Buffalo and Rochester won’t be short of something amazing to see this holiday season as Borg Party invades both cities just days before the Christmas Holiday. The super group spearheaded by Dopapod’s Rob Compa (guitar) also features Mike Gantzer (Aqueous– guitar), Mikey Carruba (Turkuaz – drums), James Searl (Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad – bass) and Willy O’Riley (The Niche – keys). Borg Party will take over Buffalo Iron Works in Buffalo on Dec. 22 before moving to Flour City Station in Rochester on Dec. 23.
The music looks to take on a festive atmosphere with a mix of covers and improvisational rifting. Compa, who grew up in Rochester, told NYS Music that he wanted to create a project that was less about creating something new and more about playing music that is enjoyable. “I was planning on coming home for the week of Christmas to visit my parents, so I figured I would call up some people who’s playing I really love who are from western New York and put together a couple shows just to have some fun and blow off some steam. That is really pretty much the whole point. Every one of the guys doing this with me is one of my favorites on their respective instruments, so I really wanted a chance to play with all of them.”
It’s not the first time that Compa has played with several of the musicians in various incarnations. This summer Dopapod and Aqueous highlighted the Buffalove Music Festival as Aquapod. At Catskill Chill, Dopapod and Turkauz joined forces for the Dopakuaz featuring the music of Studio 54. Gantzer has also made appearances on stage with both Dopapod and Turkauz at various shows in Buffalo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr-90SLkSl8
But for Compa, it’s also another opportunity to play with a musician that was an enormous influence on him as a teenager. “I used to go see Willy O’Riley play with his band the Niche when that venue [Flour City Station] was called Milestones,” he noted. “I was young and hungry to play, and was a huge fan of that band. They were incredibly cool to me and would let me sit in with them from time to time at that club. Willy in particular is a huge influence over who I became as a musician, and this will be our first time playing together in that room in almost ten years. I’m really excited to play with him again.”
Borg Party is currently only planned as a two night engagement. Tickets for both shows at Buffalo Iron Works and Flour City Station are currently still available.
Amidst a seemingly non-stop tour, Nashville 4-piece psych rockers All Them Witches make a stop at Rochester’s Bug Jar on Saturday night. The band is touring in support of Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, released somewhat appropriately the day before Halloween, and it’s scary good. Dig this video they released for “Dirt Preachers” that looks something from a far dark corner of the Adventure Time universe. Then come dig them live on Saturday night.
It’s a full bill of quality rock jams, with Rochester’s own King Buffalo getting the night started at 9pm, followed by New Madrid out of Athens, GA. As if that weren’t enough to sate your heavy riff fix, DJ Professor will be spinning more stoner rock before, after and in between sets.
It’s all going down this Saturday, December 12 at the Bug Jar. Tickets are available now at their site for $10, with prices increasing at the door to $12 for the over crowd and $14 for the younger set.
Ampevene, a refreshing new band coming out of Albany, NY embarks on their inaugural Winter Tour, starting this Saturday, December 12 at Parish Public House in Albany. Ampevene has been making a name for themselves combining elements of rock, jazz, metal, funk and the avant-garde, hypnotizing and painting pictures though the wild musical ride that it creates.
Previously sharing the stage with acclaimed nationally touring acts such as Moon Hooch, Consider The Source, and Aqueous, as well as playing popular festivals Larkfest and Bellstock, Ampevene draws influence from artists including The Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, Primus, Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fusion-era Miles Davis.
Featuring Gabe Stallman (Guitar/Vocals/Keys), Bob Morris (Drums), Ava Smith (Keyboard), Mack Hogan (Bass), they have been called “Improv trippy jazz fusion Pink Floyd on acid” (Ralph Renna, Capital Underground), this young and funky quartet find their groove quickly and are a local talent to keep an eye on, and are a live show not to be missed.
Ampevene Winter Tour 2016 Dates
December 12 Albany, NY Parish Public House December 20 New York, NY The Delancey December 23 Syracuse, NY Funk N Waffles December 27 New York, NY Pianos January 24 Burlington, VT Radio Bean January 27 Providence, RI The Spot February 12 Oneonta, NY Black Oak Tavern February 20 Troy, NY Dinosaur BBQ February 25 Winooski, VT Monkey House
It might get cold in Syracuse this December, but things are going to get hot at Funk n Waffles Downtown when NYS Music presents bands from around New York State, every Wednesday throughout December.
Major Player with special guest The Nudes perform on December 9, while the folk-pop of Black Mountain Symphony brings guest Steve Scuteri on December 16. Just before Christmas, Albany’s Ampevene make their debut at Funk n Waffles, alongside Chris Eves. New Years Eve-Eve will be celebrated with the roots stylings of Grayak with Michelle Renee in support.
Doors open at 7pm each night with music starting at 8pm. Enjoy a variety of bands that call New York State home every Wednesday night at Funk n Waffles (and some great food too!)
Jamgrass legends Leftover Salmon make their return to The Egg on December 2. Bassist Greg Garrison spoke with NYSMusic about the group’s first time back in Albany since the 2003, the group’s influence on the jamgrass scene, their songwriting process and release of the live album 25.
For fans of bluegrass and its speedier cousin, jamgrass, the welcoming atmosphere can be felt as “a happy, fun festival vibe,” as Garrison describes it. The upbeat, progressive improv nature of Yonder Mountain String Band and Greensky Bluegrass can trace itself back to Leftover Salmon, whose unique genre of Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass is an instant jolt of energy to audiences around the country. Bringing the audience to their feet at The Egg will be thanks in part to drummer Alwyn Robinson, a role often not filled in typical bluegrass acts. “The fact we have always had a drummer and looked to find a well-versed and good drummer, and with our current drummer Alwyn Robinson from Brooklyn, kept up with the tradition of energetic drummers that we’ve had,” noted Garrison.
There are of course other bands who preceded Leftover Salmon in their contributions to the jamgrass scene. Hot Rize, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Newgrass Revival paved the way for Leftover, marking a lineage that dates back to the early 1980s, connecting current jamgrass-descendants with their predecessors. Over the years, Garrison has seen bands come and go, and the sound changed ever so slightly over time. “The faces and names of the bands have changed, and some have done better than others, like Railroad Earth and String Cheese Incident, who are paving the way for how far you can push the genre as far as crowd and sound. The ones who stay a little truer to roots – Yonder Mountain String Band and Greensky Bluegrass and the like, you could listen to them 10 years ago and now, while the material might change and playing has gotten better, it has matured, it’s still the same.”
Greg Garrison, photo by Andrew Wyatt
The evolved newgrass sound can be found within their recorded albums as well. On their albums High Country and Aquatic Hitchhiker, listeners can find songs that change as they are performed live, whereas Garrison notes, “some will stretch out a little bit and we see where it takes us, and take a simple arrangement and continually use it as a vehicle live.”
Songwriting on recent studio albums has been fresh songs that had not been road-tested. Songs were written individually outside the studio and once in the studio, arranged as a band and lyrics edited to polish the final product. “Andy Thorn (banjo) was a live player since before he joined us. He used to see us when he was 15 years old. Now, he’ll come up with a tune that is a fully formed Leftover Salmon tune before we get a hold of it.”
25, a celebration of Leftover Salmon’s 25 years of music, was released over Thanksgiving weekend. Selecting the tracks was a feat, taking three years’ worth of shows and trimming the list down to 50-60 recordings to choose from. “It took a better part of a year to dig through it all and get what we wanted. Mario Casilio (sound engineer) spent time in the studio together mixing it and making sure it sounded good enough as a representation of the band. It’s the first album I’ve been able to produce for the band. I feel like we picked some interesting tunes that don’t get played very often, like an old version of “Blister in the Sun,” which we play once a year, so to capture a good one of those is great.
“Bill Payne (Little Feat) playing with us for the past couple years (all but one track features Bill) has helped us move in the direction of filling some spaces in a collective improvisation kind of way. We had a horn section with us at the Boulder Theater last year – it sounds like Leftover Salmon but the stuff is definitely unexpected and made it sound really good, and much better than just pulling something off of archive.org, but there’s nothing wrong with that, I do it too.”
Back in the Northwest for New Year Eve, Leftover Salmon will be joined by Skerik and Bill Payne in Portland, followed by shows in Alaska, Fort Collins, CO, a three week run in March and April, as well as the annual Ski Tour, which will include a mini-festival at The Stanley Park Hotel in Estes Park, CO. Unique to the Rocky Mountain-based band are events like Winter Wondergrass in Lake Tahoe, NV and Colorado, an outdoor bluegrass fest in the winter. “Everyone braves it and has a good time, plus we have a few shows in Chicago at The Vic Theater. We’ll be out and about doing our thing.”
Leftover Salmon continue their Northeast run with stops at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT on December 3, Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA on December 4 and The Wolf Den in Uncasville, CT on December 5.
Jam for Tots, a music benefit series held throughout New York State each holiday season, returns with host Luke Weiler who has been holding the benefit shows 2008.
With events held at The Hollow in Albany, Putnam Den in Saratoga, Last Chance Cheese (Tavern) in Tannersville and Aaron’s Irish Pub in Gloversville, intimate shows are on tap with a variety of live music as well as a chance to donate gifts and raise money for the neediest this holiday season. Weiler feels encouraged for this year’s Jam for Tots. “I’m so excited to see what takes place this year as I am always excited about the events and the vibe that we can all create collectively as Jam For Tots keeps going strong another year.”
The impact of the donations raised by Jam for Tots is quite impressive. “We have donated about $20,000 worth of toys over the last 8 years. We’ve had exceptionally amazing years where we had $10,000 in toys total, and years where we only had two events that raised about $2,000,” shared Weiler. “All bands donate their performances and with four events this year, I am looking forward to a good amount of toy donations, hopefully at least $2,000. I set attainable goals and more the better if we surpass the goal.”
As a holiday event, Jam for Tots is something that is feel good and fun to be a part of. These intimate events help to bring joy to many kids over the Christmas season. Bring a toy and get free admission to each of the Jam for Tots events in November and December.
Updated Nov. 30: Due to a recent knee injury, Wanda Jackson has had to cancel the Dec. 5 appearance at the Cohoes Music Hall. All ticket holders will receive a full refund through Brown Paper Tickets. There are no details on the possibility of rescheduling the performance.
We wish Wanda a speedy recovery and strong return to the stage.
The Queen of Rock is making her way to The Cohoes Music Hall on Saturday, Dec. 5.
A 2009 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Wanda Jackson returns to the Capitol District bringing a long career’s worth of material with her.
Jackson started playing music at a young age, encouraged by her father to learn guitar during the Second World War, also being exposed to artists like Tex Williams, Spade Cooley and Bob Willis at the same time. After she gained attention for herself through hosting a radio program on KLPR while in high school, her father continued to support her by becoming her road manager in her early career.
Over the years she has had incredible success, scoring hits early with “Fujiyama Mama” and a take on Elvis’ “Let’s Have A Party.” Though primarily a rockabilly singer, Jackson bounced around from that and country music from time to time, and released three gospel records in the 1970s.
After her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, Jackson connected with a younger generation of genuine rock and roll musicians and began working with Jack White on an album. That album became known as The Party Ain’t Over, released in January 2011, and included covers of Dylan’s “Thunder on the Mountain” and the Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good.”
Now, after 60 years of touring, Wanda Jackson brings a fruitful career of rock and roll to The Cohoes Music Hall on Saturday, Dec. 5. Local Albany rockabilly band The Lustre Kings will open the evening; they’ve joined with Jackson on many occasions over the past few years. Jackson herself is quoted on the Lustre Kings’ website:
I have worked with many bands around the world through the years, and none are better than Mark Gamsjager and the Lustre Kings. Their fine showmanship and musical ability make them the greatest in my book. THEY ROCK!!
Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door and are available through Brown Paper Tickets.
The event will also be giving away free band merchandise for every fan that brings in at least five cans of food to be donated to the food drive. This event is a perfect way to celebrate one of the biggest party nights of the year and a really great way to support the local food drive. Funktional Flow is becoming a larger presence in the Buffalo scene and have a brand new record being wrapped up at Sonic Farms Studio for release in 2016.
SkyePilot is also starting to gain some real steam with a very promising Buffalove Music Festival showing as well as a nice following around town after coming of their brand new EP, Biology which was released last May.
After Funk, a Toronto based Funk Jam experience has been really blowing up in the northern states as they have been touring quite a bit and are coming off the heels of a new album, ‘Till The Sun Comes Up, which came out last month, you can take a listen to it on their website and purchase singles or the entire album.
Assembly of Dust heads out on a four show trek from Connecticut to Western New York shortly before Thanksgiving and have a new live release in the works.
The unique sound of Assembly of Dust draws on influences including Neil Young, The Band, Traffic and other 70s rock acts, forming an acoustic panoply with deep lyrics, catchy hooks with a groove to the sound. USA Today has said Assembly of Dust has what it takes to “dazzle the Alt-Country universe,” but seeing the live performance is what makes AOD stand out among the folk/Americana acts of today.
Featuring Reid Genauer (vocals, guitar), Adam Terrell (lead guitar, vocals), John Leccese (bass, vocals), Jason Crosby (keys, violin, vocals) and Dave Diamond (drums, vocals), the short tour begins on Thursday, November 19 at Fairfield Theatre Company in Fairfield, CT and continues on Friday November 20 at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY, Saturday November 21 at Flour City Station in Rochester, NY and wraps up Sunday November 22 at The Waiting Room in Buffalo, NY. For more info, visit AODust.com.
Assembly of Dust is also in the process of releasing a digital download of their December 12, 2014 Portland, OR show at Mississippi Studios. The show features special guest, Mark Karan of RatDog, adding a great dynamic to the AOD sound.
In January, forces collide when members of Assembly of Dust, Strangefolk and God Street Wine unite for Assembly of Strange Wine at The Capitol Theatre in Portchester, NY on January 15 and on January 16 at The Paradise in Boston. Each show will feature separate sets from each band with a mash up set at the end of the show. Tickets are on sale now.
In anticipation of their upcoming show on November 14 at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, Dopapod’s drummer Scotty Zwang took some time to chat with NYS Music about summer tour highlights, Woodstock, and pranking Papadosio.
This weekend’s stop is part of the progressive groove quartet’s extensive fall and winter tour with soul-funk quintet, the Nth Power. The tour follows an action packed summer, with appearances at Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam, Red Rocks, Peach Fest, Electric Forest, Disc Jam, High Sierra and more. Dopapod refuses to stay within the boundaries of one distinct sound. Show-goers will get a taste of prog rock, synthesized keys, and even some country inspired songs, all that have aided in their ever growing and loyal fan base.
Tickets are available for $18 through Ticketmaster, or at the Bearsville Theater box office. Doors at 8, show at 9. Other upcoming dates include:
Nov 14 – Woodstock, NY – Bearsville Theater
Nov 18 – Buffalo, NY – Tralf Music Hall
Nov 20 – Brooklyn, NY – The Hall at MP
Nov 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Art
Erin Clary: Even though you’re touring, do you ever get a chance to go to shows yourself? And if so, who do you go see?
Scotty Zwang: Yes. That can range. I mean I’ve been off for about ten days since the last show. The day after I got home on Halloween I went to see Ben Folds with yMusic which was really awesome. All things can vary. I try to go to as many shows especially bands that really influence me and bands I don’t necessarily get to see all the time. I like to go see friends, like the Disco Biscuits are playing in New York the day after New Year’s so I am going to go see them after seeing Phish. I try to go to as many shows, not necessarily just jam band ones, but different ones as often as I can, not as often as I would like. Frankly, by the time I get home from tour sometimes the last thing I want to do is go see live music.
EC: It’s been a year since your last album release, do you have another one in the making or are you focusing on touring and improvisation?
SZ: We’ve been focusing a lot on touring for the last year since the album (Never Odd or Even) came out and yeah, usually in general we’re pretty busy with touring. We are actually planning on taking a good chunk of time off in the beginning of the year to finish songs that we’ve been working on on the road and also to write some songs from scratch so that hopefully by next year at some point, or maybe beginning of the following year, we will have an album finished. But we are going to take some time off first and see where that all goes and hopefully take some time to get in the studio shortly after that.
EC: Dopapod crosses a range of musical styles, some are sort of hard, others are a little twangy, others sound more like video games. What is your personal favorite?
SZ: I guess I really do love the darker and proggier kind of stuff. Although the video gamey kind of stuff when Eli synthesizes the sound I think is the more quirkier writing that the band does. I do enjoy all of that. And even some of the twangy… I mean we have a song that is pretty much country, bluegrass, more of an up-tempo kind of feel. As a drummer, I do have to say some of the proggier stuff, when I play correctly on stage, I do feel very good about myself like I’ve accomplished something. Even though we wrote the songs, sometimes I do end up still messing things up live. When something is that challenging it’s definitely rewarding and I still feel good about being able to pull that off live. I would like to say it’s done correctly every time, but sometimes people do mess up. I know Neil Peart from Rush said that anytime he played a song like “YYZ” or “Tom Sawyer,” he wrote it and spent a lot of time focusing on difficult drum parts, and he still gets that excitement when he actually pulls it off live and I would say the same goes for me.
Dopapod, Mountain Jam, 2015
EC: You guys have had some pretty interesting profile pictures on Facebook recently. Who is the creative genius behind those graphics?
SZ: They’re usually fan based. We have a fan page created by fans on Facebook. It’s our top fans around the country or wherever else and they call themselves “Dopafam.” There’s usually some weird stuff that goes around in there (laughs) and every once in a while there is a picture that is just gold. The one you’re talking about is Chuck in his underwear riding a razor scooter on the rainbow road from Mario Cart. That was created by a fan and I’m not even sure exactly who did it. We have some super creative fans I guess because sometimes they strike gold. If anyone in the band likes it, (it’s) usually Chuck and not just because he happens to be in this photo, but usually he will put it up. Chuck has kind of realized throughout the year – well we all have – that people don’t necessarily want to see or have the time and patience to watch a video, or read a long, thought out and touching thing. They just want to see pictures of whatever. Chuck always says that when he goes on Facebook if he doesn’t see a picture of a dog within 10 seconds then he just signs off.
EC: Was that picture from Jam on the River in Philly?
SZ: (laughs) So yeah, there was a bet that happened with Papadosio that was betting Chuck to go out on stage and ride the razor scooter in his underwear. I kind of pushed him to do it because I think those things are funny and that is what people will remember…
EC: Oh I remember it quite clearly!
SZ: I kind of pushed him to do it and I kind of had this thought of how funny this with be if this was an ongoing prank with Papadosio because we play so many festivals with them and they truly are some of our best friends. So at High Sierra, once again I egged Rob, our guitarist to do it and he went out in his underwear on the razor scooter. It was just hilarious and no one expected it. It kind of opened up a whole can of worms since I kept making people do it, I had to do it myself. So I finally did it at The Werk Out. We’ve all done it except for Eli but at this point I don’t want Papadosio to think that every time we play together that one of us is going to appear on stage in his underwear, so I’m not sure that trend is still alive.
EC: Do they ever prank you guys?
SZ: They tried to prank us at the same festival when I did it but because they had to get out of there and go to another show they didn’t have enough time. So it was passed onto the Werks and Dino, their bassist, came out in his underwear wearing…I got this poop mask, it’s a mask that looks like the emoji of the pile of poop with a smiley face. It’s essentially that exact thing. So he came out in his underwear wearing the mask because no one had a razor scooter I guess.
EC: “Nerds” from Never Odd or Even – what’s the story behind this? Are you guys mocking someone in the very beginning?
SZ: No…well kind of. It was Chuck’s idea when we were in the studio and we had a lot of empty space and build up before the lyrics kicked in, which aren’t really a lot of lyrics it’s just “no words.” But it was kind of a nod to Frank Zappa because in…I forget which song, maybe it was “Catholic Girl,” he kind of does a ‘Valley Girl’ impersonation, kind of making fun of people in the California area that he is from. Chuck just thought it would be funny. We came up with this song and originally the band just had a lot of instrumentals. Jam bands are kind of known for not having the best voices at times. We were kind of just mocking the same kind of valley girl and if she was at a jam band show, and all these songs are long and they don’t have any words. So Chuck, after we recorded all the instrumentals and everything was done, we just had a night at the studio where maybe we drank a little too much or something, and he went in there and gave it his all.
EC: I saw you a few times this summer at Disc Jam, and at Mountain Jam where you played two sets, one was on that outdoor main stage. Isn’t it huge?!
SZ: It was the biggest stage I think we’ve ever played on. I am trying to think back because we did have some big performances this summer, but I do remember getting to Mountain Jam and thinking, “this is definitely the biggest stage this band has ever performed on. It’s just massive.”
EC: Massive! I’ve been going there a lot of years and it’s just gotten bigger and bigger. I’ve seen you guys on plenty of regular sized stages so to see you on something like this was really impressive!
SZ: Thank you! It’s funny because that stage next to it is a pretty nice stage and you could have a regular production on it, but it is just dwarfed by how big that main stage is.
EC: What was your favorite festival this summer? You guys really went after it.
SZ: Yeah there were a lot of them. They start pretty early. Obviously we do have random festivals that go into the fall or destination ones in the winter, or musical festival in the end of February or beginning of march this year. So they just go all year long now. Summer Camp is a real great one as far as “real festival” season in summertime, its kind of the first weekend. Bonnaroo was a dream ours and the biggest audience we’ve ever played for. It was broadcasted over the Internet for RedBull.com and we were interviewed by Sal Masekela, who I’ve been watching as the host for the X Games since back in the day when I was a little kid and loved flinging myself off of stairs and other things, whether it was a bike or skateboard or whatever. It was just a really crazy experience to just look and someone is powdering his face and asking us if we want water, and actions like que cards in order to sync with the video. So that was definitely one of the most mind blowing experiences of the summer. There was just so many great ones. I mentioned The Werk Out is a lot of fun. High Sierra in California is great. It has a really nice family vibe and is one of those festivals that has survived two decades. It’s a festival that is almost as old as all of us in the band. It’s really cool to be a part of stuff like that.
EC: Now that the season has changed in the Northeast, it’s time to go inside. What are you looking forward to and what can we expect from your show at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on Saturday.
SZ: It’s our first time playing in Woodstock. Although my family has a house in West Saugerties, it’s actually on the same road as the house where The Band lived, ‘Big Pink.’ So I have a lot of experience in Woodstock and when I joined the band we actually went up to my family’s house and did videos of songs like “Nerds” and “Picture in Picture” for the first time. That was all shot in Woodstock. So really excited. I’ve actually never seen a show at “the bears,” and my family really loves it there. They’re excited that we’re finally there, we get to have dinner next door at the café. It’s going to be a great time. It’s got such a great vibe, especially with music and especially this time of year, it’s just very beautiful.
EC: Will your family and friends be coming to the show?
SZ: Oh yeah, I know I have my brother-in-law, my sister, my mom and dad, in-laws and my girlfriend, everyone is coming up. It’s going to be quite the weekend. I hope I don’t disappoint them.
It’s a full bill of quality rock jams, with Rochester’s own 
Three bands from last years 
This weekend’s stop is part of the progressive groove quartet’s extensive fall and winter tour with soul-funk quintet, 
EC: It’s been a year since your last album release, do you have another one in the making or are you focusing on touring and improvisation?
EC: I saw you a few times this summer at Disc Jam, and at Mountain Jam where you played two sets, one was on that outdoor main stage. Isn’t it huge?!