Category: Genres

Aqueous is My New Jam

Aqueous – a four-piece out of Buffalo – has been making waves recently in the ever crowded and continually diversifying jam band circuit. Those waves hit my ears finally on a frigid night at the Flour City Station in Rochester.

Flying out of the gates with a beautifully soaring slide guitar, and some heavy driving beats on Don’t Do It, Aqueous grabbed hold of the waiting audience and buckled them in for rocking ride late into the night. The rock assault was fairly relentless, each song flowed seamlessly together with hardly a let-up. But even for the uninitiated like myself, the switches were well-marked and never left you lost or disoriented. This speaks both to the quality of the songwriting, and the pointed-ness of the jamming. It didn’t veer off into aimless noodling, chugging always ahead.

My internal running commentary was devoid of the usual thoughts on the talents of the individual musicians – not that there wasn’t plenty of it to notice. It was also devoid of the usual they-sound-like-this-band comparisons. Aqueous is that rare band that blends it’s myriad influences into a wholly unique sound, while also blending its individual components into a singular force.

They seem to be caught squarely at a juncture of heavy groove and heavy rock. Perhaps best exemplified in their exploratory vehicle Origami, which lulls you with a quasi-reggae groove, before blasting you away with a heavy rocking assault, and back and forth it went from there. And the heaviness kept rearing its head throughout the set, culminating in a climactic set closing cover of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” that had the band and crowd alike banging heads and saluting the altar of rock with devil’s fingers. Impressive through and through.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – another band quickly on the rise – was also on the evening’s jam-heavy bill. On the surface, a pretty standard funk outfit, they cracked open each song to reveal a glowing improvisational interior featuring the phenomenal guitar work of Jeremy Schon. I never knew that’s what funk looked like from the inside! While mostly funky and jammy, songs later in their set like Horizon and Julia showcased a poppier side, with instantly likeable hooks and melodies. As their name might imply, this is a band that brings a playful energy to the stage that can’t be contained, seeping generously into the crowd.

Ocular Panther, a two guitar and bass trio out of Rochester, got the evening started with some long instrumental prog rock explorations. They recently found themselves without a drummer and made effective use of electronic beats managed by one of the guitarists. Though with the complex improvisational nature of their music, a live drummer almost seems a necessity to bring their incredible visions fully to fruition.

Setlists

Aqueous:

Don’t Do It > What’s the Connection, Complex > Fame* > Origami, Underlyer > Dave’s Song > Master of Puppets**

ENCORE: Mosquito Valley Pt 1 > Gordon’s Mule

* David Bowie

** Metallica

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong:

Upfunk, Time To Ride, Whoopie, Pop Off, Horizon, Burning Up My Time> The Liquid, Julia>Rugrats>Julia

Ocular Panther:

Marking Houses, Compartmentalizations, III E III, Protactinium, Insistences, I Feel Love * , Stairs

* Donna Summer

Review by Eli Stein

Photos by Darren Kemp

February 24, 2015
Hearing Aide: Castle Creek ‘The Only Life’

Central NY based Castle Creek is a duo composed of singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalists Kim Monroe: vocals, guitars, Rhodes, organ, bass, percussion, cello and Chris Eves: vocals, guitars, Rhodes, organ, bass, drums. This is their first full-length CD, The Only Life, released in November 2014 and is solidifying the path they’ve been creating from the northeast to Austin, Texas and to the west coast at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA. in January. They’ll have the honor of performing at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse following the sold-out SAMMY Award Hall Of Fame Dinner on March 5.

As if that wasn’t enough, the CD is self-produced and engineered, with all song-writing credits to Kim and Chris besides track 6 which is a Monroe/Mark Doyle composition. Bruce Monroe contributed lap-steel to track 1. Matt Mangano at Southern Ground Studio, Nashville is credited with the mix, and Independent Mastering, Nashville with the finishing touches. All of these facets together make for a dynamic and soulful blend of what the duo describes as alternative blues. It’s fitting as the elements of snarl and bite mix intricately with the bluesy rise and fall of their emotive vocals, each voice standing easily alone or perfectly complimenting the other.

The duo first met at a mutual friend’s wedding where Kim sat in with Chris’ band that was performing there. They talked afterward about songwriting and their own solo projects, eventually writing “Brand New Blues”, that is on this release, that day. Before Castle Creek, Chris attended Berklee and had been a national touring/session guitarist, writing and recording his own songs along the way. Two of those are featured here, “New Normal” and “Bigger Than the Two of Us”. Kim is a multiple SAMMY winner for her two solo albums recorded with Mark Doyle in Syracuse, she credits him for, “Essentially teaching me how to rehearse with a band, how to record music in a studio, introducing me to Soul Music and pushing me to be a better performer.” She then performed in a Buffalo area musical collaboration with Robby Takac of Goo Goo Dolls, called Amungus. After building a reputation around the northeast under their own names as a duo, they took the name Castle Creek for this, their first full-length release.

Before reading their answers to my questions and while listening to their disc the first time, I had a good idea where some of their influences came from. It’s one of my favorite parts of writing reviews, and it’s always interesting to see where those influences take them. Kim lists Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne, I had both, even before seeing a picture of Kim placing her left hand in Bonnie’s left handprint at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Chris’ were evident watching him rip the slide guitar during a Vinyl – Albums Live performance of The Black Crowes, “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion”, he lists The Allman Brothers as well among others. Both he and Kim have diverse musical tastes, something that holds true with many great musicians, they appreciate, listen to and learn from all genres of music from classical to pop to metal.

The opener, “The Only Life I’ve Ever Known” gives a deep expression of what’s to come throughout this whole offering. The counter-point between Monroe’s growl, the plaintive wail of Greg Monroe’s lap steel and Eves’ slide work illustrate the emotion pouring from the lyric. You can almost hear Raitt split into two personalities and doubled through the mix, it grabs at your heart and pulls hard. “Brand New Blues” straddles a similar line with Eve’s blues riff coloring Monroe’s grit and determination. The way their vocals compliment is noteworthy as well, Eves’ tempered soul softens Monroe’s edge at just the right moments while allowing her natural twists and turns to come through in a searing fashion. She’s telling you a story, it’s real, heartfelt and emotional, commanding your attention.

“Dragging My Heart Around” lets Eves come to the front vocally and the tune rolls to the rock side of blues embellished by the Hammond swirling. The depth of their instrumental abilities is remarkable, Chris hits ‘em hard here, he could easily be a drummer and that’s a lot to say. Many attempt this and it ends in tears, here he does that and more as he answers with a ripping guitar solo to top it off, amazing stuff! You can almost hear The Black Crowes on “Burning Bridges” with it’s swampy slide and rhythm until Monroe kicks the vocal in and it becomes all Castle Creek. The driving beat and quality of the mix provide a platform for Monroe to tell another incredibly personal tale from. Her vocal range and consistent quality are exemplary and allow the song to rise and fall with each new verse supported by and accentuated with Eves’ brilliant guitar work.

“New Normal” brings Eves to the forefront again and Castle Creek keeps showing different levels and voices they have in their arsenal. This tale of triumph is well written and expressed as kindred spirits find each other. While tales of being outcast and alone can sometimes wear heavily, disaffection becomes something of the past to reflect on and rise above here, uplifting while the sadness slips away. “New Reality”, the Monroe/Doyle composition, is straight-up blues and self discovery. Monroe shreds an exposition of growth away from small town entitlement to the heights available to her through herself. “Glass Heart” is a classic moving on song, the difficulty of doing so and the disillusion of love gone bad. The analogy is strong and the lyrical turns ring true.

“Brace For The Heartache” shows how the blues turns so easily to rock, the rave-up guitar tracks push Monroe along, “I could see this coming from miles away, We bend until we break, All that I could do is hold on and brace for the heartache”. The Hammond solo fits so perfectly and segues into the big guitar riff that takes you to the close, brilliant rock music right here.
“Bigger Than the Two of Us” has a Buckingham/Nicks self-exposure kind of feel, after all, the best of songs come from personal experience. The guitars are big and the groove is solid, when Kim and Chris sing together it’s very easy to believe everything they say. This is single material for sure.

“The Saddest Long Song” brings the tempo down and Kim’s bluesy vocal evokes an image of a smoky club and a single spotlight shining as she pours her heart out to a silent audience hanging on every note. The blistering guitar solo only heightens the tension in the room until it softens and ushers her story back in. Cue the audience standing and cheering. “Warpaint” spins the disc back into overdrive, flexing the muscle of a determined woman expressing her self-confidence and her undeniable charms. When this band rocks, it hits hard and wonderfully counters its softer side, but I believe it’s where the band soars. The closer, “Flown Away” acoustically brings the set to an end. Chris’ lead and Kim’s harmonies combined with the string parts are stunningly somber, yet beautiful at the same time. When it’s a song of hope, there’s always a chance for another chapter in the story.

Key Tracks: The Only Life I’ve Ever Known, Bigger Than the Two of Us, The Saddest Love Song

Kim and Chris have deep appreciation for their families, friends and supports. From Chris: My parents who are very supportive. My Brother Travis. My teachers growing up in the area- Ed Vollmer, Carmen Caramanica, Rick Balestra. From Kim: My Mother Liz and Father Bruce who both introduced me to the music business in different ways. My Step-Father Greg for introducing me to off the wall music I never would have heard. Mark Doyle for essentially teaching me how to rehearse with a band, how to record music in a studio, introducing me to Soul Music and pushing me to be a better performer. Chris for making me the performer/musician that I currently am. And it seems obvious but of course to everyone who has bought our music, come to our shows, loaded our gear, made us look/sound good on stage, given us places to stay on the road and musicians who have learned our music and been a part of a band with us. Castle Creek will give you many opportunities to experience their musical magic live and I highly suggest you do that, after you purchase this cd of course. You can follow Castle Creek on Facebook and on their website.

February 24, 2015
Update: Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Mail Order

Dead fans across the world have been desperate to hear back from the Fare Thee Well Mail Order room about their tickets to the bands 50th anniversary shows at Chicago’s Soldier Field. With the public on-sale date of Feb. 28 rapidly approaching – unfortunately – it doesn’t look good. With over 60,000 requests for 350,000+ tickets it’s estimated that only one in ten fans will be singing “Truckin’” instead of “Brokedown Palace”. Team Dead encourages fans who do not hear back on mail order by the public date of Feb. 28 to try and get tickets that day.

Check out the whole statement below and good luck!

We’ve been submerged in a sea of mail and are coming up for a breath of air to give you an update on where we stand right now. We are 75% of the way processing all of the orders, working 24/7 to get your money orders back to you. There were many, many times more order requests than anyone imagined, thousands and thousands with beautiful art. We are trying to let as many folks as possible know their status before the onsale date. Emails will go out to the winners starting in the next two days. Your chances of receiving tickets from us are 1 in 10, so if you have not received a winner’s email from us by the on-sale date, you may want to consider on line ticket sales to increase your chances.

Tickets will be mailed out in June.

Please do not email us at this time as we will not be able to answer your inquiry.

Okay, we are taking a deep breath and going back under.
The crew of GDTS TOO
2.23.15

February 24, 2015
Fred Gillen Jr. Debuts New CD ‘Wage Love’ in a Homestyle Fashion

It seemed as though a town meeting was mustering at EMBARK@EMC as the locals, family, and friends poured in from the clammy cold street to help Fred Gillen Jr. celebrate the release of his ninth studio album Wage Love on Feb. 8. From the outside, EMBARK’s space at the Energy Movement Center is just like any other small-town storefront, that evening decked out with posters and artwork for the show and a well-placed portrait of Pete Seeger to greet folks as they came in.

The show started off with a few songs from Philadelphia based street performer, Laura Bowman, who contributed vocals to the album and joined Fred and his band (also composed of contributors to the recording) later in the evening. It was the first time for many at the show to hear Bowman but its a name they’ll remember for years to come – her beautiful dynamic singing and accompanying guitar work fueled by an engaged audience is something to not be taken for granted.

A performance like this made for an exciting and enjoyable first listen to the album through a live re-enactment of it. The CD itself is skillfully composed, and hearing it first through a live performance adds a connection with the spontaneity of Fred’s style and jest – something liner notes cannot do. The first impression of Wage Love is much more vivid than that of listening at home. Fueled by a potluck-spread of snacks and goodies, the audience fed a communal energy into the room – singing along with and becoming engaged in the music – in feedback to the lyrics, soul, and music generated from the auspices of the American flag hung on the curtains behind the band.

Joining Fred was the same crew that backed him up on the album – Laura Bowman on vocals, Paul Magliarli on drums, Matt Turk on guitar and mandolin, and Jeff Eyrich on bass.

The album itself is political yet not dreary. Fred’s style, which throughout his compositions brings a fresh sound to the traditional folk and Americana music setting, lends a net of optimism to topics (worker’s rights, war, government) that tend to sometimes stir a sense of gloom. As a token to the lesser-sung songs of the working American and undermined heroes the album starts off with “Walking Down That Freedom Highway” – written to the tune of Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” – and ends with “I Dreamed I Saw Pete Seeger” – a hymn to the unparalleled spirit we lost in 2014 sung to the air on part of “We Shall Overcome,” a staple of Seeger’s songbook.

The setlist included Wage Love from start to finish and an encore of two songs from previous albums – “This Old Car” and “Devil’s Bluff.”

Key Tracks: Killing Machine, We The People, I Dreamed I Saw Pete Seeger

February 23, 2015
Hearing Aide: Dave Spadaro Group’s Self-Titled Debut

Dave Spadaro Group has come out of the gates in 2015 with a great record blending together jazz, funk, blues, and rock. With this self-titled debut, they have let the world know they are here to make beautiful music to put into your ears. The seven song album moves along too quickly in the 42 minutes, it goes and leaves you wanting more. For a debut record, this is exactly what you want from a band.

“Pushin” starts the record off strong with a great guitar groove from Dave Spadaro, that is accompanied by wonderful saxophone work by Brian Patneaude. Brian takes the song over with wonderful melodies dancing over the great rhythms by Stephen Orsini on bass, Andrew Costa on keyboards and Brandon Isles on drums. The playing between Andrew and Dave in the middle of the song in a call and response before Brian takes back over is a truly beautiful music moment. Like many songs throughout the album, if you close your eyes you can picture the band directly in front of you coaxing those extra notes out of one another to push the limits of the songs.

Funk and psychedelia take over in the latter part of “The Upside”, pushing the band into new territory and getting more of how the band sounds live onto the album. Although the jam in this song was most likely thought out clearly, the fact that it sounds like a live jam is a testament to how great the musicianship on the album is. “It’s Alright” gives the album its “single” with Josh Farrell on vocals. This is the most radio-friendly tune on the album, which isn’t a bad thing, because the more chance people have to hear this band the better.

“As She Moves” brings the album to a slow groove with help from Jeff Nania on sax and flute. Careful guitar interplay by Dave lets Jeff highlight the song. “They Said” and “Fat Tony” bring the album to a close, with “Fat Tony” putting a great cap to the album with beautiful solos by Dave, taking over the song completely, yet not overshadowing the rest of the band. Spanning so many genres, music lovers should have no problem getting cozy with this album through the remainder of the cold winter months, staying warm with the wonderful grooves that the Dave Spadaro Group lays down. The album is available now on their soundcloud page or at live shows around the Capitol Region.

Key Tracks: Pushin, It’s Alright, Fat Tony

February 23, 2015
Winter Carnival 2015: Formula 5 at the Waterhole

It was a flying groove rather than a race, with Formula 5 performing at the Waterhole for Winter Carnival in Saranac Lake. The music flowed, the jams extended, the people danced. This band is composed of four talented young musicians from the Albany Area; Joe Davis on Guitar, Mike McDonald on Keyboard, James Woods on Bass and Greg Mark on Drums.

They have funk, improvisation jams and sound larger with a higher level of groove reminiscent of bands like Phish. Their songs are original with instrumental breaks and an underlying trance/dance rhythm. Nominated for ’s 2014 Bands on the Rise as well as Upstate Album of the year with“Edging on Catastrophe.” Formula 5 is a band that is accelerating fast, sure to be on the festival stages this summer and definitely not to be missed.

February 23, 2015
Winter Carnival 2015: The Blind Owl Band at The Waterhole

The Blind Owl Band is Adirondack Grass music. Five bearded dudes with strings and electricity, howling down the mountains to put the final finis on Winter Carnival at the Waterhole in Saranac Lake NY. This band is composed of Eric Munley, picker of mandolin, Arthur Buezo sliding on guitar, James Ford rolling on banjo, and Christian Cardiello playing at breakneck speed on bass. And their performance at Winter Carnival 2015 was quite the treat.

All transplants to the area, they now define progressive bluegrass in the Adirondacks. But with two album’s, Rabble Rousing and This Train is Made of Wood and Steel, they have been spreading their blind owl wings to festivals and towns throughout the Northeast. Their musical style is blue-streak fast and furious tempos with impressive instrumental dexterity, then fall back into old-time string band stanzas. Experienced live, they move, twist and turn, fingers a flying, bass a spinning and the audience pressing closer to the stage, dancing and feeling the joy of what is The Blind Owl Band. Hoot!

February 22, 2015
Winter Carnival 2015: Moon Hooch

Two saxophonists, Mike Wilbur and Wenzl McGovern with a drummer James Muschler make up the phenomenal band Moon Hooch, who performed at Winter Carnival 2015. They call it “Cave Music” I call it the best new jazz out there, aka Rashim Roland Kirk. Hold on to your drum hat and start your cyclic breathing, this band will make you dance.

Funky, wild, free yet so organic is the groove that the only primal thing you can do is move. Let other bands do covers, this band has captured a unique sound that has propelled it from busking on subways to hitting the top numbers on Billboards jazz charts and packing dance halls around the country. Picked up by Mike Doughty (formerly of Soul Coughing) when he saw them play in the subway and liked them so much that he had them open for him on a national tour. The Moon Hooch phenomena has just grown from festivals, to pastures, to museums, to cooking vegan in the van, to inducing alpha brain waves in the audience. They just released their second Album, This is Cave Music, and they are an act not to be missed. Photos from their show at The Waterhole at the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival as well as prior to the show,with a giraffe.

And yes, they tore the house down and all were dancing to…..jazz.

February 21, 2015
Hearing Aide: Armageddon ‘Captivity and Devourment’

It’s no secret that ‘Armageddon’ is one of the most overused metal band names in history, with over 800 entries on Metal Archives alone. That being said, too many metal heads that shouldn’t be overlooking this particular ‘Armageddon’, have been for far too long. Formed in Sweden in 1997 by Chris Amott (ex- Arch Enemy), Armageddon has been home to a revolving door of session musicians, who have all happily catered to Amott’s array of metal writing concepts. Captivity & Devourment is the band’s first release since 2003’s Three.

The album features ten beautifully composed songs, all of which flawlessly pay homage to Sweden’s original melodic death metal sound. It kicks off with the title track, “Captivity & Devourment”, which has a more traditional death metal feel. This tune gives us our first opportunity to hear Matt Hallquist (Under A Serpent Sun) expertly deliver his signature punchy death metal vocals over Amott’s guitar work, and although Hallquist’s screams (traditional highs and lows) are nothing out of the ordinary, they compliment the music perfectly.

The album continues with the tracks “Locked In” and “Rendition”. These two tracks are instantly memorable and pack more of Amott’s signature melodic hooks and anthem like solos. However, the riffs are just as heavy and driving as they are insanely catchy. We even get a chance to hear Amott’s fantastic clean vocals by this point in the album, on “Rendition”.

The album’s fourth track, “Fugitive Dust”, was in my opinion, a perfect choice for a single. It kicks off with an ’80s sci-fi style intro, reminiscent of the soundtrack to the movie, “Blade Runner”. It then instantly kicks in to the main riff, a classic choppy melodeath riff, with quick pick scrapes and three note harmonic sweeps, adding even more to the mechanical sci-fi feel of the entire track. Hardly surprising, since their first album, Crossing the Rubicon (1997), was entirely science fiction themed. (Scroll down for the “Fugitive Dust” video)

Other songs like, “Conquer,” “Thanatron” and “The Watcher” really bring the initial ideas behind this album to fruition. We even get to hear more of Amott’s clean vocals on the track, “Equalizer”. As a whole, Captivity & Devourment is destructive, beautiful, masterfully layered, sinister, sludgy and downright metal. Fans of this genre shouldn’t be able to ignore this one.

Armageddon is now based in New York City and are currently taking the upper east coast by storm on their No Dead Weight tour with Framework. All the details for this tour are on Armageddon’s Facebook page. If you have the opportunity to check out one of these shows, I’d advise you to do so!

Key Tracks: Locked In, Rendition, Fugitive Dust

www.facebook.com/armageddonbandofficial

www.facebook.com/christopheramottofficial

February 20, 2015
Rock n Roll Resort v5: ‘Electric Avenue’, First Wave Lineup

Wicked Cool Productions is proud to present Rock n Roll Resort v5: Electric Avenue welcoming in its first wave lineup: Fishbone, Easy Star All-Stars, Twiddle x2, Consider the Source, The Werks x2, Organically Good Trio (featuring Paul from Slightly Stoopid), The Skints (UK), Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan, Adam Ezra Group, Dangermuffin, The Kind Buds, Frank Viele, Formula 5, Gaslight Tinkers, Relative Souls, Strange Machines, Sprocket, People with Instruments, Demise vs Cheatcode & DJ N.E.B., Digital Storm, Political Animals, and The Mary Jane Jones. The Rock n Roll Resort v5 takeover happens April 30 – May 3, 2015 at the newly renovated Hudson Valley Resort & Spa, Kerhonkson, New York, in the heart of the Shawangunk Mountains in the gorgeous Catskills.

Tickets are on sale Monday, February 23 at NOON at rocknrollresort.com

The v5: Electric Avenue installment of Rock n Roll Resort will showcase an inspired mix of super talent with over 60 hours of musical entertainment, collaborative live art, activities including a disc-golf tournament and mini-golf tournament, workshops and theme nights, cyberistic euphoria, delicious catering and even a festival vendor row; all at an affordable price and within the conveniences of the Hudson Valley Resort & Spa. Many artists will take the stage multiple times throughout the weekend, and many more artists will be announced for the second wave lineup.

“For Electric Avenue, I wanted to blend a few concepts together. There’s The ‘Road to The Resort’ competition for up and coming bands, there’s the indoor vending that will be fashioned as an electric avenue, and there’s our continued relationship with the creative folks at Magic Hat Brewing,” says Shannon Plaquet, producer of Rock n Roll Resort. “It’s going to be one of the most diversified lineups of old school meets new school that we’ve ever had. We’ve dialed in pretty much everything in previous events and this one should be the best event yet.”

The full immersion Rock n Roll Resort experience is inviting and intriguing, expansive yet intimate, as fans, artists and craft vendors take over the grand resort. With music running from the afternoons until well past sunrise each day, super fans can dance into a frenzy, then walk back to their hotel rooms to re-energize or head to the dining hall for catered lunch or dinner. Rock n Roll Resort fans leave their tents at home and kick off the festival season in style!

Rock n Roll Resort Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Check out our past coverage of Rock n Roll Resort here.

February 20, 2015