NYS Music 20​16

Category: Profiles

  • Best of NYS Music 2016: Best Music Town, Bands on the Rise

    New York is a great state for live music. With a variety of venues throughout the state in both small towns and big cities, music fans can find something happening any night of the week from all genres of music. We asked the NYS Music staff of writers and photographers, all of whom see a variety of music, along with our readers, for their opinions on the best towns and cities for music in the state.

    The venues are not the only reason why New York is such a great place for music. With the amount of national, regional and local acts touring through the state, we get the chance see bands and artists rise from their infancy playing bars and small clubs to playing larger theaters and arenas. In addition to the best music towns, we also asked our staff and readers for what they think are the acts to which we should pay the most attention.

    Best Music Town

    The NYS Music staff represents every region of the state, and while they see the most music in their hometowns, they are not afraid to travel a bit to see quality music. When asked about the best music town in the state, there was a wide variety of responses. One would expect New York City, being, by far, the largest city in the state, to come out on top. However, that was not the case. The two cities with the most votes from the staff were Buffalo and Syracuse. Our readers, on the other hand, did choose New York City, which tied with Albany. Buffalo came in a very close third for the readers.

    Buffalo, being the second largest city in the state and one of the largest in that region of the country, sees a lot of music come through its various venues, ranging from small clubs and bars to the large New Era Field. The Buffalove Music Festival takes place in the Buffalo area and feature a large number of Buffalo-based acts. Many popular music acts got their start in Buffalo including the Goo Goo Dolls, Spyro Gyra and one of the current popular bands, Aqueous, whose latest EP, Best in Show, was our staff pick for album of the year.

    Syracuse, the fifth largest city in the state and home to Syracuse University, features a number of popular music venues such as Funk ‘N Waffles, the Westcott Theatre and the F Shed. The K-Rockathon, a music festival held by three related radio stations, has been held in the city for the past several years at the New York State Fairgrounds, though there was not one held this past summer. The Syracuse Jazz Festival boasts itself as the “Northeast’s largest free jazz festival” and has featured such artists as Aretha Franklin, Trombone Shorty, Wynton Marsalis and B.B. King. The Syracuse Area Music Awards, or the SAMMY’s, take place every year honoring musicians from Syracuse. Jon Fishman, the drummer from Phish who grew up in Syracuse, was awarded a SAMMY for lifetime achievement in 2015.

    Albany, and the Capital District in general, received a number of votes from both our staff and our readers. The area is home to many musical happenings throughout the year, including the Alive at Five free summer concert series and the national and regional performances at various venues around the city sponsored by WEQX. The city is home to two venues with some of the best acoustics in the country, the Egg and the Picotte Recital Hall at the Massry Center for the Arts. The Times Union Center, originally the Knickerbocker Arena, has played host to numerous music greats. The Grateful Dead’s Dozin’ at the Knick features live recordings from their three night stand there in March 1990.

    New York City, which took best music town last year, is one of the best cities in the world for music. A number of well-known artists and bands have called the city their home. New York City is also home to several world-class venues, including Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. It’s no surprise that the Big Apple was voted one of the best music towns in the state for the second consecutive year.

    Bands on the Rise

    Along with great places where music happens, New York is known for the musicians themselves. As many would expect of a state like this, some of the artists and bands become fairly well known on a regional or national level. While there were many bands chosen in the Bands on the Rise category, there were two standouts each from our staff and our readers. One commonality between the four bands highlighted here is that they are all from New York, even though the category is not limited to the state. Two of the bands represent a couple of the best music towns.

    Staff Pick: Space Carnival
    From: Ithaca

    Space Carnival has been on the scene since 2013, but has been making waves in the scene. Their debut album, Drawn in By the Sun, was released in July.They release two professionally shot and edited videos of their song “Moon Boots” off the album, one from a show in April and one from October. They are currently wrapping up some fall tour dates, with the last scheduled show this Saturday, Dec. 17 at Stella Blues in New Haven, Connecticut with Chromatropic. Music fans can expect more from Space Carnival in 2017.

    Reader Pick: Aqueous
    From: Buffalo

    Aqueous had a very busy 2016, and it won’t end for them until after their opening slot for Twiddle on New Year’s Eve. The year saw them touring nearly non-stop. They hit most of the local festivals, such as Disc Jam and Buffalove, including a headlining slot at the Great Outdoors Jam. They also hit the national stage at Electric Forest. They had two musical releases this year, the recording of their 2015 Halloween show Dark Side of Oz and their EP Best in Show. The summer saw them introduce Rob Houk as their new drummer. As one of the hardest-working bands in the state, Aqueous is certainly one to watch in years to come.

    Reader Pick: The Other Brothers
    From: New Paltz

    The Other Brothers, recently interviewed by our own Karina Verlan, is a “neo-soul” band that formed in 2012 while students at SUNY New Paltz. The band grew to its current six-piece formation this past year when they added percussionist Jared Nelson and keyboardist Gabe Marquez. While they have no shows lined up for the remainder of the year, they are in and out of the studio working on their debut album.

  • K. Phillips Interview on Recess with Spinelli

    Mr. K Phillips opened up for Rob Thomas and the Counting Crows at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, so naturally, we had to speak with this young up-and-coming ranch-raised Texan about his passion for story-telling.

    K. Phillips
    Listen to interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve-EK4DeG9M

    Listen to the abridged feature/interview

    Recess with Spinelli: How’s the trip going, any highlight so far?

    K. Phillips: Everything is a highlight. This is a highlight; we’re in Saratoga Springs there’s 24,000 seats in this venue.  It’s like I died and went to heaven, I’m just glad to be here.

    RWS: It sounds like this tour is largly outdoor amphitheatres?

    KP: Yes. I loved it.  It’s a little harder for us because the band rehearsed so much and and we’re so good at playing a club setting but nothing can prepare you for playing on a gigantic stage; it’s made out of aluminum and the sound shoots everywhere and it bounces off the back of the hill and comes back to you and it was very challenging, first to learn how to hear each other to play on the stage. I’ve been touring the United States for about seven years but that’s usually in front of you know, 15 people a night.

    RWS: When that transition initially happened, from going from playing in front of 15 people to playing in front of thousands or 20,000 what was your initial mindset change?

    KP: It’s actually  actually easier because when there’s 5000 people watching you who haven’t seen you seen you, some of them are listening and so maybe like 2500 people are actually watching you attentively.  It’s actually easier because you feel like you’re doing something. Sometimes when you play for 15 people, 2 of those people are listening.  We’ve been ready to do this but nothing can prepare you for it.

    RWS: The way we heard about you was through interviewing Adam Duritz of Counting Crows; Adam spoke very fondly of you and told us to check you out, How long have you actually known Mr. Duritz.

    KP: In 2012…he sponsors a blog that finds new music and he listens to all of it.  He doesn’t have to do that but he still does.  I mean, I think that’s what makes him great, is that he loves music and he’s always filling the well.  It was so funny when we started to play and he used to come to my shows and it would be 12 people, but then 1 of the 12 people would be Adam Duritz.  It was almost embarressing, you know like “you like me, but I don’t have any fans yet.”  I mean he’s like one of the greatest writers of our time and one of the greatest literate writers. it’s a very special thing for me.  And Rob too, I didn’t know Rob before this tour; they’re 2 of the nicest guys I’ve ever met and they don’t have to be, they’re super successful, they watch every show of mine and then they going to put on a show on the kill and after that we hang out; it’s amazing.  I never want it to end

    RWS: Have you noticed any doors open or any opportunities come your way because of this?

    KP: D’Angelico, the great New York guitar company gave me a guitar.  They sent me to their showroom and I just pick out a guitar to play for this tour and that was so nice.  Being somebody that they think is worthy of an endorsement, that’s kind of neat to me. Right before this tour I had a guitar in pawn which I lost because I couldn’t afford get out of pawn.  And then D’Angelico gives me this way better guitar than I had in pawn.  It’s just funny how your life changes so quickly when people help you

    RWS: Now with Mr. Duritz, I believe that you’ve done some work with him in the past, I think I saw that he covered “Kat’s Song” and I think I heard that he worked with you on the new albums?

    KP: Yeah, he let us record some stuff at his house, so one of the new songs on this was recorded at his house and actually, a guitar that we used, we found out later was the guitar from the “Mr. Jones” video, which is funny.  I was like “this guitar sounds so Counting Crows.  So we recorded at his house and he sang on it and he added this four-part harmony like it was nothing.  A few years ago I was watching the Counting Crows.  We were at the Bowery Electric and the Crows were playing a cigartette show and my friend Nekia was playing a song with them and he’s like “Dude, you gotta video tape me doin’ this song” and I’m like “Man I gotta go, I have my own show” and he said “This is gonna blow your mind.”  They go into this song and I’m like “That’s funny, I have a song that sounds alot like that.” and then Adam Duritz sings “I took that young thing to dinner,” which is my line to a song I wrote called “Kat’s Song” and I  realize at that moment that they’re not doing a song that sounds like my song, they’re doing my song. I started weeping, it was like a lifetime achievement award. The Counting Crows have too many good songs.

    RWS: As a songwriter, would you say you have a certain duty or responsibility either to yourself or to the listener to write an honest song?

    KP: My duty is to connect people and to write things which connect the song with the listener, and the only way you can do that is to have an honest narrator.  When you do that, it doesn’t matter what the story is, it’s going to connect, it’s gonna help people through whatever the situation is.

    RWS: How do you know whether or not you are being honest?

    KP: I know because, there’s a poem by Robert Graves, which I always go back to.  It’s actually what our LLC is named after.  It’s called “Love without Hope” and in four lines, Robert Graves tells the story of this bird catcher in industrial England, he spends his day in this park, everyday his job is to put larks in his hat, take them to a baker, baker gives him a piece of bread, maybe a piece of coal and that night he goes with food in his stomache and he doesn’t go cold; that’s all he has to do, just grab the birds before it gets dark.  On this particular day, he’s leaving the park, he’s got his birds and he sees this beautiful white carriage drawn by two white horses and inside is this beautiful squire’s daughter and here, this lowly birdcatcher, sees this girl and he looks at her and shee looks at him and he tips his cap; the birds fly out, the larks fly to the heavens and she watches them go to the heavens and he’s made this impression on this girl he’d never have a chance with.  Now he goes home and he’s cold and he’s hungry, but he’s made an impression on this girl.  I’ve never been a birdcatcher, bu I know from that story, I can relate and I think about that story all the time and if I wonder if my narrator is being honest, I just compare it to that, “Love without Hope.”

    RWS: Was it a relief when you were finally able to put your thoughts on paper in a cohesive manor that could be understood?

    KP: Yeah, but I can’t do that every time.  After each song you write after every record you write, you’re just starting over.  You’d think that you would get better, but the only thing that gets better is your expectations, I’ve definitely gotten better at finishing songs, I’ve gotten better at writing with people.  This last record was writted to be a breakup record.  That was fun for me to go like “How does this fit in?” or “There’s a song called 18 year old girls,” an 18 year old girl who like looks like a grown-up but she’s totally not.  It’s funny the idea of this character who’s come out of a relationship and he’s gonna bring this 18 year old girl around to his friends and they’ll be like “What are you doing, dude?”  So I am looking for more perspective than I am looking for the next what I can’t have.  What gets me off about songwriting is finding different angles and funny scenarios.”

    Recess with Spinelli can be heard every Wednesday 8pm-10pm EDT on WSPN in Saratoga Springs, NY on 91.1FM and on Hoxton FM in London, England every Wednesday 11pm-1am GMT 6pm-8pm EDT

    Follow Recess with Spinelli: Instagram Twitter Facebook Youtube Soundcloud  Mixcloud Tumblr and online at longbowmedia.us

  • The Lake Brothers Retrofit Rochester with Old School Rock n Roll

    The Flower City music scene has continued to blossom over the past few years, displaying its symphonic diversity as a focal point of Rochester’s cultural identity. New venues have taken root as the city continually evolves and locals are finding more ways to fall in love with this mid-sized but mighty Finger Lakes of NY destination. In the midst of this inspiring evolution, modern nostalgia weaves its own thread into this rich cultural tapestry in the form of The Lake Brothers heralding retro rock ‘n’ roll tinted with a punk rock kick.

    the-lake-brothers-rochester-20162

    Trevor (26), Austin (24) and Brendan Lake (19) grew up on a 30 acre farm in Hilton, NY where they forged a strong sense of camaraderie cultivated from a lack of proximity to other kids in the neighborhood. Their father, a jazz drummer, always kept drums in the house, though never pressured his sons into music. Nevertheless, playing music became a main hobby for the Lake brothers, and after years of marching band, jazz band and concert band throughout school, they’re taking their skills to the hipster bars and grungy basements of Rochester and making waves.

    the-lake-brothers-rochester-20164

    Between the three brothers, there are three bands in which they each lend their skill in varying combinations. The Televisionaries (TV’s), a largely instrumental surf/rockabilly trio features Trevor (guitar/vocals) and Austin (drums). Punk rock ‘n’ roll group, The Temptators, features Austin (guitar/vocals) and Brendan (bass/vocals) along with three other band mates. Finally, the ten-piece explosive, high energy rock ‘n’ roll drive in Aweful Kanawful & His Rubber Husband’s Band is manned with Austin (vocals) and Trevor (guitar). And yes, Austin plays in all three bands. I met up with them at Trevor’s apartment to learn more about their collective contributions to the Rochester music scene, how they got started and where they’re headed.

    Ally Dean: I was in Rochester a couple weekends ago and saw Aweful Kanawful & His Rubber Husband’s Band at Skylark on Friday, then saw The Temptators at a basement show on Windsor Street Saturday. I thought it was really interesting that you’re all brothers, are all musically talented and collaborate together on your different projects.

    Austin Lake: We probably could have ended up as mechanics together. Playing music just came after all your other extracurricular things in school. After building ramps and scaring the shit out of each other. We had a fake wrestling ring for a while. That could have tooken up. So music is just kinda the only thing that’s working right now. Later in life you could see the three bandits ready to go fight crime in the ring. It could happen.

    AD: Do the three of you practice together or jam?

    Brendan Lake: Probably been a year since we’ve done that.

    AL: The world would probably end if we did that.

    AD: Why?

    AL: We just don’t know what would happen.

    Trevor Lake: The stars could align. We could make some serious music.

    AD: Do you guys get along pretty well? Do you think it would be a good collaboration?

    BL: Oh yeah. I think it would be too easy.

    TL: We are all song writers. In each band we’re each the main songwriter except for The Temptators where Austin and Brendan each write some, in the TV’s I write all the songs and in Aweful Kanawful Austin writes all the songs. We’re each the head chef in the kitchen, so to have three head chefs in one kitchen, I dunno what would happen.

    AL: Too many cooks! Although I don’t think any of us are too strict in our ideas that it wouldn’t work.

    TL: We would need more time. We’d have to quit every other band.

    AL: We could take a year, write a record. (half jokingly) Maybe that’s what we’ll do now.

    TL: There’s a lot of music already. Brendan also plays drums in a group called Gun Trouble.

    BL: I don’t write any of that music though.

    TL: We each have our own solo projects. Austin has two tapes he’s recorded which turned into Aweful Kanawful & His Rubber Husband’s Band.

    BL: I’ve been trying to put out a solo tape for three years and I’m finally at a point where I’ve got an album I’m happy with so I’ll probably put it out this winter. Just stuff I recorded in my room at my house.

    TL: And I did a solo tape as well that was recently released.

    AD: I have to ask: How did you come up with the name Aweful Kanawful & His Rubber Husband’s Band?

    AL: Dude I don’t know, that’s a good one. I like that name. I think about changing it a lot too.

    AD: Why?

    AL: Because he’s not my character, he’s an actual character. There’s tons of Aweful Kanawfuls out there. And the Rubber Husband’s part, you know what a rubber husband is right?

    AD: Should I?

    AL: Yeah! It’s probably not what you think it is.

    AD: The first thing I picture is a blow up sex doll.

    AL/TL: (pensive) Okay…

    TL: It’s actually the most innocent thing you could imagine.

    AL: They’re the little things that help you open jars. We’ve used em. They come in handy for anyone.

    AD: You could write jingles for them!

    AL: We might ruin the product forever!

    AD: What are each of your musical influences? Name the first thing that comes to mind.

    BL: Beach Boys.

    AL: Queen.

    TL: 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll, Sun Records, Elvis, Golden Age of rock ‘n’ roll, Phil Spector.

    BL: I remember Modest Mouse being the first band I really loved in middle school.

    AL: Four Tops, Motown. Motown should be number one, really. That was definitely the first thing I got into. And Buddy Holly, early rock ‘n’ roll, the goofballs of the 50’s. Pretty much everything. It’s hard to weed out anything. Tons of pop punk. That was definitely what got me into rock ‘n’ roll.

    AD: So what do you guys do when you’re not playing music?

    TL: Thinking about it. Obsessing over it.

    BL: I wait tables at a vegan restaurant, The Red Fern, on Park Ave. Been working there three years and started waiting tables seven months ago. I like it, it’s easy and it’s a nice area.

    AL: (proudly states) I just quit my job. I screen printed shirts with a good friend of mine for five years at Galaxy Graphics and now I’m goin’ to probably wash dishes somewhere at an undetermined place. Or rock ‘n’ roll for the rest of my life. Who knows!

    TL: And I am a full time barber. It was my mom’s recommendation, but thinking back, my friends would come over and I’d give em hair cuts.

    AL: Bowl cuts.

    TL: A lot of bowl cuts. There’s an early picture of me, probably 12 years old cutting Brendan’s hair in the backyard and I saw that and thought it all makes sense. My mom one day said “Hey you’re not going to college, why don’t you go to hair school and be a barber. So I gave it a try and it worked out. Now I do that and make a living and I can buy a car somehow, which blows my mind.

    AD: Is it the red one parked out front?

    TL: Yeah it’s a ’65 Thunderbird. It’s ready to go away pretty soon. As soon as the snow hits. I can’t drive it in the winter time. The salt will destroy it.

    AD: So what do you do without it? Do you have another car?

    TL: Nope I bought the car at the beginning of the summer and up until then I didn’t have a car for about two years so I just walk.

    BL: I was sixteen when I bought my motorcycle. It sounds bad ass but I dunno what I was thinking.

    AL: I mean, you dropped out of school at sixteen years old, bought a motorcycle, moved to the city. And our parents were flipping out like “What have we done!”

    BL: It wouldn’t have happened that way unless I was the third child. Trevor was definitely the guinea pig for our parents.

    TL: I moved out pretty early.

    BL: By the time it was me they were like “Just do what you’re gonna do,” so I had way more leniency than they did.

    AD: Are your parents supportive of your musical endeavors?

    TL: Totally. They love it.

    BL: They come to shows every now and then.

    AD: Do they dance?

    BL: No. They seem like they genuinely like it though. Hopefully it gives them something.

    AL: Yeah we’re gonna make em a ton of money someday. I’d like to have my mom see us on TV someday. Actually, Aweful Kanawful did have its first show ever on the news. We played Good Day Rochester. It might be gone now. It should be gone. It wasn’t very good but it was sweet. It was a lot of fun. Getting ten people up that early was a miracle.

    AD: So what should we expect in the near future from your respective bands?

    BL: Music that’s gonna blow your mind.

    TL: Temptators just came out with a new 45. TV’s have half of a record out on CD and the other half will be recorded in a month and we’ll put it together and give it an official release.

    AD: Nice. Any upcoming shows?

    BL: The Temptators and Gun Trouble are playing in Brooklyn on December 11th so that should be really fun. As far as shows in Rochester I don’t think there’s anything planned yet.

    AL: Two Kanawful tapes with about twenty songs are coming soon. Probably January.

    BL: We’ve all got big plans, that’s for sure.

    AD: So where do you guys see yourselves in five years?

    BL: Hopefully living somewhere other than Rochester

    AD: Where would be ideal for you?

    BL: Since I was a little kid I always dreamed of moving to California and I think Austin has too.

    AL: It’s not that we want to make a lot of money and bang a lot of chicks, we just want the opportunity to.

    AD: Sometimes just having the option can put your mind at ease.

    TL: That’s the spice of life, having the option. I have never really wanted to move. I like staying here for now. In the future hopefully we’ll be playing on the road more often.

    AL: I think our music will probably do better overseas if it gets out there.

    TL: They say older style rock ‘n’ roll does really well in Mexico and Spain. Everyone has always worshiped American rock ‘n’ roll.

    AL: And now America doesn’t give a shit about rock ‘n’ roll.

    BL: I think if your music is genuine enough then it will mean something to everybody.

    AL: It would be nice to entertain the current generation but provide something that will last a while. It’s gone sort of back in time now where artists release a single and get it out there as fast as possible. It sort of exonerates the whole idea of putting out a record that will stand through time and not just be good right now. It’s hard because who doesn’t want to put stuff out now and be in on the action.

    TL: Everyone can record music themselves now on their computer or cell phone. Puts everyone on the same level.

    AD: It is a gift and a curse because it’s a very saturated market but it’s also easier for people to get their stuff out there so it’s a matter of being on top of it and reaching your audience. So how do you all branch out to widen your audience?

    AL: I’m horrible at it.

    TL: We’re trying to get better at it. For a while we didn’t do any social media because we were against it. But after a while you realize if you want to keep up with the Jones’ and book shows in NYC you have to have a social media presence. If people can’t find anything about you online they’re not gonna book you. So you have to play the game.

    AD: Any final comments?

    BL: As far as us being brothers goes, we’re always gonna stick together. We’ll always be making music and we’ll always be friends. We have a really strong connection. We were never bored as kids and when we’re together now it’s never boring. Gotta stick with your pack.

    AD: One last but very important question: What’s your spirit animal?

    AL: Keith Richards.

    BL: A turtle.

    TL: Mine is a lizard. It was given to me.

    AL: Someone told me mine was Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh. He’s the leader of all the animals.

    BL: It’s pronounced Christopher Walken. (does impression) “Don’t get on my back about crumbs.”

    AL: My spirit animal is a bag of crumbs.

  • The Jesus and Mary Chain Announce First New Studio Release Since 1998

    Post-punk sensations The Jesus and Mary Chain have been getting back up to speed of late. In 2014 and 2015 they played several tour dates in the run up to last year’s release of Live from Barrowlands, and now longtime Jesus and Mary Chain handler Alan McGee, of Creation Records, has announced that the band is set to release a new studio album in March 2017 on Warner Brothers Records. In an interview with CBC Music, McGee exclaimed, “they’ve made another album. It’s a big deal! It’s unbelievable.”

    While the Jesus and Mary Chain, led by brothers Jim and William Reid, released a compilation record, 21 Singles, in 2002, the upcoming release will give fans their first dose of new material since 1998’s Munky. Eighteen years is a long time to wait, but this announcement comes as a taste of candy for all the devoted fans who feared this day would never arrive.

    No tour dates have been announced in support of the new release as of yet, however, there remain three chances to catch The Jesus and Mary Chain live in the act before the year ends. The brothers Reid, who are now joined by Scott Van Ryper on guitar, Mark Crozer on bass, and Brian Young on drums, will take the stage at the Georgia Theatre in Athens on December 13, 2016, followed by a performance at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA on December 14, and then a trip to New Orleans for a show at The Joy Theater on December 16.

    Click here for further details, including tickets, and check out the official video for “You Trip Me Up,” from 1985’s landmark release Psychocandy.

  • Rebuilding the Syracuse Art Scene: An Interview with Justin Pellingra

    I can distinctly recall the brisk November night last year when a painter friend invited me to swing by a collaborative art space that had just popped up in downtown Syracuse. Intrigued to observe what happens when the eccentrics of the city converge under one roof, I curiously made my way to this space at 451 S. Warren Street dubbed The Vault.  The room was still pretty raw: white walls dappled with spray paint and a few unfinished canvases propped up, poised to absorb the strokes of an inspired hand. A free-standing toddler-sized basketball hoop begged for attention on one side of the room while other playful participants took advantage of the open floor to propel themselves around in a wheelchair or practice tricks on a skateboard. One of these spirited wheelchair riders was none other than The Vault proprietor, Justin Pellingra.

    Justin PellingraThe venue wasn’t officially open yet, but Pellingra had already opened the doors to let curious minds wander around his newly acquired property. As I observed this young entrepreneur roll around in what could be best described as an adult indoor playground, I wondered what would become of this venue that at the time seemed to have little direction, but infinite potential.

    It has been a year since The Vault opened it’s doors and in that short span of time, Pellingra has run the gamut of artistic expression, fully utilizing this amorphous space by keeping the weekly schedule packed with live music, art showcases, gaming tournaments where people play bingo for money, film screenings, fashion shows and a flurry of educational and entrepreneurial opportunities to help local artists network and provide a platform for them to display their diverse talents to the community.

    Justin PellingraPellingra has tirelessly cultivated his multimedia venture to elevate the arts in Syracuse and revive the culture he knows is waiting to make a comeback. The arts in Syracuse have gained intense momentum over the past few months thanks largely to Pellingra’s efforts. In the face of this success, code enforcement has forced Pellingra to relocate, but he is determined to uphold his mission to illuminate the artistic vibrancy of this talented city. I recently caught up with him at The Vault to discuss the past, present and future outlook for The Vault:

    Ally Dean: What is your role at The Vault?

    Justin Pellingra: Overall I want to shape the city. I see my role as being a social architect. I see Syracuse as this place that’s partially developed right now. It’s like a blank canvas in many ways and it’s just a matter of who’s going to step up and do it. I noticed there weren’t the proper venues for all this talent in the city. So I opened up my own place to have that platform and I’m letting everybody in. If you’re cool and you’re serious about what you’re doing or you have a passion, I’m gonna give you this platform. I film and do photography for everybody so they have a press kit to put out. I didn’t study film or photography in school so for me this was my education.

    Now I have all these students coming and that I’m training to do live audio, recorded audio, interviews, how to be behind the camera and how to direct other people and learning how to get funding and all the resources we need for production. One of the other elements is to build the film industry here in Syracuse. That’s another blank canvas that’s a major industry for economic development which this city needs. But I think this city lacks visionaries. A lot of the people that are in charge in this city are doing it the same way it’s been done.

    Justin PellingraAD: What are the issues with code that are threatening to close you down?

    JP: The issue is this back door. There’s a sidewalk that leads to the street and it’s about 20 feet. It’s owned by the neighbor. The neighbor is actually a cool guy. He has no problem with this door being an emergency exit. But what he doesn’t want to do is have it free for me to walk back there and go on his property. He wants to maintain his private property. The only way the codes will accept that this is a door is if the neighbor signs an easement which is an all eternity bridge that connects the two properties. He’d have to give up rights to his own property and it’s asking too much.

    So even though we have 2,400 square feet in here, our occupancy is now being determined by only the two front doors, so it’s getting dropped from 260 to 49 people. If that happens it just doesn’t make it possible to continue doing what we’re doing. I can’t do business here and so it’s gonna return to the abandoned block it was. There’s been development since I’ve been over here which is cool, but in general there’s a lot of undeveloped property sitting around with nothing happening to them and you have someone like myself investing in these properties and they’d rather have it continue to be empty.

    AD: This must be frustrating to handle…

    JP: It sucks because I only have two dollars in my pocket and we were at the peak. We have two big music festivals coming up. Our calendar is booked. We’re in the highest demand we’ve ever been in. It’s at peak capacity with events everyday. It was a booming business. It seemed like something people needed. It was always amazing. I loved it, it was beautiful, it was wonderful. It was cool that I could provide a space where people could just be free for a while. They would escape their day and express themselves.

    AD: It has been such a great space for artists to network. Where else would they get a chance to meet each other. Especially when you’re offering a space for so many different mediums. You’re bridging that gap between different arts.

    JP: Right. And I made a point not to make it about making money on my end. I give other people the opportunity to make money first. I’d make it so that there was no risk. You don’t have to invest anything but your time and I’m gonna give you platforms and put you in front of people and allow you to try to sell your work. So many artists got their first commissions here.

    AD: So you’ve started looking at new locations for the Vault?

    JP: Yeah I’ve looked at some promising locations. They want a lot of money for some of these spots so we’ll see what happens. But I think Syracuse is ready for us to expand and move somewhere bigger.

    AD: Could you start a crowdfunding campaign to help fund it?

    JP: I have a very hard time asking for things, especially money, but I probably will.

    AD: I’m sure you could get a bunch of local artists in on it. Have them offer a CD, a small piece of art or stickers.

    JP: That’s a great idea because its always been a community space. I’ve stuck to certain principles through this whole process and one of them is “Can this be a business were everybody wins?” It doesn’t have to be at the expense of someone else. So much has always felt like compromise in business to me. The other thing I strive to do is to see what would happen if I literally just always gave to anyone that seemed like they needed anything or asked anything of me. I wanted to prove a lot of notions wrong.

    Notions like “If you want something you have to go out and take it” or “Nobody gives a fuck so I don’t give a fuck” There’s so much of our culture that’s like that. I just want that to stop. Just be cool for a little bit, make a few friends, look out for them and watch over time how they look out for you. And you do that with 300 people and you just give to them all the time, now you have these little doses and they add up. I feel like I’ve been so prosperous and it’s not a financial thing. Everyday people call me looking for me, often just to say thank you or do something nice. If I look out for everybody else I’m of the belief that a lot of people are going to be looking out for me.

    At first it might look like I’m just giving away everything I have and it seems kind of crazy but I’m not afraid to do this. This is how I’m gonna operate. And people have been incredibly generous in return. I don’t think this business, if you want to call it a business, could have operated without that. I think it’s special and different from any other music venue in town. I wanted to set an example of how it could be done.

    AD: Do you see this as a long-term investment or do you just want to get it to a stage where it’s self-sustaining?

    JP: Right now I’m invested in Syracuse. I’ve built too much to walk away from it. I know people have been inspired by what’s going on here and are going to be doing similar things. I feel like the demand is so high and supply is so low and I love doing it so I have to keep doing it.

    AD: How are you managing all of the shows you already had booked?

    JP: We’re going through a transition but it hasn’t slowed us down, all we did was change up how we’re doing it. The forty shows we have booked right now, we’re taking to a different location in the city, and calling it the “Live from The Vault Tour.” We’re highlighting those locations because it’s never been just about The Vault anyway. It’s been about the city and building up the culture. Places like this can’t survive without strong culture where people understand the value of it. So to build the culture we’ve been bringing our shows to other venues, adding a little bit of our flavor.

    AD: Was “The Vault Tour” initiated because of getting shut down or was it already a concept you were interested in?

    JP: We’re pretty good at working quickly and working with what we have. Literally the first day we got the notice it was a stop work order because of the door. We got that and had half an hour to promote a show at a new location. Originally we cancelled it, but then a half hour before it was supposed to start we hit social media hard and the show was huge.

  • Patrick Harbron’s Rock Photography Exhibit opens at Albany Institute

    The photographer stands in front of a print of a young Bruce Springsteen squatting down and looking out upon the crowd as he straddles his guitar. “I try to tell a story with every picture I take,” said Patrick Harbron, acclaimed concert and portrait photographer of some of the biggest names in rock. “Even here with Springsteen. Unless you lived under a rock or were in solitary confinement, you can tell what’s happening here.”

    In Lawrence Kirsch’s “The Light in Darkness,” a book covering Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town” tour, Harbron described The Boss’ music as “grand but not arrogant.” The same could be said for the photographer who penned the words. The helix of Harbron’s career wraps around a pivotal time line in rock and roll history — out of the infancy of touring county fairs and maturing in front of sports arenas. He has followed and captured the likes of The Who, B.B. King, KISS, Prince and Blonde, in their respective primes, yet recalls stories of his personal interaction with these legends devoid of pretense.

    Harbron began his concert photography career capturing local acts in the Canadian media hub of Toronto, Ontario. At the onset of the 70s, Toronto was a blossoming music scene teeming with local acts while being a natural stop for the largest personalities in rock and roll.

    Born to a photographer as a father and an editor as his mother, Harbron’s lifework began covering concerts as a freelance journalist. Having a natural proclivity for both film and prose, he said he had difficulty choosing on which career to focus.

    “When I saw how large the picture was, and how [much smaller] the article was, the choice was easy.” he said.

    The Albany Institute of History & Art is showcasing Harbron’s work in its latest exhibition “Rock & Roll Icons: Photographs by Patrick Harbron” from Nov. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. The exhibition includes some of Harbron’s concert posters, memorabilia and souvenirs, as well as items on loan from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

    “As disparate as some of these artists seem,” said Harbron, “they all share the common ideal that rock and roll is made up of many faces, voices and influences. Everybody’s love of rock and roll is personal choice. I couldn’t do justice to just one artist or the entire genre at once, so this is rock and roll from my point of view.”

    The exhibit includes Harbron’s collection of concert and promotional posters and personal memorabilia he collected over the years. Much of the work on display, including album covers, books, magazine and publicity shots, have not been viewed before.

    Harbron first brought a camera to a show in December 1975. The Who was playing at Maple Leaf Gardens. “I had no idea then where it would take me,” he said.

    A black and white image of Debbie Harry tossing her hair is the lone image displayed on the show’s promotional material. It’s a picture Harbron captured at El Mocambo Club in Toronto in 1978. The contrast between her skin and platinum (and black) hair against the backdrop of the club shows a flash was used — a no-no for today’s photographers.

    “The early concerts were really exciting, and there was a little more freedom,” said Harbron. “Somebody asked me about access recently. There was a little more access. You could do more. And as groups began to understand how they appeared visually, they became more controlling. To the point it’s out of control, from a photographer’s point of view.”

    Camera technology had advanced so far as allowing photographers to capture images in low-light environments by tweaking their ISO setting. ISO once distinguished a film’s sensitivity to light. A roll of 100 ISO film was best used for bright, outdoor shots, where 800 ISO film was best for indoor, low-light action shots. Harbron commonly shot shows with 400 ISO film with a shutter speed of 1/125. Today’s high-end cameras are capable of shooting at 25,600 ISO (so, a flash would be unforgivable).

    “Photography was, it wasn’t digital, it was all film,” said Harbron. “You had to have the skill set. And, of course, I hit the runway running. … I don’t remember shooting [those first] live performance shoots foundly because it was really before my skill sets matched the requirements of the job. I learned the hard way. I learned on my feet.

    Harbron’s body of work includes two JUNO Award nominations for album cover photography. His work appears in magazines, advertising, annual reports and books. His clients include Rolling Stone, Time, People, and Business Week. His style of photography has lended him opportunities in photographing advertisements for Apple Computer, IBM, American Express, AT&T, PepsiCo, and Nabisco, among others. He now works for television network programs like “Marvel’s Daredevil” on Netflix, and is a faculty member of the International Center of Photography.

    Over nearly 20 years, Harbron photographed the likes of Springsteen, Ray Charles, the Grateful Dead, Blondie, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, RUSH, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, KISS, Queen and The Who. “Many of these performers influenced me as a listener and musician,” Harbron said, who still plays the drums, and was able to pull a favor to display a symbol and a pair of drumsticks from Neil Peart. “I grew up with them. The photographs on display are only a slice of my archive, and of rock and roll itself. … Through it all, I never lost my love of music, the artists or the shows. And, I still have most of my hearing.”

    The above piece appears special to NYSmusic.com from TheSpot518, a weekly arts and entertainment newspaper out of New York state’s Capital District. You can find content shared between NYSmusic.com and TheSpot518 in their concerted effort to provide quality coverage of our area’s music scene. For more information on TheSpot518, visit www.TheSpot518.com.

  • Foreigner Opens Their Much Anticipated Acoustic Tour at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA

    The legendary multi-Grammy and American Music Award nominated band Foreigner, who has over 80 million worldwide album sales and remains one of the best selling and recognized bands of all time, made the much anticipated premier of their 2016 acoustic tour opening at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Friday October 21, 2016.

    Foreigner announced earlier this year that they would be kicking off a month long acoustic tour running from October 21st through November 19th with a special and historical stop at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City. However, Wilkes-Barre, PA would be the launching point for this long awaited, intimate, stripped down acoustic tour.

    There were no drum risers or drum kits, multi tiered keyboard stands, stacks of amps, electric guitars or the highly energetic full impact punch of a regular Foreigner show which typically includes lots of stage energy, running, and jumping along with guitar and drum solos. Instead, the atmosphere was very intimate and relaxed with six white stools lit with moody spots, several acoustic guitars on stands and a few tables with water bottles waiting for the band. The table next to Kelly Hansen, lead singer, had a few hand held percussion instruments he used throughout the set.

    Scheduled for an 8 p.m. start time, guests started arriving at the historical venue around 6 p.m. where the VIP guests were treated with a special meet and greet with the band before the start of the show. Most guests interviewed related a sense of being a part of a special night and feeling the venue and band members themselves made them feel like they were part of the show, relaxed and humbled being a part of the premier of the acoustic tour.

    At 8 p.m. Foreigners tour manager Phil Carson walked out on stage to the sold out crowd at the F.M. Kirby Center and announced the band. As the band members walked out waving and giving peace signs to the crowd, Mick Jones, one of Foreigners founding and only original member, walked out and greeted the audience with two hands waved overhead. The audience was going wild over the fact that Mick was in attendance for tonight’s performance. Mick, who has not toured regularly with the band much this summer, was definitely a nice surprise for all the Foreigner fans. All the band members seemed to sense the excitement and anticipation of the crowd and the historic significance their performance would have on the audience with a feeling of grace and gratitude shared between themselves and the crowd.

    After the warm greeting, the band made their way to their respective chairs on stage from left to right, Michael Bluestein on a Kurzweil electric piano, Bruce Watson on guitars, mandolin, Dobro, banjo and more, Mick Jones on guitar, Kelly Hansen on vocals, Jeff Pilson on bass and guitars and Thom Gimbel on guitars, flute, sax and bass.

    Kelly and Mick each said a few words thanking the crowd for being a part of this special intimate and emotional night, about the inception of the acoustic album largely giving credit to bassist Jeff Pilson before beginning their first song of their fifteen song set, “Double Vision.” The band performed flawlessly, as expected, giving the crowd a different flavor on this Foreigner classic hit. Mick got into a little singer-songwriter mode for the next song talking about when he first came to the “Big Apple” in the 1970’s after being in a few bands prior to forming Foreigner in 1976 with former lead singer Lou Gramm. He discussed the inspiration for the next song, “Long, Long Way From Home,” which featured Thom Gimbel on amazing saxophone. Next up was the popular song “Say You Will.” At times throughout the night, the band had emotional and intimate interactions with the crowd talking about the history, the members and inspiration for the songs. This being the 40th anniversary of Foreigner made it even more special as Mick talked about the ups and downs, trials and tribulations and various band members over the last 40 years.

    Throughout the night, the mood was fun and relaxed with some joking and a bit of roasting of some band members by each other. Again, there was nothing fancy in regards to stage theatrics, lighting, lasers, smoke machines or loud electric amps and guitars –  just the music and the stories. Really, in all respects, the only thing that came through was the music and the personalities of the band in a real and emotionally felt manner. The music was spot on and flawless with the acoustic guitars, electric piano, Bruce’s Appalachian flair on the guitar, mandolin, banjo and some amazing fret work on the dobro during the song “Girl On The Moon.”

    Above all, the harmonies were pure, smooth, silky perfection. Being stripped down without the loud distraction from the electric guitars, synthesizers or drums, the vocals were really the pinnacle of this acoustic set that blended well with the instruments.

    The band, in keeping with the traditional Foreigner stage show, again brought out a local choir to join them on stage for their 1984 number one hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is.” However this time was different for two reasons. First, again, it was an all acoustic unplugged set. Second, instead of a local high school, Foreigner this time chose a local adult choir to join them onstage for the acoustic rendition of this timeless classic. The Wyoming County Chorale from Tunkhannock, PA joined Foreigner onstage for the second to last song of the evening. I’m sure by this point most of the audience at the F.M. Kirby Center had goosebumps not only from this amazing vocal/acoustic rendition, but from the unforgettable experience of the entire night. Closing out their set, again in keeping with Foreigner tradition, was the #3 song on the 1978 Billboard Hot 100 chart and certified platinum hit, “Hot Blooded.”

    In the course of music history, many things stick out in the minds of the fans. Things like their first concert, meeting their favorite band or simply catching a guitar pick or drumstick thrown from stage. The premier of this Foreigner acoustic tour at the historic and intimate F.M. Kirby Center had to be one of those moments for many of the fans in attendance. The fans left sensing the different, real and graceful side of the band and their music heard in a way that will surely leave lasting memories.

    [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”182″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails” override_thumbnail_settings=”0″ thumbnail_width=”150″ thumbnail_height=”150″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ images_per_page=”0″ number_of_columns=”0″ ajax_pagination=”1″ show_all_in_lightbox=”0″ use_imagebrowser_effect=”0″ show_slideshow_link=”1″ slideshow_link_text=”[Show as slideshow]” ngg_triggers_display=”never” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ order_by=”pid” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

  • Beaucoup Blue Provides the Elixir

    Elixir /ih-lik-ser/ noun – a panacea; cure-all; sovereign remedy

    Elixir is also the title of the soon to be released CD by Beaucoup Blue featuring a cover photograph of an antique elixir bottle from their hometown of Philadelphia. The father and son duo of David and Adrian Mowry, known as Beaucoup Blue, performed October 21st at the Nelson Odeon in Nelson, New York. Their repertoire covered familiar themes of trains, tramps, trouble, troubadours, true love gone wrong, and truth as they see it. David, the elder of the duo, switched often between what appeared to be a vintage Guild guitar and a gorgeous Dobro resonator. Mixing slide guitar with a finger-picking style, thumb-strumming, and percussive gestures, he wrangled an impressive range of sounds from his instruments. He and his son Adrian traded lead vocals on songs that each, respectively, wrote with Adrian adding rhythm guitar and melodic flourishes on David’s songs. brian-cornish-beaucoup-blue-002

    Highlights of their own pieces were “Rounder,” “Hurry Down My Holley,” and “Lonely at the Top.” Particularly noteworthy was hearing how their selections of cover tunes were both respectful to the original songs and revised just enough to be their own enjoyable versions. These included Charlie Poole’s “If the River Was Whiskey (Hesitation Blues),” Tampa Red’s “It Hurts Me Too,” their closing song, “Rainy Night in Georgia,” written by Tony Joe White, and the encore, Junior Parker’s “Mystery Train.” They have an easy rapport with each other and their audience. Listeners were engaged throughout the night’s two sets lasting two hours, ten minutes. Beaucoup Blue reminded the audience that music can indeed be an elixir. Merci, Beaucoup.

    brian-cornish-beaucoup-blue-012

    A journey to the Nelson Odeon to hear live music is not only a treat for the ears but an eye-opener as well in learning how a distinctly different performance space operates. Owners Jeff and Linda Schoenfeld are now in their seventh year operating the former Grange Hall. It is a small, comfortable venue with a capacity of perhaps one hundred fifty. Wood floors, walls and ceiling provide a rich warm sound, managed superbly well by Ralph Meitz, the sound engineer. Ralph and the performers are the only people who are paid. A team of volunteers takes tickets, arranges seating, and manages a small concession area offering soft drinks, baked goods, coffee and tea. Artists and fans meet, mingle, and chat before and between sets and following the evening’s performance. The Schoenfelds have cultivated a loyal group of supporters by presenting a diverse array of acts that might be less well known, but are certainly not lesser talent than might appear elsewhere. They do so by having a relaxed atmosphere with few rules, treating everyone nicely, and doing all they can for the performers, including housing them in their home down the street and providing home cooked meals. These gestures are greatly appreciated by road-weary musicians used to long miles, cookie cutter hotel rooms, and scrambling to grab something to eat and head to the next show. It is a formula that has allowed the Schoenfelds to pay the bills and keep both patrons and performers happy and looking forward to returning. Central New York music fans should check the Nelson Odeon schedule and make it a point to attend a show or two.

  • Bob Dylan Awarded 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature

    The Swedish Academy announced today that it will award the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” The announcement breaks with convention, as past recipients of the prize have composed primarily in one or more of the traditional genres of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, or drama.

    According to the New York Times story by Altar, Chan, and Sisario, “the Nobel comes with a prize of eight million Swedish kronor, or just over $900,000. The literature prize is given for a lifetime of writing rather than for a single work.” Dylan is the first American to receive the honor since Toni Morrison in 1993.

    bob dylan Nobel Prize
    Photo by Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

    Dylan is widely recognized as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, having been inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, while receiving twelve Grammy awards, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a special citation from the Pulitzer prize committee, Kennedy Center honors, a National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom along the way. With this capstone achievement, Dylan has indubitably fulfilled the destiny many of his fellow musicians ascribed to him long ago. As Jerry Garcia had it, “Dylan gave rock n’ roll the thing I’d wished it had when I was a kid—respectability, some authority. He took it out of the realm of ignorant guys banging away on electric instruments and put it somewhere else altogether.” Though Garcia did not live to see it, we now know that ‘somewhere else altogether’ is to be among the planet’s foremost creators and thinkers in the annals of the Swedish Academy.

    Bob Dylan was born as Robert Allen Zimmerman May 24, 1941 in Duluth, MN, and was subsequently raised in nearby Hibbing, MN. At the age of nineteen, he cut out for Greenwich Village with a few songs and a guitar, a wannabe folk singer following in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie. It was during this time, while performing at coffeehouses like the Gaslight Café and the Café Wha? that he honed his songwriting talent, cultivated his creative persona, and whetted his deft delivery to a razor-sharp edge. With the help of famed producer John Hammond, he released his eponymous debut in 1962. Its follow-up, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan came out in 1963, and when the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary recorded the timeless single “Blowin’ in the Wind,” it skyrocketed to number two on the Billboard charts, thus catapulting Bob Dylan into the American consciousness. In August of 1963, at the age of twenty-two, Dylan, accompanied by Joan Baez, performed “When the Ship Comes In” and “Only a Pawn In Their Game” at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom just before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

    Over the course of his decades-long career, Dylan has confounded audiences at every turn. In 1965 he took the Newport Folk Festival by storm, toppling the acoustic expectations of the folk enthusiasts in a blaze of electric guitar-driven guerrilla rock heretofore unknown, declaring “I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more,” and taking the whole of pop music with him. In 1966, during the height of a hugely successful foray into electric rock, which saw the release of Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde, following a devastating motorcycle crash, he disappeared from the scene altogether, holing up with The Band in Woodstock, NY to work on The Basement Tapes in secrecy, which would not be released until 1975. Of this period, Allen Ginsberg said, “He was writing shorter lines, with every line meaning something. Each line had to advance the story, bring the song forward…There was to be no wasted language, no wasted breath.”

    Photo by Billy Name, 1963
    Photo by Billy Name, 1963

    More surprises followed in the coming decades, as Dylan went on to record a country album, 1969’s Nashville Skyline, score and star in the 1970 film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, and embrace a Christian rock phase, during which he released Slow Train Coming in 1979 and Saved in 1980. And in the years leading up to and following the turn of the millennium, Dylan experienced a profound reemergence as a supremely influential songwriter, albeit in a decidedly more jaded, wise, and curatorial register than that of his younger self’s high-strung psychedelic prophecies. His influence spread for the first time to a younger generation in search of stability in insoluble times, and for the second time for an older generation having grown decidedly jaded, wise, and curatorial themselves. Oh Mercy (1989), Time Out of Mind (1997), Love and Theft (2001), Modern Times (2006), Together Through Life (2009), and The Tempest (2012) form the canon for the latter half of Dylan’s recording career, which he has dutifully supported on his “Never Ending Tour,” which has been going strong since 1988. In keeping with tradition, Dylan has continued to defy expectations over the last few years by releasing a trio of classic cover albums, taking on tunes mostly from the traditional Christmas and Sinatra catalogues.

    In addition to a prolific songwriting career, Dylan is a recognized painter, poet, scriptwriter, and memoirist. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world and featured in his Drawn Blank series, his experimental prose-poetry piece, Tarantula, appeared in 1971, a compilation titled “Writings and Drawings” was released in 1973, and his memoirs, Chronicles, came out in 2004.

    In what has been a strange and unsurprising autumn already, the announcement of Bob Dylan, a simple song and dance man, as the newest Nobel laureate in literature comes as yet another strange unsurpise. Strange in that, like most aging institutions, we are here to stand witness to the dissolution of the borders and guidelines that have so far constituted the Nobel prize for literature; yet unsurprising because Bob Dylan’s mystic oral erudition is so worthy and deserving of this honor, despite having immigrated from a genre far, far away. Perhaps Kris Kristofferson, the songwriter, actor, Rhodes scholar, and William Blake expert, offered the best summary of Dylan’s body of work, proclaiming, “His songs take us to another level. He is absolutely a poet. He made songwriting into an art form, and made it worthy of committing your soul to.”

    For more information, including tour dates and tickets, check out bobdylan.com, and for a full list of this year’s Nobel laureates visit nobelprize.org.

    And if you need “something to open a new door / to show you something you seen before / but overlooked a hundred times or more,” then enjoy Bob Dylan’s spoken word performance, “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie,” from 1963.

    bob Dylan Nobel Prize

  • English Rock Legends UFO and Saxon Announce U.S. Spring Tour

    Pioneering English hard-rockers UFO have announced a spring tour commencing March 9, 2017 at Scout Bar in Houston, TX and concluding April 2, 2017 at Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA. The tour also includes a two-night stay at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York, NY. UFO will be joined on all dates by fellow New Wave of British Heavy Metal progenitors Saxon along with special guest Jared James Nichols. This will be the first time UFO and Saxon have toured together since the 1980s.

    Visit UFO, Saxon, and Jared James Nichols’ facebook pages to learn more.

    UFO is busy in the studio comleting their 22nd album, the follow-up to 2015’s A Conspiracy of Stars, which is reportedly a collection of covers. The current lineup features original members Phil Mogg (vocals) and Andy Parker (drums), as well as Paul Raymond (keyboard/guitar), Vinnie Moore (guitar), and Rob De Luca (bass).

    Here’s live footage from earlier this year of UFO playing their classic “Rock Bottom.”

    [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-kvk21KbsA[/embedyt]

    Let Me Feel Your Power, a new double live album from British metal stalwarts Saxon, is due out October 28, 2016 in the United States on UDR Music. Saxon consists of Biff Byford (vocals), Paul Quinn (guitar), Nigel Glockler (drums), Doug Scarrett (guitar), and Tim “Nibbs” Carter (bass).

    Check out Saxon performing “Wheels of Steel” in support of their new live album.

    [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE4d4wjc1Lo[/embedyt]

    UFO and Saxon Tour Dates: 

    Mar. 9 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar
    Mar. 10 – Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Live
    Mar. 11 – San Antonio, TX – Alamo City Music Hall*
    Mar. 14 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues
    Mar. 15 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
    Mar. 16 – Los Angeles, CA – Belasco
    Mar. 18 – Anaheim, CA – The Grove
    Mar. 19 – Las Vegas, NV – House Of Blues
    Mar. 21 – Denver, CO – Summit Concert Hall
    Mar. 24 – Sioux City, IA – Anthem at Hard Rock Casino
    Mar. 26 – St. Charles, IL – Arcada Theater
    Mar. 28 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues
    Mar. 29 – New York, NY – B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
    Mar. 30 – New York, NY – B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
    Apr. 1 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak
    Apr. 2 – Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall