Umphrey’s Mcgee announced yesterday that they will be releasing a new album later this year. The progressive-rock band will release their eighth studio album titled, Similar Skin, on June 10th.
Also announced today is the new album will be released on the bands newly created independent record label, Nothing Too Fancy Music – which is another sign that this band is bending not only genres but inherently changing the rules of the game. The new album includes 11 new songs, some of which have been performed live but never included on a recorded album.
Similar Skin tracklist: 
The Linear
Cut The Cable
Hourglass
No Diablo
Similar Skin
Puppet String
Little Gift
Educated Guess
Loose Ends
Hindsight
Bridgeless
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On St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Equifunk threw a Leprechaun’s Ball during the day at (Le) Poisson Rouge to celebrate the holiday. There was a lot of green throughout the crowd and even more smiles on stage as three bands tore through their sets and wowed the crowd with each song they played.
Starting the afternoon was Dorsia, a four piece band that brought loads of power to the stage. With two guitars trading off solos and tight jams that effortlessly extended into the beyond, Dorsia was just the music to start the day off. Bobby Paltauf Band was next and the 14 year old and his band kept the energy up in the venue. Playing many tracks off his first album, Lost + Found, the band was comfortable and played a great set. Stand outs were “Flood Franklin Park”, “Guitar”, and “Lost + Found,” with the last track bringing the audience into an uproar with a rocked out nonstop jam. Nigel Hall joined the band during a flawless rendition of the ‘Soulive version’ of “Eleanor Rigby ” earlier in the set as well.
The main event was Eddie Roberts & The Funky Charms who sauntered onto the stage and began to deliver a more than two hour set of covers with jams that just continuously went to beautiful and unexpected places. The all-star band included Nigel Hall, Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, James Casey, Ron Johnson, and John Staten. All of these incredible musicians have played together in various projects before but never together, and hopefully it will happen again soon as the whole show was a highlight. Eddie stated early in the set that they were planning on doing many 80’s covers, and the crowd ate up every song. Two highlights were a great “Sweet Dreams” and an awesome “All Night Long.” Ending the night with “Let the Music Take Your Mind” the band took a bow and Equifunk successfully threw another great event. Look for the 3rd Annual Leprechaun’s Ball next year and make sure you get down to it.
Dorsia and Bobby Paltauf Band photos courtesy of Jessica Giovannetti
What do you get when you cross the Birdseed Bandits with Floodwood? You get one electric foot stomping, feel good, jam session. How could this get even better? Hold it at one of the best venues in town, the Mohawk Valley Community College’s (MVCC) IT Auditorium. The space is designed with top notch acoustics, state of the art sound and lighting, and not a bad seat in the house.
The show began with Adam Ludemann, Seth Becker, and Nash Robb, the trio that makes up the Birdseed Bandits, setting the bar high with their unique acoustic sounds with a strong banjo, guitar, percussion, and bass tempo. This sound reverberates into your soul and the unique composition can’t help but make you tap your feet to the beat. They’ve been hailed as Punk/Americana or “Punkicana,” Folk/Rock, Adirondack Folk, “Foot stomping” Folk/Punk-Rock, or Alternative Americana. No matter what genre they are categorized within, they are definitely talented and a feel good band.
Floodwood took the stage immediately after and from the minute they walked out on stage you could feel the love and energy from their fans. While the audience during the opening performance remained in their seats clapping their hands and tapping their toes to the songs, the minute Floodwood took the stage these same fans rushed to the edge of the stage to be right there in front to dance and stomp along. This tale tell sign is a foreshadowing of what is to come for those who have never been part of a band’s shows. I must add how absolutely wonderful this venue is set up to accommodate not only those who wish to be part of the performance by dancing and singing along up front, but those who wish to remain seated during the performance without obstructions. Kudos to the venue as the design truly accommodates their audiences and bands alike.
Floodwood didn’t disappoint as usual. Their full set list of amazing creative sounds entranced the audience and whether fast paced or melancholy, the audience was mesmerized throughout the whole show. But it’s the engagement with the crowd that makes them stand out as top performers. It’s the peek into their personalities that engages the audiences. You can see this clearly. It’s the amazing talent and experience of true greats such as Al and Vinnie that set the bar. It’s the interactions experienced with Nick playing the banjo or fiddle and Jason with his mandolin among the crowd that makes them part of the show. And it’s Zach strumming the base one minute and then the next thing you know he’s down on the carpet doing pushups (which I must add were very impressive). It is this peek into their personalities that only makes their audiences love them more and engages them as their Floodwood family. This is true entertainment. This is what makes them stand out.
As a newly developed fan of Floodwood, I look forward to their upcoming shows this festival season, and want to spread the word to those who may not have seen them previously. Floodwood is a “MUST SEE” show. Check them out their tour schedule; you can thank me later for introducing you to them.
Daniel Lyon, drummer from Ithaca’s electronic trio SOLARiS, has released his first solo album Onyx under the name LYON. The album is under an hour with a range of 11 ambient tracks, an easy listen that is ideal for relaxing at home or in the car on a road trip. LYON is a drummer who literally steams during live performances with hard hitting beats and a dark rhythmic sound with focused energy. His solo work is no different, showcasing detailed and digital emotions that we can all relate to. His new album is available for free download and streaming via Bandcamp. You can catch LYON in action with his SOLARiS band mates at The Beagle Pub in Johnson City on the 21st of March and The Other Side in Wilkes-Barre, PA on the 22nd. SOLARiS will also be performing at one of Upstate NY’s newest Festivals, Rock n Roll Resort, in Kerhonksen, NY with tickets and rooms still available.
The album starts with the roar of “Animal”, a simple beat that eases you into the album with gentle echoes and light funk vibe. “Without Her” begins with beautifully sorrowful strings before it mixes with a techno melody combining a modern yet vintage twist on lost love. “Meridian” contained limitless echoes of all tones with a quick pace making for an easy groove. “Onyx” features SOLARiS keyboardist Jared Raphael, adding a futuristic funk with disco that was captivating and “The Overlook” with a groovy bass line with jazzy flair. “Small Beginnings” is the perfect ending to the album, the upbeat melody that has a great build up throughout the song, giving a taste of what’s to come with LYON’s solo work.
Key Tracks: Without Her, Meridian, The Overlook
Appearing at the Silk City Dinner Bar & Lounge on Wednesday, March 19th is Philadelphia electronic improvisational super group “Meddling Kids”, comprised of Mike Greenfield from Lotus on drums, Clay Parnell from Particle and Brothers Past on electric bass, and Ian McGuire from Sonic Spank on keyboards.
Featuring special guest guitarist Clay Sears, who has toured and recorded with Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Pharrell Williams, Brittany Spears, and Janet Jackson, among others, this show is sure to be a great night of electronic music improvisation
After the initial announcement of this year’s XRIJF headliners, Earth, Wind and Fire & Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell being announced earlier this year – the final lineup has now been announced for the 2014 Rochester Jazz Festival.
The final lineup comes after the news of a second show not only being added by promoters but also selling out within minutes, to the Steve Martin and Steep Canyon Rangers event at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on June 21st. Also sold-out for this years festival is headliner Earth, Wind and Fire, who will perform at the Kodak Hall Theatre on June 27th.
Highlights from this morning’s announcement include- Brooklyn Based, funk-a-licious, Soulive J.D. Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers at the Abilene Roots & Americana Stage, where they recently had a packed house for their show earlier this year. Brooklyn based Snarky Puppy will be playing the Harro East Ballroom, and the MOHO Collective will perform at the Inn on Broadway. Also added to this year’s list of headliners is Jazz sensation, Buddy Guy.
The full lineup can be downloaded on the XRIJF website and please stay tuned to Music Guide for all your news and live coverage of this years 9 day Jazz festival.
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Named after the iconic bounty hunter from the original Star Wars arch, Bobaflex and the music it plays is just as keenly adept to bad-assery.
Those familiar with George Lucas’ mythology are also aware of the lack of respect bestowed upon the anti-hero, Boba Fett. That lack of respect, is an unfortunate fate also familiar to the band. The introduction to their latest release, Charlatan’s Way, is a dramatization of an actual voice message the band received several years ago from an agent.
“You know out West, they have a name for your kind: Working Class Trash. You don’t come from shit. You ain’t never gonna be shit… You think because cause you pissed in Gatorade bottles, lived off the Dollar Menu and played the dirt circuit, that it’s your time? Heh. It’s over. It never began. An intelligent person would just give up!”
Bassist Jerod Mankin said, the monologue is taken “pretty much at verbatim.”
Mankin was not asked to reveal a name, as he said, it’s not worth dwelling on the negative. Today, married and still touring, he considers himself successful. “If you can say you are happy and personally satisfied, I consider that a success.”.
On Thursday, March 20th, this five-piece nu-metal band out of West Virginia travels well north of the Mason-Dixon line to share a playbill with Tantric at Bogie’s in Albany, and venture off to Syracuse to play Monirae’s the following night.
The band has a reputation for relentlessly touring throughout a career that has spanned for the better part of two decades. Hitting the road gets the needed face time with fans. And, while on stage, they are one of the liveliest performers in music.
They are currently on a promotional tour that has included more than 100 stops. Charlatan’s Way, their sixth studio album, was released last September. The first single, “Bad Man,” charted at No. 33 on the Active Rock Radio charts in the United States and has since been followed by “I’m Glad Your Dead.”
Bobaflex advertises as a Nu Metal band, akin to Korn and Limp Bizkit. But, this release comes across as good ‘ol fashion rock, complete with an edgy bass, a generous supply of drums, and racy lyrics that Mankin nearly sounds apologetic. “It’s a little bit racy for what people care,” he said. “It didn’t come out purposely, it just came out that way.” What immediately comes to mind is the track “School for Young Ladies,” providing the description of a young woman in traditional schoolgirl outfit, and the events that surround her.
In its entirety, Charlatan’s Way is the kind of CD you throw in and don’t take out until the last few notes of “Rogue” are done playing. From beginning to end, Bobaflex announces what it is, and is unashamed about it. Machismo lyrics always have a place in Rock – it’s what I grew up on, listening to Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Warrant, and there will always be a place for it. If that’s wrong than I don’t want to be right.
Welcome to March Madness! This is our first year in creating this tournament-style competition between artists and bands that originated in Upstate New York and we think with Upstate New York’s history of incredible musicians, we have the potential for an interesting style of March Madness to share with you all.
For starters, there are four regions, made up of the four parts to Upstate NY – Western NY, Central NY, Southern Tier and Eastern NY. We broke them up by Area Codes – West Region covers 716 and 585, Central Region covers all of 315, South Region includes 845 and 607, while East Region is 100% 518, stretching all the way to Canada.
We chose these bands based on their historical presence in Upstate NY, their origins in Upstate, popularity, a selection of many genres (but no cover bands, sorry), focusing on who comes to mind in each of these four regions. We ranked them based on the best known band/artist from each region, 1 through 16.
Did we miss some? Let us know! There were some bands that didn’t make the cut, and some we might have overlooked in this process.
Voting will begin on March 17th at Noon with the first round, which ends on March 20th. Round 2 will start the 21st, with more announcements as each round progresses. Stay tuned to our Facebook page and .com for details and to see who advanced to the next round!
– Pete Mason, Managing Editor,
A note to moe. fans – we know they started out in Buffalo and then developed a larger following while in Albany, but have had 14 (soon 15) moe.downs in 315 – we split the difference to place them there.
Update 3/19 7pm: Due to an OVERWHELMING response to our Upstate March Madness, voting for Round 1 has been closed. The vote totals have been counted and we will share the winners of Round 1 tomorrow afternoon, with a complete bracket of all the teams.
The response has been greater than we expected, with THOUSANDS of votes cast by fans and bands. There are some upsets, a few Cinderallas to look out for and key Round 2 matchups to which to look forward to.
Stay tuned for Round 2 of Upstate March Madness!!
Update 3/21 12pm: Vote in Round 2 here!
1 Ominous Seapods
2 Blotto
3 Skinless
4 Peter Prince
5 Phantogram
6 Conehead Buddha
7 Stellar Young
8 Eastbound Jesus
9 Wild Adriatic
10 Stigmata
11 Titanics
12 Restless Streets
13 Mister F/Timbre Coup
14 Digital Dharma
15 Formula 5
16 Lucid
1 Ronnie James Dio
2 Blue Oyster Cult
3 moe.
4 Joe Bonamassa
5 Joanne Shenandoah
6 Martin Sexton
7 Tony Trischka
8 Ra Ra Riot
9 Gym Class Heroes
10 Sophistafunk
11 Floodwood
12 Dexter Grove
13 Los Blancos
14 House on a Spring
15 Joe Driscoll
16 Birdseed Bandits
1 Goo Goo Dolls
2 Rick James
3 Ani Difranco
4 Cannibal Corpse
5 Dr. Dirty (John Valby)
6 Neal and Alan Evan (Soulive)
7 Snapcase
8 Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
9 Thunderbody
10 Buddhahood
11 Spyro Gyra
12 Aqueous
13 Big Leg Emma
14 Manhattan Project
15 Funktional Flow
16 Smackdab
1 Pete Seeger
2 Donna the Buffalo
3 John Brown’s Body
4 Perfect Thyroid
5 Sim Redmond Band
6 Big Mean Sound Machine
7 Jimkata
8 Driftwood
9 Solaris
10 Yolk
11 Wingnut
12 3
13 Revision
14 Spectacular Average Boys
15 Notorious String Dusters
16 Professor Louie and the Crowmatix