Donna The Buffalo will be taking their herd across New York state with their winter tour with stops in Saratoga Springs at Putnam Den on Thursday February 6th, Beacon at The Towne Crier on Friday, February 7th and Buffalo at The Tralf Music Hall on Saturday, February 8th. Donna The Buffalo, coming off their latest album release, Tonight, Tomorrow and Yesterday will be bringing their jamboree-styled bluegrass party to a venue close to you and surely will not be one to miss as they never fail to produce a great night out. Donna The Buffalo, founded in Trumansburg, NY consists of Tara Nevins (Vocals, Guitar) with her bag full of instruments, Jeb Puryear (vocal, guitar), Kyle Spark (bass), Mark Raudabaugh (drums) and David Mccracken (keys).
Tickets for Donna The Buffalo across New York can be purchased on each venues respective websites or at the door day of show, so head out and enjoy what will be a great show.
February 6th- Putnam Den– Saratoga Springs, NY $17/ Day of Show $20
February 7th- The Towne Crier– Beacon, NY $25/Day of Show $30
There’s something exciting about looking at equipment on an otherwise empty stage, waiting to be used. As soon as audience members rounded the corner into the backroom at Bug Jar on Friday, January 17th, they were greeted with BabaYaga’s tasteful, bare-bones set up: a Marshall head atop two 12 inch speakers on the left, Orange amp and Gibson Les Paul to the right, drum kit front and center.
The sound BabaYaga gets out of this set up is my favorite part about the band: warm vintage tones, cranked to the max. Todd Dentico threw down huge bass energy with sturdy notes that popped every time. Dave Fein’s guitar licks were steady and tastefully distorted, and his solos were like climbing a ladder, occasionally breaking a rung just to mix things up. As for Adam Banachi’s vocals, the screaming wasn’t muddy or jarring, but instead blended nicely with instruments for a tight, powerful sound. Adam’s vocals and stage presence could be the perfect metaphor for BabaYaga: a grimace, not a front.
BML took the stage next, just before midnight, to a diverse audience of old timers, college kids from the bar, metal die-hards and even a few cops. Cutting right to the chase: as soon these three guys take the stage they transform into a well-oiled rock-and-roll machine. Tight, on point, and unassuming, BML lets their sound speak for itself. Transitions are subtle but happen quickly; in a matter of seconds BML can discretely move into a new phrase and have audiences getting down to a new lick or tempo, without knowing how they got there. Since Friday’s show was a release party for the band’s new album, That There Dog’s A Chicken, the set featured a bunch of new songs with a few classics sprinkled in for flavor. Coincidentally, two of my favorite tunes came after the following phrases: “We’re gonna play an old one…” and, “This song should be interesting…we haven’t played it in a while”. This preference by no means discredits BML’s new stuff—which is detailed, contrasting and well executed—but is instead a testament to their history. These guys have been around for just under ten years now, and they command respect on stage without relying on gimmicks or familiarity. From start to finish, BML challenges themselves and the audience through complex scales and transitions at a super-fast space, hitting and fleeing high points and drops in the blink of an eye.
Two things are for sure after Friday Night: Genesee Bock is back with a vengeance, and, in the hands of BabaYaga and BML, heavy rock-and-roll is alive and well in Rochester, New York.
The hype from all of the New Year’s runs has finally died down and right on its heels come the first announcements of the festival season. Sandwiched right in between though, and largely overlooked, is the winter tour where bands often times debut new material and dig deep for old fan favorites. Umphrey’s McGee tour has begun and the band is set to blaze a trail right through the heart of Upstate New York, all within the first week of February. The band will make stops in Clifton Park, Syracuse, and Rochester among many other dates across the U.S. The Chicago-natives recently finished a two-night standalone set at the famous Beacon Theater in New York City which has only led to more anticipation for these upcoming dates.
Writer Jeremiah Shea had a chance to interview with keyboardist Joel Cummins about the upcoming tour and their new album that is due to come out in the coming months.
Jeremiah Shea: What are your thoughts on the recent two-night run at The Beacon Theater? Joel Cummins: It was a pretty awesome weekend. Being able to play the Beacon last year and then doing two nights this year really let us soak it in a little more. The Beacon is one of the greatest venues in the country, if not the world. There’s been so many great shows there and amazing performances that when you play there, you really feel like you have to step up and not just bring your A game, but your A+ game. You have to wow people in New York.
JS: Last year in January you guys played Buffalo and Syracuse on back to back nights before making a stop at The Beacon Theater; this year you’re hitting Clifton Park, Syracuse, and Rochester. Is there a reason you show Upstate New York so much love? JC: A lot of it has to do with two things: where people are and how far you can travel between cities. Logistically, our typical limit is about 450 miles before you make touring increasingly more expensive. Coincidentally, there are a lot of good places in New York to play between Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca, Syracuse, Utica, and Albany. There are a lot of good mid-size cities that we’ve been trying to build over the years. Since we played Buffalo in the Fall, it made sense for us to come to Rochester this time. We played the Harro East Ballroom one other time and had a great time there, so we’re psyched to come back. We haven’t played the F Shed in Syracuse before, so that’ll be a really fun night and we’re pumped to have Kung Fu out with us on that one.
JS: Are you guys doing anything special on this run of shows to celebrate the band’s 16th birthday? JC: Every show is a special night to be honest; you know how we do it. We try to mix it up and play as many different things as possible. We have this website called All Things Umphrey’s where everything is in a database that we’ve played in the past. We can use that to go back and see what we’ve played and haven’t played in an area and continue to shred as much of the catalog as we can to keep it fresh for people. Once somebody has seen 8-10 shows, they start to hone in on what they haven’t seen yet; every city is different. We’ll go in and see that we haven’t played “Booth Love” or “Hurt Bird Bath” at a particular place in four years. It’s a really helpful tool for us to keep mixing things up. This is our typical biggest tour of the year between January and April and we try to hit every corner of the US. Our new album will be coming out in the first half of 2014, probably sometime in May, so this will kind of be the warm-up for that. My guess is that one or two of the songs that didn’t make the new album will probably get played on this winter tour.
JS: You made some mentions of the new album on your Twitter account. What’s on tap and is there anything you can share? JC: Ya know, not too much at this point as we’re trying to keep it under wraps right now. I can tell you that we started by recording 16 tunes, 7 of which were brand new and 9 of which we’ve played live before. I think we’re going to end up with probably 10 or 11 tunes on the new album with some bonus material. There’s at least 5 new tracks on the album, I’d say, that we haven’t played live previously. I think that’s always exciting for the fans when you can kind of inject the set list with some brand new stuff for people. We also have a couple of newer ones that we’ve been playing pretty consistently for the past couple of years and a couple of classic Umphrey’s McGee tunes that we previously haven’t been able to hit perfectly with the studio takes. We finally got a couple of these where we really feel like we nailed the essence of the song and they fit the overall vibe of the new album which is definitely heading in a more hard rock direction; there are tons of great guitar riffs on this album.
JS: Does the band’s approach vary nightly depending on the venue or city? If so, how? JC: It’s different every night and we mix up who writes the set list. On a typical day, we make a list of songs in the morning and people can add or subtract things depending on what they’re feeling. By the afternoon, somebody will pick it up and try to make a set list out of everything that’s been suggested. I think that really keeps it fresh, especially when you have different people writing the set list who think about it and approach it differently. We’ll typically try to always do a mix of newer and older material so that it’s fresh for everyone.
JS: How do you guys interject teasers into your songs live? Are they planned or discovered during your set? JC: Most of the time if we’re teasing something, it’s happening in the moment. It’s very rare that it’s something that’s planned. I think one of the things that we all thrive on is that stuff in the moment where nobody’s really sure what’s going to happen, but you kind of try to pick up a song. That actually happened at The Beacon. We started teasing the Eminem song “Lose Yourself” and then it ended up kind of morphing into “Kashmir”. That was an example from this weekend where we ended up hitting a cool little patch of teases there, but it was certainly not planned.
JS: What do you like about touring compared to the festival circuit in the summer? JC: I feel like when we do our own shows, we’re playing to our people; everybody who’s there is there for us. That’s always a really special thing when you can do these tours and really feel the excitement from the fan base. That’s the fun thing about the beginning of the year. With the festivals now, it’s such a great time getting to see so many of our friends all around the country. That’s kind of the highlight of the summer festival season whenever we get to do that. That’s also the time when we try to convert some new fans, so we definitely approach the shows a little bit differently. We’ll still try to throw in a few rarities or things that you might not expect to see us play at a festival, but when we play for the hardcore fans, I’d say that these winter tours definitely have the biggest variety of our catalog that you’ll see. I looked on All Things Umphrey’s the other day and in 2013 we played 329 different songs, so there really is a lot of room for variety. It’s really nice at this point to have that catalog selection where we can play so many different things.
JS: Does Jefferson Waful have any new tricks up his sleeve this year? JC: He does! He’s actually in the process of transitioning from the grandMA console, which we’ve been using, to the grandMA2. I’m not totally sure if he’s going to have it up yet for these shows as it’s probably about a month-long process to make that transition and learn everything that needs to be learned. That is definitely new though and in the works for 2014, so it’s only going to promise to make the production and light show that much stronger. We’re always tweaking our light show and playing different things out depending on what the venues allow. This most recent run at The Beacon we definitely had our biggest light rig that we’ve ever brought to New York. We’re definitely trending in that direction of bigger and better, which is a nice way to trend. We’ve been really lucky with Jefferson that he’s such a passionate, driven, and really great artist behind the light console. There are plenty of moments during the night when the fans get excited about the music, but you know you have somebody who has a really great eye for art and a way to connect that to music when the lighting designer can elicit cheers from the crowd.
Walt Disney did it. William Shakespeare did too. It’s taking the metal of another one’s work, and spinning it into your own gold. It’s the alchemy of the creative mind. It’s declaring the statement, “I can take your idea, and make it better.” Cry to the Blind, a five-piece heavy rock band out of Rochester, NY, declared such a statement last month after walking into Oblivion Studios to record an already established hit. One month and more than 90,000 YouTube views later, the band has itself, what a growing contingent of fans and followers think, is gold.
“The past month or so has been pretty weird,” said Jon Lamanna, the band’s lead singer. Back in December, the band loaded up a studio video of their recording of Miley Cyrus’ mega-hit, Wrecking Ball. The reception to their hard rock version has been nothing short of exceptional, first leading to play time on local radio stations, and precipitating to national attention on Nikki Sixx’s syndicated show, and now satellite radio. It wasn’t long before they obtained mechanical rights from the copyright owner to allow them to perform and sell their version of the song.
“The energy and the excitement level at our shows, and online, are at a level I’ve never seen before. People just seem like they really believe in us now.”
It’s really inspiring to see.”
Rochester’s Cry to the Blind is basking in the glow of newly found attention. (Photo Credit: CTTB/Facebook)
The band has released three CDs independently since 2009. They are a heavy, modern rock band, who market themselves as a “therapeutic release” for their fans. They like to promote a “positive spin on the negative energy that surrounds us every day,” as stated on their Facebook page.
Jon explained that the inspiration to record the song came from a simple turn of his car’s radio dial, as he started his commute to work one November morning.
“The first time I heard the song, I thought it would make a great rock song. We’ve never done a cover. [This was] just a random idea. I texted Jesse (Maty), our guitar player, and said, ‘hey, have you heard that Miley Cyrus song “Wrecking Ball? I think it would be awesome as a rock song.’ He was like, ‘yeah, why not? Let’s give it a shot.’ He wasn’t into it as much as I was. But, when I polled the other guys in the band, they were really excited about it. .. As soon as we started rehearsing it, it sounded phenomenal.”
They changed up the second verse to make it rhythmic and heavy, which was (the band’s drummer), Jay Talarico’s idea. Together with Ryan Mcfaul on guitars and Kory Maclauchlan on bass, Jon said, “I think that’s what makes the song stand out.”
Since Cyrus released the song last August, Wrecking Ball has topped the pop charts in 13 different countries, including the United States. There have been a number of different cover versions released, including that from Rumer Willis, the 25-year-old daughter of actors Demi Moore and Bruce Willis.
Today, up to 40 radio stations, including Sirius Octane, is playing their song, and the positive feedback just keeps building. Jon said that the band has yet to be signed by a label; however, he says people who they’ve spoken to in the past, are coming back to talk.
“[We’re] pretty confident that things are going to continue to snowball in a good direction for us.”
Cry to the Blind play next at The Montage Music Hall in Rochester, NY on Saturday, February 15.
As the morning of July 28, 1973 revealed itself, the ground beneath the Watkins Glen, New York State concert site was preparing to hold the weight of 600,000 musical travelers ready to rock and roll. The largest gathering for a rock festival was about to take place with a legendary bill of bands that would play extended and legendary sets. After the previous evenings ‘warm up’, the groups as well as the crowd were primed for an all day event. Pleasant but humid New York Summer festival weather settled hazily across the bronzed crown of hippies slightly threatening summer storms. The awe inspiring event about to take place would make history in not only musical but social ways, the smoky remnants of that afternoon still smoldering in the annals of rock history.
The Grateful Dead took the stage promptly at noon to an introduction by Bill Graham who exclaimed, ‘From Marin County to Watkins Glen, the Grateful Dead!’ Blasting into an excitable ‘Bertha’ the Dead ran through a typical, that is to say, well played and amazing set of first set classics. The set is brimming with a typical East coast high energy, building to then detonating on a psychedelic pinnacle with the set closing ‘Playing in the Band’. Slithering through the some of the more familiar themes of the era, by half way into the jam Lesh and Garcia are exchanging husky scrubs and bombs, while the rest of the band is tied into a kinetic and electric fast paced groove. While not reaching the extravagant peaks of the jam from the night before, this is a thick and gooey ‘Playin in the Band’ from an era with many stand outs.
Following a marathon ‘China/Rider of epic proportions comes ‘Eyes of the World’, the peak of the second set and of the Dead’s performance for me; the post verse jam contains a plethora of melodic statements from Garcia, with the song morphing into a swelling and pulsating improvised drift. From fifteen minutes on, Garcia plays like a man possessed and hits on several syncopated grooves that band responds to in kind touching on the delicate spaces explored during the previous day’s sound check, before falling back into the recognizable ‘Stronger That Dirt’ theme. Garcia then deliciously liquefies the band into Weir’s well timed and well placed ‘Sugar Magnolia’. Observed as an entire piece of work the Grateful Dead played an amazing two days of music at Watkins Glen, a testament to their constant journey to strive for the golden note.
The Band’s set started at 6:00 PM after the Dead’s extended four and a half display concluded and became an amazing cross section of their legendary career, peppered with unique instrumental interludes specific to the Watkins Glen performance. Opening and romping joyously through ‘Goin Back To Memphis’, the Band’s music captured the feel of the festival perfectly through its pastoral imagery and down home instrumentation.
This is rock and roll, country blues distilled to its very essence; it doesn’t get much better than this! During these early moments of the Band set, the low point of the festival weekend occurred as a skydiver unfortunately missed their intended mark and perished on the grounds. As an addendum, there was a supposed ‘official’ release of the Band’s set from Watkins released in 1995, but after inspection and discussion it was revealed that this collection was/is a fraud and contains only two actual tracks from the event. The only way to hear the performance as it was is to hunt down one of the circulating audience recordings that exist in decent quality.
This concert takes place in the middle of a year of rest and uncertainty for the Band. Looked at historically, the concert is a towering peak in the landscape of the Band’s performing career. The songs are tight, dynamic and rise and fall like a high speed run down a country gravel road. Garth Hudson is especially on his game laying down a plethora of breezy and inspirational keyboard flourishes that would culminate with his divergent solo spot “Too Wet Too Work’. Danko and Helm are locked in tight, and the vocals of Manuel, Danko, and Helm wrap around one another like a snaky gospel revival. After rocketing through a series of exciting high tempo tracks including ‘Loving You Is Sweeter That Ever’, and a drunken romp through ‘The Shape I’m In’, the group is eventually forced to leave the stage for twenty minutes because of threatening inclement weather. During the jam on ‘Endless Highway’ prior to their leaving, the crowd can be heard on the recording discussing and preparing for the incoming thunder storm. The ‘fly on the wall’ aspect of this field recording is especially entertaining.
Levon Helm’s remembrance of this moment in his autobiography is that the group left the stage as the weather descended, gulped some Glenfiddich whiskey and watched Hudson return to his keyboard for his orchestral spotlight, ‘Genetic Method’ in this case driving away the rain in the process of the extended solo. Titled ‘Too Wet To Work’ in the case of this performance, Garth traveled through numerous musical landscapes, teasing dynamically, improvising, until the weather dissipated and the Band returned to the stage, slamming into a celebratory ‘Chest Fever’, that in Helm’s words would be forever ‘burned into his memory’. The crowd claps in time with the musical waves, a highpoint of the afternoon. The remainder of the Band set burns through an aggressive and elastic instrumental and then momentous and extended versions of smoldering rock classics like ‘Holy Cow’ and ‘Saved’, as well as crowd pleasing renditions of ‘Cripple Creek’ and ‘Life Is A Carnival.’ Absolutely legendary, the monumental nature of the day as well as joy emanating from the stage translates well to the field recording I am enjoying.
By the time Allman Brothers Band hit the stage at 10:00 PM, the almost one hundred acre concert site had become a swamp, and the happily soaked crowd swelled with anticipation for the upcoming musical onslaught. Opening with the recent for the time ‘Wasted Words’, the band is cooking from the get go with Betts and Allman dueling through vocals and slide guitar over the syncopated groove. The band receives a second introduction after the opener because Bill Graham wanted to make sure every band had each individual member introduced to the crowd. The Allman’s then swagger through beautifully crafted versions of ‘Come and Go Blues’ (featured on official release ‘Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas’) ‘Blue Sky’, ‘Jessica’, ‘You Don’t Love Me’, among others. Recent additions Chuck Leavell and Lamar Williams fill in admirably on keys and bass respectively. Leavell and Betts especially have developed an intense chemistry, bouncing hearty melodic ideas off each other throughout the show, with their interplay on ‘Blue Sky’ being a highpoint worth of inspection.
The centerpiece of the Allman’s extended set is the mammoth performance of ‘Les Brers In A Minor’ which bookends a pulsating and dynamic drum duet by Jaimoe and Butch Trucks, the second of the performance following an aggressive ‘You Don’t Love Me’ duet. Each member gets a chance to express themselves as ‘Les Brers’ like its distant cousins ‘Jessica’, and ‘Liz Reed’ navigates a series of death defying twists and turns while solving a series of delicate melodic mysteries. Rock and Roll veteran Chuck Leavell’s extended dance with the black and whites is a pleasure to behold and spreads out a plush carpet in which the band uses to step into drums. This song represents a powerful and confident jam by the retooled group, asserting their ability to move forward while still respecting their past brothers Duane and Barry. Betts guitar lines range from syrupy amber licks to sharp stinging fly bys, the central pole in which the group revolves.
The Allman Brothers set concludes with ‘Whipping Post’, hoped for, expected, and played like a runaway freight train headed down a dark track. Peak after peak is reached the crowd is astonished, amazed and taken to a unique place by the music played. The weekend ends bombastically, well past midnight following the Allman’s set when members from all three groups return to the stage for Summer Jam. Sincerely sloppy, and at moments stunningly brilliant the music continues into the dawn. Rick Danko appears first to drunkenly croon into the mic momentarily and quite endearingly, soon to be joined by Garcia, then Manuel and eventually Betts, Lesh, Allman and others for some more lengthy jamming to conclude the massive weekend of music to the crowds delight.
The music drifting from the stage meanders for a bit before falling into the highlights, ‘Not Fade Away’, ‘Mountain Jam’, and’ Johnny B Goode’, a momentous and special way to conclude the Summer Jam. The ‘Not Fade Away’ is pleasant enough, but the twenty plus minute ‘Mountain Jam’ the follows elicits speeding clouds, percolating rivers, and joyous wilderness romping. Garcia is especially active, intertwining and responding to everyone on stage. Betts and Garcia together create richly constructed summits during their journey, pausing at scenic overlooks that dance with collaborative playing by all of the principals on stage. The musical movement comes as a defining musical statement for the weekend, an instrumental climax, a joining of ideas and people and a perfect example of the magic available through collaborative musical interplay and willing participants.
Watkins Glen, Summer Jam 1973 is not only notable for its collection of an amazing group of musicians, but for its eclectic collection of fans. The collaboration between the two of these principals combined for a historic and alchemic weekend combining music and experience. The encapsulated moment in time for this weekend will never be recreated, but fortunately forever enshrined on recordings and in the memories of the participants.
“Three bands, three sets, no repeats” is how they billed it and I couldn’t have said it better. On Saturday, January 18th, the Grateful Dans, Workingman’s Dead, and The Maniacs brought their tributes of the GratefulDead to the Tralf Music Hall in downtown Buffalo. Each band had their own unique take on the legendary band, with multiple generations of fans in attendance, ready to dance the night away.
Grateful Dans had a laid back approach and got the party started with the fan favorite “Wharf Rat”. Danny Lynn Wilson (lead vocals/guitar) was backed by a band that looked to be playing with one and other for quite a some time. Grateful Dans also incorporated a different approach with background vocalist Amy Svensson playing flute alongside select tunes. Danny Sturner (vocals/keys) played with a lot of enthusiasm starting off “Big Boss Man”, noting “This is one of Pig Pen’s.” You can checkout the Grateful Dans at their next event ‘Back to the Hotel’ on February 15th at the Broadway Hotel in North Tonawanda.
Workingman’s Dead recreated the closest sound to the original Dead. The crowd came alive and the energy in the room really showed it. Kevin Barry (lead vocals/guitar) had the uncanny ability to vocally sound so much like Bob Weir, leading some to think he may have been on stage with them. Mike Hogan (vocals/guitar) nailed down the late Jerry Garcia’s sound so well it was bone chilling. Rick Ruhmel (Keys) was a very strong player, and along side Mark Chamberlin (Bass) really filled out songs nicely. Devin McDonnell and Rob Oshei didn’t seem to miss a beat on drums and you could tell these six guys on stage were a very tight band. They opened with “Scarlet Begonias”, and once into their second song “Jack Straw”, they really lit the fire. The Workingman’s Dead were able to get the crowd really moving with their renditions of “Harder They Come”, “Birdsong” and “Gimme Some Lovin’”. The crowd looked to dance with the same energy and enthusiasm as if they were at an original Dead show. The Workingman’s Dead will be live again tonight, Thursday, January 30th at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo.
The Maniacs closed out the night of Grateful Dead music at the Tralf Music Hall with continuing energy. Hitting their stride with several fan favorites including “Playing In The Band” , “Uncle Johns Band” and “Shakedown Street”, Mark Hitchcock (Drums) was clearly the heart of the band and his energy with the band and the crowd was evident, coming out from behind the kit to the front of the stage. Bryan Staddon is an incredible guitar player and played well to the crowd, clearly enjoying what he was doing. Dennis Reed Jr. on the rhythm guitar was well rounded and along with Gavin Petrie and Tony Petrocelli completed a well playing Dead tribute band. The Maniacs bring their tribute to the Dead on February 7th at the Forum on Maple Rd, show at 9pm.
It was cold night on Wednesday in downtown Buffalo, however this was not the scene at The Waiting Room, one of the hottest venues to catch a show. You could sense it in the air that there was going to be a sort of dance frenzy that would make it feel as if it was a summertime festival.
Funktional Flow started off the night, and for people who have not seen these guys in action you are completely missing out. Funktional Flow is a four-man group full of talent from Ben Whelan (Bass), Jeff Kuebler (guitar, vocals), Jim Edgar (drums) and Mike Szcepanik (guitar and vocals), who play well together and it shows on stage. Ben Whelan just enjoys to really lay down the groove, and that is very evident with his emotional playing. Mike Szcepanik is an unbelievable guitar player, and a real hidden gem in the Buffalo music scene. His guitar work on a cover of Phish’s “Slave To The Traffic Light” was on point and really tore the roof off with their rendition. Funktional Flow’s next show is in Oneonta, NY on January 30th at Black Oak Tavern.
The Werks headlined the evening and brought their “A” game. The tour started in Buffalo, but didn’t seem like their first show as they were firing on all cylinders. Hailing from Dayton, OH, they have been really heating up the Jam circuit and it really shows through their fanbase. Chris Houser (guitar and vocals), Rob Chafin (drums, vocals), Dino Dimitrouleas (bass) and Dan Shaw (keys, filling in for Norman Dimitrouleas) embrace their fans and their show feeds off the energy of the crowd. Houser is a very talented guitarist with a very laid back vibe. Houser brings the fans on a musical road trip with is extensive soloing, making him a real joy to watch and listen to on stage.
The Werks opened the Waiting Room show with “Guido”, which got the crowd moving and shaking from start to finish. When they played Deep Purple’s “Hush” the crowd was singing and dancing right along. I was personally happy to hear them play the fan favorite “Duck Farm” which I had on a daily rotation on my phone leading up to the show. Chafin on the kit with his side stage setup really brought the drums to the forefront during “Hard to Find > Drums > Hard to Find”. Dimitrouleas and Shaw bring a lot to the table and their interactions with the crowd really put a warm smile on your face. The Werks closed with “Burning Groove”, another fan favorite.
Mike Gantzer: Guitar, Vocals
Dave Loss: Guitar, Keys, Vocals
Evan McPhaden: Bass
Nick Sonricker: Drums, Vocals
Mike, Dave, Evan, and Nick make up Aqueous, the four piece prog machine out of Buffalo, NY that is rapidly becoming known up and down the East coast. The band played over 125 shows in 2013 resulting in a tighter bond evident throughout their playing. It’s difficult to sum up their sound concisely though as they can quickly shift from one genre to the next effortlessly. To give you an idea, the guys have covered everyone from Elton John to Notorious B.I.G. and The Beatles to Metallica. Even still, there’s something very distinct about their sound mixing rock, prog phrasing, and a heavy focus on groove. Their attention to both structure and free-form improv leaves their shows wrapped in intrigue. If you really want to know what they’re all about, as cliché as it may be, you have to catch their live show.
The band recently released Live Nugs Volume 4 at the beginning of the year. Consisting of five live cuts of original songs from their fall tour, the album puts their current chops on display and is a perfect marker for growth through the Live Nug series. gave a glowing review of the album, claiming the tracks to be the “headiest to date.” Additionally, the band is set to do their first ever residency at Buffalo’s Nietzsche’s in February. On each of the four Wednesday’s of the month, Aqueous will be joined by a special guest and feature a different theme. The four bands playing in support are Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, The Mantras, Broccoli Samurai, and Big Something. Aqueous is even offering a pass for the whole month allowing you entry into each of the four shows for only $20. If you’re unable to make one of their hometown shows, don’t fret. Their spring 2014 schedule was just announced, and it looks as though it’ll be relatively easy to catch these guys if you’re anywhere in the Northeast.
What type of fan is Aqueous for?
Dave Loss: Honestly, Aqueous is for fans of music. Yes we do a lot of improv when we play live and are influenced by many of the major jam bands like Umphrey’s and Phish, but beyond that we all like many different types and styles of music and are always determined to keep things interesting and avoid being too repetitive. Oh and we always focus on keeping the groove. We are big on groove!
Mike Gantzer: I agree with Dave here. We try to put into one of our shows the things that move us most when we see shows; energy, interaction, occasional theatrics, and general fun. We certainly have a sound, but we believe that music should push and pull, and contrast is a beautiful thing. Mixing rock with reggae, funk with hip hop, metal with bluegrass etc. It’s wonderful as musicians to delve into different sounds and styles, and even better to see people react to that contrast.
Where do you think you’ll be in five years?
Dave Loss: Popular enough to where I don’t need a Facebook anymore and can strictly use Twitter……but seriously I would love to be at a point where I could play venues like the Town Ballroom here in Buffalo all over the country. Maybe even on a European tour! But really if I could make a living off playing and recording music, that would be a dream come true.
Mike Gantzer: Personally, my goal for the band is to play in Japan and do a European tour within the next five years, and make it to the West coast. We’re all grateful for the level of support we’ve been shown, and I think our priority is to keep building on that momentum and write and tour as much as possible.
Evan McPhaden: In the next five years I’d like to be able to tour more extensively, reaching the West coast would be amazing. Playing some of my favorite venues where I’ve seen bands that I love like the Town Ballroom. Ideally, if I could survive from playing music that would be all I need. Lastly, in the next five years I’d like to find a golden ticket and meet Willy Wonka.
There’s a rumbling coming from Western New York as of late; or so it seems from the perspective of the editor’s desk here at Upstate Metal, as we’ve had our eyes forcibly opened ala Clockwork Orange to the music scene out of Rochester, New York.
The epicenter is discernablly originated from underneath whichever stage AFR plays. The heavy metal group phones out from the 585 Area Code, and in the short time since they formed in April of 2012, they’ve fostered a following with an enormous fan base – geographically speaking.
AFR comes off as an eclectic sounding band, listing a broad focus of infuences that range from Dream Theatre to Lamb of God. Signed by Buffalo’s Dead Trash Mob records, the boys like to describe their sound as, “if Pantera and Lamb Of God had a baby.”
Upstate Metal recently had the opportunity of communicating with the band’s bassist, Todd Church. Church is the neophyte of the band, stepping on board with AFR last October. As with many local rockers, Church has a day job to pay the bills. Only, as you’ll quickly learn, his day job is almost as interesting as his nighttime persona. We talk to him about that, and more, plus what fans should expect from the band in the next few months.
Hallisey: You joined the band in October of last year, right? Tell me a little bit about how you joined the crew, and what kind of struggles do you have being with a band that’s already struck out on its own before you came along?
Church: Actually the band was advertising on Craig’s list back in the summer of 2013 and during that time I went to see one of their shows to check them out and was really impressed with the show and the music. After the show, I met up with the guys and hit it off pretty good. The transition from me learning the songs and doing my first show was literally two weeks when the lead singer Alan called me up and asked me to play that coming weekend show at the Montage Music Hall in Rochester, NY. Sometime in September. Surprisingly it went really well with the short time I had to learn their set list.
Hallisey: You’re a chemist, scientist? Is being a musician your alter ego?
Church: Definitely, I’m an Environmental Scientist these days; listening to a little Lamb of God or Pantera while working away! It’s always been kind of a joke in just about all the bands I’ve been in over the years. I would tell people I’m a scientist and everyone would be like, yeah right!
Hallisey: I don’t assume you’re cooking meth in an RV out in the New Mexico desert, am I right?
Church: Laughs. No! I’m pretty much tied to a computer these days. I currently work as a consultant providing chemistry/biology technical support to project teams and field sampling teams globally.
Hallisey: Is rock and roll a dream or a pastime for you? Do you see professional aspirations conflicting with your music?
Church: I never did or will quit the dream! I’ve been a musician most of my life starting in my elementary band playing the trombone. I’ve played in metal bands for long time. At one point in my life toured with my metal band throughout Michigan whom is still together but under different name now. Fortunately my job is pretty demanding but also flexible as well so seems to work out good. It would definitely be an easy decision on which way to go if the opportunity and money was right!
Hallisey: Speaking of music, how involved are you in the song writing?
Church: I’m at a point now with AFR that I am contributing to the music writing process with our upcoming EP that we have been working on. Each of us encourage each other to help with the writing process so it’s actually a fun and rewarding process.
Hallisey: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Church: As with most musicians and artists alike, inspiration comes from the soul. We all have a history whether good or bad, and being able to convey it to the music is incredibly fulfilling.
Hallisey: Who are your idols, and what characteristics do you try to take from them into your own play?
Church: I have been a huge fan of music in general as long as I can remember listening to my parents old Motown and classic rock records growing up. After being introduced to Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath, I knew that is what I wanted to do! Throughout the years, I would have to say Steve Harris from Iron Maiden as well as Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted and Robert Trujillo were also huge influences on me as well. Robert is a madman to watch play!
Hallisey: I often hear musicians today speak of being involved in a battle to revitalize rock and roll. How do you feel being a part of such a scene where pop culture seems to have left it behind?
Church: I definitely have witnessed that over the years. Not only with music but even dealing with venues/clubs who have completely changed their lineup due to low attendance with the Rock culture and changing over to country music in hopes to draw more crowds. I’m not sure if that has changed today, but believe the metal/rock scene is just as strong today. I’ve always been involved with original bands and finding venues and getting large crowds to come see you has always been challenging.
We have been blessed with great venues and fans across upstate New York and don’t really feel that there is a battle at all and that there is always a place for metal.
Hallisey: What do you bring to the table for the band, that makes this band shine?
Church: When I first saw AFR play live, I felt a connection with the music and vibe instantly. I’d like to think I bring a prominent and heavy but unique sound quality that I believe will compliment what is already a powerful sound.
Hallisey: What does the band bring to the table for metal, to help metal make a comeback?
Church: Since I’ve been in upstate NY I have seen a lot of great cover and original bands. I think AFR stands out from the crowd with the some familiarity of the their sound but yet uniqueness which I see draws listeners interested from the first note until the last. Its been a great experience this far and looking forward to the future of this band.
Hallisey: You guys are working on a new EP, how far along are you with that?
Church: Yeah, we have been working really hard on our new upcoming EP since late November early December and pretty excited about. We have a few songs that are completed now but we wanted to spend the time to give our fans more than just a single release or two. It’s definitely going to have a new heavy feel but keep true to our roots.
Hallisey: When can we expect a release?
Church: Our first EP, A Hero to Villains, which was released in 2012 under the Buffalo, NY record label Dead Trash Mob Records, has had a really good response and we’re expecting to release our new upcoming EP late spring/early summer 2014.
Hallisey: A radio show in Germany knows about you guys. How does that happen, and does that obligate you guys to cover a David Hasselhoff tune or two?
Church: Well, if we end up touring Germany, we will be sure to call our ride “K.I.T.T.”! Laughs.
Today, it’s almost endless on how or where to advertise at a touch of a button. You can find out music on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Facebook, Reverbnation and more. One of the best ways is always by word of mouth and the social networking apps like Facebook but of course, you still have to have a descent product so people do pass along. Its been great how our fan base has been growing and spreading to new fans worldwide, including Germany, in such a short amount of time.
AFR comprises of Alan Rohr (Vocals), Ledwing Hernandez (Guitars), Zach Sweedler (Guitars), Todd Church (Bass), and Brandon Lewis (Drums). (Photo Credit: Courtesy of AFR)
A bluegrass background mixed with a punk-rock like attitude and a dash of a carnival side-show — The David Mayfield Parade is an experience one won’t soon forget.
Photo By: Impressions Concert Photography
You may have seen him recently with The Avett Brothers or Mumford & Sons. He sits in regularly with both bands, showcasing his unique style of guitar/mandolin playing and his natural charisma.
Tonight however, Rochester is in for a treat! The band will be playing at Abilene Bar & Lounge. They will be joined by special guests Kalob Griffin Band. Doors open at 7PM and the music starts at 9PM tickets are $15 at the door.
Jeremiah Shea: What are your thoughts on the recent two-night run at The Beacon Theater?
