Professor Louie & The Crowmatix, hailing from the musical history-rich Woodstock, NY, treats listeners to music and history on their latest album Music From Hurley Mountain, spinning tales of their home and surroundings, clueing listeners in to the rich history and lovely scenery we have right here in our backyard. A “super band” in a sense, with musicians in the band having played with such musical powerhouses as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joe Jackson, and Levon Helm, Professor Louie & The Crowmatix are no slouches themselves. Covering a wide range of musical genres – perhaps leaning most heavily toward folk, zydeco, and gospel – listeners can expect to at times be knocked off their feet with the incredible instrumental collaborations and vocal harmonies, and at other times be glued to their seats just listening to all the local history that has seemed to seep its way into all of the band’s tunes. Song names such as “Hurley Mountain Road” and “Ulster Outcry” will garner reminiscent feelings from locals, and those who are unfamiliar with this region will be drawn to it after learning about all the Catskills and Hudson Valley have to offer.
Recording engineer and producer Aaron “Professor Louie” Hurwitz on vocals, keyboards and accordion, is joined by his songwriting partner vocalist/pianist/percussionist Miss Marie, drummer Gary Burke, guitarist/vocalist John Platania, and bassist/vocalist Frank Campbell, collectively making up the Crowmatix. To listen to this band’s latest album is to go on a musical journey that takes the listener from an Irish pub on “Four Farms,” to the Mississipi bayou on “Crop Dustin’ Blues,” to a spirited church service on “Hurley Mountain Road.”
This album has a particularly distinctive beginning, middle, and end. Starting off the album is the 36-second “Golden Morning,” beginning with a trilling accordion sound, which puts the listener right there at an outdoor café in Paris sipping coffee. Progressing through some more spiritual sounding and bluesy tunes, including “Ashton” and “Crop Dustin’ Blues,” the band chose to include “John’s Tractor,” which is essentially just a 30-second recording of a tractor, smack dab in the middle of the album. Given the band’s locale, this could actually be viewed as auspicious timing, as it is quite possible that this is a sound that the band might have had to contend with during the recording of its album in the agricultural surroundings. The album ends with “Goodnight Hurley Moon,” a jazzy/bluesy tune with a French flair featuring the accordion playing major chords juxtaposed against a backdrop of the other instruments playing in a minor key, giving the song a sort of melancholy feel while still remaining positive, a very effective song to end on because it kind of makes you feel like you want to start the whole album over again!
A folk band in the truest sense of the word, this group would fit in well at festivals like Clearwater and Falcon Ridge. Frequently touring throughout Upstate New York, including upcoming shows at Inquiring Minds Bookstore in Saugerties on January 15, and the Orpheum Film and Performing Arts Center in Tannersville on January 16, there is no excuse not to check out these guys. And for those of you looking for a taste of true Catskill Mountain folk music, you’ll definitely want to pick up a copy of Professor Louie & The Crowmatix’s latest album Music From Hurley Mountain, due out on January 15.
Key Tracks: Hurley Mountain Road, Ashton, Four Farmers
The band took a new approach to how fans see and experience a show in Madison Square Garden by utilizing an innovative space in the room for the first time during their New Year’s gag. As the third set started, all four members rose up on a small stage at the back of the house. Once the band was positioned under a funnel shaped screen a curtain suspended fully encapsulating the quartet in a full cone shaped hourglass complete with a full light show. This new, visually aesthetic treat was something that shed a light on why Phish fans come back time and time again. The deeper undertone of the hourglass is open to interpretation, but it looked like that band was literally lost in time and in full control of their musical destiny.
New Year’s Eve is one of the most anticipated nights for live music all year and along with Halloween is one of the toughest tickets to get. Phish delivered three sets and an encore full of musical highlights, stretching many of their songs well beyond their traditional norms and as the band broke into a new stratosphere there was no looking back. The first set saw some serious heat in a nice extended, delay-based jam from Trey in “Wolfman’s Brother,” the sold out crowd singing the outro to “I Didn’t Know” and a smoking “Reba” > “Walls of the Cave” to cap off the first set was just a warm up, though packed full of heat. The second set was where Phish took standard songs and stretched them into something great through some stellar improvisation. The “Kill Devil Falls” -> “Piper” -> “Twist” was some of the most beautiful pieces of improvisation and the most fluid transitions of the entire run. With two sets under their belt, the band was flexing their range and evidently having so much fun on stage.
Being a fan of improvisational jam band music means that you’re open to trying new things and after your ticket gets scanned and you walk into the venue, you’re taking a musical leap of faith and a risk to explore parts unknown. As Phish closed the chapter of 2015 they proved that they’re firing from all cylinders with their foot firmly pressing down on the gas pedal looking into 2016. It seems as if the band is unstoppable of even being slowed down and no matter what they do next, they’ll do it with grace and conviction. There’s simply no better way to ring in the new year than with a garden party and whether the band is flying in on a hot dog, being raised on hydraulic lifts, literally staging a runaway golf cart marathon, playing on top of an equipment truck or fully encapsulating themselves under a psychedelic hourglass, for that brief moment perhaps you can quench that insatiable thirst for more Phish.
Over three sold out nights in Burlington this New Year’s weekend, Twiddle played into the past, present and future of their musical catalog and continued to prove why they are one of the most talked about bands in the jam scene. The packed crowds at Higher Ground were treated to three very different nights of 
The second set saw a weaving of non-Twiddle moments, including a tease of Phish’s “Divided Sky” as well as a meaty jam of Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock,” in the middle of a nearly 20-minute version of “The Box.” The night ended with a more mellow approach as Twiddle cooled off the crowd with “Beethoven and Greene” before ending with a “Gatsby the Great” Reprise.
While the three day run didn’t include much in the way of catalog rarity, what it lacked in surprise it more than made up for in production value. Twiddle demonstrated a growth in technical skill and creative staging. Their studio polish appears to be rubbing off into their live performance with precision, turn-on-the-dime transitions and unique musical moments. The latest addition of Evan Antal as Lighting Director (Zed’s Dead, Kendrick Lamar) on this three-day run elevated the overall show experience.
This show started off as a Trey lover’s wet dream. “Sample In a Jar” kicked the festivities off in fine fashion, with Anastasio showing the renewed vigor in his fingers had carried over from the summer. His short lead was crisp and fluid, and featured bursts of notes that show he has been practicing a lot. “Free” continued the Trey-led theme, as Anastasio was a rapid-fire genius from about 6 minutes on, up until the song’s closing coda. “Simple”>”Back on the Train” displayed a little full-band interplay, but again it was Anastasio who owned the section, before “Waiting All Night” and “555” slowed things down and funked them back up.
A sublime “Roggae” gently gave way to a story of a child being frightened by a big, scary dog. A rollicking version of 2014 Halloween favorite “The Dogs” gave way to a set-closing “46 Days,” where Anastasio and Page McConnell traded haunting, yet tasty licks, sending the crowd completely amped up heading into set break.
Up next was “Ghost,” and it wouldn’t be a notable version if it didn’t sandwich a brand new song, “Can’t Always listen,” which I honestly thought was “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad” for a handful of seconds. A line from the chorus, “The stars are sitting pretty/and the world’s just spinning fine,” made for an upbeat and happy vibe of the song that simply made me smile and think that everything will be fine. Sit back, forget about everything else, and enjoy these four nights with four guys on stage and 20,000 of my closest friends.
A segue back to a short “Ghost” jam gave way to a “Waves” that proved inspired, but wasn’t anything to get crazy over. Phish decided that during the 15:17 that followed, the duration of “Bathtub Gin,” that they were going to take us on a sonic journey. There are so many times in my years of seeing this band that I am convinced they read each other’s minds, but this “Gin,” which did not contain a moment of down time or any confusing parts, proved my thoughts right. The last five minutes soar to a level that only Phish can climb to. If the Magnaball “Gin” was a surprising treat that brought the song back to its improvisational roots, then the “MSGin” surpasses that in stature and cohesion alone.