The 11th annual Mountain Jam Festival got off to a great start on Thursday June 4 2015 with plenty of good vibes and a solid night of music in the books.
The weather was nearly perfect as clouds parted early in the day to reveal the beautiful Catskill Mountains in all their glory. Hunter Mountain was dressed to the nines with assorted vendors, colorful stages and thousands of Jammers scattered throughout the hills. Those eager to start the fun arrived early to set up camp, find friends and get settled for the long music filled weekend ahead. Check in proved to be hassle free as fans were directed to the various parking and camping locations with minimal searches. However, the Main Gate entrance had serious pat downs to ensure clean, safe fun inside the festival grounds.
One of the first acts of the day started on the petite West Stage with the 5 piece Americana stylings of Sons of Bill, a three brother founded group that amped up the crowd with classic rock riffs and attitude. The first act of the massive East Stage was the bluegrass rock group, Railroad Earth and with a recently announced shared tour with Gov’t Mule, it was no surprise that Warren Haynes sat in for some classic rock and roll jamming. Guests were treated to double sets of both Marco Benevento and moe. on the mountainside for a late night special. Benevento was in rare form as his enthusiasm was top notch with crisp key pounding and contagious giddy melodies as he howled like a madman in his technicolor suit.
moe. was in awe of the scene as it was their first time at Mountain Jam and received grand cheers as they kicked off the set with “Same Old Story” and “Crab Eyes”. The off tempo fans got down to the marimba madness and intense focused lyrics spitting as moe. was dressed in their 25th anniversary silver attire. Warren Haynes sat in for an outlandish “Opium” adding a vintage rock voltage to end the first set. Fans raved for the multiple segues of the second set with “Silver Sun” packing an exciting climax with Pink Floyd like jamming. Al Schnier took full advantage of the broad space as he came out and shredded over the pit. The Mountain Jam app gave fans the opportunity to vote for moe.’s encore which proved to be the fiery classic “Rebubula”. It was a somewhat early night as music ended around 2am giving fans a decent amount of rest. Good thing with Friday’s headliners to include Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Robert Plant, a special set of Gov’t Mule: Dark Side of the Mule and late night Dopapod. Be sure to download the Mountain Jam app (available for both Android and iPhone) for daily updates on contests, show times, photo galleries and webcasts.
It was a long winter for all of us, especially with Eastbound Jesus in hibernation, dedicated to working on their third studio album, Hollerin, set to drop this weekend. Eastbound Jesus spent the cold days at Edie Road Studio in their hometown of Greenwich, NY with producer/engineer Marc Fuller to bring fans the best sounds of their northern rock music to date. The 10 track album captures the essence of an EBJ live rowdy performance as well as representing a more mature sound. Hollerin features special guests musicians Chris Carey (Sean Rowe, Rodeo Barons) and Lowell Wurster and Jaime Armstrong (Lucid) helping to elevate the jamgrass fusion.
The album begins with blaring guitar rifts, beloved banjo strumming and rebellious lyrics from “Keep on Hollerin” that Eastbound Jesus is known for. Showing a softer side is “Better Things” more of a romantic ballad with an upbeat melody and gracious harmonious with a steady rhythm. “Shoes” features fast string picking, splashing tempo and flowing vocals with a erupting brass solo that is sure to be a crowd favorite. “Cold and Snow” perfectly captures the winter season in Upstate New York with a howling harmonica, diesel rhythm and bitter lyrics such as, “There’s nothing like the cold and snow to make you feel at home.” Hollerin has themes of the simple life about working hard and playing hard, with tales of heartache, good friends and the weather always playing a key role. Their music feeds to your frustrations of the world, forcing you to clap, stomp and howl with grand joy and relief. Get ready to holler for more!
Eastbound Jesus will be throwing one heck of album release party this Saturday May 30 at Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs with special guests, Lucid. Tickets are available online (click here) for $12 and will be $15 at the door to the 18+ event with a showtime of 9:00pm. Be sure to catch Eastbound Jesus this summer as they will be touring all over Upstate NY to promote their new album.
Key Tracks: Keep on Hollerin, Shoes, Better Things
You can stream “Keep on Hollerin,” their first single off of Hollerin via soundcloud.
Guthrie Bell Productions and WEQX 102.7 just announced a new music series called “Howling on the Hudson” taking place this summer on the Dutch Apple Cruise Ship. The first round of bands features Eastbound Jesus, Conehead Buddha and Gubbulidis (Twiddle Duo). The series will feature six shows taking place on Tuesday nights. The Dutch Apple Cruise Ship is an ideal venue with three floors, both indoor and outdoor, offering a beautiful scenic view, a full bar and plenty of dance space. The ship boards at 6:30 PM in downtown Albany and departs promptly at 7, returning to dock at 10. Tickets are 22.00 in advance (Available May 1) and 25.00 at the door.
The Capital District is infamous for the weekly music events such as Rockin on the River in Troy and Albany’s Alive at Five. Here’s hoping this becomes a yearly tradition.
Multi-platinum recording artist, Josh Groban has announced a North American Fall Tour and will hit NY multiple times. Groban will make stops in Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo and NYC supporting his new album Stages. The Stages Tour will visit specially selected theaters to give fans a more intimate concert setting versus those accustomed to seeing him perform in arenas.
Stages is a collection of Groban’s renditions of some of the best musical theater songs of all time. It was produced by Humberto Gatica and Bernie Herms in both Los Angeles and London’s Abbey Road (with a 75-piece orchestra taboot). The album features songs from Les Miserables, The Wizard of Oz, Sweeny Todd, Phantom of the Opera and much more.
Groban describes the album as “gorgeously arranged songs that have stood the test of time.” An exclusive edition of the album will be available at Target containing two extra tracks. Until the Stages Tour kicks off in September, Josh Groban will be making plenty of television appearances on Good Morning America on April 28, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Live! with Kelly and Michael on April 29, and Dancing With The Stars on May 5. He will also sing the National Anthem at the 2015 Kentucky Derby on May 2.
One of the Capital District’s loudest kept secrets is the powerhouse funk group known as Groovestick, who recently released their debut album, Groovestick. Lead by bassist Dan Gerken with Justin Henricks on guitar, Kevin Urvalek on drums, Dan Klug on percussion and Hammond organ star Chris Carballeira, these 5 musicians from Way Down, Timbre Coup and Dirty Paris create solid harmonies and high energy progressive funk that force you to groove. The eight track album reaching a little over half an hour is more than enough to convince you to see them live and get down to the funk. The album is available for streaming and a digital copy for $5 via bandcamp.com and was recorded at Telefunken Studios in Hartford, CT.
Groovestick is a quick listen to get the pre-party started for any night of the week. Henricks chillingly shreds classic rock chords as Carballeira adds vintage funky soul on the ivories. The album hits start with the jazzy quick tempo rock of “Horde”, a surge of rock to get the blood racing. “No Time for That” is a modern mo-town with a disco flair and strongly executed catchy lyrics from Dan Gerken and company. “Electric Shoes” is one of their fiercest songs, showcasing stand out solo work as well as mountainous peaks of melody, challenging the listener to break loose. Klug and Urvalek intertwine their controlled rhythm mania throughout the album for a nonstop tight groove. Groovestick is a boogie machine with rebellious soul, making this album of theirs a great soundtrack for the spring ahead.
Key Tracks: Not Time for That, Electric Shoes, Shark Bait
Check out Groovestick when they come to The Hollow in Albany with Lucid on April 3, The Monopole in Plattsburgh on April 24 and The Rustic Barn in Troy on April 25.
School Bus Yellow is a four piece improvisational jam rock band from Upstate NY, covering a range of classic hits and fresh, original material. Opening the night with a few groovy, light-hearted numbers such as “Chump Change” and the Grateful Dead’s “Franklin’s Tower” getting the crowd energized for the night ahead. School Busy Yellow stretch funky spontaneous melodies and rock rhythms for a captivating contagious dance vibe. Catching the audience completely off guard was their fun-loving bust outs of “Sweet Dreams” and “Busta Move” with fierce drum work from Gregory Finely. This band is fast ride with experienced drivers, be sure to hop on and buckle up.
Click here to stream and download their set from Parish Public House on March 6 now.
Most New Englanders may recognize Jen Durkin as lead singer from Deep Banana Blackout who are a staple at the Gathering of the Vibes for the late night sets. Durkin, rightfully nicknamed “Pipes” debuted her new funk project, The Business, last fall at The Catskill Chill, spreading soulful vocals alongside her brother Johnny Durkin on drums, Darian Cunning on guitar, Rich Zurkowski on bass and keyboardists Jesse Gibbon. Jen Durkin produces mighty alto vocals as she rocks the microphone and a cowbell in high fashion style. Zurkowski slaps out a funky bass rhythm while Gibbon plays a jazzy melody and Cunning is pure rock n roll guitar attitude. The group has flawless chemistry as they climb continuous peaks of harmonies, fusing together old school funk and new age soul with nonstop energy. Be sure to catch Jen Durkin & The Business Saturday April 4 at Brooklyn Bowl, NYC with Dumpstaphunk.
The newest and funkiest beep on the musical radar of the NY scene is Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan. The high-powered collaboration is led by the one and only Beau Sasser on the Hammond organ, vocalist Mary Corso, dueling guitarists Justin Henricks from Way Down/The Chronicles and Danny Mayer from Alan Evan’s Playonbrother with drummer Bill Carbone from Max Creek, fusing together rock ‘n’ roll attitude with a strong funk foundation. The funky five piece has been traveling across the country and back to bring a fresh, explosive sound that drops jaws and blows mind with serious guitar shredding, fierce rhythm and soulful key pounding.
Check out Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan TONIGHT Feb. 27 at The Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs with The Nth Power. Doors are at 8:30 pm with music starting at 9:30pm and a cover charge of $15 at the door for the 18+ event. Click here to buy tickets in advance and to guarantee that you won’t miss out on a great show. The last stop for the Escape Plan of their winter tour will be Saturday Feb. 28 at the historic Nectar’s in Burlington, VT.
I was lucky to catch up with Beau Sasser to talk about his escape plan, covering rock classics and highlights of their winter tour.
Susan Rice: What are you escaping from and what’s the plan?
Beau Sasser: The show is an escape for the audience for a little while, our goal is to create art through music and connect with the crowd and share in that journey, and its an escape for us too! The plan is make the world a better place through feel good music. The band has such a great vibe, we just want to share that with the audience.
SR: How did you come to assemble the Escape Plan band members?
BS: I’ve played with our drummer Bill Carbone in various bands over many years. We played together in the Melvin Sparks Band and now currently in The Z3. I met our guitarist Danny Mayer 3 years ago when Alan Evans(Soulive) put together his own group Alan Evans Trio which became Playonbrother, we traveled and played together alot over that time. I’ve connected with guitarist Justin Henricks and vocalist Mary Corso more recently in the last year or so and invited them to come play Funk Night at Bishop’s Lounge in Northampton, Ma, a weekly gig we do each Wednesday. This band really came together on those gigs and we realized quickly that it was something special.
SR: You’ve been touring heavily all over the area to promote your new sound. How have fans been responding to your new collaboration?
BS: The response has been really incredible! A ton of buzz around this group and we’ve had alot of support and great shows, I think its fun for the fans to watch the evolution of a new band and be involved in the process.
SR: What are three key factors for having a fantastic funk set/show?
BS: I would say we try to keep energy, crowd connection and high voltage onstage vibe at the forefront of our live show.
SR: When I saw your show at The Hollow in Albany on February 13th, you covered Frank Zappa, The Allman Brothers and Earth Wind and Fire. How do you pick which songs/artists to cover? Are the songs difficult to funkify?
BS: We’ve been careful to pick some choice covers that fit in the funk vein. We love Frank Zappa and have a pretty good arsenal of FZ covers that are more from his seventies era band that really leaned on funk music a little harder than some of the other eras. Also we really try to take advantage of our double guitar situation, incorporating a few Allman Bros. tunes which lean more towards a southern rock vibe, we try to do our own arrangements to make them fit the show. “Taxman” by the Beatles is another cover we have been working on and we’ve taken more of a James Brown approach to it, utilizing two guitars in a rhythm/comping situation, making it easy to put some funk sauce on it.
SR: Your Winter Tour is coming to an end. What was your favorite part? Would you change anything in particular? What’s next for the Escape Plan?
BS: As the winter tour comes to an end I would have to say the highlight was our week run in California, we played House of Blues and had members of Fishbone, Pfunk, Umphrey’s McGee and Snarky Puppy join us onstage. Unbelievable vibe during the show and it was certainly a great party! The other highlight would be our show last weekend in our hometown of Northampton, MA at Iron Horse Music Hall. So many friends and family and great to play for the hometown crew here where it all started. That show was recorded and is being spread around the internet, the band played great and there is wonderful sound quality on that recording. The only changes we are making are to keep working on perfecting our set and our overall live concert experience, we’ve been using lights and lasers in the show on some choice performances and I’d like to make that a more regular part of the show. Up next is recording our new album which will come out in April, our spring tour that will bring us to jazz fest in New Orleans, and then festival season when all this snow melts!!!!
Check out their live performance of “Love is Free” from Church of Boston on January 10 below.
Upstate New York rock band, Hard Soul, have successfully completed their Kickstarter campaign in raising over $12,000 to fund their latest EP, Fairer Shores and touring needs. The local Albany band had over 150 backer’s support them on this mission proving the dream of Rock n Roll is far from dead. Kickstarter is a crowd based, fund-raising site for creative projects that helped Hard Soul and millions of others reach goals from the help of friends and supporters.
“The outpouring of support from all the fans has been absolutely incredible and very humbling,” said Hard Soulfront-man Johnny Salka. “We’re beyond excited for the opportunity to hit the road and share our music in front of new faces and cities later this month.”
Hard Soul consists of guitarists Johnny Salka, Steve Thompson and Nick Kossor, bassist Ryan Klaeysen, drummer Mark Podbielski, all contributing to vocals of original heartfelt lyrics. The band’s LP Heart of Plaster from 2014 grabbed regional attention as the Albany Times Union placed them on the “Best Records of the Year” list. The first single off their latest EP “The Sweetest Heart” was released on January 20th with a laid back music video. Fairer Shores drops on February 24th on CD and digital formats with limited-edition vinyls later this year.
Eager to share their new music with loving fans, Hard Soul is kicking things off at The Hollow in Albany on Friday Feb. 20 where they will be opening for Frank Iero (formally of My Chemical Romance) to start their Winter Tour of Upstate NY and beyond. The show starts at 8pm with $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Get there early to support local music from Hard Soul as they bring their modern-day rock with vintage soul to Pearl St.
Annie in the Water is a trio of guys performing their high energy acoustic music all over Upstate NY and beyond. Guitarist Michael Lashomb, Keyboardist Dillon Goodfriend and Beatboxer/Lead Vocalist Brad Hester together create a unique genre all their own that fuses Rock, Reggae, Funk, Blues, Hip-Hop and Bluegrass for an impressively fun live performance. Their original lyrics are hopeful and uplifting, with messages of brighter days ahead. When matched with their fierce looping, hip hop flair and electronic beats, their music makes you feel invincible. Their music is similar to Dispatch, laid back island attitude meets fresh powder and the mountain to yourself.
Michael, Dillon and Brad were kind enough to answer a few questions about how they came to be, their musical heroes, the winter weather and their upcoming shows with Twiddle.
Susan Rice: Where does the band name, Annie in the Water come from? How would you describe your sound to new listeners?
Michael Lashlomb: Annie in the Water was formed in the summer of 2007 when our friend Annie fell off of a dock on the St Lawrence River in the early hours of the morning. It was the first time Brad and myself had met up to write music. Brad suggested the name to me of a summary of our gnarly beginning and it stuck. We have been Annie in the Water ever since. We like to describe our sound as an Acoustic Dance Music. We use beat-box and looping mixed with live instruments and just punch it. We like to have fun and just play stuff we would want to vibe to.
SR: What music did you listen to growing up? Who are your musical influences?
ML: I was raised up on a mixture of Cat Stevens, The Beetles, Chicago, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and other folks artists like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Also being raised in Cleveland Heights, OH I was exposed to a lot of funk and early 90’s hip hop like Notorious B.I.G, Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang Clan and Big Pun. My biggest musical influence is Levon Helm from The Band. I also take a lot from Chuck Berry, The Boss, and Dave Matthews for their raw performance abilities and as for lead guitar players, I have to give props to David Gilmore, Trey, Jimi Hendrix, Derek Trucks, Jamie Anderson of The Fritz, Mihali of Twiddle and Warren Haynes.
Dillon Goodfriend: I think the first CD I bought was Green Day’s Dookie, or Barenaked Ladies’ Stunt. I remember trying to record Rob Zombie songs on a tape whenever it came on the radio. I think it started with any one on Drive-Thru Records or Epitaph Records, then fell into classic rock and jam when I started collecting vinyl. Seeing Keller Williams perform his solo looping act is what motivated me to start playing music. I’ve been strongly influenced by artists like Andrew Bird, Zach Deputy and Keller.
Brad Hester: I always had country music in the house since my parents enjoy the storytelling, but also my sisters and I were always in choir. My grandmother always had members of the family singing at Christmas, and I was always surrounded by some kind of music. Garth Brooks was an early influence when I was very young; the Backstreet Boys inspired me to develop my voice in Elementary School and around that time I also discovered Eminem and Incubus. As I got into High School my friends and I were really into 311, Pepper, Styx, Rage against the Machine and Dave Matthews. When I got into college and started performing, Mike introduced me to bands like Phish and The Grateful Dead and Bela Fleck.
SR: What music are you listening to on the way to a show? When you’re snowboarding?
BH: Music on the way to a show ranges from Twiddle to moe to 311 to anything that people tell us to check out, and whereas sometimes I travel in complete silence to be in touch with my thoughts. While snowboarding I don’t usually listen to music because I like to hear my board on the snow. Being in the Northeast, there are sometimes a range of conditions that I need to be in touch with while tracing my path down the mountain, and that’s what I like to be fully in touch with.
DG: My car doesn’t have an Aux cord so I’m stuck with my CDs of moe., The Weekend, Canned Heat, plus I won all the Twiddle CDs in a giveaway. I don’t really listen to anything snowboarding because my phone can’t handle the cold.
ML: We also have tons of CD’s from bands we meet and love to vibe to their albums. A lot of different bands in the circuit like The Fritz, Blind Owl Band, Lucid, Spiritual Rez and Atlas Road Crew. As for music while snowboarding, I have chosen to go silent as well. The tree runs sound so rad and soothing and then when you launch some air on the cat tracks, the stomp sounds so good and def amps you up. I just sink into the snowboard experience and forget about the grind and just enjoy the pure unadulterated feeling of focus and flight.
SR: it’s clear that Annie in the Water seems to embrace the winter season. You guys are playing all over the North Country and even outside at the Olympic Sky Jumps in Lake Placid at below zero temperatures. Why? What makes the winter season so special for you and your music?
BH: We wanted to create the same success for year-round performances that we were able to find in the summertime during our first few years of performing. With the activities that come with the winter season, we became committed to become involved more with outdoor activity and making music to bring people together and to inspire more people to take advantage of the natural backyard that we have.
ML: I love the snow and everything mountains so I will play any season, anytime of year especially for an event that involves people launching off of jumps doing flips. It’s not that we strive to always play in negative temps but we have had more than usual this season. It is actually pretty difficult because you can freeze up and lock up during the first minutes of the performance but we push through and stay focused on giving our fans a solid performance. The human body is so amazing how it adjusts and then warms up your body to meet the challenge. By the end of performances, our hands are steaming and we have plenty in the tank… The winter season is just so awesome and makes us who we are. The mountains and snow scene has had a huge influence on us and the style and culture of the ski and snowboard scene is very alive and cool. We like that and keeping wanting more and more. Plus we continue to meet such similar minded people that are great.
SR: How do you feel about opening for Twiddle to help kick off their big winter tour at the Pickle Barrel at Killington VT? Have you been long time fans of Twiddle?
BH: I got that fire burning for this show because I know it is going be a great transition from us to them. We started hearing of Twiddle because multiple people who were at our shows across the Northeast asked us if we had heard of them. It naturally unfolded as we slowly became involved in some of the same circuit.
ML: Twiddle has a unique relationship with its fan and supporters because of the vibe they emit on and off stage and we really like that. They are being themselves and working within their own framework which has proved to be successful and growing very fast. This past year we have crossed paths with them and hung out with them a few times at shows. We are very grateful they added us to the bill at Pickle Barrel and we are very excited to contribute to the overall vibe of the night. It will be our first time linking up which will be unique and exciting.
Check out Annie in the Water and one of their first music videos “Hey, I’m On My Way” below that showcases their love of snowboarding, traveling and music.
Electric Forest, the four day multi-genre festival will return to Rothbury, MI June 25-28, 2015 with major headliners String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, Skrillex, Kaskade, Flume, and Big Gigantic. Festival goers become part of the Forest Family, eager to experience the interactive, electrifying art installations and star studded musical performances. The full lineup goes on to include Galactic with Macy Gray, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Lettuce, EOTO, Break Science, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, The Motet, Phantogram, and Dopapod. Not to mention the Silent Disco featuring MoPo and U9Lift plus more additional acts to be announced.
Check out the full lineup in the announcement video below. Tickets are available on the Electric Forest website as well as general information.
It was a long winter for all of us, especially with
Stages is a collection of Groban’s renditions of some of the best musical theater songs of all time. It was produced by Humberto Gatica and Bernie Herms in both Los Angeles and London’s Abbey Road (with a 75-piece orchestra taboot). The album features songs from Les Miserables, The Wizard of Oz, Sweeny Todd, Phantom of the Opera and much more.
One of the Capital District’s loudest kept secrets is the powerhouse funk group known as 
