NYS Music 20​15

Category: Profiles

  • Meet Your NYS Music Staff: Kevin McCallum

    Kevin McCallum, a Music History and Art History major and Writing minor at Syracuse University, began writing for UpstateLIVE last year as a sophomore, and he has since joined with NYS Music staff to continue covering live music. He was first introduced to music through the painstaking finger exercises his piano teacher made him do as an inattentive nine-year-old but developed a different understanding of all that music could be through the albums his older sisters shared with him as a kid. In high school Kevin played saxophone in the Jazz band and bass in bands with friends in their free time outside of school. During his senior year, he and a friend completed a senior project that consisted of writing and recording an album using their own equipment at their homes.

    kevin mccallumNow Kevin is a Junior at Syracuse University, spending his spring semester studying abroad in London. At SU, Kevin has a radio show on the college station, WERW Real College Radio. He’s also involved with the local music scene by booking bands for shows and playing guitar in a rock n roll Rocket Power style band on the weekends, called Conroy Blanc. Back home in the Boston area Kevin plays in a band called Midriffs. Over the past 2014 summer, they recorded their first album Subtle Luxuries in their steamy hot third floor Boston apartment. The experience is something that shaped Kevin’s appreciation and outlook on a new level of the intense work that goes into DIY music.

    Kevin’s musical bucketlist, both alive and deceased, would consist of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Tame Impala, Ty Segall, and Fidlar.

  • Meet Your NYS Music Staff: Photographer Thomas Sgroi

    Thomas Sgroi or Big Tom as most of his friends refer to him is an upcoming name in the music photography world. Tom grew up all over the Northeast and New York State, including living in Albany, Utica and most notably Buffalo. Tom graduated from Alfred State College and earned a football scholarship to Division 2 Gannon University where he finished out his playing days. He then relocated to Buffalo where he attended the University at Buffalo and cemented his roots in the Buffalo area to present day.

    thomas sgroiTom has been involved with photography for a little over a year when a friend in the business peaked his interest while shooting Mountain Jam in 2013. Since starting his shooting experience wherever he could, he learned the craft on his own and has photographed some of the biggest names in the music scene. He prides himself for having quite an open palette for musical tastes as he loves it all. As Tom says, “If it’s live it’s great but if it’s local it’s even better.”

    While Tom isn’t going to musical events he is an avid sports fan. He is a Buffalo Bills season ticket holder and when he isn’t rooting for the Bills his eyes are on everything to do with the Buffalo Sabres. Some of Tom’s other passions involve cooking, traveling and sampling whatever local beers he can find. While Tom would like nothing better to do then travel and photograph musical acts, he has been involved in the auto industry and has a vast experience in sales and management.

    Tom has photographed quite a bit of his musical heroes yet there is still a few he wishes to cover, including Phish, Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee, Neil Young, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Metallica and The Disco Biscuits

  • The Moonshine River Band – A Great Syracuse Country Band

    I headed out to Toby Keith’s at Destiny this past Friday night to check out a local country act I haven’t seen yet.  Once I got there,  I noticed these guys had a really good following. I spoke to a few groups of people and was told they make it out to as many of Moonshine River Band’s shows as possible and that the last time they played at Toby Keith’s a bus from the Altmar area was chartered to bring in their fans. Needles to say, this really sparked my interest and I couldn’t wait til the guys hit the stage.

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    They are a modern country band composed of three talented guys: Joe Battles (guitar/lead vocals), Mark Ramsden (bass/vocals) and Angelo Depasquale (drums/vocals). They play some of your favorites from Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Luke Bryan and Garth Brooks, just to name a few.

    Once they took the stage I have to say I was quite impressed. They sounded fantastic.  Not only did they have their scheduled set list, but they also took a few requests. The vocals were smooth yet powerful and they kept their fans engaged and on the dance floor. I am really excited to have another local country band to add to an evening out. You can see them open for Easton Corbin on Jan. 15 at Toby Keith’s – I Love This Bar and grill in Syracuse.

  • Poughkeepsie’s Playhouse: Bardavon 1869 Opera House

    Bardavon 1869 Opera HouseLocated on Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House has drawn world-renowned stars to its stage for nearly a century and a half. The theater was originally dubbed the Collingwood Opera House when its doors opened on February 1, 1869, named after original owner James Collingwood. Multiple renovations later, the Bardavon boasts the title of being New York State’s longest continuously running theater.

    The theater officially opened as the Bardavon Theatre on January 1, 1923, looking much like it does today. The original unique high dome ceiling remained, but the theater was transformed to house films in addition to live performances. From the roaring 20’s to 1975, the Bardavon was one of New York’s premier movie houses which also featured vaudeville shows and plays. It was scheduled to be demolished in 1975 before the Dutchess County Arts Council and a group of locals created the Concerned Citizens to Save the Bardavon group. They leased the historic building and created the Bardavon 1869 Opera House not-for-profit corporation to protect the beloved theater’s future. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

    Today, the Bardavon Opera House hosts live concerts, school performances, and other events. The theater’s original Wurlitzer Organ, originally installed in 1928, was sold off in the 1960’s but has since been re-installed and is now a cherished reminder of the Bardavon’s celebrated history. Tours of the 1,150 seat historic theater, which the Hudson Valley Philharmonic calls home, are offered to groups and the public.

    Bardavon 1869 Opera HouseSince its doors opened, the Bardavon has hosted performances by Mark Twain, John Phillips Sousa, Frank Sinatra, Greg Allman, Art Garfunkel, Levon Helm, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, and Al Pacino. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt both frequented the historic theater while the Talking Heads, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Blue Man Group, The Felice Brothers, and Dark Star Orchestra have all taken stage at the Bardavon.

    Bardavon 1869 Opera House
    Arlo Guthrie at the Bardavon (2014).

    With strong public support and recognition in the National Registry secured, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House’s impressive resume should continue to grow as the 21st century rolls on.