NYS Music 20​14

Author: Jeremiah Shea

  • An Interview with Marco Benevento Before Friday’s Stop at Nietzsche’s

    Marco Benevento is coming to Buffalo this Friday for an intimate night of music at Nietzsche’s and sat down for an interview with Jeremiah Shea.  The experimental pianist, who’s known for his engaging live show, will be joined by his band which features Dave Dreiwitz on bass and Andy Borger on drums.  The three were last in the area when they headlined the Night Lights Fall Music Festival this past September and fans of Marco have been eagerly awaiting his return.  Opening up the night will be WeazilDust (Packy Lunn from Jimkata doing a DJ set) and Lazlo Hollyfeld who play regularly in the area and will add to a night of great music.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABW_fIufv9g

    I got the chance to sit down with Marco and discuss a few things from his upcoming album to his approach to the stage.  Marco is exactly how you’d expect him to be when we talked: personable, genuine, and appreciative of all of the support he’s had throughout his career.  Our talk only lasted a half hour, but the insight into his music and life went pretty deep as his candid answers were anything but rehearsed.

    IMG_4160Jeremiah Shea: It’s been a little while, but what was the experience like having Holly Bowling sit in with you on more than one occasion?

    Marco Benevento: It was awesome!  The first time it happened, we were playing in San Francisco and the audience was really close to the stage.  The point of the gig was a fundraiser for Bread and Roses and every cent that came into the door went right to that organization.  Nobody got paid for the gig, it was just volunteered time.  Because we were setup so close to the audience, people could actually reach the piano from the audience and press a key down.  I was jokingly saying, “It’s $2 if you want to reach up here and play a couple of keys.”  People just got out singles and were holding money in the air to reach up and play.  Holly just jumped up on stage and I was like, “Oh shit,” but she sat down next to me and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not a crazy fan and I’m friends with Dan.”  Dan is our sound guy, so I knew it was ok and she jumped right into “Atari.”  We totally rocked out and she knew the changes, and then we recreated that same experience at the Highline Ballroom in NY.

    JS: I know you guys are experienced in improvisation, but how was it being the one who was surprised?

    MB: Oh it totally made the night, especially in San Francisco.  There were a lot of people who thought it was planned, so it was a cool experience.  I was totally taken back by her knowledge and how she just knew all of the chords and didn’t flinch.

    JS: You’re a guy who is always testing new ideas and mixing things up musically speaking.  What new projects have you been working on?

    MB: Yeah, my band, which includes Dave Dreiwitz on bass and Andy Borger on drums, went out to Oregon and we recorded with this incredible engineer/songwriter, Richard Swift, who is my age and plays with The Shins and The Black Keys.  He’s just this genius engineer with a studio outside of Portland and we made the record with him that is primarily a vocal record.  It’s all new music I wrote and instead of being instrumental, I put words to my melodies.  We’ve been testing it out a lot lately, but the new record is the biggest project we’ve been working on.

    JS: Is the plan to still have the album out this Fall?

    MB: Yep!

    JS: Now the vocal approach is a little different from what you normally do.  Was that Richard’s idea or yours?

    MB: That was my idea going into it and prior to going into it, we had made demos at my place before we went in.  I knew I wanted to do it and I thought I should do it with a guy who has done a lot of that stuff.  It was all something that I had planned out, but I wanted him to be the guy to capture it all.  We did it in three days and it was just a very natural evolution of sound for me.

    JS: Have you been tinkering with any new gadgets lately for your rig?

    MB: One of my favorite gadgets is my Boss DR-3 delay pedal which was made back in the 70’s or 80’s and is just rockin’. I also have this Casiotone RC-1 which is predominantly featured on the new record.  I sampled a lot of it from the Casio that’s here in my studio and it’s one of the best drum machines I’ve ever heard in my life.  I want to do a whole album with it because it’s that amazing.  The RC-1 has been rockin’ it for me and I never see it for sale or find anyone that knows about it.  It’s just a hidden gem that is so badass.

    DSC07262 (1) copy

    JS: How was your experience at Bowlive this year?

    MB: I’ve been doing that with them for about the last five years and it was great.  They asked me to do it this year, and I said yes, but only if we covered “Soulful Strut” by Young Hault and “The In Crowd” by Randy Lewis. Those are both old school, funky piano jams from the 70’s and were instrumental hits at the time.  It was a lot of fun and they have a great thing going over there.

    JS: You had a pretty packed schedule at this years New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.  How was that experience as a whole and what was your favorite gig?

    MB: I played about 1-4 gigs a day over the course of ten days, so it was busy.  I got the chance to play with George Porter, my old band, and a bunch of other gigs.  It’s always fun to play Jazz Fest.  My favorite gig was probably playing at the Fairgrounds right before Phish with Anders Osborne.  Playing for that many people at the Fairgrounds is a real treat.

    JS: You are very personable on stage and it seems as though you like the interaction with the crowd.  How do they shape the show and what does it do for you to have that back and forth?

    MB: You get so much energy from the audience.  If there’s 50, 200, or 2000 looking at you, dancing with you, and listening to you, you feel that when you’re on stage.  It’s hard to describe, but you feel that.  You can sense that maybe a lot of them are on acid and it’ll be a weird night or they’re drunk and belligerent, and we play to that.  We never write a set list down, so when we go on stage, nobody knows what’s going to happen.  I try to feel out what the crowd wants to hear next.  You can ignore that feeling from the crowd as a musician and play what you’ve already decided on playing, but I don’t like to do things like that.  I like to go out there and think, “what do these guys want to hear?”  You really get a sense of what the audience wants while you’re out there being focused on.

    JS: You’ve said this past year that you wanted to do a residency at the Red Square in Albany this upcoming Fall.  Do you have any details on that?

    MB: The last time I played a gig there, I was egging the crowd on and announced on the mic, “Tell the Red Square we want to play here every Saturday in October,” and the crowd went nuts.  What I said leaked online and we had planned to do it, but the promoter had his hesitations.  We were talking about doing it this October, but I don’t think it’s going to happen unfortunately.

    JS: What upcoming festival gigs are you most looking forward to and why?

    MB: We’re doing this really great one in Oregon, just outside of Portland, called Pickathon.  It’s incredible!  It has such a wide variety of music there and I just really like it.  It’s not every jam band you’ve ever heard of playing there, it’s more a big variety and I just love that!

  • The New Mastersounds Announce First Show in Buffalo with Orgone

    Just announced today, The New Mastersounds will be playing their first ever show in Buffalo, NY later this year on Wednesday, September 3rd with Orgone. Calling England home, it’s understandable why this funky four-piece hasn’t played the area, but The Tralf will welcome them with open arms as the group has always had a great following due to their unique blend of music.  Their most recent album, Therapy, was released earlier this year in March to great reviews and adds to an impressive catalog of music since their inception in 1999.

    Joining them is another band who’s rarely played Buffalo in Orgone.  The L.A.-based band is well-known on the West Coast, but has rarely done any extensive touring on this side of the country.  Like The New Mastersounds, Orgone has its roots in funk, but stretches the boundaries in many directions as they touch on soul, boogie, disco, and afrobeat.

    The combination of the two bands is going to make for one incredible night of music as they compliment each other well and likely won’t be back again for quite some time.  Stay tuned for ticket info this Friday, and make sure to grab them fast to take advantage of this rare opportunity.

  • Local Limelight, Geek Week Edition: Buffalo’s Armcannon

    Armcannon, a most unique band from Buffalo, makes music for nerds. Not just any nerds, but those who loved video game music, metal and progressive rock. As part of Geek Week, spoke to Chris Dlugosz (keyboard) and Dan Theman (guitar) about the band, their music, and appearances at unique music festivals you might not have heard of. Mike Willard (guitar), Larry Steele (drums) and Ian Machniak (bass) round out the Western New York group making waves as electronic music and metal merge genres.

    photo credit: David Weaver http://www.burstmethod.com
    photo credit: David Weaver http://www.burstmethod.com

    Jeremiah Shea: Finish this sentence: Armcannon is for fans of…

    Chris Dlugosz: The nostalgia of the classic themes of NES and SNES, as well as non videogame people who appreciate musical proficiency.

    Dan Theman: Armcannon is for fans of progressive metal, retro gaming nerds, and people who like serious music that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

    Jeremiah Shea: Where would Armcannon like to see themselves in 5 years?

    Chris Dlugosz: With another complete album or three available to the public. Our constant improvement in quality is not slowing.

    Dan Theman: Oh god. I don’t think we’re a band that has delusions of grandeur, that we’ll be playing Brazilian soccer stadiums in 5 years. We take our compositions and arrangements incredibly seriously, and labor over every chord, every accent, and every note. But we’re not a band who focuses that sort of energy towards the music business and “making it”. That said, Dan (Danimal Cannon) is currently composing music for new video games and he would love to be a well known video game composer in 5 years. Chris would be right at home scoring movies, and Mike would be known as a world class guitar player and jazz/metal guitarist. It’s kind of funny how our ultimate goals are not necessarily focused on the band itself, but Armcannon has given us the privilege, the pleasure, and the the practice to really hone our skills as musicians, meet amazing people, and play some incredible shows. That said, in 5 years, hopefully we’ll have an album of original music out, because as much as we love arranging old nostalgic themes, we also desire to spread our wings as musicians as far as they’ll go.

    Jeremiah Shea: What’s on the horizon this year for Armcannon?

    Chris Dlugosz: We are secretly writing a secret new kind of album that nobody has done before.

    Dan Theman: We’ll be in Orlando this upcoming weekend headlining an event called Ongaku Overdrive. We’re currently writing some original music, we’ll see where that takes us.

    Jeremiah Shea: Explain how you got involved with the upcoming festival in Orlando. Is this your first Fest?

    Chris Dlugosz: They approached us through this beautiful process we like to call “The Internet does all the work for us” and simply invited us to play. This is utterly and absolutely NOT our first fest, as fests are 99% of the type of shows we have always played. The biggest of them all is MAGfest which stands for Music And Gaming fest. It’s basically a mecca where all the good videogame bands converge for a whole weekend.

    Dan Theman: We usually play a few festivals around the US every year. There’s actually a growing and thriving scene of bands and artists making music that’s inspired from games in all kinds of genres. Sometimes that includes acts that are considered “nerdy” as well. Most of the regular shows we play we’re incredibly different than any of the acts on the bill, we stick out like a beautiful sore thumb. These festivals allow us to play shows with like-minded artists from all across the world, for fanbases that you wouldn’t believe. This sort of scene is completely off the radar of the traditional music business, but the dedication of the fans who pack these events allow these events to successfully exist as a microcosm of the rock world, on another planet entirely. What if I told you one of the most intense and raucous shows we’ve ever played was in a hotel ballroom? It’s really something else.

    photo credit: Emi Spicer http://uglymachine.net/
    photo credit: Emi Spicer http://uglymachine.net/

    Jeremiah Shea: Cite some major accomplishments for the band – I know you guys have played with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, correct?

    Chris Dlugosz: Through some interesting circumstances, we were allowed a brief cameo on two different occasions with the BPO. it was an event called VideoGames Live where a touring conductor goes from city to city and hijacks the philharmonic orchestras and makes them play video game music.

    Dan Theman: We’ve performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic twice actually! We played small sets in the middle of the touring Video Games Live orchestral show, I love the idea that you might find us in a sweaty basement, or on a gilded stage filled with world class musicians. We take immense pride in our 3 album releases, and hearing another musician talk about how our arrangements and playing have influenced them in some way never seems to get old. This year we were contacted by Capcom to produce some official remixes for a Megaman 25th Anniversary album which was really fun to do.

    Jeremiah Shea: What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever been a part of?

    Chris Dlugosz: The coolest thing we have been a part of is MAGfest. We have been headliners there every year since 2006, and since then we have made literally hundreds of good friends and network connections for this ever-expanding nostalgia-infused sub-culture. We have watched the staff there grow from excited youths to full fledged business filling entire convention centers rivaling the size of PAX.

    Dan Theman: The coolest thing for us is performing at a festival called MAGfest which stands for Music and Gaming Festival. The crowds at that particular festival are special in the way that they truly “get” what we’re trying to do, they catch all of the obscure subtleties that we layer into our music. Their intensity during the show is essentially unrivaled, and that sort of passion feeds back into us, pushing us to new heights. We feel very much at home there, in a world where we constantly feel a little like outcasts that exist as a novelty or curiosity for most people.

    Armcannon – Website Bandcamp Facebook Twitter

    Dan Theman also makes original music with Nintendo Gameboys. It’s called Chiptune  and you can see his TED talk about it earlier this year.

  • Welcome to Geek Week

    Over this past weekend, geeks and nerds alike celebrated Free Comic Book Day on Saturday and Star Wars Day on Sunday (May the 4th be with you). We thought why not get into the eccentric spirit as we too are geeks on a music-related note. While a geek might conjure up images of pocket protectors, suspenders, and too much time spent on a computer, we at  boil it down to its essence and that is an extreme love and passion for something, whatever that may be. The staff is obviously a bunch of music geeks and we thought what better way to commiserate the occasion than doing a Geek Week, featuring a related article each day that ties to our inner nerd.

    In both movies and video games, music plays a huge role in shaping peaks and drawing you deeper into the storyline. Music is that connecting language, universal in nature, that directly affects how you feel and a movie or game wouldn’t be the same without it. Since admitting you’re a nerd can be hard at times, we’ll make this easy and go first. In this opening feature for Geek Week, we share the staff’s favorite picks for music featured in video games and movies.

    Jeremiah Shea
    Movie: Terminator 2
    Game: Final Fantasy VII (Playstation) and Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)

    Pete Mason
    Movie: Tron Legacy and O Brother Where Art Though
    (“Really any movie soundtrack done by T Bone Burnett.”)
    Game: Legend of Zelda (NES)

    Darren Kemp
    Movie: Spawn
    Game: Super Mario Brothers (NES)

    Michael Hallisey
    Movie: Singles, The Crow, and The Last of the Mohicans
    Game: Midnight Club II (PS2/Xbox)

    Thomas Sgroi
    Movie: Reservoir Dogs and Good Fellas
    Game: Super Mario Brothers (NES)

    Herby
    Movie: The Big Chill
    Game: Super Mario Brothers (NES)

    Chelsea Valente
    Movie: The Graduate and Garden State
    Game: Super Mario Brothers (“underground levels specifically” for NES)

    Jimmy Chambers
    Movie: Singles
    Game: Super Mario Brothers (NES)

    Tabitha Clancy
    Movie: Inside Llewyn Davis
    Game: “I don’t play video games. Nope. Nada. Zilch.”

    Jenni Rose Wilson
    Movie: Almost Famous and Blow
    Game: Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2 (SNES)

    As you can see, we have a little geek in all of us and encourage you to share your favorites and geek out. Post your comments below, share on Facebook, or Tweet at us with #GeekWeek.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX7Lde_DVRU

  • Editor’s Playlist #3: A Viable Alternative to Jazz Fest

    The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, a.k.a Jazz Fest,  is wrapping up this weekend and if you weren’t one of the lucky people in attendance this year we don’t want you feeling left out.  This week’s Editor’s Playlist #3 is in the spirit of Jazz Fest, highlighting artists in the jazz and funk scene, both of which dominate most lineups throughout NOLA during this fest each year.  This sampling of sorts will range from, hopefully, some artists you haven’t heard of, but also some heavy hitters that headline wherever they play.

    With so many great bands making up each respective scene, it was definitely a tall order to try to pick a few standouts.  On the funky side of things, I chose to go with the current kings, Lettuce, adding “King of the Burgs” and the live version of  “Nyack.”  Both showcase this band’s immense capabilities and prove why they’re one of the best out there.  Also in the funk-realm is Alan Evans’ Playonbrother, Kung Fu and Zach Deputy.  One other band you might not have heard of is Cape Cod’s Funktapuss and we’re featuring a new song from their upcoming album in “Soul Specific.”

    On the jazz side, I chose to go with both someone who’s been around and an up-and-coming band who’s made some big waves as of late.  The seasoned veteran is none other than Derek Trucks with his now-disbanded band and their song “Pleasant Gardens” from their 1998 album Out of the Madness.  The other song featured is a new favorite in Snarky Puppy‘s “Lingus,” which is just an incredible display of musicianship all around.

    Stay tuned for the next Editor’s Playlist in the near future, and if you’re still craving some actual Jazz Fest music, check out the Phoncert app for iOS or website as they will be streaming some of the remaining performances through Friday, May 2nd.

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/32587914″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

  • Artpark Makes Final Announcement, Completing 2014 Summer Season Offering

    Just yesterday, Artpark announced the remaining bands for their Tuesday and Wednesday night 2014 summer concert series they present each year.  The final bands for First Niagara presents Tuesday in the Park and Coors Light Wednesdays round out a spectacular overall offering for the 2014 season and give plenty of reasons to make the short trip up to Lewiston!

    In yesterday’s announcement, Artpark will add Sara Bareilles, Aretha Franklin, Sammy Hagar, Heart, Gregg Allman, Styx, and Michael McDonald + Toto to an already outstanding lineup for the upcoming season.  Tickets for these events will go on sale Saturday, May 3rd at 10am with various seating options that’ll meet anyone’s budget.  Check out the full lineups below and take advantage of one of Western New York’s best venues for a concert.

    TIP-River-1

    First Niagara presents Tuesday in the Park Full Lineup: 
    June 10– Daryl Hall & John Oates
    June 17 – Widespread Panic
    June 24 – Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band
    July 1 – Blue Rodeo with special guests 54-40
    July 8 – Boston
    July 15 – Megadeth
    July 22– Aretha Franklin
    July 29 – Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum presents Sammy Hagar
    A Journey Through the History of Rock featuring Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham, & Vic Johnson
    August 5– Heart
    August 12– Gregg Allman
    August 19– Styx
    August 26– Michael McDonald + Toto
    Coors Light Wednesdays Full Lineup:
    June 18 – Arctic Monkeys
    June 25 – Ziggy Marley & Steel Pulse
    July 2 – O.A.R. & Phillip Phillips
    July 9 – Sublime with Rome
    July 16 – Sara Bareilles
    July 23 – 3 Doors Down

  • Blindsided in Buffalo: Turkuaz and Playonbrother Pack a Heavy One-Two Punch

    Being blindsided usually means you’ve been attacked or hit when you’re vulnerable or uninformed. In the case of sports, it’s used in football when a quarterback is hit from behind when he can’t see the guy coming. Just like the quarterback, sometimes you have a feeling or inclination that said hit is coming, and yet you still can’t avoid it. That was the case this past weekend when Turkuaz and Playonbrother rolled into Buffalo for a show at Nietzsche’s. The combination of the two packed a heavy enough punch Friday night that nobody in the crowd, including myself, was sure what hit them when all was said and done.

    turkuaz playonbrotherIn typical fashion, Nietzsche’s began to get cozy as the start of the show approached and everyone was laughing and having a beer, unaware of what was about to go down. Playonbrother took to the stage around 10:30pm to kick things off. Now the band was just recently in town for a show on Black Friday, but there was still a lot of people who hadn’t seen them judging by the casual conversations throughout the crowd that night. As Alan Evans, Danny Mayer, and Beau Sasser walked up the steps in the front of the stage, it was time, and they planned to get things going right away with the late start.

    The band kicked off their set with “They Call Me Velvet,” blasting into the heavy beat and forcing everyone who wasn’t already near the stage to pack in and pay attention. Back in November, Sasser had an issue with his amp, but that was obviously fixed as the bass from his Hammond was the fattest sound I’ve ever heard coming from him. Adding to the infectious sound coming from the stage was Mayer’s syncopated riffs playing off of Evans’ hard-hitting beats. We wouldn’t know it until after the show, but these three guys somehow managed to make just as much noise as the nine that would succeed them. Throughout the entire night, I had my funk face on, scrunched up from how well these guys played.

    After the first song wrapped up, Alan Evans graciously played host to his hometown and introduced his bandmates before letting everyone know who he was. One of the early highlights was a Frank Zappa cover the guys did in “Easy Meat.” Beau Sasser plays in a Zappa cover band known as The Z3, so it’s obvious where this one came from. What wouldn’t be obvious just seeing this in writing was how dirty and heavy these guys played this song. They might be generally classified as funk, but the commanding beat by Evans mixed with the heavy riffing of Mayer and Sasser took everyone by surprise; this was the first blindsided moment of the night. The song was darker and heavier than just about anything I’ve ever heard from them.

    Evans played at times like he had something against his drums, hitting harder and harder as the song progressed. One of their new songs, “Nothing to Say,” was also an easy favorite from their set. During this one, Sasser took the lead, showcasing his abilities on the Hammond organ. His Leslie speaker was spinning out the hottest licks all night, but on this song in particular, he took us on the funkiest of space odysseys with the throttle broken from being pushed too far forward. The band closed their set with “Cosmic Hazel Dust,” a personal favorite and song that sums up their sound and direction. After ripping into the first parts of the song, the band segued into a trance-like section where Sasser’s droney bass added the perfect texture to the funk-laden beat of Evans.

    n front of it all was Mayer’s searing wah tone coming from his guitar as he used his instrument as a vehicle for expression. With eyes closed, Mayer took one of the more memorable solos of the night and left the crowd begging for more. While it was Evans first time opening in his hometown in quite sometime, the band took the slot and proceeded to hit the crowd early and hard, setting up Turkuaz who would take the stage next.

    Set List: They Call Me Velvet, Charlie Brown, Easy Meat, Ain’t No, Nothing to Say, Only One, Buffalo, Sunshine of Your Love, Cosmic Hazel Dust

    Once Playonbrother’s gear was cleared, there was finally room for Turkuaz to take the stage. The nine-piece band from Brooklyn is usually tight no matter where they play, but with the smaller stage of Nietzsche’s, the only thing more cramped was the dance floor. The horns that set off the opening of their set were a clear indicator of how the night was going to go – intensely fast and tightly synched. The first song, “Chatte Lunatique,” went blasting forward while guitarist Craig Brodhead tried to keep pace on his first solo. The thump of Taylor Shell’s bass was the front car of this race, setting the pace alongside drummer Michael Angelo Carubba. The ladies of Turkuaz, Geneva Williams and Sammi Garett, took to the stage with tambourines in hand to close out the opening song. The look on everyone’s face at the first stop in the action said it all – “what the hell just hit me?”

    To say these guys (and gals) are talented would be selling them short. As you can imagine, a nine-piece band has an enormous sound, but it’s not just nine instruments/voices, as most of the members pull double duty. Craig Brodhead plays guitar and synths, Joshua Schwartz plays saxophone, sings, and adds percussion, Chris Brouwers plays the trumpet and keyboards, and both of the Turkuaz girls add vocals and the tambourine. It doesn’t even stop there as the entire band has coordinated several dance moves, in complete synchronization, during a few of their songs which only adds to their outpouring of energy. The nine add so much that, unless you listen intently on one person, it’s tough to even distinguish where a particular sound is coming from. Drummer Michael Angelo Carubba was visually buried behind everyone, but still managed to stick out with his excellent percussion work, keeping the other eight in line. The self-proclaimed funk army is truly just that!

    Throughout their entire set, the band would simply not let up. If the band was in the driver seat, then they were stomping on the gas and taking everyone in attendance for a mandatory ride; the band was musically relentless. It’s amazing how tight the band remained given the tenacity and tempo of their music. Regardless, you could tell they were doing something right as the crowd was packed from front to back and everyone was getting down.

    One highlight of their set, and proving how closely knit these two bands had become over the course of this tour, was when Beau Sasser hopped the railing and jumped on stage for an impromptu sit in. He took over Craig Brodhead’s keyboard and his synthy slithering mixed well with Turkuaz’s deep funk. I’m not sure how Beau fit with everyone up there, but you could clearly see the camaraderie and friendship that was forged as everyone was having a great time.

    The band closed with “Shape,” and you could literally feel the ground shaking below your feet. With the entire band jumping in unison, the crowd followed suit for the peak of the performance. The final bass and guitar showdown brought a funky blues solo to close out an incredible night of music. As they filed off the stage, one by one, the crowd beckoned for more. Lucky for us, the band appeased with an unscripted, off-the-cuff encore of “Monkey Fingers” to keep the Friday night party going. As the night officially wrapped up, there was a collective gasp for air as it had literally been knocked out of the crowd. I had never seen Turkuaz up until this point and I can say that they came out of nowhere and blew me away. Thankfully for Western New York, the band is slated to come back this Fall for the Night Lights Fall Music Festival.

    Set List: JB Intro, Chatte Lunatique, Coast to Coast, Bubba Slide, Murder Face, Night Swimming, M’Lady, Tiptoe, Snap Your Fingers, It’s Hard, Honky Tonk Women, I’ve Got a Feeling, Back to Normal, 20 Dollar Bill, The Shape I’m In

    Encore: Monkey Fingers

    Photos by Thomas Sgroi

  • Phoncert Mobile App to Stream Jazz Fest Audio from Various Venues

    phoncertTechnology has finally caught up with your thirst for more music.  If you’ve never heard of it, Phoncert is a new and groundbreaking  live music application. The app is a free download from the iTunes store for your iOS device, but you can also listen on their website. What they offer is a live, soundboard-quality audio stream from shows around the country, so you can enjoy live music from the comforts of your own home.

    Operation immediately started upon their announcement this Thursday (April 24). The company will be streaming daily performances from several venues in New Orleans during this year’s Jazz & Heritage Festival. The broadcasting began last night from The Howlin’ Wolf and featured the New Orleans Suspects w/s/g Fred Tackett and Paul Barrere of Little Feat. For the full broadcast schedule see below and make sure to hop on this as the ease of access is only surpassed by the quality of music you will enjoy.

    Broadcast Schedule:
    4/25: Dumpstaphunk plays Led Zeppelin > Easy Star All Stars Dub Side of the Moon late night @ The Howlin’ Wolf
    4/26: Anders Osborne w. Rebirth Brass Band > Particle late night @ The Howlin’ Wolf
    4/26: The M&Ms Late Night show @ Tipitina’s
    4/29: The Original Wailers @ The Howlin’ Wolf
    4/30: Polyrhythmics with Special Guests @ The Festival Hall Theater at Bamboula’s
    4/30: The Megalomaniacs Ball ft. Garage a Trois, Steel Punk, Mike Dillon Band, Marco Benevento & Stanton Moore Trio @ The Howlin’ Wolf
    5/1: Anders Osborne @ Tipitina’s
    5/2: 12th Annual Bayou Rendezvous ft. Raw Oyster Cult w The Bonerama Horns, The New Orleans All-Stars, The Pimps of Joytime, & The Motet @ The Howlin’ Wolf
    5/2: FIYA Fest Presented by Fiyawerx Productions @ Mardi Gras World
    5/2: The Revivalists w. The Motet & Earphunk @ The Joy Theater
    5/2: Papa Mali and Friends ft. Anders Obsborne, Jerry Joseph, Bill Iuso, Tony Leone & Mike Dillon @ The NOLA Brewing Co.

  • Hearing Aide: Formula 5′ Edging on Catastrophe’

    Formula 5 is one of those hidden gems hidden within our borders of Upstate New York. The band generally calls Albany, and the surrounding area, home and has been lighting up that scene for a couple of years now. The band’s latest offering, Edging on Catastrophe, is the follow-up to their self-titled debut album that was released last year. From their debut to their sophomore release, the band has grown tremendously in their cohesiveness and general song writing capabilities. The new album as a whole spans many genres, yet keeps a tight flow between songs as they sonically weave their way in and out of each style. Throughout this album, you can hear the guys touch on funk, bluegrass, jam, electronica, blues, reggae, and many others, all while keeping a general theme throughout. The four-piece has developed their identity and this album really shows their comfort within that while still stretching into untouched areas.

    The first song that grabbed my attention was “Pedro,” which really showcases guitarist Joe Davis’ skills as he leads the band melodically through this piece. This song illustrates another thing the band does well, which is understanding how far to push a jam.  The guys have a great feel for how much is just right and your ears are continuously treated to that balance on this song and throughout the album.  The band lays down a solid backing through the first few minutes of the song with a catchy little guitar riff and a chorus that opens up and allows the band to stretch out.  As the song progresses, it continually picks up steam until around four minutes in when the band takes it over for some exploratory jamming. Their choices for both the effects on their instruments and overall ambient sound is spot on, providing a perfect and slow-rolling current for keyboardist Mike McDonald to show his skills while trading off with Joe Davis’ riffing. The closing minute of the song swells before relaxing and jumping back into the chorus, bringing it back full-circle and resolving the built-up tension.

    My favorite song on the album immediately follows “Pedro” and is appropriately titled “Ride.” The song starts with some ominous keyboard chords before the bass and drums jump in, giving it an STS9-like feel right from the get go. The vocals and instrumentation on this song are layered perfectly and combine for a haunting and transfixing composition. The verses of this song remind me of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World” and has the same internal pull that evokes raw emotion. The second guitar solo that starts around the four-and-a-half-minute mark comes out of nowhere as, leading up to this point, the song was still mellow and relaxed. The driving nature of the band combined with Davis’ playing launches you from the ground and into the outer atmosphere. He makes beautiful lines through the chord progressions and really adds color to the overall song before it slows down again, tucking away into this beautiful environment of ambient tones that’s both driving and relaxing at the same time. At around the eight-minute mark, you can hear a little Paul Simon “You Can Call Me Al” flavor from the keys before the band begins the haunting swell that closes the song. As the pace climbs, notes are blurred together and the beat continues to escalate before they drop you on your face, leaving you wondering where the ride left off.

    Throughout the rest of the album, the band does a tremendous job of really engaging the listener with a wide array of music styles, terrific lyrics, and overall top-notch musicianship.  If you want a snippet of how talented these guys truly are, take a listen to “Timmy’s Dream,” as the minute-long jam really shows how polished their sound has become in their short existence.  I will be the first to admit that I haven’t had the time to check these guys out up until now and I now fully regret that decision.  It’s baffling to me how such a young band could put out an album of this caliber; whatever the formula is, it’s dialed in right with these guys and other bands need to take note.  Edging on Catastrophe is edging on being the catalyst to a very successful future.

    Key Tracks: Pedro, Ride, Nu-Gen

  • Turkuaz and Playonbrother Coming to Funk Up WNY on Back to Back Nights

    Turkuaz and Playonbrother kicked off their co-headlining tour together just a few weeks back with an atypical album release party for both bands in Saratoga Springs.  Turkuaz released Future 86, while Playonbrother, fresh off of a name change, released their Woodstock Sessions album.  Fast forward to today, and this funk train is barreling down the I-90 for stops at Rochester’s Montage Music Hall on April 17th and Buffalo’s Nietzsche’s on April 18th.

    Turkuaz has been blazing a path for themselves via combination of feel-good funk and constant touring.  The band is just coming off of their two-set performance at Rock ‘n Roll Resort with raving reviews from those that were there.  Similar to Lettuce, this funk “army” calls New York City home and has a deep roster that’s completely stacked with talent.  With as much as we could go on about these guys (and gals), that’s just half of the show.

    Playonbrother isn’t a band you want to sleep on.  You may not recognize the name quite yet, but I promise you, you will know it walking out.  The band’s last show in Buffalo was when they were still known as Alan Evans Trio, but their sound and sheer funk-ferocity haven’t changed.  Despite their size, the trio packs a huge punch live and offers up an opposing approach to their tour mates, who easily outnumber them.

    Besides how well the two fit on paper, they seem to have great chemistry off the stage as well.  For Beau Sasser’s birthday, the two bands combined to form Jaguar at Beau’s home base of Bishop’s Lounge in Northampton, MA.  The special evening featured Beau on hammond organ (POB), Michael Angelo Carubba on drums (Turkuaz), Danny Mayer on guitar (POB), and Craig Brodhead on guitar as well (Turkuaz).  For our shows in Buffalo and Rochester, there’s been rumors of some more intermingling of band members with the Turkuaz horn section prepping to join in on Playonbrother’s set.  It’s not too far-fetched either as we all know that Alan Evans has always loved to add horns to his other band, Soulive.

    Regardless of what happens, one thing is for sure: your feet won’t stop moving from the drop of the first beat to final crash of the cymbal.  These two bands have been having a great time on the road together and that will only permeate throughout the crowd and Western NY region following these two dates.