NYS Music 20​13

Tag: upstate concert hall

  • An Interview with Jeremy Salken of Big Gigantic

    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.

  • Show review: FOR TODAY at UCH Jan 29th

    Going into the concert most people there knew that For Today was a Christian metalcore band.  What came to a shock to most everyone was when they stopped in the midst of an otherwise powerful set to preach.  Unclean vocalist, Mattie Montgomery, stood on the stage, raised his hands in the air, and “Praised Jesus” for the time that they could have played a whole song.  While most of the impressionable youth in the audience seemingly embraced the message, it left quite a few confused.

    Gideon started the show with pounding drums… deafening to those in the front of Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park.  The windows shook as the band rocked the audiences’ faces off.  As the mostly teen crowd fought their way to the stage it was as if the band was trying to ward off the assault with waves of “Alabama hardcore.” When a pit finally opened up and the brave masses decided to mosh their Tuesday blues away.

    ForToday505
    Upon A Burning Body

    When Upon a Burning Body from Texas came on stage it looked like an insurance convention.  The gentlemen donned nice suits, spiffy ties and enough product in their hair for a guest appearance on the Jersey Shore.  However, when they fired up their guitars, I swear they must have been gas powered.  They reminded me of the wood chipper back home, in a good way.  They shredded the air around Upstate NewYork.  If you looked closely the drummer, Jonathon Gonzales, had three feet, because no mere human with two feet could pounce on the bass drums that fast.  He’d compete with Neil Peart, in that element alone.  The energy in the room was building with three more bands yet to come.  With the night still young, and the stars are bright in the heart of Texas.  After a lot of coaxing, the pit spun out of control and the whirlpool sucked the onlookers into the mayhem.

    The Word Alive
    The Word Alive

    All the way from Phoenix, Arizona, The Word Alive came out in a fury.  Though in the middle of their set the vocals went and “Telle” Smith sang heavily into a dead mic during the majority of one song.  These things happen on even the most organized tours. As Telle left the stage the band didn’t miss a beat and played as their two guitarists (Zack Hansen and Tony Pizzuti) dueled it out on the stage and got the crowd into the instrumental sensation.  Then Smith returned to the stage thinking the sound issues were over, but apparently they weren’t quite fixed.  Luckily, the crowd sang along and life was somewhat normal again.  As normal as it can be at a hardcore show in Upstate NY on a Tuesday in Winter.  The drummer, Luke Holland, played as of he was at a firing range and the under 21 crowd before him was his prey.  Then the lights went out but the music didn’t stop. Just the vocals… still.  So with guitars, bass and drums and no lights, UCH was alive.  The mic finally came back to life, the band kept it in stride and thanked the crowd for singing the songs for them.  The Word Alive ended with the title track off their new album “Life Cycles”, and reminded the crowd that they’d rather die for what they believe.

    Where they there for a metal show or a evangelistic revival?  Upstate Metal was there to rock our faces off and For Today did that, when they played.  Their set was solid, both the clean and unclean vocals were great, guitars shredded, the new drummer, David Puckett, was spot on.  It was the preaching that made this writer pause and say “what happened to the music?”  Christian metal has it’s place, it can be quite good and carry a solid message.  However, preaching doesn’t do it for me.  What’s more is that a couple songs later, Mattie did it again.  I’d much rather he took the 10 minutes telling me how his soul was saved and spent it playing two new tracks of the album Immortal that came out last year.  Either that or give The Word Alive the 10 minutes to play the songs that the mic went dead.

    Memphis May Fire, another Texas band, braved the bitter northeast again to greet many adorning fans.  Just a month and a half ago MMF was at Upstate Concert Hall opening up for As I Lay Dying.  On this night, the young, eager crowd was ready for them.  A lot of repeat concert goers were in the audience and were familiar with the songs and sang, urrr.. screamed along. When the anthem “Legacy” started up halfway through the set, you’d have thought that Memphis May Fire was the headliner.  All eyes were on the stage, except those in the ever growing pit that seemed to consume the majority of the floor in front of the stage.

    The drum solo by Jeremy Grisham after “Legacy” was one of the more impressive ones I’ve witnessed lately and that led to more mania from the crowd.  As with the three bands before them, the sets grew slightly longer and the crowd surfing, jumping up and down and shrieks from the audience was quickly hitting “10” on the dial.  When the band ask if anyone had seen them before, nearly half the crowd cheered.  Finally when MMF performed “The Victor” that had vocalist, Chase Ryan, going back and forth between singing and screaming, a multiple personality madman intriguing the bouncing teens before him.

    For Today
    For Today

    Overall, Upstate Concert Hall was another gracious host to a night of kickass metal.  They provide a great outlet for the Capital region.  In the next week, Sevendust and Trapt will be at UCH.  Shows that this writer does not plan to miss.