The weather in Albany was near perfect for the 7th annual Pearlpalooza street festival on September 17, 2016. This all day, free event has become a favorite among people in the Capital Region, and this years festival did not disappoint. Attendees had plenty of craft and food vendors to browse while rocking out to the stellar music lineup. This year’s Pearlpalooza featured Galactic, Warpaint, Maybird, Bassh, The Greeting Committee, and Rechorduroys.
Two steps past the front door of The Dev to load in for a Friday, September 16 performance in Utica, Tad Robinson took a quick glance left and figured he and the band were about to be pigeon-holed into playing in the front window of the small bar. Twenty-five years ago, that would have been the case, with the likes of Danny Morris, Sonny Rhodes, Hubert Sumlin, and others having done so. The bar has expanded since then, added a raised stage, and co-owner Tim Schram has avoided having The Dev be pigeon-holed by featuring a wide variety of live music styles, with a commitment to primarily original music.
The Indianapolis based Robinson is an eight-time Blues Music Award nominee. His 2016 Soul Blues Album of the Year nomination was for Day Into Night, his fourth release on the renowned Severn Records label. A diverse crowd of blues fans, bar regulars, out of town businessmen, and neighborhood residents were all captivated by Robinson’s voice and the musicianship of him and his band. Backing Robinson were Paul Holdman on guitar, Jeff Chapin on drums, and Kevin Anker on keys, who has appeared on and co-produced Robinson’s recent recordings.
A smooth, stylish, distinctly different vocalist, Tad Robinson impressed with both tone and control by knowing when to punch a phrase and when to lay back. He also exhibited notable harmonica skills, particularly on the chromatic harp. Holdman took the lead for a song of his own with a bit of a gospel touch, and Robinson often gave Anker plenty of room to showcase his abilities on the Hammond keyboard. Remarkable moments during the two set show included “Rained All Night” from Back in Style, Little Walter’s “Last Night,” and a crowd-pleasing rendition of the O.V. Wright southern soul classic, “A Nickel and a Nail.”
Music might be business for some, but for others, it’s a way of life. Lettuce is one of those bands where music is what you do, how you do, and why you do it. It’s family and friends and everything in between. Simply put, music is life. The band hasn’t gotten where they have been in their 20+ year run from stepping on others or chasing the next hit. Throughout their journey, it’s always been about the music and its ever present bond created between them on so many levels.
This passion and love spills over on the stage, in the studio, and through all of their interactions. It’s touching to see a band deservedly grow that embodies this spirit. In just over a year, the band has headlined Red Rocks (twice), released a new album (appropriately titled Crush), played to massive crowds, and hit other career peaks along the way. As the band packs up the bus to the hit the road on yet another tour, we got a chance to catch bassist, Erick “Jesus” Coomes, before a flight out to the east coast.
NYS Music: So you’re getting ready to kick off the Sounds Like a Party Tour, which is jam-packed with dates and riding high on how well Crush has been received. How are you feeling?
Jesus: I’m so thankful – everything is great! I’m in Long Beach right now, but leaving tonight for the tour. I’m going to meet up with my best friends in the world to make some music. The first gig is in Connecticut at Toad’s Place and a bunch of our original followers are there, so we’re going to get some of that hometown love right away. I’m excited about all of this.
NYS Music: There was a mention of Nigel Hall joining you guys via the Lettuce Facebook page. Is he joining for select dates?
Jesus: He’s coming for EV-ERY-THING bro. He’s going to be crushing this whole tour!
NYS Music: That’s amazing! I saw that Nigel has recently been playing some kind of synth onstage as opposed to just coming out for the lyrical songs. Tell me more about that and if we’ll see it on the SLAP Tour.
Jesus: He’s playing a Moog and a couple of other synths; he has a whole keyboard rig now. The thing is, we were having Nigel come on tour with us and he was literally sitting in the back for a long time until he got to sing a couple of songs. We’re like, this guy plays his ASS off on keyboards. Why don’t we set him up with a sick keyboard rig so he can play the whole show with us? We’ve been doing that for a few shows now and I can’t tell you how much fun it’s been!
NYS Music: On the topic of Nigel, has the band ever thought about including more of his vocals on an upcoming release?
Jesus: We definitely have and we want to do as much as we can with him. He’ll definitely be a big part of the next album. We’ve always kept it somewhat instrumental, but at this point, we kind of want to do a whole EP or album with him singing every tune. At the same time, we really love instrumental music, including Nigel, so it’s a hard balance but we want to explore that more on this tour.
NYS Music: Selfishly, I would just suggest recording a double album with one side all instrumentals and the other with vocals.
Jesus: Ohhhhhh….that’s a great idea! I love that idea!
NYS Music: Along those same collaboration lines, Lettuce worked with Wu-Tang Clan for the 2013 Bonnaroo SuperJam [audio]. Your music certainly incorporates hip-hop into your flavor of funk. Have you guys ever thought about bringing in a hip-hop artist on an album to rap over an original tune?
Jesus: Oh yeah, definitely. There are some things in the works right now that I wish I could tell you more about. I’ve had that same thought as well. Listening to a tune like “Trillogy,” I could totally hear Ghostface or somebody like that over it. I’d love to do a whole album like that called Lettuce Raps. I’ve had that thought for a long time – 10 years or so.
NYS Music: I feel like the hip-hop, jazz, and funk scenes are thankfully all starting to blend and collaborate in beautiful ways. What are your thoughts on that topic?
Jesus: I love it and just hearing you say that makes me so happy. I love what Kamasi Washington is doing, and my friend Josef Leimberg just dropped an album on Kamasi’s label. I think I played bass on a couple of songs on that. And then there’s my homie Thundercat just crushing the bass harder than anybody and being totally acknowledged for it. It just makes me so happy. Real music is becoming important again. We have some of the best music ever hitting the mainstream – I’m geeked out about it!
NYS Music: Changing gears, I watched the live-streamed Lettuce Lockn’ set and have since listened to it again. I’ve never heard the band explore their songs like that before, taking more than half of the songs over the 10-minute mark. Are you guys going to continue to do that in pockets?
Jesus: 100% we are – just hearing your enthusiasm makes me so happy. We’re on a good path and communicating really well right now. It allows us to take a jam and extend it without sacrificing quality. We’re always coming from the heart and I’m really excited where we’re taking it. I feel like the universe is putting us into the perfect place. It’s much bigger than any of us and we’re digging in. Music is such a deep art form. I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the bottom of it, but we’re trying.
NYS Music: That’s so good to hear! In terms of new ventures, Lettuce just released a new music video that is pretty exploratory both musically and conceptually. Can you talk a little bit about the process behind it and why you went the direction you did?
Jesus: It was really incredible. The band was so excited about Crush as an album that we wanted people to hear a lot of it at once. We did the one video for “Phyllis,” but with this, we wanted to do a sneak peek of the whole album in a video format. I’m happy with the way it came out. We shot our parts and then the animators worked their butts off on the rest.
NYS Music: What are you excited about literally heading out shortly for this tour?
Jesus: The whole thing is so exciting, bro. I’m about to get on a bus with my best friends. Basically, I’m excited to see my homies and I just saw them all summer, every weekend. I’m so excited to hang out and make some smoothies. It’s like when you’re with your team, they make you better. When I’m with the guys in Lettuce, I’m a better person and I think we all make each other better. We live a healthy lifestyle and make great music every night. It’ll be nice to get back into that flow of making great music together every night and then having great days together. I’m really excited about the whole thing to be honest.
This Thursday, September 22, Lettuce will take the stage at The Tralf in Buffalo, NY. Tickets are still available for purchased. Additionally, their new album Crush can be purchased via iTunes here.
On Thursday night at the Westcott Theater, Matt Butler and Everyone Orchestra concocted a musical potion that had us all under a spell. Butler played the role of lead hypnotist as he memorized not only the crowd, but also the band that he so craftily pulled together for this outstanding evening of sonic surprises.
Binghamton-based three-piece, Several Sons, opened the blissful trifecta of acts with their mellow harmonies and soulful unplugged sound. Their performance featured Bradford Allen on cajón drum for the entirety of the performance, which created a backyard fire-pit vibe. Kevin Ludwig took over the lead vocals and rhythm guitar, paving the way for Jack Bucher to display his bluesy chops on lead guitar. The mostly instrumental set list was capped off by a folk rock original, “Moonshine,” paying tribute to the act of getting drunk with friends. What a way to send us off into a set break.
Located just a couple of cities to the left of Syracuse is the blue-collar, “Bills Mafia” community of Buffalo, NY. Football probably holds the title for most discussed topic of conversation on a Saturday night, but I can guarantee that the local groove-rock quartet, Aqueous, is definitely on the minds of many Western New Yorkers. Their appropriately named, “2016 Random Company Tour,” fits the bill perfectly as the entire room anxiously awaits their arrival to the stage. As they entered to DMX’s “Party Up (Up In Here)” blaring on the speakers, we hoped they were about to make us lose our minds (sorry, I went there) and lose our minds we did.
“Strange Times” was first up and allowed Mike Gantzer and Dave Loss to share the spotlight on vocals and guitar solos. The two methodically went line-for-line on this lyrically appealing tune before dropping into a sludgy, greasy transition. Evan McPhaden pounded away on bass to symbolically clean up the jam goo. Solid improvising segued into “The Median” off the 2014 album, Cycles. Rob Houk’s drumming showcased their genre blending skills by combining elements of progressive rock and reggae with a hint of electronica. There was one point towards the end of “Median” where it almost sounded like a completely different piece, but long time fan, Mitch (the guy on the rail whose head seemed to explode note to note), explained that this phenomenon is common during one of their juiciest originals. Loss then seamlessly goes back and forth from guitar to keys while Gatzner pans for gold on lead guitar during the third and final song of the set, “Don’t Do It.” The crowd was definitely thirsty for more after the brief second act, but with Everyone Orchestra being served as an entrée, just about the entire room decided to take a break outside to work up an even stronger appetite.
Butler appeared on stage with his 7-piece mixture of talent to specify the guidelines of the show. He would be writing notes to the band and the crowd on his simple yet effective white board while signaling to all of us via hand gestures, screams resembling words and Hulk Hogan-like crowd controls. Realistically, Butler runs the show like a drag race in the movie Grease, “Rules are, there ain’t no rules.” The ceremony began with Butler warming up the fingers of the esteemed group of musicians as they delivered a tight and funky beat that got the room dancing immediately. Eric Yates deserves the first MVP award of the night due to his funky banjo plucking while Ryan Montbleau deserves a shout out for creating the lyrics, “What do I see in my sight? Westcott Theater on a Thursday night.” Rob Derhak’s bass was bumping along with Emanuel Washington’s drumbeat when Butler asked the crowd to throw an idea at Montbleau for additional lyrics. The best we could up with was “sexy night” which morphed into an entire band-crowd, call-response of “Ugly, sexy night, yeah!”
After a brief stretch of weirdness, the conductor brought us all back down to planet Earth and asked Yates to pick away on the banjo during a fast-paced, unusual and unplanned cover of Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain.” The Westcott was transformed into an old-timey honky-tonk as the band turned the Dylan cover into something reminiscent of Johnny Cash in his prime. Montbleau and Yates had a dueling guitar-banjo section before turning the spotlight to moe.’s Al Schnier for a signature guitar solo. Syracuse’s own Adam Gold from Sophistafunk kicked off the next piece with a heavy yet buttery organ solo. Butler did an amazing job of hazing the Everyone Orchestra freshmen as each member of Sophistafunk joined the group for the first time on Thursday. The conductor wrote, “This is Part A” on the iPad while scribbling up directions on his whiteboard for only the band’s eyes to see. Tommy Weeks took over to deliver a spectacular sax solo before returning to Gold for a spacey synth solo. The baton was passed back to Montbleau for an Everyone Orchestra modification of his original “Dead Set” which features the lyrics “Observe your mind, and stop your thinking” which is good advice for a band expected to go with their gut on these improvised reconstructions.
Aqueous guitarist Mike Gantzer returned to the stage and the applause grew when Butler informed us that it was his birthday. “Soft” was written on the whiteboard as Gantzer took over with a silky guitar riff. The crowd participation was at an all time high as we yelled “Birthday” to celebrate the joyous occasion. The band was fully in sync at this point in the performance and it was evident through the design of a new smash hit “Hotel Party” which Montbleau creatively developed before our eyes. “There’s ice in the bathtub” and “Everyone’s invited” were only some of the outstanding sporadic lyrics sung by Montbleau which brought a collective smile to the room. Gantzer channeled the energy of Jerry Garcia, with a liquid fuzz distortion on his incredible solo before Gold killed the keys on Butler’s command. After the Holiday Inn jungle boogie, the show wrapped up in an epic formation of nine band members with the addition of David Loss from Aqueous and the return of Eric Yates on banjo. The conductor looked more like a mad scientist as he circled the stage giving each and every member one last time to shine. The evening was capped off with birthday boy Gantzer’s in-your-face knockout solo.
Butler thanked the crowd and noted that after 15 years of asking members of different bands to come together so that he can live his dream, they keep showing up and they keep showing up! There is no question that this traveling circus of insane talent brought the goods to Syracuse on Thursday. Some bands spend years touring and writing music together to find out what it is that makes them unique. Matt Butler pulls the rabbit out of his hat night after night by creating the magic rather than searching for it. He is a composer, a communicator, and a connector all in one while leaving his mark on music through his whiteboard, iPad and multitude of invisible air instruments. When asked to join the Everyone Orchestra in the future, just say, “Yes” and strap in for a truly special ride.
Aqueous Setlist: Strange Times> The Median, Don’t Do It
Everyone Orchestra Setlist (To the best of my ability): Funky Intro, Jam (Ugly Sexy Night), Buckets of Rain*, Part A Jam> Dead Set**, Gatzner’s Birthday Jam, Hotel Party Jam, Set Closing Jam
*Bob Dylan Cover (Blood on the Tracks)
** Ryan Montbleau Cover (For Higher)
New York City-based funk-pop band, The Devyl Nellys, recently released their newest album, Delicious Business in August. The band formed in 2011 and released their major label debut in 2014. They are constantly touring and have a handful of dates in Pennsylvania and Virginia in November and December.
Delicious Business kicks off with the title track. “Delicious Business” is full of a slow funk groove, reminiscent of Parliament Funkadelic, that sets the tone for the album. It’s followed up by “Rodeo Qween,” which features KC & the Sunshine Band on the track. Impromptu dance parties are bound to pop up wherever this ’70s-sounding funky disco tune is played.
“Hustle” and “Baad Seed” stray from the funk with their straight-up rock roots, both with a southern vibe. “Baad Seed” could be straight out of Texas both with the sound and the bad girl vibe to the lyrics. The band returns to the funk with “Love Suckaa,” which features Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band. More slow funk groove, similar to the first track, backs lyrics about a bad love.
The album ends with a quick upbeat funky rock song, “Bloody Merry.” It’s short and sweet and a perfect ending to an overall fun album.
Delicious Business is a fun, funky album that has a little something for everyone, from rock to funk to disco, listeners will be bopping around wherever it’s playing. The album can be streamed on the Devyl Nellys’ Soundcloud page. Keep updated on their tour on their website and Facebook page.
Key Tracks: Delicious Business, Rodeo Qween, Baad Seed
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gal42b11Qm0[/embedyt]
It was only appropriate that a group named Holy Ghost Tent Revival, from Asheville, North Carolina, played at a converted church, and converted listeners into new fans. Named after a roadside advertisement in their home state, they kicked off the fall schedule at the Kirkland Art Center on September 8th. The six-piece band showed tremendous versatility, with four different members playing keyboards at various times during their two-set performance.
Stephen Murray handled most of the lead vocals and rhythm guitar, but also played trumpet, and switched to the bass guitar when Kevin Williams played piano. Murray sat at the keys himself to close the first set with a stunning cover of George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity,” performed with remarkable grace. Ross Montsinger on drums and Kevin Williams on bass handled the bottom end, with Williams lending backup vocals on most songs. Williams’ lead vocals and song styles while playing keys had an early Elton John feel to them. The majority of the band’s selections were in the roots rock/Americana realm accented by the wonderful punch of Charlie Humphrey on trumpet and the trombone of Hank Widmer, who both also played keyboards.
Widmer added clarinet on some of the evening’s quieter pieces. Rounding out the sextet was Matt Martin leading the way on guitar, sales pitch chants (“Pay what you want. Pay what you can.”) entertaining gesticulations, and fashion sense. How many ascots have you ever seen on stage?
The intimate venue may have had a bit of a reduced crowd on a Thursday night, but those in attendance were very appreciative of the energetic appeal of this group, and glad to have the opportunity to support live music. Holy Ghost Tent Revival’s most recent release, the EP Summer Jelly, is available on a pay what you want, pay what you can basis. The remainder of KAC’s fall performance schedule, and other events, may be found at Kirkland Art Center’s website.
Partial setlist: Who Knew, Long Road, Right State of Mind, Sun/Shadow, Walking Over My Grave, Isn’t It a Pity?, Trouble with the Truth, Smoke Myself to Death, Long Night, Broken Spirit, The End to, Thought About
Vulfpeck returned to the Brooklyn Bowl for a Friday night funk fest, which showcased their incredible talent while welcoming numerous special guests. The sold-out room was greeted with a mellow, opening performance by Joey Dosik. Dosik performed the first Beatles cover of the night, “Don’t Let Me Down,” before giving us a taste of some of his originals off of the Game Winner EP.
As the members of Vulfpeck appeared on the Brooklyn Bowl stage, fans new and old dropped everything they were doing to rush as close to the front as possible. One thing that this foursome is well known for is heavy crowd interaction. The closer you are to the stage, the more involved you will be at these shows. Right off the bat, asses were shaking and high fives were being exchanged as the band treated us to “Outro” from their 2012 release, Vollmilch, with help from their friend Eddie Barbash on sax. The Vollmilch album was highlighted two more times in the beginning of the show with the danceable “Barbara” and “Mean Girls” before welcoming groove drummer, Bernard Purdie to the stage for “It Gets Funkier.”
Almost half way through their relatively short set, the guests continued to pour on stage as Dosik joined Vulpeck for “Game Winner” and the second Beatles cover of the night “Something.” The floor of the venue was certainly packed with groove enthusiasts, but at this point there wasn’t much space on stage either. As if having the funk innovator, Bernard Purdie, wasn’t enough of a treat for these guys, they enlisted help from Melissa Gardiner and Rachel Price (Lake Street Dive) to tackle Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady.” Joe Dart’s bass playing was a key feature in this solid cover as the tasty brass sounds echoed down the bowling lanes.
The crowd was fully locked in and feeling the horn section when the Vulf brought well known, Antwaun Stanley up to sing the extremely soulful, “1612.” Stanley’s vocal ability and stage swagger add the one-two punch these suburban boys from next store need to construct a more powerful song. During “1612”, New York, NY wanted to be a part of it, as the audience became one with the Vulf. Lyrically, these guys tip their hats to one of this city’s most iconic figures “Frank Sinatra” and with the crowd belting out the tune with Stanley, it was clear that these guys are forever welcomed in the city that doesn’t sleep.
There was no slowing down at this point as the group nailed another classic, “Boogie on Reggae Woman,” written by Stevie Wonder and covered by numerous other bands that know a thing or two about good music. Stanley remained on the stage through the lyrically ridiculous “Funky Duck,” which can be found on their most recent album, Thrill of the Arts. Louis Cato was then brought on to help with “Wait For The Moment” and “Beastly” as Stanley walked off stage to the cheers of a very grateful room.
“Christmas in LA” gave the band and the crowd a breather packed with banter from Jack Stratton and Theo Katzman. Probably the most well known song to new followers of the Vulf, “Back Pocket” ended the set. Gardiner and Barbush brought the brass back into the mix, while Stanley enlisted help from the audience for the hook. One more cover, “Kid Charlemagne” by Steely Dan was executed in the funkiest of ways for the encore. Who knows what Vulfpeck will bring to the table for Saturday’s final night at the Bowl. They have had many repeats in their first three shows of this NY run and with their limited, yet powerful catalog, fans do not seem to mind. The group continues to surprise us by welcoming numerous guests onto the stage physically and welcoming funk icons into the room sonically through their amazing covers. After seeing so many smiling younger faces fill the streets of Williamsburg after the show, I was reminded that Vulfpeck isn’t just the funk band that this generation wanted, but it’s also the one this generation needed.
Teddy Midnight, an electro-dance-funk jamband hailing from Brooklyn, released a debut LP Wednesday titled Velvet Blue, now available on Soundcloud. The group also premiered a music video Tuesday for their lead single “Turkish Silva” on Youtube.
The quartet includes Wiley Griffin (guitar), Sean McAuley (vocals/keys/percussion), Adam Magnan (drums/sampler), and Sean Silva (bass/synth).
Velvet Blue features eight tracks that encompass Teddy Midnight’s artful blend of electronic beats, mixed with jamband improvisation. Their sound has been compared to the likes of New Deal, STS9, Lotus and Dopapod.
The music video for “Turkish Silva” is a depiction of “the tribulations of sex, romance, and partying on the notoriously super-dramatic BK dating/Tinder scene,” according to a press release. “I wanted to capture a couple of concepts that I observed about the nature of life and love in our youth. One of them was the vulnerability we all experience in our relationships,” Wiley Griffin was quoted about the inspiration for the video. The video was produced by Sobokeh Exports and directed by Wiley Griffin and Kristina Rusch.
There will be a record release party on Oct. 1 to celebrate Velvet Blue, at BRYAC in Bridgeport, CT.
Teddy Midnight has shared stages with Kung Fu, Twiddle, Formula 5 and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and has played sold out shows at such NYC venues as Irving Plaza, Brooklyn Bowl, Grammercy Theatre, and Bowery Ballroom. On the horizon for the band are festivals such as Great North this weekend, and Luna Light Music Festival in October.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIAK6xqRpzM
Buffalove Music Festival, held in Westfield, NY July 29-31, 2016 was another huge success, with incredible performances all around. The new location for the fourth year festival had the benefit of shaded camping, perfect for a late summer festival.
Boss Tweed and the Carpetbaggers (Mike Gantzer, Evan McPhaden, and Nick Sonricker) wearing Mexican wrestling masks, cut off jeans, and no shirts, with Evan destroying a watermelon on stage, much to the delight of the fans. David Loss later joined this now-original Aqueous lineup, but not before being encouraged to shed his shirt and shred with them.
AquaFlow (Aqueous and Funktional Flow members) combined for another memorable set, while Broccoli Samurai, Consider the Source, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, EOTO, Formula 5 and Mister F performed their usual firebrand sets for the 716 crowd, while Jimkata had an exceptional amount of smiles in the crowd during their set.
For another year of Buffalove, a small fest for the thriving Western New York jamband fans, the great weather added to the weekend’s vibe, as did meeting up with old friends and new, including plenty of AQuaintances who packed the stage for every Aqueous set throughout the weekend.
This photo gallery is dedicated to Keith Rahaim. May he rest in peace.
Crashing pins, Sixpoint IPAs, and music from the future-present; Jaw Gems’ recent performance at Brooklyn Bowl was other-worldly.
The quartet from Portland, Maine created an auditory planet of heavy synths, splashing high hats and rhythmic beats; a sound akin to a lovechild conceived by Flying Lotus, DâM-FunK and Teebs. Their recently released album, Heatweaver, was featured heavily throughout the performance, bringing bowlers and fans on an atmospheric-funk adventure.
It’s no surprise that an interest in legendary producer J Dilla is what brought Jaw Gems together. Their live beat-making is a sonic journey that feels intensely familiar but also quite different than anything else. Drummer DJ Moore’s lush splash’s and high hats provide ample backing to the sonic space traveling of keyboardists Hassan Muhammad and Tyler Quist while bassist Andrew Scherzer’s buttery bass lines fuel the journey. There is an intrinsic aspect to their sound; as if they’re paying homage to their idols whilst traversing new ground and making a place for themselves.
As I was shooting, it was becoming increasingly difficult to not groove with their seamless, auditory space odyssey. “Sap Flow” began with a familiar drum beat and mysterious synths which then built into a luscious and elaborate symphony that sounded like you could swim in it. I was stoked to hear that track performed live as it’s one of my favorites from the album and perfectly illustrates the bands cohesiveness. “Party Slave” was similar in construction yet had more of a funky, lounge-music type vibe; enjoyable, danceable, laid back and very different. Jaw Gems most definitely caught my intrigue that night, I was not expecting to be so captivated by their live show. I’m excited to see more of their divergent take on live beat-making paired with drums and bass as their aural variance is very refreshing.