NYS Music 20​16

Author: Courtney Rae Kasper

  • ‘In The Mood’ Swings Into Syracuse

    In celebration of 22 years on tour, the live musical revue of In The Mood is coming to Syracuse this March.

    in the moodWith a cast of 19 and a 13-piece big band orchestra (the String of Pearls), the fully staged show features more than 50 popular 1940s numbers, including “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Well Get It,” “Sing, Sing Sing,” “On The Sunny Side of the Street,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Tuxedo Junction” and “Moonlight Serenade.”

    Fans of American big band music will appreciate the show’s brassy singing and dancing in tribute to Swing Era icons like Glenn Miller, the Andrews Sisters, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Erskine Hawkins, Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra and many others.

    According to the official press release, In The Mood “pays homage to America’s greatest generation who fought WWII. It was a time when Americans listened and boogie woogied to up-tempo Big Band rhythms and danced cheek-to-cheek to intimate ballads. Experience the swing, the rhythm and the jazzy, sentimental and patriotic music of this pivotal time in America’s history.”

    Created by Bud Forrest, the ever-evolving production was selected by the National Archives in Washington, D.C., as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of WWII; the cast was also chosen to perform at the 53rd Presidential Inauguration Ball.

    In The Mood – A 1940s Big Band Music Revue returns to the Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater March 30 for performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The touring musical will make an additional stop in New York State on March 31 at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. Tickets are on sale now.

    2016 In The Mood Tour:

    3/30 – The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater, Syracuse, NY
    3/31 – Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, NY
    4/12 – Coronado Performing Arts Center, Rockford, IL
    4/14 – Victory Theatre, Evansville, IN
    4/17 – Lexington Opera House, Lexington, KY
    5/3-8 – Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, PA

  • Wild Adriatic Hits the Road for Eurotrip

    Capital Region rockers Wild Adriatic recently rolled out dates for a Eurotrip and U.S. tour as well. The three-piece group will head out on the road beginning Feb. 11 in Boston and wrapping up May 15 in Spain.

    Fresh off the heels of their debut voyage on the Rock Boat, where they played an all-Zeppelin set and jammed onstage with Sister Hazel, Michael Franti and Gavin Degraw, WA’s upcoming tour includes Northeast-heavy dates with home state stops in Corning, Saratoga Springs, Rochester, Syracuse, Brooklyn, Buffalo and Jamestown before returning to Europe for a four-week headlining run.

    The blues-rock band consists of Travis Gray (vocals, guitar), Rich Derbyshire (bass) and Mateo Vosganian (drums); supporting groups that will share the bill with WA during this winter/spring tour will be the Mallett Brothers Band, Let’s Be Leonard, Turkuaz, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, the Suitcase Junket and Animal Years.

    This January, WA released their first full-length live album from their two-night performance in Albany last October and will record the upcoming Feb. 20 show at Putnam Den for a possible future album. The band’s self-titled EP dropped in 2011, and their most recent collection debuted May 2015 as the five-song Never Enough. Although, according to the press release, WA has a new record in the works:

    We’ll be back in the studio making our second full length record in Fall 2016. Hoping to release Early 2017 and we have never been more excited to get in the studio and create! So much inspiration over the last few months, I know we have a few more tunes in us to get out before we hit the studio but we are very excited with how the material has come together so far!” 

    Tickets for all 2016 show dates are on sale through Wild Adriatic’s official website.

    Wild Adriatic 2016 Tour Dates:

    2/11 – Boston, MA – Lansdowne Pub^
    2/12 – Burlington, VT – Nectar’s^
    2/13 – Sugarloaf, ME – Sugarloaf Mountain^
    2/18 – Corning, NY – Corning Museum of Glass 2300 Series
    2/19 – Portsmouth, NH – Birdseye^
    2/20 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Putnam Den*
    2/25 – Rochester, NY – Flour City Station
    2/26 – Syracuse, NY – Funk N Waffles Downtown*
    2/27 – Stratton, VT – Grizzly’s%
    3/3 – Worcester, MA – Electric Haze
    3/4 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl#
    3/10 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater
    3/11 – Mifflinburg, PA – Rusty Rail
    3/12 – Asbury Park, NJ – Wonder Bar
    3/16 – Washington, DC – Black Cat~
    3/17 – Mercersburg, PA – Mansion House~
    3/18 – Philadelphia, PA – Milkboy~
    3/24 – Hartford, CT – Arch Street Tavern
    3/25 – Manchester, VT – The Perfect Wife
    3/26 – Stratton, VT – Grizzly’s*
    3/31 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Cafe
    4/1 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works
    4/2 – Jamestown, NY – Shawbucks

    ^ – w/ The Mallett Brothers Band
    * – w/ Let’s Be Leonard
    % – w/ Turkuaz
    # – w/ Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds & The Suitcase Junket
    ~ – w/ Animal Years

    4/14 – Oostende, Belgium – Bada Bing
    4/15 – Kortrijk, Belgium – Den Trap
    4/16 – Krefeld, Germany – Kulturrampe
    4/17 – Turnhout, Belgium – Dax Cafe
    4/19 – Norderstedt, Germany – Music Star
    4/20 – Malmo, Sweden – St Gertrund
    4/21 – Hamburg, Germany – Sound Yard
    4/22 – Bordesholm, Germany – Albatros
    4/23 – Singwitz, Germany – Kesselhaus
    4/26 – Bratislava, Slovakia – Muzeum Obchodu
    4/27 – Kufstein, Austria – Eggers
    4/28 – Besancon, France – Passengers Du Zinc
    4/29 – Alencon, France – La Luciole
    4/30 – Rouen, France – Hipster Cafe
    5/2 – St Etienne, France – Thunderbird Lounge
    5/4 – Bilbao, Spain – Antzokia
    5/5 – Ourense, Spain – Cafe Auriense
    5/6 – Cangas, Spain – Salason
    5/7 – Aviles, Spain – Centro Niemeyer
    5/8 – Leon, Spain – Gran Cafe
    5/11 – Estepona, Spain – Louie Louie
    5/12 – Murcia, Spain – Garaje Beat Club
    5/13 – Castellon, Spain – Veneno Stereo
    5/14 – Valencia, Spain – Pabersematao
    5/15 – Torredembara, Spain – La Traviesa

  • Hip Hop Hooray: Mister F Made a Mixtape, McLovins Guest Star

    Now this is how you do a modern-day mixtape.

    Last week, the Albany-based jamband Mister F casually published a stream-worthy collection of cover songs recorded live from their Southeast run this January. The 14-track mixtape features old-school hip-hop songs with guest appearances from the band’s current touring mates, the McLovins.

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    The hour-long downloadable release includes funky covers from popular ’90s artists like Snoop Dog, Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, MC Hammer and Naughty By Nature. While Mister F keyboardist Scott Hannay lends his vocals to many of the rap renditions (and keytar skills on “Cantaloop”), guitarist Mike Candela takes the lead on “The Real Slim Shady” and drummer Matt Pickering does so on “This Is How We Do It,” with McLovins‘ drummer/frontman Jake Huffman tackling “Rapper’s Delight” and “Hot In Herre.”

    Recorded at venues across Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas, the tape offers a snapshot of setlist surprises from 13 different shows, and with an extensive string of concert dates on the horizon (thankfully, many are in the Northeast), here’s hoping this will be a continued effort throughout the remainder of the tour — because it ain’t nothing but an F thang, baby, and we can’t wait until the next episode.

    Mister F January ’16 Mixtape:

    1. Nuthin’ But A G Thang* 1/14/2016 – The 8×10, Baltimore, MD
    2. Ice Ice Baby* 1/17/2016 – The Pour House, Charleston, SC
    3. Forgot About Dre* 1/15/2016 – Martin’s, Roanoke, VA
    4. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)*$^ 1/29/2016 – Nowhere Bar, Athens, GA
    5. Baby Got Back* 1/16/2016 – The Camel, Richmond, VA
    6. U Can’t Touch This* 1/21/2016 – SOL Bar at New Mountain AVL, Asheville, NC
    7. Gin and Juice* 1/19/2016 – The Blind Tiger, Greensboro, NC
    8. The Real Slim Shady%+ 1/27/2016 – The Rabbit Hole, Charlotte, NC
    9. Rapper’s Delight@& 1/24/2016 – The Pour House, Raleigh, NC
    10. Intergalactic*~ 1/20/2016 – The Whiskey, Wilmington, NC
    11. Big Pimpin’* 1/24/2016 – The Pour House, Raleigh, NC
    12. Hip Hop Hooray* 1/28/2016 – Buffington’s, Milledgeville, GA
    13. This Is How We Do It#* 1/30/2016 – Aisle 5, Atlanta, GA
    14. Hot In Herre@? 1/30/2016 – Aisle 5, Atlanta, GA

    *w/Scott Hannay on vocals
    $w/Atticus Kelly of McLovins on keys
    ^w/ScottHannay on keytar
    %w/Mike Candela on vocals
    +w/Justin Berger of McLovins on guitar
    @w/Jake Huffman of McLovins on vocals
    &w/Jason Ott of McLovins on bass
    ~w/Scott Hannay on vocoder
    #w/Matt Pickering on vocals
    ?w/Mister McManagers trio (Mike Dean, David Limentani, Nick Sonsini) on backup singing/dancing

  • RIAA Now Awards Albums For Streaming Count

    For the first time in 58 years, the Recording Industry Association of America has altered its award system. As of Feb. 1, 2016, RIAA will count the number of streams received toward gold and platinum album certifications.

    10463770_859419994085456_4533945548056419259_o
    Photo from Facebook

    The industry’s premier award program for artistic achievement in the music recording market, RIAA’s benchmarks for success include 500,000 albums sold (gold), 1,000,000 (platinum) and 2,000,000 plus (multi-platinum) and will now recognize both sales and audio, video streams for single and album certifications. RIAA Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman stated in a press release that this change was the next logical step “to fully reward the success of artists’ albums today.” The association first modernized its method in 2013 by counting on-demand streams for digital single certifications; this will now be updated as well to reflect the growing trend of streaming.

    And with the announcement came a roster of artists being noticed by the association for the newly expanded certification, including Alt-J’s “An Awesome Wave” (Atlantic Records) Gold, Halsey’s “Badlands” (Astralwerks) Gold, Hozier’s “Hozier” (Columbia) Platinum, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (Epic/Legacy) 32X Multi-Platinum, Miranda Lambert’s “Platinum” (RCA Nashville) Platinum, The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness” (XO/Republic Records) 2X Multi-Platinum and Vance Joy’s “Dream Your life Away” (Atlantic Records) Gold.

    RIAA debuted the list with a social media video post seen below:

    RIAA Debuts Album Awards with StreamsThe new #RIAAAlbumAward counts sales and streams, and that’s pretty exciting. Congratulations to all 17 artists now recognized.

    RIAA created its gold and platinum program in 1958, and nearly 30,000 certifications have been awarded to date. Fans can access a complete database of recognized artists and albums here.

  • Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner Dies at 74

    Iconic San Francisco musician Paul Kantner died Thursday, Jan. 28, of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

    A founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, Kantner, 74, suffered a heart attack earlier this week, reported the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that he had experienced many health problems in recent years.

    Paul Kantner

    With Jefferson Airplane, Kantner defined the mid-1960s psychedelic sound and created hits like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit” featuring Grace Slick’s narcotic vocals. Most notably, the band was the first headliner at Bill Graham’s legendary Fillmore Auditorium and performed at Woodstock. Kantner and Slick transformed the group into Jefferson Starship in 1974; Kantner departed 11 years later, although the couple had a daughter together.

    S Malinski - Jefferson Starship - Ridgefield Playhouse-17

    In 1996, Kantner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he continued touring up until his death. Most recently, Steve Malinski witnessed Kantner perform with several bandmates for a 50th anniversary celebration at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut this past August:

    The Starship’s presence on stage was bold and cohesive – original members of the Airplane Paul Kantner and David Freiberg kept the sound true and original to the Airplane along with longtime Starship drummer Donny Baldwin, keyboardist Chris Smith and guitarist Jude Gold. The animated and exhuberant Cathy Richardson fulfilled the big-shoes role created by Grace Slick’s powerful vocals, to whom she gave a tip of the hat to near the end of the set. Together they made the performance feel engaging to the audience with down to earth, unscripted banter and humor between songs, which has been a consistency for the group through the past several years.”

    Paul Kantner at the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Concert, Bethel Woods Aug. 15, 2009
    Paul Kantner at the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Concert, Bethel Woods Aug. 15, 2009

    Paul Lorin Kantner is survived by three children: sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter, China. At press time, funeral arrangements had not been released.

  • From Flat to Fact: Neil deGrasse Tyson Schools B.o.B with Rebuttal Rap

    The Twittersphere was abuzz this week when Georgia rapper B.o.B — Bobby Ray Simmons — posted a series of tweets dissing the Earth’s roundness theory. But have no fear, the media’s favorite celebrity scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson rushed to the rescue.

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    B.o.B’s self-proclaimed photographic evidence (posted below) in support of the Flat-Earth Conspiracy went viral, causing the New York City-based astrophysicist to fire back with point-blank scientific facts. B.o.B shot off more opinionated tweets, saying things like “the horizon is always eye level” and “once you go flat you never go back.” Tyson’s response? “Duude — to be clear: Being five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn’t mean we all can’t still like your music.” The spat escalated quickly to a full-on rap battle.

    https://twitter.com/bobatl/status/691411463051804676

    On Monday night, B.o.B released “Flatline” on SoundCloud (now removed), and by Tuesday, Tyson had posted his rebuttal — a track titled “Flat to Fact” that was written and recorded by his nephew, Steve Tyson, and labeled B.o.B’s line of thinking as ignorant and mentally enslaving.

    The Twitter fight was trending on news outlets across the country and highlighted on shows like “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore,” in which Tyson himself made an appearance and did a little freestyling before he literally dropped the mic. Here’s a sample:

    Listen B.o.B, once and for all. The Earth looks flat because, one, you’re not far enough away, at your size. Two, your size isn’t large enough relative to Earth to notice any curvature at all. It’s a fundamental fact of calculus and non-Euclidean geometry—small sections of large curved surfaces will always look flat to little creatures that crawl upon it.”

    Tyson continued by acknowledging the rapper’s freedom to think the world is flat, but deemed this “strain” of thinking for a public influencer as “the beginning of the end of our informed democracy.” And he left B.o.B with one last knowledge bomb:

    Quoting my man Isaac Newton, ‘If I have seen farther than others, it’s by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ So that’s right B.o.B, when you stand on the shoulders of those who came before, you might just see far enough to realize the Earth isn’t fucking flat.”

    While we love a good rap feud, it’s safe to say that Tyson will thankfully be sticking to his day job as the head of the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium. Case closed.

  • Barroom Philosophers Release Debut EP, Announce Shows

    The Barroom Philosophers formed in the summer of 2014, and since then the self-described “funky reggae with a side of rock” band has played countless gigs throughout Central New York. Most recently, the Syracuse-based group released their debut EP titled, Thoughts That Count, and are still in the running for a SAMMYs People’s Choice Award for favorite local band.

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    Mastered by Langston Masingale (StudioDOG Pro), the three-track EP features the producer’s signature analog style (using his self-invented Zulu device) and has found airplay on Syracuse-area radio stations, including Dave Frisina’s “Soundcheck” on Rebel 105.9. The release, including songs “Role Models,” “Zillion Pound Babies” and “Animal is Caged,” dishes up 15 minutes of original funk jams. Frontman David Koegel’s soulful chops set the groove on TTC, backed by surfy blues-rock riffs, cool horns, mellow bass lines and steady beats. Think Sublime meets the Black Crowes.

    The four-piece former cover band, consisting of Brenden Boshart (drums), Ty Hancock (bass), Koegel (vocals) and Joshua Way (guitar), have nearly 20 shows scheduled at hometown spots like Funk ‘N Waffles and the Westcott Theater, plus they are booked to perform at RocCity Brewfest in Rochester and Wild Weed Acres Music Festival in Ovid this summer.

    A complete list of dates for the Barroom Philosophers is available below. Thoughts That Count can be streamed digitally through the band’s website.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b6Y_5IvtQE

    Barroom Philosophers 2016 Dates (New York):

    1/29 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
    1/30 – Mac’s Bad Art Bar – Mattydale
    2/6 – Mohegan Manor – Baldwinsville
    2/12 – Funk N Waffles (University) – Syracuse
    2/20 – RocCity Brewfest – Rochester
    2/26 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
    2/28 – Westcott Theater – Syracuse
    3/5 – Mohegan Manor – Baldwinsville
    3/11 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
    3/18 – Old City Hall – Oswego
    3/26 – Kitty Hoynes – Syracuse
    4/1 – Limp Lizard – Liverpool
    4/8 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
    4/16 – Old City Hall – Oswego
    4/23 – Bridge Street Tavern – Solvay
    5/13 – Kitty Hoynes – Syracuse
    5/20 – Old City Hall – Oswego
    5/28 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
    6/30 – Wild Weed Acres Music Festival – Ovid

  • Radiohead Returns With 2016 Summer Dates

    Radiohead won’t leave some fans high and dry summer 2016.

    The English alt-rock band has officially booked headlining slots for three European festivals — OpenAir S. Gallen (Switzerland), Primavera Sound Music Festival (Spain) and NOS Alive Festival (Portugal) — and is rumored to be playing three North American festivals, including Lollapalooza (Chicago), Outside Lands (San Francisco) and Osheaga Music Festival (Montreal), according to Consequence of Sound. More dates are speculated to be released after the band debuts their much-anticipated ninth studio album.

    In October, the band quietly established the company Dawn Chorus LLP, fueling rumors that a new LP was on its way, as it’s been typical Radiohead fashion in the past to uniquely distribute their work. Let’s not forget when the band let the public pay what they wanted for 2007’s In Rainbows and incorporated Xurbia Xendless Limited beforehand, or when they set up Ticker Tape Limited before releasing The King of Limbs in 2011.

    Most recently, Radiohead recorded a song for the latest James Bond film, Spectre; however, the band noted on their website that “it didn’t work out” and instead shared it as a free download on Soundcloud (hear below) because the tune “became something of our own, which we love very much.”

    Radiohead, consisting of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway, has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide since coming onto the scene with their debut single “Creep” in 1992 and is always ranked high by Rolling Stone and others as one of the greatest artists of all time.

    This marks the band’s first live performances since 2012, when the five-man group toured in support of The King of Limbs. Radiohead will share the bill with other headlining acts Mumford and Sons, the Chemical Brothers, the Pixies, Tame Impala and LCD Soundsystem, while abroad this June and July. Most of the festival tickets are available for purchase now; stay tuned for more updates on Radiohead’s next album drop date.

  • SPAC Jazz Fest Announces Lineup, Tickets On Sale

    As of 10 a.m. today, tickets for the 39th annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival are on sale to the public. The two-day weekend event is scheduled for June 25 and 26 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

    spac jazz fest ticketsThe festival’s 2016 lineup will feature Motown miracle Smokey Robinson and jazz fusion pioneer Chick Corea headlining the SPAC mainstage on Sunday, while Saturday’s headliner is still to be announced.

    Several acts performing this year will make their SPAC and jazz festival debut, including drummer and vocalist Jamison Ross, blues guitarist Eric Lindell, 12-year-old Indonesian jazz pianist Joey Alexander Trio, New Orleans funk ensemble, Jon Cleary and The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, and jazz-soul vocalist Alicia Olatuja, who performed at the 2013 presidential inauguration. Last year’s showcase included Sheila E., Erykah Badu and Snarky Puppy, among others, and since the festival was founded in 1978, jazz greats like Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, B.B. King and Ray Charles have headlined the event.

    Celebrating 50 years, the 25,000-capacity venue sits in the historic Saratoga Spa State Park. Camping is not permitted on the grounds (free parking opens two hours before the event), but the town of Saratoga offers many options for nearby lodging. The typical concert rules apply for SPAC — no drugs, open water bottles, guns or pets — but for the jazz festival, the venue does allow food, alcohol, coolers and the use of small personal cameras.

    Festival goers can also shop fine arts and crafts on premise, bring home autographed CDs and fill up on Southern-style barbecue, plus other amenities. Stay tuned for jazz fest to announce the June 25 headliner.

  • John Mayer Confirms Trio Back in Studio

    Last week, John Mayer made news when he confirmed his self-titled blues-rock trio would be reuniting.

    As reported on Jambands.com, the singer-songwriter casually posted the picture below on Instagram with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, captioned “In the studio, day one.”

    john mayer trio

    Mayer most recently wrapped a tour with Dead and Company, and although official dates have not been confirmed, the promise of future collaborations with the remaining Grateful Dead members was leaked by Dead guitarist Bob Weir in a Periscope interview.

    The John Mayer Trio released their last album, Try!, in 2005, and made their last televised performance together on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” in 2014. The album was nominated for a Grammy, and included “Vultures” and “Gravity” from his then-forthcoming album Continuum. JMT has not announced an official album release day or tour dates.

    john mayer trioThe “Your Body is a Wonderland” crooner was recently spoofed in a Star Wars audition skit on “Saturday Night Live” with other celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal and Wynonna Judd screen testing for roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And this year marks the 10th anniversary of his Grammy-winning pop tune “Waiting on the World to Change.”

    In a video captured last July, Mayer self-described the sound of his possible next album as a mix of his records and explained why he is taking his time with it:

    If you have an album that really saturates, then you can have it out for a long time. One of the ways to find out if a song has legs is you have to write it, then step away from it.”

    Stay tuned for news of the album’s drop date.