NYS Music 20​15

Category: Albany

  • Gospel of the Witches Cast A Strong Spell in First Ever Show

    With a winter that just won’t quit in Upstate NY, it was a warm reception for bands at Trickshots Billards in Clifton Park on Saturday March 28. Thanks to Joelggernaut Productions, Trickshots has been getting quality heavy music shows for some time now, and this was no exception. The crowd topped out close to a couple hundred strong for the night, and was eager to receive the musical offerings from all the bands on the bill

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    Black Iron Prison

    The show kicked off with the return of local heavy rockers, Black Iron Prison. Dual guitar assaults weaved in and out of precision rhythm section work. The band recently welcomed back their singer Eli Hargrave (ex – Skeletons In The Piano) to belt out guttural screams and wavering melodies alongside longtime guitarist and vocalist, Todd Hildebrandt. Eerie melodic passages were peppered into the heavy riff rock of each song to set the mood right for the entire night. After the show, I got the chance to talk with Eli, and he revealed the band is currently working on new material for an upcoming recording.

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    The Final Sleep
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    The Final Sleep

    Next to take the stage was The Final Sleep, from Albany. Huge sounds and even larger talents permeate this band, and washed over the growing crowd. Jeff Andrews (ex-Held Under/IronWeed) does double duty as one of the three guitarists in the band, as well as the main vocal of a three part harmony. He continues to bring his unique blend of Slayer-like growls alongside high octave melodies that hearken Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. The band played through their set with few stops, creating a fevered mood of heavy music that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in attendance. Epic songs laden with mountaintop guitar solos and intricate time changes make their music not only fun to listen to, but incredible to see performed in front of you.

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    Purifier

    Purifier, also from Albany, rounded out the local talent on the night. This band has been working hard to bring their brand of doom and sludge metal to the area, and fully delivered at this show. Rich VanEgghen towers above the crowd even off the stage, and his presence is enhanced as he belts out the band’s signature tunes.  They had a stellar sound for the five piece, and that was largely due in part to the quality sound engineer’s the club has to offer. Purifier is part of the local record label family, Magnetic Eye Records, and their music can be purchased there.

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    Gospel of the Witches

    The main event, Gospel of The Witches, took the stage to a rabid crowd, all vying for a spot right in front of the stage. A few LED candle holders adorned the back of the stage, and an ominous air surrounded the stage as the members took to their instruments. The band was born as an idea from Karyn Crisis (ex-Crisis) and guitarist Davide Tiso (Ephel Duath), as they laid down the framework for the album Salem’s Wounds in a haunted house in Italy. With material written, the band filled out with touring members: bass and vocals Ross Dolan (Immolation), guitarist Bob Vigna (Immolation) and drummer Charlie Schmid (Vaura).

    Upstate New York is incredibly lucky to not only get one of the two shows this band is performing after releasing their album on March 24, but was able to witness the FIRST show ever from this lineup performing the songs of Gospel of the Witches. You could tell the happiness exuding from Davide as the band ripped through an amazing set. Many people in attendance were fans of Karyn from her Crisis days, because that band made sure to play the Upstate New York area a lot. Talking with Karyn before the show, she expressed her love of this area. “One of the things I love about this area is the interesting mix of bands. They have all different types of influences, and that comes through in the music here. There are really open minded people, really creative people, so it was more of a community thing as well. There are always stellar musicians to play with, and a lot of good clubs with a lot of heart, that are all about the music. There is a very cool community of people to speak with, and share with. That is something very special I found about this area.”

    The band was eager to play through their material, and tracks like “Mother” and title track “Salem’s Wounds” shone through as epic offerings from an incredible project. Karyn sang and screamed with equal measure, and the musicians all held their own. Bob lived up to his nickname (in certain circles) as the “magician”, playing heavy guitar riffs with flair and passion, igniting the crowd as the music drove forward. The band is working on finalizing a full tour or two, so stay tuned to their Facebook page. You can purchase Salem’s Wounds through Century Media, or in stores like Best Buy or Amazon.

  • Mister F “The Machine”

    For the third and last video for their brand new Snow Day Sessions EP – Mister F welcomes us to “The Machine.” The F are NY bred from the Albany area and feature brothers Matt and Ben Pickering on drums and bass, guitarist Andrew Chamberlaine, and jack of all keys Scott Hannay who gave us some details on the song’s background:

    “The Machine” was untitled during most of the Midwest tour –  it debuted on November ’14. We took suggestions from people, we thought of everything we could, but we just couldn’t come up with the *right* name, and didn’t want to just phone it in. We were in the van between shows watching a video of this guy, Bert Kreischer, on Joe Rogan’s podcast, telling a rather involved story about being abroad with a college class of his in Russia. He accidentally introduced himself as ‘The Machine’ to these Russian mobster bodyguards named Igor and Igor, and they laughed, partied, and took him in…and made him rob an entire train(and his classmates) with them. Obviously, we called the song “Igor and Igor”. That lasted for one show – we then decided that “The Machine” was more appropriate for the sound!

    The three track Snow Day Sessions release is now available for less than a latte on the F Bandcamp page. Check out “The Machine” below and go get yourself F’d on tour soon!

  • Karyn Crisis Returns to Upstate with Gospel of the Witches

    It has been quite some time since trailblazing musician Karyn Crisis has played Upstate New York. She used to front the heavy rock band Crisis, and they made a few stops over the years in this area before disbanding in 2006. Now, she is set to bring her newest project to Trickshots in Clifton Park on Saturday March 28.

    Gospel of the Witches brand new album Salem’s Wounds was just released to the masses on Century Media Records. Karyn has laid low since leaving Crisis, focusing on her love or art and the occult. But after meeting her husband Davide Tiso, and starting to lend some vocals on his projects, she decided to venture forth into the world of music once again. The band started as an incantation between Davide and Karyn, and has morphed into a full on project with members of Immolation, Tombs and others join the ranks to bring this occult metal band to life. Upstate New York’s up and coming premier metal venue, Trickshots Billiards in Clifton Park, is lucky enough to house one of two special performances by the band on the east coast in support of their new record, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of Joelggernaut Productions.

    Also appearing on the bill will be local heavy bands Purifier, The Final Sleep and Black Iron Prison. Doors are at 7pm, and the $10 cover ensures you get a night you won’t soon forget, and shouldn’t miss out on, for every band brings something unique to the stage. Check out more details at the Facebook event here.

    For a taste of Gospel of the Witches new record Salem’s Wounds check out “The Alchemist”.

  • Sworn Enemy to Support Biohazard at Bogies March 28

    Queens, NY metal core titans Sworn Enemy, who are on tour in support of their newest release “Living On Borrowed Time”. On their current tour with Brooklyn’s own Biohazard, they will be making a stop at Albany’s legendary punk and metal venue, Bogies at the end of March. Sworn Enemy who formed back in 2001 has proven time after time that their blend of old school hardcore definitely withstands the test of time. By delivering that extra heavy crunch and killer riffs it’s no question as to why 18 years later these guys are still crushing it.

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    The Band – Sal Lacoco (Vocals), Matt Garzilli (Guitar), Mike Pucciarelli (Bass Guitar), Jeff Cummings (Guitar), Taykwuan Jackson (Drums).

    Sworn Enemy will play Bogies in Albany on March 28, tickets can be purchased online HERE.

    Links:
    Facebook Event

    Bogies Albany, NY

  • David Crosby Brings His One Man Acoustic Tour to New York

    No conversation about musical history can be complete without a mention of David Crosby. From the multiple variations of Crosby and/or Stills and/or Nash and/or Young to a wildly successful solo career to an almost Keith Richards-esque ability to stay alive – Crosby is a true rock and roll legend.

    david crosby tourAlbany and downstate will get their own taste of “legendary” as David Crosby brings his one man acoustic tour to Hudson June 20, The Town Hall in NYC June 25 and Albany’s The Egg June 30. New York dates will close out July 3 at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center.

    Crosby on the solo shows:

    “This is about the songs. The tale telling. Taking you on a voyage to my world for a moment.”

    Tickets for all shows are available on his website. Check out the full tour below.

    David Crosby Solo Acoustic Tour 2015

    June 6, Kerrville, TX, Kerrville Folk Festival
    June 9, Miami Beach, FL, Fillmore Miami Beach
    June 10, Fort Pierce, FL, Sunrise Theatre
    June 12, Clearwater, FL, Capitol Theatre
    June 13, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
    June 16, Durham, NC, Carolina Theatre of Durham
    June 17, Charlottesville, VA, Paramount Theater
    June 19, Morristown, NJ, Mayo Performing Arts Center
    June 20, Croton-On-Hudson, NY, Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival – Croton Point Park
    June 22, Alexandria, VA, Birchmere
    June 23, Harrisburg, PA, The Whitaker Center For Science & the Arts – Sunoco Theater
    June 25, New York, NY, The Town Hall
    June 28, Munhall, PA, Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
    June 30, Albany, NY, The Egg Center For the Performing Arts
    July 2, Ridgefield, CT, Ridgefield Playhouse
    July 3, Westhampton Beach, NY, Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center
    July 5, Bethlehem, PA, Musikfest Café
    July 6, New Bedford, MA, Zeiterion Performing Arts Center

  • Asleep at the Wheel Spring Albany out of Winter

    Asleep at the Wheel pulled into The Egg along with openers The Quebe Sisters on Sunday night as the city began to thaw from its terrible winter. The groups seemed to not only bring nice weather with them, but they played some scorching hot “Texas swing” for the enraptured crowd. Having this wonderful genre of music played in such a great venue is a treat for Upstate New York, as it’s a rarity for it come around here. To make the evening even better, there was plenty of comedy coming from the stage from both bands throughout their performances.

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    First up were The Quebe Sisters, Grace,, Sohpia, and Hulda, whom all laid down some amazing fiddle work along with beautiful harmonies. The sisters were joined by Katy and Penny Clark who continuously traded instruments throughout the show including mandolin, piano, guitar, and banjo. The sound that was being made by these amazing women on stage could have been taken from a radio from the 50’s or right off the stage at The Grand Ole Opry. Their set went by in a flash, like their hands playing various instruments, and the crowd gave the ladies a standing ovation as they exited the stage.

    Asleep at the Wheel strode on stage in all of their glory shortly after and took The Egg to the heart of Texas very quickly. 45 years on the road has not slowed the band down one note. Playing some great tunes like “Route 66”, “Big Balls in Cowtown” and “Miles and Miles in Texas” let the crowd hoot, holler, stomp their feet, and sing along. Throughout the night they paid tribute to Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and they did a great job honoring the king of Texas swing, as they do on their latest guest filled album Still the King.

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    Ray Benson is of course the focal point of the band as he has been there since the beginning and he tells some great stories throughout the show, but everyone else was just as amazing. Eddie Rivers blew the crowd away throughout the night on the steel guitar, while Katie Shore did the same on fiddle. Emily Gimble’s hand flew on the piano and her voice was soaring over the crowd. Dave Sanger and Dave Miller on drums and bass respectively kept the train rolling all night. After the show was over, both bands were out in the lobby meeting and signing things for the audience. Hopefully more old-school country can come throughout New York State to keep us warm throughout the whole year.

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  • Mister F Releases Second Anniversary Video

    For the second of a three video set to celebrate the second anniversary of their formation – NYSMusic is elated to give fans a first look at Mister F’s “Answer the Dog.” The Snow Day Sessions will be a three song EP and will be released on the F’s Bandcamp page following the third video release which drops next Sunday. “Answer the Dog” features a special guest sit in from saxophonist Matty Carl of Shwizz. The F’s Scott Hannay provided us with some background:

     “Once upon a time, on the road in Chicago, we had some friends of ours go wait in line for a whole bunch of legendary Hot Doug’s hot dogs. We were all pretty amped. However, Matt fell asleep before they could return with the dogs, phone-in-hand. We went all Indiana Jones on him and carefully switched the phone for his hot dog, and put his phone by his ear. We called the phone to see if he would answer the hot dog. He didn’t ‘answer the dog’, but we suddenly had a title for the brand new untitled song we’d played just the night before.”

    Catch Mister F next in NY on April 4 at Upstate Concert Hall supporting Twiddle and Kung Fu, and now, let’s watch the video for “Answer the Dog.”

  • Dropkick Murphys Sell Out Upstate Concert Hall

    It was a typical cold night in Clifton Park, NY at the Upstate Concert Hall. The event was completely sold out and packed with people from all over the Northeast. Eager for what was certain to be an entertaining night with the rowdy Irish punk rockers, Dropkick Murphys, the flock of fans gathered around opener Brian McPherson. He kept them calmly charmed with acoustic Irish Folk music. Fast strumming guitar paired with a whaling tenor voice and harmonica solos laced in proved that McPherson is a formidable one man Irish music army.

    Blood or Whiskey came out to a crowd so thick that raising a drink to your mouth without accidentally molesting the strangers around you becomes a task. Angry irish chanting aimed at semi-sober thick blooded upstate New Yorkers did little to budge the people, though undoubtedly entertained. The front man calls for a circle pit but the crowd disobeys for fear that the silverback gorilla sized bouncer standing on the bar may come down atop them.

    The Mahones were proceeded with Celtic jig music and a stuffed terrier atop the bass amp. All dressed in black, the group raged on and the people warmed up. Most intriguing was the accordion player. Heavily tattooed and highly attractive, she pumped her instrument with the intensity of a cage fighter. From time to time she leaned into her microphone to let out a blood-curdling scream that gave power to the lead vocals. With no room to fight or care or breath, the night moved on without a hitch.

    Enter Dropkick Murphys with energy easily matched by the fans that somehow found room to smash against each other amicably enough. Juggling instruments like street performers, the band shuffled through instruments such as: an accordion, a small flute like object, bagpipes, a plethora of guitars, mandolins and other different small flute-like objects. The whole group tactfully traded vocals, or just all yelled together like the were celebrating at a pub. How could the Dropkick Murphys have this much fun every night!? After a few fights were stifled by criticisms from the Murphys and some more top-notch performances, including bringing up opener Brian McPherson for an amazing rendition of an old tune, the band “finished” their set. The entirety of the sold out crowd demanded an encore which was not only appeased but they were invited onstage to close out the night alongside their idols.

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  • Asleep at The Wheel Coming to The Egg This Sunday

    Asleep at The Wheel will be bringing their tour celebrating the music of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys to The Egg this Sunday, March 8. Their tribute album, Still The King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys came out this past week and included guest appearances from Willie Nelson, Del McCoury, George Strait, Amos Lee, The Avett Brothers, and many more. Asleep at The Wheel has been going strong for over 40 years and show no signs of slowing down.

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    Bob Wills is of course one of the originators of Western Swing and is considered “The King” of it. Throughout the ’30s and ’40s Wills and his Texas Playboys toured throughout the country becoming early stars of American country music. They were a dance band with a country string section that played pop songs as if they were jazz numbers. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Ray Benson has said that he is still amazed me how well this music, born in the 1920s and ‘30s, thrives in the present day.

    This is the only Upstate New York show before the band heads south and west for the remainder of the spring. Tickets are still available at The Egg’s box office and online. The show has a 7 PM start time, so don’t be late for this great Sunday show to finish up your weekend.

  • Exclusive: Mister F Celebrate 2nd Anniversary With New Videos

    Two years ago today – brothers Matt and Ben Pickering and axe man Andrew Chamberlaine came together with multi-instrumentalist/sit-in wizard Scott Hannay to form Albany’s Mister F. Despite their short tenure – the F have grown exponentially – building crowds up and down the coast and deep into the mid-west. They are also attracting some top name attention with Umphrey’s Joel Cummins sitting in at a recent F show.

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    Mister F is celebrating the occasion by releasing three brand new videos to say thanks to their fan-base – known as F-Squad. The first is “Don’t Lose Your Watch”. NYS Music caught up with keys man Hannay who shared the thought process behind the song’s creation:

    When we were writing and had the song pretty much put together, we decided it would be cool to lay down vocoder vocals for this one. I ended up getting hooked on the game Portal 2 that same week, and there is an omnipresent computer talking to you the whole game, taunting you and playing mind games with you. I thought to write it from the perspective of a similar computer, as the human is trying to get it to understand music based in 5 beats per measure (most of the song itself). The computer is basically saying “yeah, not gonna happen. doesn’t really matter, I’ll still be around when you’re gone” but encounters some frustration when it really tries to figure it out. In the end, the computer doesn’t really need to understand it, because it’s a computer, and tells the human to stop wasting its time with such a futile endeavor – “Don’t lose your watch, your time is wealth” – Scott Hannay

    Check out the new tune below and watch for two new videos the next two Sundays. After all three videos are released the songs will become available on the F bandcamp page as a new EP titled: The Snow Day Sessions.