Original Motorhead drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor died Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the age of 61 after a lengthy illness. Former bandmate “Fast” Eddie Clarke confirmed the news on his Facebook page Thursday.
RIP Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor (1954-2015)
Taylor, along with Clarke and Ian “Lemmy” Kilminster, formed the groundbreaking metal band Motorhead in 1975, and in the process influenced hundreds of metal musicians since.
Taylor served two stints in Motorhead (1975-1984/1987-1992), playing on the band’s first seven albums, including the groundbreaking albums Ace of Spades, Iron Fist and Overkill.
Clarke eulogized Taylor on his Facebook page Thursday:
My dear friend and brother passed away last night. He had been ill for sometime but that does not make it any easier when the time finally comes. I have known Phil since he was 21 and he was one hell of a character. Fortunately, we made some fantastic music together and I have many many fond memories of our time together. Rest in peace, Phil!
Taylor’s original exit from Motorhead, while never confirmed by him, was said to have been the result of a dispute with Clarke and Kilmister during the recording of a cover of Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” with shock rocker Wendy O. Williams.
Taylor and Clarke rejoined Motorhead onstage at a show Nov. 6, 2014 in Birmingham, England.
Legendary New Orleans composer and pianist Allen Toussaint has died from an apparent heart attack at his hotel following a performance in Madrid, Spain early Tuesday morning. Toussaint’s daughter, Alison Toussaint-LeBeaux confirmed her father‘s death to the The New York TimesTuesday.
Mr. Toussaint was scheduled to perform in London and Belgium following his Madrid performance.
Mr. Toussaint frequently collaborated with his fellow New Orleans musicians as well as rock luminaries such as Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello. Costello recently said of him, “There was no one on the planet who cared more about New Orleans than this man.”
Born in 1938 in the working class section of New Orleans known as Gert Town, Mr. Toussaint taught himself to play the piano and released his first album in 1958.
His songs were recorded by many, including the Rolling Stones and The Who, both taking turns at his song “Fortune Teller.” The song was posted on the Rolling Stones Twitter feed Tuesday morning. Phish has often covered his “On Your Way Down.”
Other musicians have also posted messages celebrating the life of Mr. Toussaint:
Allen Toussaint has died… rest in peace, good friend… #legend
Forced to relocate to New York due to Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Toussaint was a frequent perfomer at Joe’s Pub. The move rejuvenated his career and he eventually returned to New Orleans, performing often at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Mr. Toussaint gained fame outside of his home town with his 1975 solo album Southern Nights. Glen Campbell also had a hit with the title song. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame and received the National Medal of the Arts from President Obama.
Mr. Toussaint, humbly stated on his website, “I’m not accustomed to talking about myself, I talk in the studio with musicians. Or through my songs.”
The Utica Music and Arts Festival has quickly become a must-do summer ending activity in Central New York. The 8th Annual version of UMAF, was held at various venues throughout Utica the weekend of September 11-13. The biggest problem involved with attending this festival is being able to fit in all the great music available throughout the weekend.
Going in without a plan is probably the best way to attack this weekend. Doing it this way, one can experience such pleasant surprises as the young brother and sister combo of Jocelyn and Chris Arndt, who played a Saturday mid-afternoon set at Nail Creek Pub, in the process winning over those in attendance.
Jocelyn Arndt
Joceyln is slight in stature, yet huge in vocal talent. She has a soulful, bluesy voice backed up with power; think Bonnie Raitt channeled through Grace Potter with a visit from PJ Harvey. Jocelyn’s animated vocal delivery commands attention. Her brother Chris, who is also her co-writer, delivers a solid and crisp sounding blues-rock style guitar that is the perfect accompaniment to Jocelyn’s voice.
The band’s tour itinerary is scant during the school year, as both are students at Harvard, but they will be hitting stages across New York in the coming weeks. Check here for dates.
Spending the weekend bouncing between Lukin’s and Nail Creek Pub seemed to be what many people were doing but to do so is to miss out on many of the other acts. Tiny’s hosted several jazz influenced bands, including Notified and the Carmen Caramanica Jazz Trio, while D.A. Bentley’s entertained the EDM crowd with sets from DJ D.A., Vongel and Phungeye among others. Harlee’s Pub & Grille was geared towards the metal. Local favorites Nineball and Street Rock Mafia provided Friday crowds with high energy entertainment at Harlee’s. Nineball is also festival producer, Joe Sweet’s main project.
Lukin’s hosted Conehead Buddha on Friday night. The Albany-area band has been on the jamband circuit for twenty years and showed no signs of wear this weekend. While the band has taken a hiatus here or there within that time, on this night it provided a sharp mix of reggae, ska and jam that has endeared Conehead Buddha to the northeast scene all these years. Also saxophonist Shannon Lynch provided much of the theatrics throughout the set, anchoring the big horn sound Conehead Buddha is known for.
Conehead Buddha
Female artists took ownership of this year’s Utica Music and Arts Festival. In addition to Lynch and Arndt’s performances; on Saturday, the festival faithful were treated to the eclectic mix of jangle pop of Sirsy. Lead singer and stand-up drummer, Melanie Khramer and her partner, guitarist Rich Libutti, had the Nail Creek crowd, the biggest one of the weekend to this point, dancing and singing along. Khramer has the uncanny ability to engage the crowd with humor and powerful vocals with lyrics that may take you to a darker place. The fact that the music is typically so upbeat and Khramer so quick-witted with her banter, may disguise some of the darkness in the lyrics but it also gives the listener pause. Krahmer’s Ella-like voice and stage presence added a terrific touch to the band’s final song of the night, a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
Melanie Khramer of SIRSY belting it out.
Sirsy will be in Utica again on Dec. 8, performing an all-ages show at The Tramontane (known familiarly as The Tram). The show begins at 8:00 p.m. and will be a celebration of the band’s new EP to be released the week prior.
Exploding onto the Nail Creek stage after Sirsy’s set was Brooklyn’s Shinobi Ninja. With an elaborate and energetic stage show led by lead singer, Baby G, clad in an Iron Maiden t-shirt. It was clear from the start that this wouldn’t be your typical rock show. The band’s uniqueness has been described as being “like the Beastie Boys, Slayer and Lauryn Hill all mixed together.” After witnessing the band’s performance, that is an appropriate description. The following video gives a good impression of a Shinobi Ninja experience. Mix in some metal, reggae, rap, a little punk and a whole lot of jumping and you get this.
The uninitiated looked on in puzzling disbelief once the Ninjas took the stage, however in the short time they performed for the UMAF crowd, most of the leery were won over. The true venue to witness Shinobi Ninja is a live one. If this band doesn’t make some noise on the national scene in short order it will be a surprise.
UMAF faves Hank and Cupcakes followed Shinobi Ninja to a welcoming reception. Also based in Brooklyn, this duo is all about the performance. The husband and wife duo originally began performing together while serving in the Israeli Army at the age of 19. Colorfully dressed and highly animated, lead singer Sagit “Cupcakes” Shir isn’t afraid to get into the face of the audience while performing. In addition to pulling off vocal duties, Shir also drums and plays piano while bassist Ariel “Hank” Scherbacovsky keeps the beat and uses samples while safely tucked away stage right.
Hank and Cupcakes deliver a performance that begs to be seen and the elbow to elbow crowd in front of the Nail Creek’s outdoor staage proved that on a rainy Saturday night in Utica.
Hank and Cupcakes rockin’ the Nail Creek
The other Saturday night headliners performed nearly simultaneously up the street at Lukin’s. Floodwood, a bluegrass based band comprised of moe. bandmates Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico, as well as Jason Barady, Nick Piccininni and Zachary Fleitz, put together a two set show that, unbeknownst to all in attendance, would turn out to be one of the band’s final performances with this lineup. Schnier and Fleitz announced their departure from Floodwood in a release just a few weeks ago.
Floodwood
The band packed the house at Lukin’s, playing right up to the 2:00 a.m. hour, performing Floodwood originals mixed with some moe. covers, Dead covers and other bluegrass. A Floodwood show is always a good time. Varick Street Legend, Rainbow Young even made an appearance opening the set with a rousing version of the “Star Spangled Banner” that included maximum audience participation. Rainbow’s presence was seen at Lukin’s throughout the weekend, cementing the festival as a true Utica tradition.
Rainbow Young, Varick Street Legend, performing the National Anthem prior to Floodwood’s set.
If you’re in a music glut and looking for something new to listen to, the Utica Music and Arts Festival is the perfect venue to get you out of that funk. Festival organizer Joe Sweet and his booking crew go out of their way to include a huge variety of music to the festival each year. The 2015 edition was no different. And at a cost of $10 for a weekend bracelet, the music lover in you simply cannot go wrong attending this destination festival.
Upon mention of the name Wilco, for some, the term “Dad Rock” immediately comes to mind. This term has become ubiquitous over the past year and a half; used to describe music that appeals to an older generation that resembles music from an earlier era. It was originally used as a put-down in a 2007 Pitchforkreview of the band’s Sky Blue Sky album.
While Wilco’s music can sometimes echo the Super Sounds of the 70s, witnessing the band live reveals a band that is out to rock you regardless of your age. If your only exposure to Wilco is from its studio releases, you’re missing half the experience. Wilco is a band that begs to be seen live to fully appreciate its talent.
Whomever decided it was a good idea to preserve the old theaters throughout Upstate New York, despite all of the urban renewal efforts of the 70s and 80s, deserves a huge pat on the back. Upstate has a plethora of gorgeous old theaters perfect for hosting shows such as this — from the Palace Theatre in Albany to the Stanley in Utica, the Capitol in Rome, the Landmark in Syracuse to this gorgeously renovated old theater in Downtown Ithaca — beautiful venues are bountiful in this area of the state.
The assemblage at the sold out State Theater in Ithaca on Sept. 23 was treated to four shows in one. Nashville native William Tyler opened with a brief, but impressive, four song set of solo acoustic and electric songs. Tyler, throughout his set, made no secret of his extreme appreciation in having the opportunity of opening for Wilco.
While he was seated for the majority of his set, Tyler quickly had the audience standing and appreciating his slick guitar style on songs reminiscent of old school country, Delta Blues and Clapton. Tyler’s appreciation for the city and venue was apparent when he stood to show off the Grateful Dead t-shirt his sister had bought him pre-show. He also made mention of the Dead’s legendary Barton Hall show at Cornell in introducing his new duds to great applause. This talented man put on an impressive set and if he doesn’t become a household name in the near future, it will be a surprise.
Wilco took the stage promptly at 9:00 p.m. and ran through their latest release Star Wars, an album sprung upon an unsuspecting fan base as a free download this summer, in its entirety. It was a fairly straight forward run-through of the album and was politely received by the audience, if not yet entirely familiar to them.
The “third” part of the show finally brought the crowd to its feet, as Wilco dropped the A Ghost is Born track “Handshake Drugs” featuring the classic melancholy line “I was chewing gum for something to do…” This is where the headliner truly took the stage and had the fans hooked.
Jeff Tweedy
A distorted run-through of “Camera” moved smoothly into the techno-beat intro of “The Art of Almost” from 2011’s The Whole Love. It was at this point that the audience was truly all-in on this show. Seat numbers no longer held any meaning as people began to make their way from the back of the cozy theater to stand at the front of the stage to witness the Wilco madness. Tweedy recognized those who made the move while playfully scolding the front row ticket holders for not jumping at the opportunity sooner.
Fan favorite (then again, almost all are), “Via Chicago” didn’t disappoint as the acoustic turned cacophonous with drummer Glenn Kotche and guitarist Nels Cline’s break out mid-song creating a frenzy of sound and light behind a seemingly oblivious Tweedy maintaining the soothing tone of the lyrics.
Wilco recently re-released a special vinyl version of its debut album A.M. and has been dipping into some of those songs on this tour. This show was no different, with the appearance of “Box Full of Letters,” the Pat Sansone-helmed “It’s Just That Simple” and the subdued, yet still rocking, version of “Casino Queen,” which was done acoustically during the second of two encore sets.
When attending a Wilco show, the true show is in witnessing Cline. Equal parts shredder, jazz aficionado and honky tonk slide guitarist, he leaves it all on the stage every night. It isn’t uncommon to see the remains of what used to be perfectly fine guitar strings dangling from Cline’s head-stock at the end of a particularly nasty “Impossible Germany.” And while his strings remained largely in tact on this night, Clines, commanded the attention of the State Theatre crowd, drawing roaring ovations throughout the show.
Nels Cline
Following a well-received “Impossible Germany,” Tweedy had some words with a few ambitious amateur photographers at the front of the stage; imploring them to enjoy the show in front of them rather than through the screen of their smart phone. After offering an apology for his dislike of the cameras, he joked about the bands new favorite place to play…Montreal (where they had played previous to Ithaca) to laughter from the crowd. The twenty-five song set concluded with another A Ghost is Born track, “The Late Greats.”
After a brief break, the band came out to a scorching ten minute version of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” that had the crowd dancing along and Tweedy performing a “kitty cat dance” with “paws” in a defensive posture.
Another break had the stage crew assembling an array of acoustic instruments for the finale of this four-part show. Sansone switched over to banjo, Clines to slide guitar and pianist Mikael Jorgensen downsized to a melodica.
“Misunderstood,” the Woody Guthrie-penned “California Stars” and “Shot in the Arm” all engaged the audience in a sing-along. The close stage set-up made for an intimate small room feel for the remainder of the show, all that was missing was the campfire.
After twenty years and several line-up changes, Wilco is a band that still enjoys doing what it does. To see fire in the eyes of Jeff Tweedy and smoke from Nels Cline’s fret board after all these years, is truly a joy to behold. A joy that will continue into the new year with a fresh slate of eastern U.S. tour dates beginning in Pittsburgh on Jan. 25. This brief tour will make a few New York stops, including a two-night stand at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and two sold out shows at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre. Go for the music, stay for the show.
Setlist:
Wilco
September 23, 2015
Ithaca, NY | State Theatre of Ithaca
01 – More…
02 – Random Name Generator
03 – The Joke Explained
04 – You Satellite
05 – Taste the Ceiling
06 – Pickled Ginger
07 – Where Do I Begin
08 – Cold Slope
09 – King of You
10 – Magnetized
11 – Handshake Drugs
12 – Camera
13 – Art of Almost
14 – Via Chicago
15 – Box Full of Letters
16 – Hummingbird
17 – Forget the Flowers
18 – Red Eyed and Blue
19 – I Got You (At the End of the Century)
20 – Heavy Metal Drummer
21 – I’m the Man Who Loves You
22 – Dawned On Me
23 – Jesus, Etc.
24 – Impossible Germany
25 – The Late Greats
Encore:
26 – Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Encore:
27 – Misunderstood
28 – War On War
29 – It’s Just That Simple
30 – Casino Queen
31 – California Stars
32 – A Shot in the Arm
Gail Zappa, born Adelaide Gail Sloatman, has passed away. According to a release from the Zappa Family Trust, Gail “departed this earth peacefully at her home . . . surrounded by her children, ” in Los Angeles Oct. 7. The cause of death was not released, but TMZ reports she had been fighting a long-time illness.
Zappa was predeceased by her husband Frank, who succumbed to prostate cancer in 1993. She is survived by their four children, Diva, Dweezil, Ahmet and Moon.
Gail Zappa formed the Zappa Family Trust, following her husband’s death, to preserve Frank Zappa’s musical legacy and, in that time, released 38 albums of previously unreleased Zappa music.
The statement released on the official Frank Zappa Facebook Page, praised Gail as one who, “enthusiastically executed her role as guardian of her husband’s creative life and, with his passing, strove to ensure his legacy as one of the leading American composers and musicians of the 20th century. In this and all business endeavors, Gail passionately advocated to establish clear definitions of intellectual property and copyright laws on behalf of not just her husband, but all artists.”
The family trust had recently been turned over to son Ahmet and announced plans for a documentary on the life of Frank Zappa, to be directed by Alex Winter, earlier this summer. Speaking with Rolling Stone about the upcoming doc, Gail stated, “My obligation was to get the work out there the way Frank built it in the first place.”
Frank and Gail met through mutual friend, Bobby Jameson in 1966 and were married the following year, while Gail was pregnant with Moon.
Jubilee Riots (formerly known as Enter the Haggis) made a return trip to Saranac as part of the brewery’s Saranac Thursday Concert Series on July 23. Hailing from the greater Toronto area, Jubilee Riots have made it a tradition to perform at Saranac the Thursday prior to the Great American Irish Festival in nearby Frankfort. While the band wasn’t performing this year’s Irish Fest, its traditional set on the brewery stage attracted many Enter the Haggis/Jubilee Riots faithful.
Jubilee Riots is a band that is constantly working, constantly thinking, always thinking of its fans. The last three albums recorded have all been funded through crowd sourcing. There aren’t many working bands today that can say they’ve been able to produce three straight albums funded exclusively by their fan base. The band’s most recent release, Penny Black, is the first under its new moniker, Jubilee Riots. The first video from this release is an entertaining gospel-like animated take on the song “Trying Times”.
The band began as Enter the Haggis in Toronto in 1996, playing a mix of Celtic and modern rock music. It toured the Celtic festival circuit extensively, building a sizable and loyal fan base along the way. Over the course of seven studio albums, two live albums, a performance on Regis and Kathie Lee and a live DVD filmed for PBS, the band’s sound transitioned to where the Celtic sound was becoming less prominent. The Celtic core was still there but listening to each successive album revealed an evolution to a more mainstream northern roots rock sound. To get a true feel for this transformation, one must listen to the catalog from its beginning to the present release. Doing so reveals a band that has matured in songwriting style and musicianship while still maintaining the feel good presence of the original Haggis sound.
Eventually, a change in the style of music, prompted the band to consider a name change. This was something that didn’t come easily to a band with an already established and enthusiastic fan base. However, as piper/trumpeter Craig Downie, the only original member of the Enter the Haggis, mentioned in the press release announcing the name change, “We toured and recorded as Enter The Haggis for a long time, but that name no longer represents the music that we’re making.”
On Sept. 8, 2014, it became official. Going forward, Enter the Haggis would now be known as Jubilee Riots. The final show as Enter the Haggis occurred at the Westcott Theatre in Syracuse on Oct. 11, 2014. A show that was billed as Exit the Haggis. To celebrate the one year anniversary of that show, the band is returning to the Westcott Theatre in Syracuse for a show on Oct. 9.
Prior to the recent Saranac show, NYSMusic sat down in the 1888 Tavern with lead singer/violinist/man of many hats, Brian Buchanan, bassist/vocalist Mark Abraham and drummer/percussionist Bruce McCarthy to discuss the band’s direction, crowd funding, technology, the writing process, a little hockey and what thought goes into changing a band’s name midstream. Original member Craig Downie and guitarist Trevor Lewington round out the band’s lineup.
NYSM (to Brian): You’re a Leafs fan, have you seen the news today that they hired Lou Lamoriello as the new GM?
Brian: I hope you’re joking. ARE YOU SERIOUS? WOW! (gives a background on Lamoriello’s background building the New Jersey Devils franchise)
NYSM: He’s got a Utica tie-in as well. He used to be the GM when the Devils had a team here.
Brian: Wow, what a weird combination of people. You’ve got Brendan Shanahan as President, Babcock as coach and Lamoriello as GM. That’s pretty powerful stuff.
NYSM: Speaking of change, how are you guys doing with the name change? You’re not the first established band to do it. The Who did it. They were The Detours and The High Numbers. The Beatles did it. They were once The Quarrymen. So you’re in good company.
Brian: It’s a challenge. We knew it was gonna be a challenge. We didn’t make the decision because we thought it would be the easiest business decision in the world. But, also our fans have really been supportive and have been behind us. I think some people are still really confused, saying “I’ll call myself a Haggis Head til the day I die,” and that’s absolutely fine with us. So in some ways it was kind of an artistic decision more than anything else and it still feels good and it feels like it was the right decision to make…”
[Interrupted by a fan looking for a selfie with the band, handled very deftly by Brian “Good times. Good times.”]
NYSM: Obviously you have a huge loyal fan base. When you started doing crowd funding for your albums, it took you, what, eleven hours to reach your goal?
Brian: The first one, yeah. This last one was just about as good too. And we raised about the same amount of money. It’s incredible. Over three records, we’ve raised over $150,000 from the fans, financing the records, the promotion of the records.
NYSM: So you’re not beholden to a record company…
Brian: No, and there’s not a lot of bands out there that can say that. The crowd funding thing is getting a lot more mainstream and a lot more popular, but you still need the fan base to step up. And I know lots of bands who are objectively bigger names than we are who can’t get crowd funding campaigns off the ground. Because they just don’t have that kind of personal loyalty.
NYSM: Well you guys kinda did that through the ground roots anyway, traveling around, meeting your fans, engaging them…
Brian: True, every fan we have is one we’ve played for and shaken hands with. It’s definitely been one fan at a time.
NYSM: You guys are an easy band to like anyway. You’re so cordial to deal with, taking selfies with fans in the middle of interviews…
Brian: We’re Canadian…(laughter)
Bruce: That’s what we’re constantly telling one another too, “Man, you’re a really easy guy.”
NYSM: You guys are all kinda separated now? As far as where you live?
Brian: I live in Philly now. Three of the guys are still in Ontario. From where Trevor lives to where Craig lives is like four hours and then Bruce is kind of in the middle and Mark’s in Maine. We’re definitely spreading out further and further as time goes on.
NYSM: Of course it’s a lot easier now with technology for you to collaborate, as we were saying, with Dropbox and Skype and Google Docs, your Patreon thing…
[Patreon is a crowd funding platform that Brian uses to release music and blogs that he otherwise wouldn’t do within the context of the band, with the eventual hopes of putting together his own traditional fiddle album, covers album or “bizarre and overwrought theatre-pop.”]
Brian: There are so many avenues to generating interest and as a nice by-product, generating income, but even as a band, even though we’re spread out as far as we are,when we were getting ready to put together the last album, we set up a Dropbox account. Trevor and I or anyone else, could record a demo and stick it in Dropbox and the rest of the guys could open it up and listen to it and add their comments. We did all the lyrics and artwork through Google Docs and people could add their thank yous and change lyrics and do everything through there and keep everything updated. The tools that are available for free now are mind-blowing. You think back twenty years ago, the things that we take for granted now as a band; tools that we use every day that didn’t exist. Things that would have taken a team of people to do. You’d have to lick 20,000 envelopes. Now I can spend 20 minutes writing an email and get the same reach.
Bruce: We have a WiFi hub in the van that we use to broadcast. It broke and we haven’t had it fixed yet so we had to grab one of those tourism books and that was the beginning of us driving around just trying to find a hotel; which is how the band used to do things once upon a time before Priceline and Hotwire and all that. It was a sobering experience.
Brian: The fact that we have internet accessibility in the van, when you’re on the road for twelve hours in the van, it’s not twelve wasted hours. We can actually get a lot of work done. You can be interacting with the fans. We’ll do live streaming conversations with the fans while we’re on the actual road.
NYSM: So when you do record, you said you just kind of drop things into Dropbox. Do you still get together in an actual studio to do the recording or is it mainly all Dropbox then putting it all together?
Brian: Even if we did use that, it would be the roughest of rough demos. Then, for the last couple of records, we got together at Bruce’s house. He’s got a studio in his basement. So we’ll do comprehensive demos there to nail down a playlist and then book a professional studio for a month to finalize everything. It’s a nice luxury to be able to do that. My girlfriend’s band, they’ve been trying to put together an album for over a year, because they all have jobs. They all go to school. So they try to find a weekend here or there where they can get into a studio. We have a nice luxury to be able to do it this way.
NYSM: On to your latest album, Penny Black; it’s kind of fan-based project where you asked fans to submit letters and the best thing about it, again, going back to the technology thing, you kind of reversed things. The submissions had to be hand-written and sent via snail mail in order to be considered.
Brian: Analog!
Mark: It was probably close to 500 letters. I still used technology to scan them in and put them on Google Docs. It was cool because I got to read all of them.
Bruce: It was sort of very convoluted that way we set it up, just to end up scanning the stuff anyway.
Brian: We did a video and sent out emails telling people to write us letters by hand, which they would mail to us so that we could scan them into Google Docs then use them to write the album. (laughter)
NYSM: So, why mail? Why that way?
Brian: We just liked the idea of seeing people’s stories in their own handwriting.
Bruce: Well it’s also the whole Penny Black idea.
Brian: The Penny Black was the first mass-produced postage stamp, so we just liked the old idea of people taking the time and writing a letter and really thinking about writing a letter and not just instant messenger. Writing it out in your own words and sending it to somebody. I’ve talked to a few people who said they wrote multiple drafts before sending them. When you’re doing it by hand, ya know, that’s a commitment.
Bruce: Some of them were like ten pages long, double-sided, small print…
Brian: Some of them were anonymous, some put their names to them.
NYSM: So when you looked at some of them, could you tell right away who it was writing?
Brian: Oh yeah, sure. Definitely.
Bruce: Some pretty intimate stuff too. A lot of people signed their names. That’s a lot of trust. We know who these people are.
Brian: These people are bearing their souls and it was pretty heavy at times. They said they’ve never told their story to anybody so it was kind of therapeutic. Then they’ll come up to us after the show and say, “I was the one who wrote such-and-such letter” and you say to them, “I’ve never met you before but I feel like I know a whole lot about you now.”
NYSM: I think that just speaks volumes about how you feel about your fans. You actually kind of put it back on them. It was an album for them.
Brian: Oh yeah, absolutely. That was the whole idea. We meet so many people from so many different walks of life. The best stories are people stories. Everybody you meet has one story you can write a song about. And if they don’t, you can write a song about that.
NYSM: So you had 500 or so letters, do you have enough for another Penny Black in you?
Brian: We could easily write another album. I don’t know if we will but it’s possible. A lot the songs weren’t inspired by just one letter. There were certain themes that emerged; losing a loved one, meeting the love of your life, some coming-of-age story…
NYSM: The release you guys put out when you announced the name change, I think it was Craig who said, “The name just doesn’t fit what we’re doing now.” Kind of de-categorizing yourself in a way, where you’re not pigeon-holing yourself into being just an Irish-style band. We’re not just doing Irish songs, we’re starting to broaden and become un-categorizable, if that’s a word. Is that an accurate description?
Brian: Yup, definitely. We got to the point where we felt the name Enter the Haggis was a perfectly appropriate and suitable name for about 15-20% of the music that we were playing. And, sort of extension of that was the worry that the name was sort of limiting the audience to about that 15-20% of the people who would like what we do. The name is a great name for a certain style of music but it puts a picture in people’s heads before they even hear a note of what kind of music it’s going to be. And you only have so many opportunities to get people’s attention these days.
Ya know, if I hated metal and I heard the name Cradle of Filth, I would never even put the record on. But maybe years later I’d find out that I was completely wrong about that band and the type of music they were playing. It’s always kind of been in the back of our heads that our name might be limiting our exposure to people who wouldn’t even give us a chance based on the idea that they wouldn’t like it before they even heard it.
You hope that people would be open-minded. We’re competing with so much these days, it’s hard enough to even get people to listen to just thirty seconds of a song and if you’re already having to break through a barrier before you even get to that point, then it’s that much harder.
Bruce: Also, 80 percent of the band is different.
NYSM: Right, Craig’s the only original member of Enter the Haggis left, correct?
Bruce: Right. That original, if you want to call it, that Enter the Haggis sound, we don’t play any of those songs. Not a single one. It just got to the point where we still play plenty of Enter the Haggis songs and they still make up the majority of our set. It just got to the point where that first incarnation of the band, Craig was the only remaining member of that and we don’t play any of those songs. I’ve never even heard most of those songs. So it just got to a point where it kind of didn’t make sense. That duality that didn’t kind of meet anywhere in the middle where it was reconcilable.
Brian: We’ve had the luxury of being able to grow up as a band, learning what kind of band that we want to be and we’ve done it in the public eye. I liken it almost to a child actor who became really popular who became known for a certain thing and as they get older and start getting serious, branching out to different things, it’s difficult for them because if you go on YouTube and search their name, all they see is that sit-com, that catch phrase. It’s really hard for them to break away from that and do different things because everybody likens them to that original thing. That’s kind of what a band name is like.
If you go on YouTube and search “Enter the Haggis,” the way YouTube works, the oldest videos are the ones that have been watched the most times and those are what show up at the top of the search. You’ll find videos of ours that are 9-10 years old and that’s not representative of where we are now. We’re not ashamed of our legacy, but we’re definitely competing against it.
Bruce: You know what’s interesting though? Since changing the name and kind of getting a little distance from it, I think we’ve all gotten more interested in the Celtic stuff. More so than we have been in some time. It’s kind of like when you feel you have to do something, it’s an obligation, whereas if you have a choice to do something. You tend to enjoy it more. It’s two very different things. We’re starting to embrace that Celtic element of the past, even a little bit more than we had in the past five years or so.
Brian: Subconsciously, I think we were feeling the pressure as Enter the Haggis to constantly prove that we weren’t just that type of band. So we were almost pressured to move away from it. Who knows what will come next? Maybe we’ll release a trad album. (laughter)
NYSM: Do you have new venues you’ve been playing that you like, that maybe are attracting new fans?
Mark: There are a lot of people who have discovered us since the name change that didn’t even know of us before. I don’t think it was so much changing venues though.
Brian: We’ve had more radio play from this record than we’ve had before. We hit number nine on the U.S. Billboard Heat Seekers chart when the album was released, which we’ve never done before. We finally got played on the biggest rock radio station in Canada, which has never happened before. It was in a like a next big thing type of contest, which we could only enter because they didn’t know we’ve been around for fifteen years.
Bruce: I think you said it was “like” a next big thing contest. It was literally called “The Next Big Thing.” (laughter)
Following our interview, Jubilee Riots went on to perform before one of the largest Saranac Thursday crowds of the summer to long-time, dedicated fans as well as those who had never heard them before. By the end of its second set, the band had the Utica crowd dancing along. It was a night much like what was discussed in the interview. Many there had never heard the band in their previous incarnation and were won over. Such is the life of this hard-working Canadian band.
Jubilee Riots are kicking off its fall tour at the Westcott Theatre in Syracuse with a recording release show on Oct. 9. The band is releasing the historic “Exit the Haggis” from last fall’s Westcott show that night as well as performing. Julia Weldon is the opening act.
Jubilee Riots fall tour dates:
10/9/15 – The Westcott Theatre – Syracuse, NY
10/10/15 – The Town Crier – Beacon, NY
11/5/15 – Flower City Station – Rochester, NY
11/6/15 – The Putnam Den – Saratoga Springs, NY
11/13/15 – Infinity Hall – Norfolk, CT
11/14/15 – Higher Ground – South Burlington, VT
11/20/15 – The Strand Theatre – Rockland, ME
11/21/15 – Stone Mountain Arts Center – Brownfield, ME
11/27/15 – World Cafe – The Queen – Wilmington, DE
While Pope Francis was en route to Madison Square Garden to say mass on Sept. 25, the Vatican announced a new album, Wake Up!, from His Holiness will be released on Nov. 27. The album is available for pre-order on iTunes now.
The first single from the pontiff’s debut, titled “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” was posted on Soundcloud earlier in the day:
Prog Rock musician and former Van Der Graaf Generator collaborator Tony Pagliuca composed several tracks on the album. Producer Don Giulio Neroni has been the musical guiding force behind releases from Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI in addition to his work on the new Pope Francis venture.
Since being elected in 2013, Pope Francis has created a sense of renewed energy in the Catholic church and beyond. The creation of this album, using popular music, is another way for him to spread his message and is sure to top the charts upon release.
Pope Francis wrapped up his historic visit to the U.S. this past weekend in Philadelphia.
Wake Up! Track List
1. “Annuntio Vobis Gadium Mangum”
2. “Salve Regina”
3. “Laudato Sie…”
4. “Poe Que’ Sufren Los Ninos”
5. “Non Lasciatevi Rubare La Speranza!”
6. “La Iglesia No Puede Ser Una Ong!”
7. “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!”
8. “La Fa Es Entera, No Se Licua!”
9. “Pace! Fratelli!”
10. “Per La Famiglia”
11. “Fazei O Que Ele Vos Disser”
The Capitol Theatre in Rome will play host to Binghamton’s Driftwood and Rome’s Pocket Change in a double-bill of Americana, folk and bluegrass Friday, September 25 beginning at 7:30. Tickets for the general admission show are available for $15 presale and $20 at the door.
Pocket Change will open the show. Formed in 2011, singer/guitarist Matt Moore describes the band’s eclectic mix of rock-informed bluegrass, “musical compost.” Joining Moore in the band are his wife, Liz Moore (mandolin/vocals) and new members Joe Cantanaro (guitar) and Tim Slusarczyk (upright bass). Pocket Change is no stranger to the Capitol Theatre stage, having headlined last year’s Mohawk Valley Bluegrass Association’s Indoor Bluegrass Festival there. It also has a history with Driftwood, joining them at last year’s Utica Music and Arts Festival.
Driftwood, formed in Binghamton in 2005, earned its chops the hard way, performing in bars, coffee houses and the streets. As banjo player Joe Kollar says, “a lot in the streets.” With backgrounds in jazz, classical and rock, the move to bluegrass and roots music was one the band came upon naturally. Driftwood prides itself in its songwriting skills and high energy shows, punctuated by its haunting harmonies, featuring violinist Claire Byrne, guitarist Dan Forsyth and Kollar.
Driftwood released its debut album Rally Day in 2009 and has released A Rock and Roll Heart (2011), a self-titled album (2013) and most recently, its first live album, Live at Grassroots 2014. Absolute Punk described Driftwood as a “revelation” and “one of the best roots discs…in quite some time.”
Having graced festival stages alongside the likes of Bela Fleck, Old Crow Medicine Show, Del McCoury, Railroad Earth, Robert Randolph, Leon Russell and Emmylou Harris, the band is poised for a breakthrough in the burgeoning Newgrass scene. With each show, the crowds have gotten bigger. Having a video for its single “The Sun’s Going Down” in rotation on CMT has only served to increase the band’s fanbase beyond its Upstate roots.
The Capitol Theatre is located in Rome’s Art and Cultural District at 220 W. Dominick St. Tickets are available through the Capitol’s website and at the door the night of the show. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $20 and allow early access to the venue and a meet and greet with the musicians.
Central New York Polka legends Fritz’s Polka Band have two members nominated for national awards by the Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame. Accordianist/vocalist Fritz Scherz has been nominated in the Musician of the Year and Vocalist of the Year categories, while bassist Gabe Vaccaro has also been nominated in the Musician of the Year category.
Accordionist/vocalist Fritz Scherz of Fritz’s Polka Band
The Polka Hall of Fame ceremony is held annually at the Cleveland Downtown Marriot in Cleveland on Nov. 28 as part of Thanksgiving Polka Weekend. Fritz’s Polka Band is already scheduled to perform at the event on Nov. 27 and 28 and now have the awards ceremony to look forward to as well.
The band formed in 1978 with Fritz’s father Fred Scherz Sr. on accordion, Scherz on second accordion, Vaccaro on bass and Al ‘Rebe’ Reber on trumpet. The band now boasts four members, with Mike Faraino on drums and Frank Nelson on guitar. Founding member Fred Scherz Sr. passed away in 2009 and the band has dedicated each performance to his memory.
Bassist Gabe Vaccaro of Fritz’s Polka Band
Fritz’s Polka Band has performed wedding receptions, world-renowned Polka festivals and the Woodstock ’99 stage in Rome. It prides itself as being the only Polka band ever to perform on a Woodstock Festival stage.
The band has released 18 recordings and has been featured in the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate as well as in two episodes of Breaking Bad.
In 2010, the band was inducted into the Syracuse Area Music Hall of Fame and has been nominated for many Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMYS), most recently in 2009 for Best Recording.
For more information on the Thanksgiving Polka Weekend and the Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame, visit their website.
Township 5, a mixed-use shopping center and apartment complex located in the Syracuse suburb of Camillus, was designated as the location for the area’s newest movie house this past spring. This week, ground was broken on a Movie Tavern at the quickly growing development. Movie Tavern takes the work out of choosing dinner and movie by providing both in the same location.
With 21 locations in nine states, each Movie Tavern features a full bar and an in-theater, “chef driven” menu for diners to enjoy with first-run movies. The Camillus location will be the company’s first in New York state and is expected to open in May 2016. Among the new theater’s amenities will be 11 screens, stadium seating, recliners and in-seat service.
According to the company’s website, prices will be on par with the typical movie-going experience while entrees will be priced in the $12-15 range. Private groups will also be able to reserve special showings and reservations for seats will be required.
For more information on the experience, visit the company’s website here.
Zappa was predeceased by her husband Frank, who succumbed to prostate cancer in 1993. She is survived by their four children, Diva, Dweezil, Ahmet and Moon.
With 21 locations in nine states, each Movie Tavern features a full bar and an in-theater, “chef driven” menu for diners to enjoy with first-run movies. The Camillus location will be the company’s first in New York state and is expected to open in May 2016. Among the new theater’s amenities will be 11 screens, stadium seating, recliners and in-seat service.