NYS Music 20​17

Category: News Desk

  • Iraqi Metalists Acrassicauda Host Immigrant Resettlement Benefit in Brooklyn

    Brooklyn-based Acrassicauda, a metal band originally formed in Iraq and featured in the 2007 documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad, is hosting a benefit at the Knitting Factory Sunday to support immigrant resettlement programs in Brooklyn. The 6:00 p.m. all-ages show is free to attend, donations are encouraged.

    AcrassicaudaSpeaking with Billboard about the decision to conduct the benefit, the typically apolitical band says it was sparked by President Trump’s executive order calling for a travel ban from seven majority Muslim countries. Drummer Marwan M tells the magazine:

    We dodged that conversation because of everything we went through growing up in Iraq. But what’s going on here is idiotic and making us sick to our stomachs. We decided that we can’t pretend nothing is happening. This country is built on immigration and the idea of diverse cultures united. So many Americans are people who have fled their countries for one reason or another and built a home here. And this country has benefited from them.

    The Sunday show features special guests Alex Skolnick of Testament – who produced Acrassicauda’s debut EP, Only the Dead See the End of the War –  and Jay Weinberg of Slipknot, along with the bands I Killya, Sun & Flesh, Robots and Monsters and Signals of Bedlam.

    Original Acrassicauda members, drummer Marwan and guitarist/vocalist Faisal Talal, with assistance from members of Staten Island band Sicada, will headline the affair. All proceeds from the event, including from all Acrassicauda merchandise sold, will go towards immigrant resettlement causes. The band hasn’t designated one specific organization, but did say a portion will go to the International Rescue Committee, an organization instrumental in helping the band members when seeking asylum in 2009.

    Weinberg was enlisted to help via text message from Marwan after witnessing the recent airport protests. He was on board right away.

    If you’ve seen the documentary, then you know what those guys went through just to be a band; just to practice. They are trying to live, quote unquote, the American dream, but it seems more difficult to attain these days.  So, they are standing up and speaking out for what’s right. They walk the walk, and if I can contribute to a cause that they’re behind, I’m honored to be a part of it.

    Acrassicauda released its first full length album Gilgamesh in February 2016. Watch the powerful video for the single “Rise” below.  The Vice documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad can be viewed in its entirety on the band’s website here.

  • SPAC 1995 is the Latest Live Phish Release

    The latest release from Live Phish features the band’s June 26, 1995 performance at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

    SPAC 1995 Phish

    This show would be the last time Phish performed at SPAC until June of 2004. The show highlights include a rare cover of “Don’t You Want to Go?,” an extended “Down with Disease” > “Free” (see video below), and a monster “You Enjoy Myself.”

    Setlist via Phish.net:

    Soundcheck: Time Loves A Hero > Dog Log/Time Loves A Hero mashup, Nellie Kane, Santana Instrumental, Rocky Mountain Way

    Set 1: My Friend, My Friend, Don’t You Want To Go?, Bathtub Gin, NICU > The Sloth, My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own, It’s Ice > Dog Faced Boy > Tela > Possum

    Set 2: Down with Disease [1] -> Free > Poor Heart > You Enjoy Myself , Strange Design > Run Like an Antelope

    Encore: Sleeping Monkey > Rocky Top

    [1] Unfinished.
    My Friend started with a Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 tease from Trey. Trey teased and quoted Long Tall Glasses in Bathtub Gin. Possum contained a Heartbreaker tease and YEM contained Immigrant Song teases from Trey. Down with Disease was unfinished. This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.

    Read our detailed breakdown of this 1995 live Phish performance at SPAC here.

  • Joe Beard, Gary Lewis and Uncle Rog Among Inductees to Rochester Music Hall of Fame

    The Rochester Music Hall of Fame 2017 announced the names of the 2017 inductees this week. The honorees are Samuel Adler, Joe Beard, Gary Lewis, Uncle Roger McCall, Greg Sullivan and the Penny Arcade, and Lewis Soloff. The induction ceremony, which will include several performances and tributes, takes place on April 30 at the historic Eastman Theatre.

    rochester music hall of fame joe beardInductees (in alphabetical order):

    Samuel Adler, celebrated classical composer and Eastman School of Music professor of composition from 1966 to 1995. With Adler in attendance, the Upton String Quartet with Yi-Yang Cheng on piano will perform his 1999 composition “Piano Quintet for Piano and String Quartet.”

    Joe Beard, revered blues guitarist and vocalist, who has played with the likes of Son House, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and John Lee Hooker. Joe Beard will perform at the ceremony, joined by his sons, Chris and Duane, and backed by house band Prime Time Funk.

    Gary Lewis, frontman of Gary Lewis and the Playboys, peforming since the 1960’s, topping charts and selling millions of records worldwide. Gary Lewis and the Playboys will be performing some of their best hits.

    Uncle Roger McCall, also known as “Uncle Rog,” the longest running DJ at a single station in the US (1973-2003) and hero to the local music scene, which he passionately promoted up until his murder during a robbery in 2003. Local musicians will peform a tribute to both Uncle Rog and Greg Sullivan.

    Greg Sullivan and The Penny Arcade, the legendary rock club was opened in 1973 by Sullivan, who booked national acts and mentored local musicians. Sullivan died of a heart attack in 2014, and the plaque in his honor hangs on the now-closed Penny Arcade.

    Lewis Soloff, Grammy Award-winning trumpeter for Blood, Sweat & Tears, and instructor at Juliard and Manhattan School of Music. Sorloff died of a heart attack in 2015. A tribute to Lew will be performed by David Clayton-Thomas, lead singer of Blood, Sweat, & Tears.

    Tickets for the ceremony on April 30 are now on sale at the Eastman Theatre box office or online.

  • NYC Busker Gives Earnings to Those in Need

    Come to find out, our generous busker not only resides in NYC, current street performer Will Boyajian, is a Clifton Park native, and son of notable Albany lawyer, Don Boyajian. Boyajian graduated from Shenendehowa High School in 2008. He studied music theater at Ithaca College, and has been living in NYC since 2012.

    As word of his story rapidly spreads, Boyajian stated to The Schenectady Gazette, that he hopes someone will step in and make it bigger, as he will be leaving NYC in March to act in the Capital Repertory Theater production of “They Built America: The Workers of the Erie Canal.” After that, Boyajian will take his acting skills, and head back to the cruise ship from April through December.

    Musicians from Los Angeles and Chicago have reached out to Boyajian, wanting to start their own #HopefulCases, but Boyajian wants to make sure that people are doing it for the right reasons, at that the campaigns name is never used for profit and personal gain.

    Original Article Follows:

    In Upstate NY, you can usually catch street performers playing their instruments, looking for a little extra cash near all the downtown hot spots in whatever city you reside. When you travel to a bigger city, like New York, one common place to see street performers looking for earnings, are in subway terminals. In a different twist, one specific street performer does it solely for humanitarian reasons, and now has the whole city talking.

    The New York Post reports that 26-year-old Will Boyajian, performs his bluegrass style of music to strap hangers walking by at the 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station, and gives away his earnings throughout the day to those in need while trying to show New Yorkers a different way to give back and donate.

    Boyajian, who saved money for his cause by performing 8 months for Norwegian Cruise Line, earns around $400 daily in tips from passersby. Before he starts playing, the busker leans a sign against his case that reads, “If you’re homeless or need help, take as much as you need from the case.” His goal at the end of the day is to end with zero dollars in the case. If any cash is left, Boyajian will either hand out the left over singles, or purchase single ride MetroCards to pass out.

    There is no limit to what a person can take from the case as Boyajian trusts the persons taking from the case are truly in need. When talking about his experiment, which he calls Hopeful Cases, Boyajian stated to the New York Post:

    It’s really wild. Some people come up and take a dollar or take five dollars,  some people come up and take $80… It’s not my job to judge it’s just my job to give.

    Boyajian reflected about a moment that grabbed his heart Sunday when a man, with his dog, approached the case:

    I probably had $40 or $50 left, and my voice was trashed, and I wanted go home. ‘I said, just empty it out man…Treat yourself.’ And he said it’s enough for one of those hotels that let the dogs come, and he told the dog, ‘Moby, we’re going to be OK.’

    He also recounted about a time when he first moved to the city:

    When I first moved to the city… this dude got on the train… and was clearly homeless. The whole train moved away. None of us will ever experience that kind of rejection in our lives.

  • Al Di Meola Bringing ‘Elegant Gypsy’ 40th Anniversary Tour to Paramount Hudson Valley Feb. 26

    Pioneer of jazz and Latin fusion guitar Al Di Meola is on the road celebrating the 40th anniversary of his second studio album Elegant Gypsy as well as his 2015 release Elysium. With a number of dates around the United States and Canada this past month, he concludes the tour this Sunday night at Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill.

    Since his first release in 1976, Di Meola has established himself as a prolific writer and virtuoso of the guitar, blending jazz, rock, and Latin music into his songwriting. With an extensive career over the past 40 years he has tallied over 20 albums to his name and collected many accolades and awards for his work. In his career he has also collaborated with several notable names including Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White as part of the super group Return to Forever when he was just 19 years old.

    Di Meola’s February tour is an extension of an extensive 2016 world tour for Elysium to help mark the 40th anniversary of Elegant Gypsy. Sunday’s show at Paramount Hudson Valley starts at 7pm with tickets still available here or by calling the box office at 914-739-0039. Special meet-and-greet packages are available by calling the box office which include access to the soundcheck and a pre-show  Q&A with Di Meola in the theater.

    Joining him on tour is Philippe Saisse (keyboards, marimba), Gumbi Ortiz (percussion), Elias Tona (bass), Luis Alicea (drums) and Evan Garr (violin).

  • Governor Cuomo Releases His Spotify Playlist

    This past week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released his personal Spotify playlist.

    A typical play by politicians who attempt to appear more as your everyday Joe and connect with the populace, this is an early indication that Governor Cuomo is positioning himself to run for President in 2020.

    Included on the playlist are a variety of born-in-New York artists – a fair amount of Billy Joel, some Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, the Ramones, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Lou Reed, Pete Seeger and Wild Adriatic. The songs represent the state and popular, agreeable picks without being too controversial. You could call this ‘Dad rock’ but that would be insulting to Dad Rock. What’s missing are NY artists Talking Heads, Goo Goo Dolls, Rick James, 10,000 Maniacs, Cab Colloway. Listen to his selections here.

  • Roger Waters Bringing US + THEM Tour to Times Union Center

    Roger Waters will bring Pink Floyd’s historic album The Wall to Albany’s Times Union Center on September 23, 2017, part of the US + THEM tour.

    Waters has toured on Pink Floyd’s The Wall in recent years, and will be performing songs from Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here and more. The Wall tour came through Upstate in June of 2012, and has even been suggested to be performed on the U.S/Mexico border.

    Tickets for the show go on sale on Monday, February 27 at 10 am through Ticketmaster.

    H/T Q103 Albany

  • Geoff Tate Says Money Would Be Only Reason for a Queensryche Reunion

    In a recent Blabbermouth report, former Queensryche frontman, Geoff Tate, discussed with the “Noize In The Attic” radio show, whether he thinks a reconciliation could happen in the future, and reunite with original Queensryche lineup someday down the road.

    Tate’s response when asked if a possible Queensryche reunion possibly happening:

    I suppose so. I suppose that if everybody got in a room…The only reason to get together is for the money. That’s the only reason. So, if everybody really needed money and wanted to get together and bury the hatchet, so to speak, and sit in one room and say [mocking tears] ‘Gosh, I’m really sorry I treated you that way.’ You know, maybe then we could work toward some sort of resolution, but I haven’t seen any attempt by anybody to do that. So I’m holding out…holding my breath. [But] I’d never say never. I might get to a point where I really need the money. It’s nice to have that little back-up plan.

    In a past interview with The Metal Gods Meltdown, Tate described his time with the band as a business more than a brother hood. He stated:

    We weren’t really friends, you know – we were business associates. We had a wonderful entity that we shared called Queensryche, but it wasn’t an equal sort of partnership as far as involvement goes. You know, so there wasn’t a real camaraderie amongst everybody in the band… From my perspective and my involvement, it wasn’t an emotional sort of brotherhood kind of thing that some people might think existed. That wasn’t my reality with them.

    Tate tried suing the band over the rights to the Queensryche name in 2012. A settlement was reached between both parties in 2014, giving original band members Michael Wilton (guitar), Scott Rockenfield (drums), and Eddie Jackson (bass), the rights to the Queensryche name, while giving Tate the rights to perform live, the albums, “Operation Mindcrime,” and Operation Mindcrime II.”

  • ‘David Bowie: The Last Five Years’ Documentary Coming to America via HBO

    HBO has acquired the television rights to air the BBC documentary David Bowie: The Last Five Years. The 90-minute landmark film is a snapshot of the grand finale of the iconic artist’s life.

    David Bowie: The Last Five Years is a follow-up to 2013’s David Bowie: Five Years. Documentarian Francis Whately returned to the subject after Bowie succumbed to a battle with cancer last year. Whately expertly weaves together  interviews and prime footage to present an in-depth look at the artist’s creative resurgence, including the making of Bowie’s last albums, The Next Day and Blackstar, and his play Lazarus.

    BBC aired David Bowie: The Last Five Years in January. HBO has yet to announce when the documentary will be aired.

    https://youtu.be/C2bL6ARhkUw

  • Clyde Stubblefield, ‘Funky Drummer,’ Dead at 73

    Clyde Stubblefield, the drummer who provided the backbeat for a generation, died Saturday at the age of 73. As the drummer for James Brown’s band, Stubblefield laid the groundwork for funk and inadvertently created the most sampled track of all time. The drummer’s wife, Jody Hannon, confirmed his death from kidney failure.

    Clyde StubblefieldStubblefield’s resume as Brown’s drummer includes classic tracks such as “Cold Sweat,” “Say it Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud,” “I Got the Feeling,” “Sex Machine” and the track that gave him his notoriety, “Funky Drummer.”

    He was a funky drummer. The brief interlude in “Funky Drummer” provided the beat that launched a thousand hip-hop acts. The track was sampled by the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Run DMC, N.W.A., LL Cool J and even George Michael. Unfortunately, Stubblefield never saw any royalties from any of these uses of his most famous piece as he was not listed as a songwriter on the track.

    Roots drummer Questlove proclaimed Stubblefield, “The Funky Funkiest Drummer of All Time” in a tribute on Instagram Saturday

    Stubblefield was born in Chattanooga, TN on April 18, 1943, influenced by the factory sounds and the rhythm of the trains near his home. He went on to briefly perform with Otis Redding before being introduced to Brown, joining his band in 1965.

    Following his career with Brown’s band, Stubblefield relocated to Madison, WI, performing weekly Monday night gigs with his Clyde Stubblefield Band, a band that included long-time friend Steve “Doc” Skaggs on keyboards and vocalists Charlie Brooks and Karri Daley. He maintained this schedule until health problems sidelined him in 2011.

    Over the years, Stubblefield performed with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the JBs and frequently collaborated with fellow Brown band drummer John “Jabo” Starks as the Funkmasters.

    Stubblefield battled kidney problems and bladder cancer since 2000. Due to his lack of health insurance, paying for the procedures proved difficult. Following Prince’s death last year, Stubblefield revealed that Prince had secretly paid his nearly $90,000 in medical bills in full. Prince and Stubblefield had never met but Prince considered the funky drummer one of his idols.

    Check out the 1999 video below, where Stubblefield discusses his style and jams with John Medeski on keys, Fred Thomas on bass, Fred Wesley on trombone and John Scofield on guitar: