CD set and a free MP3 download; Simply titled The Egg. The December 2011 show produced remarkable acoustics in which the entire band drew energy that night so it’s no surprise this show was picked by Gordon for release.
For a full review of the show please check out Pete Mason’s article here.
You can get the free MP3 download at LivePhish.com. The 3-CD set is available as a very limited physical run, with deluxe packaging that includes a custom round tin with three discs tucked away inside a custom Egg cotton stash bag. It is available for pre-order now exclusively at Phish Dry Goods and Mike’s online store and available for shipping by April 30th 2013. It will not be available in stores.
The show features originals from Mike’s catalog, including “Horizon Line”, “Only A Dream”, “Voices”, and “Hap Nappy”. Phish fans will recognize “Sugar Shack” and “Suzy Greenberg”, which included The Dude Of Life on vocals. To round out “The Egg”, three tracks were selected from Mike’s March 26, 2011 show at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT, including an extended version of “Mound”.
Disc 1
1. Horizon Line
2. Only A Dream
3. I’m Deranged >
4. The Way It Goes
5. Just A Rose >
6. Voices
Disc 2
1. River Niger
2. Don’t Do It
3. Horizon Line
4. Funky Bitch
5. Sugar Shack
6. Hand In My Pocket
7. Dig Further Down
8. Crumblin’ Bones
Disc 3
1. Skin It Back >
2. Hap Nappy
3. Won’t Get Fooled Again
4. Suzy Greenberg
5. Filler: Mound (3/26/2011 Burlington, VT)
6. Filler: Got Away (3/26/2011 Burlington, VT)
7. Filler: Black Tambourine (3/26/2011 Burlington, VT)
The Dude of Life on vocals for “Suzy Greenberg”
Recorded by Rachel Bischoff
Mixed by Jon Altschiller
Assisted by Danielle Warman
Mastered by Jonathan Russell
Technical Assistance by Kevin Shapiro
Package/Design by Julia Mordaunt