Little Feat played to a sold out crowd at The Egg on Sunday, September 10 in Albany, NY. Wasting no time, the group opened up with “Spanish Moon” and throughout their two hour set, Little Feat gave the fans what they wanted with tunes such as “Oh Atlanta” and “Time Loves A Hero.” For more information on Little Feat’s upcoming tour dates, visit littlefeat.net
When we hear the name Berklee College of Music, it’s natural to think of the great musicians who attended this institution such as John Mayer, Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) and Annie Clark (St. Vincent) to name a few. This impressive school has fostered the talent of a countless number of artists and bands and continues to do so with the members of the up-and-coming New England band, The Penthouse with their new album Overnight.
This indie rock group consists of Eric Derwall on the drums, Kyle Raney on the bass, Jacob Arias on guitar and Patrick James as the front man. Although their band is based in Boston, they are making a name for themselves through live music performances in major cities such as New York and Boston.
The band’s latest releases “City Lights” and “Another Day” perfectly embody what it means to be ‘indie rock.’ Every track makes you both want to move but also listen closely to the story being told through the lyrics. “Best Friend” for example is a relatable track about falling in love with your best friend that also makes you want to dance to its fast-paced and foot-tapping beat.
The band member’s varying musical backgrounds make the instrumental portions of their music even richer in songs like “Everytime” and “Clear As Day (feat. Noah Jackson)” as each instrumental solo is just as strong as the next. This new rising band welcomes you to The Penthouse as stated on their SoundCloud page so don’t miss a chance to listen to their new music!
Key Tracks: Everytime, City Lights, Another Day
The Demos, a mainstay of the Rochester music community, are prepping for their set at KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival. They play on Saturday, September 16 at 6:30pm at Parcel 5 on Main Street. The 75-minute long set will span the power pop band’s fifteen-year career, which they’ve spent continually writing, recording and gigging. With a couple EPs and a full-length album already under their belt, they’re in the studio again working on a new project.
Over the years, The Demos have been through a few lineup changes. Singer/guitarist Jay Milton and bass guitarist Cal Saunders have remained the core of the group, with the addition of Caela Moore on keys, Jeremiah O’Reilly on guitar and the newest addition, RJ Papaleo on drums. They took time away from rehearsing for the big show to talk with NYS Music about Rochester Fringe, The Demos’ body of work, and identifying their spirit animals.
Paula Cummings: I’ve seen the promos you’ve been posting to promote your set at Fringe Festival. How excited are you for this year’s event?
Jay Milton: It’s really exciting to play in such a huge space in the heart of the city that most of us grew up in.
CS: And that we call home.
JM: This is our home and it’s awesome. A very unique venue, and a free show. I always feel it’s great to play a free show. I love doing free stuff.
Jeremiah O’Reilly: I think what appeals to me most is that I think sometimes when you play at specific venues around town, you run into the situation where you’re often playing for the same people. Playing at an outdoor free concert during a festival allows you to play to a different variety of people in the community. It’s nice to be able to share and express ourselves to those people as well as the ones who come to our Bug Jar shows.
JM: And it can be a family show. We’re PG.
https://soundcloud.com/younglionofthewestrec/sets/the-demos-lovely
PC: You’re recording songs for the next album. Will some of those songs be on the set list?
CS: For sure.
JM: It’s going to be a very eclectic set from us. It’s a lot longer than we usually play. Most of our sets are 45 minutes or so. So this is a double set almost. So we’re digging deep into our catalog. Me and Cal have been together in this band for 15 years. So we’re going back and playing songs from every era of our time as a band, from our first EP’s in the mid-2000’s. We’ll be playing songs off Lovely which is our full length from 2012.
CS: The notes on that are that it was the one that went #1 on FMQB.
PC: That was the one that was big in Japan, right?
CS: We’re very proud of that.
JM: It was big in Japan. That was the one that got us the Tokyo billboard. And obviously, we’ll play songs from our latest EP, Paramount Clouds, which came out last year. And then a whole bunch of new songs, and a few covers for good measure. Obscure though. We can’t be playing songs that everyone knows. Because then they’ll know how bad we play them.
(Laughter)
CS: We kind of make them our own.
PC: Although the Andy Kaufman cover was awesome. It might be the wrong crowd for that one.
CS: But I think though at Fringe, it’s weird enough that if you did it people would laugh, which is the point.
JM: Andy Kaufman is my hero in life.
CS: He’s your spirit animal.
JM: He’s definitely my spirit animal. I have been obsessed with him most of my adult life. And the thing I love about him is the more I learn about him the less I understand him. Which is what I love about it. Every time you think you’re getting deeper into what it was about, it seems you’re just opening millions of other things which go nowhere. Which to me is… Life as performance art, perhaps.
CS: The whole world’s a stage.
JM: I actually own Andy Kaufman’s childhood record player. And his smoking jacket as well.
PC: So we’ve got your spirit animal. What would you say yours is, Cal?
CS: Billy Martin, a friend of ours, once told me that he thinks Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes is my spirit animal.
JM: I’d believe it.
CS: But it’s not that easy. My struggle is endless. I seem to go around, which makes me think serpentine, like a snake. I’m year of the dragon, too.
JO: I think I’m an earth dragon.
JM: What’s the difference between a dragon and an earth dragon?
JO: So there’s different parts, like your animal that’s part of the Chinese zodiac, and then an element that goes along with it.
CS: Like earth, water, fire.
JM: I thought maybe an earth dragon was one that couldn’t fly, or something.
JO: I’m like the black sheep of dragons. I guess that’s my spirit animal.
PC: Is it too soon to divulge any details about the next album?
JM: We don’t know when it will be ready. I would say by this time next year, there will be something.
PC: Jeremiah, this is your first time recording with these guys?
JO: Yeah, I’ve known these guys for a while. I actually went to one of their shows back in 2005. When I was a wee little lad. One of my best friends Alex Northrup was one of the founding members of The Demos. And I’ve been playing music with him.
CS: He’s the Syd Barrett of The Demos.
JM: That’s actually very accurate.
JO: I was 16 back in 2005, so I’ve known you guys for a while. But I’ve only been playing with them for 8 months. It’s been a blast.
PC: And now you’re no longer the newest member of the band.
JO: I am not the newest member.
CS: We’re like a restaurant. We change staff as much as we change clientele sometimes.
JM: Honestly, I think we’re just intense workers when it comes to music. We just pour everything into it.
JO: It frightens some people.
CS: Or people have lives.
JO: Aren’t you glad you found me – I have no life!
JM: That’s the worst thing about being a musician in a place that has such a great local scene is that it’s hard to work on music and do things. Tart Vandelay is playing tonight and I’d love to go do that, but we’re doing this and then we’re going into rehearsing right after. And if we’re not in the studio, then we’re rehearsing, or we’re writing. It’s hard to do cool things, like watching other people play music, when you’re so focused on doing it yourself. That’s my least favorite part. We’re very dedicated.
CS: We’re dedicated, honest, and hard working.
JM: Every moment that we’re not working on music, we wish that we were.
JO: Me and Jay text each other at work saying, “I wish we were in the studio.”
(RJ Papaleo arrives)
PC: Hey, we’re just wrapping up. What is your spirit animal?
RJP: I feel like it would be a bird of some kind.
JM: Maybe like a pterodactyl.
PC: And what is Caela’s spirit animal?
JM: A fox.
Catch the Demos live at what is sure to be a memorable performance Saturday, September 16 at 6:30 at Parcel 5 on at 285 East Main Street in Rochester. Get ready by listening to their catalog of music on Bandcamp. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on this and other shows.
Much like fashion, music trends tend to circle their way back around. We knew we would see 90s grunge rock make a return, and that day has arrived. So wrap that flannel around the waste of your favorite ripped jeans and get ready for The Backseat Bullets.
Despite having been born well after the untimely death of grunge icon Kurt Cobain, the Albany based band aids in the nostalgia for those of us in their 30s and 40s. This foursome has done a great job encapsulating the Seattle influence while offering their own take on a familiar genre.
Their five-track, self-recorded EP, Give You the Moon, has a bit of a garage band feel with overpowering symbols and under emphasized vocals throughout. However, part of what we love about grunge is the grit, right?
The first track, “Danger,” is aggressive with consistently smooth bass lines. While the guys say they try to avoid being political or vulgar, this would be the perfect track in which to riot. Similarly, “Don’t Shut Me Out” is fast, upbeat and reminiscent of early Offspring.
The title track, “Give You the Moon,” however, is somehow darker and encouraging of thrash. Where “Suede” is beautifully simplistic; a love song about heartbreak that bursts with passion in the latter half.
We get to hear a little more of the guitar riffs in the final track, “The Smell of Rain.” No doubt that with a professional studio recording, we’d hear more of this.
Close your eyes and kick back to Give You the Moon and tell me you aren’t reminded of Nirvana. Is it rain you smell? I think it’s really teen spirit.
Key Tracks: Give You the Moon, Danger
With metal reigning from all across New York, our humble home has some great names under the NY banner when it comes to the death metal genre. From NYC and Yonkers, we have Immolation, Mortician, and Suffocation. In the bustling and rampaging gore infested Buffalo area the legendary Cannibal Corpse started to take shape. Yes, these bands are the best of the best when it comes to pure disemboweling death metal in our own backyard! With the torch still burning bright, another great band accepts the challenge to keep the nightmare alive. The band is known as After The Storm and they just released their latest EP, Into A New Era, and it’s time to once again show our local bands the support they need in this album review!
After The Storm is a studio project shaped by the hands of Matt Swistak and Pat McFeely. Both are very talented guitar players in their own right. Seeing how two great minds can create such a monstrous beast of a sonic attack, you will get lost in the music as much as I did! The album has such powerful influences drawn from many melodic death metal acts like Soilwork and Solution .45, to name a few inspiring groups. The track “The Awakening” goes for the kill right out of the gate. The finger work of both guitar players are displayed with such beauty and malice. It has the right amount of melody and sheer relentlessness power. For me it is hard to get into modern melodic death metal bands because they focus mostly on either more of the harmony driven riffs and forget about the more destructive fueled constructs. The boys although, have done a wonderful job balancing the two sides that make melodic death metal amazing. You see this in other tracks on the EP like “Rise as They Fall” and “Stand Unified.” These guys really know how to produce a great sound with perfect form!
My personal favorite track on this piece would be “A Great Sacrifice.” The overall tone of the track carries the overall vibe and atmosphere the album generates. Deep down I think the reason this track is my personal favorite is because of the call to arms and giving it up to achieve the goals in life we want to grasp in our hands. Such powerful lyricism and eagle-like soaring riffs, this cocktail of pure ingenious creativity cannot be denied by anyone who listens to this EP!
After The Storm has done us New Yorkers and metalheads proud with this amazing and perfectly executed piece of music that is Into A New Era. It gets a solid 5 out of 5 pentagrams from this metalhead! Go check the band’s Facebook now to follow their journey.
Key Tracks: A Great Sacrifice, The Awakening, Rise As They Fall
It doesn’t seem like the easiest feat to get a small music festival up, running and successful, but that’s just what the organizers of the Adirondack Independence Music Festival did this past weekend, September 2-3.
In its second year and hosted in Lake George at the Charles R. Wood Commons, the two-day festival brought a stacked lineup to eager fans, and may have solidified itself moving forward as an Upstate New York gem. Ticket prices were beyond reasonable, the atmosphere was relaxed and omnipotent and every person who graced the stage brought something unique and memorable.
On August 24, the 3-piece hard-rock trio, Chevelle, brought their brand of rock from Illinois to the New York State Fair. Check out the setlist and photos below.
Setlist: Another Know It All, The Clincher, Young Wicked, Take Out the Gunman, An Island, Jars, Vitamin R (Leading Us Along), Closure, Rivers, Joyride (Omen), Face to the Floor, Still Running, I Get It, Door to Door Cannibals, Hats Off to the Bull, The Red, Comfortable Liar, Send the Pain Below
There are many people out there who would argue that rock is losing its edge. Countless old folks continue to make the bold statement that “rock n roll is dead.” Anyone who believes this laughable claim has yet to listen to The Rifts’ debut EP, Off the Rails.
Although they are based out of Buffalo, The Rifts originally came together in Fredonia, NY. The band consists of Cory Clancy (lead guitar), Brendan Hoare (vocals/rhythm guitar), Dylan MacDonell (drums), and Ryan Donohue (bass). Their self-proclaimed influences consist of classic acts Led Zeppelin and The Doors, as well as modern day alt rockers The Black Keys and The Strokes.
The Rifts recorded the EP with Alex Maiola and Nathan Chordas-Ewell (Chordola Audio) in their home studio. It was released on SoundCloud June 11, 2017, and became available on streaming platforms June 16, 2017.
The EP title Off the Rails says a lot more than the train crash shown on the album artwork. With this release, The Rifts break away from the monotonous track that too many popular bands seem to follow nowadays. The EP is firmly built around Cory’s electrifying guitar riffs, and each track is a portal that sends listeners back to “the good old days of rock n roll.”
If you’re still unconvinced after reading this review, take a listen for yourself. Off the Rails is available on Spotify, iTunes/Apple Music, and SoundCloud.
Key Tracks: Twelve, Head on a Swivel, Burn Out
Once a year in late August, The Heron becomes a temporary home for hundreds of friendly faces at Night Lights Music Festival. Also known for being the grounds of The Great Blue Heron Music Festival, The Heron holds a secluded location tucked into the woods of Sherman, NY.
The drive to Night Lights consists of winding hills, endless woods, and a considerable amount of horse-drawn carriages.
Upon arrival, you can expect to be greeted by the gatekeeper with a genuine “Welcome home!” If you’re lucky, you might also have a friendly encounter with the Parking Wizard.
The Heron takes an entirely different form when the sun goes down. The trees are lit up all throughout the woods, creating a breathtaking atmosphere. And last but not least, the musicians that brought the NLMF family together.
As the weather turned fall-like on Day 9 of the Great NY State Fair on Thursday, August 31, country music’s Leann Rimes took to the stage and welcomed both the cooler weather and the crowd that braved the elements as they sat huddled in hoodies, sweaters, and blankets. Beginning her set with a bluesy tune called “Love Line,” it was apparent her powerful vocals could make every genre of music sound amazing.
Leann Rimes is a multiple award winning musician, collecting awards from the Academy of Country Music, American Music Awards, Country Music Association, and Country Music Television, to name a few, however she’s probably best known as the youngest to win a Grammy with her rendition of Bill Mack’s song, “Blue.” Although the song was to be recorded by Patsy Cline, it never was to be and although it did go on to be recorded by others, it would be Leann Rimes to make the song a top ten hit for Bill Mack. Rimes is often compared to Patsy Cline as they both share a similar soprano vocal style. She was asked to honor Patsy Cline a few years ago with a melody of Patsy’s hits, which she once again performed for fair goers last evening to their happy approval.
With an eclectic mix of both old and new tunes performed throughout the evening, Leann wowed the crowd and warmed them up one-by-one with her most amazing vocals all night long, ending the evening with a tribute to those victims in Texas singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Although Leann Rimes is best known for her number “Blue,” I can guarantee you that not one fan left last night in that state of mind.
Setlist: Love Line, Nothin Better To Do, One Way Ticket/Fast Car, Blue, Patsy Cline Medley, I Need You, Love Is Love, How Do I Live?, Commitment, Long Live Love, Bottle Let Me Down, What I Cannot Change, Life Goes On, Can’t Fight the Moonlight, Summertime
Encore: I’m Every Woman/ Waterfalls/ Respect (mashup), Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)