NYS Music 20​16

Category: Beyond NYS

  • Project/Object Kicks-Off Northeastern Tour

    New Jersey-based Frank Zappa tribute band Project/Object will be touring the Northeast United States through October 23rd with stops at Mavericks  in Ontario, Canada on Friday, October 7; The Garrison in Ontario, Canada on Saturday, October 8; at The Tralf in Buffalo, New York on Sunday, October 9 and at Lovin’ Cup in Rochester, New York on Monday, October 10.

    Founded in 1989 by guitarist/vocalist André Cholmondeley, Project/Object has gone through numerous lineup changes since its inception, hosting more Zappa alumni than anyone other than Zappa himself. Project/Object welcomes back alumni vocalist/guitarist Ike Willis and synthesizer legend Don Preston for a tour  “Celebrating 50 years of The Music Of Frank Zappa” featuring material both men recorded with The Mothers Of Invention, The Frank Zappa band, and much more!

    NYSMusic’s Amy Cavalier recently caught up with Cholmondeley about the upcoming tour and what it’s like being in the longest-running Zappa alumni tribute band in the world!

    NYS Music: Tell me the story behind Project Object’s inception? What was the vision for the project?

    André Cholmondeley: My vision for the project was simply to turn people onto music that was very influential and important to me.

    Around 1989 I started having a Frank Zappa birthday party at my apartment. We would listen to only Zappa music for 24 hours and read interviews read album covers etc. I realized that many people were showing up and did not know a lot about Zappa and left with names of records and songs scribbled on paper. This is way before the blow up of the Internet so people would come back the next year having searched record stores and maybe built a little Zappa collection.

    About the third and fourth year, my band played at one of these parties, performing about a half-dozen Zappa songs. It went over great so we learned another half dozen and soon we played our first gig in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It just blew up from there. Next was Lion’s Den in New York City where we connected with our first managers Howie Schnee and Mike Maietta.

    NYS Music: A pretty high bar has been set by Frank Zappa, his son Dweezil other Zappa tribute bands…what makes Project Object so unique?

    AC: Indeed Dweezil’s band is incredible.I think what makes us unique in our way is that we went out and did it before other bands, over twenty years ago. We were the first band to tour with so many diverse Zappa alumni across the USA and into Canada since Zappa himself took them on the road. We also were the first to do a wide variety of his music

    The Grandmothers (ex Zappa/Mothers members) were out there but they tended to do the very excellent early stuff ONLY. We went out there with Ike Willis then Napoleon Murphy Brock etc. and did material from every period in Zappa’s history.

    NYS Music: Is there a lot of pressure to get it right and recreate the songs as accurately as possible? Or is there still room for improvisation?

    AC: The fans know every note! We strike the balance between doing some tunes as close to the record as we can, with the correct sounds and timbre and instrumentation. And then other things we do – perhaps one of Zappa’s many live versions – we look for moments in the songs where he would leave room for improvisation.

    Improvisation is very important part of the Zappa aesthetic but at the core is doing the music accurately and getting chords and little parts correct. I have been fortunate to have so many of the actual ex-Zappa players in the band so along the way they correct parts and help us get little details right.

    NYS Music: There have been a lot of stories about Zappa’s family and disagreements over copyright issues, as well as stories floating around about bad blood between you and Dweezil, in the news. How do you get away with playing songs without infringement issues? And has the air cleared between you and Dweezil?

    AC: Early on we got so many threats from Gail Zappa that we sought the advice of a lawyer and I learned a lot about copyright law. It’s very basic and simple. As long as the venue you are performing is paying their American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) or Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) membership dues for publishing rights, you are fine. That’s why there is an enormous business in cover bands of every genre imaginable. It was always completely legal to do what we do. In the Project/Object entire career of over two decades we have had to cancel two, maybe three gigs because the venue was not part of ASCAP membership.

    I think the NPR interview I did “NPR Zappa Lumpy Legacy” is the final word on it. NPR spoke to me as well as Gail Zappa and independent legal

    counsel and they said on national radio that as long as the club is certified it’s no problem playing published music of any artist.

    As far as the recent history about the copyright issues and the Zappa family, a lot of what happened was due to the wishes and direction of Gail Zappa. Now that she is gone there is a real splintering of stuff and the siblings are sadly in dispute over many issues.

    Even before she passed away I made peace with Dweezil and have seen his band several times. He was very gracious about accepting my apologies for the previous bad vibes. He was aware it flowed in both directions. This thawing of the ice has continued after Gail Zappa’s passing and Dweezil has been very public talking about how the Zappa family trust unfairly charged him for various things and made it difficult for him to just go out and play the music.

    I’m happy to say that through his agent, Dweezil and I worked together recently to plan out these historic appearances that Ike Willis is doing with his band. I want to support anything and everything that celebrates Frank’s music.

    NYS Music: Your partner was in a serious car accident recently which caused you to postpone your tour. How is she doing and why have you decided to resume the tour at this point in time?

    AC: While Robin is still experiencing a fair amount of pain and difficulties she has come a long way in what is almost seven months since the accident. She will be with us on this tour in a very tentative and basic role – we are trying to see how much she can do safely in her regular job as merch and Production Assistant. We hated canceling that tour and she is happy to be out on this one and to be able to personally thank so many of the fans who helped us out.

    NYS Music: What is the feeling going into this tour?

    AC: We just love to play and get out and travel and this is a great time of year to do so. We have a few things we have never done before, some stuff we have not done in a decade or more, balanced with a couple of the Zappa song-along, crowd favorites that you almost have to do, so it’s a mix!

    We are upbeat and excited to get out there playing this incredible music again. Also Zappa lyrics, without even touching them up, have a timeless political accuracy and so getting out right before yet another ridiculous American election season is kind of perfect.

    For more information about Project/Object visit www.projectobject.com or follow Project/Object on Facebook or Twitter.  

  • Armin van Buuren Collaborates With a Different Kind of Artist

    Amsterdam is known for its artistic heritage.  Two separate art forms will join forces and collaborate in a unique way this fall in the Netherlands. The Van Gogh Museum is teaming up with DJ/producer and native son, Armin van Buuren to merge two separate art forms into one.

    Armin van BuurenUsually collaborating with other music artists, this will be a first for van Buuren. The one-off collaboration will see personal commentary and personalized music from van Buuren in the museum’s special edition multimedia guide, that will takes effect October 21, titled, “Embrace Vincent.”

    Van Gogh Museum director Axel Rüger commented about the collaboration:

    This collaboration sees us bring music, art and the museum together. Each form of expression influences the other; culture works as a unifying force. The Embrace Vincent project allows us to highlight how Vincent’s legacy remains relevant. And more importantly, that this legacy is being passed down to future generations. This takes numerous different forms, as is aptly illustrated by this collaboration between the museum and Armin van Buuren.

    Van Buuren has reached another incredible feat in the music world. On Sept. 30, van Buuren reached a milestone for his career, releasing his 15 year anniversary album in his A State Of Trance series titled I’m In A State Of Trance 15 Years. The two disc set features some of the greatest trance anthems by van Buuren and other top DJ/producers throughout the last fifteen years. Van Buuren was voted #1 DJ in the world five years in a row by DJ Mag, setting two separate records in the process; as the only DJ to have won five times and the longest streak at number one.

  • Hearing Aide: Dave Keller “Right Back Atcha”

    Northeastern blues can be heard echoing from the mountains of Vermont in Dave Keller’s new album Right Back Atcha. The September 23 release date came just a day after the start of fall and his lyrics are symbolically vibrant with a colorful spirit and a life-changing attitude.

    dave kellerRecorded in the Green Mountain State, Keller recruited a 3-piece horn section, two backup vocalists and a small string ensemble to collaborate with his usual members of The Dave Keller Band. The diverse talent was used right off the bat in “It’s Time You Made Up Your Mind,” which serves as the opening track and the lone cover on the album. Willie Clayton originally brought the song to the studio during the peak of his funk-soul era in 1974 and much like Keller, Clayton didn’t see much in the way of commercial success or critic recognition until he was ripe into his 40s. Keller tips his hat to the roots he knows best while adding his own modern blues sound to this underplayed gem.

    Title track, “Right Back Atcha” has a very seductive brass and bass combination highlighted by Jessica Friedman’s baritone sax. Although the lyrical structure is very inventive, I found the song somewhat off putting, as I know that Keller is around the same age as my father and singing about his sexy time with a woman.   The album artwork on the back of his LP lets us know Keller is still getting freaky and his not-so-subtle innuendos complete the picture. Putting my personal issues with the song’s story behind, Keller nails his silky guitar solo and gets some help from the backup vocalists to bring this sonic, sweaty bang to a finish.

    After the most provocative track on the album, Keller hits us with his first love ballad entitled, “Deeper Than The Eye Can See.” Original band member, Ira Friedman, warms the tune up with a soft piano introduction before Keller gently harmonizes with the female backup singers. This lyrically and vocally soulful composition is reminiscent of Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” and will leave you feeling all the feels the same way Van the Man does.

    “Circles” clocks in as the longest track of Right Back Atcha, which allows time for the Hammond B3 organ to really drive home the profound message. If “Deeper Than The Eye Can See” is Keller’s way of expressing the beauty of being in love, “Circles” tells the tale of how shitty life can be during the confusing parts. He lets his guitar solo do the crying as Friendman’s B3 steals the show during this deep-rooted blues piece.

    Vermont may one of the least populated states in the country, but that doesn’t prohibit their bands from getting funky. While Keller’s subject matter may be geared towards an older crowd in terms of the over-the-hump, post mid-life crisis topics presented in the lyrics, I can still get down with the eclectic musical arrangements he brought to the studio. This isn’t the type of album that someone in their twenties would throw on during a party, but give me twenty more years of experience and Right Back Atcha may be found on my iPhone 17 shuffle.

    Key Tracks: Right Back Atcha, Circles, You Make It Easy

  • Slick Rick’s Coming Home Tour

    London born and newly naturalized U.S. citizen hip-hop legend Slick Rick will begin his “Coming Home Tour” in the United Kingdom on Friday, November 25, 2016, at Mantra in Manchester. The tour will continue the next night at 02 Forum in London, followed by stops at 02 Academy, Bristol on Sunday the 27th, Birmingham’s 02 Institute on Monday the 28th, and The Sugar Club in Dublin, Ireland on Tuesday the 29th, before concluding in Brighton at the Concorde 2 on Wednesday, November 30. Not only is this a homecoming for the rapper from Mitcham, Surrey, it’s his first ever UK tour. For tickets and tour information, visit Rick’s website.

    slick rick tourSlick Rick is known the world over for his glamorous accessorizing, which has often included capes, robes, crowns, extensive jewelery, and his celebrated eyepatch, but truly it’s the lasting cool of his landmark raps that affirms his status as pop pioneer and hip-hop icon. Timeless ballads “La Di Da Di” and “The Show,” have been sampled over 700 times combined, influencing musicians from every generation since their release, including the likes of Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, Kanye West, Nas, TLC, Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and the Beastie Boys.

    DJ Kaos and the Rickettes will accompany Rick the Ruler on the Coming Home Tour, which comes in wake of a 23-year battle with the United States Immigration Bureau that kept him from traveling abroad. For more on that story, click here.

    Slick Rick is on Instagram @therulernyc, Twitter @therulernyc, and Facebook SlickRick.

    Tour Dates:
    Nov. 25 – Mantra – Manchester
    Nov. 26 – 02 Forum – London
    Nov. 27 – 02 Academy – Bristol
    Nov. 28 – 02 Institute – Birmingham
    Nov. 29 – The Sugar Club – Dublin, Ireland
    Nov. 30 – Concorde 2 – Brighton

  • Catskill Chill Closes out Summer at New Minglewood

    Catskill Chill rounded out the New York summer festival season September 24-26 with a stacked line-up and a new location.   Moving just a few miles from its former location in Hancock, NY, the Catskill Chill found a new home this year in Lakewood, Pa. Previously held at Camp Minglewood, this year the Chill found its new home at New Minglewood and included an extra day of camping and more music.

    The festival’s inaugural Thursday night pre-party was a great addition to the weekend. Twiddle highlighted the evening with two sets including a sit-in with Scott Hannay of Mister F.  Although the turn out for the night’s first two bands, Aqueous and Jimkata, was light, the packed house for Twiddle verified that many festival goers had taken advantage of the Thursday night ticket.

    Arriving early had more benefits than just the music.  Many festival attendees enjoyed the ability to set up camp and explore the grounds before the barrage of attendees arrived on Friday.  “The best part of the Thursday ticket was being able to get the choice camping spots.” Jennifer Bliss of Saratoga Springs, NY told NYS Music. “It was also nice to have our camp ready to go, so that we could really enjoy the music on Friday.”

    Mike Gordon drew the largest crowd of Friday Night to the main stage. Among the songs performed, the Phish bassist debuted “Let’s Go,” a tune generally reserved for a Phish set list. George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic also enjoyed a great turn out, many of whom had never seen the master of funk live.  “I had only heard the name George Clinton, but didn’t really know what he was about.  Thinking about it, that set might have been my favorite of the weekend.  I liked that Chill has artists like that on their line-up,” noted Brian Thomas of Cleveland, Ohio.

    Catskill Chill

    Other much talked about sets on Friday night included Pink Talking Fish and Pink Talking Fu. The Pink Talking Fish set included a variety of Phish, Talking Heads and Pink Floyd with a sit-in from Kung Fu’s Tim Palmeri on “Great Gig in the Sky” and “Crosseyed and Painless.” The B Stage was turned into a dance party during Pink Talking Fu (Pink Talking Fish and Kung Fu.)  The two bands highlighted the music of David Bowie and Prince in a tribute set that featured both top 40 hits and beloved deep tracks. Shira Elias of Turkuaz and Hayley Jane both sat in for vocal performances throughout the set.

    Friday’s sleeper sets included music by Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Mister F and Goldfish.  All three bands are well worth seeing and turned out amazing performances.

    Saturday’s main stage was highlighted with an assortment of musical styles that kept the variety going throughout the day. Ryan Montebleau, Cabinet and Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass added an element of relaxation and chill while Lettuce and Particle were funky and dance worthy.

    The B-Stage popped off thanks to sets from Turkuaz and Tauk. Formula 5, Big Something and the Magic Beans all generated note-worthy buzz at their various sets on Saturday as well.

    Saturday was the day of tribute sets, providing a plethora of familiar music performed by some of the festivals most beloved artists.  Fikus and Shwizz came together to perform as Shwikus Plays the Beatles, while the Heavy Pets played the 80’s and Lespecial paid tribute to Primus.

    “I just loved all of the tribute sets at Chill,” mentioned Nick Augustine of Silver Springs, MD. “Every one that I saw was executed perfectly!”

    The most intriguing set of the night went to Turbine, whose RadioDead set was at times mind twisting and enigmatic. The concept –  Radiohead songs played in the style of the Grateful Dead and Grateful Dead songs played in the style of Radiohead.  Turbine did a stellar job of translating the songs into the respective styles, so much so that many attendees couldn’t quite wrap their heads around what they were hearing.  “Wait, is this Radiohead or the Dead?” was overheard often during the set.

    For the second year in a row, members of Dopapod and Turkuaz brought the house down during their tribute set, this year with a tribute set to the preppie-loved classic soft rock of the 80s known as Yacht Rock.  The set was fun, campy and executed with perfection. It’s a nod to both groups of Berklee trained musicians, as they take such care with music that could otherwise be dismissed.  Somehow they find a way to celebrate not only the music, but the production quality that feels like you are square in the middle of a musical time capsule.

    Josh Schwartz (Turkuaz) receives MVP nods for his spot on vocal tribute to soulful baritone Michael McDonald. However, Rob Compa who tackled vocals on the Eagles classic “Hotel California” as well as the entire Dopakuaz crew wins honorable mention during a production perfect version of the song. The set also included the most “had to be there” moment as Dopapod bassist Chuck Jones took to the Chill Fam seas with a stage dive and crowd surfing adventure.

    The Chill Fam All-Stars tribute to Michael Jackson was another highlight of the night, however, many festival attendees were turned away as the Late Night Hall was packed to capacity before the music even started.  However, despite not everyone being able to attend, the set was highlighted by the vocals of Elise Testone, whuch were a milky and smooth compliment to the original. The Chill Fam All- Stars included Eric Gould (Pink Talking Fish); Adrian Tramontano and Robert Somerville (Kung Fu); Shira Elias, Chris Brouwers and Michelangelo Carubba (Turkuaz); Danny Mayer (Eric Krasno Band); Steve Molitz (Particle) and Robert Volo on trombone (Deep Banana Blackout).

    Sunday’s Main Stage was highlighted by performances from Dopapod, Greensky Bluegrass and Electron.  Although the festival grounds and attendance at sets appeared to begin to thin out by Sunday afternoon, festival goers that stuck it out were also treated to great performances by Perpetual Groove, Tom Hamilton’s American Babies, The Werks and Broccoli Samurai.

    Sunday’s most noteworthy performance went to Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.  They made the most of their two sets, including a two-hour cover set late night at Club Chill. The set was one of the most sit-in heavy of the weekend including performances by Tom Hamilton, Shira Elisa (Turkuaz), Steve Molitz (Particle), Elise Testone, and Rob Somerville (Kung Fu).

    The New Minglewood grounds felt like home for many Catskill Chill veterans. The added facilities of more “play areas” including the basketball courts by the B-Stage created a fun vibe that more people plan on taking advantage of next year.  Wins for the new location included closer parking to the camping grounds, more common areas and the B-Stage, whom many felt housed the best music and sound of the weekend.

    However, despite the great sound at both the main stage and the B-stage, many festival attendees found themselves hanging outside both Club Chill and the Late Night Hall due to the facilities acoustics.   “It was really loud in both the indoor venues,” noted Mike Dustin of Allentown, PA, “For the most part, we chose to just sit outside and listen there.  It just literally sounded like we were watching music in a high school gym.  So much of the sound quality was lost.”

    Most of this year’s attendees agreed that the cabins, vendors and security were in sync with previous years.  However, it was noted by several folks that this year the port-a-potties in the camping areas could have used much more attention, as the usual daily cleanings of the facilities seemed to have been missed in at least one location.

    As the weekend’s attendees packed up and returned home, most were happy with the new location and the line-up. But beyond that, it was the Chill Fam vibe that most were pleased to be a part of.  “Chill is my favorite festival – hands down,” said Kelly Kepler of Portland, Maine. “I was scared that this year would be different, that changing the location would mean all the things we loved about Chill would be different. Honesty, I think it was better.  It was a great way to bond with new people because everyone was on even ground. It only made our little Chill family stronger.  I can’t wait for next year!”

  • Rock Allegiance Stands Strong Among Competition

    For the second straight year, Chester, PA was home to Rock Allegiance. The Rock Allegiance festival, which is one of the many Danny Wimmer Presents events, returned to Talen Energy Stadium (formerly PPL Park) on Saturday and Sunday September 17 and 18.

    Unlike last year’s festival, Rock Allegiance 2016 was set for 2 full days that included some of the biggest bands today, such as Avenged Sevenfold, Alice In Chains, The Offspring and Slayer. To accompany two full days of music, this year added even more of the festival’s signature Gourmet Man Food and other experiences for fans to check out. Some of this year’s experiences included The Music Experience, The Jack Daniel’s Experience, FYE Experience and Zippo Encore. As always, proud sponsor, Monster, was on site giving away free products and hooking fans up with chances to meet their favorite bands.

    Saturday’s festival lineup featured quite a mix of bands. There were heavy metal bands, cover bands, comedy bands, grunge bands and more. Some of Saturday’s stand-out performances were Skindred, Avatar, and Motionless In White. Each one of these bands brings something unique to the table that not an everyday band does. Skindred had the most unique sound of the day. The Welsh rockers mix heavy metal with reggae and create some insane grooves. Lead singer Benji Webbe certainly knew how to lead his band and give the crowd a set to remember past the weekend.

    Certainly no one was disappointed with headliners Alice In Chains, Breaking Benjamin and The Offspring. Each one of those bands has earned their keep and each had their own die-hard fans in attendance. Alice In Chains was joined by Billy Duffy of The Cult for their song “Rooster.” One band that failed to bring out the special guests that everyone was hoping for was Taylor Hawkins’, Chevy Metal.  Chevy Metal, which is Hawkins’ cover band that rips through classic rock songs with ease, is known for bringing out big names at their shows. Unfortunately, when the band closed out the Liberty Stage, no guests came out to join the band.

    Fans of Sepultura got to hear the legendary album, Roots, in its entirety during Max & Igor Cavalera’s Return To Roots set. This was one of the most bad-ass sets of the day. Seeing the two brothers back on stage doing Sepultura songs was absolutely incredible and the crowd went wild. One band that seemed to sneak its way into a huge main-stage slot was Baroness. These guys have been growing and growing non-stop and have been receiving incredible support from some of the biggest musicians on the planet. The love and support of Baroness landed them a late evening slot and definitely gave the band a chance to reach an audience of plenty of Baroness virgins.

    It’s impossible to not mention Trivium when it comes to kicking ass. The guys in Trivium seem to live on the road and never show any signs of slowing down. Although their last album Silence In The Snow, wasn’t as “heavy” as some old fans would have liked, this monster of an album has been a commercial hit and the tracks are solid. Gone are the signature screams of singer Matt Heafy, but the record showcases Heafy’s ability to actually sing. Together with long time band members Corey Beaulieu and Paolo Gregoletto and new drummer Paul Wandtke, Trivium continues to give festival crowds around the world a brutal, fast and a seemingly too short set.

    Saturday’s top performance didn’t come from any headliner or by any band that played on either stage inside the stadium. The top band of the day took the Liberty Stage at 4:15. That band was letlive. For people who skipped letlive., saying they missed out is a complete understatement. Often times, writers will say a band had “high energy” and all these other generic compliments about a band they thought was pretty good. On Saturday, letlive. could be described to someone who missed them simply as, f*&King insane. Singer Jason Aalon Butler gave Rock Allegiance everything he could, without getting in too much trouble. Butler ended up hanging upside down at the soundboard tent and running throughout the crowd while his team of roadies tried to keep the audience from becoming strangled with this microphone cord. If there’s one thing fans at Rock Allegiance aren’t ever going to forget, it is letlive’s set.

    Out of the 2 day festival, Sunday was definitely the day with the stacked lineup. The day started off with what would be one of the best sets of the day from Death Angel. Singer Mark Osegueda is by far one of the best vocalists in heavy metal. This guy can hit any note imaginable. If there was one bad thing to say about Sunday, it would be Death Angel’s set was too damn short. Next time, Death Angel deserves a mid-day main stage slot to show the crowd what they bring to the table.

    After Death Angel, bands like Devour The Day, Twelve Foot Ninja, Crobot and Kyng were all back to back one after the other. Although none of these bands have hit it big yet, they’re all in the process of knocking down that door. This year was Devour The Day’s second year in a row playing Rock Allegiance and the crowd was definitely excited to see them again. The singer of Kyng wasn’t too happy with them and Crobot playing at almost the same exact time. He went on to say that whoever booked that should be fired.

    From 2:30 onward, many fans may not have even left the two main stages inside Talen Energy Stadium. Unfortunately for bands like Neck Deep, Amity Affliction and Pierce The Veil, the main stages where were the party was at. Although, even though the inside floor was packed in, these bands attracted their own die-hard fans and fans who may have been curious to check out someone new. Pierce The Veil certainly could have played inside due to the crowd and the stage setup they had. The guys in Pierce The Veil are an absolute blast to watch on stage and their spaceship on stage isn’t something every band brings out on the road.

    Sevendust had a huge crowd over at the Bridge Stage for their set. One of those fans at the Bridge Stage was Anthrax singer, Joey Belladonna, who joined Lajon Witherspoon to sing “Face to Face.” Sevendust was another victim of the dreaded short festival set. Only having time for a handful of songs, Sevendust wasted no time between songs and gave fans as much as they could. The band closed out their set with their Grammy nominated track “Thank You.”

    Some other highlights of the day were Hellyeah and Killswitch Engage. Both of these bands are entertaining to watch from start to finish. Hellyeah singer, Chad Gray is one of the most explosive front-men in metal. Hellyeah’s setlist only featured songs off their 2 latest albums Blood for Blood and Unden!able. During the track “Sangre por Sangre,” bassist Kyle Sanders spit fake blood all over Chad’s face. Chad would sport this blood for the rest of the set and it was clear this band meant business. Hellyeah have certainly been working their asses off creating new music and trying to win over the haters of their group.

    Killswitch Engage, on the other hand, doesn’t have to do anything fancy on stage to win over fans. The guys in KSE are purely bad-ass and get the crowd going regardless if they’re fans of their band or not. Certainly one of the rowdiest crowds of the day, Killswitch gave them all the reason to be. Guitarist, Adam Dutkiewicz, did what he does best and got the people of Rock Allegiance in the KSE mood. Dutkiewicz and singer Jesse Leach lead the charge and helped give Killswitch Engage one of Sunday’s best performances.

    The rest of the evening after KSE was great as anyone would have guessed. Chevelle, Anthrax, Volbeat and Slayer were all fantastic. Each band had a giant fan base in each section of the floor. Slayer fans waited all day along the rail of the Bridge Stage to be in front of Kerry King and Tom Araya. Having half of the big “four” on one stage was an easy choice for thrash metal fans on where to set up camp. Getting that front row spot for both Anthrax and Slayer would put any thrash metal fan in heaven, or in this case, hell.

    As expected, Anthrax stuck with their casual festival setlist. This setlist is fine for any casual fan of Anthrax, but the die-hard fans who traveled to see them definitely wanted something a little different. Tracks like, “Got The Time” and “Antisocial” could definitely be replaced by songs off their latest two albums, which were both outstanding. Both Chevelle and Volbeat, on the other hand, picked their setlists well offering a nice balance between new and old material. Slayer was also another band that seemed to surprise the crowd with their setlist choice. Instead of playing mainly tracks of their latest album Repentless, they only chose to play the title track. The rejuvenated Slayer lineup dug into deep cuts as well as playing the fan-favorite classics like “Raining Blood” and “Angel of Death.”

    The two top performances on Sunday belonged to two bands that toured together not too long ago. Those two bands are Ghost and headliner Avenged Sevenfold. Ghost, who just kicked off their Popestar Tour days before, opened their set with their new EP single “Square Hammer.” For fans who hadn’t caught on to Ghost already, were probably walking out of the stadium that night with a shirt or CD from the FYE tent. Ghost definitely had one of the biggest fan bases over the entire weekend. Ghost shirts were seen by the minute on both days of the festival. The stage show wasn’t what fans will see at headlining shows due to time restrictions, but fans weren’t complaining. The Ghouls, complete with their new female bassist, ripped through 6 more songs after “Square Hammer.” Together with Papa Emeritus III, the band flawlessly performed songs such as “From the Pinnacle to the Pit,” “Cirice,” “Year Zero”, and more. Unlike headlining shows where the band closes with “Monstrance Clock,” Ghost changed things up and said their goodbyes with “Mummy Dust.”

    The chance of Avenged Sevenfold disappointing the fans at Rock Allegiance this year was practically 0%. It’s been a while since Avenged Sevenfold has toured and fans were ready for something that was new and fresh. The band went on stage and opened with “Nightmare.” Fans could quickly point out that Avenged no longer had the extensive stage setup like they did on their Mayhem Festival run a few years back. This time, Avenged kept things simple with an empty stage and a giant LED screen. People who thought that was all they brought were definitely mistaken. It didn’t take long for the onslaught of flames to come from the back of the stage song after song. The new tour not only meant a new stage but also a refreshed setlist. This time around, Avenged played tracks like “Planets,” “Acid Rain,” “To End the Rapture,” and “Second Heartbeat.” The weekend ended with “Unholy Confessions,” instead of the typical encore of “A Little Piece of Heaven.”

    At the end of the weekend, it would be hard to say fans were left disappointed. The lineup for both days of the festival was solid and seemed to have something for everyone. It may have been noticed by people at Rock Allegiance that it wasn’t close to a sold-out capacity crowd, but that doesn’t affect the experience negatively. With two other festivals going on over the same weekend, both within reasonable driving distance, Rock Allegiance held its ground and drew a decent size crowd for what it was up against. Hopefully next year, Chester, PA. can once again be the host of Rock Allegiance for the 3rd straight year.

  • Simple Magic at Burning Man 2016, Black Rock City, NV (NSFW)

    It was one of those hidden treasure moments, like when you open an old shoe box and discovered that your deceased father kept every Father’s Day card you ever mailed him. Or perhaps, as when, you stumble through a dry creek bed and find, wedged between two tree limbs, a small pock-marked, granite stone that over time was water-sculpted perfectly into a shape of a heart. It was one of those deceptively simple moments that showcases what’s best about the Burning Man Festival, I recently returned from that is held annually in the northern Nevada desert.

    Burning Man
    It was so simple of a moment; it began much in the same way an old joke begins. A drummer walks into a bar and sits next to Jesus and Santa Claus, and exclaims, “Hey! I know you!”

    Burning Man Black Rock City

    Only it wasn’t a joke. It was just another late afternoon under the carport canopy of Camp Gallavant’s pirate-themed rum bar. Michael Gray, the drummer of the talented honky-tonk trio The Screaming Js out of Asheville North Carolina, sauntered into dust-covered confines of Burning Man’s venerable AAAARRGH Bar and sat down next to me, a 15-year member of Gallavant. To Burners I am called Jesus, due to my former existence as a Southern Baptist preacher and my frequent Jesus-like attire. To many musicians like Gray and their festival/concert followers, I am known as Dirty Santa due to my just-as- frequent use of a red sequin Santa suit while photographing live music.

    Burning Man Black Rock City

    “Hey I know you!” exclaimed the bedraggled-looking drummer on the final afternoon of the festival as he sat down at the bar. The Screaming Js had just finished a week-long residency whipping boogie-woogie frenzies at a near-by theme camp. After Gray realized that I was celebrating my one-year wedding anniversary that happened at Burning Man last year, he jumped from his bar stool with an offer to relocate the band and equipment, including an upright piano, stand-up bass, and drum kit that already been packed away in the band’s weathered, aqua blue school bus, for one final throw down at Camp Gallavant as a wedding present.

    And what a gift it was.

    Burning Man Black Rock City

    The conditions for playing live music at Burning Man are always difficult at best. And the last night in the desert was shaping up as one of the coldest of week. Nighttime temps dropped into the low 40s, and Gallavant members had dismantled their bar structures by nightfall. The Screaming Js would be playing under an open sky with only a ground tarp cover in front of lounge furniture, and a LED-lit pirate ship mounted on a bread truck. Despite the difficult conditions, Gray, along with Jake Hollifield on piano, and Jonathan Paul Hess on the bass lit a melodic fuse. Rick Metz on saxophone, and Scott Quigley on percussion joined the jamboree. And two and half hours later, the band had delivered a blistering improvisational jam of honky-tonk tunes and scattered Grateful Dead covers that transformed a typically somber night into a joyous hoedown.

    Burning Man Black Rock City

    Burning Man is rife with “shoebox magic” moments, even if they can be overlooked amid the spectacle of large EDM sound camps and towering art structures. This year’s edition offered plenty spectacle. The wild week of art shows, fire performances, costumed crazies, and roaming art cars were scoured by dust storm broom whisks. Stand out art structures included the Black Rock Light House with three tilted towers that shot fire, the 36,000-pound Space Whale, made with over 4,000 hand-cut pieces of stained glass, and a massive, metal wort hog, dubbed “Lord Snort” that participants could climb on and spin.

    Burning Man can still be a place of beauty, creativity, and community-building. Like the serpentine trails of an improvised melody spooling from an upright piano into the twinkling quietude of a clear desert sky, there is hope that we can rise into the cool, thin air as a sweet reflection of our better selves. Like the magic of a simple moment, even a pock-marked stone can be sculpted into the shape of a heart.

  • Louisiana Legend Buckwheat Zydeco Dead at 68

    Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr., the performer who brought the unique sounds of Louisiana zyedco music to the world, passed away early Saturday morning in Lafayette, LA at the age of 68. Dural had been battling lung cancer since 2013. His long time manager Ted Fox confirmed the death in a Facebook post today.

    Dural, given the nickname “Buckwheat” in his youth due to his hair resembling that of the Little Rascals character, became synonymous with the regional music that he championed. He performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics as well as both of President Bill Clinton’s inaugurations.

    buckwheat zydeco
    Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr. of Buckwheat Zydeco died Saturday morning from lung cancer. He was 68.

    Buckwheat Zydeco performed at the 2015 Syracuse Jazz Fest and provided one of the most entertaining and rollicking sets of the weekend. He had been scheduled to perform at the Earlville Opera House on Sept. 16 but was forced to cancel due to a recurrence of his lung cancer. In announcing the cancellation, Dural stated:

    I hope everyone knows I truly believe ‘the show must go on’ and I’ve always tried to make that happen. But, I’ll need to fight this off first. So I’m sorry to say we will need to cancel or postpone some shows. But, you can’t beat the Wheat! I will be back. Soon. And, you can take that to your best bank.

    Dural was born in Lafayette, LA in 1947. His father, Stanley Dural, Sr., was a farmer and Cajun accordionist. The younger Dural resisted his father’s music at first, gravitating towards playing the organ in the funk band he formed in 1971.

    Syracuse Jazz Festival
    Dural and his son, Sir Reginald, performing at the 2015 Syracuse Jazz Fest

    While performing with famed zydeco bandleader Clifton Chenier in the late ’70s, Dural took up his father’s instrument, eventually venturing out on his own to form Buckwheat Zydeco.

    Dural and his band were the first zydeco band signed to a major label, signing with Island Records in 1987 for the Grammy nominated On a Night Like This. Throughout his career, he performed with Eric Clapton, U2, Ry Cooder, Keith Richards and Robert Plant.

    Dural is survived by his wife, Bernite Dural; two sons, Sir Reginald M. Dural  and Stanley Paul Dural III and three daughters, April Germain Dural, Stacie Durham and Tomorrow Lynn Dural.

  • Hearing Aide: MC Chris is Dreaming

    mc-chris-is-dreamingIt’s hard to tell what MC Chris took seriously while developing this album MC Chris is Dreaming. There are times where the listener may think, “This is a complete joke, he must have completed this album in a night. For heaven’s sake, the album cover looks like it was drawn with pen on loose leaf paper.” And half way through the album, one may think that was one of the quickest, nerdiest, and wittiest rhymes that’s ever been spat. In other words, the quality of the album is proportionate to how much time is invested to finding all the little hidden lyrical gems.  

    This album, set to drop September 30th, will sound absolutely ridiculous to anyone who has not heard of the genre nerd rap. MC Chris has a nasally and high pitched voice that spits culture driven lyrics driven by straightforward videogame-like beats. Take it as a whole and the album seems childish. But dissect it just a little bit and it becomes a pretty comical album.

    This isn’t necessarily a concept album but there is some inspiration to it. Freddy Krueger haunts the dreams of the former Adult Swim contributor and while most of the songs are utterly ridiculous stories about how awesome he is, like “MC Chris Is The Shit,” or the death of Krueger, “Freddy’s Dead,” the album is pretty rewarding if listened to closely.

    The beats can be very familiar, most likely a mockery of today’s popular rap sounds, and the lyrical content is a poetic version of  literally anything that comes to his mind or dreams. The man must have ADD.mc-chris-animated

    Granted there are some pretty clever lines that can be caught if listened to very closely. His nasally voice can be very distracting though and requires the listener to be completely invested into what he’s saying. Once someone is, they’ll find clever little lines like in “MC Chris is Dreaming.”

    “MC Chris is dreamin’ /  I’m not paying attention /  My head’s in the clouds I’m on another dimension / I’m like a space cadet and a space camp convention.”

    Written down, the lyrics do not seem so special but the relentless speed at which he says it makes it pretty remarkable. He keeps up that quick pace throughout almost all of the tracks and it makes it a fairly impressive run, but once again, the listener needs to be totally invested into the song to catch these lines. This album is similar to watching a Disney movie with loads of adult humor –  the movie can be enjoyed as a whole, but watch it closely and find some pretty raunchy and rewarding cameos and easter eggs. In the album, these lines pop up one after another and can be hard to catch with the beats sometimes overpowering his squeaky voice.

    Many of the tracks have to do with Freddy Krueger invading Chris’ mind which are entertaining but are some of the funniest parts of the album, these little run-on stories and dialogues between Chris and Freddy or Chris and the producers he’s trying to sell the album to. The two characters will go off on seemingly never ending tangents which shows some thought went into the chemistry of the characters but still makes one think, “These guys are  just screwing around.”

    Aside from the dialogues, other songs like “Sad Sack,” are a bit more raunchy but pretty funny. It’s a typical trap beat with lyrics about, well, his sack.  It’s clever because usually songs with this kind of tone are more aggressive and hardened. But this is reminiscent of Eminem in terms of lyrics. It’s some pretty X-rated stuff, but the sharpness and speed of it makes it more professional.

    “There’s a bit of a goo / in my fruit of the looms / but that isn’t why I lost a few of my dudes / I don’t need a big crew.”

    It sounds so childish written down, and it is, but it must be compared to the quality of a TV show like South Park. It’s comical because of how narcissistic and sarcastic it is. MC Chris is Dreaming is the same thing.

    If an open mind is kept, the album can be rewarding, but there’s a lot of time and focus to invest if the album is to be fully appreciated. Maybe when a lyrics sheet comes out the songs will need less attention and can be more easily enjoyed.

    Key Tracks: MC Chris is Dreaming, Freddy’s Dead, Sad Sac

  • Chris Duffy Returns to New York with The Magic Beans

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

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

    Chris Duffy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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