Tag: Music News

  • Mike Campese Christmas Show in Albany

    Hey Albany area rock fans, are you in the holiday spirit? If so, guitar virtuoso Mike Campese will bring his heavy shredding style of hero holiday guitar playing to The Madison Theater in Albany on Saturday, December 5.

    Campese and his band will play rock-themed holiday favorites such as “Deck the Halls,” “Grinch,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Auld Lang Syne” and “Silent Night,” to name a few.

    Show time starts at 8:30 and tickets cost $10.

    Campese has released eight studio albums in his solo career, but the holiday-inspired show will see Campese perform songs from his sixth studio album The Meaning of Christmas, along with some other releases. The well-received album was released in 2008.

    Campese is a guitar virtuoso and composer. He is best known for his time as a member of the symphonic speed metal group Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Campese was chosen over several guitarists in 2004. In his first album with the band, Campese received a gold record for his work on TSO’s fourth album, The Lost Christmas Eve.

    Campese is no stranger to the Albany area, born right in the New York capital and graduated from Shaker High School in Latham. Campese is an honors graduate from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California. Growing up around musicians, Campese started playing guitar at the age of 13. His father was a virtuoso violinist and his brother also played guitar.

    Fans can also catch Campese in a solo performance at this year’s First Night 2016 in Saratoga Springs at Empire State College’s meeting room #1 – 103 starting at 7 p.m. At midnight, Campese will play to the First Night fireworks inside Congress Park to “rock” in the New Year.

  • Borg Supergroup Poised to Assimilate Western New York this Christmas

    BORGChristmas just got a whole lot more interesting in Western New York. A brand-new supergroup of New York-based musicians coined Borg Party will be playing a two-night stint this December at Buffalo Iron Works (Dec. 22) and Flour City Station in Rochester (Dec. 23).

    Consisting of Rob Compa (guitar/Dopapod), Mike Gantzer (guitar/Aqueous), Mikey Carruba (drums/Turkuaz), James Searl (bass/Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad), and Wiley O’Riley (keys/The Niche), the Borg Party should attract a star cruiser full of assimilated dancing fans.

    With all of these musicians have collaborated multiple times in the past, attendees should expect far more than a simple night of improvisation and covers. In the past year alone, Compa’s Dopapod has played entire mash-up sets with Aqueous and Turkuaz.

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/211571756″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

    Tickets for either night are $15 pre-sale.

    Also don’t miss catching Dopapod Wed, Nov. 18, at Buffalo’s Tralf Music Hall.

  • Sister Sin’s Brief Break Turns Permanent

    What was supposed to be an eight-week break from a relentless touring and recording cycle since 2008 has now turned into a permanent hiatus for Swedish rockers Sister Sin.

    The band released a statement on social media about calling it quits:

    We have been touring and recording in a relentless schedule since 2008 and I guess we burned the candle in both ends and hit a wall. When we finally had the opportunity to step back and get some perspective, the motivation for some members in the band just wasn’t there anymore.

    Sister Sin

    Sister Sin then went on to thank everyone who helped their journey over the past seven years as a professional touring act including their beloved road crew, Danger Music, Victory Rec, Artery Foundation TKO and all the companies that they have worked with.

    Sister Sin also thanked the fans for their loyalty:

    Most of all we would like thank YOU; Our dedicated, devoted, loving and caring fans around the globe! We’ve truly been blessed to be able to travel the world and meet so very many of you Sinners. Together we managed to sell tens of thousands of albums and achieve what most young bands only can dream of in this day in age. You truly are the sole reason we pushed on for as long as we did and we will cherish the memories forever and never forget your unconditional love!

    Sister Sin has left the door open for a possible return someday as the band stated:

    It is our hope that the flame will burn once again and hopefully resurrect this Swedish bastard sometime in the future. Time will tell. For now; Au Revoir, Sincerely, Dave, Liv, Jimmy, Strand.

  • Moon Taxi Release ‘Year Zero’ Music Video

    Alternative indie rockers Moon Taxi have premiered a new music video for their single “Year Zero.”

    The video was directed by Collin Palmer at Vessel Creative. The single comes off their brand-new record Daybreaker, their fourth studio album, which is released on 12th South Records under the BMG banner.

    Daybreaker was produced by Jacquire King, who has also produced albums for the likes of Kings of Leon and Modest Mouse. The “Year Zero” single is already making waves on the AAA radio chart. The new single is in constant rotation across the United States including KINK in Portland, WRLT in Nashville, WXRV in Boston, KGSR in Austin and WTTS in Indianapolis.

    Reigning from Nashville, the five-piece quartet is quickly making a name for themselves. Moon Taxi has had some of their singles grace national TV, landing spots for BMW, Major League Baseball, The National Football League, HBO Sports and ABC’s Nashville.

    Moon Taxi has also made TV appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, Conan and NPR World Café.

    Moon Taxi has made several major music festival appearances including Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, Firefly, Lollapalooza and Forecastle to name a few.

    Rolling Stone has stated that Moon Taxi has worked their way up from Bonnaroo buzz-band to something approaching Kings of Leon country, playing pleasingly cross-bred rock.

    Moon Taxi is currently on a fall tour that started at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood, Colorado, and will conclude on New Year’s Eve in their hometown of Nashville, at the War Memorial Auditorium.

  • Camp Bisco Permit Saga Continues

    Well, Disco Biscuit fans, it looks like Camp Bisco will for sure not be returning to Schenectady County anytime soon as the permit saga drags on.

    DaveDeCrescente - DiscoBiscuits - Camp Bisco 2015 -17

    On Oct. 28, state Supreme Court Justice Vincent Reilly Jr. deemed the county’s ruling and safety issues raised as valid reasons for permit denial, as reported by Times Union. The summer event had been planned for a July 15 through 19 revival at Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville, where the three-day festival was held for seven consecutive years; however, the application for a mass-gathering permit was rejected by the county with major opposition from its sheriff.

    This news continues a chain of events that has plagued Bisco since its 2014 hiatus, regarding safety concerns with transportation, emergency plans and insurance coverage, plus the festival’s failure to create a zero-tolerance drug policy. But the EDM-focused concert did return this summer with a venue change; Bisco 13 went off without a hitch at Montage Mountain in Scranton last July, and NYS Music contributor Jimmy Chambers reported on its success in his glowing review of the festival (revisit Camp Bisco here).

    While the Philadelphia-based band has yet to announce plans for Bisco 2016, hang tight and take a look back at Camp Bisco 13 with the recently released aftermovie.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zT1SazqseQ&feature=youtu.be

  • Joan Baez Announces Ithaca and Albany Performances February-March 2016

    Joan Baez, one of the most recognizable and beautiful voices in folk music will be making two appearances in early 2016 in Upstate New York as part of a tour spanning January through March.Joan Baez

    Now 74, Joan Baez has reeled over 50 years of a memorable music career intertwined with activism in social and political movements, from the 1960s civil rights movement through the Iraq War and more recent Occupy Wall Street movement. With her first record released in 1960, she has released 23 more studio records and about half of that number in live recordings. A Staten Island native, Baez began her career spreading out from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her father took a position at MIT before her professional career took root at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival.

    Baez has recently announced several tour dates in early 2016. Her first New York stop will be at the State Theater in Ithaca on Feb. 26. Tickets are available in a pre-sale now, with a public on sale starting at 11 a.m. Nov. 6. Her second New York performance is March 25 at The Egg in Albany.

    Baez also has a few other performances scheduled for the northeast including New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont. Check out her tour website for more information on her other performances.

  • Albany Weekly ‘Metroland’ Offices Seized by State Tax Department, Ceases Publication

    Update: With the announcement that Metroland will not publish for the first time since it’s 1978 founding, editor/publisher Stephen Leon spoke with The Times Union. Saying “This has been a long time coming. I’m really tired,” Leon cited the 2008 recession as a point in which the Metroland began a downslide that culminated in ceasing publication this week. Creditors, freelance journalists and the State Tax department all are seeking to collect debts owed.metroland

    The Times Union reports that Metroland, the alt-weekly newspaper that has been a staple of the Capital District for more than three decades, had their offices seized by the state tax department due to non payment of taxes.

    metrolandMetroland owed more than $20,000 in debts, including 2014 employee withholding taxes, as well as corporation taxes dating back to 2010, according to a spokesman at the state Department of Taxation & Finance. The magazine’s offices received a seizure notice and letter on the door Tuesday, Nov. 3, noting that “all the personal property located on these premises” of Metroland and its parent, Lou Communications Inc., were to be seized.

    Metroland has been in publication since 1978 and is available for free at numerous Capital District businesses. Last summer, the publication announced that it was for sale.

  • Mister F Gives Fans Insider Pass to ‘FTV Cribs’

    Who can forget when Mariah Carey showed off her plush Manhattan penthouse, with its decadent chandeliers, lavish closets and Marilyn Monroe’s piano, or when Lil Wayne revealed his mobster movie-obsessed living room and impressive car collection on MTV Cribs? It was a show that rocked a generation by allowing an exclusive peek into the personal lives of favorite culture figures before social media came along and made such connection instant. Well, get excited fans of Albany-based Mister F — now you can take an all-access tour of the band’s neat-and-clean dude ranch on YouTube.

    Mister F

    Published on the band’s channel last week, the near 13-minute “FTV Cribs” episode gives viewers a satirical but honest look at the home of these “hard and dangerous rock stars,” plus their whips, yard and places “where the magic happens” for Andrew Chamberlaine (Mister A), Ben Pickering (Mister B), Scott Hannay (Mister S), Matt Pickering (Mister M) and Mike Dean (Mister Manager). According to the press release, the idea was in the making before Mister F was even a concept.

    Hannay said in the release:

    Our drummer Matt had been wanting to make an MTV Cribs-style video for the band house since six years ago when the other guys were still in Timbre Coup… Over the last year, I put together a very silly Vulfpeck-esque video of us playing with a bare-bones setup in totally nonsensical costumes around a dinner table (“This One Goes to 11 – Live at the Dinner Table“) and a three-song series of more serious in-studio multi-cam videos (“The Snow Day Sessions“). I’d gotten back into the swing of video editing, and so we decided to finally make our own MTV Cribs-style episode, aptly titled “FTV Cribs.”

    The virtual tour begins in the living room where the band catches up on Netflix (Arrested Development, of course) to the “all around awesome” two-acre party lot set up with plastic patio ware and can jam before moving into the bare-cupboard kitchen with Mister B who highlights a heady collection of craft beer and opens the fridge door to showcase “all the fixins for hamburgers and hotdogs.” After a short faux commercial break featuring Now! That’s What F Calls Music, a compact compilation of the “crunchiest jams to bop your head to” from Aqueous, Twiddle, The Heavy Pets, McLovins and more (found here), the segment returns with a private look at the shabby chic bedrooms—take note of Mister M’s hat and shoe collection—and concert poster covered practice room before kicking viewers out. So sit back, tune in and invade the space to see “how the other F lives.”

  • Punch Brothers to Release ‘The Wireless’ EP

    The Punch Brothers have announced that a five-song EP, The Wireless, will be released on Friday, Nov. 20 on Nonesuch Records.

    punch_brother_thes_wireless

    From their announcement on Facebook:

    You may recognize some of these songs from our live shows or from the bonus fourth side of the double vinyl release of The Phosphorescent Blues. Much like Ahoy! with Who’s Feeling Young Now?, we recorded more than we could include on The Phosphorescent Blues so we’re glad to be able to share the rest of these with you all.

    The song “Sleek White Baby” includes lyrics written by the Punch Brothers’ touring companion Gabriel Kahane. It also features a vocal cameo by actor/comedian Ed Helms.

    The Wireless is available for pre-order.

    The Punch Brothers will be on tour in December with several stops planned in New York. They will be at the State Theatre in Ithaca on Dec. 6, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on Dec. 10, The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on Dec. 12 and Bearsville Theater on Dec. 13. Tickets are still available for those shows.

    The Punch Brothers The Wireless track listing is listed below:

    1. In Wonder
    2. The Hops of Guldenberg
    3. Sleek White Baby
    4. No More. Yet
    5. Clementine

  • CashorTrade.org Announces Mobile App and CashorTrade.com Purchase

    Brando and Dusty from CashorTrade.org announced a new Android mobile app and an updated iPhone app through a posting at their website.

    cashortradeThe update includes bug fixes, an updated layout of the inbox and threads, push notifications and a new alert popup to notify the user that notification preferences are turned off. The free apps can be found in Apple’s App Store for iPhones and in Google Play for Android devices by searching “cashortrade.”

    CashorTrade.org is also trying to purchase the CashorTrade.com domain. Many of their users try visiting cashortrade.com instead of cashortrade.org. The domain was priced at $25,000. They have negotiated it down to $5,250, which they are trying to raise through donations. While the site has paid Gold members, the owners wish to use those funds to continue improving the code and service. The new domain will be used to redirect potential users to the correct domain at cashortrade.org.

    New York State Music is one of CashorTrade.org’s partner sites.