NYS Music 20​14

Tag: turkuaz

  • Turkuaz and Alan Evans Playonbrother Celebrate Album Release at Putnum Den

    Turkuaz and Alan Evans’ Playonbrother (formerly known as the Alan Evans Trio) will each hold a CD release party at the Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs, Thursday, March 27 at 9 pm. The party is organized through Nectars and tickets are available to those 18-years old and older for $8 (and $12 the day of the show) through Ticketfly.com or at the Putnam Den. Turkuaz launches their latest with Zerbert  at the double-CD release party.  While Alan Evans Trio sets out to release their Woodstock Sessions in tandem.

    Alan Evans TrioAlan Evans recently announced that the group would drop “Trio” from their name, despite remaining a three-piece band.  Evans supplies the drums and vocals, Beau Sasser is still on organ and Danny Mayer is on guitar. Though they have now adopted Playonbrother as part of their moniker, Alan Evans Trio will still appear on their latest album.  Please don’t refer to them as a jazz trio.  In fact, don’t try to put your thumb on them at all.  They are three musicians, who happen to play for other bands, but don’t dare call this a side project either.  In fact, they would just rather you just tune in and enjoy.

    Influenced by the funky ’70s groove and R&B of Sly & The Family Stone, Rick James, Parliament and Bohannon, Turkuaz take their self-described “jittery, world-pop-power groove” to the streets.  They just recently finished supporting Future 86, and will continue on the road for this latest installment.  Sporting a line-up of nine musicians, Turkuaz throws everything from percussion to brass to guitars in a live performance that can invoke the ghosts of rockers past. Don’t miss them and Alan Evans Playonbrother and check out our coverage of their show at Drom in NYC on December 30th.

  • Preview: Rock and Roll Resort: v4, The Dream Machine

    The Hudson Valley Resort & Spa in Kerhonkson, NY will greet festival goers once again to host Rock n Roll Resort: v4 The Dream Machine on April 4th-6th. A unique and intimate music experience produced by Wicked Cool Productions offers a weekend full of music, art installations, fun activities and workshops plus much more. Perfectly located between Albany and New York City in the heart of the Catskills, The Hudson Valley Resort is the ideal festival retreat offering plenty of space to unwind, recharge and enjoy the beauty of Upstate NY.

    Besides the nonstop music, Rock n Roll Resort offers multiple activities that include a mini-golf tournament, the first annual Disc Golf tournament, daily yoga as well as various instructional classes in the Holistic Village. Plus each night will have different theme night with costumes encouraged. The themes are Friday: Decades of Decadence, Saturday: Superheroes vs. Villain’s and Sunday: Pajama Party. The most creative characters for each night will be gifted a Rock n Roll Resort T-shirt and Event Poster.

    The 2014 lineup features a variety of musicals performances offering something different for everyone throughout the weekend. Big acts include Dumpstaphunk, The Motet, and The Everyone Orchestra featuring Steve Kimock, John Morgan Kimock, Reed Mathis, Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman. The music will start on Friday around 4pm and go until 4am Sunday night for the dedicated ragers with more than enough music in between.

    has dissected the lineup and has come up with the Top 5 acts to catch at Rock n Roll Resort v4, The Dream Machine: Solaris, Bobby Paltauf, Tauk, Mister F and The Motet.

    Mister F combines members of Upstate’s own Timbre Coup and Capital Zen for a quartet of high energetic, dark rock that thrills and urges you to keep dancing.
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arlC0BUwcH0]

    Bobby Paltauf is a artist on the rise in that he has played with a long list of notable musicians and is only 14 years old. Do not miss him on Friday as he is one of the starting acts and is sure to set the bar high for the weekend.
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dchgTntthfA]

    Solaris is an all instrumental trio from Ithaca that creates original compositions fusing electronica with jazz and funk with plenty of improvisation making each show unique for new and old fans alike.

    Tauk is a four piece experimental rock band that breathes music into their shows with an intensity of all instrumental jamming. They have performed at a number of festivals and recently worked with Grammy-winning producer Robert Carranza on their newest album.
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTrdwUNtU6c]

    The Motet is THE improvisational funk band of today. The seven piece band from Colorado is always a special treat when they travel out to the East Coast with their reputation for throwing the funkiest dance parties.
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUHOTiPPQC4?list=UUB40I1T1eQDV7YpOGcJrW7w]

    There are multiple ticket packagesavailable from single day passes to Rock star VIP status. For $125, you get a 3 day pass, not including meals or lodging plus you can only stay as late as 2 am. Single day Friday or Saturday go for $68 and single day Sunday goes for $37. But your best bet is to get a standard room package and split it up with your festy friends. The standard room package includes a 2 night stay, 2 event tickets, plus first class food. The more people you have in a room, the cheaper the package but with a 5 person maximum brings it to only $230 a person. Guests are encouraged to carpool, those with groups of 3 or more will have free parking, any less and it’s a $5 parking fee. There will be food vendors available 24 hours a day and reasonably priced alcohol for the adults. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this growing festival that continues to combine all the fun of a summer music spectacle within a historic and luxurious resort.

  • Post-Phish December 30th, Turkuaz Turns Heads at Drom

    When a Phish show during a New Years Run ends, you’re pumped up, full of excitement and need a release. Post-shows seem to have been created just for Phish, giving fans more than a dozen options over the four nights of Phish, not to mention the random bars, loft parties and miscellaneous debauchery that goes on after the lights come up. So, on December 30th, some opted for Marco Benevento, others Dead Sessions, but headed down to DROM on the Lower East Side to see Turkuaz perform the Talking Heads Stop Making Sense in its entirety.

    turkuaz dromStarting out with two mellower numbers – an acoustic “Psycho Killer” and the serene “Heaven”, Drom, a promising nightclub with ample room, found a crowd still shuffling in from the trip on the F Train (never again…. I’ll take a cab next time). By the time the venue was filled for this sold out affair, “Burning Down the House”, “Life During Wartime” and “Making Flippy Floppy” kicked things into high gear – ain’t no rest for the wicked after 1 a.m.! The funk from “Swamp”, the joy of “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” and high energy from Joshua Schwartz singing “Once in a Lifetime” sustained the vibe without a missed beat, while the crowd sought extra space to rock out in the club’s foyer near the bar – a great vantage point for sight and sound. Capping the set off with “Crosseyed and Painless”, Turkuaz gave the crowd something Phish didn’t during the four nights – a Talking Heads cover. Not that Phish didn’t do it right at MSG with no covers in four nights, but to hear “Crosseyed and Painless” from a proper funk band, well, there were no complaints to be heard, just cheers for more.

    And more they got. Turkuaz kept much of the crowd following the Stop Making Sense set, and those who stayed were in for a treat. Fun and funky, these guys and girls know how to jam. The crowd never stopped moving, a feat for pushing 3 a.m. following Phish. The horn section worked in sync, one collective with three heads and instruments, and while the stage was packed with 10 musicians, the individual players didn’t overwhelm each other musically or crowd each other out. “Coast to Coast” is quite a frenetic number, high energy and the perfect tune for a late night show – anything that hovers near a slow tempo would have lost the the crowd. The encore of “Monkey Fingers” should be a staple of any funk you listen to in the future and polished off an ideal late night for Phish.

    Stop Making Sense setlist: Psycho Killer, Heaven, Thank You for Sending Me an Angel, Found a Job, Slippery People, Burning Down the House, Life During Wartime, Making Flippy Floppy, Swamp, What a Day That Was, This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody), Once in a Lifetime, Genius of Love, Girlfriend is Better, Take Me to the River, Crosseyed and Painless

    Original setlist: Lookin’ Tough, Feelin’ Good, 20 Dollar Bill, Coast to Coast

    Encore: Monkey Fingers

    Turkuaz returns to Upstate New York on March 20th at Java Barn at St. Lawrence University in Canton, March 27th at Putnam Den with Alan Evans Trio, and Brooklyn Bowl on April 5th, also with AE3

    Update 3/5/14 – Download this show!