NYS Music 20​14

Tag: mister f

  • Editor’s Playlist #2 – Spring Revival Edition

    Our second editor’s playlist features some of the artists performing at this years second annual Spring Revival Festival taking place May 8-11th at Carey Lake in Macedon NY. This family and wallet friendly festival features some of the top up and coming bands in the state, easy access, vending on site, plenty of camping space and non stop music on #2 stages.

    springrevival

    Book-ending the playlist and also headlining both Fri and Sat night at the festival is Buffalo’s Aqueous. The AQ boys have played close to 300 shows since 2012 and have been rewarded with an ever-expanding frenetic fan base referring to themselves as “AQuaintances”. Being the bands first 2 night run at a festival they are bound to have some surprises in store. Both tracks – “20/20” and “Complex II” – are some of the bands newest material and are sourced from their March Nectar’s residency. Stay tuned to for a first look at the band’s 2014 summer tour coming tomorrow!

    Our second track is an UpsateLIVE exclusive first listen of “The Clear” from Albany’s Formula 5. The band recently finished recording their excellent sophomore effort Edging on Disaster and remain one of our staff’s favorite bands to cover and follow.

    Third, from the also Albany based Mister F, is the lead-off track “Everything You Say” from the just released The F Stands Four. This marks the debut album for the Albany dance-prog-electro-rock outfit. Check out Tim O’Shea’s review of the whole disc over here.

    Our fourth and fifth tracks enter the psych-electro field even more. Roots Collider and Ocupanther, both Rochester based, have been garnering excellent crowds and reviews. The Collider track “Infinity” is almost impossible not to dance too with a sound that bestows at least a subtle nod to the prowess of instrumental dance rock pioneers STS9. Ocupanther’s “This, A Seagull” is actually a compilation of a studio based jam and a practice session for the newest OCU-song “III e III”. The band is in the midst of mixing their third album and wanted to give fans an early taste of what to expect.

    Keep in mind, beyond this playlist there remain tons of top-notch bands performing at The Revival including Rochester’s Haewa and Lap Giraffe, Buffalo’s Lazlo Hollyfeld and Universe Shark, northern NY and ‘s March Madness champion Lucid, the incredibly intense Flabberghaster from Vermont, and much much more. Hope to see y’all there! 

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/30379126?secret_token=s-hio2v” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

  • Heading Aide: Mister F “The F Stands Four”

    It’s always interesting to see what transpires when different musical elements get mashed together and get transformed into something new. In the case of Mister F, this particular mash up is the result of a cross pollination of band members from established Upstate New York groups Timbre Coup and Capital Zen. This relatively new project is already starting to make itself known outside of the Capital Region and if the release of their new album The F Stands Four is any indication, the rest of the country should be on notice.

    Mister F The F Stands FourThe band’s debut album makes its intentions known off the bat and lets you know right away that you’re in for a slightly psychedelic affair courtesy of some mind bending electronic synth sounds that serve as an opening bell of sorts. This helps usher in the first track, a catchy number called “Everything You Say” which mixes intricate piano fills with a steady bottom end and more layers of synth tones before a frantic guitar solo drives the pleasant jam to a fever pitch. The well mixed vocals stand out here and help lend the song an almost Jamiroquai-esque vibe.

    A really solid 1-2 punch of an opener for this release is ensured with perhaps the most engaging song on the album. “This One Goes to 11” features more funky keyboard work at the outset but it also keeps a more traditional rock sound before shedding this completely courtesy of a ferocious tempo change with a supercharged bass line leading the way. This song seems to encapsulate the band’s true sound, one that meshes modern day elements of electronic fusion with progressive song compositions that scream Zappa and King Crimson influences.

    Another standout track on The F Stands Four is “Treadmill”, a strong instrumental number that puts the band’s prog rock chops on full display. In general, the instrumental numbers on this release seem to carry a little more energy and attention to production detail. However, the band’s ability to intertwine raging electronica numbers with vocal numbers that have an almost acid jazz to feel to them should benefit them in the live setting.

    Key Tracks: Everything You Say, This One Goes to 11, Treadmill

    Mister F will be undoubtedly be playing these and many other songs this weekend at their album release party on April 11th at Red Square, with Brooklyn’s Tauk opening up.

  • Mister F Celebrates Year One at Red Square

    On March 1st, 2013, Albany was introduced to Mister F, a group comprised of members of Timbre Coup and Capital Zen, with an electronic-meets-progressive rock sound. One year later, after 97 shows at 48 venues across 16 states, Mister F celebrated their first anniversary with a vibrant and excited crowd at Red Square.

    With opener Formula 5 filling in for an ailing Aqueous (feel better Mike!), the Brothers Pickering, Matt and Ben, Scott Hannay and Andrew Chamberlaine played a two hour set, complete with a surprise cover of “This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)”, a rearranged “Vocoder”, where the double-time parts were half-time and the half-time parts were double-time, and an accelerating “Jump the Shark” to close the set. An occasion worth celebrating, Mister F has another big show on April 11th, the release party for their debut album The F Stands Four. 2014 is shaping up quite nicely for one of Albany’s hottest acts.

    Download the entire show from Archive.org

    Mister F at Red Square Setlist: Answer the Dawg, Deal Breaker, Treadmill, Everything You Say, Naive Melody, Vocoder^, Oasis > Eye Level, Get Used to it, Hedgehog, This one goes to 11 > Unisex Collider > This one goes to 11, Shit Catapult%, Jump the Shark.

    Encore: Oh my Dayum > On and On
    ^ inside-out
    % debut

  • Buffalove Music Festival Completes 2014 Lineup And It’s A Heater

    Buffalo Love FestivalThe Buffalove Music Festival rounded out its 2014 lineup with the final headliner added which was announced during a special Buffalove announcement show this past Friday, February 14th  at Neitzches.

    Jimkata will be headlining the festival with Aqueous, Funktional Flow, Slip Madigan and Mister F  all of whom will be playing two sets each.

    The festival will also include over 20 other bands sure to please fans of all genres of music. Cody Conway, the man behind the music festival really hit this one out of the park and making the second year for this festival, a true winner.

    The festival will run from June 19-21st in Silver Creek, NY at The Willow Creek Winery. Tickets include 3 nights of camping and music.This is an all ages show and gates open on Thursday 6/19/14 at 4pm. Look for the schedule of times in the near future. This is one you will not want to miss.

    Tickets can be purchased through www.buffalove2014.brownpapertickets.com  advance $50 and day of show $65

    Additional info can be found at www.buffalovemusicfest.com

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  • Help Mister F Become Mister A-OK

    Albany’s newest Prog-Funk rockers Mister F need your help and have begun a campaign on indiegogo.com to raise funds for their forthcoming debut studio album. Formed in early 2013 from members of Upstate New York-based bands Timbre Coup and Capital Zen, Mister F is an eclectic, high-energy four-piece band that takes a no-holds-barred approach to blending genres while keeping your feet moving. Having performed at festivals such as Mountain Jam, moe.down, Summer Camp, Camp Bisco, and snoe.down with their previous bands, members of Mister F are no strangers to the live music community.

    Some music lovers can be hesitant to engage in these sorts of fundraisers, and for those people I’d like you to lend me your ear for a minute. Consider the facts of a small band on the rise trying to make it to a level of success that simply pays the bills. Let’s consider the costs and rewards of one show,  say it’s 200 miles away and pays a guarantee of $500 for a band of four. Immediately we have to subtract gas expenses. At roughly the 15 miles per gallon a tour van would get (if one is lucky) that brings the grand total down to $400. Of course most bands, whether they have a sound guy or not will have to pay one roughly $80-120. Now we are down to $320. A smart group will also have street teamers which need promotional material to spread for the show. Subtract another $30 and we are at $290. No one has eaten anything yet so let’s chop another $40 in miscellaneous expenses leaving us at $250 for four people for roughly 10 hours of work and travel. Roughly $60 a piece or $6 per hour. Band’s MUST consider this sort of campaign to stay fed and working. On top of that, you aren’t just handing over money as any amount of donation from $10 and up comes with a reward, at the least you get an excellent brand new album from a hungry band determined to succeed.

    MISTERF-DK

    Mister F’s debut album pre-sale fundraising campaign starts with the basic level of perk packages – a digital download of the album upon release, or a hard copy of the album on compact disc. Scott Hannay, vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist/bassist for the band and creator of Umphrey’s McNES – a series of 8-bit ‘chiptune’ remakes of Umphrey’s McGee songs – has offered a package where he will create your likeness as an 8-bit Nintendo character and write an original 30-second 8-bit video game theme song for your character. Matt Pickering, drummer/vocalist, is offering a package where he will draw you a personalized picture. You can also get show-used drumsticks, guitar strings and bass strings used during the recording of the album, receive a private lesson from any member in the band – such as a guitar lesson from lead guitarist Andrew Chamberlaine – or have bassist/guitarist/vocalist/band chef Ben Pickering cook a meal for you. There are many other packages available, and more may be added as the campaign progresses. Check out the full list of perks and a pretty damn hilarious video on the indiegogo site here.

    We’re all looking forward to autographed hard copies of albums and poster packages to come in the mail very soon. We hope you all will join in supporting one of our favorite bands.

  • Mister F and Tweed Heat Up a Cold Night at The Red Square, January 25th

    Mister F with special guest Tweed had Red Square in Albany all warmed up during one of the coldest weeks of the year on Saturday January 25th. Tweed is a self proclaimed psychedelic blend of funk, rock and electronic – and they were just that. For an opening band there was such an immense amount of energy from the stage and within the crowd that it is certainly evident that these guys could have easily been the headliner. Their keyboard set up was extremely impressive, and Jon Tomczak eased the synth into each song organically, creating a layering of electronic among the drums, bass and guitar. Each member in the band contributed great skill and talent within every facet of each song. These boys are certainly an up and coming band to keep your eye on for the upcoming festival season, and a must see band within the jam community.

    20140125 Tweed 6

    Hometown boys Mister F took the stage once again with a great energy that exuded into the crowd and had everyone moving. Each member of Mister F holds such an immense amount of talent that these boys can literally do no wrong. They showed great versatility as individuals and varied their setlist from funk to harder guitar riffs and a more rock and roll sound, to jammy and electronic pieces that truly showed their capabilities as a band. Matt Pickering and his brother Ben Pickering stay completely in sync within the rhythm on drum and bass, even when Matt takes lead vocals on many of their songs. Andrew Chamberlain tears apart intricate guitar solos as if the guitar is second nature to him and Scott Hannay blends everything together on the keys and synth. At one point during the night Hannay left the keys to pick up the guitar, only further showing the amount of talent and capability these guys have as musicians. Mister F has definitely put their work in as an up and coming band in the past few months and are now easily considered one of the best acts to see locally, or at music festivals this summer.

    Setlist: Everything You Say, Vocoder> Answer the Dawg> Vocoder>  Oasis> Hedgehod, Get Used To It, Busters Revenge> Eye Level> Busters Revenge, Deal Breaker, The Flu (by Lettuce), Treadmill, Jump The Shark, Oh My Dayum, Unisex Collider

    Encore: On and On

    Listen to the the January 25th show here

  • Mister F to Play Red Square With Wyllys January 25

    Mister F is set to end their three night run with Wyllys and Tweed at Red Square on Saturday January 25th. Mister F formed in 2013 with the collaboration of Ben Pickering, Matt Pickering and Andrew Chamberlain of Albany’s own Timbre Coup and Scott Hannay of Capital Zen. Since their start in 2013 the band has taken the music scene by storm playing at festivals such as Mountain Jam, moe.down, Camp Bisco and snoe.down. Their following has reached far beyond their Albany roots as they play shows as far as Chicago and Knoxville.

    The band will play along side Brooklyn, New York’s Wyllys, who started spinning discs at the very young age of 15 and has never looked back since. Wyllys takes an “anything goes” mentality blending all genres of music to create his “nu-disco-house” form of music. Wyllys has played festivals throughout the circuit such as Bonarroo, Electric Forest, Camp Bisco and Mountain Jam.

    Tweed will also join these two artists to truly solidify that this will be a phenomenal night of music. Tweed formed at the University of Delaware  and combine a mixture of Funk, Rock and electronic for a truly unique musical experience.

    These three acts together ensure that you will not want to miss out on this night of music. The show will start at 8 pm and tickets are $10.

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    Mister F| Wyllys|Tweed| Event