Category: North Country

Road to Backwoods: Big Mean Sound Machine

Less than a week until Backwoods Pondfest ignites Upstate, NY with two days and nights of music filled fun. Backwoods offers plenty of live music, car camping, art and much more on August 8-9th, in the beautiful Adirondack North Country. After 8 years, Backwoods knows how to book a kick ass lineup with acts like Chali 2na and House of Vibe, Lucid, Spiritual Rez, Alan Evans Playonbrother, Cabinet, and many more.

Our “Road to Backwoods” series continues with a look at Big Mean Sound Machine from Ithaca, NY. The band is comprised of over a dozen musicians that create a larger than life genre fusing symphony for the mind and body. Their live performances are a high energy afro-funk fest, as their studio work is crisp with tight experimental sonic grooves. Big Mean Sound Machine will be performing this Saturday August 2nd at Seed Stock which takes place at Reeds Seeds in Cortland, NY. The rain or shine all-day event is $20 for 15 bands with music starting at 10:45am and Big Mean Sound Machine at 7:30pm on the Front Stage. Their latest album, Contraband is available for free stream on Facebook or as a digital download for $7, cd for $10 and even vinyl for $20. Get familiar with the fierce and funky machine when they hit the main stage Friday at 5 at Backwoods Pondfest.

Tickets are still available for Backwoods Pondfest and can be purchased on their website here or at any show featuring Lucid, The Garcia Project, Capital Zen and North Funktree. Tickets are only $70 including over 20 bands on 2 stages with 2 nights of car camping. Bring a non-perishible good and receive $5 off ticket price if you buy tickets Day of Show. Be sure to follow on Facebook and Twitter for more to come from out “Road to Backwoods” series.

July 31, 2014
Road to Backwoods: The Blind Owl Band

With less than two weeks to go, is gearing up for one of the best kept secrets of the North Country known as Backwoods Pondfest. The intimate festival offers a weekend of live music, camping, art and much more on August 8 and 9 at Peru, N.Y. Going strong in their 8th year, Backwoods Pondfest never disappoints with this year’s all-star lineup including Chali 2na and House of Vibe, Twiddle, Spiritual Rez, Turkuaz, Cabinet plus many more.

This “Road to Backwoods” series will shine a light on the Blind Owl Band, the all string quartet from Saranac Lake.

The Blind Owl Band will be a part of Troy’s Rocking on the River series on July 30th. Every Wednesday the downtown Troy area comes to life with free, outdoor concerts for guests to experience a wide range in musical genres. The music starts at 5pm and ends at 8:30pm, set up by the Green Island Bridge parking lot. Armed with a banjo, standup bass, mandolin and guitar, Arthur Buezo, Christian Cardiello, Eric Munley and James Ford create harmonious vocals and melodies that stretch as high as the Adirondack Mountains and their sound is an authentic, rebellious freight train. Despite the vintage and bluegrass vibe, Blind Owl Band pulls inspiration from modern day music to create a sound that is uniquely fresh. The long haired, mountain men will also makes stops at Nectar’s in Burlington, VT on July 31st and the Sterling Stage String Fling at Sterling, NY on August 1st.

Tickets are still available for Backwoods Pondfest and can be purchased on their website here or at any show featuring Lucid, The Garcia Project, Capital Zen and North Funktree. Tickets are only $70 including over 20 bands on 2 stages with 2 nights of car camping. Bring a non-perishible good and receive $5 off ticket price if you buy tickets Day of Show. Be sure to follow on Facebook and Twitter for more to come from out “Road to Backwoods” series.

July 25, 2014
MOE.DOWN 15 Releases Final Lineup

The 15th annual moe.down festival announced their final lineup today.

As always each night of the three-day festival will feature moe., along with additional headliners Gogol Bordello, O.A.R., Les Claypools Duo de Twang, Lotus, Soulive and the Jerry Douglas Band.

Joining them will be the ever-changing Everyone Orchestra, Upstate’s Wild Adriatic and Aqueous, The Rich Robinson Band, Vermont’s Twiddle, Floodwood, The Werks, Conehead Buddha and American Babies.

moe.down will be held Labor Day weekend August 29-31 at the Snow Ridge Ski Resort in Turin, N.Y. Tickets start around $150 and are available online.

July 22, 2014
Lucky Jukebox Brigade keeps the Waterhole Hopping

An enthusiastic crowd danced the night away at the Lucky Jukebox Brigade’s free show at the Waterhole on Thursday June 12th.

Lead singer Deanna DeLuke wasn’t feeling well that night, with what she described as a “sore throat/cold/cough/laryngitis mess,” so the band made some changes to the lineup to compensate. Ragliacci, a side project featuring Lucky Jukebox Brigade percussionist Kristoph DiMaria on guitar and tuba player Andy Burger, opened the show with some fun gypsy folk-style tunes.

After they wrapped up, Lucky Jukebox Brigade took the stage. The Albany-based band, which formed in the fall of 2010, sounded like a band of gypsies as they began. DeLuke’s smoky voice was soft and strained but beautiful as she strummed her baritone ukelele. The horn section – Burger on tuba, Chris Weatherly on euphonium and trumpet, and Jimmy Affatigato on saxophone – played long, mournful notes and bass player Geppi Iaia, percussionist Kristoph DiMaria and drummer Carl Blackwood kept things driving.

One of the fun things about this band is they switch things up a lot. Band members switch around instruments relatively frequently – they probably did a little more of it due to DeLuke’s sore throat, but it’s clearly at least part of the regular act. Some of the most fun I had was watching DiMaria sing a song that was clearly a story, and the dramatic gestures he used as he told it.

In addition to changing up instruments, they also often switch their sound. Many of the band’s songs sound like a band of gypsies holding a carnival; one song, “Carnivultures,” even has someone acting as a carnival barker, boasting about sideshow acts. But their music samples from a variety of other styles as well. Some bordered on ska, hip hop, punk and funk, while others have a ’50s feel to them. The variety kept surprising the people bopping along on the dance floor.

Most songs seemed to be original tunes, but they did blend in a few covers, including Blind Melon’s “No Rain” and the No Doubt ska tune “Spiderwebs.” In the end, they had plenty of music to keep the crowd dancing till well past many people’s bedtimes on a school night. In the end, DeLuke said she had a lot of fun. “The crowd was so warm and energetic that I felt better as the night went on,” she said in an email after the show.

The band’s second album, Familiar Fevers, is scheduled for release July 18. They will play a WEQX-hosted album release party along with Black Mountain Symphony that night at 8:30 p.m. at the Hollow Bar + Kitchen in Albany.

For a taste of the new album, watch the cute video they just released for the song “Bend at the Marsh,” where they play their instruments while playing on a playground and then get in a big squirt gun war.

You can also check them out at an Alive at 5 after party at the Hollow June 19, and when they open for Rusted Root on June 28 at the Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park.

The music keeps going through the summer at the Waterhole with free music each Thursday night through the venue’s Party on the Patio series. Go to www.saranaclakewaterhole.com for more information.

June 23, 2014
Lucky Jukebox Brigade to Party on the Waterhole Patio

The Lucky Jukebox Brigade plans to visit the Waterhole on Thursday, June 12, as part of the legendary Saranac Lake venue’s Party on the Patio free Thursday evening outdoor concert series. The band, a seven-piece from Albany, recently had a successful showing at this year’s Albany Tulip Fest.

The band formed in October 2010 from what the band calls a “hopeful Craigslist ad.” Featuring a variety of horns, plus a bass, ukelele and two percussionists, the band, which bills itself as an indie cabaret band, has an old-school sound that invokes carnivals at times, and at others, ’50s swing, and is reminiscent of bands like Beirut, the Dresden Dolls, Gogol Bordello and Modest Mouse.

The Lucky Jukebox Brigade is now promoting its sophomore album, Familiar Fevers ahead of their Waterhole performance.

The Waterhole, at 48 Main St. in Saranac Lake, has a full slate of Thursday night bands set to play on its outdoor patio every Thursday night from 6 to 10 p.m. to get your summer weekends started. For more information about the summer season, find the Waterhole on Facebook or go to saranaclakewaterhole.com.

June 10, 2014
Plattsburgh ROTA Gallery to Showcase Poetry and Hip Hop

The ROTA Gallery and Studios will host an evening of wordplay and music on Tuesday, June 17th, as Amherst, MA based artists Dann Lawrence and Brainwave Bionics perform in Plattsburgh as part of a summer tour.

Sharing the bill will be North Country rappers Antwon Levee and Sarah Impalin, fresh off the release of their regional hit single “Solomun Grundy”. Audiences will be treated to an eclectic mix of poetry, hip hop, and other music stylings throughout the night.

Lawrence promises to be “armed with a voice, a nylon strung guitar and a fist sized chip on his shoulder”. He is known as an intellectual, and his often hilarious crooning style is sure to be a complement to Brainwave Bionics, who combines introspective hip hop lyricism with garage and indie rock elements.

Levee and Impalin made waves over the winter with two music video singles, and are sure to bring a challenging and rowdy stage show to accompany their tongue-in-cheek rap songs.

The event is open to all ages. Doors open at 7:30 pm and the show will begin at 8:00 pm. A sliding scale admission is to be expected, within a range of $3 to $10. The ROTA Gallery is located at 50 Margaret Street. More info is available on their Facebook page.

June 10, 2014
Norwood Village Green Concert Series

The Norwood Village Green Concert Series has spent the past four decades providing free music to the North Country community.

Norwood, which is approximately ten miles north of Potsdam, is truly Upstate and well beyond the reaches of Interstates 87 and 90. Nonetheless, the concert series organizers are quick to boast that since 1974, they have entertained a half a million music revelers with a collection of music talent that includes Grammy, Juno and Emmy award winders, as well as two National Medal of Arts recipients, and several international, national, regional and local artists.

Norwood Village Green Concert Series concerts are free of charge, but donations are encouraged by means of a “pass the bucket” approach.

Each concert listed below starts at 7 p.m.

THE NORWOOD VILLAGE GREEN CONCERT SERIES

Thursday, June 5 – The RPO Marimba Band (+ North Country Children’s Museum’s KidPower: Fun and Fitness Exhibit)
Thursday, June 12 – Onyx Clarinet Quartet and Riverside Brass Quintet
Sunday, June 15 – Sonic Escape
Thursday. June 19 – Tas Cru
Sunday, June 22 – Kleztory
Thursday, June 26 – Northern Symphonic Winds, Scott LaVine, Dr. Brian Doyle, Conductors
Sunday, June 29 – The Cathie Ryan Band
Sunday, July 6 – All Star Big Band under the direction of Wally Siebel with guest Tony DeSare
Wednesday , July 9 – The Susquehanna String Band
Sunday, July 13 – Harpeth Riseth
Thursday, July 17 – Sultans of String
Sunday, July 20 – The Gibson Brothers
Thursday, July 24 – Martha Gallagher and Harper’s Delight
Sunday, July 27 Jamcrackers – Peggy Lynn, Dan Duggan and Dan Berggren
Thursday, July 31 – The Brass Firemen
Sunday, August 3 – Northbound with special guest, King Kong

June 5, 2014
Road to Backwoods Pondfest: Lucid in the North Country on June 6th and 7th

With so many great festivals right in our backyard, we are lucky in the Upstate region to be able to pick and choose what we attend every summer. One gem that calls the North Country home and always has a solid lineup is Backwoods Pondfest. Now in its 8th year, this years fest will be headlined by Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na with his project Chali 2na and the House of Vibe. Other acts include bands like Twiddle, Spiritual Rez, Turkuaz, Alan Evans’ Playonbrother, Conehead Buddha, and of course, the gracious hosts, Lucid. With it still being two months away though, there’s still a lot of great music to catch in the near future before even thinking about that.

Welcome to ‘s “Road to Backwoods Pondfest” series. Through this, we plan on highlighting some of the shows in the region that we are sponsoring that feature Pondfest bands before its August kick off. Being that it’s our first installation, it made sense to tell you about the guys who host Pondfest every year, Lucid. The band hails from the Plattsburgh region and have been a gracious host over the years to the many bands that make the trip in August. As the winner of ‘s March Madness tournament, Lucid is gaining popularity throughout the region as one of the premier up and coming bands to catch.

On Friday, June 6th Lucid will be taking the stage at Olive Ridley’s in Plattsburgh. Joining them that night are two bands from the area that are local favorites in Doomf*ck and Trinity Park Radio. The following night, Lucid is making the short trip south to Saranac Lake to play Waterhole. Opening the night will be The Royal Noise whose powerful funk sound is a great fit for the show.

Lucid (Photo by Laura Carbone)

For both shows, doors open at 9pm with music beginning at 10, so head out and get a taste for what’s to come this August when Backwoods Pondfest kicks off its 8th year. And if you still haven’t picked up your Pondfest ticket quite yet, hit the link and grab yours now! There’s a reason why this is one of our favorites in New York.

June 4, 2014
19th Annual Westport Concert Series Line-Up Announced

Ballard Park is scheduled to host the 19th annual Westport Community Concert Series this summer with a solid line-up.

Westport is a small country village located on the western shores of Lake Champlain, approximately halfway between the village of Lake George and city of Plattsburgh, at the intersection of US Route 9N and NYS Route 22.

The 2014 summer series begins on July 3rd at 7:30 pm and continues every Thursday night through August 27th on the hillside amphitheater overlooking Lake Champlain. Each concert is free of charge. Blankets and lawn chairs are welcome, and patrons are encouraged to bring food to picnic on the grounds. The rain site is across Main Street in the historic chapel of the Westport Heritage House.

“Soundwaves” The 19th Annual Westport Community Concert Series lineup:
July 3: Taylor Haskins’ ‘Fuzzy Logic’ – featuring Ben Monder, guitar
with the Meadowmount School of Music String Orchestra
July 10: Ryan Montbleau (opening: Jay Fiegl)
July 17: Barika
July 24: Samuel Torres & Manuel Valera
July 31: Meadowmount String Quartets
August 7: Joe Brent & Sara Caswell’s ‘9 Horses’ (opening: Staber & Chasnoff)
August 14: Michael Chorney & Hollar General – featuring Brett Lanier, pedal steel; Magic
City the songs of Sun Ra – 8-piece ensemble – featuring Miriam Bernardo
(double bill)
August 21: Jason Lindner’s ‘Super Future Griot’ – featuring Nate Smith and Gilmar Gomes
August 28: Rebecca Martin & Larry Grenadier

June 1, 2014
Hearing Aide: Dan Johnson “Mercury 85”

Despite calling Vermont home, the origins of Dan Johnson’s music career lie here in Upstate New York, where he first strummed his guitar to the public inside where Valentine’s Music Hall and Beer Joint once stood. Valentine’s is gone, but Dan Johnson’s Americana sound continues today with the release of his latest, Mercury 85. The album was released on May 27th.

Located off Albany’s New Scotland Avenue, Valentine’s was a popular venue for live music before it succumbed to a local hospital’s progressive movement to expand last year. Johnson, along with his Expert Sidemen, had hosted his Americana music series every Tuesday night featuring the likes of Woody Pines, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, The Farewell Drifters, Hamell on Trial, JP Harris and the Tough Choices, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, and Eastbound Jesus.

“Most of the album is about people I’ve known,” said Johnson, “especially folks from the time I spent in Buffalo, but also moving from New York to Vermont, and life changes [too]. The songs mostly use driving and cars as a metaphor for writing,” he added. “I’m curious about what other people get out of the songs so don’t want to go crazy breaking it down.”

Mercury 85 is Johnson’s third album and features twelve original songs that were all recorded at his home in Jericho, VT. It presents a departure from the live instrumentation of his previous releases, featuring drum machines, amp modeling and MIDI instruments to support his acoustic guitar, banjo and mandolin. While the instrumental support has taken some new turns, said Johnson, the songwriting remains rooted in storytelling and first person narration with strong poetic imagery.

Johnson’s unassuming approach to the mic is intended to allow the story to take the spotlight: Well-matched with his low-key but welcoming attitude towards the listener. The presentation is reminiscent of Bob Dylan, as each song tells a story surrounding common people remembering yesterday, lamenting today, and looking forward to a better tomorrow. Never does there seem to be a resolution to change. As with “Rose”, for which Johnson only recently released a video, the protagonist speaks to another about a woman he casually met at a bar his band had played. Over the course of one night, skirting around the truth and telling lies over cups of coffee, he fell in love. But, it’s apparent he has since spent a long span of time searching her at each bar he happens to play and seems to have given up hope on ever finding her. “If you ever see this girl, she’s got a tattoo of a rose. Tell her that I miss her when the chilly wind blows.”

Johnson attributes the country landscape of his new home for the stripped down production of his latest release. The focus on the storytelling is certainly his strong suit, and is the most appealing factor to this album. This same quality may also be off-putting to the casual music fan used to a contrasting style, but it is a sound that can easily find itself played at trendy coffee houses. And, for those who appreciate good storytelling, Mercury 85 is worth a preview (and purchase) on Bandcamp or contact the artist directly on his Facebook page.

Key Tracks: Rose, Mercury 85, and Allentown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1TQ21xYfKQ

May 30, 2014