NYS Music 20​17

Category: Features

  • Hearing Aide: Body Count ‘Bloodlust’

    Body Count have returned with a vengeance.  For the first time since 1994’s Born Dead, the band has finally put out two consecutive albums with the same line-up.  And this is clearly Body Count’s best line up since the original lineup.  So what does Bloodlust bring to the table?

    The album starts off with “Civil War” which features Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine on additional guitars, clearly stating that this album is going more political this time through. Obviously with the political climate as well as the on going violence in inner city areas around the country, Ice-T and the gang are here to make a statement.  Then going into the first single release “The Ski Mask Way, ” which has the old school Body Count feel to it, shows the band is on point, clutch, and heavy as ever.  Not to mention the production on the album is top notch.

    Similar to the previous album Manslaughter,  Body Count has dialed up some additional help from other big names in metal.  And on the song “All Love Is Lost” Max Cavalera of Soulfly lends his deadly vocals which was a nice touch to the track. Following that Body Count busts out a kick ass Slayer medley cover which is a cool way to segue at the halfway point in the album.  I would call it heavy metal half time.  Lamb Of Gods’ Randy Blythe also makes a guest appearance with “Walk With Me” where his vocals make a brutal mix with Ernie C’s nasty guitar riffs and Ill Will’s relentless drumming.

    The tail end of the album grabs you by the collar and gets politically heavy with “No Lives Matter” whether you agree or disagree with what Ice-T and gang have to spit out, you can’t deny the beats and breakdowns kick major ass, but that’s the beauty of it.  The music is damn catchy, it helps convey the message that much easier.  The last track “Black Hoodie” which pays tribute to KRS-One while conveying one last message, is the album’s best track and leaves you wanting more.

    In conclusion, a lot has changed since their first album from 1992, the previous album Manslaughter was aimed at society, this album attacks politics and discrimination.  While all the breakdowns, amazing Ernie C riffs, spectacular drumming, and powerful lyrics from Ice-T are all there, which we are used to hearing from a Body Count album,  the album did feel much shorter than their previous album and there are not as many guitar solos and there are no ballads or clean singing vocals from Ice-T or Ernie C.  But it is still a fantastic metal album and a solid entry to the Body Count catalogue.  This is one of their best albums to date and a lead candidate for best metal album of 2017.

    Key Tracks: All Love Is Lost, Walk With Me, No Lives Matter, Black Hoodie

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  • Roots of Creation: Love Out of the 603

    Roots of Creation is known to sing of its love for the “603.”

    That’s the area code for New Hampshire, of which the reggae-jam fusion band calls home. Its 2012 video “Summertime in the 603” (a homage to Sublime’s 1995 “Summertime”) remains a colorful sight for those recently wishing winter away. Just a day after returning from the warmth of sunny Costa Rica, Brett Wilson continues to defend his love for the “Live Free or Die” state. This, after snowstorm Stella dumped more than 20 inches of the white stuff across the region.

    “Well, a lot of us here like to ski and snowboard and stuff,” said Wilson, in a phone interview from his home. He admits to feeling out of place with the heat and sun of the coastal vacation spot, from which he just left. With his “pale skin,” he said he found himself retreating more often to the evening hours to avoid being burned. “I like having all the seasons. Costa Rica was great. It was nice and warm, but man. I was not built for 100 degrees, everyday.”

    The popularity of a band that envelopes the offbeat rhythms and staccato chords of reggae initially seems just as out of place in New England as Wilson is in the Caribbean sun. But, that’s not the case. Wilson explained he was introduced to the Jamaican music through his mother at an early age. She would provide him with mixtapes of the popular bands that, too, called New England home. When she took him to a reggae fest to hear the music live, he was hooked.

    Flash forward 20 years later, Roots of Creation is a Billboard chart topping band. The band’s latest release “Livin Free” debuted on the Billboard Reggae Chart last April. The success follows a cultivated reputation of making each live show a unique gem for the audience’s experience. Wilson recalls Phish and The Grateful Dead, two of some of his favorite bands whose fans often trade recordings of individual shows throughout the years, each with a different line-up of songs, possessing its own unique experience. Today, it’s not uncommon for those who follow Roots of Creation to do the same thing.

    “We never really saw any of those bands play the same shows once,” said Wilson. “That was cool, because it built kind of a culture around the band. People wanted to follow them around, collect set lists and tape the shows. Also, the bands never got tired of it. So, we definitely adopted that kind of mentality.”

    Whether on the festival circuit, performing at jam favorites like Gathering of The Vibes, Wakarusa, Camp Bisco and Closer to the Sun, or sharing the stage at sold out shows with some of their diverse influences including Slightly Stoopid, The Wailers, Fishbone, and Michael Franti, Roots of Creation has been recognized as a Top 20 artist on the Relix/Jamband radio chart as a festival staple.

    Roots of Creation’s fan base played a substantial role with last year’s release of “Livin Free.” The CD, and subsequent three-CD set, was released from the band’s own label, Bombshelter Records, and distributed by ILS/Caroline/Universal Music Group. The record was funded with a crowdsourcing initiative through PledgeMusic.

    “We could not have done this without everyone who was a part of our PledgeMusic campaign, those who purchased the album, our fans who come out to the shows, and our team behind the scenes,” said Wilson. “It was a really huge team effort. The RoC family is just amazing, and we thank everyone for their support.”

    “Livin Free” features guest performances by Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band), Marshall “Ras MG” Goodman (Sublime, Long Beach Dub Allstars), the Rubblebucket horn section, Billy Kottage (Reel Big Fish), Bill Carbone (Zach Deputy, Max Creek), Grammy-nominated Pato Banton (Sting, UB40), and Mighty Mystic.

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518.

  • Hearing Aide: Grand Gesture ‘King of Cups’

    All in all, it’s a wholesome, laid back and refreshingly straightforward collection. The album holds a  psychedelic feel without bombarding listeners with abstract and unnatural sounds that tend to come with the genre, and not doing so takes a considerable amount of talent. It’s well produced, diverse and catchy – something the group harps on in their biographies.

    Grand Gesture hails from Brooklyn and are best described as a combination of Talking Heads, Lou Reed, The Pixies, the Grateful Dead. They don’t copy the sound of these historical groups, but there are hints of their inspirations found throughout all of their tracks. They range from a fairly heavy rock drive to a plain and simple folk jam, and listeners might hope that they take a more aggressive route with their tone in any forthcoming album because tracks based off that formula leave more of an impact that their lighthearted tracks, if they were to ever drop another album.  Examples of this style are found predominantly in “King of Cups.” One of the highlights is a dueling guitar breakdown that’s very Allman Brothers-like along with a funky and heavy guitar solo played through a fuzzy and distorted amps.

    “Straw In My Sock” is another key track that had a more forceful tone which keeps listeners engaged. Their songs don’t rise and fall as much as other psychedelic rock songs do, so songs like “Wildflower” seem to drone on a bit. With the more intense tone, listeners feel more immersed into the music. This feeling could also only be only true when listening to the recording. They claim, “The band aims to write songs with pop song precision, yet they have a deep respect for improvisation so it’s not uncommon for the material to take on new directions in the live setting.”

    “Hey Okay” has a cool ‘skipping’ feel to it with more of those dueling guitars everyone loved from the Allman Brothers. It’s funky and technically with great direction and precision. It’s a song that would be an absolutely blast to see live as there’s so many fantastic opportunities to vamp and mess around.

    It is undoubtedly feel good music and would make a perfect fit for a live setting in an intimate bar or concert hall. The album is available on their website and Spotify and show no sign of any live performances this year, but will post upcoming events on their Facebook page.

    Key tracks: King of Cups, Straw in My Sock, Hey Okay

  • A New York City St. Patrick’s Day with Larry Kirwan and Friends

    Every St. Patrick’s Day, the New York City streets and subways flood with green from onlookers of the 5th Avenue parade and thirsty pub-goers. With many options for a good St. Pat’s show or party from uptown to down and across to Brooklyn, one might almost need to throw a dart at a subway map to plan their night. But near Times Square a staple of the New York Irish scene returned to BB King’s to put on the perfect show for the occasion. For a second St. Patrick’s Day in a row, Larry Kirwan brought his songwriting and music from the retired Black 47 to the midtown blues club along with entertainment from some friends.

    The evening started right on time with the dinner crowd being treated to a set from the Lia Fail Pipes and Drums from Mercer County, NJ performing traditional Irish and Scottish tunes including the 1916 Easter Uprising inspired “Foggy Dew.” Singer-songwriter Pat McGuire, a native New Yorker who calls Galway home, was greeted with admiration from the crowd starting to gather near the stage. As a pleasant surprise to many in the room, former Black 47 member Geoff Blythe joined McGuire for most of the set on soprano/tenor sax. The two complimented each other very well, especially on McGuire’s new songs. His set included a nod to his hometown, “A Song for New York,” in tribute to the Hurricane Sandy victims and storm cleanup efforts.

    Returning to the BB King’s stage following McGuire’s set was Rory K, an independent hip-hop artist from the city, with a short set from a genre that was certainly the odd one out from the other acts yet fit in well. This year Rory drew more folks into his self-written lyrics with a high-energy and charismatic stage presence, debuting within the set a brand new song, “Talkin’ that Talk.”

    With just the blink of an eye between sets, we arrived at the main act of the evening, Larry Kirwan & Friends. With the retirement of Black 47 two and a half years prior on the same stage, Kirwan’s band for the night returned from the previous St. Patrick’s Day show –  Coty Cockrell (keys), Deni Bonet (violin), Rene Hart (double bass) and former Black 47 bandmate Thomas Hamlin (drums). The band had a tighter sound this time around giving a different take on the arrangements of the Black 47 songs in the set.

    The band’s instrumentation was that of a typical rock setup but with upright bass, keys, and violin – a bit of a contrast to Black 47’s horn and uilleann pipe section, so the feel of the performance was inherently different from what longtime fans of the band had been used to. But that’s not to say anything about the quality of the show. The tunes in their different arrangement stood in their own right for a perfect show, with Cockrell’s keyboard lines and the pretty sounds of Bonet’s violin complimenting the original songrwriting well.

    Concurrent with giving a performance with plenty of dancing to be had, Kirwan brought one of his former band’s recognizable elements to the show – politics in the form of song. A number of songs in the set came from Kirwan’s fervor for the history and stories of his home country of Ireland. Just like in the Black 47 days, these songs engaged a passionate audience, particularly the anthem to the Irish labor activist James Connolly. In more current affairs, Kirwan debuted a new single, “Second Coming Blues,” fueled by the recent election season and inspired by William Butler Yeats’ 1919 poem similarly titled “The Second Coming.”

    The show also featured a few surprises mixed throughout. The first was an appearance received with much applause by Cait O’Riordan (from The Pogues), who Kirwan introduced with a fun little story about when he attended that band’s first gig in NYC. Right after a rendition of The Pogues’ “I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday,” the band paid tribute to David Bowie with a cover of “Heroes” to which Kirwan had penned an extra verse about Belfast. Rory K stepped back out on stage for a father-son moment during a section of “Fire of Freedom,” and perhaps one of the most exciting moments for long-time fans was the reunion of Kirwan and Black 47 co-founder Chris Byrne for “Walk All The Days.”

    Before the night was over, the Kirwan treated BB King’s to one of Black 47’s MTV hits “Funky Ceili,” a song that for some intangible reason does not seem to get worn out with time, and the night closed with a large sing-along on the choruses of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”

    The evening was by no means low key but was rather a fun-filled, laid back way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and a show well worth checking out next time it rolls around on the calendar. Until then, Kirwan has some solo gigs/talks popping up which can be found between Facebook and the Black 47 website.

    Setlist: Livin’ In America, Bas In Eirann, Five Points, Camptown Races/Hard Times, Big Fellah, I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday (w/ Cait O’Riordan), Heroes (David Bowie), Fanatic Heart, Sean MacDiarmada, Redemption Song -> Fire of Freedom, Second Coming Blues, Walk All The Days (w/ Chris Byrne), James Connolly, Funky Ceili

    Encore: Like A Rolling Stone

  • REVIEW: Making up with Adam Levine

    Watching Adam Levine perform with Maroon 5 was a dream come true for me and likely for many of the fans who came to the Times Union Center on Tuesday, March 7. The band had previously cancelled its appearance last September due to the birth of Levine’s first child with wife, Behati Prinsloo.

    Opening the evening was the U.S. Virgin Island group, “R-City” (also known as “Rock City), featuring brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas with a half-hour set of Jamaican based hip-hop, rap, and pop hits from its debut album, “What Dreams Are Made Of.” Upon performing the hit, “Make Up,” the brothers continued to make the show kid-friendly by teaching fans some Virgin Island slang. The crowd went crazy for a medley of songs R-City recorded for other performers —“Replay” (Iyaz), “We Can’t Stop” (Miley Cyrus), “I Don’t Mind” (Usher) and “Pour It Up” (Rihanna). R-City closed out the evening with “Locked Away,” a track that features Levine, of which he would reprise later in the evening.

    A rousing, electrifying drum solo welcomed the crowd to Tinashe and her group of female dancers, as they opened to “Ride Of Your Life,” from her sophomore album, “Nightlife.” In her half hour set, Tinashe also performed hits from Justin Bieber (“Let Me Love You”) and a remix reminiscent of 5th Harmony’s “Work.” before leading on into her own “Company”  and “All Hands on Deck.” The dance choreography from Tinashe and her dancers was great to watch. At one point, they were all in formation dancing to an Beyoncé-inspired rendition of “Single Ladies.”

    By the time the lights dimmed and the music began to blare, the audience was on their feet in anticipation of Maroon 5. Levine and company opened with “Moves Like Jagger.” Levine (guitar/ lead vocals) and his band, featuring Jesse Carmichael (guitar/piano), James Valentine (lead guitar), P.J. Morton (piano), Matt Flynn (drums) and Mickey Madden (bass), wasted no time in getting the audience to sing, video tape, and dance along to a majority of the band’s hits from “Songs About Jane,” “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long,” “Hands All Over,” “Overexposed” and “V.”

    Watching Maroon 5 perform to an almost sold out crowd was an evening I will never forget. Levine’s famous falsetto range was on point for every single song he performed. If you’ve thought watching the band perform with Levine on The Voice was awesome, watching their live performance in person at a live venue is amazing. One of the highlights of the band’s first set was a high-energy performance of “Let’s Dance,” a tribute to the late David Bowie. While another was when Levine gathered the band to center stage for an acapella chorus of “Payphone.”

    The encore featured nothing but an electronic drum kit and a piano. Levine and Valentine opened with an intimate look at the timeless hit, “She Will Be Loved.” Valentine took the lead, performing on acoustic guitar as Levine sang. He dedicated the song to all of the beautiful ladies who came to watch the show. Morton and Flynn joined Levine and Valentine to perform, “Don’t Wanna Know.” After a few more songs, the band closed the evening with yet another tribute —an electrifying homage to Prince. Purple lights flashed and illuminated the stage as each of the members poured their hearts out to perform “Let’s Go Crazy.” Levine stepped up to the challenge, performing Prince’s blistering guitar solo at the end to the crowd’s delight.

    Amy Modesti is a visual artist, photographer and musician who’s dedicated to sharing what’s surrounding her with the rest of the Capital District and beyond. She’s one of the photographers for TheSpot518.

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518.

  • A Quarter Century Q and A with Greg Bell

    Greg Bell has been promoting and putting on shows in the Capital Region now for 25 years. All month long in April, he will be celebrating that milestone with shows each weekend at the Hollow Bar and Kitchen in Albany.

    In late march 1992, Bell formed a partnership with his friend Dale Metzger called Two Fools Present. They proceeded to put on what turned out to be the first of many shows promoted by Greg. It was held on April Fools Day at the Masonic Hall on lower Madison Avenue. The bands who played were the Sharks, Hard Times, Motherjudge and Brian Kenny and Friends. Two Fools worked together for an outdoor festival and two or three more club shows and parted ways. In 1993 Bell teamed up with Jeff Guthrie to form Guthrie/Bell Productions. Jeff left the business a few years later but Bell continues to work under that name today.

    NYSMusic caught up with Bell to talk about his career and how he’s made it this far while staying so successful.

    Neil Benjamin: You’ve been putting on shows locally for a while, and now you’re celebrating a big anniversary. What’s it been like to be such a huge part of the Albany music scene?

    Greg Bell: I had always been a part of the local music scene .I had many friends in local bands and I probably went to at least one show per week from my college days until  I started promoting on my own. One of the reasons that I started putting on shows was to give local musicians  and the audience a situation to be in that treated them with respect instead of being treated as a product. I was always involved with the local music scene . One night , out drinking with a friend , we decided to throw a party with some friends’ bands just for fun . It was sort of like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland saying “lets put on a show” in an Andy Hardy movie. The first show went well , so we did another . then another and it just sort of snowballed

    NB:Do you know how many shows you’re promoted?

    GB: Probably around 2,000.

    NB:What was your favorite show to put on? Can you share a memory or two?

    GB:Probably a tie between the first time that i had moe. play the Palace and the Phil and Friends show at the Glens Falls Civic Center when Trey Anastasio showed up and sat in for the entire show. the moe. show was exciting for me as they were the first band that I had taken from a small club situation to a big theater show . The Phil show is a given. I first saw the Dead in 1970 and here I was promoting a show with a member of the Dead and a member of Phish on stage. It was an amazing feeling.

    NB: How long do you plan  to do this?

    GB: According to my wife, until I die.

    NB: What’s the most difficult aspect of promoting shows around here?

    GB:The hardest thing for me is putting on an amazing band to a small crowd. I try to promote bands that I think people should see and I feel like I let some bands down when the turnout sucks. Only do this if you love music. If you do it for money, find something else.

    NB: How many concerts do you think you’ve attended and who is your favorite band?

    GB:My favorite band has been the Grateful Dead for 47 years . I couldn’t even guess how many shows that I have attended, but it’s a lot.

    NB:You attend most of the shows you put on. Is your family supportive of what you do and why?

    GB:My family is very supportive . My wife designs all of my flyers and posters as well as Bellstock tee shirts and loves coming to shows . My kids have been attending my shows since they were born and are proud of what I accomplished. They also like the fact that I can get them into concerts that they want to see.. One thing that I made sure of is that putting on shows was secondary to my family . I never missed a school concert or function  . I never missed their soccer games or track meets .I was a teacher , so I was able to spend all summer with my kids.

    NB:How has your approached changed over time as society and technology change? Is it easier or harder to promote in the social media age?

    GB:My approach hasn’t changed. Word of mouth is the way to go. Technology has made things easier, but handing out a flier is the best way to get people in the door.  The danger with technology is that it makes promoters lazy. It is so easy to just to think that you just need to send out a Facebook post or a text to get the word out. I truly believe that the personal touch of talking to people at shows and handing out flyers to people while explaining why they should come to a show is the best way to promote. I am at almost every show that I put on and I am constantly in contact with the people who attend my shows. They know that I only put on shows that I want to see and I think that gives my shows some credibility.

    Catch Guthrie/Bell’s 25th anniversary shows at The Hollow Bar and Kitchen in Albany:

    April 1 Wreckloose w/ School Bus Yellow and Hartley’s Encore
    April 15 Eastbound Jesus w/ Elrod & Motherjudge and the Grassroots Rebels [featuring members of Jerkwater Ruckus ]
    April 28 Dr. Jah and the Love Prophets w/ Lynch [featuring members of Conehead Buddha and Schleigho] and the Eastern Highs [featuring members of Free Beer & Chicken]

    All shows are 18+, tickets $12 in advance, $15 day of show. Doors at 7:30, show at 8pm

  • Justin Henricks Steps into Role of Bandleader with Wurliday

    Justin Henricks is taking on a new role as a band leader, as the Hart School graduate and Averill Park native will release Bedtime Blazer this May, the first EP for his new project Wurliday. As he leads his first band, Henricks finds himself poised for the next step in a career that has thus far found him as a key player best known for his guitar work in Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan, Way Down and The Chronicles.

    Henricks has played guitar all his life and considers Hartford to be a second home, thanks in part to the music scene that includes Arch Street Music Hall, West End Blend and Boo-yah Funk Night, while back home in Albany, Justin hosted funk night at City Beer Hall in 2016. NYS Music sat down to discuss with Henricks the shift from band member to band leader, performing with Beau Sasser and putting together the Wurliday EP.

    justin henricksPete Mason: Tell me about Wurliday and how the group came together.

    Justin Henricks: Had this idea circulating in my mind for almost a year, and I’ve been taking my time to let it come to fruition in terms of getting the songs written and making this EP that is coming out. I’ve always wanted, its been long due, having my own project that I have creative control over. I spent a lot of time working with Beau (Sasser), and the Escape Plan and The Chronicles. I’ve learned a lot as a sideman and I’m ready to take on my own project. I figured the best way to do so would be to release something, sort of build the groundwork of the band and the internet presence and everything, before the band actually starts. Almost like a Steely Dan approach  I was able to get some incredible musicians and friends together to play on these tunes. Everyone was really supportive and showed me a lot of love during the process. Trying to create something that will go for a while. Really starting to think of the future of this project and create a home base for myself, creatively and band speaking.

    PM: Where did you record the album?

    JH: We recorded at Alan Evans‘ studio Iron Wax in Millers Falls, MA. The album’s cast is nothing short of all-star. He was a pleasure to work with, he was a great engineer, gave his two cents when needed, and really worked with us to make sure we were getting all the sounds we’re trying to hear. I felt like we had two days of initial tracking and got a lot of overdubs done in the first two days. We brought the sessions back to our house with Bryan (Brundige) at his studio, Grandma’s Studio, in The Attic. Between him and I, he helped a lot in terms of lending gear and his engineering skills. We were able to bang out all the vocals

    PM: Who sings on the EP?

    JH: Arielle O’Keefe, her stage name is Girl Blue. She actually co-wrote the record with me, we worked on all the vocals together, she’s extremely great to work with, hoping to move forward with her and play some shows together. She’s singing on three of the tracks and Jennifer Hartswick (TAB) is on the fourth track, and Tyrone Hartzog (The Chronicles) is featured. In my opinion, he’s my favorite male vocal voice to record, it comes through in the recording so well, something about the timbre and the tone about that dude’s voice that sits real well. He’s like Donnie Hathaway. Between that I also went to Paulie Philippone (West End Blend), he helped me a lot with this record. He’s playing all the keys and synth. We took a trip down to his house, it’s called the Funk House, West End Blend Studio in Hartford. We had a couple fun keyboard days where we went over synthesizers.

    wurlidayPM: How did Jennifer Hartswick come to sing on a track?

    JH: I was really excited to get Jen on a track. It kinda happened organically. Arielle wrote the album with me, and we started the vocal tracking sessions for it and while she sounded great, she suggested to look around for a singer for “Getting There.” On a whim I emailed Jen and sent her the track and asked if she’d be interested in doing it because she really has such a powerhouse voice and she can really sit up there in that high register. She got right back and ended up tracking it in Nashville and did a remarkable job. I couldn’t be happier with her performance, she was the sweetest for helping out with that, it was great.

    PM: How and when did your vocals develop?

    JH: I’ve been working on my vocal chops! I look forward to singing some backups and working on it some more in this new project.

    PM: You went to the Hart School and have ties to Hartford, CT.

    JH: Hartford has always been a second home to me. They have their Booya Funk night on Wednesdays. I try to go down there as much as I can. Arch Street Tavern is one of my favorite venues to play. Going to the Hart School I got all my jazz chops from a really traditional program with some great leadership; I was lucky to study under Nat Reeves, Renee McLean and my guitar teacher Rich Goldstein who taught me everything I know.

    PM: After the Hart School you moved back up here?

    JH: Yeah the Chronicles were gigging a lot and I was playing with Way Down, who were my first sort of band that I had a stake of leadership in. It  was all of our bands but I learned a lot about leadership skills and what it means to be a band leader, which makes me so excited to finally get this project off the ground. Really looking forward to taking something and calling it my project.

    PM: How did you go from playing with The Chronicles to playing with Beau Sasser?

    JH: I met Beau because Way Down was opening for Alan Evans’ Playonbrother and Beau invited me out to do one of his funk nights at Bishop’s Lounge in Northampton, MA, He asked me to come out and play. I didn’t know what to expect and he didn’t send me any tunes, it’s kinda Beau’s way. I went out there and it was a very crazy packed jam party. From there Beau and I became really great friends and he wanted to start the Escape Plan and thought it would be cool to have a band with two guitar players. He brought Danny Mayer to the table and Mary Corso, who are both playing in the Eric Krasno Band now. Beau mentioned he wanted a vocalist and I was able to bring Mary, who I went to Hart School with, into the mix. We had maybe half a rehearsal and Mitch Moriber at Tone Wheel Music Group booked us a bunch of shows and off we went. I definitely do owe Beau some credit in introducing me to a lot of these folks who have been kind enough to play some music with me from time to time; pretty much everybody on the record.

    The Escape Plan is fun, for all of us really, I think it was a really nice vehicle. We played some shows and met a lot of great people and we still play from time to time – Beau is with Kung Fu, Danny and Mary are with Eric Krasno Band. It’s been a funny little stepping stone for all of us I think. It’s like the family band at this point, we have a lot of fun when we get together.

    PM: Who are your guitar/musical influences?

    JH: Guitar-wise, George Benson, John Scofield, Wes Montgomery and Grant Green. Musical influences: Earth Wind and Fire, Steely Dan

    PM: You’re 24 and your roots are in Albany. What do you see your goals are by the time you’re 30?

    JH: I would hope that this original project, long term, has gotten to a sustainable point and something I can really call home, and still doing a lot of the same – getting a chance to play with these amazing musicians and making more records. I hope to have a bunch more records under my belt. This is the first go at it – the first recording process that I produced and had creative say over and I like it a lot. So the bug has definitely bitten and I hope to get back in the studio next fall and do Bedtime Blazer, Vol. 2.

    PM: Thinking of the second one already?

    JH: Absolutely.

    PM: What are your thoughts on the Albany scene? How do you see the Albany scene from the point of view of a traveling musician with a base here?

    JH: It’s a tricky thing for sure. What makes a scene, ya know? People going to shows, we certainly have that, The Hollow and Parish Public House are great rock clubs that host a lot of great bands. A lot of bands have called this place home and had a lot of great times here. There’s a lot of great musicians to play with in the area. It’s a bit of an older scene in my experience. There’s a lot of people that for whatever reason ended up here who are heavy dudes and have their resources available to you as a musician to go seek out and play with them. I was on the phone with Skip Parsons not too long ago. Skip has been doing a gig at The Fountain, he’s been holding that gig for like 50 years, every other Saturday, playing old school jazz and sharing a wealth of knowledge of old music. There’s people to play with here and a lot of history.

    PM: There’s so much going on in this town, and the ridicule of calling it ‘Smallbany’ doesn’t help and you realize there are all these musicians tucked away.

    JH: A scene for me is … there’s all these scenes in all these cities, and it’s the people that are in them that matters. With funk night in these other cities – Beau has in Northampton, West End Blend has in Hartford, Kung Fu has in Bridgeport – it’s definitely a staple that I tried to get going in Albany at City Beer Hall last summer. We had some really successful ones, and some not successful ones, but I learned a lot from it, directing a band, being a band leader. That was my gig that I had to prepare for each week, so I learned a lot from that experience too, all building up to this original project I want to start; all learning experiences.

  • Hearing Aide: Dangermuffin ‘Heritage’

    Melding multiple genres, Americana quartet Dangermuffin has put together eight unique tracks for its new album, titled Heritage, which is set to drop on March 31.

    Kicking off the album with a Corona-in-the-sand vibe is the wavy and groovy “Ancient Family,” an almost surfer dude type of track, but with a more elegant and highbrow vibe. It’s a solid song to blast on a beach vacation with your friends, or late-night at home when you want to wind down.

    “Fidel” continues the seashore and ocean theme, except this time it’s strictly a reggae song with quite the fun nearly sky, rhythmic musical interlude in the middle. “Kindred Sun” starts out sounding like a slowed down version of “Jack Straw” by the Grateful Dead, but quickly morphs into a psychedelic excursion based around the biggest star in our solar system.

    “Methuselah” begins with a simple drum beat that slowly builds into a five note rhythm that might play out very well on the live stage. “One Last Swim” combines a country feel with bluegrass twang that simply adds to the eclecticism of Heritage.

    “Sea and the Rose” brings back the breezy and free feel of the beginning of the album, enlisting the use of the clavicle in a simple but quite effective way. “Waves” would have closed out the album in the perfect way, adding a little bit of all the themes on the previous six songs. The gentle guitar leads and danceable rhythms make this the feel good song of the record. “Ode to my Heritage” closes out the album in an old timey, campfire circle sort of way.

    Dangermuffin hails from Charleston, S.C., and this album reflects the light and airy ways of the south. A little pickin’, a little grinnin’ and a lot of soul and groove have given Dangermuffin an album to be proud of.

    Key Tracks: Waves, Methuselah, Kindred Sun

  • The Finals of NYS Music’s March Madness 2017

    We have made it to the finals of NYS Music’s March Madness! From our Final Four, two bands, Intrepid Travelers from Buffalo and Root SHOCK from Syracuse have reached the finals in our month long friendly competition between bands.

    A brief intro to each of our finalists:

    Intrepid Travelers specialize in creating sprawling improvisational soundscapes, infusing elements of  jazz, rock, funk, and bluegrass. Most of what the group plays are original compositions, and their covers get a groovy IT makeover.

    The group holds their annual IT Fest each year, and last year NYS Music had this to say about their performance: “The first two sets were a mixture of original songs with a few covers thrown in the mix. The last set they covered MGMT’s album Oracular Spectacular from start to finish. They put their own twist on the album, showing fans a side of the band that they might not be aware of.”

    Root SHOCK was formed in Winter of 2012 with veteran musicians whose love of reggae music flows deep. Last  fall we reviewed Root SHOCK’s self-titled release and said “Their self titled debut is an authentic embodiment of the magnetizing performances that have continued to draw in larger crowds wherever they go” amid an interview with Phil Grajko.

    In September 2015, we reviewed the group’s Funk n Waffles show and editor Ally Dean said “The high-energy atmosphere fostered a connectedness and comfort level allowing several liberated spectators to remove their shoes, showing off some fancy footwork, toes unrestricted.” The band just last week released their latest video “Sunlight.”

    Check back Monday for the 2017 winner!

    Voting begins at Noon on Thursday, March 30 and ends at midnight on Saturday, April 1 and we’ll announce the winner on Monday, April 3!

    We’d like to thank our regional sponsors The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Nietzsche’s Buffalo, The Downtown Barn and Castle Studio. These small businesses 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.

  • Premiere: Wild Adriatic’s Music Video for ‘Come Back Baby’

    Wild Adriatic premieres today their video for ‘Come Back Baby,’ off their latest album Feel. Drummer Mateo Vosganian shares a little on the making of the video:

    “For this video we had the idea of involving the local community a bit more and put out a call for local young theater students to cast in this video. We ended up working with kids from Ballston Spa and had such a great time shooting with them. They were, of course, way more professional than we were on set and committed a whole weekend of their lives to making a fun video with us. Everything related to the video stems from our home community. Our friend Josh Casano is a band director at Oneida Middle School and connected us with the school principal who agreed to let us shoot there. Our friends Chromoscope Pictures are based in the Troy area and directed, produced, and edited this project. All in all it ended up being a super fun concept and we loved being able to sneak nods to some of our heroes into it.“

    Tour Dates
    Wild A Tour Dates
    3/31 – Nectar’s – Burlington, VT
    4/01 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME w/ The Maine Youth Rock Symphony
    4/07 – Parlor Newport – Newport, RI
    Come Back Baby
    Wild Adriatic & Leopold & His Fiction Tour
    4/11 – Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn, NY
    4/12 – Coda – Philadelphia, PA
    4/13 – Daryl’s House – Pawling, NY
    4/14 – The Haunt – Ithaca, NY
    4/15 – Dogfish Head Brewing – Rehoboth Beach, DE
    4/16 – Rams Head Baltimore – Baltimore, MD
    4/18 – Broadberry – Richmond, VA
    4/19 – MotorCo – Durham, NC
    4/20 – The Evening Muse – Charlotte, NC
    4/21 – Ashley Street Tavern – Augusta, GA
    4/22 – Sweetwater 420 Festival (Just Wild Adriatic)
    4/25 – Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
    4/26 – Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
    4/27 – House of Rock – Corpus Christi, TX
    4/29 – Limelight – San Antonio, TX
    5/02 – Atomic Cowboy @ The Bootleg – St. Louis, MO
    5/05 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
    Wild Adriatic Summer Tour
    5/26-5/28 – Summercamp – Chillicothe, IL
    6/1-6/04 – Hazelnut Hang – Isle of Palms, SC
    6/30-7/02 – moe. Down – Turin, NY