NYS Music 20​16

Author: Pete Mason

  • Photo Gallery: Dopapod and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Funk Saratoga Up

    Dopapod and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong brought their tour through Upstate New York Wednesday, October 26th, arriving at the Putnam Den to a packed house prepared for a night of dancing, spectacular lighting and more than 3 hours of flowing funk and prog rock.

    Highlights from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s set include the ending trio of “Spacejam > The Hop > F.U.,” while Dopapod had a monster trio of their own: “Present Ghosts > Priorities -> Vol. 3 #86” and “Onionhead” with “Like a Ball” sandwiched in between.

    dopapod pigeonsStay tuned for a NYS Music in Motion interview with Dopapod next week.

    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Setlist: Too Long, Julia, Fun In Funk, Burning Up My Time > Funk E Zekiel^ > Burning Up My Time > Offshoot, Whoopie, The Liquid > Upfunk, Spacejam > The Hop > F.U.
    Notes:^ Unfinished

    Dopapod setlist: Psycho FABA intro>FABA*, Present Ghosts > Priorities -> Vol. 3 #86, Trickery, Super Bowl > Onionhead^ -> Like a Ball > Onionhead% > Nuggy Jawson
    E: Nerds#

    *contained Psycho Nature teases
    ^contained teases of Run Like Hell, YYZ, Thunderstruck, and Like a Ball
    %contained Nuggy Jawson tease
    $contained NBC teases; the band also went into the outro of Pink Floyd’s “Sheep”
    #Greg Ormont from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong sat in on Tequila Girl banter

    dopapod pigeons playing

  • ROCK. IS. DEAD. The Halloween Show at Unit J in Bushwick October 29

    On October 29 in Bushwick, Unit J is throwing a raging ROCK. IS. DEAD. Halloween show featuring some of your favorite revived rock acts! Costume contest, cricket brownies, blood punch and a rad dance floor will be featured at Unit J, a multi-use art space in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

    The music kicks off at 11PM with The Ghost of Patsy Cline (Megg Farrell). Unit J has revived the “crazy” legend to bring you some dance-worthy honky tonk. Bring the moonshine. At 12AM The Talking Deads, (Dru Cutler and The Heart and Hand Band) a killer, 8-piece Talking Heads cover band performs tracks from Remain In the Light.” Prepare to dance your ass off. At 1AM, The Zombie Beatles (Mama Juke) rock every upbeat Beatles track you can imagine.

    Tickets are available in advance for $25, at the door for $29, with VIP balcony seating costing $39. All tickets include 1 free drink. Get a free download from The Zombie Beatles “Key of B.”

    Unit J is located at 338 Moffat St, Unit J, Brooklyn, NY, and regularly features live concerts, video and photo shoots, film screenings, art shows, and live theater. Take the L train to Wilson Ave or J train to Chauncey St.

  • Mister F and lespecial hit The Hollow on Friday, October 21

    Mister F brings lespecial to town this Friday, October 21 to The Hollow Bar and Kitchen in Albany. Featuring performances of brand new material and some very special guest collaborations between the bands, Mister F is stoked to be back on their home turf before heading out into the Midwest for a tour with McLovins next week. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 day of show.
    mister f lespecial
    Having recently returned from Luna Light Festival in Maryland, Mister F welcomed Holly Bowling to the stage to play keytar on “Answer the Dog.” Keyboardist Scott Hannay shared the story on the sit-in: “We had talked a number of times in the past about having her throw down on my keytar, but the timing just hadn’t yet worked out. She reached out to me shortly before we pulled into Luna Light festival this past Saturday and we made it happen. She’s a natural on that thing. Someone get that girl a keytar!”

  • Just the Tip is Night 1 of the 3 Day Halloween Indoor Fest at Anthology

    Just the Tip is the start of a three day Halloween event at Anthology in Rochester, NY. Kicking off on Thursday, October 27, this ALL AGES show, featuring regional bands and headliners each night for a sensational music experience.

    On Thursday, Level 7, Joe Driscoll, Funknut and Subsoil perform sets throughout the night, performing from 8:30 PM until 2 AM. Save money by purchasing the three-night ‘megaticket’ and enjoy PBR specials at Just the Tip.

    Friday, October 28 features Thunder Body, Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People, with Saturday night performances from The Blind Owl Band, The Honey Smugglers, and Mulberry Soul. Friday tickets are $20 and Saturday tickets are $16.

    Thursday schedule:

    Doors: 8:00 PM
    Level 7: 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM
    Joe Driscoll: 9:00 PM to 9:30 PM
    Funknut: 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM
    Joe Driscoll: 11:00 PM to 11:30 PM
    Subsoil: 11:30 PM to 1:00 AM
    Joe Driscoll: 1:00 AM – 1:30 AM
    Level 7: 1:30 AM to 2:00 AM

    Known for their high-energy live shows, Subsoil is lyric-driven live Hip-Hop music. Subsoil’s performance wields a keen edge of razor-sharp lyricism, with equal emphasis on tight grooves and furious improvisations within a funky dance aesthetic.

    Funknut formed in 2006 when Tony Gallicchio and Tristan Greene started playing together as a key and drum duo. Since then, Funknut has expanded and has been blessed to play with a rotating cast of talented musicians with Tristan and Tony as the core. In 2009, Sean McLay became a permanent member of the band holding down the low end and making things even funkier than before. In 2010, good friend Paul McArdle joined in on the guitar. Fans of improvisation, each Funknut show is different from the next.

    Joe Driscoll was born in Syracuse, New York. He performs solo, and uses recorded loops of his own beatboxing and live looping using a sampler to fuse hip-hop, reggae, soul, folk and roots rock. During 2007 and 2008, Driscoll has toured with Dirty Pretty Things, Regina Spektor, Coldcut, and The Sugar Hill Gang at events in the US and Europe.

    Level 7 (Skribe & DJ 2way) are a hip-hop duo who have been blessed to share the stage with bands such as Mosaic Foundation, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Thunderbody, Subsoil, Sophistafunk, Danielle Ponder and TheTomorrow People, and Cha Cha & the Ndor Band.

  • Vaporeyes Announce Release of “Golden Baron EP”

    Vaporeyes is back in downtown Syracuse in a very special way on Saturday, November 19 at Funk n Waffles Downtown, when longtime guitarist Jyms Tynyn will perform his final show with Vaporeyes. Come down and send Jyms off right and rage with Vaporeyes as they’ll be digging deep and getting crazy in what will also be their last show of 2016. Albany-based Lord Electro opens the night, with doors at 8, and cover $10.

    To make the show even a bigger can’t-miss show, Vaporeyes will be releasing their latest album, Golden Road EP, on November 19.

    Vaporeyes is a “psychedelic jam fusion” band whose sound seems to be constantly evolving. Sometimes tight as a tiger, sometimes strictly improvisation, sometimes electronic, dance, jazz, metal… but always trippy with a dose of in-the-moment flair. Vaporeyes has already shared the stage with such acts as Papadosio, RAQ, Tauk, Zoogma, Kung Fu, Aqueous, Brothers Past, DrFameus, and much more.

    Hailing from Albany, NY, Lord Electro is coming to open up the night. They released their Debut self titled record in 2015 and have been consistently performing across the Northeast. Having already shared the stage with such heavy hitters including: The New Deal, Roots of Creation, G-nome Project, Conehead Buddha and Lucid, Lord Electro is on a mission to make feet move and booties shake!

  • Watch The Big Takeover’s “Come Before Five” Video

    The Hudson Valley’s The Big Takeover has released the official video for “Come Before Five,” the upcoming single on their upcoming album, due out in January. Lead singer and songwriter neenee Rushie says the song is “about a girl waiting for something she knows she’ll never get.” Directed by Liz Paradise & Zach Thomson, the video was filmed at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

    Big Takeover Love Understands come before five In the next month, the band is playing throughout New York State, including October 1 at Snugs in New Paltz, Damn Sam’s Harvest Fest on October 8 in Lauren, NY, The Liberty in Rhinebeck for a special Halloween show on October 29, and a very exciting New Years show announcement forthcoming.

    Video credit: The Big Takeover (c) 2016 and Big Takeover Production (BMI)

  • Chris Duffy Returns to New York with The Magic Beans

    Chris Duffy, bassist for The Magic Beans out of Nederland, CO, returns home to New York this weekend for three shows – Thursday in Albany at The Hollow, Friday in NYC at American Beauty and Saturday late night at Catskill Chill Music Festival. And Duffy is quite excited to be back home.

    “It’s been a treat to come back and see East Coast family and friends. That’s the great thing about touring around; it’s a great time to reconnect with people, those who you miss a lot. Albany was so kind and welcoming to Dirty Paris’ music, so I can’t wait until The Magic Beans can have that kind of relationship with the area and in the Northeast.”

    Chris Duffy

    Brooklyn born and a graduate of Guilderland High School, Duffy formed Dirty Paris in 2008 with Dmitriy Bolotny, Thomas Lafond and Rob Morrison, performing throughout the greater Northeast into 2013. Dirty Paris developed a strong following in the region, drawn by the progressive and psychedelic elements in their modern jamband sound.

    An Albany native until early 2015, Chris worked in production and lightning design work, getting to experience another side of the music industry, gaining insight towards the bigger picture, while working towards a music degree. Then in 2015, Duffy headed west to Los Angeles, working as a concert tech at The Greek Theater and Hollywood Bowl, and living with Dmitriy of Dirty Paris.

    Then, in Duffy learned The Magic Beans, a jamband out of Nederland, CO, were auditioning bassists. He would join them for his first show on bass in Boulder, CO, in January of this year, capping a cross country journey in pursuit of music.

    Duffy knew of The Magic Beans prior to joining them, thanks to his time in Dirty Paris. “I’d been on festival lineups with The Beans, but never saw them. They’re a touring jamband in the scene that I really liked, and it seemed there was some energy growing, and I felt that I could hop in on that and contribute.

    It’s one thing to start a group from scratch from Day One like Dirty Paris, and having done that, it was nice to jump into a band that already had some momentum. For me to be traveling the country playing funky jam music is just want I want to be doing. And being based out of Colorado, given that I wanted to move there in the next few years, I knew it was exactly what I needed to do.”

    Duffy classifies himself as a “funk/groove player who loves to get out there and explore in improvisation, where we don’t really know whats going to happen.” It was for this reason that Duffy knew The Magic Beans were a perfect fit. ” When I auditioned, and went to the one and only Beans show I went to before I was a member of the band, the crowd was buzzing and so supportive of the band, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. The music is fun and danceable, and there is an element, the lyrics, that come from the heart.

    In addition to joining The Magic Beans comes the bonus of your own festival, Beanstalk. Held since 2013, Beanstalk is a The Beans own festival, and attracts a growing crowd each yeah, thanks in part to their fans support and an attractive lineup. Duffy recalls his first Beanstalk, “Looking at the past and this year’s lineup, we had Electron and The New Deal and bands that I had been looking up to for years, so it was a chance to jump in and surreal to see what was going to happen while being closely involved with a festival that has your band’s namesake; it’s an incredible thing and we’re excited about next year.”

    The Magic Beans perform Thursday night at The Hollow with Space Carnival, then head to New York City to perform at American Beauty on Friday with The US Americans and Red Velvet. They’ll then perform late night at 2:30am in Club Chill at Catskill Chill Music Festival.

  • In Memoriam: Elliot Tiber, Playwright with Key Role in Woodstock

    Woodstock as we know it may not have happened if it were not for Elliot Tiber.

    In July 1969, Michael Lang and Artie Kornfeld of Woodstock Ventures found themselves without a venue for a music festival. Described in detail in Robert Stephen Spitz’s “Barefoot in Babylon,” the town of Wallkill had just revoked their permit, and Lang and Kornfeld turned to Sullivan County for an alternate location. Elliot Tiber happened upon the news that they were in search of a location, and while the backyard of the family’s El Monaco Hotel in White Lake, NY would not suffice, the farmland belonging to his friend Max Yasgur was available.

    More importantly, Tiber was the President of the local Chamber of Commerce, and had a permit in hand for an arts festival that summer, an annual event held at the motel. But Woodstock would be well beyond what Tiber could have expected when he first met Michael Lang.

    Elliot Tiber passed away on August 3 in Boca Raton, FL from complications from a stroke. He was 81.

    elliot tiberBorn in Bensonhurst on April 15, 1935, Tiber was a graduate of Hunter College, attended the Pratt Institute and taught creative writing at New School University, fine art at Hunter College, and art design history at the New York Institute of Technology.

    A gay rights activist and playwright, Tiber wrote the screenplay for the 1976 film “Rue Haute”, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film (Belguim) at the Oscars the next year. He was a critical component to the original Woodstock, sharing his life story, and detailed recollection of August, 1969 in Taking Woodstock, later a 2009 movie of the same name by Ang Lee. Tiber wrote also wrote two memoirs, Knock on Woodstock and After Woodstock.

    His book Taking Woodstock is part journey through growing up in Brooklyn during the school year and heading to White Lake to the El Monaco Hotel his family ran in the summer. This was following the heyday of the Catskills, and business was far from optimal. Back at home, Elliot came of age during the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, leading him to come out while at the center of the largest music gathering in history at that point.

    elliot tiberTiber told Publishers Weekly in 2011 “Coming out in the summer of 1969 was the most dangerous yet liberating thing that ever happened to me.”

    The second half of “Taking Woodstock” focuses on Elliot and the small arts festivals he held in town each summer, and as head of the local Chamber of Commerce, he held a permit that Woodstock Ventures would later use to shift their festival from the planned location in Wallkill, NY to Bethel, NY.

    Michael Lang said to the New York Times: “Elliot was part of the magic of Woodstock. Without his phone call bringing me to Bethel, Woodstock might never have happened, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

    Mr. Tiber told The Miami Herald “When I talk about Woodstock, or when I talk to my friends, it’s like time hasn’t passed … Then yesterday I got out of the shower and thought, ‘My God, I look like my mother.’”

  • Plattsburgh Blues Presents Three Shows in Late August

    Plattsburgh Blues and Jazz has three big shows coming up to end August in the North Country. Among them are some fantastic award-winning blues artists and singer-songwriters.

    On Tuesday, August 23 at Naked Turtle in Plattsburgh, Curtis Salgado, a nationally known award-winning soul, blues and R&B vocalist/harmonica and songwriter will take the stage. The winner of the Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Artist of the year, Soul Blues Album of the Year and BB King Entertainer of the Year, Salgado performs joyful, blues-soaked R&B.

    Sugaray Rayford Band performs on Friday, August 26 at Olive Ridley’s. Rayford, the former singer for the Mannish Boys, and recent winner of Best Blues Album, will be bringing a 7-piece band with horns and vocal dynamite with funk, soul and pure energy.

    Brad Cole, Matt Nakoa and Robinson Treacher perform on Wednesday, August 31 at Champlain Wine Company. This young Americana trio of soulful and engaging singer/songwriters today create music that weaves sound, lyricism and inspiration for a unique and powerful live show.

    All shows start at 8pm. Tickets info for all shows can be found here.

  • Vulfpeck Announces New Album ‘The Beautiful Game’ with Unique Kickstarter

    vulpeck gameFunk band Vulfpeck announced their newest album ‘The Beautiful Game’ today in unique fashion. Sending out only the artwork and a link to a Kickstarter, with a goal of $1, the band offers up a download of the upcoming album for only $10, available in October 2016.

    As of this writing, the Kickstarter has raised over $17,000, after only a few short hours since being announced.

    Watch the video announcement of the album: