Buckle up, New York. Long Island synth rockers Shiffley are back with a new single. Drawing from the great omnisexual songwriting tradition that brought us “Electric Barbarella” and “The Sexy Data Tango,” “Sleepless Night” delivers the utterly touching story of a robot who falls in love with a human.
Unlike Duran Duran and Voltaire, however, Shiffley resist the urge to sing about ultra-chrome, latex, and android anti-freeze. The single instead focuses on the emotional spectrum of the machine as it comes to identify and reciprocate emotions, realizing that “Cruel is how it has to be for now.” When asked about the songwriting process, singer Alex Ganes revealed, “Instrumentally this single was birthed in the studio and is very much so a collaboration with our producer, Will Rosati. It is adventurous for us in that the synths heavily drive the song’s percussion.”
This is not the first time the foursome have written about, um, mechanical sentiments. “Systems,” which premiered on New York State Music earlier this year, follows a lovesick robot who learns to feel “and then instantly regrets the decision.” Check out the quantum-singularity-contesting “Sleepless Night” below:
Desmond Dekker, Dandy Livingston, The Clash, The Specials. These artists aren’t typically associated with Christmas. Long Island‘s Bête Noire is out to change that perception with the release of its new Christmas single, “A Message to Rudolph.”
The song is heavily influenced by The Specials’ 2 tone remake of Dandy Livingstone’s reggae classic “Rudy, A Message to You,” recalling the infamous rude boy reindeer’s tale of one foggy Christmas Eve in a campy video.
Bête Noire is a music collective based in Long Island. Members of the collective appearing in the video play with the bands Oogee Wawa, Aqua Cherry, Radio 4 and Hot and Ugly.
Now that December has arrived, add a new carol to your playlist. You can download the single at Bête Noire’s Bandcamp page or through iTunes. Check the video below.
On September 16, 2016 Long Island’s very own TAUK will be releasing Sir Nebula. This will be their fourth studio release, fifth along with their live double album, HEADROOM. Sir Nebula is being released by STS9’s record label, 1320 Records and is available at taukband.com.
Captivating the knowable instrumental fusion that is TAUK, the four piece has again proven they have earned their right to be performing on a professional level with bands such as Umphrey’s McGee, Lettuce, Thievery Corporation, and more. Since their lineup completion in 2012 TAUK has been working harder than most to show music appreciators their brand. Constantly spreading the name TAUK with tours of 30 plus shows, always writing new material, and producing albums on their ‘time off.’ Bassist Charlie Dolan says when the band is in the studio it is “a time where we can really try to expand what we do, try new things and rediscover who we are.”
Listening back to tracks such as “Side Project” from Pull Factors, you can really understand Dolan’s statement. TAUK’s use of melody and creating a singular sound with four people cohesively creating music is a consistency they will always have. As they have progressed and grown you will notice in this new album their use of effects and technology followed by true musicianship.
The first single “Horizon” follows the TAUK path but with a major punch. With a really interesting intro of each member coming in piece by piece into all four members melodically arpeggiating notes into a break. Following this path throughout the song with each member touching back at the their root tag but staying extremely progressive. A fully captivating tune. The track playing in the beginning of the video preview of the album (below), “Program Select,” will also give you further taste of what’s to come. At any giving moment this track can take you in a surprisingly new direction with trap into another explosive well section. The entire album follows this theme and keeps you interested. Individually each track ‘TAUK’s’ for itself but I would suggest sitting back and listening to it as a whole, keeping you interested and on a path of excitement of what’s to come next.
Watch TAUK talk about Sir Nebula:
Whether you’re at a show or festival with the desire to get down, driving all 119 miles from Montauk to NYC, or just feel like listening to music Sir Nebula is a perfect choice.
A lot of great bands form in college. The Pixies, for example, formed after guitarists Black Francis and Joey Santiago shared a suite together at U-Mass. By fortunate accident, the two spent hours at a time collectively reveling in the glory of late ’70s punk and David Bowie. Similarly, after actualizing their musical ambitions at Harvard, the members of Galaxie 500 swiftly began practicing with a drum set Damon Krukowski borrowed from classmate Conan O’Brien. Queen’s Brian May and Tim Staffell, too, discovered each other on a noticeboard on the grounds of Imperial College.
Starting a band in college, is by no means, uncommon or unnatural. Being a campus band, however, is a staggering decision, one more impertinent than being a band that merely makes music at college together. Being a campus band entails adhering to the collegiate lifestyle, pandering to the Thursday night red solo cup agenda, often by playing Beyoncé and Zedd covers to a house-full fraternity party. Being a campus band is not akin to writing songs with striking relevance to the collegiate lifestyle (see: “U-Mass,” “Tugboat“). It is not akin to playing a basement house show, wherein indie kids gather around the makeshift stage, acknowledging the band as the main event.
Shiffley
But Shiffley is different. They are, by no means, your average campus band, subsumed under the forgetfulness that follows a night of cheap and hard drinking. Not only did this Long Island band make the best of their Craigslist success story, but they also broke the long pattern of campus bands that came before them. Shiffley, instead, drew from their red solo cup collegiate starpower, collaborating with students that have all sorts of different skills from arts to business. They built their core team from friends at Syracuse University, finding a manager in co-founding member of A Cappella group Otto Tunes, Cormac Dennehy.
“I was a fan that wanted to help out in any way I could. It started out with them hitting me up for help promoting shows and just turned into me helping out with all corners of their camp. One day we just decided to put it in writing,” explained Dennehy, who currently works at talent agency ICM, which tends to clients like Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lollapalooza, SXSW, Lilith Fair, Sasquatch and Summerfest. “Every day I interact with new people in the entertainment industry — and if I can turn them into a viable contact, or at the very least a fan, then you bet your fanny I will do so. It’s also helpful to see how other people operate in a similar space. I have the opportunity to watch seasoned industry pros do what they do, and occasionally, I am able to apply that to my work with Shiffley.”
Shiffley indeed got their footing on campus, playing house show after house show until the concert board took notice and billed them as openers for 21 Pilots. In January 2014, Shiffley was handpicked by Fall Out Boy, Emeli Sande and Austin Mahone as a finalist in CBS’ nationwide Grammy Gig of a Lifetime competition, placing fourth out of 40 finalists. They were also semi-finalists in VH1’s Make A Band Famous competition. After releasing their EP Atomic Robot Man (mixed by Tony Gallis, the man behind several Steely Dan records), Shiffley is back this year with a new single, “Systems,” and an album slated for a July release.
“‘Systems’ is the second part of a two-song story off of the album about a robot that learns how to feel and then instantly regrets the decision,” the band shared over a warm email exchange, after revealing that they got their name from singer Alex Ganes’ illustration of a sleazy salesman. “As a band, we can relate to the idea of being sleazy salesmen of music.” It’s not long before they casually mention that they got their song mixed at Freshly Baked Studios, in exchange for a shout out. Their flagrant audacity is marveling, and it’s brazen barters like this that truly define Shiffley. Shiffley, as a band, lies on the other side of DIY, on the side that is transparently earnest in its outreach for commercial success. And this, in itself, makes the band that much more endearing, and that much more likely to succeed.
The idea behind “Systems” stemmed from spending their Syracuse weekends chasing down parties until the winter dipped into the negatives, thereby surpassing their threshold for the cold: “[Systems] is about the regret. The robot casts off his/her emotions in an effort return to max efficiency. The main hook, ‘Systems are down, it’s getting cold, I’m going home’ is about crossing that threshold and returning to logic at the expense of the fun times.”
Stream “Systems,” the first single off their TBD album slated for a release later this year, below, and follow Shiffley on Facebook and Twitter, videos on YouTube and music on SoundCloud and Spotify.
Shiffley July 2016 Tour Dates: 7/21 – Studio at Webster – NY, NY 7/23 – SUSIEPALOOZA – Deer Park, NY 7/25 – Chapala Blue Beetle Rock Bar – Burtonsville, MD 7/26 – Jammin Java – Vienna, VA
On April 2, Finley’s of Greene Street in Huntington, NY was treated to a performance by Long Island based band Cousin Fungus. The bar was packed and the dance floor full as Cousin Fungus took the stage after the cover band Run for Covers.
All the way in the back of the bar with an open overhead garage door, the stage set-up at Finley’s made it feel as though Cousin Fungus was performing in their own driveway. As the music started the crowd edged its way forward toward the long-time devotees already lining the front of the stage. The set list consisted of fan favorites Other People, Earth Turns, and Find Your Pipe along with unique jam style cover versions of the Traffic instrumental Glad and Grand Funk Railroad’s I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home.) The first song, Fanfare for the Common Man, was played in homage to the late Keith Emerson from the Emerson Lake and Palmer Band and two new original songs. Birthday was introduced following a special celebratory birthday shout-out to a fan and the show closed with their latest and greatest, Caravan.
Throughout the show heads bobbed and the dancing intensified with each crescendo. It was evident that the band was feeding off the effervescent energy of the crowd. Dennis sang with style as he passionately pounded the keys and Henry and Thomas grooved to the music flowing from their guitar and bass. Although Chris was hidden behind his drum kit at the back of the stage, his ever present and integral beats were “visible” during each and every song. The boys were in constant communication with each other as they flowed from song to song with smiles on their faces!
Customers come to Finley’s for fun and fellowship, and of course its large selection of craft beers. Cousin Fungus fans come from near and far to hear amazing music with great friends. This particular night the crowd got it all – Finley’s definitely delivered as promised!
*Who is Cousin Fungus??
A Long Island based band that hails from Port Washington, NY the journey of Cousin Fungus began in the early 90’s as a Phish cover band called Stash. Made up of brothers Henry, Christian, and Thomas Stanziale on guitar, bass, and drums respectively, along with friends Gary Menkes on keys and Billy Zweirlein on vocals their first performance took place in the summer of 1993 and they continued to play weekly in Port Washington. In the fall of 1993, Dennis Belline made an appearance with the band on keys, and when Gary moved off of Long Island Dennis became an official member. The band played all throughout the Northeast building a fan base now spreading from Long Island to Syracuse, NY. In late 1996 they debuted their first original song Rejhi and by the summer of 1997 they were playing mainly original songs. In April 1997, while performing at Hungry Charlie’s near Syracuse University the band was surprised when Jon Fishman walked into the bar. They invited him to the stage where he jammed out with them for the Phish classics Wilson, Funky Bitch, Rocky Top, NICU, and Slave to the Traffic Light. He returned to the stage for the encore drumming to Stash’s rendition of Derek and the Dominos Love So Sad. In October 1997, as the band focus moved toward solely original songs Stash changed its name to St. Ash. In March 1998 Billy Zwerlein left St. Ash and in May 1998 with Dennis now on lead vocals they renamed themselves Cousin Fungus, after a lyric from the song Low Tide High, and recorded their first album Thoughts of a Moth, which was released in the fall of 1998.
The fan base continued to grow throughout the Northeast and eventually expanded into the Mid-Atlantic. Cousin Fungus had intentions to get back into the recording studio in late 2000 but the album was delayed when Dennis Belline made the decision to leave the band. The Stanziale brothers continued to play as a threesome and in spring of 2001 Mike Sanchez joined Cousin Fungus on guitar and vocals. In 2002 they hit the studio with Mike to record Share the Air, which was released in December of the same year. In 2003 Cousin Fungus welcomed new keyboardist, Mike Sydor, and two months later Mike Sanchez moved on in his pursuits. They continued their musical career as a 4-piece band until their last show together in December 2004.
Since 2005, with over a decade of performing, the original members of the band reconnected for surprise shows all over Long Island. Thomas, Henry, Chris, and Dennis revived Cousin Fungus in 2012 when they returned to the Long Island music scene playing sporadic shows throughout the year. Cousin Fungus has been exciting its loyal fan base with more regular performances in the last 3 years, even performing at private parties. To the delight of fans, Billy has made a few surprise appearances on vocals.
Since 2012 Cousin Fungus has performed all over Long Island…and beyond. The band is hard at work writing original songs to add to its repertoire and new shows are announced every few months.
Cousin Fungus never lets down its fans. Friends and family can be seen at every show and a new generation of fans is evolving, to include the children of each band member! As the Cousin Fungus family continues to grow, old and new fans alike can be found dancing and singing along to each and every song. Definitely take a listen to Thoughts of a Moth and Share the Air and be sure to check the CF Facebook page for show announcements. Get out to a local show and experience all that is Cousin Fungus – you won’t regret it!
Set List – CF Finley’s Greene Street 4/2/16 :
Fanfare, Photo’s, Other People, Glad, Find Your Pipe, Birthday, I’m Your Captain (Closer to home), Caravan
Breakout hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar may have created a culture shift at Kennedy Center. When it was announced last year that Lamar would perform at the storied national landmark, tickets sold swiftly. And while Lamar wasn’t the first hip hop artist to perform at Kennedy, he was the one who kickstarted a movement to push for more hip hop on the center’s Washington, D.C. marquee.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s birth, Kennedy Center has named Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming and St. Albans, Queens native Q-Tip (née, Kamaal Ibn John Fareed) as artistic advisors for the 2016-2017 season.
The naming of its first-ever hip hop curator marks a milestone in Kennedy Center’s storied history. Q-Tip will curate the inaugural Hip Hop Culture series this season, recognizing the genre’s contributions to society. In a press release, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts quotes Q-Tip:
With Hip Hop constantly changing and evolving, it is easy to forget the history and legacy that precede it. I want to begin at the beginning of the Culture to help people see its roots, better understand its present, and responsibly create its future.
Q-Tip rose to prominence as one of the founding members of Queens hip hop collective, A Tribe Called Quest, a main force in what was to become the Native Tongues Posse, which also included Long Island trio De La Soul. Tribe was revolutionary in its sampling techniques and incorporating jazz elements into its music.
A Tribe Called Quest recently re-released a 25th anniversary edition of its highly influential debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in November.
We are into the fourth round of NYS Music’s March Madness 2016 and our field has been whittled down to just 8 bands from across New York State! This friendly tournament style competition runs through the month of March. Our goal is to bring new bands that you might not know about, but should, to your attention.
The last round was the closest ever with the widest spread being only 43% to 56% and a few races were separated by only 1 or 2%. Let’s hope this round proves to be equally as exciting.
We hit every corner of New York State from Long Island to Buffalo, The Catskills to the North Country and all points in between. NYS Music March Madness is a great way to discover a new and upcoming band and also to show your support and love for bands you see often. Established bands who have gained a larger audience are not included in this year’s March Madness. Instead, the bands who are on the cusp of greatness are the stars of this year’s tournament. There was only room for 64 but we made the tough choices and put in a wide variety for fans to choose from, there truly is something for everyone.
The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Buffalo Iron Works, Funk n Waffles and The Waterhole each sponsored a regional bracket this year. And this round those brackets will each have their winner as we enter into the Final Four next week. These venues represent the best of what New York State has to offer and they celebrate music by allowing local and touring bands to perform for growing scenes across the state.
Round 4, or the Elite Eight, voting begins at 12 noon EST on Friday, March 18 and closes at midnight on Sunday, March 20. Final Four voting begins at 12 noon on Tuesday, March 18 for the regional champions. Vote now for your favorites and discover some of the great up and coming music that New York State has to offer!
We are into Round 3 of NYS Music’s March Madness and our field is down to 16 bands from across New York State! This friendly tournament style competition runs throughout the month of March, bringing new bands you should know about to your attention.
These are bands you might not know about, but should know about. Recommended for inclusion in our field of 64 by the NYS Music staff, we hit every corner of New York State from Long Island to Buffalo, The Catskills to the North Country and all points in between. NYS Music March Madness is a great way to discover a new and upcoming band and also to show your support and love for bands you see often. Established bands who have gained a massive audience are not included in this year’s March Madness. Instead, the bands who are on the cusp of greatness are the stars of this year’s tournament. There was only room for 64 but we made some great choices and picked a wide array of genres to offer you competition.
We’d like to thank The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Buffalo Iron Works, Funk n Waffles and The Waterhole for each sponsoring a regional bracket this year. These venues represent the best of what New York State has to offer and they all celebrate music by allowing local and touring bands to perform for growing scenes across the state.
Third round matchups in the Iron Works region include:
Round 3 voting begins at 12 noon EST on Tuesday, March 15 and closes at midnight on Thursday, March 17. Round 4 voting begins at 12 noon on Friday, March 18 for the remaining 8 teams. Vote now for your favorites and discover some of the great up and coming music that New York State has to offer!
It’s March and that means March Madness at NYS Music! We bring together 64 bands from across New York State for a friendly tournament style competition throughout the month of March, bringing new bands to our audience’s attention.
These are bands you might not know about, but should know about. Recommended for inclusion in our field of 64 by the NYS Music staff, we hit every corner of New York State, from Long Island to Buffalo, The Catskills to the North Country and all points in between, NYS Music March Madness is a great way to discover a new and upcoming band and show your support and love for bands you see often. Established bands who have gained a massive audience are not included in this year’s competition, instead the bands who are on the cusp of greatness are the stars of this year’s March Madness. There was only room for 64 but we made some great choices and picked a wide array of genres to bring to you this year.
We’d like to thank The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Buffalo Iron Works, Funk n Waffles and The Waterhole for sponsoring a regional bracket this year. These venues represent the best of what New York State has to offer and celebrate music while inviting local and touring bands to perform for growing local scenes across the state.
First round matchups in the Iron Works region include:
First Round voting begins at 12 noon EST on Tuesday, March 8, and closes at midnight on Thursday, March 10. Second Round begins at 12 noon on Friday, March 11 with the remaining 32 teams. Vote now for your favorites and discover some of the great up and coming music that New York State has to offer!
Def Leppard will embark on a 55-city 2016 North American tour, which will include three New York dates, starting with the Moonstone Festival in Orlando, Florida, on May 1. The tour will extend all the way to the beginning of the fall season, ending at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Oct. 10.
Joining the boys from England for the extensive tour will be REO Speedwagon and Tesla. STYX will appear on select dates near the beginning of the tour, replacing REO Speedwagon on some dates.
Def Leppard will make three stops in New York. The first will take place on June 27 at the Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse, then on July 11 they’ll play Nikon at Jones Beach in Wantagh and Darien Lake Aug. 31.
Def Leppard was formed in 1977. The band’s third studio album, Pyromania, and their fourth studio album, Hysteria, are both certified Diamond with more than 10 million copies sold. With smash hits like “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Love Bites,” the title track “Hysteria,” “Animal,” “Rocket” and “Armageddon It,” it’s not wonder that the Hysteria album alone has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
Def Leppard has released 11 studio albums and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Def Leppard also holds the honor of being one of five rock bands to have two studio albums released in the United States to reach diamond certification.
Def Leppard, Reo Speedwagon, Tesla tour dates:
05-01 – Moonstone Festival – Orlando, FL
05-04 – Cajundome – Lafayette, LA*
05-05 – American Bank Center – Corpus Christi, TX*
05-07 – State Farms Arena – Hidalgo, TX*
05-10 – Century Link Center – Bossier City, LA
05-11 – Verizon Arena – Little Rock, AR
05-13 – Greensboro Coliseum – Greensboro, NC
05-15 – Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT
05-17 – PPL Center – Allentown, PA
05-18 – Big Sandy Arena – Huntington, WV
05-20 – Amway Center – Orlando, FL**
06-22 – Xfinity Center – Boston, MA
06-24 – Darling’s Waterfront -Bangor, ME
06-25 – Videotron Centre – Quebec City, QC
06-27 – Lakeview Amphitheater- Syracuse, NY
06-29 – Hershey Park Stadium – Hershey, PA
07-01 – Klipsch Music Center – Indianapolis, IN
07-02 – Hollywood Casino – Chicago, IL
07-05 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
07-06 – Summerfest – Milwaukee, WI
07-08 – First Niagara Pavillion – Pittsburgh, PA
07-09 – Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, MI
07-11 – Nikon at Jones Beach – Wantagh, NY
07-13 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
07-15 – DTE Music Theatre -Detroit, MI
07-16 – Molson Canadian Amphitheater -Toronto, ON
08-06 – Alliant Energy Center -Madison, WI
08-08 – Ford Center – Evansville, IN
08-10 – Jiffy Lube Center – Bristow, VA
08-12 – Aaron’s Amphitheater – Atlanta, GA
08-13 – Walnut Creek Amphitheater -Raleigh, NC
08-17 – Oak Mountain Amphitheater -Birmingham, AL
08-19 – Austin 360 – Austin, TX
08-22 – Cynthia Woods Pavilion -Houston, TX
08-24 – Gexa Energy Pavilion – Dallas, TX
08-26 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
08-27 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater – St. Louis, MO
08-29 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH
08-31 – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center – Darien Center, NY
09-14 – Metra Park – Billings, MT
09-16 – USANA Amphitheater – Salt Lake City, UT
09-17 – Pepsi Center -Denver, CO
09-19 – Isleta Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM
09-20 – Ak-Chin Pavilion -Phoenix, AZ
09-22 – Irvine Meadows Amphitheater – Irvine, CA
09-24 – Toyota Amphitheater – Sacramento, CA***
09-25 – Shoreline Amphitheater – Mountain View, CA
09-28 – Taco Bell Arena – Boise, ID
09-30 – Matthew Knight Arena – Eugene, OR
10-01 – Tacoma Dome – Tacoma, WA
10-04 – CenturyLink Center – Omaha, NE
10-05 – Xcel Energy Center – Minneapolis, MN
10-07 – La Crosse Center Arena – La Crosse, WI
10-08 – Huntington Center – Toledo, OH
10-10 – U.S. Cellular Center – Cedar Rapids, IA
*STYX to appear / No REO Speedwagon
**No REO Speedwagon
***No Tesla
The song is heavily influenced by The Specials’ 2 tone remake of Dandy Livingstone’s reggae classic “Rudy, A Message to You,” recalling the infamous rude boy reindeer’s tale of one foggy Christmas Eve in a campy video.
Captivating the knowable instrumental fusion that is TAUK, the four piece has again proven they have earned their right to be performing on a professional level with bands such as Umphrey’s McGee, Lettuce, Thievery Corporation, and more. Since their lineup completion in 2012 TAUK has been working harder than most to show music appreciators their brand. Constantly spreading the name TAUK with tours of 30 plus shows, always writing new material, and producing albums on their ‘time off.’ Bassist Charlie Dolan says when the band is in the studio it is “a time where we can really try to expand what we do, try new things and rediscover who we are.”
All the way in the back of the bar with an open overhead garage door, the stage set-up at Finley’s made it feel as though 
*Who is Cousin Fungus??
Joining the boys from England for the extensive tour will be REO Speedwagon and Tesla. STYX will appear on select dates near the beginning of the tour, replacing REO Speedwagon on some dates.