NYS Music 20​16

Category: News

  • Syracuse ‘Fund the Bern’ Concert Raises $16,000

    On Jan. 8, more than 700 people packed the Palace Theatre in Syracuse to “Fund the Bern.” Local music venue Funk ‘N Waffles hosted the benefit concert to support presidential candidate Bernie Sanders—and it made more than $16,000 in one night.

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    Photo by Carol Thoryk O’Leary

    Syracuse musicians Joe Driscoll and Charley Orlando organized the grassroots event to raise awareness about Sanders’ platform and registering to vote

    The Friday night show featured guest speakers and musicians from the Syracuse and Central New York community like Colleen Kattau, Jane Zell, Irv Lyons Jr., Grupo Pagan, Dave Risen, Root SHOCK, the Fat Peace, Subsoil, Castle Creek, Mage IX, Chris Merkley and Sophistafunk. Popular Syracuse food trucks PB&J’s Lunch Box, LLC and The Chicken Bandit were on hand to provide food.

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    On the event’s Facebook page, Driscoll shared a lengthy thank you letter, recounting the evening’s success:

    “There are win-win situations, and then there’s whatever last night was—win-win times twelve, such good vibes, so many great performances, great food and tons of new volunteers recruited for the [Bernie] Sanders’ campaign… We raised awareness, we raised massive funds, we raised the roof and we raised some spirits. Most importantly, the sense of community in the room was so strong; it blew me away. And I haven’t danced and smiled that much in a while.”

    Driscoll also reported that the volunteer group is planning to hold another concert at the historic Palace on James Street in Syracuse in April to continue raising funds for Sanders’ campaign, and he encouraged interested people to stay tuned via Facebook.

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    Photo by Dave Frisina

    Bern Bern Bern Bern Bern Bern Bern Bern Bern Bern

  • Spring Fling Rock AF 2016 to come to Western New York

    Buffalo and Rochester have been announced as two of the 15 cities on the Spring Fling Rock AF 2016 Tour.

    The tour package will hit the Main Street Armory in Rochester on March 26 and roll through the Queen City on March 28. First Niagara Center will be hosting the event in Buffalo. Cage the Elephant, Silversun Pickups, Foals and Bear Hands are slated to perform on the multi-city run.

    Spring Fling Rock AFTickets for both venues go on sale to the general public on Jan. 15 at 10 a.m. and range from $33 to $43. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or through the venue box offices.  Pre-sales for fan clubs members for both of the bands and various radio stations sponsoring the event begin as early as Wednesday, Jan 13.

    The tour features Grammy-nominated Kentucky based rock band Cage the Elephant, Alt rock veterans Silversun Pick-ups, up and coming UK indie rock band Foals and the Brooklyn based band Bear Hands.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBeohY2O2PA

    With packaged tours becoming more of a rarity, the bands are all eager to hit the road together. Cage the Elephant front man Matt Shultz had this to say:

    “There’s a real sense of camaraderie and a shared philosophy amongst all of us on this tour. We come from all over the world, but we share a love of music and being on the road. These shows will celebrate that spirit.”

    The tour kicks off March 11 in Fresno, California. In addition to two other California dates Spring Fling Rock AF Tour will also make stops in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Maine before wrapping up on April 1 in Portland, Maine.

    Spring Fling Rock AF 2016 Tour:

    03/11 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center
    03/12 – Sacramento, CA – Sleep Train Arena
    03/13 – Bakersfield, CA – Radobank Arena
    03/16 – El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center
    03/18 – Tulsa, OK – Cox Business Center
    03/19 – Southaven, MS – Landers Center
    03/20 – Johnson City, TN – Freedom Hall Civic Center
    03/22 – Richmond, VA – Richmond Coliseum
    03/23 – Norfolk, VA – Constant Convocation Center
    03/25 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
    03/26 – Rochester, NY – Main Street Armory
    03/28 – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
    03/30 – Hartford, CT – XL Center
    03/31 – Portland, ME – Cross Insurance Arena
    04/01 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center

  • Obituary: Norman Dimitrouleas, Former Keyboardist for The Werks

    Norman Dimitrouleas, former keyboardist for Ohio’s The Werks, passed away suddenly over the weekend.

    Norman Dimitrouleas Having brought his older brother Dino into the band in 2011, Norman left the group in 2014, returning to jam with them at The Werk Out this past summer.

    Norman’s brother Dino Dimitrouleas, current bassist for The Werks, shared this statement on Facebook:

    It is with a heavy heart that I am traveling back to Ohio early to be with family and prepare services for my brother Norman who passed away in his sleep last night. I want to say thank you to the hundreds of people who have reached out to me to give their condolences and support for me and my family during this very hard time.
    Norman’ s heart was always bigger than his brain and he was one of the kindest humans I have ever known. He would consistently put himself out to try to help others and anyone who knew him couldn’t help but love him (no matter how mad you wanted to be with him). As I scroll down my news feed and see all the lives he has touched and influenced in his short life I can’t help but be proud to call this great man my brother. I love you Norman… rest in peace. You were too good for this world.
    I will post information about services as soon as I know what they are.

    Norman spoke with Gratefulweb in 2012 discussing his early musical background.

    My parents got me lessons from a teacher skilled in teaching classical music. I was pretty good at it, but I wanted to play some rock and roll. She had me playing Bach and Beethoven, so one day I brought in the Beatles Let It Be and another song and asked her if I could learn it. She ended up telling me that he ‘wasn’t ready’ for that type of thing and she gave me Bach’s second to learn. I went home and worked on playing “Let It Be” and just barely touched practicing Bach. When I went back to practice the next week she asked me to pull out Bach. I got through about two bars of it and she said, ‘That’s it?’ I told her, ‘But look what I did learn,’ and I played a ripping “Let It Be.” She looked at me kind of blankly and said, ‘Well, I guess I didn’t understand the direction you wanted to go in and what you’ve come here for.’ And from then on I’ve been playing rock.”

    The track “Norm and T-Bone Improv,” shared by Digipossum, was recorded in 2003. Digipossum shared the significance of this particular track:

    This was recorded at my college’s recording studio shortly after I met Norm. He was the first musician I was doing studio work with, and even though he was sick and had a fever, he came in and did this track, because he knew how eager I was to record live musicians just getting started into recording at the time. This was all improv and no loops. He played all the layers live. We never put this out, and I thought I’d lost this recording, so was very happy to find it today. Enjoy. And RIP Norman. You were a great friend as well as a great musician.

    Norman Dimitrouleas

  • Lemmy to Live on as an Element on the Periodic Table?

    Recently deceased Motorhead frontman Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as Lemmy, may be the first metal legend to be named to an element in scientific periodic table. Change.org user John Wright, has created an online petition asking fans to help him name one of four newly discovered heavy metal elements as a tribute to the metal legend.

    York, UK native Wright’s petition would like one of the four newly discovered elements which all have temporary names to be renamed “Lemmium.” The four temporary named elements on the periodic table include ununtrium (113), ununpentium (115), ununseptium (117) and ununoctium (118).

    Wright created the online petition on Change.org, soon after the death of Kilmister. Wright’s petition already has over 135,000 of the 150,000 signatures needed to present to The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemestry (IUPAC), who is in charge of these sort of things.

    IUPAC’s naming requirements state that new elements “can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place, country, property or scientist.” Wright stated that since a star is named after Kilmister, that his name meets the IUPAC’s requirements and jokingly added that Kilmister is also a rock & roll scientist.

    Scientists who helped discover the four new synthetic elements typically have the honor of naming. After they are named, they go up for public review for five months before being confirmed and officially added to the periodic table.

    Wrights petition even caught the eye of returning Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan who sent out a twitter message to fans to help support the petition by retweeting Wright’s post for his online petition.

    Expressen.se reports that Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee stated that the band is now “over,” since the passing of Kilmister who died at 70 from an aggressive form of cancer. Dee stated that Kilmister “was” Motorhead, and being that Kilmister was the only original member left in the band,  its only right to stop making music and touring.

  • Second Annual Winter Warm Up at The Linda Announced

    Four regional bands will play the second annual Winter Warm Up at The Linda in Albany to benefit WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, on Saturday, Jan. 16.

    Bryan Thomas, KoriSoron, SubSlab and The North & South Dakotas are contributing their performances to benefit the area’s non-profit NPR affiliate, at WAMC’s performing arts studio, The Linda. Beer, wine and pub fare will be available for purchase at the benefit.

    Albany’s own Bryan Thomas will bring his self-described soul rock that promises to get everyone dancing. Schenectady’s acoustic trio KoriSoron will enchant the audience with their global tradition-influenced rock and progressive music. SubSlab will supply their female-led rock-n-roll. And The North & South Dakotas bring their old-timey Appalachian-style music, with elements of bluegrass, folk and honky-tonk.

    WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional non-profit radio network that serves parts of New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with National Public Radio and Public Radio International. The Linda is a multipurpose performance space run by WAMC that hosts concerts, lectures, debates and films among other events, many of which are broadcast over WAMC’s radio stations.

    The Jan. 16 show will take place at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 with all proceeds supporting WAMC.

    [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJRAd_0mtY[/embedyt]

  • State Fair Grandstand to Be Imploded Saturday

    The concert era of he New York State Fair Grandstand may have gone out with a whimper this summer, but Saturday it will go out with a bang. Literally. The New York State Fair Twitter feed posted the following Thursday:

    The 38-year-old grandstand at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes, just outside of Syracuse, is scheduled to be imploded Saturday as the first stage of upcoming renovations to the fairgrounds. The final act will be the sound of dynamite, provided by Tonawanda-based firm Total Wrecking & Environmental.

    The public is invited to witness the demolition, scheduled for 1:20 p.m. Saturday, from the brown parking lot, located across State Fair Boulevard. The lot will open at 9:30 a.m. with an area cordoned off for best viewing of the grandstand.

    According to the Auburn Citizen, the demolition of the grandstand will make way for, “A new 110,000-square-foot expo center, an equestrian facility, 400-space RV park and Chevy Court improvements.” The RV park will replace the grandstand and all future fair concerts will be moved to the Lakeview Amphitheater, which was christened in September by country star Miranda Lambert.

    Since opening in 1978, the grandstand has hosted such musical legends as Frank Sinatra, B.B. King, Tina Turner, Rush, Aerosmith, Frank Zappa, the Allman Brothers Band and the Beach Boys.

  • Some Kind of Jam 11 Announces Lineup

    Some Kind of Jam 11, which will be taking place April 22-24 in Schuykill Haven, Pennsylvania, has announced its initial lineup.

    The three-day event takes place just 20 miles northwest of Reading and will feature four stages and 31 musical acts. Since 2005, Jibberjazz festivals has been hosting the event. Headliners the New Mastersounds will offer their unique blend of funk/soul/jazz fusion, while the recently reunited RAQ brings an added element of excitement to the bill. Buffalo groove rock masters Aqueous were also announced.

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    The weekend will include a variety of music including jam, funk, bluegrass, folk, blues, rock, reggae and jazz. In addition to live music, festival-goers will have many activities to choose from including various workshops, light shows, fire performances and yoga. The family friendly event will also include a kids’ area and activities.

    The weekend event is located on a 60-acre fairground that includes indoor and outdoor stages, camping, permanent restrooms and showers as well as nature trails, trout fishing and electricity access for RVs. Additional information about the festival, venue and tickets is available through Jibberjazz.

    Complete Some Kind of Jam 11 Line-Up
    THE NEW MASTERSOUNDS
    RAQ
    JASON RICCI & THE BAD KIND
    MIKE DILLON BAND
    BANDITOS
    AQUEOUS
    THE BIG DIRTY
    SHOKAZOBA
    GANG OF THIEVES
    BLACK MASALA
    CAPTAIN GREEN
    ON THE SPOT TRIO
    YOSEMIGHT
    DESMOND JONES
    THE PLATE SCRAPERS
    THE JAKOB’S FERRY STRAGGLERS
    STRANGE MECHANICS
    THE HAWK OWLS
    LOVANOVA
    HEXBELT
    THIS WAY TO THE EGRESS
    APPALACHIAN GYPSY TRIBE
    BONZO TERKS
    UNCLE JAKE & THE 18 WHEEL GANG
    KATE VARGAS & THE RECKLESS DAUGHTERS
    COSMIC COWBOY SOWING CIRCLE
    HEZEKIAH JONES
    MATEO MONK
    GILLIAN GROGAN
    OLDS SLEEPER
    KNITEBITCH

  • Donald Fagen of Steely Dan Charged with Assault

    Donald Fagen, co-founder of Steely Dan, was arrested on Monday at his home in New York City after an altercation with his wife, Libby Titus.

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    Donald Fagen was charged with harassment and misdemeanor assault in Manhattan Criminal Court and released Tuesday morning without bail. He was issued a temporary order of protection, requiring he stays away from Titus. According to the criminal complaint, Fagen shoved Titus into a marble window frame. She suffered bruising and swelling.

    Steely Dan, formed in 1972, are known for their jazz-based pop/rock on hits such as “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number,” “Hey Nineteen” and “Deacon Blues.” They have recently played several of their classic albums in their entirety at concerts in New York’s Beacon Theatre.

    Libby Titus is a singer/songwriter who has collaborated with Phil Ramone, Robbie Robertson, Paul Simon and Carly Simon. She is best known for her song “Love Has No Pride,” written with Eric Kaz. The song was recorded by Titus, Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt.

    Fagen was born in Passaic, NJ, whose mother Elinor was a swing singer in the Catskill Mountains from childhood through her teens. His family moved to the suburb of Fair Lawn, NJ in 1958 and soon after to the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick, NJ, which upset him but his love of late-night radio would inspire the album The Nightfly.

  • Alchemy Rising Festival Presents an Amalgamation of Music, Art and Outdoor Exploration

    The Alchemy Rising Music and Arts Festival held at the 160 acre Frontier Ranch in Pataskala, Ohio, offers patrons the freedom to fully immerse themselves in artistic splendor. The weekend of creative saturation, which will be held May 12-14, encourages attendees to revel in a musical lineup headlined by Consider the Source, Broccoli Samurai, Dark Side of the Moon, Tropidelic and Sassafraz.

    Alchemy Rising Festival

    Marbin, Yosemight, Vibe & Direct, Dixon’s Violin, Pasadena, Ghost Gardens, JoJo Stella, Spacewhale and Steve Sweeney of Ekoostik Hookah will also share the spotlight, with more to be announced.

    Alongside the concoction of musical enterprise, festival goers are encouraged to participate in an eclectic array of musical workshops, art installations and outdoor activities including a full frisbee golf course. The hands-on, multi-sensory experience is designed to illuminate the senses, whether manifesting creative output through the tip of a paintbrush, receiving sonic vibrations from the hands of talented musicians, or releasing energy through a calculated frisbee toss.

    Pre-sale tickets for Alchemy Rising Festival, which alchemically translate into a three-night, family friendly outdoor extravaganza, are available now.

  • NYS Music Presents Wednesdays at Funk n Waffles Downtown

    Winter is upon us in New York and if you’re in Syracuse, you’ll need to find some place to warm up. May we suggest some Funk n Waffles? NYS Music presents bands from around New York State, every Wednesday throughout January.

    January 6 – Faces of the Damned, Wagner 3000, Pale Green Stars

    Faces of Damned grew out of years of late night shows with founders Anthony DiRosa and Andres Echenique. Anthony was the lead singer/guitarist for the punk and horror punk bands Plan 607 and Dead Holiday. Andres was bass player for Crankdaddy, a pop punk band. These bands were a key part of the punk scene in Syracuse in the early 2000s.

    Wagner 3000 is an alternative to the alternative bands. From Syracuse, Wagner 3000 performs music that simultaneously showcases a previously unseen musical spectacle among the widest range of captivating songs found in a show today. Mingling with vast aspects of influence From Bowie, UFO, AC/DC, NIN, Nirvana, King Crimson, and the ever so enchanting carnival music (and many other sources). Wagner has the capability to tingle all your moods and senses.

    Pale Green Stars has just been mistaken for one of those cow-punk power trios you might find rocking a stage behind chicken wire at some wayward Texas roadhouse. Pale Green Stars is letting its New York grown cow-punk steer deep into the heart of Texarkana as they redefine gut-bucket twang with a punkadelic cutting edge that’s as sharp as a barbershop straight razor. (Jeff Herrell – South Bend Tribune)

    January 13 – The Bog Brothers

    The Bog Brothers were formed by a group of like-minded musicians in the Central New York area who share a love of playing Americana music and having a good time doing it. Mike Gridley (aka “Griz”) leads the group, playing mandolin, banjo and providing lead vocals. He is joined by Marc Odin on guitar and his longtime musical accomplice Steve Buck on bass and vocals. Mike Lounsbery adds harmonica, percussion and vocals, West Coast resident Taylor Bucci provides drums and vocals (when schedule permits), and Scott Wilson rounds out the group on dobro.

    January 20 – Caleb Liber & Judge Gazza

    Caleb Liber (Telegraph Hill Acoustic) will bring his acoustic guitar along with a wide range of musical styles including indie rock, post rock, post hardcore, metal, punk, post punk, grunge, electronica, acoustic and folk.
    Judge Gazza is a retro swampy blues musician originating from Syracuse New York. He brings his growling vocals, raw barebones Peavey powered slide guitar and pounding Converse Chuck Taylor hill stomp rhythmic beats to the back corners and sidewalks outside punk rock shows and the campfires of metal band summer festivals all over Central and Western New York. Judge Gazza’s first EP, It’s All Fun & Games, was released June 28th 2015 on cassette tape via LRS Records of Syracuse NY.

    January 27 – RUHA with special guest Corey Paige

    RUHA is the brain child of long time touring musician Charley Orlando. This time around RUHA is Brian Lauri on Keys and Vocals filling in the space between Charley’s acoustic guitar and vocals. The duo is massive sounding and unique for 2 people.

    Corey Paige is a SAMMY Award winning singer-songwriter from Syracuse, NY. His influences include Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Elvis Costello, and Soul Coughing. After five studio albums and more than a decade as frontman for rock band Candid, he’s currently working on new material for his first solo album.

    Doors open at 7pm each night with music starting at 8pm. Enjoy a variety of bands that call New York State home every Wednesday night at Funk n Waffles, and some great food too!